It all started in 1967 when Mac Davis was managing Metric Music in Hollywood California. Davis put Memphis-based duo Hial Bancroft King and Ray Chafin together to collaborate on a music project. Liberty Records wanted something to follow an Elton John and Bernie Taupin album. Both members sing and play multiple instruments, but King was something of a musical virtuoso (and an avid experimenter, especially with synthesizer music and sound effects) and Chafin had a deft touch with lyrics and conceptual form.
Thus the Hyle King Movement was born. Unfortunately, the group was short-lived. Metric Music balked at the more experimental song composition, and the group’s demos were shelved.
For a time, that put a pin in the group’s musical endeavors — at least together. King wrote symphonies and conducted orchestras, played concerts, and was endorsed by many legendary conductors. He worked with Leon Russell, Lou Rawls, Jackie DeShannon, and Brian Wilson, among a cadre of charting artists. Chafin went on to record two of the duo’s songs on Bob Marcucci’s Chancellor Records and appeared on American Bandstand with Dick Clark.
Now, after a 30-year hiatus, Hyle King Movement’s two-volume collection has been remastered and released on Wraysong Records. I spoke with Ray Chafin about (with input from Hial Bancroft King) about the journey to get these songs out in the world.
Memphis Flyer: The synth-driven sound wasn’t what I expected based on looking at the cover. Can you tell me a little about how you crafted the sound for the album.
Ray Chafin: All the songs on the album were recorded on multi-tracks with Hial playing all the instrument parts on multiple sessions of overdubbing. The synthesizer was the main instrument for both sound and effects. He also sang all the parts in the extensive vocal backup, along with Grammy winning artist Darlene Koldenhoven. Each song was recorded at different times over several years, in Hial’s state-of-the-art King’s Studio.
The album is quite atmospheric. Can you talk a little about the decision to include sound effects in the music?
We, as songwriters, believe songs should be felt as well as listened to, visualized as well as heard, and sound effects add that touch of being there, witnessing, and experiencing what the words describe.
Would you talk a little bit about your musical influences?
Hial was raised in Hollywood during those years of classic filmmaking. His award-winning grandfather, actor George Bancroft, set the environment for Hial to become the child prodigy he was, and the extraordinary musician he is today. I, on the other hand, was born and raised on a farm in West Virginia, with country music and bluegrass festivals as my major influence. I didn’t play an instrument until my late teens.
At least in “Silvery Dawn” it seems that science-fiction is one influence. Is that true?
Absolutely! What was considered fiction 50 years ago is finally becoming reality today. This song stems from the prediction of coming events that are not clearly explained. However, in making the video I considered it science-reality. Having witnessed a UFO encounter with my mother in I952, I gained great respect for the notion that we are not alone in this vast universe.
Again talking about “Silvery Dawn” but it seems faith plays an important part in the lyrical composition. Would you talk about that?
As a child we were taught about the coming rapture, Hial explained it as a childhood fear that became this visionary dream with biblical origins. Rapture, they say, or an ethereal garden, perhaps.
“Cozy Little Corner” seems to have more of a lounge feel. Do you enjoy experimenting with different genres?
Certainly. We both love to tread outside the musical boundaries of the norm. Hial is the “king” of versatility, as shown in his work. He can do it all!
Is there anything else you would like to add?
It has been said, “The chase is more enjoyable than the catch,” and in our case it rings true. We had the good fortune to create songs, play music, and share special times with some pretty amazing people.