Damon

• Active: '60s, '90s
• Genres: Rock
• Instrument: Guitar

Biography

Singer-songwriter Damon (just Damon, no last name) put out an extremely obscure folk-tinged psychedelic album in 1969, Song of a Gypsy, of which only 100 copies were pressed. Such is its rarity that mint copies go for as much as a thousand dollars, or more. There's a droning, slightly raga-modalish flavor to the melodies and guitar lines, with a gypsy touch in the percussion and questing, spiritual lyrics. It's hippie trance music of a sort, and as a consequence could be viewed as hypnotic or boring, depending upon your tastes. The gypsy element of Song of a Gypsy is not just an extrapolation from the title, but a deliberate action on Damon's part, who came to think of himself as a gypsy while wandering around California in the late 1960s. After one 45, "Song of the Gypsy"/"Oh What a Good Boy Am I, " the LP was recorded by Damon and other musicians in Los Angeles, its existence barely even suspected by most psychedelic collectors for years. In the late 1990s it had something of a renaissance, with the title track appearing on one of the Love, Peace & Poetry compilations of rare psychedelia, and the LP getting reissued in both CD and vinyl editions. Around this time Damon returned to recording with a similar but less strange album, Gypsy Eyes. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide

Song of a Gypsy Buy this CD

Damon Wayans	Johnny Damon Youth Apparel