Crack the Sky

Crack the Sky
Crack the Sky, circa 1977 L-R: Jim Griffiths, Rick Witkowski, John Palumbo, Joey D'Amico, Joe Macre
Background information
Origin	Weirton, West Virginia
Genres	Progressive rock, rock and roll, funk, new wave
Years active	1975–1978, 1980–1983, 1986–1990, 1996–present
Labels	Lifesong, Grudge, Red Line, Winthrop
Website	Official site
Members	John Palumbo : Vocals, Guitar Rick Witkowski : Guitar Joey D'Amico : Drums Dave DeMarco: Bass Guitar Bobby Hird : Guitar Glenn Workman : Keyboards
Past members	Joe Macre : Bass Guitar Jim Griffiths : Lead Guitar Vince DePaul : Keyboards Gary Lee Chapell : Vocals Rob Stevens : Keyboards John Tracey : Drums Carey Ziegler : Bass Guitar Sonny Petrosky : Bass Guitar Michael Taylor : Guitar Barry Siegfried : Guitar Jamie LaRitz : Lead Guitar Nat Kerr : Keyboards

Crack the Sky is an American progressive rock band formed in Weirton, West Virginia in the early 1970s. In 1975, Rolling Stone declared their first album "debut album of the year", and in 1978, Rolling Stone Record Guide compared them to Steely Dan; their first three albums charted on the Billboard 200. The band has never achieved great success outside the Baltimore area; despite this, they continue to release albums and perform to a small but devoted fan base to this day.

Crack the Sky traces its roots to early seventies bands called Uncle Louie and Sugar. Uncle Louie featured John Palumbo on vocals and Rick Witkowski on guitar, while Sugar featured Joe Macre on bass and Jim Griffiths on guitar. Wikowski and Palumbo had auditioned for Terry Minogue, a nephew of Terry Cashman of CashWest Productions. Minogue convinced CashWest to give them a development deal so they could get a band together and record demos. Minogue later said, "They played some of the most beautiful music I ever heard in my life." "Words", as the band was then known, initially a 10-piece band, sized down to five core members. The first incarnation of Crack The Sky included drummer Joey D'Amico, bassist Joe Macre, John Palumbo, Rick Witkowski and Jim Griffiths on guitar. During that time, CashWest Productions started Lifesong Records, and Crack the Sky became the first band to release an album on that label.

In 1975, the band released their first album, the critically acclaimed eponymous Crack The Sky, which reached 161 on the Billboard chart. Although praised by The New York Times and declared the "debut album of the year" by Rolling Stone, promotion and distribution problems with Lifesong Records prevented its widespread success. According to Terry Minogue, "Records were promised but never arrived at the distribution centers. The record would be on the radio but there would be no product on the store shelves or visa versa [sic]. When people wanted it, it would never be available." By what some termed blind luck, the marketing did work in Baltimore, only because a surplus of records was shipped there and put on display in stores when the album was receiving radio play. Subsequently, the album became very popular in Baltimore. Laidback Larry Allen, music director at WYDD in Pittsburgh, professed love for the recording and played the debut album in heavy rotation, but no other place. In 2015 album was ranked number 47 in the Rolling Stone list of 50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums of All Time.