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Carlo Driggs Original Early Years BIO written by Lana Doerr from CarloDriggs.com. © Copyright 2004-2006 Lana Doerr. All Rights Reserved.
Born Carl Driggs in Havana, Cuba, Carlo was raised in South Florida and New York City. Carlo's first public performance was at the age of 4 or 5 singing for US troops on a street corner in Havana. The soldiers' applause never left Carlo and he always dreamt of being an entertainer. He joined his mother, who was working in the US, when he was about 6 years old. This was a joyous reunion for the small boy, but he was forced to go back to Cuba due to an immigration snafu at the age of 9. He lived with his aunt in Cuba until he was finally able to return to the US permanently about a year later.
Driggs spent his early years in the US in NYC where one of his fondest memories is of his mother taking him to see the Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan show. He recalls that the exciting music coupled with the screaming girls left a lasting impression on him. Carlo also remembers walking the streets of New York with his cousins and hearing a lot of wonderful singers harmonizing on the street corners. Everywhere he went, the music stayed with him.
It was at Citrus Grove Junior High School in Miami, FL that Carlo found his own music. In band class, Carlo learned how to play the drums. Each student was allowed to take home one piece of musical equipment at a time, but Carlo wasn't satisfied with one cymbal or one snare drum. He wanted to be just like "Ringo" and play the whole set of drums. He would sneak out as many components of a drum kit as he could and set them up in his carport at home and bang away. Carlo claims his neighbors never complained about the racket!! Eventually, his mother had to buy her son his own drum kit. From the start, Carlo wanted to improvise and change the music the class was playing. The teacher was not very sympathetic and asked young Driggs if he thought he was better than the writer of the book. In the back of Carlo's mind he thought to himself, "Yes, I AM".
In the 60's, it wasn't that cool to be Cuban, so Carlo and his buddies decided to adopt American names. Carlo wanted the name Paul, like Paul McCartney, but his buddy had already taken that name. In the end, Carlos was shortened to Carl. Carl and his three friends Armando "Norman", Alberto "Dave", and "Paul" [Gonzalez] were four Cuban kids who dreamed of becoming a Rock & Roll band. Dave and the Wanderers was formed and this was Carl's first band. They soon added a fifth member to the group, Victor Angulo, who would later play an important part in Carlo's life.
During this time, Carlo started playing at South Florida clubs like the Place and the Cheetah Club, and he inevitably started to watch other groups that were playing in the area. He and his friends were pretty cocky until they saw a band called Peach who was also popular at the time. Peach had a drummer named Omar Martinez and Carlo was blown away with his powerful drumming. Carlo recalls that Omar's drumming sounded like cannons to him. This inspired Carlo to practice even harder and start jamming with other musicians in the area. Omar Martinez would eventually play a pivotal role in his life many years later.
One night, Carlo went to see a band called "The Seven Of Us" from New York City. They were a white American band that played R&B soul music and sounded like they were black. They had a lead singer that got out in front, sang, danced and really entertained. This struck a chord in Carlo and he knew that he had to do more than just play drums.
One afternoon while Dave and the Wanderers were practicing at the Cheetah Club in South Florida, things were slow and Carlo grabbed the microphone to sing "It's Not Unusual" by Tom Jones. He just wanted to feel what it was like and it felt GOOD! The manager of the club was sitting there doing paperwork, heard the song, and told them he wanted them to do that during the show that night. Carl Driggs, the lead singer, started on a new career path that night. Shortly after that, Dave and the Wanderers disbanded and went their separate ways.
In late 1968, Carlo met a new guy in town, Arturo "Artie" Casado. Artie was a drummer with a band in NJ and they were looking for a new lead singer. Carlo was only 19 at the time and had strong family ties, but made the decision to move away from home for this opportunity. He was strongly drawn to the idea of going back to New York where he had grown up, gone to school, learned English and had his first childhood sweetheart. With very fond memories of NYC, he was off on a new adventure with $50 in his pocket. As it turned out, Carlo stayed in New York for a couple of months, but only got to play in a few weekend gigs before his money ran out and he had to go home to Miami.
Back home, Carlo felt like a failure, but with the support of his family and the prodding of Artie, Carlo was ready to try it again. Artie suggested they put another band together, but stay at home where they had the support of their families. This sounded good to Carlo and the Year 2000 started rehearsing. The Year 2000 did a few gigs in Florida and then, contrary to the original plan, went back to NYC to try out for a talent agency. So much for their plan to stay close to home! They were signed and started working immediately. Carlo, being so young, had very little to do with the management and the decisions that were being made. It was more or less a whirlwind experience, but he did gain some education about show business. The highlight of his time with the Year 2000 was his first experience at recording. They were signed to Rama Rama Records which was an extension of Buddha Records. An album called A Musical Odyssey was released and the band had a minor regional hit with a song called Pop Goes the Weasel.
In 1969, after the Year 2000 dissolved, Carlo Driggs moved to upstate New York and joined a band name Phaedra. The band was mostly made up of guys from Florida and business wasn't very good for them in New York state. The guys were homesick for their families and decided to head back to Florida. Pheadra went to an audition at the Swinger Lounge in the Marco Polo Hotel in North Miami Beach. Chubby Checker was performing at the hotel and watched their audition. The band didn't get the job at the Marco Polo, but Chubby Checker loved them and offered them a job backing him up. Carlo and the guys were amazed at this turn of events and thought it would be great to work with this rock & roll icon. They started rehearsing with Chubby, but were dismayed that he only wanted to do new material. They had a difficult time getting him to even do "The Twist". Phaedra went out on the road with Chubby Checker and ended up in his hometown of Philadelphia. After the initial thrill of working with Chubby Checker wore off, the band wasn't thrilled with the direction they were going in and they broke up. Carlo and one of the other band members went back to upstate New York and put together Phaedra 2 with Carlo back on drums and singing.
Carlo was lured back to Florida when Paul and Dave from the Wanderers called him and asked him if wanted to join a new band called the Queen's Kids. He was, again, drumming and singing.
One night, Carlo and his friends went to see another band that was playing in town. The bass player, Carlos Garcia, knew of Carl Driggs and Carlo was invited to sing a song with them. Carlo got back out front and sang his heart out. It felt so good to him to be singing in front and the crowd was wildly enthusiastic. Carlo knew this was what he wanted to do. Carlos Garcia told him to remember him if he ever needed a bass player.
Paul Gonzalez, Victor Angulo and Carlo Driggs got together and decided to start a new band without Dave. Paul and Victor encouraged Carlo to recruit Artie Casado to be their drummer so Carlo could get back out front and sing. This was what Carlo wanted, too. Artie, after some persuasion, agreed to join them. Paul had a friend named Tony Garcia who came onboard to replace Dave. They had a band and were trying to figure out a name. One day, while eating dinner, Victor asked someone to pass the crackers. They all looked at each other and started laughing. Carlo recalls that it was his idea to spell the name with a K and they became Kracker.
Kracker got their first gig at a popular Fort Lauderdale club called the Flying Machine. One night, a man approached them, introduced himself as a booking agent from Chicago, and wanted to know if they'd like to work in Chicago. The money was good and they didn't have anything else to do, so they decided to head north. They originally agreed to do a three week stint in Chicago at the Rush Up Club and arrived there in March of 1971. They became so popular in Chicago that the three weeks turned into seven months. Some of the guys were getting homesick and wanted to go home. They decided to take two weeks off to go home for a visit.
Carlo Driggs felt as if he was going home a success. They were making great money, living in a penthouse off Michigan Avenue and they flew home first class. Carlo was proud to be able give his mother $5000 in cash, as a way of proving to her that he could make a living in music. It was a payment with interest for that first $50 she gave him when he originally left for New York.
When the two week vacation was over, two of the guys decided they wanted to stay in Florida. Carlo Driggs, Victor Angulo and Artie Casado were in need of a bass player. Carlo remembered Carlos Garcia and gave him a call. Garcia was happy to join Kracker who was building a reputation in the music business. They invited Chuck Francour, a keyboard player, to join them and they were back in business.
When Kracker got back to Chicago, their manager asked them who they would want to produce their first album. They decided to shoot for the moon and told him they wanted Jimmy Miller, the legendary Rolling Stones producer, even though they knew they would never get him. Not long after that, to the band's astonishment, Jimmy Miller was coming to hear them play at Rush Up. The band was popular in Chicago, but wanted to make sure the club was packed that night. They called all their friends and had them call all their friends and so on. The plan worked and they got a great crowd that was extremely responsive. It was a wonderful party and Jimmy Miller was very impressed. A deal was struck and Kracker was off to California to record their first album, La Familia, for ABC Dunhill.
One night in 1972, Carlo Driggs stopped in Las Vegas for a brief vacation between recording Kracker's first album and going on the promo tour for it. He was walking through the casino at the Flamingo and saw someone who looked familiar. It was Omar Martinez, the dynamic drummer he used to see in Florida. Omar told Carlo that he was there working with Paul Revere & the Raiders. They talked about what was happening in each of their lives and Omar introduced Carlo to Mark Lindsay when he came by. Small world.
When Kracker got back to Chicago, their first single, Because of You, was all over the radio. It debuted on Billboards Top 100. They started touring with several national groups such as Styx, J. Geils and REO Speedwagon. Although their single only made it to #30 on Billboard, Jimmy Miller had confidence in them and they went back to Los Angeles to record their second album, Kracker Brand, for ABC Dunhill in the USA and the Rolling Stones label in Europe.
Additionally, Jimmy Miller announced to them that Mick Jagger had invited them to open for the Rolling Stones on their European tour. It was 1973 and Kracker was off for a tour of Europe with the Stones on their Goats Head Soup tour. This trip was a double-edged sword for Carlo Driggs. Still very naive to the pitfalls of the business, Carlo learned a lot about what it was like to be in the big league. While this was an opportunity of a lifetime, and Carlo was grateful for the experience, he learned a lesson in how difficult this business could be. He came home more jaded, but he was glad to be home in the USA. Kracker was expecting a big homecoming. Unfortunately, their agent had run into some legal problems and nothing had been done on their behalf. Instead of coming home to fanfare, everyone was wondering where they had been. It was a very big disappointment.
CarloDriggs.com DISCOGRAPHY:
Year 2000 - A Musical Odyssey (1969) Rama Rama Records
Kracker - LaFamilia (1972) ABC Dunhill
Kracker - Kracker Brand (1973) ABC Dunhill
Kracker - HOT (1976) Dash
Foxy - Get Off (1978) TK Records
Paul Revere & the Raiders - Paul Revere Rides Again (1983) Hitbound Records
Paul Revere & the Raiders - Generic Rock 2
Carlo Driggs - Hear My Heart (1993) Image Designs Available SOON from AlphaBetaUSA!!!
Paul Revere & the Raiders - Time Flies When You're Having Fun (2000) Rock N' Roll Records
Paul Revere & the Raiders - Ride To The Wall (2001) Rhino Special Products
Paul Revere & the Raiders - Greatest Hits Live! (2002)
Carlo Driggs - Together Forever (2003)
Carlo Driggs - Time to Dance (2009)
Any factual discrepancy is due to the author's lack of knowledge and is not attributable to Carlo Driggs.
