The Tale Of Four Playboys at Trace Studios, Tupelo, Mississippi
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- Опубліковано 18 вер 2024
- The fat bearded one is exceptionally incoherent, as he tells the story of Playboy Records, Ray Harris and Trace Studios.
All of the photographs used are the copyright of Kenneth Christian. As this video is throwing a light on the little known music which was produced at Trace Studios for Playboy Records, I hope Mr Christian forgives my use of his images to illustrate the story.
More of Kenneth Christian’s photography can be found here: pbase.com/kchr...
I can’t thank you enough for posting this! I’m from Tupelo and I grew up in the ‘70’s just down the road from this studio. My dad used to talk about this recording studio and about some amazing keyboard player there who could get any sound he wanted out of it. I posted this clip on a Tupelo FB page and have gotten a lot of responses from people who knew these people. I didn’t know any of this but so glad to know they were making some great music there back in the day! Thanks much!
Hey! That's cool. I'm not sure I got everything right, probably those people you spoke to know the whole story. There does seem to be a lot of folk who remember this period fondly.
Talking about not getting things right, you have my apologies for my mispronounciation of Tupelo.
Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment.
Hedley
Great video Hedley! These are some great ones for me to be on the lookout for! ✌🏽
I reckon these promos are all over the place, they'll turn up 🙂
I can always count on you to show LPs I’ve never heard of but sound really cool. I’ll have to keep my eyes out for these. Thanks for sharing and stay well my friend.
I love discovering stuff that's a little off the beaten track. These are the kinds of records that streaming forgot, which makes collecting records so appealing to me.
Cheers - Hedley
What an interesting story. You always come through with the cool stuff Hedley!
Thanks Elliott. Always looking for interesting new (to me) music. I think that the reason one band's album is successful and another's isn't, is as much to do with luck as musical talent.
Cheers - Hedley
Good evening Hedley. Your dropping in was in perfect timing this evening. I just refreshed my screen and I saw quite a few new VC videos that I did not get to see yet. Yours was on top. So I knew right where to start. Actually I know right where to start with my first check record check out too. I will check out the Smith Vinson's "One Time For The Cow". Nice promo by the way. Who if anyone would you compare his music to? Will be back later on to recap this so-far so-good video. Thanks H~
Rob/Boston
What fun stuff!
Good stuff. Had no idea about this studio & three of the artists were new to me, thanks. At first, I thought that last song was going to be a cover of Foreigner's "Hot Blooded." (By the way, natives of Tupelo pronounce it TOOP-uh-low.)
Ha! Of course I mangled the pronunciation of Tupelo, I have a history of this. Mind you, try out a couple of UK places... Leicester and Towcester.
Someone else thought that Tim Tutor tune reminded them of other classic rock tunes. It's quite a generic riff, probably turns up all over the place in the early 70s.
Cheers - Hedley
Finally back to finish this one up. Just checked out some of the David Lee Daniels album. I liked the snippet that you played and I checked out more of it. Good Ole Days is great. I found the whole story regarding Playboy branching out to find new ways of promoting and also making money really interesting. I read that they released a Lead Belly live album. Really cool titles. I am wondering if any of these artists are still out there playing today? Did you buy all of these at the same time Hedley? Thanks for doing this one> Very cool topic~
Rob/Boston
Hey Rob! Yeah, Good ol Days by David Lee Daniels is a nice tune. Kind of reminds me of Jerry Jeff Walker.
Sadly I know that Ray Harris, Smith Vinson and Pat (Doc Kirby) Malone have died, but I'm not sure about the other musicians involved.
No, I didn't buy all of these at the same time. I think the first was Doc Kirby about two years ago, shortly followed by David Lee Daniels. I'd heard tracks by both on a UA-cam country funk playlist. I then realised there was similarities between the two albums, which led me to discover the Smith Vinson album. It took a while for a copy to turn up on Discogs in the UK, but I was able to get one about three weeks ago. I was thinking about doing a video about the trio of records, so started a bit more research, which turned up the Tim Tutor album.
...You're sorry you asked now.
@@anotherfatbeardedmantalkin5893 Not at all Hedley. I appreciated and enjoyed the response very much. And the video~
I really enjoyed your video Hed! I know very little about Playboy Records considering how many I own, lol. I need to bust out that Smith Vinson record, in fact I might be due to just spend a few weeks listening to old Country Funk records and maybe even make a video about it again. I just picked up that Doc Kirby record based on a recommendation from Ernie (trailor park pimp) but he tells me he learned it from watching you, lol. You are a gentleman and a scholar Sir. Tupelo rhymes with Coop Duh Blow. Arcane hillbilly knowledge, lol.
Ha! You're the second person to correct me on my pronouciation of Tupelo. You'd have thought I'd have been better considering all the country music I've listened to.
That Doc Kirby & Co. Is a cracking swampy country album.
Thanks for swinging by.
Hed
I only have the fourth Tim Rose album and the second of Jim Sullivan on playboy records and both Promotional Copies. I wonder if they ever sell normal copies of their records.🤷 Both great albums also. Except of Doc Kirby & Co the albums you showed are new for me. And now I want the David Daniels Lee album..😃 btw ...ABBA's US first singles were released by Playboy Records in the US also.
Hi, thanks for watching.
I do find it slightly odd that Playboy Records were producing these Americana leaning singer-songwriters. Not the kind of music I imagine Hugh Hefner would be playing at the Playboy mansion.
I swear the whole promo thing is a dodgy tax scam. Not that they were selling promo copies, but rather producing large numbers for marketing purposes which could then be written off against tax. It's a shame they didn't put more money into other marketing strategies.
...But I'm not an accountant, so I don't really understand the way these kinds of business work.
Cheers - Hedley
When you said One More For The Cow I laughed out loud. It turn out cows are intrigued by music. All four of the clips you played are quite different. I must say I liked them all.
Hey! I think it's a testament to the musician's skills that the records sound quite different.
Trace Studios was actually at the Natchez Trace Inn in West Tupelo, not Ray Harris's farm. That's why it was called Trace Studios, on of the engineers was a good friend of mine and kept Trace Studios going on "his" farm, not Ray Harris. maybe that was the mixup for you.
Thanks. Yes, I had read about Trace Records being located at the Natchez Trace Inn. As with lots of other bits of info, the minute I turn the camera on I start spouting nonsense.
Cheers for the correction.
I sent for a free 45 from the magazine in the mid 70s. I forget the artist but it was a country song.
Yeah, right! "I only get Playboy magazine for the mail away 45s." 😉
It might've been Mickey Gilley. He was a country artist they had a bit of success with.
Cheers - Hedley
Of course l only got it for the 45 giveaway😅
Nice groove on the David Lee Daniel's track...is that a guitar going through a rotating Leslie speaker again? Those inner sleeves are pretty wild.
You might be right. Good spot.
Really interesting story Hedley..I have to say I find the combination of Playboy and country music utterly bizarre, but hey ho anything went in the 70s I guess!.
I quite liked all the samples you played, but the Tim Tutor definitely rocked and not a bit country, definitely out of context with the other 3 titles.
Another great, informative video.
I found the story of these four records really interesting. I suppose it's not unique for a studio house band to appear on a number of albums, but the short-lived nature of this four album project appealed to me.
Yeah, Playboy Records should be all about sultry soul music or sophisticated cocktail jazz.
Another great video. I would grab any of these if I come across them in the wild. That Tim Tutor track seems to borrow heavily from Deep Purple's "Woman From Tokyo" (to put it charitably). I don't think that I had heard that song in 40 years and still recognized some of the guitar licks. Amazing finds, nonetheless.
Hey! Yeah, that Tim Tutor album is a bit like a greatest hits of early 70s rock music, as it nicks from so many artists. He even does a bit of a Marc Bolan warble on a couple of the tracks.
Cheers - Hedley
Hedley, I enjoyed this video. Did you track down each album individually and piece together the story or did they come in a lot? Thanks, Chris
Hey, Chris. I picked up the Doc Kirby & Co. and David Lee Daniels albums based on tracks I'd heard on Country Funk playlists. I then saw on Discogs that the guitarist on both, Smith Vinson, has a solo record. It took a couple of years for a copy to turn up in the UK. After doing a bit of research about Smith Vinson, I found Kenneth Christian's photo collections which had lots of comments about the sessions and characters involved. It was there I found out about the Tim Tutor album. I then kind of pieced together the story.
Interesting stuff.
Cheers - Hedley
Good work!
That David Lee Daniels track was excellent, sounded a bit like Sly & The Family Stone.
I can see that. The rest of the album is a bit less funky, but the Muscle Shoals horns bring the soul.
Cheers - Hedley
Hi Headley, enjoyed your new video drop, I must say that Smith Vinson sounds a bit like early Tom Rush to me and the David Lee Daniels sounds a bit like early Tony Joe White, both great. The other two not too bad either........
Yeah, none of these albums are particularly ground-breaking, they draw influences from all over the place, but there's something quite comfy about the familiarity of the sound.
Cheers for watching - Hedley
Waiting for mine to come in
I'm surprised Donald Trump never dabbled in the music biz though maybe that'd step on Hugh Hefner's toes (Stormy relationship maybe? - see what I did there). It's just mind boggling how much decent unheard unknown music there is out there beneath the normal Eagles FM and stuff we've heard the past 30-40 years.
Thankfully we've been spared Trump Music.
Yes, I'm always amazed at how much music has been produced which passes most people by. I'm heading over to the Vinyl Tap in Huddersfield tomorrow, so I'll be flipping though hundreds of records I've never heard of. Who knows, some might find their way home with me.
Hed
It’s toop not tup when you say it outloud. :)
Ha ha ha! You're the third person to correct me on my poor pronunciation. Thanks for keeping me in line 🙂