Dixie Lee Innes - Dixie Lee Innes of the Original Caste (1972), Black Paper Roses (1972), Chinook (1977), When I First Fell In Love (1977), Queen of Colby Kansas (1977)

It's definitely worth turning our focus on Dixie Lee Innes (neé Stone) for a while. By the time Innes was part of the Original Caste's success in the l960's, she was already more than familiar with performing and recording. She'd been performing as part of the Calgary Safety Round-up and put of a single thanks to Mel Shaw and his Sotan Records. 

And after the Original Caste's first LP, it's almost as if their label decided that Dixie Lee was the winner, putting out an album by her rather than another by the band. 

But as we know, record labels are fickle things, and that LP was the only major label outing. But five years later Calgary-based PLP Records put out an LP and a string of singles by Dixie Lee (with most songs written by Bruce Innes and Peter F. Clarke). Where her almost self-titled 1972 album is a folk pop affair (including a cover of Ian Tyson's "Four Strong Winds"!), her 1972 LP is more soul flavoured and energetic. PLP must have invested a lot in Innes' LP - they also put out three singles to accompany it (and assumedly get Dixie Lee back on the radio).

Get Dixie Lee's two LPs (and a few singles) here.