THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,885) Lee Mallory — “Come On In (Ode to the Be-In)”
This ingratiating love song is a demo written by Lee (see #18, 1,693) and produced by him along with Curt Boettcher. It contains some of the sweetest and most affecting lyrics I have ever had the pleasure of hearing. “If I were a little boy, I’d get you with my smile, and if I were a city man, then I’d win you with my style . . . If I were a millionaire, I’d take you all around the world . . . But all that I am is me, and this is all I can ever hope to be.” How it wasn’t released for decades . . . (ah, but that is a familiar story on my blog).
Richie Unterberger writes of Mallory:
Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Lee Mallory might be best known as a member of the Millennium [see #397, 506, 586, 662, 810, 1,002], the late-’60s sunshine pop group . . . . Mallory wrote or co-wrote some of the material for the elaborately produced band, which crossed the sound of the 1966-1967 Beach Boys with more pop-oriented Southern California harmony pop. On the Millennium’s Begin album, Mallory was the sole writer of the tracks “I’m with You,” “Sing to Me,” and “Some Sunny Day,” co-authoring some of the other tunes as well. Mallory also did a couple of singles under his own name for Valiant Records in 1966-1967. The most successful of these, “That’s the Way It’s Gonna Be,” [see #18] reached number 86 and was a big hit in Seattle. It was also the most notable of his recording efforts, with a buoyant yet complex production heavy on producer Curt Boettcher’s trademark high vocal-harmony arrangements. Surprisingly, [it] was a cover of a song written by Phil Ochs and folk musician Bob Gibson . . . though its folk roots were pretty unrecognizable by the time Mallory and Boettcher had made it over into a densely produced pop/rock single. Mallory had in fact been a folk musician in the early and mid-’60s, though he went in a very pop direction after hooking up with Boettcher. Mallory also contributed to various other Boettcher-associated groups, including the Ballroom [see #707], Summer’s Children, and Sagittarius. Mallory did quite a bit of recording in the 1960s that was never issued at the time.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lee-mallory-mn0000189312#biography
Jason Penick chimes in:
An introspective folkie with an innate desire to rock . . . Lee Mallory is one of the great troubadours of his era. Born to cab driver parents . . . Lee was raised in Berkeley, California. He first picked up the guitar at the age of sixteen, and by nineteen he had begun playing local venues . . . in . . . San Francisco. In 1965 Lee journeyed to Greenwich Village in order to sing and play alongside folk musicians like the Lovin’ Spoonful (whom he opened for at their first gig at the Cafe Bizarre). After spending time in New York, Chicago and Boothbay Harbor, Maine, Lee ventured back to California later that year. It was at Claudia Ford’s . . . home that Lee would first meet the man who would help guide his early career, Ford’s boyfriend Curt Boettcher. Lee and Curt’s first evening together was apparently a prolific one, as the duo penned four songs that night including the gorgeous “Forever”. When Lee explained to the young producer that he was in town looking to get something started musically, Curt suggested that Lee accompany him back to Hollywood, and the rest is music history. . . . Lee was already a prolific writer by the time he met up with Curt. Some early Lee Mallory compositions include “Better Times”, which was recorded by The Association [see #1,264] for their Boettcher-produced debut album. Though The Association would ultimately pass on “Better Times”, the song was picked up by another band named The Brothers Cain . . . . Another one of Lee’s early songs, “Sing to Me”, was given to the popular vocal group The Clinger Sisters for an unreleased, Curt Boettcher-produced single in 1966. In between penning songs, Lee was building up his chops by jamming with the Our Productions House Band and was starting to lay down some of his own tunes in the studio. Lee’s early recordings had a style all their own; a sparkling brand of modern folk music, infused with a groovin’ rock backbeat and topped off with a dollop of majestic, Boettcher arranged vocal harmonies.
http://therockasteria.blogspot.com/2017/07/lee-mallory-many-are-times-1966-69-us.html?m=1
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