We all know the big names on Capricorn Records’ roster, but there were a great number of bands who released music who aren’t mentioned as much here in Macon. Here are two albums that should be in every Macon music lover’s collection.

Johnny Jenkins: “Ton Ton Macoute!”

Johnny Jenkins was Macon’s rhythm and blues king for a while. It’s said that Jimi Hendrix learned his wild style by watching him play. Otis Redding got his start playing in a band with Jenkins called the Pinetoppers. In 1970, Jenkins released “Ton Ton Macoute!” on ATCO/Capricorn Records. The album originally was intended to be a Duane Allman solo album and features Allman on guitar, Barry Oakley on bass, Jaimoe on percussion, Butch Trucks on drums and a Southern rock star-studded list of other musicians.

This album is full of songs from some of the greatest songwriters of the time, including Dr. John, Muddy Waters, Bob Dylan and many more. After the music was recorded, Jenkins came in and recorded the vocals. The album was named “Ton Ton Macoute!”, which means “boogy man” in Haitian French.

This album is probably one of the best recorded representations of what Macon’s music scene in the late ’60s and early ’70s was like, combining the best of the musicians in the area at the time to complete a single project.

White Witch: “White Witch”

While Capricorn was known for releasing albums more in the line of Southern rock, blues and soul, White Witch was somewhat a departure from the style that had become the mainstay of the Capricorn catalog. This Florida-based group was hard to pin down on exactly what their style was. They could have been defined as psychedelic or hard rock and it still would have been wrong because there was something undeniably Southern about their sound, and their lyrics had a tendency to lean toward a new age spirituality content. It was very unique. The best way I can describe it was if Black Sabbath and the Allman Brothers had collaborated on an album, and I’m still not sure that’s fair.

Their debut self-titled album was released in 1972 and they went on to release two other albums, both on Capricorn. While at the time the albums were deemed too experimental by critics, the group was inducted into the Florida Music Hall of Fame.

There are many other great groups to be found in the Capricorn discography. Explore it and find your own gems.

Contact Roger Riddle at roger.riddle@gmail.com.