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Volume #0380 January 30, 2000
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Long Playing Microgroove Unbreakable Records
Subject: Singapore Source?
Received: 01/29/00 3:36 pm
From: Jack Madani
To: Spectropop!
A friend is going to Singapore end of next week. Is it
still possible to pick up "greymarket" cd's there? If so,
any suggested softpop or girlgroup comps that would be
worth searching for there? Perhaps a private reply to me
would be appropriate, so that I can let my friend know
before he leaves (Feb 5).
Many thanks, all.
jack
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: Cookies and company
Received: 01/29/00 3:36 pm
From: John Frank
To: Spectropop!
Brian Ferrari said:
>One of my favorite all-time girl group records is their
>1967 Warner Brothers single "Wounded". Anyone know if they
>recorded other sides at Warner Brothers?
My reference gives the flip of "Wounded" as "All My Trials."
There was a follow-up single put out on WB called "Mr.
Cupid (Don't You Call On Me)." Great title, huh? I'd like
to hear it someday. (The flipside to this one isn't listed,
so maybe one of the sides of their initial WB single was
used.)
Regarding the pre-Dimension Cookies, here's a segment of
the liner notes of "The Aladdin Records Story":
'Another Lamp [Aladdin subsidiary label] group with a rosy
future were The Cookies. Formed by Lamp artist Margie
Hendrix, The Cookies were a leading studio group backing
hundreds of artists through the years. "Don't Let Go" was
their first record ... Hendrix also formed a Cookies
offshoot group, The Raeletts, to back Ray Charles on most
of his hits. [What the liner notes fail to mention that
while The Raeletts were backing Ray Charles on Atlantic,
that label was also releasing many singles by "The
Cookies".] Another member, Ethel MacRae, more commonly
known as "Earl-Jean," kept The Cookies' name going and scored
several hits with them, including "Chains," "Don't Say
Nothin' Bad (About My Baby)," and "I'm Into Something Good"
(as simply "Earl-Jean"), later a hit for Herman's Hermits.
Dorothy Jones rounded out the trio and joined Earl-Jean
and Margaret Ross to back Neil Sedaka on "Breaking Up Is
Hard To Do."'
I think Earl-Jean's "They're Jealous of Me" (B-side of
"Randy") is one of the greatest flipsides ever.
I've heard that one Darlene McCrea, who had singles
released by Tower, Jubilee and Roulette between 1959 and
1966 (one single on each label) was also a Cookie. Any
truth to this?
John Frank
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: The Cookies
Received: 01/29/00 3:36 pm
From: Ian Chapman
To: Spectropop!
> Brian Ferrari wrote:-
> The Cinderellas ("Baby Baby I Still Love You",
> "Please Don't Wake Me", "Good Good Lovin")
> The Honeybees ("One Wonderful Night", "She Don't
> Deserve Him", "Some Of Your Lovin")
> Bach's Lunch ("Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow")
> The Cupcakes ("The Pied Piper")
> The Palisades ("Make The Night A Little Longer")
> I am also pretty sure that they were The Emeralds ("I
> Wanna Make Him Mine", "Did You Ever Love A Guy", "Dancing
> Alone").
Hi Brian,
I guess there is a certain similarity, but the Emeralds
were in fact a "real" group in their own right, and the
second of the Honeybees records (Some of Your Lovin'/You
Turn Me On Boy) isn't the Cookies, although the first one
(One Wonderful Night) is. Maybe the girls weren't
available for the second record, so G&K used a different
set of session singers. When it comes to the number of
fictitious group names, I think the Blossoms may have the
edge, but that's a whole other post.......!
> I would also love to know anything about The Cookies.
> Earl-Jean McCrea is pretty easy to identify on record.
> Different sources site either Margaret Ross or Dorothy
> Jones as the belty lead singer of numbers like "I Never
> Dreamed" and many of the above named recordings.
> Can anyone give any backround into this amazing group?
OK Brian, here goes. Hope the following helps....
Dorothy got the group started, back in the 50s. She was
doing back-up work, and recruited Earl-Jean and Margie
Hendrix, to form the Cookies. There was reportedly a
single on the Lamp label as early as '54. The girls won
Amateur Night at the Apollo, which got them a deal with
Atlantic, resulting in 3 singles with the label. There,
they did back-ups for many singers on the Atlantic roster,
including LaVern Baker, Ruth Brown and Ray Charles. When
Margie Hendrix decided to go with Ray Charles full-time as
a vocalist, she was replaced in the Cookies by Margaret
Ross. The Aldon connection came about when Neil Sedaka
used them on some of his early RCA tracks for back-up, and
he recommended them to Carole King. Carole used them on the
Aldon tracks she was then doing with Tony Orlando. During
these sessions, Don Kirshner suggested that Dorothy cut a
solo record. Although the label said a "Nevins/Kirshner
Production", it was actually Goffin & King who produced
"It's Unbearable" for Dorothy on Columbia in '61 (complete
with pic sleeve). A dramatic Goffin/Keller number, the
record even got a UK release on Philips. So the Cookies'
presence was already established at Aldon before the
Dimension label was formed. They did innumerable back-up
sessions in the early 60s - two good examples where they
feature most prominently are Eydie Gorme's "Blame It On
The Bossa Nova" and Mel Torme's "Comin' Him Baby"/"Right
Now".
One of the impressive things about the Cookies was that
each girl was a potential lead singer, and in combination,
their voices blended beautifully. We should maybe mention
Little Eva here, as she was often an honorary Cookie too,
on the early sides - heard very clearly on "Chains". Often
on the Dimension records, the vocals would be shared by all
three girls, sometimes underpinned by a trademark
interjection from Earl-Jean, e.g "so girl you better shut
your mouth", "thirty-six; twenty-one; thirty-fiiiiive"
(name those tunes!) Sometimes however, one particular girl
would get a lead to herself. Dorothy, for example was
practically solo on "Stranger In My Arms", the flip of
"Chains" - it was very similar to her Columbia 45, and
could well have been done at the same session. Margaret
was the main voice on "Softly In The Night" - she also got
the lead on "Only To Other People" and what is for many the
ultimate Cookies track, "I Never Dreamed". (The Sequel
"Complete Cookies" compilation incorrectly credits Dorothy
as lead on these tracks) Earl-Jean of course did her own
thing on Colpix, but always remained a Cookie. If you want
to hear and compare each girl individually, look no further
than their original version of "On Broadway", where each
girl takes one line at a time in the verses - first
Earl-Jean, then Dorothy, then Margaret. Towards the end of
their stay at Dimension, it seemed that Margaret was
increasingly the preferred vocalist, not only under the
Cookies name, but under many of the fictitious group names
that Brian mentioned. Margaret had an identifiable
trademark sob in her voice that added a sincerity to any
song she graced. Witness the impressive list of girl-group
classics that she led:- "I Never Dreamed", "Please Don't
Wake Me", "Baby Baby I Still Love You", "Make The Night A
Little Longer", "One Wonderful Night". Margaret Ross is
surely one of the unheralded greats, and yet she was
probably the least recognized of the trio, her name never
having appeared solo on a label.
Let's also give a mention to Earl-Jean's sister, Darlene
McRea, one-time girlfriend of Russ Titleman. Russ shared
an apartment with both Darlene and Earl-Jean at one point
in New Jersey, and Darlene was one of Ray Charles' Raelets
for a while (either she, or Earl-Jean - hard to be sure
which - appeared as a Raelet in the '66 UK-produced movie
"Blues For Lovers" aka "Ballad In Blue") Darlene had a
voice that was almost identical to her sister's and she
was responsible for another girl-group gem, "My Heart's
Not In It", on Tower. Russ wrote it for her in
collaboration with Gerry Goffin, and it sits right up
there with the classics mentioned above.
> One of my favorite all-time girl group records is their
> 1967 Warner Brothers single "Wounded". Anyone know if they
> recorded other sides at Warner Brothers?
Yes Brian, there was reputedly another track cut at
Warners, "Mrs Cupid" - it's been seen in Warner's listings,
but it's one of those legendary records that nobody seems
to have seen, or heard. Presumably still in the vaults.
> What happened to them after the 60's heyday?
I wish I knew. I'm afraid I can't fill in any detail of
what happened to them or where they are now. I wonder if
Little Eva, who is performing again, kept in touch with
any of them. After all, it was Earl-Jean who recommended
her for a certain baby-sitting job.....!
Ian
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: Re: Electric Prunes/David Axelrod
Received: 01/28/00 5:17 am
From: Stewart Mason
To: Spectropop!
Joseph Scott writes:
>Or, to look at it from another of the many possible
>angles, often the studio musicians were doing their own
>thing anyway -- Howard
>Roberts' amazing guitar solos for the Electric Prunes c.
>'68 were in the exact same style as his for David
>Axelrod;
Um...by '68, wasn't David Axelrod the writer/producer/
musical director/all around main guy for the Electric
Prunes, which by this time had seen all its original
members fired and replaced by studio players under
Axelrod's direction? Or am I confusing them with someone
else?
Stewart
****************************FLAMINGO RECORDS****************************
Stewart Allensworth Mason
Box 40172 "Mom, stop saying 'Mofo'!"
Albuquerque NM 87196
www.rt66.com/~flamingo
**********************HAPPY MUSIC FOR NICE PEOPLE***********************
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: Giving credit where it's due
Received: 01/29/00 3:36 pm
From: Lindsay Martin
To: Spectropop!
The discussions about soft rock and about session
musicians lead me to admit to my weakness for the recorded
works of Gary Lewis and the Playboys. (Anyone else like to
join me?) See how I say "weakness" and "admit"? This is
because Lewis is usually dismissed by critics as "pathetic"
and "goofy" and maybe an exploiter of his dad Jerry's
name and influence, and I always take too much notice of
what critics write. Anyway, I love "Everybody Loves a
Clown", "Green Grass", "Count Me In", "Save Your Heart For
Me" and "Sure Gonna Miss Her" for a start, and I've never
had a problem with Gary's voice. (I'm not sure what to
make of "Time Stands Still", where he bizarrely launches
into a parody of Jerry. Dealing with some issues there, I
suspect.) Soft rock? Bubblegum? Teenybopper fodder? Please
yourself, but I'm hooked.
Looking at the credits for these songs, though, we see the
names of Snuff Garrett, producer, and Leon Russell,
arranger, both of whom also contribute to many of the
songs as writers. I've no idea who played on the sessions,
but after reading the discussions by Carol and others, I'm
not going to be surprised to learn that there were some
seasoned studio professionals involved (well, Leon Russell
for one, I guess).
It's all a matter of giving credit where it's due. In the
shorthand of pop marketing, and so in the minds of most
consumers, it's the artist who gets the credit. It's only
people like Spectropop readers who dig deeper and see the
full picture, and reveal the collaborations that produce
records. Sam Phillips' name, for example, is well-known in
the story of Elvis, but full credit isn't always given to
the contribution of, say, Otis Blackwell. And although
George Martin is famous, most people probably think about
Lennon & McCartney even when they are enjoying Martin's
string arrangement on "Eleanor Rigby". After years of
admiring the Beatles' skill in coming up with that
gorgeous French horn line in "For No One", I discovered
that a bloke called Alan Civil made it up on the spot and
played it! (Civil remarked that it was "just another day's
work".) Go back further and it seems that Fletcher
Henderson was often unsung as Benny Goodman's arranger.
It's possible to get a bit obsessive about this, and in
practice it's a mouthful to list Phil Spector and Jack
Nitzsche and Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil and Carol Kaye
etc. when you're referring to a particular pop record, but
it's good to see every issue of Spectropop doing its part
in giving credit where it's due.
Lindsay
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: "Boots'
Received: 01/28/00 6:41 am
From: Carol Kaye
To: Spectropop!
Jamie wrote:
>>>No schoolteacher of mine was ever THAT groovy. Dig
those shades! And the boots! Hipper than hip!<<<
Jamie, after wearing jeans, and ordinary street clothing,
I was looking for a husband by the start of the 70s. That
was my teen-aged daugher's idea, I always felt
uncomfortable wearing such clothes. If you check the other
photos on the Library page of my website, you'll see what I
mean. I finally later settled on nicer slack suits.
And everyone wore DARK glasses in the studio to be able to
read the music, it was NOT trying to be "hip" at all, we
couldn't see the music if we didn't have dark glasses on
to cut the terrible glare in those brightly-lit studios.
And if you really could have looked up close, you'd see
some of the ugliest buck teeth you ever did see....kept
everyone at bay, was happy to say.
>>> Fascinating, and it makes the records all the more
interesting to listen to.<<<
Yes, somewhat different than the TV, magazines, etc. all
portray a "recording studio" was. Was 80% boring I'll tell
you, it was intense, the main focus was to get a hit
recording for all the different artists you recorded for...
that was business, and we were lucky to have been in on
the ground floor...they still talk about the "Carol Kaye"
bass sounds, the "Hal Blaine" drum sounds, etc.....we all
sort of invented some lines, patterns, styles, sounds, etc.
that influenced rock music for all time during the 60s
blitz of recording sessions...day and night. Not bragging,
that's just history...my body can feel all that hard work
believe me, feels like I picked cotton for years.
Jimmy Botticelli says:
>>>>Although the players for Johnny Mann probably played
for The Byrds as well. But that makes the jazz players
fakers too and perhaps in part has earned them the "jazzbo"
label in some circles. After all if it isn't "out" and
improvised, then its too structured and "pop", which is
fake and designed for those oh-so ignorant consumers of
that pop we play for hire, rather than playing "real" jazz
.<<<
We were very sincere in cutting ALL STYLES of music, it's
just that jazz musicianship uses a tougher and more
intricate way of using theory. No, not fakers at all, but
excellent musicianship...it took real musicianship to cut
a hit record, no matter the style of music.
Javed wrote:
>>>>They used outside musicians (i.e. Van Dyke Parks, Hugh
Masekela) even on later recordings but the group members
were the predominant musicians.<<<
I'm sure they had "guest musicians' from time to time, yes
...but the normal studio musicians (of which Van Dyke did
other dates sometimes too, I worked with him for awhile
for a few years) I am talking about recorded for years and
years and were the "clique" about 50-60 of us out of the
entire pool of 350 regular studio musicians which includes
the movies and TV films, commercials etc.
We called each client an "account" ("do you have the Andy
Williams account? I have the Beach Boys account" etc.).
Simon and Garfunkel were an "account", Paul Revere &
Raiders, Dino-Desi-Billy, Markettes, T-Bones, Hondells, We
3, Sonny & Cher, Phil Spector, Buckinghams, Monkees, Jan &
Dean, I could on and on (see the lists of groups on my
website).
I realize that little is known about the 1,000s of record
dates we did for everyone in the 60s. If anyone wants to do
some research, look at my website, look at Hal Blaine's
website: http://www.halblaine.com, read
Hal's book, read
Earl Palmer's book "Backbeat...the Earl Palmer Story",
these are on amazon.com, then you'll learn more about what
I'm saying...I know this must hurt your percieved images of
our business.
Carol Kaye
http://www.carolkaye.com/
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: Byrds
Received: 01/29/00 3:36 pm
From: Bryan Thomas
To: Spectropop!
It is my understanding that the Byrds first single -- "Please
Let Me Love You" as by the Beefeaters (Elektra) -- featured
Ray Pohlman, Earl Palmer, McGuinn/Crosby/Clark/Hillman.
The next single -- "Mr. Tambourine Man" as by the Byrds (on
Columbia) -- featured McGuinn alongside Hal Blaine, Larry
Knechtel, Russell Bridges (Leon Russell), and Jerry Cole.
After these two, the sessions featured the group members
supplemented by occasional session players. Can anybody
shed any more light on this?
>I thought that the Byrds played on most of their first
>album as well as subsequent recordings. The commonly held
>belief is that Roger was the only group member to play on
>Mr. Tambourine Man but that does not apply as far as
>their other recorded output is concerned. They used
>outside musicians (i.e.Van Dyke Parks, Hugh Masekela)
>even on later recordings but the group members were the
>predominant musicians.
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: Double Quartet and history rererevisited
Received: 01/29/00 3:36 pm
From: Nat Kone
To: Spectropop!
>Subject: Re: unison versus harmony
>From: Ron Sauer
>
>The Kirby Stone 4 made a great duet record in the last
>sixties with the Tokens. They listed thenselves as "The US
>Double Quartet" and the song was "Life is Groovy" on BT
>Puppy records.
I guess that's some kind of answer to the Double Trio of
Paris. I just got another record on the Tokens "BT Puppy"
label. "The Happenings" Seems like the Tokens were real
"soft pop" impresarios. The Happenings sorta strain at the
limits of MY soft pop definition but in the end, I'll put
them in that box.
Speaking of recently found records, what can you tell me
about this apparent girl trio on Decca, called "The Cake"?
Fellow listmember Ms. Kaye played guitar on this one (along
with Mac Rebennack) so maybe some info will be forthcoming.
I'd never heard of them but there's something intriguing
about the record. Sorta like a white Ronettes with lots of
strings.
And while I'm staring at the studio musician credits on
this record, I want to try and say one more thing about
this marketing/studio musician/real vs fake controversy.
At this point I'm not even sure what the point is but it
feels like it's being stretched to the point of breaking.
For instance, looking back at sixties pop music, how do
you factor in the early local garage band scenes? Or the
various folk scenes?
There was a sound happening. A lot of people of various
musical backgrounds and various age groups ended up
contributing to that sound. And some tried to ignore that
sound until their sales dried up and then they jumped on
too.
John Davidson recorded "Both Sides Now" and "Suzanne".
Was I just a gullible teenager to prefer Joni Mitchell and
Leonard Cohen? (Or maybe a super patriotic Canadian.)
And just to revisit that Mel Torme/ Donovan/ "Sunshine
Superman" business, you have to remember that a lot of us
were listening to whole albums at this point. Even if I'd
liked Mel's cover of that one hit, I don't think I'd have
felt the same about the rest of the record, for instance
his cover of "Take a letter Maria", which he almost
rescues but not quite.
I love looking back at the sixties and seeing all the
points of intersection in these musical universes that I
once thought were parallel at best. I love all this
reconsideration and even rewriting that's happening. But
when Mel Torme becomes this misunderstood troubadour being
outfoxed by Donovan's powerful myth-making machine, I think
the rewriting has gone a bit far.
Nat
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: More...
Received: 01/28/00 6:41 am
From: Carol Kaye
To: Spectropop!
Nat wrote: >>>>And I'm sure I could still be surprised -
and heartbroken - to hear about other records which, to
this day, I still assume were recorded by the actual group.
Like Paul Revere and the Raiders. <<<<
Yes, Hal Blaine, myself others did some of those....don't
blame the "messenger"....the public will have a lot of
heartbreak out there when they "find out." It took 2-3
years for the Beach Boys fans to accept that studio
musicians did their favorite hits.
And no, I didn't play on any of the Byrds stuff, but Hal
Blaine, Larry Knechtel and Leon Russell did. Roger did do
his own playing on the Byrds.
>>>(Of course, we who laughed then became the marketers
and we did learn from their mistakes.)<<<
I hope so, but I also think they did "pretty good"....
Musicians' Union/Federation records all show according to
the royalties fund, that the 60s is still the "hottest"
selling group of records world-wide. Do we get royalties?
Only if they're used in movies, the phonograph fund is set
up so that only "currently recording studio musicians" get
those phonograph royalties.
Joseph wrote: >>>Can you tell us more about Dennis Budimir?
He seems to have played on everything, every style.<<<
Dennis Budimer became the No. 2 call studio guitarist
about mid 60s along with Tommy Tedesco and in some cases,
was preferred above Tommy who was the no. 1 reader, but
Dennis being a close 2nd. He could play any style whether
the fuzz-tone on the theme of Shaft (it was cut out
here, I'm on the sheet music listed as "the movie theme
bassist etc.", a contract irregularity which Russ Wapensky,
writer of the studio musician credits book almost done,
explains).
Dennis was one of the all-time greats, recognized by LA
musicians as "the FINE jazz guitarist along with Barney
Kessel, Howard Roberts, only he didn't stay playing in the
non-paying jazz clubs of the late 50s but went into studio
work.....is retired now (but too happily, he misses all
the studio work he used to do), has had surgeries on his
shoulders, arms, etc. (all related to all the hard long
years of playing he did, you don't work 9-5 in the studios,
it's like 7AM to 11PM or later every night back then).
Carol Kaye
http://www.carolkaye.com/
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
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