Geno Washington and the Ram Jam Band
What an honour it is for us to welcome one of the most exhilarating performers in live music history to the Sound Lounge stage, complete with the full Ram Jam Band.
Geno originates from Evansville in Indiana, USA and first came to England in the 1960s as part of the US Air Force. His love of Blues and Soul music soon found him jamming with local bands in and around Ipswich and eventually led him to London where he caused a sensation singing with top R&B acts Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames and Zoot Money's Big Roll Band at the legendary Flamingo Club in Soho. The rest, as they say, is history.
Geno teamed up with some of London's hottest musicians and Geno Washington and the Ram Jam Band very quickly became established as the most exciting live band in Britain, regularly topping the bill over world-famous artistes, as nobody in their right mind wanted to go on stage after a Geno show!
His live shows were immortalised in two of the biggest selling albums of the 60’s - "Hand Clappin' Foot Stompin' Funky Butt Live" (which spent more than six months in the UK Top 20 in 1967) and "Hipsters Flipsters and Finger Poppin' Daddies". Geno also visited the singes charts with such favourites as "Water" and "Hi! Hi! Hazel".
"Geno bounced on stage greeted by a roar from the crowd, 90 per cent of them Geno fans from Windsor's raving Ricky Tick Club. Kids were yelling, clapping and jumping on their chairs, while the band roared through 'Respect', 'Hold On I'm Coming', and 'Willie Willie'" – Review of sixth National Jazz and Blues Festival, Windsor in Melody Maker, August 1966
Washington's status as the undisputed "King of Soul" was cemented forever by Kevin Rowland and Dexy's Midnight Runners in the 1980s with the worldwide No.1 smash hit single "Geno", which paid homage to the great man himself and is still played regularly today on national radio and at Geno's live gigs both before and after shows.
Throughout the years Geno and his band have continued to tour extensively all over the World and have released several highly acclaimed albums and singles. His latest live double album simply entitled "It's Geno Time", recorded at the legendary Half Moon in Putney, is widely regarded as his best work to date: you only have to listen to the audience reaction to know that Geno has lost none of his magic as he and the band deliver a blistering set of soul classics to a wild crowd who wouldn't let them off stage!
This will be a mixed seating and standing show.
