What's so good about the Average White Band?

In high school, playing in stage band under the direction of Jerry Dmytryshyn, I got to play all kinds of great arrangements, spanning a wide range of musical genres - jazz, rock, swing and funk. One of the grooviest tunes I remember playing was Pick up the Pieces...but it wasn't until after I had finished high school that I realized who had originally recorded that tune. And when I did, I had one of those "Oh THAT'S who those guys are...they must be good..." moments.

The Average White Band, after having been together now for more than 40 years, is more than good (and better than average!). They're one of the funkiest, grooviest bands in the history of music.

Founding members Alan Gorrie and Onnie McIntyre, who continue to drive the band today, grew up in Scotland, immersing themselves in the soul, funk and R&B music of the day: tracks released by Atlantic, Motown and Stax records (among others). Over several years in the late 1960's and early 1970's the band experimented with instrumentation and personnel; it was their 1974 album Los Angeles What (now known as The White Album), with instant hit Pick Up the Pieces, which truly established the arrival of a funk and soul megagroup.

Since that 1974 breakout recording, the Average White Band has continued to lay down the grooves which took the music world by storm forty years ago. True, the personnel (and the instrumentation) has changed, but what has remained true is the band's mandate to perform only the funkiest tunes. Here's an example of more recent work:

Work to Do

I'm always impressed by a band that can maintain the quality and feel of its music regardless of the challenges presented by an ever-changing musical landscape. The Average White Band is the real deal, and I'm looking forward to grooving to Alan Gorrie (lead vocals, bass, guitar, keyboards), Onnie McIntyre (guitar, vocals), Klyde Jones (lead vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards), Fred 'Freddy V' Vigdor (saxophones, keyboard, vocals) and Rocky Bryant (drums, percussion). Here's a clip of what we can expect - a live version of the hit single Pick Up the Pieces: