Jimmy Thudpucker was a fictional character created by Garry Trudeau for the legendary comic strip Doonesbury. In the strip, Thudpucker was a young singer/songwriter who went on to become a rock star. Eventually, Trudeau decided to translate his fiction into real life releasing Thudpucker music created with the support of good friends like guitarist Steve Cropper of Booker T & The MG’s fame and a very young David Foster.

“Ginny’s Song” was the first single released around 1976 on the Warner Brothers Records label and was produced by Cropper and Foster. The two assembled an amazing cast of musicians including Jay Graydon on guitar, alto sax by Jim Horn and Donald “Duck” Dunn on bass. “Ginny’s Song” was crafted as a smooth tune with the lead vocals handled by a gentleman named James Brewer, an actor, producer, singer/songwriter, who also co-wrote the song. Brewer’s relevant work in character as Jimmy Thudpucker on “Ginny’s Song” and the subsequent album went totally uncredited. Twenty-five years later, Brewer was finally acknowledged on the Doonesbury website.

“Ginny’s Song” was mid-tempo pop with a soulful aftertaste and an extremely catchy refrain. Brewer’s smooth vocals were right on target. The soulful backing track had Foster on keyboards and arranging the lush strings. The single’s b-side presented a disco version of “Ginny’s Song.”

In 1977 with the help of Cropper and Foster, Trudeau released Doonesbury’s Jimmy Thudpucker Greatest Hits. “Ginny’s Song” was included on the album along with other goodies including “I Don’t Know My Love,” co-written by Foster and previously reviewed on this website.

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Lead Vocals: James Brewer
Drums: Mike Baird
Keyboards: David Foster
Bass: Donald “Duck” Dunn
Guitar: Steve Cropper & Jay Graydon
Percussion: Steve Foreman
Horns: Bobby Keys, Don Menza, Chuck Findley & Jim Horn
Backing Vocals: Brooks Hunnicut, Renee Armand, Donny Gerrard & Lisa Roberts

Strings Arranged by David Foster
Produced by Steve Cropper & David Foster

Lyrics

No Lyrics

The autumn of 1976 witnessed the release of the Cate Brothers’ sophomore album In One Eye And Out The Other. After the solid success of their 1975 self-titled debut album, Ernie and Earl Cate decided to keep the winning team of Cate Brothers with legendary guitarist Steve Cropper sitting in the producer chair. Cropper again enlisted some high-profile session guys including Cropper’s partner in Booker T. and The MG’s Donald “Duck” Dunn on bass, drummers Ed Green and Mike Baird, sax virtuoso Jim Horn and David Foster on a variety of keyboards.

This talented combo injected a superior dose of groove into the duo’s funk/rock compositions. Cropper’s production is exceedingly elegant and enhances the catchy material included on the album. The two brothers gave very good performances throughout the collection with Ernie’s impressive lead vocals and Earl’s noteworthy guitar up front. 1976 was a good year for Cropper who also produced the critically-acclaimed album Hard Candy for Ned Doheny. Both records were fine examples of seventies soulful pop/rock, impeccably crafted and performed. Among the highlights on In One Eye And Out The Other were the funky title-track co-written by the Cate brothers with Cropper, the mid-tempo “Can’t Stop” with an atmosphere reminiscent of the best Memphis soul and “Where Can We Go,” an up-tempo soul/rock goodie with Foster on keyboards.
The Song of the Week is the pop/soul ballad “Start All Over Again.” A nice track with a catchy beat, “Start All Over Again” had a radio-friendly mood that was picked as the b-side of the title-track for the first single off the album. On this number, Ernie Cate’s gritty vocals were backed up by Foster’s captivating organ and Earl Cate’s tasteful guitar licks.
In One Eye And Out The Other wasn’t a commercial hit despite its musical quality. The tunes included have aged pretty well and can compete with the best stuff of legendary acts like The Doobie Brothers and Average White Band.

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Lead & Backing Vocals, Electric Piano & Elka: Ernie Cate
Lead Guitar & Backing Vocals: Earl Cate
Bass: Donald “Duck” Dunn
Drums: Michael Baird
Organ: David Foster
Percussion: Steve Forman
Backing Vocals: Albert Singleton, Steve Cropper & Terry Cagle

Produced by Steve Cropper

Lyrics

No Lyrics

Edward ‘Ned’ Doheny is a gifted singer/songwriter with an irresistible, blue-eyed soul music vein. In the seventies, Doheny wrote or co-wrote some absolute gems released on a couple of influential albums called Hard Candy and Prone. These pivotal songs included “A Love Of Your Own,” “Whatcha Gonna Do For Me” and “Get It Up For Love.” Both Hard Candy and Prone were produced by the legendary Steve Cropper and his touches to the elegant, catchy material plus the deluxe value of the musicianship were on the same wavelength as Boz Scaggs’ Silk Degrees.

The main difference was that the Scaggs record sold millions while Doheny’s albums became well-kept secrets. Thankfully, time has been kind to Doheny. His brighter gems were eventually covered by major artists including Average White Band, David Cassidy, Tata Vega, George Benson and Melissa Manchester. Those renditions brought Doheny’s elegant pop to a broader audience, but his music recently saw a resurgence in the UK, parts of Europe and Asia. “Get It Up From Love” and “To Prove My Love” were embraced by the most refined deejays and affirmed themselves as two of the most loved rare groove numbers around.

“Get It Up For Love” got a few covers including one by Ben E. King with the Average White Band and a high charged hit disco rendition by Tata Vega. Both covers of the song were released in the late seventies, but, as good as they were, they didn’t match the subtle, elegant level of Doheny’s original. Doheny’s “Get It Up For Love” was a fantastic mix of acoustic pop and smooth soul with a jazzy atmosphere that resulted in a refined cross between Jackson Browne and Bill Withers. David Foster was one of the main collaborators on both of Doheny’s albums. Foster played his infamous keyboards on most of the tracks. His impeccable keyboard playing added an adventurous, jazzy spin to “Get It Up For Love.” Although the spotlight was on Doheny’s personal voice and his acoustic guitar playing, the song also featured the legendary Tower Of Power horns. That jam and so much more can be rediscovered now on a special compilation cd released by UK label Numero Group entitled Separate Oceans. Presenting selected moments from Doheny’s great albums, Separate Oceans has many interesting demos and rare tracks including a demo version of “Get It Up For Love.” It is a welcome opportunity to hear one of the most talented singers/songwriters of the seventies SoCal scene. Please listen and appreciate Doheny’s unique style where pop, soul, country and jazz meet with glorious results.

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Lead Vocals & Guitars: Ned Doheny
Bass : Dennis Parker
Keyboards : David Foster
Additional Piano : Jimmy Calire
Drums : Gary Mallaber
Percussion : Victor Feldman
Horns : Tower Of Power Horn Section (Arranged by Greg Adams)
Background vocals : Ned Doheny, Rosemary Butler, Fleming Williams & Brooks Hunnicutt
Horns arranged by Greg Adams

Produced by Steve Cropper

Lyrics

It’s a tricky situation
Hard to say just what the outcome will be
If you saw the riddle you can save your soul
Chase love’s shadows till the river’s running cold

Hey babe, get it up, get it up for love
Get it up, get it up for love, babe
Get it up, get it up for love

There’s a longing in the people
No one knows just when the heartaches will cease
You can free and tell her, you can stay and fight
You can stand in line and scream, “Hey, it’s just my
right”

Hey babe, get it up, get it up for love
Get it up, get it up for love, babe
Get it up, get it up for love

So, a smile, another fallin’ star
[Incomprehensible]
So until we find
Just put your hand in mine, oh yeah

It’s a tricky situation
Heaven knows just where the struggle must end
If it takes forever, I’d got the time above
I won’t desert you when the tables have turned

Hey babe, get it up, get it up for love
Get it up, get it up for love, babe
Get it up, get it up for love

Get it up, get it up for love, babe
Get it up, get it up for love
All the way for love, get it up all the way
Get it up all the way

Written by Earl Cate, Ernie Cate & Steve Cropper

Twin brothers Earl and Ernie Cate became well known in the Seventies as The Cate Brothers. Through their friendship with drummer Levon Helm of The Band, these two talented singer/songwriters were offered a contract with Asylum Records that lead to their 1975 debut album, “The Cate Brothers.”

Produced by the legendary Steve Cropper of Booker T. & The MG’s fame, their self-titled effort is a delicious blend of rock and soul with a jazzy flavor. Cropper also played guitar on the album and brought along Donald “Duck” Dunn, Timothy B. Schmit, Helm, Nigel Olsson and session aces like Ed Greene, Bob Glaub, Leland Sklar and up’n’coming David Foster.

Foster played on six tracks of “The Cate Brothers” showcasing his talent on fender, organ and clavinet. He appeared on the song “Union Man” that became a huge hit single, reaching #24 on Billboard’s Hot 100. It was one of the first big hits for Foster as a session player.

“Union Man” was clearly more sophisticated than the average pop hits of those days with smart rhythm changes and superior playing like Foster’s impressive solo on clavinet. “The Cate Brothers” included other good songs like the ballad “Always Waiting” and the funky/disco “I Just Wanna Sing.”

The good success of this record lead to the 1976 release of The Cate Brothers sophomore album, “In One Eye And Out The Other.” It was again produced by Cropper and presented the same mix of pop/rock and soul with jazzy playing. Foster again was on board playing keyboards on several tracks. Recently, both these fine albums were reissued on CD by the Wounded Bird label.

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[audio:https://www.fozfan.com/archives/clips/union_man.mp3|titles=Cate Brothers|artists=Union man]

Lead & Background Vocals: Bill Champlin

Lead Vocals & Electric Piano: Ernie Cate
Lead Guitar: Earl Cate
Guitar: Steve Cropper
Clavinet: David Foster
Bass: Scott Edwards
Drums: Ed Greene
Percussion: Gary Coleman

Produced by Steve Cropper

Well, it’s six a.m.
I’m out on the job
Working like a fool
For my pay

A big man walks by
With a smile
Says you got to go
On strike today

Hey, hey, Mr. union man
How am I gonna pay my dues
Or the landlord or the doctor
How am I getting new shoes

Well, I know I need
To help to get that raise
There’s one thing I don’t like

Tell me how can I
Feed my hungry family
I you say I’m going on strike

Hey, hey, Mr. union man
How am I gonna pay my dues
Owe more money than I can pay
Looks like I’m bound to lose

Well, I don’t see how
I’m going to get ahead
Seem like there ain’t no way

Well, said don’t worry
Cause I understand
Won’t you try to
See things my way

Hey, hey, Mr. union man
Thank you for the helping hand
Hey, hey, Mr. union man
So glad you understand

Hey, hey, Mr. union man
So glad that you understand

Hey, hey, Mr. union man
Thank you for the helping hand
Hey, hey, Mr. union man
So glad that you understand

Jimmy Thudpucker is a fictional character from the legendary comic strip, “Doonesbury.” Created by Pulitzer Prize winner Garry B. Trudeau in the early seventies, “Doonesbury” had amazing success and became a true editorial phenomenon. Jimmy Thudpucker was also the lead figure of a little seen animated TV special aired in 1977. In the program Thudpucker was a famous singer/songwriter who was seen as some kind of cross between John Denver and Bob Dylan.

The soundtrack from the animated special was released with the title “Jimmy Thudpucker’s Greatest Hits.” That album was produced by former Booker T & the MG’s member Steve Cropper with the participation of the Walden West Rhythm Section that included session greats Jay Graydon and David Foster. The singer behind the Thudpucker character was Jimmy Brewer, a session man who also co-wrote a good portion of the songs. All the lyrics were written by Garry B. Trudeau while Foster had a strong hand in the arrangements and co-wrote three key numbers.
The musical mood of “Jimmy Thudpucker’s Greatest Hits” is a laid back, elegant pop with soul elements close to Foster’s projects of the era. There are several good tunes including “So Take Your Life,” co-written by Foster with Jimmy Brewer that’s similar to Airplay ballads. The single off the album was the breezy “Ginny’s Song” that was also released in an energetic disco version. Another winner is Foster’s big ballad, “So Long/Overture ‘73” that presents an adventurous orchestral break with Foster’s piano in the spotlight. Maybe the best song on “Jimmy Thudpucker’s Greatest Hits” is the pop/soul ditty, “I Don’t Know My Love.” Co-written by Foster and Trudeau with Cropper, it showcases Graydon providing some delicious guitar licks and Brewer delivering a smooth performance with his falsetto supported by Bill Champlin’s bluesy voice.

Through the years, Foster and Graydon grew a good friendship with Trudeau who included them in some of his comic strips. Later, Trudeau would dedicate some heartfelt lines to Foster on the super-producer’s 1986 Billboard special.

Listen

[audio:https://www.fozfan.com/archives/clips/i_don_t_know_my_love.mp3|titles=I don’t know my love|artists=Jimmy Brewer]

Lead Vocal: Jimmy Brewer
Keyboards: David Foster
Guitars: Steve Cropper & Jay Graydon
Bass: Donald “Duck” Dunn
Drums: Mike Baird & Jeff Porcaro
Percussion: Steve Forman
Horns: Chuck Findley, Trevor Lawrence, Steve Madaio, Quitman Dennis & Don Menza
Background Vocals: Bill Champlin, Donny Gerrard etc.
Produced by Steve Cropper

Lyrics

NO LYRICS