David Ackles

David Ackles, Subway to the Country (1970)

David Thomas Ackles (February 27, 1937, Rock Island, Illinois, USA – March 2, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter of the 1960s and 1970s.

Although he never gained wide commercial success, he influenced other artists, especially British singer-songwriters such as Elvis Costello, Elton John and Phil Collins, all of whom are self-declared fans of Ackles.

Tributes

When Costello was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003, he cited Ackles in his speech as one of his major influences. In the November 2000 issue of the magazine Vanity Fair, Costello identified two of Ackles' albums among his "500 Greatest Albums Ever" describing Ackles as "perhaps the greatest unheralded songwriter of the late 60s." ^[1]

When Collins was on the British BBC radio show Desert Island Discs, he selected Ackles' song "Down River" as one of his eight all-time favorite songs. He said of Ackles: "He taught me that writing songs didn’t have to be moon/spoon/June. That you could write intelligently about more serious subjects." ^[2]

Elton John and Elvis Costello - two of Ackles' most fervent admirers - chose David Ackles' song "Down River" to perform as their first-ever duet together for the finale of the premier of Costello's TV series Spectacle: Elvis Costello with..., which was broadcast in the U.S. in December 2008 on the Sundance Channel. ^[3]

Interviewed in 1990 for the booklet accompanying his To Be Continued retrospective box-set, Elton John recalled his incredulity when he discovered that Ackles had been selected to be his co-headlining opening act ^[4] for his American debut at the Troubadour club in Los Angeles in August 1970.^[5] "I could not believe that I was on the same stage with someone like David Ackles who opened for me at the Troubadour. David Ackles was one of my heroes." In 1970, John dedicated his Tumbleweed Connection to Ackles with the line "to David with love."

Recordings and compositions

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Ackles' first album, the eponymous David Ackles (1968), did not achieve commercial success, but was influential among singer-songwriters and featured future members of the group Rhinoceros. This and his follow-up 1969 release, Subway to the Country, contained songs that melded strong theatrical influences with piano-based rock. His songs reflected the views of their character-narrators, many of whom were societal outcasts. In this way he presaged many of the songs of Bruce Springsteen and Steve Earle.

His best known work was his third album, American Gothic, released in 1972, which was produced by Elton John's lyricist Bernie Taupin. Though it did not enjoy big sales, the album was highly acclaimed by music critics in the US and UK. The influential British music critic Derek Jewell of the The Sunday Times UK version described the album as being "the Sgt. Pepper of folk". Of Ackles' four albums, it was the only one recorded in England rather than in America. Taupin and Ackles had become acquainted when Ackles was selected to be the co-headlining act for Elton John's 1970 American debut at the Troubadour in Los Angeles.

After three albums for Elektra Records, Ackles left the label and was signed to CBS/Columbia Records by legendary record executive Clive Davis - then President of the company. Ackles recorded one album for Columbia, Five & Dime. The album was released the same month as Davis was abruptly dismissed by CBS over an expenses dispute and with the loss of the executive who had signed him and was championing his album, the release fared poorly. After this disappointment, Ackles decided to abandon his recording career and concentrated on songwriting and writing stage musicals. He also taught musical theater at the University of Southern California.

Cover recordings

Ackles' songs were occasionally covered. In 1968, Julie Driscoll & the Brian Auger Trinity had a minor UK hit with Ackles' song "Road to Cairo". This song was also covered by Howard Jones in 1990 on Elektra Records' compilation "Rubáiyát". Martin Carthy covered one of his songs, "His Name is Andrew", on his 1971 album Landfall, and Spooky Tooth’s 1970 album The Last Puff included their version of “Down River”.

Personal life

In his childhood, Ackles had been a child actor, appearing in six of the eight films in Columbia Pictures' Rusty children's film series made 1945-1949. He appeared as the character "Peanuts" in the second film in the series (1946's The Return Of Rusty) and he played the role of Roger "Tuck" Worden in the latter five films in the series.

Ackles died of lung cancer on March 2, 1999, at the age of 62. After his death, there were obituaries in several major British newspapers that eulogized Ackles' talent.^[6]

Discography

• David Ackles (Elektra Records ; September 1968)
• Subway to the Country (Elektra Records ; January 1970)
• American Gothic (Elektra Records ; July 1972)
• Five & Dime (Columbia Records ; 1973)

References

External links

• Official David Ackles Website
• Information about David Ackles