I want to start with a little story. About three years ago I lay in my bed suffering from the severe stomach cramps due to Ulcerative Colitis. It felt as if some little demon bastard had opened my stomach and threw in a bunch of hot burning charcoal stones, then sowed it back up again. It was terrible. Anyone who has this illness and knows of its terrible effects can tell you it will reduce your life to nothing. Although I lay in pain, there were two records that I listened to over and over and over again. They were the only two albums released by the sixties folk group "The Goldebriars". The songs and their wonderful spiritual messages allowe me to cope with the pain from this new disease. The albums contained a mix of Negro spirituals, gentle folk and wonderfully wacky songs about the Queen of Sheba and picking cotton.
The main architect of this wonderful emotional salve was none other than Curt Boettcher. Through the last 5 years that I have come to know Curt's work I have completely resigned myself to the fact that he was undoubtedly the greatest vocal arranger/producer/songwriter of the sixties.
This blog will be my tribute to the man and the many wonderful people he worked with. I do not intend to write a full bio about Curt, seeing as there is very little info on the man himself. Rather I will post my feelings about the songs he wrote, produced, or had some involvement with. Stay tuned.....
