Bad Boy - The Band That Milwaukee Made Famous (1976)

Milwaukee's Bad Boy sprang from the ashes of local favorites, Crossfire, in 1975. Through rigorous touring in the midwest, the band were able to secure a contract with United Artists Records in 1976. Later that year, the band's debut "The Band That Milwaukee Made Famous" was issued. Despite considerable industry hype, the album failed to chart and sank quickly into oblivion. The band shuffled into the studio the following year to issue its 2nd album, "Back To Back", which again failed to garner national attention. Soon the band were dropped and spent the next two years writing, recording and preparing their own self-financed release, 1981's "Private Party". Over the next five years, the band continued to release albums with only regional succes and eventually split before the end of the decade.

Bad Boy's debut is actually a charming slice of straightforward journeyman hard rock. Though there's nothing that reinvents the wheel, it's competent and memorable in places. The album sounds like anything you'd expect from a second tier midwestern 70's band, lifting elements from their contemporaries like REO Speedwagon, Head East, Starz, Aerosmith and many more. For their lack of originality, the band manages to excel musically by providing airtight performances across the board. It appears the audiences were quick to dismiss the band, and ultimately Bad Boy became one of many forgotten bands from the era.

Amazingly, the band (in a slightly altered lineup) regrouped in the late 90's and actually released another album in 2003, followed by a live recording in 2005. If you prefer to dip back into the band's early years, this is as good a place as any to start. Check it and get hip to a band the general public has long forgotten...

LINK REMOVED AT REQUEST OF ARTIST