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SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
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There are 25 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. Diane Renay Video at Old-Time Radio Convention (Sept. 2002 in NJ).
From: Ed Rambeau
2. Just for Sean and Mood Mosaic fans...
From: Mark Wirtz aka, Michael Sinclair
3. Re: The Fuzzy Bunnies
From: Paul Levinson
4. Cool Groop article link
From: P.A. Ferra
5. Re: pick miss
From: Phil X. Milstein
6. Blue Cat oddity
From: ACJ
7. Bob Brady & The Concords
From: Billy G Spradlin
8. Re: Roctober
From: Frank J
9. FOUND......Tribute by Horizon!!
From: Artie Wayne
10. Sharon Marie Lyrics Help
From: Jimmy
11. Re: pick hits
From: Dave OGara
12. Re: Wenzel's
From: Kurt
13. Re: b/w c/w
From: Rob Stride
14. James Vincent, the Exceptions
From: Clark Besch
15. Re: Arkade - Sloan/Barri
From: Chuck Limmer
16. Re: SH not HP
From: Dan Hughes
17. Re: I am SMILEing
From: Kurt
18. Jimmy Olson's Blues
From: Mark Hill
19. Fuzzy Bunnies - The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Any More
From: Al Quaglieri
20. Re: Hit$ and Misses
From: C. Ponti
21. Re: Bob Brady & The Concords
From: Bob Rashkow
22. Eddie Rambeau videos; Charmaines; "c/w"; Nitzsche ROTW; mea culpa finis
From: Country Paul
23. funny buzzes
From: Phil X. Milstein
24. Articles; songs on musica; new 78 retro turntables; mea culpa
From: Country Paul
25. Questions arising from new Spector biography
From: Martin Jensen
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Message: 1
Date: Sun, 07 Mar 2004 21:28:38 -0000
From: Ed Rambeau
Subject: Diane Renay Video at Old-Time Radio Convention (Sept. 2002 in NJ).
Here are 2 more video clips just shot this past Sept. It was
a tribute to Diane Renay at an Old-Time radio convention. Since
I wrote 2 or her songs ("Navy Blue" and "Kiss Me, Sailor") they
had both me and Bud Rehak along with Dan Crewe (Bob's brother)
show up as a surprise to her and then they had me sing "Concrete
& Clay" with piano and guitar...altho the piano and guitar are
hardly heard on the video so it almost sounds as if I'm singing
acapella. The 2nd clip is me and Diane doing "Kiss Me, Sailor".
http://66.34.56.217/concreteclay.wmv
http://66.34.56.217/kissmesailor.wmv
Enjoy them both, Ed.
PS: For those of you with dial-up...GOOD LUCK. It takes forever
to buffer them in. But once they're in fully you can right-click
[PC users] on the clip and select Save Media As... Then Save them
to your hard drive if you like.
PPS: In the Shindig clips I was 22. In these clips I'm 60.
Can't believe I just said that. LOL.
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Message: 2
Date: Mon, 08 Mar 2004 00:49:06 -0000
From: Mark Wirtz aka, Michael Sinclair
Subject: Just for Sean and Mood Mosaic fans...
Hey, never say I'm not a trooper! Just for you, Sean, and
your "kin," I have now added a sneak preview of a brand new
MM/Ladybirds track from LIE (plug, plug) on my website. Go
visit. And bring your dancing shoes!
http://markwirtz0.tripod.com/mw/id41.html
Cheers,
mark w. ;)
(special thanks to S'pop stalwart Phil Chapman for his marvelous
re-creation of the 60s Mood Mosaic vocal sound!!!!!)
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Message: 3
Date: Mon, 08 Mar 2004 00:49:48 -0000
From: Paul Levinson
Subject: Re: The Fuzzy Bunnies
Mick Patrick wrote:
> Paul Levinson, you wrote their "Lemons And Limes". Rashkovsky,
> you produced it. Can either of you put names to the faces of
> the group?
Good to see the guys again, Mick -- but years of being a professor
have fused the part of my brain that puts together names and faces
-- I'm lucky if I can do that for someone I met two years ago....
Mikhail Rashkovsky will likely do better.
Meanwhile, as long as I'm here, I should mention that Tina and I
went to see Mann & Weil at the Promenande in New York City Friday
night (my birthday present from Tina), and we really loved it.
The songs, performances, and arrangements were all top-notch.
All best,
Paul
http://www.sff.net/people/paullevinson
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Message: 4
Date: Mon, 08 Mar 2004 03:23:14 -0000
From: P.A. Ferra
Subject: Cool Groop article link
For all you Groop, Ltd. enthusiasts out there, I found this
while researching The Sundowners - talk about getting 2 birds
with one stone:
http://www.finerecordingstudio.com/Int_Groop.html
Enjoy...
p.a. ferra
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Message: 5
Date: Sun, 07 Mar 2004 20:14:12 -0500
From: Phil X. Milstein
Subject: Re: pick miss
Country Paul wrote:
> 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).
Then there is Marvin Gaye's "Here My Dear," the story of which
someone else could probably tell better (and more accurately)
than I.
--Phil M.
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Message: 6
Date: Sun, 07 Mar 2004 23:08:39 -0500 (EST)
From: ACJ
Subject: Blue Cat oddity
Okay, many of us know Blue Cat as the R&B-oriented sister
label of Red Bird. But I have a Blue Cat promo single (BC 105)
which contains two "adult-pop" songs, "Real Live Girl" b/w
"Deep Down Inside," by British popster Bruce Forsyth. (Each
side is "A Pye Records U.K. Recording.") Anyone know how
Blue Cat came to release this single?
Thanks.
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Message: 7
Date: Mon, 08 Mar 2004 09:13:59 -0000
From: Billy G Spradlin
Subject: Bob Brady & The Concords
I was listening to an aircheck of WEAM (then a Washington DC
Top 40 station) from 1966 on http://www.reelradio.com and it
had a snippet of a 45 by Bob Brady and the Concords called
"Goodbye Baby".
The song sounds like it would be right at home with the SC
beach music or UK northern soul croud. Right on the edge of
white-R&B and upbeat-dance pop (Swingin' Medallions Outsiders,
Okaysions).
I havent been able to find anything about the group anywhere
using Google. Anyone know anything about this record (label)
and if it's been comped on CD?
Thanks
Billy
http://listen.to/jangleradio
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Message: 8
Date: Mon, 08 Mar 2004 13:05:07 +0100
From: Frank J
Subject: Re: Roctober
Phil M:
> Roctober has done similarly exhaustive surveys of midget
> musicians, black punk rockers, one-man bands, the monkey-
> rocknroll connection, etc., etc. They've also done a lot
> of great, straightforward interviews and career summaries
> over the years, as well, many of them of the sort of
> just-under-the-surface-of-stardom acts we Spectropoppers
> love so well.
Maybe I should give it a try. At least this makes me feel
quite normal with my secret foible for singing celebrities,
Muhammad Ali related songs and Elvis tribute performances
from '77.
Frank
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Message: 9
Date: Mon, 08 Mar 2004 07:06:32 -0800 (PST)
From: Artie Wayne
Subject: FOUND......Tribute by Horizon!!
Thanks to my friend Allan Rinde, the world [or at least a
couple of interested Spectropoppers] can hear the record I
produced by Horizon, a "tribute" to the late Brian Jones,
which Neil Bogart bought over the phone:
http://artiewayne.com/tribute.html
Hope you like it, regards,
Artie Wayne
http://artiewayne.com
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Message: 10
Date: Mon, 08 Mar 2004 13:31:39 EST
From: Jimmy
Subject: Sharon Marie Lyrics Help
Hi y'all...
Can anyone give me the lyrics to Sharon Marie's "Run-Around
Lover"? Having trouble deciphering them.
Thanks!
Jimmy
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Message: 11
Date: Sun, 07 Mar 2004 17:23:52 -0000
From: Dave OGara
Subject: Re: pick hits
Country Paul wrote:
> 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.
Hey C.P.,
To the contrary, I'm sure almost every single released was put out
with the intention (and hope) that it would hit big. I guess I was
thinking that maybe there was a story or two from a producer/
arranger, etc. that was assigned by a label to work on a project
when, in the back of their minds, they were thinking "This song
has NO shot at making it". Then, of course, the tune catches on,
becomes a big hit and leaves the non-believers scratching their heads.
It's like actors who turn down roles thinking the film will be a bomb
and it turns out to be Indiana Jones or something. Any musical
stories like that out there?
Dave O'
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Message: 12
Date: Sun, 07 Mar 2004 18:33:24 -0800
From: Kurt
Subject: Re: Wenzel's
Steve Grant wrote:
> 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.
Steve,
Yes, you're correct -- Tom and Maxine were great. Apparently they
closed shop in order to travel -- they hadn't been on an extended
vacation since Wenzel's opened 40-plus years earlier.
Not only "Pipeline", but many other surf classics were recorded by
Bill and Jack Wenzel in the back room of their Downey record store.
Surf groups such as The Rumblers, The Blazers, The Pastel Six and The
Nevegans all cut sides there, proof that Huntington Beach wasn't the only
place that contributed to the Southern California surf sound. (Downey
was also the home to The Carpenters, but that's another story ...)
There's a nice compilation of surf music that was recorded by the
Wenzels called 'Surf Legends and Rumors' (1961-64), on Garland Records.
There apparently are two versions of this compilation. The first features
a bone-shivering version of "Pipeline" that is taken directly from the
original master. On subsequent versions of "Surf Legends" this version
of "Pipeline" was deleted (I think due to legal reasons).
On a slightly sad note, the building that once housed Wenzel's Music
Town is now a '99 Cent Store'. But every time I drive by, I swear I hear
a vague hint of heavily-reverbed guitar coming out of the place.
- Kurt
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Message: 13
Date: Mon, 08 Mar 2004 19:31:25 -0000
From: Rob Stride
Subject: Re: b/w c/w
--Phil M. asked:
> Can anyone explain what the British equivalent, "c/w," stands for?
c/w = coupled with
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Message: 14
Date: Mon, 08 Mar 2004 15:17:49 -0000
From: Clark Besch
Subject: James Vincent, the Exceptions
Just wanted to mention that Chicago guitarist extraordinaire James
Vincent has his biography out now. Weighing it at nearly 300 pages,
it is a wealth of information not only on Chicago's '50s and '60s rock
scene, but is presented chronologically thru today. He pulls no
punches and holds nothing back. He discusses his sometimes rocky
relationship with fellow Exceptions member Pete Cetera, as well as
stories ranging from disc jockeys to Zappa. He later saw a lot as a
member of Aorta and Lovecraft and on to a solo career, and reveals
a lot of insight into his life and the music business. Not only that, but
his website also is offering CDs from his various career periods. Check
it out: http://www.jamesvincent.net/
Take care,
Clark
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Message: 15
Date: Mon, 08 Mar 2004 12:57:11 -0700
From: Chuck Limmer
Subject: Re: Arkade - Sloan/Barri
Austin Roberts wrote:
> Arkade was put together by Dunhill producer Steve Barri who
> wanted to create a group that wrote and sang well together and
> could write for his other acts too.
Austin:
Funny, that sounds like Barri was trying to re-create his own working
relationship with Phil (P.F.) Sloan of a few years previous. For a while,
it seemed like Sloan-Barri were writing, backing-up, and/ or ghost-
performing on half the pop records made in L.A. And their sole
album as the Fantastic Baggys, Tell 'Em I'm Surfin', stands as one
of my most-cherished records from that era.
Did Steve ever reminisce about his days as a pop wunderkind? Any
stories you can share?
Chuck Limmer
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Message: 16
Date: Mon, 08 Mar 2004 12:48:44 -0600
From: Dan Hughes
Subject: Re: SH not HP
Phil M. wrote, of Song Hits and Hit Parader:
> the two are easily mistaken for one another, since they were published
> by the same company and had virtually identical formats.
I seem to remember Hit Parader being heavier on articles and features,
Song Hits being thinner with not as much extraneous stuff. But they both
sure enough gave us LYRICS to sing in the tub, much to Mom's chagrin!
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Message: 17
Date: Sun, 07 Mar 2004 18:01:56 -0800
From: Kurt
Subject: Re: I am SMILEing
Laura Taylor wrote:
> I was mailed a copy of the SMILE concert in London. I had seen this
> concert described as one of the most significant events in pop music
> history. I prayed it wasn't hyperbole. Have any of you heard this?
> It is truly a marvel. And BRIAN sounds better than I have heard him
> in forever...his voice was really sweet, high and clear in so many
> parts...something I am not sure he could have achieved even two years
> ago. I am thrilled to have the boot and look forward to its legit
> release!
I was lucky to obtain an audio tape of Brian's SMILE London show of
Feb. 20. Despite the poor sound of the tape, the great quality of the actual
performance shines through.
What impresses me most is the ease with which the assembled musicians
navigated from one section of SMILE to the next. As each section is very
distinct, this is quite thrilling to hear.
Interestingly, the overall structure of the re-assembled SMILE is identical
to many of the unauthorized bootleg versions of the album that I've heard ...
with a lyric change here and there.
Can't wait until the 'Rolling SMILE Revue' rolls into my town
- Kurt
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Message: 18
Date: Mon, 08 Mar 2004 02:15:01 -0500
From: Mark Hill
Subject: Jimmy Olson's Blues
Currently, in a Yahoo music group, there is an MP3 of a song, "Do
Yourself A Favor" (1961), by Jack Larson. The info line implies that it's
actor Jack Larson, who played Jimmy Olson in 1950s TV's "Superman."
I can't imagine that voice being from Jimmy Olson, it sound more like
poor ol' Johnny Ray or Ricky Nelson.
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/themewithnoname/
There is a 45 picture sleeve posted there (main page and in photos) for
Larson's "Back To School Blues" (Fraternity F-884), from the 1961 movie
Teenage Millionaire. He also has an entry, with photo, in the 1996 book
"Hollywood Hi-Fi", which list 2 more songs: "Roaches" (1959) and "The
Way She Laughs" (1960), both also on Fraternity. But the way it reads
isn't clear enough to convince me they have the right Larson. Even the
Psychotronic Encyclopedia Of Film (1983) mentions Superman's Jack
Larson in the cast of Teenage Millionaire. I believe they are WRONG.
Superman's Jack Larson would be about a decade older than Jimmy Clanton
or the Jack Larson on the 45 sleeve. No way the photo on the "Back To
School"/"Teenage Millionaire" picture sleeve is Superman's Larson. Just
take a look.
There must be a different actor/singer also named Jack Larson and this
information confusing the two has been incorrect for years. I think that
is the case, as the entries at Internet Movie Database are all jumbled up.
Check the entry at IMDB for a 2nd "Jack Larson." And "Teenage Millionaire"
is incorrectly credited to the Superman Larson.
Can anyone clear this up???
Dr. Mark
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Message: 19
Date: Mon, 08 Mar 2004 15:49:33 -0500
From: Al Quaglieri
Subject: Fuzzy Bunnies - The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Any More
I've played the group's biggest single, "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Any
More", to musica. It was always a crummy-sounding record, but I spiffed
it up the best I could.
Al Q.
NY
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Message: 20
Date: Mon, 08 Mar 2004 20:46:30 -0000
From: C. Ponti
Subject: Re: Hit$ and Misses
That Alan Gordon wrote:
> We returned to the hotel. The Ideas were coming fast and furious. We
> summoned Charles Koppelman and Don Rubin from New York. We
> would put the record out on our own label, Daddy Best Presents. Charles
> and Don arrived in a few days and set up a meeting with Mo Ostin at
> Reprise. Mo liked the CON-cept! Full-page ads in all the trades, although
> Elmo & Almo themselves would never be seen. An artist drew two
> characters, young boys with a flower in each of their hair.
Wow, I can relate on the K&R thing. I would pay big time to hear stories
about whether you got proper statements and royalty payments. Suffice
it to say, "I been down dat road". Also I am an avid Magicians fan!
"Invitation To Cry" ruled!
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Message: 21
Date: Mon, 08 Mar 2004 15:19:51 EST
From: Bob Rashkow
Subject: Re: Bob Brady & The Concords
They bubbled under in '67 with "More, More, More Of Your Love". This is
strictly trivia since I've not actually heard the song.
Bobster
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Message: 22
Date: Mon, 08 Mar 2004 15:58:24 -0500
From: Country Paul
Subject: Eddie Rambeau videos; Charmaines; "c/w"; Nitzsche ROTW; mea culpa finis
Eddie Rambeau's Shindig video:
> http://66.34.56.217/shindigshow2.wmv
What a treat, Ed; very nice performances. Yeah, you do look young, but you
had a very mature delivery. (But oh, that shirt in the second C&C!) My
question to you: how much was live (I gather your lead vocals were) and how
much was pre-recorded -- the track? the background singers?
Julio Niño:
> ... [A] revealing article about the Charmaines...:
> http://www.cincypost.com/2003/09/13/wecker091303.html
Quite the story. Sounds like that royalty check came in handy!
Phil M:
> Can anyone explain what the British equivalent, "c/w," stands
> for?...I'm guessing "coupled with"....
You're right -- and that was used in the US as well, as I remember.
Martin Roberts:
> Judy Henske's "Bye Bye Blackbird" on Reprise is playing at
> ... http://www.spectropop.com/JackNitzsche/index.htm
Very nice, especially the arrangement and the restraint which Henske
atypically shows. Maybe my favorite record-of-the-week, at least that I can
remember. Which leads to....
My mea culpa, re: confusing Paul Evans and Brian Hyland: "Shocked" Al
Kooper(and properly so) is the first on-list (and Phil M off-list) to call me
on this. Again -- sorry if I caused confusion; now that I've copped to it twice,
you all can put the whips away now!
Country Paul
(working on a mash-up to be called "Seven Itsy Bitsy Teenwie Weenie Girls
in Polka-Dot Bikinis Sittin' In The Back Seat")
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Message: 23
Date: Sun, 07 Mar 2004 13:31:03 -0500
From: Phil X. Milstein
Subject: funny buzzes
Mick Patrick wrote:
> I've uploaded a shot of the Fuzzy Bunnies to the photo section.
> To view it, go here http://www.spectropop.com/go2/members.html
> and select "Photos" from the menu.
the same M.P. also wrote:
> oblivion on RPM 330 in 2001. Japanese psychobilly girls Bunny Fuzzy
> revived 'Egyptian Shumba' last year, an indication of the Tammys'
> lasting and unique appeal.
Not bad, Mr. P: posts on Fuzzy Bunnies and Bunny Fuzzy within one
24-hour period!
Keep on hip-hoppin',
--Phil M.
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Message: 24
Date: Mon, 08 Mar 2004 15:08:25 -0500
From: Country Paul
Subject: Articles; songs on musica; new 78 retro turntables; mea culpa
Phil Milstein:
> I will, if there's a call for it, do up some of the > other articles
> (Donnie Brooks, Jerry Butler, Mike Clifford, Patsy Cline, Dick
> & Dee Dee, Bobby Edwards, Gene Krupa, Marcels, Ann-Margret)
> at the same time.
I'm calling! :-)
On musica: I really like the 2 of Clubs "Look Away," especially the intro.
And the flip side is also worth hearing, too - I especially like the guitar
work on the intro (or is that a keyboard?).
Bob Rashkow, re: The Spirit:
> Why this didn't catch on is a mystery to me, but I know it's one
> of Ron's efforts with Frost/Greenlight Music on Roulette.
On musica right now. I think it's good -- not great; the hook works well
musically, but I'm still trying to get the lyric beyond its artistic license
with subdividing a cliche. Sorry.
Phil M yet again:
> Speaking of 78s and turntables, has anyone had any experience with
> those new 3-speed turntable boxes being sold at Restoration Hardware
> and the like?
I've only seen, not heard, one. The turntable mechanism is made of the
world's thinnest firm plastic; "cheesy" would be too good to describe the
construction. I wouldn't want to guantee the styluses. But they do look
cool....
Big mea culpa: I apologize for confusing Paul Evans "Seven Little Girl s..."
and Brian Hyland's "Itsy Bitty Teenie Weenie" in print. I don't usually get
confused by the easy stuff like that -- maybe it's time to start taking those
Senior Moments Memory Pills! (I'm five digests behind as I write this, so
have probably been properly and roundly roasted by now. Go ahead -- I
deserve it.)
The End Zone:
Great real band name (from several-weeks-back thread): Ben Steele and his
Bare Hands. One 12" single, probably mid-'80s, on Vanity Records; no date
given.
That Alan -- great Elmo & Almo story. Now we know!
Country Paul
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Message: 25
Date: Mon, 08 Mar 2004 20:46:57 -0000
From: Martin Jensen
Subject: Questions arising from new Spector biography
Hi
I'm in the midst of reading the newly published Spector biography
'Wall of Pain', and was surprised to read the following information
on the Sonny Charles & The Checkmates album:
"Once Charles was brought to the fore co-vocalist Bobby Stevens began
demanding a share of the spotlight, and Spector knew the rest of the
band would be issuing their own demands. With just a handful of tracks
completed for the LP, Spector handed production to arranger Perry
Botkin Jr, and turned his back on the Checkmates Ltd."
Can anyone here attest to this piece of info? It is completely new to
me. As far as I'm concerned all the Checkmates tracks clearly bear
the Spector touch. The only stuff on there, which to some extent
differs a bit would be the Hair songs, but still. ...
Dave Thompson, the author of the book, also mentions a fabulous
Spector-produced version of Dion's "Baby, Let's Stick Together" that
has been locked up in the vaults since the late 70s. Has this record
ever circulated among collectors & has anyone heard it?
Well, off to read some more.
With regards
Martin, Denmark
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SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
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