Jerry Goodman

Rock has had very few star violinists, mostly because the violin isn't usually regarded as a rock instrument -- David Cross of King Crimson, Darryl Way of Curved Air, and John Weider of Eric Burdon & the Animals come to mind, and that's about it. Except for Jerry Goodman, the only American in the bunch and arguably the best known of the bunch, thanks to the amount of airplay received by his most successful group recordings. Goodman was born and raised in Chicago and took up the violin as a boy. He was classically trained and had the dexterity for a career in classical but not the dedication to the field -- trained in classical technique and repertory, he found the music unfulfilling, and initially ended up on the periphery of music, working as a roadie for a Chicago-based outfit called the Flock, who had lately changed their name from the Exclusives and were making some noise locally on a local label. Goodman's joining the group brought a vast new range of color to their sound, concurrent with the rock-jazz fusion boom -- a contract with Columbia Records followed, and their self-titled first album followed. An immediate cult favorite, The Flock was the first large-scale showcase for Goodman's playing. The group was soon accepted as a junior member of rock's new elite, playing festivals alongside the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and Janis Joplin, even making it into the European rock festival documentary Stamping Ground. Goodman's tenure with the group ended in 1970, and he retreated from the music business, withdrawing to rural Wisconsin. He was still there when John McLaughlin came calling in early 1971, in search of a violinist. His first choice was Jean-Luc Ponty, but Ponty wasn't an American and there were potential...