American multi-instrumentalist (1921 – 1993), who is best known for performing eccentric, blues infused folk music, as a one man band. His idiosyncratic lyrics and style can also be considered within the realm of outsider music.
Philip Kinorra was born Robert Cromwell Anson on 20th October 1940 is Sherwood, Nottingham. He started playing drums in his mid-teens before joining the RAF, where he played in a band that also featured alto saxophonist Trevor Watts, later Spontaneous Music Ensemble and Amalgam . It was at this juncture that Anson began to call himself Phill Kinorra in honour of his favourite jazz drummers - Phil Seamen, Tony Kinsey and Bobby Orr.
Two years after his debut single as Philamore Lincoln, the man reappeared with his first and only album - 1970's "The North Wind Blew South." Produced by James Wilder with brothers Glyn and Andrew Johns engineering, the album offered up a consistently interesting mix of genres including folk ('Early Sherwood'), country ('Lazy Good for Nothin'') and plenty of pop-psych moves. Lincoln may have looked like a stoned Hendrix wannabe, but the man had a highly versatile and commercial voice. He also had a knack from penning radio-friendly hooks that combined a variety of then-popular genres. Virtually every one of these ten tunes had commercial potential. Against that backdrop it was hard to pick favorites, but my top-three would be 1.) 'You're the One', 2.) 'The North Wind Blew South', and 3.) 'The Plains of Delight'.
This is nothing more than speculation on my part, but I'm guessing that the song actually date back to the 1968 NEMS sessions with Mike Vickers. CBS/Epic had distributed NEMS product and when the label collapsed several of the NEMS acts reappeared CBS/Epic. The album also included 'Rainy Day' which had been the "B" side of the earlier NEMS single. Ignoring the business end of the equation, songs like the title track, 'You're the One' and 'When You Were Looking My Way' had a distinctive late-'60s vibe.
The album was also interesting from a marketing standpoint in that it was released in the US and Canada, but not the UK. Epic released the two Lincoln singles in advance of the album and their failure to sell may have convinced the label there was no market for the album in the UK. Note the US release stressed the Lincoln's English links - "produced in England by James Wilder"
See the extra information section for more information on the man.
So let me warn you that you'll need a map to keep track of this one.
The artist known as Philamore Lincoln was born Robert Cromwell Anson. He took up drums at an early age and after a mandatory stint in the Royal Air Force, turned his attention to becoming a professional musician. Adopting the stage name Phil Kinnora, throughout the early 1960s he worked with a number of jazz bands; including the Peter King Quintet, the Ronnie Scott Quintet and The Don Rendell New Jazz Quintet. (I'm not a psychologist, but it was interesting to note the name was apparently inspired by Anson's favorite jazz drummers - PHIL Seaman; Tony KINsea and Bobby ORR.) Having relocated to London, 1963 saw him working with The Brian Auger Trinity. Unhappy being a sideman, in 1964 Kinnora struck out on his own adopted a new stage name - Julian Covey. He also decided to jump into rock and roll, forming the band The Machine; quickly morphing into Julian Covey & the Machine. Going through a never-ending stream of personnel changes, Covey and company spent the next three years touring. 1967 saw them signed to Chris Blackwell's Island Records, releasing a one shot single. Surprisingly the 45 was even release in the States:
US release:
- 1967's 'A Little Bit of Hurt' b/w 'Sweet Bacon' (Island catalog number 40505)
UK release:
- 1967's 'A Little Bit of Hurt' b/w 'Sweet Bacon' (Island catalog number WIP 6009)
What Time Are You? is a self-published album of ten songs that came out around 1971. Normally, something like this is handed out to a few friends and relatives and never heard from again. But in the most recent eBay auction, the album sold for over $1100. Rare, certainly, but why such a collector’s item?
The story is a long one, and a fascinating one. I knew Steve. He went to my high school, a year after me. I never met him before I graduated, for the simple reason that he transferred in the next year. My brother Ron, who even now does concert gigs back home, introduced him to me; they met because of their interest in performing.
You see, Steve was a rock star. Under his stage name of Steve Martin, he was a member of the Left Banke, and wrote their hits Walk Away Renee and Pretty Ballerina. He clearly kept his contacts in the music business: when I visited his house, he had promotional copies of dozens of albums. He was my age, but a year behind me because of the time he had spent touring.
