Player is an American rock band that made their mark during the late 1970s. The group scored several US Hot 100 hits, three of which went into the Top 40; two of those single releases went Top 10, including the No. 1 hit 'Baby Come Back', written by group members Peter Beckett and J.C. Crowley.

Career[edit]

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Player first came together in Los Angeles, California. The original members included Peter Beckett (vocals, guitar), John Charles 'J.C.' Crowley (vocals, keyboards, guitar), Ronn Moss (vocals, bass), and John Friesen (drums).

Beckett, a transplanted Englishman, had been in a group called Skyband with Australian Steve Kipner (who had also played with the Australian band Tin Tin). After Skyband broke up in 1975, Beckett was in Los Angeles and met Crowley at a party. He and Crowley teamed up in a new band called Riff Raff, which soon changed its name to Bandana and released a single, 'Jukebox Saturday Night', on Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter's Haven label. Steve Kipner and former Grass Roots guitarist Reed Kailing were also members of Riff Raff/Bandana, but Kipner was gone before the single's recording and Kailing was aced out after its release, though some of the Bandana tracks with Kailing's playing and co-writing later appeared on Player's debut.

When the Haven label folded soon afterward, Lambert and Potter brought the others over to RSO Records in 1976, and Beckett and Crowley started anew with Moss and Friesen (a former percussionist and musical director for the Ice Follies) as Player. Wayne Cook, a keyboardist/session player and former member of Steppenwolf, was an additional bandmember for its live performances; he is the curly-haired keyboardist in the band's videos from the 1970s.

Player gained popularity as a live act during the heyday of the 1970s stadium rock era. They first went on the road in the fall of 1977 opening for Gino Vannelli, then Boz Scaggs. They began to develop a distinctive, edgy and melodic rock style. Their biggest hit, 'Baby Come Back', released in late 1977, rose to No. 1 on the BillboardHot 100 in January 1978 and was a chart success in other countries. Their follow up single, 'This Time I'm in It for Love', also peaked at No. 10 the same year. Among several notable accolades, Player was named Billboard's Best New Singles Artist of 1978. Eric Clapton invited them to open for him during his 1978 North American “Slow Hand” tour.

Later in 1978, keyboardist Cook left and was replaced by Bob Carpenter (who would go on to join Nitty Gritty Dirt Band). Eventually the band began to headline some of their own events, as well as continuing to open shows for artists like Heart and Kenny Loggins in the fall of 1978. But after playing a show with the latter at Coconut Grove in Miami, Florida, on October 29, 1978, tension among the various group members resulted in a huge blow up. When the smoke finally cleared, and after the group played a few more shows with Heart in late 1978, Beckett left the group and Player was without a record contract.

The remaining three, Crowley, Moss and Friesen, attempted to find a new deal and carry on but were unsuccessful. Crowley then decided to return to his native Texas, where he later pursued a career in country music. In the meantime, Beckett regrouped with Moss and Friesen to continue on as Player.

Player released four albums during their active touring years: Player (RSO Records in 1977), Danger Zone (RSO Records in 1978), Room With A View (Casablanca Records in 1980), the latter without Crowley, and Spies Of Life (RCA Records in 1981). After a long absence, Beckett brought Moss back into the fold in 1995 and Player released their fifth album, Lost In Reality, on River North Records in 1996. Two Many Reasons followed on Frontiers Records in 2013 and, like Reality, was written and produced by Beckett.

Lineup changes and dissolution[edit]

Miles Joseph (vocals, guitar) and Gabriel Katona (keyboards, ex-Rare Earth) joined Beckett, Moss and Friesen in the studio for the group's third album, Room With a View (April 1980), produced by Beckett with Tony Peluso.

By the end of 1980 Player wasn't active, recording or touring, so Moss decided to pursue an acting career. He originated the role of Ridge Forrester on the new CBS-TV soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful from 1987 until August 2012, after which he made the decision to not continue in the series after he was injured in an auto accident.

As Moss was occupied with acting, Beckett kept going as Player with Friesen, Joseph, Katona and Rusty Buchanan (vocals, bass, ex-Sugarloaf) and with producer Dennis Lambert back on board, released their fourth album, Spies of Life, on RCA in late 1981. The band continued until 1982 and played on the music series Solid Gold that year. But after this, the band once again found themselves without a record deal and elected to go their separate ways. Guitarist Miles Joseph later passed away of heart failure on December 25, 2012.

Peter Beckett went on to be a member of Little River Band from 1989 to 1997 and played 'Baby Come Back' at its performances.

J.C. Crowley (who still occasionally wrote with Beckett) became a Nashville performer and songwriter, recording his only solo album, Beneath the Texas Moon, in 1988. In 1989 he had country hits with 'Paint the Town and Hang the Moon Tonight' (No. 13) and 'I Know What I've Got' (No. 21), and was named 'Best New Male Country Performer'. He wrote a number of songs recorded by Nashville artists, including Johnny Cash and The Oak Ridge Boys. He also won a battle with cancer in the late 1990s and now lives in Topanga Canyon, California.

Return[edit]

Although the original lineup of Player had disbanded, Beckett and Moss rejoined forces to record and tour together once again as Player in 1995. The duo recorded an additional studio album as Player, released in Japan in August 1995 as Electric Shadow and renamed Lost in Reality when put out on River North Records in the U.S. in May 1996.

On December 16, 1997, Player played live for the first time in years at the L.A. Music Awards at the Hollywood Palladium with a lineup consisting of Beckett, Moss, Elliot Easton (of The Cars) on guitar, Burleigh Drummond of Ambrosia on drums and Tony Sciuto of Little River Band on keyboards. A compilation album, Best of Player, was released in 1998.

The response to the group's reunion show was so enthusiastic that they had several offers for more concert dates. River North Records dropped the band and Player tried to buy back the rights to the Lost in Reality CD but were unsuccessful.

Player toured in the spring of 1998 with a lineup of Beckett, Moss, Sciuto, Drummond, guitarist Steve Farris (formerly of Mr. Mister) and percussionist Ron Green, with guitarist Dave Amato (from REO Speedwagon) and drummer Ron Wikso (formerly of Foreigner and The Storm) filling in for Drummond as needed depending on the schedules of the others.

A 2000 lineup of Player included drummer Craig Pilo, guitarist Michael Hakes, Green, Sciuto, Moss and Beckett playing more shows across the United States. But Michael Hakes died on November 19, 2003, from complications from leukemia. After Hakes' death, the band stopped touring and concentrated on other projects.

In 2007 Player reunited once again with a lineup of: Beckett, Moss, Pilo, Green, Ricky Zacharaides (guitar) and Ed Roth (keyboards). Percussionist Ron Green last appeared with Player in 2008.

By 2009 Rob Math (guitar) and keyboardist Johnny English (later called J.C. Love and now known as Jawn Starr) had come in to replace Zacharaides and Roth.

On November 14, 2009 J.C. Crowley temporarily reunited with Beckett and Moss at Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa in Rancho Mirage, California for a tribute concert to Dennis Lambert in a charity benefiting the Desert Arc Foundation.

In February 2013 Player (Beckett and Moss) released their new album, Too Many Reasons, on Frontiers Records. They toured throughout the United States and Canada over the summer as part of the Sail Rock 2013 with Christopher Cross, Gary Wright, Al Stewart, Orleans, Firefall, Robbie Dupree and John Ford Coley.

Quiet Riot's drummer, Frankie Banali, guested with Player on June 3, 2013, for a charity concert in Agoura, CA.

Roger Williams' drummer, Jimmy Carnelli, took over as their new drummer in 2014 and Player did an extensive tour of Australia in November 2014 promoted as 'An Intimate Evening with Ronn Moss & Player', playing up Ronn's huge popularity Down Under.

Beckett and Moss split off from the last incarnation of the band to tour with the Yacht Rock Revue both on cruise ships and other venues around the U.S in 2014. In 2015 Beckett and Moss appeared on tour with Rock The Yacht 2015 with Little River Band as well as various dates with Orleans and Ambrosia.

The two continued to tour in 2017 together, then separately, Peter Beckett as 'The Voice of Player' and Moss as 'Ronn Moss & Friends'.^[4] Moss, though still listed an official member of the band, wasn't appearing with them in the latter part of 2017, where Mark Winley (ex-Johnny Winter) was standing in for him, alongside Beckett, Math, drummer Burleigh Drummond and new Singer/keyboardist Buster Akrey, known for writing the Power Rangers music.''The Bold And The Beautiful' News: Ronn Moss - Where Is He Now? - Soap Opera Spy'. Soap Opera Spy. June 13, 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2018.</ref> [1]^[5]

In the summer of 2018, Beckett appeared with Rock The Yacht 2018 alongside Ambrosia, John Ford Coley, Robbie Dupree and Stephen Bishop.

Ronn Moss did his fourth solo tour of Australia in March 2019 and was slated to tour Italy for the first time in the summer of 2019 as well as releasing a new album My Baby's Back.^[6]

Lawsuit and settlement[edit]

In May 2018 Ronn Moss filed a lawsuit against former Player bandmate Peter Beckett over rights to the band's trademark. In November 2018 Moss and Beckett reached a settlement resulting in a stipulated court order, which stated that both Moss and Beckett owned common rights to the Player name and that the “mark is valid, subsisting, and enforceable.'^[7]

The court further ordered the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office to update the registration for the Player trademark to “Peter Beckett and Ronn Moss, DBA', an unincorporated partnership. In the joint press release announcing their settlement, Moss and Beckett stated that in order to avoid any potential fan confusion Moss and Becket have agreed to add their own name in front of the Player mark whenever they use it – i.e. Peter Beckett's Player or Ronn Moss’ Player.^[8] According to the court order, the use of the name by either Beckett or Moss for individual use 'without the consent of the other and in a manner which does not constitute fair use, is likely to cause consumer confusion as the source or sponsorship of such goods or services.”^[9][10]

Side projects[edit]

Moss (with Beckett) has recorded two solo albums: I'm Your Man (2000) and Uncovered (2005). Both Moss and Beckett continue to play limited concert schedules as solo artists and teamed up to play in Australia in 2006 in support of Uncovered.

On May 12, 2014, Player appeared on ABC's daytime drama/soap opera 'General Hospital' as a surprise guest for the annual 'Nurses Ball' segment. That lineup was Beckett (vocals, guitar), Moss (vocals, bass), Rob Math (vocals, guitar), Jawn Star (vocals, keyboard), and Bryan Hitt (drummer for REO Speedwagon).^[11]

Discography[edit]

Studio albums[edit]

• Player (1977)
• Danger Zone (1978)
• Room with a View (1980)
• Spies of Life (1981)
• Electric Shadow (Japan) / Lost in Reality (US) (1995/1996)
• Too Many Reasons (2013)

Compilation albums[edit]

• Baby Come Back (1978)
• Best of Player (1990)
• The Best of Player – Baby Come Back (1998)

Singles[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^Ankeny, Jason. 'Player – Artist Biography'. AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
2. ^'Current Band Members as of September 2017'. Archived from the original on February 25, 2018.
3. ^'Player 40th anniversary 1977-2017'. Archived from the original on April 2, 2018.
4. ^Morsch, Mike. 'Player is bringing classic 'Yacht Rock' to Harrah's'. CentralJersey.com. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
5. ^'Bold Outlook: Ronn Moss Talks About Life After Bold & Beautiful'. Soap Opera Digest. November 9, 2016. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
6. ^'Actor and singer Ronn Moss talks life, music'. Gold Coast Sun. March 8, 2019. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
7. ^'Hollywood Docket: Nicki Minaj Track 'Sorry' Sparks Tracy Chapman Lawsuit'. The Hollywood Reporter.
8. ^'Longtime Soap Star Settles MAJOR Lawsuit!'. Soap Hub. December 23, 2018.
9. ^'MOSS v BECKETT'(PDF). Retrieved January 18, 2019.
10. ^'Ed Sheeran Asks Court to Reconsider Decision in 'Thinking Out Loud' Copyright Case'. www.hollywoodreporter.com.
11. ^'Ronn Moss – Player The Band'. player-theband.com. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
12. ^Ankeny, Jason. 'Player'. AllMusic. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
13. ^Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 234. ISBN0-646-11917-6.
14. ^'Canadian peaks'. Archived from the original on March 16, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
15. ^Dutch peak
16. ^New Zealand peak
17. ^Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. ISBN1-904994-10-5.
18. ^Music Canada: CertificationsArchived February 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
19. ^'Gold and Platinum search results: Culture Beat'. RIAA. Retrieved August 14, 2010.

External links[edit]

The Bee Gees Sing and Play 14 Barry Gibb Songs is the debut studio album by the Bee Gees (then presented as Barry Gibb and the Bee Gees). (1967's Bee Gees' 1st was the international debut album.) It was released in November 1965 on the Australian Leedon label. It is a compilation of most of the Gibb brothers' singles that had been released over the previous three years in Australia, which accounts for the many different styles of music on it.

Recording[edit]

Only five new songs were recorded for the album: 'I Was a Lover, a Leader of Men', 'And the Children Laughing', 'I Don't Think It's Funny', 'How Love Was True' and 'To Be or Not to Be'. Barry had more than enough unrecorded songs for an all-new-LP, but the rest of the album was instead made up of nine lesser-known singles. Bill Shepherd set the order of the songs.

Barry plays rhythm guitar, and Maurice probably plays the other guitars, like the leads in 'I Was a Lover, a Leader of Men' and 'How Love Was True', whether Maurice managed to play the acoustic lead guitar in 'I Don't Think It's Funny' or the fast piano in 'To Be or Not to Be' is less certain, the organ on 'I Was a Lover, a Leader of Men' and 'And the Children Laughing' is either Robin or Maurice. Though uncredited on the back of this album, it is confirmed that the Gibbs' friend Trevor Gordon played lead guitar on 'Peace of Mind', 'Wine and Women' and 'Follow the Wind'. Gordon later released several recordings under the name Trevor Gordon and the Bee Gees. Gordon went on to find success with Graham Bonnet in the UK-based duo the Marbles, who had a hit with 'Only One Woman' written by the Bee Gees and produced by Barry and Maurice with Robert Stigwood.

Releases[edit]

The original issue of the LP on Leedon is extremely rare. Even the reissue in 1967 on the Calendar label is rarely seen in Australia. This album package was not issued elsewhere and was not issued on CD until it was released as part of a 2013 box set called Festival Album Collection: 1965-1967.^[2]

Curiously, the 'Bee Gees' are spelled with an apostrophe on the front cover, but not on the rear sleeve or labels – and unlike on any of their single releases.

Earlier tracks, like 'Peace of Mind', 'Claustrophobia' and 'Could It Be', are in the Merseybeat vein that was popular throughout 1964, while later singles like 'Follow the Wind' and 'And the Children Laughing' reflect the more folky sounds of 1965. Of the new tracks that were recorded specifically for the album, 'To Be or Not to Be' was probably the biggest departure, being a blues-based hard rocker. In the compilation Brilliant from Birth, 'You Wouldn't Know' is faded early to 2:03, losing the shouting and laughing in the longer and original fade.

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by Barry Gibb.

Personnel[edit]

Partial credits sourced from Joseph Brennan.^[3][1][4]

Bee Gees

• Barry Gibb – lead, harmony and backing vocals; rhythm guitar
• Robin Gibb – lead, harmony and backing vocals; Hammond organ on “I Was a Lover, a Leader of Men” (uncertain), “And the Children Laughing” (uncertain), “Follow the Wind” (uncertain), and “Wine and Women” (uncertain); melodica on 'Claustrophobia' and 'Could It Be'
• Maurice Gibb – harmony and backing vocals; lead guitar on “Wine and Women”, “Follow the Wind”, “I Was a Lover, a Leader Of Men”, “You Wouldn’t Know”, and “How Love Was True”; rhythm guitar on “Claustrophobia” and “Could It Be”; Hammond organ on “I Was a Lover, a Leader of Men” (uncertain), “And the Children Laughing” (uncertain), and “You Wouldn’t Know”

Sing Play For Windows Version

Additional musicians and production

• Bruce Davis – lead guitar on 'Claustrophobia' and 'Could It Be'
• Leith Ryan – lead guitar on 'Claustrophobia' and 'Could It Be'
• Bill Swindells – bass guitar on 'Claustrophobia' and 'Could It Be'
• Laurie Wardman – drums on 'Claustrophobia' and 'Could It Be'
• Trevor Gordon – lead guitar on 'Follow The Wind,' 'Wine & Women' and 'Peace of Mind'
• Uncredited musicians – bass guitar (except “Claustrophobia”, “Could It Be”, “Timber!”, and “Take Hold of That Star”); drums (except “Claustrophobia” and “Could It Be”); lead guitar and piano on “Peace of Mind” and “Don’t Say Goodbye”; double bass, violin, and piano on 'Timber!' and 'Take Hold of That Star'

Sling Player Vlc

References[edit]

1. ^ ^ab'Gibb Songs: 1965'. Columbia University. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
2. ^Joseph Brennan. 'Gibb Songs – 1965'.
3. ^http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/beegees/63.html
4. ^http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/beegees/64.html

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