Texas-born Guthrie Thomas (ne Andrew Lynn Herring, 1952-2016) was one of the more striking under-the-radar artists of the pre-Americana 1970s roots-folk singer-songwriter scene... Born in Wichita Falls, Thomas was living up in Northern California when he met folk music icon Ramblin' Jack Elliott, who promoted his career and helped him get his foot in the door of the Los Angeles music industry. His stage name, Guthrie Thomas, was an homage to two literary idols, Woody Guthrie and Dylan Thomas.
Judging just from his Wikipedia page, Guthrie Thomas was a bit of a problematic figure. A purposeful recluse, inveterate fabulist, and prodigious talent, Thomas burst onto the mid-'Seventies acoustic folk scene and was hailed as a prodigy, but seems to have hit a wall soon afterwards, spurred in part by substance abuse and hidden instability. The height of his dysfunction came in 1976 with the dissolution of his relationship with songwriter Virginia Vick, who had acted as his Muse on several early albums: at one point Thomas abducted her from her home in Austin and held her captive in Oklahoma until she escaped and he was subsequently arrested. This led to a series of public events which revealed Thomas as a highly unreliable narrator, though later to his own personal rehabilitation, including him creating Eagle Records and other independent business ventures which brought him on the straight and narrow. Guthrie Thomas passed away in 2016, with most of his work either out of print or scattered on various small, independent labels... But when you find one of his records, it may come as a real treat, particularly for fans of similar songwriting auteurs such as Guy Clark or Townes Van Zandt.
Guthrie Thomas "Sittin' Crooked" (Singing Folks Records, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Ray Gideon & Guthrie Thomas)
Before landing a major label contract, Thomas self-released a pair of custom press albums, each limited to five hundred copies, and sold at his shows. This was his first release, a pleasant, evocative solo acoustic set which is quite consciously derivative of earlier artists, most obviously of Woody Guthrie, who Thomas not only mimics expertly, but references in numerous songs, also giving a nod or two to Arlo Guthrie, who became one of his patrons for a while. One track, "Ramblin' Talkin' Blues," is perhaps one of the most densely-packed sets of name-dropping lyrics you're ever likely to encounter, telling a tale of an epic California road trip taken with Ramblin' Jack Elliott to visit and jam with Arlo Guthrie, Hoyt Axton and others... I'd guess that the details are largely true, since his friendship with Ramblin' Jack continued for a while after, though apparently Elliott was less pleased with the release of Thomas's second album, which included a radio concert they did together, though Ramblin' Jack wasn't consulted about it being pressed onto wax. At any rate, both these early custom-press records remain uber-rarities, and were not reissued on Guthrie Thomas's Eagle Records label, as were many of his other hard-to-find private press offerings.
Guthrie Thomas "Dear Ginny" (Singing Folks Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Guthrie Thomas)
A rarity, originally limited to a 500-copy custom label release. Side One was a studio set, recorded in LA, while Side Two captures a radio performance recorded live on the air with Ramblin' Jack Elliott, at a radio station in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Guthrie Thomas "I" (Capitol Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Nicolas Venet & Andrew MacDonald)
Gee, is he really smoking a big old doobie on this album cover? How very naughty... at least back in 1975. This is probably Guthrie Thomas's most successful, or at least best-known, album... at least it's the one I've seen most frequently floating around at the local Record Hut. It was his major-label debut, and has some of the hallmarks of a big-studio production that may have taken a while to finish, notably overlapping sets of studio musicians and whatnot. Notable among the pickers are pros such as guitarist Waddy Wachtel and steel player Dan Dugmore, who was part of Linda Ronstadt's band at the time, with other folks who range from mainstream LA session players to much more obscure pickers who were probably in Guthrie's personal orbit. Plenty of ornate Americana, with kind of an earthy Guy Clark/Kris Kristofferson vibe... Almost all the songs are Guthrie Thomas originals, with a few exceptions, notably Hoyt Axton's "In A Young Girl's Mind," along with tunes from the more obscure tunesmiths such as Marc Edelsen and Tim Ray (who both play guitar on this album) and the album's opening track, "Rollin; Home," penned by Ginny Vick, who may have been the inspiration for the Side Two song, "Dear Ginny, Dear Ginny." A pretty strong album... slick, but definitely worth a spin.
Guthrie Thomas "Lies And Alibis" (Capitol Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Guthrie Thomas, "Carter" & Steve Cropper)
Guthrie Thomas "Kidnapped" (Carmen Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Guthrie Thomas & Larry Hirsch)
Guthrie Thomas "This One's For Sarah" (Taxim Records, 1978-?) (LP)
(Produced by Guthrie Thomas & Larry Hirsch)
Guthrie Thomas "The Poisonous Beauty" (Eagle Records, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Guthrie Thomas)
Guthrie Thomas "Once On A While Forever" (Pastels Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Guthrie Thomas & Larry Hirsh)
Guthrie Thomas "As Yet Untitled" (Eagle Records, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by Guthrie Thomas)
Guthrie Thomas "Buffalo" (Eagle Records, 1983) (LP)
(Produced by Guthrie Thomas)
A mellow, contemplative, stripped-down folkie set, just Guthrie Thomas and guitar, and a lifetime of soulful reflection. More of a folk record than I normally am into, but compelling nonetheless, in a quiet kinda way.
Guthrie Thomas "Hobo Eagle Thief" (Eagle Records, 1983) (LP)
Guthrie Thomas "Like No Other" (Stetson Records, 1983) (LP)
Guthrie Thomas "The Rider" (Taxim Records, 1990)
Guthrie Thomas "Midnight Train" (Taxim Records, 1996)
Guthrie Thomas "Ghost Towns" (Mainstreet Records, 1999) (CD-R)
Guthrie Thomas "Yesterdays And Tomorrows" (Mainstreet Records, 2000) (CD-R)
Guthrie Thomas "Live On Stage" (New Shot Records, 2023)
(Produced by Renato Bottani & Marco Melzi)
A posthumous release of archival material, recoded live in Sesto Calende, Italy back in 1993.
Guthrie Thomas "Through The Years" (Taxim Records, 1992)
