Heather Black
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1970) - Tommy Christian -- vocals, guitar - Gaylan Latimer (aka Gaylan Ladd) -- vocals, rhythm guitar - Ted Richardson --bass - Mickey Sharp -- drums, percussion
line up 2 (1970-71) - Wayne Brooks -- keyboards - Tommy Christian -- vocals, lead guitar - Glennis Harding -- vocals - Jimmy Jones -- bass, vocals - Gaylan Latimer (aka Gaylan Ladd) -- vocals, rhythm guitar - Doug Lavery -- drums, percussion, vocals
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- Axiom (Doug Lavery) - Bob and Gaylan (Gaylan Latimer) - Chance (Clay Hemphill) - Christopher Cross (Clay Hemphill and Gaylan Latimer) - The Dawgs (Gaylan Latimer) - Gayland and the Caper (Clay Hemphill and Gaylan Latimer) - Gaylan Latimer (solo efforts) - The Silvertones (Tommy Chritstian, Gaylan Laimer, Ted Richardson and Mickey Sharp) - The Valentines (Doug Lavery)
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Genre: pop Rating: 2 stars ** Title: Heather Black Company: Double
Bayou Year: 1970 Country/State: Waco, Texas Grade (cover/record): NM/NM Comments: sealed; punch hole Available: 1 Catalog ID: -- Price: $40.00
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Singer/guitarist Gaylan Latimer (aka Gaylan Ladd) was the creative force behind Heather Black. By the mid-'60s 1965 Latimer and partner Bobby Sharp had become regulars on the Waco, Texas club scene under the guise of Bobby Sharp and the Dawgs. In 1965 the pair signed with producer/businessman/manager Huey Meaux. Always on the lookout for a quick payday Meaux wasted little time releasing material credited to Sharp, Latimer (under the name GaylandLadd), the Duo Bobby and Gaylon and as The Dawgs. It makes for a biographical mess, but Latimer lays it out in his website: Official Website (gaylanladd.com)
By 1966 things had started to go south. Mentor Meaux was arrested on a morals charge and subsequently found guilty and jailed in 1968. Latimer's partner Bobby Sharp became increasingly unstable and was eventually institutionalized. Left without a recording contract Latimer returned to Waco, Texas where he went back to high school. He also briefly resurrected The Dawgs under the name "Gaylan Ladd and the Dawgs." With Meaux released from jail he recorded a couple of Ladd solo sides and hooked up with a local band - The Silvertones to record a couple of regional singles.
By 1969 Latimer and the remaining members of The Silvertones (singer/guitarist Tommy Christian, bassist Ted Richardson and drummer Mickey Sharp) had morphed into Heather Black. Signed by Meaux's American Pla-Boy label, the band made their recording debut with an obscure single:
- 1970's 'Circles' b/w 'There' ( American Pla-Boy catalog number AP 177)
The single was followed by a couple of equally obscure 45s:
Credited to "Heatherblack" - 1970's 'Cajun Blue' b/w 'Harris County Jail' (American Pla-Boy catalog number AP 1992)
Credited to "Heather Black" - 1970's 'She's My Woman' b/w 'Walking Back To Waco' (American Playboy catalog number 1005)
Even though the
earlier singles flopped, for some reason Meaux decided to release a
Heather Black album. Recorded in Houston, Texas' Doyle Jones'
Studio, 1970's Meaux produced "Heather Black"
showcased a collection of Latimer and Christian originals, rounded out by a
cover of Carl Friend's 'Angels Gather
Tears.' I seldom encounter an album I immediately
dislike. "Heat
"Heather
Black" track listing: 1.) Look Around Son (Gaylan Latimer) - 3:15 rating: *** stars Opening up with a pretty acoustic ballad, 'Look Around Son' boasted some surprisingly touching lyrics from the perspective of a father who seemingly abandoned his family. While I dhaven't abandon my wife and family, as a father I can certainly identify with Latimer's hopes and wishes for his offspring. Perhaps because it was so sappy, Double Bayou tapped it as a single:
- 1970's 'Look Around Son' b/w 'She's My Woman' (Double Bayou catalog DB-8)
2.) I'll Care If You Care (Gaylan Latimer - Tommy Christian) - 2:30 rating: *** stars Set to a more upbeat melody, 'I'll Care If You Care' offered another slice of sensitive singer/songwriter material. It was harmless, if hardly mesmerizing. 3.) Angels Gather Tears (Carl Friend - Henry O. Wetsell) - 2:53 rating: ** stars The album's lone cover, 'Angels Gather Tears' made it three ballads in a row. Very MOR-ish, this sounded like something The Brooklyn Bridge might have recorded. Enough. 4.) Bill (The Black Militant) (Gaylan Latimer - Tommy Christian) - 2:15 rating: **** stars Well the title made me do a double take. 'Bill (The Black Militant)' certainly wasn't something I would have expected from a bunch of young guys from Waco, Texas. Opening up with some awesome fuzz guitar the lyrics may not have aged well, but the tune certainly rocked out. Remember Bill bought himself a machine gun ... 5.) Are You Coming With Me (Gaylan Latimer - Tommy Christian) - 3:09 rating: ** stars Latimer certainly didn't have the greatest voice I've ever heard and the sappy ballad 'Are You Coming With Me' underscored how lightweight and fey his delivery could be. So here's a band that makes David Gates and Bread sound like hard rockers. 6.) I Must Go (Gaylan Latimer) - 2:35 rating: ** stars How about a hyper-sensitive ballad to close out side one? Geez, make it end.
(side
2) Finally a decent rocker with a nice melody, good Latimer lead vocal and some tasty lead guitar. This was the track that should have been tapped as a single. Shame it faded out so early. 2.) Dream Little Woman (Gaylan Latimer - Tommy Christian) - 3:04 rating: ** stars And 'Dream Little Woman' returned the listener to the band's patented brand of soft-rock. 3.) She's My Woman (Gaylan Latimer) - 2:54 rating: **** stars With a biting garage edge, 'She's My Woman' sounded nothing like the rest of the album. Shame since it was a hundred time better than their normal soft-pop throwaways. 4.) Walking With You (Gaylan Latimer) - 2:27 rating: *** stars Normally a track like 'Walking with You' wouldn't capture much attention, but as one of the few rough, upbeat tune it was almost a novelty here. 5.) Last Words (Gaylan Latimer - Tommy Christian) - 3:02 rating: * star The '60s saw "teen tragedy songs" carve out a surprisingly lucrative market. Think along the lines of Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers 'Last KIis', Roy Peterson's 'Tell Laura I Love Her' and Mark Dinning's 'Teen Angel.' As bad as all of those songs were, they had nothing on the hyper-dramatic spoken word 'Last Words.' This one one was so bad as to be good. I've never heard anything as calculated, or cloying. Simply dreadful and has to be heard to be believed. The track had previously appeared as the 'Master Nichols' 45 "B" side.
For completists there's a non-LP single:- the weird, faux-British story-song single:
- 1970's 'Master Nichols' b/w 'Last Words' (Double Bayou catalog DB-4)
Distributed by Shel Shelby's SSS International label, promotional efforts were - well they were limited, including a four week USO tour that took them to Thule, Greenland. Needless to say, most of the band tendered their resignations at the end of the tour.
With Christian and Latimer the only holdovers there's a second album.. Credited to "Heatherblack" "Live at Uncle Pete's" (American Pla-Boy catalog AL-LP-1001) was a double album live set recorded at a small club in New Iberia, Louisiana. Interestingly because the original tapes were poorly recorded, the band ended up re-recording the entire project in Houston's Sugar Hill Studios. While I've never seen or heard the album, there appear to be at least two album packages.
© Scott R. Blackerby September, 2024
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her
Black" has the distinction of being one of those rare exceptions.
Part of the problem is I've seen the album variously described as consisting
of blue-eyed soul, garage and psych. None of those are apt
descriptions. Largely written by singer/guitarist Gaylan Latimer and
Tommy Christian, most of these eleven tracks showcased a series of
lightweight and thoroughly forgettable soft pop. We're not even
talking David Gates and Bread material. Exemplified by ballads like
'Look Around Son', 'I'll
Care If You Care' and
the hysterically inept spoken word tearjerker 'Last
Word' this stuff was way more
saccharine than the worst of Gates and company's catalog. Prepare yourself
for a wave of sensitive singer/songwriter
material set to forgettable melodies and professional, but unenthusiastic
performances. Want to know what I really thing about it? The sad
thing is these guys were actually capable of far better. Easily the
album's standout performance, with a great melody and nice vocal 'Let
It Slide' would have made a great single. 'She's My Woman' was an
awesome slice of garage rock. It certainly hasn't aged well and would fail
today's political correctness tests, but the album's weirdest and most
fascinating song was 'Bill (The Black Militant).' Coming in a close
second was the bizarre teen tearjerker 'Last Words.'
