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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: The 1958 murder of John Dolphin
From: Mikey
2. Re: The 1958 murder of John Dolphin
From: Bill Craig
3. Re: Jerry Yester
From: Rat Pfink
4. Re: Folk-Rock Special
From: Mikey
5. The Ventures
From: Mikey
6. Ruby & the Romantics
From: James Botticelli
7. Re: "Without you I'd be a little lost lamb..."
From: C. Ponti
8. Re: Orpheus
From: Tom
9. Darlene Love on Letterman
From: John Fox
10. Spector / Spoonful connection
From: C. Ponti
11. 3,000 Miles
From: James Holvay
12. Re; The 1958 murder of John Dolphin
From: Christopher Lalor
13. Re: "The Long Black Veil"
From: Mike McKay
14. Re: The Hollies - Long Road Home Box Set
From: Billy G. Spradlin
15. Re: The Ventures
From: John Berg
16. Bobby Shafto discography
From: Scott Swanson
17. Re: Bad Lines
From: Paul Bryant
18. Re: Bad Lines
From: pkmusic2001
19. Re: One night with you
From: Paul Bryant
20. Re: Bad Lines The Beat Goes On
From: Paul Bryant
21. Re: Bad Lines
From: Steve Grant
22. Re: Crooners in US and UK Charts
From: Paul Bryant
23. Re: Wild man's rhymes
From: Paul Bryant
24. Re: Aldon Music Staffers
From: Artie Wayne
25. Re: Bad Lines
From: Hugo M.
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Message: 1
Date: Wed, 17 Dec 2003 22:51:24 -0500
From: Mikey
Subject: Re: The 1958 murder of John Dolphin
> John Dolphin owned Dolphin's of Hollywood, a record store on
> Central at Vernon Avenue down in the black section of L.A. He
> was also the owner of a small label, Dolphin Records, among others.
I've got a couple of Doo Wop 45s on Dolphin. They are pretty good,
as I recall.
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Message: 2
Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 03:59:44 -0000
From: Bill Craig
Subject: Re: The 1958 murder of John Dolphin
> Anyone have any details on the 1958 murder of John Dolphin?
> John Dolphin owned Dolphin's of Hollywood, a record store on
> Central at Vernon Avenue down in the black section of L.A. He
> was also the owner of a small label, Dolphin Records, among
> others.
Were The Fleetwoods ever on Dolphin? Based on the history of its
owner it seems unlikely, but I can picture the 45 "Come Softly To
Me" as being on a label with a similar name. Maybe Doltone? They
were on more than one label, were they not? I could Google The
Fleetwoods and get this info but you S'Poppers are a better source.
Bill Craig
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Message: 3
Date: Wed, 17 Dec 2003 23:22:12 -0500
From: Rat Pfink
Subject: Re: Jerry Yester
Dave Heasman wrote:
> "Farewell Aldebaran", a very good record. Recently played a bit
> by Bob Brainen on WFMU, and searchable.
I concur, unfortunately it's been out-of-print for 30 years and a
copy of the original LP usually goes for $50-75 on eBay so most
people have never heard it.
Anyway, I just played "Snowblind" to Musica. Enjoy!
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Message: 4
Date: Wed, 17 Dec 2003 22:52:20 -0500
From: Mikey
Subject: Re: Folk-Rock Special
> I haven't gotten around to watching all of that PBS folk-rock
> special...
Anybody have a video tape of this?
Mikey
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Message: 5
Date: Wed, 17 Dec 2003 23:01:23 -0500
From: Mikey
Subject: The Ventures
> Still, 80 million is a whole LOT of records to sell! Especially
> for a group who only had 3 top ten hits. I too remember reading
> huge sales figures for the Ventures and I disbelieved them then
> - so what's the source for your information? Were they - what's
> the phrase - big in Japan??
Paul, not really. What people forget is that The Ventures had a
whopping 17 charted singles from 1960 to 1970...yet they are known
in the business as album sellers.
In Japan, The Ventures are Superstars. They command fees of over
20,000 a night, and sell zillions of Cds. 5 or 6 of The Ventures
instrumental songs have been covered by Japanese artists as vocal
tunes, and have gone top 10. They made a fortune from these ALONE.
This is really why the USA doesn't hear a whole lot about The
Ventures. Since the 70s, they have concentrated on Japan where they
are the biggest act in the country.
Mikey
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Message: 6
Date: Wed, 17 Dec 2003 23:17:38 -0500
From: James Botticelli
Subject: Ruby & the Romantics
> ...The lead vocalist was female. Sounded kinda like Brenda & The
> Tabulations or "Hey There Lonely Boy", (which I still think RULES
> over the redo as "Hey There, Lonely Girl"). It was really esoteric
> and I'm sure NO ONE knows this.
except a few weenies...It was actually Ruby & The Romantics. They
did the original.
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Message: 7
Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 04:56:54 -0000
From: C. Ponti
Subject: Re: "Without you I'd be a little lost lamb..."
C Ponti:
> Trying to find out the title of this old soul song I loved
> from early 60s.. We in NY often could pick up a soul station
> from far away. This song had a chorus lyric of "and I'm never
> gonna leave you, never gonna leave you..."
Phil Chapman:
> This Gentile/Lambert song ("Never, Never Leave Me") is one of
> Mary Wells' many delectable post-Motown recordings, and a favourite
> of mine.
Phil, YOU RULE! I recorded it onto a reel-to-reel back then, but the
tape long since disappeared. Playing it back in my head, of course it
was Mary Wells. I loved that glossy production which was one of the
precursors to the Philly sound to come not long aft.
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Message: 8
Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 05:06:15 -0000
From: Tom
Subject: Re: Orpheus
C Ponti wrote:
> As rabid a fan as I am, their version is awful and self-indulgent.
> They just do "ba da da" type scat during the verses, (never actually
> singing the verses) and the the chorus they do sing. I love those
> verse lyrics and miss them!
I really have to disagree with your comments regarding Orpheus'
outstanding cover of "Walk Away Renee". I just listened to it again
and am as captivated as I was when I first heard it. I never liked
the amateurish strings in the original Left Banke version and cringed
at the lead singer's quivering voice. He always sounded like one of
those "sensitive guys".
The Orpheus treatment gives the song real power. Alan Lorber wisely
did away with the high school string quartet sound of the original
yet refrained from over orchestrating the track. As usual, the vocal
harmonies are breathtaking - and I totally agree with the band's
decision to trash the unimportant verses. It was as if they listened
to the original, assessed its merit, and used only the best parts.
Bold? Yes, but self-indulgent? No.
C Ponti wrote:
> I also dig the primitive production. There are out of tune guitars,
> clams on the bg vocals, all stuff that these days would never see
> final mix. Due to bouncing tracks and probably pretty basic mixing
> techniques, it is kind of a soup of good and
You sure you're talking about the same album? Primitive? I can't
imagine a band that had a more sophisticated image and sound in the
late-sixties. Not to mention the fact that Lorber admits to
treating songwriter Martin and composer Arnold like a modern-day
Satie and Debussy.
Out of tune guitars? I've heard nothing of the kind on any of their
four albums. Even their demos are pitch perfect. Mind you the first
album is not without its faults. Since I purchased Akarma's "Complete
Orpheus", I've found myself preferring the sound they created on the
fourth album for Bell. Lorber's orchestration is more subtle and the
new band featuring Bernard Purdie sounds much tighter.
Tom
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Message: 9
Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 00:34:42 EST
From: John Fox
Subject: Darlene Love on Letterman
Subject: Darlene Love on Letterman
This may be innaccurate, but I heard on the radio (an oldies station)
today that Darlene's annual performance of "Christmas (Baby Please
Come Home)" will be on Tuesday night, December 23.
John Fox
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Message: 10
Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 05:55:53 -0000
From: C. Ponti
Subject: Spector / Spoonful connection
How many of you don't know this? Astute as you are, probably few.
When the Spoonful was gigging in the Village at venues like The
Bizarre and most notably the Night Owl, Phil came to see what all
the buzz was about. He was knocked out by their show at the Night
Owl. They were still unsigned and Phil made overtures about
producing them and putting them on his label. He also went public
about having seen an amazing band in the Village. The odd part here
was that Sebastian was a pretty rabid fan of Phil's work, even more,
perhaps, of Ronnie and the Ronettes. John wanted his band to not be
the puppets that Phil's acts were. He had been in alot of studios in
East Coast folk sessions, many with Paul Rothchild, and hoped for a
studio environment where there would be at least a little input as
far as his vision of how the band should sound. Erik Jacobsen was
also already on the scene and poised to produce them. The band cut
"You Baby" on DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC, with Joe Butler doing the lead
vocal. It was their "thank you" and homage to Phil and the Ronettes,
whose records were on constantly at the Spoonful members' apartments.
When the Spoonful was inducted into the R&R Hall Of Fame, Phil threw
them a party. Spector held court until around 2:30 am, and was a joy.
He was telling stories, opining on esoteric stuff some people brought
up as far as Rock references and producers. Zal was in top form. He
and Phil's main pal, Robert Shapiro, the lawyer, were talking about
being Canadian and making arcane Canadian inside jokes. Phil was
relaxed and totally non-confrontational, except for a rant about some
producer.
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Message: 11
Date: Wed, 17 Dec 2003 22:40:19 -0800
From: James Holvay
Subject: 3,000 Miles
Artie Wayne:
> And speaking of Snuff Garrett.......I'm going to ask him to
> verify where "3000 Miles" by Brian Hyland [which he produced
> and I wrote] was cut. I played guitar on the date in N.Y.....
> though many Spectro-doubters argue that it was cut in L.A.
Artie: I never knew you wrote "3000 Miles" by Brian Hyland. Wow!
I did many a tour w/Brian as his back-up guitarist (Dick Clark
Caravan Of Stars). At the end of one of the tours, Brian gave me
the promo 45 of "Miles". The flip side sounded similar to a Buck
Owens tune, titled "Sometimes They Will, Sometimes They Won't". I
loved "3000 Miles". I'm going to pull it out of my collection and
play it. Thank you.
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Message: 12
Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 11:00:55 +0100
From: Christopher Lalor
Subject: Re; The 1958 murder of John Dolphin
> Does anyyone have any details on the 1958 murder of John Dolphin?
> John Dolphin owned Dolphin's of Hollywood, a record store on Central
> at Vernon Avenue down in the black section of L.A. He was also the
> owner of a small label, Dolphin Records, among others.
> In February of 1958, John Dolphin was shot dead by a songwriter
> named Percy Ivy.
His widow re-started the Money label in the early sixties and had some
sucess. Firstly with the Larks but more importantly with Betty Swann.
Employing that mega genius Arthur G Wright who arranged "Make me yours"
one of the most dreamy soul songs ever to come out of the USA. They
even released an album for her, no mean feat for a ten cents outfit in
them days.
We Brits don't know a lot about 6T's US pop but we're unbeatable when
it comes to soul music ;-)
Chris L
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Message: 13
Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 01:01:08 EST
From: Mike McKay
Subject: Re: "The Long Black Veil"
Andrew Jones wrote:
> Normally, I have a high tolerance for bad rhymes and bad lyrics.
> But in all my years of listening, there is only one song that
> has ever made me shout, "Stupid!" That song is the country standard
> "Long Black Veil", recorded by numerous acts, including Johnny Cash
> and The Band (I first heard it on The Band's "Music from Big Pink"
> album).
>
> And oddly enough, what made me shout "Stupid!" wasn't the lyrics
> themselves - they're quite well-written, as these songs go - but
> the situation the lyrics describe. A man allowing himself to be
> convicted and executed for a crime he didn't commit, just to keep
> secret his affair with his friend's wife? "Stupid!"
You'd be less prone to say this if you had greater familiarity with
the ethos that informs country music and its antecedents.
Guilt and shame play pivotal roles, and the song is a reflection of
this. And it should be pointed out that, speaking of antecedents, the
ethos gets murkier still as you go back in time. Look at all the
Appalachian ballads (many of them based, in turn, from English sources
that go even further back) with their tales of guys murdering their
loved ones ("The Knoxville Girl" is but one of hundreds) in horrific
fashion.
The story of "The Long Black Veil" is a particularly interesting one.
It's one of those songs that sounds so much like a folk "standard" of
indeterminate origin that it comes as a surprise when you learn that
it was written by two professional songwriters in Nashville in 1959.
What's more, it may win the prize for the fastest turnaround ever.
Marijohn Wilken and Danny Dill wrote "The Long Black Veil" one evening
and presented it to Lefty Frizzell's producer bright and early the very
next morning. It was recorded that same day and rush-released,
whereupon it climbed to #6 on the country charts in short order.
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Message: 14
Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 06:16:20 -0000
From: Billy G. Spradlin
Subject: Re: The Hollies - Long Road Home Box Set
Dig around the net for the Hollies Box Set - I paid $88 for it from
Notlame.com. Check Amazon.com too
It's always a toss up when it comes to sequencing box sets - put too
many well-known hits in and the die-hard collectors howl for more
rarities. Put too many rarities in and the causal fans go "where the
hits"? The Hollies hits have been reissued over and over and over
again so instead of giving them another copy of "Bus Stop"
and "Carrie Anne" the band and compilers tried to showcase the
ignored B-sides and LP cuts. With a band that recorded 21 original
albums and a truckload of 45s theres always going to someone's
favorite missing. Despite the high price they did a fine job, great
remastering and stuck in a excellent book (with many great pictures)
about the Hollies' history, something seriously missing from other
Hollies compilations.
I know a lot of fans that were disapointed with the track listing.
Some on the Audities Power Pop mailing list felt that it should have
showcased the 1963-69 Graham Nash-lead group only. I didn't care the
tossing in of the 1976 "Live Hollies" LP that I already have on CD,
didn't they record any other shows back then? I think there's still a
need for a good single CD compilation showcasing the Hollies
psychedelic pop period from 1966-9.
Billy
http://listen.to/jangleradio
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Message: 15
Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 01:44:24 EST
From: John Berg
Subject: Re: The Ventures
Yes, the Ventures are still very big in Japan. They have toured
there annually forever, and released lots of albums specifically
cut for that market, including their takes on various Japanese tunes.
You can find most of these via the web, and in some Tower stores (at
least here on the West Coast). I saw them live for the first time
ever in mid 2000 at the EMP grand opening concert weekend here in
Seattle. They closed a set featuring numerous Northwest greats
(others included the Fabulous Wailers of "Tall Cool One" fame and
Paul Revere & The Raiders) and the Ventures absolutely blew me (and
the whole crowd) away. I was sorry I had disdained them back in the
mid-to-late '60s as "square".
John Berg
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Message: 16
Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 00:55:12 -0800
From: Scott Swanson
Subject: Bobby Shafto discography
Larry Lapka:
> Several other singles came out under (the Bobby Shafto) name; does
> anybody have any further information on this?
Here's a list of his 45s that I know of:
Over And Over/I Want My Bed (Parlophone R 4870, 01 /62)
Feel So Blue/I Haven't Got A Girl (Parlophone R 4958, 10/62)
Lets Make A Habit Of This/The Kissing Has To Stop (by The Guv'ners;
Piccadilly 7N 35117, 04 /63)
She's My Girl/Wonderful You (Parlophone R 5130, 04 /64; US: Rust 5082;
Canada: Capitol 72170)
Love Love Love (Don't Let Me Down)/I Don't Love You Anymore
(Parlophone R 5167, 07 /64; Canada: Capitol 72197)
Who Wouldn't Love A Girl Like You/I Remember (Parlophone R 5184, 10/64)
Baby Then/How Could You Do A Thing Like That To Me (Parlophone R 5252, 03 /65)
The Same Old Room/Lonely Is As Lonely Does (Parlophone R 5403, 01 /66;
US: Rust 5108)
See Me Cry/A Little Like You (Parlophone R 5481, 07 /66)
Hope this helps,
Scott
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Message: 17
Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 04:48:37 -0800 (PST)
From: Paul Bryant
Subject: Re: Bad Lines
Continuing the bad grammar thread -
Can anyone spot this one? (Answer at the bottom!) The first line's
perfectly okay:
"When I was young people spoke of immorality"
but then comes
"All the things they said were wrong are what I want to be"
.....well, I know what he means, but, does it make any sense?
pb
answer : Over Under Sideways Down, Yardbirds
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Message: 18
Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 11:41:05 -0000
From: pkmusic2001
Subject: Re: Bad Lines
Steve Harvey wrote:
> Bernie Taupin once wrote, "I've made some bad rhymes" and he was
> right! Got better once he ditched Reginald.
Maybe so. But let's face it, if I may be so bold as a newcomer; The
worst lyricist of all combined with showing the most promise??? Goes
to..........STEVIE WONDER!!!!!!!
Marvelous concepts. Ideal sentiments. Gorgeous melodies. Seductive
chord progressions.
But......... his meter needed work! You Are The Sunshine Of My Life
must've been an accident. It was flawless, but somehow uninteresting.
But in general he needed a lyricist badly. But if you're successful,
what does it matter?
Any takers???
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Message: 19
Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 04:54:44 -0800 (PST)
From: Paul Bryant
Subject: Re: One night with you
Artie Wayne wrote:
> Mike........Got another one with really bad grammar. From "One
> night With you" by Elvis....."I ain't never did no wrong". A
> triple negative.......but does that turn it into a positive?
A great performance by Elvis, twice. He recorded two versions, one
of which I think was only released later. The first version blues
lyrics go:
One night of sin is what I'm now paying for.
and for the pop single version that was cleaned up:
One night with you is what I'm now praying for.
- in the first risque version I particularly admire the line:
The things I did and I saw would make the earth stand still.
- I think that's it anyway - great line.
pb
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Message: 20
Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 05:04:24 -0800 (PST)
From: Paul Bryant
Subject: Re: Bad Lines The Beat Goes On
David Coyle wrote:
> To me, nothing will ever, ever, ever beat: "And men keep right
> on marchin' off to war, Electrically they keep a baseball score"
> from "The Beat Goes On" by Sonny & Cher.
In fact the whole lyric is transcendentally awful:
Charleston was once the rage, uh huh.
History has turned the page, uh huh.
The miniskirt's the current thing, uh huh.
Tennybopper is our newborn king, uh huh.
The grocery store's the supermart, uh huh.
Little girls still break their hearts, uh huh.
And men still keep on marching off to war.
Electrically they keep a baseball score.
Grandmas sit in chairs and reminisce
Boys keep chasing girls to get a kiss.
The cars keep going faster all the time.
Bums still cry 'Hey buddy, have you got a dime?'
Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh.............!!!
pb
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Message: 21
Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 08:18:26 -0500
From: Steve Grant
Subject: Re: Bad Lines
Herman's Hermits, Can't You Hear My Heartbeat
When I feel you put your arms around me
Then I'm glad I'm mighty glad I found you
Steve
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Message: 22
Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 05:42:47 -0800 (PST)
From: Paul Bryant
Subject: Re: Crooners in US and UK Charts
Mike Edwards wrote:
> I guess we should bear in mind that the UK charts, unlike those
> in the US, did not have an adult contemporary category in the 60s
> – everything was dropped into one chart. In the US, a song such
> as "Cold" by John Gary got to # 1 on the adult contemporary chart
> in 1967 without showing up on the Hot 100, thus leaving room for
> the likes of the Association.
I don't really get this - are we saying that a big selling record
in America which was deemed to be "adult contemoorary" or whatever
would not have been included in the main Billboard/Cashbox top 50
because it was judged to be - er - not a pop record, even if by sales
alone it would have been placed in the top 20? Am I understanding
this right?
pb
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Message: 23
Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 05:47:34 -0800 (PST)
From: Paul Bryant
Subject: Re: Wild man's rhymes
Mark wrote:
> Re the worst rhyme in a song: this one is like
> kicking a dog, but Wild Man Fischer has to take
> the honors for "The Taster" from the LP
> "An Evening With Wild Man Fischer"
On "An Evening With Wild Man Fisher" he sings
"Dream Girl" which includes
Her eyes are brown, her hair is blonde
And everything about her's strong
And after that there's a track called "Dream Girl Explanation"
wherein he recounts being turned down by bemused execs -
Wild Man says (this is from memory) "Everytime I sang that
song they said they didn't like it, they didn't understand the
words, where I rhyme "blonde" and "strong". Blonde - strong.
I always liked that rhyme but no one else could understand it."
Way to go, Wild Man, but it would have helped if the tune wasn't
crap.
pb
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Message: 24
Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 06:06:29 -0800 (PST)
From: Artie Wayne
Subject: Re: Aldon Music Staffers
When I was signed to Aldon music[1959-1961] I wasn't much of a
songwriter or musician. Al Nevins and Donnie Kirshner convinced
my mother that I shouldn't go to college but learn the music
business, that I wanted so much to be part of,from the street
level. As a wide-eyed 17 year old, I sat everyday in Aldon Music's
1650 B'way office and became freindly with most of the writers
who were signed....... Neil Sedaka and Howie Greenfield [who helped
me develop as a lyric writer],Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann [who taught
me how to sing harmony],Gerry Goffin and Carole King [who showed me
how to make demos], Jack Keller, Larry Kolber [one of my first
collaborators], Russ Teitleman, Brooks Arthur, Billy Michelle,
Charles Koppleman and Don Rubin and a 14 year old Toni Wine.
It was a magical time and although I didn't get one cover record,
I learned more about songwriting than I ever could've in school.
The Aldon music offices were magical as well. When the company was
bought by ScreenGems, they moved out of the building and Koppleman
and Rubin moved in. When they moved out, my partner, Kelli Ross, and
I moved in and for the next 5 years ran Allouette Prods.
regards,
Artie Wayne
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Message: 25
Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 15:11:13 -0000
From: Hugo M.
Subject: Re: Bad Lines
My all-time favorite 'brand new dance' was invented by
The Blenders from Chicago on a 45 (Witch label) from 1963.
No need to editorialize, but...
WHAT WERE THEY THINKING? (As if I didn't know...)
The song and dance were called "Squat And Squirm".
Squat, squat, squat, oh baby, squirm, squirm squirm...
squat and squirm...
Mum mum mum yip yip,
Hugo M.
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