Introducing…The Now Generation!
Wastin’ away again….on a budget label.
Before there he was singing of cheeseburgers in paradise and white sport coats with pink crustaceans, Jimmy Buffett was a hopeful singer-songwriter toiling away in Nashville. With Buffett’s untimely passing, I thought I’d share a bit about my favorite records of his…which he might not even be on. If that confuses you, I’ll sort it out…
Although his biographies online seem to skip over much of this era, after he left college in the mid sixties, Jimmy Buffett found his way to Tennessee, where he somehow hooked up with budget label Spar Records.
Spar was started in 1961 by record men Alan Bubis and William Beasley, both of whom had been partners in the Tennessee and Republic labels and worked as distributors. Spar’s hustle was to record cover versions of popular chart hits of the day, which would be pressed up quickly and sold cheaply in places like drugstores and general shops (emphasis on the quickly and cheaply.) This might seem odd to some nowadays but these was a big big business back in the fifties and sixties, with loads of labels cranking this kind of stuff out, both in the States and abroad. And judging by the number of whipped copies of these records I come across, many teenagers likely didn’t give a damn if they were listening to Booker T and the MGs “Green Onions” or a slightly wobbly take by a group they’d never heard of. What was important was one cost 98 cents (Booker T) and the other 39 cents.
Being based in a music hub like Nashville meant that Spar had access to a steady stream of musicians to work their sessions, among them upstart talents like Bobby Russell, Buzz Cason, Peggy Gaines and saxophonist Boots Randolph, amongst others. Anyone who was talented, reliable and looking for some quick cash in Nashville likely found their way thru the doors of Spar.
Which probably explains how a young Jimmy Buffett found himself as a member of Spar group The Now Generation, whom recorded a series of LPs for the label starting in 1968-69. I should say ‘probably’ recorded as I have absolutely no idea who else was in the group, and out of the group of happy people on the album covers, which, if any, actually appeared on the records. Like most cash-in and exploito records, details are vague and it’s probably best that way.
Musically, The Now Generation’s material tended to stray towards aforementioned covers of hits of the day, with excursions towards earlier 60s rockers like “Wooly Bully” and “Little Bit of Soul”. They also did their fair share of wimpy pop songs and vocal tunes. Basically whatever tapes Spar had in the vaults would get thrown on these albums, plus some new material. Which naturally means each album is a mixed bag. No, I don’t know what songs Jimmy Buffett sang on, nor can I tell. (I’m gonna go on a wild guess and say he’s not playing the sax or organ on the awesome ‘n’ funky instrumental “Truckstop”, but who knows?)
In any case, The Now Generation failed to catch on with the now generation, and by the mid seventies, Spar had folded too. Of course by then, Buffett was already a singer-songwriter planning his next musical move…and not surprisingly, his early years in Nashville remained buried in his last, like some treasure off the Key West coast. (See what I did there?)
A few years back, some label in Germany issued a CD anthology of the Now Generation (finally! No one besides me said) and it’s a fun comp - some junk, some gems and even a few highlights, much like a good exploito album. I don’t know if I’d call these recordings legendary but they are fun at times. What makes it confusing are that some of the recordings on the CD also came out on 45s credited to other artists back in the day, so we’ll likely never know who’s on what. But dig some highlights below:
..,Better than highlights, someone has graciously uploaded an entire Now Generation album on YT (and it’s the one that features Truckstop!)