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Sutherland Records is proud to introduce
Jerry Merrick
and his CD
"Suddenly I'll Know You"
Jerry Merrick
Greenwich Village; the very name evokes
thoughts of a time when names like Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Peter, Paul and Mary and Odetta were synonymous with the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights movement, beat
poetry, and the entire social, sexual, and cultural revolution. By the
mid-sixties, as a result of massive media focus on the emerging "beat
generation" and its ties to a miniscule plot of urban real estate in lower
Manhattan, every evening brought a virtual flood of tourists and New Yorkers
alike cramming into Village coffee houses to consume a steady diet of extract
flavored coffees along with a heavy dose of traditional and/or contemporary "folk music" sung by
musicians and writers from around the globe.
Although club patrons seldom saw the
"household name folk celebrities", they were, however, treated to stellar
performances by some of the most talented singer musicians and/or writers that
the "great folk scare of the sixties" was to produce.
Among those who appeared nightly in village
clubs were such regulars as Fred Neil, Tim Hardin, David Blue, Charlie Chin,
Carol Hunter, Eric Anderson, Dave Van Ronk, Peter Tork, Bruce Murdock, Steven
Stills, Raun McKinnon, Len Chandler, Phil Ochs, Richie Havens, Patrick Sky,
Jimmy Hendrix, Paul Seibel, and not necessarily last and hopefully not least, myself.
Aside from there being a plethora of
extremely talented people who called Greenwich Village their home base, there
were also a multitude of extraordinary artists, performers, and writers who
regularly passed through New York to perform, record, write, and hang out with
friends. Among these were Shel Silverstein, Emmylou Harris, Jerry Jeff
Walker, Steve Gillette, Jack Elliott, Mississippi John Hurt, Joni Mitchell,
Carolyn Hester, and Jerry Merrick.
Jerry Merrick? Who is he, you might
ask... Well, allow me the daunting task of describing in as few words as
possible one of the industry's most respected and best kept secrets, Jerry
Merrick.
Inspired by the life and works of Carl
Sandburg, Jerry, accompanied by an orphan shaggy dog, which he befriended while
hitchhiking, drifted into New York City shortly after leaving Hartwick College
in Oneonta, (upstate) New York where he had immersed himself in English and
American Literature courses as part of his English major. He related to me
that he had once written a poem, as part of a creative writing entrance exam,
which the professor found to be so absurd that he allowed Jerry admission to the
course only if he promised never to write anything like that again.
Fortunately, Jerry kept his promise long enough to complete the course and then
reverted to the wildly imaginative style which has marked his work for the
better part of the last four decades.
Jerry's song "Follow" was beautifully
performed by Richie Havens on his classic "Mixed Bag" album as well as in his
legendary appearances at Woodstock, the Newport Folk Festival, and Carnegie Hall.
The song has been used as theme music in a half a dozen movies including "Coming
Home" with John Voight and Jane Fonda and "The War" with Kevin Costner and
Elijah Wood. It was also featured on a season ending episode of the T.V.
series "The Practice".
Jerry Jeff Walker's "A Man Must Carry On"
album included a section recorded as a tribute to his late friend Hondo Crouch,
the founder of Luckenbach, Texas. "The Stranger", another Merrick
composition, was used as both the opening and closing song of that tribute.
In 1968, I included Jerry's marvelous jazz,
pop piece "Guess I'll Pack My Things" on my Tetragrammaton release "Tom Ghent".
The song was subsequently recorded by B. J. Thomas and included in his
enormously successful "Raindrops" album.
As far back as Jerry's early coffee house
appearances, he exhibited a magical charisma, which allowed him to remain honest
and believable whether performing the most whimsical children's songs or
extremely intense compositions exploring the deepest caverns of the human soul
and condition.
Among his many and varied appearances all
across the U.S. and up into Canada, Jerry can include performances at the
Newport Folk Festival, Carnegie Hall, The Bitter End, the "Tonight Show" and a
series of concerts with the late Flip Wilson in 1969.
In 1968, Jerry signed an album deal with
Mercury Records. As so often was the case during that time period, the
label, seeking to make an acoustic singer/writer fit into the then popular radio
music format, released a heavily orchestrated album, which though quite nice in
its musicality, proved to perhaps not be the most compatible vehicle for Jerry's
intricate lyrics and intimate performances.
Although he has continued to do some concerts
and club appearances, Jerry has spent most of the last twenty-five years
sequestered in his remote Florida retreat where he and his wife of 35 years
devoted themselves to raising three daughters and a son, all of whom have now
reached responsible adulthood.
So, here we are in the present, and Jerry has
returned to the studio once again. This time, however, he has been careful
to see that the recordings are as representative as possible of his own
creativity and solo performances while enlisting the talents of several
versatile and sensitive studio musicians.
In the interest of proving that "a few good
words are worth a thousand pictures", permit me to ask that you lean back, turn
on Jerry's new CD "Suddenly I'll Know You", and treat yourself to my friend,
Jerry Merrick.
Thank you,
Tom Ghent
More about Jerry's new CD
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