Oh, What a Mighty Time
Encyclopedia
Oh, What a Mighty Time is an album
by the country rock
band the New Riders of the Purple Sage
. Their sixth studio album and their seventh album overall, it was released by Columbia Records
in 1975.
Oh, What a Mighty Time was produced by Bob Johnston
. Jerry Garcia
of the Grateful Dead
plays guitar
on three songs, and Sly Stone
plays keyboards
and sings on one song.
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by the country rock
Country rock
Country rock is sub-genre of popular music, formed from the fusion of rock with country. The term is generally used to refer to the wave of rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s, beginning with Bob Dylan and The Byrds; reaching its greatest...
band the New Riders of the Purple Sage
New Riders of the Purple Sage
New Riders of the Purple Sage is an American country rock band. The group emerged from the psychedelic rock scene in San Francisco, California in 1969, and its original lineup included several members of the Grateful Dead. Their best known song is "Panama Red"...
. Their sixth studio album and their seventh album overall, it was released by Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
in 1975.
Oh, What a Mighty Time was produced by Bob Johnston
Bob Johnston
Donald William Robert 'Bob' Johnston is a noted American record producer, best known for his work with Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, Willie Nelson and many Nashville recording artists, as well as Simon and Garfunkel.-Early days:Johnston was born into a professional musical family...
. Jerry Garcia
Jerry Garcia
Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
of the Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
plays guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
on three songs, and Sly Stone
Sly Stone
Sly Stone is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, most famous for his role as frontman for Sly & the Family Stone, a band which played a critical role in the development of soul, funk and psychedelia in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1993, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of...
plays keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
and sings on one song.
Track listing
- "Mighty Time" (Don NixDon NixDon Nix is a songwriter, composer, arranger, musician, and author. Although cited as being "obscure", he is a key figure in several genres of Southern rock and Soul, R&B, and the Blues...
) – 5:13 - "I Heard You Been Layin' My Old Lady" (Russell WierRusty WierRussell Allen "Rusty" Wier was an American singer-songwriter from Austin, Texas.Wier's career dates back to the 1970s and covers multiple music genres...
) – 3:24 - "Strangers on a Train" (Skip BattinSkip BattinClyde "Skip" Battin was an American singer–songwriter, performer and recording artist. He is best remembered as a member of The Byrds, the New Riders of the Purple Sage, and the Flying Burrito Brothers...
, Kim FowleyKim FowleyKim Vincent Fowley is an American record producer, impresario, songwriter, musician, film maker, and radio actor. He is best known for his role behind a string of novelty and cult rock pop singles in the 1960s, and for managing The Runaways in the 1970s...
) – 2:45 - "Up Against the Wall, Redneck" (Ray Wylie HubbardRay Wylie HubbardRay Wylie Hubbard is an American Texas Country singer and songwriter.-Early life:Hubbard grew up in southeastern town of Hugo, Oklahoma. His family moved to Oak Cliff in south Dallas, Texas in 1954. He attended W. H. Adamson High School with Michael Martin Murphey, who had his own band at the time...
) – 4:13 - "Take a Letter, MariaTake A Letter Maria"Take a Letter Maria" is a song written and recorded by R. B. Greaves, an American soul singer. The song has a Latin music flavor, complete with a mariachi-style horn section. It tells of a man who learns of his wife's infidelity the night before and dictates a letter of separation to "Maria", his...
" (R. B. GreavesR. B. GreavesRonald Bertram Aloysius "R. B." Greaves III is a singer who had chart success in 1969 with the pop single "Take a Letter Maria". A #2 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, this single sold one million copies and earned a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America...
) – 4:07 - "Little Old Lady" (Richard Wilbur) – 2:52
- "On Top of Old SmokyOn Top of Old Smoky"On Top of Old Smoky" is a traditional folk song and a well-known ballad of the United States which, as recorded by The Weavers, reached the pop music charts in 1951....
" (traditional, arranged and adapted by Frank WakefieldFrank WakefieldFranklin Delano Roosevelt Wakefield is an innovative American mandolin player in the bluegrass music style. Wakefield is known for his collaborations with a number of important and well-known bands, including Red Allen, Don Reno, Jerry Garcia, David Grisman and the Greenbriar Boys.-Biography:Born...
) – 2:39 - "Over and Over" (John DawsonJohn Dawson (musician)John Collins Dawson IV, nicknamed "Marmaduke" , was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was best known as the leader and co-founder of the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage.-Musical career:...
) – 3:08 - "La BambaLa Bamba (song)"La Bamba" is a Mexican folk song, originally from the state of Veracruz, best known from a 1958 adaptation by Ritchie Valens, a top 40 hit in the U.S. charts and one of early rock and roll's best-known songs...
" (Richie Valens) – 3:44 - "Going Round the Horn" (Dawson, Wakefield) – 3:33
- "Farewell, Angelina" (Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
) – 2:42
New Riders of the Purple Sage
- John DawsonJohn Dawson (musician)John Collins Dawson IV, nicknamed "Marmaduke" , was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was best known as the leader and co-founder of the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage.-Musical career:...
– guitarsSteel-string acoustic guitarA steel-string acoustic guitar is a modern form of guitar descended from the classical guitar, but strung with steel strings for a brighter, louder sound...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, autoharpAutoharpThe autoharp is a musical string instrument having a series of chord bars attached to dampers, which, when depressed, mute all of the strings other than those that form the desired chord. Despite its name, the autoharp is not a harp at all, but a chorded zither. -History:There is debate over the...
, mouth harpHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, baby guitar, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, Acme sirenAcme sirenThe Acme Siren is a percussion instrument used in concert bands for comic effect. Often used in cartoons, it produces the stylized sound of a police siren.... - David NelsonDavid Nelson (musician)David Nelson is an American guitarist and musician.Although he started his musical career playing folk and bluegrass music Nelson is probably best known as one of the original members of psychedelic country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage...
– guitarsElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, vocals, percussion, regular tuning Heineken'sHeineken PilsenerHeineken is a Dutch beer which has been brewed by Heineken International since 1873. It is available in a 4.6% alcohol variety in countries such as Ireland. It is the flagship product of the Heineken company and is made of purified water, malted barley, hops, and yeast. In 1886 H...
bottle - Buddy CageBuddy CageBuddy Cage is an American pedal steel guitarist, best known as a longtime member of the New Riders of the Purple Sage....
– pedal steelPedal steel guitarThe pedal steel guitar is a type of electric guitar that uses a metal bar to "fret" or shorten the length of the strings, rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar. Unlike other types of steel guitar, it also uses pedals and knee levers to affect the pitch, hence the name "pedal"...
, vocal - Skip BattinSkip BattinClyde "Skip" Battin was an American singer–songwriter, performer and recording artist. He is best remembered as a member of The Byrds, the New Riders of the Purple Sage, and the Flying Burrito Brothers...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocals, percussion - Spencer DrydenSpencer DrydenSpencer Dryden was an American musician best known as the longest-serving drummer for Jefferson Airplane. He also played with New Riders of the Purple Sage, The Dinosaurs, and The Peanut Butter Conspiracy.-Early life:...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussion, vocal
Additional musicians
- Sly StoneSly StoneSly Stone is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, most famous for his role as frontman for Sly & the Family Stone, a band which played a critical role in the development of soul, funk and psychedelia in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1993, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of...
– vocals, organElectronic organAn electronic organ is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally, it was designed to imitate the sound of pipe organs, theatre organs, band sounds, or orchestral sounds....
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
on "Mighty Time" - Jerry GarciaJerry GarciaJerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
– guitar on "Mighty Time", "I Heard You Been Layin' My Old Lady", and "Take a Letter, Maria" - Jeff Narell – steel drumSteelpanSteelpans is a musical instrument originating from The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago...
on "Over and Over" - Pepper Watkins, Bootche Anderson, Marilyn ScottMarilyn ScottMarilyn Scott is an American jazz vocalist.Scott got her start performing locally at age 15. She went to college in San Francisco, singing in both jazz and pop ensembles there. She was noticed by Emilio Castillo, a member of Tower of Power, who hired her to do backing vocals for the group...
– vocals on "I Heard You Been Layin' My Old Lady", "Strangers on a Train", "Up Against the Wall, Redneck", and "Take a Letter, Maria" - Ray Park – fiddleFiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
on "Going Round the Horn" - St. Beulah's Church Choir – vocals on "Mighty Time"
- Portion of Glide Memorial Church Choir – vocals on "Mighty Time"
- Patty Santos Cockrell, Peña Blanca, Lucha Cardenas – vocals on "Over and Over", "La Bamba"
- The Senator – vocals on "Over and Over"
- Andrea Ahlgren – vocals on "Over and Over"
Production
- Bob JohnstonBob JohnstonDonald William Robert 'Bob' Johnston is a noted American record producer, best known for his work with Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, Willie Nelson and many Nashville recording artists, as well as Simon and Garfunkel.-Early days:Johnston was born into a professional musical family...
– producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Joe Garnett – front cover illustration
- Ron Kriss – back cover illustration
- Herb GreeneHerb GreeneHerb Greene is an American photographer known for his photographs of 1960s San Francisco musicians.-Career:Herb Greene was part of the 1960s San Francisco art scene and a friend of many of psychedelic rock musicians of the era...
– cover and inside photography - Tyler Thornton – back cover photography
- Bob DeSantos – color prints
- Ron Coro – design