In 1970 EMI switched the band to its new, “progressive” Harvest label, and with the popularity of the blues boom receding, Cooper and the band began to emphasise the more rock-based elements of their style on such albums as Tightly Knit (1971) and Rich Man (1972).
They also began to focus on the lucrative US market, touring in support of acts such as Canned Heat and the Steve Miller Band. After defecting from EMI to Polydor, the band had its breakthrough in 1973 via FM/Live, recorded at a New York show that was also broadcast live on radio. The recording lucidly captured their powerful stage show and was their biggest-selling album to date, catapulting them from support act to headliners. Slimmed down to a four-piece, the name was also shortened to the Climax Blues Band.
Their great success came in 1976 when Cooper’s Couldn’t Get It Right made No 3 in the US chart and the UK Top 10. The song was later covered by the Fun Lovin’ Criminals.
Moving to Warner’s, the group continued to record prolifically as an album-orientated act. They reached the US Top 20 for a second time in 1981 with I Love You, written by Holt, who left the following year to form Grand Alliance. By the end of the 1980s their popularity on the US live circuit was waning, and they began to spend more time playing on the European blues scene. The 1994 live album Blues from the Attic was evidence that they remained a potent force.
Colin Cooper: British musician who formed the Climax Blues Band
Colin Cooper was an enduring figure on the blues scene for 40 years as the leader of the Climax Blues Band. A powerful vocalist and talented multi-instrumentalist, he formed the group in 1968 at the height of the British “blues boom” which also produced bands such as Fleetwood Mac, Ten Years After and Chicken Shack.
The group went on to enjoy Top 20 hits with Cooper’s composition Couldn’t Get It Right in 1976 and I Love You five years later, both of which were bigger hits in the US than in Britain. Although the band’s line-up altered radically over the years, Cooper remained a constant presence, and the group was still active when he died.
Colin Francis Richard Cooper was born in Stafford in 1939. He began his professional career when he formed the R&B combo Hipster Image in 1964, taking the lead vocals and playing guitar and saxophone. After building a strong local following, the group transferred to London in 1965 taking over the Spencer Davis Group’s residency at the Flamingo club, Soho, a fabled home of British R&B where Zoot Money, Georgie Fame and Graham Bond cut their teeth. They secured a recording deal with Decca in 1966 but their only single, Can’t Let Her Go, failed to chart, despite being produced by Alan Price of the Animals. When the group broke up, Cooper returned to the Potteries where he formed the Gospel Truth. However, inspired by the emergence of a second wave of British blues bands such as Jethro Tull and Fleetwood Mac, Cooper and the guitarist Peter Haycock soon recast the band as the Climax Chicago Blues Band, recruiting the bass player Richard Jones, the drummer George Newsome, Arthur Wood on keyboards and second guitarist Derek Holt. The group signed to EMI in 1969 and its first two albums, on EMI’s Parlophone subsidiary, were impressive exercises in the hardcore 12-bar blues style forged by the great Chicago bands who backed Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf, although Cooper’s use of wind instruments occasionally led them into jazzier territory.
Despite suffering from cancer, Cooper continued to play with the band until weeks before his death. When not playing music, he attempted — and usually completed — The Times crossword every day.
He is survived by his wife and two children.
Colin Cooper, musician, was born on October 7, 1939. He died of cancer on July 3, 2008, aged 68.
They are also called or known as The Climax Blues Band.
I Am Constant
Climax Blues Band Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Shines out of the sky
And I am constant
Never knowing if it's
Truth that's in your eyes,
As unchanging as the rivers flow,
But heaven knows I've tried
But still the same inside
I am constant...
I am constant
As the morning star
Shines down from above
And I am truthful
But who knows the truth
When jokers fall in love
Dust and ashes take the best of us
But what goes on before
Superficial as humanity
When people go to war
I am constant...
I am you...yes I am...
The lyrics to Climax Blues Band's song I Am Constant express the idea of constancy, and the singer's frustration at being unable to change his own nature. The first verse compares the singer's constancy to the morning star that shines in the sky, but he admits that he is never sure if he can trust what he sees in someone else's eyes. The second verse explores the idea of truth and the difficulty of discerning it when people are in love or caught up in superficial concerns. The chorus repeats the phrase "I am constant" several times, emphasizing the idea that the singer is unchanging and unable to escape his own nature.
The imagery in the lyrics is simple but effective, and the song has a reflective, melancholic feeling. The repetition of the phrase "I am constant" gives the song a sense of inevitability, and the singer's repeated attempts to rearrange his music suggest a certain frustration or restlessness. Ultimately, the song seems to be about the limits of human nature and the difficulty of changing oneself.
Line by Line Meaning
As the morning star
Like the morning star that shines out of the sky, I am a steady presence in your life.
Shines out of the sky
I am a shining light in your life, like the morning star that shines from above.
And I am constant
I am always there for you, never changing or wavering in my commitment to you.
Never knowing if it's
Despite my constancy, I can never be sure if the truth is reflected in your eyes.
Truth that's in your eyes,
I look to you for truth and honesty, but I am not always sure if I can find it in your eyes.
As unchanging as the rivers flow,
Just as the river flows steadily and consistently, I try to be a constant, steadfast presence in your life.
But heaven knows I've tried
I have done my best to be true to you, but I am only human and I have my limitations.
Rearranging different music
I have tried to change things up, to do things differently, but ultimately I always come back to the same old song.
But still the same inside
Despite my efforts to change, I am still the same person deep down.
I am constant...
Above all else, I remain a constant presence in your life, always there for you through thick and thin.
I am constant
I am always the same person, never changing or wavering in my commitment to you.
As the morning star
Just like the shining morning star, I remain a constant and steadfast presence in your life.
Shines down from above
Like the morning star that shines down from above, I am always there for you.
And I am truthful
I always strive to be truthful and honest with you, even when the truth is difficult to hear.
But who knows the truth
Even when I am completely truthful with you, the truth can still be elusive and hard to discern.
When jokers fall in love
Love can be a tricky and unpredictable thing, and sometimes even fools can find themselves falling in love.
Dust and ashes take the best of us
We are all mortal, and eventually we will all return to dust and ashes.
But what goes on before
But what we do with our lives before that happens is what really matters.
Superficial as humanity
Humanity can be shallow and superficial, sometimes focused more on appearance than on substance.
When people go to war
War is a tragic and senseless thing, often caused by our own selfishness and greed.
I am constant...
Despite all the chaos and turmoil of the world, I remain a constant and unwavering presence in your life.
I am you...yes I am...
In a way, I am a reflection of you, always there to support you and guide you through life's ups and downs.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: COLIN COOPER, COLIN FRANCIS RICHARD COOPER, DEREK HOLT, DEREK JOHN HOLT, JOHN HAYCOCK PETER, JOHN WILLIAM CUFFLEY, PETER JOHN HAYCOCK, WILLIAM CUFFLEY JOHN
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