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Gregg Rolie
Gregg Rolie at his Induction into The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
For those of you who don't know who Gregg Rolie is, let me fill you in a bit. Gregg is an original, founding member of the seminal supergroup, Santana, with whom he was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. He was the lead singer and keyboard player and one of the principal members contributing in the areas of songwriting, arranging and producing. His voice is the voice that you hear when you listen to such classic songs as "Black Magic Woman", "Evil Ways", "Oye Como Va", "Everybody's Everything" and many others. Many people mistakenly believe that it was Carlos Santana that sang those songs and that he was the sole driving force behind that band but that could not be further from the truth. While nobody denies that Carlos had a lot to do with the band's success, people should realize that, in fact, it was a group effort and that without everyone else's input, especially Gregg's, there would be no Santana as we know it today. In fact, Gregg continues to be involved with the original Santana band, dealing with various band business involving the classic material that they all helped to create. After leaving Santana, Gregg went on to become an original founding member of yet another supergroup, Journey. Not coincidentally, the hits seemed to dry up a bit for Santana and, until the recent release of 'Supernatural' which relied heavily on the contributions of other star performers, most of the Santana music that you heard on the radio was from the original band with Gregg singing lead. Journey, with Gregg singing lead vocals (and later sharing those duties with Steve Perry) and playing keyboards, became one of the biggest selling acts in the world starting in the mid-70's and continuing on into the '80's. After making 8 albums with Journey and touring extensively, Gregg decided he'd had enough for awhile and took some time off to be with his family. He hand picked his replacement in the band and they continued their ascent to the top of the charts into the mid-80's. After a couple of years off, Gregg decided to release a couple of solo albums and then, in 1990, formed a band with his former Journey band mates, Ross Valory and Steve Smith, called The Storm. I first met Gregg Rolie in 1992 when, after Steve Smith left the band, I auditioned for The Storm. He and I immediately hit it off. I didn't know very much about him personally but it turned out that, as we got to know each other while working together in The Storm, we found that we had a lot more in common than just music. We both shared some of the same ideas when it came to how we conduct ourselves in life, we're both very family oriented and we enjoy some of the same recreational activities. Along the way I came to know Gregg, not only as the talented musician that he is, but as a class act and one of the finest people I've ever had the pleasure to know. Over the last several years, since The Storm hasn't really been active in any kind of meaningful way, we have stayed in touch and talked about doing another musical project together at some point. After I put my studio together and told Gregg what we would be able to accomplish in it, we finally did that project in the form of Gregg's new solo album, "Roots". Working together on this project has been an absolute blast! The atmosphere has been one of no real pressure and a lot of fun. Our working relationship and our friendship have grown stronger through the making of this record and I'm proud to say that I think it's one of the best records I've ever been involved with. I hope everyone enjoys listening to it as much as we enjoyed making it! The Gregg Rolie Band is now touring around the world playing various shows including festivals, fairs, private corporate events and more. Beside me and Gregg, the band includes such luminaries as Alphonso Johnson on Bass, Michael Carabello on Congas, Wally Minko on Keyboards, Kurt Griffey on Guitar and Adrian Areas on Timbales. Here's a link to Gregg's Official Website for both himself and the band: www.greggrolie.com. Gregg Rolie Band - YouTube Videos
Click here to take you to a page with the track listing and credits for the CD. Click here to take you to a page with audio samples of some of the songs from the CD. Click here to read a review from the May 4, 2002 Gregg Rolie Band Show! Click here, or on the album cover to take you to Tower Records Online where you can buy the CD!
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