THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,702) October Country — “End of the Line”
A kiss-off song disguised as winsome L.A. sunshine pop! Renowned producer, arranger, songwriter and musician Michael Lloyd wrote this song with future Three Dog Nighter Jimmy Greenspoon. After they released it in ’67 as the B-side of their band Boystown’s only single (https://www.discogs.com/release/12917382-Boystown-Hello-Mr-Sun-End-Of-The-Line), Lloyd produced October Country’s (see #624) ’68 version.
Bryan Thomas tells us about October Country’s LP:
Th[eir] album is one of the better examples of . . . Michael Lloyd’s overall influence and impact on the West Coast-based [sunshine pop/soft rock] genre. Lloyd — who was certainly influenced . . . [by] various psych-pop sounds of the Brit-pop invasion, even harmony vocal groups like the Bee Gees — always seemed to find interesting ways to incorporate various sophisticated instrumentation (organ, horns, harpsichord, and string arrangements) into his productions.
Thomas tells us about OC and Lloyd:
October Country was a six-piece Los Angeles-based harmony pop group probably best-remembered for their association with producer/composer/songwriter Michael Lloyd. Lloyd was already an accomplished songwriter by age 13, signing a publishing deal with L.A. producer Kim Fowley [see #89, 449], who later introduced him to entertainment mogul Mike Curb [see #57]. Fowler hoped that Curb would use some of Lloyd’s songs in the “teensploitation” films he was producing at the time. Instead, Curb gave Lloyd the opportunity to produce a handful of groups . . . . [including] a We-Five-ish folk-rock group, led by a pair of singing siblings, Caryle De Franca and her brother Joe. The group had already performed on the Sunset Strip scene . . . . [U]nder Lloyd’s supervision, [they] recorded the Lloyd-penned “October Country.” . . . The group adopted the name October Country thereafter, and signed with Epic Records, which released that first single in late 1967. By the spring of 1968, the group’s second single, “My Girlfriend Is a Witch,” [see #624] was released, followed a few months later by . . . “Cowboys and Indians”. A self-titled LP was released that same year, but the group’s records failed to catch on outside of the L.A. area.
I knew that Fowley had to be somehow involved!
Wikipedia recounts Lloyd’s early years:
By the age of 13, he had formed his own band . . . at the same time continuing to take lessons in music theory and composition. He also started writing songs and pitching them to record labels in Los Angeles, including Tower Records, a subsidiary of Capitol. By Lloyd’s own account, Eddie Ray, the head of A&R at Tower, suggested that the teenage Lloyd work with Mike Curb, and the pair began collaborating on songs and record production. Other sources suggest that Lloyd and Curb were introduced to each other by Kim Fowley, who had signed Lloyd to a song-publishing deal. Lloyd also recorded surf music as a member of the New Dimensions, a group that included Jimmy Greenspoon, later of Threw Dog Night. Around 1964, Lloyd began performing with brothers Shaun and Danny Harris . . . . Together they formed a group initially called the Rogues, later renamed the Laughing Wind. They recorded demos with Fowley, who then introduced the band to Bob Markley, a law graduate and aspiring performer who had already had his own TV show in Oklahoma. With Fowley’s support and Markley’s financial backing, Lloyd became a member of the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band with the Harris brothers, Markley and drummer John Ware, releasing an album, Part One [see #197, 488], in 1967. Fowley also released some of the Laughing Wind’s demos, with other tracks featuring Markley, as Volume One, credited to the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band. Lloyd left the band shortly afterward, but returned to contribute to their 1969 album Where’s My Daddy?. In 1967, Lloyd wrote songs and produced [a] Fowley[] solo album . . . . Curb allowed Lloyd to use his Hollywood Boulevard studios, and together with . . . Stan Ayeroff and Steve Baim . . . Lloyd wrote and produced an album, The Smoke . . . . Lloyd also provided the music for Steven Spielberg’s first short film, Amblin’, and worked with Curb on other movie soundtracks, including The Devil’s 8 . . . .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Lloyd_(music_producer)
Lloyd talks about himself:
Referred to as a boy genius at the start of his career Michael Lloyd has certainly proven that right. . . . [T]he prolific and talented record producer has accumulated in excess of 100 gold and platinum records well over 72 albums and 34 singles collecting numerous #1 singles and albums. Lloyd’s records . . . rang[e] from Pop & Rock to Country & Jazz, R&B & Gospel . . . . His various chart records span five decades, from the 60’s to the present. Additionally, Lloyd has provided scoring, music supervision, song writing, song placement and or music producing for well over 100 motion pictures, 16 TV movies, 13 television specials & 35 television series. . . . As well as being the music supervisor for the motion picture, and the Dirty Dancing album . . Michael produced the blockbuster hits “I’ve Had The Time Of My Life” for Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, “Yes” by Merry Clayton [see #53] and “She’s Like The Wind” by Patrick Swayze. . . [H]e met Mike Curb, which began a long and fruitful friendship and business association . . . . Curb put Lloyd to work scoring motion pictures, and a few years later, when Curb became president of MGM Records, he brought Lloyd, then 20 years old, in as vice president of A & R. At MGM Records, Lloyd signed Lou Rawls, which generated Lloyd’s first major hit, “A Natural Man”. Some of the artists Lloyd has worked with over the years include Barry Manilow, Belinda Carlisle, Kimberley Locke, Dionne Warwick, Steve Holy, Natalie Grant, Bill Medley, Benny Mardones, Stryper, Jennifer Warnes, The Righteous Brothers, The Monkees, Shaun Cassidy, Eric Carman, The Bellamy Brothers, The Burrito Brothers, The New Seekers, Sammy Davis Jr., Air Supply, Carmen, Jeffrey Osborne, The Osmonds, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Bill Medley, Tamara Walker, The Pointer Sisters, Leif Garrett, Susie Alllanson, Brush Arbor, Donny & Marie, Maureen McGovern, Roger Williams, Merry Clayton, Debby Boone, and Frank Sinatra [see #1,455] . . . .
Quite self-effacing!
Here is Boystown:
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