Plant and See
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1969-70) - Carol Fitzgerald -- vocals - Willie French Lowery RIP 2012) -- vocals, lead guitar - Forris Fulford -- drums, percussion, backing vocals - Ronald Seiger -- bass
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- Corporate Image (Willie French Lowery) - Willie French Lowery solo efforts) - Lumbee (Carol Fitzgerald, Willie French Lowery, Forris Fulford and Ronald Seiger)
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Genre: rock Rating: **** 4 stars Title: Plant and See Company: White Whale Catalog: WW
7120 Country/State: Fayetteville, North Carolina Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: gatefold sleeve Available: 1 Catalog ID: -- Price: $90.00
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Anyone familiar with the band Plant & See, or the follow-on group Lumbee probably knows them as a result of the late singer/guitarist Willie French Lowery. I've seen Lowery labeled as a cult musical hero. If there is a Lowery cult, it's definitely small. If you're a member of that fan club there's a good chance you live in North Carolina and are a senior citizen, or you're a seriously hardcore music fan.
Born and raised in Robeson County, North Carolina, Willie French Lowery was a member of the Lumbee Indian tribe. Starting in the mid-'60s he bounced across various jobs including a stint in a band accompanying a traveling carnival, joining the band Corporate Image and acting as bandleader for ex-Drfiter Clyde McPhatter’s touring group. He spent time in Maryland and by the late-'60s was living in Los Angeles where he paid his bills writing commercial jingles before forming the band Plant and See. With Lowery handling lead guitar and vocals, the rest of the band consisted of musicians he knew from various local North Carolina bands - vocalist Carol Fitzgerald, drummer Forris Fulford and bassist Ronald Seiger.
A
rarity in the rock world, Plant and See was a multi-racial
entity. Lowery was Native American, Fitzgerald was a white
female, bassist Seigler was Latino bassist and drummer Fulford was African
American. That line-up must have attracted considerable attention in
North Carolina and may have been a factor in Ted Fegin and Lee Lassiff's
decision to sign them to White Whale Records. T
Even though the label enjoyed substantial success with The Turtles, White Whale wasn't a large label with massive promotional resources. The company certainly didn't put much effort into marketing Plant & See. They released a promotional single and put the band on the road opening for a couple of Allman Brothers Band dates. Featuring a naked young boy (apparently producer Klein's young son), their choice of album cover probably didn't do the band any favors. Hard to image retail stores being thrilled to display the LP.
"Plant and
See" track listing: 1.) Put Out My Fire (Willie Lowery) - 3:13 rating: **** stars Always liked Fulford's opening percussion which led into a patented slice of '60s rock that sounded like it had been written for an exploitation "hippie" flick. Powered by Lowery's nifty voice "Put Out My Fire" had everything you look for in one of these tracks - great melody; nice guitar solo; "happening" lead vocals (bet Hugh Hefner loved the reference to Playboy Magazine) and slick backing vocals. The track also appeared as the "B" side on their "Henrietta" promotional 45. It should have been an "A" side. 2.) Flat On My Face (Willie Lowery) - 2:44 rating: **** stars Sporting one of the album's catchiest melodies "Flat On My Face" was a soulful ballad serving as a nice platform for Lowery's soulful vocals. Loved the chirpy backing vocals and Lowery's brief guitar solos. 3.) Mrs. Tree (Willie Lowery) - 2:24 rating: *** stars Boasting a blazing Lowery guitar solo, the rollicking "Mrs. Tree" demonstrated the band had mastered '60s garage rock moves. 4.) Henrietta (Willie Lowery) - 3:26 rating: **** stars Don't think I've ever met a woman named "Henrietta" - the song title always makes me smile. Built on a beautiful blue-eyed soul melody, this was the perfect prom slow dance tune. The reverb and delay on Lowery's guitar gave the song the same sound as Tommy James and the Shondells "Crystal Clear Persuasion". And if that wasn't enough Lowery turned in some beautiful acoustic guitar moves (Glen Campbell would have been proud). Easy to see why the track was tapped as a promotional single:
- 1969's "Henrietta" b/w "Put Out My Fire" (White Whale catalog number WW-309)
5.) Rockin’ Chair (Willie Lowery) - 2:58 rating: **** stars While the album didn't strike me as being overtly political, "Rockin' Chair" seemed to make some socially relevant statements. Once again the tune was set to a pretty melody, complete with a dry, laconic Lowery lead vocal, sweet backing vocals and tasty fuzz guitar. Besides, how often to do hear a lyric that includes the phrase "noblesse oblige"? 6.) Love and Affection (Willie Lowery) - 2:45 rating: **** stars Another great melody; complete with jangle rock guitar and nice Lowery and Fitzgerald vocals, "Love and Affection" was side one's most commercially viable tune. Everything about this tune was ready made for radio play though nobody at White Whale was paying attention.
(side
2) My favorite track, the fuzz guitar powered "Poor Rich Man' was also the album hardest rocker. One of the few tracks where Lowery and Fitzgerald shared lead vocals, this one was heavy. Free could have done a nice cover of the track. 2.) Seekin’ Advice (Willie Lowery) - 5:17 rating: *** stars Opening with "church choir" backing vocals, "Seekin' Advice" started out as a solemn ballad, shifting tempos and musical directions (acoustic blues guitar, rock, etc.) over the next five minutes. Easily the album's most complex arrangement. Drummer Fulford and bassist Seiger accredited themselves well on this one. 3.) Witches Brew (Willie Lowery) - 6:47 rating: **** stars Another album highlight, powered by an awesome fuzz guitar solo "Witches Brew" recalled a mash-up of something off a Tony Joe White swamp rock album and a West Coast psych jam band. 4.) Leavin’ (Carol Fitzgerald) - 2:56 rating: ** stars Written and sung by Fitzgerald "Leavin'" sounded like a second-tier Janis Joplin wannabe. There wasn't anything wrong with the performance, other than there wasn't much originality in this blues-rocker. Even Lowery's extended guitar solo seemed unfocused and bland.
I've never heard it, let alone seen a copy, but as part of his interest in his Lubee heritage, in 1978 Lowery released a solo album - "Proud to Be a Lumbee" (Willie French Lowery Publishing Company catalog number 812011-2077).
Suffering from Parkinson's disease, the 68 year old Lowery died in May 2012. Roughly two months later, with approval and cooperation from the Lowrey family, the North Carolina-based Paradise of Bachelors label reissued the "Plant and See" LP (catalog number PoB-003)
© Scott R. Blackerby November 2025
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he
quartet's debut found the venturing into New York's Allegro recording studio
with producer Gary Klein. Featuring
a collection of original material, 1969's
"Plant and See" was clearly meant to spotlight
Lowery's multiple talents. In addition to writing the majority
of material (Fitzgerald
wrote and sang the Joplin-esque blues rocker "Leavin'''), he handled
lead vocals and lead guitar. Musically the set was diverse hitting on '60s
psych-rock ("Put Out My Fire"), garage-rock ("Mrs.
Tree"), blue-eyed soul (the ballad "Flat On My Face")
and exemplified by the promotional single "Henrietta" and the
glistening "Love and Affection" more pop oriented material.
Perhaps not the most distinguished singer you've ever heard, Lowery was
still gifted with a flexible and commercial voice that was capable of
handling everything from pop to hard-rock. Powered by his guitar, the
band shined on harder rocking efforts like "Poor Rich Man" and the
swamp-rock tinged "Witches Brew". Given this was a late-'60s
release it shouldn't have come as a surprise to detect some social ad
political commentary in the mix. Tracks like "Rockin’
Chair" and
"Poor Rich Man" weren't nearly as strident as some of their
contemporaries but they were clearly listening to headlines. It's also
an album that took a couple of spins to reveal the full array of it's charms
to my ears. 
