Moonshot (album)
Encyclopedia
Moonshot, released in 1972, was the eighth album by Buffy Sainte-Marie
and her penultimate album for Vanguard Records
.
After the very modest success of her previous album She Used to Wanna Be a Ballerina
, Vanguard again teamed Sainte-Marie with renowned pop session musicians in its effort to improve sales and the amount of money she was making for the label. Most notable among those performing on Moonshot are the Memphis Horns, whilst production was by Buffy herself with Neon Philharmonic
bass player
Norbert Putnam, who had produced Joan Baez
' last Vanguard release Blessed Are...
and was to produce Buffy's next two albums as well.
Although the album itself fared little better commercially than its predecessor, only spending seven weeks on the Billboard Top 200, an extensive promotional campaign by Vanguard and extensive AM radio airplay saw the closing track, a cover of Mickey Newbury
's "Mister Can't You See
", become Sainte-Marie's sole significant commercial success in the States, spending two weeks in the lower reaches of the Top 40 in late April and early May of 1972. However, Sainte-Marie was very upset with Vanguard's extensive promotion of the single and this was one reason why she only recorded one more album for the label before moving to MCA
in 1973.
Billboard (North America)
Single
Buffy Sainte-Marie
Buffy Sainte-Marie, OC is a Canadian Cree singer-songwriter, musician, composer, visual artist, educator, pacifist, and social activist. Throughout her career in all of these areas, her work has focused on issues of Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Her singing and writing repertoire includes...
and her penultimate album for Vanguard Records
Vanguard Records
Vanguard Records is a record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York. It started as a classical label, but is perhaps best known for its catalogue of recordings by a number of pivotal folk and blues artists from the 1960s; the Bach Guild was a subsidiary...
.
After the very modest success of her previous album She Used to Wanna Be a Ballerina
She Used to Wanna Be a Ballerina
She Used to Wanna Be a Ballerina was the seventh album by Buffy Sainte-Marie, released in 1971.Her previous album Illuminations having sold so poorly as to lose Vanguard a considerable sum of money, the label placed considerable pressure on Sainte-Marie to come up with something that would sell in...
, Vanguard again teamed Sainte-Marie with renowned pop session musicians in its effort to improve sales and the amount of money she was making for the label. Most notable among those performing on Moonshot are the Memphis Horns, whilst production was by Buffy herself with Neon Philharmonic
The Neon Philharmonic
The Neon Philharmonic was an American psychedelic pop band led by songwriter and conductor Tupper Saussy and singer Don Gant. They released their only two albums in 1969, and they scored a Top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with "Morning Girl", when it hit the Top Forty in May of that...
bass player
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
Norbert Putnam, who had produced Joan Baez
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
' last Vanguard release Blessed Are...
Blessed Are...
Blessed Are... was a 1971 album by Joan Baez, and her last with Vanguard Records. It included her hit cover of The Band's "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", and work by Kris Kristofferson, the Beatles, Jesse Winchester and The Rolling Stones, as well as a significant number of Baez' own...
and was to produce Buffy's next two albums as well.
Although the album itself fared little better commercially than its predecessor, only spending seven weeks on the Billboard Top 200, an extensive promotional campaign by Vanguard and extensive AM radio airplay saw the closing track, a cover of Mickey Newbury
Mickey Newbury
Mickey Newbury was an American songwriter, a critically acclaimed recording artist, and a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.-Biography:...
's "Mister Can't You See
Mister Can't You See
"Mister Can't You See" is a song written by Mickey Newbury and Townes Van Zandt that first appeared on Newbury's 1968 debut album Harlequin Melodies. Newbury's original version was slow and dominated by strings and a very simple drumbeat, with his voice telling a tale of nature's power and beauty...
", become Sainte-Marie's sole significant commercial success in the States, spending two weeks in the lower reaches of the Top 40 in late April and early May of 1972. However, Sainte-Marie was very upset with Vanguard's extensive promotion of the single and this was one reason why she only recorded one more album for the label before moving to MCA
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
in 1973.
Track listing
All songs composed by Buffy Sainte-Marie unless otherwise indicated- "Not the Lovin' Kind" - 3:53
- "You Know How to Turn on Those Lights" - 2:05
- "I Wanna Hold Your Hand Forever" - 2:59
- "He's an Indian Cowboy in the Rodeo" - 2:09
- "Lay It Down" (Gene Thomasson) - 2:47
- "Moonshot" - 3:49
- "Native North American Child" - 2:14
- "My Baby Left Me" (Arthur CrudupArthur CrudupArthur "Big Boy" Crudup was an American Delta blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known outside blues circles for writing songs such as "That's All Right" , "My Baby Left Me" and "So Glad You're Mine", later covered by Elvis Presley and dozens of other artists.-Career:Arthur Crudup...
) - 3:01 - "Sweet Memories" (Mickey NewburyMickey NewburyMickey Newbury was an American songwriter, a critically acclaimed recording artist, and a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.-Biography:...
) - 3:19 - "Jeremiah" - 3:08
- "Mister Can't You SeeMister Can't You See"Mister Can't You See" is a song written by Mickey Newbury and Townes Van Zandt that first appeared on Newbury's 1968 debut album Harlequin Melodies. Newbury's original version was slow and dominated by strings and a very simple drumbeat, with his voice telling a tale of nature's power and beauty...
" (Mickey Newbury, Townes Van ZandtTownes Van ZandtJohn Townes Van Zandt , best known as Townes Van Zandt, was an American Texas Country-folk music singer-songwriter, performer, and poet...
) - 3:17
Personnel
- Buffy Sainte-Marie - vocals, guitar, piano
- Charlie McCoyCharlie McCoyCharles "Charlie" Ray McCoy is an American musician noted for his harmonica playing. In his career, McCoy has backed several notable musicians including Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Tom Astor, Elvis Presley and Ween. He has also recorded thirty-seven studio albums, including fourteen for Monument Records...
, Billy Sanford - guitar - Norbert PutnamNorbert PutnamNorbert Putnam is an American record producer and musician. He grew up near Florence, Alabama and was part of the Muscle Shoals musicians brought to Nashville to play for Elvis Presley in 1965. Putnam worked there as a bassist on recording sessions with Presley, Roy Orbison, Al Hirt, Henry...
- bass - David BriggsDavid Briggs (musician)David John Briggs is an English organist and composer. He started his career as a cathedral organist as Assistant Organist in Hereford Cathedral before becoming the organist of Truro and Gloucester Cathedrals. Heavily influenced by Jean Langlais and Pierre Cochereau, Briggs is regarded as one of...
- keyboards - Kenny ButtreyKenny ButtreyAaron Kenneth Buttrey was an American drummer and arranger. According to CMT, he was "one of the most influential session musicians in Nashville history"....
- drums - Memphis Horns
Charts
AlbumBillboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Pop Albums | 134 |
Single
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | "Mister Can't You See" | Billboard Pop Singles | 38 |
| 1972 | "He's an Indian Cowboy in the Rodeo" | Billboard Pop Singles | 98 |