Cozie powell

Cozy Powell was born in the small town of Cirencester in Gloucestershire .

He began to play drums in a school orchestra. His first group was Corals, which performed weekly at a youth club. Already at the age of 15, he demonstrated a fantastic drumming and could play impressive drum solos. The nickname "Cozy" was given to him because of the famous jazz drummer Cozy Cole .

Then Cozy Powell took part in the semi-professional vocal group The Sorcerers . However, night vigils and moving began to influence his education, and Cozy Powell set to office work to earn his first Premier drum kit .

The Sorcerers performed on the stages of German clubs in the 60s, and in 1968 returned to Britain, settling in Birmingham . Cozy Powell made friends with such musicians as Robert Plant and John Bonham , future Slade vocalist Noddy Holder , bassist Dave Pegg and young guitarist Tony Iommi . The Sorcerers were now called Youngblood and released several singles in 1968-69. The band then contacted Ace Kefford, bassist and vocalist, and they formed the Ace Kefford Band with him. Powell also began in-session work, and then with the members of The Sorcerers, Dave and Dennis Ball, they created Big Bertha ( Big Bertha ).

In 1970 , Cozy Powell played with Tony Joe White at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970. Since April 1970, he has been working with the prestigious band of the time, The Jeff Beck Group ; after recording two albums, Rough and Ready (October 1971 ) and Jeff Beck Group (July 1972 ), the group split up.

At the end of 1972 , Cozy Powell again began working with the Ball brothers and, in collaboration with singer Frank Aiello, created the band Bedlam . One self-titled album was released at Chrysalis Records (CHR1048) in August 1973 .

Powell also did extra work. Jeff Beck 's studio producer was Mickey Bridge, and soon Powell worked with many artists performing under the Bridge label RAK, such as Julie Felix , Hot Chocolate , Donovan and Susie Quattro .

During this period, Bridge convinced Powell to record a solo single. The song “Dance With the Devil” (which was based on “3rd Stone from the Sun” by Jimi Hendrix ), to the musician’s considerable surprise, became a hit and reached number 3 in the English singles chart ^[5] ; the track prompted many teens to sit down at the drums.

In the wake of success, Cozy Powell created Cozy Powell's Hammer in April 1974 , which included Don Airy , Bernie Marsden and others. However, after recording a couple of similar pop songs that also made it into the Top 20, Powell felt very disappointed and ashamed of the chosen direction and refused to participate in a joint tour with Suzy Quattro. ^[6]

Powell also had another hobby in life - high - speed cars and motorcycles and for several months he raced for Hitachi .

Meanwhile, in August 1975 , Blackmore fired Gary Driscoll from Rainbow and sought a replacement for him. Blackmore wanted to find not just a technically competent musician, but a real master. Of the thirteen candidates heard, not a single guitarist was satisfied. Already almost desperate to find a worthy candidate, Ritchie Blackmore remembered Cozy Powell, whom he saw in 1972 at his last concert as part of the Jeff Beck Group. Powell was contacted and invited to audition. Immediately after listening, he was accepted.

Powell became a recognized leader when he was featured on the BBC Record Breakers children's show, where he set a world record as the fastest live drummer on television.

On August 16, 1980 , Rainbow first appeared as a headliner at the Monsters of Rock festival in Castle Donington. In the wake of successful events (which in turn resulted from the success of Rainbow Down to Earth , released in 1979, from which the singles Since you were gone and All night long were taken), Cozy Powell, along with Graham Bonnet, left the band to create Graham Bonnet & the Hooligans , whose most notable single was Night Games (1981).

In late 1980, when Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham died, Powell was seen as a possible replacement in the band, but Cozy himself refused: " John Bonham ’s place cannot belong to anyone but himself." Accepting such a flattering offer would mean for Cozy to betray the memory of a friend and mentor.

Then Powell performed with a number of groups: Michael Schenker Group from 1981 to 1982, Whitesnake from 1982 to 1985, then in 1986 he joined the band ELP , with which he recorded the album Emerson, Lake and Powell . It is noteworthy that Keith Emerson and Greg Lake originally planned to just record a studio album, and nothing more. Having tried several drummers, including the notorious session - maker Simon Philips , they opted for Cozy Powell. The work went so well that it was decided to form a trio and go on tour. Despite the fact that the style of music was less familiar to Cozi, the drummer demonstrated a phenomenal game, thereby showing his true skill and ability.

One of his most famous projects was his participation in the Black Sabbath group from 1988 to 1991 and again in 1995 - 1996 .

In late 1992 and early 1993, Powell performed with a tour group using the old name Cozy Powell's Hammer . It included Cozy himself on drums, Neil Murray on bass, Mario Parga on guitar and Tony Martin - vocals and occasionally rhythm guitar and synthesizers. The group performed in Europe and was presented on German television.

Powell, along with Neil Murray, were also members of the band Brian May , Queen's guitarist. They can be heard on Back to the Light and Another World albums. Cozy Powell also played with Brian May, opening the 1993 Use Your Illusion tour for Guns N'Roses .

According to DDD ^[7], Cozy Powell takes 27th place in the list of the greatest rock drummers, 72nd in the list of the most skilled drummers (regardless of style), his drum part in the song Rainbow Stargazer (album Rising ) takes 60th place in the list of the best drum parts, and the album Rising takes 51 place in the list of albums with the best drum parts.

Cozy Powell died on April 5, 1998 in a car accident on the M4 highway, near Bristol , driving his Saab 9000 in bad weather while talking to his girlfriend on a cell phone . Blood alcohol level was above the allowed norm. According to an eyewitness to the accident, policeman Ian Carter, “The black SAAB 9000 Turbo lost control and crashed into a dividing fence, then flew into the oncoming lane and rolled over several times and stood on the roof on the side of the road” . During the investigation, it turned out that Powell’s car was malfunctioning (they talked about a problem with the gearbox ), a wheel burst during this trip and, making an attempt to get the car off the track, the driver was distracted by a cell phone call that cost him his life. After the accident, Cozy Powell was taken to the Frenchay Bristol hospital, where he died four hours later without regaining consciousness.

Powell was then living in Lambourne in Berkshire and was returning to the studio to record with Peter Green, one of the creators of Fleetwood Mac . By then, he had been involved in recording at least 66 albums and had participated in a large number of other recordings. His solo album, originally planned as Twin Oak, was released posthumously. The record was finalized and compiled by Powell's colleagues and was called Especially For You .

The farewell ceremony with the musician was held at the crematorium of Wiltshire on April 18, 1998. The priest sang psalms, and he was sung by Frank Aiello, Cozy's bedlam colleague. The service ended with the performance of the song The Beatles - Let It Be .

The investigation of the death of Cozy Powell began. In August 1998, Bristol judge Paul Forrest closed the case, recognizing the accident and its sad consequences as an accident .

Highlighted solo work

Equipment in Cozy Powell's career in particular included:

1977-78 (with Rainbow): Ludwig drum set in red sparks: two 26 "bass drums with Premier 250 pedals, two 14" mounted drums, two 16 "floor drums, 14" x6 "metal symphonic snare drums. Cymbals ( all Paiste ): 24 "ride (formula 602), 18" tea, 18 "crash ride, 20" ride, 18 "crash, two 16" crash, 6 "splash and 15" hi-hat. Ludwig sticks 35.

Since about 1983 (with Whitesnake): Yamaha trimmed with natural wood: two 26 "bass drums, two 15" outboard drums, 18 "and 20" floor drums, 14 "x6" metal snare drum. Cymbals Paiste 2002 series: 24 "ride, 18" tea, 20 "crash ride, 20" crash, 18 "crash, 6" splash and 15 "hi-hat.

1989 (with Black Sabbath): Silver-black Yamaha 9000 series: two 26 "bass drums, 6" x16 ", 8" x18 ", 13" x9 ", and 14" x10 "mounted drums, 18" and 20 "floor drums. 14 "x6" metal snare drum. Paiste 3000 series 24 ": ride, 18" tea, 20 "crash ride, 20" crash, 18 "crash, 6" splash, 15 "hi-hat and 36-inch gong .