Saturday Early Show Celebrating the 2022 Birthday of the Extraordinarily Talented Emitt Rhodes
by Robert Wilkinson
We kick off our musical Saturday celebrating the birthday of a musician so talented he was proclaimed the “sound” that Paul McCartney should have tried to achieve in the 1970s! And in an interesting “co-incidence,” he shares a birthday with a Beatle who will be featured tomorrow. Welcome to "The One Man Beatles," Mister Emitt Rhodes!
Emitt Rhodes (February 25, 1950-July 19, 2020) was a singer, songwriter, and producer who shot to fame with the band The Merry Go Round in 1967. An amalgam of the Beatles and Hollies with more than a touch of baroque pop thrown in, they scored twice before fading out in the psychedelic era. After that, Emitt created his own studio and went on to give us some extraordinary music before retiring for a while in 1973.
This is what is said in Wikipedia: "His first album was a critical success – Billboard called Rhodes "one of the finest artists on the music scene today" and later called his first album one of the "best albums of the decade". The album reached number 29 on the Billboard charts. The single "Fresh as a Daisy" reached number 54 on the pop chart. Rhodes opened at the Troubadour nightclub on February 9, 1971, concurrent with a large earthquake that struck the Los Angeles area. An ad that ran in Billboard said 'That wasn't an earthquake, that was Emitt Rhodes opening at the Troubadour!'"
Five years ago he released his first album since 1973, so he’s still very much a part of 21st century music history! And now, the music of "the One Man Beatles," Emitt Rhodes!
This was the first Emitt Rhodes tune I ever heard. Very upbeat for 1967! “Live”
Then minutes later I heard this and it blew me away! “You’re A Very Lovely Woman”
I found this great 4 minute video from The Hollywood Palace tv show with the band giving us “Live,” “You’re A Very Lovely Woman” and “Listen, Listen”
Here are a few from the studio by the Merry Go Round!
This is a rare 45 by the Merry Go Round! I have both the A and B sides, so please enjoy "Listen, Listen," and "Gonna Leave You Alone" (the second song obviously Beatle influenced, as it sounds like “Taxman” meets “Glass Onion.”)
The final single by the Merry Go Round was a ballad called "Till The Day After"
Emitt’s been covered by some great talents! Here’s a great live 1969 performance on The Johnny Cash Show by Linda Ronstadt of Emitt’s “You’re A Very Lovely Woman”
From Pittsburgh in 1986, the Bangles crank it up with “Live”
When Emitt went solo, he was considered somewhat of a genius, since he wrote all the songs, played all the instruments, and did all the vocals and production on all his albums. Of course, that made his contract impossible to fulfill, and burnout was inevitable. However, before he did, he gave us four great albums and a bunch of great songs!
His first album American Dream is nowhere to be found in one clip, but I did find several links to great tunes on that album. He recorded this album for A&M Records before doing Emitt Rhodes for Dunhill, and A&M rushed it into release just after Emitt Rhodes was released. So it’s his first album, but the second one to be released.
Here’s his debut album on Dunhill Records, which was heralded as one of the great records of the 70s. This is a great set of tunes! It begins with the first tune, and autoloads from there, so enjoy Emitt Rhodes
Here's Emitt live in New York in 1971 performing the bouncy "You Take The Dark Out of the Night"
Also from Emitt Rhodes, another rare live performance, this time of "She's Such A Beauty." (McCartney should do this!)
Speaking of the McCartney "sound," here’s Emitt’s hit from that album in 1971! “Fresh As A Daisy”
From November 1971, Emitt live on The Old Grey Whistle Test cranking out “Really Wanted You” and “Love Will Stone You.”
Here's his third album, also with him performing every instrument and vocal! Mirror
By this album, he was done. Last year I had the entire 1973 album Farewell to Paradise on one clip, but it’s disappeared. Instead, I found these 4 tunes from the album for your enjoyment!
Our closing numbers come from a live performance by Emitt and Ray Paul at the Poptopia Festival in Santa Monica in 1997! We begin with “Live Till You Die,” move into “Love Will Stone You” follow that with “Really Wanted You” and close this brief set with a tune that could have been done by the Flamin’ Groovies, “How Do You Know”
For our encore, his latest album from 2016, “Rainbow Ends”
Have a laugh at a strange era! I’m sure he wishes he could make this clip go away. Back in July 1967 the Merry Go Round provided The Dating Game with 3 of their bachelors, and yes, Emitt was one of them. For your amusement, a brief performance of “Live” and then the Dating Game! (This page on Emitt’s site has the link at the top of the page) The Merry Go Round on the Dating Game – 1967
This page gives his entire bio and his saga from then to now. Emitt Rhodes: The Whole Story
Last year I had a documentary on Emitt titled The One Man Beatles, where the filmmakers tracked him down and did a story about his life. This year it’s disappeared. Apparently being a genius in the rock and roll world isn't all it's cracked up to be....
I found this hour and 15 A Celebration of The Life & Music of Emitt Rhodes
A revealing gritty 54 min interview from 2010. WFMU Interview with Emitt Rhodes
© Copyright 2022 Robert Wilkinson
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