Crawler-Crawler (1977)

On March 19, 1976, Paul Kossoff died of pulmonary edema on a red-eye flight in the United States. He was traveling from Los Angeles to New York to prepare for his band Back Street Crawler's tour with AC/DC, scheduled to begin on April 25. For many at the time, this event foreshadowed the end of Back Street Crawler. However, against all odds, the remaining members John "Rabbit" Bundrick, Tony Braunagel, Terry Wilson, and Terry Wilson-Slesser decided to continue without their leader, but wanted to do so under a different name. But before they could do so, they faced pressure from Ahmet Ertegun, president of Atlantic Records, with whom Back Street Crawler had a contract, to continue under his label. Ertegun even suggested guitarist Mick Taylor as Paul Kossoff's replacement. Taylor, who had left the Rolling Stones at that time, vehemently opposed the idea of ​​replacing a deceased musician. He was neither seduced nor amused by the prospect. Another who flatly refused was former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Peter Green, who argued that he wasn't ready to return to the stage after years away from the band. After several more rejections, the band unilaterally chose former If guitarist Geoff Whitehorn. However, this decision was not accepted by Atlantic Records, which abruptly terminated its agreement with the band, arguing that they were legally contracted to Paul Kossoff. Shortly afterward, thanks to an executive at Swan Song Records, owned by Led Zeppelin, they signed with Epic Records and decided to shorten the band's name to Crawler. In their early days, to gain experience, the band undertook an extensive tour of the United Kingdom, followed by the recording of their first album, "Crawler" (1977), which was very well received in the United States, thanks in part to the track "Stone Cold Sober", which had a huge impact on American FM radio stations. From then on, the band focused on the American market and released their second album, "Snake, Rattle & Roll", which was followed by an extensive tour of the United States alongside bands such as Foreigner, Cheap Trick, Kansas, and Robin Trower. At the end of the tour, the band dissolved, partly due to the departure of John "Rabbit" Bundrick, who was hired by The Who to play on their world tour promoting the album "Who Are You". Although they only released two superb albums, their first is undoubtedly their best work, a true classic of hard rock and blues rock. Highlights included the melodic "Without You Babe", the boogie "Sold On Down The Line", the dramatic "You Are My Saviour", the robust "Pastime Dreamer", and the irresistible "Stone Cold Sober", with its Latin-tinged sound reminiscent of the best of Santana. With this album, the band proved they could still make great rock without Kossoff. While the new guitarist, Whitehorn, didn't possess Kossoff's guitar prowess, he brought a great feeling to the band's style, displaying considerable talent and playing both rock and blues. This was further enhanced by Wilson-Slesser's brilliant vocals and the excellent instrumental work of the rest of the band.