Eagles, p.16
Eagles, page 16
With a grateful Sinatra backing him, Bowen was able to work an independent label deal with Warner in 1967 where he hoped to work the same magic with his own researched acts. In mid-1968, he turned the wheels on that dream by creating Amos Records, which immediately began working on new material for Sammy Davis Jr. The new label also found an aspiring new band, the First Edition, which later became Kenny Rogers and the First Edition. It was an important find for the Eagles faithful, though not necessarily for Bowen.
Rogers would later run into band members of the Linden, Texas-based Shiloh (then called Felicity) while clothes shopping in Dallas, and later accepted an invitation to see them perform. He and Bowen liked the band enough to sign them. Shiloh included Richard Bowden (who would later form the country comedian duo Pinkard & Bowden) and future Eagles co-founder Don Henley. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Bowen’s team had found another two musicians paired as an act, future Eagles co-founder Glenn Frey and frequent Eagles contributor J.D. Souther, going by the name of Longbranch/Pennywhistle.
Lacking hits, Bowen’s label adventure ended in 1971 when he shut down Amos and all its associated businesses. Bowen found himself in a “what-if-we-get-a-hit” conundrum. The label had already been faring poorly trying to get its bands to chart, but Bowen said a deal he brokered with Ampex, makers of eight-track and cassette tapes, put the company at huge risk. In the early 1970s, many larger labels were moving to producing their own cassettes or securing huge deals with companies like Sony and TDK, so Ampex began buying smaller labels and recruiting independent producers, including Bowen and Amos, to keep the production lines moving.
Amos soon found itself as a distributor for a new label, Lee Hazlewood’s LHI Records, and Bowen said it was then that he realized the company had become stretched too thin.
“We had already spent most of our startup money on salaries for a dozen staffers and recording budgets,” he said. “Now, with a major hit, I’d have to pay the trucking lines within 15 or 30 days and the pressing plant within 30 days. The independent distributors I was working with sometimes didn’t pay you for six months. Some of them didn’t pay you at all unless you came up with another hit; then, at least, they had to buy that from you, so they’d finally settle up. A big hit then I’d go under. I decided to fold the Amos tent.”
Amos would make headlines again in the fall of 1983 when then-MCA CEO Irving Azoff (and manager of the Eagles) offered Bowen a job and paid $1 million for the entire catalog of Amos Records, Amos Productions, and the masters, which included all of the master of Kenny Rogers, Shiloh and Longbranch/Pennywhistle recordings. 1
1 [1217] Bowen, J. (1997). Rough Mix, New York, NY: Simon & Schuster
[1218] Millar, B. (January 1, 1972). Buddy Knox, Pye Records
[1219] Rumble, J. (April 12, 2014). Producer Playback: An Interview with Jimmy Bowen, Country Music Hall of Fame
CHAPTER 4 - LOS ANGELES
The paths to Los Angeles were different for each individual member of the Eagles, but they shared a common goal: get a recording deal. They each succeeded, but learned that recording contracts aren’t always a blessing.
Dillard & Clark, with Bernie Leadon, The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark (album)
Dillard & Clark, with Bernie Leadon, “Train Leaves Here This Mornin’” (single)
The Poor, with Randy Meisner, appeared on the NBC TV show Ironside, in the episode “Price Tag: Death.” Meisner appeared alongside his bandmates in the role of a band in the show.
James Gang, with Joe Walsh: Spooky Tooth, The McCoys
Poco (and occasionally performing as RFD), with Randy Meisner: Three Dog Night, Hoyt Axton, Bob Lind, Biff Rose
Dillard & Clark, A&M Records, October 1968
A well-known Doug Dillard was looking to expand beyond the bluegrass roots of his family’s band in the fall of 1968, The Dillards. He found a willing partner in the country-rock world in Gene Clark, the former guitarist of The Byrds. Together, they were Dillard & Clark. Dillard had also befriended a green, but multi-talented Bernie Leadon through various Troubadour encounters and offered him a job.
Leadon, then just 21, had kicked around the musical world for the previous five years in San Diego and Gainesville, Florida, with frustrating results. Fed up, he left Florida in the summer of 1967 in favor of California and joined up with former Scottsville Squirrel Barker Larry Murray in his new band, Hearts and Flowers. Murray’s group had a Capitol recording contract and a growing taste for country-rock. The band seemed to be going places. But despite two albums well received by music critics, the group never really caught on and disbanded by that fall.
For Leadon, it was a breakthrough experience. He had already earned some musical respect subbing in with the bluegrass-themed Squirrel Barkers, and he wrote two songs that became singles for The Maundy Quintet. Hearts and Flowers gave him the opportunity to record on a major label, and he certainly made the most of it. He wrote four of the five songs on the B side of the band’s second album, Of Horses, Kids and Forgotten Women, and was growing as a songwriter and instrumentalist. People took notice. So when Dillard came knocking, Leadon was ready.
By the middle of 1968, he was living at Dillard’s house and playing regularly with him and Clark. The duo tapped friendly resources to support the band, including David Jackson (bass), Don Beck (mandolin, resonator guitar), two former Byrds in Chris Hillman (mandolin) and Michael Clarke (drums), Byron Berline (fiddle), and, of course, Leadon, who would have a prominent role with vocals, lead guitar, bass, and banjo.
Leadon picked up where he left off with Hearts and Flowers, by co-authoring six of the nine songs on the band’s debut album The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard and Clark. Rolling Stone gave strong marks to the cut “The Train Leaves Here This Mornin’,” penned by Leadon and Clark—and which the Eagles would include on their debut album four years later—but the magazine only offered lukewarm praise for the overall album, crediting it for being “palatable to someone who can’t take straight country,” but suggesting that the band’s direction was too compromising. Others had appreciation for it, however. Mick Houghton, rock critic for Let It Rock, in 1973 called it “one of the most underrated records of the past few years.”
In the end, it may have been too country for rock fans, and too rock for country fans. The lack of focus left A&M’s marketers confused about where to slot the album, and as a result, it didn’t get noticed and didn’t chart. The label likely wondered about the group’s long-term fortunes. Undaunted, Dillard, Clark, and Leadon readied another album that would be released in the fall of 1969. But there were unexpected troubles ahead. 1
* * *
Cashbox, December 7, 1968
Dillard & Clark have come up with a striking album that should do good things for them. The style of the LP can be described as folk-country, but the appeal is wider than that. Both Dillard and Clark do vocals, and one or the other or both had a hand in writing all but one of the songs on this set. In addition, Dillard plays banjo, guitar and violin, and Clark plays guitar and harmonica. Keep an eye on this album.
Rolling Stone, February 15, 1969
This album has the kind of country music you get when you mix a rock producer (Larry Marks) and artists with various realms of experience. With just nine songs, it provides 28 minutes of better than average music. Affected just enough by contemporary influences, it’s palatable to someone who dislikes straight country, but that’s also one of its flaws. Perhaps it’s too compromising, and therefore too slick.
Emporia (Kan.) Gazette, April 3, 1969
Bluegrass purist Doug Dillard plays fiddle, and former Byrd Gene Clark plays rhythm guitar and is a country music fan. The band has a hard, firm country sound with careful vocal harmony and good feeling. They wrote all the songs themselves with the exception of one Lester Flatt song, “Get It on Brother.” Their bluegrass basics bring them close to old-style rock and roll.
1 [529] Los Angeles Times. (December 17, 1968). Comic Larry Hankin Opens at Troubadour.
[1237] Cashbox. (November 9, 1968). Dillard & Clark: Out on the Side.
[1238] Record World. (August 24, 1968). A&M Signs Dillard & Clark.
[1239] Bickhart, J. (February 15, 1969). The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark, Rolling Stone
[1281] Houghton, M. (September 1, 1973). A Guide to Contemporary Country Groups, Let It Rock
[1463] Basler, B. (November 5, 1969). Musical merger is a convincing paradox, The Indianapolis News
Poco was an important band in the country-rock movement. Formed in spring 1968 by two-fifths of the now-defunct Buffalo Springfield—Richie Furay and Jim Messina—the band was generating lots of media buzz and was developing its own material, but it was still without a name by October 1968.
They, along with new bassist Randy Meisner, kicked around several possible names—White Lightning, Fool’s Gold, Pop Corn, Buttermilk, and Pepper Box, but none seemed right. The band played a Hoot Night at the Troubadour in Los Angeles as Pogo on October 14. Again, at the Troubadour two weeks later the band performed as R.F.D., which Furay said was inspired by the popular The Andy Griffith Show television spinoff Mayberry R.F.D. When it returned to the Troubadour in November, it was “Pogo” again.
The name Pogo was suggested by the band’s manager, Dickie Davis, who was also the stage manager for the Troubadour. “Pogo” was a hat-wearing opossum cartoon character by artist Walt Kelly that appeared in syndicated newspapers across the country. Davis was a fan of how Kelly would work politics into the stories of Pogo and his swampland friends. He thought associating the band with Pogo would tell people that the band was cool, smart, and with a country edge.
But Kelly was not a fan of the band using the name of his famous cartoon. He threatened to sue if the they continued. Kelly’s threat caught Furay and the band off guard. The Buffalo Springfield Roller Company, a New York-based maker of heavy machinery, had actually supported the Springfield’s use of their mark. The good press the band had been receiving as Pogo was overwhelmingly positive and the public had grown accustomed to the name, so they were reluctant to change. But facing off in court against Kelly, who had been using “Pogo” in his comics for decades, seemed like a loser as well. And nobody was buying that the band named itself after a pogo stick. So the band resolved to drop the “g” and replace it with a “c” and Pogo became Poco. “From the start I liked the new name better than the old one,” Furay said. 1
1 [231] Einarson, J. (2001). Desperados: The Roots of Country Rock, New York, NY: Cooper Square Press
[1269] Furay, R. (2006). Pickin' Up the Pieces: The Heart and Soul of Country Rock Pioneer Richie Furay, Colorado Springs, CO: Waterbook Press
Glad, with Timothy B. Schmit, “Johnny’s Silver Ride” (single)
A&M Records has signed a new group called Pogo, with Rusty Young, Randy Meisner, Jim Messina, George Grantham and Ricky [sic] Furay. — Record World [Ed. note: A&M did not sign Pogo].
Epic Records has prevailed over spirited competition to sign Pogo, a highly touted West Coast country-rock band formed around two former members of Buffalo Springfield. Deal was negotiated by Dickie Davis (former Springfield manager) and Dave Kaprilik of Epic.
Poco, with Randy Meisner, appeared live in concert on the CBS TV show Southern Comfort. Show aired from the Anaheim Convention Center with Poco opening for headliner Canned Heat. Local DJ Sam Riddle promoted the show.
Dillard & Clark, with Bernie Leadon: Illinois Speed Pass
Poco, with Randy Meisner: Biff Rose, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Canned Heat, Steve Miller Band, Black Pearly, Love Amy, Linda Ronstadt, Ralph Plummer, Steve Gillette, Taj Mahal, West
James Gang, with Joe Walsh: Frost, Lee Michaels, The Red, White and Blues, The Third Power
Glenn Frey and J.D. Souther became fast friends at the end of 1968, starting nearly 50 years of friendship and songwriting collaboration. With the Eagles and others, they forged some of the most recognizable songs of the 1970s and 1980s, including “The Best of My Love,” “Heartache Tonight,” and the Grammy-winning “New Kid in Town.” But during the early country-rock days in Los Angeles, the two budding songwriters didn’t have a nickel and stumbled about finding their way.
Souther was the first to come to L.A., having arrived several months earlier with his Amarillo, Texas, band, the Kitchen Cinq, in search of a recording contract. By day he labored doing construction and roofing, and by night he and his band got familiar with local clubs, managers, agents, and other musicians. He earned a few dollars playing drums for Bo Diddley and Norman Greenbaum (of “Spirit in the Sky” fame).
Meanwhile, Frey arrived in town late in 1968 and moved in with his girlfriend, Joan Sliwin. Sliwin and her sister, Alex, were members of an all-girl band called Honey Ltd., a group that already had a recording contract and was appearing in local clubs and on television. They were working on an album and had contacts in the music industry. Souther was also developing contacts and one exec, Tom Thacker, would set him up with occasional session work. Thacker was general manager at Amos Records, a label with Texas roots that also had a distribution agreement with Honey Ltd.’s label, Lee Hazlewood Industries. That connection put Souther and Alex Sliwin in close quarters, and they became involved romantically. So, Glenn and Joan and J.D. and Alex all moved in together.
Frey and Souther immediately connected.
“We were flat broke and moved in with our girlfriends,” Souther told Rolling Stone in 2016, “who were actually doing better than us. We started writing songs day and night. We talked about what we wanted to do and we said, ‘Let’s write songs and play music, just the two of us.’”
The two would hang out at the Troubadour, which had become a mecca of sorts for musicians looking to be discovered. Troubadour owner Doug Weston took an interest in the two budding songwriters and agreed to represent them under his management company, Doug Weston and Associates.
Souther said when they started, they were just called “John David and Glenn,” and Weston suggested they change the band’s name. “I liked the Penny Whistle and Glenn liked Longbranch, since he liked cowboys,” Souther said, and Weston said, “Great—Longbranch/Pennywhistle.” Within hours, a tiny ad had been taken out in the Los Angeles Free Press and they had their first paying gig on December 16, 1969.
“We opened for Poco for a week and the second gig we opened for The Flying Burrito Brothers,” Souther said. Thacker had an eye for talent and eventually brought the duo to Amos Records owner Jimmy Bowen, a Texan guitarist, engineer, and, most recently, manager who had turned around the flagging musical careers of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr. The two made a solid impression on him.
“J.D., who was from Amarillo, was bit on the surly, rebellious side,” Bowen recalled in his book Rough Mix, adding that Frey as an “easygoing sweetheart.”
“Their songs were squarely in that acoustic folk-country groove and it was fresh and upbeat, with just enough country to make me think of the early Everly Brothers. I really dug their stuff. They had no money, but I thought I’d give them a shot.” The duo started writing songs, and by the fall of 1969, they were in the studio working on their debut album. 1
1 [534] Ronstadt, L. (2013). Linda Ronstadt: Simple Dreams, New York, NY: Simon & Schuster
[1217] Bowen, J. (1997). Rough Mix, New York, NY: Simon & Schuster
[1226] Browne, D. (January 28, 2016). Glenn Frey: An Oral History, Rolling Stone
[1236] Forgo, R. (April 5, 2019). Interview with Alexandra Sliwin Collins, Time Passages
[1246] Bennington, R. (June 22, 2013). JD Souther, American Songwriter, The Interrobang
[1247] Geffen Records. (August 6, 2016). Longbranch/Pennywhistle - The Legendary 1969 Collaboration Of Late Eagles Co-Founder Glenn Frey and Acclaimed Songwriter JD Souther To Be Released on CD and Vinyl on September 28 via Geffen/UMe, .
[1249] Orloff, K. (August 15, 1970). Now Sound of the Troubadour, Chicago Star-Times
[1250] Perkins, T. (August 30, 2013). J.D. Souther returns to touring with a little 'Nashville' on the side, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
[1251] Haber, J. (March 20, 1968). Honey Ltd. -- Just for the Record, Los Angeles Times
[1267] Hilburn, R. (December 18, 1969). Poco Highlights Its Albums, Los Angeles Times
REO Speedwagon was solid, if as-yet unremarkable, Midwest rock group that had found solace in 1969 in being the house band for the go-to concert venue in Champaign, Illinois, the venerable Red Lion club. Then one day, future Eagles manager Irving Azoff noticed them and asked them if they had a booking agent. They didn’t, and shortly after, he had remedied the problem.
He said the first date booked for them “was for beer and pizza and $10 a man.” So it started slow, and it got better over time. Before Azoff, REO played at Illinois frat parties and small clubs, and even once shuffled off to Connecticut to cut an album and ended up making a pimple-cream jingle for $100.
Azoff and his partner Bob Nutt brought them stability, but not instant fame. Not long after taking over, he was able to slate the band as the opening act on a number of Midwestern tours, including Bob Seger. By September 1971, he had guided them to their first album, which didn’t have any hits. Along the way Azoff tapped John Baruck, who eventually became the band’s day-to-day manager.
