MERRY CHRISTMAS TO JESSI FANS ... and CHATTING WITH THE GREAT KEN MANSFIELD

As the good cheer and unique joy of Christmas approaches, this is clearly an ideal time to wish everyone the safest, most blessed, and peaceful holiday season, along with a New Year filled with abundance and opportunity. It is also exciting to report that, in the past two weeks, I had a chance to speak at length with none other than Ken Mansfield --author, musician, producer, industry executive, and Christian lecturer extraordinaire. As many fans will recall, Ken produced Jessi's first four classic Capitol albums in the 1970s, including (of course) landmark tracks like "I'm Not Lisa", "What's Happened to Blue Eyes", "Storms Never Last" and other hits. During this period of fruitful collaboration, Ken rightfully garnered a multitude of rave reviews, awards, and award nominations for his efforts with Jessi (and with Waylon as co-producer of her tracks). Many fans will likewise remember that Ken produced Waylon's extraordinary 1976 classic Are You Ready for the Country? album. These successes, however, are only the tip of the proverbial iceberg in terms of Ken Mansfield's litany of accomplishments within the recording industry; his important association with a little band known as "The Beatles" deserves considerable mention, too.

Nevertheless, it is difficult to overemphasize Ken's contribution to the shaping of the mid-1970s outlaw-country "sound". One of the best ways to delve into that extraordinary history is to read the forthright and gripping accounts written by Ken himself! A superb trilogy of books gives testimony to the considerable artistic legacy of this man, along with a moving and potent narrative detailing Ken's Christian spiritual journey. The books can be purchased from a number of sources, but it is perhaps most convenient to peruse them and purchase them via Mr. Mansfield's official Amazon.com page. These days, Ken is a compelling and in-demand speaker, travelling nationally and internationally to witness to Christian groups about his conversion experience and how this grace-filled spiritual vision reflects back, in terms of perspective, upon his work as a star-maker in the often punishing entertainment industry.

Given the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, along with Ken's already hectic professional schedule, I was particularly thankful for his time when it came to talking about Jessi and her 1970s heyday. In an amiable hour of phone discussion, Ken had only the highest praise for Jessi and Waylon; his deep respect for these two, as both artists and individuals, is palpable. We covered a lot of territory, some of which was noted in his trilogy of books (another reason to buy those gems) and we explored a few more obscure aspects of the artistic process of working so closely alongside Colter and her posse. I am hoping to secure an in-depth interview with Ken some time after the New Year, if schedules permit, but suffice it to say that Ken graciously shed a great deal of light upon Jessi's rise to mid-1970s stardom. Among other things, Ken talked about the watershed moment when he first saw Jessi Colter performing on an episode of Hee Haw in the early 1970s. Indeed, Ken had tuned-into that particular episode because he wanted to watch the show's headlining star ...Waylon! Ken had already been a great admirer of Waylon's work, but he had never heard of Jessi, who he presumed to be the Hee Haw episode's featured "girl singer" du jour; he did not know that Jessi was associated with Waylon, at that time.

Mansfield was floored by his musical hero, Waylon Jennings, but equally intrigued by this beautiful and talented young lady at her piano. Being a man with no small measure of industry influence, Ken recounted how he made immediate inquiries into Jessi's identity, possible management status, etc. Upon learning that Jessi was, in fact, married to Old Hoss, he figured that Colter would already be well represented by some agent or production entity. As it turns out, she wasn't. To his delight, Ken received a phone call not long afterward and the pleasant voice on the other end of the line greeted him with the (perhaps prescient) words: "Hello, Ken. I'm Jessi Colter."

A powerful professional relationship was born at that juncture and the rest is history, for we all know how Jessi's "I'm Not Lisa" took the entire nation by storm in 1975, along with her debut album, I'm Jessi Colter (which went to No. 1 in Cashbox, No. 4 in Billboard), and her subsequent recording successes -- crossover chart appearances with hits like "What's Happened to Blue Eyes" and "You Ain't Never Been Loved" and monster-selling albums like Jessi and Diamond in the Rough. Ken was also quick to acknowledge the crucial reaction of Capitol Records VP (and fellow industry legend) Al Coury, who listened to the four-track demo Ken produced on Jessi and "nearly fell off his chair," agreeing to sign her on-the-spot. Mr. Mansfield also gave high praise to Jessi for her confidence and professionalism in the studio. Even before she became a star, she believed in her one-of-a-kind, original music and didn't want a lot of superfluous bells & whistles when it came to recording.

"Jessi was no-nonsense in the studio," said Ken during our conversation. "We brought in her little piano and she played and sang her heart out. She didn't want any overdubs or anything, which is why on her records you hear this amazing, very real voice."

Ken also spoke briefly with me about Jessi's seminal but underappreciated Mirriam album of 1977, as well as his wish that the label had released Jessi's incomparable original version of "Storms Never Last" as a single in 1975. "I absolutely believe it would have been another million-seller for her," he said. I wholeheartedly agreed with him on that one.

All in all, it was a pleasure and an honor to speak with this exemplary gentleman, and I do hope to flesh-out the experience with a formal interview transcript after the New Year, as mentioned. Ken was open to the idea of sending him some "Jessi Questions" within that context, so we will see what may be seen in the near future. Until then, if you want one of the most compelling "inside looks" at the making of the music you love, along with geat stories about so many other big-name artists and industry "powers", I would encourage you to purchase one or all of Ken's books. He apparently also has what sounded to me like his most extraordinary project ever in-the-works, too; we'll keep readers posted when Mr. Mansfield feels ready to reveal more. If anyone out there is interested in welcoming Ken as a powerful, uncompromisingly Christian speaker for your church, or as a speaker for your corporate organization/event, check out his www.AuBaycom.com multi-media site.

For now, let me wrap-up this entry by reemphasizing my gratefulness for Ken Mansfield's time, generosity, and enlighteningly positive words about our beloved Jessi (and Waylon). The next installment of Jessi's bio will show up on the blog after the New Year, and hopefully a transcripted interview with Ken shall follow in due course. Let me wish a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to Jessi, her loved ones, her associates, and to all of Jessi's and Waylon's and Shooter's fans at home in the USA and elsewhere. Godspeed and God Bless! ~Ian

JESSI COLTER BIO (UNAUTHORIZED, UNOFFICIAL & THE BEST ONE YOU'LL READ TIL SHE WRITES ONE HERSELF)

Jessi Colter.

Depending upon the year in which you were born, what type of music you like (or the type of music your parents like/liked ... God Rest Their Souls, if they are in the "liked" category), or your basic knowledge of the history of various late 20th-century "alternative pop" musical movements, the name of Jessi Colter might be familiar to you. If it is not, it ought to be, and that is just one of the purposes of this forthcoming biography.

Jessi Colter was a truly major American recording artist for perhaps a six year span, at best, beginning in 1975. She attained a brief but unquestionable "superstar" status that is both enigmatic and tantalizing specifically because of an almost detectable decision, on her part, to walk away from a glaring limelight that she did not enjoy, a stardom she did not desire, and an industry that -- amost appallingly -- did not fight to understand and nurture her exceptional artistry ... even as she was making millions of dollars for that industry.

In her 45-year career thus far, Jessi Colter has released only nine solo studio albums*. Never the less and quite significantly, four or maybe five of those nine albums can be legitimately described as "classic" American recordings of superior caliber (I'm Jessi Colter, Jessi, Mirriam, Out of the Ashes, and a bit less likely ... Diamond in the Rough). Time-capsule worthy material. Most artists are lucky if they can produce just one 4-to-5-star original effort! Jessi, as mentioned, has at least four or five in the bag -- six, when you count the "Outlaws" album", and she isn't finished by any means. Keep in mind that her 2006 release 'Out of the Ashes' generated critical raves to rival the best of her 70's heyday.

Jessi Colter was indeed a crucial presence on that collaborative album that made undeniable history as a landmark boot-squashing statement of artistic independence. On the Wanted: The Outlaws album, Jessi Colter helped her fellow mavericks explode and then redefine the parameters of a claustrophobic, insular, often hypocritical musical genre ... a genre that claimed to include all of the wide-open, far-flung musical "contributions" of the American continent, but which was ironically tied, bound, and gagged to one city and to its interests: Nashville. As both a groundbreaking "crossover" and "outlaw" artist, Jessi Colter paved a big way for artists creating "sounds" outside the status quo, and American country music has since flourished when it has ventured into this territory (while remaining original). Colter paved the way for a veritable red-carpet of successful artists, precisely because Jessi Colter was so big doing the thing she was doing. There is documentation behind this, as if it were not evident enough to the Good Soul that looks back and wonders what made those great days of American Music actually tick.

Jessi Colter helped change the face of a genre, for the better. And her music remains true -- resurgent, revitalized, beguilingly ahead-of-its-time, perhaps more relevant than ever. Moreover, she is still creating, supposedly.

Jessi Colter is, of course, today best-known as the faithful wife and singing sidekick of uber-character/troubador Waylon Jennings. Though this is indeed an accurate appraisal of her career "status", it is also very much incomplete in terms of portraiture. Jessi Colter was, in fact, the bigger seller, more prolific songwriter, and brighter national/international "star" than her towering husband for a little while.

The great thing about Jessi Colter's career was that she burst bright and brilliantly, sometimes almost in spite of her glorious husband's "issues" and then she retreated from the very industry that sought to pigeon-hole them both ... in order to dedicate herself to her beloved husband (and, indeed, to the elaborate solving of his issues). But there is much more to be told than that.

We are indeed about to tell the Jessi Colter Story. Stay tuned.

*Jessi's 1990s kids' album will be discussed separately

A Veritable Avalanche of Jessi Reissues? Now There Appears to be a "Three-Fer" as 1976's 'Jessi' Enters the Mix

Raven Records in Australia got the ball rolling a couple of weeks ago with their release of the Two-for-One CD featuring Jessi's classic Capitol albums I'm Jessi Colter (1975) and Diamond in the Rough (1976), but I'm stumped as to the source for the release you'll find available for pre-order here. The packaging certainly looks very reminiscent of the Raven Records offering (see previous blog entry for more details), only this time we have an "album cover" dominated by the muy sexy Roy Kohara shot of Jessi in the woods putting on her bling -- the shot used on the back cover of I'm Jessi Colter. This product, however, promises not two but three "digitally remastered" Jessi albums (a total of thirty songs) on two CDs. No longer is Diamond in the Rough a sonic bookend, as it is in the Raven Records twofer; Jessi's early 1976 Capitol bestseller, Jessi, is part of the line-up and here fills-in a crucial chronological gap.

Jessi was, of course, positioned as the follow-up to the hugely successful I'm Jessi Colter and, for many reasons and in many respects, Jessi was considered by numerous critics and fans to be an even superior work. That is saying something, given the splash she made critically and commercially with I'm Jessi Colter and the expectations that must have been in the air for an appropriate "sequel". Stamped indelibly (as were the first four of Jessi's Capitol albums) with the red-hot, on-target production of Ken Mansfield, Jessi still stands -- in my own opinion -- as her artistic apex, just slightly edging I'm Jessi Colter and Out of the Ashes. We'll be delving into deep discussion about all of her records soon enough, but for now let it be noted that 1976's Jessi pushed some astonishing new boundaries in terms of raw stylism, soulful authoritativeness, and originality. This was no "pop" record ... and no "country" record, for that matter.

It was Jessi Colter music, up at the sharp-end.

10 more entirely self-written compositions shine on this collection, each tune exploring the sensual, spiritual, and passionate journey of the heart in love's labyrinth. The brilliance of this particular record seems to rest in the fact that Colter managed to underscore the femininity of her perspective (as she did so well on I'm Jessi Colter) while simultaneously expanding the scope of her music's universal relevance -- a jaw-dropping trick if ever there was one. This was a record women and men could love equally. Again, every track on Jessi is a slice of brilliance, with churning album-opener The Hand that Rocks the Cradle being, arguably, the best song song she ever wrote and sang in her life ... a country-rock anthem that still makes the hairs on your neck stand up and salute. The big hit off this album was the radiant, almost mystically declarative It's Morning (And I Still Love You), but one wonders whether, by this time, Capitol was beginning to experience a real conundrum when it came to promoting the genuinely uncategorizable genius they had been sort of shuffling back-and-forth between pop/rock, AOR, MOR, and country markets for over a year. With the Outlaws album craze only a few months away, the label's last chance to establish, pinpoint, develop, and/or fine-tune Colter's distinctive and independent marketing "identity" for posterity may have been compromised. Ironic, indeed.

Whatever the case may be, Jessi proved to be another mammoth hit for Colter, equalling the No. 4 peak of her previous album on the country chart in Spring 1976, climbing high into the Billboard Pop Top 200, and forcing a few hold-out critics (who may have remained a tad skeptical of the uber-pop appeal of I'm Not Lisa) to eat a bit of crow. Therefore, it makes much more sense for any current company bent on reissuing "classic" Jessi Colter albums to do so with the inclusion of Jessi, if only because there is such a palpable gap in style when I'm Jessi Colter and Diamond in the Rough are considered in sequence without it. Whomever is releasing this triumvirate of essential Colter albums is to be commended, but the name of the label eludes us at this juncture (it is not given at CDUniverse) and we will have to see from whence, exactly, this intriguing new configuration is slated to emerge. Jessi Colter's "people" are apparently not saying much in the way of publicity. Let's hope The Great Lady herself is aware that her work is being reissued so she can take some well-deserved pride in the process. Stay tuned. My Jessi "bio for the blog" is coming relatively soon, as well.

Timely New Release/Reissue: 2 Jessi Colter Classic Capitol Albums

There will be much to write and to explore about the superb Jessi Colter, including imminent work on her bio for this particular website, but priority must be given to some excellent recent news regarding the pioneering "outlaw" singer-songwriter.

Namely, Australia-based Raven Records has just released a "2-for-1"reissue of Jessi's classic Capitol albums I'm Jessi Colter and Diamond in the Rough on one audio CD! Both albums are featured in their entirety, along with three bonus tracks from Colter's underrated 1978 Capitol offering, That's the Way a Cowboy Rocks and Rolls. Available now at Amazon. com, the 23-song collection marks the most comprehensive (and extensive) collection of Jessi Colter's back-catalogue ever, for a number of reasons. No solo Jessi Colter album* has ever been remastered and reissued for official sale heretofore, and this effort by Raven Records provides fans (old and new) with the opportunity to revel in the glory to two pristine, complete collections. It is a pleasure to note that the record has been selling well at Amazon, hovering in the Top 1000 throughout the first two weeks of its release. That's not bad at all for an import that is not receiving any significant press or publicity, but for those who know anything about Jessi Colter's career, the brisk sales are not necessarily a surprise.

I'm Jessi Colter was unquestionably a landmark album in what has since become known as country music's "outlaw" movement, but the enduring success of this record actually transcended a number of genres following its release in Spring 1975.

Having been signed to Capitol's pop division in Hollywood within the framework of Ken Mansfield's Hometown Productions in 1974, Colter hit the studio with 10 completely self-written tunes and the rest, as they say, is history. With former Beatles manager Mansfield at the board and a stellar assemblage of musicians from Nashville, Los Angeles and beyond, Colter crafted a studio masterpiece that sounds as if it was recorded in the funkiest, most welcoming, most fun swampland honky-tonk the world has ever known. Weaving a seamless tapestry of roots, spiritual, blues, pop, rock, and country influences on the loom of her authoritative and gorgeously bittersweet voice, Colter unfurled a powerful set of tracks that explored a woman's journey through love, loss, heartbreak, unbridled freedom, and hope.

Perhaps wisely (and perhaps not; more about that on another day), execs at Capitol decided to launch the haunting lead single, I'm Not Lisa, through their country music division in hope that it might "cross over". Though the record definitely had some ideal country flourishes (thanks mostly to the yearning slide-guitar of the late, great Ralph Mooney), the song (and indeed the entire album) was really uncategorizable; Colter was a stunning original, perhaps best described as some kind of deep-in-the-west, swampy "earth-mother-in-heels" counterpart to Carly Simon or Bobbie Gentry, but without the wry Hollywood affectations of Simon or the barefooted, Mississippi angst of Gentry. Soulful, sensual, and eminently poetic, Colter came across as a world-wise tour de force songwriter and stylist; Capitol's cross-over dreams were not to be dashed.

I'm Not Lisa became one of the biggest success-stories on the 1970s musical landscape -- an almost instant multi-format smash, million-seller, and unforgettable American classic. Shooting to the No. 1 spot on the country charts and to No. 4 on the pop lists, the aching-but-irresistible ballad captivated the nation and made Colter an overnight superstar. It also secured an enormous audience for her extraordinary album. I'm Jessi Colter blasted its way to the No. 4 spot on the country chart and into the Pop Top 50 -- the latter an amazing and rare achievement for an artist who had been launched primarily through country markets. Moreover, the quality of the record guaranteed regular spins for the entire collection on MOR and Album Rock stations.

It is a credit to Colter's talent and to the uniform superiority of the album's material that I'm Jessi Colter exhibited considerable staying-power -- remaining on the charts for over a year and easily pushing past the 500,000 "gold" sales mark. Reviewers from Rolling Stone to Billboard lauded the strength of the disc, enamored of everything from the radiant talent exhibited in each song to the now-legendary cover artwork by photographer Roy Kohara. Another big country and Billboard Top 100 hit followed in summer 1975 as What's Happened to Blue Eyes stormed the charts, but any of the 10 tracks on this winner could have been a single: For the First Time, I Hear a Song, Come On In, Storms Never Last, Who Walks Thru Your Memory (Billy Jo), etc. In fact, Storms Never Last was covered with some success that year by artists as diverse as Dr. Hook and Dottsy, but Capitol missed the boat on that count, because Colter's original (the album's closing track) was a knockout and would have easily been another million-seller.

A boatload of Grammy and CMA nominations ensued for Colter after her magic year, along with endless placements on year-end "Best Of" lists and awards as "Best New Artist of 1975" from both Billboard and Cashbox. Today, the album has been given new life by Raven Records and is available in all of its shimmering, jaunty, rollicking splendor for memories to be rediscovered ... and new memories to be made.

No less significant regarding this reissue is the inclusion of Colter's late 1976 album, Diamond in the Rough, also produced by Mansfield and his Hometown team, along with Colter's husband, a certain gent named Waylon Jennings. While Diamond in the Rough came perhaps a bit too swiftly on the heels of Colter's seemingly unstoppable momentum following her 1976 masterpiece follow-up album, Jessi, and her participation in the earth-shattering Wanted: The Outlaws collection with Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Tompall Glaser, the tracks on Diamond stand strong and remain stylistically distinctive, representing authentic "Colter" in the midst of her heady career peak. Sultry, more playful, and perhaps more introspective, the lady shines as wonderfully as the gem noted in the title track. It is little surprise that Diamond in the Rough also broke into the Top 5 country albums list and vaulted high onto the Billboard pop albums chart as well -- yet another big-seller for Capitol's mystique-enshrouded "Miss Jessi".

Both albums and their respective histories will be reviewed and discussed in even greater detail on this site in the coming weeks, but for now it is most important to note that two classics from an incomparable artist have been resurrected for the pleasure of the public! Sound quality (as far as the remastering) is lovely and the liner notes well-written and detailed (save for a few scattered errors). I'm Jessi Colter, in particular, holds up astonishingly well almost 40 years after its initial release. Fans of Colter, the "outlaw" movement, alt-country, Americana, 1970s pop, or roots rock would be well-advised to make a beeline to Amazon and purchase this long overdue, nicely priced, and exceedingly welcomed reissue.

Get 'em while they last, friends. Get 'em while they last. In the meantime, stay tuned for more news and views, including the aforementioned, upcoming, full Colter bio.

*Colter's work has appeared on countless compilation albums (country and pop) since the '70s, most notably the fine "best of" collection, An Outlaw ... A Lady on Capitol.