I just wrote a response to another blog so long that I decided I was going to paste it here. R. S. Crabb has an excellent blog (a few actually). Check out his
Blogger profile for links to his different projects.
Click here to read the specific (interesting and informative) blog entry that inspired my novellic response. Crabb points out the importance of Clark and Dillard to country rock and their relative obscurity despite their impact. I couldn't agree more. While I am a devoted fan of Gram Parsons and his projects, and The Byrds, I'm also a fan of Gene Clarke and Doug Dillard.
And my response:
Gram Parsons, The International Submarine Band, and the Flying Burrito Brothers manage to be somewhat obscure today. If it wasn't for Record Store Day, there are music fans who may have no idea who Gram and ISB are. I've had actual conversations in which "who's that?" and "never heard of 'em" were uttered by the other party. I get much less so with the Byrds, but it does still happen. I remain shocked that music fans can be unfamiliar with any of these artists/bands, but I encounter it often enough that I can only assume its prevalent.
Dillard and Clark are, unfortunately, not as well known as they should be. Mediocre chart success pushed them into obscurity; critics loved them though! It didn't matter that they Chris Hillman, Bernie Leadon, and Sneaky Pete were among the players on their albums and that Dillard and Clark themselves were signficant of their time, people just didn't get the music I guess. The band was important to country rock, as you said, and is by far too unknown, but the good news is that with the recent Sundazed reissues are introducing them to a new generations of fans. I had a discussion with another customer at my local record store about the band and he ended up pick in up a copy.
Trivia of sorts....
Clark became a Burrito after Dillon and Clark broke up. He left the Byrds because he was afraid of flying. Clarke has an impressive solo catalogue that everyone who likes country, country rock, Americana should check out. Hell, anyone who likes music should check out Clarke's solo catalogue. He's so darn talented. And died too young - he was diagnosed with throat cancer and literally drank himself to death. :(
Dillard is rumored to be the primary banjo player for the score/soundtrack of Bonnie & Clyde, with Flattery & Scruggs only song being Foggy Mountain Breakdown. Doug Dillard is nothing short of a genius with a banjo. Sadly, the man doesn't even have a Wikipedia page - how's that for obscure?