04. Margo Guryan

Margo Guryan got her start as a jazz pianist and songwriter in the 1960s, uninterested in the spotlight. Then one day, her friend and collaborator Dave Frishberg played "Pet Sounds" for her and she became a pop fan. She wrote a slew of hits for artists like Mama Cass, the Association, Spanky and Our Gang, Claudine Longet and Astrud Gilberto. Then, Margo recorded one of the finest pop records of all time in 1969, "Take a Picture." Radio silence followed, until her music had developed a cult following some 30 years later. Today I am joined by my friends Mike Coleman and Andrew Dorsett as we focus in on Margo Guryan, and talk with her publisher and stepson John Rosner, who gives us the inside scoop.

Recommendations:

Her only fully-realized studio album, 1969’s "Take a Picture" remains a timeless slice of pop perfection.

An outtake from that record, the recently unearthed ode to the band Spanky and Our Gang, with some old video footage of Margo having fun with some kids.

A promotional video for her incredible reissue of her "29 Demos," (Sundazed Records) which is as essential as her debut:

This bonus episode includes my email correspondence with Margo, as read by Ashley Eriksson and Eli Moore.

References:

Songs featured on this episode:
Margo Guryan "California Shake (demo)"
Margo Guryan "Take a Picture"
Margo Guryan "Don't Go Away"
Margo Guryan "Love Songs"
Margo Guryan "What Can I Give You"
Cass Elliot "I Think A Lot About You"
Julie London "Come To Me Slowly"
Malcolm McNeil "Think of Rain"
Jackie DeShannon "Think of Rain"
Claudine Longet "Think of Rain"
Spanky and Our Gang "Sunday Mornin'"
Margo Guryan "The Hum "
Margo Guryan "16 Words"
Margo Guryan "Chopsticks Variations "
Fuck "Love Songs"
Young Husband "I Don't Intend To Spend Christmas Without You"
Gary Wilson "Softly The Water Flows"