THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,770) Wendy & Bonnie — “The Paisley Window Pane”
Here is a more Brazilian-flavored alternate take of “a sweet piece of Brazilian Tropicalia-themed Psych” (Faltain, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/wendy-and-bonnie/the-paisley-window-pane-its-whats-really-happening/), a “wonderful track[] from their stellar LP [Genesis]” (tymeshifter, https://rateyourmusic.com/music-review/tymeshifter/wendy-and-bonnie/the-paisley-window-pane-its-whats-really-happening-1/69455982), “a delicately beautiful and morose ballad buttressed by [Larry] Carlton’s languid acoustic guitar picking” with “intertwining vocals [that] are exquisite, full of Karen Carpenter-esque yearning”. (Jive Time Records, https://jivetimerecords.com/2022/03/wendy-bonnie-genesis-skye-1969/)
Joseph Neff writes that:
This is what soft rock sounded like before it went to the dogs. . . . “The Paisley Window Pane” succeeds by being breezy and light instead of syrupy . . . or plagued with overwrought mellowness. It’s pretty, yet doesn’t amplify this quality into fragility or preciousness, and in fact it is greatly enhanced by an aura of melancholy.
https://www.thevinyldistrict.com/storefront/graded-curve-wendy-bonnie-genesis/
Bonnie Flower wrote the song IN THE SEVENTH GRADE and was recorded in 1968, when her sister Wendy was 17 and Bonnie was 13! (Irwin Chusid, liner notes to the CD reissue of Genesis) Mozart had nothing on the Flower sisters!
Jive Time Records writes of Genesis that:
Genesis likely wouldn’t have ascended to its burnished status without contributions from a cast of stellar session musicians such as drummer Jim Keltner, keyboardist Mike Melvoin, and guitarist Larry Carlton. They all play their asses off for these gifted upstarts, and it’s goddamn precious to witness. Production from bossa-nova/jazz vibraphonist [Gary] McFarland and label support from Skye co-owner and Latin-jazz percussionist Cal Tjader, who’d heard and loved the duo’s early demos, further bolstered the recording sessions.
https://jivetimerecords.com/2022/03/wendy-bonnie-genesis-skye-1969/
Richie Unterberger is more equivocal:
Genesis was pretty sparsely produced, the arrangements highlighting their harmonies and pensive paisley tunes, but did benefit from backing by some top Los Angeles session musicians . . . . [It] is pleasant, if naïve, harmonized light rock with psychedelic, jazz, and folk influences. It is impressive given their tender ages . . . and the pair wrote all of the material on the LP. . . . [It] is a nice, if not truly necessary, relic of the late 1960s. It’s the sort of unconventional yet accessible project that might have had trouble finding its way into release in any other era, but managed to at least get issued, even if it was largely undiscovered until cult listeners unearthed it decades later. The sisters’ harmonies have the sweet-sour major minor blend typical of many San Francisco rock artists of the time, yet with a more homespun, intimate flavor than those of many a heavily produced band. Their songs have the sort of slightly askew lyrics that, again, were prevalent in their time and place, glowing with anticipation of an era of greater love and less social constraints, and also imbued with a certain innocent naïveté. . . . There are sometimes jazzier accents to their singing and chord progressions than there were in most psychedelic or harmony pop/rock groups. . . .
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/wendy-bonnie-mn0000818065#biography, https://www.allmusic.com/album/genesis-mw0000006402
Irwin Chusid’s liner notes to the CD reissue of Genesis tell the Flower sisters’ story:
The were influenced by the groundbreaking pop-psych ferment of the late ’60s, without having been much a part of it. The girls absorbed rock from the radio, sultry tropical strains from Latin jazz legend Cal Tjader (their godfather and a devoted family friend), and a love of jazz and classical from their parents. . . . In 1967, Wendy co-founded a local band, Crystal Fountain, for whom she was the featured vocalist; Bonnie later joined the group on drums. They recorded a few garage-psych originals, one of which, “The Night Behind Us,” received airplay on fabled station KSAN. “Cal heard some of the things we did with Crystal Fountain and some duo compositions,” recalled Bonnie, “So he connected us with Skye Records.” Skye was a jazz imprint whose roster boased Tjader, vibraphonist Gary McFarland, [and] guitarist Gabor Szabo [see #185] (all co-owners of the label) . . . . Wendy and Bonnie were . . . Skye’s only fling with rock . . . . [They] had been writing songs for years, and were now afforded a chance to record a 45 single of two originals: “The Paisley Window Pane” and “The Winter Is Cold.” Bonnie had written “Paisley” in the seventh grade and performed it solo in French class for final exam credit. . . . The initial session proved promising, and Skye asked the sisters if they could generate an album’s worth of material. Within weeks they’d conjured up eight tunes. . . . McFarland agreed to produce the project. . . . [He] was an arranger, composer, and bandleader who’d worked with [many jazz greats]. . . . Thanks to McFarland and Skye’s connections in the West Coast jazz world, the Flower sisters were graced with top-notch sidemen. . . . [including] Larry Carlton on guitar, veteran drummer Jim Keltner . . . . Then, in 1970, just as the sister’s promising singing careers were being launched, Skye eclardd bankruptcy. . . . [Wendy recalls] “One day we were . . . scheduled to appear on The Merv Griffin Show. Next day, our label was no more. . . . We were totally devastated[.] . . . We were looking forward to doing other projects with Gary. . . . We were shattered to hear he passed away[.]” McFarland suffered a fatal heart attack on November 2, 1971, after being poisoned by liquid methadone slipped into his cocktail at a New York bar. . . . ” The opportunities were [still] there,” said Wendy. “However, life was pulling Bonnie and me in different directions. I wanted to record with Fantasy, but they wanted a sister act or nothing.[“]
Richie Unterberger notes that:
Although they did sing backup vocals on a couple of Tjader albums and some jingles and background vocals at Fantasy Records, they never recorded their own material again . . . . They did perform music separately in the subsequent decades, Wendy Flower issuing a children’s music cassette, and Bonnie Flower once rejecting an invitation to join the Bangles.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/wendy-bonnie-mn0000818065#biography
Here is the song on Genesis:
Live:
Live back in the day:
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