Robbie Hoddinott is the unsung hero of this band. His stinging leads and virtuoso licks are not to be missed in his glory days. He met a most tragic ignominious demise. I’m just glad I got to see a couple Kingfish shows before it dissolved.
Likewise JackStraw -- saw Kingfish a couple of times at the Keystone Berkeley in the 70's. I was amazed by Robbie's playing -- a combination of Dickie Betts & Jerry with great tele attack. R.I.P. 🎸
This is a rare gem…..Heard Big Iron on Deep Tracks Sirius and was blown away…..young band great set …Robbie Hoddinott greatest guitar I never heard before….good to have that chill down your spine one last time at 69….Kickin Kingfish
ALSO BOBBY AND THE MIDNITES WITH THE GREAT DRUMMER AND THE GUITAR WHO AT THE TIME I CAN'T REMEMBER THE NAMES GUITFISH WAS ANOTHER BOB AND DRUMS WERE A BLACK GUY WHO DRUMMED IN TOTO I THINK SORRY JUST A BIT OF DRINKIN ON XMAS 2021 .... AND AT MY AGE I ALWAYS FORGET NAMES BUT I CAN HEAR IT IN MY HEAD ALSO LOVE THE NRPS ALSO
that is terrible news. Saw Kingfish at Sounds of the City in Winterland for $2.50....They also played an ice skating rink in Modesto Cal, and opened a Day on the Green....loved this band.
Such a loss. Apparently, he had fallen deep into drug and alcohol addiction at one point many years ago, and began experiencing an endless stream of health problems. I saw that he'd started a FB page about two years ago at the urging but never got around to friend requesting him. As someone who never knew or met him, but was always a fan of the work he did on the first KF album, I SO regret it now. Anyway, going by the status updates he managed to post up til his death last year, it would appear that he was more determined than ever to bounce back from all those health issues, and was itching to get out and play more.
Dan McNamara Yes he was the backbone of the original NRPS, vocals, writing, and a very good bass player! I love him it is so sad that I believe he died of leukemia?
God bless Robbie Hoddinots soul and I hope he rests in peace ! I saw Kingfish with Bill Kreutzman on drums in the early 80's in a smal club and HOLYFUCK what a show !!!! The whole band was SERIOUSLY TIGHT !!!! And,Bily did THE MOST AMAZING JAZZZY DRUM SOLO !!!!!!! Thank GOD I have been a "mmewber" of THE "Grateful Dead faction" since I was a "pre-teeen" " (1974)
It was a "blew me away" night virtually every night you stepped into Winterland,...,because Bill Graham was a genius. Seriously a visionary promoting live music. Winterland has an iconic deep history, hence this concert. I was there. These were some very special times in San Francisco! BTW, it was really cool when Matthew Kelley would come out and blow some harp with the Dead.
@@TheRoafer I grew up in New England. In 1969-70 Bill Graham promoted some great summer time shows at Tanglewood in Western Mass. Full sets can be found on RU-vid, Santana, John Sebastian, It's a Beautiful Day, Early Chicago, more.
@@TheRoafer I did a favor for Bill in the early seventies, and he put me on the permanent Winterland guest list. I'm paying for it now with my hearing, but man, the music I saw. By the way, I saw the 23 of the first 25 gigs of Kingfish, and loved every single one.
The way Robbie plays the first song reminds me of tennessee jed + sugar magnolia. It's unfortunate that kingfish broke up due to their ties with the dead
Thanks for posting this! I loved the '76 debut album. Matthew Kelly's voice is very similar to Bobby's and I always thought that Bobby sang a lot of these songs.
Such an amazingly tight band. Robbie was just a killer guitar player. And Dave Torbert is so underrated. Listen to that bass lick at 30:01-30:02(towards the end of "Jump for Joy") to hear what an amazing and inventive player he is.
when the dead to a well deserved hiatus kingfish was an incredible connection to that 'bobby the kid' high energy country vide and along with that was torbert's splendid input from the new riders well this is the killer tunes are delivered....excellent musicians hitting the target.....
We went to this. Elvin Bishop was the headliner. This best Kingfish of set as an opening band. They really play near perfect and very hip. Man I miss this stuff.
Elvin Bishop rocks the house. I've seen The Elvin Bishop Group maybe six times. A friend of mine, blues piano legend Fred Kaplan, was playing with Elvin Bishop right out of High School in 1971. Fred went on to play with The Fabulous Thunderbirds, and The Hollywood Fats Band, which included Larry Taylor, alias The Mole (John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, Canned Heat, and Eric Clapton) on standup bass, and Richard Inness (considered by many to be the best drummer on the West Coast) on drums. Fred has recorded with damn near every blues great you can think of--including Albert Collins, Freddie King, Lightnin' Hopkins, Junior Wells, Big Mama Thornton, James Cotton, Jimmy Witherspoon, T-Bone Walker, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, Rod Piazza, Charlie Musselwhite, and Otis Rush, to name just a few!
The Blues Brothers walked into a bar. They asked the bartender what king of music do you have here? Reply: We have both kinds, country and western. Shortly later Kingfish walked in and the rest is history......
Around 1972 I went to a jam session at a friends house planning on playing. It was outside near an orchard in San Jose. When I got there, there was a guy playing the guitar and I just stood there dumbfounded, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I didn't even get my guitar out. Around 1979 I went to my rehearsal studio and my drummer was jamming with some guys. I immediately recognized the guitar player as the same guy I had seen years before but he looked kind of bad even though he still had some fire. I ran into him again 10 years later at gig at a Moose Lodge in Sunnyvale I recognized him again but he was overweight and sounded wooden. I talked to him for a bit and he said he was now clean, he was very friendly and kind of humble. I was shocked at the change in him, he was so good when I heard him almost 20 years before. RIP Robbie.
From Santa Cruz Ca. In 76 saw Les Dudek and then Kingfish on the same bill at Del Mar theater ( definitely less than 400 seater) KILLER SHOW!!!👍 After that I walked a block down and saw The Son’s of Champlin at the Catalyst Music scene in Santa Cruz was over the top in the 70’s. For anyone who remembers the summer of 77, could see The Ducks Neil Young’s band for like $3-5 bucks 3x a week at some local venues. Ah the good old days! Puff puff pass 😂
I was sporting my Levis Jean Jacket with the Kingfish Trident painted on the back circa 1977...wore it to the Capitol Theatre in Passaic every chance I got....good old days.
So glad I saw them twice in 1975 at the Santa Barbara County bowl. They opened for Jefferson Starship, and another time for Joe Walsh. Way, way to much fun!! Oh man!!
De mis bandas favoritas en mis inicios del rock... Tengo un vinilo sin su carátula.. cuando era súper difícil conseguir música de estos locos...su sonido particular en guitarra, voz , armónica me engancharon para siempre...
+Russ D I live in Florida. In '80 I lived in Chicago, but I went out to visit a friend of mine in Santa Barbara. He took us to FUBARS on a Saturday night. What a rockin joint!! I wonder if it's still there. The name says it all!!
true dat. What pissed me off that nite was I had picked up this foxy little gal that I'd been dancin with all nite. She asked us to follow her back to her place. Mu buddy was driving. And since he had snagged a girl of his own, I was sitting in the middle of the back seat yelling at him to "Keep following the VW Beetle!!" But he was so busy playin giggly kissy-face as he drove, that he let MY girl get away!! The next morning he comes walking out with a blanket around him and his girl, smiling. I told him to go F*#k himself. Ha!!
I got turned on to Kingfish in high school late 70's. Played that first record over and over it was so good. First time I saw them was mid 80's in Marin I think. Maybe Oakland? Anyway drove down from Humboldt with my chica and a friend. They opened with a couple tunes without Bob, very mediocre, then Bob came literally running out onstage. He looked soooo coked up it was really bad. Two more tunes and it was so awful my chica and I decided to go back to the van and hang out wait for our friend and then head back north. Our friend had beat us on the early exit and was already at the van!!!! Anyone else see that show? Bobby had this really pink guitar, as a reminder. This video here is magic and what we were chasing, but not to be.
Caught them in '75 at Chicago Auditorium. An excellent and memorable show, everyone in rare form. Bob called the King Fish music 'prosaic' (had to look it up) & beg to disagree. I'd say brilliant jams by a bunch of back porch musical geniuses. *Plus the guy frisking at the door found my stash & let us both pass. Yowza (~);-}
I watched this, then looked at the date and realized I was there. Was visiting in SF for a week. Also remember Elvin Bishop with Mickey Thomas singing Fooled Around...”
@Bob weir You did not capitalize your own last name. You’ve got 10 subscribers. You’re English is a little rough. That’s not how I imagine Bob Weir participating online. I’m going to guess that you’re not the musician
This is such the real deal!!! Robbie was always up there shreddin n havin a grand ol' time... So sad that his life went in the direction it did.... Dave Torbert had -one of- *THE* best singing voice of all time... It was so subtle & natural... Lost way too soon!
Saw Kingfish at the Keystone Berkely. Their second-ever show. Ran into Bobby between sets and asked him if it was true they played the song Battle of New Orleans? They played it in the 2nd set, yes! Saw them a number of times after that
Robbie made that Telecaster sing! I have an album by a later line up. I think only Torbert and Matt Kelly remained from the original band, but it's quite good. Dave left the New Riders to start the original band. I got to see them quite a bit in the bay area during the original band's run. Talked to Bobby after a show. He was tearing down his gear. No roadie, he was doing it himself. I always respected him for that. I think I'm gonna work up "Jump for Joy" in a new band I'm playing in.
Torbert founded the New Riders then left after they ended , the run with the grateful dead ...then torbert and Kelly founded Kingfish They had a Record Deal before Bobby Joined them Torbert Also play bas on Box of Rain on American Brauty ...Phil only does vocals .. Extremly Talent Writer ,singer and Bass player he had that xx Chemistry !!!! he played at mickey's ranch in 1970 as the family dog
Saw Kingfish open for Skynyrd at Cape Cod Colosseum in June 1977. Phenomenal opening set! Haddinot was en fuego! Would have liked to have seen them more but their appearances on the east coast were few and far between.
i'm so curious about this "Although it was Weir's Dead association that brought the big crowds, in the end it caused the band to fall apart." empty slate, so if anyone can share stories
I knew robbie as we both spent time in san quentin in the late 80s and 1990 when califirnia sent you to prison for weed. we had a band inside with equipment donated by carlos santana and I have a csssette of our band doing a gig on the lower yard in march of 1990 shortly befote we were both released. we connected on the outside in 1990 and 1991 and did some recording with Ira walker from billy sattelite band on bass. sad to hear robbie is gone as he was a incredible musician and a good friend. love ya robbie
I've never heard another west coast guitarist play like what I would consider a marshall tucker or the outlaws style. So dynamic to have that style of tele playing with the rest of this band! Does anyone know where there is more video of Robbie playing like THIS?
I saw them in Germany 1976 they opened up for Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow! (Go figure I was in the front leaning elbows on the stage and was just blown away as a 15 yoa kid! 😁 I had never heard of them but went right out the next day to buy their first album.