The Artwoods

Matching the Animals and the Spencer Davis Group in competitive stature, the Artwoods never attained the recording breakthroughs those groups achieved. Their support stayed rooted in the venues where they performed, even after issuing six singles and one album across four years of activity.

Art Wood, Ron Wood’s older brother, participated in the London blues world nearly from its outset as an original member of Blues Incorporated, the pioneering blues and R&B unit established by Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies. He served as backup rhythm singer during the group’s early configuration, prior to the Davies-Korner split and before the release of their sole album; concurrently he led his own side project, the Art Woods Combo. The ensemble became the Artwoods in 1963 when Jon Lord and guitarist Derek Griffiths arrived following the dissolution of their previous band, Red Bludd’s Bluesicians. The decision to turn professional in 1964 prompted the recruitment of drummer Keef Hartley through a Melody Maker advertisement, while bassist Malcolm Pool was drawn from the Roadrunners. Within the thriving London scene, securing a contract proved straightforward, and Decca Records added the band to its roster in 1964.

The Artwoods’ initial releases rank among the most fondly recalled British R&B singles, standing alongside the output of the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, and, coincidentally, the Birds, the band that included Art Wood’s younger brother Ron Wood. Their approach drew equally from soul and funk as from blues, distinguishing them from many contemporaries. They also demonstrated skill at crafting original material that appeared on single B-sides. The lineup further enhanced their appeal: Jon Lord’s piano and organ textures complemented Art Wood’s vocals, Derek Griffiths delivered tastefully flashy guitar lines, and Keef Hartley played with both power and animation, producing a larger drum sound than Jim McCarty of the Yardbirds. These qualities established the Artwoods as a premier live attraction, and audiences at clubs such as Klooks Kleek in Hampstead consistently received strong performances. Their readiness to play hundreds of dates annually for the enjoyment of performing may ultimately have limited wider recognition, as earnings from such extensive touring remained modest.

Their singles nonetheless failed to register on the charts, despite television exposure on programs including Ready, Steady, Go! The absence of hits seems puzzling given the music’s qualities; although the band members were not prolific songwriters, their interpretations of American-style R&B emerged soulful, funky, and inventive, suggesting the U.K. counterpart to Booker T. & the MG’s. The vocals, while lacking the charisma of Eric Burdon, Mick Jagger, or Paul Jones, remained distinctive and convincingly American in tone. Unlike many British acts of the period, the Artwoods also preserved much of their stage energy on record. Decca permitted the recording of a full album despite the lack of chart entries, yet commercial breakthrough eluded the quintet. Comparable to another British R&B act, the Action, whose strong recordings similarly went largely unheard, the Artwoods impressed listeners club by club and left behind music later discovered by archivists.

Switches to Parlophone and then Fontana in 1967 yielded limited success on the European mainland, notably in Denmark. After four years the group disbanded following a short-lived project under the name the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. Keef Hartley departed first for John Mayall’s band, with Malcolm Pool soon following the same route before Hartley formed his own ensemble. Jon Lord, who had participated in studio projects such as Santa Barbara Machinehead, accepted an invitation from ex-Searcher Chris Curtis to join Roundabout, the group that evolved into Deep Purple. Art Wood remained active in music despite the Artwoods’ limited commercial outcome. Like contemporaries such as Alexis Korner, he made occasional recordings and participated in the revived Downliners Sect during the 1980s and 1990s.