An award-winning singer/songwriter, with three albums on Columbia and Epic as well as two more independently released albums to her credit, Pamela Polland’s ever increasing list of musical credentials reads like a veritable Who's Who of artists … from all points on the musical compass.
Over the course of her 40-years in the business, this seasoned professional has both performed and recorded with such luminaries as Bonnie Raitt, Kenny Loggins, Jackson Browne, Van Morrison, John Denver, Taj Mahal...
An award-winning singer/songwriter, with three albums on Columbia and Epic as well as two more independently released albums to her credit, Pamela Polland’s ever increasing list of musical credentials reads like a veritable Who's Who of artists … from all points on the musical compass.
Over the course of her 40-years in the business, this seasoned professional has both performed and recorded with such luminaries as Bonnie Raitt, Kenny Loggins, Jackson Browne, Van Morrison, John Denver, Taj Mahal, Manhattan Transfer and a host of others.
In 1970, Pamela joined the famed Mad Dogs & Englishmen Tour with Joe Cocker and Leon Russell, appearing on the resulting album as well as in the movie. Her songs have been recorded by the likes of Linda Ronstadt, Helen Reddy, The Byrds, Vicki Carr . She joining Joe Cocker and Leon Russell for the Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour in 1970. She can be heard and seen in the ensuing double album and film documentary respectively.
Polland's songs have been recorded by a considerable number of popular artists from the 60s onwards. These include Helen Reddy, who recorded "Music, Music" for her gold-selling album of the same name in 1976, and Linda Ronstadt, who recorded "I'd Like To Know". Among the most widely recorded of her songs is "Tulsa County", which has been interpreted by The Byrds, Bobby Bare, Anita Carter, Jesse Ed Davis, and Son Volt. By the 80s, Polland had also established herself as a vocal coach, and she later released the instructional DVD "Vocal Ease".
Here's an excerpt by Charls Donovan, about her latest recognition of one of the top 20 reissues of 2019
In 1973, Clive Davis was prepping one of his charges for the big time. Pamela Polland, a glamorous singer/songwriter/pianist with a soul-melting, expressive voice, was already notable, having written for Linda Ronstadt and the Byrds. Her first solo album (Pamela Polland, 1971) had sold steadily, but not enough to make the charts. Off she went to London, working with Elton John's producer, Gus Dudgeon, and David Bowie's engineer, Ken Scott, at Trident Studios in Soho. The album, Gas Station, for short, was given a gatefold design and a catalogue number and readied for the presses. Then, disaster.
Clive Davis was fired from Columbia. Projects associated with him were postponed or canceled. Polland's album never came out. Music that could, indeed should, have transformed her from cult favorite to rising star stayed in the vaults over 40 years. Finally, it emerged via reissue powerhouse, BGO, in spring 2019, A grave injustice has, at last, been partially righted. - Charles Donovan
http://pamelapolland.com/
