REVIEWS: Album Rewinds
by Mark Leviton
When the British quartet Humble Pie picked their name, it was one way of humorously lowering the expectations of the U.K. music press and public, who, without hearing a note, had already anointed them a “supergroup” with a bright future ahead. In the 1960s, the raspy-voiced singer and songwriter Steve Marriott and guitarist-vocalist Peter Frampton had enjoyed considerable pop success as two of the “ace faces” of the Mod bands Small Faces and the Herd, and bassist Greg Ridley had been with the highly-respected progressive-rock group Spooky Tooth. Only the 17-year-old phenom on drums, Jerry Shirley, was relatively untested beyond his work with the Marriott-approved Apostolic Intervention, who had one single issued in 1967 before splitting.
After failing to convince his bandmates to let Frampton join Small Faces, Marriott formed Humble Pie with him in 1969. As Safe As Yesterday Is and Town And Country, two poor-selling LPs on Andrew Loog Oldham’s Immediate label that explored a number of musical styles, came out that year. But when Immediate went belly-up, Humble Pie dedicated themselves to a more focused hard-rock sound, signing to the American label A&M. Their eponymous debut in 1970 didn’t chart in the U.S., and the follow-up Rock On, produced at London’s Olympic Studios by Glyn Johns, was issued in March 1971 and peaked at #118 on Billboard’s album chart. This was a band with a lot of talent and not much to show for it.
Trade ad for Humble Pie’s single “I Don’t Need No Doctor.” From left: Peter Frampton, Jerry Shirley, Steve Marriott, Greg Ridley (From the band’s Wikipedia page)
Some American audiences did take notice of their developing “heavy” live act as Humble Pie played Detroit, Philadelphia, Grand Rapids, Buffalo, etc., in 1969-70, on bills with the Moody Blues, Mountain, Grand Funk Railroad and the James Gang. But when they opened for the Grateful Dead at the Fillmore West in San Francisco in December 1969, they were clearly out of their element. Critical response could be hostile. The Los Angeles Times’ John Mendelssohn, an admirer of Marriott’s voice and songwriting with Small Faces, panned Humble Pie’s 1969 debut at the Whisky A Go Go, writing, “The group seems very nearly obsessed with living down the talentless-teenybop image it wrongly suspects American audiences have of it…Toward this end it attempts to dazzle the listener with its instrumental proficiency, which it displays in doses of more than 20 minutes. It succeeds only in boring one senseless.”
As Rock On underperformed commercially, the band took drastic action under the guidance of new manager Dee Anthony and heavyweight booking agent Frank Barsalona; they moved to New York City, played as many shows as they could, and bet their careers on a live album, attempting to duplicate what Anthony had done for Joe Cocker when he recorded the Mad Dogs And Englishmen tour the previous year. It worked for Humble Pie too, when the double-LP Performance Rockin’ The Fillmore came out in November 1971 and became their first gold album.
Marriott told New Musical Express, “If we had stayed in England we would have broken up, because all it did was sap our confidence, and all America does is build up our confidence. We’ve realized that we’re a good band, not a flash in the pan supergroup.”
With the support of empresario Bill Graham, Humble Pie appeared at the Fillmore East on March 19-20 and April 5-6, then set up the FEDCO mobile studio, with engineers Eddie Kramer and Dave Palmer on hand, to record all four nearly identical shows on May 28 and 29, when they shared the bill with Fanny and Lee Michaels. (Graham later said he estimated 70 percent of the crowd had come to see Humble Pie, even though they weren’t headlining.) The Rock On standout “Stone Cold Fever” was only played once, at the early show on May 29, but it made the final cut for the new album, along with six other performances of blues songs by Dr. John, Ida Cox, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon and two associated with Ray Charles, “Hallelujah I Love Her So” and “I Don’t Need No Doctor.”
Related: A 1983 interview with Steve Marriott
Remembering the Fillmore East days, Jerry Shirley recalls, “The audiences were great, but they were tough to win over—you certainly had to prove your onions. You had to show them that you knew how to boogie, that you knew how to play very well. And as soon as you did that, they were with you for life.”
A four-minute edit of the Ashford-Simpson-Armstead-penned “I Don’t Need No Doctor,” from the late show on May 28, was issued as a single and made it to #73 in Billboard, but it was FM radio rather than AM that helped make the album a smash. Speaking about the single, released in advance of the album, Marriott told U.K. journalist Richard Green, “It’s the most honest picture we can paint at the moment. It’s not a contrived studio thing, it’s live. If you dig that, you’ll dig the album because that’s the way we are now. We couldn’t stop the audience singing at one point, it was fantastic—several thousand people singing their heads off for one song!”
As detailed in the liner notes to the 2013 Omnivore Recordings boxed set of the complete Fillmore East recordings, the original mixes done by the band were rejected by Anthony because they didn’t include enough of the crowd noise. Eddie Kramer subsequently remixed the multi-tracks, heightening the in-room excitement level to everyone’s satisfaction, and a classic live album was born.
“Four Day Creep,” substantially re-written from Ida Cox’s 1927 recording “’Fore Day Creep,” leads off. A blistering show opener that keeps Marriott in reserve for dramatic effect (“We knew we were going to hear Steve go through the roof with his verse; we were always waiting for that moment,” Frampton later explained), it’s got a lead guitar riff to die for (with Marriott no slouch on second guitar), and lays out the modus operandi for the whole set, i.e., go all-out and have fun doing it. Ridley, Frampton and Marriott can all sing blues-rock with authority, and throughout the album they trade off very effectively.
Marriott whips up the crowd for “I’m Ready” like a country preacher, before Shirley bangs out the ferocious beat and the band enters, with Frampton co-commanding. Again, the group takes a starting point—Muddy Waters’ 1964 recording—and reimagines the music to Willie Dixon’s words. As Frampton described it in the Omnivore box liner notes, “I’ve gone back and listened to the original, and our version is nothing like it. It’s like buying a house for the location, then tearing it down and building it back up from scratch—it looks completely different.” By the four-minute mark, the band is wailing like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and the Who in a Cuisinart, heavy metal meets the blues.
“Stone Cold Fever,” the original credited to all four members, is driven by Marriott’s razor-blades-in-the-throat vocal and his doubling of Frampton’s main riff, a slower cousin to Jimmy Page’s “Communication Breakdown” theme. Midway through, the band vamps while Marriott improvises a soulful break in the style of his hero Solomon Burke, before another massive guitar riff appears, with Shirley and Ridley pumping alongside, solid and no-frills playing.
At over 23 minutes, “I Walk on Gilded Splinters” (from the last of the four shows) takes up an entire side of the original LP set, and represents Humble Pie’s versatility and ability to play with dramatic dynamics in a psychedelic-adjacent mode. Mac Rebennack (professionally known as Dr. John) featured the spell-casting tune on his Atco label debut in 1968, and it almost immediately became a go-to for acts seeking a skeleton for no-holds-barred improvisation or just a spooky, funky showcase. Johnny Jenkins recorded it with Duane Allman, and Cher did a version too, before Humble Pie added it to their set. Marriott shows off his harmonica skills, Frampton assays a variety of tones and moods, and at the 16-minute mark, Shirley and Ridley begin to give things a decidedly Cream-like bent in support. Whether this represents Humble Pie at their most indulgent you’ll have to decide, but the Fillmore crowd is definitely on their side.
The last three tracks are from May 28’s magnificent second set, although they’re presented out of order. The 15-minute “Rollin’ Stone” fills another LP side; in performance it came between the two Ray Charles-inspired numbers. Marriott screams, moans and testifies about being “strung out” and in a fantastical love affair, and the audience yells back encouragement, taking the whole thing a long, long way from Muddy Waters’ original. No stranger to overindulgence in drink and drugs, Marriott brings the whole force of his over-the-top personality to lead the audience in an almost unhinged call-and-response. As Shirley says in the boxed set liner notes, “We would take it from a roaring lion to a quiet mouse, and it had that great raucous ending, which Greg and I loved playing.” Frampton, referencing Jeff Beck, Carlos Santana, B.B. King and other greats, nonetheless manages to sound like himself too.
A ramshackle but entertaining “Hallelujah I Love Her So,” with all three vocalists enjoying the loose atmosphere, is followed by a slamming “I Don’t Need No Doctor” to finish the album on a high point, even after all the previous peaks. “I don’t need no doctor/’Cause I know what’s ailing me/I’ve been too long away from my baby/I’m coming down with a misery” is the blues-based premise. Ray Charles’ 1966 single is reconfigured and pumped-up majestically. Frampton and Marriott trade solos, and the Shirley/Ridley combo has some of their most potent moments. You can practically feel the sweat dripping off the ceiling and see Marriott prowl the stage as he affirms he’s “had a good time” along with the audience, before Humble Pie hand the exhausted patrons over to Lee Michaels, who might have been quaking at the prospect of following such an onslaught.
On July 8, 1971, Humble Pie opened for Grand Funk Railroad at Shea Stadium—a show that sold out faster than the Beatles’ appearance there—but by the time Performance Rockin’ The Fillmore hit record shops, Frampton had quit, replaced by Clem Clempson for the next successful phase of Humble Pie’s career. There were more gold records, and headlining tours, to come.
For the full, sad tale of Humble Pie’s leader, Simon Spence’s All Or Nothing: The Authorized Story of Steve Marriott is a must-read. Marriott died at the age of 44, perishing in a house fire set by his lit cigarette when he passed out in bed. Frampton of course went on to superstardom with his own live album Frampton Comes Alive in 1976, and is still semi-active. Ridley passed away from complications of pneumonia in 2003; Shirley turned 71 in 2023, always willing to recount his days as part of one of the most rockin’ ensembles ever.
Bonus Video: Watch Humble Pie perform “Rollin’ Stone” live in 1971
Related: 10 great Live at the Fillmore albums
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Mark Leviton
Mark Leviton began writing about music and pop culture in 1967, with credits in Rolling Stone, Creem, Fusion, Bay Area Musician, LA Weekly, Phonograph Record and many fly-by-night publications.For 25 years he worked for the Warner Music Group and Rhino Records, producing hundreds of compilation albums and historical reissues, placing recordings in films and TV, and generally having a blast.His weekly radio show "Pet Sounds" is heard on KVMR-FM in Nevada City, CA and the website www.petsoundsmusic.com.
Latest posts by Mark Leviton (see all)
- Humble Pie’s ‘Performance Rockin’ the Fillmore’: What the Doctor Ordered - 03/28/2023
- Graham Parker’s ‘Squeezing Out Sparks’: Simple As a Heartbeat - 03/27/2023
- ZZ Top’s ‘Eliminator’ @40: Hot-Rods, TV Dinners and Sharp-Dressed Men - 03/23/2023
FAQs
Who played on Humble Pie Rockin the Fillmore? ›
Recorded while Peter Frampton was still in the band, Performance: Rockin' the Fillmore captures an early performance by Humble Pie where Steve Marriot's lyricism and ideas where balanced by Frampton's searing lead guitar.
Did Peter Frampton play on Rockin the Fillmore? ›Humble Pie (featuring Steve Marriott and Peter Frampton) recorded four albums and several singles before achieving their U.S. breakthrough with their 1971 the double-live set Performance: Rockin' The Fillmore.
When did Humble Pie play at Fillmore East? ›Performance Rockin' the Fillmore is the 1971 live double-LP/single-CD by the English blues-rock group Humble Pie, recorded at the Fillmore East in New York City on May 28–29, 1971. It reached #21 on the Billboard 200, #32 in Canada, and entered the UK Top 40.
Who was the bass player in Humble Pie? › Who is the chef on Humble Pie TV? ›A cookery series presented by Melanie Sykes and judged by world famous and notoriously demanding chef Marco Pierre White.
How long was Peter Frampton in Humble Pie? ›They recorded the band's first four studio albums: “As Safe as Yesterday Is” (1969), “Town and Country” (1969), “Humble Pie” (1970), “Rock On” (1971) and the live record “Performance Rockin' the Fillmore” (1971). Frampton was part of the band only from 1969 until 1971 when he decided to leave.
Did Humble Pie play at Woodstock? ›In August 1989 they appeared in the line-up at the Woodstock Festival's 20th Anniversary Celebration. By 1990, Scott Allen had replaced Beavan on bass and a little later that year, Cleveland guitarist Alan Greene had joined in place of Stocker.
What tour did Peter Frampton play with David Bowie? ›Frampton ended up playing on Bowie's 1987 album Never Let Me Down, and then joined him on his Glass Spider tour.
Is Frampton in the rock and Roll Hall of Fame? ›Peter Frampton: An incredible guitarist and the musician behind one of the biggest live albums of all time not being in the Rock Hall is unfathomable.
Did Led Zeppelin play at the Fillmore? ›Led Zeppelin once again shook the foundation of the Fillmore East when they made their appearance a few weeks ago. Their explosive performance was reminiscent of their Fillmore debut in January with the exception that they are now recognized as the best blues oriented group around.
Did Led Zeppelin ever play Fillmore West? ›
Britain's hard, hot electronic rock quartet, Led Zeppelin, headlines the Fillmore West show which opened before an unexpected overflow audience last night. Led by veteran guitarist Jimmy Page and featuring the shouting of Robert Plant, Led Zeppelin began their conquest of American rockdom here just three months ago.
Did Janis Joplin ever play Fillmore West? ›Joplin would share the stage with the band a few times in her career but one stands out above the rest, when Janis Joplin joined The Grateful Dead at the Fillmore West on June 7th, 1969.
What is the meaning of eat the humble pie? ›informal. : to admit that one was wrong or accept that one has been defeated. They had to eat humble pie when the rumors they were spreading were proved false.
Where did the term to eat humble pie come from? ›The expression derives from umble pie, a pie filled with chopped or minced offal, especially of deer but often other meats. Umble evolved from numble (after the Middle French nombles), meaning "deer's innards".
What does it mean by humble pie? ›: a figurative serving of humiliation usually in the form of a forced submission, apology, or retraction. often used in the phrase eat humble pie.
Who is the most famous Cajun chef? ›Famed Turducken chef, Paul Prudhomme, led the charge for celebrity chefs by bringing Cajun cooking to the masses. A true pioneer in the realm of chef branding, Prudhomme made an early mark with instructional cooking videos and proprietary spice blends. Countless TV chefs have since mimicked his blueprint for success.
What famous chefs are overweight? ›Yet Deen is hardly an anomaly among chefs, or even celebrity chefs. Many of her peers, including Emeril Lagasse, Ina Garten, Mario Batali and Graham Elliot Bowles are extremely overweight and could be at a higher risk for diabetes.
What chef was jailed for shepherds pie? ›A toxic shepherd's pie sent the chef to jail after one person died and more than 30 people suffered serious food poisoning. John Croucher, the head chef at the Crewe Arms in the Northamptonshire village of Hinton-in-the-Hedges. He served a shepherd's pie at a church harvest supper at a village pub.
What was Humble Pie biggest hit? ›- 'Street Rat' From: 'Street Rats' (1975) ...
- 'Shine On' From: 'Rock On' (1971) ...
- 'Hot 'n' Nasty' From: 'Smokin'' (1972) ...
- 'Live With Me' From: 'Humble Pie' (1970) ...
- 'Thunderbox' From: 'Thunderbox' (1974) ...
- 'Up Our Sleeve' From: 'Eat It' (1973) ...
- 'Natural Born Bugie' Single (1969) ...
- 'I Don't Need No Doctor'
to admit that you were wrong: After boasting that his company could outperform the industry's best, he's been forced to eat humble pie.
What is a synonym for Humble Pie? ›
synonyms for eating humble pie
abject. base. beggarly. bootlicking. craven.
Jethro Tull declined an invitation to play Woodstock in 1969. Singer Ian Anderson explained the decision in a Q&A with SongFacts.com, saying, "The reason I didn't want to play Woodstock is because I asked our manager, Terry Ellis, 'Well, who else is going to be there?'
What was eaten at Woodstock? ›Remembering that Woodstock was an outdoor festival, food should be in keeping with that theme. More than 500,000 hamburgers and hot dogs were consumed on the first day of Woodstock, so those staples should be a natural for any Moose Lodge.
Did Janis Joplin attend Woodstock? ›The album would not be released until September, and as a result, Janis took to the stage at Woodstock with a new sound and some new music the audience had never heard. Janis Joplin's first album after leaving Big Brother, I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!
Who was David Bowie's best guitarist? ›Mick Ronson's work with David Bowie in the early 1970s changed the world of popular music forever.
What was the biggest David Bowie concert? ›The largest crowd for a single show during the tour was 80,000 in Auckland, New Zealand, while the largest crowd for a festival date was 300,000 at the US 83 Festival in California. The tour sold out at every venue it played. Bowie used boxing (of which he was a fan) to get in shape for the tour.
Was David Bowie a good guitar player? ›Bowie was an excellent rhythm guitarist, one of the best in rock music alongside John Lennon. 'Space Oddity','John I'm Only Dancing', 'The Man Who Sold The World', 'Rebel Rebel' ,'Diamond Dogs' are good examples. He was also no slouch on lead as evidenced on the 'Diamond Dogs' album.
Who is the only 3 time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? ›Eric Clapton is a consistent hitmaker and one of the greatest guitarists of all time—perhaps that's why he is the only person to be inducted into the Rock Hall three times.
Who is the #1 on the Rock Hall of Fame? ›1. Chuck Berry (1986)
Who is the number one guitarist in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? ›Jimi Hendrix was the most gifted instrumentalist of all time, a self-taught electric guitarist whose fluid, immersive style was perfectly suited to embrace—and then revolutionize—the late '60s psychedelic rock movement.
What did George Harrison think of Led Zeppelin? ›
Not only did George Harrison love Led Zeppelin, but he also managed to coax their best out of them with a bit of apparently piddling critique. It wasn't, though. It helped to bring Houses of the Holy to life, as 'Rain Song' was one of the first tracks written for it and is arguably its highlight.
Did Led Zeppelin members get along? ›There was an undeniable chemistry between the four members of that band. Each musician supported the other to create powerful and moving music. In fact, John Bonham's first words to Plant were, “You'd be a lot better singer if you had a drummer like me.”
Who was the man who turned down Led Zeppelin? ›Terry Reid. It's no surprise Terry Reid doesn't want to talk about the one subject people never fail to bring up to him. Namely, his 1968 decision to turn down Jimmy Page's offer to front a new band, later to be called Led Zeppelin.
What was the largest Led Zeppelin concert ever? ›Similar crowds were drawn on Led Zeppelin's subsequent U.S. tours, and they continued to break attendance records (on April 30, 1977 they played to 76,229 fans at the Pontiac Silverdome, Michigan, a world record attendance for a solo indoor attraction).
What was the largest Zeppelin concert? ›Led Zep's record breaking concert attendance
But this wasn't all, the band then moved on to Tampa, Florida and played to the largest crowd that had ever gathered to a single concert performance. They broke another Beatles attendance record (55,000 at Shea), drew 57,000 to the event and grossed $309 000.
Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix were two of the most iconic figures at Woodstock in 1969.
Who could play Janis Joplin? ›Here's a perhaps incomplete list of woman that have reportedly been connected to play the lead in a Janis Joplin biopic at one point or another: Amy Adams, Renée Zellweger, pop star Pink, Lili Taylor, Zooey Deschanel, the late Brittany Murphy, actual rocker Melissa Etheridge, Tony winner Nina Arianda, and, perhaps too ...
Who would play Janis Joplin? ›News "Chicago" Star Zellweger Cast as Janis Joplin in New Biopic Renee Zellweger, who received an Academy Award nomination for her work as Roxie Hart in Miramax's "Chicago," will star as Janis Joplin in an upcoming film from Paramount Pictures and Lakeshore.
Who was in Humble Pie in 1971? ›| Period | Members |
|---|---|
| January 1969 – September 1971 | Steve Marriott – vocals, guitar, keyboards Peter Frampton – guitar, keyboards, vocals Greg Ridley – bass, guitar, vocals Jerry Shirley – drums, percussion |
The February 1970 concerts
On February 11, 13, and 14, 1970, the Allman Brothers Band, along with the Grateful Dead and Love, played at Bill Graham's Fillmore East auditorium in New York City.
Which former Humble Pie singer and guitarist came alive in 1976? ›
...
| Peter Frampton | |
|---|---|
| Formerly of | Humble Pie The Herd Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band |
| Website | frampton.com |
He was asked by Steve Marriott to join Humble Pie to replace Peter Frampton, but Walsh declined, choosing instead to form his own band, Barnstorm to support his first solo records.
What was humble pie biggest hit? ›- 'Street Rat' From: 'Street Rats' (1975) ...
- 'Shine On' From: 'Rock On' (1971) ...
- 'Hot 'n' Nasty' From: 'Smokin'' (1972) ...
- 'Live With Me' From: 'Humble Pie' (1970) ...
- 'Thunderbox' From: 'Thunderbox' (1974) ...
- 'Up Our Sleeve' From: 'Eat It' (1973) ...
- 'Natural Born Bugie' Single (1969) ...
- 'I Don't Need No Doctor'
In August 1989 they appeared in the line-up at the Woodstock Festival's 20th Anniversary Celebration. By 1990, Scott Allen had replaced Beavan on bass and a little later that year, Cleveland guitarist Alan Greene had joined in place of Stocker.
Did Led Zeppelin play at the Fillmore East? ›On this day in 1969, Led Zeppelin played the first of two nights at The Fillmore East, New York City during the band's first North American tour. Porter's Popular Preachers opened the night, then Led Zeppelin took the stage.
Did the Allman Brothers play the original Woodstock? ›Some fine acts performed at Woodstock '94. Once such performance was by the Allman Brothers Band. As opposed to the original Woodstock event, Woodstock '94 (even though promoted as "Two More Days of Peace & Music") was less about peace and love.
What does it mean by Humble Pie? ›: a figurative serving of humiliation usually in the form of a forced submission, apology, or retraction. often used in the phrase eat humble pie.
How old was Jerry Shirley when he joined Humble Pie? ›He was later recruited by Steve Marriott to join the then newly formed rock band Humble Pie when he was seventeen years old.
What is the story of Humble Pie? ›Humble Pie, is about a young boy named Theo who is described as: greedy, inconsiderate, obnoxious, thoughtless and unkind. Whenever Theo wants something, he gets it and because of that, he developed a very arrogant attitude at a young age.
Who was the best guitarist in the Eagles? ›Donald William Felder (born September 21, 1947) is an American musician who was the lead guitarist of the rock band Eagles from 1974 until his termination from the band in 2001. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 with the Eagles.
Does Joe Walsh have Asperger's syndrome? ›
Joe Walsh, best known for his work with the rock band The Eagles, has revealed he has Asperger's syndrome. Walsh has spoken about his childhood and the difficulties he faced as a young lad. He believed that he was difficult and felt “stupid and alone” amongst other children.
Does Joe Walsh have ADHD? ›He struggled with attention-deficit disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and Asperger's syndrome.