Was in Book Soup in Hollywood a few weeks ago for the book signing of “Arthur Lee: Forever Changes.”
For the uninitiated, Arthur Lee was the lead singer of Love — a multi-ethnic LA band that ruled the Sunset Strip during the mid-1960s along with The Doors and the Byrds.
Beyond being a master performer, mulit-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter, Lee was revered by Morrison, Robert Plant and a host of musicians who went on to achieve fame. It’s also argued by some that Hendrix’s psychedelic style was influenced by Lee (Lee himself claimed Hendrix adopted his style).
Lee was the mastermind behind “Forever Changes,” Love’s most noteworthy album, garnering a #40 ranking on Rolling Stone’s list of “Best Albums of All Time.”
Love was the first rock band signed to the Elektra label, and one of the first — if not the first — multi-ethnic rock bands with a black lead singer at the helm.
Over the years, Lee’s life story would itself become the stuff of legend — with a prison sentence on trumped up gun charges and no shortage of drugs and backstage rumors thrown in for good measure. Although the legend lives on, sadly Lee succumbed in 2006 to leukemia.
During the book reading, Einarson related that a “lost” recording from acetate disc containing a recorded jam session between Hendrix and Lee has appeared on YouTube. I looked it up, and sure enough it’s there. Someone purchased the lost acetate from e-Bay, believe it or not, and was gracious enough to post the recording after purchasing it.
Newbies to Arthur Lee and Love probably wouldn’t grasp the importance of this rare recording — but for fans, it’s definitely a treat. Here’s one of the recordings, “Loon” — Arthur Lee, Hendrix and Love, jamming in the studio.
CaliBlackRock 