Honorees
Booker T.
Music fans lucky enough to have attended the June 15 concert at Sigmund Stern Grove had the pleasure of listening to the legendary R&B and popular music star, Booker T. He may be more familiar to fans as the Grammy-Award winning Booker T. of Booker T. and the MG's.
The group also won the Rhythm and Blues Association's Pioneer Award and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Music lovers still remember many legendary concerts at Winterland in the '60s and '70s, some with the MG's and some with Booker T. alone.
Booker T. has received three BAMmie Awards for outstanding keyboardist and has contributed music to films such as Get Shorty, White Men Can't Jump and American Graffiti.
Moving here from Memphis in 1971, he not only produced albums for Willie Nelson but also supervised the 1971 debut album by Bill Withers featuring such hits as "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Lean on Me." He recorded solo albums and also played sessions with Carlos Santana, John Fogerty and Bob Dylan.
Music fans lucky enough to have attended the June 15 concert at Sigmund Stern Grove had the pleasure of listening to the legendary R&B and popular music star, Booker T. He may be more familiar to fans as the Grammy-Award winning Booker T. of Booker T. and the MG's.
The group also won the Rhythm and Blues Association's Pioneer Award and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Music lovers still remember many legendary concerts at Winterland in the '60s and '70s, some with the MG's and some with Booker T. alone.
Booker T. has received three BAMmie Awards for outstanding keyboardist and has contributed music to films such as Get Shorty, White Men Can't Jump and American Graffiti.
Moving here from Memphis in 1971, he not only produced albums for Willie Nelson but also supervised the 1971 debut album by Bill Withers featuring such hits as "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Lean on Me." He recorded solo albums and also played sessions with Carlos Santana, John Fogerty and Bob Dylan.
Boz Scaggs
Boz Scaggs already had a music career and had worked with several bands when he came to San Francisco during the late 1960s and rejoined his old friend, Steve Miller, a Dallas prep school classmate. After recording two acclaimed albums with the Steve Miller Band, Scaggs left in 1968 to follow a solo career.
His endeavors were received enthusiastically by critics but not the public until his 1976 release, Silk Degrees, which zoomed to Number Two on the music charts. "Lowdown" from the album won a Grammy for Best R&B Song of the Year. Two successive albums, Down Two Then Left and Middle Man, joined Silk Degrees in striking platinum. He also wrote "Look What You've Done to Me" for the soundtrack of Urban Cowboy. During this time period, he was also appearing in concert in the Bay Area, including several concerts at the restored Paramount Theater in Oakland. He spent most of the '80s in retirement, returning with the album, Other Roads, and a tour with Donald Fagan's Rock and Soul Revue. Although he continues to perform around the world, he calls the Bay Area home and he and his wife produce their own wine in the Napa Valley.
Boz Scaggs already had a music career and had worked with several bands when he came to San Francisco during the late 1960s and rejoined his old friend, Steve Miller, a Dallas prep school classmate. After recording two acclaimed albums with the Steve Miller Band, Scaggs left in 1968 to follow a solo career.
His endeavors were received enthusiastically by critics but not the public until his 1976 release, Silk Degrees, which zoomed to Number Two on the music charts. "Lowdown" from the album won a Grammy for Best R&B Song of the Year. Two successive albums, Down Two Then Left and Middle Man, joined Silk Degrees in striking platinum. He also wrote "Look What You've Done to Me" for the soundtrack of Urban Cowboy. During this time period, he was also appearing in concert in the Bay Area, including several concerts at the restored Paramount Theater in Oakland. He spent most of the '80s in retirement, returning with the album, Other Roads, and a tour with Donald Fagan's Rock and Soul Revue. Although he continues to perform around the world, he calls the Bay Area home and he and his wife produce their own wine in the Napa Valley.
Carlos Santana
Carlos Santana is a Grammy Award-winning Mexican rock musician and guitarist, who has been in the limelight since the late 1960s for his band's blend of rock, salsa and jazz fusion. As a teenager, Santana began performing in Tijuana, inspired by the American rock & roll and blues music of artists like B. B. King, Ray Charles, and Little Richard.
In the early 1960s, Santana moved with his family to San Francisco's Mission District where the young guitarist got the chance to see his idols, most notably King, perform live. He was also introduced to a variety of new musical influences, including jazz and international folk music, and witnessed the growing hippie movement centered in San Francisco in the 1960s. After several years spent working as a dishwasher in a diner and playing for spare change on the streets, Santana decided to become a full-time musician; in 1966, he formed the Santana Blues Band, with fellow street musicians David Brown and Gregg Rolie.
With their highly original blend of Latin-infused rock, jazz, blues, salsa, and African rhythms, the band, which quickly became known simply as Santana, gained an immediate following on the San Francisco club scene. Bill Graham, who had been a fan of the band from the start, convinced the promoters of the Woodstock Music and Art Festival to let them appear before their first album was even released. They were one of the surprises of the festival with a legendary set; the exposure of their eleven-minute instrumental "Soul Sacrifice" in the Woodstock film and soundtrack albums vastly increased Santana's popularity.
Their first album, Santana, spurred by a Top 10 single, "Evil Ways," went triple platinum, selling over four million copies and remaining on the Billboard chart for over two years. Abraxas, released in 1970, went platinum, scoring two more hit singles, "Oye Como Va" and "Black Magic Woman."
1999's Supernatural included collaborations with Everlast, Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty, Eric Clapton, Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, Cee-Lo, Maná, Dave Matthews, and others. The lead single, "Smooth" grabbed the attention of both fans and the music industry, spending twelve weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100; and the follow-up single, "Maria Maria," featuring the R&B duo The Product G&B, also hit number one, spending ten weeks there in the spring of 2000. Supernatural eventually sold over 15 million copies in the United States, making it Santana's biggest sales success by far. Supernatural won nine Grammy Awards (eight for Santana personally), including Album of the Year, Record of the Year for "Smooth,” and Song of the Year for Thomas and Itaal Shur.
Carlos Santana has jammed with many of Standing Ovations' honorees, from Booker T. to Tower of Power. He has lead former band members and collaborators to new heights, including Gregg Rolie and San Francisco Bay Area guitar prodigy Neal Schon, who both later went on to become founding members of Journey. Santana has been reinventing and reshaping the landscape of music culture for over four decades. A visionary artist with no regard for genre boundaries, Carlos' fluid funk and Latin sound laid claim to the concept of "world music" before the term ever surfaced on pop culture radar.
Carlos Santana is a Grammy Award-winning Mexican rock musician and guitarist, who has been in the limelight since the late 1960s for his band's blend of rock, salsa and jazz fusion. As a teenager, Santana began performing in Tijuana, inspired by the American rock & roll and blues music of artists like B. B. King, Ray Charles, and Little Richard.
In the early 1960s, Santana moved with his family to San Francisco's Mission District where the young guitarist got the chance to see his idols, most notably King, perform live. He was also introduced to a variety of new musical influences, including jazz and international folk music, and witnessed the growing hippie movement centered in San Francisco in the 1960s. After several years spent working as a dishwasher in a diner and playing for spare change on the streets, Santana decided to become a full-time musician; in 1966, he formed the Santana Blues Band, with fellow street musicians David Brown and Gregg Rolie.
With their highly original blend of Latin-infused rock, jazz, blues, salsa, and African rhythms, the band, which quickly became known simply as Santana, gained an immediate following on the San Francisco club scene. Bill Graham, who had been a fan of the band from the start, convinced the promoters of the Woodstock Music and Art Festival to let them appear before their first album was even released. They were one of the surprises of the festival with a legendary set; the exposure of their eleven-minute instrumental "Soul Sacrifice" in the Woodstock film and soundtrack albums vastly increased Santana's popularity.
Their first album, Santana, spurred by a Top 10 single, "Evil Ways," went triple platinum, selling over four million copies and remaining on the Billboard chart for over two years. Abraxas, released in 1970, went platinum, scoring two more hit singles, "Oye Como Va" and "Black Magic Woman."
1999's Supernatural included collaborations with Everlast, Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty, Eric Clapton, Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, Cee-Lo, Maná, Dave Matthews, and others. The lead single, "Smooth" grabbed the attention of both fans and the music industry, spending twelve weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100; and the follow-up single, "Maria Maria," featuring the R&B duo The Product G&B, also hit number one, spending ten weeks there in the spring of 2000. Supernatural eventually sold over 15 million copies in the United States, making it Santana's biggest sales success by far. Supernatural won nine Grammy Awards (eight for Santana personally), including Album of the Year, Record of the Year for "Smooth,” and Song of the Year for Thomas and Itaal Shur.
Carlos Santana has jammed with many of Standing Ovations' honorees, from Booker T. to Tower of Power. He has lead former band members and collaborators to new heights, including Gregg Rolie and San Francisco Bay Area guitar prodigy Neal Schon, who both later went on to become founding members of Journey. Santana has been reinventing and reshaping the landscape of music culture for over four decades. A visionary artist with no regard for genre boundaries, Carlos' fluid funk and Latin sound laid claim to the concept of "world music" before the term ever surfaced on pop culture radar.
The Grateful Dead
The pioneering Godfathers of the jam band world, the Grateful Dead was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, jazz, psychedelia, space rock and gospel—and for live performances of long musical improvisation. The Grateful Dead most embodied all the elements of the San Francisco scene and came, therefore, to represent the counterculture to the rest of the country.
The Grateful Dead began their career in Menlo Park, California, playing live shows at Kepler's Books as The Warlocks in early 1964. Moving to the Haight-Ashbury section of San Francisco, this area became known for the San Francisco Sound; groups such as Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Big Brother & the Holding Company, and Santana went on to national fame, giving San Francisco an image as a center for the hippie counterculture of the era.
The founding members of the Grateful Dead were: banjo and guitar player Jerry Garcia, guitarist Bob Weir, bluesman organist Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, the classically trained Phil Lesh and jazzist drummer Bill Kreutzmann. Lesh was the last member to join the Warlocks before they became the Grateful Dead, replacing Dana Morgan Jr. who had played bass for a few gigs.
Following the passing of Garcia in 1995, members disbanded to other gigs, but appeared together sporadically with great enjoyment and delight from their fans, the ubiquitous "Deadheads." In February 14, 2003, (as they said) "reflecting the reality that [was]," they renamed themselves The Dead, reflecting the abbreviated form of the band name that fans had long used and keeping "Grateful" retired out of respect for Garcia. The members would continue to tour on and off through the end of their 2004 Summer Tour - the "Wave That Flag" tour, named after the original 1973 uptempo version of the song "U.S. Blues." The band accepted Jeff Chimenti on keyboards, Jimmy Herring on guitar, and Warren Haynes on guitar and vocals as part of the band for the tour.
On February 10, 2007, the Grateful Dead received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. The award was accepted on behalf of the band by Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann.
The pioneering Godfathers of the jam band world, the Grateful Dead was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, jazz, psychedelia, space rock and gospel—and for live performances of long musical improvisation. The Grateful Dead most embodied all the elements of the San Francisco scene and came, therefore, to represent the counterculture to the rest of the country.
The Grateful Dead began their career in Menlo Park, California, playing live shows at Kepler's Books as The Warlocks in early 1964. Moving to the Haight-Ashbury section of San Francisco, this area became known for the San Francisco Sound; groups such as Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Big Brother & the Holding Company, and Santana went on to national fame, giving San Francisco an image as a center for the hippie counterculture of the era.
The founding members of the Grateful Dead were: banjo and guitar player Jerry Garcia, guitarist Bob Weir, bluesman organist Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, the classically trained Phil Lesh and jazzist drummer Bill Kreutzmann. Lesh was the last member to join the Warlocks before they became the Grateful Dead, replacing Dana Morgan Jr. who had played bass for a few gigs.
Following the passing of Garcia in 1995, members disbanded to other gigs, but appeared together sporadically with great enjoyment and delight from their fans, the ubiquitous "Deadheads." In February 14, 2003, (as they said) "reflecting the reality that [was]," they renamed themselves The Dead, reflecting the abbreviated form of the band name that fans had long used and keeping "Grateful" retired out of respect for Garcia. The members would continue to tour on and off through the end of their 2004 Summer Tour - the "Wave That Flag" tour, named after the original 1973 uptempo version of the song "U.S. Blues." The band accepted Jeff Chimenti on keyboards, Jimmy Herring on guitar, and Warren Haynes on guitar and vocals as part of the band for the tour.
On February 10, 2007, the Grateful Dead received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. The award was accepted on behalf of the band by Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann.
Huey Lewis
Hugh Anthony Cregg III was raised in Marin County, attending Strawberry Point Elementary and Edna Maguire High. He changed his name to Huey (from a Donald Duck nephew) and Lewis in honor of the man he considered his stepfather, Beat Generation poet Lewis Welch. He went to Cornell University but returned to San Francisco before graduating.
A gig in Corte Madera led to the forming of Lewis' own band, American Express, which was soon changed to Huey Lewis and the News. The band hit the top 40 in 1982 with the album, Picture This, and the song, "Do You Believe in Love?" It was followed in 1983 with Sports, one of the best-selling pop releases of all time, and Fore, another #1 multi-platinum smash. Another iconic Lewis hit was "Hip to Be Square," released in 1986. Two more hit albums, Small World in 1988 and Hard At Play in 1991, gave the band an impressive string of 14 Billboard Hot 100 Hits.
The band also performed on "We Are the World," USA-for-Africa's fund-raising single.
Lewis has also appeared in many movies, including Back to the Future, Short Cuts, Duets (he played Gwyneth Paltrow's father) and .com for Murder. He went from the silver screen to Broadway this past year, appearing in the musical Chicago.
Hugh Anthony Cregg III was raised in Marin County, attending Strawberry Point Elementary and Edna Maguire High. He changed his name to Huey (from a Donald Duck nephew) and Lewis in honor of the man he considered his stepfather, Beat Generation poet Lewis Welch. He went to Cornell University but returned to San Francisco before graduating.
A gig in Corte Madera led to the forming of Lewis' own band, American Express, which was soon changed to Huey Lewis and the News. The band hit the top 40 in 1982 with the album, Picture This, and the song, "Do You Believe in Love?" It was followed in 1983 with Sports, one of the best-selling pop releases of all time, and Fore, another #1 multi-platinum smash. Another iconic Lewis hit was "Hip to Be Square," released in 1986. Two more hit albums, Small World in 1988 and Hard At Play in 1991, gave the band an impressive string of 14 Billboard Hot 100 Hits.
The band also performed on "We Are the World," USA-for-Africa's fund-raising single.
Lewis has also appeared in many movies, including Back to the Future, Short Cuts, Duets (he played Gwyneth Paltrow's father) and .com for Murder. He went from the silver screen to Broadway this past year, appearing in the musical Chicago.
Jefferson Starship
Jefferson Starship is an offshoot of the fabled Jefferson Airplane. Singer-guitarist Paul Kantner, the last remaining founding member of Jefferson Airplane, left the group to form the KBC Band. In 1992, he renamed the band Jefferson Starship. The group continues to entertain audiences worldwide with live performances and the release of new studio albums.
Extremely popular on the rock scene in the 1970s and 1980s, the band evolved from a Paul Kantner album project entitled Blows Against the Empire, featuring an ad-hoc group of all-star musicians who called themselves Jefferson Starship.
The band proper would initially consist of Kantner, Grace Slick, Craig Chaquico and Peter Kaukonen to promote Slick's solo album Manhole and after that Jefferson Starship was formally launched.
After the initial tour, Kaukonen left and was replaced by Pete Sears for the first studio album, Dragon Fly, and continued in about the same configuration until late 1978. The band redefined their music with more of a hard-rock edge with Aynsley Dunbar and Mickey Thomas joining.
In 1984, Paul Kantner left forming KBC Band with former bandmates Balin and Casady. The remaining members renamed themselves Starship, releasing three studio albums. Kantner began performing again in 1991 with Tim Gorman and Slick Aguilar of the KBC Band, calling themselves "Paul Kantner's Wooden Ships."
As the band continued to add more members, Kantner renamed the band Jefferson Starship once again. In September 2008, the band released their latest studio effort Jefferson's Tree of Liberty.
Jefferson Starship is an offshoot of the fabled Jefferson Airplane. Singer-guitarist Paul Kantner, the last remaining founding member of Jefferson Airplane, left the group to form the KBC Band. In 1992, he renamed the band Jefferson Starship. The group continues to entertain audiences worldwide with live performances and the release of new studio albums.
Extremely popular on the rock scene in the 1970s and 1980s, the band evolved from a Paul Kantner album project entitled Blows Against the Empire, featuring an ad-hoc group of all-star musicians who called themselves Jefferson Starship.
The band proper would initially consist of Kantner, Grace Slick, Craig Chaquico and Peter Kaukonen to promote Slick's solo album Manhole and after that Jefferson Starship was formally launched.
After the initial tour, Kaukonen left and was replaced by Pete Sears for the first studio album, Dragon Fly, and continued in about the same configuration until late 1978. The band redefined their music with more of a hard-rock edge with Aynsley Dunbar and Mickey Thomas joining.
In 1984, Paul Kantner left forming KBC Band with former bandmates Balin and Casady. The remaining members renamed themselves Starship, releasing three studio albums. Kantner began performing again in 1991 with Tim Gorman and Slick Aguilar of the KBC Band, calling themselves "Paul Kantner's Wooden Ships."
As the band continued to add more members, Kantner renamed the band Jefferson Starship once again. In September 2008, the band released their latest studio effort Jefferson's Tree of Liberty.
Tower of Power
In the mid-1960s, 17-year-old tenor saxophonist Emilio Castillo moved from Detroit, Michigan, to Fremont, California, starting the band, The Gotham City Crime Fighters. which evolved into The Motowns, including bassist Francis 'Rocco' Prestia, specializing in soul music covers. During 1968, Castillo teamed up with baritone saxophonist Stephen Kupka (later to be dubbed 'The Funky Doctor') and trumpet/trombone player Mic Gillette, moved to Oakland, and together began writing and performing original material. One of their early influences was Soul artist James Brown. They changed the band's name to Tower of Power and began playing frequently in the Bay Area.
In 1970, Tower of Power (by then including trumpeter/arranger Greg Adams, and drummer David Garibaldi) signed a recording contract with Bill Graham's San Francisco Records and quickly released its first album, East Bay Grease. Next, augmented by percussionist/conga/bongo player Brent Byars, they moved to Warner Bros. Records and 1972's Bump City and 1973's self-titled release, Tower of Power, were breakout albums for the band.
Well known in the 70's for tunes such as "What is Hip?" and "You're Still a Young Man," Tower of Power toured with Sly Stone and Creedence Clearwater Revival, creating traffic jams when they started to headline their own shows. They performed on records with the likes of Elton John, Smokey Robinson, Rod Stewart and Dionne Warwick, and influenced a generation of musicians (including Sting, who has told Emilio Castillo, founder of the group, that he once had a "Tower of Power clone band" before he formed The Police).
Now, with almost 40 years of recording and touring experience behind them, Tower of Power melds jazz, funk, rock and soul in a way no group ever has. The ten-piece outfit is, as a recent Hollywood Reporter review called them, "tighter than a clenched fist." Tower of Power is experiencing a renaissance, touring most of every year and packing venues in the United States, Japan and all over Europe with its audience of new and old fans. Things just keep getting better and better.
In the mid-1960s, 17-year-old tenor saxophonist Emilio Castillo moved from Detroit, Michigan, to Fremont, California, starting the band, The Gotham City Crime Fighters. which evolved into The Motowns, including bassist Francis 'Rocco' Prestia, specializing in soul music covers. During 1968, Castillo teamed up with baritone saxophonist Stephen Kupka (later to be dubbed 'The Funky Doctor') and trumpet/trombone player Mic Gillette, moved to Oakland, and together began writing and performing original material. One of their early influences was Soul artist James Brown. They changed the band's name to Tower of Power and began playing frequently in the Bay Area.
In 1970, Tower of Power (by then including trumpeter/arranger Greg Adams, and drummer David Garibaldi) signed a recording contract with Bill Graham's San Francisco Records and quickly released its first album, East Bay Grease. Next, augmented by percussionist/conga/bongo player Brent Byars, they moved to Warner Bros. Records and 1972's Bump City and 1973's self-titled release, Tower of Power, were breakout albums for the band.
Well known in the 70's for tunes such as "What is Hip?" and "You're Still a Young Man," Tower of Power toured with Sly Stone and Creedence Clearwater Revival, creating traffic jams when they started to headline their own shows. They performed on records with the likes of Elton John, Smokey Robinson, Rod Stewart and Dionne Warwick, and influenced a generation of musicians (including Sting, who has told Emilio Castillo, founder of the group, that he once had a "Tower of Power clone band" before he formed The Police).
Now, with almost 40 years of recording and touring experience behind them, Tower of Power melds jazz, funk, rock and soul in a way no group ever has. The ten-piece outfit is, as a recent Hollywood Reporter review called them, "tighter than a clenched fist." Tower of Power is experiencing a renaissance, touring most of every year and packing venues in the United States, Japan and all over Europe with its audience of new and old fans. Things just keep getting better and better.