Mason Proffit – Sweet Lady Love

I was looking around for some roots-style bands, and this one fit the bill. They have a polished, unpolished sound if that makes sense. They remind me a little of Buffalo Springfield.

It is one of those songs that doesn’t try to impress you with complicated arrangements. Instead, Mason Proffit lets the song breathe. The acoustic guitars and warm harmonies create a sound that feels natural and honest. It has one foot in country music and the other in rock, making it a perfect example of the roots music movement that was beginning to take hold in the early 1970s.

They were formed by brothers Terry and John Michael Talbot, Mason Proffit built a reputation on blending folk, country, bluegrass, and rock into something that sounded both familiar and fresh. While bands like The Eagles would later bring country rock to the top of the charts, Mason Proffit was already exploring much of that same territory. This one captures the band’s strength. It is simple without being plain, melodic without sounding commercial, and heartfelt without becoming sentimental. This song was the B-side to Two Hangmen.

What I like most about this song is how authentic it feels. Nothing seems forced. The musicians sound like they’re playing because they love the music, not looking for a hit. The harmonies are rich, the instruments fit together perfectly, and there is just enough polish to make everything shine without losing its roots. It reminds me of sitting on a front porch on a warm summer evening rather than listening to something created in a corporate boardroom.

This is another reminder that some of the best music never climbs the charts. Mason Proffit may not be as well known as many of their contemporaries, but songs like this deserve a much larger audience. If you enjoy music that sounds honest, genuine, and timeless, this is a band worth discovering.

They released 7 albums from 1969 to 2005.

The A side of the single, Two Hangmen

Sweet Lady Love

I was born on the river
21 years ago
Now I’ll tell you my story
Something there that you’d like to know
Sweet lady love, love me down
Sweet lady love, love me down
Got me a job on a river barge
Learned the ropes up and down the line
Workin
Picked up a girl in natchez
Took her home and I made her mine
Sweet lady love, love me down
Sweet lady love, love me down
Little log cabin down home
And I’m takin her to it
We can make it alone
And I know we can do it
Then I got into some trouble
Hit a man and I watched him die
Now me and my woman are runnin
It won’t be long and she’ll learn to fly
Sweet lady love, love me down
Sweet lady love, love me down

Discover more from PowerPop... An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Unknown's avatar

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

25 thoughts on “Mason Proffit – Sweet Lady Love”

  1. Pingback: Mason Proffit – Sweet Lady Love – MobsterTiger

  2. I know them, but I don’t know their music. This is one of those bands that fits in a space that got overlooked. Kinda like Moby Grape except there I at least bought an album. Love the songs and it was interesting to learn a bit about them. So not related to Ronnie Prophet? Oh different spelling, right.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  3. Max, you’re truly on a roll with roots-oriented music – love it! 😎

    While it’s fair to say the Eagles helped popularize country rock, they certainly didn’t invent it. This is not to take away anything from their great music. But sometimes I feel they get too much credit.

    Like

    Reply

  4. I guess I never turned the single over. Well, I had the album. I loved Two Hangmen. The rest of the album I remember as being okay but not quite enough.

    The Talbott Brothers got religion and rode into Christian Music for a while. I loved Two Hangman but that was all I paid attention to.

    There is more to this story, though. First of all, and perhaps the biggest part of it. The label was not big enough to support them. That really is important.

    The second thing is that there is a wealth of pre-Eagles country rock that is well worth investigating. You wrote about Ricky Nelson and mentioned his Garden Party band. Mike Nesmith post-Monkees did a couple of lps. Southwind in Los Angeles got some airplay. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Uncle Charlie album is a killer, much much more than just the classic Mr. Bojangles. Abd that’s just off the top of my head on an early Sunday morning.

    The byrds, Gram Parsons, the Burritos and Hillman. That wealth.

    So much more

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Yes…I love the pre-Eagles stuff….they got the music and put a huge polish on it. I like these earthy bands more…I’m glad I’m seeing people actually remember this band…

      Like

      Reply

  7. yeah, a little bit Flying Burritos maybe, a little bit early EAgles, a little bit wanting to be the Band I think…. ‘Sweet Lady Love’ is pleasant, fairly nicely played, good harmonies but doesn’t ‘grab’ me. It’d be a song I’d keep on if it came on the radio but wouldn’t be buying the CD or finding myself hoping I was going to hear when I woke up in the morning. I think maybe the story there was with ‘TwoHangmen’ – the video showed the cover and said ‘banned by the FCC’. Did they indeed ban it from airplay?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  13. I know Mason Proffit from “Two Hangmen”. I know I heard the rest of the album back then, but when I saw their name in your title, that’s the only song that came to mind.

    They were part of a whole range of second tier bands – bands that were known for one or two songs but never quite hit the big time. I got to see a three day festival of those bands. I just found a copy of the poster. (Okay, a couple of these did hit the big time.) “1972 Wisconsin Music Festival, which took place April 14-16, 1972, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Field House. Featured Richie Havens, Kris Kristofferson, It’s A Beautiful Day, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, Earl Scruggs Review, Linda Ronstadt, McKendree Spring, Dave Van Ronk, Nicholas Holmes, Sorry Muthas, Rosalie Sorrells, Bob Brown, and Uncle Dirty as event’s M.C.”

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. That is so cool that you got to see that festival. I looked up McKendree Spring…not bad at all. To be honest I never thought I would have people that remembered them. I never got a grasp on how known they were.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    2. To call them second-tier is very kind of you. For those that are interested, Richie Havens is best known for his performance at Woodstock. I don’t think I need to say much about Kris Kristofferson or Linda Ronstadt. New Riders of the Purple Sage got some airplay on a couple of songs, mostly lived in the shadow of Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead. It’s A Beautiful Day got airplay with “White Bird” mostly, although I heard a couple of other songs of theirs (“Time Is,” “Bombay Calling”) on the early FM radio. Ramblin’ Jack Elliot is a name, never get much airplay and I don’t associate any specific songs with him. Earl Scruggs Review is of course the band Scruggs did after Flatt & Scruggs split, it featured his kids who are respected Nashville musicians. McKendree Spring got some airplay with their “Friends Die Easy” song. Dave Van Ronk, like Ramblin’ Jack, is a name, known as the Mayor of Greenwich Village, but I don’t associate any specific songs with him.

      I have heard of Rosalie Sorrells but no hits that I recall.

      Nicholas Holmes, Sorry Muthas and Bob Brown are unknown to me.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

Leave a comment