Emitt Rhodes

• Genre: Baroque Pop
• Hometown: Hawthorne

About

The Beach Boys weren't the only musical talent to come from Hawthorne, California in the 1960s. A Paul McCartney-inspired singer/songwriter by the name of Emitt Rhodes also hailed from Hawthorne, although to this day he remains rather an unsung hero appreciated by ardent vinyl collectors, most of whom discovered his amazing solo works by following the family tree of late '60s baroque pop band the Merry-Go-Round of which Rhodes was lead singer. When the Merry-Go-Round disbanded, Rhodes set up shop in his parents' garage where he recorded the demos that would reward him with a deal on ABC/Dunhill records. If you listen to his self-titled 1970 debut, it's almost impossible to ask, "Wait a minute, you mean this isn't Paul McCartney?" Especially upon hearing his first hit, "Someone Made For Me." What's even more impressive than the notion that he was giving McCartney fans something that Macca's own Wings project couldn't deliver is the fact that Rhodes played every instrument on this exquisite album that was recorded in the aforementioned home studio. He released two other solo albums of lesser success (Mirror in 1971 and Farewell to Paradise in 1973) before hanging up his talents to pursue a job as a studio engineer for Elektra Records. Although he never released another solo album, he continued to record a stash of demos which circulate as bootlegs today amongst the diehard fans of the Emitt Rhodes cult.

- Eric Shea