One of Rodd Keith's Earliest Song-Poem Records

Well, Howdy-Doo!

We are rapidly approaching the point at which all of the song-poem entries on this site will have been "fixed" - I have now corrected March of 2010, meaning that there are only 14 months of entries left to correct, since I began the "Song-Poem of the Week" project, some 12 and a half years ago. There are a handful of earlier posts I will also correct in do time, but the main project here has been to reconnect all of the song-poem postings with their original files. 

Specifically, today,.in fixing March of 2010, I have resurrected these posts: an Irish specialty offered up by a Tin Pan Alley singer who always went by "Lance", Dick Kent singing about "Ole Dirty Face" on a Cinema release, a vanity project involving Sandy Stanton's Film City label, by the one and only Stich Stampfel, and a record from the Globe company on a tiny label - a record where my original text had some major errors, which I have now corrected. 

And now, here's something special for today: 

So far as I know, Sandy Stanton's hiring of Rodd Keith for work at his Film City label, marked Rodd's entry into the song-poem world. And I think that fact makes this record (along with a few others I've shared) quite notable. According to its label number, and a variety of information available at the Film City page (and related pages) at the AS/PMA website, this record is probably one of Rodd's first dozen and a half song-poems under his own pseudonym. He is likely on at least another dozen as the Chamberlin player, as well. See the notes after the second side of this record for more information on really early Rod Rogers on Film City tracks. 

What's clear from today's tracks (and the ones linked below) is that Rodd Keith arrived at Film City with his talents fully developed, and that it took him virtually no time to get up to speed with the Chamberlin. Today's lead track, a mid-tempo thing called "Hide and Seek", has a lovely backing track, complete with strings, choral-ish and sax-ish flavoring, and best of all, some fake, picked lead guitar, playing an intricate melody throughout and in a lead solo section. Top it all off with a sweet, effective harmonized vocal, and you have a nice little one man band song-poem record.  

Download: Rod Rogers with the Swinging Strings - Hide and Seek

Play:  

The flip side, "September Wind" has many of the same features, although admittedly in the service of a style of song which doesn't do much for me. But even in a record which I find less than scintillating, I still admire the work that went into it. What you're hearing here would be easy to do today in a matter of minutes, using Midi, and sound more accurate, but given what he was using, and that it was brand new to him, I think this is a rather amazing, and the flip side much more so. 

Download: Rod Rogers with the Swinging Strings - September Wind

Play: 

As promised, here is some more information about Rodd Keith's earliest days at Film City and in the song-poem world: 

I featured the record immediately before this one (in terms of label number) almost ten years ago, here, and an even earlier one in 2013, which can be heard here. I shared a truly horrific vanity record from the label, which likely features Rodd on Chamberlin, back at WFMU, which is an even earlier release, and which can be found here. And the lowest numbered Film City disc in my collection, number 1012, is a wonderfully atmospheric record which also clearly reflects the magic of Rodd on Chamberlin. I posted it in 2013, and it can be heard here.