07-20-2016, 03:30 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-21-2016, 12:43 AM by Eric the Green.)
The mesmerizing, scenic and soulful song by Fred Neil, The Dolphins, is #4 on my all time list.
I discovered it on our FM album-oriented rock station in 1968. I bought the album, which also contains his song that Nilsson recorded for the movie Midnight Cowboy (1969, mentioned above). Not long after I bought it, the album was re-titled "Everybody's Talkin' ". But The Dolphins is side 1, track 1. It is a cult favorite.
It was a very personal song for Fred, which is why he put everything into it he could. A few years after recording it, he stopped making music and dedicated the rest of life to a project to save and protect the dolphins he loved, and whom he wanted to be able to stay "wild."
I thought he must be a Pisces; he was an escapist who loved sailing the sea and loved those that swim in it. And so he was. I think if he could have, he would have just swum away into the ocean and become a fish.
(hey, that remark of mine reminds me of H.P. Lovecraft novels-- see below, the musical group recorded Neil's songs)
http://www.fredneil.com/
from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Neil
Neil gained public recognition in 1969, when Nilsson's recording of "Everybody's Talkin''" was featured in the film Midnight Cowboy; the song became a hit and won a Grammy Award. He was one of the pioneers of the folk rock and singer-songwriter musical genres, his most prominent musical descendants being Tim Buckley, Stephen Stills, David Crosby and Joni Mitchell. His most frequently cited disciples are Karen Dalton, Tim Hardin, Dino Valenti, Vince Martin, Peter Stampfel of the avant-folk ensemble the Holy Modal Rounders, John Sebastian (the Lovin' Spoonful), Gram Parsons, Jerry Jeff Walker, Barry McGuire, and Paul Kantner (Jefferson Airplane). Some of Neil's early compositions were recorded by Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison. He played guitar on the demo version of Bobby Darin's 1958 hit "Dream Lover" and was a demo singer on a late-1950s Elvis Presley movie soundtrack session.
It appears that Paul Kantner and the Jefferson Airplane/Starship's references to "Pooh" might also refer to Fred Neil (Pooneil)
The group H.P.Lovecraft included a version of Fred Neil's song "That's the Bag I'm In,"
https://youtu.be/bjzyHAob7kw as well as Neil's song about "Bleeker and McDougall" streets in Greenwich Village NY (title of Neil's second album) and Coconut Grove (where Neil lived), in the 1967 album I featured earlier.
https://youtu.be/poKB0mI3UDk
original version: https://youtu.be/PeBPb_1RKLc (title track of his 1965 album)
Tim Buckley made a well-regarded cover of The Dolphins. Tim was strongly influenced by Fred Neil.
https://youtu.be/CBcfDoQZ-IA
Linda Ronstadt and It's A Beautiful Day also covered it.
https://youtu.be/NkvqyIYFXnY
I just posted another "Dolphins" piece from 1985 on the "lost years" thread.
https://youtu.be/-FvnQQCDIoU
Dolphins inspire some great music!
I discovered it on our FM album-oriented rock station in 1968. I bought the album, which also contains his song that Nilsson recorded for the movie Midnight Cowboy (1969, mentioned above). Not long after I bought it, the album was re-titled "Everybody's Talkin' ". But The Dolphins is side 1, track 1. It is a cult favorite.
It was a very personal song for Fred, which is why he put everything into it he could. A few years after recording it, he stopped making music and dedicated the rest of life to a project to save and protect the dolphins he loved, and whom he wanted to be able to stay "wild."
I thought he must be a Pisces; he was an escapist who loved sailing the sea and loved those that swim in it. And so he was. I think if he could have, he would have just swum away into the ocean and become a fish.
(hey, that remark of mine reminds me of H.P. Lovecraft novels-- see below, the musical group recorded Neil's songs)
http://www.fredneil.com/
from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Neil
Neil gained public recognition in 1969, when Nilsson's recording of "Everybody's Talkin''" was featured in the film Midnight Cowboy; the song became a hit and won a Grammy Award. He was one of the pioneers of the folk rock and singer-songwriter musical genres, his most prominent musical descendants being Tim Buckley, Stephen Stills, David Crosby and Joni Mitchell. His most frequently cited disciples are Karen Dalton, Tim Hardin, Dino Valenti, Vince Martin, Peter Stampfel of the avant-folk ensemble the Holy Modal Rounders, John Sebastian (the Lovin' Spoonful), Gram Parsons, Jerry Jeff Walker, Barry McGuire, and Paul Kantner (Jefferson Airplane). Some of Neil's early compositions were recorded by Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison. He played guitar on the demo version of Bobby Darin's 1958 hit "Dream Lover" and was a demo singer on a late-1950s Elvis Presley movie soundtrack session.
It appears that Paul Kantner and the Jefferson Airplane/Starship's references to "Pooh" might also refer to Fred Neil (Pooneil)
The group H.P.Lovecraft included a version of Fred Neil's song "That's the Bag I'm In,"
https://youtu.be/bjzyHAob7kw as well as Neil's song about "Bleeker and McDougall" streets in Greenwich Village NY (title of Neil's second album) and Coconut Grove (where Neil lived), in the 1967 album I featured earlier.
https://youtu.be/poKB0mI3UDk
original version: https://youtu.be/PeBPb_1RKLc (title track of his 1965 album)
Tim Buckley made a well-regarded cover of The Dolphins. Tim was strongly influenced by Fred Neil.
https://youtu.be/CBcfDoQZ-IA
Linda Ronstadt and It's A Beautiful Day also covered it.
https://youtu.be/NkvqyIYFXnY
I just posted another "Dolphins" piece from 1985 on the "lost years" thread.
https://youtu.be/-FvnQQCDIoU
Dolphins inspire some great music!