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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: Songwriter Credits, General Question
From: Bob
2. Re: Songwriter Credits, General Question
From: Al Kooper
3. Dylan's bass players
From: forqmandu
4. Re: Los Bravos sing Ed Rambeau
From: Eddy
5. Re: Highway 61 Revisited
From: Al Kooper
6. Re: Reparata & The Detergents
From: Laura Pinto
7. Kent Walton
From: Austin Powell
8. Re: Record co. stickers
From: Eddy
9. Re: Fake Skipping Records
From: Joe Nelson
10. Re: The Beatle Myth
From: Mike Rashkow
11. Re: Beatle Myth Pt.2
From: Steveo
12. Re: 60s music
From: Doc Rock
13. Re: Songwriter Credits, General Question
From: Steveo
14. This Diamond Ring/Billy Fury/Kenny Lynch/Beatles
From: Alan V. Karr
15. Re: Bobby Rydell
From: Steveo
16. Re: Attn all Lloyd Thaxton fans
From: Mark T
17. Re: Four Evers CD
From: Mark T
18. Re: Batman theme
From: Steveo
19. Re: The Beatle Myth
From: Steve Harvey
20. Re: "I Think We're Alone Now" sdrawkcaB :eR
From: Artie Wayne
21. Re: Shirelles v. Greenberg
From: Phil Milstein
22. Re: A rather special Jack Nitzsche at Spectropop update
From: Austin Roberts
23. Re: The Beatle Myth
From: Paul Bryant
24. 2:30 +/-; Crackerjack; Hartford; Pittsburgh; October Project; quickies
From: Country Paul
25. Re: Hy Zaret
From: Paul Bryant
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Message: 1
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 04:38:06 -0000
From: Bob
Subject: Re: Songwriter Credits, General Question
Paul Bryant wrote:
> I have a question for the songwriters amongst you.
> Some time ago Bill Wyman was trying to get some kind
> of songwriter credit for various early Jagger/Richards
> songs because he said his bass playing helped make the
> records hits (I remember 19th Nervous Breakdown was
> singled out for its diving bass runs). Was he being
> ridiculous? I mean, all the players who turn the song
> into a record should by that logic have a credit too.
> We recently discussed "You Didn't have to be so nice"
> and concluded that Mr Boone came up with the phrase
> but Mr Sebastian actually wrote the song. We know that
> Ringo Starr came up with a few Beatles song titles,
> like A Hard Day's Night and Tomorrow Never Knows - so
> should he get a credit? What's your opinion on this
> kind of thing?
PB, There are quite a few more examples of this happening,
one being "Chip, Chip", a hit for Gene McDaniels. Snuff Garrett
called in singer/songwriter Cliff Crofford to his office and asked
him to write a song titled "Chip Chip" for the next Gene McDaniels
session. He came back the next day with it complete, but only got
one third credit. It seems Snuff got another song presented to him
titled "Chip Chip" but didn't like anything about it but the title.
So here you go, Cliff did all the work and only got a third of the
reward. Another deal was on "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes". Dottie
Wayne, the lyricist on the song told me that Ben Weisman gave up a
third of the song to Snuff Garrett (aka Marilyn Garrett on the record
label) to get it recorded by Bobby Vee. I was always told that Snuffy
suggested the key change mid song, but Dottie says it was finished!
I guess business is business but I think you should have to donate a
little more than a title or an opportunity!
Bob
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Message: 2
Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2004 23:38:58 EST
From: Al Kooper
Subject: Re: Songwriter Credits, General Question
Paul Bryant:
> I have a question for the songwriters amongst you.
> Some time ago Bill Wyman was trying to get some kind
> of songwriter credit for various early Jagger/Richards
> songs because he said his bass playing helped make the
> records hits (I remember 19th Nervous Breakdown was
> singled out for its diving bass runs). Was he being
> ridiculous? I mean, all the players who turn the song
> into a record should by that logic have a credit too.
> We recently discussed "You Didn't have to be so nice"
> and concluded that Mr Boone came up with the phrase
> but Mr Sebastian actually wrote the song. We know that
> Ringo Starr came up with a few Beatles song titles,
> like A Hard Day's Night and Tomorrow Never Knows - so
> should he get a credit? What's your opinion on this
> kind of thing?
Here's a piece I wrote for EQ magazine a few years ago (that
I own now) that deals DIRECTLY with what you;re talking about:
A Defining of Terms
Who writes the songs the whole world sings?
By Al Kooper/ FEBRUARY 1999
I received a phone call today from a journalist who was using
my quotes in a debate about songwriting. It seems that there
are more than a few lawsuits emanating from the Hip-Hop community
about who-did-what. Some people feel that if they come up with a
signature bass riff, guitar line, or drum-loop, they are entitled
to be songwriters. Bulls--. They are entitled to be musicians,
producers, or arrangers.
A song is distilled down to a chord pattern with melody and
lyrics riding above it. In the case of many Hip-Hop songs,
there is no melody line. A Rap or Hip-Hop song can be distilled
down to someone slammin' 4/4 and reciting original verbiage.
That is the song itself. If your record or song is sampled by
these people, you should be paid royalties. That is another
issue entirely. Anything else that is added to that is an
arrangement, musician, or production embellishment. Should
Nelson Riddle be given songwriter credit on "Love and Marriage"
because his arrangement on Sinatra's recording made it much more
listenable than some songwriters huddled around a piano? Should
George Martin's name be on The Beatles records of "Yesterday"
or "Eleanor Rigby" because you can't think of those songs without
recalling melodies from his string arrangements? No. It was their
job to embellish the material and make it more listenable. That
is what arrangers and producers do for a living and have pride
about in their work.
Should Mike Bloomfield or myself be given writers' credits on
"Like A Rolling Stone"? I think not. Did that record benefit
from our contributions? Yes. Is the song itself any better a
song because of it? No.
Legal retaliation is beyond the scope of what most 'wronged'
people can afford today. That is an injustice in itself. Large
corporate monsters can cheat you because you can't afford to do
anything about it. Legal counsel, like hotel rooms and airplane
tickets, is ludicrously overpriced, generally speaking.
Let me give you an example:
Recently, I was, in my opinion, libeled by MCA Records in new
liner notes for a reissued catalog CD. I called them the week
it was released after I bought it (God forbid they should send
the producer a copy) and told them they were libeling me and
had a lawyer's letter sent as well. They said they would pull
the offending booklet out, rewrite it to tell the truth, and
reservice the disc after they sold the initial run of 10,000.
Guess what? A year later, and far beyond the sale of 10,000
units, that booklet remains for sale in the same re-pressed CD.
It would cost tens of thousands of legal-help dollars to chase
these wrongdoers, and the burden of proof would be on me to
substantiate the libel, substantiate the career damage, etc.
They win, and I lose. They lied, continue to lie, and they are
beyond my legal reach. What's fair?
I'll tell you what's fair. If Puff Daddy samples your record or
composition, you should be paid royalties. If you play on or
create a drum loop for that record, you should be paid as a
musician for that session. If the drum loop, guitar part, or
bassline you contribute make that record a hit, you are not a
songwriter. You're a damned good studio musician doing the job
you were paid to do.
If you're hired to write a string arrangement on a Jewel track,
and you come up with soaring original countermelodies and take
a 5-chord song and make it sound like Debussy, you are not a
songwriter. You're a damn good arranger doing a great job and
being compensated for it.
If you're hired to produce the Rolling Stones and take them
into the next millennium kicking and screaming their 55-year-old
heads off, and you succeed and they have a number one album for
the first time in 30 years, you are not a songwriter. You're a
damn good producer doing what you re supposed to do and (hopefully)
being compensated for it.
However, if you can lay claim to changing a song in its distilled
form; i.e., if you change the melody of the song or the lyric in a
significant way on the original record, then you are, indeed, a
songwriter. If you do that and remain uncredited, the moment that
record hits the charts, you must seek legal counsel. Then it is
your decision, based on your bank account and your lawyer's advice,
to seek legal recourse. Don't do it after the album is named album
of the year. You look greedy and like a bandwagon-jumper. Don't do
it if the song never makes the charts (it's obviously not worth it then).
I have produced records where I have changed lyrics or melodies and
not received credit. If I had asked for credit on that particular
project, it would have upset the producer-artist chemistry and cost
me the entire project. Some acts, like the late Ronnie Van Zant of
Lynyrd Skynyrd, recognized when I was involved in the songwriting
and rightfully put my name on a song. Other acts I produced, feeding
at the bottom of the pond, had years to go before attaining the status
of human being that Ronnie Van Zant was born with. Some never have
attained it to this day.
So, before you feel that you are wronged, define your terms carefully.
Are you acting as a producer, arranger, musician, or really a songwriter?
'Nuff said... *(but not on spectropop)
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 3
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 06:40:35 -0000
From: forqmandu
Subject: Dylan's bass players
The pre Beatles college kid in Al Kooper's post is actually
Steve Boone. Went to the session with John S. and ended up
playing on two or three cuts.
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Message: 4
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 09:13:33 +0100
From: Eddy
Subject: Re: Los Bravos sing Ed Rambeau
Me:
> Ed, Would that be Make it Last on the Bring a Little Lovin' album?
Ed Rambeau:
> That's it, Eddy. Thanks. See that....2 Ed's are better than
> one. I couldn't remember that title to save my life. Do you
> have that track? I lost it in my recent computer crash. Would
> love to get it back.
I'm sorry Ed, but I'm not set up to transfer vinyl to my PC.
Maybe somebody else can oblige ?
Eddy
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Message: 5
Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2004 23:47:59 EST
From: Al Kooper
Subject: Re: Highway 61 Revisited
previously:
> John was on three songs for Highway 61 Revisited.
> Mr. Tambourine Man and two others.
oooops!
Mister Tambourine Man is NOT on Highway 61 Revisited and
sadly neither is Mr. Sebastian. Trust me. I was there.
Al Kooper
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Message: 6
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 11:46:39 -0000
From: Laura Pinto
Subject: Re: Reparata & The Detergents
Mick Patrick wrote:
> Do you remember this tour, Ron? I guess it was your first.
> Full article here:
> http://www.chachacharming.com/article.php?id=9&pg=1
Ron Dante responded:
> Mick,
> Yes, I remember this tour very well. It was my first and most
> interesting. The girls just didn't show and the tour manager
> asked us to sing some backgrounds, which were a lot of fun to do.
> Got to see Peter Noone (great guy) and Little Anthony (card shark)
> perform live.
Hi Ron,
That's so interesting! Never knew that.
Mick, thanks for the great question and for posting the link
to the article. Ya learn somethin' new every day!
Laura
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Message: 7
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 12:12:17 -0000
From: Austin Powell
Subject: Kent Walton
Ken on the West Coast:
> I only know this as I have it on a Pye Golden Guinea LP
> "Honey Hit Parade" presented by Kent Walton.
> Who's Kent Walton? Erstwhile wrestling commentator.
and sometime dee-jay too...he presented the Top Rank Records
sponsored shows on Radio Luxembourg in 59/60/61 and I think
he had some involvement in a company called Commercial Radio
(London) Ltd., which made jingles, produced programmes and
produced the odd record or two as well....He also presented
the late night pop show on commercial TV "Cool For Cats".....
Austin P.
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Message: 8
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 13:27:33 +0100
From: Eddy
Subject: Re: Record co. stickers
Phil Milstein:
> I am curious to know if I'm the only dingaling who saves
> record co. stickers from the covers of sealed CDs and LPs.
Dingaling # 2 right here ! I keep 'em inside the LP cover or
CD booklet...
Eddy
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Message: 9
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 10:23:35 -0500
From: Joe Nelson
Subject: Re: Fake Skipping Records
>WHILE THE RECORD GOES AROUND//gimmick of reproducing a faulty record
Mark Hill:
>Kind of like: CURTIS LEE- "Pretty Little Angel Eyes" (07/61) and THE
>BEATLES- "Tell Me Why" (c.64) sound like syncopated, stuck/skipping
>records at the beginning of each. // Oh, no! One more list to start.
>More, please...
First and last: the Monkees' "Magnolia Simms"
Joe Nelson
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Message: 10
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 09:30:02 EST
From: Mike Rashkow
Subject: Re: The Beatle Myth
John Clemente:
> I could go on and on, but....you get the picture. Okay,
> start throwing the stones!
John, as is usually the case after reading one of your eloquent
and knowledgeable posts, it is flowers I seek to throw, not rocks.
Di la,
Rashkovksy
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Message: 11
Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2004 18:14:49 -0800 (PST)
From: Steveo
Subject: Re: Beatle Myth Pt.2
Tom Taber wrote:
> Haven't we all met a Beatles fan who loves
> everything they ever recorded, and at best is indifferent
> to, and at worst loathes, anything from the Brill Building?
> I'll never understand it.
Tom, I think I can explain part of that. John Lennon, who
sang most of these Brill Building tunes, was such a fan, he
really gave it a personal touch, singing his heart out!
"Twist and Shout" was a great record by the Isleys, but
John took it to new heights (this is my opinion.)
He also personalized "Baby It's You," like nobody's
business. But...he also did this with the Tin Pan Alley
song from the 20s....."Ain't She Sweet."
Smashing vocal by Johnny boy!
Steveo
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Message: 12
Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2004 23:46:57 -0500
From: Doc Rock
Subject: Re: 60s music
Paul Bryant:
> Long live all of the music from the 1960s, which
> even a deaf, dumb and blind kid can tell was the best
> decade for pop by a long, long, long way for about
> four hundred reasons which I'll be happy to mention,
> but in this company I kind of feel I don't really need
> to.
pb,
I am sorry for being so harsh. It's just a battle I've been
defending myself in for over 30 years!
thanks.
Doc
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Message: 13
Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2004 21:56:19 -0800 (PST)
From: Steveo
Subject: Re: Songwriter Credits, General Question
Paul Bryant wrote:
> I have a question for the songwriters amongst you.
> Some time ago Bill Wyman was trying to get some kind
> of songwriter credit for various early Jagger/Richards
> songs because he said his bass playing helped make
> the records hits (I remember 19th Nervous Breakdown was
> singled out for its diving bass runs). Was he being
> ridiculous? I mean, all the players who turn the
> song into a record should by that logic have a credit
> too..............What's your opinion on this
> kind of thing?
Paul,
I agree. It's silly. So many of the fine studio musicians
like Carol Kaye and others came up with licks to shape pop
songs at sessions that are every bit as important as Bill
Wyman's bass licks. George Martin thought of the idea for
having the opening chord in "A Hard Day's Night"; should he
get co-writers credits for the song?
Steveo
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 14
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 03:38:59 -0000
From: Alan V. Karr
Subject: This Diamond Ring/Billy Fury/Kenny Lynch/Beatles
"This Diamond Ring"...IMO, a very good version exists by
Billy Fury. Originally released only as part of a compilation LP,
"14" - it was also released in a parallel version on a stateside
London LP. Do the US writers (Al Kooper etc.) ever see any
royalties from these foreign (albeit multi-thousand selling)
reissues?
You know I think the world of the very great (but late) Billy Fury,
who turned out the most genuine example of British rockabilly ever
with his "Sound Of Fury" LP. (featuring Joe Brown, Reg/Earl Guest
and members of the future Fourmost). But when he was steered to
cover versions of Brill/standards ("Halfway To Paradise") like Cliff
Richard, his Elvisoid tendencies dominated an original voice and
songwriting talent.
Kenny Lynch, an all-round entertainer if ever there was one -
- released about 25 singles for EMI in the UK in the 1960s
- was one of the 1st to cover a Beatles song ("Misery")
supposedly meant for Helen Shapiro
(who missed out on a hit w/ "It's My Party" as well)
- was also in "Just For Fun" film
- co-wrote Small Faces' "Sha-La-La-La-Lee" w/ Mort Shuman
- was involved with production/writing for other UK mod icons
The Game & The Chapters
- charted in Britain as recently as '83
Mr Mick Patrick, while youre working on that Louise Cordet
retrospective how about a Kenny Lynch 2 CD set?
I used to love 45s played at 33 and 16, and LPs on 16.
"19th Nervous Breakdown," "The Gypsy Cried" and "Roll Over
Beethoven" on 16 RPM are brilliant!
There's no reason we can't love Brill(o)-pop (Symph-pop?) and
Beat - it's just that musically & culturally it was such a sea
change and many in the US never did give up their Doo-Wop, 04 Seasons,
Beach Boys, Elvis, etc.
Without getting into all the various reasons why the Beatles made
it, and why the British in general never made it in the US before the
Beatles, in the end it was down to a lack of originality. Like
carrying coals to Newcastle - note that most of the early beat hits
comprised of pop & R&B covers failed to chart in America. However as
early as 1958 there were many UK origin-classics that met or exceeded
US standards - the oft-cited trinity of "Move It," "Shakin All Over"
and "Brand New Cadillac" and others like "Bad Boy" (a US chart hit
also) by Marty Wilde. "Don't Treat Me Like A Child" and "You Don't
Know" by Helen Shapiro, for example, were 2 very good songs that did
not deserve to go unheard in America.
The Beatles Myth treatise, is extremely flawed because the "Bobbys"
and Dimension dolls were really & truly swept away like yesterday's
old newspapers -Bobby Vee's or the Chiffons' ability to chart 2-3
years after "I Want To Hold Your Hand" meant nothing in the grand
scheme of things. But you knew that.
Regards,
Alan V. Karr
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 15
Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2004 18:55:27 -0800 (PST)
From: Steveo
Subject: Re: Bobby Rydell
Mike McKay:
> ........snapping his fingers like some sort of bad Vegas
> lounge singer -- totally clueless as to how to put the song
> ["World Without Love"] across. One of the cheesiest rock 'n'
> roll moments I've ever seen!
Mike,
With all due respect, I think Bobby R. was kind of a lounge
singer, and I couldn't imagine him performing WWL like
Peter and Gordon! My only regret is that I didn't see it!
Hmmm LOL!
Steveo
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Message: 16
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 16:35:34 -0000
From: Mark T
Subject: Re: Attn all Lloyd Thaxton fans
previously:
> If Lloyd does decide to release these on video, I would HOPE that he
> would release some full clips of artists such as: The Shangri-Las,
> Ben E. King, The Crystals, Jan & Dean, Donna Loren, Bobby Fuller 4,
> Del Shannon, the music alumni from Philly like Dee Dee Sharp, The
> Dovells, The Orlons, etc.
Yes, well provided these performers are on the 30 tapes out of
800 done that still survive. You might just as well wind up with
acts that never amounted to anything. They didn't save the tapes
by importance, only by fluke.
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 17
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 16:40:14 -0000
From: Mark T
Subject: Re: Four Evers CD
Mike:
> Thank you for saving me from this. I wonder if Stevie
> actually produced it? If you talk to him, ask him OK?
The guy who put it out is named Ed Engle and he is notorious
for doing this, going back to the days of vinyl. He compiles
material that would never in a million years see a legit
reissue but puts absolutely no care into the sound of what he
puts out. If you see the name Crystal Ball as a label you know
you are in for an audio nightmare. Be afraid, be be very afraid.
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 18
Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2004 18:15:57 -0800 (PST)
From: Steveo
Subject: Re: Batman theme
Joe Nelson wrote:
> Surprised I never thought to ask this one before now
> - does anyone know if the TRUE recording of the Batman TV show
> theme has ever appeared on disc? Even the Neal Hefti and Nelson
> Riddle records turned out to be different recordings. I've been
> trying to search this out with a friend for years with no success.
Joe,
No, I don't think it ever did.
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 19
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 08:43:29 -0800 (PST)
From: Steve Harvey
Subject: Re: The Beatle Myth
The British Invasion killed alot of former musical styles,
not the bands. They had to change or die which many did.
This is a cyclical event that runs throughout history.
How about all those country acts that had that upstart
Elvis openning for them? Within a year they were
opening for him. Some resented him and some changed
(Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, etc.) with the times.
Shifts happens!
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 20
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 09:14:14 -0800 (PST)
From: Artie Wayne
Subject: Re: "I Think We're Alone Now" sdrawkcaB :eR
Tom..........How ya' doin'? When my partner Kelli Ross and I
ran Levine/Resnicks Peanut Butter music we would drive the
music copyist crazy when we brought in the b-sides of Joey and
Arties records to be transcribed for copyright purposes. Although
we all assumed that we automatically owned the copyright backwards
as well as forwards......we copyrighted the b side separately just
to be on the safe side.
regards,
Artie Wayne
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 21
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 12:57:57 -0500
From: Phil Milstein
Subject: Re: Shirelles v. Greenberg
John Clemente wrote:
> If anything killed The Shirelles career as hitmakers,
> it was their discovery that they were being deceived
> by Florence Greenberg.
Deceived in what way?
--Phil M.
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 22
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 13:13:17 EST
From: Austin Roberts
Subject: Re: A rather special Jack Nitzsche at Spectropop update
Martin Roberts:
> ...Oh yes and a riotous piece of piano
> playing by the guy that DIDN'T write "This Diamond Ring"!
Alright Martin,I missed by a mile,but at least Leon was
involved in the session. All that does is let me know that
the part of my memory that is working tends to toss the
facts into the air,and whatever lands upright,that's how I
remember it. There were 7 Beatles, weren't there???
Austin Roberts
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 23
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 10:19:14 -0800 (PST)
From: Paul Bryant
Subject: Re: The Beatle Myth
John Clemente wrote:
> The heat is on concerning this British Invasion
> thing!There are several points that are often
> hammered by artists and fans alike and
> I think are not entirely true.
Hi John. I completely agree that alas, the grand doo
wop style was on its last legs by 1963. The Beatles
are innocent of that particular death. The only
murders I'd like to lay at their door are those of the
Bobbys and the Frankies and the Fabians and the
Connies. Those teen idol guys and girls. By 65 they
were all gone.
pb
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 24
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 01:16:27 -0500
From: Country Paul
Subject: 2:30 +/-; Crackerjack; Hartford; Pittsburgh; October Project; quickies
Laura:
> Do you wish the cool songs from the 60s and 70s had had longer
> running times?
Not being a producer then, but being a DJ, there were times when nature
didn't just call but hollered that I sure wished they did!
But seriously, from the beginning, there were EPs - 02 or more songs on a
side of a 45 to a 6-to-7 minute maximum; so the 2-to-3 minute format wasn't
dictated by the medium. There were also short hits - for example, Ersel
Hickey's wonderful "Bluebirds Over The Mountain," clocking in at 1:20. And
as early as 1963, Phil Spector produced Darlene Love's "My Heart Beat A
Little Bit Faster" which was 4:40 (although not a hit). So despite the
arbitrary line at 3:00, I think most producers made music that "did what it
needed to do" and then got out. As an on-air person, I'd primarily be aware
of the length of a record when it came time to hit the network, do a legal
ID, etc. But I'd be curious to know if any of the producers, etc., on this
list ever felt they had to leave something out, and if that something was
pivotal to making or breaking the record - or conversely, if they had
to stretch something to make it "long enough."
Stephane, re: flip sides:
> CRACKERJACK SOCIETY The, Walk in the Sky / Listen To This Side,
> CBS 4-44434 1967 or 68
> US pop rock, no music on flip but variating generator sounds
> ("Listen To This Side" IS unlistenable!!)
Indeed it is, but it was a great programming tool! Blessed to work at
several progressive rock stations with three turntables, we occasionally
used this for segues or psychedelic montages, etc. I once tried to listen
to it through, but the drugs weren't strong enough!! :-)
Bob Radil:
> Are you the same Country Paul who was with WHCN a few centuries ago?
Centuries? Centuries???!???!??? I'll grant you decades. Yes, it's me.
> Do you remember WKOB in New Britain?
The call letters, but nothing more about it without a memory jog, I'm
afraid.
> Anyhow, "The 60s Show", hosted by Jim Abbott, is on WNHU/88.7, in New
> Haven.
I'm familiar with Rockin' Richard's doo-wop and r&b show on the same station
Tuesday nights 8-11; when is Jim's slot?
It has been interesting to see your posts re: Hartford radio of the 60s. I
got there in 1971, and spent the 60s 70 miles east, in Providence. I know
it was a golden age for Hartford radio, stations that were far "bigger" than
the city that hosted it; WDRC and WPOP were two of America's great Top 40
stations. We in Providence had a couple or three very fine top 40 jocks, but
the radio scene in general was limp until progressive rock emerged and FM
took off. We'd look westward to Hartford in the 60s where there was not only
major-market-quality radio (with gifted PDs and MDs and talented air
staff), but large playlists, early breakouts (The Box Tops' "The Letter" was
#1 in Hartford before the rest of the world knew it had been released) and a
dynamic local music scene which played a prominent role in both stations'
playlists (60s artists The Wildweeds, Gene Pitney, Van Trevor, The
Downbeats, The Bluebeats, etc., and in the 50s the Nutmegs, Little Anthony
with the Chesters, Roger Koob's groups, and of course that great grandaddy
of doo-wop, The Five Satins - and I'm leaving out at least as many more).
The Hartford-New Haven market was really a "mouse that roared," and a great
place to live and work.
TD Bell:
> I have an MP3 of Janet Vogel billed "Janet Deane". She
> recorded "Another Night Alone"--Gateway Records (1963).
> Please send directions to me on how to share this beautiful
> recording. As you say, the song is a great ballad and
> "smoulders"....I have no idea how the rest of the nation
> received the song when it was released....[T]his masterpiece
> from Janet Vogel got lost in the pop music shuffle ...
> This recording is "unique" and prized amongst 'connoisseurs'
> -- glad you mentioned it, Country Paul.
Happy to do so; I hope the Admin Team can make room for Janet on musica. By
the way, I can't speak for the rest of the country (I think Gateway's
distribution wasn't the greatest), but we played it on our closed-circuit
college station in Providence when new; it's one of those "how can the world
be missing this?" records. I traded semesters music-directing with one Dave
Ogden of Pittsburgh, a very knowledgeable music person and devoted scholar
of all things rock-and-Pittsburgh. He opened my eyes and ears to the scene
there - some of the great doo-wop, like the Starglows' "Let's Be Lovers"
(the best imitation of the End-era Flamingos I ever heard), Janet Deane, the
Skyliners' gorgeous "Comes Love" on Viscount, and a bunch more - not to
mention legendary DJ Porky Chedwick. I've never been to Pittsburgh, but I
know that musically it's a very cool place.
Jules Normington, I too have raved about October Project here several times
before, so I won't do it again. But "the latest incarnation in the musical
evolution of October Project's three founding members, Marina Belica, Julie
Flanders and Emil Adler" may be found at http:www.octoberproject.net ;
they're performing as a trio at loft concerts in New York, and you can still
get their exceptional first album via the website.
Short takes....
Previously:
> I for one would welcome Gretchen to the list. The lovely
> silky Fleetwoods are one of the treasures of the early 60s and
> quite, quite unique.
A favorite group of mine, too. Please pass the word that there is more than
one fan who would welcome her contributions.
And Dan Hughes, I'll be psyched to see Johnny Tillotson's comments.
Me, previously, re: Jan & Arnie:
> Arnie "Woo Woo" Ginsburg went on to become one of
> the radio legends of Boston
Mike McKay:
> According to Joel Whitburn, these are two entirely different
> Arnie Ginsburgs.
This comes as a surprise; I was always under the impression that they were
one and the same.
Austin Roberts, thanks for the info on Castle Creek. Curiosity well
satisfied!
Finally, I love cool names, both real and made up - but "Norm D. Plume"
takes the award this trip! Score one for the English!
Country Paul
(a week and forever behind)
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 25
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 13:05:11 -0800 (PST)
From: Paul Bryant
Subject: Re: Hy Zaret
> Unchained Melody - original version
Phil Milstein:
> An absolutely fascinating interview with "Hy Zaret,"
> who wrote the lyric to "Unchained Melody" at age 16
> (with Der Bingle in mind) and never wrote another song
> professionally, can be found at
http://newstranscript.gmnews.com/news/2003/1203/Front_Page/047.html
A great article and many thanks - but is it true he never wrote
another song? On Leonard Cohen's second album Songs from a Room
there is a very moving non-Cohen song called "The Partisan" with
English lyrics by Hy Zaret, and wonderful they are too...
"When they poured across the borders I was cautioned
to surrender, this I could not do
I took my gun and vanished
The wind, the wind is blowing, through the graves the
wind is blowing, freedom soon will come
Then we'll come from the shadows"
I guess this must be by one of the other five Hy Zarets:-)
pb
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