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Spectropop - Digest Number 2137



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               SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
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There are 12 messages in this issue.


Topics in this digest:

      1. Re: Candy & the Kisses "The 81"
           From: Dave Monroe 
      2. Soft Sounds for Gentle People
           From: Margaret G Still 
      3. Re: Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls + Valley Of The Dolls
           From: Mark Maldwyn 
      4. Re: MP3s, Obscure CDs, and Satellite Radio
           From: S.J. Dibai 
      5. Re: Candy & the Kisses "The 81"
           From: John H  
      6. Re: Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls + Valley Of The Dolls
           From: Bill Smith 
      7. Re: Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls + Valley Of The Dolls
           From: John H  
      8. "I'm Counting On You" > Alicia Evelyn > Johnny Nash > Phil Spector
           From: Mick Patrick 
      9. Amber and "The 81"
           From: Julio Niņo 
     10. Re: LPs, CDs, MP3s ...
           From: Kurt Benbenek 
     11. How to do the 81!!
           From: Tony Leong 
     12. Re: "I'm Counting On You" > Alicia Evelyn > Johnny Nash > Phil Spector
           From: Lyn Nuttall 


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________________________________________________________________________ Message: 1 Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2005 08:24:34 -0800 (PST) From: Dave Monroe Subject: Re: Candy & the Kisses "The 81" Amber wrote: > I remember it well. It was May 1964; "In My Lonely Room" > by Martha & the Vandellas was at #44 on the Billboard Hot 100 > and "Hello Dolly" by Louis Armstrong was at #1. Gag! I know > which one I preferred! I'd made a bit of a name for myself > already, having been voted The Girl Most Likely six weeks on > the trot on the Corny Collins Show, and was booked by a famous > Philly DJ named Hy Lit to demonstrate The 81, a hot line dance > the teens all loved... I found that out many months later when > I bought a fabulous record called "The 81" by Candy & the > Kisses... I can still do The 81... Here's a perennial question amongst my set. Just how DOES one do The 81? "In a big boss line," sure, but ... -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 2 Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2005 03:54:12 -0000 From: Margaret G Still Subject: Soft Sounds for Gentle People Has anyone else on this group been enjoying this unusually good, but probably gray area, series on the Pet Records label? There are 3 volumes, with a 4th in the making, of 1966-71 trippy pop, from ethereal to wonderfully solipsistic! List of cuts can be viewed at http://www.forcedexposure.com/labels/pet.records.html Got a question: Who wrote the liner notes? They are funny and well-researched, but not credited. Best, Margaret G. Still -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 3 Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2005 19:05:26 -0000 From: Mark Maldwyn Subject: Re: Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls + Valley Of The Dolls Dennis Hoban wrote: > Thanks to everyone who filled me in on one of my fave flicks. If > it's on DVD or CD, I hope to find it in some commercial venue. > Rockin' and reelin' from carpet to ceilin' Last year I saw Beyond... together with The Valley of the Dolls (Sharon Tate etc. music Dory Previn/Dionne Warwick) on DVD together. Mark Maldwyn -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 4 Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2005 22:42:30 -0000 From: S.J. Dibai Subject: Re: MP3s, Obscure CDs, and Satellite Radio Will Stos: > I also enjoy going to the store and looking through the stacks. > Now that I have a collection that goes beyond major artists, I > find it increasingly difficult to find good buys at a CD store. > Online retailers have the imports and more obscure stuff. Still, > coming from a smaller city, there was nothing quite like > travelling to the nearest metropolis, heading straight to a big > record store and seeing what I could find. I haven't experienced that problem much and I don't know if it's because I am from a big city or if it's because I'm from Philadelphia specifically. It seems like all you have to do in this town is walk around and you'll stumble upon yet another groovy little (or, occasionally, big) independently-owned store that stocks all sorts of weirdities. Dave Monroe: > But what I worried about with CDs I worry even more about with > mp3s, that the ability to select ONLY the tracks one thinks at > last one wants, certain tracks will simply disappear, at least > from ready circulation. A valid concern! Thus, many unjustly overlooked tracks from the past could continue to be overlooked in the future. This would do a great disservice to artists like Gene Pitney, who put out some awesome singles, but in my opinion had many many album tracks that were just as good as--sometimes better than--his 45s. If you think you just want a few of his hits, you'll be able to download them and that's that. But say you can't just download them, so you buy a greatest hits CD and find out you like him so much that you wanna splurge on the two-fers of his albums. The latter scenario is preferable. There's another problem here which I will convey with a personal example. I noticed that the various artists CD "Swan's Soul Sides" (on the Kent divison of UK Ace) had two tracks on it that I'd been dying to hear: The Buena Vistas' "Hot Shot" and Tony Galla's "In Love." There were 24 other tracks on that disc, only three of which I was already familiar with (and already owned). So, not being made of money, I thought time and time again, "Is it WORTH buying this whole CD just for TWO tracks? Maybe a friend of mine has mp3s of those songs that he can send me. I've never even heard of some of these songs or artists; what's to say I'll like them?" Finally, only because I'd developed a sweeth tooth for Swan Records, I bought the CD. It quickly became one of the best various artists CDs I'd ever purchased! It exposed me to so much great music that is unfairly ignored, and it opened my eyes to a whole new chapter in Philly music history that I'd not been aware of before. See my point? Will Stos, responding to Dave Monroe: > but just imagine not having to buy the same song over and over > again on numerous compilations to get the few new tunes you > want? I'm both an audiophile and a mix fanatic, so I usually don't mind such repetition because so often--with oldies, anyway--the same song appears on numerous comps, but in different mixes or versions. > Now, who wants to guess what satellite radio will add to this > equation? I'm not even hooked up for it, but it seems to be the wave of the future, as conventional radio is clearly losing listeners and engaging in desperate ploys to win them back. That Cousin Brucie found a home on Sirius after being unceremoniously dumped by WCBS-FM--at a time when oldies formats were being dropped like a prostitute's panties--makes me think that Satellite Radio is going to be the new home of the oldies. S.J. Dibai -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 5 Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2005 19:56:45 -0000 From: John H Subject: Re: Candy & the Kisses "The 81" Dave Monroe wrote: > Here's a perennial question amongst my set. Just how DOES one > do The 81? "In a big boss line," sure, but ... Good question. I'm still trying to figure out how to do the Zonk. (The Peanut Duck is a lot easier.) -John H. -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 6 Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2005 15:41:01 -0500 From: Bill Smith Subject: Re: Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls + Valley Of The Dolls Dennis Hoban wrote: > Thanks to everyone who filled me in on one of my fave flicks. If > it's on DVD or CD, I hope to find it in some commercial venue. > Rockin' and reelin' from carpet to ceilin' Mark Maldwyn wrote: > Last year I saw Beyond... together with The Valley of the Dolls > (Sharon Tate etc. music Dory Previn/Dionne Warwick) on DVD > together. It's funny how one word ('Beyond') can make a movie so different. "Beyond...." is a breast-fest for str8 males, while "Valley...." is one major camp gay flick. Bill -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 7 Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2005 19:59:35 -0000 From: John H Subject: Re: Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls + Valley Of The Dolls Mark Maldwyn wrote: > Last year I saw Beyond... together with The Valley of the Dolls > (Sharon Tate etc. music Dory Previn/Dionne Warwick) on DVD > together. Indeed, there is a Region 2 (European) dvd release encompassing both films. However, rumor has it both films will be getting special edition releases here in the states early next year from Fox's "Cinema Classics Collection." -John H. -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 8 Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2005 23:25:34 -0000 From: Mick Patrick Subject: "I'm Counting On You" > Alicia Evelyn > Johnny Nash > Phil Spector Me, in June, on Lyn Nuttall's query concerning songs entitled "I'm Counting On You": > According to the record label, the song of that title recorded > by Johnny Nash was written by Alicia Evelyn. Johnny O'Keefe > recorded a cover version of the same song for the Australian > market. Petula Clark did likewise for the UK. > > The Don Robertson-penned "I'm Counting On You" is a different > song. Robertson is mistaken about his composition being > recorded by Johnny Nash. > > BMI list 19 songs entitled "I'm Counting On You". ASCAP list > three. But none of them appear to be credited to Alicia Evelyn > - an error, I guess. > > Whoever wrote it, it's a good song and Johnny Nash performs > it beautifully - what a great vocalist he was. Although not > credited on the label, his version was produced by Phil > Spector. That's how come Petula Clark's cover qualified for > inclusion on the "Wallpaper Of Sound" CD. Sorry it took me so long, but "I'm Counting On You" by Johnny Nash is now playing at musica: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spectropop/files/musica Full details are: Johnny Nash "I'm Counting On You" (ABC Paramount 10230, 1961); written by Alicia Evelyn; conducted by Robert Mersey; produced (uncredited) by Phil Spector. I's a strong track, and a bit rare, but Johnny Nash made very many better records (and I ain't talking about his reggae offerings, good though they are). Oh for a legit CD! Alicia Carolyn Evelyn wrote a stack of songs, including Jackie Wilson's "I Get The Sweetest Feeling", co-authored with Van McCoy. Any questions? Hey la, Mick Patrick -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 9 Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2005 21:53:07 -0000 From: Julio Niņo Subject: Amber and "The 81" Hola everybody. Mick comments about Amberīs memories of "The 81" and "In My Lonely Room": > Dear Amber has been quiet for some time. I do hope she's not > back in prison, I mean hospital. > > Somewhere I have a copy of "The 81" by Allen Cromer on the > Edge label from 1963 - different song, but same dance. When > there's room, and if there's any interest, and if I can find > the record, I could upload it to musica. I also wonder whatīs Amber doing lately. I heard through the grapevine that she got a reduction of her sentence for her meritorious services to the institution she was confined in. It seems that she directed a school of ladies, instructing the tomboyish prisoners in the useful art of choosing the most convenient eye shadow and lipstick colors to go with their uniforms. She also taught them how to dance with style The Bug, The Bird, The Monkey, The Cockroach, The Chic and of course The 81, among other cool rhythms. Bitchy tongues suggested that the training included more questionable abilities like some tricks for getting rid of your rivals, like adding poison to their make up or using home made bombs. I donīt know how to dance The 81 (which Iīm convinced would had been Pythagoras' favorite dance). Iīve often asked myself which could have been the origin of that surprising name. Maybe Amber could give me some lessons. And Mick, I would love to listen to Allen Cromerīs "The 81". Chao. Julio Niņo. -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 10 Date: Fri, 25 Nov 2005 02:47:56 -0000 From: Kurt Benbenek Subject: Re: LPs, CDs, MP3s ... Frank wrote: > But what's more frightening for me is the thought that someday > MP3s might replace CDs. The loss in quality is significant if > you really care about sound. All commercial audio formats have their advantages and disadvantages. Some of us who move around a lot like the convenience of being able to store thousands of albums on one computer hard drive. Lugging around hundreds of pounds of vinyl LPs and singles in orange creates is no longer a nagging issue in my life. Besides, these days it appears that all formats are thriving quite nicely in either new or used form. Collector's markets will assure that formats like 8-track tape, 78 RPM discs and even reel-to-reel are preserved for generations to come. When I was in London last month, I was very happy to see that singles can still be purchased in CD and in 45 RPM formats. Also, new and re-issued vinyl albums are being released all the time, often with bonus tracks not included on CD versions. For example, the double vinyl version of Brian Wilson's "Smile" contained several non-CD bonus tracks. I just got the new Sundazed music catalogue in the mail and it contains page after page of tempting vinyl reissues. Vinyl seems very far from being dead. Personally, I like the fact that my music collection is now divided into unique formats. I like the fact that some of my albums have full-size 12 X 12 cover artwork. And I like the fact that I have cassette mixtapes that friends gave me in the 80s. But I REALLY like the fact that I can throw 100 album's worth of mp3s into iTunes and search and easily browse through tracks. Audio quality has never been a huge issue with me. Again, every format has it's own advantages. The important thing is the quality of the songwriting, production values and overall emotion of a song or album. A good song is still a good song, whether on cassette, CD or mp3...or on an Edison cylinder. Kurt Benbenek Long Beach, CA -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 11 Date: Fri, 25 Nov 2005 03:13:07 -0000 From: Tony Leong Subject: How to do the 81!! Someone recently showed me how the 81 was done!! Bear with me, I can DO it, but describing it is a bit hard!! Just bend both arms up at the elbow and in an upward swim-like motion, cross both hands in front of each other twice then hold up both index fingers. Those from the MTV generation can see a sample in the Bananarama "Venus" video (there's a shot of Siobhan doing the hand motions. Those a bit older---think of the Asian girl, Bernadette from the TV show ZOOM!, doing the arm motions!! When I first did the 81 to "In My Lonley Room", it was a bit hard being that the Vandellas track had a faster tempo than the Candy cut!! Too bad there's no footage existing of Candy and the Kisses performing the song. And Will, yes, my Mom said that "Do The 81" was played a lot here in New York in the mid-60's. It was one of those nationally unknown, but big in the NY area hits like "It's Gonna Take A Miracle", and the majority of Ruby and The Romantics records!!! Oh, and how can I forget to mention "Whenever A Teenager Cires" by Reparata and the Delrons!!!! Tony Leong -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 12 Date: Fri, 25 Nov 2005 07:42:42 -0000 From: Lyn Nuttall Subject: Re: "I'm Counting On You" > Alicia Evelyn > Johnny Nash > Phil Spector Mick Patrick: > "I'm Counting On You" by Johnny Nash is now playing at musica: > ...Any questions? No questions, but many thanks for letting us hear this (and a fine recording it is, too, just as a bonus). I know this will be of immese interest to Australian members. As you know, the song is forever associated down here with our rock legend Johnny O'Keefe whose 1961 version was a national hit. Because of JO'K's friendship with songwriter Alicia Evelyn (she even came out here to be on his 'This Is Your Life'), and the fact that he recorded the song after meeting her in New York, a lot of Australians (including myself) had long assumed that his was the original version. With your help though, Mick, we rewrote this tiny bit of pop history: the record is set straight at http://www.poparchives.com.au/feature.php?id=98 Cheers, Lyn -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
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