"Witchi Tai To" on Beaker Street

I found some unusual music by Native American songwriter and saxophonist Jim Pepper on the Brewer and Shipley website:

http://www.brewerandshipley.com/Misc/RareSongs.htm

"Witchi Tai To" Brewer & Shipley - 1969

"Witchi Tai To" was written by Native American songwriter and saxophonist Jim Pepper, and was released by his group Everything Is Everything in 1969. Brewer & Shipley would hear "Witchi Tai To" on Clyde Clifford's Beaker Street from radio station KAAY (The Mighty 1090) beaming out of Little Rock, Arkansas, while they were driving in route at night to their next gigs. "Witchi Tai To" has both Native American and English lyrics, and they learned the Native American lyrics phonetically. Ironically, Brewer & Shipley got all the Native American lyrics right, but misinterpreted some of the English lyrics. Brewer & Shipley's arrangement was also a little more upbeat than the Everything Is Everything original, and their cover got heavy FM airplay. Next to "One Toke Over The Line", it is their best known song. Brewer & Shipley made this song so much their own that they were even mentioned in Jim Pepper's obituary in the New York Times.

And this is the link to the song:

http://www.brewerandshipley.com/Songs/Weeds/WitchiTaiTo.htm

Give it a listen!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)