In the early 1990s, a trio of future Rock & Roll Hall of Famers, longtime Doobie Brothers members John McFee and Keith Knudsen founding Creedence Clearwater Revival bassist Stu Cook, formed a band called Jackdawg. McFee, Knudsen, and Cook had previously played together in the popular country band Southern Pacific, but after that group broke up in 1991, the trio started working on album of more rock-oriented material.
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After the band completed its self-titled album, Jackdawg’s plans to release it were waylaid when its manager passed away in 1992 before a label deal could be secured. The project was shelved until a label called Sonic Past Music finally issued it on CD in 2009. The disc was only briefly available before going out of print, but now, the Liberation Hall label will reissue the album on October 24.
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Jackdawg, which can be pre-ordered now, will be available of vinyl, CD, and via digital formats.
The album’s lead track, the McFee-Cook co-write “Bayou Rebel,” has been released as an advance track.
The Jackdawg reissue features new cover art created by McFee and Cook.
More About Jackdawg
The digital and CD versions of Jackdawg feature 15 tracks, 13 of which were originals. McFee co-wrote all of the album’s original tunes, most with either Knudsen or Cook, or with both of his bandmates. The vinyl LP features a pared-down 10-song track list.
The record also includes covers of Van Morrison’s “Wild Night” and Roky Erickson’s “Cold Night for Alligators.” Interestingly, McFee played pedal-steel guitar on Morrison’s original version of “Wild Night.”
McFee sang lead on all tracks and also played guitar, keyboards, harmonica. Cook played bass and Knudsen played drums on the album. All three members contributed backing vocals.
After the breakup of Southern Pacific, McFee, Knudsen, and Cook began writing and recording songs at McFee’s Lizard Rock Studio in Solvang, California. Rather than the country influences of their previous group, the new tunes songs featured a mix of modern rock, hard rock, and Southern rock, filtered through 1990s rock sensibilities.
More About McFee, Knudsen, and Cook
Knudsen joined The Doobie Brothers as the band’s second drummer in 1974. McFee, a talented multi-instrumentalist, had been a founding member of the country-rock band Clover, which was together from 1967 to 1978. When that group broke up, he joined The Doobie Brothers in 1979.
After The Doobies initially broke up in 1982, Knudsen and McFee formed Southern Pacific with a few other respected musicians. Cook joined that group in 1986, replacing founding bassist Jerry Scheff. Stu previously had played with Creedence until that group split in 1972. From 1985 through 1990, Southern Pacific released four studio albums. The band scored a dozen Top-40 hits on Billboard’s country singles chart.
After the demise of the Jack Dawg project, McFee and Knudsen rejoined The Doobie Brothers when the band reformed as a full-time touring and recording group in 1993. Knudsen died of cancer in 2005 at age 56. McFee remains a member of the band. McFee and Knudsen were inducted into the Rock Hall with the Doobies in 2020.
Cook was inducted into the Rock Hall as a member of CCR in 1993. From 1995 to 2020, Cook and CCR drummer Doug “Cosmo” Clifford played in the spinoff band Creedence Clearwater Revisited.
Jackdawg CD and Digital Track List:
- “Bayou Rebel”
- “When the Sun Don’t Shine”
- “The Men Who Would Be King”
- “Hunger”
- “Ghost Dance”
- “Take It Off”
- “Kisses in the Rain”
- “I Couldn’t Help Myself”
- “Quicksand”
- “Lookin’ for Trouble”
- “Relentless”
- “Young Ones”
- “The Girl from Oz”
- “Cold Night for Alligators”
- “Wild Night”
(Photo by Larry Marano/Shutterstock)
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