Free

Free I (1968 - 1971)
  • Paul Rodgers - vocals - b. December 12, 1949, Middlesbrough, England - formerly with Peace.
  • Paul Kossoff - guitar - b. September 14, 1950, London, England; d. March 19, 1976, New York City, New York - formerly with Black Cat Bones.
  • Andy Fraser - bass - b. August 7, 1952, London, England - formerly with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers.
  • Simon Kirke - drums - b. July 28, 1949, Shrewsbury, England - formerly with Black Cat Bones.
Albums:
  1. "Tons of Sobs" (1969)
  2. "Free" (1969)
  3. "Fire and Water" (1970) - Single: "All Right Now" (1970)
  4. "Highway" (1970)
  5. "Free Live!" (1971)
Group disbands.  Andy Fraser and Paul Rodgers go solo.  Paul Kossoff and Simon Kirke join Tetsu Yamauchi and Rabbit Bundrick to form Kossoff, Kirke, Tetsu and Rabbit.

Free II (Reformed) (1972 - 1973)
  • Paul Rodgers - vocals
  • Paul Kossoff - guitar
  • Andy Fraser - bass
  • Simon Kirke - drums
Albums:
  1. "Free At Last" (1972)
Andy Fraser forms the Andy Fraser Band, and later forms Sharks (with guitarist Chris Spedding).  Paul Kossoff forms Back Street Crawler.

Free III (1973 - early 1973)
  • Paul Rodgers - vocals
  • Simon Kirke - drums
  • Tetsu Yamauchi - bass - b. October 21, 1947, Fukuoka, Japan.
  • John "Rabbit" Bundrick - keyboards - b. Texas, USA.
  • Paul Kossoff - guitar - Helped with some of the guitar work on "Heartbreaker".
  • Wendell Richardson - guitar - formerly with Osibisa.
Albums:
  1. "Heartbreaker" (1973) - group disbands
Group disbands.  Paul Rodgers and Simon Kirke form Bad Company. Tetsu Yamauchi joins Rod Stewart's Faces. John "Rabbit" Bundrick was a tour member for The Who from 1978-1982. Paul Rodgers later joins The Firm, performs with Willie and the Poor Boys, and later joins The Law (with Kenny Jones).

Compilations:
  1. "The Free Story" (1973/1998)
  2. "Best of Free" (1975)
  3. "Completely Free" (1983)
  4. "Molten Gold: The Anthology" (2 CDs) (1993)

Hartman Recommends:
  • Free's 1970 album "Fire and Water" (containing the hit "All Right Now") is a great album, and I recommend it without reservation.  If you're wanting a little more, check out the 1993 compilation "Molten Gold: The Anthology".

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     Date Revised:  May 6, 2000