Memory is a funny thing, mainly because they’re completely unreliable. And it’s quite easy to have false memories. My memories for the Gypsy album tells me I bought it in the early 1970s, and when I was dating my wife in 1977, I went through her records and found a copy of it. I have a memory of saying, “Hey, you like this album too?” I thought it was cool we both loved an obscure record. I asked Susan this morning of her memory about the album, and she says she owned it before we met. That’s confirmation, but read on. We both might be fooling ourselves.
You can listen to the album while you read on. And if you owned this album please leave a comment. I’ve never met anyone else who loved this album.
All this dredging of memories came about because I got out my CD of Gypsy the other day and played it. I thought, “Wow, what a wonderful album, why wasn’t it famous? What happened to the group? Should I buy their other albums?” Checking Spotify showed they didn’t exist in that worldwide form of collective memory. Nor are their albums available to buy on Amazon. I then checked YouTube, which is becoming our digital attic, and found copies of their albums to play. That made me even more curious about what happened to the band. Then that night, while browsing new YouTube offerings on my TV, YouTube listed a documentary about the group Gypsy in my to watch feed. I know people complain about digital companies tracking our interests, but I was quite thankful for this intrusion. The 2016 documentary Gypsy: Rock and Roll Nomads answered most of my questions.
But when I started checking facts, I’m not sure I can support Susan’s and my memories. Gypsy by Gypsy came out in 1970, and according to the documentary, bombed because Metromedia Records did not promote it. Now I bought a lot of albums simply because of their covers, and this was one – I’m positive. But then this is a story about faulty memories. I could have bought it in late 1970, but I can’t remember that. I don’t have a memory for when and where I bought it. All I remember was loving the cover, buying it, and then loving the album when I played it. I played it for weeks, and then put it away. That’s what my memory tells me. That could have happened from 1970-1977 before I met Susan. However, because the album was so poorly promoted, I probably needed to have bought it right after it was first released in 1970. I have no memory of buying it that early. How long does an album hang around in record stores?
The information I found at Discogs implies it got better support than the documentary suggested since it was released on LP, cassette, 8-track, and reel-to-real, and it was also published in eight countries outside the U.S.
Now the Discogs information gives me a second theory, one that conflicts with Susan’s and my memories. The album was rereleased in 1979 on LP, the year after we got married. I could have bought it then, at Peaches, and we discovered we loved it together. Later on we both gave ourselves false memories that we had discovered it by ourselves. Unfortunately, we got rid of our LPs as we bought CDs, so I don’t have any physical proof of which pressings we owned.
Sometime after 1990 I bought Gypsy again on CD (AJK Music A 862-1). It’s a fantastic album, but no one we know is familiar with it. When I played the CD the day before yesterday, I played it loud, and it sounded amazingly great. I just can’t believe it’s not a classic rock album everyone knows. Watching the documentary explained why the band failed. It was the typical story of we could have been contenders, we were almost famous, we were at all the right places, had all the right opportunities, performed with all the other great bands, but we just didn’t make it.
But I had one last unanswered question. Why isn’t this great album on Spotify? I think I found an answer to that question too. Spotify doesn’t pay much and some bands won’t release their albums through streaming music services. From the documentary I learned that James Walsh keeps the band going and sells CDs online. He is the only original member of the band still trying to keep the band’s memory alive. All four of Gypsy’s albums are available from their website as a 4-pack for $60, as well as histories of the band. The site was updated 3/4/21, but there are no new concerts scheduled. I have a feeling the site was created to promote the CDs and documentary, but concerts are rare.
I wonder how many CDs Walsh still sells? I know streaming pays poorly but it does keep the music alive, and it’s worldwide distribution. I don’t know about the second, third, and fourth albums, but the first album, Gypsy, really needs to be out there for people to discover. Keeping it off Spotify is a big mistake, like when whey went with Metromedia instead of Atlantic.
JWH
Auxiliary Memory 
Him asked: “How long does an album hang around in record stores?”
“What’s a. record store, Grandma?”
Oh my – that would take some explaining –
1. A record is …
2. A store is …
LOL!
I remember seeing the album cover somewhere an as I listened I know some of the tracks sound familiar but others, no.
Actually, I might have seen the band when they were the house band at Whiskey a Go Go in LA in 1966. I visited several times when I lived for a brief time in LA.
Becky
Becky, if you were hitting the Sunset Strip in 1966, then you must have seen some legendary bands, like The Byrds and Buffalo Springfield. I’m very jealous.
Yep – I lived about 2 1/2 hours north of Sunset Strip (West Hollywood). I was only in LA for the summer of 1966 – after high school/before college. I was working days at an insurance company as a file clerk. But I had a girlfriend who liked to party and we’d go down to Whiskey a Go Go or there were other “hot” places there. The thing is I was 18 and don’t really remember who all we saw! Only about 3 or 4 times. (I don’t remember how I got in now – I had a fake ID for awhile but … ??? then???)
Just to add insult to injury – I moved up to San Francisco the next summer (1967 Summer of Love). I went with another girlfriend and worked at a beauty salon. We’d explored in late March and moved in May. We frequented the Haight a few times – maybe 6. I lived on Sacramento Street across from Lafayette Park. Everything changed so much and so fast.
On the down side – after the summers were over I went back to Porterville in the Central Valley and college and marriage in 1969. But then and for a couple years my hubby and I were crawling around Berkeley (his alma mater) for the peace marches in Golden Gate park – the Peace Moratorium time. Weekends only at this point –
And now you know about 90% of my old hippie life. LOL! Yes, I remember a lot of the music.