Terry Reid, the influential English rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter who famously turned down invitations to lead both Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, has passed away. As The Guardian reports, Reid's reps confirm that he has died. No cause of death has been reported, but Reid was going through cancer treatment this year. He was 75.
Terrance James Reid grew up in the English village of Bluntisham. In 1965, the teenage Reid left school and joined the instruemntal band Peter Jay And The Jaywalkers as a guitarist. A year later, the Jaywalkers opened for the Rolling Stones on tour, but they broke up shortly afterward. Reid went solo, and his debut album Bang Bang, You're Terry Reid came out in 1968. Reid toured the US as Cream's opening act, and the Hollies recorded a cover of "A Man With No Expression," a song that Reid wrote at age 14. Under various different titles, the same song was also recorded by artists like Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, REO Speedwagon, and John Mellencamp.
Terry Reid never made any hits on his own, but legends like the Rolling Stones and Aretha Franklin were fans. So was Jimmy Page, who invited Reid to join him in the new band he was starting. Reid was set to open an American tour for the Stones, so he turned Page down, recommending Robert Plant instead. That band obviously became Led Zeppelin. Reid, known as "Superlungs" for his soulful belting, also turned down Ritchie Blackmore's invitation to replace Rod Evans in Deep Purple.
Reid continued to tour and perform throughout the '70s. When Brazilian musician Gilberto Gil was exiled from his hometown, he stayed with Reid in London. For a while, Reid retired from his solo career, but he continued to do session work on records from Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, and Don Henley. Reid came out of retirement to release the Trevor Horn-produced 1991 album The Driver, and his cover of the Spencer Davis Group's "Gimme Some Lovin'" appeared in the movie Days Of Thunder.
Later on, artists like Marianne Faithfull, the Raconteurs, and Chris Cornell covered Reid's songs. Rob Zombie used three Reid songs in his 2005 film The Devil's Rejects. Reid guested on DJ Shadow's 2012 track "Listen," and Dr. Dre, a fan of Reid's album Seed Of Memory, brought him in to work on some unreleased sessions. Reid had to cancel a recent run of tour dates because of cancer treatment, and his wife set up a GoFundMe to help cover his medical costs. Check out some of Reid's work below.
