Kin Vassy
Listen/Download – Kin Vassy – Blue Bird
Greetings all.
If you roll around here now and again you already know tha I hold the Buffalo Springfield above most US bands (with the marked exception of Love) of the 1960s, so when I encounter a cover of a BS tune, especially by an artists that I already dig (like Kin Vassy) I have to grab it.
Vassy last appeared in the Funky16Corners/Iron Leg universe over at F16C with his smoking version of Mac Davis and Delaney Bramlett’s ‘Hello LA Bye Bye Birmingham’.
When I posted that tune, I made sure to include Vassy’s solo 45 of the song, as well as his mind blowing, funky live version with Kenny Rogers and the First Edition (a group of which Vassy was a member).
Though I can’t say for sure, my suspicion (bolstered by a number of clues) leads me to believe that Vassy’s string of solo 45s for the Uni label were released during his time with the First Edition.
His cover of ‘Blue Bird’ (why he wrote it that way I do not know) was released in 1969, and produced by Mike Post.
Though the arrangement is a little more conventional/pop than the BS original (as well as being truncated and decidedly less psychedelic) it is still very rocking and groovy.
The horn section mixes nicely with the electric piano, and Vassy’s vocal is outstanding.
He was one of the great, underrated singers of the era (he even went on to do some time in Frank Zappa’s bands!). He ended up working in Nashville as a singer/songwriter before passing away in 1994 at the age of 51.
I hope you dig the cut, and I’ll see you next week.
Peace
Larry
________________________________________________
If you dig what we do here or over at Funky16Corners, please consider clicking on the Patreon link and throwing something into the yearly operating budget! Do it and we’ll send you some groovy Funky16Corners Radio Network (and related) stickers!
_______________________________________________
Iron Leg 
Thanks for this, Larry. I fell in love with Kin’s amazing vocals the first time I heard him sing with the First Edition. I’m wondering if you can help me locate a specific track that Kin sang on – called ‘School Teacher’ – on the First Edition’s brilliant ‘Ballad of Calico County’ LP. I used to own that album – loved it, played it constantly, and then, after a series of moves over the years, it’s been lost forever. I would so love to hear that again – if you have it in your own collection, I’d be over-the-moon delighted if you shared it here…if only to share this brilliant singer’s talents with the rest of the world, as you’ve just done with this blog post, in sharing Kin’s great version of ‘Bluebird’. Thanks in advance!
Oops – my fingers went a little nuts, above. It’s from the album ‘The Ballad of Calico,’ not, as I mistakenly typed ‘The Ballad of Calico County’ (I think I had the track ‘Coward of the County’ on my mind as I was typing).
Hi Larry,
Kin was my dad. I’m Karla Vassy. If you’d like to hear any of his stuff from the 80’s, I’d be happy to share it with you. 🙂
Infopixiedustentertainment@gmail.com