Who knows about Jaime Brockett?

Subject: Who knows about Jaime Brockett?
From: JedMarum
Date: 16 May 00 - 08:41 AM

In the New England area back in the late 60's and early 70's there was a folk singer named Jaime Brockett who recorded an album or two and toured the folk music circuit.

I haven't heard about him in years. Anyone remember? Anyone know if/what he's up to these days?

Subject: RE: Who knows about Jaime Brockett?
From: jeffp
Date: 16 May 00 - 08:51 AM

I remember a hilarious song he did about the Titanic and the first mate who had previously worked in a rope factory until it burned down. I first heard the song in the early 70s. Geez, Jed, you're showing your age!

jeffp

Subject: RE: Who knows about Jaime Brockett?
From: Wesley S
Date: 16 May 00 - 08:54 AM

I was wondering about him too, Jed. I've got two of his LP's. On his first one he did a great song about the Titanic. He played the dulcimer back when I wasn't able to find too many dulcimer players. That may have been the reason I picked up his first LP. I can't remember hearing anything about him for years now.

Subject: RE: Who knows about Jaime Brockett?
From: Jacob B
Date: 16 May 00 - 10:14 AM

I saw a listing for him playing (in the Boston area) last year. I think I may have heard him interviewed on the radio, saying that it was his first time in Boston since he moved away in the early seventies. So he's still around, somewhere.

Subject: RE: Who knows about Jaime Brockett?
From: Jed at Work
Date: 16 May 00 - 11:05 AM

I am not surprised he's still around. I had a couple of friends who played with him, in those days. If you look at the credits on those old LPs you'll see KP Burke, my friend Kevin, playing harmonica on a track or two ... and anothe old acquaintence Tony Rubino, shared the stage and the bill with Jaime from time-to-time in those days. Also if you look at the credits you'll see Yaj Selig plays guitar on a song or two. Yaj is actually Jay Giles, who was a friend of Jaime's, but under contract to another label, and unable to perform (apparently) under his own name.

I remember seeing Jaime interviewed by a Boston TV news guy, reporting on the new phenom. of hippies. Jaime said "Years ago there was a group of people who walked around, long haired, bearded, sandles, and preaching brotherhood and love. They called 'em Christians and when they were caught they fed them to the lions. Now-a-days, we have a group of long haired people walking around in sandles, preaching brotherhood an love ... and when they catch them; they feed 'em to the Christians!"

Jaime's wit had a biting edge. Legend of the USS Titianic and Ballad of the Green Beret Talking Blues both demonstrated that humor.

Thanks for the updates.

Subject: RE: Who knows about Jaime Brockett?
From: Mark Clark
Date: 16 May 00 - 11:15 AM

I remember Jaime Brockett! Our band did a show with him way back in the early seventies. Jaime did a truly wonderful thing for me, he gave me a set of James Boyce guitar strings. Best sounding strings I've ever played on my D-41. At that time you could order them for $19.00 a dozen sets, a great price when you're changing strings every week or more. I used them exclusively for many years and often gave sets to other people to try.

Among the songs Brockett performed was that version of Lead Belly's "Titanic" that Jeffp mentioned. The captain got high and stood on the bridge shouting at the iceburg, "I'm gonna move you, baby." Funny stuff.

The guitar he was carrying at the time was a special Martin prototype D-45. He said Martin built it when they were toying with the idea of reintroducing the D-45 but hadn't decided on the decorative pattern yet. As I recall the fingerboard was inlaid with snowflakes instead of the traditional abalone hexagons. The most amazing thing, though, was it's sound. It was like an organ; far and away the most resonant guitar I've ever heard. I hope he still has it.

      - Mark

Subject: RE: Who knows about Jaime Brockett?
From: Wesley S
Date: 16 May 00 - 11:21 AM

Jed - Was "Jay Giles" the same as "J. Giles Band"?? They were from Boston too if I remember correctly.

Subject: RE: Who knows about Jaime Brockett?
From: Jed at Work
Date: 16 May 00 - 12:13 PM

yes - THE J Giles! Jaime was a little town in cnetral MA called Westborough, and Jay was also from central MA (I believe from Worcester).

Subject: RE: Who knows about Jaime Brockett?
From: dwditty
Date: 16 May 00 - 12:17 PM

Here you go. Enjoy the streaming audion of the whole 13 minutes of the Titanic.

http://mufc.simplenet.com/jaime/

DW

Subject: RE: Who knows about Jaime Brockett?
From: Jacob B
Date: 16 May 00 - 12:20 PM

The one time I saw Jaime Brockett was as the performer at the concert at my freshman orientation weekend in 1969. He made a joke about telling a friend that he was going to perform at Clark. The friend asking him what he was going to play, and he responded, "I don't know, they like anything there."

The joke got a laugh, but apparently the Student Activities Council did a slow burn about it, because when I graduated four years later, the S.A.C. types I knew were still complaining about performers who thought that Clark audiences would like anything. I suspect that joke was the reason he never played at Clark again.

Subject: RE: Who knows about Jaime Brockett?
From: Jed at Work
Date: 16 May 00 - 01:36 PM

dw - thanks. as luck would have it, I had just found the same site. thought I'd sign the guest book and piont the way to this thread! Who knows, we've had Matthew Larrivee, Tom Paxton, and Liam Clancy all respond to threads about them ... maybe we can get Jaime to say hello ... (and correct our histories)!

and Jacob ... Clark Univ? Last time I was there I saw Tracy Nelson with Mother Earth (and I'm still inlove from that night) they and Roger Salloom (sorry about spelling) were opening for Fairport Convention ... circa 1971.

Been in Texas since 1986 ... loved New England, but don't miss it!

Subject: RE: Who knows about Jaime Brockett?
From: Jed at Work
Date: 16 May 00 - 01:52 PM

by the way, I started this thread after posting to a previous one; http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=21453&messages=59 about how your 'folk switch' got flipped.

Subject: RE: Who knows about Jaime Brockett?
From: Jed at Work
Date: 16 May 00 - 01:53 PM

Ooops - I mean:

by the way, I started this thread after posting to a previous one about how your 'folk switch' got flipped.

Subject: RE: Who knows about Jaime Brockett?
From: GUEST,Gib Sosman
Date: 18 Dec 17 - 04:26 PM

Hi. I was thinking about Jaime Brockett recentgly.
See, back in 1967 or '68, when I was just out of high school and learning to fingerpick the guitar, I saved up from work and bought a new 000-18 Martin, from Caruso's in New London, Ct.

At the time Mr. Caruso had two special guitars- very old Martins- in his store. I think both were "O" size, possibly OO.

I do remember that one had been made in 1911, and the other one in 1921.

They looked a lot like the small vintage Martin Joan Baez often played.

Anyway, I got the new 000-18. The retail price was either $275 or $295- whatever Martin's recommended retail price was that year for that model.

I asked the music store owner, Mr. Caruson, about the two old guitars.
I couldn't think of buying either one and so didn't ask to play either of them, but both seemed to be in very good condition.
I think they probably had either extra light wound bronze, or more likely, silk and steel strings, because of their age and small size.
Some time later- maybe a few weeks or a few months- I was back at Caruso's and discovered that one, or maybe both, of the old Martins had been sold- to Jaime Brockett!

I'm pretty sure that's what Mr. Caruso said, anyway.

Oh yeah, here is the best part. Those vintage Martins had been sold for $250 (each! or 500 for both!!).

Today I was looking at what could even be the same guitar- (the 1911 one)- here in Ks.

The price is seven thousand, five hundred dollars. The sales tax on that one, today, would have, back in 1968, purchased not only those two vintage guitars, but most of the new 000-18 as well.
Martin
-John G (Gib) Sosman
Lawrence, Ks.

Subject: RE: Who knows about Jaime Brockett?
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 18 Dec 17 - 06:17 PM

Just talking about Jaime the other night at a small session at Beara in Portsmouth, NH.

Jaime lived around here for a number of years. Organized a comcert for Arnet Taylor when he sailed in the BOC Challenge in, I think, 1994.

Chris Biggi who was Sunset Ridge Studio died in 2003 and Jaime helped Chris's widow Pam organize all of Chris's recording archives (which started long before Chris opened the studio) before Pam sold the farm and moved to Florida.

Chris Biggi was a part of and recorded the Charles Street/Boston folk gang in the 1960s -- including Mudcat's own Curmudgeon, Tom Hall (my late husband), Bill Madison, Jaime Brockett, Bill Staines, Chris Smither, Rocky Rockwood, Paul MacNeil, Lesley Moore, Kenny Girard, Paul Geremia, Diane Gagner, Eliot Kenin and more that I can't bring to mind right now. (Forgive me -- this was long before I met Tom, though I later got to know most of the above musicians.)

Last I heard (from Bob Halperin, I think) Brockett is living somewhere in Vermont. I've been sporadically trying to get in touch with him to let him know Tom died four years ago.

Linn

Subject: RE: Who knows about Jaime Brockett?
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 19 Dec 17 - 04:35 PM

A couple others in the Charles Street crowd were Paul Lolax and Danny Gravas.

I tried for years to get Tom to write "The Charles Street Chronicles". I didn't share those years with Tom, but I took notes when he talked about them. Hmmm...I wonder if Lesley Moore (and maybe Bill Madison) would like to collaborate.

Linn

Subject: RE: Who knows about Jaime Brockett?
From: GUEST,Judie P
Date: 18 Jun 20 - 02:55 PM

Was playing the tune 'Guitar Man' by Bread and out of no where thoughts of the past and Jaime
came to mind. It was back in the mid sixties, I was a high school student, and met Jaime and his
roommate a tall fellow with dark hair, whose name escapes me. They lived in a flat on June St
Worcester, Ma. One or both of them worked at Astra Pharmaceutical. lab.
This was before Jaime's rise in the folk song industry.   What impressed me was his personality and charm. I remember that guitar and Jaime singing and plucking the strings.
Jaime was a kind, caring, affectionate young man. Remember when Jaime and his room mate and a girlfriend of mine came to pick me up for a double date and we switched dates because my dear daddy would never let his daughter go out on a date with a 'hippie'.   My dad thought my date was the tall, dark haired fellow, not the 'hippie' with long hair....We pulled it off.!!
We had a lot of great times.   I still cherish the memories, from years gone by.
Also remember Jaime Brockett appeared on the 'Ed Sullivan' Show a few years later.
And yes, I have his 'First' Album . I hope he is alive and well to this day.

Subject: RE: Who knows about Jaime Brockett?
From: GUEST
Date: 20 Dec 21 - 11:57 PM

I met him in the late 1980s in a guitar shop in Lancaster Ohio, where he was living and working. I’ll always be grateful to him for introducing me to the music of John Gorka.

Subject: RE: Who knows about Jaime Brockett?
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Dec 23 - 12:46 PM

Last time I saw Jaime was at Chris Biggi's funeral in Exeter, NH 2003. He recorded one of my songs (Lovers Like Me) with John Gorka on back-up vocals and put it on a cassette. Last I knew he was living in Perkinsville, VT but had a fire at his Blues Palace guitar shop.I've done everything I know of to locate him but to no avail. If anyone knows please e-mail me at [e-mail] or look me up on FB. Thanx...Kenny

Subject: RE: Who knows about Jaime Brockett?
From: Mark Ross
Date: 18 Dec 23 - 02:44 PM

I saw him back in the '60's when I was working at The Gaslight in Greenwich Village. He had a dulcimer that was fretted chromatically.
Good performer.

Mark Ross