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Bad Company: Paul Rodgers
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In the United States, Bad Company's popularity soared. While some fans had recognized Rodgers' voice from "All Right Now," the group's energetic stage shows wowed audiences largely unfamiliar with the work of Free or Mott The Hoople. FM radio devoured their debut disc, ultimately working "Can't Get Enough," "Rock Steady," "Bad Company," "Ready For Love" and "Movin' On" into regular rotation. Rodgers' passionate, soulful vocals were reminiscent of one his idols, Otis Redding, and struck a chord with the group's rapidly expanding fan base.
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On Desolation Angels (which included the Rodgers-penned hit “Rock and Roll Fantasy,” #13, 1979), Bad Company added synthesizers and strings. Indicative of its increasingly sporadic activities, three years elapsed between Angels and Rough Diamonds, which seemed an anachronism upon its 1982 release. The group disbanded that year, with Rodgers releasing a solo LP in 1983, then forming yet another supergroup, the Firm, with Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist Tony Franklin, and drummer Chris Slade.
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In 1986, Ralphs and Kirke decided to re-form Bad Company, but Rodgers was engaged with a new supergroup called The Firm. So the remaining three members hired ex-Ted Nugent vocalist Brian Howe as the new lead singer, Steve Price as the new Bass player and Greg Dechert (ex-Uriah Heep) on keyboards. Howe's vocal style brought more of a pop-rock sound to the band, as opposed to Rodgers' more bluesy sound. The band hired Foreigner producer Keith Olsen to produce the new lineup's initial album, 1986's Fame and Fortune. The album was released on Atlantic Records. Reflecting the musical style of the mid-80s, the album was laden with keyboards, unlike previous Bad Company albums, and was only modestly commercially successful, failing to break the Top 100.
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Paul Rodgers