Steve Marriott should be a household name. He was idolized and imitated (blatantly ripped off is more accurate) by Robert Plant and revered by Paul Stanley, Steve Perry, Chris Robinson and Bon Scott. He was courted by Jimmy Page to be the original singer for Led Zeppelin but Marriott's manager threatened to break Page's fingers if he stole him away. He auditioned with the Rolling Stones to replace Mick Taylor but as soon as Marriott opened his mouth Jagger realized he didn't want the competition. In between all this he found the time to start two massively influential bands that were unfortunately more popular in England than in the States, thus limiting his exposure to many Americans.
Marriott was born today in London in 1947. Like many kids at that time he was a fan of American blues and early rock and roll. He started a band at age 12 and had success in the theater, notably in productions of Oliver Twist partially due to his diminutive size. He had a potentially promising acting career ahead of him but his true love was music. By the age of 16 he had a record deal as a solo artist.
His solo act didn't catch on and he formed the band Steve Marriott's Moments which had a decent local following and would open for bands like The Animals and John Mayall. By 1964 the Moments weren't having the success they wanted and Marriott sought better opportunities. He and David Bowie came close to joining forces but Marriott ended up starting a band called Small Faces.
Small Faces had a record contract within two months of forming and they signed with manager Don Arden. Arden was a real bastard of a man and was also the father of Sharon Arden, Ozzy Osbourne's future wife. Arden was essentially the Suge Knight of the day and he made Led Zeppelin's manager Peter Grant look like Mr. Rogers. It was Arden that threatened to break Page's fingers. It was also Arden who sicced his dogs on his own daughter after she took over Ozzy's management without Warden's permission. Sharon was pregnant at the time and the attack caused her to miscarry. Like I said, he was a real bastard.
Unsurprisingly, Arden royally screwed Small Faces. Despite top ten hits and sold out shows the band was virtually broke. They left Arden and signed with the Rolling Stones' manager, Andrew Loog Oldham. The band kept cranking out hits in the UK and things were marginally better financially. In 1968 they released the landmark psychedelic album "Ogden's Nut Gone Flake". It reached #1 in the UK but, similar to The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper" album, was virtually impossible to play live.
Marriott began feeling hemmed in by the band and around this time he was doing some songwriting for a band called the Herd, which featured guitarist Peter Frampton. Marriott loved Frampton's playing and wanted to bring him into Small Faces to inject some fresh air and take the band's sound in a new direction. The rest of the band balked at the idea and Marriott left.
Marriott and the remnants of Small Faces both landed on their feet. Small Faces added Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood from the Jeff Beck Group and renamed themselves Faces. Marriott got his wish to work with Peter Frampton and Humble Pie was born when he added bassist Greg Ridley from Spooky Tooth and drummer Jerry Shirley (who would later become a DJ at 98.5 WNCX in Cleveland). Humble Pie was a marked departure from the sound of Small Faces as the psychadelia was stripped away, eventually replaced with a heavier blues-based sound. Frampton played lead guitar and Marriott played rhythm and the combination resulted in riff-heavy, classic rock glory.
Marriott handled the majority of vocal duties but Frampton and Ridley chipped in as well. Having such an array of competent singers and musicians allowed the band amazing flexibility. The band would later add the Blackberries, three female R&B singers, which furthered their range well past the majority of their peers.
Humble Pie signed again with Andrew Loog Oldham and released their first two albums in 1969. Oldham's record label went bankrupt and in 1970 the band signed with an American manager, Dee Miller. Miller wanted to break the band into America and guided them toward a heavier sound. Miller also pushed Marriott into the spotlight and diminished the focus on Frampton. This caused some friction and Frampton left the band and was replaced by Clem Clempson.
Frampton conveniently signed with Miller and would go on to enormous success with his album "Frampton Comes Alive". Marriott was distrustful of the motivations behind Frampton leaving the band and when he felt he was again being shorted money he confronted Miller. Miller arranged a meeting between Marriott and one of Miller's associates, John Gotti (yes, that John Gotti). Marriott left the meeting no richer, a little wiser and completely disillusioned by the Big Music scene.
Humble Pie broke up in 1975 and Marriott went out on his own. He encountered money problems as taxes and bills he thought were paid by former managers were coming due. Marriott fled to the US ahead of the taxman and settled in California.
At this point Marriott was destitute so he agreed to a reunion. Humble Pie briefly re-formed in 1979 and released a few albums. They were touring with bands like Aerosmith, Ted Nugent and Judas Priest but eventually disbanded again.
Marriott would continue playing in other bands and occasionally connect with former bandmates, including Frampton, who Marriott was recording with as late as April, 1991. Not much came of it and, though he was still in demand, Marriott had a habit of turning down offers due to his distrust of the industry. He also had a habit of some bad habits, with longtime alcohol & drug abuse taking its toll on marriages and his mind.
On April 20, 1991 firefighters were called to Marriott's house due to a massive conflagration. Marriott had returned to England from the US only the night before. He had taken some Valium for the flight and was drinking heavily that evening. It is suspected that he returned home and was smoking in bed before passing out. He died of smoke inhalation at the age of 44.
If you are a classic rock fan and aren't familiar with Humble Pie or only know them from their biggest hit "30 Days in the Hole" I encourage you to go out and at least get their greatest hits. Marriott's voice alone is worth the price of the album and the musicianship and songwriting is excellent.
Whoa Nellie has a great piece on Humble Pie here: http://www.elevenwarriors.com/forum/anything-else/2016/03/68795/happy-pi...
