I think I posted a piece by this band, Tupelo Chain Sex, before. I was reminded of them when I heard Don Sugarcane Harris' version of Eleanor Rigby today. Sugarcane was a great American original. He was part of an early 60's vocal duet, Don and Dewey.
But, Sugarcane was actually an innovative and original fiery blues and jazz electric violinist. He was a legend when Frank Zappa hired him to perform in The Mothers Of Invention. His association with Zappa ended because of his erratic behavior. Frank didn't tolerate substance abuse in his musicians.His interpretation, lead vocal and violin, of Little Richards, Directly From My Heart To You is incredible. After leaving Zappa, he played with Harvey Mandel and recorded some highly regarded Jazz/blues records. He seemed to disappear in his downward spiral for a few years....
Amazingly enough, he resurfaced in the 80's playing in this wild hybrid Jazz experimental LA punk amalgamation, Tupelo Chain Sex. Under recorded, but fantastic stage shows...
Unfortunately, Sugarcane died on November 30, 1999........
2 comments:
wow, just love these guys. thanks for this find.
Yeah, I really want to find out more about about their aural history. There are a few more pieces on YouTube.
The video of Sugarcane performing Eleanor Rigby is on YouTube a real eye/ear opener. It's not what you think it would be and incredibly funky....
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