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SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
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There are 24 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. Re: Agnetha Faltskog
From: Gary Myers
2. Murray The K & other DJs
From: Peter Grad
3. Re: The Globetrotters (Ron Dante & Jeff Barry)
From: Steve Jarrell
4. Re: Accuracy of Top 40 Playlists
From: Karen Andrew
5. Re: The Globetrotters
From: Phil Chapman
6. Zappa '66
From: Gary Myers
7. Re: Tommy Boyce
From: Phil Chapman
8. Top 40 Playlists
From: Dan Hughes
9. Re: The Globetrotters
From: Laura Pinto
10. Re: Donna Marie, Man Killer.
From: Donna Marie
11. Re: Agnetha Faltskog / Kitty Kallen
From: Ron Sauer
12. Re: Agnetha Faltskog
From: Jeffery Kennedy
13. Re: My Coloring Book
From: Chris Schneider
14. Lost Nite
From: Simon White
15. Fuzz, Acid & Flowers
From: Rich
16. Re: Bloos/Blues Magoos
From: Mike McKay
17. Re: The Magicians Reunited
From: Clark Besch
18. Re: Accuracy of Top 40 Playlists
From: Clark Besch
19. Funk Brothers
From: Eddy
20. Re: Boston/Cambridge Folk & Bluegrass
From: Ed Salamon
21. Re: My Colouring Book
From: Ken Silverwood
22. Re: Rick Nelson / Blues Magoos-Do You Hear What I Hear on Musica?
From: Clark Besch
23. "What Now My Love" / "Et Maintenant"
From: Julio Niño
24. Priscilla Paris, R.I.P.
From: S'pop Team
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Message: 1
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 2004 21:45:20 -0700
From: Gary Myers
Subject: Re: Agnetha Faltskog
Peter Lerner on Agnetta Faltskog's new CD:
> ... "My colouring book" ... best known to me from a cover on a
> Brenda Lee album, and I can't just now remember who performed the
> original (Nana Mouskouri?) ...
The US chart versions were by Kitty Kallen and Sandy Stewart, both
in 1963.
> ... Add to that a first-ever version of "What now my love" ...
> without those annoying bom-bom-bom BOMs ...
I don't think I know the "bom-bom" version, but the US chart versions
were by Sonny & Cher, Herb Alpert, Groove Holmes, and Mitch Ryder. It
was composed by Gilbert Becaud in 1962.
gem
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Message: 2
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2004 12:10:27 -0000
From: Peter Grad
Subject: Murray The K & other DJs
Austin,
Very interesting, and you brought back some memories with mention of
Gary Stevens, too. He replaced B Mitchell Reed, a very fast-talking,
popluar DJ on WMCA in NYC... and became quite popular himself during
the exciting 65-66 years... but from the list of songs you offered -
they seem late 50's, ealry 60's, it seems Stevens must have made a
name for himself elsewhere before coming to BYC, I'm not really
familiar with his earlier years.
Meanwhile, somewhere in my basement, I have that bright yellow YMCA
Good Guys sweat shirt, along with a pile of Go magazines the station
issued for a couple of years.
Peter
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Message: 3
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2004 08:06:30 -0500
From: Steve Jarrell
Subject: Re: The Globetrotters (Ron Dante & Jeff Barry)
The Globetrotters' song, "Rainy Day Bells" is actually a "beach music
classic" (for those of you who know what Carolina beach music is). It
is a great record for the shaggers and can be found on compilations on
Ripete Records. My question is, who is singing lead on "Rainy Day
Bells"? Anyone know?
Thanks, Steve Jarrell
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Message: 4
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2004 08:06:45 -0700 (PDT)
From: Karen Andrew
Subject: Re: Accuracy of Top 40 Playlists
Dan Hughes wrote:
> I grew up in Indianapolis, and the local top 40 station WISH
> (became WIFE in late '63) printed a weekly survey that was 7
> inches square...
Hi Dan!
I grew up south of Indlps in Greenwood. I don't remember when it
was WISH radio but I certainly remember WIFE. I loved that station
- of course, that was the only rock and roll station around at the
time. I'm an insomniac but was required by the parents to keep very
still at night when everyone else in the house was asleep. So, I
bought me a transistor radio and an ear plug, got in bed, and
listened to WIFE way into the wee small hours. I'll have to go
through my "60s box", which Mom had up in the attic for a long time,
and see if I kept anything pertaining to the WIFE, etc.
Karen
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Message: 5
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2004 16:51:31 +0100
From: Phil Chapman
Subject: Re: The Globetrotters
Patrick Rands wrote:
> Is it true Ron Dante & Jeff Barry worked on this, I guess it was a
> late 60s tv show? Any one have any idea how much came out under this
> name and if it'll ever get reissued on CD?
> If anyone has a track by The Globetrotters handy, is it possible to
> post a track in musica?
Laura:
> I have the whole album - I'll list the tracks and songwriters here,
> and when I can I'll get one of them into musica. Ron Dante co-wrote
> one of the tracks, "Cheer Me Up." Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield
> wrote several tracks including my favorite, "Rainy Day Bells."
Are these the same Globetrotters that later recorded the floaty
Van McCoy/Joe Cobb tune "Don't Rock The Boat" on Buddah? I have
a rather worn copy. Sounds like the same lead guy (beneath all the
seagull FX).
Phil
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Message: 6
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 2004 23:22:18 -0700
From: Gary Myers
Subject: Zappa '66
Charles Ulrich:
> My main obsession is Frank Zappa.
FWIW, Charles, here's my very small Zappa story: I think this was
early '66. To my recollection, I had heard Zappa's name around town
(L.A.) a bit, but didn't know anything about him. A friend and I
saw the Mothers of Invention at the Whiskey on a week night and
they were terrible. We didn't stay long, so the sampling was small,
and, based on what I eventually learned of Zappa, maybe it was all
some kind of joke. Also, and I don't recall if this episode preceded
or followed the above, our band was auditioning one afternoon at a
small club (which later became a strip club) on Santa Monica Bl, and
Zappa and a female musician were also in there. I was sitting close
to them and (don't ask me why I remember these kinds of details) I
heard her asking him what the second chord in "Yesterday" was.
Gary Myers / MusicGem
http://home.earthlink.net/~gem777/
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Message: 7
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2004 16:55:24 +0100
From: Phil Chapman
Subject: Re: Tommy Boyce
Larry Lapka:
> Tommy Boyce's book, even for a musical illiterate (as far as
> being able to play anything) was an enriching experience....
I worked extensively with Tommy for ten years from 1976. He was
a generous guy, and remained a good friend. One of his many gifts
to me was a copy of his 1974 book, accompanied with a typical
story about marching into a publisher of self-improvement books
with nothing more than a title and a handful of blank manuscript.
Melvin Powers was completely taken by the idea of becoming a
songwriter, and, impressed by Tommy's sales pitch, added the
tag line "...and sell it". The book contains several interesting
items, including royalty statements from 1967, when hit songs
evidently paid! He tells the story of six of his hits including
writing "Peaches And Cream" (with Steve Venet) as a proposed
follow-up for the Newbeats' "Bread And Butter", and admitting that
his sole contribution to "...Clarksville" was the 50 "do-do's".
Working with Tommy was never a dull moment and was exactly what,
as a teenager, I'd imagined pop recording might be. Some of my
funniest memories are of his sessions. He was an unpretentious
party animal, displayed boundless childlike enthusiasm, never
bad-mouthed his contemporaries and knew no rules when it came
to getting his ideas to tape. The only time I ever saw him down
was the day his idol, Elvis Presley, died. Tommy is sadly missed.
Phil
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Message: 8
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2004 07:22:34 -0500
From: Dan Hughes
Subject: Top 40 Playlists
Clark sez,
> ...so top 40 usually tried getting a little of all the competitors'
> music to put them at the top of the ratings.
That's one thing about sixties radio that I loved--the top forty
contained about 30 rock and roll songs, with the rest of the list a
mixture of country, soul, novelty, and easy listening--and occasionally
even folk and jazz.
As a teenager I decried the intrusion of Dean Martin and Perry Como into
my top forty world, but now as I look back I realize it wasn't all that
wrong after all.
Aside from a very infrequent Weird Al song, where have all those great
novelty records gone? I guess they still appear once in a great while in
country radio, but I do miss the songs that made me laugh. The humor has
disappeared completely from teen music.
Today I run a college radio station that plays modern rock by day and rap
by night. And you know what--I can't even listen to my own station!
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Message: 9
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2004 16:12:09 -0000
From: Laura Pinto
Subject: Re: The Globetrotters
Patrick Rands wrote:
> Does anyone have any records by The Globetrotters? Is it true
> Ron Dante & Jeff Barry worked on this, I guess it was a late
> 60s tv show? Any one have any idea how much came out under this
> name and if it'll ever get reissued on cd?
Hi Patrick and S'poppers,
Here's the track listing from the Globetrotter's eponymous LP, which
I hope will be issued on CD one day in the not-too-distant future:
Side 1:
The Globetrotters Theme (J. Barry)
Globetrottin' (J. Barry)
Bouncin' All Over the World (N. Sedaka/H. Greenfield)
Sneaky Pete (R. Clark/J.R. Bailey/K. Williams)
Marathon Mary (N. Sedaka/H. Greenfield)
River Queen (N. Sedaka/H. Greenfield)
House Party (R. Clark/J.R. Bailey/K. Williams)
Side 2:
Gravy (R. Clark/J.R. Bailey/K. Williams)
Meadowlark (N. Sedaka/H. Greenfield)
Lillia Peabody (R. Clark/J.R. Bailey/K. Williams)
Put a Little Meat On Your Bones, Lucinda (N. Sedaka/H. Greenfield)
Rainy Day Bells (N. Sedaka/H. Greenfield)
Cheer Me Up (J. Barry/R. Dante/J. Carr)
Laura
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Message: 10
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2004 17:54:43 -0000
From: Donna Marie
Subject: Re: Donna Marie, Man Killer.
Martin Roberts wrote:
> Now I've got your attention...
> Apparently this isn't 'our' Donna but I've played Donna Marie "Man
> Killer" (Coral) to musica. The Bob Crewe-style intro is worth the
> price of admission and despite losing its way a bit further on is
> well worth a listen. Funny but later for Columbia, the 'real' Donna
> Marie had tracks produced and arranged by Bob Crewe's arranger,
> Charles Calello.
Hi Martin, Charles arranged & produced two songs on Columbia with me,
"Through the Eye of a Needle" (B.Bacharach & H. David) and "The Whole
Wide World is Watching Us" (W. Gold & J. Brooks).
Donna Marie
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Message: 11
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2004 17:05:58 -0000
From: Ron Sauer
Subject: Re: Agnetha Faltskog / Kitty Kallen
Peter Lerner wrote:
> Here's one Spectropopper who is happy to give a five star (that's
> *****) review to Agnetha's brand new CD, "My colouring book". The
> title track is best known to me from a cover on a Brenda Lee album,
> and I can't just now remember who performed the original
"My Coloring Book" was written by John Kander and Fred Ebb who went
on to write "Cabaret" for Broadway. I'm not sure of the original
recording. Kitty Kallen and Sandy Stewart both charted with it
in '63 in the US. I believe Nana Mouskoura had the hit in the UK and
Barbra Streisand also recorded it in '63. Dusty Springfield and Chad
and Jeremey also have versions.
Kitty Kallen is a passion of mine, and this song is one reason. She
started as a big band singer, having hits with Jimmy Dorsey, and
Harry James. She had solo hits in the 50's and 60's, the last on
being "My Coloring Book. Her relevance to this group? One of her
last singles before a reoccurance of vocal problems caused her
retirement was on Philips - "One Grain of Sand/From Your Lips". I
believe it was written and produced by Bob Crewe, but I'm not sure
because it has been one of the unfound holy grails of my record
collecting quests.
Ron
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Message: 12
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2004 18:49:56 -0000
From: Jeffery Kennedy
Subject: Re: Agnetha Faltskog
Jimmy Crescitelli wrote:
> Peter! Thanks for posting the info regarding her new CD. I've
> always loved this woman's voice... starting way back with ABBA. I
> will be sure to add this to my collection. To me, the 1970s were
> ABBA... they saved me from the soft-rock blues. Well, okay, so did
> Karen Carpenter for that matter ; )
You'll be glad to hear that Faltskog's voice is in fantastic shape on
her new album, really hasn't changed much at all over the years.
Her cover of "Past, Present and Future" is pretty great. It starts
with a new intro featuring a solo violin, then goes into an
arrangement that is more layered than the one on the Shangri-las'
version but overall pretty true to the original. The instrumental
break is slightly different, with the solo violin making another
appearance. What surprised me is that with some of the phrases,
Faltskog is more dramatically compelling than Mary Weiss. She really
acts with her voice. I must admit, though, that it took me a while to
adjust to Faltskog's accent. :)!
"When You Walk in the Room" has some nice Spectorish flourishes,
and "Sealed With a Kiss" has an appropriately ominous arrangement. I
think "The End of the World" is too jaunty considering the lyric, but
I love the schlager approach to "Love Me With All of Your Heart" and
the bossa-nova "Fly Me to the Moon."
One extra nice thing about this album is that it uses REAL instruments:
REAL strings, REAL drums, REAL horns. Pretty rare on pop records these
days. And Lasse Wellender's guitar playing is superb, as always.
Jeffery
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Message: 13
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2004 11:57:34 -0700 (PDT)
From: Chris Schneider
Subject: Re: My Coloring Book
Ken On The West Coast wrote:
> Do we know if the writer/s [of "My Coloring Book"] were female?
Only to the extent that they were extensions of Liza Minnelli amd
Chita Rivera and Gwen Verdon. They were John Kander and Fred Ebb,
who later went on to write the scores for "Cabaret" and "Chicago."
"My Coloring Book," an independent pop song, was one of their first
songs to gain attention.
Chris "This Is The Sound Of My Hand Slapping My Forehead" Schneider
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Message: 14
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2004 22:06:02 +0100
From: Simon White
Subject: Lost Nite
Austin Powell wrote:
> They were all on a label out of Philly called Lost-Nite.
On that subject, does any one of our illustrious have a full Lost-Nite
45s dicography?
And whilst not wanting to appear greedy a "Trip" label discography
would be terribly useful too.
Simon
--
Rilleh!
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Message: 15
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2004 21:29:29 -0000
From: Rich
Subject: Fuzz, Acid & Flowers
One of the best 60's resource for US groups website has been offline
for the last week. Fuzz, Acid, & Flowers. It was part of Borderline
books. I for one will really miss it if that is permanent. Does
anyone know what has happened?
Rich
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Message: 16
Date: Sat, 01 May 2004 01:10:33 EDT
From: Mike McKay
Subject: Re: Bloos/Blues Magoos
Clark wrote:
> Their first 45 was on Verve about the time Al Kooper was working
> with the Blues Project. Am wondering if Al ever had any connection
> with the Magoos when both were on Verve. It's an odd coincidence
> that the Vereve 45 was listed "Bloos Magoos". I was wondering if
> that is because it would be confusing if there were "Blues Magoos"
> and "Blues Project" on the same label?? Then, moving to Mercury, it
> was changed to "Blues Magoos"? Maybe the Verve listing was just a
> mispelling??
No...the band was in fact originally known as Bloos Magoos. I clearly
recall them being talked about under that name in the pages of "Hit
Parader" for some time before "We Ain't Got Nothin' Yet" came out, and
I also am pretty sure they ran a notice of the name change at some
point as well.
Mike
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Message: 17
Date: Sat, 01 May 2004 05:43:17 -0000
From: Clark Besch
Subject: Re: The Magicians Reunited
Christian Gordon:
> ... Pop jokes that The Magicians were so good "they disappeared" -
> but to me they'll always be around. I'm sure you'll be hearing
> from That Alan shortly upon his return...
Christian, great to hear from you! Your dad has been a great friend
to we S'Poppers. Hope you fill us in on pop's antics in the future
too! Now, are you a writer or musician too?? Clark
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Message: 18
Date: Sat, 01 May 2004 05:47:06 -0000
From: Clark Besch
Subject: Re: Accuracy of Top 40 Playlists
Gary Myers:
> Barney Pip was one of many Chicago DJ's who had previously worked
> in Milwaukee... Clark Weber was another guy whom I had met when we
> was at WRIT Milwaukee and I was a young teen. I used to write to
> him occasionally when I was on the road in the Midwest and he was
> at WLS in the early 60's.
Gary, yes, several of the Chi DJs came from Milwaukee at some time or
another. Ron Riley came down and did fill ins at WLS before he went
full time at LS. Barney fine-tuned his trumpet ("Turn into PNut
Butter!") up there! Weber, ok, so you can't be proud of all of em.
Just kidding! Take care, Clark
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Message: 19
Date: Sat, 01 May 2004 08:31:33 +0200
From: Eddy
Subject: Funk Brothers
Rimshot Takes Aim At Funk Brothers - April 30, 2004:
The L.A. firm Rimshot Management has filed suit against former Motown
Records sidemen the Funk Brothers, alleging the musicians breached
their management contract. The Funk Brothers toured successfully after
their story was retold in the 2002 documentary "Standing in the
Shadows of Motown."
(Sorry, rest of the story only available to Billboard subscribers,
which I'm not).
Eddy
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Message: 20
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2004 20:11:47 -0000
From: Ed Salamon
Subject: Re: Boston/Cambridge Folk & Bluegrass
> Who'da thunk Boston of all places would produce country and
> bluegrass stars??
When I was programming Country radio in NY, I found that "the
further north you go, the further south you get". Boston always
seemed a better Country Market than NY, Maine was superb, and once
you got into Canada there was an unbelievable Country music scene.
Ed Salamon
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Message: 21
Date: Sat, 01 May 2004 13:02:03 +0100
From: Ken Silverwood
Subject: Re: My Colouring Book
Previously:
> ... I believe Nana Mouskoura had the hit in the UK and Barbra
> Streisand also recorded it in '63. Dusty Springfield and Chad and
> Jeremey also have versions ...
Funnily enough it was never a hit in the UK at all. Sandy Stewart's
probably was the best seller. I am surprised the composers were male,
but after "You Don't Own Me" who can tell. I've now heard Brenda Lee's
version, it's good!
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Message: 22
Date: Sat, 01 May 2004 04:47:37 -0000
From: Clark Besch
Subject: Re: Rick Nelson / Blues Magoos-Do You Hear What I Hear on Musica?
Dave O'Gara wrote:
> A couple of recents posts here mentioned both Rick Nelson and the
> Blues Magoos. It reminded me of a discovery I made many years ago
> that the intro to Rick's "Summertime" and the Blues Magoos "We Ain't
> Got Nothin' Yet" are very, very similar...
Dave, I think there are a lot of times when we hear exact things in
songs like Nelson's "Summertime" and the Blues Magoos song where they
turn out to have parts that sound nearly identical--as I agree these
2 bass guitar parts do! I really did not think the two were
intentionally connected to each other until someone posted that the
Blues Magoos did indeed "lift" the opening of the Rick Nelson song
for "Nothin Yet". I was amazed, since there were 5 years separating
the two.
This brings me to this topic. At work, a million songs run thru my
head each day (do I ever get any work done?) and as I am humming
them, I start humming a song similar just by accident! On Musica,
I've posted some that have rolled over in my mind recently and wonder
what others think about these similarities.
The montage titled "Do you hear what I hear" starts with the Rick
Nelson/Blues Magoos bass openings that we've been talking about.
Next is a part from near the end of an obscure Cryan Shames Lp
cut, "Painter", in which the horn part you hear, slightly resembles
the opening 5 horn notes of the opening of the Ides of March's
"Vehicle". Since both groups hailed from Chicago, did Jimmy Peterik
and gang hear that part in the Shames song of a year earlier??
Next, the fantastic rockin' opening of the Everlies' "Price of Love"
45 from 1968 must have certainly been the model for Shocking Blue's
"Mighty Joe" from 1970.
Then, I even hear things in Spectropop star records! That great bass
line opening to Alan Gordon's Turtles hit "She's My Girl" also appears
in the year earlier Leonard Nimoy 45, "Visit to a Sad Planet". I sure
don't think Alan got his intro from this record, but it's cool to hear
nonetheless. Nimoy's Lps and all are pretty bad, but I like this
spoken word Star Trek version of "Eve of Destruction".
Next, the incredibly great Al Kooper-led Blood, Sweat & Tears cover of
Randy Newman's "Just One Smile" sure has some parts that seem to have
caught the ear of David Wagner and reformatted to Crow's first great
single, "Time to Make a Turn" from 1969.
Lastly, our Ron Dante's great Ronnie & the Dirt Riders surf masterpiece
from 1976 called "Yellow Van" sounding very reminiscent of Gary Lewis &
Playboys' "She's Just my Style".
Many of you may not make the same connection as I do in these songs,
but that's what makes the listening fun. Are my ears deceiving me,
or do you hear what I hear?
I won't keep this up long--just for fun....Clark
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Message: 23
Date: Sat, 01 May 2004 12:28:16 -0000
From: Julio Niño
Subject: "What Now My Love" / "Et Maintenant"
Hola Everybody:
Gary Myers wrote:
> ... I don't think I know the "bom-bom" version (of "What Now My Love"),
> but the US chart versions were by Sonny & Cher, Herb Alpert, Groove
> Holmes, and Mitch Ryder. It was composed by Gilbert Becaud in 1962...
"What Now My Love" was an English version of a classic of the Chanson
Française, "Et Maintenant", composed and recorded by Gilbert Becaud, in
1961 (with lyrics by Pierre Delanoë). That song, which reminds me a
little of some of Jacques Brel's songs was a monster hit in Spain, Italy
and of course France (and many more countries I suppose). There are
uncountable versions of the song, one that comes to my mind right now is
by Spanish star Raphael (an impossible hybrid between Jacques Brel (or
more accurately Edith Piaf) and a ye yé singer. By the way the other day
I almost suffocated (laughing) listening to a indescribable Spanglish
version of "I Believe" raphaelized by this singer (If you have heard
some of La Lupe´s tracks sung in "English" you are almost prepared for
that experience).
Chao.
Julio Niño.
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Message: 24
Date: Sat, 01 May 2004 13:06:46 +0100
From: S'pop Team
Subject: Priscilla Paris, R.I.P.
Dear Members,
As reported previously, S'pop heroine Priscilla Paris passed away in
March. An obituary, written by Bill Reed, has been installed in the
Remembers section. Please take the time to read it:
http://www.spectropop.com/remembers/PPobit.htm
R.I.P.
The S'pop Team
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SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
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