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Dewey Martin & Medicine Ball

The New Buffalo Springfield, late 1968. Photo: Mike Zalk. Left to right: Dave Price, Jim Price, Dewey Martin, Bob Apperson, Gary Rowles and (sitting) Don Poncher

After separating from The New Buffalo Springfield around late July 1969, drummer Dewey Martin signed a solo deal with Uni Records in October.

Shortly afterwards, he returned to the studio and, abetted by several session musicians (including guitar ace James Burton), he recorded a version of the country favourite “Jambalaya (On the Bayou)” backed by his own composition “Ala-Bam”, as a prospective single.

Record World, 22 November 1969
Advert in Record World, 22 November 1969 to promote new single release

Under the musical direction of Mike Zalk, his former group meanwhile changed its name to Blue Mountain Eagle and recorded an eponymous album for Atco Records under the direction of David Geffen. Listening to it, the record bears all the hallmarks of The Buffalo Springfield sound.

By the time Blue Mountain Eagle’s album finally appeared in the shops in May 1970, Martin had been busy working on his next project, which was a more straightforward country-rock affair.

The seeds of the new group, later to be called Medicine Ball, had been sown shortly after the release of his solo single “Jambalaya (On The Bayou)” in October.

Credited to Dewey Martin, the single attracted little attention and even fewer sales, although this probably had something to do with the fact that only a handful of copies were pressed.

Undeterred, Martin set about piecing a new group together with 12-string guitarist John Noreen (b. 13 August 1950, Los Angeles, California), a former member of folk-rock band The Rose Garden – and best known for scoring a top 20 US hit in 1967 with “Next Plane to London”.

“I think Dewey and I got together through a mutual business partner, Charlie Greene of Greene and Stone,” recalls Noreen.

“They produced my band The Rose Garden and they also produced The Buffalo Springfield among many others.

“It was just myself on guitar and steel guitar, Dewey on drums and a bass player named Terry O’Malley. We would rehearse at my house in the San Fernando Valley. I remember making some recordings of the rehearsals to check our progress.

“Two of the songs I remember were ‘When The Telephone Rings’ and ‘Sittin’ Here Thinkin’. Anyway, it was decided to try another bass player, and we tried a few [but] I do not remember any names.”

Sometime in mid-December, Noreen bailed out. “I was going through a bad period in my life at that time. Uncle Sam was trying to send me off to Vietnam and I was a mess. My recollection of Dewey was that he was a good guy, he was funny and a good drummer.”

Starting from scratch, Martin ran into lead guitarist Billy Darnell in Nudie’s tailors around Christmas 1969 and asked him to form a new group with a guitarist and drummer who had recently come off the road with the late pianist Billy Preston. It wasn’t the first time the two had met.

Born in Michigan and raised in the San Fernando Valley, Darnell first bumped into Martin during a session break for Buffalo Springfield Again in late 1967.

Popping out to buy some drum sticks from a local music store, Martin noticed Darnell playing Stephen Stills’s “Go and Say Goodbye” on a guitar and the pair immediately struck up a rapport.

Though Martin subsequently invited Darnell back to the studios to watch Buffalo Springfield record, the pair wouldn’t meet again for another year, when Darnell found his band opening for New Buffalo Springfield on a couple of southern Californian dates.

Darnell’s previous musical accomplishments were modest – besides working with a Hollywood band called The Orphans and playing a couple of local dates with Albert King, his other notable achievement was doing session work for Dave Allen & The Arrows.

Nevertheless, Darnell would ultimately become Medicine Ball’s longest serving member and would continue to work with Martin, on and off, over the next three decades.

Within days of Darnell’s arrival, Martin decided to dispense with the drummer and guitarist and began looking around for fresh blood.

To fill the bass slot, Martin hired Terry Gregg (b. 18 March 1945, Port Angeles, Washington), formerly a member of Merrilee Rush & The Turnabouts and also a recent try out for the Righteous Brothers’ support band.

Around the same time, Martin added singer/songwriter and guitarist Ray Chafin (b. 26 December 1940, Williamson, West Virginia), whose musical career had started in the early 1960s when he rubbed shoulders with the original Beatles while playing at the Star Club in Hamburg, Germany.

From there he returned home and worked for Fraternity Records in Cincinnati before recording for the LHI and Tower labels and co-writing songs for singer Dobie Gray.

Chafin’s arrival coincided with the addition of singer/songwriter and keyboard player Peter Bradstreet (b. 12 April 1947, Oak Park, Illinois).

While Chafin’s involvement with Medicine Ball would prove to be brief, Bradstreet, like Darnell, became another Medicine Ball mainstay. He’d also later co-found the country-rock band Electric Range with Darnell in the early ’90s.

Raised in Chicago, Buffalo and Dayton, Bradstreet had previously recorded an unreleased album with folk artists John Alden, Sandy Roepken and Dave Garrison in New York for the Vanguard label before moving out to Los Angeles in late 1969.

“Ray Chafin introduced me to Dobie [Gray] and Terry Gregg, whom I joined for a Turnabouts session [and] also got us together with Dewey and Billy,” remembers Bradstreet.

With Darnell arranging material and former Rolling Stones engineer Dave Hassinger producing, Medicine Ball entered the studios in early 1970 to record Ray Chafin’s “The Devil & Me”.

“I remember Dewey loved the song, which initiated our meeting,” says Chafin. “It was that meeting which started my involvement with Medicine Ball [but] the whole experience was rocky from the beginning.”

While the strong material bode well for the group’s future, it soon became apparent that Medicine Ball was not going to be a democratic band; rather it was merely a vehicle for Dewey Martin’s solo career.

This realisation led Chafin to move on after the first session and the remaining members cut two more tracks – Dewey Martin’s “Indian Child” and Peter Bradstreet and John Alden’s “I Do Believe”.

With Bob Stamps added on guitar, the band played an unannounced set at a small local venue.

As Gregg fondly recalls: “The first and last live performance I did with Dewey was at a North Hollywood lounge, I can’t remember the name. Dewey knew the owner and set up a showcase appearance for the group to plug the album. Well, the band shows up and we’re ushered to a reserved table at the back of the club. They’ve got a cover band playing that was very good. Next, bottles of champagne show up at our table and we’re really lappin’ this stuff up!

“After the other band’s set, the owner gets up on stage and proceeds to tell the audience that he has a special treat for them that night and at the climax of his announcement says, ‘ladies and gentlemen, Dewey Martin and The Buffalo Springfield’.

“Dewey immediately gets up and heads for the stage and the rest of us sit and stare at each other. From there everything was a real struggle dealing with that announcement, plugging into amps we didn’t have time to really get to know or the time to adjust to us, and did three songs we had nailed pretty good in the studio, but they were studio arrangements not arranged for a live performance! Needless to say, we did the songs, the audience was pretty forgiving.”

Gregg says that soon after the gig, he got an invitation back in Seattle that he couldn’t refuse and left the band, followed by recent recruit Bob Stamps.

Dewey Martin live. Photo: Jim Britt

Martin soldiered on recruiting former Sir Douglas Quintet bass player Harvey Kagan (b. 18 April 1946, Texas) and ex-Blue Mountain Eagle/New Buffalo Springfield member Randy Fuller (b. 29 January 1944, Hobbs, New Mexico) on rhythm guitar and vocals.

“I had been working with The Sir Douglas Quintet and we had a lull between performances, recordings, tours, etc. and somehow, through mutual friends, I got to meet Dewey and Bobby Fuller’s brother, Randy,” remembers Kagan.

“We did a couple of early sessions with Dewey singing (his voice reminded me somewhat of Joe Cocker) and used a well known studio drummer, Hal Blaine, who I was excited to meet.

“I did not know why Dewey even wanted to use any other drummer because he was a very good drummer in his own right. He did play drums on the Medicine Ball album and threw together a bunch of musicians from different venues to try to capture the sound he wanted. Randy and I were the two Texas boys. He was a very nice person and always treated me like one of his best friends.”

As the recordings progressed, Martin began to take over production duties from Hassinger and the new line-up proceeded to cut two more tracks – Pete Bradstreet’s “Race Me On Down” (which the keyboard player says was written in about 20 minutes as Dewey had decided that the album wasn’t quite long enough!) and a cover of Buddy Holly’s “Maybe Baby”.

“It was my idea to do ‘Maybe Baby’ on the album and I wanted to sing it but Dewey did it,” says Fuller, who soon lost faith in the Medicine Ball project.

Some rare photos of Medicine Ball was taken up in Decker Canyon before further personnel changes ensued. “[Randy and I] did do a few gigs together around the L.A. area with Dewey, including some college campuses, but I ended up going back with the Quintet and Dewey continued with other replacements,” remembers Kagan.

With Randy Fuller also gone, Martin brought in session steel guitar ace Buddy Emmons and former Danny Cox bass player Stephen Lefever and continued with the sessions.

Around the same time, Billy Darnell also left Medicine Ball (albeit temporarily) following a dispute over his guitar solo on “Maybe Baby” – and Martin invited his former Buffalo Springfield cohort Bruce Palmer to record one of his own compositions, the raga “Recital Palmer”.

Darnell agreed to return to Medicine Ball on a session basis a few weeks later and contributed to the final sessions, which culminated in the recording of five tracks.

Amid all this activity, Martin received some much-needed exposure in the national music press when a Billboard article entitled “Dewey Martin As Innovative Producer” appeared discussing the fruits of the sessions.

In the review, published in July 1970, Martin revealed that he had been “using pan techniques in recording drums, steel guitar and strings”. The supposed advantage of using such effects was that an instrument could “move from one channel to another”.

Billboard review, July 1970

However, despite the advances in the studio, the group was slowly imploding.

Following the final sessions, Peter Bradstreet dropped out (he subsequently reunited with Darnell in Doug Kershaw’s road band and the Atlantic Records’ band Starbuck) and a new short-lived line up featuring Martin and Darnell alongside bass player Tom Leavey (who Martin had first met at Peter Tork’s house) and singer/songwriter and pianist Charles Lamont, formerly a member of Alexander’s Timeless Bloozband came together.

The quartet were given a studio in Universal City to rehearse, but despite working on some interesting jazz-inspired material, the project quickly fell apart. It may well have been this line up that photographer Jim Britt captured while playing at a small club called Jason’s (see photographer’s details at the end).

While Martin struggled to keep Medicine Ball together, Uni released the group’s eponymous album, which attracted a positive write up in the August edition of Variety magazine. Other reviewers agreed.

Variety review, August 1970

Dick Hartsook, writing in the Texas newspaper, Abilene Reporter-News on 13 September noted that, “Dewey Martin & Medicine Ball should have a tremendous amount of excitement in the music world for a while. The group has one of those necessary winning combinations.”

The reviewer goes on to describe the record as good, heavy music with fresh lyrics.

“Dewey has one of the most dynamic voices I’ve heard in a while, and considering he’s the drummer for the group, that’s saying a lot,” beams Hartsook.

“Playing good drums takes a lot of concentration, and Dewey plays drums and sings at the same time, doing a lot with both.”

Dewey Martin with Elton John, September 1970

Indeed, although Dewey Martin & Medicine Ball has often been slighted, there is much to commend it.

With the exception of a few tracks, the album stands up surprisingly well and this is largely due to the group’s stellar performances and Martin’s careful choice of material.

As he had indicated in Billboard in July, Martin had selected all the songs for the album “looking first at the lyrics”, since the album was his first vehicle as a singer.

Among the highlights are covers of Jim Ford’s sprightly “Right Now Train” (aka “Love on the Brain”), two introspective Ron Davies songs – “Silent Song Thru’ The Land” and “Change”, and the excellent Bradstreet/Alden collaboration “I Do Believe”.

Incidentally, Bradstreet and Alden composed a number of songs during this period including, “Gone Under No Uncertain Terms”, apparently a reference to Darnell’s brief departure, which would be recorded some 25 years later with their group Electric Range.

Yet despite this positive review and the publicity surrounding the use of Martin’s composition “Indian Child” on the soundtrack to the film Angels Die Hard, Uni Records dropped the band shortly after the album’s release.

Sessions for an album with RCA culminated in five tracks, although only two emerged on a lone single – “Caress Me Pretty Music/There Must Be a Reason”, released in early 1971. While the single is credited to Dewey Martin & Medicine Ball, it features Martin backed by Elvis Presley’s band.

“After Medicine Ball, I went with RCA and got through five takes,” says Martin. “My producer got everyone of the people on the session from the Elvis big band and I sang it live.”

The single pretty much ended Martin’s recording career; after producing an album for Truk, entitled Truk Tracks, and appearing on a late ’70s Hoyt Axton record, he dropped out of music for the rest of the ’70s and became a car mechanic.

Martin did briefly reunite with Darnell and bass player Tom Leavey in the mid-’70s and worked with songwriter P F Sloan on a proposed album. The project however, failed to progress beyond the rehearsal stage.

During the mid-’80s, Martin did return to the drum stool reuniting with Bruce Palmer in the tribute group Buffalo Springfield Revisited in 1985. The band toured fairly extensively (an appearance at the Vietnam Veteran’s Benefit concert at the L.A. Forum in February 1986 being among the highlights) and recorded a version of Neil Young’s “Down To The Wire”, before Martin pulled out.

Reunited with Darnell, Martin worked with a short-lived band called Pink Slip. The group, which also included former Byrds bass player John York and ex-Crazy Horse guitarist Michael Curtis, gigged informally in the San Fernando area, but never recorded any material.

At the same time, Darnell, Martin and York made a demo with former Eagle Randy Meisner, which resulted in both Darnell and Martin being recruited in to Meisner’s band Open Secret. Led by ex-Firefall singer Rick Roberts, and also featuring Bray Ghiglia, Open Secret subsequently changed name to the Roberts-Meisner Band.

Darnell and Martin, however, soon lost interest and dropped out to form a new group with Michael Curtis and former Al Stewart bass player Robin Lamble, which went under the name Buffalo Springfield Again.

Not surprisingly, Martin’s latest project soon ran foul of the other original members, most notably Richie Furay, who took legal action to prevent him from using the name.

In 1993, Martin moved up to Canada and did several tours in Western Canada as Buffalo Springfield Revisited with Frank Wilks, his brother John on bass/vocals and Derek Atherton on lead guitar/vocals but retired from live work soon afterwards.

After that, he developed his own drum rim, a multi-level drum rim, which he planned to call the “Dewey Rim”. According to Martin, the noted drummer Jim Keltner tried out a proto-type and was going to give him an endorsement. Sadly it wasn’t to be. Dewey Martin died on 31 January 2009, aged 68.

Despite the quality of musicianship, Martin’s post-Buffalo Springfield work with The New Buffalo Springfield and Medicine Ball failed to capture the public’s imagination.

Nevertheless, The Medicine Ball album includes some first-rate material that, arguably, is comparable with the work produced by Martin’s erstwhile colleagues from The Buffalo Springfield. The album’s release on CD, including the non-album tracks, is long overdue.

Many thanks to the following for their generous help: Dewey Martin,  Billy Darnell, Terry Gregg, Ray Chafin, Randy Fuller, Harvey Kagan, John Noreen, Peter Bradstreet, John Einarson, Carny Corbett, Trevor Brooke, Derek Atherton and David Peter Housden. The Electric Range website also proved invaluable.

Jim Britt has some excellent photos of Dewey Martin which readers can buy from this website. Some examples include:

 

I have tried to ensure that the article is as accurate as possible. However, I accept that there may be errors and omissions and would be interested to hear from anyone who can add material or correct any mistakes.

Copyright © Nick Warburton. All Rights Reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced or transmitted in any from or by any means, without prior permission from the author.

This article was originally posted on the Nick Warburton website on 6 June 2008.

Dewey Martin’s New Buffalo Springfield

Photo: Mike Zalk. Left to right: Dave Price, Jim Price, Dewey Martin, Bob Apperson, Gary Rowles and (sitting) Don Poncher

Dewey Martin’s post-Buffalo Springfield career has never received the attention bestowed to his fellow cohorts Steve Stills, Neil Young and Richie Furay.

Like his erstwhile colleague, bass player Bruce Palmer, Martin (b. Walter Milton Dewayne Midkiff, 30 September 1940, Chesterville, near Ottawa, Canada; d. 31 January 2009, Van Nuys, California) struggled to maintain a profile in the aftermath of Buffalo Springfield’s premature demise.

While Stills and Young found international stardom in the super group Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and as successful solo artists, and Furay as founder and guiding light of country-rock pioneers Poco, Martin’s own projects, the ill-fated New Buffalo Springfield and Medicine Ball quickly faded into obscurity.

The fact that he revived the name of his former group suggests that Martin recognised his best hope of securing a musical future lay in carrying on where the old group had left off.

Yet when Buffalo Springfield performed their final date on 5 May 1968, the prospect of anyone reviving the band’s name was an unlikely proposition.

Initially, Martin’s plans involved going on the road as a duo with his wife Jane, but this idea never progressed beyond the statement he made to the music press that spring.

Indeed, according to a Teen Set press release from August 1968, the Martins spent the best part of the summer playing golf, while Martin looked around for suitable players to back him in an unnamed group specialising in soul, country, blues and jazz.

A month or two later, Martin’s band began to take on shape with the recruitment of four musicians that he’d spotted playing at a club in Phoenix, Arizona.

Bass player Bob Apperson, drummer/vocalist Don Poncher (b. 29 July 1947, Chicago, Illinois), horn player Jim Price (b. 23 July 1945, Fort Worth, Texas) and lead guitarist Gary Rowles (b. 24 January 1943, New York) were friends from the San Fernando Valley in California, but had only been playing together as a band for a month when Martin discovered them.

Rowles, who was the son of famous jazz pianist, Jimmy Rowles, had organised the quartet after leaving his previous employer Nooney Rickett and his group, The Noon Express.

Prior to the quartet’s formation, Apperson and Poncher had first worked together with future Blue Rose guitarist John Uribe in power trio Brothers Keepers in the San Fernando Valley.

Apperson had joined the trio around 1967 after playing in the final incarnation of surf group, The Dartells while Poncher had gravitated to rock music after first working for country artist Tex Williams when he was 16-years-old.

According to Poncher, it was Rowles who brought in Jim Price to complete the quartet.

With the core of the band formed, Martin added another Texan, former Armadillo rhythm guitarist/vocalist David Price (b. 23 September 1944, Ballinger, Texas), an old college friend of Mike Nesmith’s from San Antonio who’d been closely involved with The Monkees’ studio work and previously worked with Austin, Texas group, The Chelsea.

David Price had also acted as Davy Jones’s stand in for the TV series and also appeared as an extra in many of the episodes of the popular TV show, most notably as the chemist in The Prince and The Pauper.

“Mike [Nesmith] called and said Dewey Martin was auditioning a post-Buffalo Springfield band at his house in the hills and suggested I come up and check it out,” remembers Dave Price. “I had known Dewey from The Monkees tour days.”

In late October, Martin’s group drove up to Boulder, Colorado to rehearse material (mixing old Springfield songs with band originals like Jim Price’s “The Pony Express Man”) and to play some warm up gigs at a local dinner club for a few weeks.

According to Jerry Fuentes’ research, the musicians held down a brief residency at the Function in Boulder from 22 October to 8 November, opening for The Everly Brothers.

It may well have been during this period that the decision was made to adopt the Buffalo Springfield moniker.

According to Gary Rowles, none of the group was a party to the decision and only realised the fact when they started turning up at concerts, only to find the band billed as “New Buffalo Springfield”.

The fateful decision to use the name would subsequently lead Rowles and others to desert Martin’s band once Stills and Young took legal action and the guitarist suspects the band’s manager, Mike Zalk, was instrumental in persuading Martin to use the name.

Dave Price concurs: “Mike Zalk was always out for a quick buck, so whatever he could book us as, he would.”

The New Buffalo Springfield soon hit the road and on 15 November performed at San Luis Obispo Junior High School and Gym with The Mynd and Wendigo.

The group then flew out to Hawaii for a show the following day, opening for The Turtles and Canned Heat at the Honolulu International Center.

Billboard notice, November 1968

“It was the first time I’d played with 50,000 people all surrounding me and I was on a 20-foot high stage,” says Poncher.

“I was about six feet above the band, so that’s something you never forget. It was really quite overwhelming.”

Back in California, the musicians performed at the Sound Factory in Sacramento on 23 November, on a bill that also included Mad River and Sanpaku.

A week later, on 30 November (and billed as The Buffalo Springfield) they supported The Sir Douglas Quintet at the Terrace Theatre in Salt Lake City.

One of the most notable shows was opening for Eric Burdon & The Animals at the Swing Auditorium, Orange Show Grounds in San Bernadino on 6 December where the group was once again billed as “The Buffalo Springfield”.

The next day, The Buffalo Springfield joined Charlie Musselwhite, Three Dog Night and Sields for a gig at the Earl Warren Showgrounds in Santa Barbara.

Photo: Jerry Fuentes

More shows low-key gigs followed. Neither Stills nor Young were in California at the time, and it was only later when they caught wind of what was happening.

In fact, it was probably Furay who alerted them to the deception after his new outfit (then called Pogo) performed in San Francisco on 25-26 December, the same time that Martin’s bogus group was playing across town.

On that occasion, Pogo were performing at the Fillmore West in San Francisco while Martin’s band was taking part in the highly publicised Holiday Rock Festival, held at the Cow Palace.

The Holiday Rock Festival show on 26 December was New Buffalo Springfield’s most high-profile concert date so far and also featured top acts, Canned Heat, Santana, The Electric Prunes and Steppenwolf among others.

Billboard notice, December 1968

The Thursday before the show, Martin had been interviewed about his new group’s appearance at the festival by journalist Peggy King for an article in the Oakland Tribune, which was published under the title “A new ‘Buffalo’ in rock roundup” on Saturday, 21 December.

In the interview, Martin revealed that the show would include nine songs by the group, half old songs with the new sound and the rest new “Springfield” originals. A conglomeration of jazz, rock and blues.

“We have a more powerful sound that’s the way I would compare it with the old group,” Martin told King. “Before it was east-going country-western. Now we’ve added some electronic sound devices and Jim Price on amplified trumpet and trombone.”

Martin goes on to explain that after the show, the band will “finish mapping out an album for Atlantic” (more of which later) and also reveals that, “we’re booked up pretty solid with jobs. We just take them as they come and try to do our best with each one, no big plans.”

A week or so before the Holiday Rock Festival, the band had driven up to the Pacific Northwest, Martin’s old stomping ground and performed, somewhat mischievously, under the “Buffalo Springfield” banner at several venues – the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver on 21 December and the Memorial Coliseum in Portland, both opening for The Chambers Brothers and The Buddy Miles Express.

Photo: Jerry Fuentes

They also appeared at the Evergreen Ballroom in Olympia, Washington on 23 December, with The White Hearts in support.

Olympia was small enough to get away with such a stunt but the Holiday Rock Festival had received too much publicity for Mike Zalk to risk billing the group as simply “The Buffalo Springfield”.

Even so, according to Rowles, the manager pulled out all the stops to publicise the band’s performance at the festival and hired some local help to ensure that its limos arrived on time.

“The Hell’s Angels escorted us from the Fairmont Hotel to the Cow Palace gig – we didn’t have to stop once, and it was an amazing journey, to say the least.”

“I remember the Hell’s Angels breaking us into the back door of the Cow Palace even though we were an act there working,” adds Poncher.

“They broke down the door and maced one of the cops. They wanted to help us with our gear on stage. They unplugged the entire stage and the whole house went dark for a couple of minutes.”

“The Cow Palace was a real disaster,” remembers Dave Price, who has his own take on the event.

“We were supposed to go on relatively late in the day; we were fairly high on the bill and [Zalk] thought that if we just go over there and walk on stage and do our stuff, we’d just fade into the woodwork, so we needed to make a big splash.

“When we finally went on stage, the Hell’s Angels all went out and stood around the stage like they were our protectors and everybody in the place booed us something fierce. We really had a hard time. It was not a good show.”

Despite the reception, many no doubt had been led to believe that the original group had reformed for a one-off date. Having caught wind of Martin’s activities, Furay presumably contacted Stills, who was back in L.A. in early 1969 after a brief stint in London rehearsing his new project, Crosby, Stills & Nash.

On 11 January 1969 Martin’s group, billed as The Buffalo Springfield, appeared at San Diego Community Course with The Sir Douglas Quintet.

As with all of the shows the band played, Martin fronted the group on stage, with Poncher handling the drums.

“Dewey mostly would go out front and sing and then he’d come back and we’d double on drums on one song,” remembers Poncher.

Critic Mike Martin, who was in attendance, was not convinced and felt the “whole scene was a cheap ride on the well-earned fame of The Buffalo Springfield. Regrettably, someone is making money off the deception.”

On 17 January, The Buffalo Springfield joined The Steve Miller Band, Black Pearl, Three Dog Night and Jet Set for a show at the Convention Center in Anaheim, California.

Soon afterwards, Stills and Young took legal action to prevent their former drummer from using the name.

Martin retaliated but subsequently lost the case, and with it his royalties. Nonetheless, he refused to give up and simply shortened the name to New Buffalo, although that didn’t last long.

While all this was going on, Jim Price took the opportunity to find employment elsewhere joining Leon Russell and later Delaney & Bonnie’s backing group.

Bob Apperson and Gary Rowles soon followed Price out the door – Apperson subsequently pursuing session work with the likes of Jose Feliciano among others, while Rowles found employment with Love, the group he’d been asked to join the previous autumn, later appearing on the albums Out Here and False Start.

Don Poncher also decided that he’d had enough and split to do session work.

“It was a dead horse,” sighs the drummer. “You’d go to a job out of state in another town and you’d get to the hotel and somebody would call up your room and say, ‘Hi, is Steve Stills there?’ Erm no.”

In February 1969, Billboard magazine revealed that Martin’s band (called The New Buffalo Springfield) had been signed by Atlantic Records to record an album.

Record World advert, spring 1969

For some reason these plans never materialised and a line up comprising Dewey Martin, Dave Price, lead guitarist Bob “B J” Jones (b. 9 November 1942, Woodbury, New Jersey; d. 15 June 2013,  Sioux Falls, South Dakota), who’d previously worked with Little Richard and an obscure band called Danny & The Saints, and former Bobby Fuller Four bass player and singer Randy Fuller (b. 29 January 1944, Hobbs, New Mexico), spent the next few months or so playing venues across the country.

Photo: Jerry Fuentes. The Buffalo Springfield, 1969. Clockwise from the top: Dewey Martin, Bob Jones, Dave Price and Randy Fuller

The new formation kicked off with a show at the Mother Duck in Chicago with Hot Fudge on 31 January. Occasionally, the band was billed as Blue Buffalo.

Billed as The Buffalo Springfield, Dewey’s new version then opened for Iron Butterfly at the Civic Auditorium in Albuquerque, New Mexico on 8 February.

Photo: Jerry Fuentes

Later that month, again billed under the old name, the quartet joined Canned Heat, The Outsiders and The Seeds for a show at the Mosque in Richmond, Virginia on 23 February.

The following month, on 22 March, The Buffalo Springfield joined a bogus version of the British band The Zombies and Dewey’s old band, The Standells for a show at the 1st Washington Spring Pop Music Festival, held at the Ritchie Coliseum, the University of Maryland.

During the spring, the band played the Easter Rock Festival at Lockhart Park in Fort Lauderdale, Florida alongside top names like Creedence Clearwater Revival, Canned Heat, Steve Miller and The Grass Roots, which ran for three days from 30 March to 1 April.

Photo: Jerry Fuentes

“My whole experience with Dewey was kind of playing off of, one way or another, The Buffalo Springfield, even when it was Blue Buffalo,” admits Price.

“But once we had the four-piece band with Randy and B J, we started trying to write originals and we did do some recording.

“I don’t know how it all transpired but Dewey somehow was able to get some studio time at a studio down in Hollywood. It was either Gold Star or Sunset Sound. We recorded one or two songs of mine and Dewey had some stuff of his that he threw in but it was all very chaotic. We were writing things on the spot. Dewey then sent those tapes to Atlantic.”

As Dave Price recalls, the label was not impressed with the tapes’ quality but sent out producer Tom Dowd to check out Martin’s latest project.

“Dewey had, for whatever reason, brought in Hal Blaine to play on the session,” explains Price.

“Tom Dowd was very hard-nosed about things and rightfully so. He did one session with us and obviously went back to New York and said, ‘This is bullshit’, so nothing came of it.”

In an interesting side note, the rhythm guitarist remembers Martin crossing paths with one of his former Buffalo Springfield cohorts at one of the earlier sessions.

“Before Tom Dowd came into town, Neil Young was recording in the same studio down the hall from us. I didn’t see him myself but all I heard was that he was pissed off with Dewey and whoever we were that he didn’t know.”

Interestingly, Dewey’s band and Neil Young had originally been booked to appear together at the Warehouse India in Providence, Rhode Island on 18 May but the show was cancelled when local officials banned rock shows. Not long afterwards, Young was asked to join Crosby, Stills & Nash.

Sometime in late May or early June, Blue Buffalo/Buffalo Springfield added a second lead guitarist Joey Newman (b. Vern Kjellberg, 29 August 1947, Seattle, Washington), who’d previously worked with Northwest acts Merrilee Rush & The Turnabouts, The Liberty Party and Don & The Good Times, and L.A-based outfit, Touch.

“We got him through Mike Zalk,” remembers Price. “He was from the Northwest and had been in and around all those bands. Zalk decided that B J wasn’t up to the lead guitar chores, which he was, but Mike didn’t think so. B J and I started drifting more into a hard rock sound. We were sort of Jimi Hendrix fans. I think Mike didn’t like that direction so he brought in Joey. He added a whole new dimension to the band.”

The band then set off on a six-week driving tour of the Pacific Northwest, which would test the nerves of everyone involved.

Just before the tour kicked off, the band performed two Californian shows with support acts Mixed Company and Divine Maddness – the first at the Veteran’s Memorial Building in Santa Rosa on 30 May and the second (billed as The New Buffalo Springfield) at the Municipal Auditorium in Eureka the following day.

Reverting back to using The Buffalo Springfield name, the group started off playing two low-key dates in Longview and Westport, Washington state on 6 and 7 June respectively.

Photo: Jerry Fuentes

Next up was a performance at Chehalis Civic Auditorium in Chehalis, Washington on 21 June where the group was supported by Slugg.

A succession of shows followed into early July, including one at the Evergreen Ballroom in Olympia on 3 July (where The New Buffalo Springfield had played the previous December), once again billed as The Buffalo Springfield.

Photo: Jerry Fuentes

More high-profile dates followed with the band billed as The Buffalo Springfield. These included opening for Paul Revere & The Raiders and The Grass Roots at the Seattle Center Arena on 8-9 July, the Breakthru in Tacoma, Washington on 11 July and another Seattle booking at the Happening on 19 July.

Photo: Jerry Fuentes

“We did some stuff along the coast and playing places like Moses Lake, Washington, Walla Walla, those sort of things,” says Price. “Hermiston, Oregon was a good one [but] it was mainly a small town tour.”

Soon into the tour, however, the relationship between the band’s leader and the group began to sour.

“Dewey and the rest of the band weren’t really getting on that well,” says Price.

“Dewey had a lot of personal demons and at that time he was really wild and basically a loose cannon, not that all the rest of us weren’t being idiots as well. We came back to L.A and we got together without Dewey and said, ‘This is crazy’ and essentially fired Dewey. Mike Zalk left with us. I don’t know if that was good or bad.”

“Dewey really should have had more success than he did but lacked a ‘song’ and was somewhat a victim of his own excessive behaviour,” adds Joey Newman, on his brief involvement with Martin.

Left without a band, Martin struck lucky and signed a solo deal with Uni Records in October 1969.

Record World ,11 October 1969

Shortly afterwards, he returned to the studio and, abetted by several session musicians (including guitar ace James Burton), he recorded a version of the country favourite “Jambalaya (On the Bayou)” backed by his own composition “Ala-Bam”, as a prospective single.

 

Under the musical direction of Mike Zalk, his former group meanwhile changed its name to Blue Mountain Eagle and recorded an eponymous album for Atco Records under the direction of David Geffen. Listening to it, the record bears all the hallmarks of The Buffalo Springfield sound.

By the time Blue Mountain Eagle’s album finally appeared in the shops in May 1970, Martin had been busy working on his next project, which was a more straightforward country-rock affair.

CONTINUED HERE

Many thanks to the following for their generous help: Dewey Martin, Dave Price, Gary Rowles, Don Poncher, Randy Fuller, Joey Newman, Bob Jones, Mike Zalk, John Einarson, Carny Corbett, Trevor Brooke, Derek Atherton and David Peter Housden. 

A massive thank you must go to music historian Jerry Fuentes who helped with The New Buffalo Springfield dates found here: http://www.angelfire.com/rock3/deliverin/BUFFALOSPRINGFIELD/buffaloshows.htm

I have tried to ensure that the article is as accurate as possible. However, I accept that there may be errors and omissions and would be interested to hear from anyone who can add material or correct any mistakes.

Copyright © Nick Warburton. All Rights Reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced or transmitted in any from or by any means, without prior permission from the author.

This article was originally published on the Nick Warburton website on  6 June 2008.

Blue Mountain Eagle gigs

Blue Mountain Eagle cover

Joey Newman (lead guitar, keyboards, vocals)
Bob ‘B.J’ Jones (lead guitar, vocals)
David Price (rhythm guitar, vocals)
Randy Fuller (bass, guitar, vocals)
Don Poncher (drums, vocals)

1968

September Price (b. September 23, 1944, Ballinger, Texas, US) and Poncher (b. July 29, 1947, Chicago, Illinois, US) are recruited by former Buffalo Springfield drummer/vocalist Dewey Martin for his new group named The New Buffalo Springfield, alongside horn player Jim Price, bass player Bob Apperson and lead guitarist Gary Rowles. Apperson, Poncher, Jim Price and Rowles have been playing together in a club in Arizona, which is where Martin spots them, while David Price has previously worked with Austin blues group, The Chelsea, done TV work with the Monkees and played one gig with the L.A based-band, Armadillo. The band rehearses at a diner in Boulder, Colorado and performs at the club with The Everly Brothers for a week.
November (16) The group makes its official public debut at the HIC, Honolulu, Hawaii with The Turtles. Shortly afterwards, the band returns to the mainland and performs a date at the Exhibit Hall, the Community Concourse in San Diego.
(23) Billed as The Buffalo Springfield, Martin’s group plays at the Sound Factory in Sacramento, California with Mad River and Sanpaku.
(30) Once again billed as The Buffalo Springfield, the band performs at the Terrace Ballroom, Salt Lake City, Utah with The Sir Douglas Quintet. The set list includes a song by Spirit.

New Buffalo Springfield, late 1968, from left: Dave Price, Jim Price, Dewey Martin, Bob Apperson and Gary Rowles. Front: Don Poncher. Photo from Gary Rowles
New Buffalo Springfield, late 1968, from left: Dave Price, Jim Price, Dewey Martin, Bob Apperson and Gary Rowles. Front: Don Poncher. Photo from Gary Rowles
Buffalo Springfield, Portland, Dec. 22, 1968 Poster image thanks to Jerry Fuentes
Buffalo Springfield, Portland, Dec. 22, 1968 Poster image thanks to Jerry Fuentes

December (6) They play at the Swing Auditorium, San Bernardino, California with Eric Burdon & The Animals.
(7) Martin’s new version of The Buffalo Springfield appears at the Earl Warren Showgrounds, Santa Barbara, California with Three Dog Night.
(14) The band travels to Texas for a show at the Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls.
(20) Billed as The Buffalo Springfield they play at the Civic Center in Bakersfield, California with Gary Lewis & The Playboys.
(21) Travelling up to the Northwest, they appear at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada with The Chambers Brothers and The Buddy Miles Express.
(22) Billed as The Buffalo Springfield, they play at the Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon with The Chambers Brothers and The Buddy Miles Express.
(23) Martin’s band is supported by White Hearts at the Evergreen Ballroom in Olympia, Washington, where it is billed as The Buffalo Springfield.
(26) Billed as New Buffalo Springfield, Martin’s band makes its Bay area debut at the Holiday Rock Festival, Cow Palace, San Francisco alongside Canned Heat, Steppenwolf, The Electric Prunes and others.
(27) Martin’s band appears at San Joaquin County Fairgrounds in Stockton, California. Gary Lewis & The Playboys cancel due to illness.

Listing in Billboard for the Buffalo Springfield, November 1968
Listing in Billboard for the Buffalo Springfield, November 1968
Now listed in Billboard as the New Buffalo Springfield, December 1968
Now listed in Billboard as the New Buffalo Springfield, December 1968
Buffalo Springfield show at Mother Duck in Chicago, January 31, 1969 Thanks to Dean Guy
Buffalo Springfield show at Mother Duck in Chicago, January 31, 1969 Thanks to Dean Guy
Buffalo Springfield with Iron Butterfly, Albuquerque Civic Auditorium, February 8, 1969. Poster image thanks to Jerry Fuentes
Buffalo Springfield with Iron Butterfly, Albuquerque Civic Auditorium, February 8, 1969. Poster image thanks to Jerry Fuentes

1969

January (11) Martin’s band appears at the San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, California billed as The Buffalo Springfield.
(31) Billed again as The Buffalo Springfield, the band appears at the Mother Duck in Chicago with Hot Fudge in support.
February (8) Martin’s version of The Buffalo Springfield plays at the Civic Auditorium in Albuquerque, New Mexico with Iron Butterfly and Lincoln Street Exit.
(22) Billboard announces that an album is imminent on Atco but nothing transpires. Rowles leaves soon afterwards and takes some time out of playing before later in the year replacing Jay Donellan in Love, a position he was originally offered in September 1968. Apperson also departs for session work and is replaced by former Bobby Fuller Four member and solo artist Randy Fuller (b. January 29, 1944, Hobbs, New Mexico, US), while Jim Price quits to join Delaney & Bonnie. Don Poncher joins the exodus to do session work and Dewey Martin takes over the drum stool. Martin brings in lead guitarist Bob “B J” Jones (b. November 9, 1942, Woodbury, New Jersey) who has previously worked with Little Richard and the band Danny & The Saints.
March The new line up records some tentative tracks in a Hollywood studio down the hall from Neil Young who is working with Crazy Horse, but they are never released. Producer Tom Dowd oversees one session.
(31)April (2) Martin returns with The New Buffalo Springfield name, and a line up now comprising Randy Fuller, Dave Price and Bob “B J” Jones is one of the headliners at the Teen Expo, Santa Clare Fairgrounds, San Jose with Santana, Iron Butterfly and others. The group then changes name briefly to Blue Buffalo.
April (31) Martin’s group, billed as New Buffalo Springfield, plays at the Eureka Municipal Auditorium in Eureka, California with Mixed Company Coffee and Devine Madness.
June The band is expanded with the addition of lead guitarist Joey Newman (b. Vern Kjellberg, August 29, 1947, Seattle, Washington), formerly a member of Don & The Goodtimes, The Liberty Party and Touch.
(7) Billed as The Buffalo Springfield, they play at the Dunes in Westport in Washington.
(21) Again billed as The Buffalo Springfield, the band appears at Chehalis Civic Auditorium, Chehalis, Washington with Slugg.
(28) Billed as New Buffalo Springfield, they perform at Casey’s in Lewiston, Idaho.
July (3) Billed as The Buffalo Springfield, they perform at the Armory in Astoria, Oregon.
(5) Martin’s outfit appears at the Evergeen Ballroom, Olympia, Washington.
(8-9) New Buffalo Springfield appear at the Seattle Center Arena with Paul Revere & The Raiders.
(11) The band plays at the Breakthru, Tacoma, Washington.
(19) The New Buffalo Springfield appear at the Happening, Seattle, Washington. While on the Northwest tour, the group drives along Highway 395 and comes across a town in Grant County, Oregon with a newspaper called The Blue Mountain Eagle. The band fires Dewey Martin and returns to Los Angeles to sign a deal with Atlantic Records subsidiary label, Atco Records. Ahmet Ertegun signs the band personally.

Buffalo Springfield at the Dunes, Westport, Washington, June 7, 1969. Poster image thanks to Jerry Fuentes
Buffalo Springfield at the Dunes, Westport, Washington, June 7, 1969. Poster image thanks to Jerry Fuentes
Spring 1969 lineup, clockwise from top: Dewey Martin, Bob Jones, Dave Price and Randy Fuller Buffalo Springfield at the Astoria Armory, July 3, 1969 Poster image thanks to Jerry Fuentes
Spring 1969 lineup, clockwise from top: Dewey Martin, Bob Jones, Dave Price and Randy Fuller. Buffalo Springfield at the Astoria Armory, July 3, 1969. Poster image thanks to Jerry Fuentes
Blue Mountain Eagle, late 1969, from left: Dave Price, Randy Fuller, Bob Jones, Joey Newman and Don Poncher
Blue Mountain Eagle, late 1969, from left: Dave Price, Randy Fuller, Bob Jones, Joey Newman and Don Poncher

August Back in Los Angeles, the group adds Don Poncher from the original New Buffalo Springfield line up on drums in place of Martin and takes on the name Blue Mountain Eagle after the newspaper the group has seen on the road.
(24) Studio session logs suggest they record some demo tracks at Wally Heider’s studio in Los Angeles. The tracks include “Trivial Sum” (which the band will complete at a later date) and songs which may have been completed and later released under a different name. The tracks are: “Rock & Roll Please”, “Fourth Time Around”, “Road’s End”, “David’s Song”, “B.J. #1”, “¾ Thing” and “Joey’s Song”.
September (13) Having debuted at the HIC in Honolulu (where it is billed by manager Mike Zalk as New Buffalo Springfield), Blue Mountain Eagle support Santana at the Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento, California.
December (1) Blue Mountain Eagle record their debut album in one day at Wally Heider’s studio in Los Angeles.
(27-29) The band appears at the Pozo, San Luis Obispo on a bill featuring The Byrds, Eric Mercury, Spirit, Vanilla Fudge and others.

Clockwise from top left: Bob Jones, Dave Johnson, Dave Price, Don Poncher and Joey Newman. Photo courtesy Henry Diltz
Clockwise from top left: Bob Jones, Dave Johnson, Dave Price, Don Poncher and Joey Newman. Photo courtesy Henry Diltz

1970

February The group supports Love and Eric Burdon & War at the Ice Palace, Las Vegas.
(3-8) Blue Mountain Eagle play at the Brass Ring, Sherman Oaks, California with Blue Rose.
(10-15) They return to the Brass Ring for a second set of shows with Blue Rose.
March (21) The band performs at the Salem Armory Auditorium, Salem, Oregon.
(26-28) The group participates in the Southwest ’70 Peace Festival near Lubbock, Texas, with Vanilla Fudge, Muddy Waters, Canned Heat, The Flock, Truth, Joe Kelley’s Blues Band, Johnny Winter and many others.

with the Blue Rose Band at the Brass Ring in Sherman Oaks. Los Angeles Free Press, February 1970
with the Blue Rose Band at the Brass Ring in Sherman Oaks. Los Angeles Free Press, February 1970
At the Salem Armory with Everyday Hudson (formerly the New Yorkers) and Fatt Twice Together
At the Salem Armory with Everyday Hudson (formerly the New Yorkers) and Fatt Twice Together
Left to right: Joey Newman, Bob Jones, Don Poncher, Dave Johnson and Dave Price. Photo dated March 4, 1970, but it might be later
Left to right: Joey Newman, Bob Jones, Don Poncher, Dave Johnson and Dave Price. Photo dated March 4, 1970, but it might be later
with Manfred Mann at the Whisky a Go Go, April, 1970
with Manfred Mann at the Whisky a Go Go, April, 1970
Atco ad in the LA Free Press, April 1970
Atco ad in the LA Free Press, April 1970

April (8-12) Blue Mountain Eagle support Manfred Mann Chapter 3 at West Hollywood’s Whisky A Go Go. Randy Fuller leaves and joins Dewey Martin & Medicine Ball, appearing on its lone album. He is replaced by Dave Johnson (b. October 21, 1945, Burbank, California, US), who has previously worked with Dr John and Alice & The Wonderland Band alongside singer Joanne Vent and future Redbone guitarist Tony Bellamy. The group write and arrange material for a second album over the next few months but none of the tracks are recorded.
(24) The new line up plays at the Pusi-Kat, San Antonio, Texas.
(26) Blue Mountain Eagle support Jimi Hendrix and The Buddy Miles Express at the ‘Cal Expo’, Sacramento, California.

at the Beach House in Santa Monica, May 1970
at the Beach House in Santa Monica, May 1970

(28)May (3) Blue Mountain Eagle plays at the Beach House, Cheetah Pier, Santa Monica.
May Their eponymous debut album is released, highlighting a mixture of acoustic and hard rock styles that is reminiscent of The Buffalo Springfield.
(2) Blue Mountain Eagle support Country Joe & The Fish and Spirit at San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego.
(9) The band opens for Pink Floyd at the Terrace Ballroom, Salt Lake City, Utah.
(15) Blue Mountain Eagle appear at Fresno Convention Hall, California with Canned Heat and Sweetwater.
June (2-7) The group appears at the Beach House, Cheetah Pier, Santa Monica.
(5) Billboard magazine reports that the band appears at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles.
(8) Blue Mountain Eagle record a lone track, a cover of Stephen Stills’s “Marianne”.

Blue Mountain Eagle Atco 45 Marianne

July (11) The band appears at Bullock’s Department Store in downtown L.A. with Poco, Blues Image and Southwind.
(18) The group replaces Blue Cheer at Terrace Ballroom, Salt Lake City, Utah on a bill that also features Love and Fever Tree.
August The band releases the double A-side single “Marianne”, which is given favourable reviews. Studio logs also suggest the group records a track called “Rest” but it is never released.
October Blue Mountain Eagle’s final gig is at a ballroom in Dave Price’s hometown, San Antonio, Texas.
NovemberPoncher leaves to join Love for live work and the band splinters. Johnson briefly works with Lee Michaels before reuniting with Jones in Sweathog, while Price does sessions for ex-Sir Douglas Quintet keyboard player Augie Meyer.

1972

January Sweathog’s eponymous debut album is released, but is not a success. Having appeared on sessions for a Love album that is eventually released in the 2000s by Sundazed as Love Lost, Poncher stays with Arthur Lee and his next project, Band Aid, helping him record the Vindicator album. Poncher then joins Blue Rose with Terry Furlong (who wrote songs for Blue Mountain Eagle) and ex-Illinois Speed Press member John Uribe.
June Blue Rose’s sole eponymous album appears on Epic Records. Poncher continues to do session work throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s, working with people like Augie Meyer, Joe Cocker, Jim Price, Genya Raven and Chris Jagger. He currently plays with Balonius Bunk in the San Fernando Valley.

1975

September Newman emerges with new outfit, Bandit, who release an album for ABC Records. Having recorded a second album with Sweathog without Jones, Johnson puts together a new band with radio legend Jimmy Rabbit called Rabbit and Renegade, which records an album for Capitol Records, produced by Waylon Jennings.

1977

Newman forms Stepson, who release an album for ABC Records, before later recording two gospel albums. Newman later works with Michael Lloyd, the Osmonds, Bryan MacLean, Shaune Cassidy and with Jimmy Johnson on his Sheena Easton tour. Jones meanwhile, surfaces with The Demons, who issue an eponymous album on Mercury.

Sources:

Einarson, John and Furay, Richie. For What It’s Worth – The Story Of Buffalo Springfield, Quarry Press Inc, 1997, pages 279-280.
Hounsome, Terry. Rock Record #6, Record Researchers Publications, 1994.
Housden, David Peter. The Castle – Love #9, 1995, page86.
Housden, David Peter. The Castle – Love #10, 1996, page 27.
Joynson, Vernon. Fuzz, Acid & Flowers, Supplement, September 1997, page 419.
Povey, Glen and Russell, Ian. Pink Floyd In The Flesh – A Complete Performance History, Bloomsbury, 1997, page 94.
Ruppli, Michel. Atlantic Records – A Discgraphy, volume 2, Greenwood Press, 1979, pages 320 and 366 and volume 3, page 53.
Shapiro, Harry and Glebbeek, Caesar. Electric Gypsy, Mandarin, 1995, page 738.
Billboard, November 16, 1968, page 67; December 28, 1968, page 43; February 22, 1969, page 3 and August 15, 1970, page 28.
Los Angeles Free Press, February 6, 1970; May 1, 1970; May 27, 1970 and June 5, 1970.
Variety, August 19, 1970, page 46.

Thanks to Dave Price, Joey Newman, Bob Jones, Randy Fuller, Don Poncher and Dave Johnson for contributing to the band’s story. Thanks to Jerry Fuentes and Neil Skok for help with some of the New Buffalo Springfield dates. Huge thanks to Steve Finger at the LA Free Press for help with concert posters.

I have tried to ensure that this article is as accurate as possible, but some data is difficult to verify. If anyone is able to supply any additional information or correct any errors, please contact me at Warchive@aol.com

Copyright © Nick Warburton. All Rights Reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced or transmitted in any from or by any means, without prior permission from the author.

Dave Johnson and Doug Hastings with Dr. John

 Dr. John's band at the Fillmore East, October 1969
Dr. John’s band at the Fillmore East, October 1969

A few years ago, I was fortunate enough to interview bass player Dave Johnson and guitarist Doug Hastings, both of whom played with Dr John in 1969 and spoke highly of their time working with him.

Johnson was an integral member of Dr John’s touring band throughout most of that year alongside drummer Richard Crooks. Together with conga player Didymus (aka Richard) Washington, guitarist Gary Carino and singers Eleanor Barooshian, Jeanette Jacobs and Sherry Graddie, they played all the high profile gigs that year, most notably the Atlantic, Detroit and Toronto Pop Festivals.

Later that autumn guitarist Doug Hastings (who had recently left Rhinoceros) joined Johnson and Crooks in a revised line up. Hastings told me that the band had been assembled in L.A specifically to record the album Remedies, which was later cut at Columbia Studios in New York on 19 and 21-23 October.

The new group debuted at the Whisky in A Go Go in West Hollywood on 23 September (playing six nights) in what Hastings said ‘amounted to a shake-down gig for the band’. Johnson told me that the cover for Remedies was taken at the club by his cousin Steve LaVere.

At the last minute, just before they set off on tour, Hastings’s former cohort from The Daily Flash Don MacAllister was added on electric mandolin for ‘breadth of sound and camaraderie’.

Dr. John at the Fillmore East, October 1969
Dr. John at the Fillmore East, October 1969
Hastings reckons, however, that Don’s real interest was the attraction to heroin that he had in common with Dr John. Sadly, MacAllister was ejected from the tour a few weeks before it ended. Hastings remembers walking in Manhattan with MacAllister the night he was fired and passing Unganos where Tony Williams’s Lifetime was playing. Miles Davis’s Ferrari GTO with bullet holes was parked outside!

When the guitarist got back to the West Coast, he discovered that MacAllister had overdosed. He was only 27 years old!

The photos are from the Fillmore East in mid-October. Johnson told me he doesn’t remember the name of the photographer but she was a girl he met in New York who sent him the 35 mm slides.

The group appeared at the Fillmore East on 10-11 October with Vanilla Fudge and AUM before playing four nights at Unganos from 12-15 October. The tour was wrapped up with two nights at the Fantasy East, running from 17-18 October. The sessions for Remedies took place after the tour but from what I gather only Hastings participated from the band.

Dr John put together a new road band in November but that wasn’t the end of his dealings with Johnson. Shortly after Dave Johnson replaced Randy Fuller in Blue Mountain Eagle (who had morphed out of Dewey Martin’s ill-fated New Buffalo Springfield) in April 1970, the group’s engineer Bill Halverson presented the musicians with a demo of Stephen Stills’s ‘Marianne’ and told them to cut a version.

The band’s lone album had sold poorly and despite having a stash of new songs, Atlantic would only allow them to cut a cover tune as a single before committing to a second album. The band didn’t feel Stills’s song fitted with the sound they wanted to project but begrudgingly cut a version at the Record Plant.

Johnson told me that he managed to get Dr John to come in and play some really funky piano on the song which really gave it a unique sound and feel. Halverson, however, was having none of it and forced the band to re-cut an identical version to the demo, which failed to chart on its release. It would be great to hear that version if it still exists.

Copyright © Nick Warburton, 2010, All Rights Reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced or transmitted in any from or by any means, without prior permission from the author.

To contact the author, email: Warchive@aol.com

Randy Fuller

Randy Fuller Show Town PS It's Love Come What May

Randy Fuller Show Town 45 1,000 Miles Into Space

Randy Fuller Show Town 45 Revelation

Randy Fuller with New Buffalo Springfield, Spring 1969. Clockwise from top: Dewey Martin, Bob Jones, David Price and Randy Fuller
Randy Fuller with New Buffalo Springfield, Spring 1969. Clockwise from top: Dewey Martin, Bob Jones, David Price and Randy Fuller
When Texan rock legend Bobby Fuller was found dead in his car on 18 July 1966 in suspicious circumstances, those nearest and dearest were devastated, not least his younger brother Randy, who had also been bass player in the aptly named, Bobby Fuller Four. From the early 1960s up until his brother’s untimely, and yet to be solved, death, Randy Fuller was Bobby’s closest collaborator and during those frenetic years of recording and touring witness to his brother’s extensive talents as a singer/songwriter, guitarist and skilled engineer and producer.

In the first few months following his brother’s death, Randy Fuller came close to jacking in the music career he had so cherished when Bobby was alive. “I came home to El Paso with no idea what I was going to do with my life,” says Fuller. “I felt like I was going to go insane because my mother was having such a hard time over Bobby.”

Later that autumn, however, Randy received a phone call from Bobby Fuller Four member DeWayne Bryant (aka Quirico) and Bob Keane, who ran Del-Fi studios, to return to Hollywood and form a new group with some musicians that Quirico had been playing gigs with in the intervening months. “Keane said that if I came back he could get us back in PJ’s nightclub,” remembers Fuller.

To stimulate some local interest in the new group, prior to it playing live, Keane financed some studio time to record a handful of tracks in late 1966. For these recordings, the studio band consisted of Randy Fuller on bass, rhythm guitar and lead vocals; DeWayne Quirico on drums; Howard Steele on bass; and Mike Ciccarelli on lead guitar and vocals.

“The musicians on all the songs were from El Paso, Texas but [they] never stayed together long enough to promote them [the singles],” explains Fuller, who points out the recordings were all laid down in the final days of the studio’s existence.

The first single to be released (under Randy’s name only on the obscure Mustang label) was the catchy “It’s Love, Come What May”. “[That] is the original track from Bobby Fuller Four recorded at Del-Fi,” says Fuller. “Bob Keane and I recorded my voice on a separate track and remixed it a little louder than Bobby’s in the final mix.”

An infectious folk-rocker, “It’s Love, Come What May” should have been a smash hit but mysteriously did not attract many sales. Unperturbed, Keane prepared a second single coupling Randy Fuller and Johnny Daniel’s “The Things You Do” with another collaboration “Now She’s Gone” but it appears the Mustang release never hit the shops.

Interestingly, Randy Fuller reveals that two of soul music’s heavy weights had a hand in the creative process. “[On] ‘The Things You Do’, Barry White and Dionne Warwick threw in a line or two.”

Events meanwhile were about to take a dark turn. When Del-Fi was forced to close in early 1967, Keane, unbeknown to Fuller, began to issue the recordings through the Show Town and President labels. “Del-Fi went under and Bob kept the masters in a vault,” explains Fuller. “I [later] found out he had been selling these [singles] over in the UK for years!”

Perhaps the most fascinating of these releases are the trippy, Buffalo Springfield-influenced, “1,000 Miles Into Space”, which features some tasty lead guitar work and superb lead vocal by Randy, and “Revelation”.

While Keane was busy releasing the tracks on the sly, Fuller and Quirico began working back at PJ’s joined by guitarists Jim Fonseca and Jimmy Smith. The line up played at the club for nearly two years and according to Fuller, “We probably would have had a hit or two, but as usual ego destroyed the band.”

Left without a band, Randy hooked up with Dewey Martin’s New Buffalo Springfield in February 1969 and toured with this group for the best part of the year, before it morphed into Blue Mountain Eagle. Fuller’s new band recorded an excellent album for Atco Records in 1970 with the bass player’s “Sweet Mama” providing one of the highlights.

Unlike Blue Mountain Eagle’s album, which has been released on CD, very few of The Randy Fuller Four recordings have reached a wider audience via compilation CDs. Perhaps now is the time to rediscover the magic of this material, especially “It’s Love, Come What May” and “1,000 Miles In Space”.

Blue Mountain Eagle, December 1969, Randy Fuller second from left.
Blue Mountain Eagle, December 1969, Randy Fuller second from left.

Solo releases:

It’s Love, Come What May (actually Bobby Fuller Four with Randy’s overdubbed vocals) c/w Wolfman (Mustang 3020) 1966 US (credited to Randy Fuller)
The Things You Do c/w Now She’s Gone (Mustang 3023) 1966 US (credited to Randy Fuller Four but not released)
It’s Love, Come What May c/w Revelation (Show Town 466) 1967 US (credited to Randy Fuller)
It’s Love, Come What May c/w The Things You Do (President PT 111) 1967 UK (credited to Randy Fuller)
1,000 Miles In Space c/w 1,000 Miles In Space (Show Town 482) 1967 US (credited to Randy Fuller)

Many thanks to Randy Fuller for his invaluable input into this story.

Transfer and scan of “1,000 Miles in Space” courtesy of Colin (Expo67), transfer of “Revelation” courtesy of Bård H., scan courtesy of Freddy Fortune. “Wolfman” scan and transfer courtesy of JP Coumans.

© Copyright, Nick Warburton, April 2009, All Rights Reserved

Visit: www.nickwarburton.com

The great b-side "Wolfman", a Bobby Fuller Four recording originally released as by the Shindigs on the flip of "Thunder Reef", Mustang 3003 and used again on Randy Fuller's first 45.
The great b-side “Wolfman”, a Bobby Fuller Four recording originally released as by the Shindigs on the flip of “Thunder Reef”, Mustang 3003 and used again on Randy Fuller’s first 45.