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SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
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There are 21 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. Good Guys; Tom Wilson; "Guess who?"; short takes
From: Country Paul
2. Re: P.F. Sloan's Danger Man
From: Phil X. Milstein
3. The Hep Stars & Curt Boettcher
From: Sebastian Fonzeus
4. The Hep Stars & Joe Meek
From: Bill Craig
5. WMCA shirts
From: Kingsley Abbott
6. The Wellingtons
From: Peter Richmond
7. Maurice Gibb
From: Lounge Laura Taylor
8. Burt Bacharach & Carol Bayer-Sager's living room!
From: Lounge Laura Taylor
9. Andy Paley / Sidewinders
From: Richard Williams
10. The Canaries.
From: Julio Niņo
11. Re: The Teen Queens
From: Mick Patrick
12. Alan Gordon - "Good Time Girl"
From: Mike Dugo
13. Hayley... sigh
From: Alan Albabe Gordon
14. Re: Good & Plenty
From: S.J. Dibai
15. Cameo Parkway and ABKCO
From: S.J. Dibai
16. Lyrics Questions
From: S.J. Dibai
17. "Concrete And Clay" gutarist
From: Ed Rambeau
18. Hedy Lamarr & Shindig!!
From: Ed Rambeau
19. Bernie Schwartz
From: Scott
20. Re: Gigliola Cinquetti and Dio, Come Ti Amo
From: Michael Fishberg
21. Bernie Schwartz
From: Gary Myers
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Message: 1
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2004 00:32:29 -0500
From: Country Paul
Subject: Good Guys; Tom Wilson; "Guess who?"; short takes
Jim Shannon:
> I still have my original "Good Guy" sweatshirt from WPOP.
> Merchandising expanded to "Good Guy Music Survey" to bumper
> stickers. After the "Good Guy" phase, many stations went with
> the "Boss Jocks" concept. Would love to get those '60s DJ
> musical openings.
The late Rick Sklar, the first and most successful Program Director
of WABC, New York, as a rock station, told a Good Guys story at a
college radio gathering I attended in the late 60's; I may have
related it here earlier, so here's the short version. Originally,
WABC was "The Good Guys" station, but somehow - perhaps it wasn't
copyrighted - it got away from them. WMCA, their down-the-dial
competition, came on out of the blue one day as "The Good Guys,"
and for two days it was a total Top 40 war on the air. WABC did
some serious woodshedding and quick jingle production, and suddenly
they were "The All Americans" (tying in with their ownership by the
American Broadcasting Company. Sklar touted that as trumping The
Goog Guys, but personally I thought the Good Guys image was a lot
cooler (at least at the time - the smiley face hasn't worn well in
this household). Of course, WABC lasted a lot longer as a music
station than WMCA, perhaps because it had 50,000 watts to WMCA's
5,000, plus the money of a major network behind it.
Phil Milstein:
> To my ears, Mr. Wilson sounds a bit stoked on the wacky tabacky
> here, but perhaps those who knew him can inform us of whether this
> is the way he spoke ordinarily or not.
Fun flashback, Phil; thanks. Being a Harvard alum, I'm quite sure
that this was *one* way Wilson talked, but could vary it for his
target listener. On the other hand, he is using Zappa's "Help I'm A
Rock" for talkover music! (Most of us progressive jocks tried to talk
as though we were dabbling in the wacky tobacky, too; for many, it
was less of an act than for others!) I was in the studio for the
taping of the Ultimate Spinach/Orpheus show, and I sort of remember
him doing this kind of space rap, but I also remember thinking he
certainly had his act together as a person and could take care of
business. There were no funny smells on the premesis, though. The
show was taped in a recording studio, then mixed, pressed on limited-
edition LP's, and sent out to progressive radio stations around the
country. I had a copy of the show I sat in on, but couldn't find it
when I recently looked. Darn.
Jim Shannon again;
> I've never cared for The Guess Who and the vocals of Burton
> Cummings. "Shakin' All Over" was okay, but most of their material
> was top-40 fodder. One exception was the introspective soft pop
> ballad called "Sour Suite." A minor hit compared to their earlier
> songs of the late sixties, this one is worth adding to your
> pop music archives.
Jim, while I don't remember "Sour Suite," I share your opinion of
Burt Cummings, whose vocal style I find to be as sincere as a three-
dollar bill. However, "Shakin' All Over" featured a different lead
singer: Chad Allen. The group had hits in Canada as Chad Allen & The
Exceptions. Unfortunately I'm not familiar with them. Apparently,
"Shakin' All Over" was to be a CA&theEs record, but was so different
from what they did before it was released with "Guess who?" in the
artist space on the label. Canadians thought it was a new group by
that name, and the song took off; the new name stuck. (If I remember
correctly, the US Scepter release also just said GUESS WHO? [all caps],
with no "the" before it.) I don't know if Allen quit or was fired
(Javed, are you still aboard to enlighten us?) but he had several solo
singles afterward.
Short takes;
Partrick Rands:
> I've been writing scads of music reviews lately that Spectropop
> members would probably appreciate - check them out here and enjoy!
Interesting reviews, Patrick; especially fascinating to see someone
else's comments on the albums I reviewed for s'pop. (And if you can
find the original version of Keith Colley's "Enamorado" on Unical, I
think it might change your mind about the song; it's quite a different
feeling.)
Steve McClure:
> Remember Mrs. Miller? Well, after listening to the unearthly
> sounds of Wing, I'm beginning to think that some mad scientist
> has spliced Mrs. Miller's DNA with that of Yoko Ono....
> http://www.wingmusic.co.nz/listen.html
Yow! Where is Irwin Chusid's "Incorrect Music" hour on WFMU when we
really need it?!?
Mike "BigStar" Re: Cooper/Dodge Band
> John Dodge was actually John Silliman, who was a student with me at
> Ohio University in the early '70s and who was managed for a time by
> my roommate Paul. (Paul was later involved with Cooper-Dodge as well
> as an independent record promoter.)
Mike, would that be Paul Yeskel?
Country Paul
(not Yeskel, but I knew him well for a while)
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Message: 2
Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2004 23:51:07 -0500
From: Phil X. Milstein
Subject: Re: P.F. Sloan's Danger Man
Clark Besch wrote:
> The new lyrics are "Rollback Man". Considering Flip supposedly
> hated Johnny Rivers' version of Sloan's original "Danger Man" ...
Was Sloan's original ever released?
--Phil M.
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Message: 3
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2004 11:06:34 +0100
From: Sebastian Fonzeus
Subject: The Hep Stars & Curt Boettcher
Hello!
Of interest to members of this list regarding The Hep Stars might
be their unsuccessful 1968 LP "It's Been A Long Long Time" on the
Cupol label as it includes several Curt Boettcher, Gary Alexander
and Sandy Salisbury penned tunes otherwise better known as recorded
by Milennium/Ballroom/Sagittarius. So the Hep Stars or someone in
their "inner circle" obviously had good taste, but unfortunately
their versions (like most of their other material except maybe a
handful of tunes) are absolutely horrible in my opinion and plagued
by Svenne's flat sounding uninspiring vocals and bad english.
The album has been issued on CD in Japan. Check this out for more
info: http://www2.gol.com/users/davidr/m&m/heplonginfo.html
Take care!
/Sebastian
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Message: 4
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2004 13:09:15 -0000
From: Bill Craig
Subject: The Hep Stars & Joe Meek
David Coyle wrote:
> ... the Hep Stars ... also did a cover of Mike Berry's "Tribute
> To Buddy Holly."
A-ha! Finally hard evidence of the long suspected ABBA-Joe Meek
connection!
Bill Craig
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Message: 5
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2004 15:14:13 -0000
From: Kingsley Abbott
Subject: WMCA shirts
Simon Nicol of Fairport Convention had a yellow WMCA Good Guys
shirt which I think he obtained on their first US trip. It
looked good on the Charing Cross Road!
Kingsley
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Message: 6
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2004 15:34:30 -0000
From: Peter Richmond
Subject: The Wellingtons
David Young:
> ... The Wellingtons ... Ascot single "Go Ahead and Cry." ...
> Peter Richmond, which came first, this or The Righteous Brothers'
> own version?
David,
The Wellingtons had the original version of "Go Ahead And Cry",
written and produced by Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers,
arranged by Bill Baker on Ascot 2217, released in March 1966.
The Righteous Brothers version of "Go Ahead And Cry" also produced
by Bill Medley and arranged by Bill Baker, was released later in
August 1966 on Verve 10430.
The Wellingtons had performed "Go Ahead And Cry" on Shindig in
November 1965.
Kirby Johnson, a member of the group, arranged the Ascot 2217 B-side
"Take My Hand", also written and produced by Bill Medley. He was to
later arrange the 1968 Verve 10621 Bobby Hatfield single "Brothers"/
"What's The Matter Baby" and then in 1972, possibly Hatfield's best
ever solo effort, in my humble opinion, "Stay With Me" on Warner
Brothers 7649.
Peter Richmond.
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Message: 7
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2004 16:07:42 -0000
From: Lounge Laura Taylor
Subject: Maurice Gibb
Hello! I haven't read or posted to this group in awhile, and I have
missed it. I have heard Maurice Gibb released some really great solo
works in the late 60s, ala' the Robin Gibb SING SLOWLY SISTERS. Can
any of you wonderful sages help me where to find said stuff? Thanks!
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Message: 8
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2004 16:26:34 -0000
From: Lounge Laura Taylor
Subject: Burt Bacharach & Carol Bayer-Sager's living room!
See: http://tinyurl.com/yuyth
I bet Burt and Angie had an even better pad!
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Message: 9
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2004 18:04:55 +0000
From: Richard Williams
Subject: Andy Paley / Sidewinders
I wrote:
> The first time I became aware of Andy Paley was during his time
> with a band called the Sidewinders, whose 1972 RCA album was
> produced by Richard Robinson.
Eddy wrote:
> Richard, wasn't the Sidewinders album produced by Lenny Kaye?
Whoops -- dead right. Sorry to mislead. Richard and Lenny were
(probably are still) best friends and were both just getting into
production. Richard did some Flamin' Groovies stuff around the same
time, and then Lou Reed's first post-Velvets album.
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Message: 10
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2004 18:47:32 -0000
From: Julio Niņo
Subject: The Canaries.
Hola Everybody.
Scott wrote:
> ...Does anyone know anything about the group The Canaries that
> recorded one single on Dimension 1047 "Iīm Sorry Baby"/"Runaround
> Ronnie."
Scott, I havenīt heard that record, so I donīt know if it can be the
same group, but there was a Spanish combo named The Canaries (They
were from the Canary Islands). In 1966 they recorded some songs in
NYC, produced by The Tokens. An LP with those recordings was issued:
"Flying High with The Canaries".
In 1968 The Group, as Los Canarios, had a monster hit in Spain with
"Get on Your Knees" (according to the legend, a song about fellatio,
camouflaged with religious references. Remember that this was Spain
in the sixties, where the tricks to elude the censure often lead to
grotesque and funny situations. What is more, although it could sound
bizarre nowadays, there is a long tradition of combining religion and
sex in Spanish art).
Chao.
Julio Niņo.
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Message: 11
Date: Sat, 20 Mar 2004 18:06:33 -0000
From: Mick Patrick
Subject: Re: The Teen Queens
Phil Hall wrote:
> Does anyone know what happened to Rosie & Betty Collins,
> who were The Teen Queens? I know they never had a hit
> after "Eddie My Love" and that they later had problems
> with drugs, but does anyone know where they are today?
Those who are sufficiently interested in the Teen Queens
to have bought their CD will be aware that Rosie and Betty
Collins are both dead.
That means only their legal heirs and the copyright owners
of their recordings are likely to complain that tracks by
the group are being made available free of charge via the
internet.
Information regarding the Teen Queens CD is available here:
http://216.15.202.119/cgi-bin/SearchCatNo.asp?lngID=183670
and here: http://216.15.202.119/MoreInfo/CDCHD581.html
Hey la,
Mick Patrick
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Message: 12
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2004 09:45:10 -0600
From: Mike Dugo
Subject: Alan Gordon - "Good Time Girl"
That Alan Gordon:
> I do not recall if any artist recorded that song. Ritchie Adams
> and I wrote "Gotta Get Away," which was on the B side of "We
> Ain't Got Nothin' Yet" by the Blues Magoos. We also wrote "What
> Goes On," which the Archies did on one of their albums. I really
> can`t recall if any one did "Good Time Girl."
Thanks for the information, Alan. Someone must have recorded it,
since the acetate exists. Let me see if I can dig up some more info.
Again, I appreciate your response.
Mike Dugo
60sgaragebands.com
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Message: 13
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2004 12:57:49 -0800
From: Alan Albabe Gordon
Subject: Hayley... sigh
Ronnie A. speaks of meeting meeting Hayley Mills:
You are the luckiest man in the world, sir. Well... you and all
those other guys that got to meet Ms. Mills.
I've had a crush on her since I was 8... sigh...
~albabe
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Message: 14
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2004 21:45:40 -0000
From: S.J. Dibai
Subject: Re: Good & Plenty
Steve Fuji:
> I would expect that the album is even rarer than the single. The B-
> side of the single is called "I Played My Part Well," and "Living
> in a World of Make Believe" made the "bubbling under the hot 100"
> charts on Billboard. How are the other songs on the album?
Aw, man, "I Played My Part Well" is one of my FAVORITE tracks on the
album! As for the other tracks on the album, they're mostly very
typical (in a good way) late '60s period pieces. There are two songs
that are solo showcases, one for Douglas Good (the corny-but-
catchy "Ain't Life Grand," where he sings almost like a child) and
one for Ginny Plenty (a sassy little burlesque-sounding number
called "The Guy Who Did Me In"). There's also some bouncy California-
style sunshine pop with heavily overdubbed vocals ("She Is The We Of
Me," "Ho Hum"), a hippie-ish, psych-pop number ("Children Dreamin'"--
excellent), and some tunes like "Make Believe" with interesting
lyrics and similar arrangements. The songs are all conscise, radio-
friendly pop tunes. Ginny Plenty's haunting voice is a clear
highlight of the LP. The more I listen to the album, the more I like
it.
Regarding rarity: hmmm....I'd certainly guess that it's rare, but if
my experience is any indication, it's not the sort of thing that you
have to take out a loan for. I found my mono cutout copy for five
bucks at a funky little store in West Philly two weeks ago, and it's
in pretty good shape.
Thanks for your help and interest.
S.J. Dibai
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Message: 15
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2004 22:06:12 -0000
From: S.J. Dibai
Subject: Cameo Parkway and ABKCO
Larry Lapka:
> Jeff is currently researching the legendary record company Cameo-
> Parkway and will be writing the liner notes for the long-awaited
> C-P boxed set and individual best-of CDs, due in mid-2004.
Yeah, I saw this two or three months ago. My initial response to
your question "Can this be true?" is the title of an Eddie Holman
hit on Parkway: this can't be true. However, that attitude is just
the result of ABKCO promising and not delivering on the C-P stuff
for, um, how long now??? I also saw an article (from Goldmine, I
believe, but I might be wrong about that) in which Allen B. Klein's
son Jody was saying that ABKCO has been waiting to put out the C-P
stuff because they've been trying to develop the technology to do
the most amazing C-P reissues ever and the technology has taken
several years to develop. I don't believe that, but that's what he
said.
So basically I've been keeping my eyes open since seeing Jeff
Tamarkin's website. I haven't been holding my breath, but I've been
on the lookout for any news regarding C-P reissues, and any actual
reissues themselves. I will say this: even once those reissues come
out (if they ever do), they'll never mean quite as much to me as my
everlovin' Cameo-Parkway bootlegs!
S.J. Dibai
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Message: 16
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2004 22:13:07 -0000
From: S.J. Dibai
Subject: Lyrics Questions
Howdy, Spectropoppers. With all of your sharp ears and insider
knowledge, perhaps some of you can help me with a few songs whose
lyrics I've been trying in vain to decipher recently. If you can
assist me, please e-mail me privately so as not to clog things up
here.
So the songs are:
Los Bravos, "Dirty Street" (after the line "there are streets like
this existing in every town") and "I'm Cutting Out"
Kit Kats, "Let's Get Lost On A Country Road" (I've listened to it a
million times, cranked it up, used headphones, listened to different
mixes--I still can't figure out what the hell they're saying!)
Thank you very much!
S.J. Dibai
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Message: 17
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2004 22:16:43 EST
From: Ed Rambeau
Subject: "Concrete And Clay" gutarist
John:
> Eddie, thanks for the very 'groovy' links. It should've went higher
> up the charts. Quick question - do you remember who played the
> tasty guitar in Concrete & clay, My name is mud and Yesterdays
> newspapers... very nice, whoever it was. Also I believe I remember
> from a previous post that you wrote / co-wrote "Big Town boy"...if
> so, thanks...one of my favorite 'girl group' tunes, I never tire of.
Sorry I took so long in answering, John, but I just returned from
Egypt. The guitarist on Concrete and Clay was Al Caiola (not sure
of the spelling of his last name so I spelled it phonetically). He
has a few albums of his own that are available. He's quite a
famous guitarist. Also, nice to hear you're still enjoying Big Town
Boy. Thanks for viewing and listening.
Ed Rambeau
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Message: 18
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2004 22:20:44 EST
From: Ed Rambeau
Subject: Hedy Lamarr & Shindig!!
Chris "Call Me Tondelayo" Schneider:
> Hedy Lamarr as a guest host on SHINDIG???
Yes, Hedy Lamarr....and that's what eventually killed Shindig. They
began to have guest hosts. Following Hedy Lamaar was Ed Wynn. I
believe he died a few days later. LOL. The producers were negotiating
with me to be a regular on the show along with Bobby Sherman and Glen
Campbell, but the guest host additive killed the show quickly and it
went off the air before I ever got the chance to sign up with them.
Another one of my lucky breaks. LOL. Ed Rambeau
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Message: 19
Date: Sat, 20 Mar 2004 08:17:34 EST
From: Scott
Subject: Bernie Schwartz
Country Paul:
> "Hallucinations" looks pretty good, too; a special nod to Adrian
> Pride's "Her Name Is Melody." Written by one of the Everly Brothers,
> the vocalist is actually Bernie Schwartz, about whom I raved
> recently.
Bernie Schwartz has a great (if obscure) LP as well - The Wheel. Think
the two guys from Euphoria played on it.
Scott
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Message: 20
Date: Sat, 20 Mar 2004 05:57:11 -0800 (PST)
From: Michael Fishberg
Subject: Re: Gigliola Cinquetti and Dio, Come Ti Amo
La Cinquetti DID do an English version of this on the flipside of
its UK release on UK CBS records. Now, Julio, you can get excited
all over again...
Michael Fishberg
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Message: 21
Date: Sat, 20 Mar 2004 10:24:21 -0800
From: Gary Myers
Subject: Bernie Schwartz
Country Paul:
> ..."Hallucinations" looks pretty good, too; a special nod to Adrian
> Pride's "Her Name Is Melody." ... vocalist is actually Bernie
> Schwartz, about whom I raved recently.
Schwartz' first record was on Tide as Don Atello. I covered him to some
extent in a story I did on the Tide label for Goldmine many years ago.
I had a very enjoyable with him for the story.
Gary Myers / MusicGem
http://home.earthlink.net/~gem777/
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SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
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