Quicksilver Messenger Service
Biographie Quicksilver Messenger Service
Quicksilver Messenger Service
John Cipollina, Greg Elmore, David Freiberg, Gary Duncan, and Jim Murray were the founding members of the San Francisco psychedelic rock band known as Quicksilver Messenger Service. During the 1960's, Quicksilver Messenger Service was one of the most popular and well respected bands playing in the acid rock scene. The band played alongside the other top legendary San Francisco bands such as Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Company, Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, and many other great acts.
Quicksilver Messenger Service was a San Francisco dance hall band that made it's mark through live performances. Their concerts included performing in the San Francisco area at the Winterland, the Fillmore, the Avalon Ballroom, the Matrix, and the famous Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. Bill Graham, a famous music promoter, was a big fan of John's guitar playing and helped to promote the music of Quicksilver Messenger Service at venues across the country.
Shady GroveAlthough Quicksilver Messenger Service released many albums, John was mainly involved with the first three releases. These three albums are some of the great masterpieces of the San Francisco acid rock era. The first two albums relied heavily on the dual guitar work of John Cipollina and Gary Duncan, the bass playing of David Freiberg, and drumming of Greg Elmore. (Jim Murray quit the band before they started recording.) The self titled debut album was a studio version of the Quicksilver Messenger Service sound, followed by the "Happy Trails" live album. The third album was made without Gary Duncan, and featured Nicky Hopkins on Keyboards. While on break from recording and touring with the Rolling Stones, Nicky joined Greg Elmore, David Freiberg, and John to record a musical masterpiece titled "Shady Grove".
After Shady Grove, John began to develop his own band known as "Copperhead" and spent less time working on projects with Quicksilver Messenger Service. He continued to work with Greg Elmore, David Freiberg, Gary Duncan, Dino Valenti, and others on Quicksilver Messenger Service projects during the 1970s.
