Viobass and kcDog had the marvelous fortune of trading e-mails with a man who was one of Felix Pappalardi's closest friends and musical cohorts, and a cowriter of the Mountain classic Mississippi Queen... David Rea.

David is still very active in music. He tours frequently, at times with the great Ramblin' Jack Elliott. His latest release, Shorty's Ghost, covers a wide range of styles, and include some of his original compositions as well as covers written by Robert Johnson, Blind Blake, "Mississippi" John Hurt and Merle Travis.

While David seemed pleased at the creation of a Website honoring his old friend, he was a little reluctant to share a few of the treasured memories he has of Felix with us, explaining, "I have read so many 'eyewitness' accounts of what happened back then that I tend to be rather close-mouthed rather than contradict the rememberances of others. As Ian Tyson (of Ian and Sylvia) once told me, 'How the Hell do you remember all this stuff? For God's Sake, don't write a book'! In short, anything to keep the record straight on Felix. After all, it is his story, not mine".

To our delight, David did share a few remembrences of his time with Felix Pappalardi...in his own words...

on recording the Robert Johnson tune, Hellbound, with Felix on David's "Maverick Child" LP...

"Felix, Leslie and Corky and I recorded it on Maverick Child. At the time, Felix insisted on doing it and I did not want to fool with Robert Johnson on account of very strong Ju-Ju. Felix prevailed and as we struck the first note I felt the beginning pangs of a headache of such boisterous proportions that Corky had to see me home in a taxi and sit up with me most of the night like an invalid."

on Felix Pappalardi's bass-playing...

"I recall in the days with Ian and Sylvia that he was partial to Ampeg amps and I was impressed by his musical economy. At the time, he would often work out an arrangement without an amp by clenching his teeth around the body of the bass so that his skull served as a resonator while I worked out a guitar part very quietly. He experimented with various basses before settling on the Gibson Violin. Bach, of course was his God but I am of the opinion that his exposure to Hamza El Din and the Oud marked a pivitol point in his musical perspective".

on the creation of "Mississippi Queen"...

"Mississippi Queen was written by Corky Laing and David Rea in a rehearsal studio NYC 10th Ave &36 th St. circa 1969. Corky asked me if I knew any towns in Mississippi and I mentioned Vicksburg. When we worked on it, Corky said he had put the concept forward to Felix and Leslie and they refused it. Corky took our version to Leslie and Felix ...after a few minor lyric changes and Leslie adding the signature lick, that was the way the song came about".

on the "Felix Touch" to recording...

"Felix' s 'touch' involved two very basic premises:
1)" a recording, even a live one, is primarily an illusion. Something that makes the audience cream their jeans during a performance can come off dead as a doornail in recording.
#2: "everything must be recorded as 'clean' as possible considering the circumstances. Some of the best old Vanguard Folk recordings were made in the ballroom of the old Manhattan Towers Hotel in NYC. Consider the Stax/Volt recordings in Memphis...in an old theater. No baffles and nothing but a four track at best".

On his experiences of recording with Felix...

"The recordings that Felix and I made together were earmarked by the fact that we rehearsed extensively and he knew all the material backwards and forwards. Although he was able and willing to make allowances for the artist to make last minute changes, it was his thorough familiarity with the material that enabled him to do so. Also Felix was as much at home listening to field recordings as he was to Bach. I believe that the same process applied to Mountain or anyone else he worked with. In other words, except until the end, it was his consistency and intimate knowlege of all facets of the recording process that made him such an innovative musician and producer".

on Meeting Felix and Corky joining Mountain...

"I met Felix when playing guitar for Ian and Sylvia and Gordon Lightfoot. Felix was playing bass for I&S and it was a fast friendship from the first note. Corky was with a group from Montreal called Energy that Felix managed. They were comprised of Gary Ship, George Gardos and Corky. Norman Smart, a fine drummer, was with Mountain at the time but was not supplying the drive needed for that kind of music. I suggested to Felix that Corky was a logical choice to replace Norman and so it was done. Corky and I maintain a strong friendship to this day".