Jethro tull

Jethro Tull are a British rock band formed in 1967.

The band is led by the vocalist Ian Anderson, who became famous by his outstanding flute sessions. At first, the band was consisted of 3 members: Anderson and his two childhood friends – Jeffrey Hammond and John Evan. Throughout the years, the ensemble has changed it’s line up as some musicians left while others joined. Nevertheless, Anderson stayed the leader of the band until today.

About the name:

After swithching several band names, frontman Anderson probably is the planter of the name that eventually struck root, Jethro Tull. 

The name belongs to English agricultural scientist Jethro Michael Tull (1674-1741), the man who invented the automatic seeding machine among others.

muscially speaking – although born as a “pure” rock band, Jethro Tull’s recorded albums takes the listener to a journey of couple musical genres, including progressive rock, jazz and folk rock.

Still, the central motif emerging from every album are the unique flute melodies performed by Ian Anderson. Some say that those virtuosic parts actually made the band famous.

Current line-up

• Ian Anderson – vocals, flute, acoustic guitar, other instruments (1967–2012, 2017–present)
• David Goodier – bass (2007–2012, 2017–present)
• John O’Hara – keyboards, accordion, vocals (2007–2012, 2017–present)
• Scott Hammond – drums (2017–present)
• Florian Opahle – electric and acoustic guitars (2012-2019)

Studio albums

• This Was (1968)
• Stand Up (1969)
• Benefit (1970)
• Aqualung (1971)
• Thick as a Brick (1972)
• A Passion Play (1973)
• War Child (1974)
• Minstrel in the Gallery (1975)
• Too Old to Rock ‘n’ Roll: Too Young to Die! (1976)
• Songs from the Wood (1977)
• Heavy Horses (1978)
• Stormwatch (1979)
• A (1980)
• The Broadsword and the Beast (1982)
• Under Wraps (1984)
• Crest of a Knave (1987)
• Rock Island (1989)
• Catfish Rising (1991)
• Roots to Branches (1995)
• J-Tull Dot Com (1999)
• The Jethro Tull Christmas Album (2003)

and now let’s hear some examples:

Bouree (from the album “stand up”) – a tribute to the “Franch clog dance”

famous musicians indicated that Jethro Tull’s music had influence on them. Steve Harris (Iron Maiden), Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam) and John Myung (Dream Theater) are exmples to some of them. To my opinion, the versatility and unique sound of the band is what makes it popular.