Michael Brewer of Brewer and Shipley Dead at 80

UltimateClassicRock ^

[Southside_Chicago_Republican]

I like how Welk praised it as a new spiritual.

It’s funny that he wouldn’t allow “Snowbird” to be performed for a long time because he thought it was about cocaine , but somehow “One Toke” made it through.

[I-ambush]

“Lawrence Welk Show - One Toke Over The Line (you couldn’t handle that on strong acid).”
I’ve seen this video before. I wonder who convinced Welk it was a “modern spiritual.” Too bad they didn’t do Aliotta Haynes Jeremiah’s “ode to the city of Chicago,” Lake Shore Drive.

[DeplorablePaul]

I once introduced B&S at a performance at my college in Nebraska. I wore yellow bell bottoms.

[x]

It’s a famous song, but I never heard of these guys. I thought some more famous band made the record.

Spiro Agnew might have called it subversive and tried to have it banned from radio. I don’t know if he did or not. But they weren’t actually on the famous enemies lists (there were two lists).

[Vaquero]

Yes. One toke over the line….. indeed.

[TTFlyer]

Northbound out of Kansas City about 10 years ago I see an exit sign for Tarkio, MO. I immediately recalled B&S’ “Tarkio Road”. I’ll be darn. Tarkio Road actually exists.
R.I.P.

[sevlex]

I always liked their version of “Witchi-Tai-To”.

[plain talk]

Thanks. That was funny.

[KevinB]

My band plays “One Toke” at just about every gig. It’s easy to play and a real crowd pleaser. I’ve always been impressed by their clever use of chords in both the key of D and the key of C in the song. Those guys really knew what they were doing musically.

[Hot Tabasco]

I wore yellow bell bottoms.

I was there, I took your picture.....

[SamAdams76]

Brewer & Shipley - Witchi-tai-to (1969)

[skepsel]

In ‘68, 4th grade, we were running around the playground reciting:

“Marijuana, marijuana, LSD, LSD.
Mr. Nixon makes it,
Spiro Agnew takes it.
Why can’t we, why can’t we?”

Our baby sitters and teachers were from Berkeley East, University of Michigan.

[GreenHornet]

“Lawrence Welk Show - One Toke Over The Line (you couldn’t handle that on strong acid).”

I’ve seen this video before. I wonder who convinced Welk it was a “modern spiritual.

I've also seen that video. During rehearsal, I can picture a couple of production guys standing back stage, saying: "You gonna tell him?", "No, I'm not gonna tell him!"

[Larry Lucido]

Man, you’re a youngster! In 1968 I was in seventh grade at Gesu elementary school in Detroit. Our song:

Give a cheer
Give a cheer
For the men who bring the beer
In the cellars of good old Gesu

We were rolling on the floor
When the cops came through the door
And we never
saw Gesu
again

[Fresh Wind]

Back in those long gone days, my Christmas present to my mother’s sister, at her request, was a selection of record albums, which included Tarkio, Sgt. Pepper, and a few others which I forget. She wanted an update on where the popular culture was headed.

I had to explain to her what “toke” meant!

As I recall, in some situations, the “k” was dropped and the title became “One Toe Over the Line”.

Rest in peace, Michael, you did good.

[niteowl77]

Two years later, Fogelberg produced Brewer’s solo album Beauty Lies and released it on his own record label.

I remember that album only because I thought that its version of Brewer's song "Hearts Overflowing" was better than the version that he had recorded with Shipley some years earlier... and was even better than Jonathan Edwards's version, which wan't too bad either. There was a time when Hearts Overflowing was a reasonably popular song at weddings.

[Fresh Wind]

LOL!

[I-ambush]

Haha! I bet Welk thought, “the kids will think I’m hep!”

[Vaquero]

I remember Welk with a faux pas.

“Wunnrrfull wunnerfull now the boys in the band will play Duke Ellington’s ‘Take a train’ “