JIM CREAN - BMHOF CLASS OF 2019

Rock Vocalist

 

“I was still in ninth grade,” Crean said. “The deal I made with my mom was she let me play in clubs and she’d drive me to them as long as I got up for school the next morning, and I faithfully did it. She was very supportive and proud of me.”

 

He was young, but quickly befriended the members of Talas. His band started opening for the Buffalo super group.

 

Crean began to tour extensively from that point on. In the early ‘90s he had a video that aired frequently on MTV.

 

He’s performed and recorded with a who’s who list of hard rock stars, including Carmine Appice
(Rod Stewart, Vanilla Fudge), Vinny Appice (Black Sabbath, Dio), Mike Tramp (White Lion), Phil Lewis (LA Guns), Frank Dimino (Angel) and a host of others.

 

His bands have included (somewhat chronologically) Strutter, Blackstar, China Syndrome, Shotgun Wedding, Crack Alice, Crytuff, Concrete Jungle, the Jim Crean Band and Hair Nation.

One of this most high profile gigs in recent years has been touring and recording with the band Appice, led by brothers Carmine and Vinny.

He met the Appices about eight years ago when they were touring as Drum Wars (both are percussionists).

 

“The two brothers would get a different band in every city, and they would just play all the songs of their career, Rod Stewart, Ozzy, Dio, Sabbath, because they were in all those big bands,” Crean said. “Well, they did it for about four cities before they met me.  … Once they met me, the search was over. I mean, literally.

 

“They did the show with me. And then afterwards, Carmine – or maybe it was Vinny – came up to
my fianceé, Colleen, and said, ‘This guy's great. You know, we're taking this guy.’

 

“After the show, Carmine goes, ‘Listen, what are you doing tomorrow night. And the next night after that?’ And before you know it, I'm on tour with these guys, and we haven't looked back.”

 

He’s since recorded two albums with them and toured extensively. The first was a live album
recorded at the world famous Iridium in New York City. The second, titled “Sinister,” charted at
No. 31 on the Billboard charts. Crean co-wrote four songs on it.

 

Meanwhile, Crean has been recording his own music as well, usually with an all-star cast of musicians. He released two albums this year to add to his five previous solo efforts.

 

He is also the singer for Hair Nation, the Western New York-based tribute band that has headlined
at the Whisky-a-Go-Go in Los Angeles and been recognized by Buffalo’s Nightlife Music Awards for lifetime achievement.

 

Having won so many Nightlife Music Awards for Best Original Male Vocalist, Crean was also recognized by Nightlife for lifetime achievement.

 

Crean is highly recognized on a national and International level and continues to tour and record on major labels.

 

And thanks to that – and a whole lot of talent – almost 40 years later, Crean is doing exactly what
he knew he was meant to do.

 

  ~ Bio Written By Elmer Ploetz

When Aerosmith played the Aud back in 1980, most of their fans just saw a rock show. Barely

a teenager at the time, Jim Crean saw a rock show – and a career path.

 

“That kind of changed it all for me,” Crean said in a recent interview. “Steven Tyler, the front man, was so energetic, and I always loved music. I thought, ‘I want to do that for a living.’”

Growing up in Cheektowaga, Crean was surrounded by music. His father was a drummer, and Crean bought his first guitar with his first communion gift money.

 

But when he saw Aerosmith? That was it.

Crean may have had that guitar (a Global model, purchased at an old Brand Names
store), but he quickly realized that he wanted
to sing. He needed to be on stage.

 

“I think I was put on Earth to do so,” he said.
“So I've never had stage fright or anything like that. I was actually the opposite and I looked forward to it.”

 

By age 15, he was playing in bars.

 

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