Editing Alexis Korner

{{short description|British blues musician and radio broadcaster (1928–1984)}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2013}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name            = Alexis Korner
| image           = Alexis-Korner.jpg
| caption         = Alexis Korner, Musikhalle Hamburg, November 1972
| birth_name      = Alexis Andrew Nicholas Koerner
| alias           = "Father of [[British Blues]]"
| birth_date      = {{birth date|df=yes|1928|04|19}}
| birth_place     = Paris, France
| death_date      = {{death date and age|df=yes|1984|01|01|1928|04|19}}
| death_place     = London, England
| instrument      = Vocals, acoustic & electric guitar, mandolin, piano<ref name="AKInstruments">{{cite web |title='The Alexis Korner Collection' |url=http://freshonthenet.co.uk/2010/12/alexis/ |website=Freshonthenet.co.uk |date=2 December 2010 |access-date=21 October 2014}}</ref>
| genre           = [[Blues]], [[blues rock]]
| occupations     = Musician, singer-songwriter, historian, broadcaster
| years_active    = 1955–1984
| label           = [[Decca Records|Decca]], [[Polydor Records|Polydor]], Spot Records, [[Columbia Records|CBS Records]], [[Transatlantic Records]], [[Fontana Records|Fontana]], [[RAK Records]], [[Tempo Records (UK)|Tempo]], [[Brain Records]], [[Liberty Records|Liberty]], Atlantic/Metronome, [[77 Records]], [[Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros.]], [[Charisma Records|Charisma]]
| past_member_of = [[Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated]], Free At Last, [[C. C. S. (pop group)|CCS]], Snape
| website         = 
}}

'''Alexis Andrew Nicholas Koerner''' (19 April 1928 – 1 January 1984), known professionally as '''Alexis Korner''', was a British [[blues]] musician and radio broadcaster, who has sometimes been referred to as "a founding father of [[British blues]]".<ref>{{Google books|iDE0dH6ZLwUC|Then, now and rare British beat 1960–1969 by Terry Rawlings|page=115}}</ref> A major influence on the sound of the British music scene in the 1960s,<ref name="ibndjr"/> he was instrumental in the formation of several notable British bands including [[The Rolling Stones]] and [[Free (band)|Free]]. Korner was inducted into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] in the musical influence category in 2024.

==Early career==
Alexis Andrew Nicholas Koerner was born on 19 April 1928 in Paris, France,<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=1997|edition=Concise|isbn=1-85227-745-9|page=723}}</ref> to an Austrian Jewish father<ref>Jack Hamilton, ''Just Around Midnight: Rock and Roll and the Racial Imagination'', 2016, p.111</ref>  and a mother of Greek, Turkish and Austrian descent.<ref>{{cite web |author=iTunes|title=Alexis Korner Biography|website=[[iTunes]] |url=https://music.apple.com/gb/artist/alexis-korner/3194103|access-date=3 October 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Rolling Stone]]|title=Fricke's Picks: Free, Bluesman Alexis Korner, "Scandinavia Action Jazz"|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/blogs/alternate-take/frickes-picks-free-bluesman-alexis-korner-scandinavia-action-jazz-20061117|access-date=3 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140122212120/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/blogs/alternate-take/frickes-picks-free-bluesman-alexis-korner-scandinavia-action-jazz-20061117|quote=He was also the unlikely ground zero of British R&B; -- a Paris-born singer-guitarist of very non-Delta roots (Korner was part Greek, Turkish and Austrian) |archive-date=22 January 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> He spent his childhood in France, Switzerland and North Africa, and arrived in London in 1940 after the start of the Second World War. One memory of his youth was listening to a record by black pianist [[Jimmy Yancey]] during a German [[Strategic bombing|air raid]]. Korner said, "From then on all I wanted to do was play the blues."<ref name="tsxbpf">{{cite web |last=Eder |first=Bruce |title=Alexis Korner &#124; Biography |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/alexis-korner-mn0000001020/biography |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=27 June 2014}}</ref>

After the war, Korner played piano and guitar (his first guitar was built by friend and author Sydney Hopkins, who wrote ''[[Mister God, This Is Anna]]'') and in 1949 joined [[Chris Barber]]'s Jazz Band<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rocksbackpagesblogs.com/2009/09/chris-barber-father-of-british-rb/|author =John Pigeon|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100128073947/http://www.rocksbackpagesblogs.com/2009/09/chris-barber-father-of-british-rb/|publisher=Rocks Back Pages|title=Chris Barber: Father of British R&B|date=28 September 2009|url-status=usurped|archive-date=28 January 2010}}</ref> where he met blues harmonica player [[Cyril Davies]]. They started playing together as a duo, started the influential [[London Blues and Barrelhouse Club]] in 1955 and made their first record together in 1957.<ref name="Larkin"/>

Korner made his first official record on [[Decca Records]] DFE 6286 in the company of [[Ken Colyer]]'s [[Skiffle]] Group. His talent extended to playing [[mandolin]] on one of the tracks of this British [[Extended play|EP]], recorded in London on 28 July 1955. Korner encouraged many American blues artists, previously virtually unknown in Britain, to perform at the London Blues and Barrelhouse Club, which he established with Davies at the Round House pub in [[Soho]].<ref>{{Google books|4y-oDmH2YzYC|The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by Allan F. Moore|page=9}}</ref>

==The 1960s==
{{Main|Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated}}
In 1961, Korner and Davies formed [[Blues Incorporated]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rocksbackpagesblogs.com/2009/09/blues-incorporated-how-british-rb-trashed-trad|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728141506/http://www.rocksbackpagesblogs.com/2009/09/blues-incorporated-how-british-rb-trashed-trad|archivedate=28 July 2011|first=John|last=Pidgeon|date=24 Sep 2009|url-status=usurped|title= Blues Incorporated: How British R&B Trashed Trad}}</ref> initially a loose-knit group of musicians with a shared love of [[electric blues]] and [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]] music.<ref name="Larkin"/> The group included, at various times, [[Charlie Watts]], [[Jack Bruce]], [[Ginger Baker]], [[Long John Baldry]], [[Graham Bond]], [[Danny Thompson]] and [[Dick Heckstall-Smith]].<ref name="Larkin"/> It also attracted a wider crowd of mostly younger fans, some of whom occasionally performed with the group, including [[Mick Jagger]], [[Keith Richards]], [[Brian Jones]], [[Geoff Bradford (musician)|Geoff Bradford]], [[Rod Stewart]], [[John Mayall]], and [[Jimmy Page]].<ref name=Shapiro1997>{{cite book|last = Shapiro |first = Harry  |title = Alexis Korner: The Biography |year =1997|publisher = Bloomsbury |isbn = 0-7475-3163-3}}</ref>

Although Cyril Davies left the group in late 1962, Blues Incorporated continued to record, with Korner at the helm, until 1966. However, by that time its originally stellar line-up (and crowd of followers) had mostly left to start their own bands. While his one-time acolytes, the Rolling Stones and [[Cream (band)|Cream]], made the front pages of music magazines all over the world, Korner was relegated to the role of 'elder statesman'.<ref name="Larkin"/>

In 1966, Korner formed the trio Free At Last with [[Hughie Flint]] and [[Binky McKenzie]].<ref name="Larkin"/> Flint later recalled "I played with Alexis, right after leaving [[John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers|The Bluesbreakers]], in a trio, which Alexis named ''Free At Last'', a sort of mini and slightly restricted version of Blues Incorporated. Playing with Alexis was very loose. We would play anything from [[Percy Mayfield]]'s ‘River's Invitation' to [[Charles Mingus]]' ‘Better Get It In Your Soul' – with lots of freaky guitar and bass solos. Alexis, like [[John Mayall]] had the most eclectic taste in music, very knowledgeable, and generous, and I am indebted to both of them for my wide approach to music".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blues.gr/m/blogpost?id=1982923%3ABlogPost%3A227958 |title=Veteran British drummer Hughie Flint talks about the Blues, Jazz, Beano album, and Buddha's teaching |publisher=Michael Limnios Blues Network |date= 9 September 2015 |access-date=10 April 2019}}</ref>

Although ''Free At Last'' was short-lived, Korner ensured its name lived on in part by christening another young group of aspiring musicians, [[Free (band)|Free]]. Korner was instrumental in the formation of the band in April 1968, and continued to mentor them until they secured a deal with [[Island Records]].{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Blake |first=Mark |date=19 March 2024 |title=Paul Kossoff: The Spectacular Rise and the Tragic Fall of a True Guitar Legend |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/paul-kossoff-story |access-date=13 April 2024 |website=Louder Sound}}</ref>

Although he himself was a blues purist, Korner criticised better-known British blues musicians during the blues boom of the late 1960s for their blind adherence to [[Chicago blues]], as if the music came in no other form. He liked to surround himself with [[jazz]] musicians and often performed with a [[horn section]] drawn from a pool that included, among others, saxophone players [[Art Themen]], [[Mel Collins]], [[Dick Heckstall-Smith]], and [[Lol Coxhill]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://reocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palladium/9932/chodg_s.htm |title=Colin Hodgkinson sessions (The Musicians' Olympus) |publisher=Reocities.com |access-date=27 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029203249/http://reocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palladium/9932/chodg_s.htm |archive-date=29 October 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

While touring [[Scandinavia]] he formed the band New Church with guitarist and singer [[Peter Thorup]].<ref name="Larkin"/> They subsequently were one of the support bands at the [[Stones in the Park|Rolling Stones Free Concert]] in [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]], London, on 5 July 1969. [[Jimmy Page]] reportedly found out about a new singer, [[Robert Plant]], who had been jamming with Korner, who wondered why Plant had not yet been discovered. Plant and Korner were recording an album with Plant on vocals until Page had asked him to join "the New [[Yardbirds]]", a.k.a. [[Led Zeppelin]]. Only two songs are in circulation from these recordings: "Steal Away" and "Operator".<ref name="Shapiro1997"/> Korner gave one of his last radio interviews to BBC Midlands on the ''Record Collectors Show'' with Mike Adams and Chris Savory.

==Broadcasting==
In the 1960s Korner began a media career, working initially as a showbusiness interviewer and then on [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]'s ''Five O'Clock Club'', a children's TV show.<ref name="Larkin"/> Korner also wrote about blues for the music papers, and continued to maintain his own career as a blues artist, especially in Europe. Korner's main career in the 1970s was in broadcasting. In 1973, he presented a six-part documentary on [[BBC Radio 1]], ''The Rolling Stones Story'',<ref name="ibndjr">{{cite web|url=http://radiorewind.co.uk/alexis_korner_page.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070403083203/http://radiorewind.co.uk/alexis_korner_page.htm|archivedate=3 April 2007|title= Radio Rewind - BBC Radio 1 People - Alexis Korner - Blues Man |date=1984}}</ref> and in 1977 he established a Sunday-night show on Radio 1, ''Alexis Korner's Blues and Soul Show'', which ran until 1981.<ref name="Larkin"/> He also used his gravelly voice to great effect as an advertising voice-over artist.
In 1983, Korner presented the 13 part BBC Radio 1 series, Guitar Greats, interviewing each of the artists, and playing their music.

==1970s==
===CCS period===
{{main|CCS (band)}}
[[Image:Alexis Korner 1968 Bremen.jpg|thumb|160px|Korner and [[Peter Thorup]] in [[Bremen]]]]
In 1970, Korner and Thorup formed a big-band ensemble, [[C. C. S. (pop group)|CCS]] – short for "The Collective Consciousness Society" – which had several hit singles produced by [[Mickie Most]], including a version of [[Led Zeppelin]]'s "[[Whole Lotta Love]]", which was used as the theme for BBC's ''[[Top of the Pops]]'' between 1970 and 1981. Another instrumental called "Brother" was used as the theme to the [[BBC Radio 1]] Top 20/40 when [[Tom Browne (broadcaster and actor)|Tom Browne]]/[[Simon Bates]] presented the programme in the 1970s. It was also used in the 1990s on Radio Luxembourg for the Top 20 Singles chart. This was the period of Korner's greatest commercial success in the UK.<ref name="Shapiro1997"/> In 1973, he provided a voice part for the [[Hot Chocolate]] single release [[Brother Louie (Hot Chocolate song)|Brother Louie]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=10625 |title=Brother Louie by Hot Chocolate |website=Songfacts.com |access-date=5 November 2017}}</ref>

===1970s to 1984===
[[Image:Alexis Korner musician.jpg|thumb|right|160px|Korner with Snape]]
In 1973, he and Peter Thorup formed another group, Snape, with [[Boz Burrell]], [[Mel Collins]], and [[Ian Wallace (drummer)|Ian Wallace]], who were previously together in [[King Crimson]].<ref name="Larkin"/> Korner also played on [[B.B. King]]'s ''In London'' album, and cut his own, similar "supersession" album; ''Get Off My Cloud'', with [[Keith Richards]], [[Steve Marriott]], [[Peter Frampton]], [[Nicky Hopkins]] and members of [[Joe Cocker]]'s [[The Grease Band|Grease Band]]. In the mid-1970s, while touring Germany, Korner established an intensive working relationship with bassist [[Colin Hodgkinson]] who played for the support act [[Back Door (jazz trio)|Back Door]].<ref name="Larkin"/> They would continue to collaborate right up until Korner's death.<ref name="Shapiro1997"/>

In 1978, for Korner's 50th birthday, an all-star concert was held featuring many of his above-mentioned friends, as well as [[Eric Clapton]], [[Paul Jones (singer)|Paul Jones]], [[Chris Farlowe]], [[Zoot Money]] and others, which was later released as ''[[The Party Album (Alexis Korner album)|The Party Album]]'', and as a video.<ref name="Larkin"/>

In 1981, Korner joined another "supergroup", [[Rocket 88 (band)|Rocket 88]], a project led by [[Ian Stewart (musician)|Ian Stewart]] based on [[boogie-woogie]] keyboard players, which featured a [[rhythm section]] comprising [[Jack Bruce]] and [[Charlie Watts]], among others, as well as a [[horn section]].<ref name="Larkin"/> They toured Europe and released an album on [[Atlantic Records]]. He played in Italy with [[Paul Jones (singer)|Paul Jones]] and the Blues Society of Italian bluesman Guido Toffoletti.

==Family life and death==
In 1950, Korner married Roberta Melville (died 2021), daughter of art critic [[Robert Melville (art critic)|Robert Melville]].<ref>''[[The Times]]'', Obituaries: Alexis Korner, 3 January 1984</ref> He had a daughter, singer Sappho Gillett Korner (died 2006), and two sons, guitarist Nicholas 'Nico' Korner (died 1989) and sound engineer Damian Korner (died 2008).

Alexis Korner died in London from [[lung cancer]] on 1 January 1984, at the age of 55.<ref name="Larkin"/>

Korner was posthumously inducted, by [[Keith Richards]], into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] in 2024 in the musical influence category.<ref name="rrhof24">{{cite web |title=2024 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees |url=https://rockhall.com/2024-inductees/ |website=Rock & Roll Hall of Fame |access-date=2024-04-22 |date=2024-04-22}}</ref><ref name="hofgreene">{{cite magazine |last1=Greene |first1=Andy |title=Cher, Ozzy Osbourne, Dave Matthews Band, Mary J. Blige Lead Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2024 Class |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/rock-hall-fame-2024-cher-ozzy-osbourne-dave-matthews-band-mary-j-blige-1235007784/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=2024-04-22 |date=2024-04-22}}</ref><ref name="Alexis Korner RRHF 2024 Biography">{{cite web |title=2024 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees - Alexis Korner Biography |url=https://rockhall.com/inductees/alexis-korner/ |access-date=2024-10-23 }}</ref>

==Album discography (selected UK and other releases)==
* ''Blues from the Roundhouse'' 10-inch (1957) – Alexis Korner's Breakdown Group
* ''[[R&B from the Marquee]]'' (1962) – Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated
* ''Red Hot from Alex'' (1964) – Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated
* ''At the Cavern'' (1964) – Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated
* ''Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated'' (1965) – Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated
* ''Sky High'' (1966) – Alexis Korner Blues Incorporated
* ''I Wonder Who'' (1967)
* ''Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated'' (re-issue of ''Sky High'') – Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated
* ''A New Generation of Blues'' (1968)
* ''Both Sides'' (1970) – New Church
* ''[[C.C.S. (album)|CCS 1st]]'' (1970) – CCS
* ''Alexis Korner'' (1971)
* ''Bootleg Him!'' (1972)
* ''[[C.C.S. 2 (album)|CCS 2nd]]'' (1972) – CCS
* ''Accidentally Borne in New Orleans''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://alexis-korner.net/snape.html |title="Accidentally Born in New Orleans" SNAPE |publisher=Alexis-korner.net |access-date=27 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705163145/http://alexis-korner.net/snape.html |archive-date=5 July 2015 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> (1972) – with Peter Thorup; Snape
* ''Live on Tour in Germany'' (1973) – with Peter Thorup; Snape
* ''[[The Best Band in the Land]]'' (1973) – CCS
* ''Alexis Korner'' (1974)
* ''Get Off My Cloud'' (1975)
* ''The Lost Album'' (1977)
* ''Just Easy'' (1978)
* ''[[The Party Album (Alexis Korner album)|The Party Album]]'' (1979) – Alexis Korner and Friends
* ''Me'' (1980)
* ''Rocket 88'' (1981) – Rocket 88
* ''Juvenile Delinquent'' (1984)
* ''Testament'' (1985) – with Colin Hodgkinson
* ''Live in Paris'' (1988) – with Colin Hodgkinson

==Bibliography==
* [[Bob Brunning]] (1986), ''Blues: The British Connection'', London: Helter Skelter, 2002. {{ISBN|1-900924-41-2}}
* Bob Brunning, ''The [[Fleetwood Mac]] Story: Rumours and Lies'', Omnibus Press, 2004; foreword by [[B.B. King]]
* Dick Heckstall-Smith (2004), ''The Safest Place in the World: A Personal History of British Rhythm and Blues'', Clear Books. {{ISBN|0-7043-2696-5}}. First Edition: ''Blowing the Blues – Fifty Years Playing the British Blues''
* Christopher Hjort, ''Strange Brew: [[Eric Clapton]] and the [[British Blues]] Boom, 1965–1970'', foreword by [[John Mayall]], Jawbone, 2007. {{ISBN|1-906002-00-2}}
* Harry Shapiro, ''Alexis Korner: The Biography'', London: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 1997; Discography by Mark Troster. {{ISBN|0-7475-3163-3}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Alexis Korner}}
* [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p412|pure_url=yes}} Biography] at [[AllMusic]]
* [http://www.britishmusicexperience.com/?PageID=98 Biography at British Music Experience]
* [http://www.radiorewind.co.uk/radio1/alexis_korner_page.htm Alexis Korner page at Radio Rewind]
* [https://vimeo.com/62745824 BBC Radio 2 radio documentary about Alexis Korner] on [[Vimeo]]
* {{discogs artist|Alexis Korner}}
* {{IMDb name|id=0180309}}

{{2024 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Korner, Alexis}}
[[Category:1928 births]]
[[Category:1984 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century British guitarists]]
[[Category:20th-century British male singers]]
[[Category:BBC Radio 1 presenters]]
[[Category:Blues Incorporated members]]
[[Category:Blues revival musicians]]
[[Category:British DJs]]
[[Category:British blues guitarists]]
[[Category:British blues singers]]
[[Category:British male guitarists]]
[[Category:British male singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:British radio presenters]]
[[Category:British rhythm and blues boom musicians]]
[[Category:CCS (band) members]]
[[Category:Charisma Records artists]]
[[Category:Columbia Records artists]]
[[Category:Deaths from lung cancer in England]]
[[Category:Decca Records artists]]
[[Category:English people of Austrian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:English people of Greek descent]]
[[Category:English people of Turkish descent]]
[[Category:Fontana Records artists]]
[[Category:Liberty Records artists]]
[[Category:Musicians from London]]
[[Category:Polydor Records artists]]
[[Category:Transatlantic Records artists]]
[[Category:Warner Records artists]]