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Terry Reid
English musician (1949–2025) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Terrance James Reid (13 November 1949 – 4 August 2025), who was nicknamed Superlungs, was an English musician, songwriter and guitarist, best known for his emotive style of singing in appearances with high-profile musicians as vocalist, supporting act and session musician. As a solo recording and touring artist he released six studio albums and four live albums. Described as an "artists' artist" by Rolling Stone, Reid was recognized by his contemporaries as an eminent talent in English rock music, both as a guitarist and a vocalist.[2][3]
Reid's music career began in the early 1960s. While performing in a local British club, he was invited to join Peter Jay and the Jaywalkers as lead vocalist and opened for The Rolling Stones on their 1966 tour. In the later '60s, Reid was solo supporting act for Rolling Stones, Cream,[4] Jethro Tull and Fleetwood Mac tours. He turned down offers from Jimmy Page to be lead vocalist of the band that became Led Zeppelin, and from Ritchie Blackmore to front Deep Purple.[5][6]
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Early life and education
Terrance James Reid was born in Paxton Park Maternity Home, Little Paxton, St Neots, Huntingdonshire, England.[7] He lived in the village of Bluntisham and attended St Ivo School, St Ives.[8]
Career
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1960s
After leaving school at the age of fifteen, Reid joined Peter Jay and the Jaywalkers after being spotted by the band's drummer, Peter Jay.[9][10] At the time, Reid was playing for a local band, The Redbeats, who regularly performed at the River Club in St Ives. His public profile was enhanced in 1966 when The Jaywalkers were named as a supporting act for the Rolling Stones during their 23-show British Tour from September to October 1966. At the concert at the Royal Albert Hall, Graham Nash of The Hollies became friends with Reid and suggested The Jaywalkers sign up with UK Columbia Records—an EMI label—to record with producer John Burgess. Their first single, the soul-inspired "The Hand Don't Fit the Glove" was a minor hit in 1967, but by then The Jaywalkers had decided to disband.[5]
Reid came to the attention of producer Mickie Most, who became his manager and who was in partnership with Peter Grant at the time. His first single with Most, "Better By Far", became a radio favorite. His debut album, Bang Bang, You're Terry Reid, was released in 1968. With accompanying musicians Eric Leese on organ and Keith Webb on drums, a 1968 tour of the United States with Cream did much to gain Reid a loyal following.[5] His final performance of the tour at the Miami Pop Festival garnered positive reviews from the music press.[11]
The song "Without Expression", from Bang Bang, You're Terry Reid, was written by Reid at age 14 and later recorded under different titles.[12] The Hollies released it as "A Man With No Expression" in 1968, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young recorded it as "Horses Through a Rainstorm" in 1969 (with Graham Nash once again singing lead), and REO Speedwagon covered it in 1973 as "Without Expression (Don't Be the Man)."[13] John Mellencamp also included it on his greatest hits album The Best That I Could Do: 1978–1988.[14] "Horses Through a Rainstorm" was slated to appear on Déjà Vu before being replaced at the last minute by Stephen Stills's "Carry On". Both versions were not released until years later.[15]
Rejecting Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple
The style of what he was doing, that kind of opening up, he had a flexibility and power and control. So he could go, as Esther Phillips said, from a whisper to a scream in split seconds.[6]
Yardbirds guitarist Jimmy Page, managed by Peter Grant, became interested in Reid's work, and when The Yardbirds disbanded, Page wanted Reid to fill the vocalist spot for his proposed new group, the New Yardbirds, which was to become Led Zeppelin.[5] Reid had already committed to go on the road for two tours with the Rolling Stones and another with Cream (as an opening act on the 1968 US Tour). Reid suggested to Page that if he were compensated for the gig fees he would lose, and if Page would call Keith Richards to explain why Reid had to pull out of the US tours, Reid would try some things out with Page. It never happened and Reid told Page to consider a young Birmingham-based singer, Robert Plant, instead, having previously seen Plant's Band of Joy as a support act at one of his concerts. Reid also suggested Page check out their drummer John Bonham. Reid also rejected an offer from Ritchie Blackmore to replace the departing Rod Evans in Deep Purple.[16] Although he was frequently questioned by music journalists about his passing up of Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple,[17] Reid did not look back on his decisions with regret, as he instead expressed satisfaction with his own career;[18] Reid was quoted in 2019 as saying "I don't sit around going over old coals".[17]
1969–1970s
In 1969, Reid supported British tours, notably Jethro Tull and Fleetwood Mac. Reid, Solley and Webb toured the United States again when he opened for the Rolling Stones on their 1969 American Tour. He did not appear at the infamous Rolling Stones concert at Altamont Music Festival.[19] Also in 1969, he released his second solo album, the self-titled Terry Reid, which spent five weeks on the Billboard Top LPs chart.[20] "Friends", a song from this album, first appeared as a segue with his version of "Highway 61 Revisited". "Friends" was later covered by Arrival, and became a UK Top 10 hit for them in January 1970.[21]
In December 1969, Reid had a falling out with producer Mickie Most, who wanted Reid to become a balladeer and strictly follow Most's own formula. Before this, Reid had toured extensively in major venues in the US, including two tours with the Rolling Stones and another with Cream (he also performed at Mick and Bianca Jagger's wedding in Saint-Tropez in 1971). Unable to record or release his music, Reid concentrated on live work, mostly in the US whilst awaiting the outcome of litigation with Most, making only sporadic UK performances during that period. In 1970, he returned briefly to England to perform at the Isle of Wight Festival with bass player Lee Miles (a former member of Ike & Tina Turner's band whom Reid met while touring the US with the Stones), David Lindley and Tim Davis. During this period he also took part in the second Atlanta International Pop Festival, and was filmed performing at Glastonbury in 1971.[8]
Reid's fascination with Brazilian music and Latin rhythms began in 1969 when Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso were exiled by the military dictatorship of Brazil and Reid's attorney arranged for Gil's arrival in London, where he stayed at Reid's apartment in Notting Hill, Chelsea, London. Along with Gil, a group of Brazilian musicians slept on his floor. When Reid performed at the Isle of Wight Festival on August 27, Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso played on the same bill that night.[22][23][24][25]
That same year, Reid was signed by Ahmet Ertegun[26] to Atlantic Records, with his band consisting of David Lindley, Lee Miles and Alan White; they began recording in the UK and later switched to the US. White left to join Yes and Lindley left to tour with Jackson Browne.[27] However, Lee Miles remained and accompanied Reid in his musical career for many years.[28] The recordings during this period formed Reid's third album, River, and musicians involved included Conrad Isidore on drums and Willie Bobo on percussion. Produced by Reid, engineered by Tom Dowd,[26] and mixed by Eddy Offord, River was released in 1973 and received favourable reviews, but failed commercially. The remainder of the material from those extensive sessions was released in 2016 as The Other Side of The River.[29] Around the time of River's release, Reid relocated from the United Kingdom to California.[30]
Over the next decade, Reid switched to different labels in search of a winning formula. His fourth album, Seed of Memory, was released by ABC Records in 1976,[5] and produced by Graham Nash.[26] However, ABC Records filed for bankruptcy the week the album was released, derailing its sales.[31] The next effort, an album entitled Rogue Waves, was produced by Chris Kimsey for Capitol Records and released in 1979.[5] For Rogue Waves, Reid enlisted Lee Miles on bass, Doug Rodrigues on lead guitar and John Siomos on drums, recording at Brother's Studios in Santa Monica, California.[28]
1980s–1990s
Reid retired his solo career in 1981 to concentrate on session work, appearing on albums by Don Henley, Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt.[32] In 1991, Reid returned with producer Trevor Horn for the WEA album The Driver.[5] The album featured a cover version of "Gimme Some Lovin'" which also appeared on the soundtrack for the Tom Cruise movie Days of Thunder, directed by Tony Scott. Reid later looked back on The Driver unfavourably, calling it "unlistenable".[12]
In the 1990s, he also toured the US and Hong Kong with Mick Taylor. "Rich Kid Blues" was the eponymous song on an album released by Marianne Faithfull, produced by Mike Leander in 1984 but unreleased for 14 years.[33] Reid and several friends put together an informal group in March 1993, calling themselves The Flew. Its members included Reid, Joe Walsh, Nicky Hopkins, Rick Rosas, and Phil Jones. They played one show at The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, California. This was Nicky Hopkins' last public performance before his death.[27]
2000s–2025
In late 2002, Reid returned to the UK with longtime bass player Lee Miles for three shows at the WOMAD festival near Reading, his first live appearance in years. Prior to this, Reid had a Monday night residency performing shows at a bar in Beverly Hills, California, which attracted the attention of fans and eventually WOMAD organizer Thomas Brooman, who invited him to perform at the festival in 2002.[34][35] In 2005, he returned for a UK tour with London shows at The 100 Club and Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club. One venue billed him as "The Man with a Hell of a Story To Tell".[36][37]
For appearances at festivals and his London shows, Reid used a full band, with venues including The Jazz Cafe, The Borderline,[38] The 100 Club,[39] Dingwalls,[40] and an invite to return to Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in 2009 for a week long residency as part of their 50th anniversary (one of only 6 non-jazz acts to do so). This became a favourite venue for Reid and he had residencies there for several years after.[39] In 2012, his album Live in London featured an entire set from one of these gigs at Ronnie Scott's, and was released with no remixes or overdubs.[34][41] Between 2002 and 2012,[citation needed] Reid appeared at the Glastonbury Festival several times and many other festivals, including Isle of Wight, The Secret Garden (twice), The Rhythm Festival (twice), and All Tomorrows Parties.[42][43][44]
Also during this period, EMI produced a box set of his first two albums, including all his sessions for them recorded between 1966 and 1970, in a compilation titled Superlungs.[45] Seed of Memory and River became available on CD as they were reissued in the 2000s, bringing renewed critical acclaim for these albums and reigniting public interest in Reid's music.[34] Reid also released a new live album, Alive, formally published by Sanctuary Records, although it was previously available in a limited capacity from Reid himself, who made 200 copies to sell at WOMAD 2002.[citation needed] Around this time, Reid began a residency at The Joint in Los Angeles, which featured performances from Reid every Monday for four years. Other artists acquainted with Reid joined him in many of these concerts, including Robert Plant, Keith Richards, Bobby Womack, Roger Daltrey, and Eric Burdon.[46]
Reid's song "Dean" from the album River was used in the feature film The Criminal, produced 1999 and released in 2001. Reid became good friends with the film's producer Chris Johnson, who also become Reid's business advisor. Johnson persuaded Reid to return to live work in the US in early 2000s, and was in charge of arranging UK tours, recruiting players for Reid's band, arranging collaborations with other artists, organising back catalogue releases, licensing his songs for films and even lining up an acting role.[35][34] Three of Reid's songs, "Seed of Memory", "To Be Treated Rite", and "Brave Awakening" were featured in the 2005 film The Devil's Rejects, directed by Rob Zombie; Reid's music was also featured in its 2019 sequel, 3 from Hell.[13] In the 2005 film The Greatest Game Ever Played, Reid cameoed as a golf caddy.[22] Additionally, his song "Faith To Arise" was featured in the 2003 film Wonderland and in the 2017 film Win It All. In 2009, his song "Be Yourself", which he wrote for Graham Nash's Songs For Beginners, appeared in the film Up in the Air, directed by Jason Reitman.[46]
In 2007, Reid began touring with American band Cosmic American Derelicts, who supported him on shows in 2008, 2014 and 2016, eventually becoming his "regular" band, as described by The Washington Post.[47][48] He also performed with the Los Angeles-based music collective Wild Honey.[30] In 2009, Reid worked with French trip hop act Shine, spending a week in Paris recording several tracks as guest vocalist. Shine Featuring Terry Reid was released as an EP that November.[49] In 2012, Reid lent his vocals to the song "Listen" by DJ Shadow, which was a bonus track on the compilation album Reconstructed: The Best of DJ Shadow.[50]
Around this time, Reid worked on several other collaborations that, as of 2025, have remained unreleased. Rap producer Dr. Dre reportedly became "fascinated" with Reid's 1976 album Seed of Memory, and the two collaborated on a reworking on the album with contributions from other rappers affiliated with Dr. Dre.[12] However, recordings from these sessions have never been published.[2] Reid also worked on a guest appearance as a vocalist with British band Alabama 3, though this too has not emerged.[12][34]
As he continued to perform in his later years, Reid appeared on stage in 2019 for Africa Express: The Circus, a concert experience coordinated by Damon Albarn.[51] Reid played his final live show at The Half Moon in London in September 2024.[32] After the new year, he suffered from cancer and cancelled a 2025 tour due to "medical issues" arising from his treatment.[48] He died of cancer on 4 August 2025,[34][52] and his death was announced the day after.[53]
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Personal life and health
Reid was first married to Susan Johnson in 1976; the couple divorced in 1982, and Reid later remarried, in 2004, to Annette Grady.[34] He had two daughters, Kelly and Holly, from a previous relationship.[12][34] He resided in La Quinta, California, by 2016.[6][54] Later in life, Reid encountered issues with chain smoking and alcohol, but became sober in 2016 following a hospitalization.[48] He was diagnosed with cancer in June 2025,[34] which was announced that July[55] as fellow musician Angie Bruyere sought crowdfunding for Reid's medical expenses; on a GoFundMe page, Bruyere wrote "Terry would never ask for this himself — which is why we’re asking for him".[56] Reid died of cancer on 4 August 2025, aged 75.[34]
Recognition and legacy
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Aretha Franklin once said of Reid, "There are only three things happening in England: The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and Terry Reid."[23][29]
Reid, an acknowledged outstanding vocalist, was for a brief period of time considered by Jimmy Page to take up vocals for the New Yardbirds, the group that became Led Zeppelin.[57][58][59][60]
Many songs originally recorded by Reid have been covered by numerous artists including The Hollies, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Marianne Faithfull, Jack White with The Raconteurs, Chris Cornell,[61] Arrival,[62] Cheap Trick,[30] Joe Perry,[6] Iain Matthews and Rumer.[63]
Reid's early song "Rich Kid Blues" was covered on an album by Marianne Faithfull in 1984.[33] The UK artist Rumer recorded "Brave Awakening" on her Boys Don't Cry 2012 album[63] and appeared at his London shows at the Jazz Cafe and Half Moon. Cheap Trick recorded Reid's "Speak Now" for their 1977 debut album.[30] The Raconteurs with Jack White also recorded a version of Reid's "Rich Kid Blues" for their second album Consolers of the Lonely in 2008.[64]
The American rock group The Split Squad recorded a cover of Reid's "Tinker Taylor" for their debut album, Now Hear This..., released in 2014.[65] Joe Perry's album Sweetzerland Manifesto, released in 2018, features three tracks co-written and sung by Reid.[6] In 2020, a recording of Chris Cornell covering Reid's "To Be Treated Rite" was released on his posthumous album No One Sings Like You Anymore, Vol. 1, which also included a cover of "Stay with Me Baby" based on Reid's own version.[66]
Following Reid's death, Geoff Edgers wrote in The Washington Post that Reid's artistry charted "a line that would be traced by so many, such as John Mellencamp, the Replacements and Jason Isbell" with genres ranging from electric blues to Americana; Edgers compared Reid's vocals to the Black Crowes "born 20 years earlier" and eulogized his "voice that influenced many others".[48]
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Discography
Studio albums
- Bang, Bang You're Terry Reid (1968)[30]
- Terry Reid (1969) (US title: Move Over for Terry Reid)
- River (1973)
- Seed of Memory (1976)
- Rogue Waves (1978)
- The Driver (1991)[30]
Compilations
Live albums
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Filmography
- Groupies (1970) features a performance of "Bang Bang" and "Superlungs My Supergirl", and backstage footage, recorded in San Francisco.[72]
- Glastonbury Fayre (1972), directed by Nicolas Roeg, features "Dean", an extended jam with Linda Lewis.[73]
- The Greatest Game Ever Played (2005) features an appearance from Reid in a cameo role as a golf caddy.[22]
- Superlungs (2016) is a feature-length documentary based on Reid's life and music career.[74]
- The Session Man (2023) is a documentary on Nicky Hopkins that features appearances from Reid as part of The Flew.[75][76]
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Use in other media
- Days of Thunder (1990), directed by Tony Scott, features "Gimme Some Lovin'".[61]
- Conan the Adventurer (1997 TV series) features "In Love And War" in the final episode.[77]
- The Criminal (produced in 1999 and released in 2001) features "Dean". Reid became good friends with the film's producer Chris Johnson, who also become Reid's business advisor.[35]
- Wonderland (2003) features "Faith to Arise" and "Dean".[46]
- The Devil's Rejects (2005), directed by Rob Zombie, features "Brave Awakening", "To Be Treated Rite" and "Seed of Memory".[13]
- Up in the Air (2009) features "Be Yourself".[46]
- The Summit (2013 documentary) features "July" over the closing credits.
- Win It All (2017) features "Faith to Arise".[46]
- 3 from Hell (2019), directed by Rob Zombie, features "Faith to Arise", which is played over the end credits; "The Frame" is also heard on a car radio.[13]
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References
External links
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