Brother & Sister

Around Christmastime 1968, in the central Illinois prairie town of Pekin, a tiny independent record label was born. Its proprietor Chuck Perrin christened it Webster's Last Word and thus began the saga of the bewitching collection of folk recordings sampled herein. What’s magical about these recordings by Chuck and his younger sister Mary, is that they effortlessly transcend their place in time. Like some of the works of Fred Neil, Nick Drake or Karen Dalton, the songs are clearly rooted in the folk tradition of the moment, but they exist in a much larger world that reaches beyond the boundaries of folk, pop or even basic chronology. They sound as if they could have been released in 2010 as in the late 1960’s, or at any time between. Even though they were originally intended as demo recordings to be used as calling cards for finding larger label interest, these LPs hold their own astonishingly well. It was unusual to run your own independent record label in the late 1960's, but Chuck and Mary weren't about to sit and wait for the world to find them. They pressed LPs in runs of 500 copies each and sold them locally or sent them to labels they thought would have an affinity for their sound. Webster's Last Word took on a life of its own and became home to other kindred spirits on the local scene, releasing three LPs, one anthology compilation and two 45s. Sometime in the late 90’s Chuck began receiving requests for the original LPs from avid record hunters. He was somewhat taken aback by the extreme fervor the records inspired among folk & Americana collectors, particularly those in Japan. The WLW releases are now highly prized by folk and garage rock collectors worldwide. Chuck and Mary got their start as a duo at a folk song competition at the 1965 Illinois State Fair. Even though they'd only been practicing together for a few months (Chuck was 19, Mary just 14), their songs' compositional simplicity and their natural charm and familial harmony eclipsed all competition. They won top honors and took home the Governor's Trophy, a $500 check and an all-expense paid Nashville recording session. They recorded a handful of covers selected for them by some Nashville writers, but their real inspiration lay in their own songwriting so they decided to release some of their own songs. Things were pretty quiet in Pekin at the time, but Chuck and Mary weren't. Drawing inspiration from a small but vibrant local scene, they started a series of music venues. The Four Winds, a folk ensemble Chuck was friendly with during his high school years at Holy Cross Seminary on the Notre Dame campus, had moved to New York City to make a go as professionals. They'd changed their name to Webster's New Word upon signing their first recording contract, and Chuck amended the phrase to Webster's Last Word. He used the phrase as the record label's moniker, and as the name on the door of three folk theatres run by the brother and sister team. The first was in their hometown of Pekin, the second in South Bend and the third on the campus of St. Mary's College. The Webster's Last Word venues were host to an active folk music community including some of the legendary folk artists of the day. Dan Fogelberg, The Stone Poneys & Phil Ochs all played sets there, and a young Dustin Hoffman, in town stumping for Senator Eugene McCarthy's 1968 bid for the presidential seat, cut the ceremonial ribbon at the opening of the WLW theatre at St. Mary's. Chuck & Mary would usually take to the stage at the end of each evening, relishing the energy of the young crowd. They’d pick songs that would be guaranteed to fuel a communal sing-along, like You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away, Get Together and local favorite Mason Profitt’s Two Hangmen. The first LP, Brother and Sister, was recorded at Golden Voice Sound Studios in just six hours, on December 29th 1968. This austere concrete bunker in the middle of a cornfield in South Pekin, Illinois was instrumental in the early recording careers of locals Dan Fogelberg, Styx and REO Speedwagon. Its proprietor, Jerry Milam, recorded Chuck, Mary and guitarist friend Chris White direct to tape with minimal embellishment but a wonderful spatial sense and clarity that gives the otherwise simple arrangements their timeless atmosphere. It's the melodic purity of the vocal arrangements and their harmonies that make these recordings so captivating, and there's a palpable sense of urgency and possibility in their delivery. "I'm travelin’ fast, I can hardly believe my speed, when I’m there at last will I know why I had to leave?” opens Commencement and announces brilliantly the underlying mission statement: there are no limits, possibilities abound, but it is one's duty to understand them. Chuck recalls the dual meaning of the word ‘commencement,’ as a celebration of an end and a beginning, guiding him and co-writer Chris Ince, and the song is infused with a deep air of conflict. Echoes of the duo's musical inspirations, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs, Peter Paul & Mary, and certainly Simon & Garfunkel can be heard, but it's all unified by a profound sense of purpose. To a Better Life closes the record, lyrically completing the statement and helping the listener prepare for the wonders of the follow up, Next of Kin. Recorded almost exactly a year after the session for Brother & Sister, Next Of Kin is almost entirely made up of original compositions, and a full-band effort. On December 5th, 1969 Chuck and Mary recruited Notre Dame garage rock band First Friday to back them for a whole weekend of recording at Golden Voice, with Jerry Milam again at the mixing desk. Norm Zeller played the gorgeous electric guitar leads, Dave Porter manned the drums and young Andy Wallace (who went on to mix Nirvana's Nevermind, Run DMC & Aerosmith’s Walk This Way and albums for Smashing Pumpkins & Jeff Buckley) played the bass. Andy remembers Golden Voice as “a pretty happening little studio” with a Spectrasonic board and one of the first Scully 4-track tape machines. Again, the recordings were done live to tape, but with a bit more time to stretch out and explore the possibilities of fuller arrangements on most songs. The duo's songwriting skills had improved dramatically in the interim, but the essential simplicity and attention to melody remained. Next of Kin is less a folk record and much more a classic pop record that presages the singer-songwriter movement that dominated the early 1970's. Life Is a Stream, Chuck and Mary's third LP, got a much wider release through legendary Chicago promo man Peter Wright's SunLight label. It featured orchestrations from arranger Hoyt Jones, provided by the venerable Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and support from several members of Chicago pop band the New Colony Six counted in the core group of session players. So here you have it: a handpicked collection of select tracks from the original music created by Chuck and Mary Perrin in the late 1960’s – literate and poetic songs imbued with romantic rebellion and grand soul-searching themes, lamenting lost innocence in bittersweet, self-aware sentiments. They come from a time in America when songs about great themes were embraced and encouraged. It was called folk music because all you needed was a guitar, a voice and something to say, and the greatest voices were the ones who understood that the emphasis was on the 'something to say.' Presently, Chuck runs an all-ages jazz club in San Diego's called dizzy's. He still performs, writes and records, keeping the Webster's Last Word name alive for his projects and the endeavors of some of San Diego's finest jazz players. You can visit him at his website, www.chuckperrin.com (where you’ll find an astonishing collection of images, recollections, live tracks, memorabilia & information on Chuck’s past & present projects) or just stop into dizzy’s one night and say Hi. Sadly, Mary Perrin passed away in February of 2003. These recordings are fondly dedicated to her memory. - notes by Keith D’Arcy