From the recording Untitled
This track was recorded at the legendary Sound 80 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the fall of 1974. I wrote the song upstairs in my O'Donnell Lake (Minnesota) house the previous year. I cut the original demo there and the musicians included Betsy Bernard (vocals), Michael Starkey (bass), Larry Schleppegrell (piano), James Lampley (tambourine), Mark Demillo (drums), and yours truly on vocals, guitar, and harmonica. And what a beautiful autumn that was.
The song became part of my Thistledew album, which was produced by George Hanson and Lonnie Knight and released in 1975 by Flashlight/Symposium. The studio band included Betsy (vocals), Lonnie (guitar and electric bass), Billy Peterson (acoustic bass), Mike Cass (steel), John Einwick (keyboard), Bill Berg (drums and percussion), and me on vocals and guitar. Mark Demillo (drums) and Frank Prout (bass) also played on a couple of tracks. With the great Paul Martinson at the board. Everyone loved Sound 80.
This was 100% North Woods music. It was my home and the music and lyrics were the product of living there. I had hoped to develop it into a genre but it wasn't to be. Still, the time I spent in the Minnesota woods was the best.