Emitt Rhodes's music failure- what happened?

NOPE

He was a drummer in the Palace Guard at 15 or 16 years old. IIRC he got ambitions beyond just drumming after he started singing one song (a Beatles song) during Palace Guard gigs - IIRC he sang it center stage (not from behind the drums) and may have even played guitar while singing it. Anyway that was the spark that made him want to start his own group as singer/songwriter/guitarist which was the Merry-Go-Round - for whom he was never the drummer.

BTW - for anyone who hasn't seen it, this is....ummm....kind of bizarre:

 

He produced one more thing for Elektra, the album by Bim. It's certainly better than the Gabriel Kaplan single.

 

Emitt had a boatload of talent, but it seems lots of personal issues - some perhaps caused or exacerbated by horrible treatment from his record label and others.
Perhaps with a good, protective manager early on he could have had more success.

 

I remember reading this interview a while back. Some troubling stuff in here; it's just...off.

Emitt Rhodes

 

It was “Michelle.”

 

My Merry Go Round LP was signed by Emmit Rhodes, Joel Larson, and Bill Rhinehart.

 

Big fan of Emitt's work....Gonna go listen to Mirror!

 

Oh wow, Rinehart too? That is a tremendous score.

 

I appreciate that you feel this way, but the idea that it’s some kind of “near masterpiece” is completely lost on me. I don’t even think it’s a good album, let alone some kind of master statement.

 

Yeah, I've read that one too. Most of his interviews seem to go off the rails at some point. It's like he has little sense of what's appropriate and has no filters. I get the feeling that sometimes he's his own worst enemy. It must have been quite alarming for most of the interviewers.

 

Oh, I'd say it's a good album, but as I've said, it has its flaws which make it a somewhat painful listen.

 

At least you can hear some Emitt influence on this one!

 

Ooo, that was painful!

 

**** what a miserable old man. And what a weird twisted person he became. The trashing of Phil Ochs rubbed me the wrong way too. . These interviewers weren't very good either.

So sad because he had so much potential.

 

Everyone from serial killers to future celebrities like Steve Martin were on the dating game. What do you expect from Chuck Barris?

 

Rainbow Ends never struck me as anything great and it felt "off" to me. Now I can see why after listening to these interviews....

Very sad how he ended up...

 

many of his best songs, while very good, are highly derivative, while at the same time it can be said that his songs are sufficiently catchy to have drawn the attention of, and had a direct influence on, a number of more successful `7Os artists who followed closely in his wake. His original composition 'Mary Will you Take my Hand', from his 197O lp "The American Dream" so impressed Kevin Godley & Lol Creme of 1Occ, that their song 'Hotel' from the 1974 lp "Sheet Music" seems to be almost an homage, bearing a fondly striking similarity in the way it employs Trinidadian Steelpan motifs. The latter is the first song which comes to mind every time I hear Emitt's record. Looking further into this example however reveals a much more effective and memorable fusion of the styles in what is seemingly 1Occ's effort to pay tribute. While Emitt had at his disposal a number of Wrecking Crew musicians to lend their calibre of excellence to the recordings, he did not have the advantage of a writing partner, which might have helped give that song, and others, the little extra something to put them over the top.
It is hard to say what makes one song memorable and another less so, where from every indication there is no tangible difference in quality. It often comes down to the some nebulous, virtually indiscernible nuance.

 

I believe he bought a house across from his mom's place, which is where he also had his studio. Once he stopped making music himself, he recorded others for many years and made his living that way. I don't think he actually lived in the home he grew up in once he entered adulthood.

Don't know about lawsuits, but he had at least one bad relationship with an ex-wife, and their kids sided with her — not an unusual story by any means.

I don't know enough of the full story to know that Emitt was always "difficult," though he would hardly be the first musician with a great deal of talent and a precise vision for his music who could be described that way.

There is no doubt at all, though, that the impossible demands placed upon him by Dunhill greatly exacerbated whatever problems he may have already had. And he truly had no support system at all for making his music. Every note of his solo records was sung, played, recorded, mixed and produced by him. After the third album, he really had no choice but to walk away from it all. For an obviously talented and creative guy, that had to have been hard.

I too have read some of the disturbing interviews, and I'm sure there are stories from those who have worked with him over the years, both good and bad. All in all, it's one of the sadder tales in rock music history.


In the end, it's the music that matters. My take:

• While it has a couple of duff tracks, most of the lone Merry-Go-Round album is very good indeed. Someone mentioned "Time Will Show the Wiser." Emitt was 16 when he wrote and recorded this song, and it's a remarkable achievement for anyone, let alone someone that young.
• The Merry-Go-Round also had several non-LP singles that were fantastic, among them "She Laughed Loud" and "Listen! Listen!" Everything they did (with the exception of two singles with alternate mixes) is collected on this CD, although as you can see, you'll pay dearly for it now.
• The American Dream is a compilation of late-era Merry-Go-Round tracks and solo Emitt recordings. Almost all of it is quite good, and I think it compares favorably with the first Dunhill solo LP. All of its tracks are collected on the above-linked CD.
• That self-titled LP is the pinnacle for sure, although I agree that Mirror, while not as consistent, has some tracks that are as good or better as anything on the first one.
• I try every few years to get into Farewell to Paradise but have never succeeded. I know it's an honest reflection of where he was at the time, but it jettisons most the wonderful melodies and harmonies that had so much to do with Emitt's greatness.
• Because of our overall regard for Emitt and our wish that just one thing would finally go right for him, I think many (myself included) give Rainbow Ends a break we probably wouldn't give to another artist. Nevertheless, there are still some genuinely good things on it. It's just that the Emitt of the last couple of decades of his life seemed almost like an entirely different person from the Emitt of 1966-1973.

Speaking of wishes, my fondest one is that people would figure out how to spell his first name! It's right there in front of you, folks!

 

The interviewers weren't aces, but they aren't responsible for how Emmit goes off the rails.

 

Rhodes certainly was the type of person who said what he thought without regard for what others, and he was also certainly opinionated. Those kind of people can often be good or even great artists, but where all of that crosses the line from artistic individualism to mental health issues can be a subjective moving target.

 

Emitt Rhodes "The American Dream" 197O lp :

Don Randi - keyboards
Pete Jolly - drums
Lyle Ritz - bass
Jim Gordon - drums
Hal Blaine - drums
Chuck Berghofer - bass, drums
John Guerin - drums
Gary Kato - drums
Larry Knechtel - keyboards
Joel Larson - drums
Donald Peake - guitar
Joe Porcaro - percussion
David Bennett Cohen - guitar

Perry Botkin, Jr. - arranger
Ian Freebairn-Smith - arranger

 

Oh not at all. Its ridiculous.

 

Although credited to Emitt Rhodes, The American Dream was in fact a compilation of Merry-Go-Round and Emitt tracks put together by his old record label and released to cash in on the notice his first Dunhill album was receiving. It was not an album conceived and authorized by Emitt, so it cannot be spoken of as an "Emitt solo record." I was referring only to his Dunhill albums when I made the statement above.

Furthermore, the statement of mine you quoted was immediately preceded by this one: "There is no doubt at all, though, that the impossible demands placed upon him by Dunhill greatly exacerbated whatever problems he may have already had. And he truly had no support system at all for making his music." So I was obviously not speaking of The American Dream when I made this statement.

 

ah yes, I see now. I misunderstood , my bad.

 

Almost like that album was basically a compilation album.

Edit: sorry answered at the same time lol.