No end of mysteries when it comes to boxes of tapes – this one showed up in my archive decades ago. A 7″ reel of tape simply marked Champ Records, Hollywood – from a session recorded at Studio and Artists Recorders on Sunset Boulevard from June 29, 1962. Two songs; one featuring Leon Russell – the other; Rockabilly artist Jackie Dunham, with Leon Russell on the piano.
Two Country songs, which I am not sure were ever released, by a record company I’ve heard very little about.
Leon Russell was a much in-demand session musician at the time, but he was also working towards a career as singer and songwriter. And so, in addition to his prodigious work behind the scenes, there were also a lot of solo sessions and group endeavors which were met with varying degrees of success – until the big break came in the late 60s.
Jackie Dunham, less is known about – a Rockabilly artist with several records to his credit (this one doesn’t show up anywhere), and later, according to a few reports, a successful career as a Country songwriter, working for the likes of Conway Twitty and others in Nashville.
So this set of sessions is a mystery and there is very little information, aside from the session sheets themselves, to go on. The Leon Russell track is a threadbare little number called “It Takes A Drink In The Morning (To Forget The Night Before)” with two takes, the second being the “circled” take. The second number is by Dunham, “So Long Baby” which features Russell in the role of accompanist/arranger, take 4 is the circled take.
Any hunches or further information is always welcome, and will certainly add to solving the mystery of this recording session. And I will happily add updates when/if I find out anything.
In any case, you will be hearing something that’s probably not seen the light of day since June of 1962.
Enjoy a piece of formerly lost history.
