Felix Pappalardi

Felix Albert Pappalardi Jr. (December 30, 1939 – April 17, 1983) was an American music producer, songwriter, vocalist, and bassist. He is best known as the bassist and co-lead vocalist of the band Mountain, whose song "Mississippi Queen" peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became a classic rock radio staple. Originating in the eclectic music scene in New York's Greenwich Village, he became closely attached to the British power trio Cream, writing, arranging, and producing for their second album Disraeli Gears. As a producer for Atlantic Records, he worked on several projects with guitarist Leslie West; in 1969 their partnership evolved into the band Mountain. The band's original run lasted less than five years, but their work influenced the first generation of heavy metal and hard rock music. Pappalardi continued to work as a producer, session musician, and songwriter until he was shot and killed by his wife Gail Collins in 1983. Pappalardi was born in the Bronx, New York City, to an Italian family who immigrated from Gravina in Puglia. A classically trained musician, he graduated from New York City's High School of Music & Art and attended the University of Michigan. In 1964, Pappalardi was a member of Max Morath's Original Rag Quartet (ORQ) in their premier engagement at New York City's Village Vanguard. Along with Pappalardi on guitarrón (Mexican acoustic bass) were pianist-singer Morath, who revived classic ragtime played in the Scott Joplin manner, Barry Kornfeld, a New York studio folk and jazz guitarist, and Jim Tyler, a Baroque and Renaissance lutenist, playing four-string banjo and mandolin. The ORQ toured the college and concert circuit, opening four engagements with the Dinah Shore show in Las Vegas and elsewhere. Pappalardi studied classical music at the University of Michigan. Upon completing his studies and returning to New York, he was unable to find work and so became part of the Greenwich Village folk-music scene, where he made a name for himself as an arranger; he appeared on albums by Tom Paxton, Vince Martin and Fred Neil for Elektra Records. Thereafter he moved into record production, initially concentrating on folk and folk-rock acts for artists such as The Youngbloods and Joan Baez. As a producer, Pappalardi is perhaps best known for his work with Cream, beginning with their second album, Disraeli Gears. He contributed instrumentation for his studio arrangements and he and his wife, Gail Collins, wrote the Cream hit "Strange Brew" with Eric Clapton. He also produced The Youngbloods' first album As a musician, Pappalardi is widely recognized as a bassist, vocalist, and founding member of the American hard rock band (and heavy metal forerunner) Mountain, a band born out of his working with future bandmate Leslie West's soul-inspired rock and roll band The Vagrants, and producing West's 1969 Mountain solo album. The band's original incarnation actively recorded and toured between 1969 and 1971. Pappalardi produced the band's albums, and co-wrote and arranged a number of the band's songs with Collins and West. Pappalardi was forced to retire because of partial deafness, ostensibly from his high-volume shows with Mountain. He continued producing throughout the 1970s, released a solo album (Don't Worry, Ma) and recorded with Kazuo Takeda's band Creation (who had opened for a reunited Mountain during their 1973 tour of Japan). In May 1973, the British music magazine NME reported that Pappalardi would be producing and playing bass on Queen of the Night, the debut album for Maggie Bell, former singer of Stone the Crows, but this proved to be false. He produced The Dead Boys album We Have Come for Your Children in 1978. He also worked on the NBC show Hot Hero Sandwich in 1979. Pappalardi was shot and killed by his wife, Gail Collins Pappalardi, on April 17, 1983, in their apartment on the East Side of Manhattan, with a derringer he had given her as a gift a few months previously. She was subsequently charged with second-degree murder and was found guilty of the lesser criminally negligent homicide. He is interred next to his mother at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York City. For his work with Mountain, see their page. 1976: Creation/Felix Pappalardi – collaboration with Creation 1979: Don't Worry, Ma 1967: Bartholomew Plus Three – "When I Fall In Love" // "I Can't Go Back" 1967: The Vagrants – "A Sunny Summer Rain" // "Beside The Sea" 1967: The Youngbloods – The Youngbloods 1967: Cream – Disraeli Gears 1967: Hamilton Camp – Here's to You 1968: Bo Grumpus – Before the War 1968: Kensington Market – Avenue Road 1968: Cream – Wheels of Fire 1969: Cream – Goodbye 1969: Kensington Market – Aardvark 1969: Leslie West – Mountain 1969: Jack Bruce – Songs for a Tailor 1969: Jolliver Arkansaw – Home 1969: David Rea – Maverick Child 1970: Mountain – Climbing! 1971: Mylon LeFevre – Mylon: Holy Smoke with The Family Holy Smoke (Columbia C-31085) 1971: Mountain – Nantucket Sleighride 1971: Mountain – Flowers of Evil 1972: Mountain – Mountain Live: The Road Goes Ever On 1973: Bedlam – Bedlam (Francesco Aiello/Dave Ball/Denny Ball/Cozy Powell) 1974: Mountain – Twin Peaks 1974: Mountain – Avalanche 1974: Back Door – 8th St. Nites 1975: White Lightnin' – White Lightnin' (Donald Kinsey/Busta Cherry Jones/Woody Kinsey) 1975: The Flock – Inside Out 1976: Natural Gas – Natural Gas 1977: Gasolin' – Killin' Time 1977: Jesse Colin Young – Love on the Wing 1977: Corky Laing – The Secret Sessions with Ian Hunter, Mick Ronson (finally released in 1999) 1978: The Dead Boys – We Have Come for Your Children 1978: Hot Tuna – Double Dose 1981: Kicks – Kicks featuring Marge Raymond (Recorded at RPM Studios, New York) 1982: George Flowers and Gary Byrd – The Day That Football Died 1963: Vince Martin and Fred Neil – Tear Down the Walls – guitarrón and backing vocals 1964: Tom Paxton – Ramblin' Boy – guitarrón 1965: Tom Paxton – Ain't That News! – guitarrón 1966: Buffy Sainte-Marie – Little Wheel Spin and Spin – credited as "instrumental ensemble arranger and conductor" on "Timeless Love" 1966: Ian and Sylvia – Play One More – bass 1966: Ian and Sylvia – The French Girl – credited as "arr. and conducted" 1966: Ian and Sylvia – When I Was A Cowboy – bass 1966: Ian and Sylvia – Short Grass – bass 1966: Ian and Sylvia – Lonely Girls – bass 1967: Devil's Anvil – Hard Rock From the Middle East – bass, guitar, tambura, percussion and vocals, credited as "arranger and musical director" 1967: Richie Havens – Morning, Morning – credited as "arranger' 1967: Jackie Washington [Landrón] – Morning Song – credited as "backup ensemble conductor' 1968: Bo Grumpus – Before the War – keyboards, trumpet, bass, guitar, percussion, ocarina 1968: Kensington Market – Avenue Road – vocals on "Aunt Violet's Knee" 1969: Kensington Market – Aardvark – bass, piano, trumpet, organ 1969: Jolliver Arkansaw – Home – keyboards, guitar, ocarina and bass on "Hatred Sun" 1970: Ian and Sylvia – Greatest Hits – bass 1970: Fred Neil – Little Bit of Rain – bass 1971: John Sebastian – The Four of Us – bass on "Apple Hill" 1971: Richard & Mimi Fariña – The Best of Richard & Mimi Fariña – bass 1973: Bedlam – Bedlam – keyboards, credited as songwriter on "Looking Through Love's Eyes (Busy Dreamin')" 1973: Eddie Mottau – No Turning Around – Mellotron, organ, ocarina and trumpet on "Circus Tent" and "Waitin' Out The Winter" 1975: The Flock – Inside Out – backing vocals on "Straight Home" 1977: Jesse Colin Young – Love on the Wing – backing vocals and string arrangements on "Drift Away" and "Fool", horn arrangements on "Louisiana Highway" 1981: Kicks – "Kicks featuring Marge Raymond" – backing vocals on "Raceway" and "All Over Again" along with Steven Tyler "Felix Pappalardi Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved October 3, 2021. The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars: Heroin, Handguns, and Ham Sandwiches, Jeremy Simmonds, 2012, Second edition, Chicago Review Press, ISBN 978-1613744789 Colin