The year was 1969. John Madden was named the head coach of the Oakland Raiders and Mickey Mantle announced his retirement. Boris Karloff, best known for his portrayal of Frankenstein’s monster, passed away while Monty Python’s troupe birthed a comedic sensation. NASA was prepping Apollo 10 for the lunar landing and America was also knee deep in the Vietnam War with still another six years to go. Nineteen sixty-nine was a year full of life, death, and scientific wonder; however, within its tumultuous grasp Supertramp began its journey into stardom.
Supertramp’s journey to stardom was not picture perfect and had a few bumps in the road before it became the hit music group of the 1970s and early 1980s. At the time, Rick Davies was playing in a group called the Joint and was fortunate enough to be heard by a Dutch millionaire named Stanley August Miesegaes. When the Joint broke up, Miesegaes told Davies he would support the band if Davies would manage the music (rollingstone.com). With his millionaire backer, Davies placed ads in the local paper looking for musicians. Roger Hodgson, who had played guitar since the age of twelve and had just cut his first song in the studio, responded. The two, although from different music backgrounds, seemed to hit it off. It was decided that Hodgson and Davies would split their songwriting credit much like the Beatles did with Lennon and McCartney (rogerhodgson.com). To round out the group, the songwriters were joined by Richard Palmer-Jones on guitar, vocals, and composition; and Robert Millar on drums and percussion. Work began on their first album, but they had another issue to deal with. The band’s name at the time was Daddy and was similar to another band named Daddy Longlegs. In order to eliminate confusion, they changed their name to Supertramp, which was based on an autobiography from poet W.H. Davies titled The Autobiography of a Supertramp. The band was officially born.
Supertramp released their first album titled Supertramp in 1970 with critical praise, but missed out on audience recognition and commercial success. Although the album wasn’t a commercial success, Supertramp was signed to the UK division of A & M Records. Within a year of its release, they released their second album Indelibly Stamped. The sophomore album was even less successful than the first and the band lost its millionaire backer (encyclopedia.com). In addition to album struggles, the band also lost Millar and Palmer-Jones in 1971, which resulted in Supertramp’s Hodgson and Davies looking for new members.
In 1973, with Dougie Thompson on Bass, John Helliwell on saxophone, and Bob Siebenberg on drums, Supertramp began work on their third album. Released in 1974, Crime of the Century, was the band’s first commercial success in the U.K. The Hodgson-composed song “Dreamer” reached #14 on the UK Charts and also helped the album reach #4. Further, “Bloody Well Right”, written by Davies, made an impact in the United States and reached #38 on the Billboard Hot 100 (rollingstone.com). Supertramp was becoming more well-known and the 1973 member lineup would undoubtedly help them reached super-stardom in the 70s with their subsequent albums Even in the Quietest Moments and Breakfast in America.
While Supertramp gained worldwide success, it was plagued with rumors of conflict between Davies and Hodgson. Rumors seemed to be confirmed in 1982 when the band experienced a significant member change-up after their Famous Last Words album. Roger Hodgson decided to pursue a solo career and would no longer be a part of Supertramp’s journey. In order to make this transition work, the two songwriters made an agreement to never play each other’s work in public. However, according to Hodgson, Davies never honored this agreement (billboard.com). Supertramp would go on as a Davies-led band and release four more albums, but it never saw the success it experienced in the late 70s and early 80s.
Supertramp’s stardom and eventual dissolution of the Hodgson-Davies songwriting team did not eliminate the impact the group’s music had on listeners worldwide. Their music not only created a soundtrack for a generation, but also for generations to come. Supertramp will live on as a band whose voice was heard loud and clear, and continues to vocalize its anthem to eager audiences.
-Jenna Jakes, WOGB
