Spectropop - Digest Number 1091

• From: Spectropop Group
• Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003

________________________________________________________________________
      
               SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
________________________________________________________________________



There are 13 messages in this issue.

Topics in this digest:

      1. Rupert Holmes: "What we gonna do about him?"
           From: Clark Besch 
      2. Re: Artie Wayne - early song
           From: Jeff Lemlich 
      3. Re: Other Cover Versions
           From: David Coyle 
      4. Austin Roberts
           From: Clark Besch 
      5. Anyone heard of Ilonya Knopfler?
           From: David Coyle 
      6. Re: Rose Garden CD
           From: Bryan 
      7. Re: Carol Connors - vaults find
           From: Mick Patrick 
      8. Jake Holmes "odd but true!"
           From: Clark Besch 
      9. Mike Smith update
           From: Clark Besch 
     10. Re: Carol Connors - vaults find
           From: Mikey 
     11. Re: Kane & Abel / James Holvay
           From: Clark Besch 
     12. Re: CCM
           From: Stewart Mason 
     13. Jack Nitzsche Update
           From: Martin Roberts 


________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________



Message: 1
      Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 18:42:38 -0000
   From: Clark Besch 
Subject: Rupert Holmes: "What we gonna do about him?"

Man, Rupert Holmes has been into everything!  All the songs he 
wrote.  Producing the semi-cool TV show "Remember WHEN" about a 
30's/40's radio station.  Then, my girlfriend tells me she is reading 
a book by him yesterday!  Anyway, I really enjoyed the late 
70's/early 80's post-"Him" 45s like "Morning Man" , "I Don't Need 
You" and "The End".  All 3 follow unsual methods and ideas  like most 
of his songs, but turn out very good!  

Take care, Clark




-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------


Message: 2
   Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 01:34:42 -0000
   From: Jeff Lemlich 
Subject: Re: Artie Wayne - early song

Artie Wayne:
> "Play That Gaucho Guitar" is a song I wrote with Ben Raleigh for 
> Elvis' movie "Fun in Acapulco".....but it was never used. We gave 
> our friend Al Gallico the publishing and he suggested that we make 
> it an instrumental. He got Jerry Kennedy to record it for Smash, 
> but I never knew about or heard the Jamie record.

Thanks for the info, Artie.   I can picture it fitting in with the 
Acapulco theme.

Mick Patrick:
> Say Jeff, that record sounds very *me*. There's some space at 
> musica at present. Hint, hint.

It's been digitized, and will be played to musica once space opens 
up again.

Jeff Lemlich
http://www.limestonerecords.com



-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------


Message: 3
   Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 17:39:01 -0800 (PST)
   From: David Coyle 
Subject: Re: Other Cover Versions

Someone mentioned the Diamonds remake of "Little
Darlin'," and I have to admit I've never heard the
Gladiolas original. On the Diamonds version, I always
thought the lead singer was imitating Jackie Wilson,
while the bass singer was imitating one of the
Drifters or Ink Spots. Always thought of it as a
tribute, rather than satire, but I'm probably wrong. 

Most '50s remakes merely took all the grit, soul and
sex out of the R&B originals to make them accessible
to what was then thought of as the status quo. There
were few that took it a level further by ridiculing
what the masses thought was a crude, worthless style
of music. Mostly it was just sanitization. I always
just thought "Little Darlin" by the Diamonds was just
a fun little song that the singers just had a blast
on. 

Ever hear "Jukebox Saturday Night" by the Glenn Miller
Orchestra with the Modernaires, with its dead-on
impressions of the Harry James's trumpet and the Ink
Spots? I always thought of that as a tribute. The
Miller Orchestra, to my ears, was always one of the
more soulful white swing groups of the '40s.

Another fine doo-wopper that got eclipsed by a white
cover group would be the classic "Sh-Boom" by the
Chords, which was nearly emasculated by the Crew Cuts,
a '50s middle-class name if I ever heard one. I do
wonder, however, where the Crew Cuts got the idea for
the "Sh-boom, sh-boom...yah-dah-dah-dah-duh,
yah-dah-dah-dah-Sh-boom, sh-boom..." refrain, which to
me is the saving grace of the Crew Cuts version.

I will have to say that one doo-wop song that
benefitted from a remake was "Barbara Ann" by the
Regents. The remake was never my favorite Beach Boys
song, but then I heard the Regents version, which is
rather monotonous by comparison. Throwing in those
Beach Boys harmonies and Brian Wilson falsetto only
improved on it. I realize that the BB's were having
fun with the song, rather than making fun of it.
There's a difference, in my opinion.

When the '60s rolled around, I think the tendency in
remakes was to up the tempo and crank up the volume,
rather than to sanitize or satirize. While the
original Isley Brothers version of "Twist And Shout"
may be more danceable than the Beatles version,
there's no question that the latter is a stomping
powerhouse. While the DC5 version of "Do You Love Me"
may have been more relentless than the Contours
version, it was all about the beat, rather than the
rhythm. Chubby Checker and Dick Clark may consider the
Twist as the start of "dancing apart to the beat," but
most rock music after that time relied a lot less on
syncopated movement, thus there wasn't a lot of cheek
to cheek terpsichore going on at the typical teenage
"hop."

David



-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------


Message: 4
   Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 18:37:58 -0000
   From: Clark Besch 
Subject: Austin Roberts

Orion and all, I only know a few of Austin Roberts songs, but one 
fave I haven't heard mentioned is "One Word".  Great Chelsea 45 he 
did a year or two after his hits on the label.  It got chart action 
in Omaha on KFXM, which is how I heard and bought it.  It and 
Arkade's "Morning of our Lives" are my faves by him.  The latter 
being one of my fave songs that KOIL Omaha used for its' "Bridal 
Fair" commercials in the early 70's also.  Good luck and thanks to 
Austin for the tunes!  

Clark
     




-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------


Message: 5
   Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 17:50:26 -0800 (PST)
   From: David Coyle 
Subject: Anyone heard of Ilonya Knopfler?

I just heard the debut CD by a 26-year-old Canadian
singer named Ilonya Knopfler, titled "Some Kind Of
Wonderful." She gives a jazz-bluesy take to some
'60s/'70s pop songs, including "Time Of The Season"
and "(S)He's Not There" by the Zombies, "Something" by
the Beatles, "Moondance" by Van Morrison, "Breaking Up
Is Hard To Do" by Neil Sedaka, and my favorite track
from the album, "River Man" by Nick Drake. Very good
CD, I hope she has a good career...

David



-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------


Message: 6
   Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 18:53:38 -0800
   From: Bryan 
Subject: Re: Rose Garden CD

> Nothing irks me more than when some A&R guy decides to leave 
> CHART records off a comp in favor of Lp tracks!!

It's possible the song wasn't allowed to be licensed, for a 
variety of reasons. This happens more frequently than you might 
imagine. Often the licensing dept. (not the "A&R guy") try very 
hard to license all of the tracks but for some reason or another, 
certain tracks aren't made available. I do know that WSM's 
third-party licensing dept. (Special Markets) can't always allow
certain tracks. I'm sure there are people on this list who can 
chime in with examples.

Bryan



-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------


Message: 7
   Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 09:13:00 -0000
   From: Mick Patrick 
Subject: Re: Carol Connors - vaults find

Country Paul wrote:
> I must start by saying special thank you's to Mick Patrick and 
> Richard Williams, for including parts of my Carol Connors 
> interview in their respective works - "Phil's Spectre" and "Out 
> of His Head" [revised]... I had no idea Carol's and my 
> discussion would garner so much attention, but I'm kinda 
> tickled... it's especially gratifying when you folks enjoy the 
> areas of interest that I do, too. Again, thank you.

No, thank *you*, Paul, for finding and interviewing the lovely 
Carol. As you know, her "My Baby Looks, But He Don't Touch" was 
released in 1966 on the Mira label, a division of the larger 
Mirwood set-up. Ace Records have recently purchased the Mirwood/
Mira catalogue. So we can look forward to some of that material 
on Ace and Kent CDs in the near future. Huzzah! Fortunately, the 
mastertape for Carol's great single is safe and sound at Ace, 
along with the B-side, "Lonely Little Beach Girl". Better yet is 
the news that a third (unissued) track also exists - "He Belongs 
To Me". And very nice it is too. With any luck it will see the 
light of day on the next volume of "Where The Girls Are". What 
the world needs is an entire Carol Connors CD. (thinks)

You've all read Paul's Carol Connors interview, yes? If not, 
click here: http://www.spectropop.com/CarolConnors/index.htm

Hey la,

Mick Patrick



-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------


Message: 8
   Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 17:35:09 -0000
   From: Clark Besch 
Subject: Jake Holmes "odd but true!"

Hi, all this talk of the great song "So Close" jogged my memory banks 
to a real curiosity of top 40 radio.  In July 1970, Casey Kasem's
"American Top 40" debuted on stations around the country.  He quickly 
became the guru of Billboard top 40 charts with all the cool facts he 
uncovered before Joel Whitburn enlightened us all with his books 
(which actually quickly followed!).  Anyway, listening to AT40 became 
a priority of Sunday mornings, taping it when I went to church.  It was 
a way to get those new chart positions before I got to see them in the 
mag later in the week (I've always been a chart fanatic, tho).

Funny thing is, the "fact master" Casey had a major mistake on his 
12/12/70 show.  He played "So Close" as #39 entry.  On Billboard, the 
song only hit #49 in 11 week run.  On Casey's show, he hits #39 
after, as Casey puts it, "bubbling under for 11 weeks"!  That week, 
the 45 was the song's last on Billboard's Hot 100, so am wondering 
how this happened???  Was Casey friends with Jake and bent the rules 
when he realized the song was about to fall off?  Did Casey love the 
song so much, he bent the rules?  Did he somehow follow the footsteps 
of Alan Freed, Dick Clark and numerous others in .....?  I tried 
playig the clip to Musica, but it's too full.  If anyone wants to 
hear it, I'll try again later.  Odd but true!!!  

Take care, Clark




-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------


Message: 9
   Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 18:33:17 -0000
   From: Clark Besch 
Subject: Mike Smith update

Hi, an update on Dave Clark 5 lead singer Mike Smith's recovery 
efforts came this week.  Unfortunately, a fall in September injured 
some vertabrae in his back and he had surgery.  However, his recovery 
has not been too good.  He is currently paralyzed from the waist down 
and there is no movement in his right arm.  There had been mobility 
in the arm after the accident, so there is hope he will recover 
moveability in it.  His left arm has limited movement and he has 
trouble with his breathing.  On the good side, Mike's mental 
faculties were undamaged and he hopes for a return to performing 
someday!  Our prayers are with you, Mike.




-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------


Message: 10
   Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 14:00:21 -0500
   From: Mikey 
Subject: Re: Carol Connors - vaults find

Mick Patrick dreamed:
> What the world needs is an entire Carol Connors CD. (thinks)

Mick...I agree. We Do need an All Carol Connors Cd. The problem 
is in getting the rights from all those different labels!!! How 
much of her stuff does ACE own? Anybody know? Maybe we could 
start with an ACE comp.



-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------


Message: 11
   Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 19:22:44 -0000
   From: Clark Besch 
Subject: Re: Kane & Abel / James Holvay

Mick Patrick revealed: 
> By the way, the version of "He Will Break Your Heart" contained 
> on the "Phil's Spectre" CD is taken from an original mastertape 
> supplied by Sun Records, the current owners of the Red Bird 
> catalogue. So I guess we'll never hear it sounding any better. I 
> (almost) prefer the original Destination version.

Hi Mick, James Holvay is a friend of mine and related the same story 
to me.  Actually, I also prefer the Destination version also, which 
has Jimmy Holvay's true lyrics.  Funny about that is that that 45 was 
released under two titles itself, "Break Down & Cry" and "A Man Ain't 
Supposed to Cry"!  How's that for bizarre twist?  I think the big 
reason for preferring the Destination version is that I heard it 
first years before the Red Bird one.  Thus, I felt they did not put 
as much "heart" into the remake.  It's much like when I first heard 
WLS Chicago play "Listen People" as an Lp cut on "The Boys Meet the 
Girls" soundtrack.  What a great song and then all of a sudden, they 
start playing this "alternate" and inferior version.  It turned out 
to be the 45 version that the Hermits recut due to demand.  Never 
liked that version since, cause it seemed Herman didn't sing nearly 
as well.  Same with Heart's original "Heartless" that got pressed but 
recalled.  I got it right away, so when it got released two years and 
law suits later, the redone vocals were vastly inferior.  I'm sure 
there are others tha could come to many people's minds.  Anyway, 
let's hope James Holvay joins us!  

Take care, Clark




-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------


Message: 12
   Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 11:37:57 -0800 (PST)
   From: Stewart Mason 
Subject: Re: CCM

Mark writes:
> Labels like CCM which are too cheap or lazy to include 
> non-LP tracks even when there is room, such as the Rose 
> Garden and the We Five comp. 

I understand the sentiment, but I think that's a bit unfair.  
If you'll search the Spectropop archives, our own Bryan 
Thomas -- who should know, given his work in the reissue 
industry -- pointed out a few months ago that Collectors 
Choice isn't allowed to put non-LP tracks on their reissues.  
It's not that they don't want to, it's that Warner Special 
Products, for reasons known only to them, won't let them. I 
think you're misstating who the bad guy is in this scenario,
and I believe that Collector's Choice is doing fine work.

S



-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------


Message: 13
   Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 07:55:34 -0000
   From: Martin Roberts 
Subject: Jack Nitzsche Update

On Jack Nitzsche's site, this week's 'Record of the Week' is 
The Gas Company's "Get Out Of My Life" (Reprise), now playing: 
http://www.spectropop.com/JackNitzsche/index.htm

Next week, the choice is between the wonderful Dick Lory and the 
equally wonderful Billy Ford, both singing Jackie DeShannon songs.

Jingle #1 "Surf Mix" is now playing On The Radio:
http://www.spectropop.com/JackNitzsche/radio.htm

Al Hazan And Jack Nitzsche's new Record Of The Week is a real treat, 
possibly Terry Day (Melcher)'s first production on a previously 
unheard recording, Emil O'Connor's "I Wanna Be There":
http://www.spectropop.com/JackNitzsche/ahjnrotw.htm 

Martin



-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------






End

• [Prev by Date] [Next by Date] [Index] [Search]
• Spectropop Discussion Group Main Page