Bobby and the Midnites

History of the band

After successful performances, the lineup minus Steve Miller became the basis for Bobby and the Midnites. The name was chosen because the band had two singer-songwriters named Bobby, and as a reference to Bobby Cochran's former band Thee Midniters, popular in East L.A. Bob Weir had previously led the Bob Weir Band in 1978, and two of its members—guitarist Bobby Cochran (nephew of Eddie Cochran and formerly of Steppenwolf) and keyboardist Brent Mydland (who later joined the Grateful Dead)—also played in the Midnites.

Matthew Kelly, who had performed with Weir in Kingfish, joined on guitar, harmonica, and congas. For initial shows, Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice (both formerly of Vanilla Fudge and Beck, Bogert & Appice) were recruited on bass and drums. The first concert took place at the Golden Bear in Huntington Beach, California, on June 30, 1980. After a series of live dates from mid-1980 to early 1981, Alphonso Johnson replaced Bogert on bass and Billy Cobham replaced Appice on drums.

Johnson had been in Weather Report and played with Cobham in the CBS All-Stars; Cobham, a noted jazz and fusion musician, had performed with Miles Davis and the Mahavishnu Orchestra. This revised lineup recaptured the magic of the NAMM shows and recorded the band's self-titled debut album. The Midnites did not perform live again until the following year, by which time Mydland and Kelly had left and Dave Garland had joined on vocals, keyboards, and saxophone. A 60-minute concert video of this lineup was released on VHS in 1991.