Though the name Carlo Driggs may not stand out in the music world as much as other artists, it's not for lack of talent.
Carlo was born in Cuba, with music in his blood, and over the course of his career, racked up a string of major accomplishments.
I've witnessed this talent at many concerts, for which I feel fortunate to have been able to do. This is especially true since learning of Carlo's untimely death on May 31, 2017 of a massive heart attack.
Though I didn't know Carlo personally, when I heard the news of his passing I was shocked and saddened. My first thought was that Rock n Roll heaven had claimed another angel for it's band. I then thought of Paul Revere, from Paul Revere and the Raiders, and knew Carlo was now reunited with his former boss of 21 years, (1983-2004).
His voice could be rough and raspy sounding one minute, and the next be soft and sultry. No matter the song, Carl could take it and make it his own, all while moving around the stage with a force of energy that was contagious; spreading through the gathered crowds of concert goers on a regular basis.
Off stage, when signing autographs, Carl was always kind and polite to every fan wanting a photo or signature. He treated everyone equally and with respect, and was a true gentleman in every sense of the word.
For me, though Mark Lindsay is the voice on the Raiders' hits, Carl was the face and voice of the post Mark era Raiders.
The first band was called Kracker, and the other was Foxy.
It was with Foxy that Carlo co-wrote the song, "Get Off", which landed the band at #9 on the Billboard charts and #1 on the R&B charts in 1978.
For those who may not recognize the name of the band, or the song, I've included it in this post.
As stated earlier in this post, Carlo was with Paul Revere and the Raiders for 21 years, 1983 to 2004. After leaving the Raiders, Carlo went on to entertain audiences as a solo artist in Las Vegas.
Though I was never fortunate to see Carlo's solo performance, I've heard from others that it was a well polished show, where he covered a diverse range of musical genres and artists, from Frank Sinatra, to the Rolling Stones and everything in between.
Being friends with many Raider fans on Facebook, I've seen numerous posts praising Carlo Driggs' talents, and mourning his loss. Because there have been so many, I debated whether I should post something as well. At first I wasn't going to, but I just kept thinking of all these different things I wanted to say, so with this post, I've now added my contribution to the others honoring the memory of Carlo Driggs.
Thank you Carlo for all the great memories you've given so many of us all these years.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/the-peoples-showcase/2010/08/26/carl-driggs-too-hot-to-handle Chuck Francone from Kraker appeared on this show with Carlo and I Hope you enjoy Him
ReplyDeleteCarl's earliest appearance on vinyl -- that I know of! -- was around 1969 for a group called Year 2000.
ReplyDeleteOne cool fall day back almost thirty years ago I took a drive over the mountains to prowl some record stores around Sacramento. In one store very near the state capitol building, all of a sudden the sound system busted out in "Get Off". It was the first time I had EVER heard that song other than when I gave a listen to the Foxy album in my "Raider-Related Recordings" collection. Total surprise -- TOTAL surprise -- but a bigger surprise was yet to come.
Flipping through the very last bin before I went out the door, there it was: the Year 2000 album, with Carl and his bandmates standing around in "attitude" poses on the back cover. Yes indeed, that album went home with me to beautiful, scenic Sparks, Nevada.
Several years later (maybe even in the actual "year 2000" ... I don't remember) I brought the album cover to a Raiders show for Carl to sign. He was so surprised -- asked where I found it, because his mother had the only other copy he knew of!
Did I properly mourn for Carl? It sure doesn't seem so. I hadn't seen him since the summer of 2003, and did not spend any time wondering if I'd ever cross paths with him again. But on the evening of 30 May 2017 I went out to my car at the office, maybe to load up some files to take home to work on, and I thought of Carl Driggs. I remembered then that his birthday was coming up ... and which number would that be now, um, ... uh ... sixty-eight? Sixty-eight?? Naw, no way. Why was I thinking of Carl Driggs, I questioned myself. Well, the next day would have been the anniversary of the first time I got to meet the Raiders after a show ... except that there was some kind of a scheduling conflict and the Raiders traded show dates with Three (or Two) Dog Night, so I did not meet them on 31 May after all. And even if I had, why did I only think of Carl and not the rest of the band, who I would have met the same day, but didn't? I don't know, but it is at least a little piece of cosmic consolation that I thought of good ol' Carl during the last 24 hours before the show finished and the curtain closed forever.
My favorite VHS tape is "The Last Mad Man Of Rock & Roll" (next to Bambi Woods !!) Carl's vocals were a big part of that....Saddened to hear that he's gone
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