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Post new topic Who's the Steel Player on Jack Kittel's Recording of Psycho?
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Author Topic:  Who's the Steel Player on Jack Kittel's Recording of Psycho?
b0b


From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
Post  Posted 14 Sep 2015 4:34 pm    
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Nice playing there - an cornucopia of popular steel licks of the era.

https://youtu.be/ftOCvwrygCI
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Mitch Drumm

 

From:
Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake
Post  Posted 15 Sep 2015 5:53 am    
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Pretty sure it was forum member Frank Rogers.

He's told the story of Jack Kittel and his involvement with the song on this forum---at least 6 or 8 years ago. There was a good thread on it.

If I recall, Frank pretty much produced the session, which I think was being done with the intention of marketing the tape (8 track or cassette?) very inexpensively in truck stops and convenience stores. But "Psycho" was released on 45 on a tiny label (Belt?), garnered a little bit of attention locally, and then was picked up by GRC for national distribution. GRC was going well with Moe Bandy at the time, but the Kittel release never caught on.

I remember it well--heard it over the radio in Wyoming in the summer of 1974 and had to phone the station to get the song and artist ID'ed as the DJ had not back-announced who it was that I had heard.

What's still mystifying is how Kittel knew the song, which had been recorded in the mid 60s by Eddie Noack but sank without a trace at that time. Maybe the Noack version got some airplay in Michigan, but I certainly never knew the song until Kittel cut it.

I believe Kittel passed away quite a long time ago.
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frank rogers

 

From:
usa
Post  Posted 15 Sep 2015 6:51 pm    
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Mitch has most of the story down pat. I was working for a small studio that wanted "sound-alike" compilation recordings to market at truck stops, gas stations etc. So, with my brother as engineer and me as virtually the only musician, I began copying the hits of the day. So, because the budget was so limited, I was given the opportunity to produce some of my own projects, in other words, I would pick the artist, decide on the songs, play all the instruments with a metronome and bring in a drummer to play with the track and then my brother would do the mixing etc. The recording was very successful and ended up in a Disney movie with Bill Murray and Matthew McConaughey. It is thought to be the quintessential and most popular rendition of the Leon Payne classic. The Steel I used was a '69 Emmons single neck and played with no picks.
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b0b


From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
Post  Posted 15 Sep 2015 10:26 pm    
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Thanks, guys! Very cool - and great steel playing by Frank!
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Lem Smith

 

From:
Long Beach, MS
Post  Posted 17 Sep 2015 12:37 am    
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I first heard the last part of this song several years ago on the Dr. Demento radio show, that I happened upon while tuning across the AM band one night. I later found the whole version online, and like b0b, I wondered who was playing the steel.

Great job, Frank. I think this version by Jack is the best out of all the different artists who have recorded it.
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john widgren


From:
Wilton CT
Post  Posted 17 Sep 2015 5:21 am     Psycho
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Here is Thirsty Dave and the Western Caravan doing an homage to the great Leon Payne with a Christmas version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K3TDLWLJ9k
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George Redmon


From:
Muskegon & Detroit Michigan.
Post  Posted 27 Sep 2015 11:07 pm    
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Mitch you're right. Jack Kittle was tragically killed in an automobile accident several years ago. It occurred about a mile from my home. It was a very dangerous intersection. Cars would barrel through there 50 60 miles per hour. We knew it was just a matter of time. Sure enough someone ran the stop sign and killed him. Jack worked for the hardware company up here, and delivered LP Gas to me when I still had the farm. We petitioned the county to make it a 4 way stop. They argued with the state about the money. Anyway....it's now a 4 way stop with a flashing red stop light. I miss not seeing Jack up around here. He stopped performing for the most part long before his untimely death. The nicest guy you'd ever want to meet.
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Bob Hoffnar


From:
Austin, Tx
Post  Posted 29 Sep 2015 4:40 pm    
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Frank, that is a great story about a a very cool recording !
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frank rogers

 

From:
usa
Post  Posted 1 Oct 2015 3:41 pm    
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Thanks Bob!!! How are things in the Great State of Texas? I could use an "Austin Winter"...gotta be better then Michigan Very Happy
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Stephen Gregory

 

Post  Posted 25 Nov 2016 9:40 pm    
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Very Cool!!
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David Ellison

 

From:
California, USA
Post  Posted 5 Dec 2016 10:02 pm    
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The playing is good, but I think that is one of the worst songs I've ever heard in my life. I see no reason to ever listen to it again.
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Stephen Gregory

 

Post  Posted 20 Apr 2017 2:34 pm    
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Interesting arrangement. Starts in D, modulates a whole step to E and then to F a half tone for the third verse and out in Dmi. So it starts in D major and ends in D minor, rather seamlessly. No wonder it sounds so spooky.
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Jeff Mead


From:
London, England
Post  Posted 20 Apr 2017 3:16 pm    
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I've always loved this song. I only knew the Eddie Noack version but I really like this version a lot.
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Mitch Drumm

 

From:
Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake
Post  Posted 20 Apr 2017 3:46 pm    
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I just did some checking on this tune.

The Kittel version reached #114 in Cash Box 's "Looking Ahead" column in September 1974. I don't think it ever made any "top 100" list. I first heard it in late July 1974.

Leon Payne never cut it, but his original lyric sheet is said to end with "You better let 'em lock me up".

Noack's version ends with:

You think I'm psycho don't you, mama
Didn't mean to break your cup
You think I'm psycho don't you, mama
Mama, mama, why don't you get up?
Say somethin’ to me, mama
Mama, why don’t you get up?
Mama……………….

Whereas Kittel's version ends with:

You think I'm psycho don't you, mama
I didn't mean to break your cup
You think I'm psycho don't you, mama
Oh mama, why don't you get up?

Wish I knew how Kittel came across the song. I seem to recall he had heard it performed locally in Michigan by another obscure artist, not Noack.

Payne had a wonderful way with words.

Check "Reflex Reaction"----"the blondes are too frowsy, the brunettes too blowsy, the redheads just giggle and lisp".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkKFZL5wDOE


Not to mention this classic, done by many. Payne wrote it under the name "Pat Patterson". Here is Johnny Winter's take, with Rick Derringer on steel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUiyKvE-saE
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Daniel McKee

 

From:
Corinth Mississippi
Post  Posted 20 Apr 2017 11:57 pm    
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Been a long time since I hear Jack's version. I play Eddie Noack's version quite often. To be honest, I had forgotten how good it really was. Jack Kittel had a voice that I think would have fit well in mainstream country of the 1970's and I'm surprised he didn't go on to be a bigger star. I also did not know this was used in a movie but being a movie fanatic, I will have to go find that, I believe it is called "Larger Than Life".
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