The Gang They Couldn’t Hang.
Robert Gordon may not be a household name, but he has lived the rock ‘n’ roll dream. He’s played with Springsteen [he recorded ‘Fire’ before The Pointer Sisters], Link Wray, Chris Spedding and Danny Gatton; and recorded some classic tracks through the years. Gordon is now spending time with The Gang They Couldn’t Hang. He caught up with this writer on the line from N.Y.C. to chat about his upcoming visit to Australia, his long ride through the record industry and rock and roll.
I recall turning on the radio back in the day and hearing some echo of Elvis and rock-a-billy, but with an edge, and wondering "Who the hell is this?" Mr. Gordon’s voice and the sound of Link Wray’s guitar were intriguing and exciting. It was not typical radio-friendly music in the late 1970’s. The song rumbled out of my radio and I was hooked. Robert had been playing in a punk band and had hooked up with producer Richard Gottehrer to make some new sounds. Link Wray’s name came up.
"Link had an attack and a sound and an approach to his playing that was not only innovative back in the day when he first did it," Gordon recalls, "but it was the same up until the day he died. I mean who else could do a solo that could make you cry and scare you at the same time? Link was fantastic, god rest his soul. I miss him but we had some great times together personally and working in the studio. He was difficult to work with live because he knew only one way to play and that was on ‘10’,"
"I became aware of Link when I was a kid. He was from a generation before me. I recall seeing him because he came from the Virginia/Washington D.C. area - I grew up there too - I saw him on a local TV show, like a local American Bandstand. Then when I hooked up with Richard Gottehrer (producer/manager in the ‘70’s) and I had split from the punk band Tuff Darts , Richard asked me who I would like to work with. Somehow Link’s name came up and I was like ‘Do you really think you can get a hold of Link?’ It was very exciting. That was my first introduction to not only meeting Link but to getting a chance to record on a professional level."
Those two records, Robert Gordon with Link Wray and Fresh Fish Special are still worth seeking out 30 years on. Robert and Link went their separate ways and the Robert Gordon business was doing well so he needed another guitar-slinger to make it happen.
"After working with Link I was looking at what the next project would be and I happened to hear this tune called ‘Wild Women’ on the radio. I mentioned that to Richard and again he said we could probably get a hold of this guy. Chris Spedding was a huge session player in the UK at that time and it just so happened that he had had enough of that whole scene and was ready to head to the States. It was just the next step for me and for Chris. What I picked up with Chris first was not only his sound but his style and that blew me away once we commenced working with each other. I was green compared to Chris and his professionalism. I had never really been in the studio except with Link and some local things I did as a kid. Chris was a seasoned professional before he met me and I was blown away by his artistic ability and his creativeness".
Chris and Robert collaborated off and on for 13 years or so and it worked on every level. They met up again around 2007 to record It’s Now Or Never, a full album of Elvis numbers. They were also joined by some special guests to really recreate a sound to which Robert has always been compared. However, he’s not always been happy to wear that crown.
"That album was a special thing that we wanted to do and we had talked about making it forever but I always shied away from the whole Elvis connection because I did not want to get tagged forever with it," Robert explained. "I have always done a couple of his tunes during our shows. This did seem like the right time because it was the 30th anniversary of The King’s death. It was fun for me to reconnect with The Jordanaires, who I had not seen since the Fresh Fish Special days with Link Wray. It was exciting to go down to Nashville and work with them and it had been years since Chris and I were in the studio. Chris and I produced it and recorded and mixed it all in a couple of weeks. I am very proud of it."
When Robert burst onto the scene, just around the time when Elvis left the building, there was no doubt that it helped his career. But I strongly agree with him that he is no Elvis impersonator that would appear in Parkes at the annual shindig there. He can do it, but he has his own song to sing.
"It was flattering and understandable because he is The King and that is where that music came from, that country and r & b thing. If you listen to my records and hear me live there is no comparison. Obviously, if you are going to listen to my one Elvis album you are going to make comparisons because I have The Jordanaires on there and we are doing his songs. During our shows we may do three Presley songs out of 25 numbers, and I will be the first to admit that he is one of my major influences. But at the same time I have many other influences from all the black artists I listened to when I was younger and was fortunate to see perform live at The Howard Theatre in Washington D.C. It is probably well and truly gone now, but it was on a par to The Apollo in New York with the artists that would perform," he recalled.
During his long and tumultuous career Robert has been offered songs from Springsteen, Marshall Crenshaw (‘Someday, Someway’) and even Bob Dylan.
"When I was with RCA people were submitting songs to me from all over, including Springsteen and Dylan. I can tell you stories about Bob Dylan that you would not believe. You know my old bass player Tony (Garnier) is now with Bob. Bob first saw Tony in London at a gig I was doing and we went back to his apartment so Bob could pitch some songs to me. At that time I was really hard ball about what I liked and he would play one and I would say I didn’t like it and he would go to the next one and I would say the same thing. I wish I still had those demos. I was very narrow-minded back then, but it was a great experience".
Today Robert continues to play with Spedding, together forming The Gang They Couldn’t Hang. Joining them on drums is Slim Jim Phantom (Stray Cats) and on bass the one-time Sex Pistol Glenn Matlock. Here we have some interesting pedigrees joined together behind a vocalist who still has the fire in his belly.
"We wanted to take it to a different level. Although Chris and I have been doing shows with an amazing rhythm section from Detroit, we felt that we should introduce some other players. We wanted to go with the entire Stray Cats rhythm section, but Lee Rocker was busy with his latest album. The obvious choice to Chris was Glenn Matlock, who he’d been familiar with during the Sex Pistols days. I had never met Glenn but he is an amazing player. This group is really new and we have only done 5 dates so far. We are going to do some shows in January in the US and then we are coming to Australia to show you how it is done," he laughed.
It has been a long road for Robert and he has seen it all in his career. From being an unknown in a punk band, to a celebrated commercial success and back to limited notoriety, Robert has lived his dream.
"Absolutely man! I am more optimistic than...well, hell, you know what it is? What the hell is a 60 year old rock and roller going to do man? I have been doing this since I was 15 years old professionally and I love it to death. It’s like my ultimate goal when I was a kid was, can I get on that label with the dog on it? I have been there and done that. You go up the ladder and down. The music business is totally different than the old days. Record deals don’t mean shit, because they don’t pay nothing. You make your money selling merchandise, selling it over the internet and playing live. Without record company support it is very hard to go on the road these days, so when I can do it, I will go at the drop of a hat. As long as people want to come and see me, I am going to deliver. I tell ya, there are not too many people that can do what we do authentically. We have been there."
Image above: L to R... Chris Spedding, Slim Jim Phantom, Robert Gordon, Glen Matlock.
The Gang They Couldn’t Hang play Byron Bay Bluesfest 1 - 4 April.
ENDS
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