Thursday 29 September 2011

Lotti Golden: 'real and deep and touching'

One of the more interesting singer-songwriter albums of the late 60s was Motor-Cycle by teenager Lotti Golden, which has been memorably described as 'abstract cutting-edge drugged-out blue-eyed soul jam-jazz pop-rock'. In her native New York this summer I bought a copy of the LP containing the press pack Atlantic sent out with promos in April 1969. It consists of a custom envelope, a 4-page biography by June Harris, a glossy photo, a photo-card and a poem. Here goes:



 

In September 1969 Atlantic issued a cool funk 45 by Golden, which came in a promotional picture sleeve, and isn't on the LP: 


According to an interview Golden gave to Look magazine, dated September 9th 1969, she was working on a follow-up album to be entitled Blood Ring. That never happened, sadly, and her second, lesser and last album eventually crept out on GRT Records in November 1970. You can read the full article here:
http://thedirtymindofmistermark.blogspot.com/2010/11/lotti-golden.html

29 comments:

  1. Are the 7" tracks alternative takes? I don't have my copy here but aren't those two tracks on the LP? Thanks for the great resource.

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  2. Stunning! It's a coup that you chanced upon this ephemera--now certainly valuable re: Lotti Golden and her 1969 "Motor-Cyle" LP, which many have likened to Kerouac, Jim Carroll, The Velvet Underground and others. "Motor-Cycle" is truly inspired art--some say genius.Thanks for posting.

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  3. Great find on Lotti Golden, priceless! Check out: http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/lotti+golden

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  4. Wow! This is great. Lotti Golden's "Motor-Cycle" is one of best albums of the classic rock era. Although signed by Atlantic records moguls Jerry Wexler and Ahmet Ertegun, the label somehow dropped the ball. Though not promoted, "Motor-Cycle" has remained a durable cult underground item for over 40 years. Cutting edge and avant-garde, many maintain the LP was radical even for the late 60's! Check out Lotti with all of the uber glamorous sixties women (Lotti is the first color photo in series) @ http://frombeatnikstostickyfingers.tumblr.com/

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  5. Thanks for posting this fascinating info on Lotti Golden. I'm a fan of her incredible (really is) "Motor-Cycle" album. Many have drawn similarities to Amy Winehouse, however Golden never experienced that kind of fame. Vocally, I do hear a connection though. "Motor-Cycle" is a rock LP with fused with jazz and soul. Golden's style is (if I must compare) a mix of Laura Nyro, Janis Joplin and a bit of the Motown and 60's girl group sound. That said, Golden is unique and it's her lyrics that put "Motor-Cycle" in its own category--amazing.

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  6. This post is awesome. Love Lotti Golden, great artist of the late 60's. "Motor-Cycle" is very much like a musical autobiography or diary. The album takes you inside the 60's counterculture. You've got to hear it to believe it. Outrageous!

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  7. Wow! This is great stuff! Lotti Golden's "Motor-Cycle" is a groundbreaking work of art. Thanks for this!

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  8. Fabulous Find! Golden's "Motor-Cycle" LP was never really promoted by Atlantic. However, the album has remained a durable cult item for 40 years, before and during the digital age. It's a wonderful album--a real work of art. I enjoyed looking at the material you presented here.

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  9. "Motor-Cycle" is the bomb-the iconic late '60's LP. Great post.

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  10. I've been following all of your posts since I saw this wonderful piece on Lotti Golden. Thanks for making sure great music isn't lost to history. Peace.

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  11. Great to see this here. "Motor-Cycle" is a groundbreaking album.

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  12. I found your post via a Google search. I've been a fan of Ms. Golden's since my older siblings played her music years ago. I'm delighted to see interest Ms. Golden's music persists it's a hot topic on blogs. Truly, "Motor-Cycle" is a work of art. Shame it hasn't received more "official" honors, because Golden surely deserves recognition for her contribution to rock music.

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  13. I'm posting an answer to the first poster (anonymous). The songs on the 7" single "Sock It To Me Baby/It's Your Thing" backed by "Annabelle With Bells" (B-side) do not appear on Golden's LP.

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  14. "Motor-Cycle" is a unique album in rock history. Tiny Mix Tapes describes Golden's work as: "it’s as if The Velvet Underground recorded for Motown. In short: debauchery with a beat." You can find the entire review of "Motor-Cycle" @ http://www.tinymixtapes.com/delorean/lotti-golden-motor-cycle

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  15. Was searching Lotti Golden and found your post. I believe that press release is unique in that it has never been on the Internet until now. Great work.

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  16. This is a find! Searching for info on Lotti Golden, I found your site. I've never seen the close-up photo; it is beautiful. I enjoyed reading this and I'm checking out some other artists on your website.

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  17. I came across this while searching for info on Lotti Golden. I really enjoyed the documents. I'd like to commend your posts on other iconic artists as well.

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  18. Wow this is good! The Atlantic Records press release is amazing! I'm going to try to read the lyrics with a magnifying glass ha ha! Golden's "Motor-Cycle" is a rare late 60's rock record with a New York City sensibility--witty, urbane, and dark. Lotti Golden, Laura Nyro and the Velvet Underground are cool NYC artists.

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  19. Love love Lotti Golden's LP "Motor-Cycle." Believe it or not, it was radical even for the late '60's. Very Beat Generation-ish lyrics. Musical arrangements are eclectic. A true concept LP. Brilliant is not overstating Golden's ability. A wunderkind, if you like, 'cause Golden was only 19 years old when this was released.

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  20. Just found this one. great work on posting.

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  21. Very cool. Just saw amazing documentary film "Rodriguez"about an unsung but genius singer- songwriter of Golden's era. Similarities,

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  22. Yes, there are parallels between Lotti Golden and Rodriquez. Both of their debuts LPs, I believe, were released in 1969, which was a seminal year in rock. As we move more into the 70's the kind of music that these two talented artists created was commercialized. These two LPs, Golden's "Motor-Cycle" and Rodriquez's "Cold Facts" are about as authentic as music gets. The downside is that sometimes the record companies don't promote these albums. Rodriguez, fortunately, has not been lost to history because of his serendipitous success in South Africa. Golden's work has minimally resurfaced on the Internet and fans continue to look for "Motor-Cycle" to be reissued on CD. Fascinating stuff.

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  23. Killer LP, "Motor-Cycle," is. Released during a seminal time in rock music--Velvet Underground & Nico (1967), Sgt. Pepper's Lonely..."(1967) The Doors (1967), Jimi Henrdrix/Electric Ladyland (1968), The Who/Tommy (1969)...you get the idea. From 1965-9 rock music was experimental, real--nothing like it had come before. By the early 1970's rock was becoming commercialized pablum. Golden's music may not be as well known as the others, but it certainly stands up to the best of seminal rock. Love this LP!

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  24. Very cool material on Ms. Golden. Big fan of her work. Motor-Cycle=top notch rock LP of any era.

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  25. Very nice on the ephemera. Collectable Golden. The album (Motor-Cycle) is an anomaly of sorts. Urban rock with sleek, smart lyrics. As others have noted, Atlantic didn't promote Golden, instead focusing on Dusty Springfield whose record was also released in 1969. A lot of great albums that year.

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  26. She is absolutely great! She should have had a bigger career than she did. Her albums are overlooked.

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  27. I am the Motorcycle Michael Lotti Golden wrote about. She stole my ideas, philosophy and lyrics and promised she would give me the credit I deserved for the two songs I co-wrote for her. We were an Item BFGF when I cam back from living in Spain in early '68. When I came back and continued my studies of acting at the Henry Street Playhouse. She nor I ever owned a Motorcycle. She was a cute girl and we had our moments. But after I saw that she was lying about, giving me writing credits. I wrote a letter to Bob Crewe. That was when she and Crewe took off the word Michael from the title of her drug induced album. She was in a band that played the Cheetah ( a very large indoor dance and music club) When I met one of her band mate's he told me she stole his Martin Guitar. Then I realized what a favor she did for me when I decided to end our relationship. She was and is a very vain woman. Her failure to reach the top was because of her "Bad" KARMA. She was very jealous of Linda Rondstadt when she was with the Stone Poneys. Her debut song "Different Drum" shot Linda to the top, She kept on going. As for Lotti well, if not for Motorcycle she did nothing on her own. EOM

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  28. Thanks for posting this. It's one of my all-time favorite albums, especially if you limit the choices to obscure ones. Wild, weird, and wonderful. And still unavailable on CD, half a century later.

    The single "Sock It To Me Baby/It's Your Thing"/"Annabelle With Bells" was re-released by another label in 2016. "Annabelle" was recorded during the recording sessions for "Motor-Cycle" but left off the album due to length considerations. Atlantic did not release a single from the album - in fact, the label seems to have completely lost interest in it - but released this single soon after the album. I picked up a copy on eBay a few years ago. It's excellent, should have been on the record. Both bombed at the time. The album was a favorite among some artistic hipsters I knew from the East Village, her neighborhood, who brought it to my attention. We all thought it was the greatest. I still do.

    She went on to record another album for GRT. It wasn't as good, the label folded, end of that chapter of her life. There are photos of her hanging and jamming with Johnny Winter, also with The McCoys and Brian Auger. She went into music journalism for a while. She then went into music production. Scored big hits with Taylor Dayne and Eternal. But she never was able to follow up with the promise of this record.

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