Blackfoot

Blackfoot is an American southern rock band from Jacksonville, United States, active from 1969 to the present. The group is associated with southern rock, hard rock and rock, and its line-up has changed frequently over the years.

Formation and early years

The band begins in 1969, when Rickey Medlocke and Greg T. Walker meet New York musicians Ron Sciabarasi and Charlie Hargrett in Jacksonville and form a group called Fresh Garbage. That early line-up features Medlocke on drums and vocals, Walker on bass, Hargrett on guitar and Sciabarasi on keyboards. Fresh Garbage plays mainly at the Comic Book Club on Forsyth Street, but splits later that year when Sciabarasi leaves to serve in the Vietnam War.

Medlocke, Walker and Hargrett then form Hammer, with Medlocke moving to vocals and guitar. Jakson Spires joins on drums, with DeWitt Gibbs on keyboards and Jerry Zambito on guitar for a short period. The group later relocates to Gainesville, Florida, and becomes the house band at Dub’s Steer Room. In 1970 it moves to New York City, then changes its name to Blackfoot after discovering another band called Hammer. The name refers to the Native American heritage of several members, including Medlocke, Spires and Walker.

After failing to secure a recording contract in New York, Gibbs leaves and Medlocke takes over guitar duties full time. In 1971, Medlocke and Walker join Lynyrd Skynyrd, which temporarily ends Blackfoot’s activity. Hargrett stays in New Jersey and briefly plays in a band called No Name. Walker and Gibbs later take part in a short-lived project called Rainbow in Atlanta, and Walker also spends a brief period with Cross Country.

Recording career

Blackfoot reforms in 1972, with Hargrett helping to restart the band and Medlocke and Spires returning. At that stage the line-up also includes bassist Leonard Stadler and guitarist Danny Johnson, though Johnson is only with the group briefly. Stadler later leaves because of health problems and eventually turns to religious work, and Greg T. Walker later rejoins. By 1974 the band is based again in northern New Jersey.

During this period Medlocke temporarily loses his singing voice because of vocal problems, so Patrick Jude is recruited as vocalist until Medlocke recovers. Medlocke and Walker then send recordings to producers Jimmy Johnson and David Hood, who had worked with them in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.

The debut album, No Reservations, appears in 1975 on Island Records. Flyin' High follows in 1976 on Epic Records, with both albums produced by Johnson and Hood. By the late 1970s the band is back in Gainesville. In 1977 it works as backing band for singer Ruby Starr under manager Butch Stone.

After that collaboration ends in 1978, Blackfoot signs with Atco Records through manager Al Nalli and associate Jay Frey. Strikes, recorded in Ann Arbor, Michigan and released in 1979, becomes the band’s most commercially successful album. It includes “Train, Train”, written by Rickey Medlocke’s grandfather, and “Highway Song”; both receive substantial radio play. The band tours heavily and opens for The Who at the Pontiac Silverdome in December 1979.

Subsequent releases include Tomcattin' in 1980, Marauder in 1981 and the live album Highway Song Live in 1982. As southern rock loses mainstream popularity in the early 1980s, the band shifts its sound and adds keyboards. Former Uriah Heep keyboardist Ken Hensley joins in 1982 and appears on Siogo in 1983.

Line-up changes and later activity

Charlie Hargrett leaves in 1984 after limited commercial success. Vertical Smiles, recorded in 1983 with engineer Eddy Offord, is released in 1984 after revisions but does not sell strongly. Hensley also leaves later in 1984 and is replaced by Bobby Barth. By 1985 the group’s commercial activity has fallen away, and the band dissolves in 1986.

Medlocke continues with a new line-up and releases Rick Medlocke and Blackfoot in 1987, moving towards a more contemporary rock style. During the late 1980s and early 1990s the personnel changes often, with musicians including Mark Mendoza, Neal Casal and others appearing at different times. Medicine Man is released in 1990, followed by After the Reign in 1994, which returns to elements of the earlier Blackfoot sound. A compilation, Rattlesnake Rock N' Roll: The Best of Blackfoot, also appears in 1994.

Medlocke reorganises the group again in the mid-1990s, and in 1996 he rejoins Lynyrd Skynyrd as guitarist. He continues with Blackfoot until 1997, after which the band is disbanded. Live recordings from earlier performances are released in the late 1990s and 2000.

Reformations and recent line-ups

In 2004, original members Jakson Spires, Greg T. Walker and Charlie Hargrett reform Blackfoot. Bobby Barth sings lead in Medlocke’s absence. After Spires dies in 2005, the band continues with drummer Christoph Ullmann and later line-up changes including Jay Johnson and Mark McConnell. The group keeps touring and issues live recordings during this period.

In 2012, Medlocke reforms Blackfoot with a new line-up while also continuing his work with Lynyrd Skynyrd. Other former members form separate projects including Fired Guns and Warrior's Pride, and Greg T. Walker also performs under the name Two Wolf later in the decade. In 2016, Blackfoot releases Southern Native, its first studio album in roughly two decades. The line-up continues to change, and since 2023 Medlocke appears at selected performances alongside former member Mark Woerpel.

Members

Members associated with the band include Greg T. Walker, Charlie Hargrett, Mark McConnell, Ken Hensley, Stet Howland, Rickey Medlocke, Mark Mendoza, Bobby Barth, Brian Carpenter, Jay Johnson, Benny Rappa, Jakson Spires and Mark Woerpel.