GIB GUILBEAU (Part 2)

Gib remembers:

"Clarence, Gene and I decided we should try to do a country record, but make it rock'n'roll. It had never been done before. We got this guy to put up the money and cut a few sides, three or four songs. That was about two years before "The Burritos", and nobody even wanted to listen to it. We'd take it to record companies, they'd say, "That won't sell to rock audiences, and it won't sell to country either. You guys are wasting your time". The Burritos were about ready to form then and we were all set to join them to do country rock. We had all been through that experience and said, "Hey, it doesn't sell, we tried it already. It's not happening. Look, we got the tapes here. We went and did the best we could.........". So we broke up Nashville West. Gene and Clarence went with the Byrds and I went on the road with Linda Ronstadt.".

Some of those recordings were released on albums credited to Rusty Dean (that's Gary Paxton):

Note: The Rusty Dean album " Wailin' time" has NOT one song with Nasvhille West as background musicians!!!!!

Gib also contributed the songs "Sweet Rosie" & "Two people" (a Cajun Gib and Gene outtake and same version as on the Rusty Dean LP "Country hits of today") to a various artists compilation on Alshire, a triple LP set entitled:

Note: The song "Uncommitted man" on the "Country & Western songs Vol. 2" album is Clarence White on lead guitar with Gib Guilbeau maybe playing rhythm guitar and maybe Jim Troxel on drums, Mike Deasy on 12-string and Jerry Scheff on bass. (Basically the same personnel as "I'll Live Today" - released on the CD re-release of the Gosdin Brothers "Sounds of goodbye" album - which was cut at the same session. Dennis Payne recorded the vocals for his version over the same track of "I'll Live Today", wiping Vern's original vocal. Dennis' version can be heard on the Clarence White CD "Tuff & Stringy - Sessions 1966-68") and was originally released as single on (Nashville West 7202)
The original version of "Uncommitted man" was recorded with Vern Gosdin on lead vocals (which is on the "Sounds of goodybe" CD re-release). The same music track was used for the version on the "Country & Western songs Vol. 2" but it's Gary Paxton aka Rusty Dean on lead vocals - it's the same backing track as the Gosdins version, but with added lead guitar.

Note: The Somerset label released the triple Alshire album " Country & Western songs Vol. 2". (Somerset 303).

Note: There is also a triple LP set with the title "Country & Western songs Vol. 1" with songs by Rusty Dean, Gib Guilbeau, Clyde Beavers and others. Track list unknown!?

Note: Most of the Alshire stuff was done in 1969, long after "The Reasons" had stopped working at Gary's studio, and although Gary did use tracks they had recorded on some of the projects he leased to Alshire (most obviously the "Cajun Country" and "Rusty Dean" albums), things like the Buck Owens and Merl Haggard 'tributes' were done specifically as Alshire projects, i.e. the kind of albums that could be sold in supermarkets, truck stops etc... .
There was also an album released by "Jasico Records" (J 1001) "Bakersfield Big Guitars: Guitar Country" with two instrumental tracks performed by "The Reasons" - "Honk Kong Hillbilly (written by Clarence White & Gene Parsons) and "Last Date" (written by Floyd Cramer). "Honk Kong Hillbilly" was later retitled and became The Byrds "Nashville West"! The backing of "Honky Tonk" is "The Reasons", and does actually have Clarence playing rhythm guitar, but all he is barely audible - all the lead guitars are by Hugh Brockie and Dennis Payne.
Another album released by the "Alshire" label (S-5124) doesn't include Clarence White and The Reasons "Modern Country Friends: Country Politan". The versions of "Tuff & Stringy" (on the "Guitar Country" and "Country Politan" albums) and "Tango For A Sad Mood" (on the "Country Politan" album) are completely different, later recordings to Clarences, and they feature Hugh Brockie and/or Dennis Payne on lead! "Nashville-Detroit Spiritual" on the "Country Politan" album is a much older (circa '65) track of Paxtons originally just called "Detroit Spiritual" that similarly was overdubbed by Brockie and Payne. All of these tracks were overdubbed in the second half of 1968 and 1969, long after Clarence was gone.
There are two more albums released by Alshire that has not Gib Guilbeau, Clarence White or the other guys on it! Those two albums are "Buckaroo (The Bakersfield Five): Tiger by the tail" and "The hit songs of country ladies". Maybe (?) on the song "Buckaroo" Clarence is on the backing track as his version on the Big Beat CD "Tuff & Stringy", but the overdubs are Dennis Payne and Hugh Brockie!!!!

Here is a list of songs with Gib Guilbeau on lead vocals and Gene Parsons, Clarence White & Wayne Moore which were released on record but not under the name Nashville West:

Still a little something
Home of the blues
Lodi
Red water
Baby lock the door

The only record released unter the name Nashville West was a live album, recorded by Gene Parsons with his private two track recorder, released by Sierra in 1979.

Note: In 1987 "Guitar Player" magazine proclaimed the Nashville West album one of the "20 Essential Country Guitar Albums" of all time! Buy this album direct from Sierra Records!

Note: Sierra Records released an unreleased version of the song "Tuff & Stringy" on a CD with the title "Clarence White: White Lightnin'" 2009. This song was recorded by Nashville West with Gib Guilbeau, Clarence White, Gene Parsons & Wayne Moore.
You can order that CD direct from Sierra Records.

During the period 1966 - 1969 Gib recorded a few songs:

Note: These tracks later appeared in 1979 on 2 albums wrongly credited to the FLYING BURRITO BROTHERS: "Burrito Country" & "Flying High". The Strawberry single also appeared on a solo Gib album "Toe tappin' music" in 1978, on a various artists album called "Country premier" on the Christensen label (AW ???) and on the Shiloh CD "The best of Shiloh and more, Vol1" (SCD 4093).
Note: The Strawberry single was produced by Gib Guilbeau, Gene Parsons & Clarence White.
Note: The Strawberry single is also available on CD! On the CD "The best of Shiloh and more" on the Gib Guilbeau CD "Classic Guilbeau 1968-1986" released 2001 and on the "Guilbeau & Parsons" CD "Louisiana Rain" released 2002.

Gib produced together with Gene Parsons following two singles:

	Singles produced by Gib Guilbeau and Gene Parsons with Nashville West
	- BRUCE OAKES: The lineman song / I don't play love (Boomer Records 1001/1002) Released June 1967. - BRUCE OAKES: I'll live today / On pins and needles (Boomer Records 1003/1004) Released March 1968.

Note: "On pins and needles" is also available on the "Guilbeau & Parsons" CD "Louisiana Rain"!

Note: Both singles were released as bonus tracks on the new 2004 released Bruce Oakes CD "Picking with friends" on Boomer Records 102640-1-CD.

The song "I don't play love" was written by Gib Guilbeau.
"The lineman song" features Clarence White on lead guitar, Gene Parsons on drums, Gib and Bruce Oakes on guitars and Wayne Moore on bass. Everyone is singing harmony on the flip side "I don't play love". Also on this single are Vern and Rex Gosdin, they sang harmony!
The song "I'll live today" was also written by Gib Guilbeau.
This single features again Clarence White on lead guitar, Gene Parsons on drums, harmonica and harmony vocals, Gib on guitar and harmony vocals, Bruce Oakes guitars and lead vocals, Wayne Moore on bass and harmony vocals and again Vern and Rex Gosdin doing harmony vocals!

Note: Bruce Oakes owned a bar in Palmdale/California "The King's Lounge". Gib, Clarence, Wayne and Gene Parsons played at this bar and Bruce Oakes joined them on week-ends (also Gram Parsons joined the band).

Gib's backing vocals can be clearly heared on the Wayne Moore single:

NOTE: "Hey, Juliana", written by Wayne, is partly sung in French adding a Cajun flavor but a rauching sax break in the middle adds some good time rock n' roll feeling.
The side B of the single, "Rocks In My Head", is more straight-ahead country with Clarence White's guitar playing having an organ like-sound.

"The Reasons" Stan Pratt, Wayne Moore, Gib Guilbeau & Eric White

Note: The song "Louisiana Woman" with John York was released 2002 by "Big Beat" label on the CD "Guilbeau/Parsons: Louisiana Rain".

"Louisiana Woman" was later re-recorded for the first Swampwater album!

"JACK of DIAMONDS" club Palmdale, California

Bob Warford remembers playing with Gib: "My playing with Gib was fairly limited - I mainly would go to Palmdale (a drive of about 90 miles each way) and play at the "Jack of Diamonds" club - this was late 60's or very early 70's, and I was still in graduate school, but would still often get home around 3:30 or 4:00 in the morning. Fun playing, but a really difficult schedule to maintain except on weekends.
Dennis Morse played drums for a while, and Eric White played bass. Thad Maxwell was there during the latter part of the time I played with Gib, and several others as well - hard to remember all the players this many years down the line.
If I recorded anything with Gib, it was one session (I do seem to recall one) at "Gold Star Recording" in L.A. - remember the location, but nothing of the material."

Gib's band continued to be a training ground for many aspiring musicians. Freddy Weller, on the recommendation of Clarence White, had already hired Bob Warford in 1969 to tour with him.

Butch Hendrix also played with Gib. Butch remembers: "I worked with Gib a few weeks when I came home from Europe in 1969 but basically we both did about the same thing, lead guitar vocals and front."

Note: Gene Parsons remembers: "Clarence, Gib, Gram and I did some sessions for Eddie Tickner before the Flying Burrito Brothers. We did two or three tunes, and Eddie Tickner still has the tapes."

During the 60's Gib was involved in some singles by singer Eldon Fault. Eldon was a good friend of Gib and Gib worked on just about all of his records.

Dale Davis produced another Eldon Fault single earlier but without Gib's involvement. "The wrinkles in dad's brow"/"The city of lost angles" on Reb-Bel 102).

Another single was released by Glenn Records from Palmdale/California that includes Gib as producer and musician. Other musicians are Gene Parsons, Wayne Moore, Darrell Cotton... :

Eldon Fault single produced and with Gib Guilbeau
- ELDON FAULT: Welcome home Pow/Living in the lap of luxury (Glenn 4036) Produced by Gib Guilbeau and Glen Mac Arthur with Gib Guilbeau, Wayne Moore, Gene Parsons Darrell Cotton and local musicians.

Gib produced a complete album with Eldon Fault in Nashville during the 80s. Gib's son Ronnie Guilbeau plays on that album and Darrell Cotton sings on a few songs. This albums is only available as a CDR with the title "Storyteller".

Gib about Eldon Fault: Eldon was a great storyteller and I liked his songs.