Jethro Tull

Welcome to Rock and Roll Flashback!  I'm your host, Jumpin' John, and this podcast episode will review the career of one of the most distinctive and enduring bands in rock history:  Jethro Tull!

All podcasts on the Rock and Roll Flashback Podcast are produced by brothers-in-law Bill Price and "Jumpin' John" McDermott.  The Podcast Theme Song, "You Essay", was written by John.  It was initially recorded by Bill and John on April 1, 2004 with several revisions since then. 
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Rock On!

Transcript

[play intro from Jethro Tull's studio version of "Living in the Past"]

[Guest Announcer:  Welcome, time travelers, to another edition of Rock and Roll Flashback, with your host, Jumpin' John McDermott!]

Thank you for that introduction, and welcome to Rock and Roll Flashback!  I'm your host, Jumpin' John, and this podcast episode will review the career of one of the most distinctive and enduring bands in rock history:  Jethro Tull!

In 1947 Ian Anderson was born in Dunfermline, Scotland, and grew up in Edinburgh.  In 1960 his family moved to Blackpool, an English seaside town north of Liverpool.  Anderson, Jeffrey Hammond, and John Evans attended grammar school together in Blackpool.  By 1966 the three friends formed a band, with Evans on drums, Anderson on guitar, and Hammond on bass.  They  played at local clubs and venues before Evans switched to organ.  Drummer Barrie Barlow, guitarist Mike Stephens, and guitarist Chris Riley were recruited to form a six-piece "blue-eyed soul" group called the John Evan Band.  Initially Anderson's role was vocals, guitar, and harmonica.  After a few personnel changes, in November 1967 the band moved from the north of England to Luton, Bedfordshire, and signed a management deal with Terry Ellis and Chris Wright.  After briefly disbanding, they reformed as a blues band with Ian Anderson and Mick Abrahams on guitars, Glenn Cornick on bass, and Clive Bunker on drums.  

At first, the new band found it difficult to obtain repeat bookings. They changed their name frequently to continue playing the London club circuit.  Then a member of their booking agent's staff, suggested the alias "Jethro Tull".  The name comes from an 18th Century agriculturist named Jethro Tull.  Tull was an inventor who helped revolutionize farming with the seed drill.  The name stuck because they were using it when the manager of the Marquee Club liked their show enough to give them a weekly residency.  Anderson then purchased a flute after becoming frustrated with his inability to play guitar as well as Abrahams.  The flute, along with a large overcoat, soon became part of his early stage image.  On stage Anderson would adopt a unique one-legged flute stance.  His tendency to stand on one leg while playing the flute came about by accident, as he had been inclined to stand on one leg while playing the harmonica, holding the microphone stand for balance.  

Jethro Tull got their first major break at Sunbury's National Jazz and Blues Festival in August 1968, where they played to an enthusiastic audience and received positive reviews in the music press.  This success was a result of persistent touring, which had generated a grassroots following who came to the Festival and encouraged the rest of the audience.  The group recorded their first album with blues rock and jazz fusion influences between June and August 1968.  Released in October 1968, the album, titled This Was, only reached #62 on the US Billboard 200 chart, but it climbed to #10 in the UK chart.  Anderson's flute playing set the group apart.  At a time when electric guitar dominated rock music, the flute became a lead instrument, something virtually unheard of in mainstream rock.  Following the album's release, Mick Abrahams left the band in December to form his own group, Blodwyn Pig.

The group tried out several replacements for Abrahams.  The first was David O'List, who had recently left the Nice. After a week's rehearsal, O'List did not show up and lost contact with the group.  The next choice was Mick Taylor, who turned the group down because he felt his current gig with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers was a better deal.  Following this, they approached Tony Iommi, guitarist for Earth, a band soon to be renamed Black Sabbath.  Tony briefly joined the band.  He stood in and mimed Abrahams' guitar playing for The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus on December 11th, 1968, when the Jethro Tull performed "A Song for Jeffrey".  However, Iommi quit after a few weeks and returned to Birmingham to rejoin Earth, feeling closer to his old band.

The next lead guitar choice was Martin Barre, who had seen the band perform at the Sunbury Festival and had auditioned for guitarist at the same time as Iommi.  Barre arranged a second audition, and Anderson showed him new songs in a different style from the blues they had been recording.  Anderson was impressed by Barre's technique and offered him the job.  Barre played his first gig with Jethro Tull on December 30th, 1968 at the Winter Gardens, Penzance. 

One of the first things the band recorded with Martin Barre was the non-album single "Living in the Past".  Then with the assistance of recording engineer Andy Johns, the band achieved their first major success with their folk-influenced second album Stand Up.  The album was released July 25th, 1969.  That same day saw the non-album single "Living in the Past" reaching #3 in the UK singles chart.  When the song was included in 1972's compilation album, also called Living in the Past, it became Tull's highest charting single in the U. S., reaching #11 on the Billboard Hot 100.

[play intro to the Jethro Tull version of "Bourée"]

The Stand Up album quickly climbed up to #1 on the UK albums chart and reached #20 on the US Billboard 200 chart.  The band's unique sound really began to emerge on Stand Up, as the LP showcased Anderson's growing interest in British folk music alongside hard rock.  Songs such as "Bourée", an inventive adaptation of a piece by the composer Johann Sebastian Bach, demonstrated that Jethro Tull was willing to blend classical music with rock years before such experiments became common.  By this point, the band had moved well beyond its blues beginnings.  Their concerts began to feature extended instrumental passages, humorous stage banter, and Anderson's theatrical performance style.  

The year 1970 saw the release of Tull's third album, Benefit.  Benefit expanded the group's musical complexity.  The successful Benefit  LP reached #3 on the UK albums chart and #11 on the US Billboard 200 chart.  After the last of the 1970 American tours, bass player Glenn Cornick was fired from the band, and was replaced with Anderson's childhood friend Jeffrey Hammond.

[play Jethro Tull's version of "Aqualung"]

That was the title track to 1971's Aqualung album, an album that would mark the band's international breakthrough.  The Aqualung LP, released on March 19th, 1971, was a major commercial success.  The LP reached #4 on the UK albums chart and #7 on the US Billboard 200 chart.  Aqualung became Jethro Tull's best-selling album with sales exceeding seven million copies worldwide and marked the band's emergence as a regular presence on FM radio and a major arena act.  Initial critical reception was mostly positive, with the album since receiving widespread retrospective acclaim for its musical experimentation and engagement with philosophical and social themes.  The LP's songs explore themes involving religion, society, and human nature.  Aqualung has frequently appeared on best-of album lists and has been cited as an influence by numerous artists within rock and progressive music.  The album's success transformed Jethro Tull into international superstars.  It became one of the defining albums of the progressive rock era and remains their best-selling record.

From the Aqualung album, here is Jethro Tull's version of "Wond'ring Aloud":

The album's title track, "Aqualung", became one of the band's best-known songs, due in part to its distinctive lead guitar riff played by Martin Barre.  The LP included other classic Tull songs like "Cross-Eyed Mary", "Hymn 43", and "Locomotive Breath".  Written as a comment on population growth, "Locomotive Breath" was meant to replicate the chugging rhythm of a train. "Locomotive Breath" has been a live favorite and is one of Jethro Tull's best-known songs.  

Let's have a listen to Jethro Tull's studio version of "Locomotive Breath".

The rest of the decade would cement Jethro Tull's progressive rock identity and dynamic stage presence.  Throughout the 1970's the band maintained an intense schedule of touring and recording, releasing one studio album every year and expanding their musical scope through concept albums and increasingly complex arrangements.  Rather than repeating the successful formula of Aqualung, the band surprised everyone with 1972's Thick as a Brick.  The album consists essentially of one continuous song divided into two parts to fit the two sides of a vinyl LP.  Lasting more than 40 minutes, it featured changing musical styles, humorous lyrics, instrumental virtuosity, and satirical commentary.  Many listeners believed progressive rock had become overly serious, and Anderson later explained that Thick as a Brick was partly intended as a parody of elaborate concept albums.  Ironically, it became one of the greatest concept albums ever made.  The album reached #1 in the United States, #1 in Canada, #1 in Australia, and #5 in the UK.  By reaching the top spot on the Billboard 200 in the United States, Tull proved that audiences were willing to embrace long-form musical storytelling when it was executed with imagination and skill.  

The band continued its remarkable run with several ambitious albums.  1973's A Passion Play reached #1 on the US and Canadian album charts and #16 in the UK.  1974's War Child reached #2 on the US Billboard 200 and #14 on the UK albums chart.  A single released in October from the War Child album, "Bungle in the Jungle" was a surprising success in Canada, where it reached #4, and in the US, where it reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Here is an excerpt from Jethro Tull's version of "Bungle in the Jungle":  

Tull's album success continued when 1975's Minstrel in the Gallery LP reached #7 on the US Billboard 200 and #20 on the UK albums chart.  1976's Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die! reached #14 in the US and #25 in the UK.

Toward the end of the decade, Ian Anderson became increasingly interested in British folklore, rural life, and traditional folk music.  Albums such as Songs from the Wood and Heavy Horses beautifully combined acoustic instruments with electric rock arrangements and are now considered classics of folk-rock.  1977's Songs from the Wood reached #8 in the US and #13 in the UK.  1978's Heavy Horses reached #19 in the US and #20 in the UK.  Then Tull's third folk-influenced album, Stormwatch, was released in 1979.  1979's Stormwatch reached #22 in the US and #27 in the UK.

Following the Stormwatch tour in early 1980, three of the current band members abruptly departed.   The resulting major line-up change led to a period influenced by electronic rock in the early 1980's.  The band experimented with more contemporary production techniques on albums such as 1980's A and 1982's The Broadsword and the Beast.  The band returned to a hard rock sound with 1987's Crest of a Knave, which proved to be especially significant.  At the 1989 Grammy Awards, Crest of a Knave unexpectedly won the award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance, beating heavy metal favorites including Metallica.  The result shocked fans and critics alike because Jethro Tull had never been considered a heavy metal band.  That Grammy became one of the most discussed surprises in the award show's history.

Jethro Tull explored world music influences in the 1990's.  The band continued recording throughout the 1990's with albums including Rock Island, Catfish Rising, Roots to Branches, and J-Tull Dot Com.  Their music increasingly reflected world music influences, while remaining unmistakably Jethro Tull.  Although commercial success declined from their 1970's peak, they maintained an enthusiastic international fan base.  The band ceased studio recording activity in the 2000's, but continued to tour until disbanding in 2011.  Following the band's split, Anderson and Barre both pursued separate solo careers, with Anderson's band billed variously as both "Jethro Tull" and "Ian Anderson" solo.  From 2017 onward, Anderson revived the Jethro Tull name and returned to releasing new studio albums in the 2020's, presenting the group as a continuation of the band under his sole leadership, rather than as a reunion of past line-ups.

While the Jethro Tull's lineup has changed frequently over the years, one constant throughout virtually the entire history has been Ian Anderson.  For over more than five decades, Anderson has remained the band's driving creative force, serving as principal songwriter and lead vocalist, while playing flute and acoustic guitar.  His stage performance and combination of intelligence, wit, and musical originality have made him one of rock's most respected artists.  However, the frequent lineup changes never prevented the group from maintaining its distinctive identity.

Jethro Tull has influenced generations of progressive rock, folk-rock, and hard rock musicians.  Their achievements have included selling more than 60 million albums worldwide, of which 11 were gold and 5 were platinum albums.  After decades of international touring, they have continued producing one of the most recognizable sounds in rock history.  More than half a century after their formation, Jethro Tull remains one of Britain's most original music exports.  Their inventive blend of rock, folk, blues, classical music, and Ian Anderson's unforgettable flute created a sound that no other band has successfully duplicated.  Tull's willingness to experiment, combined with outstanding musicianship and memorable songwriting, has earned them a permanent place among the greatest and most influential bands in rock history.  Ian Anderson's songwriting and unique flute playing have given them an identity that remains instantly recognizable.  

Thank you for listening to another episode of Rock and Roll Flashback podcasts!  This episode was devoted to the British progressive rock band called Jethro Tull.  I should point out that, as of 2026, despite their longevity, commercial success and influence within progressive rock, Jethro Tull have never been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  I will close out this podcast with another tune from Jethro Tull's War Child album, "Skating Away on the Thin Ice of the New Day".  So fellow travelers, may your path be smooth and your music always be rockin'!  And until next time...Rock On!