Musicians on Bobby Charles' Bearsville Sessions
Copied from Hideki Watanbe's Bobby Charles web site.
This personnel listing for the Bobby Charles LP seems pretty accurate. My adds would be Dr. John rather than Levon on "Small Town Talk" (source: Amos Garrett), and Helm and Manuel rather than Mundi and John Simon on "Long Face" as they have to be on something and "He's Got All The Whiskey" makes no sense. --Bill Munson
[Alphabetical list] [Track list]
Alphabetical list of musicians
| Musician | Instruments | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Bobby Charles | Vocal, Producer | |
| Jim Colegrove | Bass | member of Hungry Chuck |
| Rick Danko | Producer, Bass. trombone | member of The Band |
| Amos Garrett | Electric Guiter | member of Hungry Chuck |
| Levon Helm | Drums, Bass?, Guitar? | member of The Band |
| Garth Hudson | organ, accordion, tenor sax | member of The Band |
| Ben Keith | Pedal Steel, Dobro, Bass | member of Hungry Chuck |
| Harry Lookofsky | Violin | Studio Musician |
| Richard Manuel | Drums?, Piano? | member of The Band |
| Buggsy Maugh | Bass | ex-member of Butterfield Blues Band |
| Geoff Muldaur | Acoustic Guitar?, Horn? | |
| Billy Mundi | Drums, Percussion | ex-member of Mothers, Studio Musician |
| Bob Neuwrith | Acoustic Guitar? | Bob Dylan's friend and Road Manager in '60 |
| Joe Newman | Trumpet | Jazz Musician |
| Mac Rebbenack | Organ, Piano, Guitar, Perc. | Dr. John |
| David Sanborn | Alto Sax, Bariton Sax | ex-member of Butterfield Blues Band |
| Herman Shertzer | Alto Sax | studio musician |
| John Simon | Producer, Piano, Trombone | "6th member of The Band" |
| N.D. Smart II | Drums | member of Hungry Chuck |
| John Till | Guitar | ex-member of Full Tilt Boogie Band |
Musicians on each track
Based on information from Jim Colegrove and Geoff Muldaur.- Street People
-
Drums: N.D.Smart II
Electric guitar: Amos Garrett
Acoustic guitar: John Till? (acoustic solo)
Bass: Jim Colegrove
Jingle Bells: Geoff Muldaur
- Long Face
-
Drums: Levon Helm or Billy Mundi
Piano: John Simon
Organ: Garth Hudson (probably)
Bass: Rick Danko (probably)
El Gtr: Mac "Dr. John" Rebbenack?
- I Must Be In A Good Place Now
-
El. Gtr: Amos Garrett
Piano: John Simon
Vibes: Mac "Dr. John" Rebbenack?
Drums: N.D.Smart II
Bass: Jim Colegrove
- Save Me Jesus
-
Drums: N.D.Smart II
El. Gtr: Amos Garrett
Bass: Jim Colegrove
Piano: John Simon
Acc. Gtr: ?
- He's Got All the Whiskey
-
Tenor Sax: Garth Hudson
Bariton Sax: David Sanborn
Trombone: John Simon
Alto Sax: Herman Shertzer
Trumpet: Joe Newman
Bass: Ben Keith
Drums: Billy Mundi
Acc. Gtr: Two guitars? Geoff?
- Small Town Talk (LP Version)
-
Organ: Mac "Dr. John" Rebbenack
Drums: Levon Helm
Acc. Gtr: Mac "Dr. John" Rebbenack
- Let Yourself Go
-
Pedal Steel: Ben Keith
El. Gtr: Amos Garrett
Piano: John Simon
Bass: Jim Colegrove
Drums: N.D.Smart II
Acc. Gtr: ?
- Grow Too Old
-
Back-up Vocal: John Simon
El. Gtr: Amos Garrett
Piano: John Simon
Drums: N.D.Smart II
Alto Sax: David Sanborn
Bass: Jim Colegrove
- I'm That Way
-
Drums: N.D.Smart II
Dobro: Ben Keith
Piano: John Simon
Bass: Jim Colegrove
Acc. Gtr: ?
El. Gtr: Amos Garrett
- Tennessee Blues
-
El. Gtr: Amos Garrett
Accordian: Garth Hudson
Acc. Gtr: ?
Drums: N.D.Smart II
Bass: Jim Colegrove
Violin: Harry Lookofsky
- Small Town Talk (Single Version BSV-0010)
-
Organ: Mac "Dr. John" Rebbenack
Drums: Levon Helm
Acc. Gtr: Mac "Dr. John" Rebbenack
Piano: John Simon
Trombone: John Simon and Rick Danko
- Homemade Songs
-
Dobro: Ben Keith
Pedal Seel: Ben Keith
Violin: Rick Danko
- New Mexico
-
Pedal Seel: Ben Keith
Vocal: Rick Danko
- Rosie
-
Harmonica: Paul Butterfield
Pedal Steel: Ben Kieth - http://theband.hiof.no/albums/bobby_charles_hideki.html
Bobby Charles - Bearsville Sessions (1972-1975)
Compilation
Bobby Charles was an American singer-songwriter.
From
1972 to 1975 Bobby Charles lived in Woodstock, where he had originally
gone (under an alias) to find somewhere to hide away, as he was on the
run for a minor drugs possession charge. When his identity became known,
Albert Grossman persuaded him to sign a contract and record, the result
being his fantastic self-titled album of 1972. It was recorded at Grossman’s Bearsville Studios just a few miles down the road, which also produced records by The Band, Paul Butterfield’s Better Days, John Hartford, Bonnie Raitt, Karen Dalton, Happy & Artie Traum
and others. Charles in particular struck up a friendship with
Butterfield and his band, and both the Better Days albums from 1973
featured numerous Bobby Charles songs.
Grossman wanted a follow-up record in 1975, but it never materialised. Charles felt that Grossman was taking advantage of him, and managed to escape through a loop-hole in his contract and return to Louisiana, where he lay low for many years. However his original Bearsville album has been reissued numerous times in recent years, with all sorts of bonus tracks from the Woodstock period, all presumeably recorded at Bearsville. This collection compiles twenty one of these tracks. I’m not sure about the exact recording dates - some might have been outtakes from ‘72, some maybe the start of the ‘75 album, and others may have been recorded at any time in between. Backing musicians include Dr John, pedal steel guitarist Ben Keith, bassist Jim Colegrove, drummer Billy Mundi, and members of both The Band and Better Days, alongside many others. Also features the single version of “Small Town Talk”, which features trombones played by John Simon and Rick Danko.
This is a great compilation of laid-back, rootsy music, blending rock, R&B and country. A fine companion to the 1972 album, and proof that another similar record or two could have been produced whilst he was living in Woodstock.
More from Bobby Charles
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