A great Western Swing group from New York City. The group was comprised of Bob Hipkens (dobro, trumpet), Rich Lieberson (guitar), and Bert Lee (guitar). Matt Glaser (fiddle) later joined the group. But these recordings (March 9, 1975) predate him. Thanks to Bill Spence for these.
Rose of San Antone Wind in the Pines Instrumental I’m a Shipwrecked Man Sarah Take the A- Train Ode to New Jersey Lady be Good The Prize Fools Fall in Love
Jog my memory… where exactly were we playing when this got recorded? It was very early on is our gigs I’m certain.
Bert
At Caffe Lena, Saratoga, NY – March 1975
Hello
I am a french woman in love with your music since my husband order the LP from Us in the 70’s
With my group ( amateur, from Brittany) we are trying to sing Wind in the pines. I wrote down the lyrics but not sure if it ‘s right. Is there a possiblity to get them ?
Wish you the best
Catherine
I think after 40 years I have finally figured out the chords to the bridge of Shipwrecked Man. Some buskers in Seattle turned me on to the Sheiks in the late 70s. They sang four part harmonies on Honeysuckle Rose etc. They won the best street musician award. I recently looked one of the guys up and there was a video on his website of him playing with Tommy Emmanuel. They were poverty stricken street musicians. I bought their PA system and got one guy’s 1930s Martin out of hock.
I moved to Maui and one of the guys came over before I left and taught me the swing chords. The Sheik’s music pretty much changed my musical oeuvre.
Later I found the album in Manhattan but left it in Brunos coffee shop in the Village. I called Lieberson asking if I could look at the charts but he said they were in a closet somewhere and anyway I wouldn’t understand them. I thought he might be impressed that a muscian and writer (I had a music column in Maui) came all the way from Maui to call him. He wasn’t impressed.
You can always reach out to Bert Lee for the chords if you’re not sure of them. As for Rich, he unfortunately died several years ago. I really liked him, he was such a character, and I was very upset to hear of his passing.
CPS played in a show – a benefit concert for Caffe Lena – at an Albany theatre in the 70s. I’d love to know more about the line up that day, and any other interesting details you might remember.
I was a teenager when my dad led the family (7 kids ages 7 to 24) to our seats. It was a big deal, a splurge. My Dad and I both enjoyed the Central Park Sheiks the most and, in hindsight had you played any later, we would have missed it. At some point the theatre was full of smoke from weed and my mother – to our horror – insisted on us filing out of our seats and the venue.
Over the years we would bring up the Sheiks, and my old dad, who was blind, asked me to find info, a CD, a webpage.
Now, just as Google is becoming less helpful, this site turns up and even though Dad has passed, I’m thrilled to hear those songs, to reconnect with an experience I’ll probably forget, but not yet…. Cheers!
PS. I’m still enjoying Caffe Lena 50 years later. Thanks for helping to keep it going.