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Saturday, November 14, 2009

(part 206) THE STORY CONTINUES

In 1980 I was able to reach a verbal agreement with Dennis and his law partner, George, with a written contract soon to follow.

As I wrote earlier, I was going to be paid $500 a week for a minimum of one year. The agreement allowed me to rent a small house in West Hollywood for $750 a month.

It was a lot of money for me to spend, but it was my new home, and I did a lot of work there writing songs and making demo recordings.


Initially I was quite pleased with my life, and began to allow myself the luxury of dreaming about new and positive possibilities for the future.

My nights were set aside for AA meetings, where once again I was viewed more favorably by various members, simply because I wasn't broke and miserable anymore.

"Everybody loves a winner," I thought, and I mused that my new supporters had not too long ago been my worst detractors. This was truly one of the more callous realities of my experience with Southern California 12 step programs in the 70's and 80's.

None the less, I did enjoy the freedom that a regular salary and home made possible, and once again I fell into the "Hey look at me, I'm successful" bullshit.

After a few months, Dennis and I decided, it would make sense for me to get a band together and go into the studio and cut some of the songs I'd been writing.

He and George were gung-ho on this idea, because they saw themselves as two hot-shot go-getters who believed they could and would conquer the world of music the same way others they read about had.

I did not try to quell their enthusiasm with horror stories about the music business. Their beliefs about the future, and the notion of guaranteed success, served my needs as well.

Once again, I contacted Ben Benay, and asked if he would be interested in putting together a band to do some studio recording with me. I told him everybody would get paid in whatever way he suggested, and that the money wouldn't be a problem.

Ben was excited that I contacted him, and agreed immediately to take on the project. He came up with Colin Cameron on bass, Jim Ponder on drums, Dave Pearlman on steel guitar, John York on backup vocals and guitar, Amy Philbin and her girls doing backup vocals, and himself on lead guitar, arrangements, and co-producer and arranger with me.

As usual, I made some demo tapes of my own at home, and then gave them to Ben so he could make up leed sheets for the players.

He also incorporated my lead guitar parts for the song "Outlaw" in the video below. There were four songs recorded in the studio in 1980, but there were many other songs that remain in only demo form to this day.

OUTLAW

4 comments:

  1. It's great to see that parenthetical (part ...) again. This is a great video for a very fine song. The arrangement, the vocals, the recording are all outstanding. People who didn't live through it (and even many who did) may not remember the "outlaw" craze.

    On the one hand was the late sixties, Texas-based, anti-Nashville country music of "cosmic cowboys" Michael Martin Murphey and Jerry Jeff Walker (both of whom were backed by The Lost Gonzos) followed by "The Highwaymen," a group comprised of Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, and Johnny Cash. A compilation album of Willie, Waylon, Jesse Colter and Tompall Glaser called “Wanted: The Outlaws,” was the first country album to go platinum. Lee Clayton's song, "Ladies Love Outlaws," was a huge hit for Waylon and was also introduced to the folk/rock world by Tom Rush. Willie’s “Red-Headed Stranger,” from 1975, continued the cowboy/outlaw mythos. A fairly successful country-rock group out of Florida called themselves The Outlaws (they are still performing).

    At about the same time (1973) on the west coast, The Eagles released their “outlaw” concept album, Desperado, which included such songs as “Desperado,” “Outlaw Man,” “Doolin-Dalton,” and “Tequila Sunrise.” Their outlaw photo showed the Eagles and their buddies (and co-creators of the laid-back Southern California folk/country/rock sound) John David Souther and Jackson Browne.

    Lest one assume that the cowboy/outlaw phenomenon was short-lived, it was over a decade after the “cosmic cowboys” started that the movie, Urban Cowboy, was released in 1980, around the same time that Bobby cut this song. His song captures that metaphorical image of the “contemporary cowboy/outlaw/musician” roaming the streets of a cutthroat town trying to find his way while knowing that he “can’t go home again.” This song has both a universal and a personal, autobiographical meaning.

    It’s been a while since I have written one of these lengthy, analytical comments, but it feels pretty good (This one seems likely to make it onto my blog as well).

    I will end it with the lyrics to my own song, “Everybody’s Desperado,” written in 1973.

    Everybody’s Desperado

    Everybody’s singing “Desperado.”
    Everybody’s thinking “Outlaw Son.”
    Ridin’ rodeo—
    Real Wild West Show—
    Thinkin’ ’bout a life out on the run...
    Dreamin’ ’bout a life out on the run...

    Modern day cowboy
    Got your boots on your feet
    Your hat in your hand
    And a hot dusty street
    You’re lookin’...
    You’re lookin’ for something
    You ain’t about to meet

    You can stand and stare into the setting sun
    Dreamin’ ’bout a life out on the run...
    You want to run, run, run, run, run...

    Everybody’s singing “Desperado.”
    Everybody’s thinking “Outlaw Son.”
    Ridin’ rodeo—
    Real Wild West Show—
    Thinkin’ ’bout a life out on the run...
    Dreamin’ ’bout a life out on the run...

    Modern day cowboy
    Got your boots on your feet
    Your hat in your hand
    And a hot dusty street
    You’re lookin’...
    You’re lookin’ for something
    You ain’t about to meet

    You can stand and stare into the setting sun
    Dreamin’ ’bout a life out on the run...
    You want to run, run, run, run, run...
    But it’s already been done!

    ©1973 Tim McMullen All Rights Reserved

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  2. I always wondered when you recorded that song, which is my total favorite. I couldn't figure it out in the time line of things, didn't think it was for RCA. So now I know.
    Terri

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  3. Actually, I assumed that the song really was, as I said, a "personal, autobiographical" statement. It's just that, as with most successful art, the personal truth has a resonance that is applicable to the experience of others. That's why we connect with it.

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