Kip Carmen

Ode to the Road: From Huntington to Hi Records

(Continued Sound, 2026)

Rare and unheard recordings from 1974-1977 at Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. Restored, remixed, and remastered from the original multitrack session tapes.

Available now on all streaming platforms.

Preorder the vinyl on Bandcamp (expected to ship in mid-November 2026).

1974 Royal Studios Sessions (Tracks 1, 2, 6, 7, 9, 10):

Kip Carmen: vocals and guitar

Mark Ryan: guitar

Ben Ninmann: Hammond B3 organ and piano

Pete Bartosch: bass

Jimmy Walker: drums

Featuring: 

The Memphis Horns (Tracks 1, 2, 6)

Wayne Jackson: trumpet

Andrew Love: tenor sax

Ed Logan: tenor sax 

Jack Hale: trombone

James Mitchell: baritone sax and horn arrangements

Rhodes, Chalmers, and Rhodes (Tracks 1, 6, 7)

Sandra Rhodes: backing vocals

Charles Chalmers: backing vocals

Donna Rhodes: backing vocals

And the Memphis Strings (string arrangements by James Mitchell)

1977 Royal Studios Sessions (Tracks 3, 4, 5, 8):

Kip Carmen: vocals and guitar

Michael Rubin: Hammond B3 organ and piano

Rik Sherry: drums

Featuring: 

Lenny Albergo: alto sax (Tracks 4, 5, 8) (added in 1978)

Bob D’Andrade: bass (added in 1978)

Rik Sherry played tambourine on Track 4. Michael Rubin and Kip Carmen added backing vocals on Tracks 4, 5, 8. Ben Takis added shakers on Tracks 3 and 4 while mixing in 2026. 

Production Credits:

All songs produced and engineered by Bill Cantrell at Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, except alto sax and/or bass overdubs were added to Tracks 3, 4, 5 and 8 at Flying Z Studios (Islip, NY) in 1978.

Mixed by Ben Takis and Kip Carmen from 24-bit, 96kHz digital transfers from the original 2" multitrack tapes. 

Restoration and tape transfers by Catherine Vericolli, Central Audio Archiving (Nashville, Tennessee)

Mastering by Nick Townsend, Townsend Mastering (Los Angeles, California).

Music and lyrics for all songs by Kip Carmen, except Track 7 was written by Willie Mitchell, Lawrence Seymour, and James Swearengen.

Tracks 1, 2, 6, and 7 presented via license from Fat Possum Records.