Malcolm GauldThere are a lot of great musicians out there who, despite never quite catching that elusive wake of fame, just plain keep at it. Some are my heroes because I: a) love their music; b) admire their stick-to-itiveness.
So, I thought I’d dedicate a playlist dedicated to my faves in this category. Although subject to change, the 4 guidelines are pretty simple:
- They have created a sizeable body of work.
- Some may have dedicated cult followings; some may be downright obscure, but…
- None have really hit the big time.
- I have long scratched my head over the reasons for #3.
The general plan is to serve up 5 songs for each with a quick overview. The playlist — Title: “Little Malcolm’s Unsung Singers” — is accessible to anyone with a Spotify subscription and will from time-to-time be updated with new inductees.
While I suppose that the five inaugural inductees could be presumed to be the faves of my faves, I’m not sure that’s the case. Anyway, please welcome:
Freedy Johnston
“There Goes a Brooklyn Girl”… “Tryin’ to Move On”… “Darlin'”… “Hotel Seventeen”… “The Kind of Love We’re In”… Perhaps it’s a testament to Freedy’s awesomeness to note that while none of these five songs come from his 1994 signature album, This Perfect World, I could easily pick another five songs just from that 30-year-old release. At the time, I was sure that he would be catapulted into stardom! (Yeah, Whadda I know?)
Hailey Tuck
“Don’t Think Twice”… “Coltrane” (“I’ll be the Alice to your John Coltrane”) … “Where Do You Go?”… “Seems You’d Want Me”… “Caroline No” (Hauntingly beautiful!)… She may be from Austin, but she does not sing the songs most of us might associate with that great music city. She’s timeless and she transcends genre. Here you’ll hear her cover the Beach Boys and Dylan, but I have no doubt that she could have held the room of any 1940s 52nd Street jazz club. I don’t go to live shows all that much anymore, but the two people I most want to see next are Freedy and Hailey.
Karla Bonoff
“I Can’t Hold On” (“I walk around the block and I think maybe you’ll change.”)… “Isn’t It Always Love”… “When You Walk In the Room”… “All My Life”… “Home”… Deep in that Laurel Canyon singer-songwriter scene, she wrote hits for Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt, Wynonna Judd and watched peers like Jackson Browne, Carole King, James Taylor, and CSNY explode. Over 30 years ago, I saw her play an awesome set at Brunswick’s (ME) 1st Parish Church. A night to remember.
NRBQ
(I have blown this pic way up in size for reasons to be explained.) While the New Rhythm & Blues Quartet (NRBQ) are probably never going to be inducted into the Rock & Roll HOF, one could argue that they may have acquired a level of popularity that disqualifies them from this list. Full Disclosure #1: I am an All In Q-Person. (Full Disclosure #2: If you are a Hyde person, you may not know that I blew the whole entertainment budget on hiring them to play at Hyde’s 25th Birthday in 1991. As one colleague said to me at the time, “It’s good to be the king.”) Hence, I have decided to again invoke executive privilege here.
The Songs: “Magnet” (Mahalia and I sang this as a duet at a Hyde family weekend.)… “Shake Rattle and Roll” (Where they show that Big Joe Turner ain’t got nothing on them.)… “AC-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive/Things Are Getting Better”… “Don’t Knock at My Door”… “Things to You” (w/Skeeter Davis)… These guys run the gamut from serious musicians (e.g., their tribute album to Thelonius Monk) to musicians who can be very serious about being unserious (e.g., their collaborative album with WWF wrestling legend Captain Lou Albano)… Oh, yeah, that album cover: On the flipside, there is some very fine print that reads: “This album was not really recorded at Yankee Stadium.” If you look very closely to the left of the dugout, you will see the four of them sitting together in the empty stadium. In essence, they appeared to be making fun of their own lack of popular success.
Albert Collins
“The Master of the Telecaster!” I’ve been a diehard fan since the 1986 release of Cold Snap, pictured here. Although known to any and all fans of blues guitar, I have always thought Albert belongs in the Clapton/Stevie Ray/Buddy Guy/all those Kings/etc. league. I’m no guitar expert, but I only need hear 3 notes to know it’s Albert. So distinctive! … “A Good Fool is Hard to Find”… “I Ain’t Drunk”… “Lights Are On But Nobody’s Home”… “Too Many Dirty Dishes (In the Sink for Just Us Two)”… “T-Bone Shuffle” (w/Johnny Copeland and Robert Cray.”
More to come.
Rock On(ward), Malcolm Gauld
