David Peel (musician)
David Peel | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | David Michael Rosario |
Born | Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | August 3, 1942
Died | April 6, 2017 Manhattan, New York, U.S. | (aged 74)
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Guitar |
Years active | 1967–2017 |
Labels |
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David Peel (born David Michael Rosario; August 3, 1942 – April 6, 2017) was a
Biography
Peel was born in Manhattan to Puerto Rican parents, Angel Perez, who worked in a restaurant, and Esther Rosario, a homemaker. He was raised in Brooklyn and served two years in the United States Army, and was stationed in Alaska.[1]
Peel took his stage name from a 1967 hoax that claimed that banana peels were psychoactive.[1]
In 1968, Peel was contracted by Elektra Records when he was first discovered and recorded two "envelope pushers" for the label. His album Have a Marijuana peaked at No. 186 on the Billboard chart.[2]
Peel was rediscovered by John Lennon in 1971 as the early seventies continued its swing towards the youth revolution. Lennon befriended Peel when David was playing with his ragtag hippie band in New York's Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. Lennon produced The Pope Smokes Dope for Peel.[3] This album was banned in many countries and since has been sought after by collectors worldwide.
Peel appeared with John Lennon at the
In 1976 the independent labels Orange Records and Auravox Records released An Evening With David Peel. The LP was hailed as being a breakthrough recording by capturing the tumultuous mid-1970s American underground movement as well as the bubbling under of live recordings that have become a mainstay of the recording arts. The mix was finalized by Ron St. Germain (of Band 311 fame) at Ultrasonic recording studios in Hempstead, New York.
Peel has been associated with the "transgressive, shock" performer
In the early-to-mid 1990's, Peel was a mainstay on The Howard Stern Show, singing at his yearly live birthday shows, and he wrote "the official" song when Stern attempted to run for governor, the song titled (and the chorus stating) "Howard Stern for Governor," repeated three times and finishing with, "For Governor of New York." After Stern dropped out because of financial disclosure laws, Peel changed the "Stern" to "Pataki" for George Pataki since Stern was supporting him.
In 1995, the vinyl LP tracks from An Evening With David Peel were combined with two new multi-tracked studio recordings: "Junk Rock" and "I Hate You" (recorded at Right Track Studios, NYC) for a CD release Up Against The Wall. In the additional studio recordings on the CD, Muruga Booker (of Genesis fame) played his "electric talking drum" on the comeback hit "Junk Rock".
Still in 1995,
In 2011, Peel signed with Global Recording Artists. The David Peel Anthology, a career retrospective compiled by Peel with his favorite tracks from his entire career, was released in 2012. In 2011 through 2013, Peel was involved in the Occupy Wall Street protests at Zuccotti Park, in Union Square, and in other New-York-area locations.[7] In addition to performing, Peel documented the protests via hundreds of photographs, some of which he released online. In 2013, David Peel and the Protesters released Up Against the Wall Street, an album of themed protest songs. In 2015, Peel was back to his fight for the legalization of marijuana, releasing his latest album as David Peel and the Lower East Side titled Give Hemp a Chance.
He also made film music for the avant-garde director Rosa von Praunheim.
On March 31, 2017 Peel was escorted to the
Discography
- Have a Marijuana (1968)
- The American Revolution (1970)
- The Pope Smokes Dope (1972)
- Santa Claus Rooftop Junkie (1974)
- An Evening with David Peel (1976)
- Bring Back the Beatles (1977)
- King of Punk (1978)
- "Junk Rock" (1979)
- Death to Disco (1980)
- John Lennon for President (1980)
- Animal In Love (1982)[9]
- 1984 (1984)
- Search to Destroy (1986)
- John Lennon Forever (1987)
- World War III (1987)
- Anarchy in New York City (1993)
- Battle for New York (1994)
- War and Anarchy (1994)
- Noiseville (1995)
- Up Against the Wall (1995)
- Legalize Marijuana (2002)
- Long Live the Grateful Dead (2002)
- Rock 'n' Roll Outlaw (2002)
- Jirokichi Live at Koenji (2004)
- Marijuana Christmas (2008)
- Anthology (2012)
- Up Against the Wall Street (2013)
- Give Hemp A Chance (2015)
Film
Peel has appeared as himself in various films, including Please Stand By (1972),
In Jack Milton's film Please Stand By, Peel portrays and stars as a media hippie revolutionary, who hijacks a network television van and jams the airwaves with unauthorized radical broadcasts to the nation.
See also
References
- ^ a b c Grimes, William (April 9, 2017). "David Peel, Downtown Singer and Marijuana Evangelist, Dies at 74". The New York Times. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
- ^ Kris Needs (March 22, 2016). "The tale of David Peel, the dope-smoking hippy who became the King of Punk". TeamRock.com. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
- ISBN 9780275991807. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
- ^ "Ten for Two: The John Sinclair Freedom Rally". The Internet Movie Database. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
- ISBN 9781409283010.
- ^ "Jabbers". Archived from the original on October 9, 2021.
- ^ Kilgannon, Corey (April 27, 2012). "No Less Irreverent at Age 68". The New York Times. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
- ^ Marinucci, Steve (April 6, 2017). "Anti-Establishment Icon David Peel Dies at 73". Billboard. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
- ^ "David Peel & The Muruga Experience - Animal In Love". Discogs.com. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
External links
- Official website
- David Peel at AllMusic
- David Peel discography at Discogs
- David Peel at IMDb