These days, it’s extremely easy for artists to record songs and distribute their music across social platforms for the world to hear. But in the days prior to digital recording, when all music releases were physical and whether you were discovered or not depended on having a copy of your work in a record shop and getting found by a curious shopper, it was enormously more difficult.
If you were a burgeoning artist in these early days, it was easy for your music to fall off the radar and get lost to time. This is what would have happened to Bay Area singer/songwriter Jeannie Piersol, if not for a new collection compiling her work getting released by High Moon Records. Piersol was a fixture in the San Francisco scene in the 60’s, playing clubs with her bands The Yellow Brick Road and Hair, before venturing out for a solo career. One of the excellent, previously hard-to-find singles she recorded was the psychedelic soul number “Gladys”.
Originally sent to Jefferson Airplane for them to record, when the band decided not to move forward with it, Piersol recorded it for herself. Released in 1968, the hypnotic number features backing vocals from Minnie Riperton and drums from Earth, Wind & Fire‘s Maurice White. Despite the excellent songwriting and arrangement, the song didn’t find an audience at the time. Piersol eventually walked away from the spotlight to live a normal life, but now with this collection of all her recorded work coming out on January 24th, hopefully Jeannie Piersol‘s legacy will be able to live on for years to come.
Listen to “Gladys” here!
The Indy Review 