Sad to hear Terry Reid great English singer passed away today

R.I.P. Terry. May your music and memory be a blessing to family, friends and fans.

Rest in peace.

RIP.

R.I.P. Terry.

I read this sad news yesterday. He was so much more than just "the guy who turned down Led Zeppelin" (and Deep Purple, apparently). His albums through the late-'70s are all excellent, and he should have enjoyed more commercial success. Sadly, the only time I got to see him live was during an apparent low point in his career. In March 2005 he performed at BB King's in NYC. I was hoping to see him play music from his solo career and wail on the guitar, but instead he came out in a white suit and sang blues/jazz standards with a large horn-based band. Normally I love that kind of stuff, but he was drunk & belligerent...and sounded awful. It's possibly the worst concert I ever attended. Six months later I saw footage of him performing in the UK and he looked & sounded amazing. Wish I had seen THAT guy. None of this took away my love of his music.

I posted this on Facebook so thought I'd share it here

My Terry Reid experiences are framed by Tom Petersson. The first time I saw them was at Madame Wong's in 1980 shortly after Tom left Cheap Trick. Going with my friends Colleen and Henry, we were huge fans of Tom and was excited to see him play an intimate setting with his hero. However it was just awkward, especially after seeing Tom play to 80,000 fans at the Coliseum that summer. Tom sauntered in dressed in leather like the rock star he just walked away from, and they were clearly unrehearsed and probably drunk. We just kept feeling Tom had fallen hard fast and was so upset we left before they finished (OK I was 17 so probably not a decision I'd make later on).

Fortunately last year I was able to replace that memory with a more positive experience when Terry Reid came out as a surprise guest with Cheap Trick at Agua Caliente in Rancho Mirage and they tore through Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace. Although it was written by Terry, I consider this my favorite Cheap Trick song so it was a special treat to hear them play it together.

Between these two moments were a couple of Wild Honey shows where Terry shined at tributes to Buffalo Springfield (2018) and The Kinks (2019) where my friends in the Wild Honey universe were able to make some wonderful memories and friendships with this unsung rock icon.

RIP Terry Reid.

R.I.P. Terry.