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SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
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There are 25 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. RIP Doris Troy
From: John C
2. Doris Troy R.I.P.
From: Mick Patrick
3. Artie Wayne song on Musica (another one!)
From: Clark Besch
4. Re: re. lownly crowd
From: Billy G Spradlin
5. SGC Records
From: ACJ
6. Re: PP&F Prods
From: Al Kooper
7. Re: Bogus Drifters
From: John Fox
8. Re: Ray Peterson
From: Dave O'Gara
9. Simonized
From: Steve Harvey
10. Re: Eleven of the best
From: Jon Adelson
11. Teacho and the Diplomats?
From: Dan Hughes
12. Re: Bobby Freeman
From: Al Kooper
13. Re: Valiant
From: Austin Roberts
14. Re: Micky Monkee
From: Phil Milstein
15. Re: Bogus Drifters?
From: superoldies
16. Stu Phillips' personal appearance
From: Stu Phillips
17. Re: John Simon
From: Mike Rashkow
18. Al Kooper on NPR
From: Phil Hall
19. Re: Johnny Cymbal
From: Mike Rashkow
20. Re: Johnny Cymbal
From: Al Kooper
21. Re: Ann-Margret
From: Laura Pinto
22. Re: Connie Francis
From: Austin Roberts
23. Re: Connie Francis Greats
From: Steveo
24. Re: Modern Adventures
From: Al Kooper
25. Re: Jeanette .
From: Frank
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Message: 1
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 17:15:45 -0500
From: John C
Subject: RIP Doris Troy
DORIS TROY
Doris passed away yesterday, 16th June 2004, in her Las Vegas
home. I'm not sure of the causes but she had suffered from
breathing problems for a long while.
Born Doris Payne in New York City in 1937, she was a truly
great soul singer and songwriter who shot to fame in 1963
with her top ten Atlantic smash 'Just One Look'. She cut
more soulful sides for the label; 'He Don't Belong To Me'
and 'Tomorrow Is Another Day' are personal favourites.
By 1964 she had visited the UK and enjoyed the Swinging London
scene so much that she stayed (she recorded here frequently
over the next ten years). In that year her 'Whatcha Gonna Do
About It' single was a hit in the UK only and that as well as
'Just One Look' were covered to great commercial success by
the Hollies.
She then moved on to Capitol records for a great double sider,
'Face Up To The Truth' / 'He's Qualified', and then on to Calla
for the Philly produced Northern Soul classic 'I'll Do Anything'.
Lack of commercial success Stateside saw her return to the UK
where she signed for the Beatles' Apple label for whom she cut
an album and several singles. Her signing was down to the group
themselves who had been big fans of hers for years, in fact the
whole of the UK pop scene seemed to be captivated by her talent
and unaffected charm. After Apple she cut for the UK People label
and staged concerts with gospel choirs that she had worked with
throughout her music business career.
In the early 90s she wrote and performed in an autobiographical
play about her career called "Mama I Want To Sing". When the
show came to the West End she acted her own mother's role and
Chaka Khan, Deniece Williams and Mica Paris acted her part at
different times. The show ran for several months, and stars
such as Prince and Stevie Wonder turned up to see it and meet
the legend.
At this time I was running my fourth Cleethorpes Northern Soul
weekender and had been let down by an act I had booked for it.
I rang Doris cold and asked her if she could come up and help
me out with a PA at the event. She agreed to straight away (and
very reasonably), even if it was on the only day she had off
from the show. Her presence was tremendous and of course she
was great with the fans. The meeting lead to me working as her
agent, when she decided to stay on in London after her show
closed. She performed many jazz and supper clubs and did a full
soul show at the 100 Club where Van Morrison came down to see
her as a fan, remembering her fondly from the 60s. She then
appeared at another Cleethorpes weekender with full backing
band and this was filmed by Channel 4 for a documentary they
did about the event.
Bad health forced her to return to the States where she lived
in New York with her sister Vi, a top DJ over there. Eventually
her health worries forced her to live in Las Vegas where the
climate helped her breathing.
Doris was one of the most understanding and kind hearted people
you could ever wish to meet. Her approachability often made you
forget what a talented artist she was. She would treat each fan
as graciously as each megastar who came to see her. And when she
referred to her friends as "Baby, Baby, Baby", they always felt
very special.
Ady Croasdell
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Message: 2
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 08:37:01 -0000
From: Mick Patrick
Subject: Doris Troy R.I.P.
Thanks to John Clemente for making Ady Croasdell's tribute
to Doris Troy available to the group. Another nice obituary,
this one written by her friend David Nathan, can be found
here: http://www.soulmusic.com/doristroy.htm
Mick Patrick
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Message: 3
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 07:31:34 -0000
From: Clark Besch
Subject: Artie Wayne song on Musica (another one!)
Now playing to Musica is Tim Wilde's "Too Many Questions"
written by Artie Wayne and Mark Barkan. It is the B side
("B" standing for "better" in this case) of Tower 353
"Popcorn Double Feature" from late 1967/early 1968.
I documented the recording session in a post last year as
it was presented in a teen magazine about Artie Wayne work
as a record producer. The record was produced by Artie and
Bob Halley for Extra Music. Altho' with Scott English and
Larry Weiss writing the "A" side, I really think Artie's
flip is a nice slice of pop!
And for those who enjoyed the U.S. Males 45 I posted, it was
on a subsidiary label of Abnak. Sundazed bought all the Abnak
tapes a few years ago and I would relly love to see my buddy
Bob Irwin do a various non-hits Cd with that and many others
including the In Crowd's great "Hangin from Your Lovin Tree".
Please email Sundazed and let them know we want these great
Abnak obscurities!! Thanks,
Clark
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Message: 4
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 06:41:11 -0000
From: Billy G Spradlin
Subject: Re: re. lownly crowd
Harvey Williams:
> Instro version now uploaded to
> http://web.onetel.com/~harveywilliams/shadows%20instro.mp3
Thanks for posting the instumental version. I love those
handclaps at the fade (though a guitar amp spring reverb?)
and now there is about 10 more seconds of them to enjoy.
Has this 45 ever been comped?
Billy
http://listen.to/jangleradio
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Message: 5
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 00:48:09 -0500 (EST)
From: ACJ
Subject: SGC Records
There was, in the mid- to late-Sixties, a label called SGC
Records, which is best remembered today for singles by Todd
Rundgren's early group, the Nazz. Did SGC, perchance, stand
for Screen Gems-Columbia?
ACJ
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Message: 6
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 23:04:01 EST
From: Al Kooper
Subject: Re: PP&F Prods
Steveo:
> I seem to recall Past, Present, and Future Productions
> being David Mook, if my memory serves me from making
> the publishing rounds with my songs in the 9000
> building (Hollywood).
David Mook was in the employ of Aaron Schroeder at the time.
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Message: 7
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 21:48:02 EST
From: John Fox
Subject: Re: Bogus Drifters
Martin Jensen writes:
> I'd like to hear if anyone here can give an overview of
> the Drifters' situation?
About 5-7 years ago, our school district foundation brought
The Drifters in for a fundraiser. They were backed up by a
terrible 4-piece group from Cleveland who seemed to barely
know their songs. They did all the hits, and to the
uninitiated were quite good.. Most of the singers were under
40, there were no original Drifters or even names I recognized
from any version of the Drifters, but one member of the group
was proudly introduced as Louie Lymon, brother of Frankie!
John Fox
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Message: 8
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 01:03:10 -0000
From: Dave O'Gara
Subject: Re: Ray Peterson
Laura Pinto
> Here's the link to Ray Peterson's site:
> http://www.ray-peterson.com/index.htm
> (I think it's an official one, anyway ...!)
>
> I saw him in Chapel of Love: Jeff Barry and Friends, the PBS
> special from 2000 that's available on home video. He still
> has that same voice. He sang my sentimental favorite,
> "Tell Laura I Love Her."
Just a quick footnote to the above comments on Ray Peterson.
In the late 80's I had the good fortune to emcee an oldies
show where Ray was the headliner. Of all the people in the
recording industry I've worked with, Ray was by far the nicest!
Between shows he sat and talked with me and others like we'd
been friends for a long time. He patiently posed for photos
and when it was time to go on stage, he belted out the hits as
brilliantly as ever. I particularly remember being impressed
with his rendition of "Fever". I hope he's doing well. He
remains an all-time favorite with me.
Dave 0'
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Message: 9
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 16:34:04 -0800 (PST)
From: Steve Harvey
Subject: Simonized
John Simon wrote a really quirky tune called "My Name
Is Jack". His version is kinda dull, but listen to how
Manfred Mann redid it and it's great. Shows you how
much an arrangement can change material. Somebody
heard something in the demo (I think it's from the
film "You Are What You Eat") and saw potential.
Steve Harvey
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Message: 10
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 23:58:51 -0000
From: Jon Adelson
Subject: Re: Eleven of the best
Al Kooper wrote:
> 9) Turley Richards - I Heard The Voice of Jesus (WB 7397) Not
> unlike The Sounds Of Silence, this track was cut acoustically and
> then a huge orchestra was overdubbed onto it. A blind, southern
> white man will give you serious chills on this Edwin Hawkins cover.
> Worth finding!
In NYC the late 60s, I performed for a couple of years at
The Back Fence in Greenwich Village. This was a true saloon,
where patrons were encouraged to throw their peanut shells on
the floor. I hear it's still there. Star attraction at the
time was Turley Richards. Quite the talent. In addition to a
remarkable four-plus octave voice and one of the best soul-
screams around, his acoustic rhythm guitar playing was funky
and mean. "I Heard the Voice of Jesus" was his show-stopper,
this before the recording came out. I love the record, but
hearing him live, solo, with his driving guitar and stomping
foot gave equivalent goosebumps.
About two years ago I was in Louisville and picked up one of
the what's happening in town papers, and darned if performing
the next night at a local club was Turley! In fact, he was
listed in the phone book. I called him and caught his show and
had the pleasure of rehashing old times at his home, where he
has a recording studio and teaches voice. I received an email
about a year ago from him saying he was getting ready to record
again.
When I saw him play at that informal venue, I of course asked
for "Voice of Jesus." He said he doesn't do it very often
because he'd lost a couple of notes from those 4 octaves, but
"for old times sake 'cause Jon's here" he'd sing it...as far
as I know, he might sing it every show, but my ego convinced
me to believe he was telling it straight. It sounded wonderful.
Perhaps the very last high note did not ring quite like it did
30 years ago, but that note wasn't really meant to be sung by
more than a select few of the males of our species.
Turley also had his share of horror stories to tell about the
industry.
Thanks, Al, for including this on your Eleven From Heaven list.
Jon Adelson
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Message: 11
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 17:48:49 -0600
From: Dan Hughes
Subject: Teacho and the Diplomats?
Al, you said you did a lot of work with Teacho Wilshire.
I have a 45 that was arranged by Teacho, and I wondered
if you did any work on it? It's on AROCK Records, AR-1000.
A division of Arseroc Record Corp, 1650 B'way, NYC. The
songs are "Cards on the Table" (writer Allen Davis, Sylvia
Music) b/w "Unchained Melody". It also says "Elevator
Productions" and "PHD Prod. Inc." on the label.
---Dan
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Message: 12
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 22:48:07 EST
From: Al Kooper
Subject: Re: Bobby Freeman
Al Kooper:
> Bobby Freeman - (I Do The) Shimmy-Shimmy (King 5373). This rocks
> so hard. One of the few times a drummer actually steals the record
> from the performer. Wish I knew who that drummer was, gang...
Country Paul:
> No help here with the drummer, but a big second on your rave.
> Did Freeman do more on King, or was this a one-off?
Not as far as I recall
AK
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Message: 13
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 17:47:55 EST
From: Austin Roberts
Subject: Re: Valiant
Mikey:
> Yea, but Valiant's BIG hit was "The Rhythm of The Rain" by
> The Cascades. That one really made a lot of money for Barry.
Were the first couple of Association records on Valiant, with
Gary Paxton recording at his house using the upstais bathroom
for echo snd having mics for different things? I think that's
the way "Along Comes Mary" was cut.
Austin
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Message: 14
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 16:58:14 +0000
From: Phil Milstein
Subject: Re: Micky Monkee
Albabe Gordon wrote:
> I think Mickey fits very easily on the list of the "top ten
> most under-appreciated singers of all time." I love his voice.
I'm with ya on that'n, Al. I think the reason he's been
so underregarded over the years -- apart from the general
disrespect given The Monkees by the rockwrite cognescenti
-- is that he has a very weak voice. But he infuses it with
so much feeling, and with such perfect appreciation of each
mode he sings in, that he improved every single track he was
featured on, essentially forcing de facto lead singer Davy
Jones to the role of lead tambourine.
--Phil M.
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Message: 15
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 20:35:30 -0000
From: superoldies
Subject: Re: Bogus Drifters?
I wrote an article for my station & The Lance Monthly
specifically on bogus groups & who has the rights to
...Drifters, Platters, Coasters, etc.
http://www.superoldies.com/insider11-03.html
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Message: 16
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 23:46:56 -0000
From: Stu Phillips
Subject: Stu Phillips' personal appearance
Hi Spectropop fans,
For those of you in the Seattle/Tacoma/Portland/Vancouver area,
I will be appearing in person at the Northwest Sci Fi Convention
on March 20-21, 2004 in Fife, Washington.
Would love to greet and talk to all of you. The entrance fee
to the convention is under $10.00, so it's actually less than
a movie. I'll have some old 45 RPM discs of many of the Colpix
artists with me to autograph for you.
Complete info at http://www.geocities.com/raininghollywood
Stu Phillips
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Message: 17
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 14:51:12 EST
From: Mike Rashkow
Subject: Re: John Simon
Phil M:
> John Simon's name shows up on an awful lot of late '60s
> faves of mine (and I don't mean The Band), yet he is rarely
> spoken of in circles where great producers are discussed.
I first heard of him when he produced Brute Force's
"Confections Of Love". That was good enough for me.
MR
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Message: 18
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 19:30:09 -0000
From: Phil Hall
Subject: Al Kooper on NPR
A little late, but here's a link to listen to the Al Kooper interview on NPR's
"Fresh Air" Friday, January 30th.
http://tinyurl.com/2u79s
Phil Hall
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Message: 19
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 14:45:02 EST
From: Mike Rashkow
Subject: Re: Johnny Cymbal
Country Paul:
> I was impressed at how Johnny Cymbal did bass-like parts
> in his tenor range; I thought that kind of counterpoint
> was going to show up in more hit records after that,
> but it never did.
CP, surely you jest. That was Ronnie Bright I think. But, I
have heard John do the song solo several times and he does a
reasonable job of jumping octaves.
John once produced a record with Stanley (Dino) Costa,
Don Costa's nephew, on the Annie Get Your Gun show-tune
"Anything You Can Do" (Ethel Merman/Ray Middleton duet).
He conceptualized it like Mr. Bassman.
He had Dino do his parts all in falsetto and yours truly,
Rashkovsky, did the bass parts with a big assist from a VFO.
Bert Keyes arrangement.
In the fade where both of us were "singing", I spoke "you've
got a lot of chutzpah, son". (For those not of the persuasion,
"chutzpah" is Yiddish for "nerve".) John fell over backwards
-- he left it in and if you listen real close, you can hear it
-- but I don't recommend listening to it, even far away.
Di latte,
Rashkovsky
PS There's a thread here -- Yiddish used on pop records in English.
Etta James on the Jerry Wexler production of "Lovesick Blues", which
happens to be a killer track, changes "sugar mama" to "meshuggah mama"
in one chorus and Levi Stubbs does something in Yiddish on "Mean Green
Mother" from Little Shop of Horrors.... That's a start.
Jus4duhrekkid, I'm not accepting Nathan Lane's simple "so nu" in
"Sue Me" from Guys and Dolls. "Nu" is Yinglish already.
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Message: 20
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 22:50:59 EST
From: Al Kooper
Subject: Re: Johnny Cymbal
Mike Rashkow:
> Rex Strother and I are working together (with a little help
> from a certain Brit MP) to create a website for Johnny Cymbal.
Country Paul:
> Wish I had more to contribute besides a deep appreciation for "Mr.
> Bassman," since I'm a bassman, too; I was impressed at how Johnny
> Cymbal did bass-like parts in his tenor range; I thought that kind
> of counterpoint was going to show up in more hit records after that,
> but it never did. (Of course, one should never say "never" in this
> group!
I think I mentiooned b4 that the bass part on the Johnny Cymbal
record AND the Greg Howard record was Ronnie Bright, who sang
with The Cadillacs at the time and was well known as a profundo
basso around 1650 B'way, the REAL Brill Building...
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Message: 21
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 21:38:25 -0000
From: Laura Pinto
Subject: Re: Ann-Margret
Country Paul wrote:
> ....... with a style lifted from those oh-so-naughty
> men's magazines of the same period with a dollop of
> Walter Winchell-era press-agent lingo for flavor.
> And the photos are gorgeous - but what would one
> expect, considering the subject?
Hi,
I love your description of the prose used in the A-M article!
Just trying to do the sexy sex kitten justice, that's all.
I have Ann-Margret's "Lost Love" on the A-M box set. I don't
know whether or not it appears on another CD. You can check out
the box set on Amazon.com and listen to an audio sample of that
particular track. Here's the link, which I converted to a more
manageable URL:
http://tinyurl.com/36q8y
Thanks,
Laura
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Message: 22
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 17:40:34 EST
From: Austin Roberts
Subject: Re: Connie Francis
Mike:
> US version of "Robot Man" by Jamie Horton didn't chart
> but eventually found its way to CD courtesy of the recent
> "Midnight Cryin' Time" triple set.
Wasn't there an obscure release on Dodie Stevens called
"Robot Man"? ...I wanna Robot man to hold me tight' etc.
AR
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Message: 23
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 13:54:36 -0800 (PST)
From: Steveo
Subject: Re: Connie Francis Greats
Mike Edwards wrote:
>Where do you stop? There are so many others..
Mike,
Let's not forget two of my personal Connie Francis
favorites, both with great arrangements -
"Dont Break The Heart" (arr. Don Costa) and
"I'll Follow The Boys" (arr. Leroy Holmes).
Steveo
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Message: 24
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 22:59:35 EST
From: Al Kooper
Subject: Re: Modern Adventures
Jim Shannon:
> Excuse the brain freeze here, but I was going over my music
> database over the weekend and came across the song "The
> Modern Adventures of Plato, Diogenes and Freud" by Al Kooper.
> I don't recall which LP that was on but remember it being a
> really nice arrangement almost British sounding with lots of
> orchestration. Seem to remember heavy airplay on NEW-FM.
> I'd like to find the CD version. Great almost forgotten song.
It is Al Kooper but recorded under the nom de plume Blood Sweat
& Tears on the debut Child Is Father To The Man album, easily
available on CD and soon to be SACD 5.1
Al Kooper
Kooperian Authority
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Message: 25
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 13:04:34 +0100
From: Frank
Subject: Re: Jeanette .
Julio:
I've played to musica "Me olvidarás" (You will forget me)
> / Hispavox H348, A side, 1968, by Picnic (a Spanish
> ephemeral group featuring a young Jeanette as singer
> and main composer). The song was composed by Jeanette
> and produced by Rafael Trabuchelli.
Lovely! What a nice little gem. Is there an album to
this song? I only have two later albums by solo Jeanette.
One is "Todo Es Nuevo" produced by Andre Popp. Even all
the songs (except for one) are written by him.
Thanks for posting.
Frank J.
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