Spirit

Originally named after Khalil Gibran's book Spirits Rebellious, Spirit came together in Los Angeles in 1967. Randy California (guitar/vocals), Jay Ferguson (vocals/percussion) and Mark Andes (bass) had played together in a band named The Red Roosters and prior to that, California was a member of Jimmy James and the Blue Fames in 1966, led by future guitar deity Jimi Hendrix. After adding John Locke (keyboards) and California's stepfather, jazz veteran Ed Cassidy (drums), the band began writing the songs that would make up their debut album Spirit, released in 1968.