More Info on Gregg RolieSimilar Undetermined MusicSearch Artistopia
Biography
Infobox musical artist|name = Gregg Rolie|image =|caption =|background = solo_singer|birth_name = Gregg Alan Rolie|alias =|Born = Birth date and age|1947|06|17 Seattle, Washington |death_date =|origin =|instrument = Organ (music)|Organ , harmonica , piano , keyboard instrument|keyboards , Singing|vocals |occupation =|years_active = 1965–present|label =|associated_acts = Santana (band)|Santana , Journey (band)|Journey , The Storm (band)|The Storm , Abraxas Pool , Gregg Rolie Band |website = http://www.greggrolie.com/ www.greggrolie.com|current_members =|notable_instruments = Hammond B3 organ Gregg Alan Rolie (born June 17, 1947 in Seattle, Washington ) is an United States|American keyboardist , organist , and singer , who is one of the founding members of the bands Santana (band)|Santana , The Storm (band)|The Storm , Abraxas Pool and Journey (band)|Journey , for whom he was the original lead singer. He currently performs with his Gregg Rolie Band. Rolie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Santana.
Career
Prior to embarking on his successful career, Rolie played with a group called William Penn and his Pals while attending Ellwood P. Cubberley High School|Cubberley High School in Palo Alto, California , circa 1965, playing at least one high school dance at Junípero Serra High School (San Mateo, California)|Junípero Serra High School in San Mateo, California . http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/williampenn A year after graduating from high school in 1965, Rolie joined with Carlos Santana and others to form the Santana Blues Band, which was later shortened to Santana (band)|Santana . With Santana he was part of their first wave of success, including an appearance at the Woodstock Festival|Woodstock Music and Art Festival and several hit albums. He is perhaps best known for being the lead vocalist on Santana's hits Black Magic Woman (US #4) and Evil Ways , as well as his work developing a style and a sound on the Hammond organ|Hammond B3 organ . However, persistent differences with Carlos Santana regarding the musical direction of the band led Rolie to leave the band at the end of 1971. He went home to Seattle, opening a restaurant with his father, which was not very successful.
In 1973 Rolie joined a new band with ex-Santana guitarist Neal Schon ; this became Journey (band)|Journey . Starring in a lineup that featured Schon, Aynsley Dunbar , George Tickner , and Ross Valory , he was keyboardist for the band's first six albums. On Journey (Journey album)|Journey and Look into the Future , he was lead vocalist , and on Next (Journey album)|Next he shared those duties with guitarist Neal Schon. After Steve Perry (musician)|Steve Perry joined the band in 1977, Rolie sang co-lead vocals on several songs on the albums Infinity (Journey album)|Infinity , Evolution (Journey album)|Evolution , and Departure (Journey album)|Departure .
After leaving Journey in 1980, Gregg released several solo albums, including the eponymous Gregg Rolie in 1985. This album featured the song "I Wanna Go Back," which later became a hit for Eddie Money , and included contributions from Carlos Santana , Peter Wolf , Neal Schon , and Craig Chaquico . A second solo effort, Gringo , was released in 1987.
Rolie formed The Storm (band)|The Storm in 1991 with Steve Smith (musician)|Steve Smith and Ross Valory of Journey. The band also included Josh Ramos (whose guitar style resembles that of Neal Schon) and Kevin Chalfant (whose voice resembles that of Steve Perry). Similar to his work with Journey and Steve Perry, Rolie played keyboards and was a co-lead vocalist on several tracks of the band's first, eponymous, album, which hit #3 on the Billboard (magazine)|Billboard albums chart and spawned the Top Ten single "I've Got A Lot To Learn About Love." Despite this success, their second album, recorded in 1993, was shelved, due to the industry's shifting focus to favor rap and alternative music audiences. It finally saw limited release in 1996, and in 1998, Rolie and other former members of Santana, including Neal Schon, briefly reunited as Abraxas Pool , releasing one eponymous album. When Schon left to lead a re-formed Journey later that year, Rolie and other Abraxas Pool members formed the Gregg Rolie Band, which released the album Roots in 2001.
Philanthropy
Gregg Rolie is a proponent of music education for children. In 2005, he signed on as an official supporter of Little Kids Rock , a nonprofit organization that provides free musical instruments and instruction to children in underserved public schools throughout the U.S.A. He sits on the organization's Honorary Board of Directors.
- s-startsuccession box|title= Journey (band)|Journey keyboardist |before=none|after= Stevie "Keys" Roseman |years=1973 & ndash; 1980s-end s-startsuccession box|title= Journey (band)|Journey lead vocalist |before=none|after= Robert Fleischman |years=1973 & ndash; 1977s-end SantanaJourney Persondata | NAME =Rolie, Gregg | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH =June 17, 1947 | PLACE OF BIRTH = | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Rolie, Gregg Category:1947 births Category:Living people Category:American keyboardists Category:American rock keyboardists Category:American male singers Category:American rock singers Category:People from Seattle, Washington Category:Musicians from Washington (state) Category:Journey (band) members Category:Santana (band) members
