[This is an updated version of the very first post made on the Rocking In The Norselands Facebook group on 10 November 2017, which in effect launched the page. It is only fitting that this is the very first post to be added to the brand new Rocking In The Norselands website on 15 August 2020. Thank you, Mickey, for the initial inspiration which led to everything else!]
Mickey Lee Soule. He feels like an old friend, so I’ll just call him Mickey. Most people will probably not know much about him, including the majority of the audience at the Deep Purple show in Oslo last night. That is the only reason I can imagine that the lone signed copy of his album for sale in the merchandise stall was left ignored and undisturbed until I came along after the show. More on that later.
Mickey is a piano/keyboard player who is best known for playing on the first five professional rock albums that featured Ronnie James Dio in the 1970s. They played together in the band Elf, releasing the albums Elf (1972), Carolina County Ball (1974) and Trying To Burn the Sun (1975). The last two were produced by Roger Glover, which sparked a life-long friendship between them. As a result, Mickey and Dio were invited to perform on Glover’s concept album The Butterfly Ball (1974) alongside with a slew of well-known guesting musicians. In addition to playing piano, Mickey even handled lead vocals on the track No Solution.
Elf ended when Ritchie Blackmore recruited the entire band (minus the guitar player) to become his solo band Rainbow in 1975. Blackmore was very impressed with Elf’s chemistry, and especially Dio’s vocals. He had initially just wanted to use them to record a cover version of Quatermass’ Black Sheep of the Family, but it worked so well that the sessions continued and became the album Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow. This is a true rock classic, and Mickey’s piano sound is a big part of that sound.
After that album, Ritchie dismissed the band (minus Dio) and got players with a more established hard rock sound. Piano and 1970s arena hard rock did not match well, which signalled the end of Mickey’s usefulness in Blackmore’s eyes. His replacements would play more conventional hard rock keyboards and organ.
Mickey would go on to play and sing on several albums by other members of the Deep Purple family, including a significant stint in Ian Gillan’s solo band. As the 1980s and 90s progressed, he moved on to low-key roles in music plus live gigs in the New York era.
In 1996, his friends in Deep Purple offered him a role as Jon Lord’s keyboard tech, and he would even appear (uncredited) on a few of their latter day live albums. When Jon Lord stepped down, he stayed on as Roger Glover’s bass tech.
This takes me back to the recent post-show discovery.
The Deep Purple merch booth had several signed albums by the members solo projects (primarily Roger’s and Don’s), but I did not expect to see Mickey Lee Soule’s hard-to-find solo EP Pet Wounds (2013). I asked about it, and the guy just picked that one copy down from their display and handed it to me. “Oh, it was the last one then?” I asked. “Last one? It was the only one” was the response. It had taken them five shows to find someone interested in it – me. I was delighting in finding it, and it clearly was in no danger of grabbing the attention of the hundreds of people who were standing in line to pick up a Deep Purple t-shirt with Perfect Strangers or Smoke On the Water on it.
Mickey Lee Soule is a legend. More than any of the current members of Purple, I would love to have a five minute chat with him. Imagine all he could tell about the early days of working with Dio in Elf, about the formation of Rainbow, the Butterfly Ball project, the creation of a slew of classic albums, life on the road with all of these legends over the years – including Blackmore AND Gillan! And then there’s new projects like Pet Wounds and even a few more recent releases.
There are several figures in rock history who played in huge bands alongside more legendary musicians. People who will not be the most household names, who never achieved the level of fame as the main players. These people are easily as interesting to me as those with higher notoriety, and usually more appreciative of a chat.
Maybe I’ll get a chance to pick up Mickey Lee Soule’s next EP and album the next time Purple pass through town? I shall look for the lone copy they will bring along, which no doubt will be sitting undisturbed in the merch booth waiting for me.
If you should see it and pick it up first: enjoy! I do want more people to check out his stuff, so please do.
Mickey Lee Soule – selected works
1) Elf – Hoochie Koochie Lady
Hoochie Koochie Lady is the first song from the self-titled first Elf album (released 1972), which was the professional LP debut for nearly all musicians on it. Right off the bat you will hear Mickey Lee Soule being prominently featured with his honky-tonk rock’n’roll piano style. Full of swagger and strut, piano rarely sounded this cool in a hard rock’n’roll band. Ronnie James Dio also immediately revealed himself to be a vocalist of some class – it was clear he was going places.
2) Elf – Rocking Chair Rock’n’Roll Blues
A song from the second Elf album Carolina County Ball (1974). This may be my favourite Elf track (but it’s hard to pick just one!). The track has everything and is a showcase for all the styles this band could embrace. Starting out as a beautiful piano/voice ballad, it grows into a full band ballad by the second verse, swipes past power ballad territory for a prototype “Slash standing on a cliff face”-style guitar solo, does a full-on recharge and kicks into a hard rocking tune. The last part of the song rocks, grooves, and is full of catchy riffs and cool rhythms. It’s an everything song, covering every base in their musical vocabulary.
The fact that it also is a song of such obvious quality makes it the most complete song Elf ever did. For all its style changes, it flows very naturally and never loses its lovely sense of melody. Mickey Lee Soule is all over this song – starting the ballad section with lovely piano playing, and later pushing the band into the rock’n’roll style later on. Talk about a song being a journey!
3) Roger Glover – “No Solution”
After leaving Deep Purple in 1973, Roger Glover ended up creating an all-star concept album based on a children’s poem/book, telling the story of how all the animals in the valley were making their way (individually) to the Butterfly Ball which would take place in the evening. Glover gave each animal a voice and recruited an all-star cast to sing different parts (including Ronnie James Dio, Glenn Hughes, David Coverdale, John Lawton, Barry St. John, Tony Ashton and too many others to mention), as well as tons of guest musicians.
Mickey Lee Soule’s involvement surprised no-one. It says a lot that he even worked on songs for the project with Glover, and amazingly Glover even convinced him to provide vocals on a track. Mickey later said: “Roger asked me to sing ‘No Solution.’ I was asked to sing it as the character in the story, with a ‘stutter’ effect. Roger wasn’t looking for a polished vocal, and as I’m not a great vocalist, I guess it worked well for the character and song.” His portrayal of Doctor Vole, warning Toad not to drink the polluted water, sounds great!
4) Rainbow – If You Don’t Like Rock’n’Roll
This short and sweet track from the first Rainbow album is a great and very fun rock’n’roll moment. It may not be my favourite track of the ones on offer, but it is definitely Mickey’s shining moment on the album. The piano drives the song to a large extent. Realising this, Blackmore wanted Mickey to play a piano solo instead of him putting down a guitar solo as usual. This would be the only Rainbow song without a guitar solo! It clearly fits the song to a tee. It also displays a generousity that was extended to very few.
5) Bible Black – Back To Back
Bible Black was a band that should have been, but sadly never was. They were active for a year or so around 1980-81, formed by Mickey Lee Soule, Craig Gruber (bass) and Gary Driscoll (drums). They were old bandmates from Elf/Rainbow, so the core of the band had strong familiarity with each other. Alongside them was Andrew McDonald (Blue Cheer, guitar), and the group went through no less than three vocalists during their short existence: Jeff Fenholt (Black Sabbath/Joshua), Joey Belladonna (Anthrax), and Louis Murello.
The band recorded several demos, all of which demonstrate the project’s high potential. Back To Back is one of three demos the band recorded with Louis Murello in 1981. The band did not garner any record label interest and the project sadly fizzled out shortly after. Murello would later find fame in Manowar after changing his professional name to Eric Adams.
6) Ian Gillan – I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight
After leaving Rainbow in 1976, Mickey went on to join Ian Gillan’s solo band. In 2006, Gillan put together Gillan’s Inn – a career retrospective celebrating his 40th anniversary as a singer, featuring re-recordings from all eras of his career alongside musicians he has played with over the years. He made sure to tap Mickey for that, and the resulting track is possibly the best example of them collaborating on a song as it came together in a very organic way. I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight was a spur-of-the-moment cover version of the Bob Dylan song, done just for fun very much in their own style. The track also features Joe Elliott, Ron Davis, Redd Volkaert and Howard Wilson.
7) Roger Glover – The Ghost of Your Smile
Roger Glover’s fifth solo album If Life Was Easy (2011) largely dealt with the aftermath of his divorce. When he called on long-time friend Micky Lee Soule to help out, Mickey duly came to his friend’s aid. He was horrified to find that Glover wanted him to sing a song again, for the second time ever. Still, he made a stab at it. The song was very personal to Glover and may even have been hard for him to sing at the time. Mickey did a stellar job of adding a suitably world-weary voice to it.
8) Mickey Lee Soule – Handsome Boy
Finally, an example of the material Mickey has been putting out under his own name in recent years. This track was released on his Bandcamp page in 2016 and is a collaboration with Beverly Stearns. Head on over there and support him by buying a track if you enjoyed this article: https://steamingpileofmick.bandcamp.com/
