About Me
Harris, Ronstadt and Parton
Mutual admirers and longtime friends Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris had planned to record together for years, but were prevented by a variety of logistic and legal difficulties. An aborted mid-‘70s session resulted in tracks that appeared on albums by Ronstadt and Harris, but it wasn’t until 1986 that the three superstar singers finally teamed up for what would become an undisputed country classic.
Trio was produced by renowned inventor/recording engineer George Massenberg, who gathered together a stellar lineup of session musicians, including guitarists Ry Cooder, Albert Lee, and David Lindley. The Warner Bros. album proved one of 1987’s biggest country crossover hits, hitting the top 10 on the Billboard 200 as well as #1 on the “Top Country Albums” chart. Trio – which featured four top 10 Country hits, including a chart-topping cover of Phil Spector’s “To Know Him Is To Love Him” – went on to receive RIAA platinum certification and the Grammy Award for “Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.”
It took a dozen years, but Parton, Ronstadt, and Harris finally reunited in 1998 for a long-awaited, hugely anticipated sequel, Trio II. Again produced by Massenberg, the Asylum release featured the three iconic vocalists’ unmistakable harmonies ringing out on soaring tracks like country songwriter Harley Allen’s “High Sierra” and Neil Young’s “After The Gold Rush,” the latter of which won the 1999 Grammy Award for “Best Country Collaboration With Vocal.”
Eddie Rabbitt
In addition to its successful rock/pop roster, Elektra was also home to a vital line-up of country music stars, thanks to a Nashville office headed up by veteran producer Jimmy Bowen. Among Elektra’s biggest country successes was an unlikely superstar by the name of Eddie Rabbitt.
Born in Brooklyn and raised in New Jersey, Rabbitt had moved to Nashville in 1968. He quickly became one of Music City’s most in-demand songwriters, penning tracks for stars like Elvis Presley and Ronnie Milsap. Upon signing with Elektra in 1975, Rabbitt soon became a top artist in his own right, scoring his first of 17 #1 country hits with 1976’s “Drinkin’ My Baby (Off My Mind).” In 1977, Eddie was named “Top New Male Vocalist of the Year” by the Academy of Country Music.
Rabbitt’s first big crossover hit came with 1978’s #1 country smash, “Every Which Way But Loose,” featured as the theme to Clint Eastwood’s enormously successful film of the same name. The song initially entered Billboard’s “Hot Country Singles” chart at #18, breaking the record for highest-ever chart debut – a standard it held for more than 25 years.
In 1980, Horizon, Eddie’s sixth Elektra album, officially propelled him into the mainstream, fueled by two indelible pop classics in “Drivin’ My Life Away” and “I Love A Rainy Night.” Though it came to define 1981, “I Love A Rainy Night” was in fact originally written in the late ‘60s and rediscovered by Rabbitt while rummaging through a collection of old recordings. The song wound up an unqualified blockbuster, reaching the top spot on three Billboard charts – including the all-important “Hot 100” – on its way to RIAA gold certification.
Further chart success followed, including duets with fellow crossover stars Crystal Gayle and Juice Newton. Sadly, Rabbitt was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1997 and passed away the following year, leaving behind an innovative legacy that helped define modern country music.
Ed McCurdy
Ed McCurdy was a mainstay of Elektra during the 50’s. An actor and broadcaster, McCurdy cut his first album in the early 50s before arriving in New York in 1954 where he began recording regularly for a number of independent folk labels, contributing to Elektra anthologies Bad Men And Heroes and Sings Songs Pro/Con before coming to Jac Holzman with an idea for a collection based on Wit And Mirth: Or, Pills To Purge Melancholy, a collection of songs edited by Thomas D’Urfey and dating from the early 18th century.
McCurdy and Holzman conjured a concept that was released under the title When Dalliance Was In Flower And Maidens Lost Their Heads. The performances were light-hearted but seriously done and with a Renaissance flavour in their instrumentation. The tone was gently risqué with plenty of mild innuendo and the Dalliance series was rapidly adopted by college students in particular. Elektra sold tens of thousands from the outset and McCurdy repeated the formula on three further Dalliance albums.
Ed McCurdy’s final Elektra release came in 1961 with the more respectful A Treasure Chest Of American Folk Song although his serious work was overshadowed by the success of his bawdy song collections. McCurdy is also remembered for his 1950 composition ‘Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream’, one of the earliest and most expressive anti-war songs later recorded by Pete Seeger, Joan Baez and Simon & Garfunkel, among others.
Eagles
When the formation of Asylum Records was announced in 1971, the official press release noted that among the label’s artists was “a new and as yet unnamed group consisting of Glenn Frey (formerly of Long Branch Pennywhistle), Bernie Leadon (formerly of the Flying Burrito Brothers), Randy Mizner [sic] (formerly of Poco) and Don Henley.”
As with Jackson Browne (who co-wrote the band’s first single, “Take It Easy”), in 1973 the Eagles became part of the newly merged Elektra/Asylum roster. That same year saw the release of the group’s second album, Desperado. While the title track wasn’t released as a single, it became one of the band’s best-loved songs and was included on the blockbuster 1976 collection, Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975), which went on to become the biggest-selling album of all time in the U.S., going 29-times platinum (Michael Jackson’s Thriller tied the record in 2009).
Following Desperado, the group enjoyed increasing success with On The Border (1974) and One Of These Nights (1975) – their first #1 album, featuring the Grammy-winning “Lyin’ Eyes” and the #1 title track. Remarkably, the Eagles’ creative and commercial peak was yet to come. Elektra/Asylum received a major Christmas present with the December 1976 release of Hotel California. One of those rare albums that ranks as a true cultural landmark, the #1, 16-times platinum album included such enduring standards as the Zeitgeist-defining (and Grammy-winning) title track, “New Kid In Town,” and “Life In the Fast Lane” (co-written by new member Joe Walsh).
It would be three years before the Eagles would deliver another album – The Long Run – which hit stores in the fall of 1979 and remained at #1 even longer than Hotel California (although far from matching it in sales). Having done more than any other group to bring country-rock fully into the pop mainstream, the volatile band broke up after one more tour, which yielded a multi-platinum live set in 1980. 14 years later, the band reformed to reignited enthusiasm.
Don Henley
With the break-up of the Eagles in 1980 (beginning a “vacation” that ended in 1994), the individual members embarked on solo careers. While they all enjoyed post-Eagles success, it was drummer/vocalist Don Henley who made the greatest commercial impact. Over the Eagles’ initial decade-long run, Henley had emerged as band’s most distinctive voice – co-writing and singing lead on such classics as “Desperado,” “Best Of My Love,” “One Of These Nights,” “Hotel California,” “The Long Run,” and others.
In 1982, Asylum released Henley’s first solo effort, I Can’t Stand Still. Largely a collaboration with co-writer/multi-instrumentalist Danny Kortchmar, it included the hit single “Dirty Laundry.” Among the many notable contributors to the album were Eagles Timothy B. Schmit and Joe Walsh, fellow Elektra/Asylum artists Warren Zevon, J.D. Souther, and Andrew Gold, and other ace musicians like Waddy Wachtel, Benmont Tench, Jeff Porcaro, Steve Lukather, Russ Kunkel, and Leland Sklar. While Henley would join Asylum founder David Geffen at the latter’s eponymous label in 1984, it was this album that confirmed the depth and range of Henley’s talent on his own terms – as an evocative lyricist, singer, and musician – and laid the groundwork for an impressive solo catalog.
Dokken
Fronted by singer Don Dokken and pyrotechnic guitarist George Lynch, Dokken came to define the hugely popular (if often unfairly maligned) genre known as “hair metal” with their exuberant hooks, dazzling musicianship, and flashily explosive live shows.
Initially known as The Boyz, the band came together in 1978 and quickly earned a reputation on the fiercely competitive Los Angeles club circuit. Renaming themselves Dokken, they released their 1982 debut album, Breaking The Chains, first in Europe and then in the U.S. via Elektra.
Driven by non-stop MTV and rock radio airplay, the album’s title track proved a hard rock smash, catapulting Dokken to the forefront of heavy metal. From there, the band ruled the 1980s, racking up hit after worldwide hit, including “Into The Fire,” “Alone Again,” “Burning Like A Flame,” and “Dream Warrior,” as well as three consecutive RIAA platinum-certified albums.
Citing creative differences, Dokken split in 1988, with Don Dokken going on to pursue a solo career and George Lynch further developing his lightening-fast style with his own Lynch Mob. The band’s lasting mark is best summed up by their moniker’s entry into the American vernacular as a slang term for undeniable awesomeness: “Rockin’ like Dokken!”
Dick Rosmini
Dick Rosmini grew up in Greenwich Village and was a versatile banjoist, guitar player. He was a world-class photographer and was Tiffany & Co‘s main jewellery photographer in the 50’s and 60’s. This work enabled him to pursue a music career. Later, he became a highly respected recording engineer and studio consultant.
Dick Rosmini recorded only one album for Elektra, Adventures For 12 String, 6 String And Banjo, released in 1964, but can be heard on countless banjo and 12-string anthologies and instructional recordings, as well as on albums by Bob Gibson, Theodore Bikel, Cyrus Faryar, Phil Ochs, Hoyt Axton, Doug Dillard, and Jackie DeShannon.
Rosmini also recorded with Van Dyke Parks who describes Adventures For 12 String as an “absolutely essential” album. Jimmy Page agreed, saying it “had the best-recorded acoustic guitar sound I’d ever heard up until that point.” For Jac Holzman, it was simply a great instrumental album following the tradition of Elektra recording many of the best pickers of the 50’s.
Delaney & Bonnie
As individuals, Delaney Bramlett and future wife Bonnie Lynn had achieved only limited success until, as Delaney & Bonnie, they began to cause a stir on LA’s hip music scene. They had already recorded for Stax, an album unreleased till after their Elektra debut Accept No Substitute. Under the banner Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, the husband and wife pair now had the hottest of bands - players soon to became the most sought after session men of the 70s - Bobby Keys (sax), Jim Price (horns), Carl Radle (bass) and Jim Keltner (drums).
Delaney & Bonnie’s white soul sound was fresh, their enthusiasm inspiring new friends to join in, notably Eric Clapton, with whom they toured America. Delaney & Bonnie were the talk of L.A. Unfortunately, this was not matched by sales, and much to Delaney’s disappointment and the group parted company with Elektra. Their On Tour album, featuring Clapton, was released by Atlantic but, soon after, their exemplary sidemen jumped ship to join Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs And Englishmen.
Accept No Substitute remains a refreshing, vibrant white soul collection.
Deee-Lite
Founded in 1986 by three of NYC’s most talented club kids – Super DJ Dmitri, Jungle DJ Towa Towa, and cartoon diva Lady Miss Kier – Deee-Lite injected club culture into the mainstream with a multi-colored dance-pop synthesis of house, techno, hip-hop, and funk.
Deee-Lite made their Elektra deee-but with 1990’s World Clique, highlighted by their sampladelic smash, “Groove Is In The Heart.” The worldwide hit single, which featured guest appearances from Bootsy Collins, Q-Tip, and Fred Wesley and Maceo Parker of James Brown’s famous J.B.’s, was a top 5 success on Billboard’s “Hot 100” as well as a #1 “Hot Dance Club Play” blockbuster.
Infinity Within, released in 1991, saw a sharp turn in the group’s lyrical focus, veering from flower-power positivity to an overtly activist bent dealing with the environment, social justice, and sexual freedom. 1994’s rave-fuelled Dewsdrops In The Garden melded the two approaches, focusing on matters of a more spiritual and personal nature. Recorded after the departure of DJ Towa Tei, the album proved their last all-original release, followed only by 1996's odds-and-sods remix compilation assembled by Super DJ Dmitri. All three members have since gone on to careers in and around club culture, but for their brief lifespan, Deee-Lite made the world a truly deee-groovy place to be.
David Lindley
A musician so virtuosic he’s been called a “maxi-instrumentalist,” David Lindley’s kaleidoscopic career began, appropriately enough, as lead guitarist with the Middle Eastern-inspired ‘60s psychedelic outfit Kaleidoscope. Along with acoustic and electric guitars, he became infamous for his skill on a stunning range of pan-cultural stringed instruments, including upright and electric bass, banjo, mandolin, oud, Kona and Weissenborn Hawaiian lap steel guitar, Turkish saz and chumbus, and Irish bouzouki. In the 1970s, Lindley was among the extraordinary circle of California-based sidemen whose work can be heard on era-defining albums by Warren Zevon, Linda Ronstadt, Graham Nash, Rod Stewart, Dolly Parton, and most notably, Jackson Browne, with whom he has long served as a key collaborator.
While famously known for his role as Best Supporting Musician, Lindley stepped out front with his own band, the one and only El Rayo-X. Albums such as 1981’s El Rayo-X and 1982’s Win This Record saw Lindley and his crack combo melding diverse sounds like American roots music, world beat, and reggae into a truly idiosyncratic sonic stew.
A major figure on the world music front, Lindley has collaborated with such fellow six-string explorers as Ry Cooder and Henry Kaiser, while also pairing with Jordanian-born percussionist Hani Naser for a series of world tours. He continues making adventurous music today, smashing barriers and fusing idioms as bandleader and session player and solo artist.
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