Y&T LP BUNDLE - FIRST 3 ALBUMS - EARTHSHAKER - BLACK TIGER - MEANSTREAK & 12"
£
20
$
26
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Description
Early years (1974–1983)
Leonard Haze, Bob Gardner, and Wayne Stitzer had an unnamed band in Oakland, California that jammed only cover tunes. Dave Meniketti joined as guitar player in 1972. Soon after, the band received a call for their first gig, but they needed a name. According to Meniketti and Haze, Haze chose the name of the album that was playing on his turntable at that moment – Yesterday and Today – a studio album by the Beatles. The first lineup – which only played covers of songs by other artists – consisted of Haze on drums, Stitzer on piano, Gardner on bass, and Meniketti on lead vocals and lead guitar. After Stitzer quit the group, Gardner switched from bass to rhythm guitar and piano, and Phil Kennemore was brought in to play bass. In 1973, Gardner left the group and was replaced by Joey Alves in January 1974. It was this 1974 lineup change when the band began writing original material.
The band released their first two studio albums, their self-titled debut and Struck Down, through London Records in 1976 and 1978 respectively. They toured extensively, building up to headliners while they opened for bands such as Wild Cherry, AC/DC, and Kiss. As Meniketti has said in numerous radio, television, and magazine interviews over the past four decades, a new record deal in 1980 with A&M Records prompted the band to shorten their moniker to simply Y&T, as influenced by their encores where fans would chant "Y&T, Y&T, Y&T."
The band's first three studio albums under A&M, Earthshaker, released in 1981, Black Tiger, released in 1982, and Mean Streak, released in 1983, did not gain mainstream exposure, but are regarded by fans and music critics alike as some of the band's best work. Songs off these three albums still make up an important part of the band's live shows.
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