Sailcat
Encyclopedia
Sailcat was a short-lived American rock and roll
band. They were a one-hit wonder
who scored a hit single in the summer of 1972 with the song "Motorcycle Mama".
rock music scene who had been in The Rubber Band with John Townsend (later of the Sanford-Townsend Band
). Sailcat's vocalist was Court Pickett, brother of The Rubber Band's Ed Pickett. An early demo tape cut by the duo, which included the song "Motorcycle Mama", was initially discarded by the band but after it was presented to Elektra Records
led to a record contract and an invitation to cut an album. On the 1990 compilation album Rubáiyát
the song is covered by The Sugarcubes
featuring Björk
.
The resulting album, also titled Motorcycle Mama, was a concept album
with biker
theme, about a motorcycle riding drifter in the Easy Rider
vein who tires of life on the road and falls in love with a young woman. The cover art was drawn by Jack Davis
and featured a series of motorcycle
related drawings for each song on the album. The concept album
's songs loosely tell the story of a motorcycle vagrant, who apparently steals for a living, meeting a woman and settling down to start a family. However, he apparently keeps some of his selfish behaviours as the last drawing shows him reclining on his porch while his wife hangs the laundry and his child hoes the garden.
The single "Motorcycle Mama" hit #12 on the Billboard magazine singles charts, and the album went to #38. Sailcat toured to promote the album, released one more non-LP single, "Baby Ruth" which did not chart, then broke up citing burnout from touring.
Although a hit at the time, the album fell into obscurity and did not see official re-release on CD
until 2004.
Courtland Pickett later issued a solo album, Fancy Dancer, on the Elektra
label in 1973. Court Pickett now lives in Rock Hill, S.C.
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
band. They were a one-hit wonder
One-hit wonder
A one-hit wonder is a person or act known mainly for only a single success. The term is most often used to describe music performers with only one hit single.-Characteristics:...
who scored a hit single in the summer of 1972 with the song "Motorcycle Mama".
Track listing
- Side one
- "Rainbow Road" John Wyker - 4:00
- "The Thief" Court Pickett - 3:30
- "Highway Rider/Highway Riff" John Wyker & Court Pickett - 5:40
- "The Dream" Court Pickett - 2:45
- Side two
- "If You've Got A Daughter" Court Pickett - 1:33
- "Ambush" John Wyker, Clayton Ivey, Pete Car - 3:06
- "B.B. Gunn" John Wyker - 2:48
- "It'll Be A Long Long Time" Court Pickett - 2:12
- "Motorcycle Mama" John Wyker & Court Pickett - 2:06
- "Walking Together Backwards" John Wyker - 3:19
- "On The Brighter Side Of It All" John Wyker - 2:23
History
Sailcat was the brainchild of John Wyker, a veteran of the Muscle Shoals, AlabamaMuscle Shoals, Alabama
Muscle Shoals is a city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. As of 2007, the United States Census Bureau estimated the population of the city to be 12,846. The city is included in The Shoals MSA. It is famous for its contributions to American popular music.-Geography:Muscle Shoals is located...
rock music scene who had been in The Rubber Band with John Townsend (later of the Sanford-Townsend Band
Sanford-Townsend Band
The Sanford-Townsend Band was a successful rock and roll band in the United States. They are considered a one-hit wonder who scored a hit single in 1977 with "Smoke from a Distant Fire".-History:...
). Sailcat's vocalist was Court Pickett, brother of The Rubber Band's Ed Pickett. An early demo tape cut by the duo, which included the song "Motorcycle Mama", was initially discarded by the band but after it was presented to Elektra Records
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
led to a record contract and an invitation to cut an album. On the 1990 compilation album Rubáiyát
Rubáiyát
Rubáiyát is a compilation album, released in 1990 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Elektra Records record label. The concept was to feature present-day Elektra artists covering songs from the historic catalogue of recordings of Elektra Records and its sister label Asylum Records.Two...
the song is covered by The Sugarcubes
The Sugarcubes
The Sugarcubes were an Icelandic alternative rock band formed in 1986 and disbanded in 1992. They received critical and popular acclaim internationally.-History:...
featuring Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
.
The resulting album, also titled Motorcycle Mama, was a concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
with biker
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
theme, about a motorcycle riding drifter in the Easy Rider
Easy Rider
Easy Rider is a 1969 American road movie written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern, produced by Fonda and directed by Hopper. It tells the story of two bikers who travel through the American Southwest and South with the aim of achieving freedom...
vein who tires of life on the road and falls in love with a young woman. The cover art was drawn by Jack Davis
Jack Davis (cartoonist)
Jack Davis is an American cartoonist and illustrator, known for his advertising art, magazine covers, film posters, record album art and numerous comic book stories...
and featured a series of motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
related drawings for each song on the album. The concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
's songs loosely tell the story of a motorcycle vagrant, who apparently steals for a living, meeting a woman and settling down to start a family. However, he apparently keeps some of his selfish behaviours as the last drawing shows him reclining on his porch while his wife hangs the laundry and his child hoes the garden.
The single "Motorcycle Mama" hit #12 on the Billboard magazine singles charts, and the album went to #38. Sailcat toured to promote the album, released one more non-LP single, "Baby Ruth" which did not chart, then broke up citing burnout from touring.
Although a hit at the time, the album fell into obscurity and did not see official re-release on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
until 2004.
Courtland Pickett later issued a solo album, Fancy Dancer, on the Elektra
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
label in 1973. Court Pickett now lives in Rock Hill, S.C.