Linda featured in 'Nashville Cats' exhibit

[rick]

From Country Weekly --

New Hall of Fame Exhibit Celebrates 'Nashville Cats'


From Rolling Stone --


'Nashville Cats' Spotlighted at Hall of Fame

[Richard W]

The page from Country Weekly (Weekly?) includes Linda's Silk Purse in the album graphic.

[erik]

And of course this was at a time when most mainstream Nashville sentiment was that all these people were "Commies", though it was not a feeling shared by most of the Nashville session musicians who got a lot of work and had a lot of fun from working with the hippie element. Fortunately, there was Johnny Cash, who was extremely open-minded about folks like Linda and Dylan that he'd have them on his TV show; and in any case, he was so big a star that no one would dare question him.

Silk Purse was, I believe, largely recorded with that group of Nashville musicians known as Area Code 615, including steel player Weldon Myrick; and Linda herself details in her memoir how what we hear on "Long Long Time" came about, namely the electronic device Myrick (who passed away earlier this year) used on his steel to make it sound like a gritty string orchestra.

[sliderocker]

A couple of interesting things. Neither of the articles mention Elvis, who often worked with the Nashville cats on a regular basis in the 60s and early 70s. And was probably just as influential as what Cash was in getting the Nashville session players to be accepting of rock artists. Elvis dealt with the same animosity in the 50s and 60s, even though he was working with some Nashville players in the early 60s. And the Rolling Stone article lists the Monkees as among the rock artists who worked with the Nashville cats whereas the other article does not mention them at all. Given RS decades long animosity towards the Monkees, it was a little startling to see RS including them instead of omitting them. Could it be they are mellowing their attitude towards the Monkees? (I seriously doubt that but one never knows.)

[sliderocker]

And of course this was at a time when most mainstream Nashville sentiment was that all these people were "Commies", though it was not a feeling shared by most of the Nashville session musicians who got a lot of work and had a lot of fun from working with the hippie element. Fortunately, there was Johnny Cash, who was extremely open-minded about folks like Linda and Dylan that he'd have them on his TV show; and in any case, he was so big a star that no one would dare question him.

That sentiment was in a lot of places in the US, not just in Nashville. But, the attitude in Nashville towards long haired hippie-type artists even extended to country-based artists. Singer-songwriter-musician Mac Davis had a song on the "Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me" album that detailed his experiences trying to get a break in Nashville and being given the cold shoulder and told to get lost, all because he had long hair. He was shaken by the incidents. And a member of Creedence Clearwater Revival, Stu Cook, recalled going into a clothing store to buy a certain type of shirt while taping the "Johnny Cash Show." He encountered a group of rednecks who told him they were going to beat him up and cut his hair, all because his hair was long. Just before they could do that, Johnny Cash had followed Cook in, saw what was happening and stepped in and told the rednecks, "This man is a friend of mine and you can try, but you'll have to take on me as well." Cash apparently had a reputation for being extremely tough as the rednecks backed down and left Cook alone. But the resistance to long haired hippie types seemed to go away and replaced mostly by acceptance, although there was always some resistance. Strangely, when the skinheads came along in the late 70s and early 80s, there was that same resistance to them that there had been to long hairs. And whereas I don't think the establishment types were all that scared of the long hairs, there were some who were downright frightened of the skinheads.

Silk Purse was, I believe, largely recorded with that group of Nashville musicians known as Area Code 615, including steel player Weldon Myrick; and Linda herself details in her memoir how what we hear on "Long Long Time" came about, namely the electronic device Myrick (who passed away earlier this year) used on his steel to make it sound like a gritty string orchestra.

One of the things I wondered about on Linda's musical evolution was her very early 70s recording sessions. All of "Silk Purse" was recorded in Nashville, I believe, and some of "Linda Ronstadt" was recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, very unusual recording places for an Arizona girl home based in California. Was she looking for a more inspiring environment? Or beacuse she aspired to be a country singer, was she considering moving her base from California to Tenneessee? The Muscle Shoals, Alabama sessions were quite different to the sessions usually held in Nashville as the Muscle Shoals musicians played rock and soul as well as country. And I believe some of the Area Code 615 session players had been Muscle Shoals players before making the move to Nashville. Nashville's music making method wasn't her cup of tea, so it's claimed but it could've been the anti-hippie environment there even extended to a girl. Or it could've been just because she was from California (via Arizona) and wasn't made to feel welcomed.

[erik]

Quote by sliderocker:

A couple of interesting things. Neither of the articles mention Elvis, who often worked with the Nashville cats on a regular basis in the 60s and early 70s. And was probably just as influential as what Cash was in getting the Nashville session players to be accepting of rock artists. Elvis dealt with the same animosity in the 50s and 60s, even though he was working with some Nashville players in the early 60s.

I think they more or less considered Elvis one of their own (i.e., a Southerner), even though he lived 200 miles west of there in Memphis. And at that time, arguably RCA's best studio was there in Nashville (though, of course, in 1969, they had to swallow their pride and allow the King to record in his hometown for the first time since they signed him in 1955).

One of the things I wondered about on Linda's musical evolution was her very early 70s recording sessions. All of "Silk Purse" was recorded in Nashville, I believe, and some of "Linda Ronstadt" was recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, very unusual recording places for an Arizona girl home based in California. Was she looking for a more inspiring environment? Or beacuse she aspired to be a country singer, was she considering moving her base from California to Tenneessee? The Muscle Shoals, Alabama sessions were quite different to the sessions usually held in Nashville as the Muscle Shoals musicians played rock and soul as well as country. And I believe some of the Area Code 615 session players had been Muscle Shoals players before making the move to Nashville. Nashville's music making method wasn't her cup of tea, so it's claimed but it could've been the anti-hippie environment there even extended to a girl. Or it could've been just because she was from California (via Arizona) and wasn't made to feel welcomed

.

I don't know that it was a case of Linda not being made to feel welcomed on Music Row (she never had a bad word to say about the Nashville session mafia she worked with, some of whom, like Norbert Putnam, also worked at Muscle Shoals; and the feeling was mutual) so much as it was more of the difference between country music according to the Nashville playbook and country music as it was being done in California at the time. I think she was aware of the prevailing sentiment down South at the time to anyone, man or woman, who had long hair, but she did have her supporters in town, including Johnny Cash, and, if I'm not mistaken, Skeeter Davis as well, when she first appeared there in 1969. Still, this was the South, and Linda was from the West. I don't think it was really anything personal (and it would seem that, short of placing her in the Country Music Hall of Fame, they revere her now).

[sliderocker]

I think they more or less considered Elvis one of their own (i.e., a Southerner), even though he lived 200 miles west of there in Memphis. And at that time, arguably RCA's best studio was there in Nashville (though, of course, in 1969, they had to swallow their pride and allow the King to record in his hometown for the first time since they signed him in 1955).

To a degree, Elvis was one of their own but as a rock singer, he was also from the other side of the tracks, a competitor whose rock music sold in the millions whereas many in the country sold about a tenth as well, sometimes not even that much. Even on the concert circuit, Elvis made a lot of money compared to the country performers. There was a lot of jealousy and animosity towards Elvis because they felt the money he was making was taking it away from them. Sort of like the country versions of the pop crooners. They couldn't grasp that Elvis was a very young man himself and that his fan base was young people, many in their teens. It was unrealistic of older country performers and pop crooners to have expected a younger generation to be buying their records but they might have been less hostile if they had had some high sales.

As for the recording sessions, Elvis began a heavy reliance on the Nashville musicians after he came back from the army. He still had Scotty and D.J. adding guitar and drums to his own guitar and piano playing but they worked for him as session musicians rather than as members of his band. Bassist Bill Black had his own group going and wasn't available and Elvis wanted a bigger sound on his records, so Nashville session players filled all of the positions. That group included Floyd Cramer and Boots Randolph who were performers and stars in their own right. Some of the musicians had serious reservations and trepidations about working with Elvis because he was a rock star but he made them feel at ease working with him in the studio. And they realized the differences between the two genres wasn't that wide.

I don't know that it was a case of Linda not being made to feel welcomed on Music Row (she never had a bad word to say about the Nashville session mafia she worked with, some of whom, like Norbert Putnam, also worked at Muscle Shoals; and the feeling was mutual) so much as it was more of the difference between country music according to the Nashville playbook and country music as it was being done in California at the time. I think she was aware of the prevailing sentiment down South at the time to anyone, man or woman, who had long hair, but she did have her supporters in town, including Johnny Cash, and, if I'm not mistaken, Skeeter Davis as well, when she first appeared there in 1969. Still, this was the South, and Linda was from the West. I don't think it was really anything personal (and it would seem that, short of placing her in the Country Music Hall of Fame, they revere her now).

I don't think it was the session musicians so much nor some of the artists but there were a few country performers in the 60s and 70s who did not like rock artists or hippies. And there could've been a few record executives who felt the same way, maybe a lot. Skeeter Davis and Johnny Cash were rare exceptions in Nashville when it came to accepting someone on their appearance. Nashville loosened up quite a bit on looks but I think they still hold some hostility to country artists who don't record in Nashville. They'll promote a non-Nashville produced country recording but not like they would on a Nashville-produced recording.

[erik]

Quote by sliderocke re. Elvis:

As for the recording sessions, Elvis began a heavy reliance on the Nashville musicians after he came back from the army. He still had Scotty and D.J. adding guitar and drums to his own guitar and piano playing but they worked for him as session musicians rather than as members of his band. Bassist Bill Black had his own group going and wasn't available and Elvis wanted a bigger sound on his records, so Nashville session players filled all of the positions. That group included Floyd Cramer and Boots Randolph who were performers and stars in their own right. Some of the musicians had serious reservations and trepidations about working with Elvis because he was a rock star but he made them feel at ease working with him in the studio. And they realized the differences between the two genres wasn't that wide.

I think the Nashville studio guys were every bit as interested in other styles of music as Elvis was, and, especially for the sessions he held there in late 1967 and early 1968, he really had a way of galvanizing them. Remember, it was these sessions that produced the kind of mix of country, acoustic blues, and full-throttle hard R&B that everybody wished Elvis would have done throughout the 1960s: "Guitar Man"; "U.S. Male" (both written by Jerry Reed, who bought his signature fingerpicking style of guitar to the sessions); "Big Boss Man" (the Jimmy Reed classic that Jerry also set down some more guitar licks to); "Too Much Monkey Business" (the 1956 Chuck Berry classic, with more of Jerry's picking on it); and "High Heel Sneakers" (the 1964 Tommy Tucker hit that the Nashville session guys actually got Elvis to lay down on the sly).

In terms of Linda's presence in Nashville at the time (1969 and '70), the session men always considered her a really fine young singer to work with, someone who knew her stuff even back then. These were guys who had already seen plenty in their time, having worked with not only Elvis and Dylan, but also with Buffy Sainte-Marie, John Stewart, Ian and Sylvia, and Joan Baez, so Linda wasn't exactly an unknown quantity to them; and they liked the fact that she was very well schooled in country music.

[sliderocker]

I think the Nashville studio guys were every bit as interested in other styles of music as Elvis was, and, especially for the sessions he held there in late 1967 and early 1968, he really had a way of galvanizing them. Remember, it was these sessions that produced the kind of mix of country, acoustic blues, and full-throttle hard R&B that everybody wished Elvis would have done throughout the 1960s: "Guitar Man"; "U.S. Male" (both written by Jerry Reed, who bought his signature fingerpicking style of guitar to the sessions); "Big Boss Man" (the Jimmy Reed classic that Jerry also set down some more guitar licks to); "Too Much Monkey Business" (the 1956 Chuck Berry classic, with more of Jerry's picking on it); and "High Heel Sneakers" (the 1964 Tommy Tucker hit that the Nashville session guys actually got Elvis to lay down on the sly).

The Nashville cats who played on Elvis's sessions were like the Jordanaires, in that they appeared on a lot of country records in the 60s, and they did have the knack of being able to play more than just in the country style. A lot of that had to do with Elvis expanding their horizons, but it also had to do with a few country artists who were going for a more countrypolitan sound (that which we call a pop record by any other name). Jerry Reed was brought into the sessions because the guitarists on the sessions couldn't replicate his fingerpicking on his songs, so he came in and played his guitar on all the songs you mentioned. The only sour note was Col. Greed Parker and his henchmen demanding the publishing on Reed's songs, a sour note which threatened to kill the chances of the songs being released as singles. "High Heel Sneakers" was a missed opportunity as a B-side. It really should've been an A-side and had it been released in that capacity, it might well have returned Elvis to the top ten. But, it was given B-side status and no one noticed it, which is a shame.

After those sessions, I believe the next time Elvis would use Nashville session players on a regular basis was on his 1970 sessions, which I believe were the Area Code 615 musicians. They did some good work, although they were augmented by James Burton on lead guitar. There were very few clinkers, such as "Cindy, Cindy" which should've rocked harder and louder than it did. "Got My Mojo Workin'/Keep Your Hands Off Her" suffered from the cymbals being overused. They should've been used sparingly instead of all through the song. I like the song but the excessive cymbals are unnecessary. I think that song was another of Elvis's jam songs and not sure of the song's actual run time. Like his version of "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right," which exceeded eleven minutes, it could've been a piledriver of a performance. Those musicians inspired Elvis but like a lot of musicians who were part of Elvis's records, only a handful would show up on future records. Was it Parker's handiwork on them not being there? Elvis eventually started using his stage band on his records, which made sense as they had to recreate what the session players had created, and that wasn't always an easy thing to do.


In terms of Linda's presence in Nashville at the time (1969 and '70), the session men always considered her a really fine young singer to work with, someone who knew her stuff even back then. These were guys who had already seen plenty in their time, having worked with not only Elvis and Dylan, but also with Buffy Sainte-Marie, John Stewart, Ian and Sylvia, and Joan Baez, so Linda wasn't exactly an unknown quantity to them; and they liked the fact that she was very well schooled in country music.

From what I remember reading about Linda in those days, she was like Elvis in wanting to sing live with the band as the songs were being recorded. That could be a b*tch if someone messed up a part as that would mean another take would be required. Or if Linda or the producer thought she could do a better vocal, another take. It was too bad Linda didn't take to Nashville's method of making music but I've wondered about what the exact problems were she had with Nashville? We know she was never a fan of her own singing voice but did she not like the idea of her music being made by session players? Which would've been odd as Chip Douglas used mostly session players for "Hand Sown, Home Grown" and some of Linda's later releases would feature session players instead of her own band members. The material? She picked the songs she wanted to record but it's conceivable Capitol Nashville could've insisted she let them choose the songs she'd record. She may have capitulated on some. I saw "I'm Leavin' It Up to You" on about five other albums by country artists who were signed to Capitol at the same time Linda's version was included on "Silk Purse." Coincidence? I can't recall if any of the Nashville players who played on Linda's record have ever been asked about what working on her sessions were like, and whether they could shed any light on why she came to dislike recording there.

[eddiejinnj]

do you really think she did not like recording there or the overall outcome of the record and that she didn't like her singing. the both may be entwined. Did she say herself that she had a more
California sound or was that press writers? eddiejinnj

[erik]

Quote by eddieinnj:

do you really think she did not like recording there or the overall outcome of the record and that she didn't like her singing. the both may be entwined. Did she say herself that she had a more
California sound or was that press writers? eddiejinnj

I don't think it was not liking recording on Music Row, or the overall outcome necessarily (though she did say in her 1975 interview with Rolling Stone that she hated Silk Purse, and that she was sure that Elliot Mazer, who produced the album, didn't think it was very good either). She seemed to have seen it as just a one-time experiment, but she didn't have anything bad to say about either the town or the musicians. It's kind of a case of being a fish out of water.


Quote by sliderocker:

The material? She picked the songs she wanted to record but it's conceivable Capitol Nashville could've insisted she let them choose the songs she'd record. She may have capitulated on some. I saw "I'm Leavin' It Up to You" on about five other albums by country artists who were signed to Capitol at the same time Linda's version was included on "Silk Purse." Coincidence? I can't recall if any of the Nashville players who played on Linda's record have ever been asked about what working on her sessions were like, and whether they could shed any light on why she came to dislike recording there.

Again, it's really a different kind of sensibility, nothing personal against the place or the studio mafia. And it's not any kind of musical cultural shock; she did listen to the Grand Ole Opry on the radio as a youngster growing up in Arizona. Basically it boils down to her not being a native Southerner. Even if she had stayed on, the powers-that-be in the Nashville recording company hierarchy might have considered her very difficult because she clearly had ideas for herself, and they didn't really allow women to be their own bosses in those days.

[70smusicfan]

I remember reading old magazine articles on Tony's website where Linda said something like there was Nashville Country and California Country and they weren't the same. At this time - there were dozens, if not hundreds, of musicians, including Linda, trying to find "their own sound" with their envisioned but-not-yet-realized blend of country, rock, and folk. Ultimately, the California Country-Rock crowd rejected Nashville and grew their own set of backup and LA session musicians. James Taylor, Eagles, America, Steely Dan, ...

So perhaps the Nashville Cats were a temporary rest stop rather than a more permanent destination...

[erik]

Quote by 70smusicfan:

I remember reading old magazine articles on Tony's website where Linda said something like there was Nashville Country and California Country and they weren't the same. At this time - there were dozens, if not hundreds, of musicians, including Linda, trying to find "their own sound" with their envisioned but-not-yet-realized blend of country, rock, and folk. Ultimately, the California Country-Rock crowd rejected Nashville and grew their own set of backup and LA session musicians. James Taylor, Eagles, America, Steely Dan, ...

So perhaps the Nashville Cats were a temporary rest stop rather than a more permanent destination...

Well, maybe a temporary rest stop, but wanting to work in Nashville, even if only for one time (though Dylan did it three times in a row), was a big deal.

And really, there had been a thriving C&W scene here in California since the 1940s, because of all those who had emigrated out of the Dust Bowl-ravaged parts of the Midwest and bought along the music of their roots. You also had the bluegrass influence, a spin-off of the early 1960s folk music revival/scare. There's the Bakersfield Sound (Buck Owens; Merle Haggard; Wynn Stewart, etc.), and the bar scene that sprung up in the 60s in towns outlying L.A., like Palmdale, Mojave, Lancaster, San Bernardino, El Monte, Pomona. And, of course, there was the (now sadly defunct) Palomino in North Hollywood, still seen as the premiere country music hot spot of all time anywhere.

So you had all that, and Linda knew all about this and really loved, thrived, and grew up on it all.

[sliderocker]

Oct 16, 2014 7:14:20 GMT -5 eddiejinnj said:

do you really think she did not like recording there or the overall outcome of the record and that she didn't like her singing. the both may be entwined. Did she say herself that she had a more
California sound or was that press writers? eddiejinnj

I don't know if she didn't like recording there but she may have found the Nashville musicians' paint-by-numbers method of recording music a little reserved and too constricting. Some of the "Silk Purse" songs have that playing by the numbers feel to them which gives them a cold, almost sterile sound, especially on what was then side one of the record. Side two was a little better. Linda may have wanted the musicians to let loose and just have a go at it with as much wild abandon as they could give it but as musicians, they may have become so set in their ways on a certain style of playing, because that style of playing was what was getting them the gigs. Musicians usually don't want to deviate from something successful.

Of course, another part of the problem, which may be more realistic than blaming the musicians, was the mix Capitol gave the album. As mentioned, a lot of Capitol's country and rock albums in the late 60s and 70s did not sound all that great when played on a good stereo or sound system. A lot of the albums sounded very stiff and badly mixed. For example, Capitol might have mixed the electric guitars, keyboards and lead vocals on one channel, and then mixed the bass, drums, acoustic and/or steel guitars, orchestrations and backing vocals on the other channel. Lead vocals should always be placed in the center, so they're heard on both channels. There was one Capitol album I heard years ago where all the instruments were on one channel and the vocals were on the other channel. I think Capitol was once referred to as the king of fake stereo records because of their terrible mixing practices.

"Silk Purse" might well benefit from a remxing and remastering job, but Linda probably still wouldn't like it for whatever reasons she doesn't like it, not including her voice. But, it would be interesting to hear from the musicians who played on the record, get their versions of what transpired, why it wasn't a good experience for Linda. It just may have been an issue of preferring California musicians to Nashville musicians, free style playing compared to the paint-by-numbers playing with little to no deviation. I've also thought it possible Linda might not have been able to communicate to the musicians on what she wanted, either on her own or through Elliott Mazer. It could also have been an age issue with regards to communication. Linda was 23 at the time whereas most of the musicians were in their late 20s to early 30s, some a little older than that. I recall Linda saying in an interview in 1971 that she preferred working with musicians who were around her age and who had similar musical experience. Made it easier to communicate what she was wanting. That would seem to indicate that she didn't want to work with older musicians at that time although her position on that would eventually change.

[sliderocker]

Oct 16, 2014 8:47:55 GMT -5 erik said:

Again, it's really a different kind of sensibility, nothing personal against the place or the studio mafia. And it's not any kind of musical cultural shock; she did listen to the Grand Ole Opry on the radio as a youngster growing up in Arizona. Basically it boils down to her not being a native Southerner. Even if she had stayed on, the powers-that-be in the Nashville recording company hierarchy might have considered her very difficult because she clearly had ideas for herself, and they didn't really allow women to be their own bosses in those days.

Neither did the Nashville hierarchy allow men to be their own bosses when it came to recording. I recall reading that Waylon Jennings was the first Nashville-based artist to gain the artistic freedom to do whatever he wanted. He didn't like being told to record this song or that song or use these musicians instead of his own musicians. He also had a little bit of the rock spirit in him. With Linda, I don't think it would've mattered that she wasn't a Southerner. A lot of country artists in Nashville in those days and even today, are not from the south and never were in the first place. Country performers from the south may make up the majority but that majority might not be a large number. Again, I think Linda may not have been comfortable with Nashville's paint-by-numbers method of music making. It may have been a little too reserved for her and she wanted the musicians to be a bit looser when it came to the playing.