Wikimedia Commons / Bryan Ledgard
Kris Kristofferson performs in 2010 at the Cambridge Folk Festival.
The movie — which features Brownsville-born Kristofferson's first-ever starring role — was made in the wake of the 1969 counterculture classic Easy Rider. Both movies stemmed from Hollywood's eagerness to capture the burgeoning hippie culture and tap into a new youth market.
Originally titled The Dealer, Cisco Pike depicts a down-and-out Kristofferson in the title role. His character, recently busted for marijuana, tries to scrape enough money together to stay out of prison. Seventies cinema staples Karen Black, Harry Dean Stanton and Gene Hackman round out the cast.
In one iconic scene, Kristofferson makes his way into an LA studio, where he meets up with San Antonio singer-songwriter Doug Sahm and the Sir Douglas Quintet. Kristofferson's Pike had given Sahm — named Rex in the film — a demo tape. Sahm emphatically rejects the recording as "too weird."
A brief clip shows the Sahm and the band jamming the classic tune "Michoacan."
Sir Douglas Quintet keyboardist and San Antonio resident Augie Meyers remembers the filming well — especially the moviemakers' attempt to pass off a hay bale as marijuana.
"They'd brought in a bale of hay and spray-painted it green — supposed to look like weed," Meyers told the Current a month ago. "Doug said, 'Hell no. Y'all want the real stuff?'"
The film's producers then hired a private jet and flew in a giant block of grass, which everyone on set purchased from for the remainder of the film, according to Meyers.
Those involved in the production expected it to be a smash hit along the lines of Easy Rider and for "Michoacan" to be a hit single, Meyers recalled. Neither materialized.
Although Cisco Pike was filmed in LA, the song "Michoacan" was actually tracked in San Antonio at Zaz Studio, located at 6711 W. Commerce St. and defunct since 2015. Alamo City native and Texas Tornado Ernie Durawa played drums for the late-night session.
"We were all blitzed," Durawa told the Current.
The song itself was written by LA record producer and sleaze icon Kim Fowley in collaboration with Atwood "Iceman" Allen, who sang harmonies on the early Sir Douglas Quintet singles.
When the Quintet filmed "Mendocino" for Playboy's After Dark program, Allen's sweet harmonies can be heard — but not seen. The show's producers decided he was too unsightly to appear on camera and made him sing from behind a curtain.
Fowley colorfully recalled Allen during an interview by Dr. Filth on the music blog Boss Radio 66.
"Michoacan was written by Atwood Allen and [myself]," Fowley said. "Atwood Allen was the 'Electric Ice Man' from San Antonio, and his grass that he cultivated and blended and rolled into joints was apparently legendary. I don’t smoke dope, so I have no idea if it’s true. But according to grapevine legend, Bob Dylan smoked some of Atwood’s blend and thought it was Doug Sahm’s blend and then liked Doug Sahm’s music more than he normally would, because he thought his abilities as a tobacconist-cum-blender of psychedelics gave him a different status. And then when he found it it was Atwood Allen’s, possibly he didn’t like Doug Sahm as much."
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