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SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
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There are 25 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. Re: Instrumental hits
From: jerophonic
2. Raelettes / Playboy / Tiny Tim / Ricki Page
From: Phil Milstein
3. Re: Playboy Records
From: Jeffery Kennedy
4. Re: 60s instrumentals
From: Steve Grant
5. Al Jardine
From: Country Paul
6. Private Stock label
From: Mark T
7. Re: Jim Fairs and the Cryan Shames
From: John Berg
8. Re: Playboy Records
From: Paul Balser
9. Judy Sings Newman
From: Alan Gordon
10. Re: Playboy Records
From: John Berg
11. Re: Playboy Records
From: Andrew Jones
12. Jim Fairs/Cryan Shames "LIVE" on Musica!
From: Clark Besch
13. Thank you; VJ & Chess; Ozark & Wheeling Jubilees; instrumentals
From: Country Paul
14. Re: Suzi Jane Hokum
From: Kim Cooper
15. Help Identify 60s Song In Commercial
From: Tom
16. Things
From: Doc
17. "Youm usta been a beautiful baby"
From: Tom Taber
18. Re: Martin Scorsese's Blues
From: Richard Williams
19. "Essay" on the occasion of the release of "Phil Spectre"
From: Bill Reed
20. Re: Playboy Records
From: John Berg
21. "I Hurt On The Other Side"
From: Don Charles
22. Re: Thank you; VJ & Chess; Ozark & Wheeling Jubilees; instrumentals
From: Mac Joseph
23. Re: Martin Scorcese's "Blues"
From: TD Bell
24. Re: 60s instrumentals
From: TD Bell
25. Re: Martin Scorsese's Blues
From: Richard Havers
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Message: 1
Date: Wed, 08 Oct 2003 00:19:07 -0000
From: jerophonic
Subject: Re: Instrumental hits
Phil Milstein wrote:
> In an effort to create a personal reference guide to the
> great '60s instrumental hits, I've decided to whip up a
> compilation CD of them. Here is where y'all come in: I could
> use some help compiling a list of such titles.
How about a "soul" list?
Soul Twist King Curtis
Soul Serenade Willie Mitchell
Soulful Strut Young-Holt Unlimited
Soul Finger Bar-Kays
Soul Makossa Manu Dibango
Soul Limbo Booker T & MGs
Soulful in its own way, I have to throw in "Telstar" by the
Tornadoes, produced by the late British producer Joe Meek, who
surprisingly popped up on the British segment of the Scorsese
blues series as producer of an early blues/jazz instrumental
which all the Brits remembered fondly. (But I can't remember
the title).
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Message: 2
Date: Tue, 07 Oct 2003 20:23:47 -0400
From: Phil Milstein
Subject: Raelettes / Playboy / Tiny Tim / Ricki Page
John Clemente wrote:
> Ray Charles formed the group by asking two girls who happened to
> be in the Cookies to be in his backing group, which HE named.
The joke on that name is that it was chosen because the ones
who got in it were the ones who "let Ray".
Re the Playboy label, they were the first of several companies
to handle distribution for Matthew Kaufman's Beserkley Records.
The deal lasted only a couple of years, perhaps because Playboy
itself didn't have an especially strong distribution network in
effect.
previously:
> I've just learned that regular Rhino will soon be reissuing Rhino
> Handmade's fantastic Tiny Tim's live at Royal Albert Hall CD...
Simon White wrote:
> Is this the "Concert In Fairyland" L.P.?
No, in fact the two are like night and day. "Concert In Fairyland"
was made from some T.T. demo tapes had recorded several years
previously. Upon the success of "Tip-Toe Thru The Tulips," the
scumballs into whose hands the tapes had fallen overdubbed some
applause tracks, sped the tapes up (perhaps in a lame attempt to
match the falsetto of "Tip-Toe"), and released them under an
especially wretched cover. Tiny made a few bad records in his
career (cf "Tip-Toe To The Gas Pumps," "The Hicky (On Your Neck)",
"I Saw Mr. Presley Tip-Toeing Thru The Tulips," "Howard Cosell
(We Think You’re Swell)", but this was the only one I heard him
specifically disavow, saying he wished he'd the resources to buy
up and then destroy all existing copies.
The Royal Albert Hall set, on the other hand, captures a wonderful
and unique entertainer at the height of his powers. For someone
who was such a great fan of the "classics," it must have been a
singular thrill for Tiny to perform, for once, in a Vegas-styled
spectacular, replete with the 44-piece National Concert Orchestra,
chorus girls, the works. And a "royal" night it was, with several
Beatles, Stones and Windsors in attendance. Tiny rose to the occasion,
taking command of the stage as if this very show had been the reason
he'd been born and delivering the performance of his life.
The show was held in October 30, 1968 -- almost exactly 35 years
ago. If Rhino's graphics for the forthcoming edition are the same
as on the original Handmade version, the booklet will include a
miniaturized facsimile of the original concert program.
If I recall correctly, some crooner named Ricki Page was discussed
here not that long ago. I'm not actually familiar with her work,
but did notice her name popping up a couple of times in the Eddie
Cochran bio, "Don't Forget Me", I'm currently reading (excellent
book, by the way). If anyone's interested in hearing details of
these references, write me off-list.
--Phil M.
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Message: 3
Date: Tue, 07 Oct 2003 23:11:39 -0000
From: Jeffery Kennedy
Subject: Re: Playboy Records
Nick Archer wrote:
> A great single was on Playboy, "Winners & Losers" by Hamilton, Joe
> Frank, & Reynolds. Have any of the Playboy cuts ever come out on CD?
RPM included Timi Yuro's Playboy single on its "The Voice
That Got Away" Yuro compilation.
The pre-ABBA ABBA singles (there were two, I think) were
licensed to Playboy and have been reissued on CD. I believe the
credit on these singles was "Bjorn and Benny with Svenska Flicka."
Jeffery Kennedy
San Francisco
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Message: 4
Date: Tue, 07 Oct 2003 20:53:55 -0400
From: Steve Grant
Subject: Re: 60s instrumentals
> Are you ready, boots? Start listing ...
Green Onions
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Message: 5
Date: Tue, 07 Oct 2003 22:01:15 -0400
From: Country Paul
Subject: Al Jardine
>From the NBC-TV Los Angeles website
POSTED: 11:51 a.m. EDT October 7, 2003
UPDATED: 11:53 a.m. EDT October 7, 2003
Al Jardine of The Beach Boys took his case all the way to the
Supreme Court -- and the court told him to go away. The justices
refused to hear an appeal from Jardine, who was fighting a court
order that barred him from using the term "Beach Boys" in his
touring band.
Jardine began touring in 1998 as "Beach Boys Family and Friends".
He says he formed the band after Mike Love refused to tour with him.
Jardine owns a quarter of the corporation formed to hold the Beach
Boys trademark, but he did not have the company's permission to use
the band name.
Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press.
Thinking you'd like to know,
Country Paul
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Message: 6
Date: Tue, 07 Oct 2003 23:11:55 -0000
From: Mark T
Subject: Private Stock label
The rumor is that all of the master tapes were thrown out
around 1982 when Larry Utal died. Don't know if its true,
but, other than Frankie Valli stuff (he controls his masters),
all releases seem to be from records. Can anyone confirm or
deny this story?
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Message: 7
Date: Tue, 07 Oct 2003 22:19:32 EDT
From: John Berg
Subject: Re: Jim Fairs and the Cryan Shames
For more on Jim Fairs, check out:
http://www.geocities.com/jamesfairs2001/pg2.html
and
http://home.comcast.net/~mcduff01/
John Berg
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Message: 8
Date: Tue, 07 Oct 2003 21:20:45 -0400 (Eastern Daylight Time)
From: Paul Balser
Subject: Re: Playboy Records
Mikey wrote:
> THATS a cool idea for a new CD...The Best of Playboy Records......
On the country side you have Bobby Bourchers
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Message: 9
Date: Tue, 07 Oct 2003 19:27:04 -0700
From: Alan Gordon
Subject: Judy Sings Newman
Someone:
"Does anybody out there knows who recorded the first version
of Randy Newman's "I Think It's Going To Rain Today"?"
Paul:
"I believe it may have been Judy Collins."
I believe Paul is right. Nice version, except that Judy
changed the lyrics so that it wasn't "Ironic" commentary
anymore.
Randy:
Tin can at my feet.
Think I'll kick it down the street.
That's the way to treat a friend.
Judy:
Tin can at my feet.
Think I'll kick it down the street.
That's NO way to treat a friend.
Kinda changes it from it's "Sarcastic" dark commentary, to a
saccharin pop tune... and that's not quite what Randy has ever
been about.
peace,
~albabe
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Message: 10
Date: Tue, 07 Oct 2003 22:30:21 EDT
From: John Berg
Subject: Re: Playboy Records
Philip Walker, a great bluesman out of Texas but based in the
LA area for many years, had a super LP released on Heffner's
Playboy label. This was reissued on CD not long ago, I think
by the Hightone label (whose releases include several Robert
Cray albums and many other great "roots" music bands). Not sure
how Philip got hooked up with the Playboy label, but it was a
good 'un.
John Berg
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Message: 11
Date: Tue, 07 Oct 2003 23:14:18 -0400 (EDT)
From: Andrew Jones
Subject: Re: Playboy Records
I hope if anyone does assemble a Playboy Records comp, they'll
at least consider "Please Tell Him I That Said Hello" by Debbie
Campbell - it got a lot of airplay in my local area, but did
nothing nationally.
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Message: 12
Date: Wed, 08 Oct 2003 06:09:51 -0000
From: Clark Besch
Subject: Jim Fairs/Cryan Shames "LIVE" on Musica!
Martin Jensen wrote:
> He (Jim Fairs) should have recorded a solo album - he
> definitely had the ideas and the voice for pulling it off.
> But who knows, perhaps a great long lost treasure is lying
> around, just waiting to be unearthed? :-)
Martin, I am hoping so too! Three songs the Cryan Shames performed
live in 68 included a Fairs original, "Sun Through My Window", "A
Chance At Loving You" (co-written by Fairs and Conroy) and "Justice"
which was a song lifted from Saturday's Children. I do not know of
any of these tracks being recorded, but who knows?
Art Longmire wrote:
> the Shames have been favorites since I picked up on "The Warm"
> in 1984. Also have their second and third albums on record and
> CD - they were an amazingly eclectic group even for the late 60s.
> It must have been something to hear them perform "The Warm" live
> with all the harmonies, then go into a crushing number like
> "Greenburg, Glickstein, etc." I've also got to mention my other
> favorite song of theirs - "The Sailing Ship" - really a psychedelic
> classic.
Art, I too was stunned by the beauty of "The Warm" when i first
flipped over the 45 of the rock masterpiece, "Greenburg" when
released in 68. Two great songs in contrasting styles! You say you
have "The Warm" on the second Cd? This is indeed the Cd it is on,
but it should have been a bonus for the 3rd Lp in many ways, being
recorded nearly a year after the 2nd lp, but due to spreading the
bonus cuts out, Sundazed had to place things in wrong time periods to
get them all in. I'm not complaining! The Cd of "Scratch" has the
mono 45 version of "The Warm". If you want to be really amazed, you
need to get the "Sugar & Spice: A Collection" Cd released in 1991 on
Sony. It is often on ebay. There, you will find Bob Irwin's great
stereo mixes of non-Lp sides not found on the Sundazed individual LP
reissues to CD. "The Warm" not only includes a countoff by Fairs at
the start, but also stereo backing vocals and the cold ending at full
volume. Love this immensely!
As far as them running from "The Warm" to "Greenburg", it would
indeed have been something. Actually, in mid-68, they did a very
abbreviated version of "The Warm" (running about a minute and a half)
and at the end suddenly going into their concert staple, a long
pounding rendidtion of "Tobacco Road"! For the "Showcase '68"
performance, they went into "First Train to California". That
version was also the abbreviated 1:30 version also. For a real
treat, check Musica for that magnificent 1968 moment of harmony! You
won't believe how great the Shames sounded live that day! AND THEY
DIDN"T WIN THE COMPETITION!
Lastly, when Bob Irwin and I discussed the track list for the first
Shames Cd in 1991 for Sony, we differed on only 2 songs to comprise
the 18 song limit. He wanted "July" and I wanted "Sailing Ship". He
won that battle, but with the individual Lps coming out on CD, we
both won the war. By the way, when I first talked with Hooke and Tom
Doody in 1997, they both told me they had wanted "Sailing Ship" as an
A side in place of "Young Birds Fly" (another classic in a longer
fade stereo version on the 1991 Cd), but it ended up as "B" to "Up on
the Roof". Oh well. Did I ever tell you I love the Cryan' Shames,
well, let me tell you.........Take Care,
Clark Besch
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Message: 13
Date: Wed, 08 Oct 2003 01:44:28 -0400
From: Country Paul
Subject: Thank you; VJ & Chess; Ozark & Wheeling Jubilees; instrumentals
I must start by saying special thank you's to Mick Patrick and
Richard Williams, for including parts of my Carol Connors in
their respective works - "Phil's Spectre" and "Out of His Head"
[revised] - and thanks also to Martin Roberts for citing the
latter. I had no idea Carol's and my discussion would garner
so much attention, but I'm kinda tickled. Sometimes I feel as
though I'm in the company in this group of walking encyclopediae
whose heights of knowledge dwarf mine, so it's especially gratifying
when you folks enjoy the areas of interest that I do, too. Again,
thank you.
Art Longmire:
> Speaking of Vee Jay, I think that was the label that Rosco Gordon
> recorded on....
...And one of my favorite blues artists, Jimmy Reed. His laid-back sound and
whiskey-soaked vocals really captured me ears. "Baby What You Want Me To Do"
is a magic classic; that's his wife doing the second vocal, feeding him the
lyrics when he was too drunk to remember them. (In a similar groove:, but
less sauced: Slim Harpo on Excello out of Nashville. It wasn't all country
down there....) VeeJay was a fascinating label - a full spectrum of artists,
all styles and colors, yet black-owned. Lots of great stuff - Jerry Butler,
Dee Clark, The Four Seasons (at their best, IMO), four other guys from
Liverpool, Noreen Corcoran ("Love Kitten"), Joe Simon, the Dells, The
Spaniels, and a superb reissue label, Oldies 45, whose reissues are
collectible unto themselves.
More Art:
> As far as Marshall Chess - he is a bit of a hot dog, but I did enjoy
> his anecdotes about the old Chess days....I have a ton of great soul
> 45's on the label. Also I like their Cadet Concept series that
> featured a lot of great psychedelic stuff - groups like Rotary
> Connection. Speaking of which, has anybody heard Minnie Riperton's
> first album from 1969? I hear that it's supposed to be outstanding.
While I honestly don't remember much of the late Ms. Riperton's solo work
(save for the hit, "Lovin' You," she was possessed with a phenomenal voice
ranging over multiple octaves. Rotary Connection was also a sadly
under-rated group of great creativity. Their Christmas album has one of the
greatest "Silent Night" versions ever. I need to go dig their LP's out of
the collection and re-listen.
Don Charles, I remember the Ozark Jubilee on TV; I can recall Red Foley
doing "Cincinatti Dancing Pig" on it. I also was recently informed by a
resident there that another long-lived related institution is still going
strong, the Wheeling Jamboree on WWVA, Wheening, West Virginia. In addition
to some pretty deep country stuff, a fair amount of rockabilly went out on
those airwaves, too. We could pick it up in Neew York if the conditions were
right in the evening; not so here in New Jersey, though.
Phil Milstein:
> The late 1950s to early '70s saw a vast array of instrumental songs
> clank around the U.S. charts. Off the top of my head I can think of Dave
> B. Cortez's "Happy Organ" and "Rinky Dink," The T-Bones' "No Matter What
> Shape," Cliff Nobles' "The Horse," Vince Guaraldi's "Cast Your Fate To
> The Wind" and The Brass Ring's "The Disadvantages Of You." I'm sure
> there are dozens more.
Indeed there were, Phil. Some of the following are sort of obvious, some
not:
- Duane Eddy: Movin' and Groovin', Ramrod, (both before his breakout
"signature" hit...) Rebel Rouser, 40 Miles of Bad Road, Because They're
Young, etc. (I always think of his guitar sound as his "singing voice")
- Link Wray: Rumble, Rawhide (a/k/a "ba-da-da-da-da-twang" - the precursor
tracks of heavy metal)
- Floyd Cramer: Last Date, On The Rebound (same "singing voice" comment for
Cramer's always-identifiable piano style, even though Don Robertson invented
it)
- Hugo & Luigi (Roulette) and The Pets (Arwin): Cha-Hua-Hua (and I think a
lesser version by Eddie Platt on Gone)
- Dick Dale & The Deltones: Miserlou (probably as close to a national hit as
he dad)
- The three crown jewels of surf instrumentals - Penetrations: Pyramid;
Chantays: Pipeline; Surfaris: Wipeout
- Al Casey: Jivin' Around (Surfin' Hootenanny has vocals, so it doesn't
count)
- Phil Upchurch: You Can't Sit Down (vocals added later by the Dovells)
- Fugitives: Freeway (Arvee, 1960)
- Herb Alpert: The Lonely Bull and (too) many others - beware the
middle-road overlaps
- Andre Previn (w/ David Rose's Orch.): Like Young (superb jazzy track, one
of my all-time faves - bachelor pad music extraordinaire)
- Hank Levine: Image, Part 1 (the KFWB, Los Angeles signature jingle
expanded into a cool jazz-pop side - on ABC)
- Johnny Fortune - The Dragster (Park Avenue, 1963 - 03 -piece band with
driving guitar and squealing tires; great stuff)
- Lonnie Mack: Memphis
- Major jazz crossovers - Ramsey Lewis: The In Crowd; Ray Bryant: Little
Suzie; Dave Brubeck: Take Five; Herbie Mann: Comin' Home Baby
- Blues Project: Flute Thing
- Armando Sciascia: Tiger Twist (on KC, owned by Nat King Cole; this was an
Italian big-band twist instrumental with dubbed-in fake applause. Dan Ingram
on WABC, New York, used to pronounce his name "SKEE-a-SKEE-a")
- Billy Mure: A String of Trumpets (Splash Records' greatest hit)
- The UK imports - Chris Barber: Petite Fleur; Reg Owen: Manhattan
Spiritual; Acker Bilk: Stranger On The Shore
- Bent Fabric: Alley Cat (now the ubiquitous wedding staple)
- The Mark IV: Night Theme (Wye Records from Warwick, RI! (Where?!? Exactly
the point....) A hit on Wye, and later reissued on something bigger -
possibly Roulette)
- Saturday Knights: Sea Mist (Nocturne, 1961? 62?, a personal favorite;
beautiful sax-led instrumental ballad by the band that often backed Freddy
Cannon on Swan; the perfect closing theme for the Senior Prom, and a good
place to pause this list for now)
Clark Besch: what a history of the Cryan Shames! Thank you.
Finally, my error, Mac: it was indeed Kenny Nolan; Kenny O'Dell was someone
else.
Country Paul
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Message: 14
Date: Wed, 08 Oct 2003 00:12:27 -0700
From: Kim Cooper
Subject: Re: Suzi Jane Hokum
Kurt,
I suspect you must've seen my piece on psychedelic Wizard of
Oz concept albums, as I know of no other long discussion of
Mort Garson's "Wozard of Iz"... but I didn't ID Suzi Jane as
Nancy Sinatra there.
Anyhoo, here's a link to the article, in case anyone is curious.
http://www.insound.com/zinestand/Scram/feature.cfm?aid=3422
best,
Kim
--
Scram
PO Box 461626
Hollywood, CA 90046-1626
http://www.scrammagazine.com
Scram #18 out now with Emitt Rhodes, the Ramones, Marty Thau,
Smoosh and more.
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Message: 15
Date: Wed, 08 Oct 2003 06:42:53 -0000
From: Tom
Subject: Help Identify 60s Song In Commercial
Hey all,
There's a new Infiniti commercial that features what sounds
like a late 60s Spector-esque pop song (I think its called
"As They Fall"). I'm familiar enough with Spector's catalog
to know its not him but I cannot for the life of me identify
the artist. The lead singer has a distinctive baritone voice
sounding a bit like a young Sinatra. However, judging by the
prominence of the background vocals I'm thinking it has got
to be a band rather than an individual.
I've been able to decipher the following lyrics underneath
the heavy strings and narrator's voice.
1st Verse: "Let The Wind, Sweep (Or Sleep) Away To Summer's End"
2nd Verse: "....The Autumn Leaves Will...."
Chorus: "As They Fall"
If anybody knows this song or the artist, please let me know.
It's too intriguing to ignore.
Thanks,
Tom
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Message: 16
Date: Wed, 08 Oct 2003 10:09:06 -0400
From: Doc
Subject: Things
John Clemente:
> At the risk of sounding like a girl-group snob, I must ask,
> "was my writing totally in vain?"
Are you kidding? Your book is FABULOUS!
Question: Who were the girls behind Bobby Darin on "Things?"
Thanks
Doc
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Message: 17
Date: Wed, 08 Oct 2003 08:30:17 -0700 (PDT)
From: Tom Taber
Subject: "Youm usta been a beautiful baby"
I see that a DJ copy of "Youm"/"In Detroit" is now on
Ebay.
Tom Taber
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Message: 18
Date: Wed, 08 Oct 2003 15:05:29 +0100
From: Richard Williams
Subject: Re: Martin Scorsese's Blues
Re British blues and Richard Havers' query about the provenance
of a couple of film clips, Mike Figgis (the director) has this
to say: "The footage of Sister Rosetta and Muddy is American in
origin. The Muddy was part of a blues special rather like the
SOUND OF JAZZ series. I'm not sure where the Sister stuff was
from but I can find out."
Richard Williams
PS: Many thanks to Martin Roberts for his more than generous
assessment of the new edition of Out Of His Head.
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Message: 19
Date: Wed, 08 Oct 2003 18:31:06 -0000
From: Bill Reed
Subject: "Essay" on the occasion of the release of "Phil Spectre"
I have a Japanese friend who, through my (admittedly) limited
knowledge on the subject, has become quite a devotee of Phil
Spector's music over the past few years. In return, he has
opened my ears to Japanese pop and especially has turned me on
to current Japanese arranger, Tomoji Sogawa. On occasion, Sogawa
partakes of the Spectorian sound pallette ("Cue the castanets!")
and no doubt considers PS a major inspiration.
BTW (or as the Japanese say "Tokorode"), one COULD conceivably
compile a whole CD's worth of Japanese Spector "covers" that
came out in that country simultaneously with the U.S. originals.
But maybe not such a good idea. In the Sixties, the Japanese
were very good at capturing what they called "eleki" and "group
sounds", i.e. Ventures, Merseybeat, etc, but for the most part
these Japanese PS knockoffs, minus Spector's magic touch, are
pallid and uninteresting. At best, a learning experience; the
same way that "Plan Nine From Outer Space" teaches one how not
to make a movie, the Japanese covers demonstrate how NOT to copy
Phil Spector. Most don't even employ an echo chamber!!!!!
Eventually, producer Eiichi Ohtaki came to craft some
neo-Spectorian gems of his own, but these were not covers.
But I digress, as is my circumlocutive wont: The friend to whom
I referred in the first paragraph has a next door neighbor. For
a number of years, the two have met in the hallway and exchanged
pleasantries on an almost daily basis. And that's that. Then came
the day a year or so ago when I went to interview Nino Tempo for
Spectropop and suddenly realized that his address was not only the
same large building here in Los Angeles where my pal lives, but the
same floor, and in the adjacent flat!
Sometimes prior to that when I visited my friend, I could hear the
faint sound of a sax wafting through the rather well-padded walls.
One time I inquired what the neighbor next door did for a living.
"Oh, I think he's a musician," he said. But it never dawned on me
to ask his name. Talk about one degree of separation! In this case,
it was a wall. . .of sound.
After I conducted the interview, I knocked on my buddy's door.
"Oh, it's you!," he said, not expecting me. I explained that,
"The man who lives next door to you is a famous musician and I
just interviewed him." "You mean. . . NINO?," he asked incredulously.
I then explained that, in fact, Nino was a force behind many of
the Spector records I had introduced him to over the past few years.
It goes without saying that he was most impressed.
I was reminded of the incident when I arrived back at MY flat
yesterday to discover that my copy of the new ACE Phil Spector
tribute had arrived in the mail. This, as you perhaps know by now,
is the compilation of 24 PS soundalikes gathered together on one
CD and overseen and annotated by this list's Mick Patrick. As
chance would have it, my Japanese pal was with me, and we hastened
to take a listen.
As we did so, on almost every track my friend could trace back
the varous homages, to the original source (s): "Ahhhh, that is
'Be My Baby' plus '(Today I Met) the Boy I'm Gonna Marry' divided
by two." etc. I guess this sensei has done his job well.
After listening to the CD, I found myself more amazed than ever
at how much variety can be achieved drawing upon this (finally)
somewhat limited musical SPECTrum. With "Phil's Spectre: A Wall
of Soundalikes", Mick Patrick, via his extensive liner notes and
knowing selections, builds a strong case for this "Sound" being
considered a sui generis school of music unto itself."
As such, the compilation is not just another collection of Brill
Building one-offs, but, instead, a rather serious --- and VERY
painless --- work of musicology.
Now, how about a volume two?
Bill Reed
http://www.cllrdr.com
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Message: 20
Date: Tue, 07 Oct 2003 22:24:28 EDT
From: John Berg
Subject: Re: Playboy Records
Is this Playboy label the same one that was part of Heffner's
"empire"? Somehow I doubt it, given the artist, the era of
the music and the value amongst collectors.
John Berg
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Message: 21
Date: Wed, 08 Oct 2003 18:38:47 -0000
From: Don Charles
Subject: "I Hurt On The Other Side"
Re: "I Hurt On The Other Side"
. . . is not a Jeff Barry/Ellie Greenwich song! I was shocked
to recently find this out. I don't have the Blue Cat single,
so I can't say what's on that label, but a cover version by
Jerry Cook on Capitol Records credits the song to JJ Jackson
and Sidney Barnes. The BMI database says the same thing, only
Ronnie Mosley is in the credits also. It is NOT listed among
Jeff Barry's songwriting credits.
Stuff
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Message: 22
Date: Wed, 08 Oct 2003 12:02:42 -0700 (PDT)
From: Mac Joseph
Subject: Re: Thank you; VJ & Chess; Ozark & Wheeling Jubilees; instrumentals
Country Paul:
> Finally, my error, Mac: it was indeed Kenny Nolan;
> Kenny O'Dell was someone else.
Appreciate that Paul, like I said, I couldn't think of
his last name either to save my soul (lol).
Mac Joseph
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Message: 23
Date: Wed, 08 Oct 2003 15:02:36 -0400
From: TD Bell
Subject: Re: Martin Scorcese's "Blues"
Art Longmire:
> I've been checking out the PBS series hosted by Martin
> Scorcese on the Blues.....
Unlike Art, who saw Van Morrison on the PBS television
program and reflected on Morrison's "Domino" as the first
record he bought, I saw Van Morrison and thought of the
first record that I wore out - "Gloria" and the flip-side
"Baby Please Don't Go" by Them. For a back-up, I also bought
the "Here Comes the Night" album (with "Mystic Eyes" and "If
You And I Could Be As Two"). More than thirty-five years
after buying the 45 and album, while watching a VH-1 series
about Led Zep - it was either "Legends" or "Behind The Music"
- I noted that the filmmaker used the opening riff from Them's
"Baby Please Don't Go" as Jimmy Page's calling card. I don't
know how true the story is, but "Baby Please Don't Go" was
supposed to be the A-side of Them's first 45 release in the
USA. Jimmy Page, the session man, was brought in to play
lead guitar for the side the Parrot record company wanted to
promote. However, "Baby Please Don't Go" flopped in the
American test market ("you can't make no money playin' blues!"),
the record was flipped and "Gloria", the B-side was a surprise
hit!
During the Spring of 1967, I saw a concert featuring The
Syndicate of Sound ("Little Girl"), The Casinos ("Then You Can
Tell Me Good-bye), and The Left Banke ("Walk Away Renee").
The Casinos covered the Four Seasons act, The Left Banke did
several songs from The Beatles' "Revolver" album, but the hit
of the night was The Syndicate of Sound opening the show with
"Baby Please Don't Go", sounding exactly like Them's record,
note-for-note in a dark theater while a strobe light flashed.
(My first "light-show").
If you listen to Ketty Lester's "Love Letters", you get an
idea of what an artist Tom Jones is - his reading is almost as
good. If you listen to "Drown In My Own Tears" by Ray Charles,
and then listen to "Drown In My Own Tears" by Troyce Key and
Eddie Cochran - during the program, they mention Eddie's
signature riff to "Milk Cow Blues", Eddie bending strings and
layin' "What'd I Say" on them - you get a better idea of what
a tremendous influence Eddie Cochran was and a better idea of
how Lulu is out of her element when she tackles "Drown In My Own
Tears". One of my favorite sound-bytes from the PBS television
program was Jeff Beck explaining what he wanted to do for the
rest of his life, explaining himself by peeling off the guitar
lick straight from Johnny Otis' "Willie and the Hand Jive" and
declaring "THAT'S IT!".
--
TD
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Message: 24
Date: Wed, 08 Oct 2003 15:10:16 -0400
From: TD Bell
Subject: Re: 60s instrumentals
Phil M:
> Are you ready, boots? Start listing ...
The Frantics - "Straight Flush"
The Debonaires - "The Holly Lynn"
The Chantays - "Move It"
Jimmy Smith - "Walk On The Wild Side"
Ray Charles - "Bootie Butt"
-- TD
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Message: 25
Date: Wed, 08 Oct 2003 20:11:37 +0100
From: Richard Havers
Subject: Re: Martin Scorsese's Blues
Richard Williams wrote:
> Re British blues and Richard Havers' query about the provenance
> of a couple of film clips, Mike Figgis (the director) has this
> to say: "The footage of Sister Rosetta and Muddy is American in
> origin. The Muddy was part of a blues special rather like the
> SOUND OF JAZZ series. I'm not sure where the Sister stuff was
> from but I can find out."
Many thanks Richard. My interest is because I was unaware of any
footage of Muddy, Otis Spann and Little Walter.....It'll be a treat.
Richard
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