Mother's Finest
Georgia funk rock band Mother's Finest might appear to be only a blip on the radar screen of rock history, but not to any of the headlining bands they've stolen shows from -- or any of the audiences who saw it happen. Following in the footsteps of the racially mixed Sly & the Family Stone, Mother's Finest comprised white guitarist Moses Mo and drummer B.B. "Queen" Borden with Black vocalists Joyce Kennedy and Glenn Murdock, bassist Jerry "Wyzard" Seay, and keyboardist Mike Keck, for its 1976 self-titled debut album. Tracks like "Rain" and the slightly controversial "Niggazz Can't Sing Rock & Roll" made enough of a ripple to get the band out of Georgia clubs and into regional touring. The follow-up album, Another Mother Further, lived up to its title. The opening track was a cover of the Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team's "Mickey's Monkey," made popular by Smokey Robinson. But the guitar riff was a blatant copy of Jimmy Page's from the Led Zeppelin song "Custard Pie," released two years earlier. Perhaps because the song was a cover, or the fact that they stole from blues legends early in their career, Led Zeppelin never sued and the track (along with others like "Piece of the Rock" and "Hard Rock Lover") helped make Another Mother Further the group's springboard.
For the remainder of the 1970s, Mother's Finest became the most dangerous opening act in rock, blowing away headliners like Aerosmith, Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush, and Ted Nugent. A subpar third album, 1978's Mother Factor, took nothing away from the band's live performances, as vocalists Murdock -- and particularly the powerful Kennedy -- enthralled audiences over the funk rock backline of Mo, Wyzard, Borden, and Mike. The 1979 album Mother's Finest Live featured not only original staples like "Watch My Stylin'" and "Give You All the Love," but also Kennedy singing a stunning cover of Jefferson Airplane's "Somebody to Love" and the musicians shining on a rearranged version of Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride." It would prove a last hurrah -- Mother's Finest didn't transition well into the 1980s, and never achieved its due in the largely white world of rock. Mo, Mike, and Borden would leave the band, the latter joining Southern rockers Molly Hatchet, but Kennedy, Murdock and Wyzard fought on. After dabbling in dance music with several different lineups in the '80s, the trio formed an all-African-American band in the early '90s by recruiting guitarist John Hayes and drummer Dion Derek. The angry, rocking result was the 1992 CD Black Radio Won't Play This Record, which proved prophetic despite being the band's best since its 1979 live album (white radio wouldn't play it either). It's now in the cut-out bins; ignored or forgotten -- much like Mother's Finest -- by all except a select few. A best-of collection, Not Yer Mother's Finest: The Very Best of Mother's Finest, was released in 1997 and features material mostly from their first two albums.
© Bill Meredith /TiVo
Similar artists
Discography
19 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
-
-
Mother's Finest Live (Live)
Pop/Rock - Released by Columbia on 26 mei 1979
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
The Essential Mother's Finest - The RCA/Epic Years
Rock - Released by Epic - Legacy on 13 dec. 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
-
Mother's Finest (1972) [Expanded Edition]
R&B - Released by Legacy Recordings on 1 okt. 1972
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Burning Love - Mother’s Finest - Best
Funk - Released by Zounds on 2 mei 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live At Rockpalast (Grugahalle Essen, 04.03.1978 & Burg Satzvey, 20.07.2003)
Divers - Released by M. i. G. - music on 27 apr. 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
-
The Very Best Of Mother's Finest
Pop/Rock - Released by Legacy Recordings on 13 jul. 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Looks Could Kill
Pop - Released by Capitol Records on 4 aug. 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
He's The Only One
Soul - Released by Artefix Music on 1 aug. 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
My Badd (Live at the Print Shop)
Rock - Released by Blank Records on 19 apr. 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Baby Love (Live at the Print Shop)
Rock - Released by Blank Records on 12 apr. 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live at the Print Shop
Rock - Released by Blank Records on 26 apr. 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo