BRILLIANT SINGER, SONGWRITER AND CRACK GUITARIST..with two solo releases, Kangaroo and later Stone Coyotes
...and today--The First Lady Of Rock!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p11e2BeIOyM
In 1969....
Blue Eyed Boy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTY8f3QpdvY
ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GxB5PmQaf8
This album is incredible, and is available as a CD in the usual places. The album is rare, as Barbara Keith left the music business just as it was being released and Warner Bros cancelled its promotion, but the album is a winner, full of incredibly written, sung, and performed gems, including this awesome cover of "All Along The Watchtower".
Many of the songs from this album have been covered by other artists over the years, and she went on to eventually form the Stone Coyotes, and continue playing over the years.
Previously, Barbara Keith played with a little-known group called Kangaroo, and recorded one album with them on MGM, in 1968. See my channel for two great songs featuring her lead vocals.
http://www.youtube.com/user/PlayThemAgain?feature=watch
Drums: Jim Gordon
Bass: Max Bennett
Piano: Clarence McDonald
Electric guitars: Lowell George
Electric piano: Spooner Oldham
Acoustic guitar: John Brennan
CDs:
# Label: Water
# ASIN: B00015YW30
Original Release Date: 2000
Wears The Trousers.com--
Among the many oddities and artefacts that pass the way of the dedicated record collector, some belong to the most wonderful voices and mind-bending musicians. In this new column for Wears The Trousers, Emiel Buis dives into his extensive vinyl archives to share those lucky finds. First up is ‘Daydream Stallion’ from the only album by short-lived ’60s outfit Kangaroo, on which Greenwich Village alumna Barbara Keith made her studio debut.
Having been intrigued by the so-called ‘Bosstown sound’ of Ultimate Spinach and their 1968 debut, I stumbled across Kangaroo and Barbara Keith while searching for bands of a similar ilk also releasing through MGM. The owner of a record store near the Leidseplein in the heart of Amsterdam suggested on one particular visit that I should check out Kangaroo’s self-titled LP from the same year, with particular attention paid to track three.
It took less than one play to convince me; the moment I heard Barbara Keith’s voice, the owner had a sale. It didn’t matter that ‘Daydream Stallion’ was one of only a few tracks on which she sang lead on the album (as well as being the only one she wrote), nor that Kangaroo never made another record, having split in ’69 in the wake of a lukewarm reception for the album. (It’s really not so bad, but in the avalanche of bands on the late ’60s East coast rock scene, no sales meant no trace.)
Daydream Stallion, Kangaroo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... xbwP-rd-NM
Barbara went on to release a pair of solo records – both, confusingly, titled Barbara Keith – in 1969 (Verve) and 1972 (Reprise) with minimal sales despite some good press. Not even the fact that her own ‘Free The People’ had been a minor hit for Delaney & Bonnie (find it on 1970#8242;s To Bonnie From Delaney) and picked up by Barbra Streisand for her Stoney End LP (which featured a trio of Laura Nyro remakes) could accelerate interest in Keith’s career.
In 1972, she and producer/husband Doug Tibbles took the rare step of returning an advance received from Reprise for a third album and cut all ties with the music business. The couple did eventually return some twenty years later as The Stone Coyotes (with their son John on guitar and bass), but they’ve made good on their vow to dodge the major-label mechanics of which they’d grown so weary. ‘Daydream Stallion’ reminds of a more naïve time. The young Barbara’s voice is Boston through and through. It’s a voice that can turn an “endless variety of grey days” around, a bad mood into a good one. And, just like her imaginary steed, it demands to be noticed.
Free The People
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p97we5ITOXg
A Stone's Throw Away
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--wvqNegppk
Detroit or Buffalo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFL_K-LKK7s
Barbara Keith and Kangaroo