A country music back-bencher whose singles grazed the bottom of the Top Forty, Jack Barlow (ne Jack Harold Butcher, 1924-2011) was originally from Moline, Illinois and started his recording career 'way back in the early 'Sixties, although his first album didn't come out until 1969. In total he charted fewer than ten singles over his career, with his highest entry, 1971's "Catch The Wind," peaking at #26. His last song in the Billboard charts was a novelty number called "The Man On Page 602," which was based on a viral 'Seventies rumor about a male underwear model in the 1975 Sears catalog whose genitals were supposedly dangling out of the boxer briefs he was wearing. (This was one of several singles released under Barlow's Ben Colder-ish comedic alter-ego, "Zoot Fenster," and was not included on any of his regular albums.) Nashville fame mostly eluded Jack Barlow, though he did achieve some measure of immortality as the voiceover artist in the iconic 1970's ad campaign for Wrigley's "Big Red" chewing gum.
Jack Barlow "Baby, Ain't That Love" (Dot Records, 1969) (LP)
(Produced by Buddy Killen, Charlie Bragg & Neil Wilburn)
Barlow's debut album, which came out after he'd been plugging away for about a decade. Although this didn't do much on the charts, it's notable for including songs from honkytonk icon Wayne Kemp as well as novelty songwriter Neal Merritt, as well as songwriters Bobby Braddock and Don Wayne. There's also one track, "Mister Bluebird," where Jack Barlow was credited as a co-composer.
Jack Barlow "Son Of The South" (Dot Records, 1969) (LP)
(Produced by Buddy Killen & Glenn Snoddy)
In contrast to his first album, this includes four songs with Jack Barlow credited as composer, and a couple more by Don Wayne...
Jack Barlow "Catch The Wind" (Dot Records, 1972) (LP)
(Produced by Ricci Mareno, Charlie Black & Jerry Gillespie)
Barlow's last major-label album had him cast as a Waylon Jennings soundalike, with several songs featuring strong backbeats and rock-tinged arrangements. He quickly veers into softer-sounding countrypolitan ballads, some of which are dreary although a couple are classically kitschy, like Billy Mize's "Somewhere In Texas" and "Early Morning Sunshine," which is one of those mildly erotic, middle-aged-guy-getting-laid-in-the-morning country songs which were in vogue in the early '70s. He covers some ho-hum stuff, like "Take Me Home, Country Roads," Freddy Hart's "Easy Lovin'," and "They Call The Wind Maria," as well as some newer material provided by the label. This album also includes Barlow's biggest single, the title track, "Catch The Wind" which was written by producers Ricci Moreno and Jerry Gillespie, and was apparently not the same as the Donovan hit from the 'Sixties. It peaked at #26 on the Billboard charts, and was Barlow's only Top 30 entry under his own name. It's one of several songs composed by the album's producers -- Ricci Mareno and Jerry Gillespie -- who apparently bankrolled this album in part as a songwriter's demo. All in all, I found this enjoyable -- there's both uptempo and slower material that has a nice early '70s kitsch factor to it... worth a spin, for sure!
Jack Barlow "I Live The Country Songs I Sing" (Antique Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Dallas Corey & Don Johnson)
Around the time he released this album, Jack Barlow had begun starring as the voiceover artist in the iconic 1970's ad campaign for Big Red chewing gum. He also began using the alternate persona of "Zoot Fenster," releasing a string of novelty singles, also on the Antique label, although none of these songs are included here. (Though perhaps in the case of a song like "Big John The Peepin' Tom," or the similarly risque "The Man On Page 602," that's not such a big tragedy...) About half the tracks were recorded in Oklahoma, with the other cut half in Nashville, using a bunch of "usual suspect" studio players. Six songs were written or co-written by producer Dallas Corey, along with a couple by Red Tuck and one song, "Too Young To Understand," which was credited to Jack Barlow.
