Few minutes ago, I received a mail from Mr. Gerry Dionne
with many infos about “The Sandalwood Candle”.
Hi:
I was one half of the duo, The Sandalwood Candle.
We recorded "Does Your Mother Know?" and "Ended Moments" at
Arthur Smith Studios in Charlotte
NC in December of 1969. The other member of the duo, Dick Lewis and
I are the two voices. Dick also played 12 string guitar. I played bass and
tambourine. The drummer is Nelson Lemmond, who also played with a
Charlotte-based rhythm and blues band called The Tempest. They had a minor hit
in 1968 entitled, "Would You Believe?". Other players on the session
include Leslie Smiley on violin and harpsichord, Bill Tritt on second violin. I
don't remember who played the cello and oboe. Van Coble and Nelson
Lemmond were co-producers. The engineer was Hank Poole.
The label, 440 Plus was owned by Arthur Smith and distributed my Monument
Records. The record got air play in Charlotte
and, I was told, Chicago.
Monument was in the process of being sold to CBS at the time, so this release
got lost in the shuffle. I don't think it actually ever made it into any stores.
Here are two photos of the Sandalwood Candle from 1970. Dick Lewis is in the gray suit.
Dick Lewis is deceased. He died of cardiac arrest
two years ago at age 68.The arranger, Bob Early was a Benedictine monk at Belmont Abbey in Belmont
NC at the time of the
recording. He left the monastery in the '70s, taught literature at Bowling Green University
for a few years, got married and moved to Spain.
Thank you for posting,
Gerry Dionne
I must say THANKS A LOT from my heart Mr. Gerry Dionne.
The Sandalwood Candle - Does Your Mother Know (1969)
Gerry Dionne singing "The Number and the Name" in 1969 and "Does Your Mother Know" in 1981
