Biography
Woody's Truck Stop assembled in Philadelphia during the closing days of May 1966. Bob Radeloff on drums and Alan Miller on guitar had already performed together as adolescents in a local folk ensemble. After finishing high school Miller enrolled at the Philadelphia College of Art while Radeloff kept teaching guitar lessons. Miller soon recruited two fellow students, drummer Artie Heller and bassist Carson Van Osten, to join the new unit. The musicians took strong cues from electric blues outfits including the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and the Blues Project, Chess blues artists, and British blues-rock acts such as the Yardbirds. Their name came from the motorcycle repair shop located directly beneath the room where they practiced. Additional players passed through the ranks, among them Bob’s brother, keyboardist Ken Radeloff. In the summer of 1966, after opening shows for the Shadows of Knight and the Byrds, Heller left; Tim Moore of DC & the Senators took over briefly before Joe DiCarlo replaced him. DiCarlo brought his friend Todd Rundgren to a rehearsal, and after hearing Rundgren play guitar Bob Radeloff persuaded Miller that twin stereo lead guitars, modeled on Paul Butterfield’s band, would strengthen the sound. Rundgren joined and the group played mostly at quiet coffeehouses such as The Second of Autumn and The Second Fret before shifting operations to the Boston area. Miller and Rundgren soon clashed over musical direction, Miller preferring to stay rooted in blues while Rundgren favored a turn toward psychedelic rock. On May 7, 1967, during a bill shared with the Blues Project at Town Hall, the audience pelted the band with pies onstage; Rundgren then departed to focus on his own music and rhythm guitarist Greg Radcliffe took his place. Woody’s Truck Stop carried on without him. In February 1968 the band shared a bill with Rundgren’s newly formed group the Nazz and the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Van Osten, who had quit to concentrate on college, joined the Nazz; bassist Ron Bogeon filled the vacancy. At Regent Sound in New York City the remaining members recorded their self-titled debut album, released in 1969 on Mercury’s Smash label. The record brought no success and the band dissolved shortly afterward. Several of Rundgren’s early demos with Woody’s Truck Stop from late 1966 and early 1967, among them “Why Is It Me” and the early Nazz track “The Lemming Song,” later surfaced on various Rundgren compilations, including a 2002 two-CD Nazz set issued by the Japanese Airmail Recordings label. The U.S.-based Distortions/Philly Archives also plan to reissue the Woody’s Truck Stop CD.
Albums
