Post by LS on Jul 2, 2006 17:05:50 GMT -5
Pat Long and Blue Rose Café
[/center]Where The Highway Meets The Sky
[/center]One day last fall, a CD was quite literally dropped in my lap by a friend who thought it would be something of great interest to me. The title of the CD was “A Reunion and Tribute to Pat Long” by a band called Blue Rose Café. I’d never previously heard of either Pat Long or Blue Rose Café, outside of one of the band’s members, namely Kevin Welch. As far as I’m concerned, Kevin’s never sung a song, released an album, or has ever been involved in other projects I didn’t like, so the thought never entered my mind that this one wouldn’t be on par. I was familiar with (and impressed by) the titles of 4 of the disc’s songs, Kinky Friedman’s “The Silver Eagle Express,” Willis Alan Ramsey’s “The Ballad Of Spider John” and “Painted Lady,” and John Hiatt’s “Train To Birmingham.” Given that, when I popped in the disc, none of it prepared me for what I was about to hear. As the first song started, it wasn’t Kevin’s vocals that I heard, but some amazing vocals by another singer. He was singing a captivating song about an outlaw, accompanied by some first-rate musicians, all of which was backed by some incredible harmony. The rest of the CD followed suit, a mix of timeless, up-tempo two-steppers and soulfully bluesy ballads that combined elements of country, blues, folk, bluegrass, rock and even a little jazz, with Kevin and ‘that other’ singer alternating on lead vocals. I found myself completely hooked on the album, listening to it time and again for weeks on end. This was one of those real true gems that slips out there unnoticed and is typically and unfairly doomed to obscurity. Knowing nothing about the CD except what I heard listening to it, not only was it too good not to mention, but also there was something very different about it. And so I decided it absolutely had to be slipped in among the stack of CDs to be reviewed.
When I started poking around doing some background research on the CD, I found out Blue Rose Café was a band out of Oklahoma that was around from ‘75-‘76 before disbanding, and was fronted by a singer/songwriter named Pat Long, who tragically passed away in 2003 at age 49. The reunion/tribute project was done to raise money for his two daughters, Cassie and Olivia, to whom the proceeds of the project go.
Along the way I’d also gotten to hear a brilliant, young Pat Long singing a few of his own songs, on the Blue Rose Family website. At that point, any other information beyond that was scant. I wrote the review of the album for TCB’s website and shortly after the review was posted, I started hearing from people associated with the project, thanking me for the mention. A few e-mails back and forth, and more information came to light. That ‘other singer’ was John Arnold, who fronts his own band, and who was invited to step in to share some of the lead vocals that were once Pat’s. The killer guitarist was Bob French, another long-time Oklahoma based musician who was invited to fill the lead electric guitar spot that was once Kevin’s (who no longer even owns an electric guitar). After a few more e-mails, the story of Pat Long and Blue Rose Café was unfolding and my instincts told me there was a story there waiting and needing to be told. It’s the story of the mythical/magical point in time of a band called Blue Rose Café, that despite it’s relatively brief reign became one of the most influential bands in Oklahoma. It’s also the tragic story of an immensely talented singer/songwriter, who despite his talent, wound up one of the unlucky ones and became another Music Row casualty.
Gary Johnson said during a conversation, “Although it is just a little story, about a bunch of musicians no one really knows about, I feel the story resonates. There are so many elements that are timeless, iconographic. In many ways it may be a typical story. Maybe that’s what I like about it.” Maybe it’s because there are so many- too many- similar stories, and that’s what makes telling this one so important. So, what follows is the bittersweet story of Pat Long and a little Oklahoma outfit called Blue Rose Café, told through the laughter, tears and many fond memories of Pat’s family and friends.
©AnnMarie Harrington, March, 2005
**Excerpt from article that appeared in the debut issue of Take Country Back quarterly magazine, Vol. 1 Issue 1, Spring 2005. Due to the length of the article, thanks to Jack Long, it can be read in pdf format in it's entirety on the Blue Rose Family Site:
www.bluerosefamily.com/index.htm