In 1970, John Rewind was teaching guitar at Roger Calkins Music on
Market Street in San Francisco. One of his students, Lee Humphries, kept telling Rewind about the talents of his friend Joe Crane, with whom he was in the
Coast Guard. Crane played bass with
Johnny and
Edgar Winter in high school in
Conroe, Texas, and had been produced by
Huey Meaux. Between Humpries's description, and confirmation from Al Amis, who also worked at Roger Calkins and had heard Crane sing, Rewind went to the
Alameda, California, Coast Guard Officer's Club to see Crane perform, and the Hoodoo Rhythm Devils were born. Greene had played in groups around the
Washington, D.C. area, most notably with
Roberta Flack. Modeled after the names of bands in the 1950s, Joe Crane and his Hoodoo Rhythm Devils signed with
Capitol Records under the direction of Michael Sunday and Jack Leahy, and made their first record ''Rack Jobber's Rule
in 1971. The name was too big of a mouthful, so it was shortened to the Hoodoo Rhythm Devils. Roger Allen Clark, fresh from the Steve Miller Band, was added on drums with the second album, The Barbecue of DeVille'' on
Blue Thumb Records in 1972. The Hoodoos toured extensively that year playing with
Savoy Brown,
The Doobie Brothers,
Steely Dan,
Chuck Berry,
John Lee Hooker,
Graham Central Station,
Tower of Power,
Mott the Hoople,
Bloodrock, and
The Tubes. Clark left to become a studio session drummer working for
Rick Hall in
Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
Keith Knudsen, formerly of
Lee Michaels' band and later the Doobie Brothers, then joined for a short stint on drums from late 1972 to mid 1973 before Jerome Kimsey joined the band for the recording of their third album,
What the Kids Want, for
Blue Thumb Records in 1973. The Hoodoos continued to tour the United States and Crane began having some of his songs covered by
Johnny Winter,
The Chambers Brothers,
Rodger Collins, and
Patti LaBelle. In 2013, the Hoodoo Rhythm Devils released a live recording recorded at
Ultrasonic Studios in
Hempstead, New York on November 28, 1972, that had been broadcast live on
WLIR-FM. In 2014 they released
One Night Only, a CD which featured some jams with
Johnny Winter and a live recording of the Texas Day Special with the
Pointer Sisters that had been broadcast live on
KSAN-FM from San Francisco in 1973. 2016 brought
The Best Of The Hoodoo Rhythm Devils Volume II CD that featured a variety of unreleased tunes, demos, and a reunion tune with surviving members and their children. The album also featured
Tower of Power, The Pointer Sisters,
Norton Buffalo,
Greg Douglass,
John McFee, and the
Two Tons of Fun -
Martha Wash and the late
Izora Armstead. Glenn Walters has carried on as fixture vocalist and drummer in the San Francisco area, known in the
advertising business with his
Taco Bell,
Blue Diamond Almonds, Selix Tuxedos, etc.,
spots, and gigs regularly with the Glenn Walters Quartet and with Sidepocket, a
cover band that performs for weddings and other social events. Greene is a member of
The Bobs, the
Grammy Award-winning
a capella group. Rewind continues as a producer, guitarist, and songwriter for Rear Window Music, producing recordings with Georgia Whiting,
Davey Pattison, Bobby Black, and many others. Clark currently tours with
Travis Wammack in the
Muscle Shoals and
Nashville area. ==Discography==