57-640: Paul Bernard Rodgers (born 17 December 1949) is an English-Canadian singer, songwriter and musician. He was the lead vocalist of numerous successful rock bands, including Free , Bad Company , the Firm and the Law . He has also performed as a solo artist and collaborated with the remaining active members of Queen under the moniker Queen + Paul Rodgers , from 2004 until they parted ways in 2009. A poll in Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 55 on its list of
114-564: A Paul McCartney tribute album that would also feature contributions by Billy Joel , Garth Brooks , B. B. King , and KISS . Originally planned for a late 2010 release, the album, entitled The Art of McCartney , was released in late 2014. Rodgers' contribution is a cover of the Wings song " Let Me Roll It ", originally from their 1973 album Band on the Run . In 2014, Rodgers was once again touring with Bad Company. Rodgers again performed with
171-629: A "gorgeous knockabout" of a song. Record World said it was "their best since ' Alright Now '." The band performed the song on BBC's Top of the Pops on 13 May 1971. The band disbanded in 1971 because of differences between Fraser and Rodgers, who felt he was not being listened to. This led to the release of the live album called Free Live! In early 1972 the band set aside their differences and reformed in an effort to save Kossoff from his growing drug addiction, and released Free at Last in June of
228-581: A Canadian citizen in 2011. Rodgers was born in Middlesbrough , England. He played bass for a band named The Roadrunners. Colin Bradley originally had the lead vocal slot, but convinced Rodgers to sing and front the band as he was primarily interested in playing rhythm guitar and his oldest brother Joe (who managed the band) supported the idea. Just before leaving Middlesbrough for the London music scene,
285-444: A daughter, Natalie, from an early relationship, who resides in his hometown of Middlesbrough. He married Machiko Shimizu in 1971 and has two children from that marriage, Steve and Jasmine. Both are musicians, known for being members of the rock band Bôa . Rodgers and Shimizu divorced in 1996. In 2007, Rodgers married Cynthia Kereluk , a former Miss Canada , with whom he'd been in a relationship since 1997. In 2016 Rodgers suffered
342-574: A new band consisting of Jaz Lochrie on bass, Jimmy Copley on drums and Geoff Whitehorn on guitar. The band (The Paul Rodgers Band) toured extensively in Europe, US and in the UK until 1998 and released three albums – Live: The Loreley Tapes , Now and Electric . Now charted internationally in the Top 40 . The single "Soul of Love" remained in rotation on more than 86 US radio stations for six months but
399-683: A new studio album beginning in October, to be recorded at Roger Taylor's home. In April 2007 Rodgers released a live album of his 2006 tour, Live in Glasgow , recorded in Glasgow, Scotland 13 October 2006, with a DVD of the same show released the following month. On 27–28 December 2007, Rodgers performed with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra during their Winter 2007 Tour in Houston , Texas and Dallas , Texas. Unannounced, he joined
456-456: A number one hit in more than 20 territories and acknowledged by ASCAP in 1990 for having received over a million radio plays in the US. For a short time, Free were alongside Led Zeppelin as among the highest grossing British acts, though Free's status was not sustained. Free released four albums with a combination of blues , ballads and rock that were Top Five successes in the UK. When in 2000,
513-565: A one-night only, sold-out performance at the Seminole Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida. The live performance was released on Blu-ray, DVD, and CD on 9 February 2010 and the tracks included seventeen Bad Company hits. Rodgers dedicated "Gone, Gone, Gone" to original bassist Boz Burrell, who died in 2006. On 14 May 2009, Rodgers announced he was ending his five-year-long collaboration with Queen, although did not rule out
570-579: A series of albums were produced called Willie and the Poor Boys. Rodgers and Page were briefly part of this and recorded " These Arms of Mine ", an Otis Redding tune. This recording also became a video promoting the CD. The Law , Rodgers' 1991 musical venture with former the Who and Faces drummer Kenney Jones , produced Billboard 's number one AOR chart hit "Laying Down the Law" written by Rodgers, but
627-578: A sold out concert in Cleveland as a Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters . In spring 2001, Rodgers returned to Australia, England and Scotland for the second run of sold-out shows. That summer he toured the US with Bad Company . Rodgers and Bad Company released their first official live CD and DVD, In Concert: Merchants of Cool , in 2002. It included all the hits and a new single, "Joe Fabulous", penned by Rodgers, which hit number one at Classic Rock Radio and Top 20 on mainstream rock radio in
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#1732780180357684-1044: A song I wrote and shared with Free , ...'love in a peaceful world'. 'Love in a peaceful world'... over and over and over hoping the words would sink in but we went to war" recalled Rodgers. Twice in 2002, Rodgers performed on Britain's TV show Top of the Pops 2 . In 2003, Rodgers toured as a solo artist for the first time in two years playing 25 US dates. In his solo band were guitarist Howard Leese (formerly of Heart ), bassist Lynn Sorensen and drummer Jeff Kathan. Jools Holland invited Rodgers to record "I Told The Truth" for Holland's album Small World Big Band . The CD also featured Eric Clapton , Ronnie Wood , Peter Gabriel , Michael McDonald , Ringo Starr and others. This led to Rodgers performing two sold-out nights at London's Royal Albert Hall with Holland and his 18-piece rhythm and blues orchestra, and several UK TV appearances. He also appeared with Jeff Beck, performing some songs from Beck's back catalogue (along with several other notable musicians, including John Mclaughlin, Roger Waters and
741-424: A staple of R&B and rock , and has entered ASCAP 's "One Million" airplay singles club. Andy Fraser left the band in 1972 and formed Sharks . Free recorded one more album, Heartbreaker , before disbanding in 1973; Paul Rodgers and Simon Kirke went on to co-form the more successful rock supergroup Bad Company . Paul Kossoff formed Back Street Crawler in 1973, but died from a pulmonary embolism at
798-630: A successful live television performance, two of the three living members of the British rock group Queen proposed a collaboration with Rodgers, in which he would sing lead vocals on a European tour. Rodgers thus joined Brian May and Roger Taylor (former bassist John Deacon retired in the late 1990s), with the group billed as Queen + Paul Rodgers and they subsequently toured worldwide in 2005 and 2006. The participants clearly stated, including on Brian May 's own website, "that Rodgers would be "featured with" Queen as: "Queen + Paul Rodgers", not replacing
855-495: Is a song by British rock band Bad Company . It was written by vocalist Paul Rodgers and released as the first single from the group's 1979's studio album, Desolation Angels . It is one of Bad Company's best-known songs and has become a staple of classic rock radio. "Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" was inspired by a guitar synthesizer riff that Paul Rodgers had come up with. While not the band's highest charting single in America, it
912-465: Is their best selling, having been certified Gold by the RIAA . Cash Box said "Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" has a "stout beat and heavy fuzz guitar sound and excellent singing" as well as "solid" production. Record World called it "a hard rocker with a sure shot at AOR and Top 40 play" and praised Rodgers' lead vocals as being "inspired". Democrat and Chronicle critic Jack Garner said it "contains
969-599: The British Music Industry when "All Right Now" passed 2 million radio plays in the UK. Despite its name, Free was the only advertised band who would not perform for free for the ailing Phun City festival in July 1970. Promoter Mick Farren said that when they learned there would be no payment, they left "without even getting out of the car." Kirke's replacement in Black Cat's Bones, Phil Lenoir, played
1026-530: The R&;B band Black Cat Bones , but they wanted to move on. When Kossoff saw Paul Rodgers singing with his band Brown Sugar at the Fickle Pickle, an R&B club in London's Finsbury Park , he was immediately impressed and asked to jam onstage with Rodgers. Along with Kirke, they began the search for a fourth member. Alexis Korner recommended Andy Fraser , who had been playing with John Mayall &
1083-558: The Trans-Siberian Orchestra on their New Year's Eve show in Seattle, Washington. Rodgers performed Can't Get Enough and All Right Now. In 2017 Rodgers embarked on a 'Free Spirit' UK Tour in May 2017 to celebrate the music of Free by performing songs strictly from the Free catalogue. Rodgers said "It was 50 years ago in 1967 when Paul Kossoff and I met and later formed Free". In 2018 a CD/DVD set
1140-522: The UK singles chart and No. 4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 . The album reached No. 2 in the UK charts and No. 17 on the U.S charts, making it the most successful Free album. "All Right Now" became a No. 1 hit in over 20 territories and was recognised by ASCAP in 1990 for garnering 1 million plus radio plays in the US by late 1989. In 2000 an award was given to Paul Rodgers by
1197-487: The "100 Greatest Singers of All Time". In 2011, Rodgers received the British Academy's Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. Rodgers has been cited as a significant influence on various rock singers. In 1991, John Mellencamp called Rodgers "the best rock singer ever". Freddie Mercury in particular liked Rodgers and his aggressive style. He holds joint citizenship , after becoming
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#17327801803571254-435: The "clipped rhythmic accompaniment" from drummer Simon Kirke and bassist Boz Burrell . Classic Rock History critic Janey Roberts rated it as Bad Company's eighth best song. Ultimate Classic Rock critic Matt Wardlaw rated it as Bad Company's fourth best song, saying that it "is probably one of the best songs ever written about what it's like living life as a star in the music business." The song peaked at number 13 on
1311-833: The Bluesbreakers . Korner also provided the name "Free" to the new band. The group played their first gig on 19 April 1968 at the Nag's Head pub, at the junction of York Road and Plough Road in Battersea , London. They were all teenagers – bass player Fraser was 15 years old, lead guitarist Kossoff was 17, and lead singer Rodgers and drummer Kirke were 18. By November they had recorded their first album, Tons of Sobs , for Island Records , it being released in March 1969. The album documented their first six months together and contains studio renditions of much of their early live set. To promote
1368-636: The Hoople . The line-up also included Free drummer Simon Kirke , and Boz Burrell , former vocalist and bassist of King Crimson . Rodgers said he and Ralphs were still trying to come up with a name for the band, "and I just said 'Bad Company', and there was this scuffling noise and he said, 'Shit, I dropped the phone—that's it! ' " Bad Company was the first act signed to Led Zeppelin's new record label, Swan Song . They toured from 1973 to 1982, and had several hits such as " Feel Like Makin' Love ", " Can't Get Enough ", " Shooting Star ", " Bad Company ", and "Run with
1425-526: The Pack". Rodgers played instruments on several tracks: "Bad Company" and "Run with the Pack" featured him on piano; " Rock and Roll Fantasy " on guitar; and on the ballad "Seagull" Rodgers played all of the instruments. Bad Company earned six platinum albums until Rodgers left in 1982, stating that he wanted to spend time with his young family. It was revealed in April 2011 that after Jim Morrison 's death in 1971,
1482-714: The San Diego County Fair in Del Mar, California , followed by casino shows in Lemoore on 17 June and in Santa Ynez on 18 June. Rodgers performed a solo UK tour in April 2011 with Joe Elliot 's Down 'n' Outz . The concert of 28 April at Birmingham's National Indoor Arena was filmed for a future live DVD release. In May 2011 Rodgers received an Ivor Novello Award for "Outstanding contribution to British music" Rodgers announced that he would be taking part in
1539-719: The US and Canada. He performed at Wembley for the fiftieth anniversary celebration for the Fender Stratocaster , along with David Gilmour who played Strat No. 001, Ronnie Wood , Brian May , Joe Walsh and Gary Moore . Rodgers sang and played a custom designed Jaguar Fender Strat. He was invited by the Four Tops to be part of their fiftieth anniversary TV/DVD concert celebration at Motown's Opera House and performed alongside Aretha Franklin , Dennis Edwards & The Temptations Revue, Sam Moore , Mary Wilson , Ashford and Simpson and The Four Tops. In late 2004, after
1596-612: The US. In its debut week, the DVD sales sound scanned at number three Canada, and number four in the US. The Joe Fabulous Tour kicked off in the US and sold out in the UK. While in London, Rodgers performed with Jeff Beck at the Royal Festival Hall . Rodgers was invited by long-time fan Tony Blair to perform at the Labour Party Conference. "I had the entire Labour Party singing the chorus of "Wishing Well",
1653-816: The White Stripes) for part of a week-long series of charity concerts put on by Jeff Beck at the Royal Festival Hall in London. Early in 2004, Rodgers joined Mitch Mitchell and Billy Cox (Hendrix's Cry of Love), Buddy Guy , Joe Satriani , Kid Rock's Kenny Olson , Alice in Chains' Jerry Cantrell , Double Trouble , Indigenous, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and blues legend Hubert Sumlin (Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters) and performed three sold-out shows in Seattle , Portland and San Francisco as "Experience Hendrix". Once again, Rodgers only played 25 concerts in
1710-532: The age of 25 in 1976. Andy Fraser died on 16 March 2015 at 62. Rolling Stone has referred to the band as "British hard rock pioneers". The magazine ranked Rodgers No. 55 on its list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time", and Kossoff at No. 51 on its list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". Free were signed to Island Records in the UK and A&M Records in North America . Paul Kossoff and Simon Kirke became friends while in
1767-578: The album peaked at number 126 on the Billboard 200 chart. A second album can be found on the bootleg market, which is often referred to as The Law II . It is believed that this collection of songs were leftovers from the first album. Rodgers acknowledged the influence of Jimi Hendrix by collaborating with Steve Vai , Hendrix's Band of Gypsys ( Buddy Miles and Billy Cox ) and the London Metropolitan Orchestra and recorded
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1824-475: The band at the end of their show to sing "Bad Company" and "All Right Now". Rogers was a judge for the sixth and seventh annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists. On 27 June 2008, Rodgers and Queen performed at the Concert for Nelson Mandela to celebrate Mandela's 90th birthday. On 8 August 2008, Rodgers and original members Mick Ralphs and Simon Kirke reunited as Bad Company to perform
1881-401: The band changed its name to The Wildflowers. Other members of this band were Micky Moody (later of Whitesnake ) and Bruce Thomas (later of Elvis Costello and The Attractions ). In 1968, Rodgers joined bluesy rockers Free as singer and songwriter. In 1970, they shot up the international radio charts with " All Right Now ", which Rodgers wrote with the group's bassist Andy Fraser . It was
1938-555: The festival as drummer for Shagrat . Highway was their fourth studio album, recorded extremely quickly in September 1970. It performed poorly in the charts, reaching No. 41 in the UK and No. 190 in the US. In April 1971 they released the single " My Brother Jake ", which reached number four in the UK Singles Chart and remained in the chart for 11 weeks. It was described by Dave Thompson of AllMusic as
1995-710: The first of two major strokes. The second, which came in 2019, greatly affected his speech and musical abilities. These, along with 11 more minor strokes, required an endarterectomy . He has since made a full recovery. Studio albums Live albums Free (band) Free were an English rock band formed in London in 1968 by Paul Rodgers (vocals), Paul Kossoff (guitar), Andy Fraser (bass, piano) and Simon Kirke (drums, percussion). They are best known for their hit songs " All Right Now " and " Wishing Well ". Although renowned for their live performances and non-stop touring, their music did not sell well until their third studio album, Fire and Water (1970), which featured
2052-480: The first time in 20 years, all the original members of Bad Company toured the US. Rodgers focused on his solo career in 2000 and released Electric , his sixth solo CD. In its debut week, the single "Drifters" was US rock radio's number one on the Most Added FMQB Hot Trax list, number two on Most Added R&R Rock and number three on Most Added Album Net Power Cuts . "Drifters" remained in
2109-441: The forthcoming album they opened some shows at the end of 1968 for the Who , who played a short theatre tour with Arthur Brown . The group's second studio album, Free , was recorded and released in 1969 on Island Records. While their first two albums were not greatly successful, their third album Fire and Water , released in 1970, was a huge success, largely due to its hit single " All Right Now ", which reached No. 2 on
2166-419: The group the Firm , which resulted in two albums and two tours. Critics' reception of the band was sometimes scathing (one review used the term "supersludge") and also mixed. Even so, the Firm's two albums, The Firm and Mean Business , achieved moderate sales success and produced the radio hits " Radioactive ", "Satisfaction Guaranteed", and, in the UK, " All The King's Horses ". During this same period,
2223-442: The heavy blues stylings of Free again in his solo career during the 1980s and 1990s, and in the bands The Firm and The Law . Subsequently, he teamed up as vocalist with two of the three remaining members of Queen ( Brian May and Roger Taylor ). In September 2008, Queen + Paul Rodgers released their first studio album The Cosmos Rocks . Rodgers also performed Free and Bad Company songs while on tour with Queen, in addition to
2280-411: The hit "All Right Now". The song helped secure them a performance at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival , where they played to an audience of 600,000 people. In the early 1970s they became one of the best-selling British blues rock groups; by the time they disbanded, they had sold more than 20 million records worldwide and had played in more than 700 arenas and festival concerts. "All Right Now" remains
2337-480: The late Freddie Mercury ". The group subsequently released a live album with songs from Queen, Bad Company and Free, called Return of the Champions , and a DVD of the same name. Both featured live recordings from their Sheffield Hallam FM Arena concert on 9 May 2005. The DVD features " Imagine " from Hyde Park . "For one glorious summer" opined music critic Sean Michaels "we were all Paul Rodgers". Another DVD
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2394-510: The most varying material yet from the band, indicating continued growth and maturity on their part." AllMusic reviewer Mike DeGagne commented on Rodgers' "vocal passion" on the song. AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine regarded it as one of the band's best "big, brawny arena rockers" and noted that it's a "quintessential classic rock staple". In 2016, Classic Rock ranked the song at number nine on their list of Bad Company's 10 best songs, praising Ralphs' "curt, sharp [guitar] solo" and
2451-676: The music and played all of the instruments. The album reached number 135 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart. When his friend Jimmy Page started to come around to his house, guitar in hand and Led Zeppelin at an end, the duo's first live pairing was on the US ARMS (Action Research into Multiple Sclerosis) Tour, which had first been mooted by Eric Clapton and, besides Rodgers and Page, would include Jeff Beck , Joe Cocker , Steve Winwood and others. The inspiration behind ARMS had been former Small Faces /Faces member Ronnie Lane 's own struggle with M.S. This led to Rodgers and Page's further teaming in
2508-542: The possibility of working with them again. On 17 November 2009, it was announced he would join the other surviving members of Bad Company for an eight-date UK tour in April 2010. On 5 June 2010 he began small tour of California, US by performing at the Temecula Valley Balloon & Wine Festival. One week later, on 12 June, Rodgers and his band appeared as headliners on the Grandstand Stage at
2565-534: The rest of the Doors wanted Rodgers to replace him. Robbie Krieger flew to England to personally offer him the job. However, Rodgers has said that he was off the grid in a very rural area at the time, and the moment passed. In late 1973, Rodgers was asked to become the singer of Deep Purple when Ian Gillan had left the band. He rejected their offer in order to start Bad Company . In October 1983, Rodgers released his first solo LP Cut Loose . He composed all of
2622-446: The same year. Fraser left the band in mid-1972, frustrated by Kossoff's unreliability at being able to perform at shows or even at showing up. The remaining members recruited Japanese bass player Tetsu Yamauchi and keyboardist John "Rabbit" Bundrick , who had worked with Kossoff and Kirke during Free's initial split, recording Kossoff, Kirke, Tetsu and Rabbit and recorded what would be Free's final album, Heartbreaker . Kossoff
2679-446: The song "All Right Now" achieved the mark of two million radio plays in the UK, an award was given to Rodgers as one of the two writers. After the first break-up of Free in the spring of 1971, Rodgers briefly formed a three-piece band called Peace. Alongside bassist Stewart McDonald and drummer Mick Underwood , Rodgers played guitar and sang lead vocals. Peace supported Mott the Hoople's UK tour in 1971, but broke up when Free reformed at
2736-463: The start of 1972. Two songs by Peace were eventually included on the fifth disc of the 2000 Free compilation Songs of Yesterday , along with a song that Rodgers recorded with the Maytals . A bootleg has circulated of a 22 December 1971 appearance by Peace, live in studio, on BBC Radio 1 's Top Gear program. Rodgers formed his next band, Bad Company , with Mick Ralphs , former guitarist of Mott
2793-525: The title track and was backed by guitarists Brian May , Gary Moore , David Gilmour , Jeff Beck , Steve Miller , Buddy Guy , Richie Sambora , Brian Setzer , Slash , Neal Schon and Trevor Rabin . For Woodstock's 25th anniversary in 1994, Rodgers pulled together drummer Jason Bonham , bassist Andy Fraser (from Free), guitarists Slash and Schon at the last moment to perform as the Paul Rodgers Rock and Blues Revue. In 1995, he formed
2850-519: The top 10 for eight weeks on Billboard ' s Rock charts. That year, he played sold-out concerts in England, Scotland, Australia, United States and Canada. After his appearance on TV's Late Show with David Letterman in New York, he met and jammed with B. B. King . That same year, Rodgers, Jimmie Vaughan , Levon Helm , bluesmen Hubert Sumlin , Johnnie Johnson , James Cotton and others performed
2907-489: The track "Bold As Love", on the Hendrix tribute album In From The Storm . Then Rodgers teamed with Journey guitarist Neal Schon and drummer Deen Castronovo for his release The Hendrix Set , a live 5-track CD, recorded in 1993 with Rodgers' interpretations of Hendrix songs. A Canadian and US tour followed. His Grammy-nominated solo CD, Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters was released in 1993. Rodgers wrote
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#17327801803572964-565: The traditional Queen songs and new cuts from their most recently released album. Rodgers and Kirke toured again with Bad Company from 2012 to 2016. Andy Fraser died on 16 March 2015. In 2017, Paul Rodgers embarked on a Free Spirit UK Tour in May 2017 to celebrate the music of Free by performing songs strictly from the Free catalogue. In 2019 Bad Company reformed to tour in support of the first leg on Lynyrd Skynyrd 's Last Of The Street Survivors Tour. Original members Later members Rock %27n%27 Roll Fantasy " Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy "
3021-435: Was not a sales success. His 1997 world tour included Russia, Japan, Canada, US, UK, Germany, France, Romania , Bulgaria , Israel, Brazil, Greece and Argentina . Rodgers and Bad Company hit Billboard ' s US BDS charts with the number one single "Hey, Hey" in 1999, one of four new tracks off Bad Company's The 'Original' Bad Co. Anthology . The second single release, Rodgers's "Hammer of Love", reached number two. For
3078-684: Was released in 2006 from a live performance in Japan, called Super Live in Japan . Queen + Paul Rodgers also released a single featuring " Reaching Out ", " Tie Your Mother Down " and " Fat Bottomed Girls ". The summer of 2006 saw Rodgers again focused on his solo career with a world tour, which commenced in Austin, Texas , US in June, then on to Japan, finishing in Glasgow , Scotland, in October 2006. On 15 August 2006, Brian May confirmed through his website that "Queen + Paul Rodgers" would begin producing
3135-588: Was released which captured the final show from the 'Free Spirit' tour filmed at the Royal Albert Hall on 28 May 2017. In the summer of 2018 Rodgers toured with Jeff Beck. In 2023, he released the album Midnight Rose , his first solo album of original material in 24 years. He stated in an interview that he had no plans to tour in support of it. Rodgers became a Canadian citizen on 21 October 2011 and resides in British Columbia. Rodgers has
3192-513: Was replaced by ex- Osibisa guitarist Wendell Richardson for a US tour in 1973, but shortly thereafter Free disbanded for good. Rodgers and Kirke went on to form Bad Company , Fraser formed Sharks and later the Andy Fraser Band, and Kossoff formed Back Street Crawler . With Kossoff in better health again in late 1975, he was delighted that ex-colleagues Rodgers and Kirke asked him to join them on stage for two nights. A British tour
3249-479: Was set to begin on 25 April 1976 with Back Street Crawler headlining with Bad Company in support of Back Street Crawler's second album, but again Kossoff's drug addictions contributed to a drastic decline in the guitarist's health. On a flight from Los Angeles to New York City on 19 March 1976, Kossoff died from a pulmonary embolism at the age of 25. After parting with Bad Company in 1982, Rodgers went on to explore
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