Ram Jam is a rock band from the United States of America. The team was founded in the early 1970s. The team made a certain contribution to the development of American rock. The most recognizable hit of the group until now is the track Black Betty.
Interestingly, the origin of the Black Betty song remains somewhat of a mystery to this day. One thing is certain for sure, that the Ram Jam group adequately covered the musical composition.
For the first time, the legendary song was mentioned at the end of the XNUMXth century. It is said that this composition was in the marching song of British soldiers. The author of the track "borrowed" the name from handguns.
History and composition of the Ram Jam group
The origins of the rock band are Bill Bartlett, Steve Wollmsley (bass guitar) and Bob Nef (organ). Initially, the musicians created music under the creative pseudonym Starstruck.
A little later, Steve Wollmsley was replaced by David Goldflies, and David Beck took over as pianist. The song Black Betty recorded by the musicians initially won the hearts of regional listeners, and then became famous in New York. Actually, then Bartlett decided to rename the band to Ram Jam.
The composition of Black Betty lifted the band to the top of the musical Olympus. Musicians in the literal sense of the word woke up famous. But where there is popularity, there are almost always scandals.
For a long time, the Black Betty track was banned from US radio stations. The fact is that music lovers claimed that the composition allegedly humiliates the rights of black women (a very ironic statement). Especially when you consider the fact that the Ram Jam group simply "covered" a work that is not subject to their authorship.
Albums of the Ram Jam band
In 1977, the band's discography was replenished with the eponymous album Ram Jam. The first album determined the further development of the band. Worked on the debut album:
- Bill Bartlett (lead guitar and vocals);
- Tom Kurtz (rhythm guitar and vocals);
- David Goldflies (bass guitar);
- David Fleeman (drums)
The collection literally "shot". The record took the 40th position in the American music charts, and the already mentioned track Black Betty took the 17th position in the singles chart.
In support of the album of the same name, the musicians went on tour. Jimmy Santoro played at concerts with the American band. Bartlett, after listening to the tracks, decided that they were missing one more musician.
After the release of the Black Betty track, the NAACP had a genuine interest in the group. Because of the song's lyrics, the Congress of Racial Equality called for a protest. Despite this, the song still entered the top 10 strongest songs in the United Kingdom and Australia. A little later, Ted Demme used the song (as a soundtrack) in his movie Cocaine (Blow).
In 1978, the group's discography was replenished with a second studio album. The album Portrait of the Artist as a Young Ram exceeded all expectations of the fans.
This album was highly acclaimed by fans and influential music critics. It made it into the top 100 on Martin Popoff's "Guide to Heavy Metal Volume 1: The Seventies" lists.
In the same period of time, Jimmy Santoro finally joined the team. The second album sounded much harder than the debut work. Thanks to Santoro and the powerful vocals of Skeyvon, who replaced Bartlett, we should thank Santoro for high-quality sound. By this time, the latter had already left the band and was engaged in the development of a solo career.
Breakup of Ram Jam
Fans did not realize that a conflict was growing within the team. The reason for the disagreement was the struggle for leadership. In addition, with the increase in popularity, each of the soloists began to express their opinion on what the Ram Jam band's repertoire should be filled with.
In 1978, it became known that the group broke up. The soloists of the Ram Jam group went on a "free float". Everyone started their own project.
In the early 1990s, the musicians got together. From now on, they perform under the creative pseudonym The Very Best of Ram Jam. A few years later, the musicians replenished the group's discography with the Golden Classics collection.
