Geno Washington

Geno Washington
Pictured in 2007
Background information
Birth name	William Francis Washington
Born	December 1943 (age 73)
Origin	Evansville, Indiana, United States
Genres	Soul, R&B, pop, blues
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1966–present
Labels	Piccadilly, Marble Arch, Pye, DJM
Associated acts	Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band
Website	Geno Washington Website

Geno Washington (born William Francis Washington, December 1943, Evansville, Indiana) is an American R&B singer who released five albums with The Ram Jam Band between 1966 and 1969, and eight solo albums beginning in 1976.

Washington was stationed in England with the United States Air Force during the early 1960s. While stationed in East Anglia, Washington became known as a frequent stand-in at gigs around London. When guitarist Pete Gage saw him at a nightclub in 1965, he asked Washington to join his new group, that was to become Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band. Gage later formed Vinegar Joe with Elkie Brooks and Robert Palmer. The band's name came from the Ram Jam Inn, an old coaching inn on the A1 (Great North Road) at Stretton, near Oakham, Rutland.

They had two of the biggest selling UK albums of the 1960s, both of which were live albums. Their most commercially successful album, Hand Clappin, Foot Stompin, Funky-Butt ... Live!, was in the UK Albums Chart for 38 weeks in 1966 and 1967, peaking at number 5 on the chart. The other album was Hipster Flipsters Finger Poppin' Daddies, which reached number 8 on the UK album chart. The group had a number of moderate UK Singles Chart hits during 1966–67 on the Pye label: "Water" (which reached no.39), "Hi Hi Hazel" (no.45), "Que Sera Sera" (no.43) and "Michael (The Lover)" (no.39). They managed to build up a strong following with the crowds and due to their touring and energetic performances. Like their Pye label mates and rivals Jimmy James and the Vagabonds, they became popular with the mod scene. The band broke up in the autumn of 1969 and the band members went their own ways while Geno Washington continued as a solo artist before returning to the United States. Keyboard player Geoffrey K. Pullum became an academic linguist, and is today a professor at the University of Edinburgh and a well-known linguistics blogger at the Language Log and Lingua Franca websites.