Artist description Andy is recognized as one of the most creative singer/songwriters of our day. Many other artists have attempted to perform Andy's music, and yet he stands alone. The single Avenging Annie is still being played worldwide after almost 30 years.

Music Style Popular and Christian

Musical Influences Motown, Jazz, Pop

Similar Artists Neil Young, Leon Russell, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Lou Christie, Joe Cocker, Bob Dylan

Artist History From the flower power rock group "Butter to the Cambridge folk scene and a solo career Andy Pratt has been around. He graduated from Harvard in 1968 and in 1971 released a jazz/pop album of original songs on Polydor titled "Records are like Life." On it he flirted with insanity, which has been a recurring theme in this artist, who has still somehow remained sane. He then did a brief stint as a sideman, playing piano for Odetta and Edgar Winter. In 1972 he released a demo tape of "Avenging Annie" to the Brown University radio station WBRU in Providence, Rhode Island, where it became an FM Hit. As his best known work to date, in this song Pratt sings in falsetto the story of a mythical outlaw heroine. The result is a charged piano rock epic set partially to the tune of Woody Guthrie's "Pretty Boy Floyd" It was the first song on his second US album, Andy Pratt, released by Columbia and produced by John Nagy. On this album Pratt was backed by some of Boston's best rock and jazz musicians, including Abe Laboriel and Rick Shlosser, on bass and drums respectively. Pratt himself played piano, guitar, bass, and amateur sitar, and did the multi-tracked vocals that have become his signature. His touring band at the time also included jazz guitarist John Scofield. Avenging Annie hit the charts, reaching number one in Providence and New Orleans, number five in Boston, and number eighty nationally. It still receives airplay. Pratt gained cult status through this and the next two albums, Resolution, and Shiver in the Night, produced by Arif Mardin, and distributed by Atlantic, and collected critical praise galore. Quotes like "Pratt has forever changed the face of rockand roll" which appeared in Rolling Stone, were typical. The message had changed to one of love and optimism, though not without the characteristic Pratt struggle. With the release of the Mardin albums he toured the entire US for two years with a crack rock band, including Syracuse guitar hero Mark Doyle, and drummer Rick Schlosser again, replaced for the second Shiver tour by Frank DeFonda. They opened with success for such big names as Foreigner and The Band, and the Big Time appeared just around the corner, but there was never a second hit after Avenging Annie, and the band broke up. Pratt and his intermediate label, Nat Weiss Nemperor, moved over to CBS (Epic) for a fourth elpee called Motives, which sported a lighter, jazzier feel and Pratt's newly found Christianity. Unjustly or not, the album was universally ignored. He returned in 1982 with a 5-song LP called Fun in the First World, which boasted a contemporary FM edge, and was produced by former Modern Lover and ex-Chartbuster Leroy Radcliffe. Pratt and Radcliffe recruited local guitar hero Billy Loosigian (from Willie Loco's Boom Boom Band, among many others), Jean Dominique Sifantus (The Road Apples, The Jackals) on drums, John Troy(Poussette-Dart/John Hall Band) on bass, and Patty Unitas on back-up vocals to assist in the project. The trade journal CMJ Progressive Media (July '82)listed the EP as "P.M.'s Indie Label Fave" in a column that lists their "hottest new releases. These records demand your attention!'"Burn Up In the Fire" with its Second Coming Theme from the '82 LP made WBCN's Most Played Local Music chart in June of 1982. His biggest success remained, and remains, Avenging Annie. Columbia put the song on the flip side of Bruce Springsteen's "Blinded By The Light" promo disc circa 1972 (Play Back Records), and it has been covered (or attempted) by others including a creditable jobby Farrenheit's Charlie Farren way back in his Live Lobster Band days, and the Who's Roger Daltrey on his second solo album and various collections. Keyboardist Andy Mendelson, from Pratt's road band and the "Shiver" album, operated Synchro Sound (once known as Intermedia Studios when Pratt and Aerosmith and many others recorded there) on Newbury Street. Mendelson is a producer of note. The historic site (formerly occupied by the owners when they played out as The Cars) has been replaced by a Tony shoe store. Mendelson released a solo album in 1978 and Pratt guested. Also involved in that Arista recording was Andy's brother Richard who engineered and drummed on Resolution. MarkDoyle played out with Cindy Bullens and produced some stuff for her as well. He produced The Bristols (as did former Car Elliot Easton.) Not counting the(1976-77) time spent safely ensconced at the Sheraton Commander (while working with Pratt, Cindy Bullens and David Werner), Doyle lived in Boston for 5 years, from '88-'93. He was involved in all of Maurice Starr's studio string arrangements while also co-producing a lot of his acts: New Kids, Perfect Gentlemen, Rick Wes and The Superiors. He also played on records by Hall & Oates, Judy Collins (with Pratt), Bryan Adams, and Meat Loaf. He was in Meat Loaf's band from 1981-83, appearing on Saturday Night Live withhim. Ace drummer Rick Shlosser played out with Boz Skaggs, Van Morrison("Wild Night"), Rod Stewart ("Tonight's The Night"), Nicolette Larson, Leo Sayer (the "Here" album with Pratt-mate Mark Doyle), and toured as a member of James Taylor's band, etc. The busy cat was first call session drummer in LA for a long time. He's worked with such varied artists as Etta James, Ronnie Hawkins way back in 1961, found time to deal with Montrose as well as Manhattan Transfer, Rory Block, Steven Bishop and Link Wray's "Rumble". Andy Pratt is happily married to a Dutch journalist and lives in Belgium and Massachusetts. A great Pratt collection, The Resolution Collection, produced by Arif Mardin, is available on CD from Razor and Tie. It was released in 1996 and features "Avenging Annie", the entire "Resolution" album, and a couple of songs from "Shiver," all from the original master tapes. Andy has just finished a CD called "Cover Me" which features the time tested partnership between Pratt and Doyle, and is a pleasure to listen to. Enjoy.

Instruments Keyboards, Guitars, Bass, Drums

Albums Records Are Like Life (LP, Polydor UK, 1971) Andy Pratt (LP, Columbia, 1973) Resolution (LP, Nemperor, 1976) Shiver In The Night (LP, Nemperor, 1977) Motives (LP, Nemperor, 1979) Fun In the First World (EP, Enzone, 1982) Not Just For Dancing (Lamborghini, Enzone, by Andy Pratt and Steven Hague 1983) Perfect Therapy (GMI records, produced by Andy Pratt and Dan Cutrona 1986) Life (GMI Records, produced by Andy Pratt and Dan Cutrona 1988) One Body (GMI Records, by Dan Cutrona 1991) Fire of Love (GMI Records, by Andy Pratt and Jos Hagmans 1993) Another World (Highway Music, by Andy Pratt and Jos Hagmans 1996) Resolution: The Andy Pratt Collection (by Arif Mardin on Razor and Tie, 1996) Runaway Heart (by Andy Pratt and Jos Hagmans 1998) Cover Me (by Andy Pratt and Mark Doyle 2001)

Press Reviews The effect of all the gasping and agonizing on songs like "Inside Me Wants Out" is very physical, very compelling and completely nuts. Perhaps it's just my own pathology, but I find all of this tempting of lunacy very exhilarating. Andy is, however, capable of stepping outside himself long enough to do satire: "It's All Behind You" is filled with guru-vy, tres deep utterances and lame sitar noodlings. Or he can make simple, pretty and unaffected emotional statements like "Give It All to Music" and "So Fine." But these exist mainly as respite from the prevailing vertigo. "All the King's Weight" is a dramatic parable; Andy sings it like a sullen child talking behind the backs of his elders. "Who Am I Talking To" is bumpy and dazed like the old Tyrannosaurus Rex. "Sittin' Down in the Twilight," whose first chorus is sung a la Lou Christie and whose last is accented by a wonderful trombone, undergoes phonetic and rational breakdown: "It's a wallet a full wallet/I'm gonna jump out and grab you stab you/Richard Shlosser plays the drums/Sit down on the twallet." From the mid 70s--Andy Pratt is not really a mature work—he's still toying with different styles, singing songs about his parents, trying to discover his true voice. But in a career just beginning (he has one earlier LP on Polydor), that's only encouraging. "Avenging Annie"'s greatness is beyond dispute, while the rest of Andy Pratt is quirky, manic and perhaps a minority taste. But it's ultimately worth-while for that.--BEN GERSON--Rolling Stone Magazine Instruments: Albums: Additional info: Buy CD: Web site: Copyright © 1996-2001 MP3.com, Inc. All rights reserved. Legal Information

Location Boston/Cambridge, MA - USA

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