Original issue of Rolling Stone Magazine issue 86. Cover photograph of Doug Sahm by Baron Wolman. Published July 8, 1971.
But there are a plethora of great songs by famous musicians that have referenced Mill Valley directly or indirectly over the years. Those include tunes from the legion of famous musicians with Mill Valley connections, from Bob Weir and David Crosby to Huey Lewis and Dan Hicks – but it also includes lesser-known but widely revered artists like Doug Sahm.
Often heralded as the “King of Tex-Mex” music, Sahm aka the “Texas Tornado” was originally a country music prodigy from San Antonio, Texas. He later made a name for himself in the San Francisco music scene as the founder and leader of the 1960s rock and roll band the Sir Douglas Quintet, often performing at the original Sweetwater on Throckmorton and other venues in Marin. Sahm wrote and recorded a song called “Sunday Sunny Mill Valley Grove Day” with the Sir Douglas Quintet, and the track was later recorded by Frank Black and the Catholics, the solo project from former Pixies frontman Frank Black.
An all-star tribute concert to Sahm was held at the 2015 South by Southwest Music Festival last week in Austin, Texas, featuring the likes of Steve Earle, Charlie Sexton, Bill Kirchen and film director Richard Rodriguez and his band Chingon, according to Billboard. The tribute show coincided with the the SXSW premiere of Joe Nick Patoski’s film Sir Doug and the Genuine Texas Cosmic Groove. Australian indie folk duo Luluc “lent its rich harmonies” to Sahm’s ode to Mill Valley.
Check out the song here, and the lyrics below:
When there’s nothing left to say
And all the clouds have faded away
And my mind wanders out there
Across the bay
Just to be there in the morning
With the sun coming through the trees
Well you know
There ain’t no place I’d rather be
Sunday sunny Mill Valley groove day
You can feel the magic in the air
And when it’s over
And the clover has left the mountainside
You’ll be king of what you survive
Sunday sunny Mill Valley groove day
You will have a wonderful time up there
And when it’s over
And the clover has left the mountainside
You’ll be king of what you survive
When there’s nothing left to say
And all the clouds have faded away
And my mind wanders out there
Across the bay
Just to be there in the morning
With the sun coming through the trees
Well you know
There ain’t no place I’d rather be
Sunday sunny Mill Valley groove day
You can feel the magic in the air
And when it’s over
And the clover has left the mountainside
You’ll be king of what you survive
Click here to hear music from The Best of Doug Sahm and the Sir Douglas Quintet.
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