Mountain - Never in My Life ( L3 )

Never in my life

Could I find a girl like you
Never in my life
Could I find a girl like you
When I wake up in the morning
You make me feel so good
Bringing me the cider whiskey
Feel a bit lonely too

For the first time in my life
I finally found someone like you
For the first time in my life
I finally found someone like you
I feel like a bolt of lightning
But it feels so good
Knowin' my baby's waitin'
And of course I do
Hey hey hey

Never in my life
Could I find a girl like you
Never in my life
Could I find a girl like you
When I turned around to wake her
About the way she moves
I don't want to leave her
But I wanta love you too

Mountain - Theme For An Imaginary Western ( L2 )

(originally by Jack Bruce)

When the wagons leave the city

For the forest and further on
Painted wagons of the morning
Dusty roads where they have gone

Sometimes travelin' through the darkness
Met the summer comin' home
Fallen faces by the wayside
Looked as if they might have known

Oh the sun was in their eyes
And the desert was dry
In the country towns
Where the laughter sounds

Oh the dancing and the singing
Oh the music when they played
Oh the fires that they started
Oh the girls with no regret

Sometimes they found it, sometimes they kept it
Often lost it along the way
Fought each other to possess it
Sometimes died in sight of day

Oh the sad was in their eyes
And the desert that's dry
In a country town
Where the map was found

Mountain ( B10 )

Live albums

• Mountain Live: The Road Goes Ever On (1972) US #63
• Twin Peaks (1974) US #142
• Eruption (2004)
• The Man and the Mountain (2013, Leslie West & Mountain)
• Live at Woodstock (2019)

Compilation albums

• The Best of Mountain (1973) US #72 *US: Gold
• Over the Top (1995)
• Crossroader - An Anthology 70/74 (2010)

Singles

Year	Name	US
1970	"Mississippi Queen"	21
1970	"For Yasgur's Farm"	107
1971	"The Animal Trainer and the Toad"	76

Mountain ( B9 )

2001–2002	Leslie West – guitar, vocals Corky Laing – drums, percussion, vocals	Mystic Fire (2002)
April 2002 – August 2008	Leslie West – guitar, vocals Richie Scarlet – bass, vocals Corky Laing – drums, percussion, vocals	Eruption (2004) Live in Texas 2005 (2006) Masters of War (2007)
August 2008 – December 2010	Leslie West – guitar, vocals Rev Jones – bass, vocals Corky Laing – drums, percussion, vocals	none

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Album	US	Certification
1970	Climbing!	17	US: Gold
1971	Nantucket Sleighride	16	US: Gold
1971	Flowers of Evil	31
1974	Avalanche	102
1985	Go for Your Life	166
1996	Man's World	-
2002	Mystic Fire	-
2007	Masters of War	-

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Mountain ( B8 )

Band inactive late 1974 – 1981
1981–1984	Leslie West – guitar, vocals Miller Anderson – bass, vocals Corky Laing – drums, percussion	none
1984–1985	Leslie West – guitar, vocals Mark Clarke – bass, vocals Corky Laing – drums, percussion	Go for Your Life (1985) Eruption (2004)
Band inactive late 1985 – 1992
1992–1993	Leslie West – guitar, vocals Richie Scarlet – bass, vocals Corky Laing – drums, percussion, vocals	none
1993–1994	Leslie West – guitar, vocals Randy Coven – bass, vocals Corky Laing – drums, percussion, vocals
1994–1995	Leslie West – guitar, vocals Noel Redding – bass Corky Laing – drums, percussion, vocals	Over the Top new tracks (1995)
1995–1998	Leslie West – guitar, vocals Mark Clarke – bass, vocals Corky Laing – drums, percussion, vocals	Man's World (1996)
Band inactive late 1998 – 2001

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Mountain ( B7 )

Lineups

Period	Members	Studio and live albums
Mid – late 1969	Leslie West – guitar, vocals Felix Pappalardi – bass, keyboards, vocals N. D. Smart – drums Steve Knight – keyboards	Live: The Road Goes Ever On (1972)
Late 1969 – early 1972	Leslie West – guitar, vocals Felix Pappalardi – bass, keyboards, vocals Corky Laing – drums, percussion Steve Knight – keyboards	Climbing! (1970) Nantucket Sleighride (1971) Flowers of Evil (1971) Live: The Road Goes Ever On (1972)
Band inactive early 1972 – mid 1973
Mid – late 1973	Leslie West – guitar, vocals Felix Pappalardi – bass, vocals Bob Mann – guitar, keyboards Allan Schwartzberg – drums	Twin Peaks (1974)
Late 1973 – late 1974	Leslie West – guitar, vocals Felix Pappalardi – bass, keyboards, vocals David Perry – guitar, backing vocals Corky Laing – drums, percussion	Avalanche (1974)

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Mountain ( B6 )

And since that time, West has been performing and recording under his own name, with his concerts featuring many Mountain songs. Corky Laing formed a new project, Corky Laing Plays Mountain, in 2015. This project included bassist/vocalist Joe Venti and guitarist/vocalist Phil Baker in 2015. For their 2016 United States tour Laing and Venti were joined by bassist/guitarist Richie Scarlet and keyboardist Ken Sidotti. They perform Mountain music in addition to songs by West, Bruce and Laing and Cream. And since 2017, Mark Mikel has been playing bass with Chris Shutters and Richie Scarlet alternating on guitar in the lineup.

Band members

List of Mountain band members

Members

Latest

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Leslie West	1969–1972 1973–1974 1981–1985 1992–1998 2001–2010	guitar lead vocals	all Mountain releases
	Corky Laing		drums percussion vocals	all Mountain releases, except Twin Peaks (1974)
	James "Rev" Jones	2008–2010	bass vocals	none

Former

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Felix Pappalardi	1969–1972 1973–1974	bass keyboards vocals	all Mountain releases from Climbing! (1970) to Avalanche (1974)
	Steve Knight	1969–1972	keyboards	all Mountain releases from Climbing! (1970) to Live: The Road Goes Ever On (1972)
	Norman "N. D." Smart	1969	drums	Live: The Road Goes Ever On (1972)
	Bob Mann	1973	rhythm guitar keyboards	Twin Peaks (1974)
	Allan Schwartzberg		drums
	David Perry	1973–1974	rhythm guitar backing vocals	Avalanche (1974)
	Miller Anderson	1981–1984	bass vocals	Go for Your Life (1985) – one track only
	Mark Clarke	1984–1985 1995–1998		Go for Your Life (1985) Man's World (1996) Eruption (2004)
	Richie Scarlet	1992–1993 2001–2008		Mystic Fire (2002) – one track only Eruption (2004) Live in Texas 2005 (2006) Masters of War (2007)
	Randy Coven	1993–1994		none
	Noel Redding	1994–1995	bass	Over the Top (1995) – two tracks only

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Mountain ( B5 )

The song is also featured in the Harmonix video game Rock Band, although the version featured is a cover of the studio recording.

Their most recent album is 2007's Masters of War, featuring twelve Bob Dylan covers and a guest appearance from Ozzy Osbourne.

The band headed out on the road during October and November 2008 on a North American tour opening for Joe Satriani, and with former Michael Schenker Group member Rev Jones on bass. A review of the San Diego House of Blues date covered the Mountain set, including "Blowing in the Wind" from the Masters of War album, with enthusiasm. Of the Satriani set, the reviewer was also pleased with the blues influence he felt Mountain brought to the evening, and with West joining in a Satriani-led, closing "Stormy Monday" and "Going Down" blues jam.

Fellow Long Island native Howard Stern has called Mountain one of his favourite bands and has occasionally played their music on his show. Other Mountain fans include John McLaughlin, Johnny Ramone, Clutch, Karma to Burn, comedian Dennis Miller, and John Frusciante (the Red Hot Chili Peppers track "Readymade" off 2006's Stadium Arcadium features a Mountain-influenced riff). Martin Barre, guitarist for Jethro Tull has stated in interviews that Leslie West was a direct influence on his playing.

The beginning of the live recording of their song "Long Red" has become one of the most sampled drum breaks in hip hop, sampled in songs by EPMD, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, Kanye West, Game, among many others.

Beastie Boys are also noted for their use of a brief sample of "Mississippi Queen" on the track "Lookin' Down the Barrel of a Gun" off of their sample-heavy 1989 album, Paul's Boutique.

Mountain has not performed live since 2010. On June 20, 2011, West had his lower right leg amputated as a result of complications from diabetes.

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Mountain ( B4 )

On April 17, 1983 Gail Collins Pappalardi, Pappalardi's wife and songwriting partner (she had designed many of the band's album covers and wrote many of their lyrics), shot Pappalardi in the neck in their fifth-floor East Side Manhattan apartment and he died.

After pursuing separate musical paths for almost a decade, West and Laing reunited Mountain, recruiting Miller Anderson (ex-Savoy Brown & Keef Hartley) on bass in 1981. After Anderson had Travel visa troubles, he was replaced in 1984 by Mark Clarke and the group recorded Go for Your Life (March 1985). This line up played at the Knebworth Fayre on June 22, 1985 alongside Alaska, Mama's Boys, Blackfoot, Meat Loaf, Scorpions and Deep Purple. Go For Your Life was dedicated to Pappalardi's memory. Shortly thereafter, the band performed with Triumph at the Prairie Capital Convention Center in Illinois.

Mountain went dormant again until 1992, when West and Laing teamed up once again and brought in Richie Scarlet (known for his solo work and collaborations with Ace Frehley) to round out the lineup. Scarlet was replaced with Randy Coven in 1993 and in 1994 there was a Mountain lineup that included West, Laing, Noel Redding and occasional special guest guitarist Elvin Bishop. By 1995, the 1984-85 lineup of West, Laing & Mark Clarke was back, and recorded Man's World in 1996. In 1998 things went quiet in the Mountain camp again until 2001. That year, with Scarlet back in the lineup, the band toured, then recorded Mystic Fire, released in 2002.

In 2003 West and Laing authored a book of recollections, Nantucket Sleighride and Other Mountain On-the-Road Stories, detailing their time with the band at its peak and their subsequent careers.

Mountain's video game debut came in 2007 on RedOctane's Guitar Hero III, featuring "Mississippi Queen" as a playable track. 

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Mountain ( B3 )

This album reached #16 but failed to yield a hit single. The title track was used in the UK as the theme to ITV's Sunday political program Weekend World. After these early releases the band continued to receive a certain measure of critical acclaim but never again achieved great commercial success.

After Nantucket Sleighride, the band produced Flowers of Evil (November 1971) consisting of one side of studio material and one live side, culled from a concert at New York's Fillmore East.

Mountain disbanded in February 1972 after a tour of the UK. West has since cited a combination of drug abuse within the band and Pappalardi's road weariness and burgeoning hearing impairment as primary factors. A live album, Mountain Live: The Road Goes Ever On, was issued in April 1972.

Pappalardi returned to studio work, while West and Laing formed West, Bruce and Laing with former Cream bassist Jack Bruce. Their first American performance was a Carnegie Hall concert, prompting a bidding war that Columbia Records won, and the new trio cut two studio albums and a live release over the next two years. After Bruce suddenly pulled out of the trio in 1973, West and Laing continued on briefly as Leslie West's Wild West Show, which also featured special guest Mitch Ryder plus NYC guitarist Peter Baron and bassist Tom Robb (formerly with Mylon LeFevre's band and later with Marshall Tucker Band).

Post-1972

By August 1973, West and Pappalardi had reformed Mountain with Allan Schwartzberg on drums and Bob Mann (ex-Dreams) on keyboards and guitar; the new lineup toured Japan and produced a double live album, Twin Peaks (February 1974), from the tour. The studio work Avalanche (July 1974), for which Laing returned to play drums and David Perry became the new second guitarist (from November 1973 to September 1974), would be Mountain's final album with Pappalardi as a participant; the group broke up again after playing a final show at Felt Forum in NYC on December 31, 1974.

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Mountain ( B2 )

The album spotlighted West's raw vocals and melodic, bluesy guitar style, and Pappalardi's bass lines were prominent throughout. According to West, when Pappalardi asked what would be next, West suggested the pair go on the road. The group was heavily influenced by Cream. Keyboardist Steve Knight (from Devil's Anvil, another of Pappalardi's productions) was added after Landsberg left to form another group, Hammer, with Janick.

Naming themselves "Mountain", after West's 1969 solo album, West, Pappalardi, Smart and Knight played shows on the West Coast before getting to play their third concert as a working band at the 1969 Woodstock Festival in Bethel, New York. Mountain was received enthusiastically by the festival audience but the band did not appear in the film of the event, nor was their performance included on volume 1 of the festival's live album. Their performances of "Blood of the Sun" (from West's album) and "Theme for an Imaginary Western" (a song they planned to record for Climbing and written by former Cream bassist Jack Bruce) did appear on the second volume of Woodstock performances called "Woodstock II" (however, both of these "live" songs were not recorded at Woodstock). The 40th Anniversary Edition of Woodstock on DVD and Blu-ray features filmed performances of "Beside The Sea" and "Southbound Train".

Soon after Woodstock, Smart was replaced by Canadian Laurence "Corky" Laing, who was the drummer on the classic Climbing!, which was released in March 1970. It led off with what became the band's signature song, "Mississippi Queen", which reached #21 in the Billboard Hot 100, and was featured in the 1971 cult film Vanishing Point, while the album reached #17 in the Billboard Top 200.

Mountain began a hectic touring schedule in the middle of which they recorded a follow-up album, Nantucket Sleighride, released in January 1971. 

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Mountain ( B1 )

Mountain is an American hard rock band that formed on Long Island, New York in 1969. Originally comprising vocalist and guitarist Leslie West, bassist and vocalist Felix Pappalardi, keyboardist Steve Knight and drummer N. D. Smart, the band broke up in 1972 and has reunited frequently since 1973, remaining active as of November 28, 2009. Best known for their cowbell-tinged song "Mississippi Queen", as well as for their performance at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, Mountain is one of many bands to be commonly credited as having influenced the development of heavy metal music in the 1970s. The group's musical style primarily consisted of hard rock, blues rock and heavy metal.

History

1969–1972

In early 1969 Leslie West, formerly of the Long Island R&B band The Vagrants, put together a band with Norman Landsberg (keyboards, bass) and Ken Janick (drums) and began playing gigs and recording demos. Right around this time, former Cream collaborator/producer Felix Pappalardi, who had previously produced the Vagrants, expressed an interest in producing West's work. West, previously disgruntled and unsatisfied with the lack of success he desired in his first project, found Cream to be a great inspiration. He began to feel disillusioned with the R&B and Blues scenes of the 1960s that he previously played in. He envisioned a project that would take on a rawer and much harder style which he had begun to favor, with his newly-developed guitar style inspired by hearing Cream's Eric Clapton.

Pappalardi rejected the demos by the West-Landsberg-Janick trio, but took a suggestion that he play bass on West's solo album, Mountain. The album also featured Landsberg and former Remains drummer N.D. Smart.

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Mountain - Mississippi Queen ( S1 )

"Mississippi Queen" is a song by the American rock band Mountain. Considered a rock classic, it was their most successful single, reaching number 21 in the Billboard Hot 100 record chart in 1970. The song is included on the group's debut album and several live recordings have been issued. "Mississippi Queen" has been recorded by several artists, including W.A.S.P., Sam Kinison, Amanda Ayala, Bachman-Turner Overdrive and Ozzy Osbourne, the latter of whom had a hit with the song in 2005.

Composition and recording

"Mississippi Queen" was recorded during the sessions for Mountain's 1970 debut album Climbing! According to drummer Corky Laing, he had developed some of the lyrics and the drum part prior to his joining the band. Later, when guitarist Leslie West was looking for lyrics for a guitar part he had written, Laing pulled out "The Queen" and the two worked out the song together; bassist/producer Felix Pappalardi and lyricist David Rea also received songwriting credits. When the group proceeded to record "Mississippi Queen", Pappalardi insisted on numerous takes. Growing weary, Laing started using the cowbell to count off the song. Pappalardi liked it so much he left it in the mix, creating the song's recognizable intro.

Single by Mountain
from the album Climbing!
B-side	"The Laird"
Released	February 1970
Format	7-inch 45 rpm record
Recorded	1969–70
Genre	Hard rock  heavy metal  blues rock  Southern rock
Length	2:30
Label	Windfall
Songwriter(s)	Leslie West Corky Laing Felix Pappalardi David Rea
Producer(s)	Felix Pappalardi

Mountain - Climbing! ( D1 )

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Mountain - Mississippi Queen ( L1 )

Mississippi Queen, if you know what I mean
Mississippi Queen, she taught me everything
Way down around Vicksburg, around Louisiana way
Lived a Cajun lady, we called her Mississippi Queen
You know she was a dancer
She moved better on wine

While the rest of them dudes was a-gettin' their kicks
Buddy, beg your pardon, I was getting mine

Mississippi Queen, if you know what I mean
Mississippi Queen, she taught me everything
This lady she asked me if I would be her man
You know that I told her I'd do what I can
To keep her looking pretty
Buy her dresses that shine

While the rest of them dudes was a-makin' their bread
Buddy, beg your pardon, I was losing mine

You know she was a dancer
She moved better on wine

While the rest of them dudes was gettin' their kicks
Brother, beg your pardon, now I'm getting mine
Ohhhh, Mississippi Queen

Mountain ( I1 )

Mountain - Never in my Life ( YT1 )