It’s been almost a year to the day since I was working on a story called ”The Rock N Roll Treasure.“
It was a series of reports that centered around a woman named Patti Daley who shared with me her incredible personal photo albums and scrapbooks. But these weren’t just any scrapbooks. Inside the pages of her albums was a treasure trove of rare Polaroids and photos of icons in rock, plus letters from members of the Beatles, and even John Lennon lyrics.
I got an email from Patti yesterday because I had contacted her to find out what had become of her collection. While there is nothing to report there, Patti reminded me about several acetates that she owns. An acetate is the prototype and test model of a recording. Basically before a record is mass produced, it is tested to see if it meets both artistic and technical approval.
The most unique and perhaps the most desirable of Daley’s acetates is one that includes two songs from legendary alternative-country singer/songwriter Gram Parsons.
Daley’s boyfriend at the time was a man named Jesse Ed Davis. In the 1960s and 1970s, Davis was the go to guitarist for legends in rock. He played with members of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, The Faces, and he also played with Parsons in the Flying Burrito Brothers.
Daley said the couple often partied and played music with Parsons. In one studio session they recorded two songs, a Parson’s original called, “Ain’t no Beatle, Ain’t No Rolling Stone” and a cover of Wilbert Harrison’s ”Kansas City”.
Daley doesn’t remember much about the recording sessions, but believes they took place shortly before Parsons death in 1973.
“Jesse was the producer,” said Daley. ”I don’t even know if this was released, I really don’t”.
I did a little research and the only place I can find “Ain’t No Beatle, Ain’t No Rolling Stone” is on an album released in 2003 called “Lost Recordings by Gram Parsons”. The album is a collection of demos and rehearsals recorded while Parsons was putting together his first solo album. I can’t find Parson’s rendition of “Kansas City” anywhere on the internet.
Perhaps if someone reads this blog post, they can give us all more information on these recordings. And I of course will let you all know what becomes of Daley’s “Rock ‘N’ Roll Treasure”.
((THE ABOVE PHOTOS OF THE ACETATE I SHOT WITH MY IPHONE. THE BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO IS FROM THE COLLECTION OF PATTI DALEY, USED WITH HER PERMISSION)).
