{"id":26995,"date":"2024-04-17T05:30:24","date_gmt":"2024-04-17T09:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=26995"},"modified":"2024-04-18T15:44:36","modified_gmt":"2024-04-18T19:44:36","slug":"twilley-dont-stop-part-2-of-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/17\/twilley-dont-stop-part-2-of-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Twilley Don’t Stop (Part 2 of 3)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Continued from Part One<\/a>…<\/i><\/p>\n

\"\"Looking for the Magic<\/b>
\nMeanwhile, encouraged by the success of their first single and undaunted by the problems that sank their first album, Twilley and Seymour \u2013 with longtime associate Bill Pitcock IV on lead guitar \u2013 began work on a followup to Sincerely<\/i>. Co-producing the record with Bob Schaper, the group recorded ten songs, nine of which ended up on Twilley Don\u2019t Mind<\/i>. Their friend and fellow Shelter Records artist Tom Petty played guitar on the session for \u201cLooking for the Magic,\u201d one of three singles eventually released from the LP.<\/p>\n

Though \u201cLooking for the Magic\u201d was merely one of several strong tracks on the LP, released in September 1977, Twilley Don\u2019t Mind<\/i> performed only modestly (No. 70) on the US album charts.<\/p>\n

Swaggering numbers like the title track served up sharp hooks; gentler cuts like \u201cSleeping\u201d displayed Twilley\u2019s range as a songwriter. From a creative perspective, album was far from a disappointment. But the record\u2019s lack of marketplace success led to the band breaking up early the following year, with Seymour launching a solo career. \u201cIt was called the Dwight Twilley Band, and Phil always wanted the limelight, too\u201d Jan says. \u201cAnd thank god he flippin\u2019 got it.\u201d She emphasizes that there was never any falling out between Twilley and Seymour. \u201cPhil just wanted to go his own way,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Seymour continued on his own, releasing two albums, one each in 1980 and \u201882. His self-titled debut included a track that would become a minor classic, \u201cPrecious to Me\u201d (U.S. #22, U.S. Top 40), featuring lead guitar work by Pitcock.<\/p>\n

Having been the Dwight Twilley Band\u2019s songwriter and lead vocalist, Twilley continued as a solo artist. Sessions for his solo debut began in earnest, with Pitcock on lead guitar. Today Jan refers to the record as Checkerboard<\/i>, a nod to the cover art designed by a longtime Twilley friend and associate known as Zox. In a sign that while their professional relationship had ended, their friendship and creative collaborations would endure, Phil Seymour provided backing vocals on what would be released in 1979 as Twilley<\/i>.<\/p>\n

The smoldering yet hooky \u201cRunaway\u201d was typical of the album\u2019s quality. An epic ballad released as a single from the LP, \u201cOut of My Hands\u201d showed yet another side of Twilley\u2019s artistry. The song is a dead ringer for the best balladry of Jeff Lynne, all while maintaining Twilley\u2019s own style. The song\u2019s lyrics make reference to the devastation a nuclear war could bring (\u201cWhen the walls around you melt, you can\u2019t pretend\u201d), but the whole thing is wrapped in a gorgeous string arrangement that engages the listener.<\/p>\n

\"\"Here She Comes<\/b>
\nBut for live dates, Seymour\u2019s vocal harmonies were missed. And harmony was a central feature of Twilley\u2019s catchy power pop melodies. Jan recalls Dwight\u2019s frustration. \u201cFuck,\u201d he\u2019d say. \u201cI sure am missing that harmony vocalist.\u201d But it quickly dawned on him that he knew of an excellent singer, one who \u2013 as Jan wryly puts it \u2013 \u201cwas right there in Dwight\u2019s kitchen, making a meatloaf.\u201d Twilley asked Susan Cowsill if she would join his band.<\/p>\n

Beginning with Twilley\u2019s second solo album, 1982\u2019s Scuba Divers<\/i>, Susan would be credited with harmony vocals (she\u2019s also listed as a recording engineer for that album). Her brother John played drums and sang harmony as well. At that point, Jan and John Cowsill were a married couple, having wed in 1978. Pitcock played guitar, keyboards and bass, and famed session guitarist Danny \u201cKootch\u201d Kortchmar contributed to the sessions as well.<\/p>\n

Prior to making Scuba Divers<\/i>, Twilley had in fact recorded another entire album\u2019s worth of songs (provisionally titled Blueprint<\/i>) with famed arranger Jack Nitzsche producing. Scheduled for release but eventually rejected by Arista (Shelter\u2019s parent\/distributor), that record went unreleased. When Twilley\u2019s Shelter contract expired, he signed with EMI America, and Scuba Divers<\/i> would be put together from Blueprint<\/i> tracks and new recordings.<\/p>\n

A second album for EMI America, 1984\u2019s Jungle<\/i> would also be Twilley\u2019s last for the label. Though the record included a hit single in \u201cGirls\u201d (U.S. #16), Twilley left the label. His next release, 1986\u2019s Wild Dogs<\/i> disappeared in the marketplace when the label releasing it (Private I Records) became embroiled in an ethics scandal wholly unrelated to Twilley. But Wild Dogs<\/i>\u2019 failure to launch likely contributed to the departure of Pitcock. Thus began a relatively quiet period for Twilley\u2019s musical endeavors.<\/p>\n

In retrospect, Twilley seemingly had time on his hands between the mid 1980s and late \u201890s. Other than a pair of retrospective compilations (1991\u2019s Rock Yourself<\/i>, and The Great Lost Twilley Album<\/i> from 1993, both featuring \u201870s material) Twilley wouldn\u2019t release anything for a decade-plus.<\/p>\n

Lizard King of Tulsa<\/b>
\nBut he wasn\u2019t idle. In fact, a long-standing rumor has swirled around Twilley: was or wasn\u2019t he considered for the role of Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone\u2019s controversial 1991 biopic The Doors<\/i>? Jan is initially circumspect on the subject, admitting only that \u201cit was talked about,\u201d and that she and Dwight \u201ckinda liked the mystique\u201d that the rumor engendered.<\/p>\n

The role eventually went to Val Kilmer, though a parade of other names had circulated. Actors considered for the part included Johnny Depp and John Travolta, and other actual musicians (Bono and Michael Hutchence among them) made their interest known as well. Pressed for even an additional morsel of information, Jan relents a bit.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cEverything about The Doors<\/i> film was super hush-hush,\u201d she explains. \u201cFrom pre-production all the way to post-production. The set was always closed.\u201d She adds that anyone involved in any way with the film was required to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Choosing her words with great care, she finally offers this terse statement: \u201cTo the best of my knowledge Dwight was asked to audition for the role of Jim Morrison.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Twilley continued to write and record. Receiving some belated acclaim for his earlier work thanks to the release of several retrospective collections, he resumed releasing albums of original material (and with Pitcock back in the fold) by the middle of the \u201890s. And when the first volume of the highly regarded series Yellow Pills: The Best of American Pop!<\/i> was released in 1993, the opening track was Twilley\u2019s \u201cRemedies.\u201d That placement helped make Twilley a household name, at least among \u201890s aficionados of power pop.<\/p>\n

In hindsight, Twilley\u2019s post-major label period was a more creatively fertile one; he would certainly be more prolific, releasing new and previously unheard archival material at a steady pace (the discography that accompanies this feature doesn\u2019t even include a spate of more than a half dozen CD-r releases under the Rarities<\/i> banner).<\/p>\n

In 1994 Twilley embarked upon a passion project far removed from his music, authoring a book about long-distance divorced parenting. A small press publication, Questions from Dad: A Very Cool Way to Communicate with Kids <\/i>was well received, and the book offered a rare glimpse into Twilley\u2019s private life. Asked to elaborate on the topic, Jan is mum. \u201cI can\u2019t talk about it,\u201d she says. \u201cThat would be breaking a promise.\u201d She does allow that \u201cbeing away from loved ones\u201d would be her late husband\u2019s deepest regret.<\/p>\n

Click here to continue<\/a>\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Continued from Part One… Looking for the Magic Meanwhile, encouraged by the success of their first single and undaunted by the problems that sank their first album, Twilley and Seymour […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27004,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41,55,62],"tags":[735,5355],"class_list":["post-26995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interview","category-powerpop","category-rawk","tag-dwight-twilley","tag-oister","cat-41-id","cat-55-id","cat-62-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26995"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26995\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27455,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26995\/revisions\/27455"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}