"Separate Ways"


Richard Mainegra - Louisiana Man!


Richard Mainegra, co-writer of "Separate Ways" and a personal friend from South Louisiana, shared some very interesting background information about the song:

"It's a big understatement to say getting an Elvis cut was the highlight of my career. At the time, I was only 22 and right out of Slidell into the music business. I was very excited to be doing what I'd always wanted to do. I'd only had about three songs cut so far --- the Yellow Pages, Gary Puckett, and Pat Boone. I had stars in my eyes, but I wasn't prepared for what was about to happen.

Red West, who co-wrote the song, was one of the 'Memphis Mafia' --- Elvis' bodyguards and buddies. At the time, he was heading the publishing company I happened to stumble into a year earlier. One day I had a melody going that Red really liked, so he began writing lyrics to it. Before long, he had a look of real excitement in his eyes as if he knew we had something special going. We started leaning the story line toward Elvis' break-up with Priscilla and how it affected their daughter. He told me when it was finished Elvis was going to cut the song. I let that go in one ear and out the other. I thought, 'No way!' First of all, why would Elvis want to sing about his personal life that was already being dragged through the media every day? And, secondly, there was no way little ole 'small town, green me' was going to get a song cut by the one artist every songwriter in the world wanted to sing their song!

Red telephoned me one night a few months later and played a rough cut of the recording --- I was actually listening to ELVIS PRESLEY singing the song that I had co-written! I've never been higher in my life than at that moment! We eventually got word that our song would definitely be on an album. Sometimes you get a song cut, but it never makes the final 10 or 12 songs that actually go on an album. A few months later, after we all had moved to Nashville, we got word that it was going to be the flip side of the single Always on My Mind. How cool that was!!! A few weeks later, we were informed Separate Ways was going to be released as a pop single. I've had cuts by some pretty major artists since then, but nothing has ever matched the feeling I had when I first heard 'The King' sing a song of which I was lucky to be a part!"


A Little about Richard

Through the years, not only has Richard had a successful career as a songwriter for a number of major recording artists (he currently has a song on the new Blake Shelton album), but he has also been a recording artist, himself. His first major release was in 1970 on the Scepter Label --- "Glory Road" written by Neil Diamond and produced by Red West. Following that, he was part of the group Cymarron ("Rings" and "Valerie" were their hits in 1971) and The Remingtons ("A Long Time Ago" was their hit in 1992.) The following is a quote from the backside of Cymarron's 1971 "Rings" album:

"Richard was born in New Orleans in 1948 and grew up in nearby Slidell. Richard wanted to be a singer from earliest childhood. He dreamed of playing guitar. 'I used to hold a baseball bat and sing along with all Elvis Presley's first records --- I think I have them all.' Richard cut his first record at 16 with a group called The Phyve. After three years at college in Hammond, Louisiana, Richard packed his guitar and a few tapes of songs he had written and headed out for stardom and Nashville. 'I never made it that far. Instead, I stopped in Memphis mainly because I was tired of driving, and Nashville was about three hours further down the road'. He looked up the studios in the phone book and landed at American. They signed him. Two of Richard's songs, co-written with Red West, made the national charts: Let's Give Adam and Eve Another Chance (recorded by Gary Puckett) and It's Hard to Be a Woman (recorded by Skeeter Davis.)"

From the time that young boy first held his baseball bat and dreamed of playing guitar as he sang along with Elvis, Richard's path in life actually led him down his own "Glory Road" when, incredibly, ELVIS recorded one of his songs!





"Separate Ways" 45 Single
Red West-Richard Mainegra
1972 RCA Records
(Ashleigh Austin's Personal Collection)





Promo postcard sent to me from Richard Mainegra of The Remingtons
in November 1991 to announce their "Blue Frontier" album.
(Ashleigh Austin's Personal Collection)

Click HERE to hear two hit songs on VH1 from their album

A Long Time Ago
Richard Mainegra

I Could Love You
(With My Eyes Closed)
Richard Mainegra/Rick Yancey







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