Graham Bond

Graham Bond
Bond, c. 1970
Bond, c. 1970
Background information
Birth nameGraham John Clifton Bond
Also known asGrahame Bond
Born(1937-10-28)28 October 1937
Romford, England
Died8 May 1974(1974-05-08) (aged 36)
Finsbury Park station, London, England
GenresRhythm and blues, blues-rock, blues, jazz
Instrument(s)Keyboards, saxophone, vocals
Years active1960s–1974
LabelsDecca
Websitegrahambond.org

Graham John Clifton Bond (28 October 1937 – 8 May 1974) was an English rock/blues musician and vocalist, considered a founding father of the English rhythm and blues boom of the 1960s.

Bond was an innovator, described as "an important, under-appreciated figure of early British R&B",[1] along with Cyril Davies and Alexis Korner. Jack Bruce, John McLaughlin and Ginger Baker first achieved prominence in his group, the Graham Bond Organisation. Bond was voted Britain's New Jazz Star in 1961.[2][3] He was an early user of the Hammond organ/Leslie speaker combination in British rhythm and blues[4] – he "split" the Hammond for portability – and was the first rock artist to record using a Mellotron.[4] As such he was a major influence upon later rock keyboardists: Deep Purple's Jon Lord said "He taught me, hands on, most of what I know about the Hammond organ".[5]

  1. ^ Graham Bond at AllMusic
  2. ^ Unterberger, Richie. "Graham Bond". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  3. ^ Riverside Giants of Jazz, album JET 1A-B, released in the UK by Fontana Records, sleeve note
  4. ^ a b Colin Larkin, Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music, (Muze UK Ltd, 1997), ISBN 0-7535-0149-X, p. 69
  5. ^ "Jon Lord, Interviews". Thehighwaystar.com. 12 February 1968. Retrieved 18 October 2013.