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24-405: Drummer Corky Laing explained that he had developed some of the lyrics and the drum part prior to his joining the band. Later, when guitarist Leslie West was looking for lyrics for a guitar part he had written, Laing pulled out "The Queen" and the two worked out the song together; bassist/producer Felix Pappalardi and lyricist David Rea also received songwriting credits. "Mississippi Queen"

48-418: A moniker which has remained with him throughout his career. Getting his break playing drums for the vocal group The Ink Spots in 1961, he later played in a group called Energy, which was produced by Cream collaborator and Laing's future bandmate Felix Pappalardi . Laing left Energy in 1969 to replace drummer N.D. Smart in a hard rock outfit and heavy metal forerunner Mountain , who, with Laing at

72-578: A Japanese tour releasing the live Twin Peaks . Laing rejoined in 1974 recording Avalanche only for Mountain to break up again shortly after. The band would once again reconvene with guitarist Leslie West and Laing in 1985 for the release of Go For Your Life , and Laing has continued with them, most recently working on the band's 2007 Bob Dylan cover album Masters of War . In late 1977 through 1978, he recorded an album with Felix Pappalardi (former Mountain bass player), Ian Hunter (from Mott

96-618: A break from touring in the spring of 1973 to record a second studio album, Whatever Turns You On , in London. The sessions became contentious – they became "really nasty because of the smack" according to the album's co-producer Andy Johns – with West and Laing electing to return home to New York before mixdown was complete. The album was released in July 1973, peaking at #87 on the Billboard chart. The Whatever Turns You On sessions would be

120-404: A hot live commodity throughout 1972; notably, a November 1972 WBL show at New York City 's Radio City Music Hall sold out 6,000 seats within four hours. Upon signing with CBS, WBL began work on their first album, Why Dontcha (November 1972). The album took longer than expected to complete, in part from inefficiency due to drug use by the band and their production team; upon its delivery to

144-461: A very, very dark time. New York meant coke, England meant heroin, because that’s where the best quality was. I had this Hayman drumkit made that was going to be shipped back to the States. This heroin connection of Jack's said that her business connections would pay me $ 250,000 if they could ship heroin back in the drums. They were all metal so nobody would have noticed the extra weight. The band took

168-558: Is a Canadian rock drummer , best known as a longtime member of the pioneering American hard rock band Mountain . He and guitarist/vocalist Leslie West were the only members to appear on every album. A native of Montreal , Quebec , Laing was the youngest in a family of five children. His eldest sister Carol was followed by triplet brothers, Jeffrey, Leslie, and Stephen, and then by Corky. According to Corky, his brothers called him "Gorky" because they could not pronounce his given name "Gordon". "Gorky" eventually morphed into Corky,

192-438: The drum kit , released three albums and the classic song " Mississippi Queen " between 1970 and 1971. After the band's first breakup the following year, Laing and Mountain bandmate Leslie West went on to form the blues-rock power trio West, Bruce and Laing with former Cream bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce . West, Bruce and Laing produced two studio albums and a live release before Mountain reformed without Laing in 1973 for

216-638: The Hoople ) and Mick Ronson . This album was not released at the time but was subsequently released in the UK in 1999 as "The Secret Sessions". In addition to Mountain, he has recorded as the group Cork , with Spin Doctors guitarist/vocalist Eric Schenkman and Noel Redding , formerly bass guitarist of The Jimi Hendrix Experience . In late 1975, he played congas on several tracks on Bo Diddley 's all-star album The 20th Anniversary of Rock 'n' Roll . In 1991, he

240-476: The band until 2010. Jack Bruce resumed a solo career after WBL's demise; his later career highlights included collaborations with guitarist Robin Trower and jazz percussionist/producer Kip Hanrahan , as well as a 2005 reunion with Cream. Bruce died in 2014. In 2009 West and Laing teamed up with Jack Bruce's son, Malcolm Bruce, and toured as West, Bruce Jr. and Laing. This group was advertised by some venues as

264-562: The cowbell what Dostoevsky is to the Russian novel " in naming it number one on its 2004 list of the "Fifteen Greatest Cowbell Songs of All Time". Ozzy Osbourne recorded "Mississippi Queen" for his 2005 album Under Cover , with a guest appearance by West on guitar. The song reached number 10 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. Corky Laing Laurence Gordon " Corky " Laing (born January 26, 1948)

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288-845: The death of Leslie West in December 2020, Laing became the last surviving member of Mountain's classic lineup. In 2016, he formed Corky Laing's Mountain, with former Mountain bassist Richie Scarlet, now on lead guitar, and the bass slot was filled in by Mark Mikel, Joe Venti, or Bernt Ek. West, Bruce and Laing West, Bruce and Laing (also known by the acronym WBL ) were a Scottish–American–Canadian blues rock power trio super-group formed in 1972 by Leslie West (guitar and vocals; formerly of Mountain ), Jack Bruce (bass, harp, keyboards and vocals; ex- Cream ), and Corky Laing (drums and vocals; ex-Mountain). The band released two studio albums, Why Dontcha (1972) and Whatever Turns You On (1973), during their active tenure. Their disbanding

312-403: The end of Mountain’s 1971–72 European tour supporting their album Flowers of Evil (1971), after Mountain’s bassist/vocalist/producer Felix Pappalardi announced he would leave the band at the tour’s end. (Pappalardi had, by late 1971, become addicted to heroin .) Jack Bruce knew Pappalardi well; Pappalardi had produced all but one of Cream's albums, and occasionally also performed with them in

336-405: The gear and production of the song that, “It’s only one guitar track on the rhythm – a [Gibson] Les Paul TV Jr. into a 50-watt Marshall that went into a Sunn 12-inch cabinet." The guitar leads were later overdubbed. "Mississippi Queen" appears at number 10 on a 1995 chronological list of the "50 Heaviest Riffs of All Time" by Guitar magazine editorial staff. Author Scott R. Benarde describes

360-602: The label, CBS was dissatisfied with the album's quality and did not heavily promote it. In spite of this, however, Why Dontcha performed respectably in the marketplace, peaking at #26 on the Billboard album chart and staying on the chart for twenty weeks. WBL continued to tour North America and Europe extensively during late 1972 and early 1973 in support of Why Dontcha . However, the band's heavy drug use hurt their performances, and apparently at times even influenced their tour schedule. Corky Laing would later note: [It was]

384-634: The last time West, Bruce & Laing would work together. However, news of the band’s breakup would be publicly withheld until early 1974, with the band’s posthumous live album Live 'n' Kickin' released shortly thereafter. Following the breakup of WBL, in late 1973 West and Laing briefly toured as Leslie West's Wild West Show. Following this, West reunited with Felix Pappalardi in a new line-up of Mountain. This band would work together through 1974, with Corky Laing ultimately joining as well. West and Laing would again reform Mountain in 1985 (without Pappalardi, who died in 1983), and sporadically played together in

408-578: The new band. West and Laing’s manager Bud Prager, and Bruce’s manager Robert Stigwood , jockeyed for influence with WBL, with Prager ultimately establishing the more dominant position by brokering a US$ 1 million, three-album contract (7.5 million dollars in 2024) for the band with CBS/ Columbia Records – a large artist signing for the day. As part of the deal, Prager arranged for WBL’s records to be distributed by CBS under his and Pappalardi's Windfall Records imprint, and for Mountain’s back catalog of albums to be reissued by CBS/Windfall. CBS Records' head at

432-585: The song as "an enduring anthem" with a "guitar riff that sounded like a carnivore choking on dinner". The song is ranked 230th in The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs of All Time by biographer Martin Popoff ; it also appears at number 10 on the Ultimate Classic Rock 2011 list of the "Top 10 Southern Rock Songs". Spin magazine described it as "the cowbell jam to end all cowbell jams. Mountain are to

456-548: The studio. Subsequently, as Mountain's producer, Pappalardi would fashion his new band's sound after that of Cream, in particular scoring a 1970 hit with a cover version of Bruce’s song " Theme for an Imaginary Western " (from Bruce's 1969 album Songs for a Tailor , which Pappalardi produced). Bruce was thus viewed as a natural "replacement" for Pappalardi in West and Laing’s post-Mountain venture, with several record companies and management organizations expressing interest in signing

480-406: The time, Clive Davis , would be quoted as saying that the negotiations for WBL "showed record-company competition at its fiercest." Mostly leveraging material from Cream’s and Mountain’s back catalogs, West, Bruce & Laing began touring almost immediately after Mountain's disbanding, completing a 30-date North American tour even before their record deal with CBS was finalized. The band remained

504-569: Was featured on Men Without Hats ' cover version of The Beatles ' song " I Am the Walrus " on drums. This is available on the Sideways album. In 2003, Laing and Leslie West authored Nantucket Sleighride and Other Mountain on-the-Road Stories , a chronicle of their time with Mountain in its heyday and their careers in the years following. Laing lives in Toronto's historic Liberty Village and

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528-682: Was interviewed for the 2006 documentary film, Liberty Village - Somewhere in Heaven . He contributed the music for the film from recordings of his band Cork . In 2007, Laing recorded Stick It! , the audio version of his memoirs with Cory Bruyea in Oakville, Ontario . Laing's interest in education led him to attend the KoSA Music Camp in Vermont for the summer of 2012. In 2019, he released his autobiography, Letters to Sarah . Following

552-514: Was officially announced in early 1974 prior to the release of their third and last album, Live 'n' Kickin' . In 2009 West and Laing briefly relaunched the band, with Jack Bruce's son Malcolm substituting for his father on bass. This incarnation of the band toured the UK and North America under the name 'West, Bruce Jr. and Laing'. The trio agreed to work together in London in January 1972 near

576-443: Was recorded during the sessions for Mountain 's 1970 debut album Climbing! , but without keyboard player Steve Knight . Pappalardi provided the piano part and during the recording, he insisted on numerous takes. Growing weary, Laing started using the cowbell to count off the song; Pappalardi liked it so much he left it in the mix, creating the song's recognizable intro. West stated in a Guitar Player magazine interview about

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