Arizona

First recorded by The Family Dogg (B-side 1969).
Hit version by Mark Lindsay (US #10 1969).

From the wiki: “‘Arizona’ was written by Kenny Young (‘Under the Boardwalk’, Drifters, 1964; ‘Just a Little Bit Better’, Herman’s Hermits, 1964) and popularly recorded by former Paul Revere & the Raiders member Mark Lindsay (‘Indian Reservation‘) in 1969. The song was, however, first recorded April-May 1969 by the UK folk-rock group The Family Dogg and was first released as the B-side to the single ‘A Way of Life’.

“Albert Hammond (‘To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before‘) and Steve Rowland met for the first time at a concert in Madrid in 1964. In 1966, The Family Dogg was formed by the duo along with the participation of the singers Mike Hazlewood and Pam Zooey Quinn. The debut album, A Way of Life, was released in 1969; the title track became a #6 hit in the UK Singles Chart. Jimmy Page, John Bonham and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin were guest musicians on this album, along with Elton John. Hammond and Hazlewood would go on to co-write ‘Gimme Dat Ding’ (The Pipkins) and ‘The Air That I Breathe‘ (The Hollies).

“After leaving Paul Revere & the Raiders in 1969, Lindsay began to record solo records and to produce records before retiring from performing to serve as head of A&R for United Artists records. Lindsay contributed to the recordings of artists such as Gerry Rafferty (on ‘Baker Street’), Kenny Rogers, and others. His later accomplishments also included composing jingles for commercials (including Baskin-Robbins, Datsun, Kodak, Pontiac and Levi’s among others) and scores for motion pictures.”

Mark Lindsay, “Arizona” (1969):