Blackfoot (band)

Blackfoot is an American Southern rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, formed in 1970. Though they primarily play with a Southern rock style, they are also known as a hard rock act. The band's classic lineup consisted of guitarist and vocalist Rickey Medlocke, guitarist Charlie Hargrett, bassist Greg T. Walker and drummer Jakson Spires.

They had a number of successful albums during the 1970s and early 1980s, including Strikes (1979), Tomcattin (1980) and Marauder (1981).

History

Early years

During the spring of 1969, Rickey Medlocke and Greg T. Walker met New York City natives Ron Sciabarasi and Charlie Hargrett in Jacksonville and organized the band "Fresh Garbage" (named after the like titled song from California psychedelic rock act Spirit), featuring Medlocke on drums and vocals, Walker on bass, Hargrett on guitar and Sciabarasi on keyboards. They played most of their shows at The Comic Book Club on Forsyth Street.

That autumn, Fresh Garbage dissolved following the departure of Sciabarasi, who was drafted and sent to Vietnam. However, Medlocke, Walker and Hargrett regrouped and formed the band "Hammer", with Medlocke switching to vocalist/guitarist and with new recruits Jakson Spires (drums; born on April 12, 1951, died on March 16, 2005), DeWitt Gibbs (keyboards) and Jerry Zambito (guitars, who only stayed briefly) joining the band. Gibbs, Zambito and Spires had previously played together in Tangerine, while Spires and Walker had been in a high school group called the Rocking Aces. They soon relocated to Gainesville, Florida, to be the house band of Dub's Steer Room, a well-known topless bar on the outskirts of town.

At the beginning of 1970, the band relocated to Manhattan after a friend, Nancy O'Connor who was working in a music publishing company, told her boss about the band and he had them move to New York City.

During the early spring of the same year, the band, after learning of another band on the West Coast named Hammer, decided to change their name to Blackfoot to represent the American Indian heritage of its members: Jakson Spires (from Oklahoma) had a Cheyenne/French father and a Cherokee mother; Rickey Medlocke's father was Lakota Sioux and Blackfoot Indian, and his mother's side is Creek/Cherokee, Scottish and Irish; Greg "Two Wolf" Walker is part Eastern (Muskogee) Creek, a tribe recognized by the state of Florida, but not federally. Charlie Hargrett was the only white man of the original, classic line-up.

When the band failed to acquire a contract as a result of their relocation, Gibbs quit the band and Medlocke began playing rhythm guitar full-time.

During the spring of 1971, Medlocke and Walker accepted an offer to join Lynyrd Skynyrd and Blackfoot ended for a time. Still in New Jersey, Charlie Hargrett played briefly in "No Name" a band formed around him. They rehearsed at Steve Bondy's Family Home nearby in Morristown and included New Jersey locals Steve Bondy on guitar, Bert Carey on bass and Andy Peebles on drums. "No Name" played covers as well as original songs briefly in Budd Lake & Stanhope, New Jersey.

There was a brief attempt to regroup as Blackfoot during 1972, but Medlocke bowed out again and Walker and Gibbs got together with others in a new band named Rainbow to do some demos in Atlanta. But when this didn't lead anywhere, Rainbow splintered and Walker relocated to New York to join the band Cross Country for a short period. Hargrett remained in the north, living in Hackettstown, New Jersey.

During August 1972, Blackfoot's old friend and roadie, John Vassiliou, visited Hargrett with Reidsville, North Carolina bassist Leonard Stadler from the band Blackberry Hill. Hargrett decided to relocate to North Carolina and invited Medlocke, who had left Lynyrd Skynyrd by this time, to reform Blackfoot with Stadler on bass guitar and Spires returning as drummer. Danny Johnson (later with the bands Derringer and Steppenwolf), from a Louisiana group, Axis, was employed as second guitarist. But Medlocke soon decided to be both main vocalist and guitarist again, and so Johnson's tenure with the band was brief.

During the summer of 1973, Stadler quit the band after a tumor was discovered on one of his lungs. It later dissolved, but Stadler

Band members

Current

Rickey Medlocke – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1970–1971, 1972–1974, 1974–1977, 1978–1997, 2023–present), lead guitar (1982–1988), dobro (1972–1984)
Mark Woerpel – lead guitar, keyboards, vocals (1992–1996, 2023-present)
Mark Westlund – guitar (2023–present)
Johnny Keyte – bass (2023–present)
Steve Soderstrom – drums (2023–present)
Stacy Michelle - backing vocals (2023-present)

Former

Greg T. Walker – bass, backing vocals (1970–1971, 1973–1986, 2004–2011), keyboards (1970–1971, 1973–1986, 2004–2011)
Charlie Hargrett – lead guitar (1970–1971, 1972–1984, 2004–2011), rhythm guitar (1969)
Jakson Spires – drums, backing vocals (1970–1971, 1972–1986, 2004–2005; died 2005)
Dewitt Gibbs – keyboards, backing vocals (1970)
Leonard Stadler – bass (1972–1973; died 2012)
Danny Johnson – lead guitar (1972)
Patrick Jude – lead vocals (1974)
Ken Hensley – keyboards, rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1982–1984; died 2020)
Bobby Barth – keyboards, rhythm guitar, lead vocals (1984–1986; 2004–2006, 2006–2010)
Doug "Bingo" Bare – keyboards, backing vocals (1986–1992)
Jerry "Wizzard" Seay – bass, backing vocals (1986–1988)
Harold Seay – drums (1986–1988)
Gunner Ross — drums (1988–1992; died 2021)
Neal Casal – lead guitar (1988–1992; died 2019)
Mark Mendoza – bass (1988)
Rikki Mayr – bass, backing vocals (1989–1992)
Tim Stunson – bass (1992–1996)
Benny Rappa – drums (1992–1994)
Stet Howland – drums (1994–1997)
John Housley – lead guitar (1996–1997)
Bryce Barnes – bass (1996–1997)
Christoph Ullmann – drums (2005–2006)
Jay Johnson – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (2006–2007)
Tommy Krash – lead guitar (2008)
Mark McConnell – drums (2006–2007; died 2012)
Michael Sollars – drums (2007–2009)
Scott Craig – drums (2009–2010)
Mike Estes – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (2010–2011)
Kurt Pietro – drums (2010–2011)
Randy Peak – lead guitar (2011)
Christopher Williams – drums, backing vocals (2012)
Brian Carpenter – bass (2012–2017)
Philip Shouse – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (2012)
Matt Anastasi – drums, backing vocals (2012–2019)
Sean Chambers – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (2012–2014)
Jeremy Thomas – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (2014–2016)
Rick Krasowski – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (2016–2017)
Derek DeSantis – bass, backing vocals (2017–2019)
Pierson Whicker – drums (2019)
Tommy Scott – bass (2019)
Jeff Shields – guitar, vocals (2020)
Tim Rossi – guitar, vocals (2020)
Seth Lester – guitar (2020)
Wesley James Mitzelfield – drums (2020)
John Lee – bass (2020)
Kenny Lawrence – lead vocals (2021-2022)
Drew Spencer – guitar (2021-2022)
Stuart McConnell – guitar (2021-2022)
Chief Spires – bass (2021-2022)
Dave Somerville – drums (2021-2022)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

No Reservations (1975)
Flyin' High (1976)
Strikes (1979) US No. 42 (RIAA: platinum)
Tomcattin (1980) US No. 50
Marauder (1981) US No. 48
Siogo (1983) US No. 82
Vertical Smiles (1984) US No. 176
Rick Medlocke and Blackfoot (1987)
Medicine Man (1990)
After the Reign (1994)
Southern Native (2016)

Live albums

Highway Song Live (1982)
Live on the King Biscuit Flower Hour

( at The Palladium, California, 10th August 1983 ) (1998 / 2003 / 2004)

Train Train: Southern Rock's Best – Live (2007/2011)

Singles

"Railroad Man" (1975)
"Highway Song" (1979) US No. 26
"Train, Train" (1979) US No. 38
"Spendin' Cabbage" (1980)
"On the Run" (1980)
"Dry County" (1980)
"Fly Away" (1981) US No. 42
"Searchin'" (1981) US No. 108
"Send Me an Angel" (1983)
"Teenage Idol" (1983) US No. 103
"Morning Dew" (1984)
"Guitar Slingers Song and Dance" (1990)
"Never Run Out Of Road" (2024)
" Rise Again" (2024)

Compilations

Rattlesnake Rock N' Roll: The Best of Blackfoot (1994)
Greatest Hits (2002)

Radio shows

Blackfoot Interview (1978)
Blackfoot – Johnny Van Zant (1979 Reading Festival)
Blackfoot – Stevie Ray Vaughan KBFH (1980)
Blackfoot – Triumph KBFH (1981 [Best of the Biscuit])
Blackfoot KBFH (1982)
Rickey Medlocke Eddie Trunk (2024)

Rare items

Wishing Well/Highway Song Japanese (1979)
Maxi single (1980)
Blackfoot Picture Disc

DVD

Train Train (2007) Atco Records
Blackfoot: Live in Kentucky (2008)

References

Other sources

Rickey Medlocke's Blackfoot announces January 25, 2025 show at Penn's Peak in Jim Thorpe, PA, September 19, 2024 Rickey Medlocke’s Blackfoot w/Peacemaker | Penn's Peak
Rickey Medlocke's Blackfoot Current Lineup Ashley Talent InternationalAshley Talent International, llc
Rickey Medlocke's Band releases "Never Run Out of Road" Rickey Medlocke Releases “Never Run Out Of Road” Benefit Single
Rickey Medlocke's Band releases "Rise Again" RICKEY MEDLOCKE BAND Releases New Country-Infused Rock Anthem 'Rise Again'