One Album Wonders: The legend of Lakota

It seems that in the 1970s, every third band dabbling in country rock was named after a Native American tribe, a Native American chief or something other Native American-related. Some of these bands were more improbable than others. Such as one of the handful of bands named Lakota, this one being built around the songwriting, playing and singing of J.W. Grimm (not related to the famous Grimm brothers, as far as I know). These guys were called Lakota, using Native American imagery and came from the dusty plains and rocky canyons of...Long Branch, New Jersey. Lakota was essentially a two-person band: Grimm on lead guitar and lead vocals and J.T. Callahan on drums, percussion and harmony vocals. For their one and only album in 1979 they picked up help from William Sleight on Bass and Chris Norden on rhythm guitar. Published on JBS Records, only a few hundred copies of this crept out at the time. 1979 was of course a time by which country rock was entiely passé, so a straggler like this didn't have a chance. But how wrong people were! 

Unknown or little known country rock records are a dime a dozen and most of them probably deserve to await in attics or one dollar bins. But sometimes you can pull a diamond in the rough from out of that pile of obscure bands with country leanings and Lakota's self-titled album is such a case. It's an excellent listen all the way through, something that a lot of his peers in the genre didn't manage. Grimm was a really solid songwriter and performer. He also liked to play some loud rock guitar, as Lakota definitely come down more on the rock side of the country rock equation. So, if you're not that big on pedal steel and such, but like crunchy guitar and Southern Rock, you should definitely check this out as well. 

Speaking of Southern Rock, Grimm gets a little indulgent on "J.W. Crier", an almost seven minute extended rock jam, but unlike a lot of peers, he actually has the chops to pull it off. I personally am not a huge fan of jams, but I can groove with J.W. to J.W. Whether it's a beautiful country ballad like "Walking In The Rain" or a mid-tempo round-up like "Simple Wave", Lakota offers a constantly good listen. Actually, most songs are kept mid-tempo, giving the album a friendly, almost folk-rock-ish sound at times, as exemplified by the fantastic "If I Wanted To". 

'Nuff said, as they used to say at Marvel. Get this album and play it, it is definitely worth checking out and becoming part of your rotation. New Jersey Injuns rockin' your (virtual) turntable! Who'd have thought?