Well
I love that muddy water Oh, 'Burque you're my home
I'm a miner searching for
that mother lode of 'Burque's rock & roll gold. I've searched the
world wide web, compiling a playlist that includes every 1960s
Albuquerque/New Mexico band that I could dredge up. It's a fairly
comprehensive look at an under appreciated period of 'Burque musical
history. This is good stuff... fuzz laden garage punk rave ups,
teener bop and moody sixties psychedelia. All products of homespun
Albuquerque record labels, Lance, La Vette, Hurricane, Delta,
Mortician. Mid-Sixties garage bands are now most often described as
"garage rock," sometimes as "garage punk," "'60s
punk," though at the time it had no specific name. It wasn't
until the release of the 1972 compilation album, Nuggets, compiled by
Lenny Kaye, that music fans and collectors began to define the style.
The term “garage band” (not to be
confused with Apple's music making software Garageband) grew out of
the notion that many of these groups started out rehearsing in the
family garage. While true to a certain degree, that wasn't always the
case, many were formed by professional musicians who had already
cut their teeth playing varying styles of music. Frat rock's city
cousin and the precursor to psychedelic rock. Garage was
characterized by a snarly vocal delivery, distorted guitars and
carefully cultivated rebellious posturing that was in reality....
mundanely conformist when compared to flower power and the hippie
culture that eventually supplanted it. Garage rock peaked
commercially and artistically around 1966-67, which coincides with
the period most of 'Burque's garage bands thrived.
Gilesi over at the amazing
music blog “Cosmic Minds at Play” once mused about the Duke City
garage band scene in 1960s: “I have no idea what Albuquerque, New
Mexico was like as a place to live in the mid 60s but it certainly
seems to have had more than its fair share of top class garage bands,
so I can only assume that there was a wild scene going on among its
young denizens.” Countless semi-pro and professional bands drew
inspiration by watching The Fab Four’s landmark appearance on the
Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. Albuquerque (or New Mexico for that matter)
was no exception. The gates opened up spewing forth a legion of youth
ever eager to emulate Brian Epstein's faux mod fashion with their
Nehru jackets, Cuban heeled ankle high boots and stylized mop tops.
Thanks to a long tradition of music instruction in New Mexico
schools, Albuquerque wasn't lacking in musicians.
Have Guitar, Will
Travel
It's rare for a band from a small town
to rise to national prominence, but The Fireballs from Raton, N.M.
bucked those odds and reached a level of success that no New Mexico
musicians have yet been able to surpass. The original Fireballs
consisted of: George Tomsco; lead guitar, Stan Lark; bass Eric Budd;
drums, Chuck Tharp; lead vocal, Dan Trammell; rhythm guitar.
George Tomsco was the creative force behind the band and
remains an influential figure in New Mexico music to this day. With
out a doubt, The Fireballs were a precursor to the surf and hot rod
instrumental groups that would soon burst upon the American music
scene. Their big break came in the form of an iconic New Mexico
recording studio and its resourceful owner.
In the fall of 1958, The Fireballs
drove to Clovis for an audition with Norm Petty. He liked what he
heard and penciled them in for a recording session that produced
"Fireball" and "I Don't Know" (with vocals by
Chuck Tharp). Released on Kapp Records in January, 1959, the single
fizzled out, but it did earn the band a return trip to Norm Petty's
studio. During that first recording session, the band had an
encounter with Buddy Holly, George Tomsco described the scene:
"Through the double pane glass window, I could see this guy
playing my brand new guitar with his foot up on my brand new
amplifier. I was a little bit ticked off about that, also he's
playing it better than I could! (laughs) So, I stormed into the
control room to Norman Petty and said 'Who's the guy playin' my
guitar?' He kind of looked at me and said 'Oh, that's Buddy Holly.' I
had an immediate attitude adjustment."
The following sessions would produce a
string of hits for The Fireballs, all instrumentals. "Torquay",
"Bulldog" and "Vaquero." Next Petty negotiated a
contract with Top Rank Records, a British based label looking to
break into the U.S. market. All three of their singles would chart,
culminating with their first appearance on American Bandstand. Their
next single "Quite a Party" released on Warwick Records in
1961, would be the band's last chart hit for two years. The Fireballs
continued to work with Petty, in fact they stayed with him longer
than any other artist or band. In 1963 Norm Petty took a song written
by Keith McCormack (of the String-A-Longs) and matched up The
Fireballs with Jimmy Gilmer, a singer from Amarillo, Tx. That song
"Sugar Shack" released on Dot Records was a monster, it
shot up the charts to number one, where it stayed for five
consecutive weeks.
"Sugar Shack" would sell over
1.5 million copies (the best selling single of 1963). Jimmy Gilmer
and The Fireballs weren't done yet, after a long dry spell, Norm got
them back on the charts with a raucous cover of Tom Paxton's "Bottle
of Wine" which made the US Top 10 when it was released on ATCO
Records in 1967. The band kept working and touring but "Bottle
of Wine" would be their last hit. The Fireballs would eventually
break away from Norm Petty, but a legal agreement kept them from
calling themselves The Fireballs for a period of five years. During
that period the band was called Colorado and included Tomsco, Stan
Lark and Keith McCormack (lead vocalist for the String-A-Longs, and
author of Sugar Shack) Over the years, George Tomsco has kept the
band's legacy alive, while You Tube videos and online sales have
introduced the band to a new generation of fans. The Fireballs are
honored in their hometown of Raton, the same way that Buddy Holly is
honored in Lubbock, deservedly so, for they did their hometown proud.
Jyck Monkey Time
The Knights from Albuquerque, were cut
from the same cloth as The Fireballs and The Ventures. Instrumental
rock designed for the express purpose of getting folks out on the
dance floor. They revolved around irrepressible lead guitarist Dick
Stewart (who cites George Tomsco as one of his biggest influences)
and included guitarist Larry Longmire, bassist Gary Snow and drummer
Corky Anderson. The Knights 1964 single “Precision” released on
the Red Feather label, was a regional hit and set the record for most
times at #1 (by a local band) on 'Burque's AM powerhouse, KQEO “the
Good Guys” not bad considering this was at the height of
Beatlemania.
Today those singles are sought after by
vinyl collectors, though at the time of release they didn't garner
much attention outside of the Duke City. The times they
were-a-changing and the Knights weren't all that keen on keeping up
with the times. "The more the music changed,"
recalls Stewart, "the less inclined the Knights wanted to be a
part of the expression." The band called it quits in
1967, though Dick Stewart stayed connected to the scene with Lance
Records and his newsletter “The Lance” since praised as “an
elaborate accounting of the '60s rock happenings in the SW that has
never been equaled in historical musical content for that part of the
U.S.”
Dick Stewart shut down Lance
Records in 1968 to focus on Spanish music by New Mexican artists.
Having already released an album by Manny & the Casanovas on
Lance, he formed Casanova Records, a successful venture that
according to Stewart, represented “the first time that I made any
real money in the music business” Dick came by his interest in
Spanish music naturally, he's fluent in Spanish having grown up near
Los Griegos in Albuquerque's NW valley. At Valley Hs. he was exposed
to Pachuco culture, picking up the peculiar street argot favored by
'chucos. “El Chuco Blanco” (from the Jyck Monkey Time album)
replete with vocals that echo Cheech & Chong's Up in Smoke,
chronicles Dick's early years, including his membership in a Pachuco
gang during the late 1950s.
Since 1979 Stewart has made
his home in Sandia Park, a world removed from Los Griegos though just
a short drive through the pass from Albuquerque. King Richard is
still active and he can still bring it. His newer releases celebrate
his love of surf music and New Mexico culture. For those who favor
his older stuff there's “Those Things You Do” a compilation of
The Knights singles from the 1960s. If you like both the new and
older recordings “Then & Now” which combines original 60s
recordings with updated version of the same songs is right up your
alley. A quote that Michael Gleicher (Celler Dwellers, Yellow Brick
Road) attributes to Dick's wife Judi, borrows from Gen. Douglas
MacArthur's Old Soldiers speech “Old musicians don't die, they just
go on and on.” Long live King Richard.
Albuquerque's
Finest
Lindy Blaskey wore many hats: promoter,
record producer, singer and musician. He ran his own label La Vette
Records, acting as the creative director, writing or choosing
material, supervising the arrangements, conducting sessions...
covering all phases of the recording process. Lindy even found time
to write a monthly column for The Lance newsletter. Blaskey was an
influential figure in the annals of Albuquerque rock & roll in
the 1960s. He played an important role in the emergence and
development of the local music scene and yet seems to have vanished
by the end of the decade. Vic Gabrielle (Monkey Men, Piggy Bank, Striders) who
worked with Lindy, recalls that Blaskey went to work for Motown in
the early 1970s. Dick Stewart recalls that Lindy ditched being a musician to take a job with a major label in Los Angeles.
At the height of his success in 1967,
Blaskey had a stable of bands and artist unmatched by anyone save
Dick Stewart and Lance Records. The Striders' had been picked up by
Columbia Records, which needless to say was a momentous occasion for
Lindy Blaskey Productions. The Burgundy Runn's LaVette single “Stop”
was making some regional noise (years later it was covered by The
Chesterfield Kings) The Berrys on the strength of their regional hit
“Midnight Hour” had been signed by Challenge Records, a Los
Angeles label originally founded by Gene Autry (though he quickly
sold his interest just one year later) Lindy & The Lavells also
signed with Challenge and they were in good company as Jan &
Dean, Gary Usher, The Knickerbockers and Jerry Fuller were also on
the label's roster at the time.
The Viscount V released “My Angel”
a song that brings teenage tragedy songs such as Last Kiss and Teen
Angel to mind. “She Doesn't Know” is “jingle jangle” folk
rock proving that The Viscount V had some great range. The Chob had
just released their frantic classic garage single “We're Pretty
Quick” which “Cosmic Minds at Play” refers to as “Surely,
everything we are looking for in a garage punk monster... a frantic
intro, followed by ultra cool verse and chorus, totally wigged out
reverb laden guitar solos and a singer so hip that he almost throws
the words away” They also recorded as The Choab for QQ Records,
releasing one of the first versions of Boyce and Hart's classic
“Stepping Stone” in 1966. Chob was apparently slang for a pimple,
though today it means to act like a complete moron, ass hat or ass
clown, take your pick.
With all that going on, it would be
easy to overlook the fact that Lindy & The Lavells were also one
of the best garage rock bands in the Southwest. Beginning in 1964,
Lindy (vocals, rhythm guitar) Art Flores (keys) Carl Silva
(harmonica) Danny Valdez (bass) Steve Maase (lead guitar) and Chuck
Buckley (drums) simply put the pedal to the metal with their egg
beater blend of Standells, Count Five & Music Machine influenced
rockers. Lindy & The Lavells released four singles on Space
Records including “My Baby Done Left Me” a hyper garage rave up
that jitterbugs like a bugged out speed freak and “You Ain't Tuff”
swaggering textbook 60s punk. A distillation of everything that’s
great about garage rock. Both songs can be found on countless 60s
compilations. "You Ain't Tuff" written by Knox Henderson & Larry Puckett, was originally recorded in 1965 by The Uniques from Shreveport, La. A band that featured future country star, Joe Stampley.
You Ain't Tuff/ Let it Be (not the
Beatles song) was re-released as a single by Challenge Records, Lindy
& The Lavells sole release for that label. Steve Maase, The
Lavells lead guitarist joined the band after a successful run with
The Kingpins, an instrumental group that recorded at Norm Petty's
studio in 1965. The Kingpins' single 94 Second Surf/Rod Hot Rod (on
Larse Records) garnered enough attention that MGM signed the band.
Re-releasing the single with “94 Second Surf” (written by Steve
Maase) now retitled “Door Banger” for national distribution.
“Rod Hot Rod” stands out due to its cheesy female chorus, which
apparently was removed from “Door Banger” on the MGM single
I'm an under
assistant west coast promo man
Some thoughts on Lindy Blaskey from Dick Stewart: “Lindy was well known in Albuquerque for his pushy promotional tactics but he did get the job done for his group, The Lavells, as well as the other artists who were signed to his Lavette label. John Wagner of Delta Records, Bennie Sanchez of Hurricane Productions and Lindy Blaskey of the Lavette label were the most successful Albuquerque promoters in placing their artists with major labels during the mid-'60s.” Stewart knew Lindy about as well as anyone and Blaskey did get his bands signed.... only to have them flame out after one release. With rare exception, where Albuquerque bands are concerned, that's been par for the course down through the years. The least likely of the three Blaskey produced acts that landed on a nationally distributed label would have to The Berrys.
Formed in1965, The Berrys earned their
stripes playing teen dances and opening for such well-known groups as
Herman's Hermits, The Hollies, Paul Revere & The Raiders, Beach
Boys and Mitch Ryder. Joe Corazzi, was the lead guitarist and
acknowledged leader of the group, Jimmy Franchini the lead singer,
Mike Abraham- bass, Frank Coons- organ, Sonny Johnson-drums. For some
strange reason Albuquerque took to the band's single “Midnight
Hour” in a big way... though there's really nothing outstanding
about The Berry's version, a hyper take on the Young Rascal's languid effort. The Berry's “Midnight Hour” would
spend at least three months on the local charts including an
unprecedented six consecutive weeks as Albuquerque's #1 song. Joe
Corazzi penned the flip side, “Sand and Sea” an impressive moody
garage number.
"In the Midnight Hour"
originally recorded by Wilson Pickett in 1965, (composed by Pickett
and Steve Cropper) it shot to #1 in the U.S. The Young Rascals
covered it on their 1966 debut album, “The Young Rascals” the
album went to #15 on U.S. Album charts, however they never released
as a “Midnight Hour” as a single. Yet, the song is best
associated with The Young Rascals, more so than any other act beside
Wilson Pickett himself. The Berrys recorded their version in 1967 at
John Wagner's studio and it hit the record shops as Lavette 0011.
There was something about the song that teens liked in 1967, The
Wanted, a garage band from Detroit, Mi. released their version at the
exact same time as The Berrys and they held down the top spot at
WKNR, Keener Radio, for several weeks in a row.
Due to the strength of “Midnight
Hour” Blaskey was able to pitch the group to Challenge Records,
based in Hollywood, Ca. (Champs, Knickerbockers, Jerry Usher, Jerry
Fuller, Jan & Dean, Lindy Blaskey & The Lavells) Midnight
Hour b/w Sand and Sea was released in 1967 as Challenge 59358,
produced by Lindy Blaskey. An all too common scenario for New Mexico
acts followed, the single went nowhere, Challenge dropped them and
The Berrys drifted apart. At the height of the band's local success,
Lance Newsletter's “Las Cruces, El Paso Area” correspondent, Tim
Miller III (three tries and the Millers still didn't get it right)
threw a dismissive broadside at them, “And by the way, how many
more people are going to record “Midnight Hour” You can add the
Berrys, Billy Riley and The Wanted to the list. Chee!” Indeed.
The
Great Rock & Roll Swindle
Phillips was given songwriter credit even though Bill Chreist
claims that, Nassif, Kinney & himself rewrote the lyrics because
“they weren't heavy enough” the song only has six lines of
lyrics, repeated twice.... not sure how much they may have improved
on the original. Nonetheless, they were far more generous to Phillips
than Al Klein would prove to be. In August of 1967, Tommy Bee, house
producer for Lance Records and one of three partners in Lance Music
Enterprises resigned from the corporation. The reason isn't entirely
known. Dick Stewart has stated that Bee (also known as Tom Benegas)
had balked at Stewart's plans to focus primarily on Spanish music.
Either way Bee's departure resulted in a bitter dispute between himself, Stewart and Ross Benavidez, the third partner. Tommy Bee then filed a $25,000 damage suit in District Court accusing Stewart and Benavidez of “wrongfully and maliciously” releasing recordings produced by Bee with his name stricken from the label. He also alleged that Stewart and Benavidez were interfering with his company, Tommy Bee Productions by preventing bookings by acts signed to his agency. The Sheltons (a band that included drummer Randy Castillo) found themselves caught in the middle of the dispute. T. Bee claimed that he had signed the band to an exclusive contract prior to them signing with Lance Records.
This claim would give Bee and not Stewart and Benavidez control over that popular group's recordings. Ultimately the two sides settled out of court with Dist. Judge D.A. Macpherson Jr. dismissing the suit (with prejudice) Judge Macpherson also dismissed a cross-claim by Stewart and Benavidez on the motion that all parties involved had come to a mutual agreement. Details of the settlement were not made public. It is known however that Tommy Bee wound up with the licensing rights to a handful of Lance Music recordings (Fe Fi Four Plus 2, Doc Rand & The Purple Blues, The Trademarques and The Sheltons) and that he continued to handle at least two of those groups (Fe Fi Four+2 & The Sheltons)
The Hooterville Trolley (not Trolly) session took place at Norm Petty Studios after Tommy left Lance Records, with Bee producing and Petty engineering the recording. Finished product in hand, Tommy Bee approached iniquitous record executive Reginald Hines in Greeneville, Ms., he licensed “No Silver Bird” and a handful of recordings already released by Lance Records for release on several of Hines' nefarious recording labels. The Fe Fi Four Plus 2, (Odex) Doc Rand & The Purple Blues (Landra) The Trademarques (Reginald) The Sheltons (Bar-Bare) Hooterville Trolley (Lynette) In all likelihood what little money was made from these odoriferous dealings never made it back to the musicians involved.
Here's where things start to get a bit convoluted. The Creation, an Albuquerque band of which little is known other than the fact that they released two singles on the Centurion label in late 1967. One single was none other than “No Silver Bird” (written by Ernest Phillips ) One year before The Hooterville Trolley recorded “No Silver Bird” at Norm Petty Studios, The Creation releases a nearly identical version. If that's not strange enough for you, both songs on The Creation's first single “What the Daisies Know/Sun and Stars (I miss Her So)” were co-written by none other than school teacher, songwriter Ernest Phillips. The Creation's version of No Silver Bird is slightly different from Hooterville Trolley's though not enough to dissuade one from thinking that The Creation was in fact, Martin Nassif & Co. recording under a different name.
It sounds like Martin Nassif of the Trolley on lead vocals... same intonation, same inflections. Tommy Bee's all too familiar production tricks and tweaks and the Ernest Phillips connection cast a shadow of suspicion upon the project. The Duke City music scene in the 60s was tight knit and well documented, yet these guys flew well under the radar. I chalk this one up to Tommy Bee pulling a fast one on his former partners at Lance Music Enterprises. On March 9th 1969, Wayne Galio former guitarist for Hooterville Trolley was killed in a car accident on I-40 west of Santa Rosa. At the time Galio was a student at ENMU in Portales. Its long been rumored that the Trolley broke up after Galio's death, which simply wasn't the case. Galio was no longer involved in the group having been replaced by Larry Leyba prior to the recording session for “No Silver Bird”
That's not the end of this twisted tale. Remember that I mentioned Al Klein?... a former sales rep for Warner Bros and head of Duchess Records in the early sixties. Klein was the Southwest Dist. rep. for Motown Records during the late 60s. By 1970 he had started Buffalo Bill Productions and moved to New Mexico. According to a clipping posted by garagehangover.com (possibly from Billboard) Klein claimed that his company would score five motion pictures being filmed in New Mexico. Klein also announced plans to purchase Bishops Lodge in Tesuque and convert the resort into “recording studios facilities, sound stages, film printing and editing facilities.”
It would appear that Al Klein's plans fell through. Bishop's Lodge, once owned by the Pulitzer family, who sold it to James R. Thorpe a Denver mining scion, remained unsold until 1998. As for record production, the keystone of his musical empire, Klein managed to get out just four albums. Esperanza Encantada, a trio of young Latin musicians of indeterminate origin, were signed by Certron and released an album, produced by Klein in 1970. Ten milquetoast hippie psyche tunes, sung in Spanish. Five are credited to Al Klein, who's Spanish language skills must have been exemplary for a gringo. I guess not even Klein was brazen enough to claim authorship of the other five songs on the album which included Spanish covers of Gimme Shelter, Let it Be, If I Had a Hammer & Hey Jude.
Vic Grabiele who worked for Al Klein, describes Magic Sand as “a compilation of left over tracks by several groups that Al Klein pieced together and sold to Uni Records” But here's the rub, the clipping says otherwise, “Mudd and Magic Sand, two groups, have been set on Uni Records. Album and singles will be forthcoming from both groups” Where most compilation albums credit individual artists and songwriters, that courtesy is not forthcoming on Magic Sand. Al Klein receives most of the songwriting credits. This includes “Get Ready to Fly” which is in fact, Hooterville Trolley's “No Silver Bird” lifted straight from the Norm Petty Studios master tape. Mud ( now minus one d) appears on one track, “Listen To What's Not Being Said” That song title speaks volumes.
Let's suppose that the Magic Sand project was meant to be the foundation to build an actual group around and Klein had already sold Uni on a group that simply didn't exist. This is all conjecture, but hear me out. Al then pulls an album of disparate tracks out of his.... back pocket, passing it off to Uni as a new recording by an up and coming group. Could a record label be that dumb? I'll leave that question open to discussion. In retrospect, Al Klein's intentions were clear... songwriter credits equals cash money. The music biz is a dirty business and if every musician ever screwed over by a record label received a dollar for every musician screwed over by a record label, they would all be rich men. But, a man who purportedly possesses the capitol to buy property such as Bishop's Lodge, shouldn't have to resort to pinching songwriter credits.
Al Klein produced two albums for Mud, both on Uni Records. Mud on Mudd (1970) and Mud (1971) Klein cops songwriting credits on both albums. The absurdity of a record executive not named Barry Gordy suddenly becoming such a prolific songwriter is staggering. Mud's run of the mill 70s funk rock, was saved from the scrap heap by Tommy G's extraordinary vocal talents and the band's overall high level of musicianship (Randy Castillo-drums Vic Grabiele-bass, vocals Steve (Miller) D'Coda- guitar Arnold Bodmer- keys Chuck Klingbeil- sax, keys) Mud was much better than the material they were working with. To this day, as close to a local super group as the Duke City would ever have. Shame about Tommy G, he was a once in a generation vocal talent.
Either way Bee's departure resulted in a bitter dispute between himself, Stewart and Ross Benavidez, the third partner. Tommy Bee then filed a $25,000 damage suit in District Court accusing Stewart and Benavidez of “wrongfully and maliciously” releasing recordings produced by Bee with his name stricken from the label. He also alleged that Stewart and Benavidez were interfering with his company, Tommy Bee Productions by preventing bookings by acts signed to his agency. The Sheltons (a band that included drummer Randy Castillo) found themselves caught in the middle of the dispute. T. Bee claimed that he had signed the band to an exclusive contract prior to them signing with Lance Records.
This claim would give Bee and not Stewart and Benavidez control over that popular group's recordings. Ultimately the two sides settled out of court with Dist. Judge D.A. Macpherson Jr. dismissing the suit (with prejudice) Judge Macpherson also dismissed a cross-claim by Stewart and Benavidez on the motion that all parties involved had come to a mutual agreement. Details of the settlement were not made public. It is known however that Tommy Bee wound up with the licensing rights to a handful of Lance Music recordings (Fe Fi Four Plus 2, Doc Rand & The Purple Blues, The Trademarques and The Sheltons) and that he continued to handle at least two of those groups (Fe Fi Four+2 & The Sheltons)
The Hooterville Trolley (not Trolly) session took place at Norm Petty Studios after Tommy left Lance Records, with Bee producing and Petty engineering the recording. Finished product in hand, Tommy Bee approached iniquitous record executive Reginald Hines in Greeneville, Ms., he licensed “No Silver Bird” and a handful of recordings already released by Lance Records for release on several of Hines' nefarious recording labels. The Fe Fi Four Plus 2, (Odex) Doc Rand & The Purple Blues (Landra) The Trademarques (Reginald) The Sheltons (Bar-Bare) Hooterville Trolley (Lynette) In all likelihood what little money was made from these odoriferous dealings never made it back to the musicians involved.
'Curiouser and curiouser!”
Here's where things start to get a bit convoluted. The Creation, an Albuquerque band of which little is known other than the fact that they released two singles on the Centurion label in late 1967. One single was none other than “No Silver Bird” (written by Ernest Phillips ) One year before The Hooterville Trolley recorded “No Silver Bird” at Norm Petty Studios, The Creation releases a nearly identical version. If that's not strange enough for you, both songs on The Creation's first single “What the Daisies Know/Sun and Stars (I miss Her So)” were co-written by none other than school teacher, songwriter Ernest Phillips. The Creation's version of No Silver Bird is slightly different from Hooterville Trolley's though not enough to dissuade one from thinking that The Creation was in fact, Martin Nassif & Co. recording under a different name.
It sounds like Martin Nassif of the Trolley on lead vocals... same intonation, same inflections. Tommy Bee's all too familiar production tricks and tweaks and the Ernest Phillips connection cast a shadow of suspicion upon the project. The Duke City music scene in the 60s was tight knit and well documented, yet these guys flew well under the radar. I chalk this one up to Tommy Bee pulling a fast one on his former partners at Lance Music Enterprises. On March 9th 1969, Wayne Galio former guitarist for Hooterville Trolley was killed in a car accident on I-40 west of Santa Rosa. At the time Galio was a student at ENMU in Portales. Its long been rumored that the Trolley broke up after Galio's death, which simply wasn't the case. Galio was no longer involved in the group having been replaced by Larry Leyba prior to the recording session for “No Silver Bird”
That's not the end of this twisted tale. Remember that I mentioned Al Klein?... a former sales rep for Warner Bros and head of Duchess Records in the early sixties. Klein was the Southwest Dist. rep. for Motown Records during the late 60s. By 1970 he had started Buffalo Bill Productions and moved to New Mexico. According to a clipping posted by garagehangover.com (possibly from Billboard) Klein claimed that his company would score five motion pictures being filmed in New Mexico. Klein also announced plans to purchase Bishops Lodge in Tesuque and convert the resort into “recording studios facilities, sound stages, film printing and editing facilities.”
It would appear that Al Klein's plans fell through. Bishop's Lodge, once owned by the Pulitzer family, who sold it to James R. Thorpe a Denver mining scion, remained unsold until 1998. As for record production, the keystone of his musical empire, Klein managed to get out just four albums. Esperanza Encantada, a trio of young Latin musicians of indeterminate origin, were signed by Certron and released an album, produced by Klein in 1970. Ten milquetoast hippie psyche tunes, sung in Spanish. Five are credited to Al Klein, who's Spanish language skills must have been exemplary for a gringo. I guess not even Klein was brazen enough to claim authorship of the other five songs on the album which included Spanish covers of Gimme Shelter, Let it Be, If I Had a Hammer & Hey Jude.
Vic Grabiele who worked for Al Klein, describes Magic Sand as “a compilation of left over tracks by several groups that Al Klein pieced together and sold to Uni Records” But here's the rub, the clipping says otherwise, “Mudd and Magic Sand, two groups, have been set on Uni Records. Album and singles will be forthcoming from both groups” Where most compilation albums credit individual artists and songwriters, that courtesy is not forthcoming on Magic Sand. Al Klein receives most of the songwriting credits. This includes “Get Ready to Fly” which is in fact, Hooterville Trolley's “No Silver Bird” lifted straight from the Norm Petty Studios master tape. Mud ( now minus one d) appears on one track, “Listen To What's Not Being Said” That song title speaks volumes.
Let's suppose that the Magic Sand project was meant to be the foundation to build an actual group around and Klein had already sold Uni on a group that simply didn't exist. This is all conjecture, but hear me out. Al then pulls an album of disparate tracks out of his.... back pocket, passing it off to Uni as a new recording by an up and coming group. Could a record label be that dumb? I'll leave that question open to discussion. In retrospect, Al Klein's intentions were clear... songwriter credits equals cash money. The music biz is a dirty business and if every musician ever screwed over by a record label received a dollar for every musician screwed over by a record label, they would all be rich men. But, a man who purportedly possesses the capitol to buy property such as Bishop's Lodge, shouldn't have to resort to pinching songwriter credits.
Al Klein produced two albums for Mud, both on Uni Records. Mud on Mudd (1970) and Mud (1971) Klein cops songwriting credits on both albums. The absurdity of a record executive not named Barry Gordy suddenly becoming such a prolific songwriter is staggering. Mud's run of the mill 70s funk rock, was saved from the scrap heap by Tommy G's extraordinary vocal talents and the band's overall high level of musicianship (Randy Castillo-drums Vic Grabiele-bass, vocals Steve (Miller) D'Coda- guitar Arnold Bodmer- keys Chuck Klingbeil- sax, keys) Mud was much better than the material they were working with. To this day, as close to a local super group as the Duke City would ever have. Shame about Tommy G, he was a once in a generation vocal talent.
Double Crossin' Girl- The Fe
Fi Four Plus 2
My Baby Done Left Me- Lindy & The
Lavells
I Don't Need You- King Richard &
The Knights
We Tried Try It- The Morfomen
Paper Place- Lincoln St. Exit
I'm Over You- The Kreeg
I Wanna Get Back (From the World of
LSD)- The Fe Fi Four Plus 2
Stop- The Burgundy Runn
Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore-
The Chob
Midnight Hour- The Berrys
Little Latin Lupe Lu- The Morticians
Codine- The Fireballs w/ Jimmy Gilmer
Sorrow- The Striders
Why- King Richard & The Knights
You Ain't Tuff- Lindy Blaskey & The
Lavells
Mojo Workout- The Monkey Men
Impressin- The Kreeg
Baby Blue- The Beckett Quintet
Door Banger- The Kingpins
Precision- The Knights
The Bummer- Lincoln St. Exit
Bullmoose- The Fireballs w/ Jimmy
Gilmer
Run Girl Run- The Morfomen
Stepping Stone- The Chob
