The Graham Bond Organisation

The Graham Bond Organisation (GBO) were a British jazz/rhythm and blues group of the mid-1960s consisting of Graham Bond (vocals, keyboards, alto-saxophone), Jack Bruce (bass), Ginger Baker (drums), Dick Heckstall-Smith (tenor/soprano saxophone) and John McLaughlin (guitar). They recorded several albums and further recordings were issued when the group's members achieved fame in progressive rock and jazz fusion. On original releases, the spelling of the band's name varied between the British "S" and the American "Z".

History

At the start of the

In 1965, the band appeared as themselves in the film Gonks Go Beat, where they played two songs including "Harmonica".

The band's fourth 45 featured the single-only tracks "Lease on Love" / "My Heart's in Little Pieces" (July 1965). The A-side is noteworthy for its pioneering use of the

The group was plagued with problems because of substance abuse and Baker's ongoing feud with Bruce. Retrospectives of Cream indicate that Bond deputised Baker to fire Bruce, who joined Manfred Mann for a short time until July 1966 when Baker formed Cream with Bruce and Eric Clapton. The group recorded "St. James' Infirmary" without Bruce on 10 January 1966, which was released in the United States on the Ascot label and received indifferently. Another sideman was Mike Falana on trumpet.^[5] He already had a degree of star status by the early 1960s.^[6][7] Falana, sometimes spelt as Mike Felana was with Bond in 1963 and at some stage, replaced Jack Bruce with Bond then playing bass on the pedals.^[8]

Bond reformed the Organisation with Jon Hiseman on drums. As a trio, Bond, Heckstall-Smith and Hiseman recorded the single "You’ve Gotta Have Love Babe" / "I Love You" (both by Graham Bond) on 18 January 1967 for Page One records.^[5] Bond left for the USA, releasing two albums there in 1969 with well-known session players.^[5] Hiseman and Heckstall-Smith would leave to join John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers for Bare Wires (recorded April 1968)^[9] before forming Colosseum in the summer of 1968, with Tony Reeves on bass and Dave Greenslade keyboards.

The Graham Bond Organisation's lack of commercial success, internal struggles and drug problems brought the band to an end in 1967, but its importance was soon recognised with the vogue for blues and

Graham Bond reunited with his former bandmates in the early 1970s, playing with Ginger Baker's Air Force and also spending a short time touring with Jack Bruce's band. He subsequently signed a contract with Vertigo Records and was reportedly off drugs by this time, although he was becoming increasingly obsessed with black magic. Bond died in May 1974, when he was hit by a train at London's Finsbury Park underground station.

As of 2023, John McLaughlin is the last surviving member of the band, following the death of Baker. Baker was the last surviving member of the band who had performed on any release by the band.

Members

• Graham Bond – keyboards, saxophone, vocals (1963–1967)
• Jack Bruce – bass, harmonica, vocals (1963–1965)
• Ginger Baker – drums, percussion (1963–1966)
• John McLaughlin – guitar (1963)
• Dick Heckstall-Smith – saxophone (1963–1967)
• Jon Hiseman – drums, percussion (1966–1967)

Timeline

Discography

• 1965 The Sound of '65
• 1965 There's a Bond Between Us
• 1988 Live at Klooks Kleek (recorded October 1964)^[10] (also issued as The Beginning of Jazz-Rock)

See also

• Steampacket
• Manfred Mann
• Shotgun Express
• Blues Incorporated
• John Mayall
• Colosseum
• Harvey Mandel

External links

• The Graham Bond Organization discography at Discogs

References