ALAN LEATHERWOOD: Rock, Bop, Folk and Pop Vol. 1 featuring REMEMBER THE ALAMO

Alan Leatherwood

Rock, Bop, Folk and Pop Vol. 1 featuring REMEMBER THE ALAMO

© 2004 Alan Leatherwood (829757770420)

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An eclectic blend of wild and moody rockabilly, Tex-Mex and Rockaballads, that covers all the influences from Holly, Presley, Burnette, Cochran and Cash; 21 tunes in all from a Fifties rocker who once recorded for the Old Town Record Label out of NYC

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notes

This is Leatherwood's first CD ever, fully loaded with just the freshest Rockabilly hams and Tex-Mex tenderloins! Leatherwood is a bonafide "collectable", a veteran of Fifties Rock, Sixties Folk, and then 70s Country. Because of a first hand sensibility in these genres, Alan has developed a certain amount of cult status over the years, not only for his three Ohio Moon vinyl albums recorded during the 80s and 90s ("ROCKABILLY MUSIC AND BRAKE JOBS", "BLUE SUEDE HEART", and "BURN IT"), but even more so for his early 60s recordings that were released nationally on indie labels during the early Sixties under variations of his real name, Alan Cassaro.

Al began his recording career in 1961 with the national release of a Buddy Holly styled rocker, "HICKORY DICKORY DOCK" (under the name of "Lane Cassaro"), which was issued on the Honolulu based Mahalo record label. He had several releases on the Integrity label after that, and then in 1964, "MAKE BELIEVE" (under the name of Alan Cassero), another Tex-Mexer, on Hy Weiss's legendary OLD TOWN Records. This last release received top reviews in all of the music trades and very likely would have catapulted Alan to the top of the charts, if the British Invasion hadn't hit at the same time, which froze out most American performers from the radio waves for the next year or so.

Rather than get trampled by the British takeover, Alan did a major shift and "unplugged" in to the budding folk-rock movement, and for the next fifteen years, he and his newly named duo, "Leatherwood and Lisa", played at coffee houses, festivals and colleges through out the States and Canada, sharing bills with the likes of Tim Hardin, Robert Junior Lockwood, Willie Dixon, NRBQ, Dr John, Eric Andersen, Tim Buckley, Flat and Scruggs, Hamilton Camp, Bob Gibson, Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris, and many others.

In the early Seventies, legendary pop/country singer Marty Robbins heard a song demo of original material by Al's duo and invited them down to Nashville, where as Marty's guests, they performed an original Leatherwood composition at Ryman's Grand Ole Opry for a filmed sequence that was included in Marty's motion picture, "COUNTRY MUSIC STORY". Marty and his staff writer, Bill Johnson ("A Wound Time Can't Erase") also produced several sides with the duo in the studio, which eventually led to a long term contract with the Charlie Rich Organization, where Alan was signed on as a staff writer and artist in development.

Fate stepped in again for another knockout punch when Charlie Rich showed up drunk at the CMA awards and proceeded to pull out his lighter and burn the envelope for the newly inducted "Entertainer of the Year" award, on national television. It may have seemed like a pretty cool thing for Charlie to do, considering that it was John Denver who was getting the award, but it was career suicide for Rich. After the cameras cut to a commercial, Charlie Rich was coaxed off the stage, and quickly carted off to the detox clinic to dry out. During the effort to try to salvage Rich's career, all of the artists at the Rich organization were given their walking papers and released from their contracts. Charlie Rich's career never really recovered and soon Charlie went into semi-retirement and headed back home to Memphis. The duo, "Leatherwood and Lisa" broke up, and Alan went back to Cleveland. Unfortunately, none of Alan's Nashville recordings were ever issued, which included some fine tracks recorded with the town's hottest players of the period, as well as sessions recorded with the already legendary Tommy Allsup (Buddy Holly's lead guitarist), Grady Martin, Buddy Harmon, and several other musicians associated with some of the great American classic recordings recorded in Nashville.

While playing an acoustic folk gig in Lubbock, Texas during the 70's at Texas Christian University, Alan had the good fortune to spend an afternoon with Buddy Holly's parents and brother, Larry Holley. After singing some of Buddy's old songs, Mr. Holley, Buddy's dad, got quite serious and said, "I know we've had some problems with Norman Petty in the past, but maybe I could take you down to meet him in Clovis, and perhaps you could do an album of some of the songs you've been singing here today." Al was flattered by this offer, but he said, "Mr. Holley, I'd love to do that someday, but after I make it on my own, with my own songs." Larry Holley just smiled and said, "That's something Buddy might have said. He could be pretty stubborn."

Alan doesn't have a regular band that he plays with, but he works and records with his long time friends in the studio, all-talented artists, writers and bare-knuckled musicians in their own right. Besides the hot guitar licks brought to the package by Memphis Mike (of the Legendary Tremblers), David Loy, and Paul Penfield, and Tom Fallon (of Satan's Satellites),the other featured players have some noteworthy credits of their own: Don Heddesheimer, keyboards, from the original "Black Flag of Anarchy", Danny Dickerson, keyboards, formerly a regular member of both Ed Bruce's, and the late Jimmy Ellis' (Orion) bands, and drummer Max Bangwell, a veteran of blues legend Robert Junior Lockwood's old band, as well as on the soon to be released album by Jerry Lee Lewis of duets, featuring all new performances from the Killer!

According to Alan, "Half of the people I work with are out of the punk bands from the 70s and 80s who discovered Rockabilly music via the Blasters and The Stray cats, and the other half started playing it when it first came out, or they arrived at the music via the blues. Over the years I've come to prefer working with people who are just basic rock and roll psychos, like I was in the beginning, musically speaking. This time I set out to record an album that works on a series of layered levels, fire and excitement on top, but with heart and soul at its core. Some people who've had the CD for a while tell me that it sounds better with each listening, and that it actually makes them feel more connected each time they hear it. My goal has always been to achieve some kind of rockabilly Nirvana, and I don't think I've gotten this close since I was a 12 year old in 1956, just drooling on my Warren Smith SUN 45 of "Black Jack David". Drooling can be a strong indication that you've achieved one form of rockabilly Nirvana".

More albums are planned in the near future, including a retrospective of Alan's earlier recording, upcoming within the year.

Notes by Bob Scherl and Larry Preston

reviews

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  • The U,K.s number one music Magazine
    author: NOW DIG THIS issue #256, by Harry Dodds

    He's not afraid to experiment…I rated the livelier material highly...Gene Summers' 'School Of Rock n Roll' gets a driving, feverish treatment. Leatherwood's 'People Tell Me' has Holly written all over it…a great cover of Sanford Clark's 'Go On Home'… The clever 'Come Back Buddy' …hits the spot. Alan has a darker, more introspective side which he refers to as "rockabilly noir" and ‘I Remember) Baby Blue' is a good example …Elvis' 'Flaming Star' is similarly brooding and a strong track. Robin Luke's 'Susie Darlin' is inbued with warmth… 'Little Lonely Summer Girl' underlines his ability to handle a wide range of material with real panache.

  • America's best Rockabilly and Roots Music quarterly magazine
    author: BLUE SUEDE NEWS summer issue 2004 by Marc Bristol

    Alan's a true-blue Rockabilly artist...the roots, deep as they go... nice productions of all the songs on here.

  • Europe's best online Rockabilly Reviews and newsletter
    author: Black Cat Rockabiily by Marijn Raaijmakers

    ...a lot of variety...The album is built around the classic folk song written by the late Jane Bowers in 1954 "Remember The Alamo", and it contains both a tribute version of the song (with special lyrics by Alan) as well as the original version. ‘Rockin' Little baby’ is one of Alan's self-penned rockers, fifties style and with a boppin' beat. Featuring on lead guitar on this and many other songs is …Mike Metzger, a.k.a. Memphis Mike of the Legendary Tremblers. And of course we already know what this man can do with a lead guitar…. ‘School of Rock 'n' Roll’…which'll surely rock your socks off. ‘Come Back Buddy’ is Alan's tribute to Buddy Holly, while the sensitive ‘I Remember Baby Blue’ brings out the best of Alan's beautiful dark voice…plenty of Leatherwood originals...varied with a selection of covers …a marvelous ‘Flaming Star’ (Elvis Presley), "…and a darkened ‘The Ways of a Woman in Love’ (Johnny Cash), again with the licks of Memphis Mike.

  • Loved it !
    author: Elsie

    What can I say that hasn't already been said ? Loved the blend of rockabilly/rock/pop in this CD. Susie Darlin' and Little Boy Sad are standout tracks for me. More of this kind of music...please !

  • its awesome
    author: lady in red

    The cd is awesome , just a fun Cd to listen too . I like the song Susie Darlin, clean & crisp sound. I also like You're The One ,just good rockin music on this cd . Another good one is People in Love,also , Words of Love , just so beautifully done . you wont be disappointed with this cd . So get your copy today .

  • " Let's Turn Back The Years"......
    author: River Lights

    From Elvis and Buddy " Let's turn back the years and begin at ground zero again...." This is a good start. I'd give it 5 stars but there's sure to be more to come. Al shifts enough gears here to keep ears groovin and rears movin. Extra Fine Rock n Roll, mixed with ballads worth hearing,and comments worth pondering. The covers are true and the originals very original. Production values high... vocals exceptional.... And the rhythms never fail. This media really is a keeper....

  • Alan Leatherwood--The Thinking Man's Rockabilly
    author: Rockin' Ed

    This CD has all the makings of a good folkabilly. Instead of going the route of Honky Tonkin' Beer guzzlin' party harty headbangers--Al's reaches deep into the very soul of man to conjure up feelings of nakedness. Johnny Cash had this quality--so did Sanford Clark--Al's version of Go On Home has this darkness. As does his take on Elvis' Flaming Star...but the highlight of this CD is his timely version of REMEMBER THE ALAMO-Not only for the remake of the classic movie but of the plight of our brave soldiers who are once again engaged in a fierce battle to keep our Amercia free--while COMEBACK BUDDY is AL's look at this same America plunging into the depths of the sins of Sodom and Gomorah that is known as the entertainment industry. ALso timely is the song Jesus ON The Line that gives the PASSION a whole new twist and shows that Jesus is just as vital today as he was 200 years ago. AL's remakes of Bertha Lou and Apron Strings give the hardcore rockabilly his FIX as well.---- So I say stop reading and start ordering today!!! and GO CAT GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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