Hidden Gems from the Sixties: Contrasts

in #music6 years ago (edited)

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We continue our look at the hidden gems of the Peace & Love Era and in this post we focus on contrasts. There were some very interesting things going on in rock music at this time. There was something in the air and it was also affecting jazz, soul, and even country music, lines were blurring.

Fresh Garbage

That's the title of this song by the group Spirit. There is quite a bit of fascinating trivia about this band. The founder, Randy California, played in Jimi Hendrix's band in 1966 when he was only 15 years old. At that time Hendrix was still working under the name Jimmy James and the Blue Flames. Young Randy Wolfe met Hendrix at a guitar shop in New York City, and after joining the band Hendrix called him Randy California, because there was already another Randy in the band whom Hendrix then dubbed Randy Texas.
If you read my previous post about Taj Mahal's first band in California, you may recall I mentioned it was with the great slide guitarist Ry Cooder. Well the drummer in that band was Randy California's step-father! He was a jazz drummer and they were in NYC the summer of 1966 because he had some jazz gigs lined up. The trivia continues, Walter Becker of Steely Dan was living in the same apartment building that summer, and he has mentioned that Randy California's guitar playing influenced him!
I've read conflicting stories about the reason Randy didn't accompany Jimi Hendrix to London after he was “discovered” by the Animals' bass player – one is that his parents wouldn't allow him to go because of his age. There's another great story, but I'll save that for another post. In any case, you can hear the jazz influence from Randy's step-father, Ed Cassidy, in this clip.

What's Goin' On

Soul music, especially on Motown, the most popular soul music label, was primarily dance music. They had well dressed polished groups of singers (Supremes, Four Tops) moving in unison, and primarily singing love songs. In 1969 one of these groups, the Four Tops, was in San Francisco and a member happened to be in Peoples Park where an anti-war protest was taking place. He was shocked and stunned by the police brutality and spoke about it with a song writer (Al Cleveland) who then wrote this song (Benson from the Four Tops, and Marvin Gaye share the writing credit.)
The rest of the Four Tops turned it down because it was a protest song, and long story short the romantic crooner Marvin Gaye created a masterpiece and reinvented himself in the process. This was a kind of milestone event in the soul music genre -- suddenly rock and soul music were occupying common ground and it changed the dynamic. The album had a significant influence on many rock and jazz musicians, and transformed Marvin Gaye's image and expanded his following. It's a song that isn't associated too often with the Hippie era, but listen closely to the lyrics.

Loan Me a Dime

Boz Scaggs had been in the Steve Miller Band for two years when in 1969 he decided to strike out on his own and record a solo album with the great house band of the Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals Alabama. The band was made up of good-ole-boys from Alabama, plus the great Duane Allman, a ginger stoner hippie on lead guitar. It was an Americana themed album, and this song starts as a ballad and then steam rolls into an extended impromptu powerhouse finish.

An era of contrast where anything seemed possible


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