Steve Marriott – Greg Ridley – Peter Frampton

What better way to celebrate Pi Day than to enjoy a slice of Humble Pie, a criminally underrated blues rock “supergroup” in the late 60s and 70s. The band was formed when Steve Marriott, guitarist and incomparable blues rock vocalist, left the Small Faces, and joined forces with guitarist/singer Peter Frampton, formerly of The Herd, ex-Spooky Tooth bassist Greg Ridley, and 17 year-old drummer Jerry Shirley.

HP started in Essex, England, in late 1968. They played mostly blues covers, and were heavily influenced by The Band and Dr. John. Always a better live act than came through on record, it’s hardly surprising that their breakthrough was the double album Performance Rockin’ The Fillmore (1971). Frampton left for a hugely successful solo career just before the album was released. He was replaced by Clem Clempson. With Clemson, and at the urging of producer/recording engineer Glyn Johns, HP veered toward a harder rock style. Later on, HP added 3 female back up singers, Motown’s The Blackberries.

Jerry Shirley – Greg Ridley – Clem Clempson – Steve Marriott

Few people today remember Steve Marriott, and that’s a pity. His voice was what Jimmy Page wanted Robert Plant to sound like, and Plant openly emulated Marriott. RHCP drummer Chad Smith is on record as being a HP fan, saying they were the band you wanted to see to learn how to perform live music. Humble Pie’s fade out from rock consciousness was due to multitude of factors. Their studio albums were relatively poor sellers, and relying so heavily on cover songs probably worked against them. The group disbanded in 1975, reunited briefly in 1979, then saw Marriott quit and move back to England in 1983. In 1991, he and Peter Frampton were collaborating on a possible HP reunion in California, when Steve rather abruptly flew home to England. Marriott was tragically killed in a fire at his home on April 19, 1991.

Here is a great documentary: The Life & Times of Steve Marriott

Jerry Shirley went to work as a DJ at WNCX in Cleveland, and in 1988, re-formed Humble Pie Featuring Jerry Shirley. That band would continue on, in one form or another, until 2000. Shirley was seriously injured in a car crash in 1999, and went home to England. After he had recovered, Shirley and Ridley briefly reunited as HP, but soon broke up when Ridley became ill. Many of the alumni performed at a tribute to Steve Marriott in 2001, commemorating the 10th anniversary of his passing. Zak Starkey and Rabbit Bundrick of The Who, Rick Wills from Foreigner, and many others also played. A DVD and album One More for the Ol’ Tosser were produced from the concert.

Enjoy a slice, and Happy Pi Day!