William "Kyle" Eidson: Billy Joel's Doppelganger

 

If you're a die hard Billy Joel fan: you recognized the Family Productions logo on Kyle's debut single, “Virginia Traveler” b/w “The Reason,” culled from his debut album. If you've read any extensive biographies on Joel, you've probably read about Kyle in passing (as well as another Family Productions' artist, Neil Merryweather, back in the days with his bands Mama Lion and Heavy Cruiser).

Truncating his professional name to Kyle, the earthy, folk-inspired country-rocker released the antithesis to Joel’s pop-oriented Cold Spring Harbor (1971) with Times That Try a Man’s Soul (1971); Artie Ripp employed studio guitarist Don Evans for both albums by Joel and Kyle.

Albums from Kyle’s three-album career with
Paramount/Family Productions, MGM Records, and ABC Records.

 

Sadly, Kyle’s, like Joel’s debut album (although Kyle escaped the infamous “chipmunk” mastering snafu that plagued Joel’s), flopped due to Ripp’s reported “dealings” and Paramount Studios’ alleged lackluster attempt at developing a music division/record label with Artie Ripp.

While Joel, with Columbia’s help, attempted to escape Ripp’s shadow, Kyle issued a 1973 self-titled sophomore effort, featuring the radio singles “Stoney Road” and “She Brings Sunshine” — for another “movie studio” operated-label, MGM Records. Then, with ex-Monkees songsmith and studio musician Bobby Hart as his producer, Kyle moved into more pop-oriented material with another self-titled album (his third) — this time for ABC-Dunhill Records with the 1974 singles of “Rescue Me” and “I’ll Be Back Again.” Kyle received positive press in a May 1971 issue of Billboard for his debut album, while “She Brings Sunshine” nearly made the magazine’s “Top 100” in 1973.

As with Joel’s first ten Columbia albums, Kyle’s albums with MGM and ABC-Dunhill also carried Artie Ripp’s Family Productions logo. Kyle, unlike Joel, has never expressed any print or web pontificates (not that this writer can find) regarding his time under the Family Productions managerial banner. 

Kyle’s never been heard from again. . . .

 

Special thanks to fellow blogspoter, Ill Folks, for preserving the lost folk career of Kyle, helping us learn more about this lost, thrift store discovery.