Other than the previously mentioned output, Major Wiley's voice can also be found on one compilation album and on a live recording by Fred Neil. While performing his song 'Linin' Track' at The Bitter End, Fred Neil invites Wiley from the crowd ('Major, you ready?') to join him on stage. 'Aww c'mon... I know he's out there', goads Fred for a partner in the call-and-response portion of the song. Their performance together is awkward but fun, and one of the few remaining evidence that Wiley was a part of the Village folk movement.
Fred Neil began his career in the music industry as a songwriter where he penned songs for friends like Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly. He even tried to perform some rockabilly tunes himself. He recorded six singles but had no chart success. By the early sixties, he had moved to Greenwich, became proficient on a twelve-string guitar and grew to be one of the leading figures of the folk movement there. He's especially well-regarded for often acting as a mentor to young singers and songwriters who would flock there. Although he had connections in the industry, he did not record an album until 1964. It seems that he would not have been pulled into the recording studio if it were not for his recent collaborator Vince Martin.
Vince Martin had a career path similar to Fred's. Not a songwriter, Vince was a gifted tenor whose first single, 'Cindy, Oh Cindy' with The Tarriers, became a Top Ten hit. The Tarriers, who provided background harmonies on the recording, eventually dropped as Vince's backing band despite the success. He continued to record singles with much less success. Vince also found his way to the Village in the early sixties where he was introduced to Fred. The two hit it off smoothly and, very soon after, began performing together.
Their success led them to the recording studio where they recorded Tear Down the Walls. The album comprised of several covers and a handful of original songs. They alternated taking the vocal leads while the other harmonizing. Vince accompanied Fred's twelve-string, as well, and the recording was rounded off with the harmonica of a young John Sebastian and Felix Papallardi on the guitarrón. The level of importance associated to this album varies from account to account, but it is generally regarded as an important step in the development of folk rock. David Crosby (of The Byrds) and Bob Dylan, both mentored by Fred Neil, would take this album's cue as they began to electrify folk and introduce folk chord progressions into the rock 'n' roll lexicon. The album is also highly regarded because of its status as Fred Neil's first album. Unfortunately, Vince gets slighted for his role in getting Fred to record again.
Here is the discography surrounding Vince Martin & Fred Neil's debut album:
Cindy, Oh Cindy (1956 single by Vince Martin & the Tarriers)
You Ain't Treatin' Me Right (1957 single by Fred Neil)
Katie-O (1957 single by Vince Martin)
Wait for Me (1957 single by Vince Martin)
Let the Midnight Special (1957 single by Vince Martin)
Goodbye My Love (1957 single by Vince Martin)
Heartbreak Bound (1958 single by Fred Neil)
Take Me Back Again (1958 single by Fred Neil)
Slipping Around (1958 single by Fred Neil)
Secret, Secret (1958 single by Fred Neil)
Keep A-Movin' (1958 single by Vince Martin)
Four Chaplains (1959 single by Fred Neil)
Goodnight Irene (1959 single by Vince Martin)
Strawberry Fair (1959 single by Vince Martin)
Long Black Veil (1963 single by Fred Neil & the Nashville Street Singers)
Hootenanny Live at the Bitter End (1963 live compilation featuring Fred Neil)
Tear Down the Walls
Tear Down the Walls (1964 single)
"Cindy, Oh Cindy" by Vince Martin & the Tarriers
"You Ain't Treatin' Me Right" by Fred Neil
"I Know You Rider", "Weary Blues", and "Wild Child in a World of Trouble" by Vince Martin & Fred Neil
If you have any ideas for where the tour should go next, please give a shout. I'm open to whatever as long as the artists are historically related in some way and go in an artist's chronological order.
Pass the Headphones!!
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