Emitt Rhodes

If the reclusive Emitt Rhodes wasn’t so multi-talented, and had surrounded himself with bandmates to help deflect the spotlight, as the Beach Boys did for the similarly inclined Brian Wilson, he might have managed a career with more longevity. Instead, he spent the bulk of his adult life hiding his light under the proverbial bushel. The L.A. singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist started out as a drummer for mid-‘60s British Invasion-style popsters The Palace Guard, before becoming frontman for The Merry-Go-Round (which included members of The Leaves and The Grass Roots); the short-lived band’s “Time Will Show the Wiser” was covered on the first Fairport Convention album. In 1970, Rhodes released his self-titled solo debut, a minor hit that established him as a maker of gorgeous, McCartney-esque pop who labored intensely and privately on his one-man-band masterworks. Three more equally impressive albums followed, but stardom did not, and the increasingly publicity-shy Rhodes retreated from view, becoming a producer/engineer and never releasing another record. One Man Beatles, a 2009 documentary about Rhodes, won acclaim, and that year, the long-dormant artist was said to be working on a new album at last, with contributions from Richard Thompson and members of Counting Crows and The Merry-Go-Round.