I Can Hear Music

5 I CAN HEAR MUSIC 1969–1970 “Aquarius,” “Let the Sunshine In” » The 5th Dimension “Crimson and Clover” » Tommy James and the Shondells “Get Back,” “Come Together” » The Beatles “Honky Tonk Women” » Rolling Stones “Everyday People” » Sly and the Family Stone “Proud Mary,” “Born on the Bayou,” “Bad Moon Rising,” “Green River,” “Traveling Band” » Creedence Clearwater Revival “In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida” » Iron Butterfly “Mama Told Me Not to Come” » Three Dog Night “All Right Now” » Free “Evil Ways” » Santanaproof “Ride Captain Ride” » Blues Image Songs! The entire Gainesville music scene was built around songs: Top Forty songs on the radio, songs on albums, original songs performed on stage by bands and other musical ensembles. The late sixties was a golden age of rock and pop music and the rise of the rock band as a musical entity. As the counterculture marched for equal rights and against the war in Vietnam, a sonic revolution was occurring in the recording studio and on the concert stage. New sounds were being created through multitrack recording techniques, and record producers such as Phil Spector and George Martin became integral parts of the creative process. Musicians expanded their sonic palette by experimenting with the sounds of sitar, and through sound-modifying electronic ef- fects such as the wah-wah pedal, fuzz tone, and the Echoplex tape-de- lay unit, as well as a variety of new electronic keyboard instruments and synthesizers. The sound of every musical instrument contributed toward the overall sound of a performance or recording, and bands were begin- ning to expand beyond the core of drums, bass, and a couple guitars. Keyboards were a common addition to this core instrumental lineup, but it wasn’t just “organ” on a specific song; it was a Vox Continental on the Doors’ “Light My Fire” and Sir Douglas Quintet’s “She’s about a Mover”; it was a Hammond B3 on “Green Onions” by Booker T. and the M.G.’s, and a Farfisa organ on Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs’ “Wooly Bully” and the Swingin’ Medallions’ “Double Shot (Of My Ba- by’s Love).” Keyboard manufacturers recognized the new market for instruments beyond the traditional large home consoles and began offering portable organs specifically designed for easy transporta- tion and live stage use. There were new sounds emanating from the electronic sound labs at universities, involving combinations of tone oscillators and filters and envelope generators: synthetic music made purely through electronicproof means. A pioneer in this new field of electronic sound synthesis was Rob- ert Moog, inventor of the first widely used music synthesizers. By 1970 Moog had designed and manufactured the Minimoog, an af- fordable and portable monophonic synthesizer model suitable for onstage use that was such a new concept in both design and sound that the company was having trouble convincing music dealers it was a musical instrument. A Moog sales representative named David Van Koevering said he’d try, and his first stop was Gainesville, Florida, and Lipham Music. “I go to Buster Lipham,” Van Koevering recalled, “and he laughs at me. He says, ‘You want me to sell that thing? Show me how to do a violin, show me how to do a flute.’ And he said, ‘If you can prove to me that musicians will do this, you come back . and I’ll sell them.’” Bob Turner, a musician who worked at the store, saw the po- tential and encouraged Buster to stock the instrument. He eventually I Can Hear Music » 75 Buster Lipham and Robert Moog, circa 1970. Permission of Buster Lipham. did, and the synthesizer became an immense success. Lipham Music was the first retail outlet in the United States to sell the Minimoog. Musicians and producers alike experimented with new instruments such as the synthesizerproof and also through creative approaches in the recording process. “Crimson and Clover” by Tommy James and the Shondells is one such example, a song that reached number one in the United States and six other countries. The instrumental track includes a guitar played through an amplifier with a tremolo circuit, an effect that can be described as turning the volume up and down very quickly, in this case in time with the song’s tempo. In the studio, someone got the idea of plugging a microphone into a guitar amp as James sang, “Crimson and clover, over and over” over and over. Any- one who had heard this song in late 1968 can recall the singular sound of that vocal: [pronounce this exactly as written for maximum effect] “Crim-m-m-m-son-n-n and clo-o-o-o-ver-er-er-er, oh-oh-oh-oh- ver-er-er and oh-oh-ver-er-er-er-er-er.” Singers in cover bands would duplicate this effect using just their voice when performing the song onstage. It was hilarious. 76 » MUSIC EVERYWHERE SOUNDS UNLIMITED Although we now take for granted the basic lineup of a rock band, in the late sixties the band as a distinct musical entity was new, com- pared to the traditional pop recording session consisting of a vocal- ist backed by hired session musicians playing an arranger’s music charts. The goal of a rock band was to produce a singular musical expression comprised of the collective musical talents and personali- ties of each band member. In the late sixties bands were becoming a rising presence on the record charts, and the successful ones had a distinctive sound they retained from record to record. The Byrds’ vocal harmonies along with the electric twelve-string guitar style of Roger McGuinn were integral to the Byrds’ musical identity; records by the Kinks were identifiable through Ray Davies’s vocal sound and brother Dave’s massive “power chord” guitar riffs; the overall sound of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s music arrangements and John Fo- gerty’s vocals were unique to the band. Bands were artistic entities bigger than the sum of their parts. The good bands sounded like no other. proof SOUTHEAST POP MUSIC CONTEST Having already presented live music in the parking lot of Lipham Mu- sic just for the fun of it on occasion, in the summer of 1969 Buster Lipham concocted an event that was either a showcase of regional musical talent or simply brilliant self-promotion. It was probably both and led to a memorable musical performance by a newly formed band out of Macon, Georgia. “We’d been having bands playing out in the Lipham’s parking lot,” Buster recalled, describing the occasional weekend events that promoted both band and store simultaneously, “so we came up with the idea of why not just have a contest. We called it the Southeast Pop Music Contest. “We had three divisions—B, A, and AA: an entry level, just kids getting started; and then we had the guys who were playing, but hadn’t made any kind of a circuit; and then we had the guys who I Can Hear Music » 77 Check payable to Lipham Music signed by Duane Allman. Various band members signed these weekly checks. Permission of Jack Weston. were playing around pretty well. And we had a six weeks’ elimination series of shows.” The winners got more than a trophy. “Gibson gave a Les Paul and a bass away; Fender gave amplifiers and a Stratocaster away; Sunn gave amplifiers away; Strobodelic gave strobe lights away; and remember, this was in 1969; I was given thirty-five thousand dollars’ wholesale worth of merchandise to give away. All the vendors were very sup- portive of the eventproof and the concept. Things were really rolling back then.” The final round of performances took place in the Gainesville High School auditorium, 1900 NW 13th Street, during the last few days of August 1969, over Labor Day weekend. Nestled among the finalists such as Noah’s Ark and Frosted Glass was a group from Macon that had been playing together since early May: the Allman Brothers Band. Brothers Duane and Gregg Allman were born in Nashville but had grown up in Daytona Beach. As members of the Allman Joys in the mid-sixties, they played Gainesville fraternities and the American Le- gion Hall. The Allman Brothers Band was now signed to Phil Walden’s Capricorn Records, had just recorded their debut album, and was on a short tour in support of its upcoming release. When the band agreed to compete in the contest, they had still been an unsigned act and were now disqualified because of their record contract. They played 78 » MUSIC EVERYWHERE the contest most likely as a favor to Buster, with whom the band had developed both a business and a personal relationship. Most of the band’s stage gear and guitars had recently been stolen, and Buster Lipham had advanced the band thirteen thousand dollars’ worth of instruments, guitar amplifiers, and accessories. Secured by nothing more than a handshake, the loan was repaid through weekly checks written to Lipham Music by various band members a couple hundred dollars at a time. Thus began a long-term friendship between the All- man Brothers Band and Buster Lipham. LIVE AT THE . GHS GYM When the Allman Brothers Band hit the stage as the last act to per- form, it was immediately apparent this was not just another rock band. (I was present and will attest that the performance embodied a level of musicianship far above that of any other group.) The overall effect of the six-member band was that of a single musical entity performing songs that combined dual-guitar interplay with passages of free-flowing jazz-like improvisation over a rhythm section of organ, two drummers, and a bassist.

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