Had he recorded his best-known tune, "Junkie John," a few months earlier,
Tim Dawe (real name: Jerry Penrod) might have been a star. A catchy, psychedelic folk-rock tune, it had begun getting radio airplay when the FCC began to crack down on drug-oriented recordings. Stations stopped playing the single, while
Dawe faded quickly into obscurity. An early member of
Iron Butterfly,
Dawe was managed by
Frank Zappa's manager, Herb Greene. His debut album,
Penrod, released on
Zappa's label, Straight-Warner Bros., in November 1969, was produced by one-time
Lovin' Spoonful member
Jerry Yester.
Zappa served as executive producer.
Dawe had a long relationship with San Francisco band
It's a Beautiful Day. The group recorded his tune "Places of Dreams and Wine" on its Choice Quality Stuff/Anytime album in 1991, while ex-
It's a Beautiful Day bass player Mitchell Holman produced his 1976 "comeback" album, Timothy and Ms. Pickens with Natural Act.
Dawe also produced a multi-artist compilation of live folk and blues performances, A Night at the Wine Cellar, in 1979. ~ Craig Harris