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Cuby + Blizzards

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Cuby + Blizzards was a blues rock band from the village of Grolloo in Drenthe, which at the time was still spelled Grollo. Singer Harry Muskee and guitarist Eelco Gelling founded the group in 1964. The name came from Muskee's dog Cuby. The band rehearsed in the little farmhouse that Muskee rented in Grolloo, and sounded unlike any other Dutch group of the time: not cheerful beat, but heavy blues with rock 'n' roll running through it.

Music and breakthrough

The first single, Stumble and Fall, appeared in 1965. The debut album Desolation (1966) won an Edison, and Groeten uit Grollo (1967) followed, along with hits such as Another Day, Another Road, Distant Smile and Window of My Eyes. Appleknockers Flophouse came out in 1969. From early 1967 to mid-1969 Herman Brood was at the piano, which launched his own career. The band toured with Van Morrison, made a record with the American bluesman Eddie Boyd and played with Alexis Korner, who can be heard on Live in Düsseldorf (1968). John Mayall even stayed at the farm in Grolloo.

Influence

Muskee sang in English with an audibly Dutch accent, and that is precisely what gave the music its own character. In the mid-1970s Gelling left for Golden Earring. From 1996 the band played again, with Erwin Java on guitar, and in 2009 Cats Lost appeared. With the death of Harry Muskee in 2011, Cuby + Blizzards came to a definitive end, the band that gave the blues a home in the Netherlands.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Appleknockers Flophouse and notice Harry Muskee's raw voice and Eelco Gelling's guitar playing. Hear how close this band from Drenthe comes to the British and American blues of the time.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

Mentioned in other articles

See also

Categories: ArtistsNederbeat