The obscure that hidden gem
 

We have all heard The Beatles, but how many have heard their pre The Beatles stuff? Anyone ever hear of...

Blind Willie Reynolds....The Cream recorded his "Outside Woman Blues"

Tommy Johnson (remember the black guy in Oh Brother Where Art Thou)..the rock band Canned Heat named after his tune "Canned Heat" (a weird alcohol mix)

Blind Willie McTell....the Allman Brothers recorded his "Statesboro Blues"

Tons of old hillbillies and gospel singers and primitive blues cats on record.

So how about just.....who?....in this thread.

Example

If this don't cheer ya up nothing will.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dasoLVINGTc

He only recorded one record.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLDOGPzFibU

He only recorded one song and nobody knows who he was or why just one song, he is a total mystery,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBY8HcIHDDk

I own some stuff recorded in prisons and out on the chain gang, talking way back when. Amazing stuff, and while you have heard the song before, you've never heard Iron Head Baker a prisoner in Sugarland Texas.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4XFXJSQQOI

Baby Washington


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVT9DKfe9ds

Ironingboard Sam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfO9grWBWKc

In the late 60's my favorite brand of music was psych-rock. I grew up listening to two radio stations that either played only album cuts or entire album sides, WQSR 102.5 Sarasota, which cars didn't have FM at that time so it was the station I listened to a home. In my car, it was WFSO the Big 560 on your AM dial Pinellas Park, Florida. They played Dark Side of the Moon the complete album when it was released, top 40 stations played only "Money" and that was six months later.

One album they played and I've always remembered this cut, was Spirit's first album released in 1968. A song called Mechanical World, it has obscure vocals, maybe that's where REM got the idea. It was repetitive, but unique, the guitar solo at about 1:20 needs to be heard in stereo with ear phones if possible.

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Love the stories behind it all, yours a perfect example.

My browser wouldn't work on that but I had to hear it so....


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCc_5oMwI_M


I dig the video to begin with, and the music right down my alley. :thumb:

Harmonica Frank Floyd

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nSomKvrRDE

That was a neat video that someone made on their own. Here's a couple of more stories about Spirit. The singer was Jay Ferguson, after Spirit broke up he formed Jo Jo Gun and they had a hit called "Run, Run, Run". He also had a solo hit in the late 70's "Shakedown Cruise". Later he started writing TV themes and jingles and his most famous was the theme to The Office, which he won an Emmy.

Mark Andes the bass player went on to help form Firefall and play bass for Heart from '83 to '93. Randy California (real name Randy Wolfe) the guitarist, who drown in Hawaii in '97 was given that name by Jimi Hendrix. His estate is the one that is suing Led Zeppelin for song credit for Stairway to Heaven. Randy California's step father was the drummer of Spirit, Ed Cassidy and he was about 45 yo when Spirit started, he died a few years ago at age 89. That band has some history.

Nice,just wanted to add he also had a big solo hit called Thunder Island

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