Organ fans, I give you The Peddlers

[Brettymike]

Misty Magic from Roy Peddler on a Kurz. 2500 > http://youtu.be/PVN_abuaRJo

Awesome.

 

Brett

[Paul Harrison]

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and many artists have sampled riffs from The Peddlers recordings, notably the groove from their version of "On A Clear Day" (also famously used on "Breaking Bad", as noted above). Here's another example.

 

[video:youtube]

 

[video:youtube]

 

 

[yannis D]

Thank you very much for sharing this with us. I did not know them, but just saw the small 21' mins film, and i enjoyed a lot. Apparently Phillips is a hell of a vocalist and a good pianist too... I just downloaded some of their music on my Spotify.

Thanx again

[Krakit]

Far out. Sometimes you dig a band right away. I dig these guys. The drummer is so much like someone I know that I just sent one of these clips to my friend in the same band as he. I didn't say anything like "does this guy remind you of your drummer?" I just asked him to see it and I'm waiting to see if he writes back with a "holy $#!7"

 

Carl

 

EDIT:

 

 

...and I just heard back from my buddy and he hears (and sees it too). Like they were cast from the exact same mold.

[Paul Harrison]

... I'd love to know what those pistons fitted to his A-100 did...don't usually see switches mounted into the front rail but occasionally someone manages to stuff them in there...whoever did that to Roy's A-100 did a nice job, if you ask me....

 

On edit ... I see in another clip at least one of them is his Leslie switch.

 

Yes, in this video, you can see him press one of the buttons and hear the Leslie speed change at 1:02 and 1:53:

[Paul Harrison]

... Roy Phillips is great organist, who actually started out on guitar for Joe Meek's sessions. Anyway, here are a couple of vids, the first

is interesting in that Roy's playing a Lowrey Berkshire, as used by Pete Townsend, and I think the wah effect is built in to that model. Second

is on a Hammond (model?) but also hot as hell (love the drummer's stick-twirling).

 

Very cool. Thanks. The first clip is lip synced so the organ was probably just a prop. Sure sounds like a Hammond/Leslie through a wah wah. Some pretty interesting rhythmic fills in the second clip....

 

When I asked Roy himself, he confirmed that the first organ he owned was a Lowrey Heritage, which he used on The Peddlers' early recordings, but in 1967, Manfred Mann switched him on to the Hammond organ, and from the album "Freewheelers" (1967) onwards, he used a Hammond A100, which he had extensively customized including a wah pedal. For the live performance in the first video (1971)

, he played a Lowrey Berkshire that was provided by the TV studio, but in the studio version on the album "Three For All" (1970)

, he played the Hammond (you can hear the Hammond's percussion and chorus vibrato in his solo at 1:39-1:54).

[Floyd Tatum]

I was knocked out when I heard On A Clear Day in Breaking Bad. I really liked the arrangement, the concept, the sound, the organ solo, the singing. I figured it was some recent acid jazz group, I had no idea the organ player was also the singer - I thought the singer was probably black, he had that tone. Now that I know it's the Peddlers, and have listened to some of their other stuff, I don't get the same impression about his singing, although I do like it. I thought I knew about most jazz, rock, blues or r&b musicians by now, it's refreshing to find out about someone totally "new".

 

Brettymike, I've never seen or heard them on any media here in Canada until now. I think they got more airplay in England, and I guess Australia and New Zealand too (Roy lives in NZ for quite a long time, as you probably know.) I read on his web page that he spent some time in clubs in the US in the late 60's (?), but not sure they ever had a hit record in the US, or any TV or radio exposure there.