Frisco Mabel Joy'' is a 1971 studio album by singer-songwriter
Mickey Newbury
Milton Sims "Mickey" Newbury Jr. (May 19, 1940 – September 29, 2002) was an American songwriter, recording artist, and a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Early life and career
Newbury was born in Houston, Texas, on May 19, ...
. This was the second of three albums Newbury recorded at Cinderella Sound. The album includes the original version of "
An American Trilogy
"An American Trilogy" is a 1972 song medley arranged by country composer Mickey Newbury and popularized by Elvis Presley, who included it as a showstopper in his concert routines. The medley uses three 19th-century songs:
*"Dixie" — a popular ...
", which
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
later performed in his
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
shows with much success. "How Many Times (Must the Piper Be Paid for His Song)" is a dramatically re-imagined version of a song first released on ''
Harlequin Melodies'', Newbury's RCA debut. Other standout tracks include "The Future's Not What It Used to Be", "Remember the Good", "Frisco Depot", and "How I Love Them Old Songs". The track "San Francisco Mabel Joy" was not initially part of the album, though it is included on some versions.
''’Frisco Mabel Joy'' was collected for CD issue on the eight-disc ''
Mickey Newbury Collection
''The Mickey Newbury Collection'' collects the ten albums Mickey Newbury released on three labels between 1969 and 1981 on an eight disc set. The set was released and is available through Mountain Retreat, a label run by Newbury and later Newbury ...
'' from Mountain Retreat, Newbury's own label in the mid-1990s, along with nine other Newbury albums from 1969 to 1981. In 2011, it was reissued again, both separately and as part of the four-disc Mickey Newbury box set ''
An American Trilogy
"An American Trilogy" is a 1972 song medley arranged by country composer Mickey Newbury and popularized by Elvis Presley, who included it as a showstopper in his concert routines. The medley uses three 19th-century songs:
*"Dixie" — a popular ...
'', alongside two other albums recorded at Cinderella Sound, ''
Looks Like Rain
''Looks Like Rain'' is a 1969 concept album by singer-songwriter Mickey Newbury. After recording his debut album with RCA, Newbury was dissatisfied with the resulting album and left RCA to pursue a style closer to his tastes. Recorded at Cinderel ...
'' and ''
Heaven Help the Child
''Heaven Help the Child'' is a 1973 studio album by country singer-songwriter Mickey Newbury. The album was Newbury's third consecutive release recorded at Cinderella Studios. Noted for its dramatic remakes of four previous Newbury songs: "Sweet M ...
''. This release marks the first time that Frisco Mabel Joy'' has been released on CD in remastered form, after the original master tapes (long thought to have been destroyed in a fire) were rediscovered in 2010.
Track listing
All songs written by Mickey Newbury, except where noted.
# "
An American Trilogy
"An American Trilogy" is a 1972 song medley arranged by country composer Mickey Newbury and popularized by Elvis Presley, who included it as a showstopper in his concert routines. The medley uses three 19th-century songs:
*"Dixie" — a popular ...
" (Newbury/traditional) – 4:50
# "How Many Times (Must the Piper Be Paid for His Song)" – 5:48
# "Interlude" – 1:44
# "The Future's Not What It Used to Be" – 4:14
# "Mobile Blue" – 2:48
# "Frisco Depot" – 3:38
# "You're Not My Same Sweet Baby" – 3:46
# "Interlude" – 1:05
# "Remember the Good" – 2:57
# "Swiss Cottage Place" – 3:10
# "How I Love Them Old Songs" – 3:50
# "San Francisco Mabel Joy" – 5:17
Personnel
* Mickey Newbury – guitar, lead vocals
*
Dennis Linde
Dennis Linde (pronounced LIN-dy, March 18, 1943December 22, 2006) was an American music songwriter based in Nashville who has had over 250 of his songs recorded. He is best known for writing the 1972 Elvis Presley hit, "Burning Love". Rarely wo ...
– guitar, backing vocals
*
Charlie McCoy
Charles Ray McCoy (born March 28, 1941) is a Grammy-winning American session musician, harmonica player, and multi-instrumentalist. In 2009, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Based in Nashville, McCoy's playing is heard on r ...
– guitar, harmonica
*
Bobby Thompson – banjo, guitar
*
Wayne Moss
Wayne Moss (born February 9, 1938 in Charleston, West Virginia, United States) is an American guitar player, bassist, record producer and songwriter best known for his session work in Nashville. Moss was one of the founders of Area Code 615 and Bar ...
– guitar
*
Weldon Myrick
Weldon Myrick (born Weldon Merle Myrick; April 10, 1938 – June 2, 2014) was an American steel guitar player.Beegie Adair
Bobbe Gorin "Beegie" Adair ( Long, December 11, 1937 – January 23, 2022) was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. In a career that spanned 60 years, she played on more than 100 recordings. More than a third of her recordings were with the B ...
– keyboards
*
Jimmy Capps – guitar
* Jim Isbell – drums
*
Buddy Spicher
Buddy Spicher (born July 28, 1938 in DuBois, Pennsylvania; pronounced “Spiker”) is an American country music fiddle player. He is a member of The Nashville A-Team of session musicians, and is Grammy-nominated. He was nominated as Instrumental ...
– drums
* Farrell Morris – percussion
* Bob Beckham
* John Harris
* John Moss
* Charles Navarro
* Walker Sill
Production
* Producer: Dennis Linde/Owsley Manier/Robert Rosemurgy
* Recording Engineer: Wayne Linde/Wayne Moss
* Art Direction: Robert L. Heimall
* Photography: Robert L. Heimall
* Liner Notes: unknown
Charts
; Album
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
(North America)
; Single
Selected cover recordings
*"San Francisco Mabel Joy" was covered by folk singer
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...
on her 1971 album ''
Blessed Are...''.
*
John Denver
Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, activist, and humanitarian whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singe ...
recorded "San Francisco Mabel Joy" on his 1981 album ''
Some Days Are Diamonds''.
* Elvis Presley made "An American Trilogy" a part of his
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
shows in 1972, and his version was included on live albums ''
Elvis: As Recorded at Madison Square Garden'' (1972), ''
Aloha From Hawaii: Via Satellite'' (1973), ''
Elvis: As Recorded Live on Stage in Memphis'' (1974), and Elvis' 1972 documentary ''
Elvis on Tour
''Elvis on Tour'' is a 1972 American concert film starring Elvis Presley during his fifteen-city spring tour earlier that year. It is written, produced, directed by Pierre Adidge and Robert Abel and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).
Follow ...
''. The song is largely associated with Presley's interpretation, though in execution it is substantively different from Newbury's original version.
* "How I Love Them Old Songs" has merited over thirty different cover versions including recordings by
Gene Vincent
Vincent Eugene Craddock (February 11, 1935 – October 12, 1971), known as Gene Vincent, was an American musician who pioneered the styles of rockabilly and rock and roll. His 1956 top ten hit with his backing band the Blue Caps, " Be-Bop-a-Lula ...
,
Carol Channing
Carol Elaine Channing (January 31, 1921 – January 15, 2019) was an American actress, singer, dancer and comedian who starred in Broadway and film musicals. Her characters usually had a fervent expressiveness and an easily identifiable voice, ...
,
Bill Monroe
William Smith "Bill" Monroe (; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter, who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the " Father of Bluegrass".
The genre take ...
, and
Don Gibson
Donald Eugene Gibson (April 3, 1928 – November 17, 2003) was an American songwriter and country musician. A Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, Gibson wrote such country standards as " Sweet Dreams" and "I Can't Stop Loving You", and enjoy ...
.
Mickey Gilley
Mickey Leroy Gilley (March 9, 1936 – May 7, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although he started out singing straight-up country and western material in the 1970s, he moved towards a more pop-friendly sound in the 1 ...
recorded the song on his 1975 album ''Movin' On'', and it was recorded by
Tompall Glaser
Thomas Paul "Tompall" Glaser (September 3, 1933 – August 12, 2013) was an American outlaw country music artist.
Biography
Glaser was born in Spalding, Nebraska, the son of Alice Harriet Marie (née Davis) and Louis Nicholas Glaser. He was ...
on his 1977 album ''The Wonder of It All''.
* "Remember The Good" has been recorded by
Eddy Arnold
Richard Edward Arnold (May 15, 1918 – May 8, 2008) was an American country music singer who performed for six decades. He was a Nashville sound (country/popular music) innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the ''Billboard'' cou ...
,
Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...
,
Brook Benton
Benjamin Franklin Peay (September 19, 1931 – April 9, 1988), better known as Brook Benton, was an American singer and songwriter who was popular with rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and pop music audiences during the late 1950s and early 1960 ...
, and
Glenn Yarbrough
Glenn Robertson Yarbrough (January 12, 1930 – August 11, 2016) was an American folk singer and guitarist. He was the lead singer (tenor) with the Limeliters from 1959 to 1963 and also had a prolific solo career. Yarbrough had a restlessne ...
, among others.
* "Frisco Depot" was recorded by Waylon Jennings in 1972 prior to his breakthrough ''
Lonesome, On'ry and Mean
''Lonesome, On'ry and Mean'' is an album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, released on RCA Victor in 1973. It was, after ''Good Hearted Woman'' and ''Ladies Love Outlaws (Waylon Jennings album), Ladies Love Outlaws'', the third in ...
'' which included Newbury's "
San Francisco Mabel Joy" (Jennings has also recorded this album's "Mobile Blue" and "You're Not My Same Sweet Baby").
Robert Forster
Robert Wallace Forster Jr. (July 13, 1941 – October 11, 2019) was an American actor, known for his roles as John Cassellis in ''Medium Cool'' (1969), Captain Dan Holland in ''The Black Hole'' (1979), Abdul Rafai in ''The Delta Force'' (1986), ...
included "Frisco Depot" on his 1995 covers album ''
I Had a New York Girlfriend
''I Had a New York Girlfriend'' is the third album by Robert Forster. It consists of cover versions of his favourite songs and unlike his previous albums contains no original compositions.
Critical reception
''Trouser Press'' called the collecti ...
''. The song has also been covered by
Roberta Flack
Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the Billboard Magazine, ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", "Feel Like M ...
and
Ronny Cox
Daniel Ronald Cox (born July 23, 1938) is an American actor, singer and songwriter. His best-known roles include Drew Ballinger in ''Deliverance'' (1972), George Apple in ''Apple's Way'' (1974–75), Ozark Bule in '' Bound for Glory'' (1976), Co ...
.
*
Roger Miller
Roger Dean Miller Sr. (January 2, 1936 – October 25, 1992) was an American singer-songwriter, widely known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs and his chart-topping Country music, country and pop hits "King of the Road (song), Ki ...
recorded "Swiss Cottage Place" prior to the release of Newbury's LP.
*
Ronnie Milsap
Ronnie Lee Milsap (born Ronald Lee Millsaps; January 16, 1943) is an American country music singer and pianist. He was one of country music's most popular and influential performers of the 1970s and 1980s. Nearly completely blind from birth, ...
recorded a version of "The Future's Not What It Used To Be" in 1977.
* In 2000 Peter Blackstock, the founder of
No Depression magazine, organized a multi-artist tribute that recreated the entire album titled ''Frisco Mabel Joy Revisited''. Artists that participated in the recording include
Dave Alvin
David Albert Alvin (born November 11, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. He is a former and founding member of the roots rock band the Blasters. Alvin has recorded and performed as a solo artist since the late 1980s a ...
performing "Mobile Blue,"
Michael Fracasso
Michael Fracasso is a singer-songwriter based in Austin, Texas. His music spans country and rock as he sings in a high tenor that evokes the "high lonesome" sound of early country.
He was a regular performer at the Cornelia Street Cafe's Monda ...
's "Remember The Good," and Kris Kristofferson recording "San Francisco Mabel Joy".
*
Manowar
Manowar is an American heavy metal band from Auburn, New York. Formed in 1980, the group is known for lyrics based on fantasy (particularly sword and sorcery) and mythology (particularly Norse mythology and Greco-Roman mythology), as well as ...
included "An American Trilogy" on their 2002 album ''
Warriors of the World
''Warriors of the World'' is the ninth album by heavy metal band Manowar, released on June 4, 2002. The song Nessun Dorma was dedicated to Adams's mother who had died earlier that year. Amongst its varied tracks are tributes to Wagner, Pavarotti ...
''
References
*
Mickey Newbury WebsiteMickey Newbury: Songs Covered By Over 1,100 Artists
{{Authority control
Mickey Newbury albums
1971 albums
Elektra Records albums
Albums produced by Dennis Lindle