Andy Fraser
On 03/07/1952: Andy Fraser was born. He was born in Paddington, London. At the age of five he started to play piano and was trained classically till the age of twelve, when he switched to guitar. By the age of thirteen he was playing in the east end of London. In 1968 he was expelled in school and he enrolled at Hammersmith F.E. College where he would meet Sappho Korner. Sappho introduced him to his father, blues musician Alexis Korner. When Korner got a call from John Mayall asking if he knew a bass payer, Korner suggested Fraser. Fraser was picked and was earning £50 a week in a pro band, whilst still only 15.Korner was also involved when Fraser made his next move to the band Free. The band featured Paul Rodgers on vocals, Paul Kossoff on guitar and Simon Kirke on drums. Fraser would co write "All Right Now" with Rodgers that would become a no 1 in several countries (no 2 in the uk). He would also co write "My Brother Jake" and "The Stealer" for Free.
In 1971 Free split up and Fraser formed a trio called Toby, with guitarist Adrian Fisher and drummer Stan Speake. Recordings were made but not released. Fraser then rejoined Free later in the same year and left again in June 1972.
Fraser then formed Sharks with vocalist Snips, guitarist Chris Spedding and drummer Marty Simon. He would record one album with them before leaving, called "First Water".
The Andy Fraser Band was then formed with Kim Turner on drums and Nick Judd on keyboard. In 1975 they released the albums "Andy Fraser Band" and "In Your Eyes". They soon folded after their release. Fraser moved to California to focus on his songwriting and wrote hits for Robert Palmer, Joe Cocker, Chaka Khan, Rod Stewart and Paul Young.
In 1984 he released "Fine, Fine Line" that featured Tony Braunagel on drums, Bob Marlette on keyboards, Michael Thompson on guitar, and David Faragher on bass.
He was diagnosed with HIV and Kaposi's sarcoma.
In 1994 he played bass with Paul Rodgers at Woodstock, but generally kept a low profile.
In 2005 he released "Naked and Finally Free".
In 2006 he played two live shows at Southern California's Temecula Community Arts Theatre.
In 2008 he wrote "Obama(Yes We Can)" to support Barack Obama's presidential campaign.
In 2013 he played as a bassist in the band supporting Tobi Earnshaw.
Fraser dies on 16 March 2015 in California.