page_title: Jethro Tull (band)
section_title: Stand Up through Aqualung (1969–1971)
hierarchical_section_title: Jethro Tull (band) / History / Stand Up through Aqualung (1969–1971)
caption_attribution_description: English: Keyboardist John Evan from Jethro Tull - September, 1973 Chicago Stadium - the "Passion Play" tour
context_page_description: Jethro Tull are a British rock band formed in Blackpool, Lancashire, in 1967. Initially playing blues rock and jazz fusion, the band later developed their sound to incorporate elements of hard rock and folk to forge a progressive rock signature. The band is led by vocalist/flautist/guitarist Ian Anderson, and has featured a revolving door of lineups through the years including significant members such as guitarists Mick Abrahams and Martin Barre, keyboardists John Evan and Dee Palmer, drummers Clive Bunker, Barriemore Barlow, and Doane Perry, and bassists Glenn Cornick, Jeffrey Hammond, John Glascock, and Dave Pegg.
  The group first achieved commercial success in 1969, with the folk-tinged electric blues album Stand Up, which reached No. 1 in the UK, and they toured regularly in the UK and the US. Their musical style shifted in the direction of progressive rock with the albums Aqualung, Thick as a Brick and A Passion Play, and shifted again to hard rock mixed with folk rock with Songs from the Wood and Heavy Horses. After an excursion into electronic rock in the early-to-mid 1980s, the band won its sole Grammy Award with the 1987 album Crest of a Knave.
context_section_description: After Barre joined, the group did a few shows supporting Jimi Hendrix in Scandinavia, then set out on an extensive tour of the US, supporting Led Zeppelin and Vanilla Fudge. Having attracted a substantial live following, Ellis and Wright asked Anderson, who had become the dominant songwriter, to write a hit single. The result was "Living in the Past", which reached No. 3 in May on the UK singles chart and No. 11 in the US, and resulted in an appearance on Top of the Pops. Although other so-called "serious" groups actively resisted issuing stand-alone singles at the time, Jethro Tull felt a hit single was a positive move for the group, if not their priority.
  The next album was Stand Up, recorded during April–May and August 1969. It was released in September, and quickly reached No. 1 in the UK charts, the only album by the group to do so. Anderson had now established himself as the group's leader and songwriter, and wrote all of the material, aside from his jazzy rearrangement of J. S. Bach's "Bourrée in E minor BWV 996 (fifth movement)". The album cover unfolded to a photo insert of the band attached to the covers like a pop-up book.
  Immediately after releasing Stand Up, the group set off on their first headlining tour in the US, including an appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival. Barre recalled, "It was really the turning point for Jethro Tull—for everything that we were to become and everything we were to inspire in others." The band was invited to play in the Woodstock Festival, but Anderson declined, being afraid that the band would be permanently associated with the hippie movement and moulded into one type of sound.
  On 29 January 1970 the band appeared on BBC's Top of the Pops again, performing "Witch's Promise". Evan rejoined the band in early 1970. He had stayed in London since the John Evan Band broke up, living with Anderson, and began studying music at the University of London. The pair did not see much of each other because of Jethro Tull's increasing workload, and Evan was reluctant to rejoin because of his studies, which gave him access to a free studio. He played as a session musician on the next album, Benefit (1970), following which Anderson said they needed somebody to play the keyboard parts on tour. His tutor eventually persuaded him that it was a good idea, and Evan formally joined. The album reached No. 4 in the UK and No. 11 in the US, and allowed the group to sell out 20,000-seat arenas, establishing themselves as a premier live act. In August, the band played to one of their largest audiences at the 1970 Isle of Wight festival.
  The Isle of Wight appearance was followed by another US tour, following which Cornick left the band. He was keen to socialise on tour, while the other members became more reclusive and introverted. Cornick said he was fired by Anderson, while the band's official website said he was "invited to leave" by Ellis, but given full support and encouragement to form his own band. Cornick subsequently formed Wild Turkey, a band which he revived for Jethro Tull fan conventions decades later. He died in August 2014.
  Anderson invited Jeffrey Hammond to replace Cornick, buying a new bass for this purpose. However, Hammond had not played an instrument since going to art school shortly after his time in the John Evan Band, and was chosen more for his social compatibility with the other band members than for his musical skills. This line-up recorded Aqualung in late 1970, releasing it in 1971. The album was split into two sides, subtitled 'Aqualung' and 'My God', and featured Anderson's opinions about organised religion. Recording the album was problematic because of technical issues in the studio and Hammond's rusty musical skills. On "Locomotive Breath", Anderson recorded the backing track on his own, singing along to a hi-hat accompaniment, which the rest of the band recorded on top of later. Despite Anderson's concerns that it may have been "too radical" compared with the band's previous albums, Aqualung was the first Jethro Tull album to reach the top ten in the US, peaking at No. 
caption: John Evan, an old schoolfriend and bandmate, joined the band in April 1970, after several invitations to do so
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