Biography
Four years prior to the arrival of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel’s folk-rooted harmonies on the Columbia roster, the same label had already showcased a very different pair of performers sharing those first names. Art Podell and Paul Potash, both products of the mid-to-late-1950s New York folk circuit, began appearing together in Greenwich Village clubs. Each played guitar proficiently and wrote original material, while Podell distinguished himself further through his arranging skills. After Columbia signed them in 1960—part of an industry-wide search for another act on the order of the Kingston Trio, hoping to repeat the success Terry Gilkyson and the Easy Riders had enjoyed with “Marianne”—the duo recorded two albums. The first, Songs of Earth and Sky, later came to be viewed as a lost classic of the folk revival’s closing years; its standout track was their treatment of the John Lomax and Alan Lomax version of “All The Pretty Horses.” The record attracted a modest cult audience along the East Coast and moved enough copies to warrant a follow-up, Hangin’, Drinkin’ and Stuff, issued in 1961. That same year the pair relocated to California in pursuit of opportunities on the West Coast folk circuit, yet they dissolved their partnership before twelve months had passed. In early 1962 Podell entered the initial, recording-only lineup of the New Christy Minstrels. Their debut album generated sufficient interest to prompt a second release and the formation of a touring ensemble, into which Podell moved as one of its leading figures alongside founder Randy Sparks. Potash, meanwhile, first performed with Sparks’ affiliated group the Back Porch Majority before joining the Christies himself in 1964, thereby reuniting briefly with his former partner. Podell subsequently collaborated with Jim Helms on the album Jim and Art Sing and Play A Folk Song, which included the traditional song “Careless Love,” and contributed to Mason Williams’ The Banjo Story alongside Jim Rosmini and others. Turning to production, he and Nick Woods oversaw Biff Rose’s The Thorn In Mrs. Rose’s Side for Tetragrammaton; the LP introduced the original recording of “Fill Your Heart,” later covered by David Bowie on Hunky Dory. Potash maintained a performing career that included a 1967 appearance in California with Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band and extended into some acting work, remaining active in music through at least the 1980s.
Albums
