Spirit’s biggest hit — its only song to reach the Top 40 — “I Got a Line on You” was released in late 1968 and hit No. 25 in early 1969. Composer Randy California was 18 at the time. Spirit was noted in its heyday for its jazz leanings, but as this tune shows, they could rock as hard as anyone.
California was a guitar prodigy who got a gig backing up Jimi Hendrix in New York in 1966, at the ripe old age of 15. When Hendrix relocated to England, California’s parents wouldn’t let him go, insisting he finish high school. His stepfather, Ed Cassidy, a jazz veteran, wound up playing drums for Spirit, his shaved head serving as the band’s visual hook (as well as the inspiration for another Spirit single, “Mr. Skin”).
A younger generation might not know them at all if Randy California’s estate — he died in 1997 rescuing his 12-year-old son from a riptide while they were surfing — hadn’t sued Led Zeppelin for allegedly stealing the famous “Stairway to Heaven” guitar riff from Spirit’s “Taurus.”
Bonus tracks:
“Fresh Garbage” shows off the band’s progressive/jazz influences. Jimmy Page covered it during jams after hearing it when he shared a bill with Spirit:
The single “1984” was scuttled after debuting on the charts in 1970 and didn’t get another release until the band’s first “Best of” album in 1973, but this video gives you a good idea of how the band looked at the peak of its popularity:
