Chappo Retiring!

I got the shock of my life earlier this month when I heard that British rock singer Roger Chapman announced his impending retirement. At 67, Chapman plans a farewell concert this December in his hometown of Leicester, England, capping an illustrious career as one of rock and roll's greatest wild men.

Chapman is best known as the onetime frontman for Family, the great British progressive rock band of the late sixties and early seventies that pushed the boundaries of songwriting and arranging that got them accolades and hit albums in the United Kingdom and continental Europe but failed to gain them any recognition in North America. Chappo (as he became known) had been influenced by the great American rock and rollers and rhythm an blues singers of the fifties, and he created a unique vocal style that sounded like a bleating goat and could possibly, as one music critic put it, kill small game at a hundred yards.

Chappo said he tried to sound like Little Richard and Ray Charles. Instead, he ended up sounding like Roger Chapman, a remarkable achievement.

Family created some of the most thunderous, intense rock and roll to come out of Britain; their albums A Song For Me and Fearless are classics, as are their song s "The Weaver's Answer" and "Drowned In Wine." The bad vibes for the group - and Chapman - in the U.S. were set at their disastrous American debut at the Fillmore East in New York on April 8, 1969 (Chapman's twenty-seventh birthday), when Chapman led family through a desultory performance that led him to throw his microphone stand aside in frustration - almost hitting Fillmore East impresario Bill Graham. The faux pas gave Family a bad reputation among American promoters and sealed their fate as a trivia question in this country.

After Family broke up in 1973, Chapman and Family guitarist Charlie Whitney formed Streetwalkers. That group - which included guitarist Bob Tench of Jeff Beck's group and drummer Nicko McBain (later of Iron Maiden), put out two acclaimed albums (1975's Downtown Flyers and 1976's Red Card) before breaking up in 1977.

Chapman began his solo career in 1979 with the release of his first solo album, Chappo, and he never looked back. He's remained a singer without peer, still able to come out with a trademark bleat, even as other veteran British rock singers like Robert Plant have mellowed a bit. His retirement comes at an ironically poignant moment. In the early sixties, before joining the band that became Family, Chappo began his career fronting local Leicester bands such as the punningly titled Rockin' R's (you have to know British English to get the joke) at a time when British rock and roll was unheard of in the United States. He now ends his career at a time when British rock has never seemed more irrelevant to Americans. But in between, when British rock was a global force to be reckoned with, Chappo and his respective bandmates never dominated music the way the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, or Led Zeppelin did.

He's made himself eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times, as the frontman for Family, the lead singer of Streetwalkers, and as a solo artist. However, Chapmaniacs shouldn't expect any inductions for him, so long as he remains unknown to most Americans and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame keeps inducting celebrity disco singers without considering musical merit.

I'll never get to see Chappo play live. He hasn't played in the U.S since the seventies, and I've never been able to travel to the U.K. But I still have the records, and I intend to keep on listening to them to help keep the legacy of this great singer alive. Here's to you, Chappo - you've earned your retirement. :-)