October 21, 2005 Lost & Found Playlist, hosted by Jackson BuckFairport Convention – “Come All Ye” – Liege & Lief - A&M – (
Sandy Denny, Richard Thompson and gang recorded this album in 1969. It’s considered by many as their finest, meeting someplace near the crossroads of folk rock and traditional English folk music. Not bad, considering this lineup was on the verge of breaking up when they recorded it...)
Move, The – “Ella James” – California Man – EMI – (Although they had a tough time making it in the states, The Move had a number of hits in England, especially in the 67-69 period. Founding member
Roy Wood wrote most of the songs and sang lead. After
Jeff Lynne joined the band, they stopped touring and pretty much concentrated on studio work. The two them, plus
Bev Bevan, went on to form
Electric Light Orchestra.)
Wood, Roy & Wizzard – “Lookin’ Thru The Eyes Of A Fool” – Mustard – United Artists – (Roy Wood was one of those talented, underrated musicians. As mentioned, he was a founding member of both
The Move and
ELO. After leaving
ELO, he recorded some interesting and creative albums both as a solo artist (sometimes playing all instrumentation, a la Todd Rundgren) and also with another group he formed, Wizzard.)
Move, The – “California Man” – California Man – EMI – (This one really rocks.)
Sahm, Doug (& The Dells) – “Slow Down” – San Antonio Rock: The Harlem Recordings, 1957-1961 – Norton – (Very interesting collection of early 45’s, demos, and tracks of other artists with Sahm playing in backup bands.)
Phaetons, The – “I Love My Baby” – John Vincent Presents The Vin Story – West Side – (Vin Records was a spin-off of Ace Records and was more of a rockabilly arm of the label.)
T Rex – “Motivator” – Electric Warrior: Expanded Edition – Warner – (….”don’t you know you’re a cool motivator?”
Marc Bolan, 1947 -1977. This is Electric Warrior from 1971 with 7 bonus tracks and an interview. Much of T-Rex’s later work featured
Flo & Eddie on backup vocals.)
Flo & Eddie – “Afterglow” – Flo & Eddie – Reprise – (Speaking of the
Phlorescent Leech & Eddie, and we just were.
The Turtles broke up because:
a) Management ripped off most of their money. Even though they were the main source of $$$ for their label, the bandmates had nothing to show for it; and
b) The group wanted to expand into the more creative, FM-friendly work their contemporaries and pals
Stills, Cosby, Manzarek, Morrison, etc. were allowed to do by their respective labels. But White Whale brass would say, when presented with material, “….that’s an interesting concept, but can’t you give us another “Happy Together”?”
So, the band dissolved. And what was more at the opposite end of the spectrum from happy pop songs than
Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention? (Although, some of the obscure
Turtles album tracks would have been at home on early Zappa recordings.)
Howard Kaylan (“Eddie”) and Mark Volman (“Flo”) were invited by F.Z. to join the Mothers. However, their old label had legal papers preventing them from performing under their real names. Thus, the monikers
Phlorescent Leech & Eddie (later shortened to
Flo & Eddie)….named after two Zappa roadies.
In addition to working with
Zappa, the duo went on to record some highly-praised albums of their own, movie soundtracks, a syndicated radio show (
“Flo & Eddie By The Fireside”), and lots of studio work. They were subtitled
“The Incredi-Voices” and appeared as backup singers on a wide-range of albums by artists such as
The Ramones,, John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, T-Rex, Ray Manzarek, Roger McGuinn, Steely Dan, Darlene Love, Blondie, The Good Rats, Psychedelic Furs, Jefferson Airplane, Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, Stephen Stills, Andy Taylor, Paul Kantner, Chris Hillman, Keith Moon, Alice Cooper, Tonio K and many others.
Yardbirds, The – “I Ain’t Got You” – Greatest Hits, vol 1 – Rhino – (They first recorded as backup band for
Sonny Boy Williamson, but were pretty young and developing at the time. Known as the starting band for
Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and
Jeff Beck,
the Yardbirds went on to take a position at the forefront of the merger of blues, rock and psychedelia.)
Sims, Frankie Lee – “She Wants To Boogie Real Low” – Texas Music, Vol 1: Post War Blues Combos – Rhino – (Traditional Texas country blues man was the cousin of
Lightnin’ Hopkins.)
Lee, Curtis – “Lonely Weekends” – Pretty Little Angel Eyes – Collectables – (1963 release of a
Charlie Rich song.)
Benton, Brook – “Hotel Happiness” – Best Of Brook Benton – Dominion – (Beats the hell out of hangin’ at Heartbreak Hotel. Benton was a smooth vocalist who charted with several hits over the years.)
Sheffield, Charles – “If Would Be A Sinner” – Sound Of The Swamp: Best Of Excello, vol. 1 – Excello – (Lake Charles, LA Swamp Blues singer cut a few tracks on Excello in the early-‘60’s.)
Fanny – “Polecat Blues” – Mother’s Pride – Reprise – (Some fancy-smancy publicist claimed on
Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show that
Fanny was
“The World’s First All-Female Rock Band”. Not true, but when the material was right, these ladies were pretty decent.)
Gibson, Harry (The Hipster) – “They Call Him Harry The Hipster” – Who Put The Benzedrine in Mrs. Murphy’s Ovaltine? – Delmark – (This demented, yet entertaining character picked up where his mentor
Fats Waller left off. His piano style was rooted the music of his youth; a mixture of rag, stride, blues, boogie, traditional jazz, and an occasional bop influence. The Hipster lived fast, died broke, and left a quantity of unreleased recordings.)
Ferrier, Al – “Hey Baby” – Sound Of The Swamp: Best Of Excello, vol. 1 – Excello – (Influenced by
Carl Perkins,
Al Ferrier & The Boppin Billies from Montgomery, LA were one of the region’s notable rockabilly bands.)
Ely, Joe – “I Had My Hopes Up High” – Joe Ely – MCA – (From Amarillo, TX, he got his start back in the early '70s, working with
Butch Hancock and
Jimmie Dale Gilmore in a group called the
Flatlanders. This track is from Ely’s eclectic first solo album – his band played a mixture of Cajun swing, honky tonk stomps and rockabilly.)
Bishop, Elvin – “Party ‘Til The Cows Come Home” – Feel It – Fillmore Records – (Today, Oct. 21 was his birthday. Another great talent who’s accomplishments are much greater than the hit record or two he may have had, Bishop’s played with the likes of
Jimi Hendrix, John Lee Hooker, Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, Al Kooper, Clifton Chenier, Marshall Tucker, Bo Diddley, Doug Kershaw, The Allman Brothers, James Cotton, Norton Buffalo, Rusty Zinn, Smokey Smothers, Pinetop Perkins, and B.B. King….whew.)
Bishop, Elvin – “Let It Flow” – Let It Flow – Capricorn – (…. and also many, many others.)
Little Feat – “Easy To Slip” – Sailin’ Shoes – Warner – (When
Lowell George and
Roy Estrada were in
Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention they played “Willin” for Mr. Z. Zappa encouraged them to form their own band. This track is from their ’72 release. Here’s a bit of trivia for ya’ –
Lowell George was once a member (for a brief time) of the
Standells (“Dirty Water”)
Taylor, Hound Dog (& The Houserockers) – “Give Me Back My Wig” – Hound Dog Taylor & The Houserockers – Alligator – (The real deal, copied by so many of the so-called blues player wanna-be’s. This 1971 release was the first recording of Alligator Records and the rest, as they say, is history.)
Hawkins, Sceamin’ Jay – “Please Don’t Leave Me” – I Put A Spell On You – KRB – (Re-recorded version of his big hit. This song was originally banned from the airwaves by radio execs. Hawkins was one of the most flamboyant performers in rock history – he often would make a grand entrance by crawling out of a coffin with a flaming skull as a sidekick. Plus, they say he was always drunk.)
Carasco, Joe King (& El Molino) – “I’m A Fool To Care” – Joe King Carasco/El Molino Band – Lisa Records – (Is it Tex-Mex? Rock & Roll? Nuevo Wavo? Call it what you will, these guys definitely listened to
Doug Sahm while growing up in Texas. This is an old Fats Domino tune.)
Wood, Roy – “Crazy Jeans” – Roy Wood’s Wizard – Introducing Eddy & The Falcons – United Artists – (“If only I could…” This eclectic album from an eclectic cat was released in 1974.)
Arnold, Billy Boy – “School Time” – More Blues On The South Side – Prestige – (Chicago harp ace befriended
Sonny Boy Williamson as a youth, worked with
Bo Diddley, was covered by British blues bands such as the
Yardbirds. He recorded his first single as a teenager in 1952 and is still making great music 50 some-odd years later.)
Hooker, John Lee – “Big Legs, Tight Skirt” – Boom Boom – Charly – (This was one of the “King Of Boogie’s last recording on the old Vee Jay label.)
Feathers, Charlie – “Gone Gone Gone” – Rockabilly Rhythm – Cowboy Carl Records – (Recorded in Chicago in 1973 by the guy who mixed rockabilly, blues, and bluegrass, this record was released more than 10 years after it was recorded.)
RCO All Stars (Levon Helms’) – “You Got Me” – Levon Helm’s RCO All Stars – ABC Records – (Today 10/21 was also
Steve Cropper’s birthday, so I played a couple of tracks from Levon Helms’ first solo release….What an all-star lineup, it includes:
Steve Cropper, guitars;
Paul Butterfield on harp;
Dr. John, keyboards;
Donald “Duck” Dunn, bass;
Garth Hudson, accordion; and…..)
RCO All Stars (Levon Helms’) – “Blues So Bad” – Levon Helm’s RCO All Stars – ABC – (……also
Booker T. Jones, keyboards;
Robbie Robertson, guitars; and a slew of other talent.)
Carr, James – “I’m A Fool For You” – Essential James Carr – Razor & Tie – (Great ‘60s soul / R&B singer who should have become a household name. Funny how so many lesser talents often make it, while some of the truly talented ones sit on the sidelines of success.)
King, Freddie – “Big Legged Woman” – Ultimate Freddie King – Hip O – (Recorded in 1972, this track includes
Leon Russell, piano;
Don Preston, guitar;
John Galle, organ;
Carl Raddle, bass; as well as
Charles Blackwell and
Jim Gordon on drums.)
Wells, Junior – “The Things I Do For You” – Calling All Blues: The Chief, Profile & USA Recordings, 1957-1963 – Fuel 2000 – (Authentic electric blues by this then, young harp player who had already worked with
Little Junior Parker, Muddy Waters and Little Walter. )
Mike Bloomfield, Al Kooper, Stephen Stills – “It Take A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry” – Super Sessions: Gold Disc – (Great Dylan cover by three guys who came together briefly (sort of) to record a legendary piece of work. The trio actually never performed together. One side featured
Al Kooper (who just left
Blood Sweat & Tears) working with
Mike Bloomfield (ex-
Electric Flag). On the other side it was
Kooper with
Stephen Stills (looking for a gig after leaving
Buffalo Springfield and pre-CSN). On both sides was the killer rhythm section of
Harvey Brooks on bass and
Eddie Hoh on drums. Just for a little spice, they threw in
Barry Goldberg on electric piano.This limited edition is complete with bonus tracks.)
Jefferson Starship (featuring
Papa John Creach) – “Git Fiddler” – Red Octopus – Grunt – (Someone said Starship was in town this week. Made me think of this tune that showcases the fiddle work of
Papa John. Kinda’ cool that the group let him have this track.)
I’ll see you for our pledge drive show, November 4. Meanwhile, check out the other Lost & Found hosts, Monday – Friday from noon-2:00 on WMBR.
