Early Years of Jon Lord, Keef Hartley Chronicled on The Artwoods’ Box Set “Steady Gettin’ It”

Today, The Artwoods might be best remembered as footnotes in the stories of a number of other famous bands. Frontman and namesake Art Wood was the oldest brother of Faces/Rolling Stones man Ronnie. Organist Jon Lord went on, of course, to found Deep Purple. And drummer Keef Hartley would, among other credits, form The Keef Hartley Band. RPM Records has recently celebrated the music of the mod R&B revivalists with the release of the 3-CD box set Steady Gettin’ It: The Complete Recordings 1964-67.

The Artwoods formed in 1963 and remained active through 1967, along the way becoming a popular live attraction. Like so many other bands, the roots of The Artwoods could be found in other groups. Art Wood, a onetime student at the Ealing School of Art (which also has David Bowie, Pete Townshend and Freddie Mercury among its alumni), made his name in music with his own nine-piece big band The Art Wood Combo and then as a vocalist for bluesman Alexis Korner’s rotating Blues, Incorporated lineup. Korner inspired Wood to reform his own Combo, this time as a blues quartet. After experimenting with a floating line-up similar to that of Blues, Incorporated, Wood set out to form a more consistent group.   Guitarist Derek Griffiths and keyboardist Jon Lord were both members of semi-pro band Red Bludd’s Blusicians when Bludd leader and bassist Don Wilson proposed a merger with the Art Wood Combo. In early 1964, Wilson, Lord and Griffiths joined Art Wood and his drummer Reg Dunnage.

That iteration of the group was short-lived. In March 1964, Don Wilson broke both his legs, forcing him out of the band. Malcolm Pool was recruited from The Roadrunners to take on bass duties. As The Art Wood Combo, this line-up of the band recorded four songs for an acetate (all of which are released on RPM’s set for the very first time) and attracted the attention of Decca Records. But there was one more important shift before the group transformed into The Artwoods. In late summer 1964, drummer Dunnage declined to continue with the band. Other drummers were sought including Mitch Mitchell who actually played a few dates with the group. Enter Keith “Keef” Hartley, Ringo Starr’s replacement in Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. With Hartley in place, the group decided (likely under the advice of Decca’s Mike Vernon, per the comprehensive liner notes included in the box) to change its name. The Artwoods were born.

Hit the jump to find what’s on Steady Gettin’ It!