Born In The Garage Vol.3 Sonny Flaharty Special!

 

  One of the aims of Born In The Garage has always been to rescue artists who, despite building remarkable careers, never received the recognition they deserved beyond their local scenes. Sonny Flaharty is one of those forgotten figures.

  Born in Dayton, Ohio, Flaharty began his career during the fifties with a direct, youthful brand of rock 'n' roll, leaving behind recordings such as "My Baby's Casual" and "Heartbreak Station." But to judge him solely by those early singles would be to miss the bigger picture. Over the course of more than a decade, he worked as a singer, songwriter, producer, arranger and occasional talent scout, leaving his mark on a remarkable variety of recordings that today form a fascinating musical world of their own.

  Throughout the sixties, Flaharty evolved alongside groups such as The Mark V and The Young Americans, moving from rock 'n' roll and teen pop towards garage, sunshine pop, psychedelia and sophisticated studio pop. Songs like "Hey Conductor" and "You Bring These Tears To Me" reveal a songwriter with an instinctive gift for memorable melodies and beautifully crafted vocal arrangements.

  His restless creativity also led him behind the scenes. Flaharty wrote and produced for a number of other artists, with his collaborations with The Unbelievable Chuck Gregg standing among the most intriguing. These wonderfully eccentric recordings remained unreleased for years before eventually surfacing through Counterpart Records. Likewise, compositions such as "Get Right With Your Man," recorded by Soul, Inc., demonstrate the breadth of his musical interests during this period.

  The final part of this session reveals a musician eager to explore new directions. Projects such as The Sonny Flaharty Application and The Grey Imprint show Flaharty keeping pace with the rapid musical changes of the late sixties and early seventies, embracing psychedelic influences, more ambitious arrangements and increasingly sophisticated production techniques.

  Spanning the late fifties to the early seventies, this session is not intended as a definitive anthology, but rather as an invitation to discover one of the musicians who helped shape the hidden history of American rock from the industry's outer fringes.

  A restless, versatile and consistently underrated artist whose work deserves far more than a footnote.

Trashlist:
01. Sonny Flaharty & the Mark V – Hey Conductor (Philips, 1967)
02. The Sonny Flaharty Application – Odyssey (Counterpart Records, 1969)
03. The Sonny Flaharty Application – The Marble Orchard (Philips, 1968)
04. Sonny Flaharty – My Baby's Casual (Spangle, 1958)
05. Sonny Flaharty – Heartbreak Station (Epic, 1960)
06. Sonny Flaharty – Teenage Warchant (Huron, 1961)
07. Sonny Flaharty – Mystery Of Love (Huron, 1961)
08. Sonny Flaharty And His Young American's – Coconut Stomp (Paq Records, 1963)
09. Sonny Flaharty And His Young Americans – Hurricane (Falcon Record Co., 1963)
10. Sonny Flaharty And His Young Americans – Whole Lotta Shakin' (Alco Records, 1964)
11. Sonny Flaharty And His Young Americans – Please Be Real (Alco Records, 1964)
12. The Unbelievable Chuck Gregg – Insane (rec. 1963) (Counterpart Records, 1969). Written and produced by Sonny Flaharty. Recorded 1963 at Counter Part records in Cincinnati, Ohio. Back ground vocals performed by Sonny Flaharty and The Young Americans
13. Unbelievable Chuck Gregg – Walkin' At Midnight(Counterpart Records, 1972). Written by Sonny Flaharty. Recorded in 1967. Sonny Flaharty & The Young Americans did the back vocals & instruments.
14. The Unbelievable Chuck Gregg – Ebony Eyeballs (Counterpart Records, 1972). Recorded in 1967. Sonny Flaharty & The Young Americans did the back vocals & instruments.
15. The Unbelievable Chuck Gregg – Insane (Alternate Version). Recorded 1967 at Counter Part records in Cincnnati, Ohio. Back ground vocals performed by Sonny Flaharty and The Young Americans.
16. Marque V – When I Close My Eyes (Warner Bros. Records, 1967)
17. Marque V – Can't Buy My Soul (Warner Bros. Records, 1967)
18. Soul, Inc. – Get Right With Your Man (Rondo, 1968). Written by Sonny Flaharty
19. The Sonny Flaharty Application – Husbands Of Young Wives (Counterpart Records, 1969)
20. Sonny Flaharty & The Grey Imprint – Hold On To It Mother!!! (Counterpart Records, 1972)
21. Sonny Flaharty & the Mark V – You Bring These Tears To Me (Philips, 1967)
22. The League – Hey Conductor (Columbia Stateside, 1967). Written by Sonny Flaharty

A Teenage Sound Disaster by Mr. Fuzzley