# Music by Genre > Rock, Folk Rock, Roots Rock, Rockabilly >  Dash Crofts

## Tosh Marshall

You don't see Seals & Crofts mentioned here very often.  Their early albums are great and I just love these clips from California Jam 1974.....

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Mando Mort

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## Alan Epstein

Tosh,

Those are great videos. Thanks for posting them. Hearing Seals and Crofts records in the early 70's was my first introduction to the mandolin and it got me interested in learning to play the "coolest little instrument in the world". 39 years later I am still at it  :Smile: 

Cheers,
Alan Epstein

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## Eric Hanson

I too got turned on to a cool video of them. A couple of friends of mine and I are learning the song "Summer Breeze". I would love to know the fingerings he is using on this so I could play it better. If anyone has any ideas please PM me or share it here. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPLfD...eature=related

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## TheMandoKit

Ouch, this makes me feel old.  Got my start on mando because of these guys.  I was playing guitar and singing with my (then) girlfriend, and we learned some S&C songs, but they didn't sound right with just two guitars.  So, it was on to the mandolin.  Haven't thought about S&C in a long time, but I saw them live in either '74 or '75.

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## Benski

I have to say I mirror Alan's story: heard Seals and Crofts and said to myself "what the heck is that cool little instrument that does both percussiona and all that beautiful filigree work?" Went and bought a 1914 Gibson A and my love affair with the mando, which has happily endured for 40 years now, began............. 

I wonder if Dash Crofts knows how many people would tell you the same or similar story. 

The other person that helped seduce me from guitar to mando was Jim Messina (Loggins and Messina _Best of Friends_ album).  His mandolin part in "Be Free" just mesmerized me.

Magical time for acoustic music back then...........

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## papa willie

About 4 months after taking up mandolin, some very good  friends (recording artists and working muscians) invited me to a dinner and jam session. They told me that a good mando player would be showing up and I might be able to learn a little. To make a long story short it was Dash Croft. he had an old Gibson that he had paid $125 for someplace and he said that although he owned maybe 12 others it was by far his favorite, it's the only instrument he recorded with. Great guy and a lot of fun.

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## Mandolin Mick

Wow ... Dash Crofts just blew me away in those videos! I didn't know he could play like that!

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## Tosh Marshall

Willie, he uses the Gibson in Hummingbird, great vocals, music was great back then.....enjoy.

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## Dan Margolis

I recently revisited their first album, the only one that I know.  It has "Ridin' Thumb", among other great tunes--a truly fine album.  I heard them live at the University of Hartford in the early 70's, and I recall them doing an excellent show.

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## papa willie

Tosh, He told me, at the time, that any of his recorded albums were done with the Gibson

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## MANNDOLINS

I had the pleasure of doing a little work on Dash's old Gibson a few years back just before he moved to TX. (From TN). He told me the same thing... that Gibson was used on all the old Seals and Crofts' recordings. That day he brought along Jim and Dan Seals ....a room full of talent..and history. Seals and Crofts got me started playing mando to.

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## Glassweb

saw their first ever show at the Filmore East... didn't know who they were. later got to meet them as i "accidentally" wandered into the CBS studios in NYC during a show they were taping with Bill Withers... all those cats were HUGE stars at the time and were very gracious and chill... i was just a teenage punk at the time but a big fan. now i'm a much older punk and still a fan! Dash was a Gibson guy all the way...

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## Rick Nelson

Yeah, me too with Dash influencing my love of the mandolin.  I wrote him a letter about 10 years ago, and he was nice enough to respond.  What a great player and person.  He did a solo album, Dash Crofts Today, and S&C did one about 6 yrs. ago called Traces.  Hope we can encourage Dash to do the classical album he was thinking of with Louie Shelton or maybe even get together with Jimmy Seals again.  He's still got it!

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## timsound

Count me in as one who's music career was started by listening to Seals and Crofts. Awesome musicians way ahead of the pop culture then. I would love to meet Dash!

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## Jim Ferguson

That was a great, however brief, article about Dash Crofts from Jazzmando.com and the video of "High on a Mountain" from the 1974 California Jam concerts was awesome. That and other videos of Dash really do show his versatility on the mandolin and I agree with the article that he is long overdue for recognition as an excellent mandolin player and a mandolin pioneer in the pop-rock genre of music.
After watching the "High on a Mountain" video I went and watched several other California Jam videos of Seals & Crofts and a bunch of other videos on You Tube (there are quite a few) and Dash is a master of the mandolin for sure.
I saw Seals in Crofts a couple of times in the mid 70s and in one smaller venue I was right up front a mere 20 feet from he & Jimmy Seals and remember being mesmerized by Dash's mandolin playing & his voice. I was 14 years old at that time and Dash is the reason I am a mandolin player today.
Peace,
Jim

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## Glassweb

Maybe we should see if Dash will do an interview for the Cafe...

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## Bruce Evans

Thanks for bringing back some memories. When I saw the title of your post the cover of their first album immediately came to mind. I've got it in the bin of LPs in the basement. I enjoyed watching all the YouTubes, but was a bit disappointed that I couldn't find my favorite cut from that album; Ashes In the Snow. I just added another title to my gotta-learn-this-one list.

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## Scott Tichenor

Thanks to Ted at JazzMando.com for turning us back onto these cats. I was a punky college kid when all this came out. So familiar but it was totally off my radar for mandolin content. Check this video where he's playing an F:

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## Ted Eschliman

I just downloaded his 2000 solo CD, "Today," off iTunes. Can't get enough of it. How did this one get by us???
I would love to interview him if anyone knows how I could catch up with him, please PM me.

Meantime, buy this CD, you won't be disappointed!

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## Scott Tichenor

I've been listening to clips of that, too. Darn good stuff and he most definitely still has the magic. Is anyone else from this era transported back to sweat and beer smelling college bars of the 70s and 25 cent beers when they hear this music? Refreshing break from the disco fever of the time. And the girls back then... Oy... move on, dad. You have a daughter approaching that age...

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## journeybear

Just wanted to add this one someone posted the link to - might as well have them all here for comparison and enjoyment  :Mandosmiley: 




And also this Loggins & Messina clip someone else mentioned - some nice mandolin from Jim Messina  :Mandosmiley: 



For the life of me I can't remember whether I made the 100 mile trek from Wisconsin to Chicago to see Seals And Crofts in 1973 or 1974 or just wanted to so badly. I remember making it in for The Band with Taj Mahal opening. Blasted wimpy grey matter!  :Mad: 

And to tell the truth, I'm not sure it really registered with me that there was a mandolin in their music: hearing only their singles on the radio, never seeing them on TV - and I'm betting not live either (I'd think I'd remember) - not owning their records at the time so not familiar with album cuts where mandolin was featured more prominently and/or more acoustically. Younger people might not understand how life was when there was not such a plethora of information available via home computers and this interweb thingy.  :Grin:

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## Cheryl Watson

I was just a little kid when "Summer Breeze" was released.  I loved these guys.  Funky, musical, with all the dynamics that are usually missing in mainstream music today.  I had no idea that they used a mandolin--heck, back then, I did not even know about mandolins.

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## sunburst

Actually, Scott, I'm transported back to _high school_ by Seals and Crofts music! :Grin: 
...and to some of the bands I played in in the 70s with some Seals and Crofts music in the repertoire. I always considered them a cut above much of the popular music, but the presence of the mandolin didn't register as much with me in those days... I was a rock and roll drummer then.
I'm glad this thread came along to remind me that Dash Crofts played mandolin as much as he did in those days. I hadn't really thought about it for years.

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## Tosh Marshall

I think that is one interview you have to do Scott.......

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## Jim Ferguson

Hi Ted......when this thread got going a couple of days ago I sent a message to Dash on Face Book re: the interview idea.  No word back from him yet.  He is on Face Book so you can send him a message if you wish.
Peace,
Jim

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## Jim

I'd just about forgotten S&C until this article, One of the finest concerts I ever saw was them in Late 72 or early 73 in Indianapolis.

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## SincereCorgi

Anyone know how he got that sound? In the video on eMando he gets his (acoustic!) to sound, to my non-expert ears, indistinguishable from a '70s rock lead style electric.

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## Glassweb

I think Dash was quite plugged in with the early boxes and pedals... he was kind of like the Hendrix of the mandolin! One thing to realize about these guys is that they were both EXTREMELY accomplished musicians. Jim and Dash were both members of The Champs (ever here of the song "TEQUILA!"? with Seals on sax and Crofts on drums. Another thing I recall about that concert at the Fillmore East was Jim Seals doing what I guess was Tuvan throat singing... way before it became noticed by the rest of the world. Both these cats are heavy, heavy players and created a music that was not only ahead of its time, but right ON time. Would love to see them re-unite and tour again... would probably be quite the show. Dash... come in Dash... interview time on The Cafe!

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## Jim Ferguson

Right on Glassweb.......Dash & Jimmy were very accomplished musicians.  If I recall correctly Jimmy was a state fiddle champ in TX as a youth.  I remember that fiddle tune they did on one of their albums was FANTASTIC!!!!!

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## Dan Hoover

i guess a lot of us are thinking/hearing the same thing about now?? seals&croft,very good stuff this time of the season..always good,really.. :Grin:

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## Jim Ferguson

And one more thing re: Dash on the mandolin.....:-)  I loved his mandolin playing on the tune Windflowers......what a great piece of music that is and fine mandolin playing.  Here is the link to the California Jam version.......doesn't do justice to the fine mandolin one hears on the album but I love the tremolo near the end: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZda7Ftd2L4

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## Glassweb

Yeah Jim... you're right! I think he did pull out the fiddle at that Fillmore show and blow everyone's mind. You know it's funny... when I went and bought those tickets I remember seeing the name Seals and Crofts on the bill and thought "what is this... an animal act at the Fillmore?" What an idiot... I had no idea what Seals and Crofts "was"! I actually thought Bill Graham was gonna bring some weird circus act on stage!!! I'm gonna go do some research and find out exactly when that show was and who was on the bill...

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## mrmando

> Anyone know how he got that sound? In the video on eMando he gets his (acoustic!) to sound, to my non-expert ears, indistinguishable from a '70s rock lead style electric.


The video was on JazzMando, not Emando ... I don't have any videos of Dash posted (obviously I'm behind the curve!). And in that video he's playing a solidbody Gibson EM200 with a P-90 pickup. He gets an electric sound because he's playing an electric instrument. In other photos he has an EM150 or a pumpkin A with a DeArmond pickup. You can get a lead guitar sound out of any of those.

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## Elliot Luber

> And to tell the truth, I'm not sure it really registered with me that there was a mandolin in their music: hearing only their singles on the radio, never seeing them on TV - and I'm betting not live either (I'd think I'd remember) - not owning their records at the time so not familiar with album cuts where mandolin was featured more prominently and/or more acoustically. Younger people might not understand how life was when there was not such a plethora of information available via home computers and this interweb thingy.


Exactly. I had no idea how much of their music was mandolin-based and back then I wasn't listening for mandolins. I just LOVED their picking and harmonies. The bridge in Hummingbird always blew me away.

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## Glassweb

OK, here we go... just what I thought. On Feb 6th & 7th 1970 Seals and Crofts were the opening act for Delaney and Bonnie at the Fillmore East. During this particular weekend Delaney and Bonnie had some guitarist named Eric Clapton playing with them and, if I recall correctly, he played the whole concert with his back turned to the audience... what a ###### that chap! A one-man band named Wilbur Harrison (I believe he composed the San Fransisco Bay Blues) was the act between S&C and D&B. Now here's the crazy part of this story. The afternoon the day before the show I was hanging out on St. Mark's Place and was approached by some n'ere-do-well who wanted to sell me "something red from Lebanon"... you know what I mean! Anyway, the young ninny that I was (16 at the time) I followed this cat over to the lettered streets (in those days you NEVER went past 1st Ave) and followed him into a funky looky brownstone... I knew I was in for trouble, but my lust for the illicit was quite strong in those days. Sure enough... he pulled out some aluminum foil and wrapped up inside it was not the chunky red material I was looking for, but A SWITCHBLADE... which he immediately engaged and then stuck up to my chest asking for my wallet. I didn't even blink... just handed it over. But damn... I remembered that my tix for Delaney & Bonnie were in the wallet so I begged him, pleaded to him to just give me my tickets back. "Yeah, OK... but don't leave the building till after I'm gone or I'll kill you!" No problem guv'ner! He gave me the tickets and my wallet, took the twenty bucks and lit out. You know, I was never really afraid of getting hurt... I was so strung out for those tix I didn't think of anything else... what a memory! Sure enough, I made it to the Fillmore the next night and found out that Seals and Crofts were not a circus act but a kick-ass group doing amazing, totally unique music (even then their sound was completely different from everyone else). I even managed to enjoy Wilbur Harrison and the Delaney and Bonnie set with that "######" named Clapton. Oh, dem's was da daze...

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doc holiday

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## sunburst

What a story, Glassweb!

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## SincereCorgi

> The video was on JazzMando, not Emando ... I don't have any videos of Dash posted (obviously I'm behind the curve!). And in that video he's playing a solidbody Gibson EM200 with a P-90 pickup. He gets an electric sound because he's playing an electric instrument. In other photos he has an EM150 or a pumpkin A with a DeArmond pickup. You can get a lead guitar sound out of any of those.


Ha, shows what I know about electric mandolins. That Gibson does look a bit like a two-point acoustic with a pickup in the sound hole if – like me – you're not sure what you're looking at.

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## journeybear

I've been searching youtube for a live version that stands up to the recorded one. Most of them seem to be acoustic and don't have that tripling _je ne sais quoi_ magic in the riff on the recording - which I present with a nice slide show.



This is a live version twenty years on! Dash is having a bit of fun messing with the camera. Hang in till the end for a closeup of him playing the riff, and you will never need to ask for tab.  :Wink: 



And finally, an acoustic version from 1972 - I'm very much OK with mandolin being a bit up in the mix  :Wink:  - no footage but in the clumsy slide show is sheet music ... 



PS: Sorry guys - lthe net effect makes it look like I butted in or something ... oh well ...

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## Glassweb

You know John... I remember it all like it was yesterday... crazy, huh?

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## Jim Ferguson

Great story Glassweb.  Glad you are still among the living after that encounter.....:-)  Peace,  Jim

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## journeybear

That first video of "High On A Mountain" is a revelation - I had no idea anyone was playing mandolin that rocked-out back then. Great solo. And he had a capo on! Also, what was with the camera operator? Or is it the editor or director who's out to lunch? We hardly see the mandolin till there's less than a minute left. It's as if they don't know where all those riffs and fills are coming from.  Lots of screen time devoted to the trumpet though ...  :Laughing:

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## Russ Jordan

I thought maybe it was time to revisit this old thread--cool article on Seals and Crofts in Feb Texas Monthly:    
https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-cul...summer-breeze/

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ajh, 

Bob Clark, 

Dave Bradford, 

doc holiday, 

Don Grieser, 

John Soper, 

Marcus CA, 

Ted Eschliman, 

WoodyCTA102

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## Don Grieser

Great read. Thanks, Russ. Dash lives near Johnson City, TX, west of Austin and north of San Antonio. Population 2051.

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Russ Jordan

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## Marcus CA

Great photo in that article!

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## Luna Pick

Well when the wind blows down in Cisco, Texas. . .

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