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SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
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There are 25 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. Disco / Chubby / Cameo-Parkway
From: Mike Edwards
2. Re: Hollies
From: Clark Besch
3. Re: The Off Set / The Guilloteens
From: Bob Rashkow
4. more Gordon-Bonner / shared writing credits / gay pop lyrics
From: Phil Milstein
5. Re: Needles And Pins and Jackie DeShannon
From: Bill George
6. Re: Disco
From: Stewart Mason
7. Japanese Bubblegum CDs
From: Mark
8. Re: Disco Rocks
From: Bob Rashkow
9. Disco
From: Simon White
10. Teddy Randazzo R.I.P.
From: Chas J
11. Re: Beatles
From: Tom Taber
12. Re: Bob Seger, Cameo-Parkway & ABKCO
From: Clark Besch
13. Madison Time (Hit It !)
From: Simon White
14. Re: Bob Seger, Cameo-Parkway and ABKCO
From: Joe Nelson
15. Re: Beatles
From: Bob Bailey
16. 4 Seasons' "Gazette"
From: Richard Hattersley
17. Re: The First Disco Rekkid
From: Bill Brown
18. White Whale and Nino and April
From: Clark Besch
19. Disco's Bad Rap
From: Stuffed Animal
20. The First Disco Records
From: Stuffed Animal
21. The Guilloteens @ musica
From: Billy G. Spradlin
22. Help please
From: Kingsley Abbott
23. Re: Teddy Randazzo R.I.P.
From: Mick Patrick
24. Re: Teddy Randazzo R.I.P.
From: Dave Heasman
25. Re: Teddy Randazzo R.I.P.
From: James Botticelli
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Message: 1
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 00:30:09 -0000
From: Mike Edwards
Subject: Disco / Chubby / Cameo-Parkway
Simon writes:
> So my definition of "disco" in this sense has to be a record that
> was SPECIFICALLY made to be danced to in a club. Therefore, I
> nominate Chubby Checker as the first Disco artist, Cameo/Parkway
> as the first disco label and Chubby's version of The Twist as the
> first DISCO record. Not Hank Ballard's because Hank has a whole
> history before "The Twist" and it was just another release for him.
Very true and Chubby Checker specifically referred to clubs in his
songs. Examples are: "Pony Time" (the Union Hall), "Dancin' Party"
(the Hall) and "At The Discotheque". Good luck with the sleeve notes
on the upcoming Cameo-Parkway compilation CDs. They couldn't be in
better hands.
Thanks for a great Metropolitan Soul Show this morning. It was a
treat to hear three in a row from Freddie Scott and Chubby Checker.
I don't believe anyone has played Frankie Valli's "You're Gonna Hurt
Yourself" on radio since it was on the Hot-100 in 1966. A great 4
Seasons' oldie.
Mike
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Message: 2
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 03:43:47 -0000
From: Clark Besch
Subject: Re: Hollies
Billy G. Spradlin wrote:
> Whenever I listen to mid 60s recordings of the Cryan Shames,
> Ides Of March, The New Colony Six (after Ronnie Rice joined)
> and the Buckinghams (who recorded a great revved-up cover of
> "I've Been Wrong Before"), it sounds to me like the Hollies
> were a huge influence on Chicagoland garage bands in 1965-66.
Billy, there is no doubt of that. Dating from WLS' early Beatles
push, I know they began playing their "British Billboard" show (top
10 in UK based on Billboard mag) in early '65 and certainly, the
Hollies got their first airplay on these shows. Like most kids in
'65, we were all into Brit invasion early and hearing the Hollies was
inevitable. Those early spins led to that #3 placing of "Look Thru
Any Window" near the end of '65. That record was magic on Chi radio
that winter. Certainly, in Chicago '66, the Brit invasion sound and
the Chicago groups went hand in hand. Shames doing "Sugar & Spice",
Riddles "Sweets for my Sweet", Buckinghams (as you mentioned)
doing "I've Been Wrong". NC6 did covers of Yardbirds. Ides' Jim
Peterik to this day in Ides concerts mentions hearing the Kinks'
"Tired of Waiting" and how he just rewrote the opening guitar notes
to write "You Wouldn't Listen"!! Proofs in the puddin'!
Clark
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Message: 3
Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 21:40:26 EST
From: Bob Rashkow
Subject: Re: The Off Set / The Guilloteens
Thank you for the info on The Off Set, Jeff L. Were they the same
Jagged Edge that "bubbled under" early in '67 I believe it was?
Dying to get that one too.
Who originally did "A Change is Gonna Come"? Off Set's version is
nice, certainly not mystical and strange like "Xanthia" but a good
harmony-rocker.
BTW I have a DJ copy of The Guilloteens' cover of Flip Cartridge's
"Dear Mrs. Applebee", which for the latter was a near-hit
nationally. This was when the Guilloteens had made it to Columbia
Records and, purportedly, split the scene soon afterwards.
Bobster
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Message: 4
Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 22:57:14 -0500
From: Phil Milstein
Subject: more Gordon-Bonner / shared writing credits / gay pop lyrics
Now playing at musica, a wonderful psych-pop version of Gordon &
Bonner's "Me About You," by Gandalf (from my own original home base of
northeastern New Jersey).
Glenn wrote:
> As to why Jackie has never said anything, it's just a code of honor
> that seems to be prevalent among songwriters. It's similar to the way
> that some songwriting teams, such as Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway,
> often wrote songs individually, but shared credit on everything anyway,
> and other teams who have always kept mum about who wrote words or music
> or certain parts on any particular song.
A nice theory, but one needn't go any further than Lennon & McCartney to
start finding examples of that approach not being sustainable. They, of
course, had just such an agreement, but in later years were more than
happy to acknowledge who did what on which songs. Didn't we even
recently learn that Sir Paul now wants his name first on those shared
credits that were actually his?
In deference to their idols The Beatles, The Ramones too started out
with this shared-credit approach, but it fell to a more realistic one
about halfway through their career (if not earlier). Once a person
emerges as the dominant force in an imbalanced writing partnership, it's
never long before they realize just how much $$$ they're potentially
sacrificing by allowing the shared-credit strategy to stand, and seek to
redress the discrepancy.
Justin McDevitt wrote:
> Anyway, the specific song title is Twisting The Night Away, compliments
> of the great Sam Cooke; (third verse). "Here's a fellow in blue jeans,
> who's dancing with an older queen, dolled up in her diamond rings,
> twistin' the night away. Man you ought to see her go, twistin' to the
> rock and roll"---
Good one, which reminds me of another. You don't need to be Sigmund Freud
to recognize what's going on in "Jailhouse Rock":
Number 47 said to Number 3
"You're the cutest jailbird I ever did see
I sure would be delighted with your company"
Extending this lavender theme a bit further:
"The whole rhythm section was the Purple Gang"
And, as if mere homosexuality was not enough, Leiber & Stoller's prison
bacchanal details a relationship that violates not only the taboos of
gender, nor of species, nor of phylla, but of kingdom itself:
"If you can't find a partner
Use a wooden chair"
Talk about a love that dare not mention its name!
--Phil M.
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Message: 5
Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 23:10:46 EST
From: Bill George
Subject: Re: Needles And Pins and Jackie DeShannon
Phil Milstein:
> That might be sufficient to explain how Sonny got his name on
> ("Needles And Pins"), but leaves the question of why Jackie
> (DeShannon) got her's axed off, as well as why she's (as far as
> I know) never uttered a peep about it over all these years,
> hanging wide open.
In fact, she's introduced the song on many occasions by saying that
it is a song written by her close friend Jack Nitszche and Sonny Bono.
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Message: 6
Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 21:19:27 -0800 (PST)
From: Stewart Mason
Subject: Re: Disco
Steve Harvey:
> The disposable artist really reached its heyday during disco. It's
> hard to find any disco acts that had more than one or two hits (the
> exceptions seem to be KC, Donna Summers and the Village People).
> The majority seemed to fit the "use and lose 'em". Forget acts like
> the Beatles that musically evolved before your eyes (and ears). Get
> an act have a hit, rip them off and then find some new fools.
Ah, yes. As opposed to timeless, multi-faceted artists with long and
fruitful careers like:
The Penguins
The El Dorados
The Cadets
Mickey and Sylvia
The Bobbettes
The Tune Weavers
The Silhouettes
The Monotones
The Elegants
Dodie Stevens
Mark Dinning
The Fendermen
Rosie and the Originals
Bruce Channel
Claudine Clark
The Tornadoes
The Exciters
The Cascades
The Surfaris
Randy and the Rainbows
The Jaynetts
The Murmaids
The Rivieras
The Reflections
The Ad-Libs
The Castaways
The Gentrys
The Syndicate of Sound
The Count Five
The Casinos
The Parade
Every Mother's Son
The Hombres
Friend and Lover
Cliff Nobles and Company
Bubble Puppy
The Spiral Staircase
Smith
...etc. etc. Nope, there were never any one-hit wonders, faceless
studio bands hiding behind catchy names, or producer-driven artists
before the big bad disco era. And as I'm sure everyone here can
attest, there certainly were NEVER any unscrupulous or cynical
actions on the part of record companies before 1976, right???
(Note: thanks to Wayne Jancik's indispensible BILLBOARD BOOK OF ONE-
HIT WONDERS (Billboard 1998) for reminding me of so many of my
favorite one-hit wonders as listed above.)
Stewart
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Message: 7
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 07:10:31 -0000
From: Mark
Subject: Japanese Bubblegum CDs
I've seen some reference to a Japanese bootleg series with the horrid
title "Bubblegum MF", probably no doubt due to a language barrier and
someone not knowing what a vile word that is. I believe there is also
a Sunshine Pop series with the same vulgar title. Who can tell me some
info on this series such as what's on them, where to order, etc.
Hopefully it's better than the much touted Fading Yellow series which
I found to be a huge disappointment. A bunch of singles I listened to
at one time or another and passed on buying because they were nothing
special, just average, boring pop. And I love pop, but good pop.
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Message: 8
Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 21:44:22 EST
From: Bob Rashkow
Subject: Re: Disco Rocks
Stuffed Animal is right on target about "Early Disco" (although I
prefer to call it Super Detroit Soul!!!) The entire Invictus label
output was stone great. C of the B's "Since the Days of Pigtails
(and Fairy Tales)" is one helluva get out on the floor song. And to
think I used to think "Give Me Just A Little More Time", which I
still love, was the be-all-end-all!
Bobster
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Message: 9
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 08:34:46 +0000
From: Simon White
Subject: Disco
Steve Harvey wrote:
> Sorry Stuffed Animal, but I have to agree with Bob Seger and his
> sentiment, "Give Me That Old Time Rock and Roll". I have nothing
> against dance music, but the majority of disco did sux. Low grade
> lyrics plopped over a dance tempo. Melodies didn't seem to essential
> to most disco music. I think part of the popularity of disco came
> from the push the industry gave it.
Boy, here's the same old tired tired argument trotted out again twenty
years later!
The majority of disco didn't suck at all but much of the stuff you
heard on the RADIO did because it tended to be the "pop" end of it all.
Add to that the blatant racism that defined it as BLACK music and the
blatant HOMOPHOBIA by the middle of the road AOR rock mainstream and
the genre was effectively killed off. Except it didn't go away, it just
went back to the clubs where it was meant to be in the first place -
because that's where it worked.
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Message: 10
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 09:08:25 -0500
From: Chas J
Subject: Teddy Randazzo R.I.P.
>From my local paper today......
Songwriter tuned in to early days of rock 'n' roll
By Melissa Harris
Sentinel Staff Writer
November 24, 2003
Teddy Randazzo has been in the background of almost everyone's life --
while riding in a car, dining at a restaurant, or waiting at the
doctor's office. You may not know his name, but you sure know his tunes.
With co-author Bobby Weinstein and others, Randazzo wrote hits such as
"Goin' Out of My Head," "Hurt So Bad" and "It's Gonna Take a Miracle"
for acts such as Little Anthony and the Imperials, The Lettermen,
Linda Ronstadt, The Temptations and Frank Sinatra.
Randazzo, co-author of more than 600 songs, died Friday night at his
home in Orlando. He was 68.
Born Alessandro Randazzo in Brooklyn, N.Y., to a musical family, he
dropped out of high school and began his career at age 15 as lead
singer of the group The Three Chuckles. After several gigs, the group
was discovered in a Detroit bowling alley in 1953. The group's first
hit, "Runaround," topped the Billboard charts at No.20 and sold more
than 1 million copies. After several television and movie appearances,
including Alan Freed's Rock, Rock, Rock, the group's success declined
and Randazzo left to start his solo career in 1957.
During the next seven years, he found modest success. While he was
performing at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater, Randazzo's cousin
introduced him to Bobby Weinstein, a 17-year-old aspiring songwriter.
With a "Hiya, kid, come on back here," Randazzo introduced Weinstein
to the other performers in the show -- Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, The
Teenagers and others. "He was Mr. Slick," Weinstein said Sunday. "He
was every young woman's dream." After that, the two met regularly to
write songs.
While Randazzo was recording a demo of "Pretty Blue Eyes" in a
friend's studio, the man scheduled to use the booth next arrived a
little early and heard the tune. He asked for a copy of the song and,
four days later, called Randazzo and said, "Turn on your radio now."
Steve Lawrence was singing their song on the radio. The mysterious
man at the studio was Don Costa, a legendary producer and Frank
Sinatra's arranger.
The duo's songs have been recorded by more than 350 artists, including
Gloria Gaynor, Queen Latifah and Luther Vandross.
In 1970, the pair parted ways for more than 20 years, with Weinstein
becoming an executive for Broadcast Music Inc. and Randazzo becoming a
producer for Motown Records. Their whimsical, love-song style also
faded and was replaced by groups including Led Zeppelin and the Beatles.
"He and I were both very accepting of the changes in music, but it
wasn't the type we wanted to write," Weinstein said. "We didn't want to
compete."
After suffering a heart attack in the early 1980s, Randazzo moved with
his wife, R. Shelly, to Orlando so she could run the Polynesian Luau
show at Walt Disney World. "He told me that he had already made his
claim to fame, and he wanted to see me succeed and be fulfilled," she
said. Randazzo usually stayed home with their children, working in his
recording studio and writing songs for them. "If you served a meal and
Beethoven or Mozart was on in the background, he wouldn't be able to
eat," Weinstein said. "The music was more important to him than the
food."
Randazzo also is survived by his sons, Teddy Jr. of San Francisco,
Alika, Joshua and Giovanni of Orlando; daughters, Elisa Rose Schwartz
of Los Angeles and Skye and Dominique of Orlando.
A Community Funeral Home & Cremation Service is in charge of
arrangements.
(Melissa Harris, Copyright © 2003, Orlando Sentinel)
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Message: 11
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 07:13:47 -0800 (PST)
From: Tom Taber
Subject: Re: Beatles
Clark Besch wrote:
> I love talking about those first times I heard Beatles songs. My
> brothers and I lived for being the first to tape new Beatles
> recordings! Anyway, it was a lot of fun spinning the dial in the
> 60s awaiting the new Beatles tracks!
I remember WKBW in Buffalo getting "A Day in the Life" over a phone
line from Britain some weeks before Sgt. Pepper was released, and
the DJ said afterward he had no way of knowing whether the weird
sounds were on the record or just phoneline distortion. I remember
thinking "It's the Beatles - they must have put it there," and my
17-year-old self was correct! A year and a half later they played the
"White Album" in its entirety, but mentioned there were a few cuts
they couldn't play on the air; as I recall they were "Happiness is a
Warm Gun," "Do It in the Road," and, of course, "Number 9." If you
pronounce "happiness" the way Mrs. Charles De Gaulle would (remember
that old joke?) it gives that song a whole different meaning.
Tom Taber
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Message: 12
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 14:16:28 -0000
From: Clark Besch
Subject: Re: Bob Seger, Cameo-Parkway & ABKCO
Billy G. Spradlin wrote:
> I don't know who owns his early singles, but many of them were
> released by Cameo. I guess those records are in the same legal
> limbo that other Cameo/Parkway artists are. Allan Klein owns them,
> but will never release them on CD because he doesn't want to pay
> royalties to the people involved in making them.
Billy, it seems Allan Klein may lose his rights to public domain in
Europe as early as 2007. Mr. Klein must relish in keeping this music
from us, but his control may be loosening if he realizes he will LOSE
money AND rights from the Cameo-Parkway tapes soon. Below is a recent
Jerry Osborne (price guide guru) note, but we have all heard it before,
so take with a grain of salt. And yet, could it be a short "Vagrant
Winter" and unleash "Heavy Music" after all? Here's "Part 1". Can't
wait to flip the 45 & hear "Part 2".
Clark
"RECORD COLLECTING: Can it be? Are the old Cameo-Parkway tunes
finally coming out?
Jerry Osborne
11/7/03
Dear Jerry: I know you have responded to several questions regarding
the very long wait for ABKCO to reissue much of the material from the
Cameo-Parkway vaults.
With Steve Caldwell, an original member of The Orlons, I have been in
contact with Allen Klein, and we may soon have some answers.
ABKCO (Allen B. Klein Company) is involved in serious talks with many
who recorded on Cameo-Parkway about reissuing their original material
to a new market of buyers! Allen Klein is paying very close attention
to sales being lost to other sources, such as Collectable Records and
the Universal Music Group.
Watch for news to come out of the ABKCO camp about the old Cameo-
Parkway songs being available soon — perhaps by Christmas, or January
2004 at the latest. — Billy Wolfe, Carbondale, Pa.
Dear Billy: It likely will come as no surprise to you to hear that
for every Cameo-Parkway inquiry we have selected for use in print,
hundreds of others have filled our mailbox. Your letter offers music
lovers encouragement that those essential Cameo-Parkway originals —
approximately 100 of them come to mind — will finally be available.
...This is an exciting development and would be one swell Christmas
present for music lovers."
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Message: 13
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 10:30:14 +0000
From: Simon White
Subject: Madison Time (Hit It !)
Art Longmire wrote:
> I have two questions regarding the other version of "Madison Time"
> by Al Brown's Tunetoppers (which I have never heard) - is it as
> good as Ray Bryant's version? And which version came first?
Look out for Chicago DJ E. Rodney Jones' take on it, "R 'n' B Time"
on Tuff records.
Can we have a Madison thread please, please?
Simon
--
You go down the discotheque,
to watch her shing a ling,
you stand there stoned and can't beleive how she swings,
she's a sexable mover,
you came to see her dance....
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Message: 14
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 08:49:24 -0500
From: Joe Nelson
Subject: Re: Bob Seger, Cameo-Parkway and ABKCO
Billy Spradlin wrote:
> I dont know who owns his early singles, but many of them were
> released by Cameo. I guess those records are in the same legal
> limbo that other Cameo/Parkway artists are. Allan Klein owns them,
> but will never release them on CD because he doesn't want to pay
> royalties to the people involved in making them.
I believe it's fairly obvious that most material for which there has
been an obvious market for CD reissue has been put out, and the few
exceptions end up having some legal explanation. The non-Beatles
material on Apple is a perfect example: the label's holdings were
placed into receivership while the Beatles themselves sorted out the
division of the group's assets after the breakup, and the material was
released once the legal issues were settled. Likewise, it always made
perfect sense that ABKCO would put out the Cameo stuff if it were
possible, but for some reason they can't. What is that reason? Jody
won't - or can't - say. This implies either a contempt for the
consumer (i.e. the hand that feeds ya) or a gag order. Which is more
likely to come from an astute businessman like Allen Klein?
Some time ago an alternative hypothesis came up on Usenet, supposedly
from a source close to the action but whom I don't recall being ID'd.
The claim was that while Allen and Betty Klein did in fact purchase
the C-P copyrights, original label owner Kal Mann kept posession of
the actual tapes. After Mann's death, an impasse developed between
Mann's estate and ABKCO over the tapes, with neither side willing to
budge and no end in sight. Even without corroboration, it's a far more
plausable explanation than "Klein suddenly got anal retentive about
paying royalties to that one particular group of people".
abkco.com recently began offering visitors a sign-up for a Cameo-
Parkway newsletter. Although nothing has been issued through that
medium to date, the fact that it's being offered in the first place
would seem to suggest that Jody sees some sort of resolution in the
forseeable future. I also know that at least one C-P artist
(Steve Caldwell of the Orlons) has settled his royalty dispute with
ABKCO and is talking about what it would take to officially reissue
the group's catalog.
Re: Bob Seger's Cameo material - his earliest sides (both with the
Last Heard on Cameo and the Bob Seger System on Capitol) were
originally licensed from Hide-Out Records in Detroit. Years ago I
remember seeing a Hide-Out retrospective comp advertised in Goldmine.
BS and the LH were among the artists listed, but I'm not sure if the
tracks contained were ever released on Cameo in those days. When the
Last Heard track "Sock It To Me Santa" appeared on Polygram Special
Products' Rock And Roll Christmas CD, the licensee was listed as
ABKCO. From that point on, your guess is as good as mine.
Joe Nelson
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Message: 15
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 15:58:07 -0000
From: Bob Bailey
Subject: Re: Beatles
Clark Besch wrote:
> I love talking about those first times I heard Beatles songs.
I am into ham radio and I share this true story as to how I became
interested in radio.
When I was 10 yrs or so I found this shortwave radio at the dump
fixed it somehow quite by accident I am sure but I strung a very long
wire up and began my life of listening to foreign broadcasts. Late
one night while half asleep, I heard this newscast from Europe and it
was something about this sensation and it was filled with screaming
and all I could make out was the incessant refrain of words. I now
know it was yea! yea! yea! That's all there was and then about 1
month later on a news blurb by I think must have been Douglas Edwards
on CBS Evening News, the current news icon of the day was this picture
of what looked like a boxing ring to me, but was 4 musicians with one
of the guitars backwards (that caught my eye) on what looked like a
street (it wasn't a street in the U.S.) to me but what did I know? But
the point was, all of these people in the audience screaming louder
than you could hear the music and no one could understand what the
sensation was, but the thing that was unmistakable to me was that they
were singing yea! yea! yea! just like on the shortwave radio weeks
before. What I witnessed was history in the making and didn't know it
till some months later.
Never regretted stringing that antenna
Bob KA0MR
Moundridge, Kansas
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Message: 16
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 16:44:06 +0000
From: Richard Hattersley
Subject: 4 Seasons' "Gazette"
Previously:
> I got the idea that the "Gazette" album divided the fans because
> I briefly joined a Seasons mailing list and was surprised at how
> hardcore fans hated it like poison. (And the first long obviously-
> influenced-by-Macarthur Park "Great American Crucifixion" song is
> pure embarrassment. But the rest's pretty good.)
Seems to me that a lot of fans at the time hated it. Not being born
at the time but a huge Seasons fan, I view it as their "Pet Sounds".
The good thing about not being there at the time is you don't have
hang ups like, "How can the band who did 'Sherry' do this kind of music"
which I think was the problem for fans at the time.
However when I have tried to turn some of my friends (who are 25-30)
on to the Seasons, GILG did the trick. Seems to me it's the most
relevant part of their back catalogue in terms of being relevant to
young listeners. That is why I find it shocking that it is currently
unavailable on CD.
Why do you think "American Crucifixion" is an embarrassment by the way?
To me it stands out as being as musically inventive as the rest of
the album.
Richard
http://www.wiz.to/richardsnow
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Message: 17
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 07:52:08 -0800 (PST)
From: Bill Brown
Subject: Re: The First Disco Rekkid
Fred:
> Another contender, though later (from 1969), is one by the Intrigues
> called "In A Moment" on Yew Records.
Jimmy B:
> No bout a dout it, but remember! Yew was Philly. Philly begat disco.
> Thank you.
A record cannot truly be called "disco" unless there was some computer
programming involved in the production.
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Message: 18
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 16:22:56 -0000
From: Clark Besch
Subject: White Whale and Nino and April
Steve Stanley:
> "Wings of Love" b/w "My Old Flame" (WHITE WHALE 246) was released
> by White Whale in 1968.
Country Paul wrote:
> The year you cite is obviously correct; they were still on Atco
> back in '62. I mis-read the date I noted on the jacket when I
> commented here (had I been more awake, I would have caught it).
> Perhaps your remastering is the reason the on-air version sounded
> so good. By the way, which side was the "A" side? (I would have
> thought "Flame" would have been pushed, in keeping with their hit
> remakes of oldies.) And are any other Rev-ola tracks besides this
> and "Boys Town" not duplicated from the Varese CD (which I enjoy
> tremendously, including their previously-unreleased later tracks)?
Hi Paul, I've been researching White Whale recently and came up with
some surprising facts. At least 82 different artists recorded for
White Whale. I could only name a handful if you asked me without
looking at my notes! Only 9 of those had 3 45 releases on that
label. Also to my surprise, the Turtles had 24 45 releases on the
label!! That seems incredible for almost any group. Anyway, I
wonder if there was a later agreement with Bell Records and White
Whale. Both Smokestack Lightning and Nino Tempo & April Stevens left
White Whale and were quickly releasing records on Bell! If there is
any interest, I can play Nino & April's first Bell 45s from mid and
fall '69 following their end with White Whale. Bell 769 is "Yesterday
I Heard the Rain" b/w "Did I Or Didn't I". Bell 823 was a try at the
hit theory of the day (Lettermen, Bobby Vee, etc) of putting 2 old
songs in a medley. "Sea of Love/The Dock of the Bay" b/w "Twilight
Time". Anyway, if anyone wants to hear any of these and there gets
to be room on musica, I'll be glad to oblige.
Clark
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Message: 19
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 16:20:18 +0000
From: Stuffed Animal
Subject: Disco's Bad Rap
Previously:
> I have nothing against dance music, but the majority of disco did
> sux. Low grade lyrics plopped over a dance tempo. Melodies didn't
> seem to essential to most disco music. I think part of the
> popularity of disco came from the push the industry gave it.
Disco didn't suck any more than any other kind of music did. There
were both good and bad records. Lyrics could be as banal as "get up
and boogie" repeated over and over, or as rousing as "We are family/
I've got all my sisters with me" or as cutting-edge as those from
Machine's "There But for the Grace of God." As for a lack of melody,
you and I must not have been listening to the same records! I recall
strong melodies on hits like "Flashdance - What A Feelin'," "Rock The
Boat," "Last Dance," "Cuba," "MacArthur Park," "Rock Your Baby" (one
of John Lennon's favorite records) and many more. But then, I went to
underground (read: gay) discotheques, and you always seemed to get a
better grade of music in those clubs . . . at least, in the '70s that
was true.
> The disposable artist really reached its heyday during disco. It's
> hard to find any disco acts that had more than one or two hits (the
> exceptions seem to be KC, Donna Summers and the Village People). The
> majority seemed to fit the "use and lose 'em". Forget acts like the
> Beatles that musically evolved before your eyes (and ears). Get an
> act have a hit, rip them off and then find some new fools.
I can't argue with the fact that many disco acts were disposable, but
that had more with the producer/songwriter/DJ-based nature of how the
music was produced, not with the quality of the music itself.
> The rot really set into the music scene in the 70s. Compared to rap
> disco might sound great, but following the 50s and, even more so, the
> 60s, it was a letdown.
It's very easy to have a bias toward the music of the '50s and '60s,
because that music was, in so many cases, excellent. But there
certainly were bad records made in the '50s and '60s, too. I personally
dislike much of American popular music during the '70s, but disco, to
me, was a bright spot.
If you dug Motown, if you grooved to the old Cameo-Parkway hits or the
uptempo Stax sound, if you liked mambo and Latin dance music, disco
wasn't hard to digest at all. A little bit of all those genres could
be found within disco music. In my opinion, the "rot" set in during
the 1990s, when "gangsta rap" and "alternative rock" started dominating
the music scene. That's when you really started hearing records that
lacked strong melodies (not to mention good taste).
> I started swing dancing in 1988 and have gone through my collection
> looking for tunes that have that "swing" factor ever since.There is
> no reason dance music has to be so mundane. I'll give it a 9 cause
> you can dance to it and, even better, I can think to it as well.
Well here's something we can definitely agree on. I LOVE swing. But
I can't remember the last time I "thought" to a swing number.
Don "Stuffed Animal" Charles
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Message: 20
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 16:25:39 +0000
From: Stuffed Animal
Subject: The First Disco Records
Simon White:
> My definition of "disco". . . has to be a record that was
> SPECIFICALLY made to be danced to in a club. Therefore, I nominate
> Chubby Checker as the first Disco artist, Cameo/Parkway as the first
> disco label and Chubby's version of The Twist as the first DISCO
> record.
This is a valid argument, to be sure. I have always considered the
Cameo-Parkway label's output the direct ancestor of '70s disco music
(don't forget that Neil Bogart was involved with both Cameo-Parkway
and Casablanca, the creme de la creme of disco labels). But don't
forget about all those great Latin dance records from the '50s like
"Ran Kan Kan" (Tito Puente) and "Mambo Number Five" (Perez Prado).
Those were certainly made for nightclub dancing, too.
Don "Stuffed Animal" Charles
http://www.spectropop.com/tico/index.htm
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Message: 21
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 19:07:08 -0000
From: Billy G. Spradlin
Subject: The Guilloteens @ musica
The S'pop Team:
> New @ musica:
> The Guilloteens "I Don't Believe" (HBR 446, 1965)
> The Righteous Brothers meet the MFQ. One listen and it becomes
> easier to envisage the unissued Phil Spector-produced version.
Thanks for playing it! I have another Guilloteens 45, "I Sit And Cry"
(HBR 486) and it's a great garage rocker, but it's not as sublime
as that first 45.
The Searchers recorded a great cover of "I Don't Believe" on a BBC
session back in 1965-6; it's a shame they never cut a studio version.
It's on thier 30th Anniversary collection from Sequel and I think
Collectables also re-released it in the USA.
Billy
http://listen.to/jangleradio
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Message: 22
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 17:35:33 -0000
From: Kingsley Abbott
Subject: Help please
Could any of the US members on the list recommend
any US only CD or DVD collections that could EASILY
be found by a non-expert neighbour of mine who is
visiting the States before Christmas? Any collections
of old TV shows like Bandstand/Hull./Sullivan generally
accessible? Any suggestions gratefully received on/off
list - Thanks!
Kingsley
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Message: 23
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 23:49:30 -0000
From: Mick Patrick
Subject: Re: Teddy Randazzo R.I.P.
I was shocked to read that:
> ...Teddy Randazzo, co-author of more than 600 songs, died Friday
> night at his home in Orlando. He was 68. Born Alessandro Randazzo
> in Brooklyn, N.Y., to a musical family...
Very sad news. Teddy Randazzo was one of the greatest songwriter/
ongwriter/arranger/producers operating in the S'pop sphere, his
luscious, sophisticated, string-drenched creations rivalling those
of such contemporaries as Burt Bacharach, Jerry Ragovoy and Phil
Spector.
I've posted to musica one fine example: "Can't Stop Running Away"
by Timi Yuro (Mercury 72431, 1965), which he arranged and co-wrote.
Click here and remember him this way:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spectropop/files/musica/
Mick Patrick
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Message: 24
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 23:08:47 -0000
From: Dave Heasman
Subject: Re: Teddy Randazzo R.I.P.
RIP Teddy. To get his "Let The Sun Shine In" I had to buy a 24-track
Dutch import CD. Well worth it.
"Let the one in front be the engineer" as he later said...
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Message: 25
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 19:06:33 -0500
From: James Botticelli
Subject: Re: Teddy Randazzo R.I.P.
Mick Patrick wrote:
> Very sad news. Teddy Randazzo was one of the greatest songwriter/
> arranger/producers operating in the S'pop sphere, his luscious,
> sophisticated, string-drenched creations rivalling those of such
> contemporaries as Burt Bacharach, Jerry Ragovoy and Phil Spector.
> I've posted to musica one fine example: "Can't Stop Running Away"
> by Timi Yuro (Mercury 72431, 1965), which he arranged and co-wrote.
> Click here and remember him this way:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spectropop/files/musica/
He also scored the soundtrack to "The Girl From U.N.C.L.E." TV series
starring Stephanie Powers. The main theme is wordless vocalized bossa
nova. The incidental music is pretty incredible as well. A side I did
not know of Teddy until '97. The theme was sampled by Dimitri of Paris
on his 1997 "Sacre Bleu!" album along with a segment from 'Breakfast
at Tiffany's' where Audrey Hepburn says to George Peppard, "How do I
look?" He replies. "I must say I'm amazed!" Looped over and over to
Teddy's delicious bossa groove.
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