Karen Dalton

In My Own Time

Inertia

In his memoir ‘Chronicles’ Bob Dylan was quoted thus: ‘Karen Dalton was my favorite singer in the place (Greenwich Village in the early 60s). Karen had a voice like Billie Holliday and played the guitar like Jimmy Reed’.
Fred Neil said of Karen, ‘She’s been my favorite singer as well as a heavy influence on my own style since the early sixties. Her voice is so unique to describe it would take a poet’.

In the mid 70’s country/rock singer Jill Byrem adopted her hero’s surname as her own when she began recording as Lacy J. Dalton.

Nick Cave was quoted as saying ‘I’d just never heard a voice like it. She’s a blues singer to me, full of idiosyncrasies that you can’t repeat’.

Not much is actually known about this extraordinary singer whose haunting, peculiar voice will remind many of Billie Holiday.

What we do know is that her mother was a full Cherokee and that she made her way to New York from Oklahoma.

She never pursued management or a recording deal preferring to play in coffee houses for the small monetary rewards folkies received when fans contributed to the nights entertainment by ‘passing the basket’.

Karen was not a writer, but like Billie and Nina Simone, two singers she shared a tonal connection with, her ability to take a song she fancied and make it her own, be it folk, country, soul, blues, gospel or contemporary pop, made her a legend.

Though she was often referred to as the folk scene’s greatest talent by its established stars, the era had run its race by the time she recorded her first album in 1969.

‘It’s So Hard To Tell Who’s Going To Love You The Best’ was recorded in one night with no over-dubs, no second takes, after a Fred Neil session.

Karen had accompanied Neil who’d championed her for many years to the studio not suspecting she would be invited to record some of her favorites including songs by Tim Hardin, Huddie Ledbetter, Jelly Roll Morton and Neil, (‘A Little Bit Of Rain, ‘Blues On The Ceiling’).

Released by Capitol Records the album sold poorly but the uniqueness of this little known singer, only spoken about before, was now on record.

Someone who’d heard of Karen was Michael Lang, co-producer and talent booker of the Woodstock Festival who now resided in the town of Woodstock where he’d launched his own label Just Sunshine Records.

 One of Lang’s first signings was local band The Fabulous Rhinestones led by producer/musician Harvey Brooks.

An accomplished and versatile bass guitarist, Brooks had played on Bob Dylan’s ‘Highway 61 Revisited’, Miles Davis’ ‘Bitches Brew’ was in Michael Bloomfield’s  ‘Electric Flag’ and had backed Bloomfield and Al Kooper on ‘Super Sessions’.

He had also played bass on Karen’s debut and was delighted when Lang engaged him to produce her first ‘real’ album.  The two must have hit it off enough for Karen to agree for the first time to share her music with a world beyond her devoted fans in Greenwich Village. 

Recorded over a six month period n 1970/71 at Bearsville Studios, ‘In My Own Time’ now re-released in Australia on the Light In The Attic label distributed by Creative Vibes would turn out to be Karen’s only fully planned and realized studio album.

Brooks carefully chose experienced, flexible musicians to work with the strong willed reticent singer who came to the session in poor health.

Richard Bell and Ken Pearson from Janis Joplin’s Full Tilt Boogie Band provided piano and organ, guitarists included John Hall later to form Orleans and Amos Garrett whose solo was so special on Maria Muldaur’s ‘Midnight At The Oasis’.

Denny Siewell, an original member of Paul McCartney’s Wings was on drums, The Band’s producer John Simon played piano, Bill Keith added steel guitar, Bobby Notkoff, an early member of Crazy Horse when they were The Rockets and occasional Neil Young sideman was on violin.  Brooks played bass, while Karen accompanied herself on twelve string guitar and a 27 fret longnecked banjo made from a bedpost.  Horns were overdubbed in San Fransisco during post production.

Because she didn’t write, choosing the songs was of paramount importance. Considering her folk background the final selection was full of surprises. The moody opening track, Dino Valenti’s ‘Something On Your Mind’, provides an unforgettable listening experience.

‘Karen was truly unique’ said Brookes, ‘her voice had a range but she wasn’t afraid to reach beyond it, to let her voice crack’.

Notkoff’s plaintive violin is perfectly placed on this song and on the traditional folk tune ‘Katie Cruel’, playing in duet with Karen’s banjo. 

Said Nick Cave, ‘Katie Cruel’ had an enormous influence over a song of ours called ‘When I First Came To Town’ (from his 1992 album ‘Henry’s Dream’).

The Percy Sledge hit ‘When A Man Loves A Woman’, Marvin Gaye’s million seller ‘How Sweet It Is’ sit comfortably amongst George Jones’ ‘Take Me’, Paul Butterfield’s ‘In My Own Dream’ and Richard Manuel’s ‘In A Station’ recorded by The Band on ‘Music From Big Pink’. ‘Katie’s Been Gone’ recorded by Bob Dylan and The Band on ‘The Basement Tapes’ is believed to be inspired by Karen. The album’s closer ‘Are You Leaving For The Country’, written by her former singing partner Richard Tucker turned out to be an ironic choice. 

While the album received warm reviews and her Percy Sledge cover got some airplay, it was not a commercial success.

While another album of original material was discussed it never happened.  ‘’Her life took her in another direction’ rues Harvey, ‘she never came back to it’.

What became of Karen in the ensuing years is unknown, however Lacy J. Dalton who kept in touch, albeit from afar, encountered the woman who had changed her life living on New York streets, suffering from drug and alcohol addiction.

It is assumed Karen died about this time.

Thankfully this extraordinary singer will be spoken about and appreciated once again with the re-release of ‘In My Own Time’.

Billy Pinnell