How does someone with that face, that voice, those songs, those arrangements, those playing chops, those home recording skills somehow get shunted aside by the music industry? It boggles the imagination.
Crappy record label/deal who didn't value him as an artist! He should've been with Asylum, but I think also wasn't comfortable with "selling himself." At least I gather this from more recent interviews. RIP
as brilliant as it was, I think "that face" might face been the problem. he had a "normcore" image that was totally out of step with the times, my man looks like an IT consultant... and maybe people in the 70's weren't ready for lo-fi recording savants. he was truly ahead of his time.
The fact that Emmitt wasn't. swept up by another label when Dunhill died is a searing indictment of the music industry. He was easily one of the very greatest singer/songwriter/arrangers of the late 60's/early 70's. He had more than enough talent for five or six people COMBINED.
I can think of many singer/songwriters that have "made it" that have no right to come close to Emmit. He will always be a stunning genius and a very gifted musician.
Emitt Rhodes will never truly die. His music and story must be shared and told for generations to come. He’s already left an eternal and indelible mark on pop songcraft. The man is gone, but the songs remain in our hearts and minds forever
Emitt is one of my top 3 favorite musicians, alongside Jim Sullivan and Midnight Oil. Learning about his passing broke my heart, especially since I didn't learn about it until just recently. I hope I can share his music with as many people as I can, his stuff is very important to me!
Thank you for this...Emitt Rhodes remains one of my unsung pop heroes...As I am a recently two year survivor,I just felt like singing this morning...Another sunrise afforded to me...Here goes something.
I have been a huge fan of Emitt Rhodes for many years. I was so sorry to learn of his passing in July 2020. I was so happy to hear that he was back in the studio and working on a new album. He was a major talent and I am glad to say that I am so glad to have heard his music and owned several of his albums. Also, I am so glad that he was back in the studio and recording again. He will be missed by many. 💔
god i love him so fucking much, god rest his soul poor man went through so much, got used and chewed up by the industry and left to rot no wonder he was so jaded in his older years :(
Shocked to hear that Emitt passed away earlier this week....Have been a great fan since he started recording...very talented songwriter and performer...such a sad loss...70years old is too young..R.I.P
RIP Emitt. You wowed me when I heard the first solo album as I became aware of your many talents from such a young age. I grew up in Highland, CA two years behind you and it's sad to hear you were treated so poorly by people that couldn't hold a candle to your musical genius. We were robbed.
I just learned Emitt died. Very sad. First heard his music in 1970. Loved every song. He makes me cry. Very sad. But his music still moves me! Thank you Emitt!!!
THANKS FOR POSTING !! Proud to be viewer #1. Mind blown over footage!! Original tracks with Live vocals+. Been playing "Really Wanted You" on guitar more than half my life, and stumbled on this. Like a gift from heaven. Here's wishing Emitt found Peace.
North East of England in 1970. Friend's, rather attractive, older sister ran a record shop, and we were browsing. Tried to impress her by buying as obscure an album as I could find, which happened to be Emmitt's debut on Dunhill Records. I had no idea who he was, or what his music was like Sometimes, life throws you pearls.
Em had shitty management and signed a deal with them that gave them the publishing royalties. A first time signed mistake that many artists did in those days. He was on 3 different record labels with his last being Dunhill. They were high on Three Dog Night at the time. Em did score a high chart song in England, She's Such A Beauty, where he traveled to promote the record. One of em's problems was that being DYI he couldn't deliver records in a timely fashion. A record companies view is that if you have a hit record you must follow its fairly quickly to take advantage of the momentum. If that momentum is lost so too is the record companies interest.
@@grooviefan We disagree. I'm a huge fan of Emitt... Emit was a huge crazy. I "had meet him..." a couple of times. I've also Read and Listened to his interviews.
Sad to call someone crazy. We are all a little crazy. Love ER. He made great music. And made me happy to hear it. Thank you ER If you came from heaven…
@@josephesposito6473 "Crazy" is certainly a Relative term. But I've heard a few interviews with him that were, well, kinda crazy, somewhat similar to Brian Wilson. So much so that he scared the gal who was interviewing him. I still love his music.
I rank Emitt Rhodes as the equal of Paul McCartney. I'm a huge fan of both artists. I don't think Rhodes exceeds the composer of such classic masterpieces as "Yesterday" & "Michelle". McCartney is a genuine phenomenon, no mistake. However, in my judgment, as a solo artist (or as the leader of his post-Beatles bands), McCartney has long been too willing to release lower-quality material alongside his gems. As far as I can tell, Rhodes was simply unwilling to do that, regardless of the personal cost to himself of refusing to produce schlock on demand. Dunhill's decision to sue their best, most talented, & most consistently creative artist--who was struggling to turn out, single-handedly, one gem after another--should go down as one of the most deplorable acts in the history of the entertainment industry. The ABC/Dunhill suits responsible for that decision should be publicly named & shamed into perpetuity.
A true story involving his nutty runaway wife and how he got punched by the carnival guy whole stole his wife. he never should've gone after her1 of course there are 2 sides to every story-i'm going only what I've read and heard.
I don't know that Emitt Rhodes is clearly more talented than the composer of such classics as "Yesterday" & "Michelle", but I don't doubt that Rhodes was McCartney's equal. I'm a huge fan of both artists. In my judgment, McCartney has long been too willing to release lower-quality material alongside his gems. As far as I can tell, Rhodes was unwilling to do that.
@@nathansalmon8192 Yesterday and Michelle were written by the real Paul. Billy Shears (Paul #2) cane in on Sgt Peppers 1967 = hence the huge sound. Change.
@@nathansalmon8192 I taught 3 Beatles for a community college and each time I did, there was so many holes in their story that I felt I was teaching a half truth. In the 3rd class a student asked me about the Paul conspiracy, I told him that I hadn't studied it. I said: if it did happen this new guy came in and took over the band and why would the other 3 allow that? I researched it for 2 years and all the stars have aligned. = all my questions have been answered.
The three main reasons “he wasn’t as successful as he might have been”: 1. Jack of all, master of only some. One of his few live performances was in NYC’s Philharmonic hall (Lincoln center, also 1971). Although all his loyal NY fans attended it was still almost half empty and his performance was very weak because he couldn’t even come close to replicating his sound; 2. His lyrics were consistently weak; 3. His signature style was heavily borrowed from another artist who did it better, much better… and competing in the same time frame. That artist once had a great band, unfortunately Emitt never did.
i think ER had about as good a songwriting "batting average" as average Paul "post-Beatles" (whose lyrics truly DID suck). Face it, the Music business is, and was, *hard*...ask Badfinger
@@bellinghammond agree about the lyrics between the two but pre-wings Paul did put out two LPs chock full of good songs albeit not hits, while ER wasn’t able to really do this. Truthfully his only hit was Listen (merry go round) which wasn’t a big seller and was a total rip off of the style and feel of the tune Sgt. Pepper.
@@MAD4MALAGATANI Paul's best were Beatle holdovers for the most part...However....I think RAM is amazing...after that? zzzzzzzzz. ER had "Come Ride", Till The Day After, "You're a Very Lovely Woman" (a minor hit and an amazing song!), "With My Face on the Floor", "Somebody Made for Me", "Long Time No See", "Fresh as a Daisy", "Time Will Show The Wiser", "Live" (the 'hit'), "Listen Listen" (which wasn't the MGR 'hit'). ER was as good or better than many of his contemporaries in an age when "Pop-ART" was attempted and even managed to find its way onto the radio...It all seems like a brief dream now
Paul is a major pop star who has the prestige of being a member of the Beatles. On the other hand, Emmit had been an cult hero of Amarican indie pop throughout his career. He might have a similar fate as Big Star.
@@HarryTakagi did you know Emit began his career in the merry-go-round which was a one hit wonder band. When he went solo around 1970 there was no such thing as Indy.
