The Honeydrippers - behind the senes details?

Anyone out there know any tid bits, facts, rumors or stories about the Honeydrippers?

Things I’d love to know and have tried to research:
Who played guitar on each recording?
Who played guitar on each show or their tour?
I wish there were interviews from Beck, Page and Setzer.
I’d love to hear what guitars, amps effects Beck and Page dragged out for different recordings.
Was Setzer ever involved in the recording?

I wish there was more info out there..

 

How hard did you try? Wikipedia can tell you who played guitar on each recording.

Nile Rodgers: rhythm
Page: Sea of Love and I Get a Thrill
Beck (unmistakably) I Got a Woman," and Rockin' at Midnight
Robbie Blunt: Bonus tracks.

 

I googled Honeydrippers. It simply said “who” and that Setzer was on tour with them. What did you google? Where did it give you the additional details?

 

Honeydrippers vol 1. You were so close!

 

The Honeydrippers didn't really tour. Plant had played at a few small shows in 1981 with local musicians (which were variously billed as The Skinnydippers or The Honeydrippers), but those local guys didn't play on the Honeydrippers studio recordings.

The 1981 band included at various times:

Andy Sylvester (guitar)
Robbie Blunt (guitar)
Jim Hickman (bass)
Kevin J. O'Neil (drums)
Keith "Bev" Smith (drums)
Ricky Cool (harmonica/saxophone/backing vocals)
Keith Evans (saxophone)

The 1984 studio session featured:

Nile Rodgers (producer, rhythm guitar and possibly bass)
Paul Shaffer (keyboards)
Wayne Pedziwiatr (bass)
Dave Weckl (drums)
Lynton Naiff (string arrangements)
Jeff Beck (guitar on multiple tracks at the session, but they ended up using only his parts for "Rockin' And Midnight" and "I Got A Woman")
Jimmy Page (overdubbed solos on "Sea Of Love" and "I Get A Thrill"; pretty sure Jimmy played his Telecaster with B-bender)

Brian Setzer did not participate in the studio session; his only appearance with The Honeydrippers was at the December 1984 performance on "Saturday Night Live" (which featured Paul Shaffer but no one else from the 1981 or 1984 lineups).

Plant played a brief set of Honeydrippers songs on his 1985 tour, but he was backed by his regular band:

Robbie Blunt (guitar)
Paul Martinez (bass)
Jezz Woodroffe (keyboards)
Richie Hayward (drums)

 

Wow thanks.

I always loved that album. When I was a kid that kinda got me into what I then called “Oldies”

It made me discover, I went back in time and tuned out the music around me. By the time high school came I didn’t like what everyone listened to. Montley Crue, Warrant.... I went from 50’s/60’s straight to mid 70’s. While everyone in my school was learning “every Rose has its thorn” while I was playing Badfinger, Thin Lizzy and the Cars.

I found the Honeydrippers on vinyl for $3.00 about a year ago. It’s always played at least once a month.

 

BTW, Plant has made several additional Honeydrippers-style recordings over the years:

"Little Sister" (Elvis cover, recorded live with Rockpile in 1979 and released on the "Concerts For The People Of Kampuchea" fundraiser LP, 1981; Plant also performed this with Pearl Jam in 2005)
"Philadelphia Baby" (Charlie Rich cover, recorded in 1983 with David Edmunds and Phil Collins; released on the "Porky's Revenge" Soundtrack)
"Let's Have A Party" (Elvis cover, released on "The Last Temptation Of Elvis" compilation, 1990)
"Your Ma Said You Cried In Your Sleep Last Night" (Kenny Dino cover, on "Manic Nirvana", 1990)
"If It's Really Got To Be This Way" (Arthur Alexander cover, on "Adios Amigo" compilation, 1994)
"My Bucket's Got A Hole In It" (Hank Williams/Sonny Burgess cover; recorded with Jimmy Page and released on the "Legacy Of Sun Records" compilation, 2001)
"Let The Boogie Woogie Roll" (The Drifters cover; recorded with Jools Holland and released on his "More Friends" album, 2002)
"Look Out Mabel" (cover of the 1958 Davy Crockett song; recorded with the Big Town Playboys and released on their "Roll The Dice" album, 2004)
"Gone Gone Gone" (Everly Brothers cover; recorded with Alison Krauss and released on "Raising Sand", 2007)
"Fortune Teller" (Benny Spellman cover; recorded with Alison Krauss and released on "Raising Sand", 2007)

 

I take it they were never in the studio at the same time? Can't imagine that would have gone well.

 

Sound quality on my original vinyl pressing is out of this world. It should be included in HP's superdisc list. It's that good!

 

Any idea why they never did anything else together? Too many egos?

 

I thought Page and Beck were friends?

 

Plant was shocked by the success of the Honeydrippers project, and it bruised his ego a bit -- the guy had been busting his butt for the previous 3 1/2 years to establish a solo career, and now all of a sudden he records a couple of '50s covers on a lark and he ends up with more chart success than all of his solo and Zep singles combined?!

After that, he made a conscious decision to avoid being seen as a nostalgia act. And part of that decision, I suspect, was to distance himself from the people involved with the project.

 

They are friends..

But both of them are moody, mercurial, stubborn, weird, and difficult at times. Unless they were both on their best behavior, it would be a crap shoot if they'd get along at any particular session.

 

I always wondered why he didn't record a whole album. Why just do four songs?

 

5 Songs:

 

Who's counting!

 

Truth.

 

My favorite Jeff Beck album.

 

The Honeydrippers album is one of my favorite things that Plant has done in his solo career. It introduced me to great songs and musical styles that I hadn't heard before, and sounds great on vinyl as well.

My friends and I saw him in Cleveland during the Shaken 'N' Stirred tour and we all decided that the Honeydrippers set was the highlight of an excellent show.

One of my favorite Christmas songs is the Honeydrippers performance of Santa Claus is Back in Town on SNL from December 1984. They were introduced by Eddie Murphy, who had come back to the show as guest host. I sure wish this would get an official release. Here is a link to an audio-only version. The video can probably be found somewhere on the internet.

 

Excellent choice, probably just behind Blow By Blow for me.

 

Nile Rogers strongly suggested on Twitter about 18 months ago that the project had be revived and that new recordings were forthcoming. Then he clammed up on the matter. So, it may be a possibility.

 

Bring it on please!

 

That makes perfect sense for the time. I feel like he's mellowed a bit since then and embraced the old timey songs again.

 

I'm glad you brought this up - the vinyl is far superior to any digital version by a country mile. Same goes for Plant's Shaken n Stirred album. Both are demo disc territory.