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117-444: Alexander " Skip " Spence (born Alexander Lee Spence, Jr. ; April 18, 1946 – April 16, 1999) was a Canadian-born American singer-songwriter and musician. He was co-founder of Moby Grape , and played guitar with them until 1969. In the same year, he released his only solo album, Oar , and then largely withdrew from the music industry. He had started his career as a guitarist in an early line-up of Quicksilver Messenger Service , and

234-503: A consolidated city-county government, which includes six smaller municipalities in a two-tier system. The city is governed by a mayor, a vice-mayor, and a 40-member metropolitan council. Some 35 of the members are elected from single-member districts , while five are elected at-large . Reflecting the city's position in state government, Nashville is home to the Tennessee Supreme Court 's courthouse for Middle Tennessee , one of

351-566: A metropolitan government . The membership on the Metro Council, the legislative body, was increased from 21 to 40 seats. Of these, five members are elected at-large and 35 are elected from single-member districts , each to serve a term of four years. As Nashville evolved in the 1960s, its music scene diversified, welcoming rock , pop , and other genres and the 'Nashville Sound' transformed into ' Countrypolitan '. Artists like Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash came to Nashville to record, reflecting

468-511: A broader sit-in movement in the southeastern United States as part of an effort to end racial segregation of public facilities. On April 19, 1960, the house of Z. Alexander Looby , an African American attorney and council member, was bombed by segregationists. Protesters marched to the city hall the next day. Mayor Ben West said he supported the desegregation of lunch counters, which civil rights activists had called for. In 1963, Nashville consolidated its government with Davidson County, forming

585-440: A capella rendition of "Ode To The Man At The End of The Bar". Following the departure of Spence, and the band's consequent dissolution, the band reformed several times over the following years; featuring different combinations of the members. In 1973, Lewis, Miller, and Mosley reformed the band for some live shows; with guitarist Jeff Blackburn and drummer Johnny Craviotto filling the roles vacated by Spence and Stevenson. Following

702-576: A council member, Barry had officiated at the city's first same-sex wedding on June 26, 2015. In 2017, Nashville's economy was deemed the third fastest-growing in the nation, and the city was named the "hottest housing market in the US" by Freddie Mac realtors. In May 2017, census estimates showed Nashville had passed Memphis to become most populated city in Tennessee. Nashville has also made national headlines for its "homelessness crisis". Rising housing prices and

819-609: A debut CD in 1995 and formed an acoustic duo with David West (released Live in Bremen , 2003). Lewis also spent three years (2000–2003) as a guitarist with the reformed Electric Prunes , contributing to the band's Artifact album (2002). Jerry Miller appeared as both a solo artist and as a member of the Jerry Miller Band, and played regularly prior to his death in 2024 in the Seattle / Tacoma, Washington area. Bob Mosley's relocation to

936-473: A degree of success as a second-billed act during much of the latter part of 1969 to 1971, and recorded one album, not released until 2005. In 1971, the original five members reunited and, along with violinist Gordon Stevens, recorded 20 Granite Creek for Reprise Records . The group performed a few concerts to support the album, most notably during the last days of the Fillmore East before Spence left and

1053-531: A destination for jazz and blues musicians, and remained so until the federal government split the area by construction of Interstate 40 in the late 1960s. In 1925, the establishment of the Grand Ole Opry marked the beginning of Nashville's journey as the 'Country Music Capital of the World', drawing musicians and fans alike to the city and setting the stage for its future as a country music powerhouse. In 1950,

1170-642: A distinctive rhythm guitar that really sticks out throughout the album. Lewis, meanwhile, was a very good guitar player overall and was excellent at finger picking , as is evident in several songs. And then there is Miller. The way they crafted their parts and played together on Moby Grape is like nothing else I've ever heard in my life. The guitars are like a collage of sound that makes perfect sense." All band members wrote songs and sang lead and backup vocals for their debut album, Moby Grape (1967). Mosley, Lewis, and Spence generally wrote alone, while Miller and Stevenson generally wrote together. In 2003, Moby Grape

1287-516: A further involuntary committal for Spence. As described by Peter Lewis, "Skippy was just hanging around. He hadn't been all there for years, because he'd been into heroin all that time. In fact he actually OD'ed once and they had him in the morgue in San Jose with a tag on his toe. All of a sudden he got up and asked for a glass of water. Now he was snortin' big clumps of coke, and nothing would happen to him. We couldn't have him around because he'd be pacing

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1404-458: A little while. Next time we saw him, he had cut off his beard, and was wearing a black leather jacket, with his chest hanging out, with some chains and just sweating like a son of a gun. I don't know what the hell he got a hold of, man, but it just whacked him. And the next thing I know, he axed my door down in the Albert Hotel . They said at the reception area that this crazy guy had held an ax to

1521-539: A lower-income, predominantly minority community. Rapid suburbanization occurred during the years immediately after World War II , as new housing was being built outside city limits. This resulted in a demand for many new schools and other support facilities, which the county found difficult to provide. At the same time, suburbanization led to a declining tax base in the city, although many suburban residents used unique city amenities and services that were supported financially only by city taxpayers. After years of discussion,

1638-511: A music recording and production center. With the United States Supreme Court ruling in 1954 that public schools had to desegregate with "all deliberate speed", the family of student Robert Kelley filed a lawsuit in 1956, arguing that Nashville administrators should open all-White East High School to him. A similar case was filed by Reverend Henry Maxwell due to his children having to take a 45-minute bus ride from South Nashville to

1755-694: A party of Overmountain Men to the site of French Lick, and constructed Fort Nashborough . It was named for Francis Nash , the American Revolutionary War hero. Nashville quickly grew because of its strategic location as a port on the Cumberland River , a tributary of the Ohio River ; and its later status as a major railroad center. By 1800, the city had 345 residents, including 136 enslaved African Americans and 14 free African Americans. In 1806, Nashville

1872-477: A referendum was held in 1958 on the issue of consolidating city and county government. It failed to gain approval although it was supported by the then-elected leaders of both jurisdictions, County Judge Beverly Briley and Mayor Ben West . Following the referendum's failure, Nashville annexed some 42 square miles of suburban jurisdictions to expand its tax base. This increased uncertainty among residents, and created resentment among many suburban communities. Under

1989-536: A residence. In 2010, Don Stevenson, Jerry Miller and Omar Spence performed at the South by Southwest music festival (the performance at the Dirty Dog was recorded by Eric Sigsbey), while Peter Lewis appeared separately. Disbanded Disbanded Disbanded Disbanded Disbanded Disbanded Disbanded Contains Billboard (BB) and Cashbox (CB) chart peak positions. Nashville, Tennessee This

2106-633: A significant center for African American music and culture, laying the groundwork for the city's enduring musical legacy. In 1873, Nashville suffered another cholera epidemic, along with towns throughout Sumner County along railroad routes and the Cumberland River. This was part of a larger epidemic that struck the Mississippi Valley system and other areas of the United States, such as New York and towns along its major lakes and rivers. The epidemic

2223-571: A song referred to as "We Don't Know Now" (a misinterpretation of Miller on an audience recording telling them that they were "going to do Omaha now" before launching into the song) and "Sailing", a song which would be all but forgotten until Spence performed it with Moby Grape at a 1996 gig near Spence's home in Santa Cruz, California, at the Palookaville nightclub. They also performed songs cut for 20 Granite Creek . A Fillmore East gig saw Mosley doing an

2340-440: A three-way guitar battle for two and a quarter red-hot minutes, each of them charging at Spence's song from different angles, no one yielding to anyone else." In a marketing stunt, Columbia Records immediately released five singles at once, and the band was perceived as being over-hyped. This was during a period in which mainstream record labels heavily promoted what were then considered counter-cultural music genres. The record

2457-566: A time in hotel rooms in New York City. Finally I just quit and went back to California. I got a phone call after a couple of days. They'd played a Fillmore East gig without me, and Skippy took off with some black witch afterward who fed him full of acid. It was like that scene in The Doors movie . He thought he was the anti-Christ . He tried to chop down the hotel room door with a fire axe to kill Don [Stevenson] to save him from himself. He went up to

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2574-504: A trading post on the Cumberland River, near the present-day site of the city. In 1714, a group of French traders under the command of Charles Charleville established a settlement and trading post at the present location of downtown Nashville, which became known as French Lick. These settlers quickly established an extensive fur trading network with the local Native Americans, but by the 1740s the settlement had largely been abandoned. In 1779, explorers James Robertson and John Donelson led

2691-485: A trailer up there‚ Capitola . I used to hang around with him; we'd spend the weekends together. But he just basically kind of hit the...he was helpless in a way in terms of being able to define anything or control his feelings." In 1994, he participated in a music program for the mentally ill, sponsored by the City of San Jose. Two years later, in 1996, he was commissioned to write a song for The X-Files soundtrack, Songs in

2808-620: A vehicle exploded on Second Avenue , killing the perpetrator and injuring eight others. On March 27, 2023, a gunman killed three children and three staff at the Covenant School, before getting killed by police. On December 9, 2023 , tornadoes caused considerable destruction and left three people dead. Nashville lies on the Cumberland River in the northwestern portion of the Nashville Basin . Nashville's elevation ranges from its lowest point, 385 feet (117 m) above sea level at

2925-435: Is also contended that Moby Grape has never been properly compensated for recordings released by this label. The double CD 1993 Legacy Recordings compilation Vintage: The Very Best of Moby Grape includes their entire first album and most of Moby Grape '69 , selected tracks from Wow and Truly Fine Citizen , as well as studio outtakes and alternate versions, in much better quality. This compilation attracted new attention to

3042-487: Is an accepted version of this page Nashville , often known as Music City , is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County . Located in Middle Tennessee, it had a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census . Nashville is the 21st most populous city in the United States , and the fourth most populous city in the southeastern U.S. Located on

3159-513: Is estimated to have killed around 1,000 people in Nashville, and 50,000 total. Meanwhile, the city had reclaimed its important shipping and trading position and developed a solid manufacturing base. The post–Civil War years of the late 19th century brought new prosperity to Nashville and Davidson County. Wealthy planters and businessmen built grand, classical-style buildings. A replica of the Parthenon

3276-628: Is interred at Soquel Cemetery in Santa Cruz County. Spence has been described on the Allmusic website as "one of psychedelia's brightest lights". Spence wrote "Omaha" for Moby Grape's first album which Rolling Stone listed in 2008 as one of the 100 greatest guitar songs of all time. In June 2008, a Skip Spence tribute concert was held in Santa Cruz. The concert featured Spence's son Omar, who has sung with various configurations of Moby Grape in recent years. Omar Spence, singing his father's songs,

3393-674: Is sometimes referred to as the " Athens of the South" due to the large number of educational institutions. The city is also a major center for the healthcare, publishing, banking, automotive, and technology industries. Entities with headquarters in the city include AllianceBernstein , Asurion , Bridgestone Americas , Captain D's , Concord , Gideons International , Hospital Corporation of America , LifeWay Christian Resources , Logan's Roadhouse , and Ryman Hospitality Properties . In 1689, French-Canadian trader Martin Chartier established

3510-583: The Bridgestone Arena , and Nissan Stadium . Nissan Stadium (formerly Adelphia Coliseum and LP Field) was built after the National Football League 's (NFL) Houston Oilers agreed to move to the city in 1995. The NFL team debuted in Nashville in 1998 at Vanderbilt Stadium , and Nissan Stadium opened in the summer of 1999. The Oilers changed their name to the Tennessee Titans and finished

3627-509: The Cumberland River , the city is the center of the Nashville metropolitan area , and is one of the fastest growing in the nation. Named for Francis Nash , a general of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War , the city was founded in 1779 when this territory was still considered part of North Carolina. The city grew quickly due to its strategic location as a port on

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3744-513: The D.A. Pennebaker -produced film of the event, Monterey Pop . Moby Grape's Monterey recordings and film remain unreleased, allegedly because Katz demanded one million dollars for the rights. According to Lewis, "[Katz] told Lou Adler they had to pay us a million bucks to film us at the Monterey Pop Festival. So instead of putting us on Saturday night right before Otis Redding , they wound up putting us on at sunset on Friday when there

3861-593: The Ku Klux Klan was founded by Confederate veteran John W. Morton . He was reported to have initiated General Nathan Bedford Forrest into the white-sepremacist organization. The latter became Grand Wizard of the organization, which had chapters of this secret, insurgent group forming throughout the state and across the South. They opposed voting and political organizing by freedmen , tried to control their behavior by threats, violence and murder, and sometimes also attacked their White allies, including schoolteachers from

3978-477: The Pittsburgh Penguins , 4   games to 2, in the best-of-seven series. On January 22, 2009, residents rejected Nashville Charter Amendment 1 , which sought to make English the official language of the city. Between May 1 and 7, 2010, much of Nashville was extensively flooded as part of a series of 1,000 year floods throughout Middle and West Tennessee. Much of the flooding took place in areas along

4095-594: The Wow album, on the sampler album The Rock Machine Turns You On ( CBS ). But, amidst this success, troubled times plagued the band when founding member Spence began abusing LSD , which led to increasingly erratic behavior. According to Miller: "Skippy changed radically when we were in New York. There were some people there (he met) who were into harder drugs and a harder lifestyle, and some very weird shit. And so he kind of flew off with those people. Skippy kind of disappeared for

4212-422: The big band era which was tracked to only be played back properly at the speed of 78 RPM. The Grape Jam LP was one of loose, improvised studio jams with outside musicians. Also in 1968, the band contributed to the soundtrack of the movie The Sweet Ride , and appeared, credited, in the film. The band was also introduced to a wide group of UK listeners in 1968 through the inclusion of "Can't Be So Bad", from

4329-400: The (Jefferson) Airplane case, in both cases, the judge determined that (Matthew Katz) did business in a fraudulent and deceptive manner and that over the years he had continued to, what they call, 'muddy the water' by continually firing attorneys, making postponements and that these decisions could have been made years ago but he was making it impossible for that to happen. Now they have regained

4446-466: The 1970s, the city and county have undergone tremendous growth, particularly during the economic boom of the 1990s under the leadership of then-Mayor and later- Tennessee Governor , Phil Bredesen . Making urban renewal a priority, Bredesen fostered the construction or renovation of several city landmarks, including the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum , the downtown Nashville Public Library ,

4563-563: The 1990s and 2000s, Moby Grape has not released an album of new material since the release of Legendary Grape in 1989. Jerry Miller considers the 2003 remastered and supplemented CD version of Legendary Grape to be an essential Moby Grape album. The debut album and Wow/Grape Jam were first released on CD during the late 1980s by the San Francisco Sound label, a company owned by their former manager, Matthew Katz. These releases suffer from mediocre sound and poor quality packaging. It

4680-520: The 52nd floor of the CBS building where they had to wrestle him to the ground. And Rubinson pressed charges against him. They took him to the Tombs (and then to Bellevue) and that's where he wrote Oar . When he got out of there, he cut that album in Nashville. And that was the end of his career. They shot him full of Thorazine for six months. They just take you out of the game." After the forced departure of Spence,

4797-537: The Athens of the South." His brother, Henry Grizzard, had been lynched and hanged on April 24, 1892, in nearby Goodlettsville as a suspect in the same assault incident. From 1877 to 1950, a total of six lynchings of Blacks were conducted in Davidson County, four before the turn of the century. By the turn of the century Nashville was home to numerous organizations and individuals associated with revisionist Lost Cause of

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4914-553: The Confederacy pseudohistory, and it has been referred to as the "cradle of the Lost Cause." In 1893, the magazine Confederate Veteran began publication in the city. In 1894, the first chapter of United Daughters of the Confederacy was founded in the city, and it hosted the first two conventions of the organization. Prominent proponents of the mythology, the so-called "guardians of the Lost Cause," were concentrated Downtown and in

5031-778: The Cornells ), bassist Bob Mosley (of the Misfits, based in San Diego ), and Spence , now on guitar instead of drums. Miller and Stevenson had moved the Frantics from Seattle to San Francisco after a 1965 meeting with Jerry Garcia , then playing with the Warlocks at a bar in Belmont, California . Garcia encouraged them to move to San Francisco. Once the Frantics were settled in San Francisco, Mosley joined

5148-527: The Cumberland River and, in the 19th century, a railroad center. Nashville as part of Tennessee seceded during the American Civil War ; in 1862 it was the first state capital in the Confederacy to be taken by Union forces . It was occupied through the war. After the war, the city gradually reclaimed its stature. It became a center of trade and developed a manufacturing base. Since 1963, Nashville has had

5265-599: The Cumberland River, to its highest point, 1,163 feet (354 m) above sea level in the Radnor Lake State Natural Area . Nashville also sits at the start of the Highland Rim , a geophysical region of very hilly land. Because of this, Nashville is very hilly. Nashville also has some stand alone hills around the city such as the hill on which the Tennessee State Capitol building sits. According to

5382-515: The Cumberland and Harpeth Rivers and Mill Creek , and caused extensive damage to the many buildings and structures in the city, including the Grand Ole Opry House , Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center , Opry Mills Mall , Schermerhorn Symphony Center , Bridgestone Arena , and Nissan Stadium . Sections of Interstate 24 and Briley Parkway were also flooded. Eleven people died in

5499-572: The First Official Live Moby Grape 'Live' Album on Vinyl and Compact Disc formats. Moby Grape has been the subject of five fan-initiated tribute albums, whereby Moby Grape songs are covered by fans of the band. The series commenced with Mo'Grape (2000) and Even Mo'Grape (2002) and has been followed by Still Mo' Grape, Forever Mo and Just Say Mo . Lewis, Miller, Mosley and Stevenson continued to perform and record, contributing to various artist's projects. Peter Lewis released

5616-672: The Key of X ; it wasn't used, but it was included on the More Oar tribute record as " Land of the Sun ". Spence's final performance with Moby Grape occurred on August 9, 1996, at Palookaville in Santa Cruz. At this final show, Spence led the group through a rendition of "Sailing" (a song performed during the 1971 reunion run) and an impromptu performance of "J.P.P. McStep B. Blues", which he'd written for Jefferson Airplane in 1966. Spence died of lung cancer on April 16, 1999, two days short of his 53rd birthday. He

5733-507: The Marin Civic and Cupertino's DeAnza College. Following these shows Spence departed the band (for the final time), and his role within the group was filled by Dan Abernathy for recording and touring purposes. Due to continued legal battle between the band and Matthew Katz over ownership of the "Moby Grape" name, other names were used during this period for performance or recording purposes; including Mosley Grape, Legendary Grape, Maby Grope,

5850-603: The Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority (now WeGo Public Transit ) by a 2 to 1 margin. On September 28, 2019, John Cooper became the ninth mayor of Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. On March 3, 2020, a tornado tracked west to east, just north of the downtown Nashville area, killing at least 25 people and leaving tens of thousands without electricity. Neighborhoods impacted included North Nashville, Germantown, East Nashville, Donelson, and Hermitage. On December 25, 2020,

5967-494: The Nashville area as a result of the flooding, and damages were estimated to be over $ 2 billion. The city recovered after the Great Recession . In March 2012, a Gallup poll ranked Nashville in the top five regions for job growth. In 2013, Nashville was described as "Nowville" and "It City" by GQ , Forbes , and The New York Times . Nashville elected its first female mayor, Megan Barry , on September 25, 2015. As

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6084-509: The North and Freedman's Bureau officials. Whites directed violence against freedmen and their descendants both during and after the Reconstruction era . Two freedmen, David Jones and Jo Reed , were lynched in Nashville by White mobs in 1872 and 1875, respectively. Reed was hanged from a bridge over the river, but survived after the rope broke and he fell into the water. He successfully escaped

6201-481: The Santa Cruz area was noteworthy for weekly guest appearances with country music artist Larry Hosford, and in occasional duos with ex- Doobie Brothers keyboardist Dale Ockerman . Don Stevenson, who has rejoined Moby Grape for occasional performances, has developed business interests outside of the music industry, including time share sales of recreational property in Whistler, British Columbia , Canada, where he maintains

6318-735: The West End, near Centennial Park . At the same time, Jefferson Street became the historic center of the African American community, with similar districts developing in the Black neighborhoods in East and North Nashville. In 1912, the Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial and Normal School was moved to Jefferson Street. The first Prince's Hot Chicken Shack originated at the corner of Jefferson Street and 28th Avenue in 1945. Jefferson Street became

6435-544: The age of 81. Subsequent to the withdrawal of Vintage , Sony released Cross Talk: The Best of Moby Grape (2004), followed by Listen My Friends! The Best of Moby Grape (2007). Legendary Grape was issued for the first time in CD by Dig Music in 2003. In 2009, Sundazed Music issued The Place and the Time , a two-disc collection of alternate takes, live versions and other previously unreleased material. In February 2010, Sundazed released

6552-416: The aircraft industry. His parents gave him his first guitar when he was 10. Spence was a guitarist in the band The Other Side before Marty Balin recruited him to be the drummer for Jefferson Airplane (apparently because he looked the part). He has been described as "a key member of the psychedelic 60s San Francisco Bay Area scene." Spence drummed on their debut, Jefferson Airplane Takes Off , which

6669-603: The band and helped introduce their music to a new audience. In 1994, the group members commenced an action against Matthew Katz, Columbia Records and parent company Sony Music , seeking to have the settlement overturned. This settlement from 1973 meant that the group members would receive no royalties whatsoever from Vintage . The band had folded again in 1991 due to the deteriorating emotional state of Bob Mosley; who ultimately ended up being homeless in San Diego. This led Lewis, Miller, and Stevenson to regroup with Mosley and reform

6786-440: The band in 1996 as a means to help him resolve his problems; with health problems preventing Skip Spence from also joining the band. Spence lived in a residential care facility in northern California, and despite an extended period of homelessness and suffering from mental illness, there was a marked improvement in his domestic life in his later years before he died from lung cancer in 1999, two days before his 53rd birthday. Amid

6903-686: The band reform again on two occasions; firstly in 1983 with a line-up consisting of Lewis, Miller, Mosley, and Stevenson, which released the Moby Grape '84 album before dissolving in 1984. Then, in February 1987, the full original line-up of Moby Grape, along with It's a Beautiful Day , Fraternity of Man , and the Strawberry Alarm Clock , got together for a couple of shows. They performed their debut tunes "Hey Grandma", "Naked, If I Want To", "Omaha", "Fall on You", and "8:05", among others, before fans at

7020-436: The band's brief life; whilst Miller and Been went on to form The Original Haze, also originating around the Santa Cruz area, before joining Lewis and Spence in another reformation of Moby Grape; this time joined by keyboardist/sax Cornelius Bumpus , drummers John Oxendine and Daniel Spencer, and bassist Chris Powell. The band released 1978's Live Grape album on Escape Records before again splitting in 1979. The 1980s saw

7137-520: The band's manager, but the group had dismissed both of them. Katz encouraged Spence to form a band similar to Jefferson Airplane, with varied songwriting and vocal work by several group members, and with Katz as the manager. According to band member Peter Lewis , "Matthew (Katz) brought the spirit of conflict into the band. He didn't want it to be an equal partnership. He wanted it all." At the time, various group members were indebted to Katz, who had been paying for apartments and various living costs prior to

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7254-472: The band's relationship with their manager rapidly deteriorated. The second album, Wow/Grape Jam , released in 1968, was generally viewed as a critical and commercial disappointment, even though the album charted at No. 20 on the Billboard Pop Albums charts, partially due to the special low price double-album packaging. The album included the track "Just Like Gene Autry, a Foxtrot", a tribute to

7371-475: The band. While Miller was the principal lead guitarist, all three guitarists played lead at various points, often playing off against each other, in a guitar form associated with Moby Grape as "crosstalk". The other major three-guitar band at the time was Buffalo Springfield . Moby Grape's music has been described by Geoffrey Parr as follows: "No rock and roll group has been able to use a guitar trio as effectively as Moby Grape did on Moby Grape . Spence played

7488-518: The city soon thereafter. In the aftermath of the Civil War, the Fisk Jubilee Singers of Fisk University in Nashville emerged as a beacon of hope and cultural pride. By 1871, this ensemble began touring the U.S. and Europe, earning international acclaim for their performances of Negro spirituals . Their success not only provided vital funding for their university but also marked Nashville as

7605-407: The city's expanding influence in the music industry. In 1960, Time reported that Nashville had "nosed out Hollywood as the nation's second biggest (after New York ) record-producing center." In 1957 Nashville desegregated its school system using an innovative grade a year plan, in response to a class action suit Kelly vs. Board of Education of Nashville . By 1966 the Metro Council abandoned

7722-447: The city. By 1860, when the first rumblings of secession began to be heard across the South , antebellum Nashville was a prosperous city. The city's significance as a shipping port and rail center made it a desirable prize for competing military forces that wanted to control the region's important river and railroad transportation routes. In February 1862, Nashville became the first Confederate state capital to fall to U.S. troops, and

7839-527: The differing jurisdictions within the large metro region. In the early 1960s, Tennessee still had racial segregation of public facilities, including lunch counters and department store fitting rooms. Hotels and restaurants were also segregated. Between February 13 and May 10, 1960, a series of sit-ins were organized at lunch counters in downtown Nashville by the Nashville Student Movement and Nashville Christian Leadership Council, and were part of

7956-402: The doorman's head." After spending time in the infamous Tombs jail in New York, Spence was committed to New York's Bellevue Hospital , where he spent six months under psychiatric care. Recalling this troubled time for Spence, Lewis said, "We had to do (the album) in New York because the producer (David Rubinson) wanted to be with his family. So we had to leave our families and spend months at

8073-525: The end of the shows in 1975, Miller, Mosley, and Craviotto were joined by Michael Been (later of The Call ), under the name Fine Wine, and recorded an LP under the same name on Polydor Records in Germany in 1976. Following the end of Fine Wine, Mosley and Craviotto joined with Jeff Blackburn and Neil Young to form The Ducks , which played in and around the Santa Cruz area during 1977, and were popular during

8190-660: The event Moby Grape performed along with the Bhaktivedanta Swami , founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, beat poet Allen Ginsberg , and fellow rock bands Grateful Dead and Big Brother and the Holding Company donating proceeds to the temple. The group appeared at the Monterey Pop Festival on June 17, 1967. Due to legal and managerial disputes, the group was not included in

8307-467: The finale. An additional Skip Spence tribute concert was held in October 2008. William Gibson paid tribute to Spence in his collection of essays, Distrust That Particular Flavor , in which he marvelled at his tailor-adjusted jeans. Moby Grape Moby Grape's success was accompanied by decades-long legal disputes with their former manager, Matthew Katz . Legal difficulties originated shortly after

8424-438: The grade a year plan and completely desegregated the entire school system at one time. Congress passed civil rights legislation in 1964 and 1965, but tensions continued as society was slow to change. On April 8, 1967, a riot broke out on the college campuses of Fisk University and Tennessee State University, historically Black colleges , after Stokely Carmichael spoke about Black Power at Vanderbilt University . Although it

8541-401: The group broke up. These concerts were described by contemporary accounts as disastrous, and circulating recordings do little to challenge that assessment. These shows are noteworthy, however, due to their inclusion of original material that did not appear on their albums proper. Mosley contributed "When You're Down The Road" and "Just A Woman", Lewis "There Is No Reason", and Spence brought along

8658-406: The group's formation, when Katz insisted on ownership of the group name. The dispute with Katz became more acute after the group members' rights to their songs were signed away in 1973, in a settlement made without their knowledge. As described by Jeff Tamarkin , "The Grape's saga is one of squandered potential, absurdly misguided decisions, bad luck, blunders and excruciating heartbreak, all set to

8775-527: The group, shocking the remaining members by joining the Marines. The remaining three released their final album for Columbia, Truly Fine Citizen , in late 1969, with session bassist Bob Moore filling in for the departed Mosley during the sessions for the album. Truly Fine Citizen would be the final work conducted by the band prior to their initial dissolution. Miller and Stevenson then formed The Rhythm Dukes, later joined by Bill Champlin . The band achieved

8892-443: The influence of LSD . Spence's deterioration in New York and the "fire axe incident" are described by bandmate Jerry Miller as follows: Skippy changed radically when we were in New York. There were some people there that were into harder drugs and a harder lifestyle, and some very weird shit. And so he kind of flew off with those people. Skippy kind of disappeared for a little while. Next time we saw him, he had cut off his beard, and

9009-688: The label was forced to both withdraw and recall Moby Grape , Wow and Grape Jam from print on both vinyl and CD because of a new lawsuit by former manager Katz. Sundazed stated on their website that they were directed to withdraw the three titles by Sony, from whom Sundazed had licensed the recordings. Following the reunion performance, Stevenson departed the band and semi-retired from the music industry. Moby Grape continues to perform occasionally, performing with core members Jerry Miller, Bob Mosley and Peter Lewis, and in such incarnations as with Skip Spence's son Omar joining on vocals and Jerry Miller's son Joseph on drums. New recording commenced in 2009, following

9126-470: The new charter, African American attorneys Z. Alexander Looby and Robert E. Lillard were elected to the city council. During the mid-1950s, Nashville underwent a musical transformation with the emergence of the ' Nashville Sound ,' which was characterized by "smooth strings and choruses", "sophisticated background vocals" and "smooth tempos" associated with traditional pop . The new sound broadened country music's appeal and solidified Nashville's status as

9243-425: The north end of the city. These suits caused the courts to announce what became known as the "Nashville Plan", where the city's public schools would desegregate one grade per year beginning in the fall of 1957. Urban redevelopment accelerated over the next several decades, and the city grew increasingly segregated. An interstate was placed on the edge of East Nashville while another highway was built through Edgehill,

9360-497: The now-classic psychedelic/folk album Oar (1969, Columbia Records ). During the early 1970s Spence also founded and experimented with a three-man rock band called Pachuca and later a larger ensemble called The Rhythm Dukes. He continued to have minor involvement in later Moby Grape projects and reunions. He contributed to 20 Granite Creek (1971) and Live Grape (1978), though his bandmates always included at least one of his songs on group recordings, irrespective of whether he

9477-414: The ongoing legal proceedings between Moby Grape and Katz, the surviving members of the band decided to dissolve the group once again in 2001. Finally, in 2006, and after three decades of court battles, the band finally won back its name; and subsequently reformed. As described in 1998 by David LaFlamme of It's A Beautiful Day , "Yes (Moby Grape) did, eventually they did win their case. In that case and in

9594-495: The opioid crisis have resulted in more people being out on the streets: as of 2018 , between 2,300 and 20,000 Nashvillians are homeless. On March 6, 2018, due to felony charges filed against Mayor Barry relating to the misuse of public funds, she resigned before the end of her term. A special election was called. Following a ruling by the Tennessee Supreme Court , the Davidson County Election Commission set

9711-476: The previously used Fine Wine, and The Melvilles. This led to the band's 1989 Legendary Grape album being considered by some to be a Melvilles recording, as, while it was originally issued as a Moby Grape cassette-only release, the tape eventually had to be withdrawn due to pressure from Katz's legal team; and it was subsequently repackaged and reissued as being by The Melvilles. Despite Jerry Miller, Bob Mosley and Peter Lewis continuing to release solo records in

9828-476: The release of The Place and the Time , a well-received collection of demos, outtakes, alternate versions and otherwise unreleased material from the band's 1960s recording period. In 2018 a detailed biography - What's Big And Purple And Lives In The Ocean?: The Moby Grape Story by Cam Cobb was published in the U.S. and the U.K. by Jawbone. Matthew Katz died on September 30, 2023, at the age of 93. Guitarist and co-founder Jerry Miller died on July 20, 2024, at

9945-419: The release of the group's first album. Despite objecting, group members signed without seeking outside legal advice, believing in part that there would be no further financial support from Katz unless they did so. Neil Young , then of Buffalo Springfield , was in the room at the time, and kept his head down, playing his guitar, and saying nothing. According to Peter Lewis, "I think Neil knew, even then, that this

10062-573: The remaining four members continued recording throughout 1968 and released Moby Grape '69 in January 1969. Spence's "Seeing" (also known as "Skip's Song") was finished by the foursome, and it is one of the highlights. Despite the collaborative effort to complete the song, the songwriting credit was left solely with Spence. After a tour of the UK and the Netherlands in February 1969 as a four piece, Bob Mosley left

10179-615: The rights to their songs and so on. Thank God. But most of the money that he has made doing to them what he has been doing to me is money he has already made. You can't get that. It's gone! It's gone!" To celebrate, in September 2007, a reunited Moby Grape performed for over 40,000 fans at the Summer of Love 40th Anniversary Celebration in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park . In October 2007, Sundazed Records reissued Moby Grape's first five albums (with bonus tracks) on CD and vinyl. The following month,

10296-522: The room, describing axe murders. So we got him a little place of his own. He had a little white rat named Oswald that would snort coke too. He'd never washed his dishes, and he'd try to get these little grammar school girls to go into the house with him. He was real bad. One of the parents finally called the cops, and they took him to the County Mental Health Hospital in Santa Cruz. Where they immediately lost him, and he turned up days later in

10413-678: The season with the Music City Miracle and a close Super Bowl game. The St. Louis Rams won in the last play of the game. In 1997, Nashville was awarded a National Hockey League expansion team; this was named the Nashville Predators . Since the 2003–04 season, the Predators have made the playoffs in all but four seasons. In 2017, they made the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history, but ultimately fell to

10530-621: The second charter for metropolitan government, which was approved in 1962, two levels of service provision were proposed: the General Services District and the Urban Services District, to provide for a differential in tax levels. Residents of the Urban Services District had a full range of city services. The areas that made up the General Services District, however, had a lower tax rate until full services were provided. This helped reconcile aspects of services and taxation among

10647-413: The south for iron production. The cholera epidemic that struck Nashville in 1849–1850 took the life of former U.S. President James K. Polk and resulted in high fatalities. There were 311 deaths from cholera in 1849 and an estimated 316 to about 500 in 1850. Before the Civil War, about 700 free Blacks lived in small enclaves in northern Nashville. More than 3,200 enslaved African Americans lived in

10764-515: The special election for May 24, 2018, to meet the requirement of 75 to 80 days from the date of resignation. David Briley , who was Vice Mayor during the Barry administration and Acting Mayor after her resignation, won the special election with just over 54% of the vote, becoming the 70th mayor of Nashville. On May 1, 2018, voters rejected Let's Move Nashville , a referendum which would have funded construction of an $ 8.9 billion mass transit system under

10881-579: The state legislature approved a new city charter that provided for the election of city council members from single-member districts , rather than at-large voting. This change was supported because at-large voting required candidates to gain a majority of votes from across the city. The previous system prevented the minority population, which then tended to support Republican candidates, from being represented by candidates of their choice; apportionment under single-member districts meant that some districts in Nashville had Black majorities. In 1951, after passage of

10998-430: The state was occupied by the U.S. Army for the duration of the war. Many enslaved African Americans from Middle Tennessee fled as refugees to Union lines; they were housed in contraband camps around military installations in Nashville's eastern, western, and southern borders. The Battle of Nashville (December 15–16, 1864) was a significant Union victory and perhaps the most decisive tactical victory gained by either side in

11115-629: The state's three divisions . As of 2020, Nashville is considered a global city , type "Gamma" by the GaWC . The city is a major center for the music industry , especially country music . It is home to three major professional sports teams : the Predators , Titans , and Nashville SC . The city is also the home of many colleges and universities including Tennessee State University , Vanderbilt University , Belmont University , Fisk University , Trevecca Nazarene University , and Lipscomb University . Nashville

11232-430: The streets." Auction blocks and brokers' offices were part of the slave market at the heart of the city. It was the center of plantations cultivating tobacco and hemp as commodity crops, in addition to the breeding and training of thoroughbred horses, and other livestock. For years Nashville was considered one of the wealthiest southern capitals and a large portion of its prominence was from the iron business. Nashville led

11349-479: The target of Spence and what happened to him afterwards: We had to do [the album] in New York because the producer [David Rubinson] wanted to be with his family. So we had to leave our families and spend months at a time in hotel rooms in New York City. Finally I just quit and went back to California. I got a phone call after a couple of days. They'd played a Fillmore East gig without me, and Skippy took off with some black witch afterward who fed him full of acid . It

11466-506: The tune of some of the greatest rock and roll ever to emerge from San Francisco. Moby Grape could have had it all, but they ended up with nothing, and less." The group was formed in September 1966 in San Francisco at the instigation of Skip Spence and Matthew Katz . Both had previously been associated with Jefferson Airplane , Spence as the band's first drummer, playing on their first album, Jefferson Airplane Takes Off , and Katz as

11583-516: The war; it was also the war's final major military action in which Tennessee regiments played a large part on both sides of the battle. Afterward, the Confederates conducted a war of attrition , making guerrilla raids and engaging in small skirmishes. Confederate forces in the Deep South were almost constantly in retreat. In 1868, three years after the end of the Civil War, the Nashville chapter of

11700-511: The women's ward." Mental illness, drug addiction, and alcoholism thus prevented Spence from sustaining a career in the music industry. He spent many of his years in third-party care, as a ward of the State of California, and either homeless or in transient accommodations in his later years. He remained in and around San Jose and Santa Cruz. Peter Lewis regularly visited Spence during the latter years of his life: "The last five years I'd go up‚ he lived in

11817-479: Was incorporated as a city and became the county seat of Davidson County, Tennessee . In 1843, the city was named as the permanent capital of the state of Tennessee . Knoxville, Kingston & Murfreesboro were prior locations of the state capital. The city government of Nashville owned 24 slaves by 1831, and 60 prior to the Civil War . They were "put to work to build the first successful water system and maintain

11934-540: Was backed by the Santa Cruz White Album Ensemble, with Dale Ockerman and Tiran Porter , both formerly of the Doobie Brothers, and both of whom have played with various members of Moby Grape in several bands over the past three decades. Don Stevenson (an original Moby Grape member) also performed. Keith Graves of Quicksilver Messenger Service played drums. Peter Lewis joined the group onstage for

12051-556: Was born in Windsor, Ontario , Canada on April 18, 1946. His father, Alexander Lett "Jock" Spence (1914–1965), was a machinist, a salesman, and played Route 66 as a solo singer-songwriter and piano player. He was also a decorated Canadian World War II bomber pilot, having been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross . In the late 1950s, the family relocated from Windsor to San Jose, California , when Spence's father found work in

12168-478: Was capable of performing with the group at the time. He had been similarly remembered by Jefferson Airplane , whereby his song " My Best Friend " was included on the group's Surrealistic Pillow album (1967), despite his departure from the group. Due to his deteriorating state and notwithstanding that he was no longer functioning in the band, Spence was supported by Moby Grape band members for extended periods. Voluminous consumption of heroin and cocaine resulted in

12285-479: Was constructed in Centennial Park , near downtown. On April 30, 1892, Ephraim Grizzard , an African-American man, was lynched in a spectacle murder in front of a European-American mob of 10,000 in Nashville. He was a suspect in the assault of two white sisters. His lynching was described by journalist Ida B. Wells as: "A naked, bloody example of the blood-thirstiness of the nineteenth century civilization of

12402-456: Was critically acclaimed and fairly successful commercially, with The Move covering the album's "Hey Grandma" (a Miller-Stevenson composition) on their self-titled first album . More recently, "Hey Grandma" was included in the soundtrack to the 2005 Sean Penn - Nicole Kidman film, The Interpreter , as well as being covered in 2009 by the Black Crowes , on Warpaint Live . Spence's "Omaha"

12519-533: Was like that scene in The Doors movie . He thought he was the anti-Christ. He tried to chop down the hotel room door with a fire axe to kill Don [Stevenson] to save him from himself. He went up to the 52nd floor of the CBS building where they had to wrestle him to the ground. And Rubinson pressed charges against him. They took him to The Tombs [notorious prison in New York] and that's where he wrote Oar . When he got out of there, he cut that album in Nashville . And that

12636-476: Was nobody in the place." The Moby Grape footage was shown in 2007 as part of the 40th anniversary celebrations of the film. Miller recalled that Laura Nyro was given Moby Grape's original position opening for Redding, "because everybody was arguing. Nobody wanted to play first and I said that would be fine for me." In addition to the marketing backlash, band members found themselves in legal trouble for charges (later dropped) of consorting with underage girls, and

12753-548: Was ranked at number 121 in Rolling Stone 's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Noted rock critic Robert Christgau listed it as one of the 40 "Essential Albums of 1967". In 2008, Spence's song "Omaha", from the first Moby Grape album, was listed as number 95 in Rolling Stone' s "100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time". The song was described as follows: On their best single, Jerry Miller, Peter Lewis and Skip Spence compete in

12870-461: Was recorded before Grace Slick joined the group. The band dismissed him after he took an unannounced vacation in Mexico. He briefly considered joining Buffalo Springfield as a drummer before returning to the guitar to co-found Moby Grape . During the recording session of Moby Grape's second album, Wow in 1968, Spence attempted to break down a bandmate's hotel room door with a fire axe while under

12987-463: Was survived by his four children, eleven grandchildren, half-brother Rich Young, and sister Sherry Ferreira. More Oar: A Tribute to the Skip Spence Album , an album featuring contributions from Robert Plant , Tom Waits , and Beck , among others, was released a few weeks after his death. Prior to its release, the CD was played for Spence at the hospital, in his final stages before death. Spence

13104-456: Was the drummer on Jefferson Airplane 's debut album, Jefferson Airplane Takes Off . He has been described on the AllMusic website as "one of psychedelia's brightest lights"; however, his career was plagued by drug addiction coupled with mental health problems, and he has been described by a biographer as a man who "neither died young nor had a chance to find his way out." Alexander Lee Spence

13221-430: Was the end of his career. They shot him full of Thorazine for six months. They just take you out of the game. In June 1968 Spence was admitted to Bellevue Hospital in New York; during his six-month stay he was diagnosed with schizophrenia . According to an urban myth, on the day of his release, clad in pajamas he drove a motorcycle directly to Nashville to record his only solo album, with the help of no other musicians,

13338-478: Was the end. We had bought into this process that we should have known better than to buy into." The band name, chosen by Bob Mosley and Spence, came from the punch line of the joke "What's big and purple and lives in the ocean?" Lead guitarist Jerry Miller and drummer Don Stevenson (both formerly of the Frantics , originally based in Seattle) joined guitarist (and son of actress Loretta Young ) Peter Lewis (of

13455-662: Was the only one of the five singles to chart, reaching number 88 in the US in 1967 and number 87 in Canada . Miller-Stevenson's "8:05" became a country rock standard (covered by Robert Plant , Guy Burlage, and others). One of Moby Grape's earliest major onstage performances was the Mantra-Rock Dance — a musical event held on January 29, 1967, at the Avalon Ballroom by the San Francisco Hare Krishna temple. At

13572-535: Was viewed as a "race riot", it had classist characteristics. In 1979, the Ku Klux Klan burnt crosses outside two African American sites in Nashville, including the city headquarters of the NAACP . Historically, Nashville zoning permitted the construction of duplex housing. In the 1980s and 1990s, Nashville lawmakers downzoned sections of Nashville to exclusively permit single-family housing . Proponents of these downzonings said they would raise home values. Since

13689-474: Was wearing a black leather jacket, with his chest hanging out, with some chains and just sweating like a son of a gun. I don't know what the hell he got a hold of, man, but it just whacked him. And the next thing I know, he axed my door down in the Albert Hotel. They said at the reception area that this crazy guy had held an axe to the doorman's head. Bandmate Peter Lewis , describes Don Stevenson as also being

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