________________________________________________________________________ SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop! ________________________________________________________________________ There are 25 messages in this issue. Topics in this digest: 1. Re: Vinyl Junkies From: Stewart Mason 2. Flower Girl From: Greg Matecko 3. Spector story From: Ed Rambeau 4. Re: one helluva day From: Mike mcKay 5. Thanks From: Ed Rambeau 6. Artie Butler From: Ed Rambeau 7. Chiffons to Musica! From: Clark Besch 8. 2 versions of "Double Shot" by Swingin' Medallions From: Skip Woolwine 9. Don Ralke / Christine Quaite / Stupid Songs From: Austin Powell 10. Re: Neon Philharmonic: madness or genius? From: Albin Lindström 11. Re: Spine shiverers From: Martin Jensen 12. Re: Spine-shiver moments From: Peter Riley 13. Picardy From: Billy G. Spradlin 14. Mono vs. Stereo From: Billy G. Spradlin 15. Spank & Our Gang From: Billy G. Spradlin 16. Re: Vinyl Junkies / Records as Fetish Objects From: Paul Bryant 17. Mary In The Morning From: Artie Wayne 18. Thanks From: Eddie Rambeau 19. The Metropolitan Soul Show on Soul 24-7.com From: Simon White 20. Re: Brits blitz Seasons? From: Dan Hughes 21. Re: Spine-shiver moments From: Joe Nelson 22. Re-recordings From: Joe Nelson 23. On record collecting From: Mike Edwards 24. Re: Gary & Lorna Wright from Jersey From: Phil Milstein 25. Joyce Harris - "No Way Out" From: Hugo M. ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________ Message: 1 Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 21:28:40 -0800 (PST) From: Stewart Mason Subject: Re: Vinyl Junkies Mike Stachurski writes: > Those who, like me, are into music trivia, labels, catalogue > numbers and chart positions (yada yada yada...), are, in my > experience at least, generally male as well. Joel Whitburn, > Tim Rice, Paul Gambaccini, Norm N. Nite, and all of the people > of my acquaintance who compile databases of record label master > numbers etc. -- male. Okay, now this argument I might agree with, as the female record collectors I know are passionate about the music, not the records- as-objects. My wife doesn't collect albums of Bulgarian folk tunes and obscure mid-'80s Amerindie bands for fetishistic reasons, but because she's an obsessive fan of these styles of music. And certainly when it comes to the (male) collector impulse that says everything must be in pristine mint condition...well, just call me a big ol' girl then, because if someone handed me a sealed first-state butcher cover copy of YESTERDAY AND TODAY, the first thing I'd do is rip it open and play "And Your Bird Can Sing" very loudly four or five times in a row. Records are meant to be played, not secreted away! S -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 2 Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 00:29:26 -0500 (EST) From: Greg Matecko Subject: Flower Girl Previously: > Ron Dante -- were you the singer on a 1967 song called "Flower > Girl", produced by Al Kasha? Oh man...only on Spectropop! What's even more amazing is that I literally JUST emailed Al Kasha to ask him about this record! To fill in the rest of the crew, this song got a lot of airplay on WLOF in Orlando, FL back in the day. Listeners used to drive the DJs crazy by calling to request "Flower Girl," when they really meant "The Rain, The Park and Other Things" by the Cowsills. For many years, the only copy I had of this was on a cassette that was taped off the radio speaker with a mic. I finally got a copy of the 45. Around the same time, I read Al Kasha'a "If They Ask, You Can Write A Song, " and he mentions Plant Life. A couple of years ago, I emailed Bill Vermillion, who was the mid- morning jock on WLOF. He remembered the record, and said that Plant Life was a local band! I also asked Ron about this on his message board a few months back. Someone else said that the singer's vocal was redone by Ron in NY. The song is remimiscent of "Friday On My Mind" by the Easybeats - same kind of guitar pickin' throughout the song. Goosebump moment(s): from the first chorus on! Greg Matecko -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 3 Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 02:21:38 EST From: Ed Rambeau Subject: Spector story Previously: > Who are some of the producers and writers you remember best from > those crazy teen days? We'd love to hear stories! Well, Dan, thank you first of all for your kind welcome. The only story I know about Producers is Phil Spector. He was on an airplane and it was taxiing down the runway when all of a sudden he jumped out of his seat and demanded that the plane be turned around so he could get off. He made such a stink that they finally did as he asked and when he got off...the entire group of passengers did as well. Perhaps they thought he was psychic or something. This story may not seem as funny now as it did at the time. Ed Rambeau -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 4 Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 00:54:11 EST From: Mike mcKay Subject: Re: one helluva day Phil Milstein wrote: > A recent response here (which I can't at present locate) > seemed to throw a wet blanket on my report of a rumor that > Michael Brown had written three of his most enduring songs > all in one day. Fair enough, but I did find a similar claim > while perusing Spectropop's reprint of Tony Russell's > Guardian obit of Don Gibson: > > What established him was writing 'Sweet Dreams', a hit in > 1956 for Faron Young but now inseparably linked with the > name of Patsy Cline, who recorded it seven years later. > 'Oh, Lonesome Me' and 'I Can't Stop Loving You' followed > in 1957, both written, Gibson claimed, on the same day, > June 7. Yes, this is a long-established bit of country music lore. By the same token, Neil Young says he wrote "Down by the River" and "Cowgirl in the Sand" on the same day, when he was "in bed with a 104-degree fever" or something like that. Mike -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 5 Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 02:25:02 EST From: Ed Rambeau Subject: Thanks Rosemarie: > Hello Ed, Great to have you aboard! You'll find a lot of friendly, > knowledgeable people here, and I'm sure I speak for a bunch of > folks when I say we're looking forward to your posts. Thanks for > the link to your site and group. Rosemarie does a great job on > both! Welcome to the Spectropop group, Thanks, Laura, for the welcome. And yes, Rosemarie did an incredible job with the site. She's very talented in many areas. Looking forward to you joining JUKEBOX RAMBEAU. It's a small group, but we're growing. Thanks again and have a wonderful New Year. Ed Rambeau -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 6 Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 02:26:05 EST From: Ed Rambeau Subject: Artie Butler Artie Butler: > Hi Eddie, I remember you, and thought I would just say hi. Hope > you are well. Best regards, Artie Butler Thanks, Artie, for the welcome and I'm glad someone remembers me. LOL. All is very well and I hope the same for you. Ed Rambeau -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 7 Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 07:28:05 -0000 From: Clark Besch Subject: Chiffons to Musica! Hi, I think this will be a real treat for all Chiffons Spectropoppers out there. After seeing the posts on this site and conversing with Art Longmire off line about the greatness of the Chiffons' "Nobody Knows What's Going On", I went digging in my tapes. I've noticed the group didn't seem to appear on many TV shows for some reason. I'm guessing there may be some footage of a Murray the K show with them somewhere, but anything else? They appeared on American Bandstand in 63, but have never seen even snippets on Bandstand anniversary shows of them. How bout Lloyd Thaxton?? Lloyd?? However, I was sitting in my living room watching them on Shindig on July 21, 1965 and recorded their performance on reel too reel. Altho I'm prone to believe video footage of this show must be destroyed (as I've not seen any from this show that I can remember) , at least this audio is in fine shape. It really showcases the groups great live vocals!! Sung over (likely) a music track with an opening vocal to get the group in synch for the music, you can hear a vocal double just briefly at the start. After that, it's "one fine" performance! Marred by a terrible edit, which I don't think was me back then. Most likely, the show was running a few seconds long and they edited the tape. I'm guessing this as you can hear Sir Douglas start "She's About a Mover" very abruptly as the Chiffons music track exits leaving the group singing a slight acapella. Anyway, hope you enjoy this as much as I did getting it put on Spectropop. BTW, here's the great list of stuff I saw on Shindig that night: Opening medley (song excerpts): 1. Gene Pitney – "Carol" 2. Sir Douglas Quintet – "Roll Over Beethoven" 3. Bruce Scott – "Maybelline" 4. Sonny and Cher – "Ride On Josephine" (end of medley) Additional songs (not in broadcast order): --Gene Pitney - "Looking Through the Eyes of Love," "Last Chance To Turn Around" and "The Race is On" --Gary Lewis and the Playboys - "Save Your Heart for Me" and "This Diamond Ring" --Sir Douglas Quintet - "She's About A Mover" and "The Tracker" --Sonny and Cher - "Do You Love Me?" --Cher - "All I Really Want to Do" --The Nashville Teens - "Tobacco Road" --Jody Miller - "Silver Threads and Golden Needles" --The Righteous Brothers - "Justine" and "In That Great Gettin' up Morning." (Plus, the finale.) --The Chiffons - "Nobody Knows What's Goin' On (In My Mind But Me)" --Billy Preston - "Do the Boomerang" and "Maggie's Farm" --Bobby Sherman - "Seventh Son" --The Elgibles & the Blossoms - "I Want Candy" --The Blossoms - "I Can't Help Myself" --Bruce Scott - "Sweet Little Sixteen" and "Let the Little Girl Dance" Finale: The Righteous Brothers - "Here `tis" (with closing credits) Whew! Take care, Clark -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 8 Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 22:36:11 -0600 From: Skip Woolwine Subject: 2 versions of "Double Shot" by Swingin' Medallions In my 45s, I have 2 versions of 'Double Shot of my Baby's Love' by the Swingin' Medallions. The music track is identical, but the vocals have a couple of punch-ins on the second version. Version 1: "The worst hangover I ever had"... Version 2: "The worst 'morning after' I ever had" Version 1: "She loved me so long and she loved me so hard"... Version 2: "She Kissed me so long and she kissed me so hard" Could it be that this GA/AL area band ran into some conservative resistance in its home region? Who out there knows the whole story of why there are 2 version? Is one version more rare to have? Skip Woolwine -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 9 Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 09:11:50 -0000 From: Austin Powell Subject: Don Ralke / Christine Quaite / Stupid Songs Peter Richmond: > May I propose a Don Ralke thread? Platch, what other goodies that > we have discussed or would or should discuss here was he involved > with? Connie Stevens, if I remember correctly.... When Warner Bros launched their label in the UK in 1960, the credit "with the Big Sound of Don Ralke" was to be seen on several early releases including the "77 Sunset Strip" (theme) on WB 2, on Connie's "Sixteen Reasons" (WB3) and on "Kookie Kookie" by Edward Byrnes & Connie on WB 5...His name also featured on Tab Hunter's "I'll Be With You in Apple Blossom Time" WB 8 and Joannie Somers' "Be My Love" (WB 23) and that's to name but a few......I believe he also produced or did the arrangements for "The Birds & The Bees" by Jewel Akens and ran The Mystic Moods Orchestra ??? Ken on the West Coast: > So what label was Christine Quaite recording for, as Stateside was > an umbrella for U S labels. Didn't you just love to see that dollar > sign over the first S & the blue cover! Best I can offer is this: Christine's Stateside label releases were produced by Brit artist manager/producer/songwriter Bunny Lewis - he handled Craig Douglas who was a big UK hitmaker in the early 60's... Lewis was also a regular panellist on BBC.TV's "Juke Box Jury". My guess is that Lewis produced the tracks for Laurie Records and the guys at Stateside (part of EMI), perhaps, did a separate deal with him, but credited them to Laurie for whom they were first intended, though as others have said neither of the singles appear in the catalogues of Laurie, Rust or Andie as far as I can see. When the records weren't hits in the UK, Laurie just didn't release them in America ?? Did Laurie have other US imprints on which they might have been issued ? Incidentally, Stateside released other UK productions, notably by Shel Talmy that were credited to the US World Artists and Amy labels .....there were a couple of Mark Richardson singles (who he ?) that were "UK productions for New Art" and towards the end of the label's life, there were Jimmy James and Johnny Johnson & The Bandwagon releases that were UK productions by Biddu. Phil Hall: > What's the most nonsensical song you've ever heard, other than > something like "Ne Ne Na Na Na Na Nu Nu"? I'll start it off by > nominating "Toom Toom (Is A Little Boy)" by Marie Applebee. What about "Yamasuki" by The Yamasukis ? Austin -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 10 Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 09:53:36 -0000 From: Albin Lindström Subject: Re: Neon Philharmonic: madness or genius? Skip Woolwine wrote: > If you like that, you'd like the orchestral arrangements > that are the signature of the Neon Philharmonic's long-awaited CD of > every recording they did. Morning Girl is just the beginning of many > different, very complicated and brilliant arrangements that cause > you to pause and think, "Wow. To which frequency is Tupper Saussy > tuned?" Hi Well I have to go with madness. I have their self titled LP and even though I like some of the songs that Saussy/Gant did, I rarly listen to them. Songs like Morning Girl and Heighdy-Ho Princess get me going but mostly they just sound so pretentious. Didn't they do a song for third world countries to borrow as a national anthem? The song the pair for Roy Orbison called Southbound Jericho Parkway is really a strange one. A seven minute long song about the suicide of a business man. The song itself is actaully quite close to Macarthur Park. -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 11 Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 10:54:03 -0000 From: Martin Jensen Subject: Re: Spine shiverers Alan Haber wrote: > I'm curious about other S'poppers' spine-shiver moments. As far as I'm concerned, Levi Stubbs' incredible voice always ensures at least ONE spine-shivering moment in each Four Tops song. :-) I especially like the way he comes back in after the cool solo in their cover of 'I'm a Believer' - the part where he yells 'Love was out to GET me!!!!' Gotta love it! with regards Martin, Denmark -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 12 Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 10:25:13 -0000 From: Peter Riley Subject: Re: Spine-shiver moments For me it's the entire 3.29 minutes of "Stay with Me" by Lorraine Ellison. Peter -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 13 Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 11:23:06 -0000 From: Billy G. Spradlin Subject: Picardy Whover posted Picardy's "5:30 Plane" thanks - great song. I downloaded it a few days ago, played it several times and it stuck in my head all afternoon while shopping. (even listening to the radio couldnt drown it out) BTW did Picardy ever release an LP? All I have heard was this track and "Montage" (both Jimmy Webb songs). Billy http://listen.to/jangleradio -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 14 Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 11:13:50 -0000 From: Billy G. Spradlin Subject: Mono vs. Stereo > You're right about that one - the drums hotter in mono, too > but the big one is "Creeque Alley" by the Mamas and Papas, > where a substantial part of the instrumentation is missing > from the stereo version. That was a shocker when I heard the mono version with the horns after years of being so familar with the stereo! Did the "Deliver" album come out before "Creeque Alley" was released as a single? Another M&P's mono mix thats different is the B-side "Even If I Could" which has the background vocals ("she liieed") muted during the chorus and has a much longer fadeout than the stereo LP mix. And I think its been mentioned here before - but several Monkees singles have superor mixes than the stereo versions. "Steppin Stone" (which has a longer organ break that was edited out of the stereo version) "A Little Bit Me" (added handclaps and a tighter mix) and "Pleasant Valley Sunday" (a different souding reverb). Billy http://listen.to/jangleradio -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 15 Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 11:55:47 -0000 From: Billy G. Spradlin Subject: Spank & Our Gang Stewart Mason: > The most egregious example I know of this is Spanky > and Our Gang's "Like To Get To Know You," which I knew > and loved first as an oldies radio hit and then on a > used vinyl copy of the compilation SPANKY'S GREATEST > HIT(S). I always marveled at how deeply weird this > song was structurally, with a coda that's nearly as > long as the body of the song itself. So imagine my > disappointment when I laid hands on the original album > and discovered that this was because said coda was > actually a reprise from the end of side two that was > edited onto the song for the compilation, which then > became the standard form of the song! > I've never seen the original single: does it have this > coda edited onto it as well? I used to have the 45, and its the same edit. If you listen closely you can hear where they spiced the 2 versions together - right at 2:11 on the "Spanky's Greatest Hit(s)" CD. Its not a great edit, you can hear the strings on the left channel suddenly appear as if they were "punched in" on headphones. It would have sounded better if they had slowly segued the two together instead of "train wreck" splicing them. There's also a different mix of "Sunday Morning" on this CD that's longer with studio chatter. It's interesting, but I like the shorter single version better. Billy http://listen.to/jangleradio -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 16 Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 04:36:45 -0800 (PST) From: Paul Bryant Subject: Re: Vinyl Junkies / Records as Fetish Objects James Botticelli wrote: > The theory, according to a woman I know, is that > women by definition embrace things holistically and > differently than men who want to quantify and > qualify life, generally a non-quantifiable > experience. This translates to racing pages, > sports stats and, yes, records. Record collectors in > fact are more jock than many sports fans. There's > more to keep track of and know the stats of. Elegantly expressed. But I myself would propose that records, like human beings, have a dual nature. They are spiritual (the music itself) and material (the lump of plastic), they are at the same time the purest form of art and the trashiest of ephemera. I can see the train-spotter possibilities in record collecting, and tales of the early blues collectors embody all of that. At what point does love of the actual songs become secondary to filling in that gap in the discography? Generally speaking I've resisted the tendency to turn records into fetish objects, but some times that's hard to do. How about this for extreme record-as-fetish-item? Dean Blackwood started up a label called Perfect Records in the 1990s to issue 78 rpm singles...! pb -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 17 Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 07:51:55 -0800 (PST) From: Artie Wayne Subject: Mary In The Morning Mike.......I didn't know that you wrote "Mary in the Morning" .....I love that song!! I'm also a bit jealous that Elvis covered one of your songs. I wrote about ten with Ben Raleigh for his movies, but we never got in. regards, Artie Wayne -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 18 Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 02:27:26 EST From: Eddie Rambeau Subject: Thanks Mark: > Hi and welcome to the great Eddie Rambeau! "Concrete and Clay" > is truly a classic! Thanks for the welcome, Mark. It's nice to hear Concrete and Clay be referred to as a classic. Perhaps I'm too close to it to realize that. Thanks for the kind words. Ed Rambeau -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 19 Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 12:52:04 +0000 From: Simon White Subject: The Metropolitan Soul Show on Soul 24-7.com This Sunday, 18th January 2004 on Soul 24-7.com at 2-4pm g.m.t. THE METROPOLITAN SOUL SHOW with - The Utterly Marvellous Simon White. Be there or be square. -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 20 Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 05:36:19 -0600 From: Dan Hughes Subject: Re: Brits blitz Seasons? I wrote: > But white American male singers with names like Tommy and > Bobby and Eddie were out of favor by 1965--and the DynoVoice > label was run by Bob Crewe, whose 4 Seasons were also out of > favor after the British Invasion. Mike McKay: > As 9 of their 13 top 10 hits came post-"I Want to Hold Your > Hand," the Seasons certainly were "in favor" with someone! Thanks, Mike. Shoulda' checked before I wrote. I was thinking of Genuine Imitation Life Gazette and not all those great singles that continued to flourish. ---Dan -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 21 Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 08:54:19 -0500 From: Joe Nelson Subject: Re: Spine-shiver moments It doesn't quite do this for me any more, but I remember once hearing "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and wondering what it was llike to hear it for the first time ever, back when it was unexplored territory as it were. Turns out I DID remember that first listen. A guy who was working at our house had a beaten up transistor radio that was literally held together with electrical tape. The crescendo at the end was banging against the tape, distorting to oblivion. Between the massive drum sound and that ever climbing orchestral part where the final chord seemed to go on forever, it scared the hell out of me. I was six when it came out, fwiw. Joe Nelson -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 22 Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 08:46:11 -0500 From: Joe Nelson Subject: Re-recordings Paul Bryant wrote: > Not only that, but not infrequently when you buy CD collections, > you find some horrible re-recorded version slipped in there > without it being made clear. People who do this should be hunted > down & strung up on the city walls by their thumbs as an awful > warning to other entertainment biz execs. Art: > The CDs that have re-recorded versions are usually marked, > you get a "warning"-although sometimes it's in very small > print. What I really hate are these CDs they're pushing > where the fine print says "These are re-recordings featuring > at least one member of the original group"-just terrible. Not nearly half as bad as when the CD boldly announces ORIGINAL ARTISTS! without going the extra step of noting these aren't the original recordings! (there's a difference.) And most of those are just one member of the original group, too. At least what Paul noted was properly labeled. Joe Nelson -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 23 Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 15:12:55 -0000 From: Mike Edwards Subject: On record collecting James writes: > The theory, according to a woman I know, is that women by > definition embrace things holistically and differently than > men who want to quantify and qualify life, generally a non- > quantifiable experience. Maybe, but it's probably a lot simpler. If record collecting is the preserve of middle aged white guys with failing eyesight, why would any girl want to go there? Mike -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 24 Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 11:21:59 +0000 From: Phil Milstein Subject: Re: Gary & Lorna Wright from Jersey Artie Wayne wrote: > Phil..........both Lorna and Gary Wright were natives of New > Jersey. I guess most people think they were English because > Gary was in Spooky Tooth. Sure had me fooled ... --Phil M. -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 25 Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 15:37:49 -0000 From: Hugo M. Subject: Joyce Harris - "No Way Out" Ooooh, Phil, I love that song, one of my top ten if I have one. Might be worth my time to track down a copy of that cd; for a long time I've had the thought of looking for other stuff by Joyce Harris at the back of my mind. (And it'd be rewarding to see what they say about her in the liner notes...) When I read Dave Marsh's "1000 Greatest Rock And Roll Singles" (it was #1000), his essay on J.H. really lit a fire under me to go out and find a copy of that little record. I guess every collector has stories about 'mystery records' that leave fascinating unanswered questions in their minds to puzzle over... but rarely has anyone written as articulately about that subject as Marsh in his book. (The happy ending is that @ 3 months after deciding "No Way Out" was a must-have, I found a copy on an auction list in Discoveries, and bought it for... 10.00-12.00, I forget...) I'm gonna jump right out that there winda -- Hugo M. -------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
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