Roy Head- A Head of His Time

This little gem was $4.  Not going to pass up music with Houston ties at this price.During Continental Club’s anniversary last year (or was it two years ago?), I saw Roy Head perform briefly.  I wish I would have stuck around to watch more.

Head, born in Three Rivers, TX in 1941, came to fame with his band the Traits and the single “Treat Her Right”, released by Houston’s own Don Robey.  A great example of Blue-Eyed Soul, the single was kept out of the #1 spot by the Beatles’ “Yesterday”. Head, as the singer, had a stage presence that rivaled James Brown.

Anyway, by the time the 70’s rolled around, Head was into country music and that is where this comes from. On one hand, it was a stretch from the sound he was doing in the Sixties On the other hand, Head was always pushing the boundaries of genres so it really made sense. The second of two albums released in 1976 as well as the second of three for ABC/Dot records, this album is a good collection of country tunes as well as standards.  Pretty good album.  It concludes with a rousing version of R&H’s “You’ll Never Walk Alone”.

Head, who lives in the Humble area, performs sporadically.  His son Sundance was on the Voice as well as American Idol.  Furthermore, the Chronicle did a story on Head last year that is pretty good.  I was a little taken back when I read about tricks  I thought was original about but in reality were already done by Head. Oh well.  It is good to admit when you are beat.

Link to Chron Story

In an earlier post this week, I mentioned that there were four songs from this month that I added to my guitar repertoire.  Two of them were posted yesterday.  The third is on this album and is presented here: “Angel With A Broken Wing”.  I particularly like the second verse.

Great little record. Satisfactory.