FRED VAIL WITH BRIAN WILSON
Title: date: Cows In The Pasture Release Autumn Long-gestating country album, fronted by The Beach Boys’ one-time manager
Back to the country: (l–r) Brian Wilson, Sam Parker and Fred Vail
FRED VAIL:
The Beach Boys and I go back to May 1963, when I booked them for a concert fundraiser for my high school in Sacramento. I became their manager in 1969, then a year later Brian said to me: “I want to produce a country album. And I want
you
to be the vocalist.” I was a big country fan and he knew I could sing. So we put a group together – Glen D Hardin, JayDee Maness, Buddy Emmons, Red Rhodes, Gib Guilbeau and others – and went into Wally Heider’s studio in April 1970. We recorded about 15 tracks. The only song that Brian really wanted me to do was Roy Orbison’s “Only The Lonely”. I’ve always loved Hank
Snow, so we did “(Now And Then There’s) A Fool Such As I”, Johnny Horton’s “All For The Love Of The Girl” and Hank Williams’ “I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still In Love With You)”. And some originals – “Kittens, Kids & Kites”, “Lucky Billy”, “Bethany Ann” – written by outside songwriters. Then all of a sudden, Brian got cold feet. He just lost interest. Years passed, but word of these tapes had got out among the diehards. Then Sam [Parker,