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Spectropop - Digest Number 1363



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               SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
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There are 25 messages in this issue.

Topics in this digest:

      1. Smile Live
           From: Doug Richard 
      2. Re: Happy (Songwriters) Together
           From: Alan Gordon 
      3. The Victorians, info needed
           From: Rob Stride 
      4. Valentine's Day
           From: Superoldies 
      5. Re: Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil off-Broadway
           From: Paul Balser 
      6. Re: Mad Lads
           From: Howard 
      7. Johnny Cymbal - Discography
           From: Rex Strother 
      8. Re: John Waters
           From: Al Kooper 
      9. Yiddishisms
           From: Various 
     10. Re: Doris Troy musicians
           From: Mike Rashkow 
     11. Micky Monkee's voice???
           From: Albabe Gordon 
     12. A Spectropop Exclusive from Mark Wirtz
           From: Mark Wirtz aka Michael Sinclair 
     13. Re: The Movies / Mad Lads
           From: James Botticelli 
     14. Laugh In- Legendary and Banana Splits
           From: Mark Hill 
     15. Re: & the flames went higher
           From: S'pop Team 
     16. Bear Family Bobby Vee Box Set
           From: Bob Celli 
     17. Association / Tandyn Almer
           From: Various 
     18. Funny "B" side story.
           From: Bob Celli 
     19. An era ends: Relic Rack closing in Hackensack, NJ
           From: Country Paul 
     20. Re: Happy Together
           From: Jon Adelson 
     21. Skyla Records
           From: Austin Powell 
     22. The Diplomats / "Son Rumores".
           From: Julio Niño 
     23. Re: Kooder Levine Bras
           From: Al Kooper 
     24. Pat Boone; Valiant; Drifters ;Ray Peterson; quickies
           From: Country Paul 
     25. At This Stage Of The Game
           From: Phil C 


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Message: 1 Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2004 15:57:05 -0000 From: Doug Richard Subject: Smile Live 37 years on, fans finally hear lost work by master of pop Richard Williams Saturday February 21, 2004 The Guardian Pop music's great lost masterpiece was revealed in all its eccentric splendour in London last night when Brian Wilson, the 61-year-old founder of the Beach Boys, presented the world premiere of Smile, a 1967 project which was intended to top the Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band but was abandoned in a welter of psychotropic drugs, warring egos and shattered confidence. Multiple ovations were the reward for a pristine performance of the 45-minute song cycle by Wilson and his 18 musicians, who reproduced the groundbreaking complexity and sophistication of a work inspired by the friendly but intense transatlantic rivalry between the Beach Boys and the Beatles at a time when pop music was evolving at an unprecedented rate. Wilson spent hundreds of hours and tens of thousands of dollars in a Hollywood recording studio assembling Smile. To the outside world, the 24-year-old Californian was a pop genius at the top of his form: a year earlier he had created Pet Sounds, an album that still appears at the top of most all-time-greatest polls, and Good Vibrations, an epic single which sold millions around the world. The sudden collapse of the Smile project mirrored Wilson's own disintegration. At what appeared to be the zenith of the Beach Boys' popularity, he entered a period of withdrawal lasting 30 years, during which he was in and out of psychotherapy and made only infrequent appearances on the concert stage and in the recording studio. Two years ago, however, he returned to action at the head of a band of younger musicians devoted to recreating the most difficult and adventurous of his compositions. When he arrived in London two years ago to perform Pet Sounds in its entirety, Wilson received standing ovations suffused with a degree of affection few performers can have experienced. His audiences fully understood not just the fundamental nature of his contribution to the evolution of pop music, but the troubled nature of his personal life. Poignant That warmth was reproduced last night at the first of five eagerly awaited concerts at the Festival Hall. Once again Wilson was to be found sitting at an electric piano whose keys he barely brushed, but his fans were neither shocked nor deterred by the diminished vocal powers of a man who once played a leading role in pop's greatest harmony group. In his grainy, sometimes quavering voice, his listeners could hear a poignant reflection of everything that has happened to him in the four decades since he brought a mythical California to life with songs such as I Get Around, California Girls and Fun Fun Fun. Last night, however, was about much more than respectful nostalgia. Smile, which lay in ruins for 37 years, was to be reassembled and presented in something as close as possible to its planned form. With Pet Sounds and Good Vibrations, Wilson had demonstrated his increasing mastery of recording techniques, exploiting editing and overdubbing facilities to create the impression of vast instrumental and vocal resources. Obsessed by his discoveries, and tired of travelling with the band, he immersed himself in laying the foundations of his masterpiece. The touchingly romantic lyrics of Pet Sounds had been produced by Tony Asher, a Hollywood advertising copywriter; for his new project, Wilson turned to Van Dyke Parks, a 22-year-old prodigy who took his tunes and added words of great poetic resonance but little connection with anything that had previously emerged from the mouths of the Beach Boys. A song called Surf's Up, for example, began: "A diamond necklace played the pawn / Hand in hand some drummed along / To a handsome man and baton." When Wilson appeared on a national TV show and sang Surf's Up alone at the piano, Leonard Bernstein was moved to describe it as "beautiful even in its obscurity". But when the rest of the Beach Boys returned from their latest foreign tour, not all of them were delighted by what they found. Love, Wilson's cousin and the group's lead singer, was particularly disconcerted, aggressively inviting Parks to elucidate some of the lines he was going to sing. Against the wishes of other members of the group, Love's opinion prevailed. Smile was summarily abandoned, its demise hastened when Wilson felt that by recording a piece called Fire he had precipitated a rash of conflagrations in the vicinity of the studio. Although he had sent his record company a list of the tracks he intended to include on Smile, and although they printed almost half a million sleeves, he never got as far as assembling a final version. As the legend grew, so bootleggers stepped into the breach, working with tapes that had found their way out of the studio archives and attempting to create something faithful to Wilson's original conception. After Parks had received an ovation just for taking his seat in the stalls, last night's concert began with an imaginative recreation of the mood of the Beach Boys' Party album, an informal singalong with the musicians grouped around Wilson, who led them through lovely versions of In My Room and Please Let Me Wonder, accompanied by acoustic guitars and bongos, before moving into the more elaborate treatments of California Girls, Dance Dance Dance, Don't Worry Baby, Wouldn't It Be Nice, God Only Knows and many others. The second half was devoted to a 45-minute arrangement of Smile, divided into three movements in which even the familiar sections were made to seem new. The a cappella Our Prayer provided a lustrous prelude, but it was the variety of instrumental texture that constantly took the ear. Banjos, calliopes, Swanee whistles, tack pianos, fruity trombones, cackling trumpets and a Polynesian ukelele made it seem like the grandest of American symphonies, and Wilson the natural heir to Charles Ives. The composer sat impassively as his humour came to the fore, notably when the musicians made barnyard noises and forsook instruments for toys. But great waves of harmonies or a sudden burst of Palm Court strings would send the music charging off in another direction, each one seemingly more diverting than the last. The string and horn players donned firemen's hats for Fire, just as Wilson had invited their predecessors to do in 1967, and the whole piece ended in triumph with the churning chorale, juddering cellos and whooshing theremin of Good Vibrations, which can never in its long life have been engulfed in a more ecstatic reception. -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 2 Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2004 10:29:40 -0700 (MST) From: Alan Gordon Subject: Re: Happy (Songwriters) Together While we are on the topic of how many performances some songs have enjoyed. The following songs have been played 7, nearing 8, million times: "You've Lost That Lovin Feeling" "Never My Love" "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" Does anyone know if ASCAP has a 'most performed' list? Best That Alan -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 3 Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2004 09:54:47 -0000 From: Rob Stride Subject: The Victorians, info needed I wonder if anyone can help me? I am after information on the Victorians, a male 60s harmony group. I've heard a copy of their version of "Move In A Little Closer" some time ago which I liked. And then Phil C played a track called "Baby Toys" to Harmony High last week which i absolutely Love. I am trying to find a discography, biography and details of any CD reissues. Thanks for your Time. Regards Rob Stride -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 4 Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2004 08:05:44 -0000 From: Superoldies Subject: Valentine's Day The only song I could think of with a direct Valentines Day reference is Tony Bellus' "Valentine Girl" (flip of his hit "Robbin' The Cradle"). Any other Valentines Day songs? -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 5 Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2004 18:05:00 -0500 (Eastern Standard Time) From: Paul Balser Subject: Re: Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil off-Broadway Dan Hughes: > Is my memory totally askew, or was it Barry Mann who did > an "answer song" to Rick Nelson's "Teenage Idol", called > "Teenage Has-been"? Yes Barry Mann did record "Teenage Has Been", flip of "Bless You" ABC 10380 (1962) -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 6 Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2004 15:14:25 EST From: Howard Subject: Re: Mad Lads Jim Shannon wrote: > While we're onto obscure bands, anyone remember > The Mad Lads "I Wanna Girl"? Jim, is this the same Mad Lads who had several releases on the Volt label?? Howard -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 7 Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2004 12:57:43 -0700 From: Rex Strother Subject: Johnny Cymbal - Discography Calling all completists and perfectionists; I can really use your help. I've been building a discography of Johnny Cymbal performances and songwriting credits. But I put an "XXX" where I am missing information. Wanna help? Wanna take a look and point out my obvious omissions and mistakes? Here's your chance. Go to this temporary link and review to your hearts' content. And I thank you. Just email me with any corrections, additions, suggestions, condolences. http://www.alhazan.com/cymbal/discography.html Rex Strother -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 8 Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2004 15:42:08 EST From: Al Kooper Subject: Re: John Waters previously: > I think nobody has mentioned yet that "Cherry" was included in > the movie "Cry Baby" by John Waters (I don´t know why John Waters > films always remind me Frank Capra movies, I have to ask my > psychiatrist about this). I worked on the movie "Cry Baby" and had dinner with John Waters one night. He revealed to me that he was NOT the selector of records for his movies; a close friend did the choosing. I lost a tiny bit of respect for him that night - I always thought his taste in music was part of his charisma. Al Kooper -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 9 Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2004 12:35:08 -0000 From: Various Subject: Yiddishisms Enough, already! = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Chris Schneider: > "You couldn't give me a lesson in long-distance spittin'!" > (Merman), > P.S. As long you're talking Yiddishisms, why not mention the "Once > I was a *schlepper* / Now I'm Miss Mazeppa" sung by Faith Dane in > the Sondheim/Styne score for "Gypsy"? = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = All the Yiddish I learned I absorbed while amongst the Brill building chosen tribe. They taught us shaguses how to eat (roast beef on rye w/ Russian dressing,chopped chicken livers etc). I learned about shnorrs, hazzars, putzes and menchses. They were our "publishers". We learned philosophy from them; how to be philosophic about how our royalty statements, when we got statements, never exactly matched what we later learned our songs had earned. C Ponti = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = If you're going to credit Loesser for "nu" why not credit Irving Berlin or was it Oscar Hammerstein for the line above. By the way, this is way off topic, like 25-30 years. Rashkovsky = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Groucho Marx's signature song, from the 1929 [1] Marx Bros. movie "Animal Crackers," began, "Hooray for Captain Spaulding, the African explorer / Did someone call me schnorer? / Hooray, hooray, hooray." I admit that I'm not sure what a schnorer is exactly, but perhaps Rashkovsky, who I'll bet has done a bit of schnoring in his time, can illumine us. The theme song to the Laverne & Shirley [2] TV show opens with TWO Yiddish words: "Schlemiel, schlmazl, Hossenpfeffer Incorporated." [3] According to Hall of Fame baseball pitcher Sandy Koufax [4], as quoted in a recent bio of him, "A schlemiel is a person who spills a bowl of soup; a schlmazl is the person who has the soup spilled on him." Overschlepping, --Phil M. Notes: 1. Not quite the Spectropop era, of course, but then again I'm sure he sang it a time or two in the 1960s. 2. A '70s show about the '50s, so skipping right over the Spectropop era, although I believe the song was co-written by Gimble & Fox, whose work did often cross into our sphere of common interest. 3. My linguistic research places "Hossenpfeffer," while certainly Yiddish-sounding, as specifically German. 4. Whose stardom was entirely within the Spectropop era. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = There's Harry Belafonte's "Matilda," where he says: "...now the whole mishpoocha (sp?)." And Neil Sedaka's "Oy, Carol" (sorry) Jon Adelson Schlepper of Latent Inanities -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 10 Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2004 10:05:29 EST From: Mike Rashkow Subject: Re: Doris Troy musicians When working at Sounds On Broadway, I did a demo session for Doris Troy. I'm pretty sure it was the first time I had ever seen Chuck Rainey, Cornell Dupree or Richard Tee in a studio. I know with certainty that I got Chuck's phone number from him after the date. Chuck and Richard became first call for Ellie G. and me for our work, and Cornell too though he went back to Texas for a while shortly after to care for his Dad who was ill. It didn't take long for those three to make their marks as great studio players. Richard had a very unique, individual style/feel. Nobody sounded like him. Chuck was tremendous but I always had problems getting a clean, tight sound from him. Don't know if it was his attack, his amp, his ax or whether it was me. Guys like Joe Macho, Julie Rugierro, Jerry Jamott, Bob Bushnell and Russell George I had no difficulty getting down, so I have to assume it was something about Chuck that was the difference. Anyway, the point of it is, that as far as I knew then or know now, Doris was the first one who brought those guys into the NYC recording scene. I'd be interested in hearing from others about when they first saw them on sessions. Di la, Rashkovsky -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 11 Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2004 20:26:55 -0800 From: Albabe Gordon Subject: Micky Monkee's voice??? Phil Milstein says of Micky Monkee: > ...he has a very weak voice. But he infuses it with so much > feeling, and with such perfect appreciation of each mode he > sings in, that he improved every single track he was featured > on, essentially forcing de facto lead singer Davy Jones to the > role of lead tambourine." Wow!!! Usually we tend to agree, sir, but... You think Micky's voice is weak??? "No Time", "I'm Not Your Stepping Stone", "Pleasant Valley Sunday"...? Sounds ballsy to me... at least as ballsy as Ms Slick. As for Davy... we agree once more... John Fox sings: Oh Micky You're So Fine > There are musicians, and there are entertainers. There > are even musicians who become entertainers (Eric Clapton?). > Micky Dolenz was hardly a musician, but he was a great > entertainer--as an actor, comedian and even as a singer. > Every time I listen to The Monkees' Greatest Hits album I > remind myself how underrated he was. "Goin' Down" is one > of the great vocal performances of all time (and the horn > parts aren't bad either!" I certainly agree with you about Clapton, and "Goin' Down's" horns. But as for Micky's singing... I guess it depends on your definition of a musician. Micky did play guitar in a band before the Monkees, so he could at least play a bit. And if a singer is a musician, then I would say he's a musician, as he had some serious soul and control with his instrument... as opposed to the lovely and beautiful Shelly Fabares who is definitely an entertainer. Habbareeba sagga soggin, hobareeba sag...etc., ~albabe -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 12 Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2004 17:41:28 -0000 From: Mark Wirtz aka Michael Sinclair Subject: A Spectropop Exclusive from Mark Wirtz A personal, exclusive invitation... Two years ago, Spectropop member Mark Frumento contacted me (God only knows how he found me) to invite me to join Spectropop and meet some of the loyal friends of my music. I was a million miles away from making 'records' at the time, working as a magazine feature writer and restaurant/drama critic by night, and doing casual labor jobs by day. In the Spring of last year, 03 things coincided: UK's Harmony Rock band Spyderbaby started sending me demos of their work, asking for my guidance; Train's "Calling All Angels" was released and blew me away and my daughter Nicole (living in Spain) begged me to produce Barcelona's premiere Rock band Les Philippes' debut album (as it turned out, the band's leader - a fan of my past stuff - is Nicole's boyfriend). That did it. Loving Spyderbaby's and Les Philippes' work, and already fired up by my heroes Brendan O'Brian's and "Mutt" Lange's awesome productions, I put down the shovel and the quill, and, in July, symbolically stepped onto a plane to Barcelona to abort my 'sabbatical' and officially 'came back'. Keeping a promise I made some weeks back, I would like to now share a sample fruit of my labors since in a Spectropop exclusive: My first 'single' production in 20 years, "Learning 2 Live With Love" (also my first song collaboration with Kris Ife in 30 years) for my newly formed DeamTunes label. An 'excerpt' (wink, wink) from the Mark Wirtz EarTheatre "Love Is Eggshaped" soundtrack CD to my same titled book (out now), it features Spyderbaby and Spectropop member Rob Stride's formidable lead vocals, SP members Tony and Anthony Rivers' magical harmonies, and, last, not least, SP's noble knight Phil Chapman's generous audio wizardry during the London sessions. In order to keep things simple, I have posted the track, together with extensive personnel credit info and pictures, on a secret page on my http://www.markwirtz.com website, which is exclusive to Spectropop members: http://markwirtz0.tripod.com/mw/id41.html Hope to see you there. Let me know what y'all think. (I'll shrewdly show the most enthusiastic feed-backs to the powers that be when I shortly knock on the door of my ancient music 'home', EMI Records... nudge, nudge, say no more...) Warm best, Mark Wirtz -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 13 Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2004 00:23:45 -0500 From: James Botticelli Subject: Re: The Movies / Mad Lads Art Longmire wrote: > Speaking of Memphis vocal groups on Stax, another one I > like is the Astors who did the terrific "Candy" back around > 1965 or '66. I have this 45, but have never heard any of the > group's other songs. There is a CD called "The Astors Meet The Newcomers", good summaries of the work of each group. Includes 'Candy'. http://tinyurl.com/338gu JB -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 14 Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2004 02:37:06 -0500 From: Mark Hill Subject: Laugh In- Legendary and Banana Splits Howard asks: > Dr. Mark: are you still keeping up with Laugh-In and the > musical acts? I was wondering if they've shown either the > Legendary Stardust Cowboy's appearance or Wild Man Fischer's (!) > appearance on the show. The Legendary Stardust Cowboy just made his appearance today. He was in a tall white cowboy hat and had yellow plastic chaps. Playing, "Paralized" and another tune. Dan and Dick didn't quite know what to make of him. It was quite unusual. Legendary's own website. See him pictured with David Bowie: http://www.stardustcowboy.com/ > With all the non-sequiter pop star appearances, you never know > who will turn up. In addition to Legendary, todays show had surprise visits by Rosemary Clooney and Drooper of THE BANANA SPLITS. They cut in a segment from the Splits show that fit right in visually, since THE BANANA SPLITS was basically a Laugh-In clone anyway. (And both were on NBC to boot.) Clark Besch: > I remember taping many of these as half hour shows on cable > in the 80's--thus they cut the musical acts usually. This is the magnificent TRIO netowork. They go out of their way to broadcast rare and unusual TV shows. For once, they got Laugh-In right. These are the *entire* LAUGH-IN episodes. From the wonderful NBC Peacock logo to the endless clapping long after the credits at the end of each episode. These episodes are intact! "Dr. Mark" Hill * The Doctor Of Pop Culture http://groups.yahoo.com/group/popmusicpopculture -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 15 Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2004 12:10:50 -0000 From: S'pop Team Subject: Re: & the flames went higher Last cool quotes for burning thread..... Phil Milstein: > Saw an amusing squib in yesterday's newspaper, > stating that the Cash family has turned down an offer to > feature ... "Ring Of Fire" as the soundtrack to an ad > campaign for a hemorrhoid ointment! Phil C: This got mentioned on a UK morning talk radio show. It led to a whole phone-in of similar concepts.... the winner being "Love Really Hurts Without You" as an ad for lubricant jelly! Tom Taber: Might I suggest the ad agency try to acquire "You Can't Sit Down"? May be Freda Payne could sing it! Art Longmire: I saw the story on a news website yesterday-according to the article, it was Merle Kilgore himself who was offering up the song for the ad, and it was nixed by the Cash family, who called the idea "moronic". Interesting how when artists pass away their executors seem to offer up items from their back catalogues for the quick bucks. For instance, it seems like every time I turn my TV on I hear Freddie Neil's "Everybody's Talkin'" used to hawk some product or other-would this have happened if he was still alive? However, the flip side of the coin is that sometimes you get to hear some great songs that might not get exposure otherwise. An example is a commercial I keep seeing for Fixodent, which uses this incredibly beautiful 60's soul tune...I don't know the song or the title, but the lyric goes "I just want to be there with you". If anyone knows the song title and/or artist who does this, you'd be doing me a huge favor. -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 16 Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2004 12:49:03 -0000 From: Bob Celli Subject: Bear Family Bobby Vee Box Set Speaking of Bear Family, I was in contact with Richard Weize about doing a Bobby Vee set last June. He said he was interested and to get back in touch early this year. I did, and to my dismay he told me that he contacted EMI and they were not leasing any material to him at this time! Anyone know about this? Perhaps Alan Warner can be a help! Bob Celli -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 17 Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2004 13:02:03 -0000 From: Various Subject: Association / Tandyn Almer Al Kooper wrote: > And let's not forget the writer of Along Comes Mary...... > Tandyn Almer. One of the greatest real names in the history > of rock n roll!!! Austin: Right up there with Mars Bonfire. Ed Salamon: Let's not forget our fellow Nashvillian, Tupper Saussy (Neon Philharmonic). Bob Radil: And "Brute Force". ("Nobody Knows" by The Chiffons) -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 18 Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2004 13:01:08 -0000 From: Bob Celli Subject: Funny "B" side story. Here's a funny "B" side story regarding Bobby Vee's 1967 hit, "Come Back When You Grow Up". The song was originally released c/with "That's All In The Past", a song written by Bobby. He was approached by the producers of the movie "Africa Texas Style" to record the theme song from the movie titled "Swahili Serenade". They offered him a one time fee of $3000.00 to do it and he accepted figuring as things were going, the record wasn't going to break nationally. They recoupled "Swahili Serenade" with "Come Back When You Grow Up" and lo and behold the record ended up doing nearly three million copies in sales by the end of its run thus screwing BV out of all those potential royalties on "That's All In The Past" I guess sometimes you roll the dice and get snake eyes! Bob Celli -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 19 Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2004 09:21:52 -0500 From: Country Paul Subject: An era ends: Relic Rack closing in Hackensack, NJ Fellow S'pop brethen and "sistren", I just received this e-mail, which will be of interest especially for those of us in the New York-New Jersey area. However, this store is worth travelling to. "Please forward this sad news to vinyl junkies that you know: "Relic Records in Hackensack, NJ is closing its doors on April 1. Owner George Lavatelli will then continue to do business from his home. He's had the shop since the mid- seventies and it's demise was featured in an article in the The Record newspaper this week [the region's biggest daily paper]. "Relic Record Shoppe, 136 Main St Hackensack, NJ 07601, Tel: 201 342 4848. "Get there while you can. "/s/ Robin" Although no longer in business together, the shop was long affiliated with Relic Records, the great reissue label of 50's and 60's group harmony music, a/k/a doo-wop. It has a large, well-organized collection, and would be well worth a visit from serious collectors. Country Paul (sad to see an era end) -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 20 Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2004 16:30:21 -0000 From: Jon Adelson Subject: Re: Happy Together Javed Jafri wrote: > The one thing I have to say about Happy Together is that > it truly does have universal appeal... I certainly second that. I play solo piano bar in the Georgetown area of Washington, D.C., with lots of oldies sing along. I was told before I got to D.C. that Georgetown was mostly a college crowd, and that my "specialty" would not go over. Fortunately for me, this has not been the case. Thanks, I guess, to parents and the use of so many classic songs in movies, these kids seem to really know their stuff. And I'm talking even into the 50s, where, e.g., Chantilly Lace always generates mass join in. (Tonight I'm going to try to work in Seven Little Girls!) But So Happy Together invariably elicits an especially warm group smile right from the opening repeated chord (which immediately identifies the song*), and they sing along with every word, not just the hook. Thanks, That Alan, for contributing to my modicum of job security :-) (*Even though this is such an identifiable opening, I recently got distracted while vamping the opening minor chord (there's a tendency for some folk to yell requests during a song...the many faces of an alcohol-driven show). I kept on vamping for a few more bars to get back on track, and before I could get to "Imagine me and you", one patron sang out: "One...is the lonliest number".) The weather here in D.C. is fine, thank you. Jon Adelson P.S. I find it fascinating that this song, a Valentine's Day staple, is really about unrequited love (per That Alan). -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 21 Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2004 14:47:32 -0000 From: Austin Powell Subject: Skyla Records Country Paul wrote: Anyone have a lead to a label discography? Who owned it? What's its story? Skyla Records was part of the Raystar group of companies, owned by Starla Kaye Rendoni. Jerry Naylor, the ex-Crickets lead singer recorded for the label just prior to joining the group. His "Stop Your Crying" was Skyla 1118. He's been in poor health over the past year but is still active in TV production and may be able to give us the full story. Austin -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 22 Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2004 19:23:21 -0000 From: Julio Niño Subject: The Diplomats / "Son Rumores". Hola Everybody. Mick Patrick wrote: > Oh dear, that sounds like an Ace compilation I don't own. > Rats! What's the title please?..." Mick, the title of the compilation is "Soulful Stuff" CDKEN919, and it was issued in 1988. The notes are by your partner in crime, Malcolm Baumgart. The Diplomats song, titled in the record "Can't Get You Off My Mind", is not credited and the notes give no information about it, but it is a marvelous song, listening to it is like a shot of gorilla endorphins. Country Paul wrote about "Son Rumores" by David Soto.: > "... it would be wonderful if you could play it to musica..." Paul, I think I have it on an old cassette. I'll play it in a few days. Stay tuned to musica. Chao. Julio Niño. -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 23 Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2004 14:52:32 EST From: Al Kooper Subject: Re: Kooder Levine Bras previously: > Also, it must have been a little disappointing that both > versions of the "Ring" 45 have Kooper listed as "Kooder".  > Then, when the cool little pic sleeve 45 of Gary's "Doin > the Flake" became available, "This Diamond Ring" was on the > B side.  This time they got "Kooper" right, but it was listed > as "I. Kooper - B. Brass - I. Levine".  Apparently, spelling > was not a big thing at Liberty, as the original "Ring" 45 had > "Bras" as co-writer, also.  We had a sign on our cubicle at the publishers offices at that time which read: Kooder Levine Bras - Inquire within Al Kooper Ex-Lingerie Salesman -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 24 Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2004 13:34:59 -0500 From: Country Paul Subject: Pat Boone; Valiant; Drifters ;Ray Peterson; quickies Eddy, re: Pat Boone's "Beach Girl": > ...[It]'s available on the following CDs: > Various Artists - Let's go trippin' (Ace) > Pat Boone - Love letters in the sand (Universal) > Pat Boone - More greatest hits > Pat Boone - Pat's 40 big ones > Pat Boone - The singles+ (the most recent issue, but > a Dutch import 2cd, so probably harder to get) Thank you; will check it out. Austin Roberts to Rashkowsky: > I think Barry and The Tamerlane had a semi hit record > called "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight" (not to be > confused with the Boyce and Hart song). Barry, of course, > later owned the highly successful label Valiant Records, > which, among other hits, had "Angel On My Shoulder" by > Shelby Flint. Chronology's off a bit, Austin; Shelby Flint had Valiant 7001, their first, and Barry & The T's had a definite hit (at least in may part of the world) with "WWonder...". (Not being a "chartist," maybe someone can come up with a billboard number. Valiant was a class act as a label: Flint, Association, Cascades, B & The T's, Lee Mallory, George Freeman's wonderful "Down and Out," and many more I'm forgetting. Julio, thank you for the "Picnic" selection at musica. It sure is a sweet song, and the string arrangement is very complementary to it. And to (City) Paul, very nice Grass-Rootsy sound on "Unbelievable (Inconceivable) You" by the Vogues. Thanks for posting it! Martin in Denmark: > I think I've read somewhere that there's a group with a > license to tour the U.S (is this the group that Country Paul > saw recently, then?), one who has the rights to tour Europe > and so on. What's the status of these groups? I don't know all the details, but there was an original group of Drifters of the "Money Honey" and "White Christmas" era with Clyde McPhatter as the lead. They were dumped in favor of a different group who carried on the name starting with "There Goes My Baby." Ben E. King and Charlie Thomas were two of the lead singers. According to Shel Stone, attorney and business manager for Richard Nader's rock shows, Charlie Thomas has the legal right, won in court, to tour as "The Charlie Thomas Drifters." Since he was the lead singer on many of the hits of the era I most remember them by - and since the backing group does sound remarkably like the group of that period - he's it in my book. Laura: > Here's the link to Ray Peterson's site: > http://www.ray-peterson.com/index.htm I'm telling Laura, "I love you!" Thanks for the link to one of my guilty pleasures. He was known to be a "chick's singer" back then, but I always knew he had a lot more going on than that. The records page is interesting, especially with all the picture sleeves they've assembled, not the least of which is the "New Gold" album cover featuring a slightly heavier Mr. Peterson than the "skinny kid" of yore. (Of course, I should talk!) Quickies: Oooops - I erred in my note re: the founding members of the Tokens. It was Jay Seigel who was there first; the Margo brothers came later. (I had reversed the order.) Just trying to keep S'pop factual.... Steveo: interesting Neil Sedaka story re: "Breaking Up....": http://www.btinternet.com/~stevenanorman/sedaka/news.htm Key line for me: Neil says, "I wanted the high end to cut through, because my voice had a lot of treble and I was a bit of an egomaniac. I wanted to bury everyone else!” Maybe that's why I find his records so hard to listen to! Country Paul -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 25 Date: Sun, 22 Feb 2004 12:47:46 -0000 From: Phil C Subject: At This Stage Of The Game Me: > However, I'm curious about '& The Cluster': there are some > slightly suspect male backing-vocals with a falsetto in Theremin > style, and a distinctly Ondiolinique keyboard under the middle 8. Phil M: > Most likely the German electronic group who recorded a few > albums with Eno in the '70s ... Hell, no! This is way before the need to appear adult and credible crept into pop records. This is some talented musos attempting to be commercial doing James Bond meets the Essex, with a flawless performance by an obscure female singer, a template I've always found fascinating. Lots of these great records still stand on those merits today, even if their creators may be reluctant to take the credit. Country Paul: > That would properly be The Clusters, who did "Darling Can't > You Tell" (Tee Gee, 1958) that Al and I were raving over a > few months ago. (It's my all-time favorite uptempo doo-wop - > Arlene Smith of the Chantels does a duet lead.) I hadn't > realized they'd done backups later. Hi Paul, we need to know:-) Is there anything you can play to musica so that we could compare? Phil C -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
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