Archie James Cavanaugh can certainly claim to have had a major label release on A&M in 1980 with an album entitled Black and White Raven. The fine print is that the label released the record only in Alaska. Cavanaugh is a member of the South Alaskan Tlingit tribe and his superb performances have survived the tests of time, one of which always seems to require emerging from the shroud of obscurity known as "non-promotion." A&M no doubt signed the artist in the first place because of the unexpected success of saxophonist and songwriter Jim Pepper with "Witchi-Tai-To". Pepper himself is one of the session players on the Cavanaugh album. In some board room, however, a decision was made to limit the album's audience to the Tlingit themselves. The limited pressing was dumped on the chilly state, and any and all copies that made it back down to the lower 48 were hand-carried. The girders of such a record company decision eventually crumble through the efforts of various record collector fanatics pawing through used record piles. Black and White Raven eventually developed a reputation for high quality among fans of so-called "white" rhythm and blues or blue-eyed soul. Logically, the record's campaign of rediscovery began in Japan, where referring to native Americans as "white" might not be considered such a ludicrous idea. The Japanese Vivid Sound reiussed Cavanaugh's masterwork on CD in 2000, plugging into a new market for rare groove material. The album was produced by Tony Bellamy, and has reminded some listeners of Boz Scaggs' material from the '70s. In fact, this influence is more pervasive than that of Alaskan or other native American styles, perhaps the reason a label looking for another pow wow style single like Pepper's might have lost interest. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide