Black Mountain started out in 1969 with five musicians:

	Wes Cummings ~ lead singer (from Bluff Park)
	Rick Byrd ~ lead guitar (from Mountain Brook)
	Kenny Sutton ~ keyboards (from Homewood)
	Joe Breckinridge ~ base guitar (from ??)
	Johnny McNabb ~ drums (from Mountain Brook)

Later, when Rick Byrd took a sabbatical to attend college at Tulane University, the group added another guitarist named Ross Roberts (from xxx). When Byrd returned, the band kept Roberts and performed with two lead guitarists giving the band a richer, more diversified sound.

Black Mountain started out playing at high school dances, sorority and frat events, and backyard parties. They quickly gained notoriety and advanced to outdoor performances, college events, and cocktail lounges where the pay was, obviously, better and the crowds were bigger and much more enthusiastic about the band's music.

They played rock n' roll, almost exclusively, influenced by the music of their era (called psychedelic, progressive, heavy metal, and hard rock) from bands such as Mountain, Uriah Heap, Jefferson Airplane, King Crimson, Jethro Tull, Allman Brothers, Yes, Grand Funk Railroad, Led Zeppelin, Peter Frampton, Deep Purple, Queen, Black Sabbath, and Santana.

They wrote some of their own music and lyrics and even signed a recording contract with Capitol Records, which resulted in a few studio sessions and a single album/tape of their music, but it didn't make it. Why? For two reasons that I can remember: first, Capitol didn't market the album and second, the band split up.

Most of the guys are still playing music, either in another band or professionally in a regular job. See the buttons at left to view 'before' and 'after' photos and bios of the individual musicians.