Couldn’t Get It Right
Climax Blues Band, originally known as the Climax Chicago Blues Band, was formed in Stafford, England in 1968. The original members were guitarists Peter Haycock and Derek Holt, keyboardist Arthur Wood, bassist Richard Jones, drummer George Newsome, and vocalist and harmonica player Colin Cooper. In 1970, the group shortened its name to the Climax Blues Band due to pressure from the American band Chicago Transit Authority, later known simply as Chicago. The band has released at least seventeen albums and had a Top 10 hit with “Couldn’t Get It Right”, which reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1977. Led by Cooper, the former frontman of the R&B group the Hipster Image, the Climax Chicago Blues Band was one of the leading lights of the late 1960s UK blues boom. Prior to the release of 1969’s “Plays On”, Jones left the group, prompting Holt to move to bass. In 1970 they moved to the Harvest Records label, at the same time shifting towards a more rock-oriented sound on “A Lot Of Bottle”. Around the release of 1971’s “Tightly Knit”, Newsome was replaced by John Cuffley. Upon Wood’s exit in the wake of 1972’s “Rich Man”, they continued on as a quartet, also dropping the “Chicago” portion of their name at that time. In 1974 the Climax Blues Band issued “FM Live”, a document of a New York radio concert. 1975’s “Stamp” was their commercial breakthrough, and 1976’s “Gold Plated” fared even better, spurred on by the success of the hit single “Couldn’t Get It Right”. By the mid-1970s they were drawing crowds of up to 20,000 at U.S. concerts. However, the rise of punk rock effectively stopped the group in their tracks. Cooper died of cancer at age 69 in July 2008. However, the band continues to tour to the present day. This channel is dedicated to the classic rock hits that have become part of the history of our culture. The incredible AOR tracks that define music from the late 60s, the 70s and the early 80s . . . Classic Rock is here!
