Spectropop - Digest Number 1383

• From: Spectropop Group
• Date: Fri, 05 Mar 2004

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               SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
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There are 17 messages in this issue.

Topics in this digest:

      1. Re: Surprising Originals
           From: James Botticelli 
      2. King Records website; Artie Wayne's "Faith"; "Juanito"; pick hits
           From: Country Paul 
      3. Re: The Shadows back together for one last hurrah
           From: Mikey 
      4. Re: What happened to those "Hits"
           From: Dave O'Gara 
      5. Re: Ron Dante - The Spirit @ musica
           From: Rat Pfink 
      6. Wenzel's
           From: Steve Grant 
      7. Re: the two Mrs. Eddys
           From: Phil X. Milstein 
      8. Austin Roberts & Horizon
           From: Peter McCray 
      9. Re: Cathy McGowan
           From: Frank Murphy 
     10. Re: Mood Mosaic + Ladybirds
           From: Sean Streit 
     11. Re: Bobby Vee's "Gates, Grills And Railings" LP
           From: Artie Butler 
     12. Re: Verdelle Smith Goes Zonk!!
           From: Mick Patrick 
     13. Re: Bobby Vee's "Gates, Grills And Railings" LP
           From: Bob Celli 
     14. Bobby Vee @ musica
           From: Bob Celli 
     15. Eddie Rambeau Shindig Video from 1965
           From: Ed Rambeau 
     16. Re: The 2 Of Clubs
           From: Joe Nelson 
     17. The Charmaines of Cincinnati
           From: Mick Patrick 


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Message: 1
   Date: Fri, 05 Mar 2004 14:42:02 -0500
   From: James Botticelli 
Subject: Re: Surprising Originals

Phil X. Milstein writes:
> I'm working up a list ... of "surprising" original versions ...

Phil...Be sure to include the Ribbons' "Ain't Gonna Kiss Ya", 
later covered by The Searchers on their first LP.



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Message: 2
   Date: Fri, 05 Mar 2004 17:07:53 -0500
   From: Country Paul 
Subject: King Records website; Artie Wayne's "Faith"; "Juanito"; pick hits

Karen Andrews:
> I just found this on a web site:
> http://www.bluejeansplace.com/KingRecordsStudios.html

>"...just contacted by Lee Hazen who handled recording and
> the mastering department at King Records in 1966.  Lee
> told me he recorded such stars as Hank Ballard, James Brown,
> Freddie King, Stanley Brothers, The Casinos, 02 of Clubs and
> many others."

Touring the rest of the site is interesting, too, if one has any feeling 
for the blues.

Artie Wayne:
> ...A song about a man who leaves his wife because she's surpressing his 
> religious beliefs....called, "You can't sit on my Faith anymore".

Not an April Fool's joke, right? With a title like that, it could be a
country hit - they like that kind of double ententre in Nashville! :-) Or
maybe it would get onto CCM [Contemporary Christian Music] stations.

Mick Patrick:
> Personally, I prefer Verdelle (Smith)'s "Juanito", probably because she 
> comes across like a part-time Shangri-La, rather than as a prim folk 
> singer. I'm a sucker for that sound.

Great record - I'd forgotten about it.

Dave O'Gara, as a former Music Director too, what you suggest would make 
for an interesting discussion: to see the producers'/writers'/artists' 
ideas "hits that missed" aligned with ours as "front-line tastemakers."  
Regarding the rest of your suggestion, I don't think anyone purposely sets 
out to make a bomb (well, maybe some B sides and some contract-filling 
artists trying to tick off label owners, like the notorious last Bang 
"album" by Van Morrison, and of course the output of song-poem mills). Even 
the most "incorrect" records, like the oft-discussed "Angel Baby," came out 
because someone believed in them - didn't they? :-)

Country Paul



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Message: 3
   Date: Fri, 05 Mar 2004 17:17:14 -0500
   From: Mikey 
Subject: Re: The Shadows back together for one last hurrah

I sure hope there will be a DVD of at least one night of the 
conmcert. I have all the songs audio wise and I have a DVD, 
but this is special.

Mikey



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Message: 4
   Date: Fri, 05 Mar 2004 23:40:08 -0000
   From: Dave O'Gara 
Subject: Re: What happened to those "Hits"

Austin Roberts wrote:
> Hey Dave,  I've had a lot more non-hits than hits, as I'm sure 
> we all have. 

Austin, thanks for the reply. Long before I knew anything about you, 
I loved "Mary and Me". It's still a frequently played song at home in 
my computer jukebox. "Something's Wrong with Me" was/is a great vocal 
and deserved to chart much higher nationally. But my question to you 
would be about "Rocky". To this day, my wife practically gets tears 
in her eyes when she hears it. What was the inspiration for the song? 
And why the name Rocky? As a consumer and not a creator of music, I'm 
always fascinated by the story behind the story, so to speak. Thanks 
for all your good works.

Dave 0'



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Message: 5
   Date: Fri, 05 Mar 2004 18:41:48 -0500
   From: Rat Pfink 
Subject: Re: Ron Dante - The Spirit @ musica

Bob Rashkow wrote:
> Yeah, Laura, it really is great -- sorry you couldn't get it and 
> wish I could play it to musica for you.  Maybe someone else has 
> it who knows how?  

Some space just freed up, so I posted the Spirit track to Musica.



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Message: 6
   Date: Fri, 05 Mar 2004 19:00:49 -0500
   From: Steve Grant 
Subject: Wenzel's

Kurt:
> When I play singles, I use a pink 45 adapter that I bought at 
> Wenzels MusicTown (Downey, CA) right before they closed a couple 
> of years ago. The Chantays "Pipeline" was recorded in the back 
> room of Wenzels, and that little 45 adapter evokes quite a few 
> good feelings when I spin my singles.

Tom and Maxine were wonderful people.  When I lived in Hacienda 
Heights and Long Beach, I spent way more time in their store than 
anyone could consider healthy.  At one point I think they must have 
owned a sizeable fraction of the extant copies of "Yum Yum Yamaha," 
one of which is now mine.  A good chunk of my 45 collection came 
from their back room.

It was Maxine from whom I learned what "b/w" on 45 sleeves stands 
for ("backed with," as I'm sure everybody here knew long before me).

When they closed the store, the Long Beach Press-Telegram ran a long 
article on the event.  My ex-wife (who still lives in Long Beach but 
doesn't routinely get in touch with me) sent me a clipping.  It's 
true what they say: you can't go home again.



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Message: 7
   Date: Fri, 05 Mar 2004 18:30:45 +0000
   From: Phil X. Milstein 
Subject: Re: the two Mrs. Eddys

Dan Nowicki wrote:
> Sugar & the Spices were Corky Casey (producer-guitarist Al Casey's
> wife) and Carol Roberts (the first Mrs. Duane Eddy). The same bunch,
> including Al, also recorded an LP for Time as the Raintree County
> Singers.

I always thought that Mirriam Eddy, later known as Jessi Colter, was
Duane's first wife. Perhaps she was his second, or etc.

--Phil M.



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Message: 8
   Date: Sat, 06 Mar 2004 11:29:31 +1100
   From: Peter McCray 
Subject: Austin Roberts & Horizon

Thanks very much for all the information on Horizon Austin, I really
appreciate it.  Great to know a little more of the Roberts, Welch,
Belletiere, Meshel writing team, which have just been names on my 
Horizon single for over 30 years - up until now.  Until a week ago, 
I had no idea that "that Roberts" was you!

Could I ask, where you also involved in a studio group called Badge 
around the same time as Horizon?  I've got a single by them (Gettin 
In Over My Head/It's Straight Ahead) with the A-side written by 
Belletiere/Welch/Meshel and the B-side by M. Chase/Welch Meshel.

On a broader topic, given that I'm still new around here, I hope 
this hasn't been asked before.  But Austin - is there anything in 
the works to bring all the great music you've been responsible for 
over the years out in some sort of CD anthology?

It could easily be a multiple CD set - all your solo material from 
both the late 60s and through the70s, all the group material like 
Arkade and studio band material you ghosted on - Horizon, River Deep, 
Bazooka, eorgy etc etc. Even a collection of material you wrote for 
other people?  I'd be first in the queue for this sort of Anthology.  
Is there anything at all in the works Austin?

Best wishes
Peter



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Message: 9
   Date: Sat, 06 Mar 2004 01:36:50 +0000
   From: Frank Murphy 
Subject: Re: Cathy McGowan

Cathy McGowan is alive nd well and taking nothing to do with any 
nostalgia. You can find her here:
http://www.tv-ark.org.uk/itvlondon/redprogs-new.html

FrankM
reflections on northern soul Saturdays at 14:30 or listen now 
http://www.radiomagnetic.com/archive/rnb.php



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Message: 10
   Date: Sat, 06 Mar 2004 06:24:50 -0000
   From: Sean Streit 
Subject: Re: Mood Mosaic + Ladybirds

I wrote:
> Hello Mr. Wirtz, Just wondering if the girl group The Ladybirds 
> were in fact The Mood Mosaic?

Mark Wirtz:
> Yes, they were indeed. On some occasions in the past, I would 
> combine the Ladybirds and the Breakaways, but, for most part, it 
> was LB leader Maggie Stredder and her team who would layer the 
> Mood Mosaic parts. 

Unfortunately there's not much info on the Ladybirds (if any) on 
the WWW.  Did their line up ever change, and was it always only 
three?  I actually have a video clip of The Ladybirds on the Benny 
Hill Show that I recorded from PBS.  It's from the 70's and yes they 
are sexy.  I heard they did a country album, were you involved in 
this?  Anyone have it, how is it??

Thanks,

Sean



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Message: 11
   Date: Sat, 06 Mar 2004 09:55:22 EST
   From: Artie Butler 
Subject: Re: Bobby Vee's "Gates, Grills And Railings" LP

Hi,

A friend of Bobby Vee's sent me a copy CD copy of the album. I had 
not heard it in a very long time. Then Bobby just sent me a copy of 
the album along with a lovely note. I really do not have any special 
memories of doing the project because it was so long ago. However I 
do remember having a good time working on it. Bobby was very 
professional and pleasant. 

Thanks, Artie Butler



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Message: 12
   Date: Sat, 06 Mar 2004 11:52:45 -0000
   From: Mick Patrick 
Subject: Re: Verdelle Smith Goes Zonk!!

Me: 
> ...the version of (Verdelle Smith's) "Tar And Cement" contained 
> on the "Girls Go Zonk!!" CD is about 30 seconds longer than the 
> original 45...

Steve Crump:
> I'm glad that the long version Tar and Cement is FINALLY released 
> on CD! This is the version that was a single in Australia, and 
> hit #1 for a while in 1966. When you're used to hearing the 
> "original single", the shorter version comes as a shock! ... was 
> the original master used for the Zonk!! compilation?

Yes it was.

Is the short version (as issued on 45 in the UK and USA) available 
on CD?

Hey la,

Mick Patrick



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Message: 13
   Date: Sat, 06 Mar 2004 18:48:35 -0000
   From: Bob Celli 
Subject: Re: Bobby Vee's "Gates, Grills And Railings" LP

S.J. Dibai:
> Any thoughts from others who have heard this album? Any sales 
> figures?

S.J.,

Gates, Grills and Railings is definitely my favorite Vee lp from the 
late sixties, and leaps and bounds better than the "Do What You 
Gotta Do" album that preceded it. I remember seeing an ad for it in 
the Ohio State University newspaper, The Lantern, and going 
immediately to the closest record store and picking up a copy. One of
the first songs that really stood out for me was Bob Stone's "Beauty &
The Sweet Talk". Another good one that you didn't mention was "Santa
Cruz". The lp is loaded with really good stuff and some wonderful
arranging by Artie Butler. I sent Artie a cdr of the lp a month or so
ago. I too would like to hear his thoughts on this project. There was
a really cool press kit put together for this lp that featured a ten
inch open ended interview disc, several glossy promotional shots, a
bio and a couple of different interview layouts to use with the
record. The interview deals with that time period and really sounds
dated now.There is also a recorded Liberty promo for the lp which I
will post in musica shortly. If I remember correctly the backing track
used on the promo is "I'm Into Lookin' For Someone To Love me" On a
side note, I was at Bobby's home several years ago rooting through
demos and found two acetates by David Gates. One was for "The Passing
of a Friend" a song that Bobby recorded for the GGR lp, and the other
was "Diary". They were both just David and his guitar. I asked Bobby
about "Diary" and he told me that David offered him the song but
withdrew it later saying that he was forming a group and wanted to
save it for them. As for sales, I have no clue what it did, but if it
had a little more on air exposure, it might have done quite well!

Bob Celli




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Message: 14
   Date: Sat, 06 Mar 2004 18:58:40 -0000
   From: Bob Celli 
Subject: Bobby Vee @ musica

I've posted to musica the Liberty Records Radio spot for Bobby Vee's 
"Gates, Grills, & Railings" LP. Enjoy!

Bob Celli



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Message: 15
   Date: Sat, 06 Mar 2004 18:59:11 -0000
   From: Ed Rambeau 
Subject: Eddie Rambeau Shindig Video from 1965

A fellow Spectropopper was kind enough to send me a DVD from my 
appearances on Shindig in 1965 for which I'm truly grateful. Bob 
Wallis has been kind enough to put that video up on the web for 
viewing. It features "Concrete & Clay" and "My Name Is Mud". I 
was all of 22. A mere baby. LOL. For those of you who would like 
to view it, go to: http://66.34.56.217/shindigshow1.wmv

Enjoy, Ed Rambeau



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Message: 16
   Date: Sat, 06 Mar 2004 14:28:51 -0500
   From: Joe Nelson 
Subject: Re: The 2 Of Clubs

Just uploaded both sides of the last (and what seems to be the rarest)
2 of Clubs single to musica - Fraternity 999, "Look Away" b/w "How Can
I Be Happy". More, anyone?

Joe Nelson 



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Message: 17
   Date: Sun, 07 Mar 2004 10:58:42 -0000
   From: Mick Patrick 
Subject: The Charmaines of Cincinnati

Thanks to everyone who responded to my requests for information 
about Sugar & the Spices and the 2 Of Clubs. I really appreciate 
all those who took the time to share their knowledge.

Maybe someone out there can answer a couple of questions about 
the Charmaines, the Cincinnati girl group that had releases on 
the Fraternity and Dot labels in 1961 thru 1966.

I've seen a nice photo of the group, three black girls in prom 
frocks. Does anyone know the ladies' names?

Is there any evidence to support the theory that the Fraternity/
Dot Charmaines are the same group that recorded for Date, 
Columbia and Minit?

Thanks in advance.

Hey la,

Mick Patrick



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