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Ghosthouse 10-7-2018

Reading the notes on the back cover of the album ["Child Is Father To The Man"], John Simon is credited for a variety of roles.  That's the same John Simon as worked on The Bands 1st & 2nd albums as well as S&G's Bookends and that's hardly a complete list.  I don't hear him talked about with the same reverence as  George Martin.  I don't hear him talked about much at all actually, but I think the man was a creative genius that brought out the best in a wide range of talent.   

John had a very classy and musically-oriented upbringing.  His father was a medical doctor, but was also a founder, first violist, and for many years president of the local classical orchestra, the Norwalk (Connecticut) Symphony.

How do I know this?  My wife and I lived in his parents' guest cottage, adjacent to their home in Norwalk, from when we were married in 1970 until we moved out of town in 1980.  John no longer lived with his parents during those years, but I met him a number of times, and of course knew his parents (and also his sister) quite well.  A fine family.

Best regards,
-- Al 

Thanks for sharing that, Al.  Seems a nice example of positive parental influence paying dividends.

FWIW - my favorite John Simon credit: tuba on The Band's "Brown" Album.  Added some nice punch to the bass line.

I consider John Simon almost a sixth member of The Band on their first two albums. I hadn't known he produced the first BS&T album, which is completely different from the ones that followed. I've never read why Al Kooper left his own creation after only one album.

Hi Eric (bdp24),

According to the Wikipedia writeup on BS&T:

Colomby and Katz wanted to move Kooper exclusively to keyboard and composing duties, while hiring a stronger vocalist for the group, causing Kooper's departure in April 1968.

The writeup provides a reference for that statement in a footnote, but the link no longer works.

Katz, of course, is Steve Katz, who during prior years in the 1960s was a member of The Blues Project along with Kooper. Their "Projections" album is one of my favorite rock albums.

Best regards,
-- Al 

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