<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Let me set the record straight once and for all.\u00a0 Jethro Tull was a real person.\u00a0 He was an 18th Century agriculturist known for inventing the seed drill.\u00a0 Tull\u2019s name was suggested to band leader Ian Anderson by their manager when they moved from the north of England to London.\u00a0 Gigs were hard to come by under the many different names they tried out.\u00a0 Once they began attracting a bit of attention as Jethro Tull, \u201cIt was too late to change,\u201d according to Anderson.\u00a0 Ever since there has been some confusion about the name.\u00a0 Their first single was released with a major typo that attributed the record to \u2018Jethro Toe\u2019.\u00a0 To make matters worse, plenty of people just assumed that the manic flute playing lead singer\u2019s name was actually \u2018Jethro Tull\u2019.\u00a0 If not, they were often asked, \u201cWhich one is Jethro?\u201d\u00a0 Our local version of this would be people mistakenly thinking band leader Joziah Longo\u2019s name is Gandalf Murphy (although if one does a Google search for Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovians band, AI makes the same mistake). \u00a0 Apparently the name confusion didn\u2019t matter too much after they departed the city of their origin, Blackpool, Lancashire in 1967.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Sixty years later and 24 albums into his storied career, Ian Anderson is still putting out records at a remarkable pace for a rocker his age.\u00a0 His last three albums include <\/span>The Zealot Gene<\/span><\/i> (2022), <\/span>RokFlote<\/span><\/i> (2023), and his latest, <\/span>Curious Ruminant <\/span><\/i>(2025), all of which have been released on the German InsideOutMusic label.\u00a0 So why, at the age of 77, is he still out there doing what he has done these many decades?\u00a0 Anderson told <\/span>Prog<\/span><\/i> Magazine\u2019s<\/span><\/i> James McNair, \u201cI thought, \u2018Okay, another end-of-life story\u2019, but it\u2019s what we do when we get older, right?\u00a0 You want to leave a legacy that isn\u2019t just carved on your tombstone, but also carved in your own memory before it\u2019s too late.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Ian Scott Anderson was born August 10, 1947 in Dunfermilne, Fife, Scotland. \u00a0 He is the youngest of three brothers born to an English mother and a Scottish father (\u201cI\u2019m a Brit.\u00a0 I see myself as a product of that union,\u201d he says).\u00a0 Ian has been the only continuous member of Jethro Tull since they formed.\u00a0 He became the most widely known rock flutist partially because he saw himself as a third rate guitar player.\u00a0 After hearing what was coming from the London scene courtesy of Clapton, Page, and Beck, Anderson happened upon a flute in a shop window and thought, \u201cNow that might be interesting.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0 No one else was playing the flute in a\u00a0 rock band at the time so that also set him apart.\u00a0 He traded his electric guitar for the flute and taught himself to play.\u00a0 His unusual habit of standing on one leg like a stork certainly got people to notice him.\u00a0 Besides being an imaginative songwriter, Ian is a multi-instrumentalist who also plays harmonica, keyboard, bass guitar, bouzouki, balalaika, saxophone, mandolin, and several different types of whistles.\u00a0 Outside of his work with Tull, he has an impressive catalog of solo albums dating back to 1983\u2019s <\/span>Walk Into Light.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Anderson family landed in Blackpool in 1959 and the 12 year old Ian was asked to leave grammar school for refusing to be subjected to the allowed practice of corporal punishment.\u00a0 He did further his education by studying art at Blackpool College of Art from 1964 to 1966.\u00a0 Ian\u2019s first band (The Blades formed when he was 15 or 16) included musicians he would reunite with after finding wider success in Tull.\u00a0 The Blades included keyboardist John Evan, bassist Jeffery Hammond, and drummer Barriemore Barlow.\u00a0 Anderson led this soul and blues band as the lead vocalist and harmonica player (as he had not yet taken up the flute).\u00a0 Ian held down a day job cleaning the Ritz Cinema in Luton (toilets and all) and it was during this time period that he made the decision to let the guitar gods have their way while he experimented with the flute.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In the liner notes for their first album (<\/span>This Was<\/span><\/i> (1968)), it was noted Anderson had only been playing the flute \u2018for a few months\u2019.\u00a0 He continued to play acoustic guitar while adding his plethora of other instruments to their sound.\u00a0 The one leg flute playing came from his habit of playing the harmonica standing that way while holding the microphone stand with one leg for balance.\u00a0 While this curious stance was chronicled on several Jethro Tull album covers, a journalist\u2019s description of him as a \u2018deranged flamingo\u2019 didn\u2019t catch on.\u00a0 When another journalist mistakenly wrote about Ian playing the flute on one leg at the Marquee Club (he was actually playing the harmonica at that gig), he decided to use the image created by this press clipping and give it a go with the flute.\u00a0 The liner notes for <\/span>Thick As A Brick<\/span><\/i> features a tongue in cheek quote about, \u201cthe one-legged pop flautist, Ian Anderson.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Another example of Anderson\u2019s earliest flute work can be seen in the 1968 film <\/span>The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus.\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>Right on the heels of releasing their debut album <\/span>This Was<\/span><\/i>, guitarist Mick Abrahams left the band to form Blodwyn Pig.\u00a0 In need of a new guitarist, their\u00a0 out of left field choice was Tony Iommi.\u00a0 The Pulka Tulk Blues Company had recently changed their name to Earth but the band had yet to find the foothold it needed to sign a record contract.\u00a0 Interestingly, Iommi\u2019s two week tenure with Tull happened to coincide with their participation in the Stone\u2019s film.\u00a0 Iommi\u2019s Earth band members encouraged him to take the Tull gig, telling him, \u201cThis is a great opportunity, you should do it!\u2019 but Iommi himself was unsure.\u00a0 They did two songs for the film (<\/span>Son for Jeffrey <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>Fat Man<\/span><\/i>) but only one (<\/span>Jeffrey<\/span><\/i>) made the cut.\u00a0 In the end, Iommi told Ian, \u201cLook, I\u2019m gonna leave.\u00a0 I miss my old band.\u201d\u00a0 The brief time apart lit a spark and Earth got back together, renamed themselves Black Sabbath, and began writing their own original tunes.\u00a0 The move ended up being a historic move for both groups when Iommi was replaced by Martin Barr in Jethro Tull\u2019s line up.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0My first encounter with Jethro Tull came in 1970 when my Twig bandmate Mike Kesti loaned me his copy of their 1970 LP <\/span>Benefit.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 Mike told me to take a listen and to see if I thought there were any tunes we should try to add to our growing set list.\u00a0 \u201cI really like <\/span>Teacher<\/span><\/i>,\u201d I told him at our next rehearsal to which he replied, \u201cYeah, that\u2019s okay.\u00a0 Maybe we can try it after we learn <\/span>To Cry You A Song<\/span><\/i>.\u201d\u00a0 Mike\u2019s choice was interesting.\u00a0 It was one of the first songs we learned with a dual guitar\/bass riff as the song\u2019s backbone and many stops and starts in the vocals.\u00a0 It was six minutes long and my first question was, \u201cDo you think anybody will dance that long to one song?\u201d\u00a0 Mike made the right choice because <\/span>To Cry You A Song <\/span><\/i>gave us a lot of confidence to go forward and learn more complicated songs.\u00a0 As far as people dancing for six minutes, it was always a big hit at the frat parties we played.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We liked the song well enough to relearn it when Mike and I got together again in 1974 as Sledgehammer.\u00a0 We decided to resurrect a few of our favorite Twig songs and <\/span>To Cry You A Song <\/span><\/i>was one of them.\u00a0 We never did go back and learn <\/span>Teacher<\/span><\/i>, but it is still a Tull song that tops my list.\u00a0 I later found out that <\/span>Teacher<\/span><\/i> had only been released as the B-side single behind the A-side track <\/span>Witch\u2019s Promise <\/span><\/i>in the United Kingdom.\u00a0 It would later resurface there on the greatest hits LP <\/span>Living in the Past\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>in 1972, but I was lucky enough to hear it when it was included in the American release of <\/span>Benefit <\/span><\/i>in 1970.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Halfway into this piece about Anderson, it came to me that I am breaking one of his cardinal rules:\u00a0 he never refers to Jethro Tull simply as \u2018Tull\u2019.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s pride there;\u00a0 a kind of formal dignity.,\u201d he explained.\u00a0 When McNair asked if he plans to keep adding to his vast catalogue of music, Ian replied, \u201cWho knows what the future holds?\u201d\u00a0 Ian claims he may have another album in him but also claims it would be foolish to say he has an album planned out when he hasn\u2019t written any new music since <\/span>Curious Ruminant <\/span><\/i>was released.\u00a0 He admits only that, \u201cIf we do make another record, it will have to be a bit different.\u00a0 I can imagine a reversal to something quite basic.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Anderson has never been one to paint himself into any corners, musically speaking.\u00a0 While their early albums formed a solid foundation for the band, it was 1971\u2019s <\/span>Aqualung <\/span><\/i>that broke them to a wider audience.\u00a0 The album\u2019s blend of progressive and hard rock with dashes of folk music gave listeners large doses of heavy electric riffs side by side with acoustic guitar.\u00a0 The lyrics span a host of topics;\u00a0 religion, spirituality, and social issues like homelessness and prostitution are all grist for Anderson\u2019s mill.\u00a0 The connecting threads in the album\u2019s tracks had some label it \u2018a concept album\u2019, something Anderson has vehemently denied. \u00a0 By the time <\/span>Aqualung <\/span><\/i>came along, old friend John Evan made his first appearance with Ian since The Blades as did bassist Jeffery Hammond.\u00a0 <\/span>Aqualung<\/span><\/i> would be drummer Clive Bunker\u2019s last with the band and he would be replaced by another ex-Blade member, Barrimore Barlow.\u00a0 The album was a major commercial success moving more than seven million copies (their best selling album).\u00a0 The pumping rhythm of <\/span>Locomotive Breath <\/span><\/i>made it fun to play.\u00a0 Our second guitar player in Sledgehammer, Lindsay, did an outstanding job on vocals.\u00a0 I would have loved to sing it, but Lindsay nailed it so I concentrated on giving it my best Clive Bunker beat.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0On the heels of <\/span>Aqualung<\/span><\/i> came more albums that people wanted to characterize as \u2018concept albums\u2019:\u00a0 <\/span>Thick as a Brick <\/span><\/i>(1972), <\/span>A Passion Play<\/span><\/i> (1973), <\/span>War Child <\/span><\/i>(1974), <\/span>Minstrel in the Gallery <\/span><\/i>(1975), and <\/span>Too Old to Rock \u2018n\u2019 Roll:\u00a0 Too Young to Die!<\/span><\/i> (1976).\u00a0 Though the core themes of these albums were different, the structure of the music was similar enough for all to be stamped as \u2018Jethro Tull\u2019 songs.\u00a0 With the recording of 1977\u2019s <\/span>Songs from the Wood,<\/span><\/i> Ian took a decided turn to a more folk rock sound.\u00a0 <\/span>Heavy Horses <\/span><\/i>(1978) and <\/span>Stormwatch <\/span><\/i>(1979) followed in this same direction.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I liked Jethro Tull\u2019s albums but <\/span>Heavy Horses<\/span><\/i> was one that particularly caught my fancy.\u00a0 The cassette tape copy I made from the album actually wore out after I played it on many trips between Ontonagon and Marquette the year before my wife and I got married.\u00a0 I kind of lost touch with Anderson\u2019s work after <\/span>Horses<\/span><\/i> until I found a boxed set that covered most of his earlier works.\u00a0 The time span between albums increased from one LP per year to one every two years after 1982\u2019s <\/span>The Broadsword and the Beast.\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>The 1990s expanded the inter-album gap to four years with almost twenty years elapsing between <\/span>The Jethro Tull Christmas Album <\/span><\/i>(2003) and <\/span>The Zealot Gene <\/span><\/i>in 2022.\u00a0 The next JT album that got me back into the fold came after Ian made another left turn, this time returning to his blues roots with 1995\u2019s <\/span>Roots to Branches.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In describing his latest LP (<\/span>Curious Ruminant<\/span><\/i>), Ian said, \u201c It is a product of my ongoing thirst\u00a0 for knowledge rather than any inquisitive, cud-chewing cow or sheep:\u00a0 It goes back to my early teenage years.\u00a0 I always enjoyed learning stuff outside of an English grammar school\u2019s normal curriculum.\u00a0 I loved fantasy and surrealism, and I was a sponge when it came to the heady days of late-50s and early 60s science fiction.\u00a0 Maybe my ability to write songs was innate, but the sci-fi stuff couldn\u2019t have done any harm.\u00a0 I like to learn something new everyday.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Though he admits his sci-fi interest didn\u2019t really include the original <\/span>Star Trek<\/span><\/i> series, Ian did manage to record a track on William Shatner\u2019s 2018 Christmas album.\u00a0 He has been asked to and has participated in recording sessions for a variety of artists, but the Shatner gig came about in a little different manner.\u00a0 Anderson told McNair, \u201cI was a fan of Shatner\u2019s for other reasons.\u00a0 I\u2019d met him once back in the 70s when I was very much out of my depth on some U.S. talk show, and he was very friendly and calming and reassuring.\u00a0 William brings a level of theatricality to his spoken-word stuff, but it\u2019s done very knowingly, so you can relax with it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In another nod to the past, Ian was asked if he had any regrets about his rather manic stage presence in days of yore:\u00a0 \u201cIt had been pointed out to me that, onstage, everything had to be exaggerated.\u00a0 I was trying to reach people sitting up with the gods.\u00a0 I think I took this to heart and over did it.\u00a0 On TV, it could definitely look a bit hammy.\u00a0 Out of boredom or devilment, I was probably at my worst on <\/span>Top of the Pops<\/span><\/i>, or some of the footage for [1976\u2019s] <\/span>Too Old to Rock \u2018n\u2019 Roll:\u00a0 Too Young to Die!, <\/span><\/i>where I am like Benny Hill with a flute.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0What does the world hold next for Ian Anderson?\u00a0 Jethro Tull ceased recording in the 2000s and disbanded entirely in 2011.\u00a0 Live shows since then have been advertised as either Ian Anderson solo or Jethro Tull.\u00a0 Guitarist Martin Barr has also spun off into a solo career.\u00a0 Ian has dialed things back as he suffers from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).\u00a0 He quit smoking years ago and attributes his ailment to inhaling too much of the dramatic haze emitted by on stage smoke machines over many years of touring.\u00a0 He damaged his voice during the 1984 <\/span>Under Wraps<\/span><\/i> tour (\u201ca combination of overexertion, chain smoking, and the habit of pushing his vocal chords beyond their limits,\u201d according to McNair).\u00a0 Anderson has adapted by lowering some of his vocal parts and relying on back up singers to do the heavy lifting in the higher ranges.\u00a0 His flute work seems to not have been affected by his ailments.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0With age and infirmity in mind, is he thinking about retiring?\u00a0 He told McNair, \u201cI can imagine a reversal to something quite basic – not all the way back to our blues roots, I don\u2019t think, but maybe something stripped down.\u00a0 I sometimes toy with the idea of a four-piece band.\u201d \u00a0 What do you think?\u00a0 To quote the lyric to one of my favorite Jethro Tull songs, \u201c<\/span>Well the teacher told me, it has been a lot of fun . . .\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Top Piece Video:\u00a0\u00a0Teacher<\/em> would seem to fit the bill!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Let me set the record straight once and for all.\u00a0 Jethro Tull was a real person.\u00a0 He was an 18th Century agriculturist known for inventing the seed drill.\u00a0 Tull\u2019s name was suggested to band leader Ian Anderson by their manager when they moved from the north of England to London.\u00a0 Gigs were hard to 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