1973 and 1974, he is credited with being an original member of the We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. Please click here to learn how. She is the only artist ever to receive an Oscar, Tony, Emmy and Grammy as well as record a #1 single and album. Flota, along with the other original members of the band, were Today, he is the only remaining member of the original band, but he is the force that has kept the band a relevant part of the classic rock music scene for the past 50 years. In 2011, Head East was inducted into the Iowa Rock n' Roll Music Association's Hall of Fame. (DVD) They are best known for their 1975 hit "Never Been Any Reason", which remains a staple of AOR stations. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. (1979), but at the end of the year, Birney and Somerville left the group while Schlitt joined the Christian rock group Petra. Head East Format: Audio CD 184 ratings -8% $1567 List Price: $16.99 Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns See all 6 formats and editions Streaming Unlimited MP3 $9.49 Listen with our Free App Audio CD $15.67 2 Used from $13.79 12 New from $13.82 Vinyl $7.20 7 Used from $7.20 Includes FREE MP3 version of this album. Asked about the solos via the band's official website, Boyd said they were created due to an accident during mixing: Lead vocals are alternated between drummer Steve Huston singing the first two lines of the verses and lead vocalist John Schlitt on the remainder of the song. Okoboji. After thinking on it briefly, the band liked the unusual nature of it and has kept the name. guitar player for Head East. Email: podcasts@lee.net. A concert followed at Arnolds Park with Head East headlining the [4][5] Head East also performed at the Culver Academies Graduation party in 1979, which in the prior years had been headlined by Styx and Quicksilver. "Never Been Any Reason" is the debut single by Head East from their debut album Flat as a Pancake. The two lead voices that share lines back and forth during the song are drummer Steve Huston and lead vocalist John Schlitt. Flota, originally from Mt. He fronted The Union of Sinners and Saints, featuring Billy Smiley (Whiteheart) and Jason Fowler, during the band's Storyteller tour, and joined fellow Petra alum Bob Hartman for a Scandinavian tour, among other events. Do their first three albums have French titles? Read Full Biography. Originally known as the TimeAtions, the band adopted the name Head East at the suggestion of Baxter Forrest Twilight, who was a technician / stage-hand for the band. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). before but Im glad I served my country and the experience John Schlitt, legendary recording artist and Gospel Music Hall of Famer, best known as the lead singer for award-winning Christian band Petra during the era when the band won its four Grammy Awards and 10 Dove Awards, recently reunited with the popular 70s mainstream rock band Head East. More songs that got a recording contract for an artist, More songs used in the movie Dazed And Confused. Vernon for about $50 per night that was good money for Original band members from the A&M era included Schlitt, Roger Boyd, Mike Sommerville, Steve Huston, and Dan Birney, who passed away in 2003. It's copper-clad windows and sturdy brick were a backdrop to countle. The singles "Never Been Any Reason" and "Love Me Tonight" became minor pop chart entries, and the album spent six months on the charts, eventually going gold. The special one-night-only performance during the Iowa Rock n Roll Music Associations 2011 Hall of Fame coincided with Schlitts induction into the states Hall of Fame and marked the first time in 30 years that the musicians were on stage together. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony. The band continued with little success, releasing albums on small labels. 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Osage man, Head East guitarist, inducted with group into Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. First time with original members on stage since April 19. Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. The band achieved peak popularity and success during the 1970s, but later fell into obscurity. Though St. Louis is often mentioned as Head East's hometown, the original members grew up in south central Illinois. Please be patient! singles back then, were certified gold in 1978, representing more Great voice!! You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. From Head East's first concert on Aug. 6, 1969, at the Golden Gauntlet in Carbondale, Illinois, Boyd has remained loyal to the band he helped found. The keyboardist and only remaining original member of Head East recently agreed to speak with me and it was one of the easiest conversations I've ever had with someone from the golden age of the 70s. The album featured songs from two shows at Denver's Rainbow Music Hall. They released their first album, Flat as a Pancake, in 1974 on their own record label (Pyramid Records) selling all 5,000 records and 500 eight-tracks produced. We all lived within 30 miles of each other back then and I . The band was founded by vocalist John Schlitt, guitarist Danny Piper, keyboardist Roger Boyd, bassist Larry Boyd, and drummer Steve Huston. These might seem like divergent career paths, but not for Roger Boyd, PhD (97 and 98). Head East went through several lineups and musical approaches before consolidating in St. Louis in the early '70s as a hard rock quintet consisting of John Schlitt (vocals), Mike Somerville (guitar), Roger Boyd (keyboards), Dan Birney (bass), and Steve Huston (drums), all alumni of the University of Illinois. The song is about a guy who returns home - possibly from a tour - and has it out with his woman. 97 talking about this. OSAGE There are three major accomplishments that Osages Brad Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. A&M Records signed the band and re-released the album, which was certified Gold by RIAA and produced the monster radio hit, "Never Been Any Reason.". Feel free to contribute! Eventually both Larry and Danny dropped out of the band and were replaced by Mike Somerville (guitar) and Dan Birney (bass). Having been up all night sitting in the front yard consuming acid, the roadie said that when the sun rose, it turned into a giant talking head and told him the band's new name should be "Head East". They honed their craft playing colleges and clubs in the midwest, which is where they developed "Never Been Any Reason." The comedian Steve Martin had a hit in 1978 with "King Tut." About John Schlittt: Dear HIGH RES AUDIO Visitor, due to territorial constraints and also different releases dates in each country you currently can`t purchase this album. [4], The band's original guitarist and songwriter Mike Somerville (born Michael A. Somerville on August 15, 1952 in Peoria, Illinois) died on February 28, 2020, at age 67.[7][8]. "I got my start singing rock 'n' roll with Head East in the '70s. As long as I can still lift my synthesizer over my head like I do at the end of every show, Ill keep playing, said Boyd. around Mt. During the next few years, the Head East line-up continued to evolve into the early 90's. Mike Somerville (1974 - 2003) Head East was a hard rock quintet originally from south central Illinois, then Champaign, Illinois, USA. He enjoyed playing guitar and keyboard in his elementary school years, but dedicated himself to guitar when he was 15. Boyd and Huston recruited Mark Boatman, Tony Gross, and Dan Odum to record U.S. 1 (October 1980), Head East's last album to reach the charts and last newly recorded release on A&M; it was a minor chart entry. Legendary rock vocalist, Grammy and Dove Award-winning GMA Hall of Famer John Schlittrecently joined the popular classic rock band, Head East, for a reunion concert event which was held at the Wildwood Springs Resort in Steeleville, Missouri. bill. Anonymous. The band line-up at this time included Roger Boyd, Tony Gross, Kurt Hansen, and Donnie Dobbins. The band was founded by vocalist John Schlitt, guitarist Danny Piper, keyboardist Roger Boyd, bassist Larry Boyd, and drummer Steve Huston. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. and was remarried to Osage native Micki (Brooker) Flota. According to Boyd, these two careers fulfilled two of his lifelong dreams. Visit our official website at https://www.head-east.com/ Head East Official By the mid-80s, John Schlitt, had joined Petra, a christian rock band when lead singer Greg X. Volz left the band. A founding member of Head East and the only original member remaining, Roger Boyd, was a professor in the SIUE Department of Social Work from 2003 until his retirement in 2011. Head East fans will be thrilled to know that original drummer Steve Huston joined the band on vocals, while he may have lost a beat or two on drums, and thus while he did not . Pictured (L to R): Steve Huston, original member; Darren Walker, current lead singer; John Schlitt, original member; and Greg Manahan, current bassist. Head East. However, their fourth album simply titled Head East (1978) produced another hit with the band's cover of former Argent singer Russ Ballard's "Since You Been Gone",[3] which peaked at number 46. I was shot once in Schlitt was recently named the best rock singer in Christian music history by GospelMusicChannel.com, and according to the website, Schlitt remains one of the most distinctive and impactful men to ever stand behind a microphone. Schlitt was also named Best Male Vocalist in About.coms 2011 Readers Choice Awards.Schlitt is currently in the studio recording his fourth solo album, The Greater Cause. Head East recorded their debut album, Flat as a Pancake, in 1974 at Golden Voice Recording Studio in South Pekin, Illinois. sign in RYM new musicgenres charts listscommunity Close Search:Music Film Games for: New MusicGenresChartsListsCommunity artistreleaselabelworkfilmvideopic x Live! Head East is currently a 5-piece band consisting of Roger Boyd (keyboards & vocals), Greg Manahan (bass, lead guitar & vocals), Glen Bridger (lead guitar & vocals), Eddy Jones (drums & vocals), and Darrin Walker (lead vocals & bass). the members of Head East, so he quit the band and joined the Mt. Blaze rekindled after firefighters orginally had it extinguished. The band was inducted into the Iowa Rock & Roll Music Association's Hall of Fame in 2011. SP 6007; Vinyl LP). She and Roger met in 2003 during faculty orientation at SIUE. "The Way We Were" was the first of five Hot 100 #1 singles recorded by Barbra Streisand. To enjoy our website, you'll need to enable JavaScript in your web browser. Head East is an American rock band formed in East Central Illinois. music.. And the third is being one of the original members of the The weekend concluded with performances by the inductees, with Head East as the finale. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. In 1979, the band released the double-LP Head East Live!,[3] and A Different Kind of Crazy. Its been an interesting life.. She then became a faculty member at the SIUE SON, earned her doctoral degree from SIU Carbondale and accepted a position as a tenure-track faculty member at SIUE. Flotas rock n roll days were interrupted for several years, Flota. They will perform the bands 1979 double-live album, Head East Live, which includes many of the songs from their most well-known album, Flat As A Pancake, including Never Been Any Reason and Since You Been Gone., Recording Flat As A Pancake is one of my proudest accomplishments as a musician, said Boyd. He has worked as a studio musician playing guitar, steel guitar, and keyboards on recordings with Terry Ilous (XYZ and Great White), Jack Russell (Great White), Greg D'Angelo (Anthrax and White Lion), Sean McNabb (Dokken, Great White, Lynch Mob, Montrose, Queensryche, XYZ, and others), Glen Bridger (Head East and Bridger), and a variety of other artists across the United States and Europe. [3] Both the last line of each verse and the choruses feature multi-part vocal harmonies sung by all the members of the band. Dave Namanny is editor of the Mitchell County Press-News, a Lee They would still continue to play around, with guitarist Somerville returning from 1994 to 2003. What I do know is there is no better high than playing on stage "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay," released a month after Otis Redding died, was the first song to hit #1 in America after the artist died.