I'm A Loving Man

Lyrics: Clancy Carlile
Music: Clancy Carlile

This was recorded in 1970 seemingly for a never-completed Pigpen solo album - though it sounds to me as if Bob Weir sings some of the verses.

I'm a loving man
I'm a loving man
Best old lover you ever did see
Come on honey, well make love to me
I'm a loving man
I'm a loving man

When I was a little boy about so high
I used to make all the little girls cry
But it was love they was crying for
And all them little girls were crying for more
I'm a loving man
I'm a loving man

I'm a loving man
I'm a loving man
You ought to see me when I do my stuff
Little girls can't never seem to get enough
I'm a loving man
I'm a loving man

If you want some loving that will make you feel all right
Come around and see me 'bout twelve o'clock at night
Did you say that your love was funny
I'll make you shout "great God Almighty"
I'm a loving man
I'm a loving man

I just wanna be alone with you
We'll make love the whole night through

"Bass player on the date (on my recommendation) was Dennis Parker, who was in a band at the time called All Men Joy, and went on later to play with the Don Ellis Orchestra. Drummer was Scott Morris, who still plays jazz, wedding and cocktail-hour dates around the Bay Area. Song was written by Clancy Carlile, a musician and writer (recently deceased) who wrote "Honkytonk Man" picked up for a film by Clint Eastwood, stuff for TV, etc. He also sang & played guitar in little country bands; I played with him for years. He was involved in the production, as was one Bill Freeman, whose exact involvement I forget. Also, Bob (?) Serempa (sp??) may have been executive-producing; the album was to come out on Mercury, and Serempa was the local A&R for Mercury, at a time when it had a strong presence in SF. Remember that Toast Studios on Mission, previously Coast, was, before that, Mercury West until the early 70s. "Lovin' Man," however, was cut at PHR, Pacific High Recording, a room on Brady Alley just off Market that saw quite a bit of recording. I did some other dates there: for Mike Shrieve, I remember, who was playing traps for Santana."

"In late 1969 I played fiddle on a song called "I'm a Lovin' Man" for a proposed Pigpen solo album. As noted elsewhere, Jerry, Pigpen and Weir were playing. The bass player was Dennis Parker, then with a SF band called Allmen Joy, who later relocated to LA and played in the Don Ellis Big Band (I seem to remember he may have done some stuff with Frank Zappa too). Drummer was Scott Morris, who is still around playing all kinds of gigs (as am I).

The session was at Pacific High Recording. PHR was the "avant-garde" studio of the time. Rooms were still rare in SF; by the mid-70s the number had probably easily tripled. But in '69 Heider's and the Automatt didn't exist yet, there was the little four-tracker in the basement of Columbus Tower up in North Beach, and the venerable Golden State Recorders, where the Sons of Champlin recorded their first (double) album. The owner/engineer there, Leo Kulka, made no bones about hating rock and roll, yet got a surprisingly good sound on the Sons. PHR was different--more simpatico to rock--and used a lot for "side projects."

The song was written by Clancy Carlile, a novelist, songwriter and honkytonk guitarist/singer with whom I was playing in a band. He's been dead a couple years now. Sold a book to Clint Eastwood in 1984 or so, made into a movie called "Honkytonk Man" which went nowhere. Incidentally, Clancy and I began producing kids' stuff for Standard School Broadcast in '72. One of the artists we recorded was Vassar Clements, who brought Old And In The Way into the studio to back him up. Jerry insisted on being listed anonymously on the final record (with John Kahn, Sandy Rothman etc.)

My recollection is that Pigpen's album was maybe going to come out on Mercury or its subsidiary Smash. Mercury had a strong presence in SF at the time, with its own studio, later Coast Recorders and still going strong as Toast Studios which records largely alternative bands. The producer I think was one Bob Serempa, a local a & r man with Mercury. I don't know why he used PHR for the recording except that Coast was very busy with people like the Sir Douglas Quintet at the time. I also recall a guy named Bill Freeman being at the session in some sort of executive capacity."