Terry Reid obit

'Superlungs' Terry Reid, the man who turned down Led Zep and Deep Purple, dies, aged 75

English guitarist, singer and songwriter had cancelled upcoming tour last month

 He was not on the list.

Terry Reid, the guitarist, singer and songwriter who was so determined to forge his own path that he turned down offers from Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, has died, aged 75, following a battle with cancer.

Last month, the man known as 'Superlungs' for his searing vocal prowess had been forced to cancel an upcoming tour "due to medical issues arising from recent treatment for cancer" according to an official statement at the time.

Joe Bonamassa led tributes this morning, calling Reid "One of the greatest to ever do it and a beautiful person and soul".

"Goodbye my friend," the blues star wrote. "It was an honor to get to know you as friend and a musical mentor. I will miss our hangs and stories in Palm Springs."

Unfairly cast as a musical Zelig, a nearly man who turned down some of the biggest gigs around, Reid actually played a crucial role in blues and heavy rock's development after he rose to (some) prominence in the mid-60s with Peter Jay and the Jaywalkers, who supported the Rolling Stones on their 1966 tour.

It was that Rolling Stones link that ultimately thwarted Jimmy Page's attempts to recruit Reid, he told Classic Rock in 2023. “I was very friendly with Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones,” he said then.

“Keith asked me to support the Stones in the States, but then shortly afterward Jimmy wanted me to join his new band. I was torn. In the end, I put the ball in Jimmy’s court. I said: ‘You’d better speak to Keith and tell him I’m not going.’

"But Jimmy bottled it. He said: ‘I’m not having him shoot me in the fucking leg.’ Even then, Keith had a reputation. So I ended up going to America with the Stones. I even played with them at Altamont.”

In fact, Reid then recommended Robert Plant and John Bonham to Page, after seeing them perform with The Band of Joy. “He needed a singer who could sing around those guitar licks," he told Uncut, "and not everybody could do that. I’d seen Robert with John Bonham, so I said to him, ‘Not only is Robert perfect, you’ve got to get the drummer, he’s an animal’”.

Reid, clearly a single-minded man, also rejected Richie Blackmore's offer to replace Rod Evans in Deep Purple. “I’m not sure what frame I was in when I was asked,” he later admitted.

Reid's solo career was stymied by a long-running dispute with producer Mickie Most, which restricted his ability to release music for several years. He continued to tour however, before releasing LP River in 1973, to a good critical reception but limited success. He continued to record and release his own music through the '70s, before shifting to session work in the '80s, working with the likes of Don Henley and Bonnie Raitt.

1991 saw a Trevor Horn-powered return to solo work with The Driver, and Reid continued to work live until last year.

Producer

Superlungs

producer

In Production

 

Music Department

Frost (2022)

Frost

3.2

guitarsperformed: & produced by

2022

 

Thanks

Val Kilmer, Lisa Kudrow, Dylan McDermott, Kate Bosworth, and Josh Lucas in Wonderland (2003)

Wonderland

6.5

special thanks

2003

 

Soundtrack

George Wendt, Stephen Lang, Fred Williamson, William Sadler, Martin Kove, David Patrick Kelly, Sierra McCormick, and Tom Williamson in VFW (2019)

VFW

6.1

performer: "Brave Awakening"writer: "Brave Awakening"

2019

 

3 from Hell (2019)

3 from Hell

5.4

performer: "The Frame", "Faith to Arise"writer: "The Frame", "Faith to Arise"

2019

 

Jake Johnson in Win It All (2017)

Win It All

6.2

performer: "Faith To Arise"writer: "Faith To Arise"

2017

 

Carnage Park (2016)

Carnage Park

4.9

performer: "Brave Awakening"writer: "Brave Awakening"

2016

 

Bonnie Bedelia, Craig T. Nelson, Monica Potter, Joy Bryant, Erika Christensen, Lauren Graham, Sam Jaeger, Peter Krause, Mae Whitman, Dax Shepard, Max Burkholder, Miles Heizer, Tyree Brown, Savannah Paige Rae, and Xolo Maridueña in Parenthood (2010)

Parenthood

8.3

TV Series

performer: "River"writer: "River" (uncredited)

2013

1 episode

 

Lemmy in Lemmy (2010)

Lemmy

7.8

performer: "Without Expression"

2010

 

George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, and Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air (2009)

Up in the Air

7.4

writer: "Be Yourself"

2009

 

The Devil's Rejects (2005)

The Devil's Rejects

6.7

performer: "Brave Awakening", "To Be Treated Rite", "Seed of Memory"writer: "Brave Awakening", "To Be Treated Rite", "Seed of Memory"

2005

 

Val Kilmer, Lisa Kudrow, Dylan McDermott, Kate Bosworth, and Josh Lucas in Wonderland (2003)

Wonderland

6.5

performer: "Faith to Arise", "Dean"writer: "Faith to Arise", "Dean"

2003

 

Marianne Faithfull in Marianne Faithfull: Dreaming My Dreams (2000)

Marianne Faithfull: Dreaming My Dreams

8.4

Video

writer: "Rich Kid Blues"

2000

 

Conan the Adventurer (1997)

Conan the Adventurer

5.1

TV Series

performer: "In Love And War"

1998

1 episode

 

Live Nude Girls (1995)

Live Nude Girls

5.2

performer: "Cherish", "Secrets"writer: "Secrets"

1995

 

Your Personal Best with Elle MacPherson

7.9

Video

performer: "Temple of Your Soul", "You Can Do Anything", "Move Like a Wave"

1994

 

Aspen Extreme (1993)

Aspen Extreme

6.0

performer: "The Driver (Pt. II)"writer: "The Driver (Pt. II)"

1993

 

Over the Edge (1979)

Over the Edge

7.3

writer: "Speak Now"

1979

 

Arthur Jensen in Huset på Christianshavn (1970)

Huset på Christianshavn

7.6

TV Series

writer: "Be Yourself" (uncredited)

1972

1 episode

 

Opération 666 - Paris Underground Festival (1970)

Opération 666 - Paris Underground Festival

TV Special

performer: "I've Got News For You", "Superlungs"

1970

 

Groupies (1970)

Groupies

5.5

performer: "BANG BANG"

1970

 

Self

Superlungs

Self

In Production

 

The Session Man (2023)

The Session Man

7.3

Self

2023

 

Jools Holland in Later... With Jools Holland (1992)

Later... With Jools Holland

8.2

TV Series

Self

2018

1 episode

 

Marc Maron in WTF with Marc Maron (2009)

WTF with Marc Maron

8.3

Podcast Series

Self - Guest

2016

1 episode

 

The Led Zeppelin Story (2004)

The Led Zeppelin Story

6.3

Video

Self - Rock Vocalist

2004

 

Glastonbury Fayre (1975)

Glastonbury Fayre

6.3

Self

1975

 

The Old Grey Whistle Test (1971)

The Old Grey Whistle Test

8.1

TV Series

Self

1973

1 episode

 

Opération 666 - Paris Underground Festival (1970)

Opération 666 - Paris Underground Festival

TV Special

Self

1970

 

Groupies (1970)

Groupies

5.5

Self

1970

 

Beat-Club (1965)

Beat-Club

8.2

TV Series

Self

1969

1 episode

 

The Dennis Wholey Show (1969)

The Dennis Wholey Show

TV Series

Self

1969

1 episode

 

Happening for Lulu

7.4

TV Series

Self - Guitar & Vocals, Terry Reid

1969

1 episode

 

Millionaire

TV Mini Series

Self

1968

1 episode

 

Archive Footage

John Bonham, John Paul Jones, Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page, and Robert Plant in Becoming Led Zeppelin (2025)

Becoming Led Zeppelin

7.5

Self - Singer (archive footage)

2025

 

1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything (2021)

1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything

7.6

TV Series

Self (archive footage)

2021

1 episode