Family was an English rock band that formed in 1967 and disbanded in 1973. Their style has been characterised as progressive rock, although their sound often explores other genres, incorporating elements of such styles as folk, psychedelia, acid, jazz fusion and basic rock 'n' roll. The band was never particularly successful in the United States, although Family did achieve recognition in the UK, appearing at several festivals.

The band's rotating membership throughout its relatively short existence led to a diversity in sound throughout their different albums. Family are also often seen as an unjustly forgotten act, relative to some other bands in existence during the same era, and have been described as "odd band loved by a small but rabid group of fans".

History

Early years (1967-1969)

Family formed in 1967 in Leicester, England from the remaining members of a group that was previously known as The Farinas and later The Roaring Sixties, whose sound was grounded in R&B. The Farinas originally consisted of John "Charlie" Whitney, Tim Kirchin, Harry Ovenall and Jim King, forming at Leicester Art College in 1962. Ric Grech replaced Kirchin on bass in 1965 and Roger Chapman joined the following year on vocals. The American record producer Kim Fowley suggested they call themselves "The Family", as they regularly wore double-breasted suits in performances, giving themselves a mafia appearance, a look they soon abandoned in favour a more casual dress code. Family's debut single, "Scene Through The Eye Of A Lens/Gypsy Woman", released by Liberty Records in October 1967, was not a particular success. Around this time, drummer Harry Ovenall was asked to leave the band and was replaced by Rob Townsend.

The band's debut album Music in a Doll's House, released in July 1968, was produced by former Traffic member Dave Mason. Mason also contributed one composition to the album, "Never Like This", the only song recorded by Family not written by a band member. Music in a Doll's House charted at #35 in the UK to critical acclaim with the support of radio broadcaster John Peel around this time. The highly original sound of the album was characterised by Chapman's vocals, rooted in the blues and R&B, combined with several unusual instuments for a rock band, courtesy of the presence of multi-instrumentalists Grech and King, including saxophones, violin, cello and harmonica. Family's 1969 follow-up Family Entertainment toned down the psychedelic experimentation of their previous offering to some extent, reaching #6 on the UK album charts and featured the single "The Weaver's Answer".

With the UK success of Family's first two albums, the band undertook a tour of the United States, although they ultimately never achieved great recognition there due to several problems with the tour. During their first tour of the US in 1969, Ric Grech left the band to join the new supergroup Blind Faith and was replaced by John Weider, previously of Eric Burdon and The Animals. Also, a big handicap to Family's success in the United States came about during their first concert at Bill Graham's Fillmore East, whilst sharing the bill with Ten Years After and The Nice: Chapman, during his stage routine, lost control of his microphone stand which fell in Graham's direction, an incident from which Family's reputation in the US never recovered. However, the band did appear at The Rolling Stones' Hyde Park gig and the Isle of Wight Festival that summer. In late 1969, Jim King was asked to leave Family due to "erratic behaviour" and was replaced by multi-instrumentalist John "Poli" Palmer.

Later years (1970-1973)

In 1970, Family played a few more gigs in the United States, appearing in San Francisco and Boston. In early 1970, Family released their third studio album, A Song for Me, becoming the highest charting album the band released, reaching #4 on the UK album charts. The album itself was a blend of hard rock and folk rock. Family's new lineup played at major rock festivals that summer, including the Kralingen Festival in the Netherlands and the Isle of Wight Festival for the second year in a row. The band appeared in the documentary film Message to Love about the latter festival.

Family's followup album Anyway, released in late 1970, had its first half consist of new material recorded live at Fairfield Hall in Croydon, England, with the second half a set of new songs recorded in the studio, and reached #7 on the UK charts. In March 1971 the compilation album of previously recorded material Old Songs New Songs was released, and during that year Weider left Family to join the band Stud and was replaced by former Mogul Thrash bassist John Wetton. As with Ric Grech in Family's original lineup, Wetton also shared vocal duties with Chapman, and this line-up soon released Family's highest-charting single "In My Own Time/Seasons" which reached #4, and the album Fearless in October 1971, which charted in both the UK and the US. In 1972, another album, Bandstand was released, which leant more towards hard rock than art rock, featuring the single "My Friend the Sun" which was released in early 1973.

In mid-1972, John Wetton left Family to join a new lineup of King Crimson and was replaced by bassist Jim Cregan, and at the end of that year John "Poli" Palmer also left the band and was replaced by keyboardist Tony Ashton, previously of Ashton, Gardner and Dyke. After Wetton's departure but before Palmer's exit, Family toured the United States and Canada, as the support act for Elton John. In 1973 Family released the largely ignored It's Only a Movie, which would be their last studio album, followed by another tour.

Family gave their final concert at Leicester Polytechnic on October 13, 1973. The band never reformed, but instead many of its members went onto different musical projects; Roger Chapman and John "Charlie" Whitney formed the band Streetwalkers, and John Wetton eventually became the lead singer of the band Asia. Ric Grech died of kidney and liver failure in 1990 at the age of 43, as a result of alcoholism. Tony Ashton died in 2001 at the age of 55 of cancer.

Music

Family's sound was distinguished by several factors. The vocals of Roger Chapman, described as a "bleating vibrato" and an "electric goat", were considered unique, although Chapman was trying to emulate the voices of R&B and soul singers Little Richard and Ray Charles, with some reviewers noting however that Chapman's voice could be grating and irritating occasionally. John "Charlie" Whitney was an accomplished guitarist, and Family's often complex song arrangements were made possible through having multi-instrumentalists like Ric Grech and Jim King in the band. The band's sound has been variously described as progressive rock, psychedelic rock, acid rock, folk rock, jazz fusion and hard rock.

Family were particularly known for their live performances; one reviewer describing the band as "as one of the wildest, most innovative groups of the underground rock scene", noting that they produced "some of the rawest, most intense performances on stage in rock history" and "that the Jimi Hendrix Experience were afraid to follow them at festivals".

Georgiy Starostin notes that the band's sound can most closely be compared with Traffic, but that Family were a considerably stronger group. Family was an influence on Jethro Tull, with Ian Anderson noting that the band were particularly underrated.

Personnel

Musicians

• Roger Chapman - vocals, harmonica, tenor saxophone, percussion (1967-1973)
• John "Charlie" Whitney - guitars, sitar, keyboards (1967-1973)
• Jim King - saxophones, harmonica, tin whistle, piano, vocals (1967-1969)
• Ric Grech - bass, violin, cello, vocals (1967-1969)
• Harry Ovenall - drums, percussion (1967)
• Rob Townsend - drums, percussion (1967-1973)
• John Weider - bass, guitar, violin (1969-1971)
• John "Poli" Palmer - keyboards, flute, vibraphone, synthesisers (1969-1972)
• John Wetton - bass, guitar, vocals (1971-1972)
• Jim Cregan - bass, guitars (1972-73)
• Tony Ashton - keyboards, accordion, mellotron, vocals (1973)

Session musicians

• Dave Mason - keyboards, bass, guitar (on Music in a Doll's House)
• Nicky Hopkins - keyboards (on Family Entertainment)

Producers

• John Gilbert - Music in a Doll's House and Family Entertainment (executive producer)
• Dave Mason - Music in a Doll's House
• Jimmy Miller - Music in a Doll's House
• Glyn Johns - Family Entertainment
• George Chkiantz - A Song for Me, Anyway, Fearless, Bandstand, It's Only a Movie

Discography

Main article: Family discography

Studio albums

• Music in a Doll's House (Reprise, 1968)
• Family Entertainment (Reprise, 1969)
• A Song for Me (Reprise, 1970)
• Anyway (Reprise, 1970)
• Fearless (Reprise, 1971)
• Bandstand (Reprise, 1972)
• It's Only a Movie (Raft, 1973)

References