BIRMINGHAM RECORD COLLECTORS
DEDICATED TO THE COLLECTING OF MUSIC, ITS PRESERVATION AND LASTING FRIENDSHIP

THIS MONTH’S MEETING
MEETING THIS SUNDAY, AUGUST 8TH @ FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF FULTONDALE 1PM
NEXT MEETING, SEPTEMBER 12TH.

THIS MONTH’S MEETING
We will spend some of our time finalizing all plans for the record show which will be less than 2 weeks away. What time is left will be spent playing some music and discussing various topics of interest. Drop by and fellowship with us and get in on the discussions and give your opinion. Remember, opinions are like belly-buttons…everybody has one.

Information about our future meetings will be in upcoming newsletters so be on alert for changes. Our September meeting may take place at a different venue than Fultondale Baptist Church so again, watch the newsletter for that.

Beginning in October we are scheduled to return back to the Homewood library. When the covid virus hit the library stopped the use of their meeting rooms but are ready to open them up once again. But things may change so the newsletter and the BRC website will be your best place to find out. Also, moving back to the library in October will mean our starting time for meetings will return to 2:00.

THE 2021 BRC RECORD SHOW
Plans are underway as we prepare for our 36th annual record show. After having to cancel last year’s show due to the virus we are set to go in 2021. Dealers have been contacted, advertising is being planned, the venue is set and so are we. If you can volunteer to work the door for an hour or two either day let us know. We do have a sign-up sheet for those positions and your name will be added. August 20-22 at the Gardendale Civic Center. Plenty of free parking and over 115 tables of vinyl to browse through. Check out our website for more info. birminghamrecord.com SEE YOU AT THE SHOW!!

BIRMINGHAM RECORD COLLECTORS 2021 MUSIC HALL OF FAME
Our inductee this year for our BRC Music Hall of Fame will be Paul Hornsby. Paul will be with us at our show not only as our guest and newest inductee but also selling his recent book, Fix It In The Mix: A Memoir (Music and the American South). As you read his bio which is below you will see his connection with music and the American South. We look forward to having Paul with us so be sure to drop by and meet Paul and get a copy of his book. And a big thanks to BRC member Gil Anthony for arranging to have Paul with us at our show this year. Here is Paul’s bio:

PAUL HORNSBY
Right person, right place, right time. The formula that has proven successful and iconic over the years in entertainment, sports, business and for writers. This formula worked for Paul Hornsby as well as he started his journey in life choosing to be a musician and producer.

Paul was born in Elba, Alabama and grew up nearby in New Brockton. His early musical influence was watching and hearing his father play fiddle at square dances. Paul learned from his father as well as picking out guitar licks while listening to recordings of performers such as Chet Atkins, Merle Travis and The Ventures recordings. He also played the keyboards being influenced by Jimmy Smith, Ray Charles and Dr. John who he called one of the greatest piano players in the world.

Playing in different R&R bands while living in Tuscaloosa, Paul, playing both guitar and keyboards would team up with guitarist Eddie Hinton and drummer Johnny Sandlin to form The Five Minutes later changing the name to The Men-Its. It was while with this band Paul would do his first professional recording when they went to Muscle Shoals.

The right time and right place for Paul was coming together. The Men-Its began touring in the southeast and mid-west and would eventually meet and become friends with Duane and Gregg Allman. The Allman’s were at the time in the band called The Allman Joys. When Eddie Hinton decided to become a session player in Muscle Shoals, Paul and Johnny Sandlin joined with Duane, Gregg and Mabron McKenny and started playing gigs in the St. Louis area. The band was well received and was and would be asked to go to Los Angeles and record. In the late 1960’s They signed with Liberty Records as The Hour Glass. They played in such places as The Fillmore and Whiskey-A-Go-Go. The band would be opening for artists like The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, The Animals and Buffalo Springfield. Two LP’s later and with not much success the band went back to Muscle Shoals and recorded and did gigs there. Still nothing was happening so they called it quits.

Hooking back up with Duane Allman, Paul met Phil Walden and after discussing possibilities of forming another band he declined but accepted a position at Capricorn Sound Studio in Macon, Georgia as studio staff musician. Doing session work on recordings with Eddie Floyd and Arthur Conley, Paul would soon become studio manager at Capricorn. Producing was now part of Paul’s resume and he proved his worth. A band from South Carolina was signed and brought in for Paul to produce. The Marshall Tucker Band was placed with the right person in the right place at the right time. History was about to be made.

After two months of long days in the studio the debut LP, ‘The Marshall Tucker Band’ was ready for the music world. Paul had captured a sound that would become known as Southern Rock. It was probably being with Hour Glass and Duane and Gregg that Paul knew what he wanted. With songs like ‘Take The Highway’ and ‘Can’t You See’, the LP would be called by one magazine a ‘Southern Rock classic’. Paul was not only the producer of the LP, he played keyboards. Paul would go on a produce MTB’s next five LP’s as well as LP’s by Wet Willie and Charlie Daniels, including songs like ‘The South’s Gonna Do It (Again)’ and ‘Long Haired Country Boy’.

Right person, right place, right time. Paul Hornsby was a driving force behind the genre we now call Southern Rock and that legacy began in Elba, Alabama then crisscrossing the country, along the way being a member of the band Hour Glass which can arguably be called the first Southern Rock band and then ending in Macon, Georgia producing some of the best music then and it is still being played today on classic rock radio. What Paul Hornsby did to give Southern Rock it’s place in music history can be compared to what Sam Phillips did to give Rock & Roll a place in music history.

DID YOU KNOW?
Thanks to Terrell Lindsey for this musical info: On the Billboard top 40 record chart for the week of July 24, 1960, there 4 records with the same title and music, but different artists. The song was “Look for a Star,” and it was from the soundtrack of the movie “Circus of Horrors.” This was a British “B-Movie” horror film released in England in April, 1960. The first version of the song was recorded by British Pop Singer Garry Mills for the movie soundtrack. Three other versions were recorded in the US and released prior to the movie’s release in the US to generate interest in seeing the movie. Deane Hawley, a USC college student and singer recorded his version, followed by an instrumental version by Billy Vaughn and his Orchestra. The highest charting version was recorded by Garry Miles (aka Buzz Cason) to use Garry Mills name to generate interest.

Click on the song titles to hear each version. The chart positions for the records for the week on July 24, 1960 were:

29 – Look for a Star – Deane Hawley
26 – Look for a Star – Garry Mills
24 – Look for a Star – Billy Vaughn and his Orchestra
18 – Look for a Star – Garry Miles (aka Buzz Cason)
See ya,

Charlie