The History of Rock

 

Instructor bio

   Home
Course info
Schedule
Listening list
Notes
Paper
Instructor bio
Reading Assignments
Study Guides
Extra Credit

 

James Reid began playing the guitar at the age of 12.  While living in Okinawa, he formed his first band, The Aliens, in 1965. The group played nothing but surf instrumentals because no one could sing. After moving to Illinois and entering high school, he joined the Wild Things, a band that played rock and r and b covers throughout the suburban Chicago area. He moved to Alaska in 1967 and there belonged to several bands, most notably, Proof. Proof was a blues/rock group that opened for many touring bands that came to Alaska to perform. They opened for the Jefferson Starship, Canned Heat, and Lonnie Mack among others.
 

Proof [1970]

Audio Track 1
Audio Track 2
Audio Track 4

James made his first recording when he was 17, a live LP of Proof's concert with Canned Heat at the West High Auditorium in Anchorage. Following several years of playing in bars throughout Anchorage and Fairbanks, James gave up the electric guitar for the classical guitar. He studied in Mexico City, San Francisco, and Hartford receiving both undergraduate and graduate degrees in performance. He came to the University of Idaho as a lecturer in 1978 and since then he has presented hundreds of recitals in the U. S. and Canada. He has made six solo recordings.