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.