MEMORABLE MONDAYS: Savoy Brown

 Who needs to hear about more English blues-rockers? Well we cannot get enough of them! In a time of non-stop touring existed the Savoy Brown Blues Band, usually shortened to Savoy Brown. Their heaviest success was not in their homeland, but in the US, with only constant member being the guitarist and primary songwriter Kim Simmonds. 

He originally form the band with harmonica player John O'Leary, after their chance meeting at an imports record shop in Soho in 1965. When naming themselves, they wanted balance of opposite sentiment and approaches. Savoy referred to American blues label Savoy Records, and they thought it sounded elegant. They added Brown as they felt it was an extremely plain word. They played Chicago-Blues styles of music. 

The original lineup included singer Brice Portius, keyboardist Trevor Jeavons, bassist Ray Chappell, drummer Leo Manning, and harmonica player John O'Leary. Portius was one of the first black blues musicians to be part of a British rock band. Jeavons was replaced by Bob Hall shortly after the band's formation. Martin Stone joined in on guitar. O'Leary left the band before their first release due to a dispite with manager Harry Simmonds. This finalized lineup without O'Leary was on their 1967 debut, Shake Down, which consisted of Blues covers. 

The band continued to be plagued with an inability to keep a consistent lineup. Portius, Chappell, Manning, and Stone all departed over a short period. Chris Youlden and Dave Peverett would replace lost members on vocals and guitar. Bob Brunning and Hughie Flint filled the bassist and drum positions for their next single, but were replaced by Rivers Jobe and Bill Bruford. Bruford, who later found success as the drummer of Yes, was quickly replaced by Roger Earl. This lineup recorded two albums in Getting to the Point and Blues Matter. This showed Youlden's rise as a songwriter alongside Simmonds. Getting to the Point included both studio and live tracks. Blues Matter marked a turning point where the band began to branch out into their own compositions versus doing rearranged covers. A Step Further was released in 1969, with Tony Stevens replacing Jobe on bass. This would be their last album with Bob Hall. 

Their next release, Raw Sienna, was their first of original compositions solely. This was their last with Youlden as their vocalist. Their next release, Looking In, had fill in vocalist Peverett as the lead vocalist instead. Kim Simmonds would be left stranged as Peverett, Stevens, and Earl all left to form Foghat with guitarist Rob Price. 

Simmonds continued the band with new vocalist Dave Walker, Paul Raymond on kayboards and guitar, Andy Silvester on bass, and Dave Bidwell on drums. It was almost the complete Chicken Shack line up. Decca stuck through with the band, although it took them several albums to begin selling well in the US. They broke into the Billboard charts. Their 1971 release Street Corner Talking, their first as a new band after the major lineup changes and led to a shift in sound. While they had some successes, the constant lineup changes kept Savoy Brown from ever reaching the superstardom they could have achieved. Their next release, Hellbound Train, got into the top 40 on the US charts. Stan Webb announced he was joining Savoy Brown after the breakup of Chicken Shack. 

Simmonds organized the band in the late 70s with Ralph Mormon, who came from the Joe Perry Project, along with Barry Paul and Keith Boyce of Heavy Metal Kids fame. They also tagged on bassist John Humphrey. This led to the 1981 release Rock 'N' Roll Warriors, which gave the group more success than they had seen earlier on. They performed several arena shows alongside Judas Priest. Despite the success, Simmonds found himself alone again by 1982. 

Dave Walker returned to the group and recorded 2 albums and a live release with the band. These releases were received well by long time fans. During the 1990s, Simmonds continued to work with various lineups, including a brief stint with Phil McCormack, the future vocalist of Molly Hatchet. 

During their active years, they toured the world and recorded regularly. Simmonds remained the only consistent member throughout the life of the band. John O'Leary continued on the British Blues circuit with Sugarkane. Dave Walker joined Fleetwood Mac for one album, then became the temporary lead singer of Black Sabbath. Andy Pyle played with Mick Abrahams from Jethro Tull in Blodwyn Pig, then later with the Kinks. John Humphrey would go on to work with many major artists, including Carole King, Gary Moore, and Andy Silvester who played with Wha-Koo. Paul Raymond went on to join UFO. Keith Boyce reformed Heavy Metal Kids. Jimmy Kunes became part of reformed supergroup Cactus. The band remained active and an outlet for many successful artists until Simmonds passed away in 2022 from colon cancer. 

This band was underappreciated for its growing efforts and is an important part of the British Blues rock scene. Definitely take a dive into this piece of music history!