» Backstage

When you melt R&B, rock, funk and heavy metal you get a sound that is dangerous... provocative... passionate... you get Mother’s Finest, a band known for its cutting edge music and live performance.

Formed in 1970, they began with vocalist Joyce “Baby Jean” Kennedy and Glenn Murdock from Chicago, to Dayton, Ohio for guitarist James Gary Moore, to Miami for Bassist Jerry “Wyzard” Seay, adding keyboardist Michael Keck and drummer Barry “B.B.Queen” Borden in Atlanta where the band settled. Later added was John Hayes on guitar and Dion Derek on drums.

After being “discovered” by Tom Werman at CBS, the band signed with the label in 1976 and recorded 5 albums.

Mother’s Finest became a big influence for artists such as Living Colour, Prince, Van Halen, Mellisa Etheridge, touring with diverse acts such as The Who, P-Funk, Aerosmith, Earth Wind and Fire, AC-DC, Marvin Gaye, Black Sabbath, The Commodores, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Chaka Khan.

The band is wildly received in Europe, where they still tour extensively.

So long considered ahead of their time, it seems that the times have indeed caught up with Mother’s Finest. The band has experienced three decades of success with more to come in the new millennium, armed with the classics that started it all, as well as new material in the funk-rock tradition. With self-produced tracks and collaborations with Swedish group Clawfinger, Vernon Reid and Omar Hakim the band is pumped to move into the new millennium.

Line up:
Joyce "Baby Jean" Kennedy (vocals) - Glenn Murdock (vocals) - Jerry "Wyzard" Seay (bass) - Gary "Mo" Moore (guitar) - Kerry Denton (drums) - John Hayes (guitar)

 » Press photo (PDF)

 » Press release (PDF)

 » Press review (Swedish) (PDF)