Watch A Video For The Unearthed Terry Dolan LP Getting Released After 43 Years
You probably don’t know the name Terry Dolan, but you probably should. You probably should because his 1972 self-titled debut is a very good album; you probably don’t because it was never actually released.
When he was 21, Dolan moved from Connecticut to San Francisco, starting to make a name for himself in the city’s burgeoning folk-rock scene and eventually scoring a hit on local FM stations with a 1970 demo for his song “Inlaws And Outlaws.” After securing a record deal with Warner Bros. on the strength of that demo, he set about recording his debut album, enlisting legendary British session pianist Nicky Hopkins to produce and play keys.
Together, they rounded up a group of musicians including Prairie Prince of Journey and the Tubes on drums, Lonnie Turner of the Steve Miller Band on bass, the Steve Miller Band’s Greg Douglass and Quicksilver Messenger Service’s John Cipollina on guitar, and June, Bonnie, and Anita Pointer, aka the Pointer Sisters, on backup vocals. But Hopkins was called away on tour by the Rolling Stones and pulled out of the project after only four of the album’s eight songs had been tracked and mixed, forcing Dolan to recruit another English rocker, Pete Sears, to produce the album’s second half. Sears brought Journey guitarist Neal Schon and drummer David Weber on board, and by September 1972, the album was complete.
But Hopkins’ departure wasn’t the last of the album’s troubles. Just two months before its scheduled February 1973 release date, Warner Bros. officially cancelled it and dropped Dolan from the label, offering no warning or explanation. Dolan regrouped, going on to form the band Terry & The Pirates and becoming a fixture of the Bay Area music scene until his death in 2012, but Terry Dolan was forgotten, collecting dust on a shelf somewhere for the next 43 years.
Until now, that is. Thanks to High Moon Records, who are releasing the LP in November, Terry Dolan is finally seeing the light of day, and today, we’re premiering a new video for lead single “Inlaws And Outlaws,” the song that started it all. The video is just a collection of archival footage and photos, but the song is as good as it was decades ago, a fiery ’70s rocker jolted to life by Dolan’s exultant refrains of “Alive, alive, alive!” and “Run, hide, be free!” Watch and listen below.
Terry Dolan is out 11/25 on High Moon Records. Pre-order it here or here.