OLD SCHOOL Single: "AVENGING ANNIE" Andy Pratt (1973)

There has to be a better category for the enigmatic Andy Pratt other than “one hit wonder.” The song he is best known for appeared like a comet on the pop music horizon in 1973, bristling with the buzz and excellence of a new discovery.

“Avenging Annie” is a power ballad on the level of the kinds of things Elton John was producing at that time, alongside Yes and the Bob Welch era Fleetwood Mac.

Annie’s time in the spotlight was brief if you only listen for chart positions splash. Yet there is something about this song that packs a wallop, not only of memory but of deliverance as we drop the needle a half century away from this magnificent obscurity.

The saga of Andy Pratt began with a self titled album in 1973, and progressed through one called Resolution in 1976 that Rolling Stone said “has forever changed the face of rock.” After that, he pretty much disappeared, but it wasn’t for lack of being unique.  He was educated at Harvard, attended Boston’s Life Institute, converted to Christianity, married a Dutch woman in 1988, and moved to Belgium in 1996, where he lives today. He says his best wish is for his music to offer inner healing.  Here’s Andy Pratt, back in ’73, with the amazing Avenging Annie…

Just another famous Annie. American sharpshooter Annie Oakley (born Phoebe Ann Mosey; August 13, 1860 – November 3, 1926) had nothing to do with Avenging Annie. But her nickname was “Little Sureshot.”

I wrote "Avenging Annie" in the summer of 1972 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at my mother's 1926 Steinway B Baby Grand piano. I had broken up with my first wife[.] ... I was stoned on marijuana. On my turntable was the The Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo, in particular the Woody Guthrie song "Pretty Boy Floyd." You can clearly hear that the first part of "Avenging Annie" is an altered version of "Pretty Boy Floyd." I shut off the record and began playing "Pretty Boy Floyd." I was going into a creative trance, and I altered Woody's words, then out came a Bach-like piano riff which I liked, so I began singing to it in falsetto, taking the part of a woman I called Avenging Annie. A whole story came out, which was a fantasy version of my relationship with [my ex-wife], combined with the outlaw theme of the American West. I worked on the song for a few weeks and played for other people who liked it. I made a demo with Rick Shlosser and Bill Riseman, which became a hit at Brown University Radio WBRU. This new fame led to me being whisked away by John Nagy of Earth Opera, Clive Davis of Columbia Records, and Nat Weiss of The Beatles, being wined and dined in New York City and given star treatment at the famous Black Rock on 6th Avenue.

Once recorded and released on Columbia, "Avenging Annie" took on a life of its own, which has never really stopped. My version was given extensive radio play, became a number one single in New Orleans and Providence, and reached about number eighty-five in the national charts. I did a successful tour of the East Coast, where Jimmy Buffet opened for me at Max's Kansas City, an Andy Pratt show was broadcast from Boston's Jazz Workshop over WBCN radio, and many other wonderful things happened. The Andy Pratt record, with "Avenging Annie" is still available on various web sites, including www.amazon.com.

Roger Daltrey covered "Avenging Annie" in 1974, and his version appeared first on his One of the Boys album as well as other collections he released. My opinion of his version is that he was afraid to play the role of a woman in the song, and his band did not play the syncopations that we played in our version. I prefer my version. Still, I am grateful for his recognition of the song, and the added exposure that he helped me to gain.

Carmenica Diaz wrote a book called "Avenging Annie" and credits the song as the book's inspiration, for which I thank her. —Andy Pratt, Sept 6, 2006

We ran the through hills and forests
As two under a spell
He was a city boy, Floyd the outlaw
But I thought I knew him well

Long after that great summer
When I first came into my fame
And the Avenger from Oklahoma
Was added to my name
The Avenger I became

[Verse 1]
Well, they call me Avenging Annie
I'm avenger of womanhood
I spend my whole life telling lies
Lead you on and mess you over good

I take all you spoiled young hippies
Running around, playing games
Mess around in your bed, I'll blow your head
I'll put you through a change
What you've done to others
I'll do unto you

[Verse 2]
And then I met my sensitive outlaw
He was the best thing I had ever seen
I wanna be his wife forgiving my life
I was so blind I could never have seen, no
So I joined up with my outlaw
And headed for California

Verse 3]
He treated me worse than I ever imagined
He even say he don't want me around
Kept it up so long, I couldn't be strong
He run me right into the ground
After five long years
He picked me up and then he slapped me down

[Verse 4]
When I told my friends about him
They all were on my side
And I could see through the haze he looked so crazy
I put my head right down and I cried
For my poor lover
I cried like a mother for my poor lover

Verse 5]
Well, I felt so sad about it
But I knew I couldn't do him no good
He was so far gone while standing all alone
I left him, I knew I should
I knew I couldn't do him no good

[Verse 6]
And now I live out on a mountain top
And I'm almost thirty-five
And I've found my peace and I've found my release
And I'm happy just to be alive

And I might go back to my Floyd
If I think it's the thing to do
He gave up murder and theft right after I left
And you know I still love him too

[Outro]
Just like your woman loves you
Just like your woman loves you
Just like your woman loves you
Just like your woman loves you
Just like your woman loves you
Just like your woman loves you
Just like your woman loves you
Just like your woman loves you
Just like your woman loves you
Just like your woman loves you
Just like your woman loves you
Just like your woman loves you
Just like your woman loves you
Just like your woman loves you
Just like your woman loves you

Well, they call me Avenging Annie
I'm avenger of womanhood
I spend my whole life telling lies
Lead you on and mess you over, yeah

Annie would have made a great Avenger! The past is a blast.