The Dudes, "Let's Not Pretend Anymore" c/w "What A Relief, It's All Over," Gaiety G-112 (rel. 1/1966)
1965 was the year of folk-rock: from the sounds of "Ticket to Ride" by The Beatles to "Mr. Tambourine Man" by The Byrds to "Eve of Destruction" by Barry McGuire. Given pop music's constant fluidity, this pleasing, earnest style could not remain in place for long. By 1966, lysergic elements entered the picture. It was the beginning of the end, as rock 'n' roll became the more respectable rock and albums supplanted singles as the preferred mode of expression. Many great records resulted in 1966, '67 and into '68 as bombast and pretension came to dominate music. Some of this hubris still bore worthy fruit but the results drift away from my interest; I realize that, for more people, that is "the good stuff."
The roots of what was soon to be are all over 1966 music, including today's single, which was recorded at the end of 1965 and is one of many groups that featured Gib Guilbeau. This versatile Louisianian played drums in many of his early bands, including The Four Young Men, who recorded a serious-sounding 1960 teen protest single for Crest Records.
A few years later, this group morphed into folk-pop outfit The Castaways (no relation to the Midwestern garage band). At first, this group toured with a showband's repertoire: pop standards, folk songs and some Cajun music to spice things up. Songwriter Jackie DeShannon came into their orbit, as did Phil Everly of...you can figure that out! They penned songs for The Castaways' singles, which went nowhere. Those records teem with talented folks: guitarist James Burton, producer-songwriter Lee Hazelwood.
In a time when focus was key to success, the eclectic vibe of The Castaways was success-evasive. Fed up with the grind, the group changed its name to The Dudes and made one single for Gaiety Records, a California label founded by Don Grashey, a Canadian whose claim to fame was the discovery of Loretta Lynn in British Columbia.
Gary Paxton, novelty songwriter and producer, helmed The Dudes' single and leased the masters to Gaiety. The label dropped the ball on promotion, and the record went unreviewed in the music trade magazines. It was mentioned in passing here and there, but to the world outside California, the record didn't exist.
If one were to compile an "origins of country rock" playlist, these two songs would need to be on it. Months before Michael Nesmith, talented singer and songwriter who rose to fame as part of The Monkees, recorded his first efforts in this vein, The Dudes had hit upon a sound that would reverberate through pop music for many years.
"Let's Not Pretend Anymore" might remind you of some 1970s material. It's a sincere country song delivered in a folk-rock vein, with mariachi brass and an unusual opening with a low note sustained on a fiddle (later one of Guilbeau's go-to instruments.) Co-written by Guilbeau, Darrell Cotton and Wayne Moore, who share harmony vocals, with an uncredited Jackie DeShannon on backup vox, it's a powerful song a bit ahead of the bell curve. Two or three years later, the public would've been ready for such a diverse blend. It became just another record no one knew about, save those close to the band.
The Byrds did Porter Wagoner's "A Satisfied Mind" on their second LP with a certain elitist remove from country music's more emotional, sincere approach. The Dudes wallow in that sincerity; traces of their recent showband style remain, but their voices sound rural without parody or apology. This would be the sound of hundreds of groups, iconic and unknown, into the late 1970s.
Gib Guilbeau teamed with Gram and Gene Parsons, Chris Hillman and others to further this rock-country fusion to much greater acclaim. (The acclaim bar was resting on the ground with this Dudes single; it didn't take much to better that department.) From there on, his story is well-known. For those interested in the early backstory, Guilbeau left behind a website with a fascinating account of his first steps in music. Check it out here: https://www.burritobrother.com/gib2.htm
Tomorrow: the roots of Steppenwolf via a promo-only 1966 single by The Sparrow, issued by Columbia Records in the summer of '66.
These are two great songs that, as you say, sound interstitial to the coming sounds of Michael Nesmith, Gram Parsons, POCO, BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD, FLYING BURRITO BROS and others with that folk/country rock sound. Didn't know Gary Paxton was involved in "The Monster Mash" with Bobby "Boris" Pickett and in 1965, he produced "Sweet Pea", a hit for Tommy Roe, and engineered "Along Comes Mary", a hit for the Association, winning a Grammy nomination in engineering for his efforts. The following year, he engineered another hit for the Association, "Cherish", and another for Roe, "Hooray for Hazel". As Paxton moved toward the Bakersfield sound in the late 1960s, he scored his first country hit in 1967 with "Hangin' On" by the Gosdin Brothers.
ReplyDeleteExcellent survey of Gary Paxton's achievements! Ace Records (UK) has a great compilation CD of his work, "Hollywood Maverick."Well worth finding.
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