Jeffrey Frederick

Jeffrey Frederick, like his associates the Holy Modal Rounders and Michael Hurely, was an American original, a musician nearly impossible to stick into a category. Though he recorded very little over his lifetime (1950-1997), his odd lyrical sense and countrified vocals left a distinct mark on the mid-'70s music scene. "Jeffrey was charismatic, charming and had the sexiest grin you ever laid eyes on, even with a Camel straight, a 'hump' to him, hanging out of the corner of his mouth," wrote his wife, Kathryn Noel Bennett. Jeffrey Sutton Frederick was born in 1950 in Wilmington, DE, and grew up in Vermont. His parents, Harry and Edna Frederick, were very religious, and young Jeffrey Frederick became an Eagle Scout. But the lure of music pulled Frederick away from the straight and narrow. He quit the Scouts and formed his first band, the Renegades, at 14. During the late '60s he met a number of like-minded musicians including Jill Gross, Morgan Huber, John Raskin, and Robert "Froggy" Nickson, and formed the first version of the Clamtones. But the only constant thing in Frederick's musical world was change, and by the early '70s he had formed a new band, Automatic Slim and the Fat Boys. In 1975 Frederick moved to Portland, OR, where he started a West Coast version of the Clamtones. Over the next two years Frederick would leave his musical fingerprints on two primary recordings, the first involving himself with the Holy Modal Rounders and Hurley, and the second with the Clamtones. "Cut in two days in 1975 for around $1500," wrote critic Robert Christgau of Have Moicy!, "the album assembled a loose confederation of folkie misfits who were having trouble trusting each other as they passed 30." Frederick's songs included the "What Made My Hamburger Disappear" and the equally...