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There are 5 messages in this issue of Spectropop.
Topics in this Digest Number 62:
1. the divine Ms. Whoever
From: "Jack Madani"
2. Re: Ain't No Mountain etal.
From: Carol Kaye
3. Del-Fi/Bob Keane
From: Bryan Thomas
4. Ronnie in Seattle (again) and in the studio
From: "Spector Collector"
5. Jojo
From: ELRONBEE
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Message: 1
Date: Tue, 21 Nov 2000 07:49:46 -0500
From: "Jack Madani"
Subject: the divine Ms. Whoever
spectropop@egroups.com writes:
>>Claudine also turns in a way-cool recording
>>of Ain't No Mountain High Enough. The music itself is
>>almost as majestic as the Diana Ross original
>
>Ahem, Mr. Nitpick backatcha. Marvin and Tammi worked
>that sucker to death back in Sexty-Seven....JB
Bien Sur, Monsieur Nitpick. What I had in mind and was
attempting to convey, which I failed to do, was the fact
that Claudine's version copies the grandiose style of the
Ross version as opposed to the R&B-ish version of Marvin
and Tammi. Both of which I like a lot.
jack
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Message: 2
Date: Tue, 21 Nov 2000 12:43:57 -0800
From: Carol Kaye
Subject: Re: Ain't No Mountain etal.
>>>Claudine also turns in a way-cool recording
>of Ain't No Mountain High Enough. The music itself is
>almost as majestic as the Diana Ross original<<<
Many of the same studio musicians on Claudine's as on the
one we cut for Diana Ross at RCA late spring of 1968 (not
released until sometime later, that was only the track) -
this was recorded with about 70 musicians and background
singers there at RCA, same studio we recorded the Henry
Mancini things. The Detroit crew recorded the original
hit of Ain't No Mountain High Enough with Marvin Gaye and
Tammi Terrell in Detroit.
> Did you play on this session, Carol? It sounds like your work . .
That's Larry Knechtel on elec. bass and Lyle Ritz on
string bass on "Guess I'm Dumb", it's not me -- Larry
could and sometimes did play with a pick, that's Larry on
the Byrds' things.
> I am no expert on Bob Keane - I hope I didn't infer
> otherwise in my post - but what little I do know of Keane
> is the stuff of L.A. music biz legend
Yes, Bob Keane (he spelled his name Keene back then, and
that's where "Keen" Records comes from) was an early
master in producing. But early on, he also worked with
the fine producer Bumps Blackwell, whose expertise I'm
sure rubbed off there....Bumps produced the early Sam
Cooke hits, and other notable hits for Keen Records (about
the time that Herb Alpert, and Lou were at Keen Records
also). Bob is a very good Benny Goodman-type clarinetist
also. We all worked for Bob quite a bit in the late 50s,
early 60s. He's writing his biography about all this also.
Carol Kaye
http://www.carolkaye.com/
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Message: 3
Date: Tue, 21 Nov 2000 19:20:03 -0000
From: Bryan Thomas
Subject: Del-Fi/Bob Keane
Jamie (and everyone),
Thanks for the great response on Bob Keane and Del-Fi
(i.e. "L.A. Music Biz Legend"). I showed Bob your
response and he was very excited to read that people are
still very interested in the records he produced.
Bob also wants to remind everyone that he's still hard at
work writing his autobiography -- The Oracle Of Del-Fi:
The Bob Keane Story -- and we've had interest from
several literary agents and it looks like this may indeed
come to fruition.
If Ritchie Valens is chosen to be inducted next year into
the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (we'll know in two weeks),
this may even expedite getting the book out to stores
sooner than anticipated.
Bryan Thomas
Del-Fi
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Message: 4
Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 03:51:24 -0000
From: "Spector Collector"
Subject: Ronnie in Seattle (again) and in the studio
Two months to the day after her triumphant appearance at
Seattle's "Bumbershoot" arts festival September 3,
Ronnie Spector returned to Rain City as the keynote
speaker at a conference sponsored by ROCKRGRL "no guilt
trips or beauty tips" magazine.
Following is the related text from Caitlin Cleary's
November 5 Seattle Times article on the conference,
"Conference exults in ROCKRGRL sisterhood," submitted
verbatim for your dining and dancing pleasure:
Motown legend and former Ronette Ronnie Spector gave the
keynote speech Friday with her trademark gravelly purr
and wicked humor. "I've been in rock 'n' roll for 40
years," Spector said. "I just did something in the
studio the other day. ...It's called, 'I'm Never Gonna
Be Your Baby.' " The audience roared.
Her life story came out in fits and starts. From a
5-year-old singing on top of her coffee table in Spanish
Harlem to the teenage star who toured with the Rolling
Stones; from her song ideas that were ignored or for
which the credit was taken by men to her marriage to
Phil Spector that she said kept her a psychological
prisoner for years. And how she initiated the
longest-running legal battle in rock 'n' roll history -
a suit against Spector for nonpayment of royalties - and
won.
Spector's message was this: Don't let one person take
too much control over your career; don't let them read
the fine print for you; and most importantly, don't let
them tell you you're not worth anything. But the
response of the ROCKRGRL crowd to Spector said more
about the principles of this conference than anything
else: building community and helping your sisters when
they need it.
Several times Spector backtracked over sentences she had
read, lost her place, apologized. She was nervous, funny,
fiercely emotional - and real. She spoke about recently
recording with her old friend Keith Richards of the
Rolling Stones.
"He said, 'We all knew once you married (Spector), we'd
never see you again,' " she recounted, before losing her
place and starting to cry. Someone ran up to the podium
with a tissue. The audience shouted: "We love you,
Ronnie!"
"I love you too," Spector shouted back, dabbing at her
eyes. "Keep on rocking, rockergirls!"
--
For diehard Ronnie fans, there wasn't much new to be
learned from the words of her address. Most notable for
me were her claim that Phil has blackballed The Ronettes
>from the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame and the revelation
that the court judgment against him was for not only the
$2.6 million award but also for interest on that amount
>from the date the proceedings began. On the former topic,
she says that the year The Ronettes were nominated, Phil
sent a vaguely threatening letter to the board to the
effect that, although it was nothing personal, he would
greatly appreciate it if they were not inducted. She
deemed the tactic a success, since not only were they
not named that year, but they haven't been nominated
again.
Even for those who know her story by heart, however, it
was a treat to see and hear her tell it in this context.
For me, it amplified the simultaneously streetwise and
vulnerable image that comes through in so many of her
songs. She was refreshingly and contagiously
bulls**t-free, and there wasn't a dry eye in the place
as she looked back on how far she'd come. There was a
palpable sense of love in the room during the long and
heartfelt ovation.
Afterward, Ronnie was extremely generous with handshakes,
autographs, and photo opportunities (I finally got my
first ever picture with her, as well as a couple of her
with May Pang). I had a chance to talk with her husband
Jonathan, who brought me up to date on the progress of
the album they're recording. For one thing, I learned
that the new song she'd played at Bumbershoot, which I
called "You Shouldn't Have Told Me" in my last Spectropop
post, is in fact the aforementioned "Never Gonna Be Your
Baby." It's the one they were hoping to get David Bowie
to play on; it's now recorded, and it now looks as
though he will have no direct participation in the
project, although he is lobbying her to record a cover
of "Teenage Wildlife" from his "Scary Monsters..." album.
"Never Gonna Be Your Baby" is written by Desmond Child,
Eric Bazillian, and Daphne Rubin-Vega, and Jonathan
bills it as "amazing." For more information on the
progress of the album, go to
http://www.sonicnet.com/artists/ai_singlestory.jhtml?id=1124868&ai_id=509086
(thank you, John Rausch, for turning me on to this article).
Cheers, y'all,
David A. Young
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Message: 5
Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 01:43:30 EST
From: ELRONBEE
Subject: Jojo
> And she had these absolutely horrid songs
> out like "Pineapple Princess" and "Tall Paul", but she
> was, after all, Annette and could get away with...
Don't forget "Jojo the dogfaced boy"
http://www.spectropop.com/go2/annette.html
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