Forumite exposed in tell-all book !!

Fred Jack · Post by **Fred Jack** » 27 Oct 2004 10:50 am

Hey Rick! What is an 8 track? Is that something that Herb came up with? Regards, Fred

Rick McDuffie · Post by **Rick McDuffie** » 27 Oct 2004 10:56 am

Herb, did you play on Geronimo's Cadillac or the Ballad of Calico (I think that was the name of it). Am I mixing that up with something KR and the The First Edition did?

And did you have anything to do with the Monkees cutting What Am I Doing Hanging Round?

I'd be interested in hearing you share some memories here.

Rick

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 27 Oct 2004 12:47 pm

Rick McD.:
The album "The Ballad of Calico" was an operetta written by Michael Murphey and Larry Cansler (LA keyboardist) for Kenny Rogers and the First Edition. The lp is a collectible, fer sure. It also contains the first recording of MMM's hit "Wildfire." I was not involved on that project.

Calico itself was/is an actual silver-mining ghost town in the Mojave desert between LA and Vegas. Entrepreneur Walter Knott bought the property and used the town as the model for his very popular amusement park, Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park CA. THE place to take the kids before Disneyland opened in nearby Anaheim in 1954. Murphey would go out to the old town, hang around the old buildings that were still standing, and wrote the "history" of the town in song. Murphey was a beautiful, compelling writer in those days, before he was a star.

"Geronimo's Cadillac," the album, had Leonard Arnold on steel guitar and lead guitar. If there's steel on "GC the song," it would be Leonard. I did play the song many, many times during the 1972-75 period I was in Murph's Texas band.

If I had anything to do with "What Am I Doing Hangin' Round," I may have played banjo or mando on the Screen Gems demo. This was around 1967, and I recall I was playing dobro, mandolin, and some banjo for Boomer and Murphey's demo sessions. But that was a long time ago, dude.

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Herb's Steel Guitar Pages
Texas Steel Guitar Association

[This message was edited by Herb Steiner on 27 October 2004 at 01:49 PM.]

Rick McDuffie · Post by **Rick McDuffie** » 27 Oct 2004 2:02 pm

There was a band from Indiana "The Wright Bros. Overland Stage Co." that was performing some of the Ballad of Calico as part of their show back in the mid-70's. Rex________ (his name escapes me) is an active Forum member living in N'ville, and played steel for them in those days. They were an EXCELLENT band, and I think they're still going.

Thanks, Herb, for the insight into those cool and interesting events. The music Murphey did in those early days was my favorite. Great writing, I agree.

Was there a group in LA called Lewis and Clark, and wasn't there some connection to Murphey? Were you part of that?[This message was edited by Rick McDuffie on 27 October 2004 at 03:13 PM.]

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 27 Oct 2004 3:01 pm

Rick
The Lewis and Clark Expedition was a band fronted by Murphey and forumite Boomer Castleman. I'll let Boomer tell the whole story if he sees fit, but I'll contribute this much.

Boomer and Murphey had a Texas-style folk-country duo around LA called "Boomer and Travis." They had John McEuen (later Nitty Gritty) on banjo and John (Kuehne) London on bass. I'm talking 65-66. They were both writing for Lester Sill and Don Kirschner at Screen Gems at the time, if I recall. Anyway, Screen Gems wanted to form a band around them, so their characters became "Travis Lewis" and "Boomer Clark" and the band was The Lewis And Clark Expedition. I think they had one album and a single or two on Screen Gems.

The band was Boomer, Murphey, John London on bass, a drummer named Johnny (?), and multi-instrumentalist Ken Bloom on lead instruments. Bloom is a 40+ year dear friend of mine and a past collaborator of Winnie Winston's. Also a remarkable man, but that's another story entirely.

I recall playing one rehearsal on steel with them in 1968 when I was with Ronstadt, but I don't completely recall playing any gigs with that band. Maybe one in Orange County somewheres.

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Herb's Steel Guitar Pages
Texas Steel Guitar Association

Rick Garrett · Post by **Rick Garrett** » 28 Oct 2004 1:51 am

Great thread here. Now tell me is there anyting cooler than the history of music as it pertains to the steel guitar and the cool cats that play it? No there ain't!

That and the fact that these steel guitar greats hang out here and share their stories of the old days is what keeps me coming back for more.

Rick

Rick McDuffie · Post by **Rick McDuffie** » 28 Oct 2004 5:54 am

Thanks, Herb. That explains the credit for "What Am I Doing Hanging Round?" being given to "Lewis and Clark" on the Monkees album. I learned it from Nesmith's version, and never heard Murphey's version until Geronimo's Cadillac came out.

I did not know that Wildfire was on The Ballad of Calico. I'd love to have a copy of that album. It's legendary, but I've never heard it... kind of like King Arthur.

From memory...

"No rain and the weather got warm,
Broke down and sold my farm,
Headed for the silver strike.
I took my wife.
Calico silver gave us life."

What great writing! Wow.

jim milewski · Post by **jim milewski** » 28 Oct 2004 6:31 am

Herb, is that you on the live version of the Pickup Truck song?

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 28 Oct 2004 6:44 am

Jim
I left Murphey in either late 1974 or early 1975 when he moved to Colorado from Texas. I wanted to play western swing with Alvin Crow, Murphey was getting divorced from Diana and was really crazed, so I decided I'd stay in Texas. John Macy ultimately wound up with the Murphey gig, incidentally.

I don't recall any "pickup truck" song and I don't recall recording any live album with Murphey, so no, it's not me on that cut.

EDIT: Are you referring to the Jerry Jeff Walker song "Pickup Truck Texas?" No, that ain't me neither.

EDIT TWO: Ah, maybe you mean the JJW tune "Up Against The Wall, Redneck" that was done live at Luckenbach on the Viva Terlingua album ("He's got a '57 GMC pickup truck..."). Yeah, I plead guilty to that one. Embarrassing, but true.

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Herb's Steel Guitar Pages
Texas Steel Guitar Association

[This message was edited by Herb Steiner on 28 October 2004 at 07:48 AM.][This message was edited by Herb Steiner on 28 October 2004 at 07:50 AM.]

jim milewski · Post by **jim milewski** » 28 Oct 2004 3:37 pm

Herb, it was the JJW tune, he talked about some old Texan named Hondo or something like that, it don't matter anyway, Fessy tells me you pick it as good as it gets

Mike Lovell · Post by **Mike Lovell** » 28 Oct 2004 4:31 pm

It was Lloyd Maines on the live Pickup truck song.
Mike