DESCRIPTION:
Sweetheart Town – Great song. I think we made a pretty great record. The song was written by two of my oldest friends: Jim Pulte (Norman) and John Herron (OKC). Both have been gone for awhile.

Pulte died a couple years ago - never having really recovered from the death of his wife Joyce a few years earlier. They were both dear friends. I miss Pulte more than I can say. He was, in his youth, a part of a Norman band called The Disciples - which at one time included Jesse Ed Davis on guitar - and also John "Moon" Martin who wrote "Bad Case of Loving You" that was a giant hit for Robert Palmer. Moon is still writing and recording. He's even slower at finishing a record than I am. Pulte contributed to all my records - generally singing harmony here and there... He wrote a song we recorded for the first Tractors record (the big one) called "The Little Man." He's singing harmony with me on "Sweetheart Town." The Disciples ended up in California as Southwind which released two really fine major label (Blue Thumb / CBS I think) records - but not getting much traction. Pulte then did a couple great solo records on United Artists (I think) - both produced by Jesse Ed. I had a nice talk with him a week or so before he died. Jim and Joyce had purchased land north of Stillwater and Jim had started a new house when Joyce was diagnosed with cancer. We talked that day of him getting back to the property to finish the house. We had known for 6 months or so that Jim was is trouble with his health - and plotted behind his back to find a plan to get him back on a healthy path. He sounded so great that last conversation, I had a false sense of hope. I never saw or spoke to him again.

And the cowriter - also dear friend - John Herron. He was a keyboard player, singer, and songwriter. That's Herron playing piano and organ the Sweetheart Town record. Back in '95, John got a serious dose of the so-called "flesh eating disease/bacteria." I talked to him one Saturday morning about filling in on some Tractors dates. He said, "Sure... Life is so great for me right now. I'm holding my new baby daughter as we speak. Everything is really great. Let me know what you need." I found out later that a few hours after that phone call, he had passed out and was lying on the floor. They wrapped him in a blanket and carried him to the hospital - where they somehow caught it in time and he didn't die. It took many months of recovery and rehabilitation before he was back at life - but he was back and always in a happy mood. He wore a T-shirt that just read: LUCKY - pretty worn out by the time I saw it a year or so later. Herron had some family estate stuff to take care of in OKC and while he was in the Oklahoma, he came over to Tulsa to play on my new tunes at The Church Studio. I remember we had a great lunch at Queenie's - which is where we took everybody in those days. We went back to the studio to work. I just wanted him to pretty much copy the keyboard parts he had played on the original demo that I'd been listening to for 10 years. He was wearing his LUCKY shirt as he played really world class stuff for me on the Steinway and B3 that day. Shortly after that, he returned to his home in California. He had a wreck at an intersection. His GMC flipped and Herron was essentially strangled to death by his seatbelt and shoulder harness. I believe he would still say he was LUCKY to have had that extra time in the world he loved.

I’m not 100% sure I have all of that exactly right, but it’s pretty close.

On this recording, you will hear myself playing guitars and banging some drums, the deservedly legendary Willie Weeks playing electric bass, Herron playing Steinway and Hammond B3, and Pulte singing the harmony and background vocals.


-uploaded in HD at http://www.TunesToTube.com