The Masked Marauders
Encyclopedia
The Masked Marauders is a record album released on the Warner Bros.
Reprise/Deity label in the fall of 1969. The recording captured a purported "super session" of the era's leading rock and roll
musicians, including Bob Dylan
, Mick Jagger
, John Lennon
, and Paul McCartney
. None of the artists were mentioned on the album’s cover, supposedly because of contractual agreements with their recording companies, but an advance review
in Rolling Stone
magazine on October 18, 1969, disclosed the stellar lineup. By the time the album reached record shops, it was virtually a legend
.
concocted by Rolling Stone
editor Greil Marcus
. Under the pseudonym
T.M. Christian (a reference to Terry Southern
’s novel The Magic Christian
), Marcus wrote a tongue-in-cheek review of a fictitious double bootleg
album in collaboration with record reviewer Bruce Miroff. The review was intended to parody
the "supergroup
" trend then taking place (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Blind Faith
and Led Zeppelin
) and was also inspired by Great White Wonder
, a double album of unreleased Dylan recordings often credited as the first bootleg.
Many readers, however, took the review seriously, despite its obvious jokes:
(Beatles and Rolling Stones) and Albert Grossman
(Dylan). The response sparked part two of the put-on: the album itself. Marcus and Rolling Stone editor Langdon Winner
recruited the Cleanliness and Godliness Skiffle Band, a Berkeley, California
, group which had an album the previous year on Vanguard Records
and played frequently at San Francisco’s Fillmore
and Avalon ballrooms. The group initially recorded three of the songs cited in the review: the Nashville Skyline
-inspired instrumental
"Cow Pie", Jagger doing "I Can’t Get No Nookie" (deemed "an instant classic"), and Dylan’s "Duke of Earl".
After the songs aired on San Francisco and Los Angeles
radio stations – from tapes Marcus supplied – the pranksters began looking for a major label to produce an album. Several recording companies expressed an interest, but Warner Bros. won the production rights, offering a $15,000 advance plus its considerable promotional power. In November 1969, Warner released The Masked Marauders as a single LP on its newly-created Deity label. The album, which sold more than 100,000 copies, spent twelve weeks on the Billboard charts
, peaking at #114. "Cow Pie", actually released as the B-side of "I Can't Get No Nookie", managed to dent the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart at #134, for a single week on November 29, 1969.
(albeit after they had purchased the album), Warner inserted the Rolling Stone review as well as a San Francisco Chronicle
column by critic Ralph J. Gleason
, a co-founder of Rolling Stone. Gleason found it incredible anyone believed the review and declared the gag a "delightful bit of instant mythology
." The closing track, "Saturday Night at the Cow Palace," also made clear the album was all in fun. The track featured a riotous monologue
by a record buyer so indignant at being taken in by the hoax that he vows, "When I get through with those people at Deity Records, I’ll have them walking out of the building in barrels." The album’s liner notes
, penned by "T.M. Christian," also offered its share of clues, most notably the line:
"In a world of sham, the Masked Marauders, bless their hearts, are the genuine article."
In 2003, Rhino Records, under its Handmade label, remastered the album, releasing a numbered edition of 2,000 copies entitled The Masked Marauders - The Complete Deity Recordings. The lineup of songs is the same as on the original LP, except for bonus tracks of the monaural
single, "I Can’t Get No Nookie" b/w "Cow Pie". The title of the re-issue posed yet another joke: the album was Deity’s only recording. As one of its contributions to the spoof
, Warner created Deity under its Reprise subsidiary to match the name of the non-existent record company credited in the Rolling Stone review.
Side two
Single (CD bonus tracks)
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
Reprise/Deity label in the fall of 1969. The recording captured a purported "super session" of the era's leading rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
musicians, including Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
, John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
, and Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
. None of the artists were mentioned on the album’s cover, supposedly because of contractual agreements with their recording companies, but an advance review
Review
A review is an evaluation of a publication, a product or a service, such as a movie , video game, musical composition , book ; a piece of hardware like a car, home appliance, or computer; or an event or performance, such as a live music concert, a play, musical theater show or dance show...
in Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine on October 18, 1969, disclosed the stellar lineup. By the time the album reached record shops, it was virtually a legend
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
.
Rolling Stone spoof
In actuality, The Masked Marauders was part of a hoaxHoax
A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment, or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.-Definition:The British...
concocted by Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
editor Greil Marcus
Greil Marcus
Greil Marcus is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a much broader framework of culture and politics than is customary in pop music journalism.-Life and career:Marcus was born in San Francisco...
. Under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
T.M. Christian (a reference to Terry Southern
Terry Southern
Terry Southern was an American author, essayist, screenwriter and university lecturer, noted for his distinctive satirical style...
’s novel The Magic Christian
The Magic Christian (novel)
The Magic Christian is a 1959 comic novel by American author Terry Southern. In 1969 the novel was made into a film starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr, by director Joseph McGrath, also titled The Magic Christian...
), Marcus wrote a tongue-in-cheek review of a fictitious double bootleg
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
album in collaboration with record reviewer Bruce Miroff. The review was intended to parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
the "supergroup
Supergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....
" trend then taking place (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Blind Faith
Blind Faith
Blind Faith were an English blues-rock band that consisted of Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Steve Winwood and Ric Grech. The band, which was one of the first "super-groups", released their only album, Blind Faith, in August 1969...
and Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
) and was also inspired by Great White Wonder
Great White Wonder
Great White Wonder, or GWW, is the first notable rock bootleg album, released in July of 1969 and containing unofficially released recordings by Bob Dylan. It is also the first release of the famous bootleg record label Trademark of Quality...
, a double album of unreleased Dylan recordings often credited as the first bootleg.
Many readers, however, took the review seriously, despite its obvious jokes:
- "Produced by Al KooperAl KooperAl Kooper is an American songwriter, record producer and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears , providing studio support for Bob Dylan when he went electric in 1965, and also bringing together guitarists Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills to...
, the album was recorded with impeccable secrecy in a small town near the site of the original Hudson BayHudson BayHudson Bay , sometimes called Hudson's Bay, is a large body of saltwater in northeastern Canada. It drains a very large area, about , that includes parts of Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, most of Manitoba, southeastern Nunavut, as well as parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota,...
Colony in CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
."
- "The LP opens with an eighteen-minute version of 'Season of the Witch' (lead vocal by Dylan, on which he does a superb imitation of early DonovanDonovanDonovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
). The cut is highlighted by an amazing jam between bass and piano, both played by Paul McCartney."
- "Dylan shines on Side Three, displaying his new deep bass voice, with 'Duke of EarlDuke of Earl"Duke of Earl" is a 1962 number-one song, originally by Gene Chandler. It is the best known of Chandler's songs, and he subsequently dubbed himself 'The Duke of Earl'. The song was penned by Bernice Williams, Eugene Dixon, and Earl Edwards....
'."
- "Paul showcases his favorite song, 'Mammy,' and while his performance is virtually indistinguishable from Eddie FisherEddie Fisher (singer)Edwin Jack "Eddie" Fisher , was an American entertainer. He was one of the world's most famous and successful singers in the 1950s, selling millions of records and hosting his own TV show. His divorce from his first wife, Debbie Reynolds, to marry his best friend's widow, Elizabeth Taylor, garnered...
's version, it is still very powerful, evocative, and indeed, stunning. And they say a white boy can’t sing the bluesBluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
!"
- "It can truly be said that this album is more than a way of life; it is life."
Recording sessions and contract
Enquiries began pouring into Rolling Stone regarding the album’s availability, not only from fans and retailers, but also reportedly from the artists' managers, Allen KleinAllen Klein
Allen Klein was an American businessman, talent agent and record label executive. His clients included The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.- The accountant :...
(Beatles and Rolling Stones) and Albert Grossman
Albert Grossman
Albert Bernard Grossman was an American entrepreneur and manager in the American folk music scene and rock and roll. He was most famous as the manager of Bob Dylan between 1962 and 1970.-Biography:...
(Dylan). The response sparked part two of the put-on: the album itself. Marcus and Rolling Stone editor Langdon Winner
Langdon Winner
Langdon Winner is Professor of Political Science in the Department of Science and Technology Studies atRensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York since 1990....
recruited the Cleanliness and Godliness Skiffle Band, a Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, group which had an album the previous year on Vanguard Records
Vanguard Records
Vanguard Records is a record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York. It started as a classical label, but is perhaps best known for its catalogue of recordings by a number of pivotal folk and blues artists from the 1960s; the Bach Guild was a subsidiary...
and played frequently at San Francisco’s Fillmore
The Fillmore
The Fillmore Auditorium is a historic music venue in San Francisco, California, made famous by Bill Graham. Named for its original location at the intersection of Fillmore Street and Geary Boulevard, it lies on the boundary of the Western Addition and the Pacific Heights neighborhoods.In 1968,...
and Avalon ballrooms. The group initially recorded three of the songs cited in the review: the Nashville Skyline
Nashville Skyline
Nashville Skyline is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's ninth studio album, released by Columbia Records in April 1969.The album marked a dramatic departure for Dylan, previously known for his groundbreaking, poetic folk music and rock and roll...
-inspired instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
"Cow Pie", Jagger doing "I Can’t Get No Nookie" (deemed "an instant classic"), and Dylan’s "Duke of Earl".
After the songs aired on San Francisco and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
radio stations – from tapes Marcus supplied – the pranksters began looking for a major label to produce an album. Several recording companies expressed an interest, but Warner Bros. won the production rights, offering a $15,000 advance plus its considerable promotional power. In November 1969, Warner released The Masked Marauders as a single LP on its newly-created Deity label. The album, which sold more than 100,000 copies, spent twelve weeks on the Billboard charts
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
, peaking at #114. "Cow Pie", actually released as the B-side of "I Can't Get No Nookie", managed to dent the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart at #134, for a single week on November 29, 1969.
Original and followup releases
Tipping off buyers to the jokeJoke
A joke is a phrase or a paragraph with a humorous twist. It can be in many different forms, such as a question or short story. To achieve this end, jokes may employ irony, sarcasm, word play and other devices...
(albeit after they had purchased the album), Warner inserted the Rolling Stone review as well as a San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
column by critic Ralph J. Gleason
Ralph J. Gleason
Ralph Joseph Gleason was an influential American jazz and pop music critic. He contributed for many years to the San Francisco Chronicle, was a founding editor of Rolling Stone magazine, and cofounder of the Monterey Jazz Festival.-Biography:Gleason was born in New York City and attended Columbia...
, a co-founder of Rolling Stone. Gleason found it incredible anyone believed the review and declared the gag a "delightful bit of instant mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
." The closing track, "Saturday Night at the Cow Palace," also made clear the album was all in fun. The track featured a riotous monologue
Monologue
In theatre, a monologue is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media...
by a record buyer so indignant at being taken in by the hoax that he vows, "When I get through with those people at Deity Records, I’ll have them walking out of the building in barrels." The album’s liner notes
Liner notes
Liner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:...
, penned by "T.M. Christian," also offered its share of clues, most notably the line:
"In a world of sham, the Masked Marauders, bless their hearts, are the genuine article."
In 2003, Rhino Records, under its Handmade label, remastered the album, releasing a numbered edition of 2,000 copies entitled The Masked Marauders - The Complete Deity Recordings. The lineup of songs is the same as on the original LP, except for bonus tracks of the monaural
Monaural
Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction is single-channel. Typically there is only one microphone, one loudspeaker, or channels are fed from a common signal path...
single, "I Can’t Get No Nookie" b/w "Cow Pie". The title of the re-issue posed yet another joke: the album was Deity’s only recording. As one of its contributions to the spoof
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
, Warner created Deity under its Reprise subsidiary to match the name of the non-existent record company credited in the Rolling Stone review.
Track listing
Side one- "I Can't Get No Nookie" (The Masked Marauders) – 5:29
- Features vocals by a Mick Jagger impersonator. This track is sometimes mislabeled as an outtake from the Rolling Stones' Jamming with EdwardJamming with EdwardJamming with the Edward! is an album recorded by three members of The Rolling Stones with Nicky Hopkins and Ry Cooder at London's Olympic Studio during the Let It Bleed sessions of 1969, and released on Rolling Stones Records in 1972...
sessions.
- Features vocals by a Mick Jagger impersonator. This track is sometimes mislabeled as an outtake from the Rolling Stones' Jamming with Edward
- "Duke of Earl" (E. Dixon, E. Edwards, B. Williams) – 3:21
- Also briefly incorporates "Blue Moon" (Rodgers, Hart).
- Features vocals by a Bob Dylan impersonator.
- "Cow Pie" (The Masked Marauders) – 2:18
- Mainly instrumental, but features brief vocals by a Bob Dylan impersonator.
- "I Am The Japanese SandmanThe Japanese SandmanThe Japanese Sandman is a song from 1920, composed by Richard A. Whiting and with lyrics by Raymond B. Egan.-Content:The song is about a sandman from Japan, who exchanges yesterdays for tomorrows...
(Rang Tang Ding Dong)" (A. Williams) – 3:45 - "The Book Of Love" (W. Davis, C. Patrick, G. Malone) – 2:21
- Also briefly incorporates "Norwegian Wood" (J. Lennon, P. McCartney).
- The group's John Lennon impersonator is heard speaking briefly at the end of this track.
Side two
- "Later" (W. Davis, C. Patrick, G. Malone) – 1:11
- A continuation of "The Book Of Love".
- "More or Less Hudson's Bay Again" (The Masked Marauders) – 3:31
- "Season of the Witch" (Donovan Leitch) – 10:13
- Features vocals by the Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan impersonators.
- "Saturday Night at the Cow Palace" (The Masked Marauders) – 1:30
- A spoken monologue atop a piano rendition of "Cow Pie," with a disgruntled voice profanely denouncing the album as a rip-off.
Single (CD bonus tracks)
- "I Can't Get No Nookie" (The Masked Marauders) – 5:02 (Monaural)
- "Cow Pie" (The Masked Marauders) – 2:18 (Monaural)
Musicians
As listed on the Rhino Handmade CD release:- Langdon WinnerLangdon WinnerLangdon Winner is Professor of Political Science in the Department of Science and Technology Studies atRensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York since 1990....
: Piano and Backing Vocals - Annie "Dynamite" Johnson: Vocals and Percussion
- Phil Marsh: Vocals and Guitar
- Brian Voorheis: Vocals, Guitar and Harmonica
- Vic Smith: Bass
- Anna Rizzo: Drums
- Mark "The Fox" Voorheis: Drums and Vocals on "Saturday Night at the Cow Palace"
- Gary Salzman: Lap Steel
- Allen Chance: Vocals on "More or Less Hudson's Bay Again"
External links
- Snopes article
- San Francisco Chronicle article
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vKYvKZTbv4 YouTube clip for I Can't Get No Nookie
- Cleanliness and Godliness Skiffle Band Family Tree