Mike Brewer of Folk-Rock Duo Brewer & Shipley (‘One Toke Over the Line’) Dies at 80
by Greg Brodsky
Mike Brewer, who partnered with Tom Shipley in the American folk-rock duo Brewer & Shipley beginning in the late ’60s and are best known for their 1971 hit single, “One Toke Over the Line,” died today (December 17, 2024). The news of his passing at age 80 at his home in Missouri, was announced by Shipley. The latter had visited “my friend of 65 years and musical partner for over 60” three days earlier at a hospital in Branson.
“They took him home on Sunday and his wife Scarlett called this morning to tell me he was gone,” Shipley wrote on his Facebook page. “So tonight I will raise a glass to Michael and drink to all those years, all those miles, all those songs, and all the heavenly audiences we played for. Go with God my friend. I’ll see you on the other side.” Shipley did not disclose the cause of death.
Mike Brewer was born on April 14, 1944, in Oklahoma City, Okla. While in high school, he played in a rock ‘n’ roll band with Jesse Ed Davis, a native American who went on to perform with such stars as Taj Mahal, Eric Clapton and John Lennon, among many others. After graduating, he traveled the folk circuit performing in coffee houses. Though he met Shipley in 1964, they didn’t become musical partners until 1968.
By the mid-’60s, Brewer had relocated to Los Angeles and formed a band with Tom Mastin, Billy Mundi (later of the Mothers of Invention) and Jim Fielder (who became an original member of Blood, Sweat and Tears). When Brewer became a staff song writer for A&M Records’ music publishing company, he reunited with Shipley and they began writing songs together. The pair recorded a debut album for A&M but ultimately moved back to the midwest, settling in Kansas City, Missouri.
They were soon signed to Kama Sutra Records in New York and their second album for the label, 1970’s Tarkio, featured “One Toke Over the Line,” written a few years earlier, as its lead-off track. In a 1971 interview with Rolling Stone‘s Ben Fong-Torres, Brewer said, “One day we were pretty much stoned and all and Tom says, ‘Man, I’m one toke over the line tonight.’ I liked the way that sounded and so I wrote a song around it.”
The country-flavored track features an irresistible sing-along chorus:
“One toke over the line, sweet Jesus
One toke over the line
Sittin’ downtown in a railway station
One toke over the line”
In early 1971, Kama Sutra released “One Toke…” as a single—produced by Nick Gravenites, former lead vocalist for the Electric Flag—and watched as it remarkably climbed all the way to #10 on the Hot 100, even after the FCC issued a warning to radio stations informing them that a “toke” was hippie code for inhaling the evil weed, a veiled suggestion that playing the record might not be a good idea.
Related: “One Toke Over the Line” performed on The Lawrence Welk Show
In a biography on the duo’s website, Brewer explained what precipitated their move back to the midwest. “We really didn’t care for L.A. very much. We had just had enough, and figured there had to be a better way to make music, without living there. So we left California, and ended up coming back to the heartland. We ended up in Kansas City and started a management/production company with some friends, Good Karma Productions.
“Our management went to the east coast to shop some labels. Buddah signed us, because Neil Bogart (the label’s president) at the time was known as the king of bubblegum — you know, 1910 Fruitgum Company and all that stuff. He was trying to shatter that image, and looking for album artists. And that’s what Tom and I were. We were never about singles. Every song on our albums was just as important as the next one. All of our albums, we meant to be whole packages.” A collection of them is available here.
The website lists the significant stars that the duo opened for over the years including Elton John, Eagles, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Bonnie Raitt, Electric Light Orchestra, Blood Sweat & Tears, James Taylor, Stephen Stills, The Beach Boys, Loggins & Messina, Linda Ronstadt, John Sebastian, and The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, among others.
Related: Musicians and other celebrities we’ve lost in 2024
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