Jim
Cochran ~ Guitar
Ritch
Kesey ~ Bass
Dave
"Thor" Olson ~ Drums
Curt
Salgado ~ Harp, Vocals
Frank
Spiecker ~ Guitar
Dave
"D.K." Stewart ~ Piano, Vocals
(as The Crayhawks)
Richard
Cousins ~ Bass
Robert
Cray ~ Guitar, Vocals
Dave
"Thor" Olson ~ Drums
Curt
Salgado ~ Harp, Vocals
Dave
"D.K." Stewart ~ Piano, Vocals
The prime lineup for the Nighthawks would have been:Curt Salgado--Harp and Vocals
Dave Stewart--Piano and Vocals
Ritch Kesey)--bass
Frank Spiecker--guitar
Jim Cochran--guitar
Dave (Thor) Olson--drums.Their run was about '74 to '77. They were a s$#* hot outfit of equal parts of finesse and fiery energy. On a good night nobody could touch them. Besides playing twin bills as Double Trouble, they had gigs as the Crayhawks with Cray, Richard Cousins, DK Stewart, Curt Salgado and Dave Olson on drums.
Salgado befriended John Belushi while Curt was still in the Nighthawks (and Belushi was in Eugene filming "Animal House") and turned him onto blues and R& B. This was the inspiration for the Blues Brothers which had its start as a skit on SNL.
Besides Salgado, both Stewart and Dave Olson would go on to play in later line-ups of the Robert Cray Band. Stewart would also play in the Paul DeLay Band for a spell before launching a successful regional career.
Bruce Partridge, April 2007
