An Eleven Year Old Manthe
title of my 1971 45 on United Artists
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Picture it: NYC, 1969! United Artists Records contracted me to record a song by a staff producer who wanted in on the "folk/protest/anti Vietnam war thing" - Henry Jerome...?, thru my then manager, Marty Gold (Marty Gold and his Orchestra). The musicians included guitarists Jay Berliner (sort of a jazz and contract player - you can hear him on one or two Charles Mingus records - one of which is a Spanish style part that is very challenging and if he had a hard time with it in live performance, Mingus would extend the cadenza/solo to show off the embarrassment), and Eric Weissberg of "Dueling Banjos" fame. ...took several hours to lay down the track before my turn to sing. All very thrilling - and my very first studio recording experience - so i waited and drank coffee (not very good coffee but strong). Well, then it was time to record the "B" side, a composition of mine Henry titled "Visions." The musicians kept up with coffeed out ol' me; i don't know how - I've never been able to recreate playing the song at that speed again. "Cash Box Magazine" listed it ("...Eleven...") as "Newcomer Pick of the Week" and said some nice stuff about "...there is a frosting in the vocal...." - which probably accounts for it (An Eleven/12 year old Man) showing up in searches. That year the stock market crashed in and
around the music business and the record companies were scrambling,
slashing and burning. My contract went the way of all flesh,
and the rest as they say.... |
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