Milk Cow Boogie - Stan and The Ravens

Stan Szelest (February 11, 1943 – January 20, 1991) was an American musician, known for founding an influential blues band in the 1950s and 1960s, Stan and the Ravens, and then later as a keyboardist with The Band Born in Buffalo, New York, in 1958 Szelest formed Stan and the Ravens, a blues group that became popular in western New York. By 1960 he started to work with Ronnie Hawkins and his backing group The Hawks, staying with them until the next year. Richard Manuel stood in for his place, and The Hawks would later leave Hawkins to form an act of their own, which eventually came to be named The Band. In 1967, Stan and the Ravens broke up, and two of its members, Calandra and Mallaber, joined the group Tony Galla and the Rising Sons, which in 1968 changed its name to "Raven". With David Lucas as producer, the new band recorded the song "Farmer's Daughter", written by Szelest, which helped the band to secure a contract with Columbia Records. With Manuel's death in 1986, Szelest was called back to The Band when they got a new record deal with CBS Records in 1990. However, he died of a heart attack in 1991 while in Woodstock recording with Levon Helm, Rick Danko and Garth Hudson. Some of his work would later appear on The Band's album Jericho, released in 1993. Szelest was also in Lonnie Mack's band during the 1980s, and can be heard on Mack's album Attack of the Killer V; he can also be seen on several videos playing in Mack's band during that period. If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, -  ”LIKE” ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorite band!