Hungry Chuck

by Jim Colegrove

The band Hungry Chuck was formed by members of Great Speckled Bird, the backup band for Ian and Sylvia Tyson, in the early 1970s. The members of Hungry Chuck were:

Jim Colegrove: Former bass player in Great Speckled Bird, was from the Dayton, Ohio area. He was the guitar player in Teddy and the Rough Riders, formed in 1958. They recorded on the Tilt label and the Huron label in the early sixties. Jim, along with N.D. Smart, went to Boston and New York in the late sixties. He was bass player in Bo Grumpus, recorded on Atco in 1968, and Jolliver Arkansaw, recorded on Bell in 1969. Both groups were produced by the late Felix Pappalardi. Jim and N.D. Smart lived in Woodstock in the early seventies when the Hungry Chuck sides were recorded there. Jim appeared on the Bobby Charles Bearsville LP. In 1974, Jim moved to Texas where he and Stephen Bruton formed a band called Little Whisper and the Rumors. In 1977, Jim and Sumter (Stephen's brother) formed the Juke Jumpers where he returned to the guitar. The Juke Jumpers had five LPs (Flying High and Amazing records). They played together for 17 years and appeared in Europe at the Belgian Rhythm and Blues Festival and the Utrecht Festival in 1989. They were one of the most popular R&B bands from Texas.

N.D. Smart: N.D. Smart recorded with the Remains on Epic and then performed with them on the Beatle tour in 1966 when they were the opening act. Met Jim Colegrove in Ohio when they played together in a bar band in 1966. He and Jim left Ohio together in 1967 to form Bo Grumpus in Boston. Later, in New York, recorded on the Bo Grumpus LP on Atco. He left Bo Grumpus and recorded with Kangaroo, John Hall's (Orleans) first band, on MGM. He was the original drummer in Mountain and performed at the Woodstock festival with them. Late in 1969, N.D. joined Great Speckled Bird. He was on the Bobby Charles LP. He also recorded and performed with Todd Rundgren. He was a member of Gram Parson's band, The Fallen Angels and also played with The Hello People.

Jeff Gutcheon: Played piano in various groups in New York in the 1960s. Met Jim and N.D. when they recorded with Barbara Keith (Verve Forecast) in 1969. He joined Great Speckled Bird in 1970 and performed on their international TV Show, The Ian Tyson Show. A brilliant songwriter and arranger, he was a collaborator on the original Broadway production of Ain't Misbehavin'. He recorded with Gladys Knight and the Pips, Jay and the Americans, and Ringo Starr. He wrote two piano instruction books published in the 1970s.

Amos Garrett: Amos was already a member of Great Speckled Bird when N.D. and Jim joined the band. He left the Bird to join Geoff and Maria Muldaur's band in 1970 and made a couple of LPs with them on Bearsville. He played on the Bobby Charles LP. Of course, he is well known to most Europeans since he still tours there.

Ben Keith: Ben played steel guitar for seven years with Faron Young's band. He was with Johnny Darrell's band when he met the Great Speckled Bird on the Ian Tyson show. He joined the Great Speckled Bird in 1972 and recorded on the Columbia LP that GSB did that year. He has since played with Neil Young's group and was featured on the Harvest LP. He co- produced "Harvest Moon". Ben was also on the Bobby Charles LP.

Peter Ecklund: Peter played cornet on a number of sessions in New York and Woodstock in the 1970s. He came to Hungry Chuck through Jeff Gutcheon and later played on the Great Speckled Bird Columbia LP in 1972. Peter Ecklund also played with David Bromberg's band and with Paula Lockhart.

The members of Hungry Chuck still maintain communication and are planning on doing some more recording in the near future. Their records sold over 16,000 copies in Japan in 1995 and have been bootlegged in England and Europe.