PSALM23.1 WAYLON JENNINGS AND THE KIMBERLYS Country-Folk
A Famous Star performing with stars of the future!
The United States of 1969 was a place of stark contrasts, from the free love of Woodstock to the natural disaster of Hurricane Camille hitting Mississippi, the Stones’ ill-thought out security at Altamont amid a climate of student unrest throughout the States. The cold war continued and secret peace talks began in Vietnam. Nixon was on the ropes and the revolution was around the corner. Crosby, Stills And Nash won best new artist at the Grammy’s and, as ‘A Boy Named Sue’ and ‘Stand By Your Man’ won best country songs, the precursor to the ‘Country-Folk’ album which you hold in your hands, ‘MacArthur Park’ by Waylon Jennings And The Kimberlys, was voted Best Country Performance by a Duo Or Group.
The concept behind ‘Country-Folk’ was different again. The sleevenotes to the original release were a lecture in humility by Bob Tubert. Under the heading “A Famous Star Performing With Stars Of The Future”, Tubart noted that Waylon Jennings had gone from being a favourite of the stars to being a favourite of the public and that it was payback time, time for Waylon to extend a helping hand to The Kimberlys to bring them into wider acceptance.
‘Country-Folk’ was an inspired idea but its creation was troubled. Jennings was struggling under the tight rein he was under at RCA and when legendary guitarist and producer Chet Atkins turned him over to staff producer Danny Davis, Jennings pulled out a pistol in the studio to protest Davis’s practice of what Jennings felt was studio bullying. All good studio behaviour as Phil Spector has proved on more than one occasion since.
Davis was a vocalist, producer and the founder of The Nashville Brass, but Waylon was longer in the tooth. Having played guitar for Buddy Holly and given up his seat on the fateful plane that killed him, not to mention having shared a flat with quiet, reserved Johnny Cash for several years, Waylon wasn’t going to do anything he didn’t want to. And he didn’t.
The result was an amazing mix of styles, an inspirational recasting of country that utilises The Kimberlys to take the songs into new territory. With another 1969 Grammy winner (Best Song) in the tracklisting, Joe South’s ‘Games People Play’, it’s a tour de force that quickly became a buried treasure as Waylon was already on the move. Too different for Nashville, a few copies arrived in the UK.
And one even made it to the Hawley household in Sheffield, as one of the UK’s greatest new songwriting talents, Richard Hawley recalls: "This album contains some of my favourite songs, ‘Cindy, Oh Cindy’, ‘Mary Ann Regrets’, ‘Drivin’ Nails In The Wall’, ‘Long Way Back Home’, not to mention the beautifully surreal ‘MacArthur Park’. Waylon Jennings and the Kimberlys made this album in 1969, I've been listening to it since I was a little boy and I still believe in it after all that time. Great song writing and great performances. I won’t say more, because I don't want to spoil it for you."
