''Papa John Creach'' is

Papa John Creach John Henry Creach (May 28, 1917 – February 22, 1994), better known as Papa John Creach, was an American blues violinist who also played classical, jazz, R&B, pop and acid rock music. Early in his career, he performed as a journeyman musician wi ...

's first solo album. All the members of

Jefferson Airplane Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, that became one of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock. Formed in 1965, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the Bay Area to ac ...

also make appearances on the album along with members of the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

Quicksilver Messenger Service Quicksilver Messenger Service is an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1965 in San Francisco. The band achieved wide popularity in the San Francisco Bay Area and, through their recordings, with psychedelic rock enthusiasts around the globe, ...

Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer Boats * Santana 20, an American sailboat design by W. D. Sch ...

, and

Tower of Power Tower of Power is an American R&B and funk based band and horn section, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing since 1968. There have been a number of lead vocalists, the best-known being Lenny Williams, who fronted the b ...

Track listing

Side One

#"The Janitor Drives a Cadillac" (

Joey Covington Joseph Edward Covington (born Joseph Edward Michno; June 27, 1945 – June 4, 2013) was an American drummer, best known for his involvements with Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna and Jefferson Starship. Early life Though best known for his work w ...

) – 2:47 #"

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

" ( W.C. Handy) – 4:36 #"Papa John's Down Home Blues" (Papa John Creach, Roger Spotts) – 2:31 #"Plunk a Little Funk" (Creach) – 5:11 #" Over the Rainbow" (

Harold Arlen Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck; February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an American composer of popular music, who composed over 500 songs, a number of which have become known worldwide. In addition to composing the songs for the 1939 film ...

E.Y. Harburg Edgar Yipsel Harburg (born Isidore Hochberg; April 8, 1896 – March 5, 1981) was an American popular song lyricist and librettist who worked with many well-known composers. He wrote the lyrics to the standards "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" ( ...

) – 3:26

Side Two

#"String Jet Rock" (Creach) – 3:46 #"

Danny Boy "Danny Boy" is a ballad, written by English songwriter Frederic Weatherly in 1913, and set to the traditional Irish melody of "Londonderry Air". History In 1910, in Bath, Somerset, the English lawyer and lyricist Frederic Weatherly initial ...

" (Traditional) – 3:58 #"Human Spring" (James Reese, Roger Spotts) – 2:52 #"Soul Fever" (Miles Grayson) – 4:10 #"Every Time I Hear Her Name" (Roger Spotts) – 4:49

Personnel

– electric violin, vocals * Greg Adams – trumpet on "The Janitor Drives a Cadillac" *Rufus Anderson – guitar on "Human Spring" *Jack Bonus – saxophone on "The Janitor Drives a Cadillac" and "St. Louis Blues" *Nick Buck – piano on "Papa John's Down Home Blues" * Dave Brown – bass on "Soul Fever" *

Jack Casady John William "Jack" Casady (born April 13, 1944) is an American bass guitarist, best known as a member of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna. Jefferson Airplane became the first successful exponent of the San Francisco Sound. Singles including " S ...

– bass on "Plunk a Little Funk", "String Jet Rock", and "Every Time I Hear Her Name" *

John Cipollina John Cipollina (August 24, 1943 – May 29, 1989) was a guitarist best known for his role as a founder and the lead guitarist of the prominent San Francisco rock band Quicksilver Messenger Service. After leaving Quicksilver he formed the band C ...

– guitar on "The Janitor Drives a Cadillac" *Bruce Conte – guitar on "Papa John's Down Home Blues" *

– drums on "The Janitor Drives a Cadillac" and "Soul Fever", congas on "Plunk a Little Funk" *

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence ...

– guitar on "Soul Fever" *

Mic Gillette Mic Gillette (May 7, 1951 – January 17, 2016) was an American brass player, born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area's East Bay. He is best known for being a member of the bands; Tower of Power, Cold Blood, and The Sons of Champlin. He pl ...

– trombone on "The Janitor Drives a Cadillac" *Bobby Haynes – bass on "Danny Boy" and "Human Spring" *Art Hillery – piano on "Over the Rainbow" and "Human Spring", organ on "Danny Boy" *

Paul Kantner Paul Lorin Kantner (March 17, 1941 – January 28, 2016) was an American rock musician. He is best known as the co-founder, rhythm guitarist, and vocalist of Jefferson Airplane, a leading psychedelic rock band of the counterculture era. He cont ...

– rhythm guitar on "String Jet Rock" *

Jorma Kaukonen Jorma Ludwik Kaukonen, Jr. (; ; born December 23, 1940) is an American blues, folk, and rock guitarist. Kaukonen performed with Jefferson Airplane and still performs regularly on tour with Hot Tuna, which started as a side project with bass ...

– guitar on "Plunk a Little Funk", "String Jet Rock", and "Every Time I Hear Her Name" *

Mike Lipskin Mike Lipskin (born 1945) is a stride jazz pianist of the pre- bop jazz style. A protege of Willie "The Lion" Smith, Eubie Blake and Luckey Roberts, he has created his own special mode within the idiom. Career Lipskin is a piano instructor, record ...

– organ on "The Janitor Drives a Cadillac", piano on "St. Louis Blues" *Stan Monteiro – clarinet on "St. Louis Blues" *Skip Olsen – bass on "St. Louis Blues" *Sammy Piazza – drums on "St. Louis Blues", "Plunk a Little Funk", "String Jet Rock", and "Every Time I Hear Her Name" *

Douglas Rauch Douglass Haywood Rauch (September 14, 1950 – April 23, 1979) was an American bassist. He played with Carlos Santana during his jazz fusion period in the early 1970s. He also teamed up with David Bowie for his Diamond Dogs tour for a month i ...

– bass on "Papa John's Down Home Blues" *

Gregg Rolie Gregg Alan Rolie (born June 17, 1947) is an American singer and keyboardist. Rolie served as lead singer of the bands Santana and Journey – both of which he co-founded. He also helmed rock group The Storm, performed in Ringo Starr & His All ...

– organ on "Soul Fever" *

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist who rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band Santana, which pioneered a fusion of Rock and roll and Latin American jazz. Its sound featured ...

– guitar on "Papa John's Down Home Blues" * Peter Sears – bass on "The Janitor Drives a Cadillac" *

Grace Slick Grace Slick (born Grace Barnett Wing; October 30, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter, artist, and painter. Slick was a key figure in San Francisco's early psychedelic music scene in the mid-1960s. With a music career spanning four decades, s ...

– vocals on "The Janitor Drives a Cadillac" * Tony Smith – drums on "Papa John's Down Home Blues" *Bob Wilson – guitar on "St. Louis Blues" *Los Angeles String Section – strings on "Over the Rainbow" *Los Angeles Brass Section – brass on "Human Spring" and "Every Time I Hear Her Name"

Production

*Papa John Creach – producer, arranger *Roger Hamilton Spotts – arranger *Mike Lipskin – production assistant *Ken Hopkins – engineer, mixing engineer *Peter Granet – engineer *Bruce Steinberg – photography *Bill Thompson, Acy Lehman – design, concept *Recorded at Wally Heider's Recording Studios, San Francisco & Los Angeles

References

{{Authority control Papa John Creach albums 1971 debut albums Grunt Records albums Albums recorded at Wally Heider Studios