Island Records might easily have positioned Vinegar Joe as their counterpart to the Allman Brothers or Wet Willie. Formed as a six-piece after the breakup of the expansive rock ensemble Dada, the group came together on the recommendation of Island founder Chris Blackwell. At its center stood Elkie Brooks on vocals, Robert Palmer handling vocals and guitar, Pete Gage covering guitars and piano, and Steve York on bass and harmonica, while keyboards moved from Tim Hinkley to Mike Deacon and drumming shifted from Conrad Isadore and Keef Hartley to John Woods and Pete Gavin. Between 1971 and 1973 the band recorded three albums. Critics praised their live performances, which drew substantial crowds across England, yet those successes never translated into comparable record sales. The ensemble disbanded in 1973, after which Robert Palmer rose to international prominence as a pop-rock blue-eyed soul singer and Elkie Brooks achieved recognition as an MOR performer with Pete Gage serving as her arranger.
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