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Jamie LePage (1953-2002)
http://www.spectropop.com/Jamie.htm
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There are 17 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. Revola re-issues and other things
From: Kingsley Abbott
2. JBJ
From: Paul Woods
3. Whatever Happened To BABY JANE & THE ROCKABYES?
From: The Spectropop Team
4. Re: Vini Poncia
From: Billy Spradlin
5. Lisa Hartman-Black
From: "Stuffed Animal"
6. Re: Vini Poncia
From: Will George
7. Re: Vini Poncia
From: Mikey
8. Great LP bargains at Woolco in 1970s
From: Mary Shaffer
9. Re: Vini Poncia
From: Billy Spradlin
10. The Crystals' "Little Boy"
From: Jimmy "Boy" Crescitelli
11. NY party?, more Barbara Keith, 60's pop-psych, Pete Records
From: Country Paul
12. Re: Vini Poncia
From: Glenn
13. Gus Dudgeon
From: Mark Frumento
14. Tits My Party
From: simon white
15. Re: Gus Dudgeon
From: Norman
16. Saturn records
From: Bryan
17. Rick Cunha - (I'm a ) Yo-Yo Man
From: Den Lindquist
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________________________________________________________________________
Message: 1
Date: Wed, 24 Jul 2002 17:11:04 +0100
From: Kingsley Abbott
Subject: Revola re-issues and other things
Just had a mailing this morning about two new
issues on the newly revitalised Revola label:
Sandy Salisbury "Falling To Pieces" (CRREV 5)
and Lee Mallory "That's The Way It's Gonna Be"
(CRREV 6). Splendid stuff!! Can't wait to hear
them! (Joe - I hope the Bobby Jameson one is
still a possibility).
Incidently, seeing the recent reference to The Love
Generation, Joe and I did talk about the possibility
of doing a comp of them at old revola time when we
did Eternity's Children and The Sunshine Company,
but at that stage we thought they were just a tad
wimpy. Ok, I know their "Montage" is great and some
other cuts are quite summery bouncy stuff, but I don't
reckon they quite had the depth of other acts.
Someone argue with me now please and make me
go back and listen again....
"Fifth Avenue Band" - Oh yes, yes, yes - lovely album.
There are a number of recent Peter Gallway albums
on the web - try searching on his name. Now there's
an album that would be nice to get out again Joe....
Also just out here is a newie Summer Sunshine album
by The Beachnuts on Leg Room Records that I really
like - great melodies and harmonies! Go to
www.shiremusic.com or email shiremusic@aol.com
for more details. No interest here, apart from the fact
that I co-wrote one track - just a thumpingly good
summer pop album!!!
Kingsley
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Message: 2
Date: Wed, 24 Jul 2002 16:22:35 +0100 (GMT Daylight Time)
From: Paul Woods
Subject: JBJ
Phil remembers:
> JBJ often got up to tricks - For example, when Phil Spector once
> appeared on the 'jury', they played Jackie Trent's "If You Love Me",
> one of the early Spector soundalikes. Phil was not pleased, to put
> it mildly. Can't recall how the voting went.
I remember being heartily peeved that The Crystals were behind
their screen for (was it?) "All Grown Up", and the jury voted it
a miss. I was so over the moon at actually getting to see my
heroines on TV, and they got a really bad reception.
Paul Woods
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Message: 3
Date: Wed, 24 Jul 2002 21:12:18 +0100
From: The Spectropop Team
Subject: Whatever Happened To BABY JANE & THE ROCKABYES?
Dear Spectropoppers,
The Team is pleased to announce the installation at the Spectropop
website of a brand new feature, specially written for us by John
Clemente, author of the acclaimed Girl Groups: Fabulous Females That
Rocked The World...
In August 1962, Phil Spector took a bunch of the best session-
singers Los Angeles had to offer into Gold Star studios to record a
version of "Zip-A-Dee Doo-Dah". Few can have anticipated the end
result. By early 1963, Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans' space age gospel
transformation of the Disney ditty was sitting pretty in the
Billboard Top 10.
Meanwhile, on the East Coast, Spector's former employers, Jerry Leiber
& Mike Stoller, presumably with tongues thrust firmly into cheeks, hit
upon a similar plan...
Intrigued? To read the full story of Baby Jane & the Rockabyes, simply
click here: http://www.spectropop.com/BabyJane/index.htm
Enjoy!
The Spectropop Team
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Message: 4
Date: Wed, 24 Jul 2002 20:09:23 -0000
From: Billy Spradlin
Subject: Re: Vini Poncia
Glenn:
> I don't believe anyone has yet mentioned that Vini Poncia
> produced Peter Criss' 1978 solo album (the year all four
> members of Kiss released solo albums) and co-wrote its
> catchiest song, "You Matter To Me."
A lot of die-hard KISS fans really hate those Vini Poncia produced
albums (Dynasty and Unmasked) for being too "poppy" and "soft" with
the bands guitar-based crunch toned down.
Hits like the danceable "I Was Made For Loving You" caused a lot of
older hard rock fans to give up on the band. Even Paul and Gene
admitted years later he was the wrong producer for the band, but I
really liked "Shandi" - one of the groups best pure pop numbers, and
a big hit "down under".
Admitting he liked KISS in Jr High...
Billy
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Message: 5
Date: Wed, 24 Jul 2002 20:29:41 +0000
From: "Stuffed Animal"
Subject: Lisa Hartman-Black
niagrafalls:
> I agree that Lisa Hartman is quite underrated as
> a singer....... I was very impressed by Lisa's voice and
> by the good songs on the album. Jeff Barry did a fine job
> putting the album together.
Jeff Barry's LISA HARTMAN album is indeed a treasure . . . I'd
call it a mix of pop, country and disco stylings. Definitely
not an easy mix to pull off, but Jeff made it work. If my
memory serves me right, he discovered her singing in a club on
a trip to Houston, Texas. She was signed to Kirshner Records
as a result of his recommendation to Don Kirshner. You can find
original versions of two big Country hits on her debut album:
"He Ain't You", later recorded by Lynn Anderson, and "Sayin' Hello,
Sayin' I Love You, Sayin' Good-Bye", which Jim Ed Brown and Helen
Cornelius took into the Top Five. Another one of the songs,
"Room Without A Door", was covered by Dave and Sugar, I believe.
Jeff also wrote and produced a track on Lisa's second Kirshner
album, whose title escapes me . . .
Stuffed Animal
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Message: 6
Date: Wed, 24 Jul 2002 16:46:06 EDT
From: Will George
Subject: Re: Vini Poncia
Glenn:
> Criss' album was by far the "poppiest" of the four Kiss solo
> albums - not surprisingly, given Poncia's involvement and
> Criss' own songwriting tendencies (he co-wrote the melodic
> ballad "Beth", which was something of a shock for Kiss fans
> at the time)- and is worth a look (or a listen).
I agree. I have the album, and although it has been several
years since I listened to it, I do remember listening to it
quite often. My favorite track was "I Can't Stop the Rain",
though.
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Message: 7
Date: Wed, 24 Jul 2002 17:23:42 -0400
From: Mikey
Subject: Re: Vini Poncia
Billy Spradlin:
> Hits like the danceable "I Was Made For Loving You" caused a
> lot of older hard rock fans to give up on the band. Even Paul
> and Gene admitted years later he was the wrong producer for
> the band,
Which tells you what kind of idiots Paul and Gene are.
Poncia had HITS with his KISS productions. You're NOT the wrong
producer if you have hits, that's your job, to make the charts
anyway, anyhow. What good is a record that's not a hit? That means
no one heard it.
Your Friend,
Mikey
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Message: 8
Date: Wed, 24 Jul 2002 22:27:16 -0000
From: Mary Shaffer
Subject: Great LP bargains at Woolco in 1970s
Ah! Those were the days!!!!
I remember a phenomenal time when our local Woolco stores (perhaps
it was a chain-wide deal) suddenly got a lot of LPs, which must
have been LPs that had been sitting around in warehouses for years.
There were tons of these albums by all sorts of artists. I wish I
had a list of all the albums I bought there, but I do remember some.
I think that the LPs were 88 cents each (!!), but then the price was
dropped down to 44 cents each(!!!) There were a number of White Whale
albums, but albums by many companies, including ATCO, were sold.
I got my copy of Tempo-Stevens' "All Strung Out" there, as well as two
albums by Liz Damon's Orient Express (great listening, BTW. I really
like that group). I remember getting quite a few instrumental albums,
too. I think that "Rain Forest" by Walter Wanderley was one of them.
Some of my Astrud Gilberto (a real favorite of mine, with possibly
the most soothing voice ever heard on vinyl) albums also came from
that sale. Oh, yes....also albums by Mel Carter, the Forum (remember
them?), and Bobby Vee.
Now, if only I could get a time machine and go back there! I'd
probably buy the place out.
Mary Shaffer (aka "Niagara")
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Message: 9
Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2002 02:20:49 -0000
From: Billy Spradlin
Subject: Re: Vini Poncia
> Hits like the danceable "I Was Made For Loving You" caused a
> lot of older hard rock fans to give up on the band. Even Paul
> and Gene admitted years later he was the wrong producer for
> the band,
Mikey:
> Which tells you what kind of idiots Paul and Gene are.
> Poncia had HITS with his KISS productions. You're NOT the wrong
> producer if you have hits, that's your job, to make the charts
> anyway, anyhow. What good is a record that's not a hit? That means
> no one heard it.
I agree - when an LP or single doesnt do well, who takes the blame?
Usually the producer is the first one to "get it"...then the record
company, promoters, radio, video? ...the artist will ALWAYS single
themselves out last.
Besides "I Was Made For Loving You" which made the Top 10, none of
the other KISS singles Poncia produced made the USA Top 40 - and both
albums sold less than the prevous albums produced by Eddie Kramer or
Bob Ezrin. "Dynasty" made #9 because of the strength of "I Was
Made...", but "Unmasked" tanked on Billboard, peaking at only #35 -
not a big hit LP compared to the earlier ones - though it went
platinum in the USA over time because older fans like me bought it
and realised it wasnt a bad album after all.
You can't really put all the blame on Poncia, KISS was starting to
split up because of the usual ego/drugs/alcohol problems and Ace and
Peter stopped showing up for sessions. Poncia had to use studio
musicans to fill in for them.
Plus Casablanca was in big trouble (they lost a lot of $$$ promoting
the 4 solo LP's) and put heat on the band to produce more hits for
Top 40 radio, so the band softened thier sound - for a such a
bombastic group like KISS it was a distastrous thing to do. It was
the start of a big downhill slide for the band, and, over time, people
have blamed Ponica for causing it. The band should have taken a lot
of the blame too.
Metalhead Billy
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Message: 10
Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2002 00:11:04 EDT
From: Jimmy "Boy" Crescitelli
Subject: The Crystals' "Little Boy"
Background help...
Are the session singers bleating "doo ron day ron day" or
"little one take my heart away?" Years ago I played it for
a neighbor girl, like in 1970, and she insisted it was the
latter... and I tend to agree.
Thoughts?
==Jimmy==
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Message: 11
Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2002 00:51:57 -0400
From: Country Paul
Subject: NY party?, more Barbara Keith, 60's pop-psych, Pete Records
Re: NY Party - I'm in Chatham, NJ just west of NYC (1/2 hour);
Mikey's in Manhattan, Marc's in the area, Jimmy B visits from
Boston. I know Mark F is in Cherry Hill.... I'm on vacation next
week and unavailable each weekend until mid-August, but afterward
maybe some of us could make contact, or at least someone could get
the ball rolling.
Bob Rashkow, I've got Barbara Keith's solo album, too; also very
nice. I left a message in her new band's e-mail at their website,
http://www.stonecoyotes.com, saying how much I'd enjoyed Kangaroo
and her own work, and received a reply signed by the band:
> Thanks for writing... and for being a "keeper of the flame" all
> these years. The band is working on a new CD - which will include
> new versions of 2 of Barbara's old songs "Free the People" and
> "The Bramble and the Rose". Maybe the band will get to NYC in
> the future - Texas is slated for the fall.
> In the meantime, keep rocking! Best, The Stone Coyotes
Erik Meinen wrote:
> All [Bill Soden] 45s were produced by John Hill. Is this the
> same John Hill that produced Margo Guryan?
My guess would be yes, he was quite prolific in his time. If
memory serves, he also produced Susan Christie of the pop novelty
hit, "I Love Onions," and a follow-up, "Tonight You Belong To Me"
- the Patience & Prudence hit forced into a Spector-like
Zip-a-dee Doo-dah beat which sounds rather labored to me now.
Erik adds:
> For me BILL SODEN falls in the same category of unsung 60s
> pop-sike heroes like JOHN WONDERLING, ALZO, JOHN BRAHENY,
> CLICK, MARK ERIC etc.
You mention some fascinating names, Erik. Alzo was a big fave of
a couple of the DJ's at freeform WHCN, Hartford, CT, in the early
70's (especially the late Jim Zeiner), and his albums actually
sold a few copies in the market. I was always a John Braheny fan -
his "December Dream" is a gorgeous song, whether his version (on
Records by Pete - more below) or the better-known Stone Poneys track;
and "Free Fall" still sounds good. Click Horning was apparently a
violinist as well as singer; largely on ABC, he also had singles
on Laurie. The "resident expert" on Click's music, and possibly
his biggest fan, is DJ Bob Brainen on WFMU; you can contact him
by e-mail via their website, http://www.wfmu.org.
Speaking of Records by Pete, they had an 45 by [Rick] Cunha
(of Hearts and Flowers) and [Jim] Dawson (later a solo singer-
songwriter) called "Yo-Yo Man." Clever and well-done novelty song,
but the vocals worked because they were "character" voices with an
undertone of poignancy. Any input on this label from anyone?
Thinking it wouldn't take long, I ran a Google search for
"Pete Records" which yielded the existence of albums by Michael P.
Whalen (self-titled), S-1102, 1970; The Passing Clouds, "Hawks and
Doves", S-1106; Ketty Lester (of "Love Letters" and "Once Upon A
Time" fame), "Ketty", S-1109; Gogi Grant (self titled); "The Banjo
Revolution of Donald Beck," who was a member of Country Gazette;
and one from Carol Stromme from 1970, with a note from Fuzz Acid
& Flowers that "Pete Records was a short-lived Los Angeles label."
There was also a link to one Judy Lamppu,
http://www.centurionproductions.com/producer.html, who wrote
"If's A Mighty Big Word" and "If You Don't Love Me," recorded by
both Dian Hart on Amaret and The Group on Pete. (Is this the same
Group group Gary Zekley produced? There's an album, too, called
"Warm & Groovy Sounds".) Interestingly, Judy Lamppu was also in
the Galaxies ("The Big Triangle," discussed here a few months back.
Country Paul
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Message: 12
Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2002 09:02:01 -0000
From: Glenn
Subject: Re: Vini Poncia
Billy Spradlin wrote:
> A lot of die-hard KISS fans really hate those Vini Poncia produced
> albums (Dynasty and Unmasked) for being too "poppy" and "soft" with
> the bands guitar-based crunch toned down.
Wow, Billy, I didn't even know that Poncia had produced albums
for the whole band as well as the Criss solo effort. Too "poppy"
and "soft", huh? Sounds GREAT! I'll have to check those out! :)
Glenn
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Message: 13
Date: Wed, 24 Jul 2002 21:38:40 -0400
From: Mark Frumento
Subject: Gus Dudgeon
I would imagine the folks in the UK already know this, but in
case others hadn't heard... producer Gus Dudgeon was killed in
a car accident a couple of days ago. Sad news.
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Message: 14
Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2002 00:26:27 +0100
From: simon white
Subject: Tits My Party
Mick Patrick wrote:
> Norrie Paramor
> was the co-producer with a guy called Al Kasha in the control
> booth. Elvis Presley's group, the Jordanaires, did the vocal
> backing with the help of three girls, Milly, Dolly and Prissy.
> I thought I had really arrived, using Elvis' backing group.
'Milly, Dolly and Prissy' ????
I'm sure these names ring a bell from the distant past...
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Message: 15
Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2002 21:28:04 +0930
From: Norman
Subject: Re: Gus Dudgeon
Re: Mark's info
> I would imagine the folks in the UK already know this, but in
> case others hadn't heard... producer Gus Dudgeon was killed in
> a car accident a couple of days ago. Sad news.
It would appear that sites like this are the only places where
I get to hear of the passing of such greats as Sharon Sheeley
and now Gus Dudgeon.
Sad news indeed.
Norman
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Message: 16
Date: Wed, 24 Jul 2002 16:27:01 -0700
From: Bryan
Subject: Saturn records
> Just wanted to let people know that there are CDs of the Bobby
> Jameson album 'Jameson, Color Him In' that Curt Boettcher produced
> available at http://www.saturnrecords.com - To find it go to that
> site and click 'rock' -> 'psychedlic' and scroll down to
> 'Millennium re'. I can't tell you what the quality is like, though.
Hi everyone,
Unfortunately, my dealings with this company fell well short
of expectations. Anybody considering ordering from them may
wish to contact me offlist before proceeding.
Bryan
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Message: 17
Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2002 08:26:04 -0400
From: Den Lindquist
Subject: Rick Cunha - (I'm a ) Yo-Yo Man
"Country Paul wrote:
> Speaking of Records by Pete, they had an 45 by [Rick] Cunha
> (of Hearts and Flowers) and [Jim] Dawson (later a solo singer-
> songwriter) called "Yo-Yo Man." Clever and well-done novelty song,
> but the vocals worked because they were "character" voices with an
> undertone of poignancy. Any input on this label from anyone?
Ah, "Yo-Yo Man"...
A 1974 single from the fledgling GRC label - not sure where the
label called home (Nashville??), but this label hit the charts
with Sammy Johns (Chevy Van) and East LA Car Pool
(Like They Say In LA) in the mid-70s.
I was a radio music director in '74, and remember the GRC
promo-woman taking me out to lunch to pitch one of the label's
early acts, Ripple, a band that was attempting to ride the wave
of popularity of the beverage of the same name (neither was very good).
Press kit included a wine-skin (unused, if I remember) that's still
lying around here somewhere...
Didn't realize that Cunha was with Hearts & Flowers, an interesting
mid-60s band who had one LP and 3 singles on Capitol, one of which
was Carole King's "A Road To Nowhere".
Den
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