Roger Nichols and the Small Circle of Friends--Snow Queen (1967)

     Roger Nichols, Muccay MacLeod and his sister Melinda MacLeod comprised the group, "The Small Circle of Friends". Signed to A&M records, Nichols composed several songs with Tony Asher, fresh off of his working with Brian Wilson on the album, "Pet Sounds". Looking back, the songwriting lineup was impressive with songs by Van Dyke Parks, Lenny Waronker, and Randy Newman. One of the shining songs on an album of strong ones was "Snow Queen" written by Jerry Goffin and Carole King.

     Over 45 years after it's release the sounds so familiar even though none of the songs became hits, and the album sunk not too slowly into the sunset. The reason came because of a decision made by co-owner of A&M, Herb Alpert. There was something about Nichols writing that Alpert thought potentially profitable, so he was hired on to the record company as a songwriter. It was here that Nichols met Paul Williams.

     The pair went on to success with a number of hits for the Carpenters (who's musical sound was very close to Nichols'), including, "We've Only Just Begun", "I Won't Last A Day Without You", and "Rainy Days and Mondays". Thus it's not a stretch that this album from 1967 was one of the templates of California soft rock.

     

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Dobie Gray--Drift Away (1973)

     About ten years ago, Uncle Kracker did the song, "Drift Away" with Dobie Grey. Many older types recognized it from the hit which Grey did in 1973. What many of both generations didn't know was the extent of his long career.
     Dobie, who was born near Houston, Texas in 1940 and who's career spanned soul, country, pop and even musical theater. His real name is a matter of conjuncture, but many think he was born Lawrence Darrow Brown. His grew up in a family of sharecroppers, and learned music from his grandfather who was a minister. In the early 60's, he moved to LA and recorded a few sides for local companies before meeting Sonny Bono who directed him to Stripe Records. Success eluded him, but it was there he was given the moniker, "Dobie Gray" as a take off the popular sitcom, "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis". It was 1963 that he had his first taste of chart action with the song, "Look at Me" which did well regionally. It was two years later before he found his way there again, but this time it was all the way to the top 20 with, "The In Crowd" which had been an instrumental hit for Ramsey Lewis earlier that year. Gray's vocal rendition made it to number 13.
     Getting a follow up success was difficult and in the meantime he took up acting, getting a spot in the LA production of the musical, "Hair" which he stayed on for over two years. When joining a band in 1970 called, "Pollution" which was probably best known for it's manager, Max Baer Jr. (Jethro from the Beverly Hillbillies) than for anything they put on vinyl.  During this time, he also recorded a series of demos with songwriter Paul Williams. It was Paul's brother, Mentor who produced Dobie's first solo album with Decca, who signed him in 1972. They went to Nashville to record, and it was one of Mentor's songs, "Drift Away" which became the single. It went to number 5 on the charts, and it's redo in 2003 with Uncle Kracker also hit the top ten.
     Although he recorded throughout the 70's with minor success, he moved to Nashville and concentrated on songwriting, writing for artists as diverse as Don Williams, George Jones, Johnny Mathis, and Ray Charles. He even had a moderate hit on the country charts with his single, "That's One To Grow On" in 1986. After his comeback to the charts in 03, he continued to tour until after a long battle with cancer he died in December of 2011.

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The Carpenters--We've Only Just Begun (1970)

      The suits at Crocker National Bank of California wanted something different. The desire was to plan an advertising campaign that was appealing to young couples, but at the same time, desired to steer clear of traditional jingles.  The bank enlisted the songwriting team of Roger Nichols and Paul Williams to write a song that conveyed the feelings of a newly married couple. The plan was to play the song over the film footage, a concept that was fairly new to advertising.

     Late one night, Richard Carpenter was watching TV when the ad came on the air, he immediately recognized Williams voice and the next day called to inquire about it's availability. There were only two verses and no bridge at the time, but the songwriters, who had never had more than a couple of minor hits, didn't want to pass up the chance to work with one of the hottest duos in music at that time, so Williams admits that he flat out lied to Carpenter and told him it was finished. This began a series of feverish, late night sessions to complete the song as they stalled for time until it was complete.

     The song was an immediate hit with it going to #2 on the charts, and helped The Carpenters to win two Grammy's in 1971. It also propelled the career of Paul Williams as he wrote two more top 10 songs for the Carpenters (Rainy Days and Mondays, Won't Last A Day Without You), Three Dog Night (Just an Old Fashioned Love Song), Barbara Streisand (Evergreen) and others.

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