My oldest daughter thought of a song today that she thought I should write about but to her dismay it has all ready done. So with that thought in mind maybe I could tie a song together with the college that she went to. The timing is off by many years from the concert to when she went there but what the hell.
Mona was written around 1957 by legendary rock pioneer Bo Diddley and was the B-side to his classic Checker Records hit Hey! Bo Diddley. Now lets take this:
Add a little late 1960’s San Francisco Psychedelic to it, play it live at beautiful Sonoma State University and we get:
Happy Trails was Quicksilver Messenger Service’s sophomore record, released by Capitol Records in 1969. Recorded live at both the Fillmore West and Fillmore East with some studio work done at Golden State Recorders. This was to me the best Quicksilver Messenger Service album they ever put out but you can call me bias because it also happened to be the first record I ever heard by them. Add in the fact that side one is a 25 minute version of Bo Diddley’s Who Do You Love and the album ends with a version of Happy Trails by the legendary western star Dale Evans and you get San Francisco Psychedelic Rock at its finest. QSM at the time consisted of the late guitarist and singer John Cipollina, guitarist and singer Gary Duncan, bassist David Freiberg and drummer Greg Elmore
Forgotten Rock Classics 
I totally missed this band. Never too late. Love the Bo cover and will check out the first record. CB loves a good jam. And hey, who can resist that Bo Diddley beat.
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Growing up in the Midwest I had never heard of them until I moved out to the Bay Area in the late 70’s. Then I heard them and was hooked.
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Fab band and Happy Trails one of the best live albums ever! San Francisco sound to its fingertips!
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Most definitely one of my top live albums too.
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“Happy Trails” is representative of references Rock Bands used to connect with the Couter-Culture through double-entendres and wordplay about their mutual fondness of Drugs. One of the fun results of the effects of psychedelics (LSD, Mescaline) is that any moving objects tend to have colorful “trails” of movement that follow them.
Happy Trails!
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I have enjoyed my fair share of Happy Trails like you 00 in my younger days. Happy Trails to you too
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Great pick. I’d been after a copy of Happy Trails for a while and finally nabbed a copy a few months ago. My first slice of QMS vinyl, so I dare say I’ll have a similar bias…
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Glad you finally got your copy. Now it’s time to wear it out.
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Me too, DCW. My first Quicksilver album, and definitely their best. This album doesn’t get the credit it deserves. The late lamented John Cipollina was a talented axeman who had his own unique (vibrato?) style. It’s a shame original member Dino Valenti (“Get Together”) was in prison on a drug charge, otherwise this record could have been even BETTER. Also, the Norman Rockwell-styled art is one of my favorite album covers. Makes me want to stir some refried beans over an open fire!
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I hear you on Dino and the beans on the fire. I’m not much of a fan of Rolling Stone magazine anymore but they do have it( I think) of some type of must listen to list and another list of top something or another.
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I think Dino was the downfall of this otherwise mind blowing instrumental (mostly) albums 1 and HT. They NEVER played with the kind of fire and guitar interplay when Dino joined the band. Which is why John left the band.
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