Commander Cody
George Frayne IV and his band, Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, were equally adept at stripped-down basic rock & roll, R&B, and gritty country-rock. The band's country-rock rocked harder than the Eagles or Poco -- essentially, the group was a bar band. Much like English pub rock bands like Brinsley Schwarz and Ducks Deluxe, Commander Cody resisted the overblown and bombastic trends of early-'70s rock, preferring a basic no-frills approach. Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen never had the impact of the British pub rockers, yet their straightforward energy gave their records a distinguishing drive; they could play country, Western swing, rockabilly, and R&B, and it all sounded convincing.
The group originally formed in 1967 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The original lineup included Commander Cody himself (born George Frayne IV; piano), John Tichy (lead guitar), Steve Schwartz (guitar), Steve "The West Virginia Creeper" Davis (bass), and Ralph Mallory (drums). When the group relocated to San Francisco the following year, only Frayne, Bolton, and Tichy made the move; the group's membership had been bolstered to include Billy C. Farlow (vocals, harp), Andy Stein (fiddle, saxophone), guitarist Billy Kirchen, bassist "Buffalo" Bruce Barlow, and drummer Lance Dickerson for their 1971 debut album, Lost in the Ozone.
The following year the group scored a fluke Top Ten hit with "Hot Rod Lincoln," taken from their first album, Lost in the Ozone. Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen were never able to capitalize on the single's success, partially because their albums never completely captured their live energy. They continued to release albums until Tichy left the band in 1976. Commander Cody released his first solo album, Midnight Man, in 1977, then he re-formed the group as the Commander Cody Band. They recorded three albums between 1977 and 1980. In 2009, after a 23-year hiatus, Commander Cody returned to the studio for Dopers, Drunks and Everyday Losers, a collection of new songs and classics from the Cody catalog. George Frayne IV died on September 26, 2021 of cancer at the age of 77.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
Discography
20 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Tour From Hell 1973
Rock - Released by Aim Records on Jan 1, 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dopers, Drunks and Everyday Losers
Blues - Released by Blind Pig Records on Apr 21, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live in San Fran '71
Rock - Released by Sundazed Music, Inc. on Sep 18, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Berkeley Baby! Live!
Rock - Released by RockBeat Records on Feb 9, 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Worst Case Scenario
Rock - Released by Aim Records on Jan 1, 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Flying Dreams
Pop - Released by Legacy Recordings on Jul 13, 1978
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Let's Rock (Commander Cody)
Rockabilly - Released by Blind Pig Records on Nov 15, 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live at Rockpalast 1980 (Live, Cologne, 1980)
Rock - Released by M. i. G. - music on Apr 21, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rock N' Roll Again
Pop - Released by Legacy Recordings on Jul 13, 1977
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Commander Cody - Live at Gilley's (Live)
Country - Released by Music Manager on Jun 22, 2021
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Country Rockers Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, Vol. 1
Commander Cody, His Lost Planet Airmen
Rock - Released by Platinum Collection on Jun 12, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Country Rockers Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, Vol. 2
Commander Cody, His Lost Planet Airmen
Rock - Released by Platinum Collection on Jun 12, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hot Rod Lincoln (Live)
Country - Released by Vanilla OMP on Mar 6, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lose It Tonight
Rock - Released by Compose Records on May 17, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Live From Electric City
Rock - Released by Liberation Hall on Aug 23, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Truck Stop Rock
Country - Released by Collecting Records OMP on Jan 1, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live from the Island
Commander Cody, His Modern Day Airmen
Rock - Released by Woodstock Records on Oct 2, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Claiming New Territories (Live)
Blues - Released by M. i. G. - music on Apr 22, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo