Malaco Records’ house band in
Jackson, MS was one of the best tight knit
rhythm sections that southern studios were
noted for in the 1960s and ‘70s. James
Stroud (drums), Carson Whitsett (keyboards),
Dino Zimmerman (guitar), and Don Barrett
(bass) shaped hits by
ZZ Hill, Dorothy Moore, Paul Simon,
Paul Davis, Little Milton, Bobby Blue Bland,
Johnnie Taylor, and Eddie Floyd.
In the early 1980s, Stroud
seized an opportunity to work with some of
Nashville’s biggest names. Barrett,
Zimmerman, and Whitsett, coincidently but
individually, made Nashville their home as
well. No longer a unit, they independently
recorded with KT Oslin, Eddie Rabbitt, Janis
Ian, Kathy Mattea, BB King, Eric Clapton,
Suzy Bogguss, John Mayall, and Waylon
Jennings. Whitsett also collaborated with
Dan Penn, Tony Joe White, and others writing
hits for Solomon Burke, Lorrie Morgan, John
Anderson, Joe Cocker, and Conway Twitty.
In 1996, Whitsett, Zimmerman,
and Barrett reunited for a one-off project
with drummer Jimmy Hyde of Eddie Rabbitt’s
band and keyboardist Gene Sisk (Sawyer Brown,
The Judds, Earl Scruggs). Dubbing
themselves The Pitifuls, they recorded this
album in Memphis with Grammy-award-winning
engineer Danny Jones.
Don Barrett sings lead on the
majority of tracks, alternating with the
grittier Jimmy Hyde. Except for Barrett's
I'm Gonna Love You Right Out Of His Life
and the Soul classic I Forgot To Be Your
Lover, all songs were penned by Carson
Whitsett, some in tandem with Dan Penn,
Larry Byrom, Gary Nicholson, and others.
This is an album of timeless
enjoyment. So, crank it up and get yourself
a case of The Pitifuls. |