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ROCK CITY
The group ROCK CITY
has never had an album released before.
This ROCK CITY recording, made in 1969-1970, has never seen the light of
day publicly until now. In fact, the
master tape was lost in a mis-marked box for these last thirty-three years! Yet, ROCK CITY are widely known as a very
influential musical force. How can this
be?
ROCK CITY was the
group which immediately preceeded, and contained members of, the famous group
BIG STAR, which is regarded in most musical critics’ circles as the biggest
influence on modern pop-rock music not named The Beatles! Two of the members of ROCK CITY, Christopher
Bell and Jody Stephens, were also members of BIG STAR. Three of the songs on this CD were also on
BIG STAR’s first album, #1 RECORD, in
later versions. The worldwide cult
following which has shadowed BIG STAR for now over thirty years has long been
aware of the early group names which were used by these players. And, in fact, this group under another of
those now-famous names, ICEWATER, also appears on this CD performing one song
(“Feel”). And the other two members of
ROCK CITY, Thomas Dean Eubanks and Terry Manning, are also well known in
Memphis and BIG STAR music folklore!
Also included on the ROCK CITY CD are two songs by Thomas Dean Eubanks
in solo mode, which were released as a ‘45’ single on the highly-collectible
PRIVILEGE label in 1975.
LUCKY SEVEN will find
a wide acceptance throughout the world for this long-lost music. Many of the fan clubs for BIG STAR are
located in England, Europe, and Japan, as well as the USA. England’s Rob Jovanovic, noted music writer,
has released a major book with Harper Collins/Fourth Estate (UK) and Chicago
Review Press (US), about the history of BIG STAR and those surrounding the
group (BIG STAR: The Short Life,
Painful Death, and Unexpected Resurrection of the Kings of Power Pop, 2004,
Chicago Review Press). It has taken a
while, but ROCK CITY will now finally be more than just a “famous” musical
name!
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