Roy Head

Last Time Around

Wild Honey Records

Roy Kent Head was born in Three Rivers, Texas in 1941 and moved to San Marcos in 1955. In 1957 at the age of sixteen he co-founded a band called “Roy Head and The Traits”. The Traits had several regional hits but their parents turned down Dick Clark’s invitation for the boys to appear on American Bandstand, as all members were minors and some were still in high school. In 1965, the band signed with record producer Huey Meaux of Houston. “Treat Her Right” with it’s punchy rhythm established Head as a prime exponent of blue-eyed soul. By 1995, “Treat Her Right” had been covered by twenty nationally known recording artists including Jimmy Page, Bruce Springsteen, Jerry Lee Lewis, and  Barbara Mandrell (“Treat Him Right”). “Treat Her Right” also appeared in Quentin Tarantino’s 2019 movie “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”.

“Last Time Around” on Wild Honey Records is a posthumous collection of emotional songs from Texas music legend Roy Head, often called the “white James Brown” as he was a pioneer of soul. This new album was completed after Head’s death of a heart attack in 2020. Producer Andy Bradley a.k.a. Mort gathered collaborators Deniz Tek, Tim Hudgins, Paul English and Bert Wills to breathe new life into  some home recordings. This new ten-track album of soul, garage, swamp, rock and gospel, is a true testament to Head’s versatility, a moving farewell from one of America’s great unsung voices.

“Feels Like Rain” was written by John Hiatt in 1993, as Head sings “down where the river flows to the  sea…love comes out of nowhere…but it feels like rain, lying here with you underneath the stars, I  wonder where you are…it feel’s like rain”. “Slow Down, But Don’t Stop”, “the way you thrill me, a  woman brought me here, it loos like a woman will keep me here, slow down but don’t stop…you  brought me to make me lose my vision, slow down, don’t stop, love me girl, till I drop”.

“Lean and Hungry”, is the title track from the album of the same name…”I get a way from my baby but tonight we do no wrong, she likes her lovin’ lean and hungry that’s what my baby takes…I saw her through the window, I saw her in her nightgown, she likes her lovin’ lean and hungry, that’s what my baby takes”. “Ice Cream Man” was written by John Brim in 1955, “cool mama jama, she’s a midnight lover, a hip shakin mama, some guys see a little girl sucking on an ice cream cone…she’s a hip  shakin’ mama, you know I’m an ice cream man”.

“Still Married” is a narrative, “I get there on the dance floor, I’ll be home before supper time, we’re still married, since our wedding day…but her finger is on the trigger…don’t do it to me”. “Undercover Agent For The Blues”, “she was a lover, workin’ undercover…she took me for a ride…but I found out she was an undercover agent for the blues…she took my money, she’s so bad, an undercover agent for the  blues”.

“Earthquake” was recorded by Head in 2011, “the club was crowded and the band was tight…the  closer she came, made my heart shake like an earthquake…something about her made my skin turn red…she took my breathe away like an earthquake”. “Ain’t That Lovin’ You Baby” was written by  Jimmy Reed in 1956, with some great harmonica, “you know I love you baby, I’m gonna’ rob, steal, kill somebody to get home to you, ain’t that lovin’ you baby, you don’t even know my name”.

“Daddy Oh” features some great dobro, “when you were little in golden curls… I had to choose  between music or your love…now your older and maybe you know, I wouldn’t make the same mistake”. On “Treat Her Right” written by Head in 1965, he croons “I want to tell you a story, every man oughta know…you gotta’ treat her right…don’t you fuss and fight, tell her you love her, treat her right…if you don’t treat her right, she ain’t gonna’ love you tonight”.

Roy Head was still performing and playing festivals like the Ponderosa Stomp and overall released eleven albums, not including compilations, the last being 2011’s “Still Treatin’ ‘Em Right”. Head  recorded for eight different labels. The posthumous “Last Time Around” is a true testament to Roy Head’s versatility and a moving farewell from one of America’s great unsung voices”.

Richard Ludmerer

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