T. Rex — “Beltane Walk”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 27, 2023

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

935) T. Rex — “Beltane* Walk”

The last song (on the first side) of T. Rex’s last album before Electric Warrior, released in the last month of the 60’s (December 1970), is appropriately this “charming little ditty” (Tim Cooper, https://www.eatsdrinksandleaves.com/t-rex-beltane-walk/) — Marc Bolan’s glam-tastic updating of a Jimmy McCracklin R&B stroll from ’58!

Tim Cooper writes that:

Marc [Bolan], showcasing his recently adopted electric guitar playing alongside percussionist Mickey Finn, sings a charming little ditty about three strangers he encounters on his wanderings; by the roadside, the whirlpool and the Westwind. One is “a man with a starhide” (nope, me neither), another is a girl who is “God’s tool” and the last a boy who is already his friend, who Marc offers to sing with. Of course, Marc being Marc, he invites them to join him for “a little love” and, if they had any sense, I’m sure they did because he was about to become the biggest pop star in the country when Hot Love was released soon afterwards. And of course, Marc being Marc, he “borrowed” the riff from an earlier tune, in this case Jimmy McCracklin’s 1958 tune The Walk:

https://www.eatsdrinksandleaves.com/t-rex-beltane-walk/

Jason Mankey adds:

Even though Bolan achieved mega-stardom in the 70’s, he was a child of the 60’s. He loved Tolkien (Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit for those of you who have missed the last three decades) and C.S. Lewis’ tales of Narnia. Love of those two fantasy lands inspired Bolan to create his own magickal land which he called “Beltane” and references to Beltane in his own music (like the song Beltane Walk) could be about our high holy holiday, or a land cloaked in perpetual sunshine and peppered with maypoles. An entire album dedicated to Marc’s fantasy world was even in the works for a while, but was shelved in favor of more traditional pop pursuits.

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/panmankey/2012/08/strange-days-t-rexstacy-and-marc-bolan-of-t-rex/

Of course, Marc Bolan needs no introduction, but let’s listen to Mark Deming:

Tyrannosaurus Rex’s transformation from oracles of U.K. hippie culture to boogie-friendly rock stars began with the album A Beard of Stars, released in early 1970 when the band picked up electric instruments, and by the time the year was out, Marc Bolan had pared their name down to the more user-friendly T. Rex and dropped their first album with the new moniker. [T]he songs on T. Rex bear a much stronger melodic and lyrical resemblance to what would make the band famous on Electric Warrior in 1971 . . . . Mickey Finn still wasn’t using a full drum kit, so the tunes don’t quite have the kick of a full-on rock band. But Bolan himself sounds like he’s ready for his close-up, as his vocals — mannered yet quietly passionate and full of belief — suggest the glam hero he would soon become, and numbers like “Beltane Walk[” is] just a few paces away from the swaggering sound that would make him the U.K.’s biggest star. . . . [Bolan] sounds like he was letting out the rock star that had always lurked within him . . . . T. Rex is the quiet before the storm . . . and it retains a loopy energy and easy charm that makes it one of Bolan’s watershed works.

https://www.allmusic.com/album/t-rex-mw0000479361

As to Jimmy McCracklin and “The Walk”, Bill Dahl tells us that:

After a stint in the Navy during World War II, he bid St. Louis adieu and moved to the West Coast, making his recorded debut for the Globe logo with “Miss Mattie Left Me” in 1945. . . . McCracklin recorded for a daunting array of tiny labels in Los Angeles and Oakland prior to touching down with Modern in 1949-1950, Swing Time the next year, and Peacock in 1952-1954. . . . By 1954, the pianist was back with the Bihari Brothers’ Modern logo and really coming into his own with a sax-driven sound. “Couldn’t Be a Dream” was hilariously surreal . . . . A series of sessions for [the] Irma label in 1956 . . . preceded McCracklin’s long-awaited first major hit. Seldom had he written a simpler song than “The Walk,” a rudimentary dance number with a good groove that Checker Records put on the market in 1958. It went Top Ten on both the R&B and pop charts, and McCracklin was suddenly rubbing elbows with Dick Clark on network TV. The nomadic pianist left Chess after a few more 45s, pausing at Mercury . . . before returning to the hit parade with the tough R&B workout “Just Got to Know” in 1961 for Art-Tone Records. A similar follow-up, “Shame, Shame, Shame,” also did well for him the next year. Those sides eventually resurfaced on Imperial, where he hit twice in 1965 with “Every Night, Every Day” . . . and the uncompromising “Think” and “My Answer” in 1966. McCracklin’s songwriting skills shouldn’t be overlooked as an integral factor in his enduring success. He penned the funky “Tramp” for guitarist Lowell Fulson and watched his old pal take it to the rarefied end of the R&B lists in 1967, only to be eclipsed by a sassy duet cover by Stax stalwarts Otis Redding and Carla Thomas . . . .

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jimmy-mccracklin-mn0000079580/biography

* According to Wikipedia:

Bealtaine . . . is the Gaelic May Day festival. It is traditionally held on 1 May, or about midway between the spring equinox and summer solstice . . . . The festival name is synonymous with the month marking the start of summer in Gaelic Ireland. Historically, it was widely observed throughout Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. In Irish the name for the festival day is Lá Bealtaine . . . while the month of May is Mí na Bealtaine, in Scottish Gaelic Latha Bealltainn . . , and in Manx Gaelic Laa Boaltinn/Boaldyn. Beltane is one of the four main Gaelic seasonal festivals—along with Samhain, Imbolc, and Lugnasadh—and is similar to the Welsh Calan Mai.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beltane

BBC Live:

Here is Jimmy McCracklin:

I have added a Facebook page for Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock! If you like what you read and hear and feel so inclined, please visit and “like” my Facebook page by clicking here.

Pay to Play! The Off the Charts Spotify Playlist! + Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock Merchandise

Please consider helping to support my website/blog by contributing $6 a month for access to the Off the Charts Spotify Playlist. Using a term familiar to denizens of Capitol Hill, you pay to play! (“relating to or denoting an unethical or illicit arrangement in which payment is made by those who want certain privileges or advantages in such arenas as business, politics, sports, and entertainment” — dictionary.com).

The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.

All new subscribers will receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock magnet. New subscribers who sign up for a year will also receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock t-shirt or baseball cap. See pictures on the Pay to Play page.

When subscribing, please send me an e-mail (GMFtma1@gmail.com) or a comment on this site letting me know an e-mail address/phone number/Facebook address, etc. to which I can send instructions on accessing the playlist and a physical address to which I can sent a magnet/t-shirt/baseball cap. If choosing a t-shirt, please let me know the gender and size you prefer.

Just click on the first blue block for a month to month subscription or the second blue block for a yearly subscription.