10at10 Club

Main Discussion Area => In Memoriam, Happy Birthday => Topic started by: Wayback on July 11, 2011, 08:08:12 PM

Title: RIP Rob Grill, Grass Roots lead singer, 67
Post by: Wayback on July 11, 2011, 08:08:12 PM

Rob Grill, lead singer and bass player of the '60s/70s rock group the Grass Roots died Monday due to complications following a serious head injury from a fall last month.  He was 67.  You'll recall The Grass Roots great pop hits of the late '60s/early 70s: Let's Live For Today, Midnight Confessions, Temptation Eyes, Sooner Or Later, Wait A Million Years, Heaven Knows, Bella Linda, The River Is Wide, Two Divided By Love.   I spoke with him about 8 years ago after their set at Concord Pavilion on a bill with The Turtles, Buckinghams, Chad & Jeremy, Herman's Hermits and Tommy James & the Shondells. Got to meet 'em all.  NY Times obit:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/13/arts/music/rob-grill-lead-singer-of-the-grass-roots-dies-at-67.html

Scroll in here for more info and videos:
http://www.martyangelo.com/thegrassroots.htm

Title: Re: RIP Rob Grill, Grass Roots lead singer, 67
Post by: Gazoo on July 14, 2011, 10:09:05 AM

Wow, that sucks.  One of my favorite pop acts.

Title: Re: RIP Rob Grill, Grass Roots lead singer, 67
Post by: ggould on July 14, 2011, 01:18:25 PM

Here's some live tape from when they played the Fillmore West in '67

http://tinyurl.com/6e4yzux

My memory says that when they played, since most of the musicians at the time were hired hands, they used music stands.  I think the original record was just studio guys, then they had to put a band together.

Title: Re: RIP Rob Grill, Grass Roots lead singer, 67
Post by: Wayback on July 14, 2011, 02:11:14 PM

Quote from: ggould on July 14, 2011, 01:18:25 PM

Here's some live tape from when they played the Fillmore West in '67
http://tinyurl.com/6e4yzux
My memory says that when they played, since most of the musicians at the time were hired hands, they used music stands.  I think the original record was just studio guys, then they had to put a band together.

You are correct.  That audio reflects their folk rock/garage band sound before it shifted in '68 to the slicker production with horns added.  
A fact I did not know: "From 1967 to 1972, The Grass Roots set a record for being on the Billboard charts for 307 straight weeks. They are one of only nine bands that have charted twenty nine or more Top 100 Billboard singles."  And we'll have to fact-check this: "They hold the all time attendance record for a one act, the US concert of 600,000 people on July 4th, 1982 in Washington, DC."  
More info: http://the-grassroots.com/html/biography.html