On the record
By Casey Gillis on Apr. 24, 2008
By Bradford Brady and John Maron
Q: I remember an early ’70s band called Wonderwheel. Is their music commercially available?
A: Wonderwheel was the band formed by Gary Wright to back in him on his solo albums released from 1970 to 1972. Wright, a New Jersey native, moved to London in the late ’60s and joined the band Spooky Tooth. When that band broke up in 1970, Wright recorded three solo albums with Wonderwheel as his backing band. Spooky Tooth reformed briefly in the early ’70s but disbanded for good in 1974. Wonderwheel and the second edition of Spooky Tooth both featured Mick Jones, who just a few years later would form Foreigner. Wright would also experience greater success with the hits “Dream Weaver” and ”Love is Alive” from his 1976 album, “The Dream Weaver.” Although it may be hard to find any of Wright’s early solo albums, some of the songs from these albums can be found on his greatest hits album, “Best of the Dream Weaver.”
Q: I am curious about the subject of the old Credence Clearwater Revival song, “Susie Q.” Was she a real person?
A: As it turns out, the answer is “yes,” although the song was not original to Credence Clearwater Revival. The song, which was featured on the band’s 1968 eponymous debut album, was actually written by a then-19-year old Louisiana guitarist named Dale Hawkins. Born Delmer Allen Hawkins in Goldmine, La., in August 1938, Hawkins recorded the bluesy, “swamp rock” song in the studio of radio station KWKH in Shreveport, La. It was released as a single on the R&B Chess label in 1957. It was one of the first commercially successful rockabilly songs, and, having been written and recorded by a white performer, it helped other R&B artists to gain acceptance by the wider, largely white mainstream audience. The song peaked at No. 27 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart. It was written about the daughter of Jewel Records president, Stan Lewis. The original features a guitar solo by the 15-year-old guitarist, James Burton, who would later perform with Elvis Presley. Although Hawkins would never be able to exactly match his earlier success with “Susie Q,” he did go on to be a successful producer for the Uniques, Five Americans, Jon & Robin & the In Crowd, Michael Nesmith (of Monkees fame), Harry Nilsson and others. In 1999, he released his first record of original material in 30 years, entitled “Wildcat Tamer.” On it, he does a new version of “Susie Q,” which is reminiscent of both the CCR version of the song and the Pretenders’ 1982 hit, “My City Was Gone.”
What’s the name of that song? Where are they now? What does that lyric mean? Send questions to
or visit http://www.musicontherecord
.com. Brady and Maron are freelance music writers based in Raleigh, N.C.
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