Family

  • Leicester, England
    hometown
  • Soul
    genre
  • 1966
    started
  • Bio
    full story
  • Share
  • Similar
Close

About Family


A blues-based band with art rock inclinations, Family were one of the more interesting groups of hippie-era Britain. Fronted by the deft and frequently excellent guitar playing of John "Charlie" Whitney and the raspy, whiskey-and-cigarette voice of Roger Chapman, Family were much loved in England and Europe but barely achieved cult status in America. While bands like Jethro Tull, Ten Years After, and the Keith Emerson-led Nice (and later Emerson, Lake & Palmer) sold lots of records, Family, who frequently toured with these bands, were left in the shadows, an odd band loved by a small but rabid group of fans.

Although the band's first official release was Music in a Doll's House in 1968, the roots of the band went back as far as the early '60s, when Whitney started a rhythm & blues/soul band called the Farinas while at college. In 1966, Whitney met Roger Chapman, a prematurely balding singer who had a voice so powerful that, to quote Robert Christgau, "It could kill small game at a hundred yards," and the two began a creative partnership that would last through two bands and into the early '80s. With Whitney and Chapman leading the way, Family became whole with the addition of bassist Ric Grech, saxophonist Jim King, and drummer Rob Townsend. Within a year they were hyped as the next big thing, and under that pressure and intense British pop press scrutiny delivered their debut record in 1968, Music in a Doll's House. Doll's House is pop music redolent of the Zeitgeist: Chapman's voice is rooted in the blues and R&B, but the record is loaded with strings, Mellotrons, acoustic guitars, and horns -- essentially all the trappings of post-psychedelia and early art rock. Almost completely ignored in the States, Doll's House was a hit in Britain and Family began a string of "less art rock/more hard rock" albums that ended, as did the band, with the release of It's Only a Movie in 1973.

After Family's demise, Whitney and Chapman formed the blues-rock Streetwalkers; other Family members (of which there were quite a few in the band's tempestuous eight years) such as John Wetton (King Crimson, Asia) and Jim Cregan (Rod Stewart) went off to find fame and fortune elsewhere. Trivia buffs note: it was Ric Grech who was the first to leave Family in 1969 to become the least well-known member of supergroup Blind Faith. Sadly, that proved to be Grech's biggest mistake, as Blind Faith imploded in a year, and Grech (whose last notable band membership was in Traffic), long plagued by drinking problems, died of liver failure in 1990. Charlie Whitney went on to play in an extremely low-key country/blues/bluegrass band called Los Rackateeros, and Roger Chapman moved to Germany, where his solo career flourished. A fine, occasionally great band, Family deserved more recognition (at least in America) than they received -- something that a thoughtfully compiled career-spanning CD retrospective might rectify. ~ John Dougan, Rovi

Scroll up Scroll down

News

From position 0, showing 20 items, asking 10
See All
Next Page
  • Family
    Snooki, JWOWW + Other Celebs Reveal Their Favorite Pride Songs
    MTV Act
    June 18, 2013
    By Corinne Henneberry Last night’s TrevorLIVE annual event in NYC brought on a collaboration of entertainers and advocates in support of the organ...
    Read More
  • Family
    It’s Really Over (College, That Is): The Best Commencement Speeches of 2013
    MTV Act
    June 18, 2013
    You've passed your classes. You put on the cap and gown. All you need to do is walk across the stage, and you will have officially graduated from coll...
    Read More
  • Family
    'Most Dope' Rough Cuts: Mac Miller Comes Home To A Swimsuit Model On His Stairs [Video]
    Remote Control
    June 18, 2013
    Squeezing countless hours of  Mac Miller   footage   into only six   " Most Dope Family " episodes was a daunting task for MTV2, and as you'd expec...
    Read More
  • Family
    'Kick-Ass 2' Exclusive: Meet Your Heroes And Villains
    MTV News
    June 18, 2013
    MTV News has exclusive behind-the-scenes footage from the superhero sequel, complete with action-packed shots from the film's new faces.
    Read More
  • Family
    OFFSTAGE: Hunter Hayes' MTV Artist to Watch Live Stream Previews Upcoming Tour
    CMT News
    June 18, 2013
    (CMT Offstage keeps a 24/7 watch on everything that's happening with country music artists behind the scenes and out of the spotlight.) Anxious to re...
    Read More
  • Family
    'Falling Skies' Spoiler Interview: Writer John Wirth On Ep. 3.03 'Badlands'
    MTV Geek
    June 18, 2013
    Each week, MTV Geek will sit down with the writers of TNT's alien invasion drama " Falling Skies " and in a spoiler-heavy interview about the developm...
    Read More
  • Family
    Brad Pitt Promises 'World War Z' Will Be 'Most Intense' Movie You'll See All Year
    MTV News
    June 18, 2013
    'It's just big and fun,' actor tells MTV News at New York premiere.
    Read More
  • Family
    Mac Miller Gets Surprised By A Sexy Model ... But It's 'Nothing New': Watch!
    MTV News
    June 18, 2013
    With his Watching Movies With the Sound Off album out, new bonus clip from MTV2's 'Most Dope Family' shows why it's good to be Mac.
    Read More
  • Family
    E3 2013: Hideki Konno On The Secret Link Between A Classic Famicom Game And 'Super Mario 3D World'
    Multiplayer Blog
    June 18, 2013
    "Mario Kart 8" wasn't the only newly announced Mario game that Nintendo's longtime employee Hideki Konno had a hand in creating. Shown for the first ...
    Read More
  • Family
    'Community'-Gate 2013: Dan Harmon Apologizes, Starts Work On Season 5
    MTV Geek
    June 18, 2013
    Community-Gate 2K13 continues! The good news is, returning show-runner Dan Harmon has started work on Season 5 of Community . The bad news? He had ...
    Read More
  • Family
    Premiere: Celebrate Biggie's Birthday With Two New Episodes Of 'The SMALLS Family'
    www.xxlmag.com
    1 of 3 SmallsFamily SmallsFamilyShot2 Behind-the-scenes photos from 'The SMALLS Family' SmallsFamilyShot1 Behind-the-scenes photos from 'The SMALLS Fa...
    Read More
  • Family
    Paris Hilton Joins Lil Wayne's Cash Money Family
    MTV News
    have relationships with."Hilton's been long teasing the sophomore effort. She shared last year she wanted to have new music out in mid-2012, but it ne...
    Read More
  • Family
    Duane Allman's Coricidin Bottle Slide Returns Back to Allman Family After 40 Years
    www.jambands.com
    than 25 coricidin slides out there and only three on display. The coricidin bottles made before 1972 were rare in that there were no seams and each ha...
    Read More
  • Family
    Brad Pitt Slams Marriage To Jennifer Aniston, Praises Family Life With Angelina Jolie
    www.vibe.com
    While the daily luxuries of normalcy sometimes escape him, he still prefers the craziness. "Maybe it's nice to be in a hotel room for a day - 'Oh, nic...
    Read More
  • Family
    USPS to Release Johnny Cash Stamp with Members of Cash Family, Randy Travis and More
    www.jambands.com
    will celebrate the launch of its limited edition Johnny Cash "forever" stamp with an event at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on June 5. The issuanc...
    Read More
  • Family
    Family celebrates release of new Johnny Cash stamp
    music.yahoo.com
    underway to save Cash's childhood home in Dyess, Ark. Cash said he still is contacted with stories of the effect his father had on the lives of his fa...
    Read More
  • Family
    Cheerios Ad Featuring Interracial Family Causes Backlash
    www.vibe.com
    was tarnished by hateful YouTube comments. According to AdWeek, most of the comments make reference to Nazis and racial genocide and have forced the c...
    Read More
  • Family
    Kanye West Talks 'Yeezus,' Family and Career
    www.rollingstone.com
    wrote the line 'light-skinned friend look like Michael Jackson' I was going to be a big star," he said, referring to a lyric from his song "Slow Jamz....
    Read More
  • Family
    VIBE's Fresh Fathers Talk Balancing Their Careers And Family
    www.vibe.com
    Being a father and an entertainer both come with great responsibility,so VIBE and KFC caught up with some of our favorite dad's to see how they balanc...
    Read More
  • Family
    Family tweets indicate Kim Kardashian gives birth
    music.yahoo.com
    Representatives for West and Kim Kardashian didn't respond to emails and calls from The Associated Press, nor did any representatives for family membe...
    Read More

Tour Dates

From position 0, showing 1 items, asking 50
See All
  • Oct 31 Thursday
    Toronto, ON, Canada Wrongbar
    Buy Ticket

Discography

From position 0, showing 10 items, asking 10
See All
Next Page
  • Portrait (2012)
    Family
    Portrait (2012)
    Pelagic
  • Performance (2012)
    Family
    Performance (2012)
    Eastworld Recordings
  • Family Holiday's 2010 (2010)
    Family
    Family Holiday's 2010 (2010)
    Inner Peace Productions
  • Live (2004)
    Family
    Live (2004)
    United States Of Distribution LTD.
  • It's Only a Movie (1973)
    Family
    It's Only a Movie (1973)
    Mystic Records
  • Bandstand (1972)
    Family
    Bandstand (1972)
    See For Miles Records
  • Fearless (1971)
    Family
    Fearless (1971)
    Repertoire
  • Anyway... (1971)
    Family
    Anyway... (1971)
    Snapper Music
  • A Song for Me (1970)
    Family
    A Song for Me (1970)
    See For Miles Records
  • Family Entertainment (1969)
    Family
    Family Entertainment (1969)
    See For Miles Records - (import)
Are You Family? Claim this page | Learn more about Artists.MTV | FAQ for Artists | Opportunities
Family Bio | Family Tour Dates | Family Discography |
MTV | MTV Jobs | Privacy Policy | User Content Agreement | Copyright | Artist Index | Social Projects Agreements | Ad Choices |
Portions of this page powered by
This site contains content from artists, fans, and writers from around the internet in it's natural form. Such content is not representative of Viacom Media Networks.

©2012 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. MTV and all related titles and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.

  • Explore
    • Popular
    • Emerging
    • Genres
      • Rock
      • Hip Hop
      • Indie
      • Electronic/EDM
      • Country
      • Pop
    • Collections
    • Artist To Watch
  • Search
  • Are you an artist?
    • Claim Your Page
    • Learn More
    • FAQ
    • Opportunities