"The Special World of George Wood and Katie," 1962
Title
"The Special World of George Wood and Katie," 1962
Description
"The Special World of George Wood and Katie"
SIDE ONE: (Songs of Fun and Frolic)
1. The Boat Builder
2. Johnny Brown
3. Church Bells
4. The Unlikely Lovers
5. My Love Is Like Furniture
6. Ballad of the Smog
7 The Small White Satellite
8 The Flight of Caroline
9. Hooray for Jackie K.
SIDE TWO: (Songs of Life and Death)
1. Black Is the Color of Night
2. My Wife and I
3. The Old Man
4. Summer Romance
5. The Witching Willow
6. Song of an Orphan
7. The Dead Man
All of the above compositions were composed by George Wood.
Wolf-Mills Music, Inc. (ASCAP)
Produced by Jackie Mills & Tommy Wolf
Audio Engineer: Dayton “Bones” Howe
Cover by William Claxton
Recorded September 1962 in Hollywood, California, at Western Recording Studios.
Sitting in a record company office day after day and listening to in-person performances and record dubs by young (and many not so young) hopefuls can be rather upsetting. Though most of the interviews consist of substantiating decisions that previous record companies have already made, still it’s always painful to have to say "no." But there are those rare times when you find yourself totally unprepared for the freshness, the honesty, the warmth and the beautiful talent that confronts you, and you wonder how our great big world managed to ignore these people so completely for so long. Such a case in point is George Wood and Katie.
George was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas, raised in St. Louis, Missouri, and finished his formal education in Los Angeles. California Katie is from Ogden, Utah. They met in the church choir on the campus of the University of Southern California, where George was a leading soloist in the Opera Department and Katie (after attending the University of Utah) was doing graduate work in music education. They fell deeply in love and, in true romantic tradition, were married on Graduation Day.
However, like many artists who aspire toward a musical career, they soon were forced into a series of compromises. When no positions as a music teacher were available in Los Angeles, Katie accepted an appointment to teach kindergarten. George, until he could establish a reputation as a dramatic tenor, secured a job as a television cameraman for KTLA and began to write TV scripts to earn extra money for his growing family, which now included a daughter... April. He even taught himself to play the guitar while doing extensive research on authentic folk material; but although he had prepared a two hour concert recital in this idiom, there seemed to be little interest and not much steady employment for a classically trained folk singer (folk musician).
Then, four years ago, George wrote his first song... “The Small White Satellite." The fact that it happened to be about the President's tee shot going into orbit and not about “moon and June“ apparently dismayed the music publishers and record companies alike, for nobody seemed especially enthused. Except George. He was not only pleased to have written an imaginative song, but he had discovered a simple form for philosophical expression. And he had found a new and unexpected career.
As George explains it. “Popular music these days seems to say only one of two things: either she loves me and I’m happy, or she's left me and I’m sad. I feel the time has come when people are looking for a little more depth in music, so I have tried to fill the void between opera and rock and roll with songs that are more than just surface entertainment. They also have something to say. Even my humorous songs (which number more than half of my 75 compositions) are based upon the great human ideas and Ideals."
Constantly intrigued by unexplored subject matter. George continued to write his perfect little songs until he had written so many that he couldn't remember all the lyrics. Katie, a busy mother of two children with the birth of a son North, knew every one of George's songs by heart and began to sing along with him, making up harmonies to blend with his lead melodies. And after ten years they were singing together again, reliving their courtship days in the church choir of USC.
This should be the end of our story, but the ending is really up to you... the people... and your acceptance of their first album. To the accompaniment of George's guitar (assisted by “Red" Mitchell's bass), Mr. and Mrs. Wood let you peek into their special world and enjoy the thrilling experience of discovery. For good fun, noble thoughts and true love shine throughout their kingdom.
I wish there were more people like George Wood and Katie, but I’m so very glad there are two.
Tommy Wolf
Äva Records, Los Angeles 69, California—Distributed by MGM Records
SIDE ONE: (Songs of Fun and Frolic)
1. The Boat Builder
2. Johnny Brown
3. Church Bells
4. The Unlikely Lovers
5. My Love Is Like Furniture
6. Ballad of the Smog
7 The Small White Satellite
8 The Flight of Caroline
9. Hooray for Jackie K.
SIDE TWO: (Songs of Life and Death)
1. Black Is the Color of Night
2. My Wife and I
3. The Old Man
4. Summer Romance
5. The Witching Willow
6. Song of an Orphan
7. The Dead Man
All of the above compositions were composed by George Wood.
Wolf-Mills Music, Inc. (ASCAP)
Produced by Jackie Mills & Tommy Wolf
Audio Engineer: Dayton “Bones” Howe
Cover by William Claxton
Recorded September 1962 in Hollywood, California, at Western Recording Studios.
Sitting in a record company office day after day and listening to in-person performances and record dubs by young (and many not so young) hopefuls can be rather upsetting. Though most of the interviews consist of substantiating decisions that previous record companies have already made, still it’s always painful to have to say "no." But there are those rare times when you find yourself totally unprepared for the freshness, the honesty, the warmth and the beautiful talent that confronts you, and you wonder how our great big world managed to ignore these people so completely for so long. Such a case in point is George Wood and Katie.
George was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas, raised in St. Louis, Missouri, and finished his formal education in Los Angeles. California Katie is from Ogden, Utah. They met in the church choir on the campus of the University of Southern California, where George was a leading soloist in the Opera Department and Katie (after attending the University of Utah) was doing graduate work in music education. They fell deeply in love and, in true romantic tradition, were married on Graduation Day.
However, like many artists who aspire toward a musical career, they soon were forced into a series of compromises. When no positions as a music teacher were available in Los Angeles, Katie accepted an appointment to teach kindergarten. George, until he could establish a reputation as a dramatic tenor, secured a job as a television cameraman for KTLA and began to write TV scripts to earn extra money for his growing family, which now included a daughter... April. He even taught himself to play the guitar while doing extensive research on authentic folk material; but although he had prepared a two hour concert recital in this idiom, there seemed to be little interest and not much steady employment for a classically trained folk singer (folk musician).
Then, four years ago, George wrote his first song... “The Small White Satellite." The fact that it happened to be about the President's tee shot going into orbit and not about “moon and June“ apparently dismayed the music publishers and record companies alike, for nobody seemed especially enthused. Except George. He was not only pleased to have written an imaginative song, but he had discovered a simple form for philosophical expression. And he had found a new and unexpected career.
As George explains it. “Popular music these days seems to say only one of two things: either she loves me and I’m happy, or she's left me and I’m sad. I feel the time has come when people are looking for a little more depth in music, so I have tried to fill the void between opera and rock and roll with songs that are more than just surface entertainment. They also have something to say. Even my humorous songs (which number more than half of my 75 compositions) are based upon the great human ideas and Ideals."
Constantly intrigued by unexplored subject matter. George continued to write his perfect little songs until he had written so many that he couldn't remember all the lyrics. Katie, a busy mother of two children with the birth of a son North, knew every one of George's songs by heart and began to sing along with him, making up harmonies to blend with his lead melodies. And after ten years they were singing together again, reliving their courtship days in the church choir of USC.
This should be the end of our story, but the ending is really up to you... the people... and your acceptance of their first album. To the accompaniment of George's guitar (assisted by “Red" Mitchell's bass), Mr. and Mrs. Wood let you peek into their special world and enjoy the thrilling experience of discovery. For good fun, noble thoughts and true love shine throughout their kingdom.
I wish there were more people like George Wood and Katie, but I’m so very glad there are two.
Tommy Wolf
Äva Records, Los Angeles 69, California—Distributed by MGM Records
Date
1962
Source
Digital only
Rights
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Creator
George and Katie Wood