''Into the Purple Valley'' is the second studio
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
by
roots rock
Roots rock is a genre of rock music that looks back to rock's origins in contemporary folk music, folk, blues, and country music. First emerging in the late 1960s, it is seen as a response to the perceived excesses of the then dominant psychedel ...
musician
Ry Cooder
Ryland Peter Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, and h ...
, released in 1972.
The album's front cover is listed at number 12 on ''Rolling Stones 100 Greatest Album Covers.
It shows Cooder and his then wife, Susan Titelman, in a
Buick
Buick () is a division (business), division of the Automotive industry in the United States, American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American automobil ...
convertible at the
Warner Bros. film lot in
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...
.
Critical reception
''
Record Collector
''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine focussing on rare and collectable records, and the bands who recorded them. It was founded in September 1979 and distributes worldwide. It is promoted as "the world’s leading authority o ...
'' wrote that the album "reached deep into tradition, unearthing neglected treasures from America’s past and reshaping them for the post-Woodstock generation."
Track listing
Side One
#"How Can You Keep On Moving (Unless You Migrate Too)" (
Agnes "Sis" Cunningham) – 2:25
#"Billy the Kid" (Traditional; arranged by Ry Cooder) – 3:45
#"
Money Honey" (
Jesse Stone) – 3:28
#"
FDR in Trinidad" (Fitz McLean) – 3:01
#"Teardrops Will Fall" (Gerry "Dickey Doo" Granahan, Marion Smith) – 3:03
#"
Denomination Blues" (
George Washington Phillips) – 3:58
Side Two
#"
On a Monday
"I Got Stripes" is a song recorded by Johnny Cash
John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, ...
" (
Lead Belly
Huddie William Ledbetter ( ; January 1888 or 1889 – December 6, 1949), better known by the stage name Lead Belly, was an American folk music, folk and blues singer notable for his strong vocals, virtuosity on the twelve-string guitar, and the ...
) – 2:52
#"
Hey Porter" (
Johnny Cash
John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...
) – 4:34
#"Great Dream from Heaven" (instrumental) (
Joseph Spence) – 1:53
#"Taxes on the Farmer Feeds Us All" (Traditional; arranged by Ry Cooder) – 3:52
#"
Vigilante Man" (
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer, songwriter, and composer widely considered to be one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American Left, A ...
) – 4:15
(Note: "Taxes on the Farmer Feeds Us All" was actually composed by
Fiddlin' John Carson
"Fiddlin'" John Carson (March 23, 1868 – December 11, 1949) was an American musician and singer who is widely considered to be one of the early pioneers of country music.
Early life
Carson was born near McCaysville in Fannin County, Georgia. ...
.)
Personnel
*Ry Cooder – guitars, mandolin, vocals
*
Van Dyke Parks
Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, arranger, record producer, singer, and former Warner Bros. Records executive whose work encompasses orchestral pop, elaborate recording experiments, Ame ...
– keyboards
*
Gloria Jones
Gloria Richetta Jones (born October 19, 1945) is an American singer and songwriter who first found success in the United Kingdom, being recognized there as "The Queen of Northern Soul". She recorded the 1965 hit song "Tainted Love" and has wo ...
– vocals
*
Claudia Lennear
Claudia Lennear (born Claudia Joy Offley; 1946) is an American soul singer and educator. Lennear began her performing with the Superbs before becoming an Ikette in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. She was also a background vocalist for various act ...
– vocals
*
George Bohanon
George Roland Bohanon Jr. (August 7, 1937 – November 8, 2024) was an American jazz trombonist and session musician from Detroit, Michigan.
Biography
In the early 1960s, he participated in Detroit's Workshop Jazz ensemble, with Johnny Griffith, ...
– horns
*
Jim Keltner
James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America". Howard Sounes. ''Do ...
– drums
*John Craviotto – drums
*Joe Lane Davis – horns
*
Jim Dickinson – piano
*
Chris Ethridge – bass
*
Milt Holland
Milton Holland (born Milton Olshansky; February 7, 1917 – November 4, 2005) was an American drummer, percussionist, ethnomusicologist and writer in the Los Angeles music scene. He pioneered the use of African, South American, and Indian perc ...
– percussion
*
Jerry Jumonville – saxophone
*
Fritz Richmond – washtub bass
*Donna Washburn – vocals
*
Donna Weiss – vocals
*Ike Williams – horns
;Technical
*Mike Salisbury – cover design
*Marty Evans – cover photography
Billboard charts
References
1972 albums
Ry Cooder albums
Albums produced by Lenny Waronker
Albums produced by Jim Dickinson
Reprise Records albums
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