Grinderswitch – Let the South Wind Blow
Grinderswitch was a southern rock band formed in Warner Robbins, Georgia. They recorded for Capricorn Records, but never rose to same success as their label mates, The Marshall Tucker Band or The Allman Brothers Band.
Grinderswitch was formed in 1973, while original members Dru Lombar, Larry Howard, Joe Dan Petty and Rich Burnett lived together in farm, practicing and writing songs. Joe Dan Petty was working for The Allman Brother Band at the time and financially supported other members of Grinderswitch, before they got a record contract.
After Capricorn Records signed them, first album “Honest to Goodness”, came out in 1974. It started never ending touring for them, taking brakes only to record new albums. Grinderswitch performed side by side with Lynyrd Skynyrd, Wet Willie, The Charlie Daniels Band and other southern rock’s greatest stars.
Macon Tracks album came out in 1975 and contained their best known song “Pickin’ the Blues“. Pullin’ Together was released in 1976 with critical acclaim and included live favourites Higher Ground and You’re So Fine.
In late 70’s when disco started to rose its ugly head, like with many other bands, Grinderswitch’s record sales suffered and they finally broke up in 1982 after releasing 5 albums between 1974 and 1982. There is also 1977 recorded unreleased album under the name “Chasing Wild Desires”, that hopefully sees release in the future.
After Grinderswitch, Dru Lombar formed Dr. Hector and The Groove Injectors in 1986 and released five albums. Larry Howard has also recorded several albums under his own name.
In 2004 Dru Lombar put Grinderswitch back together with new members Wally Condon on drums, Eddie Stone (from Doc Holliday fame) on keyboards , Jack Corcaran on guitar and Steve Miller on bass. They released new album “Ghost Train From Georgia” in 2005, but Dru Lombar’s death in September 2005 put Grinderswitch back to rest for good.
Grinderswitch videos
YouTube responded with an error: The request cannot be completed because you have exceeded your <a href="/youtube/v3/getting-started#quota">quota</a>.
Grinderswitch discography:
1974 Honest to Goodness
1975 Macon Tracks
1976 Pullin’ Together
1977 Redwing
1981 Have Band Will Travel
1994 Live Tracks
2005 Ghost Train from Georgia
Links:
Official website: www.grinderswitch.com
