My 22-year-old son just walked into my music room and asked me…”Dad, do you know Emitt Rhodes?” I told him I most certainly do and he found out about him through Spotify. It suggested songs compared to what he listens to and this one came up. Of course, I’m happy with his musical tastes but it did come as a surprise because Rhodes is not exactly a household name.
This is another reminder of what a different world we live in than I did growing up. I would find a band like Big Star or Them by a friend’s brother or just read about an artist in books. I would then go to a record store and would have to order an export from the UK or some other means. Now, you are one click away from finding out about bands that didn’t get recognition.
Emitt Rhodes to me sounds like a mixture between Paul McCartney and Pete Ham from Badfinger. He is not well known but he did have some very good powerpop songs and albums in his off-and-on career.
He was in a pop band called The Merry-Go-Round that was formed in Los Angeles in the mid-60s. It featured Rhodes, drummer Joel Larson, lead guitarist Gary Kato, and Bill Rinehart on bass. The band released just one album in the spring of ’67 called The Merry-Go-Round. Their song “Live” was their debut release. Rhodes disbanded The Merry-Go-Round in 1969 and began working on solo material.
In 1969 he bought all of the equipment he needed when A&M Records refused to release his recordings and built a recording studio in his parent’s garage. He recorded his first album (Emitt Rhodes) in that studio. ABC/Dunhill Records signed him and they released his album as well as the next two albums he recorded.
His first album was self-titled called Rhodes. Billboard magazine called him “one of the finest artists on the music scene today” and later called his first album one of the “best albums of the decade.” Emitt Rhodes reached #29 on the Billboard 200 Album charts. A single called “Fresh as a Daisy” peaked at #54 on the Billboard Hot 100.
After several more album releases, he became a recording engineer and record producer for Electra Records. He died in his sleep at the age of 70 in Hawthorne, California, in July 2020.
The record company really messed him up…not a shock. When his debut solo release started climbing up the charts, A&M saw an opportunity and took it. They dusted off his shelved Merry-Go-Round album, renamed it The American Dream and released it as a solo Emitt Rhodes album, pitting one solo Emitt Rhodes album against the other. Buyers were confused. This was where the first damage was done. Emitt felt that this one act of corporate greed caused irreversible damage. “It definitely hurt sales, because people went out to buy the record they heard on the radio, and they ended up buying The American Dream.”
After several more album releases, Rhodes became a recording engineer and record producer for Electra Records. He died in his sleep at the age of 70 in Hawthorne, California, in July 2020.
The Bangles recorded the Merry Go Round song “Live” for their debut album All Over the Place in 1984.
His album releases per Wiki:
The American Dream (1970) No. 194
Emitt Rhodes (1970) No. 29
Mirror (1971) No. 182
Farewell to Paradise (1973)
Rainbow Ends (2016) No. 150
With My Face On The Floor
Well, I’m down with my face on the floorYes, I got what I asked for and moreWell, the moment she stepped through that doorI was down with my face on the floor
Now I’m standing with back to the wallWaiting, praying the ceiling don’t fallWell, I once thought that I knew it allNow I’m standing with back to the wall
Well, now she’s gone awayJust took time to say: “I’ll drop you a line”Well now she’s gone awayJust took time to say: “I’ll see you some time”
Well, now she’s gone awayJust took time to say: “I’ll drop you a line”Well now she’s gone awayJust took time to say: “I’ll see you some time”
Well, I’m down with my face on the floorYes, I got what I asked for and moreWell, the moment she stepped through that doorI was down with my face on the floor
Well, the moment she stepped through that doorI was down with my face on the floor
PowerPop... An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture 