"Shades Of Black Shades Of Blue" as recorded by Richard Shindell

Written by Charles Lyonhart and dedicated to Tommy Kaye

"Shades Of Black Shades Of Blue" as recorded by Charles Lyonhart

From the album "Leap Of Faith"

I first met Tommy Kaye up in Warwick about ten years ago. He was always one of my favorite producers.  Tommy produced several records for Gene Clark of The Byrds as well as McGuinn Clark and Hillman.  I have always been a huge Byrds and Gene Clark fan. "No Other", was Gene's first album produced by Tommy.  Gene Clark's first solo album, to this day is one of my favourite records of all time.  A friend at a local studio in Goshen, New York told me that Tommy Kaye was living in Slate Hill, about five minutes from me. I couldn't believe it! My favorite producer was living up the road from me just chilling out. I was amazed when I finally met Tommy, how this legend from Southern California wound up in New York State, broke and burnt out from his numerous years in the music business. Soon I would learn why.  Tommy led a dangerous life.  Drugs and booze were staples for this diabetic who refused to believe that he was mortal.

This prince of a man with long silver hair was soon sharing unreleased Gene Clark lyrics and songs with me. We started writing together and Tommy in fact wound up producing six songs for me, the last work of his life, from a record that we started and never finished. We got Larry Campbell, Lincoln Schleifer, Joel Diamond and Leroy Clowden up in Goshen to cut the original versions of “Don’t Tell Me How To Feel”, “A Friend”, “Gunshy” (the first or second song I ever wrote withMarty Joe Kupersmith and “World Without Mirrors”. To watch Tommy work his magic in the studio was a treat for all involved and a lesson to learn as well.

In time Tommy and I started working together, writing songs and playing local bars as a duo or as a trio sometimes with Marty of Jay and the Americans joining us. “Oh”, Tommy smiled, “you don’t know the Kupe?” “The Kupe”, I replied, “what is the Kupe?” I would soon learn that “The Kupe” as Tommy called him, was none other than Marty Joe Kupersmith who was Tommy’s life long “shit in the crib together buddy”. Tommy had just finished producing Marty's first solo album “It’ll Come To You” and was putting the final touches on his new record, “Not Alone”.  The first time I sang “Mr. Tambourine Man” with The Kupe and Tommy backing me on piano, I got chills up and down my spine. Tommy had produced Gene Clark’s version of “Mr. Tambourine Man”. Playing with this guy was like living out a dream come true.

Tommy could chew your ear off for hours relaying tales of him working with everyone from Eric Clapton and Judy Garland to Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney. He actually did work with the majority of the people he claimed to, although he was known to bend the truth “just a little bit”.

A case in point, on his last CD, “Not Alone”, he credits Eric Clapton as a guitar player on the CD. When I asked Tommy if Clapton did in fact play on the record he looked at me and smiled, “Now Chucky, Eric was in the building cutting Layla next door. I asked him to come in and check out the vibe. After Eric listened to the song he told me how nice the tune sounded and what he might add to it if he had time to lay down a track.”  In reality, Clapton split and later that night Tommy had some young hot shot guitar player fill in a few Clapton sound alike riffs. “ You see Chucky”, Tommy said, ”Eric would be cool with it anyhow”. Rick Danko told me that he worked on this record for over ten years with Tommy & crew.

I am fortunate that I had the opportunity to work with this legend.  In the short time that we worked together Tommy taught me much about singing techniques and studio etiquette.

Although he knew everyone in the music business, and his telephone book read like a who's who of Rock & Roll, I was alone with him when he passed away in St.Anthony’s Hospital in Warwick, NY. All of his friends were too busy to be bothered. I sat there with him for two days until the end came. I told him to hang in even though I knew it was over. He knew it was over weeks before.

“Go to Gene”, I whispered in his ear. Gene crossed over a few years earlier. Tommy took a deep breath, squeezed my hand and slipped away.

Months later while riding home from Marty's house one night the words came to me “Don’t have any great expectations”. I picked up my cracked Martin D-28 and wrote the song in about an hour.

When Richard Shindell called Larry Campbell years later and said that he wanted to cut "Shades Of Black Shades of Blue" I was flattered and impressed. Richard had listened to the version that was on "Leap Of Faith" with Larry Campell's haunting violin and celtic finger picking. I must admit that I really didn’t know at that time just who Richard Shindell was, not that I do now. I was disappointed when at the very last minute; right before Richard’s record was going to press he changed his mind and decided not to put the song on his new record. Instead he put on a live Dar Williams cover. A few months later Richard decided to release the song on his “Spring” EP. Tommy would have said that was "par for the course Chucky".

“Don’t have any great expectations.” You all know the rest.

Charles Lyonhart - Florida, NY

Tommy and friend Marty Kupersmith,

(back-up singer and guitarist with Jay And The Americans)

Marty Kupersmith is also a friend and collaborator  of Charles Lyonhart.

They wrote "Exception To The Rule" and "Don't Tell Me How To Feel" together.

The late Thomas Jefferson Kaye was a producer, a songwriter and a musician.  Born Thomas Jefferson Kontos, he decided to change his last name to Kaye in 1958 when he became the head of A&R at Scepter Records at the young age of 18.  Everyone simply called him Tommy.

He produced hits by such recording stars as Three Dog Night, Jay and the Americans, Bobby Neuwirth, ? and the Mysterians,The Shirelles and Link Wray.

Working in New York, Tommy was considered a genius in R&B, blues, pop, and Top Forty, Tommy had never worked with folk music until working with Loudon Wainwright on the album Loudon Wainwright III.  The record climbed to # 1 in the LP charts with the single "Dead Skunk" topping the singles chart.

At the same time Tommy had a band "White Cloud" which he used with everyone he produced.  In 1972 they released an album, in a beautiful snakeskin textured gatefold cover,  on the obscure Good Medicine label.  As well as their own solo projects the band played all over the Village, and back in those days the likes of Bobby Neuwirth and Bob Dylan would come around to see them play.

Tommy's next career move took him to San Francisco to produce an album by Link Wray and he fell in love with Wally Heider's studio, the climate, the cable cars and Jerry Garcia.

After completeing the Link Wray album, Tommy flew down to LA to meet up with his by now good friend Bobby Neuwirth.   They spent a month hanging out and fueling their 24 hour days with cocaine, speed, pills, and alcohol before starting to work on Neuwirth's album. Kaye remembered "The hours are crazy, the alcohol thing is crazy, the pills are crazy, the people are crazy."

Tommy also found time to record his own albums and in 1973 his self-titled first album was released.   On the second album, First Grade, the  idiosyncrasies of Kaye's voice become an asset and  the record reached a small-scale perfection rarely found in pop.

Kaye's third and final record, "Not Alone" was an all-star affair including among others  Eric Clapton, Dr. John, Steve Miller, Rick Danko, Walsh, Don Henley and Robby Krieger.

Twenty years later and diabetic, Tommy was a member of AA but couldn't completely quit drinking and smoking. Even though he underwent numerous surgeries, a result of the combination of diabetes and constricting capillaries, Tommy never lost his boyish look or his glibness.

His final days were spent at the home of Marty Kupersmith.  Suffering from pain due to toxemia, Tommy asked Marty for some Tylenol and the next day the bottle was found empty. Tommy died in St. Anthony's Hospital in Warwick, N.Y., September of 1994.

Some Career Highlights

Michael Bloomfield Triumvirate (1973) Guitar, Vocals, Vocals (bckgr), Producer Gene Clark No Other (1974) Producer  Gene Clark Two Sides to Every Story (1977) Vocals,Producer Gene Clark Firebyrd (1987) Vocals Gene Clark This Byrd Has Flown (1995) Associate Producer, Harmony  Gene Clark American Dreamer (1997) Producer  Gene Clark Flying High Producer  John Hammond Triumvirate (1973) Guitar High Rollers Jambalaya Producer Marty Joe Kupersmith It'll Come To You (1997) Vocals (bckgr), Producer  Laramie Laramie (1970) Piano McGuinn, Clark & Hillman 3 Byrds Land in London (1998) Guitar Mistress Mistress Guitar (Rhythm), Vocals (bckgr), Producer  Bob Neuwirth Bob Neuwirth (1973) Producer Tom Pacheco Outsider (1977) Vocals (bckgr)  The Shirelles 6 albums Producer Loudon Wainwright III Album III (1972) Guitar, Arranger, Guitar (Rhythm), Producer  White Cloud White Cloud (1972) Guitar, Vocals

Links

Rolling Stone - Tommy's page on rollingstone.com

spun.com - short biography on Tommy

The blacklisted journal -  the production of Bobby Neuwirth's album