Jo Jo Gunne was an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, United States, in 1971 by Jay Ferguson and Mark Andes after they had left the rock band Spirit. The band was named after the Chuck Berry song "Jo Jo Gunne". The band released their eponymous debut album in 1972 and had a top 10 hit song, "Run Run Run", in the UK. They released three further albums before disbanding in 1975. They reunited in 2005 for a time to record a fifth album, Big Chain.

Career

Jo Jo Gunne was formed by Jay Ferguson (keyboards, vocals and guitar) and brothers Mark (bass and vocals) and Matt Andes (born February 6, 1949; guitar, vocals), along with William "Curly" Smith (born January 31, 1952, Wolf Point, Montana; drums, vocals, and harp) in 1971. Ferguson chose the group's name, "Jo Jo Gunne", from a 1958 Chuck Berry song about a monkey of that name that caused a fight between a lion and an elephant. They performed their first major show in Los Angeles in May 1971 before they were signed to Asylum Records.

The band's first album, Jo Jo Gunne, was released in 1972 and the album reached number 57 on Billboards Top 100 Albums.

The band had a number 6 hit in the UK Singles Chart in April 1972 with a song, "Run Run Run", The song reached number 30 in Canada.

Their second album, Bite Down Hard, was a minor success, peaking on the Billboard Top 200 chart at number 75. Due to the lack of a breakout single, this album sold more poorly than their 1971 introductory effort. The album was produced by Bill Szymczyk, who was best known at the time for his production work on Joe Walsh's Barnstorm and B.B. King's Completely Well.

The band's third album, Jumpin' the Gunne, featuring an obese naked woman on the cover, failed to rise any higher than number 169 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. The band's fourth album, So...Where's the Show?, featured new guitarist John Staehely (a former member of Spirit), whose harder-edged sound complemented Ferguson's songs, giving the band a much harder rock sound than on their previous efforts.

Personnel changes

Following the first album, Mark Andes left the band after a falling out with his brother Matt and Ferguson, and was replaced by Jimmie Randall. The music was co-produced by the band and engineered by Ferguson.

Discography

Albums

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

|-

! rowspan="2" style="width:15em;"| Title

! rowspan="2" style="width:15em;"| Album details

! colspan="4"| Peak chart positions

|- style="font-size:smaller;"

! style="width:4em;"| US<br />

! style="width:4em;"| AUS<br />

! style="width:4em;"| CAN<br />

|-

! scope="row"|Jo Jo Gunne

|

  • Release date: February 7, 1972
  • Label: Asylum Records

| 57

| 18

| 55

|-

! scope="row"|Bite Down Hard

|

  • Release date: March 5, 1973
  • Label: Asylum

| 75

| —

| —

|-

! scope="row"|Jumpin' the Gunne

|

  • Release date: December 10, 1973
  • Label: Asylum

| 169

| —

| —

|-

! scope="row"|"So...Where's the Show?"

|

  • Release date: November 12, 1974
  • Label: Asylum

| 198

| —

| —

|-

! scope="row"| Big Chain

|

  • Release date: 2005
  • Label: Blue Hand Records

| —

| —

| —

|-

|}

Singles

  • "Run Run Run" – No. 27 (US), No. 30 (Canada), No. 6 (UK)
  • "Shake That Fat"
  • "Ready Freddy"
  • "Rock Around the Symbol"
  • "I Wanna Love You"
  • "Where Is the Show"
  • "Take Me Down Easy"
  • "Big, Busted Bombshell from Bermuda"

See also

  • List of Asylum Records artists
  • List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States
  • One-hit wonders in the UK

References

  • Official homepage