Gordion Knot was a short-lived band from southern California, by way of Mississippi. They released only one album,"Tones" a terrific soft rock/harmony pop effort produced by Clark Burroughs of the Hi-Los. The group formed at the University of Mississippi and was led by ex-Mississippi all-American quarterback/guitarist/lead vocalist Jim Weatherly, a native of Pontotoc, MI. The group caught their biggest break after they appeared at a party thrown by Nancy Sinatra, who apparently liked them so much that she asked them to accompany her on a USO trip to Vietnam. According to their liner notes, they were "one of the few groups since the Beatles to possess genuine charm...not a phony showbiz glucose charm, but the real thing." The bulk of the songs for their album were written by Weatherly, and have a edgier, husky country-rock vibe compared with those written by Leland Russell, whose beautiful tunes are comparatively similar to the Association (Burroughs, it should be pointed out, was also a vocal arranger on the Association’s "Insight Out” and "Waterbeds In Trinadad” albums). "One Way Street” is the band's lone obligatory jug band entry. The band also appeared as themselves in a 1968 MGM teensploitation flick called ”Young Runaways”, performing an original entitled "Ophelia’s Dream”. (STP) 01 - It's Gonna Take A Lot 02 - We Must Be Doing Somethin' Right 03 - Strong Wind Blowin' 04 - One Way Street 05 - Carnival Lights, Again 06 - Carraway Stream 07 - The World Keeps Spinnin' 08 - The Year Of The Sun 09 - I Can't Be Hurt Anymore 10 - If Only I Could Fly 11 - Broken Down Ole Merry-Go-Round LINK (RS) LINK (FS)
