Los Angeles’ Craig Smith, aka Maitreya Kali, is one of the greatest songwriters of the 60s, though his work is known (consciously) to only a small but devoted cult. Craig wrote several big hits for MOR artist Andy Williams, penned “Salesman” which was recorded by The Monkees, and should have found fame and fortune with his brilliant group The Penny Arkade. Thanks to the work of Mike Stax (of Ugly Things magazine and lead singer of The Loons), Smith’s music has been spreading exponentially over the past few years.
Mike Stax spent fifteen years attempting to track down Craig Smith, who had become mentally ill and homeless for many years. Stax’ detective work culminated in the 2016 publication of the excellent book Swim Through The Darkness, which chronicles Craig’s history as a folkie (as a member of The Good Time Singers), and eventually his partnering with Craig Ducey. Chris and Craig were cast in a prospected TV show called The Happeners, which despite a very promising pilot (1965), never made it to the air. Chris and Craig were hip to their obvious chemistry together, and first cut an incredible single for Capitol (“Isha”, 1966), which led to the formation of Penny Arkade. Monkee Michael Nesmith spotted the brilliance of the group, brought him into his home, and essentially produced/ financed the groups recordings. It’s a real head scratcher as to why the Penny Arkade LP never found a label, as the songwriting, vocals, and musicianship are top notch. In my opinion, the Penny Arkade recordings are among the absolute greatest ‘lost albums’ in rock ‘n roll history.
After Penny Arkade fizzled, things began to fall apart for Smith. With a large chunk of songwriting royalty change, he set out on the ‘hippie trail’, and the story goes that he was severely beaten during his travels. Whether it was the beating or copious ingestion of LSD, Craig was never the same. Changing his name to Maitreya Kali, Craig’s behavior was alarming and alienated most of his old friends and colleagues. As the songwriting royalties continued to filter in, he was able to self -elease two often brilliant, sometimes confusing, occasionally disturbing private press LP’s in the early 1970’s, Apache and Inca. These unspeakably rare records also saw rough mixes of a few of The Penny Arkade tracks released for the first time.
After the publication of the Stax biography, Craig’s brother Gary came forward with a cache of acetates that Craig had entrusted to him. This treasure trove of demo recordings has been collected as “Love Is Our Existence”; itself a song that was first cut as “Century Of Distance” by the Penny Arkade. Most of the tracks were recorded in the late 6os/ early ’70s, and they are all full of the poetic lyrics and haunting melodies that are a hallmark of Smith’s work. “Jupiter’s Queen” is one of many extraordinary tracks on this highly recommended collection. words / d see
Thanks to Mike Stax for his research on this amazing songwriter and performer. The story is a tragic one, but Craig’s (and Chris’s) work in the Penny Arkade and as a solo songwriter is truly great and deserves a wider audience. Many thanks to AD for this post!