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SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
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There are 13 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. Dylan at Newport Folk Festival
From: Joe Nelson
2. Re: Finbarr
From: Kingsley Abbott
3. Re: The Water Is Over My Head
From: Frank
4. Re: Ronnie Dove
From: Joe Nelson
5. The Singing Milkman from the Isle of Wight
From: Kingsley Abbott
6. Re: The Front Porch
From: Karen Andrew
7. Re: pay-NO-la
From: Jim Shannon
8. Re: Ronnie Dove
From: Justin McDevitt
9. Re: Bobby & I / Celeste label & Blossom Dearie
From: Patrick Rands
10. Re: Ronnie Dove
From: Tom Stereoldies
11. Re: Mr. Brassman
From: Al Kooper
12. Re: Ray Charles: RIP
From: Bryan
13. Ray Charles R.I.P.
From: Artie Wayne
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Message: 1
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2004 16:35:10 -0400
From: Joe Nelson
Subject: Dylan at Newport Folk Festival
Al, the new Rolling Stone, in the 50 Greatest Moments in Rock writeup
on Dylan's electric debut, includes a quote fromn you to the effect that the
crowd reaction was more positive than historians claim. Could you please
expound on that gig from the viewpoint of the stage?
Joe Nelson
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Message: 2
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2004 15:48:19 +0100
From: Kingsley Abbott
Subject: Re: Finbarr
I'd join with the praise for Finbarr -- fast service, good prices. Just got a
package from them this very morning...
Kingsley
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Message: 3
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2004 10:28:11 -0700 (PDT)
From: Frank
Subject: Re: The Water Is Over My Head
I don't think anyone answered the recent query about the original version
of "The Water Is Over My Head." I believe The Tokens did it first, and their
version is most likely where The Rockin' Berries discovered it, having
previously so convincingly covered "He's In Town." IMHO, their version
of "He's In Town" beats The Tokens', and can be considered one of the
first folk-rock recordings.
The Tokens' version can be most easily found on the BT Puppy LP "I Hear
Trumpets Blow." sealed copies of which were rife in the mid-to-late '80s.
Best,
Frank
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Message: 4
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2004 15:00:56 -0400
From: Joe Nelson
Subject: Re: Ronnie Dove
Fred Clemens wrote:
> You might want to check out http://www.ronniedove.com According
> to his number one fan (Tom Diehl aka Stereoldies, formerly DoveFan),
> he was still performing as of this time last year.
Diehl, by the way, is just a tad short of his 20th birthday -- unusual for
someone whose fave artists are Ronnie Dove and The Ames Brothers.
I'll pass this message along to him, and try to feel out his level of
interest in this group.
Joe Nelson
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Message: 5
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2004 15:46:32 +0100
From: Kingsley Abbott
Subject: The Singing Milkman from the Isle of Wight
Ah, dear Craig Douglas -- on our UK screens only just this last weekend!
His ex-milkman status was used as a major wind-up by The Stones when
he toured with them early on -- they used to leave milk bottles outside his
dressing room door! But he couldn't rival the late Singing Postman here
in Norfolk, where the man was/is regarded as a god -- still is in some
out-of-the-way places where they're just getting the electric in. The
wonderful Postman's best known was 'Hev Yew Gotta Loight Boy' and
'A Miss From Diss' from 1964. There was also the legendary unreleased
Spector collaboration 'Moind where yer stickin' yer baton boy'. OK, the last
bit is imagined, but the rest refreshingly all true!
Kingsley :-)
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Message: 6
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2004 19:54:26 -0700 (PDT)
From: Karen Andrew
Subject: Re: The Front Porch
Thanks Spectropop and Country Paul Payton for a very interesting and
entertaining story! I am disapointed though that the "I've fallen and can't
get up" band has already disbanded. That looked like fun!
Karen
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Message: 7
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2004 14:31:36 -0000
From: Jim Shannon
Subject: Re: pay-NO-la
Country Paul wrote:
> When you're doing what you do for love, musical freedom and $145
> a week take home (about $500 in today's money), you're not going
> to let some jerk mess up your trip.
I worked with one of the top music directors in the U.S. at WHCN-FM.
Country Paul had a Zero Tolerance Policy with East Coast promo wiseguys.
And, with some these guys, it was more than money. I'll leave the meaning
of that to your imaginations.
Jim Shannon
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Message: 8
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2004 15:34:27 -0400
From: Justin McDevitt
Subject: Re: Ronnie Dove
Hello Spectropop,
It is good to see the response to Dave O'Gara's Ronnie Dove post. I have
special memories of Ronnie Dove's music. Say You (summer 1964) was
one of the first songs that I heard on the radio, the day (August 10th) that
my family and I arrived back in the US after living in Kathmandu, Nepal,
having been a US State Department brat.
An end-of-eighth grade memory from May of 1966 is being at a pre-
graduation classs outing and hearing the great uptempo Neil Diamond-
penned song My Babe, a minor hit for Mr. Dove which received a good
bit of airplay on Washington/Baltimore rock radio stations, in recognition
of a native son. The inclusion of a banjo futrher enlivens this track.
Happy Summer Day, also from around mid-1966, is another a favorite of
mine.
Justin McDevitt
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Message: 9
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2004 15:49:40 -0000
From: Patrick Rands
Subject: Re: Bobby & I / Celeste label & Blossom Dearie
The Bobby & I album was reissued on CD on the wonderful Japanese label
Celeste -- they may still have copies available at http://clst.jp/
Great selection of stuff on that label, including a recent 2-CD release of
Blossom Dearie compositions titled Sings: Blossom's Own Treasures,
one of my favorite releases in recent memory.
Speaking of Blossom Dearie, does anyone have a copy of her album Soon
It's Gonna Rain on Fontana from 1967? It was never reissued on CD (a few
tracks do show up on a Japanese comp). This album always sells for triple
figures, if it shows up at all, so I'd love to know if anyone has the album and
if it's as good as it looks. (And if it is that good, why has it never reached CD?)
:Patrick
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Message: 10
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2004 22:17:49 -0000
From: Tom Stereoldies
Subject: Re: Ronnie Dove
Fred Clemens wrote:
> You might want to check out http://www.ronniedove.com According
> to his number one fan (Tom Diehl aka Stereoldies, formerly DoveFan),
> he was still performing as of this time last year.
Thanks for the compliments, Fred, 'though I don't think I would call
myself Ronnie's #1 fan -- I think I'm in the top 3, though; definitely
the top 5. Ronnie does still perform to this day, keeps a semi-updated
schedule on his website, and if you email him he takes a while but does
respond (ssometimes it's his wife who responds). When I saw him live
he did tell me he read every e-mail I sent him, even though he didn't
reply to any of them. He said I asked too many questions ... which is
true, I do that.
Steve Jarrell wrote:
> Ronnie Dove still performs. He is in the Baltimore, MD. area. He did
> have a club there. I don't know if he still does or not. He still
> sounds great!
Steve, Ronnie used to own a club called The Birds Nest, but he no longer
has it. I've heard a lot of stories about it, though.
Bob Celli wrote:
> Ronnie Dove appeared last year with Bobby Vee and others at a show
> near his hometown in Maryland.
The Ronnie Dove concert you speak of last year was held in Bel Air,
Maryland. It had Brian Hyland, Bobby Vee and, in his last public
appearance before his death, Buddy Deane. Ronnie no longer has his
radio show, because the station that it was on wasn't getting enough
money to support it, plus it came during a time when Ronnie was going
in for two major knee operations. He once played a cassette of a newly-
recorded version of his first record, Lover Boy, which will be released on
his next CD.
Artie Wayne wrote:
> In 1966, I wrote "Wish I Didn't Have A Heart", which Ronnie Dove
> recorded on an album. Unfortunately, I didn't have any personal
> contact with him.
"Wish I Didn't Have A Heart" is one of my favorite Dove records. Artie,
if you drop by Ronnie's website and send him an e-mail I'm sure he'd
love hearing from you.
Dave O'Gara wrote:
> Since I've been a member of S-pop, I haven't seen any mention of
> Ronnie Dove. Judging by the 11 top forty hits and some 20 songs in
> the Hot 100, he had (has) a pretty good base of fans. I always thought
> he had very catchy tunes and a wonderful voice, especially the way
> he hit the high notes in songs like "Right or Wrong". I have his
> "Sings the Hits for You" Lp and for me, the highlight of that album
> is his rendition of Someday (You'll Want Me to Want You).
When I saw Ronnie live last year, he actually did Someday (You'll Want
Me To Want You), and he sounded just like the record. He still sounds
great -- his voice is a little deeper now, but he can still hit his high notes.
Tom
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Message: 11
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2004 17:12:11 EDT
From: Al Kooper
Subject: Re: Mr. Brassman
That Alan on Bob Brass:
> I loved it when he would sit at the piano and sing "Rainy Days Were Made
> For Lonely People". Al, did you write that one with him? A good friend of
> mine worked at the Fulton Fish Market, when Bob met him, he implored
> my friend to get him a job there. So the next morning at about 4am, he
> showed up.
Bob left writing with Irwin and I to work at the fish market. Actually it probably
smelled better than our writing cubicle. We all wrote Rainy Days together,
which Pat Boone, of all people, covered quite well. I can't believe I hate the
Gary Lewis record and love the Pat Boone record.
This Al Kooper
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Message: 12
Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 02:15:59 -0000
From: Bryan
Subject: Re: Ray Charles: RIP
Goodbye, Brother Ray
http://raycharles.rhino.com/
Ray Charles' Biggest Hits:
I've Got a Woman [1955; R&B #1]
Hallelujah I Love Her So [1956; R&B #5]
What'd I Say [1959; Pop #6/R&B #1]
Georgia on My Mind [1960; Pop #1/R&B #3]
One Mint Julep [1961; Pop #8/R&B #1]
Hit the Road Jack [1961; Pop #1/R&B #1]
Unchain My Heart [1961; Pop #9/R&B #1]
I Can't Stop Loving You [1962; Pop #1/R&B #1]
You Don't Know Me [1962; Pop #2/R&B #3]
You Are My Sunshine [1962; Pop #7/R&B #1]
Take These Chains From My Heart [1963; Pop #8/R&B #7]
Busted [1963; Pop #4/R&B #3]
Crying Time [1965; Pop #6/R&B #5]
Let's Go Get Stoned [1966; Pop #31/R&B #1]
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Message: 13
Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 14:36:53 -0700 (PDT)
From: Artie Wayne
Subject: Ray Charles R.I.P.
Ray Charles has been here for so long it's hard to remember a time
when he wasn't around. I've always thought of him as an "Uncommon
Denominator" in popular music. For half a century, he exposed the
world to the blues, was the soul of rock and roll, and brought an
African-American voice to country music.
My own life was soothed, rocked, and sometimes explained by Ray
Charles. Isn't it funny how we don't appreciate someone fully until
they're gone? Fortunately, Ray knew how much he was loved while
he was with us.
I only met him once, on a plane back to L.A. from the Tokyo Music
Festival. I felt more like a fan than an exec at Warner Bros. Music, and
became a little flustered. I introduced myself, and told him that I gave
his producer a song he'd recorded, "Go On Home" [H.McCracken].
Ray smiled and sang a few bars back to me. I thanked him for his time,
and for remembering, and went back to my seat. Now I wish I had been
a little less overwhelmed, and spent a little more time talking to him.
Warmly,
Artie Wayne
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