Neat folk-pop version of the John Stewart track
Label: Decca
Year of Release: 1969
One single wonders litter American labels like helium gas canisters pebble the pavements of Ilford. Many local heroes got given one-off shots by major labels to prove their talents to a national audience, and when it didn't work, they were frequently never heard from again.
The Magic Grass were no exception in 1969. They were a Southern Californian group featuring Gary Black on vocals, organ, lead guitar, Zelma Black on vocals, John Carney on bass, Sam Hunnicutt on sax and Jim Masoner on rhythm guitar with Curtis Jordan on drums. Decca obviously had high hopes for them, apparently promising them a second single but ultimately never delivering on it.
Of the lot, Zelma (or Zell) Black had the biggest career afterlife, signing to Motown for one single ("I Been Had By The Devil") in 1974 before moving on to Warners for the singles "Fly Me" and "Ride on Rider" and Casablanca for the track "Need Another Night With You". It looks as if she fronted little after that, but it's an unexpected run of decidedly non-folk, almost dancefloor friendly tunes.
Her partner Gary Black apparently still works as an engineer and producer in LA with Zelma's occasional involvement. The whereabouts of the rest are unclear.
"Cody" is a very sympathetic, brilliantly arranged cover version which in a fairer world would have been a hit. As it stands, it's unjustly an afterthought (if that) to John Stewart's rather more throaty, threadbare original rendition.
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6 comments:
hi Dave, here's a nice sounding disc that might be worth exploring and I believe Endaf has an intesting back story. Yes it is already on YT, but has an irritating skip near the end so it would be a justifiable inclusion I feel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAos788RqCY
Thanks - definitely one to explore further and I'll keep an eye out for a copy.
A little bit more about Endaf Emlyn, and a photo of him taken directly at the telly, courtesy of the wonderful transdiffusion website...
transdiffusion.org/2016/03/08/dazzling/
transdiffusion.org/2004/05/24/harlech/
...it appears Endaf released singles in both Welsh and Engish.
Dave, I notice the majority of your posts are U.K. with some Euro releases and wondered if you are open, to say, American stuff?
Thanks Arthur.
And Gaz - completely! The main reason there are relatively few US releases on here is that these can be harder to track down in the UK and are subject to huge postal and tax duties from the US. But if they're around and about and easy(ish) to snaffle up, I'm more than happy to cover them.
here's one I 'bought' on ebay https://www.discogs.com/release/5278796-The-Paper-Sun-Sweetest-Thing-On-My-Mind-Here-Comes-Tomorrow only for the seller to say he damaged it while posting, yeah right!!! probably withdrew it because he realised he could get more for it the dishonourable so-and-so.
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