http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.57731&rws=%2Fron-elliott%2Fmusic-videos.rssVan Dyke Parks believes his old friend Ron Elliott is one of pop's great composers -- now how's that for a reference? With a love for both country and Tin Pan Alley, Elliott's prolific songwriting and jangly guitar helped make San Francisco's Beau Brummels a band of folk-rock, psych-pop, and country-rock pioneers. The group scored two hits in 1964 and '65: "Laugh, Laugh" and "Just a Little." But the Brummels' greatest artistic achievements, 1967's <i>Triangle</i> and <i>Bradley's Barn</i> in '68, flopped with mainstream audiences, as well as the hippie underground, despite sharing key aesthetic sensibilities with Parks' <i>Song Cycle</i> and the Beach Boys' <i>Smile</i>. Just before the Brummels fell apart, Elliott began playing, writing, producing and arranging for other artists, including Parks (he appears on <i>Song Cycle</i>), Randy Newman, Levitt & McClure, the Everly Brothers, Pan, Van Morrison and Little Feat. Suffering from severe diabetes since childhood, Elliott released but a single solo LP, 1970's <i>The Candlestickmaker</i>, yet another overlooked gem. He has also overseen a handful of Brummels reunions. These days, Elliott still calls San Francisco home, where he devotes most of his time to the visual arts. - Justin FarrarSinger-Songwriteren720Thu, 7 Jan 2010 22:56:36 -0800 http://static.realone.com/rotw/images/logo_rhapsody_113x22.gif http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.57731&rws=%2Fron-elliott%2Fmusic-videos.rss Van Dyke Parks believes his old friend Ron Elliott is one of pop's great composers -- now how's that for a reference? With a love for both country and Tin Pan Alley, Elliott's prolific songwriting and jangly guitar helped make San Francisco's Beau Brummels a band of folk-rock, psych-pop, and country-rock pioneers. The group scored two hits in 1964 and '65: "Laugh, Laugh" and "Just a Little." But the Brummels' greatest artistic achievements, 1967's <i>Triangle</i> and <i>Bradley's Barn</i> in '68, flopped with mainstream audiences, as well as the hippie underground, despite sharing key aesthetic sensibilities with Parks' <i>Song Cycle</i> and the Beach Boys' <i>Smile</i>. Just before the Brummels fell apart, Elliott began playing, writing, producing and arranging for other artists, including Parks (he appears on <i>Song Cycle</i>), Randy Newman, Levitt & McClure, the Everly Brothers, Pan, Van Morrison and Little Feat. Suffering from severe diabetes since childhood, Elliott released but a single solo LP, 1970's <i>The Candlestickmaker</i>, yet another overlooked gem. He has also overseen a handful of Brummels reunions. These days, Elliott still calls San Francisco home, where he devotes most of his time to the visual arts. - Justin Farrar