Rock drummer
Carmine Appice has appeared in a variety of groups over the years, starting with
Vanilla Fudge in 1966. That band made five charting albums between 1967 and 1969, the most successful of which was the gold-selling debut
Vanilla Fudge.
Appice and
Vanilla Fudge bassist
Tim Bogert then formed
Cactus with guitarist
Jim McCarty (not the
Jim McCarty from
the Yardbirds) and singer
Rusty Day. While
Appice and
Bogert were in the lineup,
Cactus charted with four albums between 1970 and 1972, most successfully the debut,
Cactus. In 1973,
Appice and
Bogert teamed up with guitarist
Jeff Beck to form
Beck, Bogert & Appice, who scored a gold-selling album,
Beck Bogert & Appice.
Appice was a member of the supergroup
KGB, who featured
Ray Kennedy,
Rick Grech,
Mike Bloomfield, and
Barry Goldberg, and made one charting album in 1976. He worked as
Rod Stewart's drummer in the '70s and '80s and co-wrote
Stewart's hits "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" (number one, 1978) and "Young Turks" (number five, 1981). In 1989, he was part of the trio
Blue Murder with
John Sykes and
Tony Franklin, who made one charting album. Always busy,
Appice worked on albums with
King Cobra,
Travers & Appice,
Cactus (
Cactus V appeared in 2006) and with a reunited version of
Vanilla Fudge, who re-formed in 2000. He also began his
Guitar Zeus project, pairing a core band with many of the most dynamic guitarists in rock and metal.
Guitar Zeus appeared in 1996, followed by
Guitar Zeus, Vol. 2: Channel Mind Radio a year later in 1997. The best of these two releases were combined for 2009's
Carmine Appice's Guitar Zeus: Conquering Heroes. ~ William Ruhlmann & Steve Leggett, All Music Guide