Terry Reid

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Reid's career took a pivotal turn in late 1968 when Jimmy Page, managing the transition from The Yardbirds, sought him out as lead vocalist for the new group that would become Led Zeppelin. Reid had already committed to two tours with The Rolling Stones and an opening slot on Cream's 1968 US Tour. When Page asked if he could join, Reid proposed a condition: compensation for lost gig fees and for Page to explain his withdrawal to Keith Richards. When this did not happen, Reid declined the offer but recommended Robert Plant, whom he had seen with Band of Joy, as well as drummer John Bonham. Around the same time, Ritchie Blackmore offered him the lead singer spot in Deep Purple, replacing Rod Evans, which Reid rejected because the music was "too metal." Years later, when asked about these decisions, Reid stated he did not regret them and famously said in 2019, "I don't sit around going over old coals."

In Their Own Story

In 1968, after The Jaywalkers disbanded following a minor hit with "The Hand Don't Fit the Glove," Reid signed with producer Mickie Most. His debut album, Bang Bang, You're Terry Reid, was released that year, featuring the song "Without Expression," which he had written at age 14. This track would later be recorded by The Hollies as "A Man with No Expression" and by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young as "Horses Through a Rainstorm." Following a US tour with Cream in 1968, Reid opened for The Rolling Stones on their 1969 American Tour but notably did not appear at the Altamont Music Festival. By December 1969, he fell out with Most over creative differences regarding his direction as a balladeer. A subsequent contract dispute left him unable to record or release music for four years. During this hiatus, Reid lived in a "beach shack" in California hills and later on 180 acres of desert land owned by Bob Dylan, where he wrote material that would eventually form his third album.

Reader's Guide

Reid's musical journey is defined by resilience and diverse influences ranging from American R&B to Brazilian rhythms. In 1969, he hosted exiled Brazilian musicians Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso at his Notting Hill apartment after they were ousted by Brazil's military dictatorship; the two later shared a bill with him at the Isle of Wight Festival that August. His third album, River, released in 1973, blended Latin American grooves with soul-funk and rock, featuring musicians like Willie Bobo and Conrad Isidore. Although critically favorable, it failed commercially. In 1976, his fourth album, Seed of Memory, produced by Graham Nash, was derailed when ABC Records filed for bankruptcy the week of its release. Reid retired from solo touring in 1981 to focus on session work with artists like Don Henley and Jackson Browne before returning in 1991 for The Driver, an album he later described as "unlistenable." Throughout his career, he maintained a strong connection to live performance, appearing at Glastonbury Fayre in 1970 and performing at Mick and Bianca Jagger's wedding in Saint-Tropez in 1971.

Did You Know?

• Reid wrote his first song, 'Without Expression,' at age 14, which was later recorded by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.
• He lived on 180 acres of desert land owned by Bob Dylan for three years while writing his next album after relocating to California in the early 1970s.
• Reid performed at Mick and Bianca Jagger's wedding in Saint-Tropez in 1971, appearing alongside The Beatles, David Bowie, and Brigitte Bardot.
• His third album, River, was produced by Reid himself and mixed by Eddy Offord but failed commercially upon its 1973 release.
• In 2016, unused material from the River recording sessions was released as a separate album titled The Other Side of The River.