Ric Grech

Career

Ric Grech first made a name for himself in the UK as the bassist for the progressive rock band Family. He joined the group in 1965, when they were still a blues-heavy live outfit in Leicester called the Farinas, stepping in for Tim Kirchin. Family put out their debut single, "Scene Through The Eye of a Lens," in September 1967 on Liberty Records, which landed them a deal with Reprise. Their first album, 1968's Music in a Doll's House, became an underground success, showcasing the songwriting of Roger Chapman and John "Charlie" Whitney, but Grech made his mark too with his heavy, driving bass lines on tracks like "Old Songs New Songs" and "See Through Windows," as well as his skill on cello and violin.

The band's second album, Family Entertainment, came out in March 1969 and marked a big shift for Grech personally. Besides playing bass and violin, he wrote three of its songs: "How-Hi-The-Li," "Face In the Cloud," and "Second Generation Woman," the last of which had already been released as a single in Britain in November 1968. Grech sang lead on that track, delivering a playful lyric about a woman who "looks good to handle from a personal angle," with a sound that echoed the Beatles' "Paperback Writer" and clearly borrowed from Chuck Berry.

In early 1969, Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood formed the supergroup Blind Faith and needed a bassist. They quickly recruited Grech, having jammed with him years earlier when Clapton was in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and Winwood was in the Spencer Davis Group.

But Grech didn't tell Chapman and Whitney before Family left for a US tour in April with The Nice and Ten Years After. Chapman later said, "He and [manager John] Gilbert obviously knew before we got to America. They didn't tell us until the day before we opened at the Fillmore East, where we died." Grech was reportedly so drunk he could barely perform, was sent back to England, and was replaced by John Weider.

Back in England, Grech recorded Blind Faith's self-titled album with Clapton, Winwood, and drummer Ginger Baker. The band toured the US to promote it, but Clapton was unhappy with the music and performances, so they split up. Grech and Winwood then joined Baker to form Ginger Baker's Air Force, a supergroup that also included Denny Laine, Chris Wood, and others. After Blind Faith ended, Winwood revived Traffic with original members Wood and Jim Capaldi, and after finishing John Barleycorn Must Die, Grech came on as their bassist.

Grech stuck with Traffic for two albums, just as he had with Family: the live Welcome to the Canteen and the well-regarded The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys. He co-wrote the minor hit "Rock N Roll Stew" with drummer Jim Gordon. But drugs continued to cause problems, and Winwood and the others eventually felt they had no choice but to let him go.

Grech kept busy with session work, playing with Rod Stewart, Ronnie Lane, Vivian Stanshall, and Muddy Waters. He also worked with Rosetta Hightower, the Crickets, the Bee Gees, and Gram Parsons. In January 1973, he performed at Eric Clapton's Rainbow Concert, and he reunited with Roger Chapman and Charlie Whitney when the duo recorded an album in 1974 after Family broke up. Grech was one of many guests on that record, which led Chapman and Whitney to form Streetwalkers, though Grech wasn't part of that band.

He tried to start new rock groups at least twice in the 1970s, but both attempts failed. From 1973 to 1974, he played in one of the many versions of the Crickets, the band that had backed Buddy Holly.

In 1973, RSO Records put out the only album under his own name, credited to "Rick" Grech and titled The Last Five Years. It collected songs he'd written and recorded with Family, Gram Parsons, Blind Faith, Traffic, and Ginger Baker's Airforce between 1968 and 1973. One track, "Just a Guest," was written by Grech and sung by Rosetta Hightower, and appears only on that album.

In 1974, Grech joined KGB, a group that also featured Mike Bloomfield on guitar, Carmine Appice on drums, Barry Goldberg on keyboards, and Ray Kennedy on vocals. They released their debut album, also called KGB, that year. But Grech and Bloomfield quit right after it came out, saying they never believed in the project.

Critics didn't like the album either. In 1976, Grech formed Ric Grech's SDM, short for Square Dance Machine, to play country music in the style of Gram Parsons, but it didn't take off as punk rock gained momentum. He retired from music in 1977.

Death

Grech died on 17 March 1990 at age 43 from liver failure.