Classic rock community has lost one of its legendary musicians and founders of two bands, Mott the Hoople and Bad Company, Mick Ralphs. Although he had many years of poor health that started with a serious stroke in 2016, he died peaceful death at the age of 81.
Even though he had stepped out of the limelight towards the end of his life, it is only clear that the mark he left on the music industry is everlasting, perhaps still reverberating at stadiums, on airwaves, and playlists decades long after his most productive period.
Bad Company made the news known about the death of Ralphs that soon spread on social media and music magazines. His health struggles were in the open, although no official cause of death was issued.
His stroke, in 2016, happened only a few days after his last act with Bad Company in the O2 Arena in London, ironically a farewell that feels like a final speech of one of the most enduring representatives of rock.
The guitarist was slated to be one of the greatest musical accolades in the history this November, when he was to be included in the list of inductees of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a bad company member.
It was an honor which most fans and even critics felt was long overdue. In a sad eulogy, Paul Rodgers, who used to be a bandmate, and lifelong friend of Ralphs, wrote: Our Mick has passed, My heart just hit the ground.
What has he left behind are memorable songs and memories. He was a great friend, my co-songwriting partner, a fantastic versatile guitar player who had the best sense of humor.”
That adaptability became one of the distinguishing features of Ralphs. Ralphs did not want to issue the fastest solos and bask in the limelight like the flashy virtuosos of his time. Rather he concentrated on the songs that incorporated good structure, sticking melodies and emotion. Playing guitar was not excessive to him but all about feel.
Having been born in a small village of Stoke Lacy in Herefordshire, England, Mick Ralphs started playing music when he was still in his teens and he was attracted to the soul of blues and the roots of rock and roll.
In 1966, he co-founded group Doc Thomas Group which adopted the sound of soul influenced rock and transformed into Mott the Hoople as the late 1960s got underway. Mott aided glam rock tide and went
to the top along with flamboyant outfits and maniacal Point of view Mott rode the glam rock wave and returned, largely because of their hit in 1972, All the Young Dudes, a song David Bowie offered to them.
Although Ian Hunter was usually in the limelight, Ralphs was visible in every riff and solo especially on a readiness of love in 1970. It originally featured in one of the albums of Mott, but the real life of the song
began a few years later when Ralphs reinterpreted it to appear in the first album of Bad Company. Raw, bluesy, yearning version of that song became one of the signature ballads by the band.
It was not an easy decision to leave Mott the Hoople in 1973; however, to Ralphs, it was a must. Later he confessed that the glam appearance never suited him and he was frequently out of place in the increasingly theatrical shows of the band.
he was silly, he cried, in all that glitter. It did not have to be me. He rather established a musical bonding with the recently disbanded outfit Free front man Paul Rodgers. Together with the drummer Simon Kirke (also of Free) and the King Crimson bassist Boz Burrell,
they got Bad Company that stuck to the drummer, was an ode to dirt, menace, and defiance, and in fact, a vehicle that delivered some of the most arena rocking tracks of the decade.
Bad Company that they released in 1974 was a juggernaut. The album featured Can;t Get Enough, Movin On, Rock Steady as well as the new life of Ready to Love. It immediately became a commercial and critical favorite on the strength of a unique guitar sound,
clean and powerful and full of soul, courtesy of Ralphs, and the fabulous singing of Rodgers. The songwriting was lean, word-to-the-point and affecting, and much of that was attributed to Ralphs. One year after, he and Rodgers wrote Feel Like Makin Love, a smoky rock ballad that still entrenched the band on the rock pantheon.
Ralphs tended to overlook his importance though he was a co-writer of some of the greatest hits which were recorded by the band. He would have been happy to work as a team player and not an individual
phenomenon. In one of the few interviews he was ever given, he said: I never thought of myself as a guitar god. The thing is I just wanted to be in a good band and play good songs.
Humility was one of the traits of Ralphs. Irrespective of the success, he was not big-headed. I do not want to be actually conscious about fame. I refuse to believe my own publicity, he alluded in 1974.
Naturally I desire to obtain recognition. I just want to be loved I suppose; but just as I have been, because I believe in what I am doing. Money, and trim can make you content. Ego can break but a good band cannot.”
And that faith in the strength of partnership was traceable in his activities. The Anniversary of Bad Company in the 1970s provided foundations to a number of hard rock bands that are numerous today.
Their performances that filled the arena, and their platinum albums, set the bar in rock stardom. However, despite the fact that the band became world-famous, Ralphs continued being a modest person, who focused more on music than press.
At various points in the decades, Ralphs broke off and had gaps in the music industry, yet left it only to come back again when the time was appropriate. He has joined Bad Company on tours, including the one in 2008 and in 2016, their last gig until he had that fatal stroke.
Ralphs never lost the hearts of fans in the recent years when his health did not allow him to stand on the stage. His playing on guitar, remains an inspiration to all ages of players, and his songs generated, many of which are still being played on the radio regularly, are imbedded into the vintage rock radio radio.
The tributes keep rolling in as the music world bids adieu to Mick Ralphs as more and more celebrities, along with fellow rockers, join old-time fans as they grew up with the music that he helped create. He is remembered as one of the quiet genius and intense sincerity, and unforgettable music.
Mick Ralphs did not deserve limelight to shine like a star. He made the music talk and it continues to do so.
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