Jethro Tull

About Jethro Tull

The English rockers Jethro Tull have had a chance to experiment with many genres over their decade-spanning career, and they've brought something different to each new direction that they've traveled in. Most famous for lead singer Ian Anderson's shrieking vocals and dramatic flute solos, Jethro Tull have dabbled in everything from blues to folk to jazz to electronic synth sounds, and the band have never pulled any punches for the sake of a hit single. Still, Jethro Tull have found themselves a devoted set of music fans, always eager to see where the band will take them next. Jethro Tull began life in the fertile music scene of early 1960's England when, it seems, you couldn't swing a Fender without hitting a long-haired, aspiring rock star. Ian Anderson began the band in 1963, along with pianist/ drummer John Evan. At that time, the two were part of a young soul combo that called themselves the John Evan Band. The developing band had trouble securing themselves any repeat bookings at the local clubs, so they took to changing their name for every show. One of their hired booking agents was also taking history classes and arbitrarily assigned the boys the name Jethro Tull after the English inventor of the seed drill. As luck would have it, the first time the band got a positive reception was under the name Jethro Tull, and so it stuck when they were re-hired for the first time. The band released their first full-length album, This Was, in 1968. While the blues-based album was heavily influenced by England's 60's psychedelic freak scene, Anderson has always claimed that the band was more inspired by heavy beer consumption than mind-expanding contraband. This Was first introduced Jethro Tull's original folk-rock arrangements on the single "Cat's Squirrel." In 1971, Tull released their best known record, the loose concept album Aqualung. Heavy hit songs like the title track and "Locomotive Breath" chronicle the mis-adventures of a lecherous tramp and a young prostitute, while also criticizing organized religion and society's complacency. Concept albums would prove to suit Jethro Tull, and they went on to release the classic Thick As A Brick, as well as an entire folk-rock trilogy that was heavily orchestrated and followed a consistent story-line. An interesting fact is that Jethro Tull was the first Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Grammy Award winners in 1989, a fact even more interesting when they beat Metallica, and the band did not show up due to the overwhelming support in favor of Metallica.