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SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
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There are 25 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. Birthday greetings for Jeff Barry
From: Laura Pinto
2. re: Silver info requested
From: Eddy
3. More re: Silver
From: Patrick Beckers
4. Chubby
From: Frank Murphy
5. Yet more pieces of Silver
From: Austin Powell
6. Re: Jeanne & Jeannie Thomas
From: Simon White
7. Re: Copyrighting riffs
From: Jim Nelson
8. Re: Jan Berry R.I.P.
From: Robert R. Radil
9. Jan Berry
From: Chris Ponti
10. Chubby Checker's ego
From: Paul Urbahns
11. Re: Secret Schwartz
From: Gary Myers
12. Re: Silver
From: Cleber
13. Re: "Take A Girl Like You" Soundtrack
From: Sean
14. Re: Browning Bryant
From: Mike Rashkow
15. Portraits correction
From: Gary Myers
16. Joe London?
From: Gary Myers
17. The Mayor of Sunset Strip
From: Kurt B
18. Re: Gary Myers and the Portraits
From: Martin Roberts
19. Re: Whoever wrote Lulu's Back In Town
From: Chris Schneider
20. Re: Plagiarism & "Lulu"
From: Frank Young
21. Re: Knechtel's best
From: Mike Rashkow
22. Re: [that] Alan Gordon/"Happy Together"
From: Laura Pinto
23. Dick & Deedee / Mark Dinning
From: thirteen_eagle
24. Reparata
From: Phil Hall
25. Re: UK Oriole
From: David Bell
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Message: 1
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 2004 22:53:13 -0000
From: Laura Pinto
Subject: Birthday greetings for Jeff Barry
Hi S'poppers,
One of the legends of rock 'n' roll has a birthday coming up next
Saturday. Jeff Barry turns 66 on April 3rd (hopefully he won't mind
me publicizing his age; his date of birth is all over the Internet,
after all!). I'd like to put together a special birthday greeting
page on his web site and would love to include messages from as many
of his fans and friends as possible. And that's where you all come
in!
If you'd like to be included in the birthday page, please email me
with your birthday wishes for Jeff. My email address, which will
hopefully not get cut off, is lpintop@yahoo.com (and if it gets cut
off, that's lpintop at yahoo.com). Please don't respond to this
message here on Spectropop (unless you use the pull-down menu to
ensure the message goes to me and not the whole group, so the mods
don't pull their hair out!).
For those of you who have not yet seen Jeff's official fan site,
here's a link to it:
http://snipurl.com/jeffbarry
Thanks so much,
Laura
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Message: 2
Date: Sun, 28 Mar 2004 13:03:30 +0200
From: Eddy
Subject: re: Silver info requested
Bill George:
> I have an album from the '70s by a group called Silver. I had it
> on a cassette (transferred it) so there wasn't any information
> included. The only thing I know is that Brent Mydland (of the
> Grateful Dead) was in the band. Does anyone have any more
> information? Who was in the band, etc? And does anyone have
> their second LP? I really like them. Soft harmony pop somewhere
> in between America and The Eagles. Thanks for any help.
Silver
Initial release : 1976
Arista 4076
Debut album from Silver includes Brent Mydland on keyboards and vocals.
Tracks
a.. Musician (It's Not an Easy Life) (Brent Mydland)
b.. All I Wanna Do (Steve Ferguson)
c.. Memory (Sandi Lifson)
d.. No Wonder (Greg Collier)
e.. Trust in Somebody (Greg Collier)
f.. It's Gonna Be Alright (John Batdorf)
g.. Climbing (Brent Mydland)
h.. Wham Bam Shang-A-Lang (Rick Giles)
i.. Right On Time (Greg Collier)
j.. Goodbye, So Long (John Batdorf)
Musicians
a.. John Batdorf - guitar, vocals
b.. Greg Collier - guitar, vocals
c.. Tom Leadon - bass, vocals
d.. Brent Mydland - keyboards, vocals
e.. Harry Stinson - drums, vocals
Other credits
a.. Producer, arranger - Tom Sellers, Silver
b.. Orchestral arrangements - Tom Sellers
c.. Wham Bam producer - Tom Sellers, Clive Davis
d.. Vice Producer - John "Maverick" Simmons
e.. Engineer/Production Assistant - Joe "Skeedorie" Sidore
f.. Album Coordination - Martha Sellers
g.. Road Manager and Friend - Steve Smith
h.. Equipment and Jokes - Jack "Ol' Shep" Batdorf
i.. Cover Design - Philip Hartmann
j.. Photography - Guy Webster
k.. Direction - Hartmann & Goodman
l.. Recorded at Indigo Ranch, Sound Labs and Wally Heider
m.. Correspondence to 1500 Cross Roads Of The World, Hollywood, CA 90028
Related releases
This LP was remastered and digitalized and released in France on CD in 2000 on Magic Records. Three singles were released in conjunction with this LP;
a.. Wham Bam Shang-A-Lang / Right On Time, Silver, May 1976, Arista 0189
b.. Memory / So Much For The Past, Silver, November 1976, Arista 0210
c.. Musician (It's Not An Easy Life) / Right On Time, Silver, January 1977, Arista 0227
Silver released a second LP in 1978, "Cry Me a River," after Brent Mydland left the group.
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Message: 3
Date: Sun, 28 Mar 2004 14:01:13 +0200
From: Patrick Beckers
Subject: More re: Silver
I used to have the album, but you can find a little bit more info here:
http://tinyurl.com/2hw59
I've always liked the song "Musician (It's Not An Easy Life)."
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Message: 4
Date: Sun, 28 Mar 2004 14:22:03 +0100
From: Frank Murphy
Subject: Chubby
S. J. Dibai:
> Someone ought to keep [Chubby Checker's] ego in check ... here
> is a link to a two-year-old story from the Philadelphia Weekly
> (one of those free weeklies) that shows just what I mean:
> http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/archives/article.asp?ArtID=2022
Chubby is still a working musician and still gets the headlines with stories
like this just before he tours or does a big gig. However, I do note that
this year he has downgraded his demands to a photograph of his good self in
the entrance to the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame before he will accept a
nomination.
reflections on northern soul Saturdays at 14:30 or listen now
www.radiomagnetic.com/archive/rnb.php
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Message: 5
Date: Sun, 28 Mar 2004 15:49:29 +0100
From: Austin Powell
Subject: Yet more pieces of Silver
That's what I love about Spectropop: every now and again someone mentions a group and off I go into my garage to dig out some long-forgotten vinyl. So I find the Silver album, released here on Arista and lo and behold, no info about the five-piece group on the sleeve. Steve Ferguson, Sandi Lifson, George Thomas, Greg Collier, John Batdorf and Rick Giles were the various writers on the album with production credited to Tom Sellers and Silver. "Wham Bam" was the track that got some airplay over here.
Austin
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Message: 6
Date: Sun, 28 Mar 2004 15:50:25 +0100
From: Simon White
Subject: Re: Jeanne & Jeannie Thomas
Austin Powell:
> There's a Jeannie Thomas LP on Strand 1030 called "Sings For the Boys."
Is there a picture on the cover, Austin?
Simon
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Message: 7
Date: Sun, 28 Mar 2004 11:06:09 -0500
From: Jim Nelson
Subject: Re: Copyrighting riffs
Gary Myers:
>The closest thing I ever heard to a lawsuit on something like that was
>when the writers of "Speedy Gonzalez" tried to sue for the "la la"
>stuff on "Crocodile Rock." I never heard the outcome, but I doubt that
>they had a real case, for the same reason I mention above.
Elton John says Paul Anka also went after him for that record, which
he felt ripped off "Diana." Nothing became of it, but Anka made damned
sure the followup single, "Daniel," would get "honored" on one of his
own records - and it did: Elton's first response to "(You're) Having
My Baby" was "God, this sounds like 'Daniel'."
Joe Nelson
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Message: 8
Date: Sun, 28 Mar 2004 16:12:34 -0000
From: Robert R. Radil
Subject: Re: Jan Berry R.I.P.
Joe Nelson:
> The guy partying with with Jan at the end of "At the Drive-In" is a
> friend of mine, Dr. Robert Rush from the Rip Chords. I'm sure he has
> the news already, but he's got to be devastated.
I asked Bob Rush if he had the chance to meet Jan during the show's
taping, and he responded:
"Sure - we stood together at the finale, and we were singing together
backstage, got make-up done together. He was a sweet man."
Bob Radil
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Message: 9
Date: Sun, 28 Mar 2004 16:44:06 -0000
From: Chris Ponti
Subject: Jan Berry
What a brave cat he was. He worked so hard at his physical rehab;
given the cards he was dealt as far as the accident, he coped
amazingly.
I last spoke with him in a little covenience store called
The Sainsbury on Wilshire and Bundy. We had common roots in music and
chatted about old friends, but he seemed to've improved a lot since I'd
seen him maybe 10 years earlier. I was told his dad lived nearby, but
I'm not sure. His body was still so affected; he was quite hunched and
one arm seemed not to serve him at all.
Nonetheless, he smiled and was so sweet to everyone with whom he came
into contact. I'm sorry to be superficial, but he was the most glamourous
guy in pop, with the possible exception of Elvis. For us East Coast
rockers, looking at Jan Berry was like a lesson in genetics. We were all
these ethnic, funny-looking cats, pale from the streets of NY, and here
was this Greek god, who oozed sun & surf and having girls hanging all
over him.
When NY teenagers first heard Jan & Dean records, it instantly made us
want to go see what the West Coast was all about. Sun, surf, blonde
girls? I'm in! I was so lucky to have had many visits with Jan. How hard
it must've been to go from poster boy for the SoCal lifestyle to someone
who had to work so hard just to achieve basic daily functions. He was
one of the good guys.
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Message: 10
Date: Sun, 28 Mar 2004 12:20:34 EST
From: Paul Urbahns
Subject: Chubby Checker's ego
Chubby really things he accomplished a lot, but actually
"The Twist" was a direct copy (sound-a-like) of the Hank
Ballard record. Chubby won a chart war of sorts as he had
a bigger company and Dick Clark behind him. Ballard actually
wrote the song and the arrangement that Checker has been
making money off. They probably selected Checker for the song
because he could sound like other singers.
No creative genius is shown in Checker's records, even though
I like them all.
Paul Urbahns
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Message: 11
Date: Sun, 28 Mar 2004 11:01:40 -0800
From: Gary Myers
Subject: Re: Secret Schwartz
Previously:
> There may be a secret Schwartz thing goin' on 'cause Melvin Schwartz
> wrote "Baby Blue" & also "Baby Talk."
No connection between Bernie Schwartz & Melvin Schwartz.
gem
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Message: 12
Date: Sun, 28 Mar 2004 19:10:07 -0000
From: Cleber
Subject: Re: Silver
The first Silver LP was released here in Brazil in 1976.
It's really a good albumn and was released on CD by a French
label called MAGIC RECORDS:
http://www.magic-records.com/index2.html
Cleber
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Message: 13
Date: Sun, 28 Mar 2004 21:10:54 -0000
From: Sean
Subject: Re: "Take A Girl Like You" Soundtrack
In answer to Sean's request for a source for the soundtrack to the film
"Take a Girl Like You," Ray supplied the URL http://tinyurl.com/2y5pw
Unfortunately, however, that's the soundtrack to a BBC TV show, not the
1970 film starring Hayley Mills and Oliver Reed.
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Message: 14
Date: Sat, 27 Mar 2004 09:52:26 EST
From: Mike Rashkow
Subject: Re: Browning Bryant
Previously:
> Googling Browning Bryant, I have learned he was born in Pickens, SC,
> was a child movie star, and is still recording to some degree.
Does he still live in Pickens? That's not far from me. I could look
him up and get him to autograph my copy of One Time In A Million--and
maybe he would want me to autograph his copy since (not to make a lot
out of it) I happened to write it with with the invaluable assistance
of Ms. Ellie Greenwich.
Di la,
Rashkovksy
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Message: 15
Date: Sun, 28 Mar 2004 15:02:30 -0800
From: Gary Myers
Subject: Portraits correction
It was great fun to hear our record over the internet, but I
was not the leader of the Portraits, as indicated. The group,
at that time, was:
Phil Anthony - org/leader
Jerry Tawney - lead voc
John Rondell - gtr
Gary Myers - dr
I also arranged and overdubbed acoustic rhythm guitar on some
of our sessions. Phil still plays part-time and tunes pianos.
We worked together a few times last year. Last I knew, Jerry
had been out of the business for many years, living in Orange
County. John, now using his real last name, has been back in
Wisconsin (where the group originated) for a few decades. He
stopped playing a few years ago, but is apparently back playing
now. I played full-time until '82 and part-time since then.
When I do a gig as leader, I still use the name "Portraits"
(It was actually me who suggested that name, when we had to
change our name from the Mojo Men, after the SF band hit).
gem
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Message: 16
Date: Sun, 28 Mar 2004 12:49:22 -0800
From: Gary Myers
Subject: Joe London?
I'm searching for any clues on Joe London. His 1959 Liberty
release, "It Might Have Been" (flip: Lonesome Whistle) bubbled
under in BB and charted in CB. Because it was first issued on
Dinamo, a small Milwaukee label, this falls into my continuing
Wisc research. Here is what I have so far:
> Songwriter Bert Salmirs recalls Joe London as a young folk
> singer in New York City. London sings in a pleasing tenor voice,
> reminiscent of Jimmie Rodgers, with elements of a young Paul Anka.
> Salmirs claims to have written the melody for "It Might Have Been"
> though the writers are listed as Harriet Kane and Ronnie Green.
> Salmirs believes both names are fictitious, and that one is actually
> publisher/manager Herb Weiner, who reportedly added his name to the
> songs of many other writers.
Anyone?
Gary Myers / MusicGem
http://home.earthlink.net/~gem777/
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Message: 17
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 2004 00:36:32 -0000
From: Kurt B
Subject: The Mayor of Sunset Strip
After many months of waiting, the Rodney Bingenheimer bio-pic
"The Mayor of Sunset Strip" is finally in general release. It's
in a handful of theaters here in the L.A. area. I'm not sure if
it's been released nationwide.
For those of you unfamiliar with the omnipresent Rodney, he's
been a DJ at LA's KROQ since 1976 (when they broadcast on both
AM and FM!) His life has touched the lives of many, many musicians
and listeners. He broke many local and international bands by playing
tapes and demos on his radio program.
Claustrophobic scenes of Rodney sharing pieces from his never-ending
collection of celebrity memorabilia are fascinating. And it's worth
the price of admission alone to see vintage film clips and stills of
Hollywood hipsters and musicians. Brian Wilson, Nancy Sinatra, Phil
Spector, Kim Fowley, Bowie (and more) are featured.
I found the film it to be a very touching portrait of a very influential
figure in the musical history of LA.
I'm sure it will disappear from the theaters after this week, so I
simply wanted to encourage folks to see it now...or catch it when it
comes out on DVD
Kurt
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Message: 18
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 2004 07:58:55 +0100
From: Martin Roberts
Subject: Re: Gary Myers and the Portraits
I queried:
> Did you work on any other records for Sidewalk (and its
> sister [?] label Uptown)?
And Gary replied:
> Martin, are you sure these two were connected?
No! Just a shot in the dark, I had a few of both labels by
my record player and was struck by the similarity of design.
(Black writing, white label. Yeah very similar! :-)) And I
thought that while I'm asking questions I'd chuck this one
into the mix.
Did you 'find' musica? For any new members, it's on the
Spectropop menu to the left of the page in, near the top in
'group Features'. Or for email only members, it's
http://groups.yahoo.co.uk/group/spectropop/files/musica
Have you got "Runaround Girl" on file? If not, I could post
that when "Over The Rainbow" is removed. Thanks for your
previous comments.
Martin
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Message: 19
Date: Sun, 28 Mar 2004 22:09:40 -0800 (PST)
From: Chris Schneider
Subject: Re: Whoever wrote Lulu's Back In Town
Al Kooper:
> whoever wrote Lulu's Back In Town could EASILY sue
> David Clayton Thomas for Spinning Wheel AND
> Randy Newman for Bet No One Ever Hurt This Bad.
I hate to sound like a broken record or a repeating CD,
for that matter, but ... the too-little-recognized composer
of Etta James' "At Last" is that same unnamed individual who
composed "Lulu's Back In Town": Harry Warren (1893-1981).
He also wrote the music for "I Only Have Eyes For You".
Warren isn't necessarily my favorite song composer; I do like
him a lot, though, and it annoys me how his name seems to slip
from people's memory.
There's a very good, very informative site devoted to Harry
Warren at http://www.harrywarren.org
Chris "I Don't Know If It's Cloudy Or Bright' Schneider
P.S. For the record, the lyricist for both "Lulu" and "I Only
Have Eyes For You" was the admirable Al Dubin. For "At Last"
it was Mack Gordon.
P.P.S. For those who haven't heard it, I'd strongly recommend the
Mel Torme/Marty Paich version of "Lulu" recorded for Bethlehem in
the '50s. (Rhino-reissued album "Lulu's Back In Town"; Rhino 75732)
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Message: 20
Date: Sun, 28 Mar 2004 23:10:49 -0800 (PST)
From: Frank Young
Subject: Re: Plagiarism & "Lulu"
Al Kooper wrote:
> I don't think it went down, but whoever wrote Lulu's Back
> In Town could EASILY sue David Clayton Thomas for Spinning
> Wheel AND Randy Newman for Bet No One Ever Hurt This Bad....
> check it out y'all !!!
Those writers were the great Al Dubin and Harry Warren, one of
the finest songwriting teams of the 20th century. Newman and
Clayton Thomas did indeed "pay homage" to this 1935 chestnut in
the melodies to the two songs mentioned. I wonder how much of
that is simply unconscious. I think it happens to every songwriter.
Not to let anyone off the hook, though...
Best,
Frank
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Message: 21
Date: Sun, 28 Mar 2004 22:06:10 EST
From: Mike Rashkow
Subject: Re: Knechtel's best
> Mike Rashkow:
> I'll always remember [Larry Knechtel] for "the best ever
> rock n roll piano solo" (tm) on Duane Eddy's "You Are My
> Sunshine" back in '59.
Al Kooper:
> The subtle best of Knechtel is the bass on The Byrds'
> "Tambourine Man."
There is some mistake--I did not make that post. I answered it
with a single line referencing "Bridge Over Troubled Water" on
which he played piano I believe.
Di la,
Rashkovsky
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Message: 22
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 2004 11:44:26 -0000
From: Laura Pinto
Subject: Re: [that] Alan Gordon/"Happy Together"
Artie Wayne wrote:
> Alan ... How ya' doin'? Congratulations on the Applebees
> restaurant commercial using "Happy Together." I usually hate
> rewrites of hit songs to fit a product, but I think the lyric
> "Imagine steak and shrimp on just one plate ... so happy together"
> is perfect. It sells the product without compromising the
> integrety of your song. Did you write the new lyric or did someone
> at the ad agency? Now might be the time to suggest to your
> publisher to get "Happy Together" to Mike Curb for Faith Hill and
> Tim McGraw.
Hi,
I had to comment on Artie's question, which is an excellent
question! Who DOES the rewriting of lyrics for commercials
like this? Is it usually the songwriter or a third party?
As a tribute to Ron Dante, who sings the "Happy Together" spot,
I went to my local Applebees last night for some of that steak
and shrimp. Delicious! I highly recommend the teriyaki steak/
coconut shrimp combo.
"Happy Together" has always been one of my favorite songs, with
or without food. I had the pleasure of seeing Flo and Eddie perform
it on a couple of occasions in 2002 (in Clearwater, Florida and at
EPCOT's Flower Power). I love that hook: "I can't see me lovin'
nobody but you ..."
Laura :)
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Message: 23
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 2004 05:32:04 -0000
From: thirteen_eagle
Subject: Dick & Deedee / Mark Dinning
Hi all,
This should be easy to confirm - are Dick & Deedee the backup
singers on Mark Dinning's "Top 40, News, Weather and Sports"?
Thanks!
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Message: 24
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 2004 20:47:52 -0000
From: Phil Hall
Subject: Reparata
Thanks so much to Ray, Tony & Austin for their Reparata &
The Delrons updates. They are one of my top five or ten
favorite girl groups, and they have to have the greatest
girl-group name of all time (Hey, that could be a contest!).
Hopefully someone can persuade them to join us in this
nostalgic madness.
Tony, I hear what you're saying about wanting to go to their
class reunion at St. Brendan's. I'm sure it's not a public
event, but if there was any way to meet them, I'd drive down
to Brooklyn myself. I'm a serious amateur photographer. I
could take the pictures while you do the talking. And if I'm
just dreaming, well, that's partially what this board is all
about anyway.
Phil H.
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Message: 25
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 2004 16:26:44 EST
From: David Bell
Subject: Re: UK Oriole
I was told on this site a few months ago that all of the
Oriole master tapes are safe and sound in the Sony vault
in Aylesbury in deepest Wiltshire or one of those southerly
English counties, at least.
I believe the difficulty is the ownership of a lot of these
tapes is disputed but I could well have remembered that wrongly.
For my sins, I'm a great Susan Singer fan and I long to see her
stuff released on CD. I've tried to persuade a few people to put
her on to compilation CDs over here, but to no avail.
Ah well,
David.
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
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