The Loco Electric Orchestra is the latest pipe dream of Tim Whitsett, whose very first single (on Imperial Records when he was sixteen) was, in fact, entitled “Pipe Dreams.” That first release led to a decade’s worth of other recordings in a variety of genres (R&B, Pop, Instrumental) for assorted labels such as Epic, Ace, Sue, Rim, Musicor, Island, and Capitol.

Whitsett retired as a performing artist at the ripe age of 26 to take charge of East Memphis Music Corp., the music publishing division of Stax Records.

Subsequently, he moved to London to manage Chrysalis Music Ltd., partnered with Ten Years After vet Chick Churchill in a publishing / production venture, and served an executive role at Chappell Music Ltd.

Back in the States, Whitsett penned three music business textbooks and a novel, dabbled in record production, and was associated with Malaco Music Group for eleven years.

The Loco Electric Orchestra might easily have been called the Loco Eclectic Orchestra, since its musical output flits between styles at Whitsett’s whim. While the tracks on this album unmistakably come from the same “place”, the center of gravity shifts from song to song, revealing a diversification you’d expect from someone who has worked with song catalogs ranging from Otis Redding, Al Green, Isaac Hayes, Chuck Berry, and Bobby Blue Bland to Gilbert & Sullivan, David Bowie, Jethro Tull, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and George Gershwin.