J.P. Pickens
| J. P. Pickens | |
|---|---|
| |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jean Paul Pickens |
| Born | May 6, 1937 |
| Origin | Vernon, Texas, United States |
| Died | July 6, 1973 (aged 36) |
| Genres | Marin County raga-rock, bluegrass, acid rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, poet, artist |
| Instruments | Banjo, acoustic and electrified |
| Years active | 1959–1973 |
| Labels | MEA, Vanguard, Locust Music |
| Associated acts | David Meltzer, Peter Albin, Gene Estribou, James Gurley |
Jean Paul "J.P." Pickens (May 6, 1937 – July 6, 1973), was a leading force in the early North Beach, San Francisco, music scene, circa 1963, along with David Meltzer and James Gurley, defining the psychedelic rock genre. J.P. played regularly at the Coffee Gallery on Grant Street in the early sixties, performing with Meltzer, Gurley and Peter Albin (who later formed Big Brother and the Holding Company) and many others.
J.P.’s electrified banjo playing on the raga-rock epic “The Endless Tunnel,” from David and Tina Meltzer’s album The Serpent Power, featuring their band of the same name, is a rare glimpse of an inspired creative force, and the album has become a collector’s item. 'The Serpent Power' was released on Vanguard Records in 1966, and is played on radio stations all over the country.
This album, The Serpent Power, was named number 28 of 40 Essential Albums of 1967, by Rolling Stone Magazine in a special Summer of Love issue, 2007, honoring the 40th anniversary of the founding of the magazine, with a special mention of the song J.P. plays on, "Endless Tunnel."
A recent review of the album by forcedexposure.com states “…the epic 13-minute-long 'Endless Tunnel,' an Eastern-tinged acid jam spiced up with an electric banjo, is worth the price of admission alone.”
J.P.’s first album, “Intensifications,” recorded with Gene Estribou in the ballroom-turned-recording studio of Gene’s San Francisco Haight Ashbury mansion in 1965, was originally released on Henry Jacobs' MEA label, and was recently re-issued by Locust Music and has found an enthusiastic new audience.
J.P. was born in Vernon, Texas, the only son of Paul Desmond and Lula Muriel Pickens. Barbara Sue, his older sister, was born in 1934. In 1948 the family moved to Los Angeles, California, where J.P. met his future wife, Mary Ann Bielat. J.P. and Mary Ann married in January 1955 and had three children, Kay Anne, born July 21, 1955, in Los Angeles, California, Cheryl Lynne, born December 29, 1956, in Los Angeles, California, and Paul Desmond, born August 10, 1959, in Portland, Oregon.
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