Paul Kossoff

Kossoff was born on 14 September 1950 in Hampstead, London, the son of Margaret (née Jenkins) and the actor David Kossoff.[2][3][4] His uncle was the broadcaster Alan Keith and he was a cousin of the judge Brian Keith and the model Linda Keith.[5]

Aged nine Kossoff started classical guitar lessons with Blanche Monroe. His classical guitar training continued until he was fifteen. In December 1965 he saw Eric Clapton with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers at The Refectory, Golders Green, North West London. This encounter inspired him to purchase a Gibson Les Paul Custom guitar.[6] During 1966 Kossoff worked as a junior salesman at Selmer's Music Shop in Charing Cross Road.[7] He received lessons from session guitarist Colin Falconer who worked in the guitar department at Selmer's.[2]

In 1966 Kossoff joined the Chicago-style blues band Black Cat Bones. The band played with touring blues piano player Champion Jack Dupree, often supporting Fleetwood Mac and other gigs with Fleetwood Mac co-founder Peter Green.[2] Kossoff's bandmate in Black Cat Bones was drummer Simon Kirke, and the two went on to play on Champion Jack Dupree's April 1968 album When You Feel the Feeling You Was Feeling.[8][9]

Free (Amsterdam, 1970). Paul Kossoff, Andy Fraser, Simon Kirke, Paul Rodgers & Steve Winwood

In April 1968, Kossoff and Kirke teamed up with Paul Rodgers (vocals) and Andy Fraser (bass) to form Free. They toured for two years, during which they recorded two albums: Tons of Sobs (1968) and Free (1969). Both albums showcased the band's blues- and soul-influenced sound, a style that was in contrast to some of their progressive and heavier counterparts at the time.[10]

Success came in 1970 when their third album, Fire and Water (1970), spawned the hit "All Right Now".[10] The band played the Isle of Wight festival to both audience and critical acclaim, and sellout tours in the United Kingdom, Europe, and Japan followed.[11]

However, after the release of the next album, Highway (1970) and its relatively poor sales, band pressures led to a split. The live album Free Live! was recorded in 1970, and released in 1971 as a farewell record.[10][6]

Kossoff and Kirke teamed up with Texan keyboard player John "Rabbit" Bundrick and Japanese bass player Tetsu Yamauchi to release the 1971 album Kossoff, Kirke, Tetsu and Rabbit. Rodgers and Fraser pursued unsuccessful solo projects.[6]

Free reformed and released the album Free at Last (1972). Following its release, Fraser decided he had had enough, and quit to form Sharks. Free drafted Tetsu and Rabbit for the album Heartbreaker (1973) after which the group disbanded.[6]

Rodgers and Kirke went on to form the successful Bad Company.

Kossoff released a solo album, Back Street Crawler (1973). He then accompanied John Martyn on a 1975 tour.[13]

Kossoff then assembled a group called Back Street Crawler, which released two albums: The Band Plays On in 1975 and 2nd Street in 1976. Recordings from one of the band's UK concerts in 1975 were first released in 1983 on the album Live at Croydon Fairfield Halls 15 June 1975.[14]

Kossoff's guitar playing was also much in demand for session work and he contributed solos on several albums including: Jim Capaldi's Oh How We Danced (1972) and Short Cut Draw Blood (1975); Martha Veléz's Fiends and Angels (1969); The Amazing Blondel's Mulgrave Street (1974); Uncle Dog's Old Hat (1972), Michael Gately's Gately's Cafe (1971) and Mike Vernon's 1971 album Bring It Back Home.[8]

He also played on four demos by Ken Hensley (eventually released on the 1994 album titled From Time to Time) and three tracks that appear on the CD-only issue of John Martyn's Live at Leeds album from 1975.

One of Kossoff's guitars, a 1957 Fender Stratocaster, was bought after his death by Dave Murray of the band Iron Maiden; he used it from 1978 to 1990.[18]

In 2012, one of his most famous and iconic guitars, a 1959 Gibson Les Paul, was recreated and made into a limited edition reissue by Gibson and named the 'Paul Kossoff 1959 Les Paul Standard'.[19]

In December 2015 Bonhams listed for auction a Gibson Les Paul Standard owned by Kossoff from 1970–1976.[20][21]

In April 2017 Guitar Magazine featured the 'stripped' Gibson Les Paul that Kossoff played at the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970. Kossoff sold the guitar to Mike Gooch and in May 1994 it was sold for £12,000 at Christie's.[22]

• Clayton, David, and Todd K. Smith. Heavy Load: The Story of Free. London: Moonshine Publishing, 2002. ISBN 978-0-9542169-0-0.
• Guerra, Tom. Paul Kossoff - Biography. Paul Kossoff - The Back Street Crawler Vintage Guitar Magazine, 2000.
• James, J.P. Paul Kossoff: All Right Now – The Guitars, The Gear, The Music. Matador, 2017. ISBN 978-1-7858988-1-5.

• Paul Kossoff Website
• Paul Kossoff Book Website