Granicus

Cleveland, Ohio’s Granicus took their moniker from the river where Alexander the Great secured his opening decisive triumph against the Persians. Though the group existed only briefly as an active unit, they later earned sustained and increasing admiration from dedicated collectors of rare 1970s hard rock. At the decade’s outset the lineup coalesced around vocalist and acoustic guitarist Woody Leffel, lead guitarist Wayne Anderson, rhythm guitarist Al Pinelli, bassist Dale Bedford, and drummer Joe Battaglia. The musicians refined their original songs in local Cleveland clubs before securing a contract with RCA Records in 1973. Their self-titled debut, issued the same year, displayed an uncommonly developed approach to songcraft that fused late-1960s hard-rock touchstones such as Cream, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and Blue Cheer with the rising early-1970s force of Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin, most noticeably in Leffel’s piercing, Robert Plant-inflected vocals. Despite these qualities, the album achieved virtually no commercial traction, prompting RCA to release the band; dwindling prospects soon led to their dissolution sometime afterward. With the exception of Battaglia, who briefly played with the New York-based group Pandora a few years later, none of the members appeared in subsequent ensembles.