Song:30 Days In The Hole
Album:The Definitive Collection
Though Humble Pie never had a hit single, they were a popular album band and concert draw in the early 70s. 30 Days In The Hole is one of their more popular songs. Steve Marriott was lead singer and guitarist for the very successful band Small Faces. After he left in Jan. 1969, he wanted to start a more acoustic band for The Herd guitarist Peter Frampton. Marriott brought in Spooky Tooth bassist Greg Ridley and drummer Jerry Shirley from The Apostolic Intervention. Humble Pie signed with Immediate Records and the single Natural Born Bugie was a top five hit in England. They released two albums but then Immediate went bankrupt. Dee Anthony became Humble Pie's new manager and the first thing he suggested was a hard rock sound. The band also moved to New York. They signed with A&M Records and the 1971 album Rock On did very well. Humble Pie became a very strong concert draw. But Frampton didn't like the change to a hard rock sound. So he left and was replaced by David "Clem" Clempson of Colosseum. The 1972 album Smokin' was Humble Pie's most successful album. It reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 200 and was certified Gold. It included guest appearances by Stephen Stills and Alexis Korner. 30 Days In The Hole is one of Humble Pie's most memorable songs. Marriott wrote it after a drug possession arrest. The song has been covered most notably by Gov't Mule. Humble Pie continued to record and tour. But Marriott's drug addiction got worse and they split up in 1975. The story was Marriott was more belligerent as his addiction got worse. Marriott moved back to England and released a 1976 solo album. He also auditioned to replace Mick Taylor in The Rolling Stones. Keith Richards liked him but Mick Jagger didn't like his on stage behaviour. After that he joined a Small Faces reunion and then Humble Pie reunited in 1979. Marriott and Shirley hired guitarist Bobby Tench and other musicians and they recorded two albums for Atco. Marriott continued to lead various bands until his death in a house fire on Apr. 19, 1991 at age 44. Apparently he was drunk and was smoking in bed. By this time, Shirley had acquired the Humble Pie name. He continued to lead a version of the band until 2001. This budget CD covers Humble Pie's A&M recordings. Here's Humble Pie performing 30 Days In The Hole at The Rainbow Theater in London 1974.
I never heard them on the radio growing up. I heard the song 30 days in the hole later on in my life, and loved it. Very good song and they were good. But it's a familiar story for the 60's and 70's. Drugs tearing groups and people apart and even leading to an early death. To bad, they were good. Thanks so much Frank for the Bio.
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