Genesis (Rock Group)

When I was about twelve years old, I saw an ad from a company called the Columbia Record Club (no longer in existence). It offered a promotion of twelve music cassettes for a penny, if you agreed to buy one cassette per month at the regular price, and I signed up for the deal. One of the cassettes I chose was ABACAB, by a British band called Genesis. I listened to it so often I wore it out, and from that time on Genesis was one of my favorite bands.

Genesis was one of the most successful rock groups to emerge from the early 1970s Progressive Rock scene. They were contemporaries of other popular bands such as Yes, Pink Floyd, ELP, and King Crimson. With over one-hundred million albums sold worldwide, Genesis is one of the world's best-selling music groups. Their discography includes fifteen studio and six live albums. They have been awarded eleven Gold and four Multi-Platinum albums in the UK, while in the US they have seven Gold, two Platinum, and four Multi-Platinum albums. During the heyday of MTV in the 1980s, rock videos of all their hits were constantly on TV, viewed by millions of rock fans all over the world.

Generally, the band's career can be broken down into two musical periods: the Peter Gabriel era and the Phil Collins era. Between 1967 and 1975, they were fronted by the singer Peter Gabriel. He was known to wear strange costumes on stage and tell outlandish stories between songs to give the band a chance to re-tune their instruments. The band's classic lineup for most of those years was: Peter Gabriel (vocals), Steve Hackett (guitar), Mike Rutherford (bass guitar), Tony Banks (keyboards), and Phil Collins (some vocals, drums). Anthony Phillips was their guitarist for the first two albums but left the band soon after. My personal favorite Gabriel-era album was Selling England by the Pound. However, after the release of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway album, Peter Gabriel decided that he wanted to pursue a solo career, and moved on. Phil Collins was promoted to lead singer from 1976 to 2021. The Collins-era albums were more commercial sounding and Genesis became more of a pop rock group. Steve Hackett also left the band after the first two Collins albums were released, and Genesis became a trio in the studio of Collins, Banks, and Rutherford. Daryl Sturmer (guitar) and Chester Thompson (drums) joined the band for live performances. My favorite Collins-era album was the Duke album, because that time period was sort of a bridge between the early Prog sound and the pop rock sound.

Genesis fans are torn between which musical era they prefer, although many like both. The Gabriel albums were somewhat strange and outlandish, while the Collins albums had a more polished pop rock sound. However, most Genesis fans can agree on a favorite song, a 24-minute epic called “Supper's Ready,” released on their album Foxtrot. (It was originally sung by Gabriel, but also sung by Collins in more recent live performances, and on the album Seconds Out.) Despite the length of the song, when it is performed live, everyone in the audience seems to know all the words.

All the former members of Genesis have had successful solo careers. Phil Collins especially had a huge solo career, spanning decades, with pop hit after hit. He also tried his hand in Hollywood, in the movie Buster (available on hoopla), as well as TV appearances in Miami Vice. Peter Gabriel also did well. Mike Rutherford formed a group called Mike & The Mechanics, which had several big hits such as “All I Need Is a Miracle.” Steve Hackett has been releasing successful solo albums and continues to tour with Genesis Revisited. Banks, Rutherford and Collins reunited for the Turn It On Again tour in 2007, and again in 2021 for the Last Domino tour. In 2022, the members of the band agreed to sell rights to their music to Concord Music for over $300 million dollars.

Personally, I have seen Genesis in concert quite a few times in its various forms. Those who want an experience of their live songs since the 1970s can see them done by Steve Hackett's current solo band, as well as a Canadian tribute band called The Musical Box, which tours regularly and does a perfect reproduction of the music as well as Peter Gabriel's stage attire.

Several Genesis albums are owned by the Mercer County Library System. Virtually all of their music is also available for free via the Library's subscription to hoopla.

Mercer County Library System also has several interesting books about the band, including:

Phil Collins - Not Dead Yet: The Memoir (ISBN: 9781101907474)

"The Genesis front man and successful solo artist presents a reflective memoir that shares insights into the remarkable experiences behind many of his iconic songs and performances, discussing his early years, relationships with fellow artists, and struggles with addiction."

Mike Rutherford - The Living Years: The First Genesis Memoir (ISBN: 9781250060686)

"The story of Genesis is the rock legend of how a humble schoolboy band grew into a group of global superstars. At its center stood Mike Rutherford, driving the music from pioneering prog rock to chart-topping hits. Now for the first time, he tells the remarkable inside story of Genesis and his own band, Mike + The Mechanics."

Steve Hackett - A Genesis in My Bed (ISBN: 9781912782383)

"The long overdue autobiography from guitar great and former member of Genesis, Steve Hackett. As with his music, Steve has written a highly detailed, entertaining and embracing tome that charts his life in full, but with a firm emphasis on his years with Genesis that saw the band's meteoric rise to become one of the most successful British bands of all time."

And a documentary on DVD:

Genesis: Sum of the Parts (OCLC: 899622985)

"The official authorized story of Genesis made with the full cooperation of the band members. As seen on Showtime, it tells of the band's formation at Charterhouse (where Tony Banks, Peter Gabriel, and Mike Rutherford were all pupils) in the late '60s and the release of their debut album, From Genesis To Revelation. The story then moves on through the departure of founding member Anthony Phillips and the arrival of Phil Collins and Steve Hackett in 1970."

From the Gabriel era, here is the link to the official music video of “I know What I Like,” showing Peter Gabriel's stage antics:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_EYU75uhKk

From the Collins era, here is the link to the music video that earned Genesis a Grammy for Best Concept Music Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq7FKO5DlV0

- By Jon Parker, Hickory Corner Branch