Menu
On Fri, 8 Feb 2002, Brian Neal wrote:
> Can anyone tell me anything about Richie Podolar? All I know about him is
> from the Toes on The Nose liner notes and whats up on Phil Dirt's reverb
> central. I have gathered that he was a session guy who played with Sandy
> Nelson (Casbah) and Gary Usher and the Super Stocks. Plus some oddball stuff
> (The Ghouls). He also released 2 albums as Richie Allen & The Pacific
> Surfers which are apparently hard to find and have been "released"
> (bootlegged?) by the Surf Label.
>
> Is he still alive? Did he do any other work? Any other details?
>
> Casbah, Quiet Surf, Voo Doo Juice, Draculas Theme....all great tunes!
Richie Podolor is THE man!! There are quite a few of us that are hip to
him - Jim Thomas of the Mermen and Rip of the Penetrators are other big
fans, but I know that many surf music fans hold him in very high
esteem. He was not only an INCREDIBLE guitarists with a beautiful and
somewhat unique tone, but also a fantastic songwriter of
instrumentals. Unfortunately, given that his main mode was as a studio
guitarist, many of his instrumentals were just insignificant filler. But
among those you can find some real gems. Besides the ones you listed
above, my faves are: Not So Quiet (covered by the Boss Martians on their
Jetaway album as One Loud Engine), The Rising Surf, Midnight Run (though
not written by him, definitely showing his inimitable touch), Free Fall,
The Last Walk, and few others the names of which I can't remember at the
moment.
He is definitely still alive. He's been a producer since the mid-sixties,
producing Steppenwolf (even appearing in an interview in the VH1 Behind
The Music on Steppenwolf!), and a bunch of other bands (and from what I
understand, though not positive about this, a bunch of hair metal bands
during the eighties - perish the thought!). I believe that Stephen
McParland interviewed him on several occasions about his involvement with
Gary Usher (Podolor was one of Usher's regulars), and I've been meaning to
contact him to get some more info about Podolor, but have been too busy to
do it. I think that John Blair told me that some of the interviews have
appeared in McParland's California Music zine, but I haven't seen
them. Anyway, several months ago I really got into Podolor again, so I
put together his instrumental discography, which you can find below. His
instro output would fit perfectly on a two-CD set (the first one - his
solo "Allen" material; the second disc - his Usher and other session
work), and I thought about proposing that to McParland - but like I said,
haven't had the time. It would be a fantastic collection, though!!
A few last words: Podolor was a truly accomplished guitarist, and his
songs would sometimes impressively showcase his chops. The best examples
are Voodoo Juice and Not So Quiet, but there are plenty other ones. His
style was unique, owing pretty much nothing (as far as I can tell) to Dick
Dale. The reverb was slight, and Podolor's tone tended to be much cleaner
than the your DD-like thundering. Phil Dirt has claimed that in fact
Podolor would plug straight into the board, which is quite possible. It
also sounds like he was using a Jazzmaster, though it's difficult to
tell. Could have been a Jag. In addition to all his enviable chops, he
was capable of writing stunningly melodic and deceptively simple songs. I
really don't think he's been given enough credit. I don't think he was a
greatly influential figure in the surf music revivals, but probably only
because he was hidden and few people knew his true role. Hopefully,
that'll change in the future. A legit issue collecting his material would
go a long way towards doing that.
Ivan
Richard Allen PODOLOR
BIRTH: 7 JAN 1936, Los Angeles,CA
John Blair: "He began his musical career as a member of the Pets in 1958,
recording for Arwin Records. As a solo artist, he recorded for the Radio,
Era and Imperial labels. During the 1960s, he consistently worked as a
session musician for Gary Usher. He has subsequently become a successful
Hollywood record producer, working with the likes of Three Dog Night,
Steppenwolf, and Rubicon. Podolor is pictured on the cover of the Super
Stocks' Surf Route 101 album sitting in the car."
Albums
Richie Allen:
1961: Stranger from Durango (Imperial)
1963: The Rising Surf (Imperial) - March
1963: Surfer's Slide (Imperial) - August
The Super Stocks:
1964: Thunder Road (Capitol) - April
1964: Surf Route 101 (Capitol) - July
1964: School Is A Drag (Capitol) - October
The Hondells:
1964: Go Little Honda (Mercury) - September
1964: The Hondells (Mercury) - December
The Ghouls:
1964: Dracula's Deuce (Capitol) - November
The Revells:
1965: The Go Sound Of the Slots (Reprise) - May
Sandy Nelson:
1965: Drums A-Go-Go (Imperial) - November
Instrumental Songs
1961:
Goochy Bamba/Blue Holiday (Era) - September
Stranger from Durango
Cave Man (Podolor)
Room 304 (Podolor)
Lonely Guitarist (Podolor)
Breakin' Out (Podolor)
Swanee River Twang (Trad.)
Swing Low Sweet Chariot (Trad.)
Stranger From Durango (Podolor)
Redskin (Podolor)
Not So Quiet (Podolor)
Haunted Guitar (Podolor)
1962:
Undercurrent/Kick-off (Imperial) - October
1963:
Skeg-Along-Pete/Foot Stomp USA (Imperial) - March
Richie Allen: The Rising Surf - March
The Rising Surf (Podolor)
Surfer's Delight (Podolor)
Undercurrent (Podolor)
Foot Stomp USA (Podolor)
The Quiet Surf (Podolor)
Skeg-Along-Pete (Weber)
Ground Swell (Podolor/Weber)
Push Off (Podolor) [Kick-Off?]
Put It On (Podolor)
Rumble (Ray/Grant)
--------------------------------------
Breakin' Out (Podolor)
Swanee River Twang (Trad)
Surf Beater/The Rising Surf (Imperial) - May
Ballad of the Surf/The Quiet Surf (Imperial) - ?
Richie Allen: Surfer's Slide - August
Sunday Surfer (Podolor)
Surfers' Hop (Podolor)
A Touch Of Blue (Podolor)
Comin' Back To You (Podolor)
-------------------------------------------------------
Surfers' Slide (Podolor) [Not So Quiet)
The Lonely Surfer (Podolor) [Lonely Guitarist]
Ridin' The Woodie (Podolor) [Redskin]
Swing Low (Trad.) [Swing Low Sweet Chariot]
Malibu Run (Podolor) [Room 304]
Surf Man (Podolor) [Cave Man]
Undercurrent (Podolor)
Tidal Wave (Podolor) [Ground Swell]
1964:
The Super Stocks: Surf Route 101 - July
Ventura (Usher)
Santa Barbara (Usher)
Redondo Beach (Usher)
Balboa Island (Usher)
Oceanside (Usher/Burns)
Midnight Run (Usher/Burns/Christian)
Newport Beach (Usher/Burns)
The Hondells: Go Little Honda - September
Haulin' Honda (Podolor)
Black Boots and Bikes (Podolor)
Hon-da Beach Party (Usher) [same as The Superstocks: Gridiron Goodie]
The Super Stocks: School Is A Drag - October
Gridiron Goodie (Usher) [same as The Hondells: Hon-da Beach Party]
The Last Walk (Podolor)
The Ghouls: Dracula's Deuce - November
Dracula's Theme (Podolor)
Weird Wolf (Usher/Christian)
Shake Rattle and Rot (Podolor)
Blood and Butter (Usher/Podolor)
Voo Doo Juice (Podolor)
Coffin Nails (Cooper/Podolor)
1965:
The Devons: Free Fall (Podolor) (Decca) - May
Sandy Nelson: Casbah (Podolor) / Drums a Go-Go (Paul Buff)? - August
Ivan,
Thanks for all that good info! It seems that I had his name as Podolar
somehow. Anyway, if you search for Richie PODOLOR you come up with a large
number of hits...seems like he has been very active...not the missing person
I had perceived. He also apparently was a producer for many, many other
bands including (oddly enough) Loggins/Messina (Jim Messina & The Jesters).
I asked a similar query on Cowabunga and got this response:
-------------------------
contact Stephen Mc Parland and ask for his magazin "California Music"
backissues with articles on Richie Podolor.
His email adress is:
------------------------
I emailed that address and await a response.
A 2 CD set of his surfy work would be killer.
BN
I got a response from my query to California Music about Richie
Podolor:
==============================
My book, BULL SESSIONS WITH THE BIG DADDY features an interview with
Richie.
Also, my upcoming book, SOUND WAVES & TRACTION - Surf And Hot Rod
Studio
Groups Of The '60s has an entire chapter plus discography on Richie.
It should be out soon.
Check out:
www.garyusher.com/cmusic.html
Thanks,
SJ
