You’ll recall – for it was only a couple of week ago – that I
recently introduced you to Chuck Holden’s weird and wonderful 45 The Cave,
issued by Joe Leahy’s Unique Records in 1956. Well, apparently that’s not the only
peculiar record about damp and dark crevasses.
Gary “Spider” Webb’s The Cave (Parts one and two) was
originally issued by the tiny Bamboo label in 1961. It’s just as nuts as the
Chuck Holden track, but this time with an added sense of suspense that gives it
a more Timothy-esque twist. Oh, hang on: that makes three crazy cave
records.
I’ve not been able to discover much about Webb, apart from
his being a former serviceman, stationed at the Naval Air Station Alameda in California
in 1959. He was also an impressive drummer, winning an all-Navy talent contest
and appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show. Webb’s parents owned an apartment
complex in Hollywood, called The Hollywood Argyle, and he would go on to play
on sessions for our old friend Gary Paxton. Paxton formed a studio band called The
Hollywood Argyles (presumably named after the apartment complex) for a one-off
single by his friend Kim Fowley, Alley-Oop. When that song became a hit –
eventually selling over a million copies in the US alone - Paxton formed a
touring band, and Webb became their drummer. He did not perform on the record.
Being a drummer kind of complicates things, because there’s
another Spider Webb who was also a drummer, and details about the two different
men have been conflated across the Internet.
We can be reasonably sure that the 45 issued on Donna
records in March 1960 and credited to Spider Webb, Drum City (again in two parts), was by our Gaz for
several reasons. First of all, the other Spider Webb, born Kenneth Ronald Rice,
was only 15 at the time of the recording. Also, a year before a band called Spider
Webb And The Insects had been signed to Donna’s parent company, Del-Fi. SW&TI
are notable because a former member was Tom Fogarty, brother of John who would
go on to become the rhythm guitarist for Creedence Clearwater Revival.
When Tom was still in the band SW&TI recorded an
unissued session for Del-Fi, but after the tracks recorded were rejected the
band broke up; Tom went on to find fame and fortune and a solo Spider recorded
his one-off single for Del-Fi’s sister label. That’s what you call research!
Two years after The Cave our Spider Webb
issued a further 45, this time credited to his previous band Spider Webb And
The Insects. Maggie/Big Noise From Winnetka was issued in 1963 by
the tiny Lugar label, but it does not appear to feature any CCR alumni.
The other Spider Webb, an American jazz drummer and session
musician, recorded with United Artists and Holland-Dozier-Holland in his early
teens, before joining forces with King Curtis around 1967. He would go on to record
for Fantasy in the 1970s, and was once married to the legendary Carol Kaye. As
of three years ago, our Gaz was still living in California.
Enjoy!
Download Part One HERE
Download Part Two HERE
Apologies if there's been a flurry of comments making this redundant but you forgot the legendary third drummer of the same name, the sticks-wielding power behind Bad News.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the continued rations of carefully-assayed rubbish.