History:

Charles “Beau” Haddock was a singer-songwriter from Kentucky. Haddock was known for his association with several southern rock groups, including The Little River Band and The Tennessee River Crooks. Haddock was also known for his work with local Kentucky and Tennessee musicians Brenda Bitner and Ed Dansereau. Ed was a well-known pianist in Kentucky who was murdered by his neighbor in 2015. The case was covered extensively by the media and a documentary in 2021.

Haddock’s first appearance on record was as a guest musician on the legendary self-titled album by The Tennessee River Crooks in 1976. He played guitar and sang backing vocals on the track “Song Of David”. Beau Haddock began his solo career with his own self-titled album in 1979. It was released on Sound Farm Studio’s label, like The Tennessee River Crooks album, and featured only five tracks. The album flows like a concept album with the message possibly being about industrialization. The album’s sound, contrary to what people believe and say, is folk with moderate jazz influences.

Haddock released several more albums during his career on CD. The albums hovered between folk and country. Haddock continued to play regularly on the radio and in his community for decades. Haddock unfortunately passed away in mid 2018. 

Review:

Beau Haddock - Beau Haddock (1979, Sound Farm Studios)

Rating: 8.5/10 

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Review: A near perfect album from beginning to end. Very similar in voice and tone to Van Morrison and Neil Young. Beautiful acoustic compositions layered with smooth electric piano, flute, harmonica, and synthesizers. Each track is pretty different from each other but they flow well and hover around the same theme. The instrumental passages on "Streets And Factories" are fabulous and the jazz instrumental "A Parting Song" is fantastic and evokes a feeling of nostalgia. The "Song To The Sea" is dreamy and "Autumn Song" is one of the best compositions I've ever heard. Great vocals, lyrics, and a wonderful sax solo. "The Band" is probably the weakest track on the album but it's still good, just different. Absolutely great album that deserves more attention.