Featured Essay: The Joy in Discovery

by Ed Plunkett

It began in a record store. The day after Record Store Day 2025, my wife and I went to Spoonful Records in Columbus, Ohio. Our local shop. I was not a fan of the crowds of RSD but wanted to go after and see if anything was left over. My wife and I split up after we arrived.  I managed to find a copy of the Hindu Love Gods album and a few other items in the used bins and went over to my wife to see if she’d found anything.

Her hands were empty but she flipped to a record she was looking at and showed me. An older record, in very good condition. The cover was a young man with an acoustic guitar with the single word “Herman” in large colorful lettering with the album title, I’ve Made Up My Mind, underneath. 

The liner notes were more revealing. It was on Brunswick Records, an old established label that released records by Jackie Wilson, Gene Chandler and many more.  Herman was sixteen, from Colombia, and now living in the Miami Beach area. The record was released in 1970 and most of the songs on the label were written or co-written by Herman Adelshon. While no musicians were listed, the record was co-produced by the well established Carl Davis and Eugene Record, who became the lead singer of the Chi-Lites. There do not appear to have been any singles released from this record. It went nowhere on the charts. 

Herman’s music sounds good. Very soulful for a sixteen year old. I hear The Box Tops and a bit of R&B. There’s a good cover of “Love the One You’re With” and Herman gets a bit political with a youthful “Save the U.S.A.” It seemed to get little airplay. There was a local television show in Miami Beach that featured his music but that looks like it’s lost.

We did not hear from Herman again until 1974 when a single on the organized crime owned Roulette Records called Higher on Your Love was released. It was engineered by Steve Jerome, who would work with the Sugarhill Gang a few years later. The song sank without a trace and Herman Edelsohn once again disappeared.

It was difficult to trace Herman’s trail. Discogs eventually linked me up with a musician named Keith Herman, The album Good News Day was released on Midland International in 1977. The lyric sheet shows the songs were written by Herman Keith Adelsohn. The songs are all good, revealing heavier McCartney and seventies pop influences. The strings and horns were arranged by Terence P. Minoque, who worked with many artists including Henry Gross and Jim Croce. His mixing engineer was Gene Paul, the son of Les Paul. No musicians are listed on the album credits. There was one single released, “Somewhere There’s A Star.” Both the single and album failed to chart. 

Two years later Herman put out another album. *The Next Song Is…*was released on Radio Records. An impressive number of prominent musicians were on board with this album, including Tony Levin and Steve Cropper. Don Gehman engineered a few of these songs. This record seemed to have a budget. The sounds are a bit dance oriented (signs of 1979) and very reminiscent of work by Eric Carmen. Regardless, this album and single failed to make any national impact. 

After this record Keith Herman Adelsohn appears to have gone silent for fifteen years. 

His name, and variations of it are not common. Still, there was not much of a footprint on the internet. Until I found a music review written by a Keith Chagall, a musician who has put out several albums on his own website and popular streaming platforms. The first one, which I still have not heard yet, was Angels on the Faultline and was released in 1994.  I was nearly certain that I found Herman and left messages on his website and Instagram page. 

A couple of days later, Keith messaged me back. He is alive and well, living in the Los Angeles area and still making and loving music and his life. He told me he was writing a book about his life and that his Ovation 12 string was played by George Harrison when they had a two hour conversation. I’m waiting for that anecdote to appear in his book. He has released a few records since 1994, the most recent in 2022.

His music is a bit more spiritual and his songwriting remains sound. His music career seems to have been a remarkable journey, even without mainstream success.  It’s been a joy to discover his work. 

Ed Plunkett is a musician and writer. He is the establisher of the band Authority Control. He had been published in Columbus614, 68to05, Matter News and more. Ed creates and lives with his wife and son in Columbus, Ohio.