MEDICINE BAND

The nucleus of the Medicine Band was Hugh Prestwood and then Karen Berke. They started off in the late 60's as a folk duo calling themselves, Hugh &
Me. (Get it? You and me - - - Hugh and Me?) Anyway, one day in the early 70's Hugh and Me wandered into our 3-track recording studio in El Paso, Texas (The one Kenny and I built in his two-car garage.)
    Hugh was the songwriter of the two, and the best I had ever met. To date he is still one of the two "best" I ever came to work with. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. (Actually, I do that a lot!) Hugh was also the main lead-singer and acoustic guitar player. He was good at both, having a unique, well just a touch of James Taylor, but still it was Hugh Prestwood.
And his songs!? - - - enough said.
    Karen spun really cool harmonies around Hugh's vocals, played some percussion and sang some of the lead vocals. I saw her as "Star," for lack of a better word. If I could have two words, I'd say, "unlimited potential."
    Evolving with the times, "Hugh & Me" added to their company, guitar player John Payne bass player, Bruce Van Haselen and drummer Spanky Durham. Now we have the Medicine Band. Kenny sent their new, expanded-sound to me in Memphis. I got the permission of Hi Records to sign them and brought them to Memphis. There, Kenny and I and the Medicine Band hung out in Royal Recording Studio all night, every night for a week, maybe more. The results were 18, or so great recordings. (The best of which can be found on (Suemi Records # HC-110) - - - - available right here at the touch of a button.
Folk-Rock at it's best; communicated in the wide-open sound of the Southwest. You have not heard this before! "Louisiana Woman" was the first and only
release on the Hi Records subsidiary - - - Mach II label - - - distributed by London Records.
    A lot or what we in the music half of the music business call "magic" happened that week. The recording studio is a magic place where magic things
happen, like the Medicine Band.
- - - - - Side note:   In the nineties, quite separate form each other, Hugh Prestwood and now Karen Taylor-Good, each emerged in the songwriting world of
Nashville, Tennessee. Hugh going on to write # 1 hit songs for artists such as Collin Raye, Trisha Yearwood and many others. He was named two-time, BMI
"Songwriter of the Year." At the same time Karen was writing # 1 hit songs for Patty Loveless, Collin Raye and others. She was named two-time SESAC "Songwriter of the Year."
    They never co-wrote a song together. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Why is that?

POLL

    For those of you who think Karen and Hugh should write at least one song together, we have a little "yes" button for you to push.   ("Yes" button.)
For those of you who don't think Hugh and Karen should write a song together, you'll notice that there is no "no" button, because - - - - - - who cares what you think?
    Our motto was then and still is: "If you don't like it - - - Sue me!"

         Bill Taylor Sparks (Suemi Records)