Bad Company featured some of the most highly skilled musicians in 1970s rock & roll, with enduring and soulful songs including “Bad Company,” “Can’t Get Enough,” “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” and “Shooting Star.”
Hard rock’s quintessential supergroup, Bad Company featured some of the most highly skilled musicians in 1970s rock & roll. Formed in 1973, in London by former members of Free, Mott the Hoople, and King Crimson, they stripped the music down to its elemental soul and groove, selling tens of millions of records and delivering FM rock & roll radio standards “Bad Company,” “Can’t Get Enough,” “Ready for Love,” “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” and “Shooting Star.”
Vocalist Paul “The Voice” Rodgers’ raspy, muscular voice is often cited as one of rock & roll’s best, ranked 55th in Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Singers of All Time.” Guitarist Mick Ralphs’ high-gain guitar riffs and heavy phrasing were the primary force behind the band’s hard rock sound, while bassist Raymond “Boz” Burrell brought a perfectionist mentality and jazz sensibility to the group. Drummer Simon Kirke is considered a pioneer of modern rock & roll drumming, with his Ringo-influenced backbeat and powerful groove comparable to that of Keith Moon and John Bonham.
Fueled by this musical mastery, Bad Company’s eponymous debut album reached Number One and Number Three on the U.S. and U.K. charts respectively – historically ranking on lists like Kerrang’s “100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time.” Their next two albums, Straight Shooter and Run With the Pack, also reached the Top Five in both countries. Building on their success with radio-ready arena rock anthems, Bad Company experimented with a quieter, more introspective approach for Burnin’ Sky and synthesizers and acoustic textures for Desolation Angels. The gamble paid off for Desolation, but the brightest stars burn the fastest, and this was the group’s last Top Ten album. Following 1982’s Rough Diamonds, Bad Company disbanded.
From 1986 to 1998, Simon Kirke kept the “Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy” alive by reforming the band with a variety of new lineups and delighting their devoted audiences with reunion tours as recent as 2023. Rodgers has also remained active to this day, including live performances with Jimmy Page (in the Firm), Queen, Jeff Beck, and the revived Free. Bad Company’s influence can be heard in the anthemic rock & roll of Guns N’ Roses, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, and Five Finger Death Punch.
Nominees: Boz Burrell, Simon Kirke, Mick Ralphs, Paul Rodgers