Dairymaid's Lament (single)

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Steffek Records

Dairymaid's Lament is an unreleased 1967 single by The Red Crayola.

Background

Record producer Bob Steffek approached The Red Crayola for a single when he saw them perform “Mother” at a club in Houston in early 1967. Steffek brought the group to Walt Andrus's studio for their first ever recording session that February. The session produced a potential single: "Dairymaid's Lament" backed with an improvised "Free Piece". The single was likely intended for Steffek's short-lived label Steffek Records which released a handful of singles by other Houston groups in 1967.

However, when International Artists producer Lelan Rogers approached The Red Crayola in late March at the KNUZ Battle of the Bands, Steffek allowed the group to sign with Rogers to make an album instead (The Parable of Arable Land) and the single was never released.[1] The Red Crayola continued to record all of their subsequent material for International Artists at Walt Andrus's studio.

In 1968, a new recording of the song "Dairymaid's Lament" appeared on The Red Crayola's second album, God Bless the Red Krayola and All Who Sail With It. The album version features Tommy Smith on drums instead of the group's original drummer Frederick Barthelme. The album also contains a new group improvisation titled "Free Piece" like the single's intended B-side.

It is unknown if any material recorded for the single has been preserved. The songs were not included on The Red Crayola's 2004 Singles compilation. The first single released under the Red Crayola name came out over a decade after recording "Dairymaid's Lament": Wives in Orbit / Yik Yak in October 1978.

Track list

Personnel

Speculated personnel:

References