Spirit (band)

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Spirit was an American jazz-hard rock band from the late 1960s and early 1970s. Randy California and his stepfather, Ed Cassidy (Mr. Skin, who had also played with Thelonius Monk, Art Pepper, Cannonball Adderley and Gerry Mulligan, and had been a member of Rising Sons with Ry Cooder and Taj Mahal) formed the band in 1967. Cannonball and Jay Ferguson and Mark Andes had all played together in The Blue Flames with Jimi Hendrix. The name was originally Spirits Rebellious (after a book by Kahlil Gibran), but it was soon changed. Their only hit was 1968's "I Got a Line on You", but they released a series of well-received albums (especially 1970's The Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus) before personnel changes and Randy California's nervous breakdown briefly ended the band's career, reforming in 1972 and playing sporadically for the next several years to little national attention. There was a brief revival in the 1980s with The Thirteenth Dream.

Original members

• Mark Andes - Bass Gtr, Voc
• Randy California - Gtr, Voc
• Ed Cassidy - Drums, Perc
• Jay Ferguson - Voc, Perc
• John Locke - Keyboards

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