Free were an English rock band formed in London in 1968 by Paul Rodgers (lead vocals), Paul Kossoff (guitar), Andy Fraser (bass, piano) and Simon Kirke (drums, percussion). They are best known for their hit songs "All Right Now" and "Wishing Well". Although renowned for their live shows and non-stop touring, their studio albums did not sell very well until their third, Fire and Water (1970), which featured the massive hit "All Right Now". The song helped secure them a place at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival, where they played to an audience of 600,000 people. In the early 1970s they became one of the best-selling British blues rock groups; by the time they disbanded, they had sold more than 20 million records worldwide and had played more than 700 arena and festival concerts. "All Right Now" remains a staple of R&B and rock, and has been entered in ASCAP's "One Million" airplay singles club. Free disbanded in 1973; lead singer Paul Rodgers went on to help found and front the more successful rock supergroup Bad Company, which also featured his Free bandmate Simon Kirke on drums. Guitarist Paul Kossoff formed Back Street Crawler in 1973, but died from a pulmonary embolism at the age of 25 in 1976. Bassist Andy Fraser formed Sharks. Rolling Stone has referred to the band as "British hard rock pioneers". The magazine ranked Rodgers No. 55 in its list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time", and Paul Kossoff at Number 51 in its "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". Free were signed to Island Records in the UK and A&M Records in North America.

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