Bill and Kenny on Yandell Street - El Paso, Texas with new 2 Track Machines- 1964

 

Bill Taylor Sparks in New 3Tack studio in El Paso, Texas

 

Kenny Smith at 3 Track Ampex300 tape deck

 

Bill Taylor Sparks at Consol-Royal Studios Memphis, Tennessee- 1974

 

Kenny Smith mixing to 8 Track Ampex 300 deck 

       

             

Sparky, Kenny with promoters: Eddie Braddock and Jerry Phillips at a Leviathan concert in Little Rock, Arkansas 1974

        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUEMI

El Paso, Texas is unlike anywhere else in the United States. Just a short nine(9) hour drive from the metropolis of Dallas, El Paso is literally “in the middle of nowhere”. It is isolated from the rest of the country and sits smack on the Mexican border. It is surrounded by desert, cactus and little else. It’s musical history runs the gamut from Tex-Mex to Bobby Fuller of “I Fought The Law” fame. In the early 60’s El Paso was the breeding ground for many musical styles and Kenny Smith along with his buddy Bill Taylor Sparks were at the center of this scene. Their band the Sherwoods were contemporaries of Fuller’s Four but had more of a Surf sound. After recording for the Exeter label  Kenny and Bill decided to start their own label, Suemi(as in “If you don't like it, sue me". They honed their producing skills in their own studio by recording a variety of musical styles. Lou Pride was El Paso’s answer to James Brown and released 45’s on Suemi that now fetch big bucks on the UK Soul Scene. The one LP released on the label is the legendary “I Love You Gorgo” which featured a variety of local rock bands. After years of mastering their trade, opportunity came knocking via a contract with Hi Records in Memphis. Hi was famous for soul acts like Willie Mitchell, Ann Peebles and Al Green. Kenny and Bill were brought in to be the studios “white band” producers. Along with their experience, they brought a stable of musicians from their hometown. One band that appeared on the Gorgo LP(Lode Star) recorded an album for Hi under the name Swift Rain. The SUEMI boys were also responsible for the great “Leviathan” LP on the  subsidiary “Mach” label. Unfortunately not all of the bands Kenny & Bill worked with got to realize their work in a vinyl format. Luckily for us Smith & Sparks archived all the bands they recorded and now some 30 years later the world can hear these great recordings for the first time. I have worked closely with Kenny Smith on this project and I can assure you that the reason he kept these recordings all these years is because he felt that someday they would be appreciated.

Rich Haupt- Rockadelic Records

 

    THE RECORDING STUDIOS

WE USED A LOT OF STUDIOS OVER THE YEARS  AT SUEMI  RECORDS  AND I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT LIKE A LISTING.   THE MART BUILDING THIS WAS ONE OF THOSE YOU PAY YOUR 100 BUCKS AND WE PUT UP TWO MICS AND GIVE YOU A TAPE ON THE WAY OUT THE DOOR.  WE CUT FOUR SHERWOODS SONGS THERE BEFORE GOING TO BOBBY FULLERS EASTWOOD STUDIOS.  

THE SHERWOOD SINGLES WERE CUT AT BOBBY'S 4 TRACK STUDIO. HE HAD THE COOLEST ECHO CHAMBER.  IT CONSISTED OF A LONG  WOODEN BOX THE LENGTH OF HIS BACKYARD. IN THIS ENCLOSURE HE PUT A MIC IN ONE END AND A SPEAKER IN THE OTHER  HE FED THE TAPE SIGNAL TO THE SPEAKER AND PICKED UP THE SOUND AT THE MIC AND THIS PRODUCED A GREAT ECHO.  FULLER WAS KNOWN FOR HIS GREAT VOICE AND GOOD BANDS BUT HE WAS A FIRST RATE RECORDING ENGINEER. 

 SPARKY AND I INVESTED IN TWO 2 TRACK TAPE DECKS AND SET UP AT SPARKY'S FATHER'S BUSINESS OFFICE ON  YANDELL STREET AND EXPERIMENTED WITH A FEW TUNES .

AFTER YANDELL, WE SET UP A STUDIO IN MY BASEMENT AND RECORDED THE SHERWOODS; MILLIE CHRISTMAS; SONNY FARLOW; CURT WARREN; DAVID HAYES; RO WIDNER;CHUCK TELEHANEY; FRED BORNSTEIN; THE EMBERS AND EDDIE TAYLOR. WE STILL WERE USING TWO VIKING 2-TRACK TAPE DECKS AND AN ALTEC MIXER WITH A FENDER REVERB UNIT, REAL HIGH TECH STUFF.

I SET UP A TEMPORARY STUDIO IN ROY MOORE'S DEN (THE WILDONES DRUMMER) WHERE WE RECORDED THE WILDONES SOLO RELEASE " I WANT TO BE FRIENDLY AND SOMTHING IS WRONG".  FOR YOU AUDIO FILES, I BELIEVE I USED AN AMPEX PR-10 TAPE DECK FOR THE RECORDINGS. HC-101

AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME "THE FRANTIC FOUR WERE RECORDING AT KTSM WHERE THEY RECORDED THE FIRST VERSION OF "HEAT OF SUMMER.".  ROY MOORE ENGINEERED THIS SESSION.

SONNY FARLOW WAS CUTTING "MAGIC TOUCH ; ACAPULCO GOLD"AT KHEY RADIO.  DAVID CAFLAN ALSO CUT AT KHEY, THE COUNTRY STATION.  DAVE EVANS, A CLOSE FRIEND OF BOBBY FULLER WAS THE ENGINEER AT KHEY.  HE LATER MOVED TO LOS ANGELES TO BE A SUCCESSFUL ENGINEER.

I WAS FORTUNATE TO RECORD AT NORM PETTY'S STUDIOS IN CLOVIS, NEW MEXICO WITH "THE SOJOURNERS"  OUR FIRST RELEASE (SUN SUMMER DAYS AND LA DA DEE) WERE RECORDED IN HIS 4 TRACK STUDIO, THE SAME STUDIO WHERE "PEGGY SUE" BY BUDDY HOLLY WAS RECORDED. AS IT TURNED OUT NORNAN MADE ENOUGH MONEY FROM WRITING AN INSTRUMENTAL CALLED "WHEELS" TO BUILD A STUDIO. HE SHOWED ME A DRAWER WITH OVER A HUNDRED COVER 45'S OF" WHEELS" THAT HAD BEEN MADE. THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME I HAD REALIZED THE POWER OF INTERNATIONAL EXPOSURE FROM ONE HIT RECORD.  OUR SECOND RELEASE  "LIFE DEVELOPING SLIDE AND OUR WAY TO GO)" WAS CUT IN HIS 8 TRACK STUDIO IN DOWNTOWN CLOVIS.  THIS WAS AN OLD MOVIE THEATRE CONVERTED TO A STUDIO.  WE PUT THE DRUMS ( BERT PETERS) ON THE STAGE AND PLAYED ALL OF THE ELECTRIC STUFF IN THE CONTROL ROOM UP IN THE BALCONY WHERE THE OLD PROJECTION BOOTH WAS LOCATED. SIDE NOTE: NORM PLAYED ORGAN ON  " OUR WAY TO GO".

AFTER VIETNAM ,SPARKY  CAME BACK TO EL PASO AND HE  AND I FORMED TASMIT STUDIOS WHICH WAS OUR UPPER VALLEY 3 TRACK STUDIO.  WE BOUGHT AN OLD MOVIE SOUND TRACK AMPEX 300 TAPE DECK.  A LOT OF THE SUEMI STUFF WAS RECORDED THERE. "I LOVE YOU GORGO";LOU PRIDE; WAILING WALL; IOTA; SMOKE STACK BLUES; DOYLE YOUNG; GENE PORTER AND MORE.

SPARKY MOVED TO MEMPHIS AND I FOLLOWED  LATER.  THERE WE RECORDED AT THREE STUDIOS: SOUNDS OF MEMPHIS (PART OF THE SWIFT RAIN LP) . THE NEXT STUDIO WAS OUR MEMPHIS HOME (ROYAL STUDIOS).  THIS WAS THE 8 TRACK STUDIO OWNED BY HI RECORDS.  ALL OF THE AL GREEN STUFF WAS RECORDED IN THIS STUDIO.  WE CUT MEDICINE BAND SOME LOU PRIDE; EBONY WEBB; SOME OF THE IOTA STUFF; SOME OF THE SWIFT RAIN STUFF AND A LIST OF OTHERS.  A NEW CONTROL ROOM WAS BUILT IN THE OTHER END OF THE STUDIO WHICH WAS A MCI  16 -TRACK STUDIO WHERE WE CUT "KITE" ; LEVIATHAN AND A FEW MORE INCLUDING "THE LIFE CYCLE".

TODAY I HAVE  A STUDIO IN THE NORTHWEST WHERE "THE OOTSMAN; THE TOOTSMAN AND DERWIN RECORD.  IT IS THE NEW WAY OF RECORDING (A MAC COMPUTER AND PROTOOLS 4.01) NO BIG TAPE DECKS ONLY SOFTWARE AND CRASHING HARD DRIVES.  I LOVE THIS STUDIO BUT THERE IS NOTHING LIKE THE SMELL OF MAGNETIC TAPE IN THE MORNING.

KENNY SMITH