BLACK OAK ARKANSAS 1st V Rare Orig 1971 UK Plum Atlantic LP Southern Psych Rock
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Description
Salemspider Ebay Page
Black Oak Arkansas
1st
Very Rare original UK LP released on Atlantic Records in 1971. 1st UK pressing on the Plum & Orange Atlantic Label.
Matrix No's
Side One - 2400180 A//1 420
Side Two - 2400180 B//1 420
Southern rock veterans Black Oak Arkansas never quite achieved the level of success enjoyed by contemporaries like Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers, but have remained a cult band thanks to their raw, primitive energy and the testosterone-fueled antics of lead vocalist/showman James "Big Jim Dandy" Mangrum. Named for Mangrum's hometown, Black Oak Arkansas eventually built up a solid following through incessant touring and enjoyed a run of ten charting albums between 1971 and 1976. The band also found itself with a Top 30 single in their raunchy cover of a LaVern Baker R&B hit called "Jim Dandy to the Rescue," which became Mangrum's signature song. When album sales dried up, Mangrum re-formed the band with more musically skilled veteran players and continued to tour, although the group's glory days were past.
Black Oak Arkansas dates back to the mid-'60s, when a group of young, long-haired misfits headed by Jim Mangrum, unable to find work, turned to rock & roll. However, the group was unable to purchase equipment and ended up being arrested for grand larceny after stealing items from the local school in order to get money. They were nearly run out of town and went to live in the nearby hills, locating and borrowing equipment where they could. The band moved to New Orleans in 1969 and called itself Knowbody Else, with a lineup of vocalist Mangrum; guitarists Ricky "Ricochet" Reynolds, Stanley "Goober" Knight, and Harvey "Burley" Jett; bassist Pat Daugherty; and drummer Wayne Evans. Knowbody Else recorded a self-titled album for Stax, which went nowhere; rethinking their approach, the band became interested in psychedelia and Eastern spirituality, which they filtered through their Southern Baptist upbringing. Changing their name to Black Oak Arkansas, the band secured a deal with Atlantic after several trips to Los Angeles and released its self-titled debut in 1971. While it wasn't a hit, the band toured extensively, building a reputation as a raw, incendiary live act that made up for occasional musical deficiencies with energy and the explicit sexuality of Mangrum, who flaunted his body at every opportunity and became known for such antics as miming sex with the washboard he used for musical accompaniment.
Produced by Iron Butterfly's Lee Dorman and Mike Pinera, Black Oak Arkansas introduced a three-guitar thunderstorm underpinning the scary basso profundo growls of lead singer Jim "Dandy" Mangrum. This was a sound unlike any other on the then-nascent Southern rock scene. With songs like "Hot and Nasty," "Lord Have Mercy on My Soul," and an otherworldly cover of Guy Mitchell's hit "Singing the Blues," Black Oak found a cult following through incessant touring with the likes of the Allman Brothers Band. This is not pretty music, but it does have a propulsive kick to it, with the guitars going in several directions at once while Jim Dandy's Howlin' Wolf-influenced vocals lay out a strange blend of macho sexual and religious imagery. Although the sound would quickly become cartoonish over subsequent releases, this initial release contained the spark of the new and different.
Tracks Are :-
Side One
1 Uncle Lijiah 3:17
2 Memories At The Window 3:05
3 The Hills Of Arkansas 3:45
4 I Could Love You 6:10
Side Two
1 Hot And Nasty 2:55
2 Singing The Blues 2:17
3 Lord Have Mercy On My Soul 6:15
4 When Electricity Came To Arkansas 4:26
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Released on Atlantic Records in 1971
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Catalogue Number 2400 180
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Record is in Near Mint condition
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Sleeve is in Near Mint condition
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