Terry Clarke's Notebook - Diary ... thoughts on Dion DiMucci & Jimmy Webb

Sunday 6th November 2005 ...

I've been intending starting this online notebook - diary for some time and today seems as good a time as any ... keep checking back as it'll be changing all the time.

So - it's the 'wee wee hours' of a rainy Sunday morning and I'm just back from a concert that I've waited a long, long time to see.

Speaking of Jimmy Webb - Mr. Jimmy Webb. He's been one of my favourite songwriters it seems forever now. Over the years I've collected pretty much every album he's made and bought Glen Campbell , Supremes and 5th Dimension works to hear his songs by them. Last night he played a solo show at a beautiful theatre called The Coliseum in Aberdare, near Merthyr Tydfil in the Rhondda valley in south Wales.

He began with 'The Highwayman' and closed with 'Macarthur' Park ', two songs that bookended a selection of some of the most beautiful compositions ever to come from the world of popular music. He featured some from his new album 'Twilight of the Renegades', an album which to my mind ranks with his finest. These songs seem to shift like a kaleidoscope before your ears ... as it were ... Stephen Sondheim rubs shoulders with Baptist hymnal, sophisticated poetic images with the beautiful cadences of classic country music.

''Didn't We', 'Wichita Lineman', 'Up, Up and Away', an awesome, spine chilling reading of 'Galveston' sparkled in a set of songs that were interspersed with stories of his friends Harry Nilsson, Richard Harris, Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash. He also paid tribute to great vocalists such as Glen Campbell, Ella Fitzgerald and Rosemary Clooney.

If I weren't leaving tomorrow myself for North Carolina dates with David Childers I'd probably follow him 'down the road' to catch another show ... if you get a chance to ... get a ticket ... and go and see a true master of the song form at work.

Check out www.jimmywebb.com

January 2006

In Praise of Dion DiMucci

Thoughts and praise of Dion DiMucci - I have loved the work of Dion forever, and these days ... maybe even more so. I had my first ever guitar lesson from Trevor Rackley when I was about 13 years, old in a small terraced house on Alma Street in Reading. That Saturday afternoon Trevor wrote out chord charts for three songs; 'Be Bop A Lula' by Gene Vincent, 'Your Cheating Heart' by Hank Williams and 'Teenager In Love' by Dion (written by Doc Pomus & Mort Shuman) ... whose template I still use now in writing pop blues songs for Michael Messer). They were written out in the key of C major and I can still ... and often do ... play them now.

Dion along with Johnny Cash and the Everly Brothers has been the backbone of my musical inspiration as a writer and performer my whole life. His recorded work for a variety of labels has always uplifted me and made me want to pick up a guitar and play or write another song. There are so, so many highlights in his recording career; the early days of 'The Wanderer', 'Runaround Sue', 'Abraham, Martin and John' ... his more acoustic Warner Brothers 'songwriter' albums of the 1970's, his awesome (and at the time - neglected) Phil Spector produced 'Born To Be With You' from 1975. The single from those sessions 'Baby Let's Stick Together' featured Bruce Springsteen on vocals. Springsteen's E Street Band guitarist; 'Miami' Steve Van Zandt was a former Dion band member. His 1989 Arista album 'Yo Frankie' was a highpoint in a career full of them ... shortly after he was inducted in to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The shows he did at the Town and Country Club in London's Kentish Town shortly after still ring and resonate in my own memory - they were awesome performances. For the first one he was accompanied by his own band from Miami (where he has resided now for many years) with John Sambatero on guitar. Sambatero played on some of Stephen Stills albums which were cut down there also on a lot of the Bee Gees records from that time ... 'Saturday Night Fever' etc. The next time he came with Dave Edmunds who produced 'Yo Frankie' ... add Steve Cropper on guitar, Chuck Leavall on keyboards, the 'Miami Horns', Terry Williams (Rockpile, Man, Everly Brothers, Carlene Carter and Dire Straits) on drums and you have a pretty incendiary combination. The renditions that night of songs like; 'Ruby Baby', 'Drip Drop', 'The Wanderer' and material from 'Yo Frankie'; the title track, 'King of the New York Streets' and 'Written on the Subway Wall' are still fresh in my memory.

The aforementioned drummer; Terry Williams now lives back in his hometown of Swansea. I had the pleasure of meeting him recently and talking about the sessions for 'Yo Frankie' and the tour with Dion. I'm finding out that the songlines from him spread all over - my friend ( and these days co-writer ) Kathryn Lay recently interviewed Bonnie Raitt for her forthcoming UK tour and dropped Dion's name into the conversation. Bonnie virtually screamed down the Transatlantic phone line ... DION !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! .... he's fantastic. DiMucci actually wrote a tribute song to Raitt called 'Guitar Queen' for his 1977 album 'The Return of The Wanderer'. His version of Tom Waits' 'Heart of Saturday Night' on the same album is a personal favourite of mine.

In 1991 Columbia Records released Dion's 'Bronx Blues: The Columbia Recordings (1962-1965) as part of their Legacy series. Many of the tracks had not been heard for a long time and indeed some were previously unreleased. It included his versions of songs such as Willie Dixon's 'Spoonful' cut in 1965 and an unreleased version of Sonny Boy Williamson's 'Don't Start Me Talking' from 1964. For my money they rock as hard as anything cut by the Yardbirds or the Rolling Stones. These are diamond hard arrangements of blues classics that are almost primal in their energy.

Clean cut teen idol ? .... think again.

I recall that around the same time my friendship and working relationship with bluesman Michael Messer was developing ... Michael dubbed some cassettes of Muddy Waters and other bluesmen and women that I'd not heard and in return I gave him a cassette of some Dion Bronx blues. I vividly remember Michael being very excited by them ... to anybody who only knew 'Teenager in Love' and 'Runaround Sue' they were a total revelation. Incidentally around the same period of the mid 60's the Everly Brothers and Conway Twitty cut some wonderful versions of blues and R & B songs.

I also find it interesting to note that Dion's electric folk/blues recordings preceded Bob Dylan's and were produced by the same man - Tom Wilson.

Over the years whenever I've been on the road or in a new town, I would scour the racks in second hand shops for Dion records that I didn't have ... my first time in Nashville in 1987 my friend J.D. Foster (he was a crazy collector too ! ) took me to a record store where he said he was sure I'd find SOMETHING I wanted. I can't recall the name of the store but I do remember it was on the Nolansville Road. I walked in and found a mint condition vinyl copy of "Wonder Where I'm Bound' by Dion which I'd been searching for for years .... J.D. found some T Rex and Mott the Hoople that he didn't have !

As I'm writing this Dion's new album is just about to be released, a collection of blues & country standards from Robert Johnson and Hank Williams ...

When my first album 'Call Up A Hurricane' was released my friend and writer Arthur Wood was kind enough to write the sleevenotes for me ... below is a quote from those notes ...

Terry Clarke has spent more years than he would care to remember on the perimeter of national recognition. Nothing however, has ever dampened his enthusiasm for music. He is the consummate fan. A walking encyclopedia of our "rock n' roll" heritage since the fifties. You can't help but relate to a man who, in one breath praises Dion and Dylan, the Everly's and Tom Petty; then pitches in names like, Dwight Twilley and Van Dyke Parks - two of our more obscure American cousins. You can't help but admire a man who recognises that songwriting is an art to be nurtured; that songs are creations to be shared.

And I still praise him.

My own new album 'Night Ride to Birmingham' is going to be released soon. It's a collection of songs which are tributes/homages to people who inspired my life and music; Johnny Cash, Johnny Burnette, Maria Callas, Laura Nyro and others. The song below for Dion was written after the album was completed ... maybe I'll have to do Volume 2. Meanwhile you can catch me performing it live.

"Dion 'The Wanderer' and 'Ruby Baby' "

1
Where I came from boys grew their hair ...
wanted to be in the Rolling Stones
me ... I went to school with Italian boys
I wanted to be Dion
I still love the way he sings
like a rock 'n' roll Caruso
go down Dion - Bronx to Florida
orange blossom blooming when you go


2
Where he came from they cruised the streets
in packs and in the shadows
the same streets Bobby Darin walked
where they trained young Jake la Motta
I still love the way he talks
Like a rock 'n' roll James Cagney
a rolling panorama, a streetlife symphony
alchemy and magic in the subway

Chorus
It's Dion 'The Wanderer' and 'Ruby Baby'
swaying down the avenue
engines idle at a red stop light
Dion goes on through
he always goes on through

3
Was a black and white television set
was on a Saturday night
was Dion singing "Runaround Sue'
- God gave the blind man sight -
in 'the Holy Land of Marinara'
is where you learn to sing like that
when the high tenor sings the blues
you even dance on your own doormat

4
Bruce Springsteen on backing vocals
Phil Spector at the mixing board
welcome to the 1970's
hold on tight pull the ripcord
bass drum kicks and rimshot sticks
and the backbeat is the king
'West Side Story' was incomplete
because - when did Dion sing?

Chorus
It's Dion 'The Wanderer' and 'Ruby Baby'
swaying down the avenue
engines idle at a red stop light
Dion goes on through
he always goes on through

5
Growing up riding the 'D' train
through girders and shadows of evening
marionettes are dancing
while in a sweatshop somebody's weaving
the old folks have memories of Bari
on the coast of the Adriatic
the young ones are looking at the jukebox
and the wonders of 'automatic'

Chorus
It's Dion 'The Wanderer' and 'Ruby Baby'
swaying down the avenue
engines idle at a red stop light
Dion goes on through
he always goes on through

Lyrics by Terry Clarke & Kathryn Lay
Music by Terry Clarke © Bucks Music 2006 www.bucksmusicgroup.com

In closing ... I learned from my Tampa, Florida friend Ronny Elliott - who Wes McGhee and I toured with as the Unholy Trinity in the summer of 2005 - that HE recorded the original demo of Dick Holler's 'Abraham, Martin and John' for Dion way back when ... like I said - the songlines go everywhere.

Check out www.diondimucci.com

North Carolina with David Childers and the Modern Don Juans

I met David Childers in Glasgow in January 2004 at Celtic Connections where he was appearing with Martin Stephenson. Rob Ellen, my friend and promoter from Dingwall was handling Martin's event. Martin and I had met at a poetry/song festival in Nairn on the Moray Firth a few months earlier that Rob had organised. David and I hit it off immediately and became friends. I loved his songwriting and his impassioned performing style and we parted a few days later with a firm resolve to stay in touch and try and play music together again; somewhere, somehow.

So, time passed, we did keep in touch and - Mon 7th Nov I left Cardiff airport en route for David's home base of Charlotte, North Carolina .... Charlotte via Amsterdam and Minneapolis/St. Paul, a 16 hour journey ... I love airports !! It was around 10.00 pm when I arrived in Charlotte, David and his lovely wife Linda met me and it was - first stop - a favourite local waffle house of theirs ... welcome to The South ... yessirree-bop-a-lula, then back to David's house in Mount Holly on the edge of Charlotte; get out the guitars, open my duty free Jamesons Irish whiskey and trade songs before sleep.
Tues 8th Nov ... we spend time at the house which sits in 5 acres of woodland. It was a beautiful autumn day lit up by the darting flashes of red cardinals in and out of the changing colours of the trees. We traded songs - David played me an unrecorded song of his called 'A Good Man For The Night', the tale of an Irish immigrant girl's arrival in London from Dublin. I loved the song immediately and have since learned it and am now featuring it in my own shows.
Wed 9th Nov through to Sat 19th Nov was my Southern Odyssey with David and his band the Modern Don Juans ... the gigs we did are listed on the 'Gigs' page on this site ... what follows is - what follows ...
Although for the past 20 years I have travelled extensively in North America; Texas, Nashville, through Mississippi and Louisiana to Baton Rouge and New Orleans, New Jersey, New York, Boston and New England, Chicago, Wisconsin, across Illinois and Missouri, Edmonton and Calgary in Canada but I had never been to this part of the nation.

North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Ohio ... from those lands came; (in no particular order) Don Gibson, Link Wray, Patsy Cline, Dean Martin, George Hamilton 1V, the Carter Family, Champ Hood, John D. Loudermilk, Walter Hyatt, Hank Garland, Marshall Chapman ... the list is endless, a crucible for country/blues and jazz music. David and his band are fine, fine company to travel with too; Robert Childers (his son) on drums, Randy Saxon on electric/acoustic guitars and mandolin and last but - not least - Mark Lynch on electric bass, no ... make that - Danelectro electric bass. THAT means 'cool' in my book as I'm a big aficionado of Danelectro guitars. I have 3 of their 12 string models myself and a gig bag full of Dano effects pedals, they have names that read like a menu in a truck-stop on Mars; Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato, Tuna Melt and Black Licorice, but bear in mind that Danelectro did start life in Neptune City, New Jersey !!! ... Mark also sculpts his hair with Royal Crown and plays Skeets McDonald in the truck.

Highlights and favourite memories ? ... in the afternoon of Wed 9th I did a radio show with David at WSGE, Gaston College, South Dallas, NC - just the 2 of us with 2 acoustic guitars.
They played some tracks of our CDs and we played songs live. It was a lot of fun, everybody there was very hospitable and friendly, David and I left with armfuls of T-shirts, pens and miniature flashlights ... pretty handy - I keep mine in my camera bag ! They recorded the session and as far as I know they are still airing it, thanks again to everybody there, especially Cliff Anderson. That evening we played our first show at a great bar/restaurant called Rodi in Gastonia, NC. Again, just the 2 of us plus Randy Saxon on acoustic guitar and mandolin . I found out within the first song that Randy can accompany any song he's never heard before, in any key, as if he's been playing it all his life. He's an awesome musician, one of the finest I've ever had the pleasure of sharing a stage with .... a wonderful crowd and a wonderful night.
As soon as we drove out of the parking lot I was looking forward to going back.

The following day - Thurs 10th Nov we headed off for Ohio. Through the Virginias, the Blue Ridge Mountains and on to Pomeroy which sits on the banks of the Ohio River. The guys let me sit in the front passenger seat of the van so I could see everything there was to see and shoot photos. It was a beautiful journey, a brilliantly sunny autumn day, through mountains, across valleys filled with changing colour.
The gig that night was a great bar that David and the band love playing; the Court Street Grill.
It was packed with crazy, friendly people ... all of them determined to have as good a time on a Thurs evening as they could. I played a solo set, played with the band some and played a few as a duo with a wonderful accordionist we met there during the evening. His name is Bernie Nau and he has a recording studio there called Peachfork Studios. He's produced albums there in Pomeroy for some of the top names on the Irish traditional music scene such as Patrick Street.
The following day; Fri 11th Nov, was Armistice Day and it was a glorious morning with the sun reflecting off the medals of the veterans who were marching in their various ceremonial parades and the Stars and Stripes flying on every available flagpole, fluttering in a light breeze that barely riffled the waters of the majestic Ohio River. Their parades over, they were standing around in groups, talking quietly, and every one of them that I passed, smiled and said "Good morning."
Shortly after we left for Cleveland, Ohio, stopping for lunch in West Virginia. The embroidered pennant hanging outside the restaurant quoted John Denver ... 'Almost heaven, West Virginia.'

The show that night in Cleveland was at a bar/club called The Barking Spider, I meant to ask but never found out where the name came from. It's owned and run by a man called Martin Jurdine. I liked him a lot, he put all of us up for the night in his apartment in the Cleveland Heights are of the city. It was great night, I met some people who were very appreciative of the music and very welcoming to me. When I first met David his song Ghosts of Cleveland from his Hard Time County album became an instant favourite of mine - it's a very beautiful and powerful song. It was thrill for me that night to be invited to sing it with him in the city that he wrote it for.
Sat 12th Nov greeted us with a clear, bright frosty morning. David took me on a tour of some of the places and things he wrote of in Ghosts of Cleveland ... through the Italian neighbourhoods; pastry shops, bars and cafes, barmen getting ready for the days trade ... washing the windows, sweeping off the front steps with Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra crooning out of the doors (Dino worked these areas in the early days of his career, having been born a few miles south in Stuebenville, Ohio). Once clear of the stores it was a steep hike of about a mile to the top of the hill to Lake View Cemetery which stands in roughly 20 acres of parkland. 100/150 years ago Cleveland was one of the richest cities in America, in the days of the Carnegie dynasty and the family names on the mausoleums and headstones make fascinating reading. There were 2 sites that David wanted me to see in particular; the first one being the commemorative mausoleum for President James A. Garfield who was assassinated in 1881. It stands on a rise and as I recall is probably 150/200 feet high, as enter on the ground floor level there steps which lead to a balcony .... step outside and the view across the Cleveland city skyline to Lake Eerie is stunning. That morning the sunlight was dazzling off the water although miles away.
The next site on David's itinerary for me was the Jeptha Wade Chapel which was designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany. We walked in just as the historian/guide was about to begin his talk for the morning. The light through the famed Tiffany glass that morning gave such an intensity to the colours that I didn't even bother to raise my camera ... just gazed in wonder. David - thanks brother. Before we left Cleveland to drive to Charleston, West Virginia we had an hour to spare for a spree in the local toy/novelty stores that the Modern Don Juans hit with a vengeance every time they're in town. Me? .... I found a record store with a copy of the new Neil Diamond album; 12 Songs produced by Rick Rubin. I've been a massive fan of his for always, especially the early more 'acoustic' based tracks like; Cherry, Cherry and Brooklyn Roads, Solitary Man etc ... Rubin has (like he did with Johnny Cash) taken him back to that feel. It's a great work and we rocked into West Virginia with it.
That night was a show in the Empty Glass, Charleston. Great bar ... it was a 'return match' for the guys as they had played there a few weeks before when they were in town for the taping of the Mountain Stage radio show. After the show we stayed at Nancy's Lounge and headed back on Sun for Charlotte accompanied by Skeets McDonald, making a pit stop on the way for coffee and snacks at Oak Hill, West Virginia. R.I.P. Hank Williams ...

A few days rest and then Wed 16th Nov saw us at the Summit Coffee House, Davidson, North Carolina. Rick Spreitzer was the host for the evening and the three of us sat and played 'in the round' passing the songs between ourselves. Rick himself was a revelation that night ... we'd met the week before at show at Rodi ... he's a quiet unassuming man with a catalogue of truly great songs. I enjoyed playing music with him, he's got a strong fan base there and they were a great crowd. I have since learned one of Rick's songs; Panhandler's Stomp and have a lot of fun singing it at my gigs. Another place I look forward to going back too ... good red wine and coffee there as well.
Thurs 17th Nov was the Evening Muse in Charlotte with Scott Eberhardt another strong original singer/writer that I'd not heard before. Again; we did it in the round and had a lot of fun. By now the temperature had started falling at night and it was getting chilly to step outside and roll a smoke but it seemed that every time I did I got into fascinating conversations with local people ... poets and writers.
Up early and off 'Morning Live' on Radio WGWG at Gardner-Webb University, Boiling Springs, North Carolina on Fri 18th Nov ... we crossed in to South Carolina for a few miles en route and a poignant moment for me was passing a road sigh to Spartanburg, South Carolina.
I've never been there but it's where my dear, departed friend Champ Hood was born and raised.
The show as meant to air live but had to be pre-recorded for transmission later because - the previous night had been just about on freezing and it was discovered in the morning that a copperhead snake had slithered into the equipment for warmth had 'fried' the electrics as well as itself .... nah - they gave us cake with our coffee ! On a serious note, it was great session; myself and David accompanied by Randy Saxon on mandolin. The evening was at the George Washington Bookstore and Tavern, Concord, North Carolina.
Sat 19th Nov and the last date which was The Purple Onion, Saluda, North Carolina. This day will always remain as one of the highlights in my memory. We travelled to Saluda via Shelby, North Carolina; Randy's hometown, it was also the hometown of one of the true legends of country music; Don Gibson who was laid to rest there when he passed away in Nov 2003. Randy and I had spoken of his songs and music and he knew I was a huge fan of his, so offered to meet us en route to the gig and be our guide (he's visited the site before). Mr. Gibson rests in a beautiful cemetery in an old part of Shelby. It was a perfect day to visit; late afternoon with the sun beginning to dip and lose it's light through the trees. It's a good spot to stand and give thanks for the songs he gave us; songs that I'm sure will live for as long as anybody listens to songs. Incidentally; in Feb 2003, a few months before he passed away I was in Nashville staying with my friend Rosie Flores (I was in town for Folk alliance). The extract below is what I wrote for Shaun Belcher's Flyin Shoes e-zine ...

... spent some time over the next few days with Rosie Flores in the studio listening to tracks for her new live CD ‘Single Rose’. It was recorded in Nashville at Douglas Corner and sounds intimate, tender and rocking in the same breath.
Featured are a lot of new compositions of hers, some beautiful songs - the title track ‘Single Rose’ and ‘Morning Light’ are like little three minute essays on life and love - I suppose that makes them classics by definition .

We sat up late one night sipping whiskey , when that ran out we turned to tequila and spent the wee small hours swapping songs. The favourites that we both grew up on ... some half remembered .... a verse of one ... a chorus of another, as I recall now , most of them were Don Gibson songs that night. Always seemed to me that he was a bluesman .... his original versions of ‘Sweet Dreams’, ‘Just One Time’, ‘Oh, Lonesome Me’ etc had such a blue groove to them.

The following morning it was raining, it was cold , I was a guest in a non-smoking household so ... I put on my down jacket, made some coffee, rolled a cigarette and took the guitar out on the porch. The street appeared to me as a black and white photo from the late 50's/early 60's, seemed like a Don Gibson day, I sat there and wrote a song called ‘Lonesome Street’. It’s always going to be my ‘Don Gibson song’ , Rosie heard me playing it .... we worked it up and played it in our set at the Bluebird Cafe a few days later.
I’ll be recording it for my next album and I think Rosie has plans to cut it too, so ... thank you Mr Gibson for the inspiration and the poetry grooves.

The Purple Onion was a great way to end a great trip .... one of the best shows we did together on the whole trip ... as a special tribute to Don Gibson that night I sang 'Oh Lonesome Me' accompanied by Randy on mandolin.
David Childers and the Modern Don Juans - thanks a million for your help, friendship and kindness - Linda Childers too.
Back to Charlotte; duty free nearly gone, Sunday tomorrow ... airports - airports - airports ...
Minneapolis/St. Paul .... duty free ...Monday - Cardiff.
© Terry Clarke, Carmarthenshire, Wales. January 2006

Rick Spreitzer www.rickspreitzer.com and for David Childers www.davidchilders.com

January 2006

'Women There Don't Treat You Mean: Abilene In Song'

Noted Texas music historian, Joe Specht of Abilene's McMurry University, has written a book to be released on March 1, entitled Women There Don't Treat You Mean: Abilene In Song,
which chronicles 28 songs which were written specifically about Abilene, Texas (and dozens more that simply make mention of Abilene). The publishers thought it would be appropriate to include with the book a CD containing six songs performed by Abilene artists. Slim Chance & the Survivors were tapped to perform the George Hamilton IV hit of "Abilene (My Abilene)," and, yes, it was written for Abilene, Texas, as opposed to Abilene, Kansas.  

This information was sent me by my friend Roger Kirkpatrick; the drummer with Slim Chance & the Survivors, incidentally the singer in the band is Lane Frizzell, a relative of legendary Texan singer Lefty Frizzell. I've heard the Survivors version of Abilene from the CD and it's a beautiful rendition of the classic.
I'll post more info on obtaining the book soon.

September 2006

I was recently invited by Blues Matters magazine to write a sidebar piece for their interview with Dion DiMucci. It appeared in the Aug/Sept Issue 33, reproduced below.

www.bluesmatters.com