Dantalian's Chariot - Coffee Song (1968)

As mentioned previously, Zoot Money was a vocalist and keyboardist who attempted to make a name for himself in the world of jazz, soul, and R&B since 1961 with his backing band the Big Roll Band. Not reaching the success he aimed for, Zoot decided to split the group up in 1967 and try a more psychedelic approach, with some of the same members, since his previously preferred styles were falling out of fashion.

Together with Andy Summers (later of The Police), Zoot Money assembled this band, Dantalian’s Chariot. The name of the band was suggested by the band’s publicist, Jim Ramble, who was inspired from by The Lesser Key of Solomon, a medieval book about witchcraft, with Dantalion being a powerful Great Duke from hell.

The band released their first single, “Madman Running Through the Fields,” with the idea of creating a full-length album to encompass it after its release. Unfortunately, before the album could be finished, their label decided to drop them, not approving of their new psychedelic sound. Soon after, in April 1968, the group disbanded.

It wasn’t until 1996 that the unfinished album saw the light of day, when it was released by Wooden Hill. Although the album couldn’t be released exactly as it may have been in 1967/1968, the effort was made to have the album keep its originally intended psychedelic nature. The song below, written by Ray Smith and Tony Colton, was one of the lost tracks, buried for nearly thirty years.



Dantalian's Chariot - Coffee Song (1968)

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Lyrics:

There’s a full-time reservation
Made in the bar at the railroad station
And there’s a story, a kind of fable
On a card at the corner table

On it is a message, been there sometime
It starts off “The coffee tasted so fine”
It says, “One day this may find you
These few words may just remind you
We sat here together just to pass time
And you said how the coffee tasted so fine”

It goes on to say, “I love you
If you should find this, I must hear from you”
It gives a number, but the name has faded away
All that is left are just the words, “Maybe someday”

Well that’s the story and the fable
Never leave alone from a corner table

Zoot Money - Soma (1968)

Born George Bruno Money on July 17, 1942, this vocalist and keyboardist comes from Bournemouth, England where his earliest musical beginnings saw him playing the French horn and singing in a choir. During the mid-1950s, Money was exposed to Jerry Lee Lewis and Ray Charles, took up the keyboard, and never looked back. In the early ‘60s, Money switched from the keyboard to the Hammond organ and started the Big Roll Band in 1961. Interestingly, one of Money’s bandmates in the Big Roll Band was Andy Summers, a future member of the ‘80s band The Police. Around this time, Money began calling himself “Zoot,” after the jazz saxophonist Zoot Sims, who had left an impression on Money after he saw him in concert. In 1967, the Big Roll Band had changed their name to Dantalian’s Chariot and began to get gigs opening for bands such as Pink Floyd, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, and the Soft Machine. Unfortunately by April 1968, the band split up and Money went forward with solo work, television appearances, and film acting.

After the dissolution of Dantalian’s Chariot, Money released a solo album, Transition, in 1968. The album attempted to transition Money from his usual jazz and R&B sound into a more modern psychedelic sound. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out very well. Not having been familiar with chart success anyhow, this album didn’t make much of an impression. The only notable track, I believe, was the song heard below. Written by future Police-member Andy Summers, this instrumental track was inspired by the South Asian Indian themes popular in the ‘60s by featuring a sitar and raga motif.



Zoot Money - Soma (1968)

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Lyrics:

(instrumental)