Ram Jam

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the English soul group, see Geno Washington & the Ram Jam Band.

Ram Jam
OriginNew York City, U.S.
Genres
Years active1977–1978
LabelsEpic, Rock Candy
Past members
  • Bill Bartlett
  • Howard Arthur Blauvelt
  • Pete Charles
  • Jimmy Santoro
  • Nick “Nick” Turani
  • Myke Scavone

Ram Jam was a short-lived American rock band formed in New York City and active in 1977 and 1978, mainly known for their hit single "Black Betty".

Overview

The band consisted of Bill Bartlett (guitar and lead vocals), Howie Arthur Blauvelt (bass), Pete Charles (drums), and

bubblegum group the Lemon Pipers, while Blauvelt played with Billy Joel in several bands: the Echoes (also renamed the Lost Souls and then the Commandos), the Hassles and El Primo.[3]
The band was originally known as 'Creekside Killshack'.

History

Early days

Bill Bartlett went on from the

Huddie Ledbetter, the NAACP and Congress of Racial Equality called for a boycott due to the lyrics.[3][4][5]

The boycott failed, however, and "Black Betty" reached number 18 on the singles

UK Singles Chart and Australia, and number 46 in Canada, while the Ram Jam album reached the U.S. top 40. It was also a hit in the Netherlands, reaching number 4. In Canada, the album reached number 33.[6]

Later

Their subsequent album Portrait of the Artist as a Young Ram achieved little success, despite the addition of Long Island, New York, lead guitarist Jimmy Santoro.[citation needed] The Portrait album was re-issued on Rock Candy Records from England in 2006. It is listed in the Top 100 lists in Martin Popoff’s book The Collector’s Guide to Heavy Metal Volume 1: The Seventies.

Post-hits

In the 1990s, both studio releases by Ram Jam were packaged together as a German import record entitled The Very Best of Ram Jam.[7][8] However, the cover of the album features the same artwork as their self-titled debut, and The Very Best of Ram Jam album starts with the ten titles from Ram Jam. This is followed by all ten titles from Portrait of the Artist as a Young Ram. The titles from Portrait of the Artist as a Young Ram are slightly re-ordered. The first two songs ("Gone Wild", "Pretty Poison") are moved to the end on The Very Best of Ram Jam.[7][8]

In 1991, producers Kasenetz and Katz released a

hip-house
single called "We Rock the Mansion" as Ram Jam, which failed to chart. In 1994, they released an album called Ram Jam in France with a group of session musicians fronted by vocalist Don Chaffin, which failed to chart as well. Two singles were released from the album, "Ram Jam, Thank You Mam" (under which title the album was reissued in Germany in 1995) and "Black Betty '95", a cover of the 1990 "Rough 'n Ready" remix of the original Ram Jam song, both of which didn't chart. A 12" single of "Ram Jam, Thank You Mam" was also released in 1994, featuring a 7-minute rearrangement of the song.

A

UK Singles Chart in 1990.[9] Cover versions of the song also appear on the 2002 album Mr. Jones by Tom Jones and on the 2004 album Tonight Alright by Australian rock band Spiderbait
.

Bill Bartlett still plays guitar, but in the early 1990s transformed himself into a

the Doughboys. It was featured at the 40th Reunion of John Zacherle's Disc-O-Teen in 2004, which coincided with Zacherle's 84th birthday. The album, entitled Is It Now, included liner notes by John Hawkins, the original keyboard and piano player for the Nashville Teens
.

Howie Blauvelt died in 1993 at age 44, and Pete Charles (full name Peter Charles Picardio) died in 2002 at age 49 from unknown causes.[10] Scavone continues to write and record original music with the Doughboys. In 2015, Scavone was recruited to play harmonica, percussion and backing vocals with his longtime heroes, the Yardbirds.[11]

Band members

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

Year Album Chart positions Label
US 200
[12] 		AUS
[13] 		CAN
[6]
1977 Ram Jam 34 16 33 Epic
1978 Portrait of the Artist as a Young Ram — — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Compilation albums

Singles

Year Title Peak chart positions
Certifications
US Pop
[12] 		AUS
[13][14]
UK
[15]
1977 "Black Betty" 18 3 7
"Keep Your Hands on the Wheel" ― ― ―
1978 "Pretty Poison" ― ― ―
"Hurricane Ride" ― ― ―
1990 "Black Betty" (Ben Liebrand remix) ― 17 13
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

See also

References

  1. ISBN 978-1846090912
    .
  2. ^ Hamilton, Andrew. "Ram Jam | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  3. ^
    ISBN 0-85112-656-1
    .
  4. ^ "UNH's 'Black Betty'bam-ba-lams its last". Archived from the original on November 30, 2014. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
  5. ^ Crouse, Richard (2000). Big Bang, Baby: Rock Trivia. Dundurn. p. 187.
  6. ^ a b "RPM Top 100 Albums - November 19, 1977" (PDF).
  7. ^ a b "Rasputin Music & DVDs-Music: Ram Jam (Portrait of the Artist as a Young Ram)". Rasputin Music (online catalogue). Retrieved December 17, 2019.[dead link]
  8. ^ a b "Rasputin Music & DVDs-Music: Ram Jam (The Very Best of Ram Jam)". (online catalogue). Retrieved February 27, 2009.
  9. ISBN 1-904994-10-5
    .
  10. ^ "The Dead Rock Stars Club". Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  11. ^ "Yardbirds.US: Home". Yardbirds.us. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  12. ^ a b "Ram Jam - Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on May 8, 2016. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
  13. ^
    ISBN 0-646-11917-6
    .
  14. ^ "Discography Ram Jam". australian-charts.com. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  15. ^ "Ram Jam | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
  16. ^ "Ram Jam - Black Betty". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved September 9, 2022.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ram_Jam&oldid=1221144493"