A Life of Its Own
Our works of art truly have a life of their own. In 1972 we were offered the chance to record our music, which was published as the album “Refuge” in 1973. We sold 10,000 albums that year and had many delightful performances in front of our fans. As you’ll read below, we both took off in other directions before we were able to publish our second album. Over the years our faithful fans have kept our music alive and finally given our music a genre all its own – “Psychedelic Folk”. Perhaps we were just ahead of our time.
In any case, this continuing interest in our music lead Lion Productions in Illinois to find and republish our music this year – just in time for the 40th anniversaries of Heaven and Earth and our album.
The following is an more in depth history of Heaven & Earth, which was recently written by Jo D Andrews:
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When Heaven&Earth broke up in 1974, we never imagined there would be a reissue of our album REFUGE, some thirty-five years later. Truthfully, we never imagined the album would be made in the first place or that fortuitously the two of us would meet in the summer of 1969. Call it karma, fate, destiny, whatever you choose. For us that meeting was a blessing beyond measure. And this is how it all began....
In 1969, Pat graduated from high school and was offered a summer job as a scholarship student at The Fred Waring Music Workshop in Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania.
Jo D. was living and working in New York City at the time and singing at a resort club in the Pocono Mountains on the weekends. As a child, Jo D. had been a jingle singer in New York City before becoming a scholarship student at the Waring Workshop and then touring the United States and Canada as a soloist with Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians.
Jo D.’s father, Clyde Sechler had also been a Pennsylvanian for many years before becoming a teacher, arranger, and conductor at the Music Workshop. It was Clyde who suggested Jo D. go hear the new group of Scholarship Students perform. He specifically mentioned a young girl named, Pat Gefell, whom he thought was quite a talent. Patricia sang and played a Judy Roderick song that night called, “Woman Blue.” She absolutely made it her own and both Jo D. and her brother Craig met Pat after the show. The three just clicked and spent the rest of the summer together whenever possible.
At summer’s end Pat was invited to become a member of the Pennsylvanians, but to everyone’s surprise she chose not to go on the road. Instead, Pat moved to Manhattan and became Jo D’s roommate. Pat and Jo D. found an apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan off Riverside Drive. The two women worked as waitresses, models and background singers to pay their rent. Then one night, when they were both home at the same time, with little food in their bellies and no money in their pockets, they wrote their first song together. From that moment on songwriting was a little piece of, “heaven on earth,” for them and writing music became the priority and great joy of their lives.
As singer-songwriters they became part of a counter-culture in the country that innocently believed if people concentrated on love, compassion for their fellow man, and the pursuit of freedom for all, there could be peace on earth. As roommates they had many opportunities to discuss their beliefs and ideas. Both had been influenced by the politics of the time and were deeply touched by the major events taking place in the world: The Vietnam War, Women’s Liberation, The Gay Rights Movement, racism, and the assassinations of the key political figures of their generation. Their music began to reflect some serious questions – “What about love? Why can’t we all get along?”
By 1971, both Pat and Jo D. had married and by 1972, they named their duo, Heaven&Earth. That year the duo began performing their original material as a featured act with a big band touring the country. Dick Shory, of Ovation Records, heard them in Chicago and called their hotel room to ask if they were signed to a label and if not, were they interested in making an album? At first Pat and Jo D. thought it was a prank call, but Dick insisted they take his number, and after talking about it, the two women decided to involve Jo D.’s husband, arranger George Andrews, in the project.
Dick and George co-produced the album, REFUGE and George wrote all the arrangements. The album was recorded in Quadraphonic sound and initially the response was great at colleges, universities and local television and radio stations across the country. It seemed the camera loved Heaven&Earth, the listeners loved them, but their A&R reps and distributors couldn’t figure out how to promote the duo. “What were they anyway, folk, pop, middle of the road?” It soon became very clear that what they were was on their own.
Without substantial backing and money the road can be a killer for any artist. While were touring to promote the album, they became thin, worn, distant, and disconnected. They were in their early twenties and yet the joy of life was dwindling. The glamour of “being on the road” was clearly not part of their story. As a result, when the two got back to New York both women had a greater appreciation for “home sweet home”. It was so good to be in their own neighborhood singing and performing.
During this time Jo D’s father, who had been a mentor and father to both women, passed away. Jo D. and Pat chose to spend the last months of his life with him, rather than return to Chicago to record their second album. Over Clyde’s last months the duo decided they weren’t going any further with Ovation Records. Although they loved the writing process and studio recording, promoting their albums and touring without the support of their record company was not for them. So they gave their music to the universe, to their family and friends, and to the fans they had made along the way.
As we all know, time passed, and some thirty-five years later, with the internet connecting the world, Heaven &Earth’s music began to be played on the web by their fans. Lion Productions then took a leap of faith and decided to release the album as a CD reissue with bonus tracks and photos galore.
There is an innocent beauty to this music. The songs speak to Heaven &Earth’s experiences as two young women living and traveling together. The stories they tell are about love, friendship, freedom, and a search for meaning in one’s life. And so, with that said, we hope you enjoy the music. It is timeless and filled with love.