Cactus

Cactus are a rock & roll supergroup that has featured members of <a href="spotify:artist:0vIMq3W8V63uR4Ymgm2pF1">Vanilla Fudge</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4d22O5s2UK1KzIoZRR8NZk">Mitch Ryder's Detroit Wheels</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:5cVLuEqb7aOHuzwssXHzWI">the Amboy Dukes</a> at one time or another. The band emerged in 1969 with a sound that combined blues, boogie, and hard rock. Between 1970 and 1972, they issued four full-length efforts, including their Billboard-charting eponymous debut, before ceasing operations after the release of 'Ot 'n' Sweaty. They re-formed in 2006 and unveiled Cactus V, their first studio album in 34 years. Since then, the band has continued to tour and record sporadically -- notably on 2024's feature-heavy Temple of Blues -- with drummer <a href="spotify:artist:0kjCvirhAHq3JMex6bqEBZ">Carmine Appice</a> serving as the sole original member.

The plan was for the <a href="spotify:artist:0vIMq3W8V63uR4Ymgm2pF1">Vanilla Fudge</a> rhythm section of bassist <a href="spotify:artist:1FutnfJOtsTB8mG0zb7Omm">Tim Bogert</a> and drummer <a href="spotify:artist:0kjCvirhAHq3JMex6bqEBZ">Carmine Appice</a> to join guitar god <a href="spotify:artist:0AD4odMWVQ2wUSlgxOB5Rl">Jeff Beck</a> and singer <a href="spotify:artist:2y8Jo9CKhJvtfeKOsYzRdT">Rod Stewart</a>. The project came undone when <a href="spotify:artist:0AD4odMWVQ2wUSlgxOB5Rl">Beck</a> had a motorcycle accident that incapacitated him for 18 months. <a href="spotify:artist:2y8Jo9CKhJvtfeKOsYzRdT">Stewart</a> then joined pal <a href="spotify:artist:5HFtQOrPHOFptM1WF9xPuK">Ron Wood</a> in the revamped <a href="spotify:artist:3v4feUQnU3VEUqFrjmtekL">Faces</a>, leaving <a href="spotify:artist:1FutnfJOtsTB8mG0zb7Omm">Bogert</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:0kjCvirhAHq3JMex6bqEBZ">Appice</a> to find alternates for their dream band. They recruited guitarist <a href="spotify:artist:2D6BpRpkYqaqViDpT4ot2y">Jim McCarty</a> from <a href="spotify:artist:4d22O5s2UK1KzIoZRR8NZk">Detroit Wheels</a> and singer Rusty Day from <a href="spotify:artist:5cVLuEqb7aOHuzwssXHzWI">Amboy Dukes</a>.

Operating under the moniker Cactus, the band's assured 1970 self-titled debut included six original cuts and a pair of covers, one of which was a souped-up rendering of <a href="spotify:artist:0sN4enVJwylJKEXZlSbgsm">Mose Allison</a>'s "Parchman Farm." They applied the same formula to 1971's One Way... Or Another, laying down six hip-shaking originals along with fiery covers of <a href="spotify:artist:4xls23Ye9WR9yy3yYMpAMm">Little Richard</a>'s "Long Tall Sally" and <a href="spotify:artist:21uawITknPcgjwdJuvpcGE">Chuck Willis</a>' "I Feel So Bad." The like-minded Restrictions arrived later that year and included a searing rendition of <a href="spotify:artist:5v8WPpMk60cqZbuZLdXjKY">Willie Dixon</a>'s "Evil." McCarty and Day left the fold ahead of the release of the band's fourth long-player. The resulting 'Ot 'n' Sweaty, released in 1972, saw <a href="spotify:artist:0kjCvirhAHq3JMex6bqEBZ">Appice</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1FutnfJOtsTB8mG0zb7Omm">Bogert</a> joined by guitarist Werner Fritzschings, keyboardist <a href="spotify:artist:2RJJjBUWDbTmgcQgyo6lQq">Duane Hitchings</a>, and vocalist <a href="spotify:artist:4NIOxpGNZvh3qXDoqCHZUP">Peter French</a> (ex-<a href="spotify:artist:4rl5EBislX2Uc6nT6rYJIs">Leaf Hound</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6Ix7Hx8Af0jg9X4OfD9sYR">Atomic Rooster</a>). Cactus disbanded shortly after the album's release.

In June 2006, the band re-formed around a lineup consisting of original members <a href="spotify:artist:0kjCvirhAHq3JMex6bqEBZ">Appice</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1FutnfJOtsTB8mG0zb7Omm">Bogert</a>, McCarty, and new vocalist and former <a href="spotify:artist:17obwOahRWI121iMUZznh2">Savoy Brown</a> frontman Jimmy Kunes -- Rusty Day passed away in 1982. They issued their long-awaited fifth studio LP, the aptly named Cactus V, later that fall. Various lineup shifts preceded the release of 2016's Black Dawn, which featured McCarty, <a href="spotify:artist:0kjCvirhAHq3JMex6bqEBZ">Appice</a>, Kunes, and newcomers Pete Bremy and Randy Pratt. Founding member <a href="spotify:artist:1FutnfJOtsTB8mG0zb7Omm">Tim Bogert</a> died on January 13, 2021, after a long fight with cancer; he was 76. Later that year, Cactus released a new studio album, Tightrope. 2024 saw the release of Temple of Blues, a star-studded set of Cactus faves performed by founding members <a href="spotify:artist:0kjCvirhAHq3JMex6bqEBZ">Appice</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:2D6BpRpkYqaqViDpT4ot2y">Jim McCarty</a> with special guests <a href="spotify:artist:2SNzxY1OsSCHBLVi77mpPQ">Joe Bonamassa</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:21ysNsPzHdqYN2fQ75ZswG">Ted Nugent</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0GXvIHZC6fUFoclPbf7Lbm">Billy Sheehan</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1KGFAcP7ovMYuoQuloDhOj">Bumblefoot</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2pD123sZTm8brthWviUKlQ">Dee Snider</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:0YEyuuhfdNXnTJh1uFhl3p">Pat Travers</a>, among others. ~ Jim Newsom & James Christopher Monger, Rovi