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SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
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There are 23 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. Re: For the love of Mike Clifford
From: Gary Myers
2. Vinny Bell
From: Gary Myers
3. Soul Patrol; Raga Rock; Fool Fool Fool; picture labels; Wes Voight; Apostolic
From: Country Paul
4. Re: Marty's Gone Wilde!
From: John Hamilton
5. Judy Harriett
From: Gary Myers
6. Re: "Oh No, Not My Baby"
From: Jon Biker
7. Re: Carole King's "It Might As Well Rain Until September"
From: Richard Hattersley
8. Carole King's BrillTone CD
From: Mark M
9. Leiber & Stoller's "Ego"
From: Chris
10. Re: John Summers
From: Kingsley Abbott
11. Carole King's "A Forever Kind Of Love" demo to musica
From: Bob Celli
12. Found - my cache of acetates ! !
From: Al Kooper
13. Carole King's babysitter
From: Phil X Milstein
14. Marlon Brando and his influence on pop music
From: Artie Wayne
15. Re: The Family of Apostolic
From: (That) Alan Gordon
16. Downtown - Uptown
From: Al Kooper
17. Re: Carole King Demos
From: Don
18. "Witchy Tai To"
From: (That) Alan Gordon
19. Re: Found - my cache of acetates ! !
From: (That) Alan Gordon
20. Re: Carole King's babysitter
From: Artie Wayne
21. Hairspray - the stage production
From: Herb
22. Re: John Summers
From: Mike McKay
23. Carole King's "I Can't Make It Alone" demo / Al Kooper's acetates
From: Mick Patrick
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Message: 1
Date: Thu, 01 Jul 2004 22:04:15 -0700
From: Gary Myers
Subject: Re: For the love of Mike Clifford
Frank:
> The strangest Clifford 45 I have is "Do Your Own Thing"/"You
> Better Start Singing Soon" (American International A-158, 1968?).
Probably around the same time as his Sidewalk release, since Mike
Curb (Sidewalk) did several things with AIP.
gem
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Message: 2
Date: Thu, 01 Jul 2004 21:55:51 -0700
From: Gary Myers
Subject: Vinny Bell
Oreviously;
> I remember telling him about a New York studio guitarist friend of
> mine, Vinny Bell, who invented the "Bellzuki", an electric sitar.
Bell was on our Schafer Beer commercial. We spoke with him briefly in
the studio and he seemed like a really nice guy. I was told that he
was the guy to get anytime one wanted any different sounds out of
guitar.
gem
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Message: 3
Date: Fri, 02 Jul 2004 01:24:27 -0400
From: Country Paul
Subject: Soul Patrol; Raga Rock; Fool Fool Fool; picture labels; Wes Voight; Apostolic
Larry Shell:
> The 2004 Soul Patrol East Coast Convention is on July 30th and 31st
> in Willingboro, NJ....Guests include Howard Tate, Barbara Mason, Billy
> Paul, Chi-Lites, Arlene Smith of The Chantals, Mandrill, Legendary
> Escorts, Mighty Sam McClain, Ab Libs, and many others....
http://www.soul-patrol.com/convention/
Darn - I'll be away, and it's fairly close to home! I've heard Howard
Tate's new album is as hot as his first one; and I can vouch for Arlene
Smith still having her pipes intact.
Re: raga rock, I might remind you about the recently-discussed Adrian
Pride [Bernie Schwartz] song, "Her Name Is Melody," with a strong raga
influence - adn produced by the Everly Brothers!
Lyn in Australia:
> Roosevelt Grier's "Fool, Fool, Fool": I'm trying to find out who
> wrote this song. Is it the same song recorded by the Clovers and
> Elvis, credited to Ertegun (or Nugetre in some cases)? Ray Brown
> & the Whispers had a big hit in Australia in '65 with their version.
The only other version I knowis by Little Joey & The Flips (who did
"Bongo Stomp" on Joy) on Cameo. He may have been just "Joey" without
the "Little" by this time. Nice record.
Phil Milstein:
> Besides being a very enjoyable track and vocal, [the Eydie Gorme]
> record is also notable forits line-drawing depiction of Eydie on
> the label, a perk I don't recall Columbia -- nor many other labels,
> for that matter -- ever doing for any of its other artists.
Columbia did this for several artists during a short period c. 1963 or
so. I remember a Tony Bennett sketch, possibly on "I Left Me Heart In
San Francisco," as well as sketches of Dion and of Johnny Mathis, too.
There was a time when King put photos on labels. I remember a James
Brown photo on a demo, although it might have bneen on his own People
label. The King family of labels also put short bios on their promo
copies for a while in the late 50s. incidentally, I'm still looking for
"Little Joan" by Wes Voight from December, 1958 (DeLuxe 45-6180, b/w "I
Want A Lover." I think its promo label had a bio, but I'm not sure.
(It's the second 45 by the artist later known as Chip Taylor.)
That Alan, thanks for the information on the Family of Apostolic. I
remember when the record came out, but it somehow didn't quite register
with me at the time. Wasn't the original "Witchy Tai To" recorded at
Apostilic and released on Vanguard/Apostolic, if I remember correctly?
That got a whole lot of airplay with our progressive-rock format before
it crossed over to pop.
Country Paul
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Message: 4
Date: Fri, 02 Jul 2004 05:34:25 -0000
From: John Hamilton
Subject: Re: Marty's Gone Wilde!
Most of Kim's early material was, rather unexpectedly, written by
her old man, too! Quite a talented composer for someone who relied
on covers so much. Also worth checking out is the song he did for
the Breakaways, "Sacred Love."
-John Hamilton
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Message: 5
Date: Thu, 01 Jul 2004 23:33:51 -0700
From: Gary Myers
Subject: Judy Harriett
Sunday's L.A. Times real estate section listed the sale of a home by
original Mousketeer Judy Harriett and her husband Tony Richman. They
are selling their home of 32 years for $2.3 million to downsize to
Labuna Beach.
Besides acting, Harriett recorded "Tall Paul" before Annette, and
Annette didn't want to cut her friend's song.
gem
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Message: 6
Date: Fri, 02 Jul 2004 09:17:41 +0100 (BST)
From: Jon Biker
Subject: Re: "Oh No, Not My Baby"
Is it the same backing track on Maxine Brown's and The Shirelles'
versions of "Oh No, Not My Baby"? My untrained ears can't hear
any difference! Pity that neither of them incorporate that key
change in the middle that makes the Manfreds' version so tasty!
Jon
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Message: 7
Date: Fri, 02 Jul 2004 08:22:26 +0000
From: Richard Hattersley
Subject: Re: Carole King's "It Might As Well Rain Until September"
Rodney Rawlings:
> I wonder how many know that Carole King's hit record "It Might as
> Well Rain Until September" (a personal favorite of mine) IS the
> demo, targeted I think to Bobby Vee, and was released as is because
> the A&R man involved liked Carole's voice. Perhaps this is old news
> at this board, but it's pertinent to the current threads.
Wow, I did not know this. I guess the strings were put on after though,
surely they would not splash out on strings for a demo.
Richard
www.wiz.to/richardsnow
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Message: 8
Date: Fri, 02 Jul 2004 10:29:55 -0000
From: Mark M
Subject: Carole King's BrillTone CD
Are the recordings 1958-1966 on the Brill Tone Carole King double
really complete?
Mark M.
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Message: 9
Date: Fri, 02 Jul 2004 04:13:18 -0700 (PDT)
From: Chris
Subject: Leiber & Stoller's "Ego"
Frank wrote:
> "She's Just Another Girl, B-side to "Close to Cathy" (United Artists
> 489) is an amazing song, from [Leiber & Stoller]'s "Kurt Weill"
> period of approx. '62 - '64. It features, I believe, the first use
> of the word "ego" in a pop song.
One of my many, *many* dark secrets is an affection for musical-comedy.
("It all began, Doctor, when I saw this photo of Alfred Drake in 'Kiss
Me Kate' ...") One result of this is my readiness to cite instances of
songs using "ego" that predate L&S. It's not Brill Building, mind you,
but they probably still count as "pop."
>From "Won't You Charleston With Me?", in Sandy Wilson's early-'50s
score for "The Boy Friend":
He:
Be my baby and say "yes,"
Or else I'm done-for, I guess;
To dance with you is thrilling to my poor ego,
So baby say you're willing to "shake a leg." Oh ...
Won't You Charleston With Me (etc.)
[Note: It's a British show, and the characters are affected, so the
first syllable sounds like "egg." The strained nature of the rhyme is
also part of Wilson's joke.]
But even that is predated by a 1933 flop of the Gershwins entitled
"Pardon My English." You may have read about it in its recent concert
version put together by the "Encores!" people, those responsible for
reviving interest in Kander & Ebb's "Chicago." Among the show's many
peculiarities is the fact that it treats Germany, which was about to
fall to Hitler, as a Never-Never Land full of operetta-ish jokes. That
includes a comic sextet of addled psychoanalysts ("Six sex psychos,
we!").
As part of a song entitled "Freud and Jung and Adler," we hear these
words ...
Two Doctors:
If a person starts to quiver
Through cirrhosis of the liver,
We can't be bothered with that sort of thing at all.
Two Other Doctors:
But how eagerly do we go
To an egg who has an ego
Or a brain that's scrambled way beyond recall.
["Egg," at that time, was a jocular way of referring to an individual
person.]
The night that the show closed was the same night as the Reichstag
fire. Nowadays, we can find its score in a recording for Nonesuch.
I've read the sheet-music for Leiber & Stoller's "Do Your Own Thing,"
by the way, and would be eager to hear it on Musica. Or virtually
anything, for that matter, from the L&S "Weill" period.
"His Thoughts They Should Be Purty,
"But They Probably Are Dirty ..."
[from that same Gershwin score],
Chris
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Message: 10
Date: Fri, 02 Jul 2004 15:23:53 +0100
From: Kingsley Abbott
Subject: Re: John Summers
Chris wrote:
> I've recently come across the UK artist John Summers on >Pye on the
> Ripples compilations, yet I can't find any more >information on him
> as the sleeve notes are very sparse.
As the compiler/notewriter of Ripples, I'm the guilty party here - as
soon as I heard the John Summers tracks, I knew they fitted perfectly
with the sound and feel of the comps, so we went ahead and put them on
without worrying too much about info about the man. It was tricky
with many of those obscure artists we used on Ripples, but we always
worked on the principle of getting the best music to fit the feel above
knowing chapter and verse...I'd LOVE to know more about Summers myself,
as you'd appreciate, so I'll look out for any more postings about him.
His was the perfect soft summery voice for what we were trying to do
with Ripples.
Kingsley
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Message: 11
Date: Fri, 02 Jul 2004 15:17:01 -0000
From: Bob Celli
Subject: Carole King's "A Forever Kind Of Love" demo to musica
My final Carole King demo has now been posted to musica. This was a
chart record for Bobby Vee in the UK but never released in the US as
a single. I have an interview of Gerry Goffin by Alan Warner (Hi
Alan!) and if I remember correctly Gerry says that he was not too
proud of this song. This demo was probably in the worst shape of all
of them. I cleaned it up to the point just before the sound of the
original recording was compromised. Any further toying with it would
take the life out of it, so I stopped. I'm awaiting for a copy of
Diamond Cut Six Audio Restoration software and perhaps I'll give it
another go when that arrives. In the meantime, enjoy!
Bob Celli
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Message: 12
Date: Fri, 02 Jul 2004 11:56:58 EDT
From: Al Kooper
Subject: Found - my cache of acetates ! !
Mark Hill wonders:
> This has me wondering what the chain of availability to "collect
> Carole King demos" would be. How do they get from the demo stage into
> various hands (like Dusty's) and ultimately to ours? Acetates? Vinyl
> records? Tapes? How many copies would there initially be? And how
> were they distributed? How rare of a chance is it for us to hear
> something like a Carole King demo? Any insight would be appreciated.
Coincidentally, I just came upon a cache of acetates of my songs from
1960-65. I rushed to my studio and began de-clicking & s'popping them.
Most are songs that are so obscure it redefines the word. All the r&b
demos were sung by my good pal at the time Jimmy Radcliffe. The white
ones were done by myself in an uninhibited young (16-19y.o.)
embarassing voice. They are ALL acetates. About 40 of 'em. I'm thrilled
to get them into the digital domain for my archives. I'm sure That Alan,
Paul Evans, Austin Roberts & Artie Wayne have a few hangin around the
house as well.
Old Al Kooper
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Message: 13
Date: Fri, 02 Jul 2004 11:05:09 +0000
From: Phil X Milstein
Subject: Carole King's babysitter
Mikey wrote:
> There is a boot CD on the Brilltone label of like 20 of Carole's demos. I
> think I read she gave away a bunch of discs to her babysitter in the 80s.
Little Eva still?
--Phil M.
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Message: 14
Date: Fri, 02 Jul 2004 12:18:56 -0700 (PDT)
From: Artie Wayne
Subject: Marlon Brando and his influence on pop music
Although Marlon Brandos musical abilities were limited to playing
"Bongos" at "Beatnick" parties during the fifties, his influence on
pop music for decades was undeniable. When we think about "Black
Denim Trousers and Motorcycle Boots" by the Cheers, in the 50s', "He's
A Rebel"by the Crystals, or "Leader of the Pack" by the Shangri-las
in the 60s'........Who comes to mind? Yeah.......Marlon Brando, "the
Wild One"in his black leather jacket and dungarees.....the kind they
wouldn't let us wear in high school!
I heard that Elvis wouldn't smile in his early photos because Marlon
never did. When he became "the Godfather" in the seventies it became
difficult to listen to the beautiful theme without visualizing Marlon
and his "puffy" cheeks. Even when James Brown was justifiably called
the "Godfather of Soul", we all gave a nod to Marlon.
I remember when I went to Tahiti and Bora-Bora, in the early 70s',
the question I was most asked by the natives was, "Did I know Marlon
Brando?".
I wish I did...........respectfully, Artie Wayne
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Message: 15
Date: Fri, 02 Jul 2004 12:42:23 -0700
From: (That) Alan Gordon
Subject: Re: The Family of Apostolic
I went onto the Houseplant picture studio site Country Paul put on his
post. John Townley would really like the website. I tried to reply to a
message I recieved off line from Kurt Benbenek but each time the message
was returned. So Ben if you see this post, I would like to thank you for
puting the "Family Of Apostolic" on your web site. I hope you told John
Townley all about S`pop. He would be a great contributor.
Best, That Alan
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Message: 16
Date: Fri, 02 Jul 2004 18:37:59 EDT
From: Al Kooper
Subject: Downtown - Uptown
Previously:
> Second, to Al Kooper: Did I read that you actually lived in the
> Village at one time? I'm going down there again in a couple of
> weeks; what street did you live on?
Well, first I lived at 140 Waverly Place with no a/c and rats. That
was my Blues Project and BS&T domicile from 1966-68. Than I moved
to 101 West 12th Street, a highrise, where I lived while I worked
at Columbia Records from 1968-1971. Than I moved uptown where a man
can hold his head up high.
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Message: 17
Date: Fri, 02 Jul 2004 17:43:14 -0000
From: Don
Subject: Re: Carole King Demos
Diane wrote:
> I remember reading that Dusty Springfield actually collected
> Carole King demos. Dusty thought they were works of art in their own
> right.
The compliments go both ways. It may have been at the time of Dusty's
passing, but at some time, Carole King remarked that of all of the
people that have done her songs, Dusty Springfield was the best.
Outside Bobby Vee, I think Dusty did more Carole King covers than
anyone else.
Speaking of Vee, thanks to Bob C. for posting, "A Forever Kind Of Love".
I mentioned before that it was one of my favorites, and now to hear my
favorite artist sing it. It doesn't get any better.
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Message: 18
Date: Fri, 02 Jul 2004 16:46:45 -0700
From: (That) Alan Gordon
Subject: "Witchy Tai To"
Hello Country Paul, NOW you did it!!!! Don't you know when you mention
"Witchy Tai To" it's like saying Niagra falls in an Abbott and Costello
skit. For some strange reason "Witchy Tai To" strikes a deep nerve with
many Spectropoppers. Yes, John Townley produced that song at his studio,
and now let the "Witchy Tai To " threads begin!!!
Best, That Alan
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Message: 19
Date: Fri, 02 Jul 2004 16:35:14 -0700
From: (That) Alan Gordon
Subject: Re: Found - my cache of acetates ! !
Al the "K" , funny you should mention old acetates. I`ve got about 40
myself. My son bought me a cd to cd sony deck for my birthday. So I`m
gonna TRY to transfer the demos onto cds. Al, you`re not planning a trip
to Arizona this summer are you??? I'd love some of those old demos, even
the bad ones. What dreams went into each session, and some even came
true.
Safe and happy Fourth to all.
Best, That Alan
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Message: 20
Date: Fri, 02 Jul 2004 17:00:37 -0700 (PDT)
From: Artie Wayne
Subject: Re: Carole King's babysitter
Phil........how ya' doin'? I'm not "The" babysitter who was given a
load of Carole King's demos on acetate.......but during the late '60s
when I was a staff writer at Aldon Music, I'd occasionally babysit
for Carole while she was in the studio doing demos. In return she
would play keyboards, arrange, and sing background when I had to put
my songs on tape. I've tried to locate the half-dozen tunes she helped
me with, [which were never recorded] but over the years they have
disappeared.
regards, Artie Wayne http://artiewayne.com
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Message: 21
Date: Sat, 03 Jul 2004 05:21:20 -0000
From: Herb
Subject: Hairspray - the stage production
Hi Spectropoppers,
About two weeks ago, I went to see Hairspray with a predominately
Canadian cast (a presumption) but not an issue.
I was seated in the 3rd row at the (my) right of the stage. There I
got an excellent, almost close-up view of the cast members.
When John Water's movie Hairspray came out those many years ago, I
raved over it. I saw it about 6 times (3 at a major theatre then 3
times in a repertoire circuit). As much as I enjoyed the film, it
was the music that captured me. Dee Dee Sharp's Mashed Potato Time
had always been a "number one" favourite of mine. Then to hear it
in the theatre brought an almost tearful smile within. I wondered
how many in the audience were hearing this song for the first time?
But back to the play.
I realize the stage presents obstacles which necessitates editing
yet keep the essence intact. Then being a Musical offers other
challenges. Needless to say, winning the award for best musical was
deserving.
Since the score/songs were all original tunes, I enjoyed how they
captured the sound of 1962. Of course, the costumes, props and
scenery added to the enjoyment.
While thoroughly enjoying the production, I was slightly distracted
by one of the props. Where others were likely oblivious, I found
myself studying it.
The prop in question was part of the "record store" scene. From my
right, a record cart was wheeled onto the stage and planted right in
front of my eyes. The cart was "decorated" with "old" 45s -
how many I didn't count.
As the cast did their thing, I began scrutinizing the labels - to
see if they "belonged" to circa 1962. I could not read the artists
or song titles but a majority of the lables were discernable. I saw
the Capitol swirl lable, the Tartan lable (Bobby Curtola), the Reo
lable (The Shirelles, The 4 Seasons, early Chubby Checker-Frankie
Avalon).
Then, I began spotting some I thought or knew did not belong, such
as a Liberty "reissue" lable and Blue Sky. There could been others
but my focus went back to the production.
The lables not present were Cameo, Parkway, Tamla and Quality (The
Crystals, Del Shannon).
How the cart compares to the New York production I have no idea.
Anyway, am I being too picky?
Would anyone of you give a thought to this?
Regardless, I am very delighted that I saw the stage production of
Hairspray!
Herb,
Toronto, Canada
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Message: 22
Date: Sat, 03 Jul 2004 04:28:50 EDT
From: Mike McKay
Subject: Re: John Summers
Bobster:
> Chris, I know nothing about John Summers, but I never thought he
> was English! I have "Don't Fool Yourself" (1966, I believe) on
> the Congress label. I believe Congress was out of Pennsylvania
> or possibly New York...
However, Elton John's first four pre-Uni singles in the U.S. were
on the Congress label, so there might well have been a UK connection
somehow.
Mike
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Message: 23
Date: Sat, 03 Jul 2004 11:24:14 +0100
From: Mick Patrick
Subject: Carole King's "I Can't Make It Alone" demo / Al Kooper's acetates
Mike Carter:
> ...and the best of 'em: "I Can't Make It Alone"... P.J.
> Proby and J. Nitzsche attach themselves mighty close to
> Carole King's demo hip, keeping that often dropped verse
> intact and the overall feel of the song. (Should this
> one be next, Mick?)
Will do, 'cos there's a lot of things I want and something
in my soul that always leads me back to Carole King's demo
of "I Can't Make It Alone". It's currently playing @ musica
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spectropop/files/musica/ all 4
minutes and 24 seconds of it.
Who knows, maybe someone will respond with a complete list
of every known recorded version. Yes please!
By the way, folks, you all have Mike C (not I) to thank for
the Carole King demos I have posted to musica recently. All
being well, more will follow. Does anyone have any special
requests?
Al Kooper:
> I just came upon a cache of acetates of my songs from 1960
> -65. I rushed to my studio and began de-clicking & s'popping
> them. Most are songs that are so obscure it redefines the
> word. All the r&b demos were sung by my good pal at the time
> Jimmy Radcliffe. The white ones were done by myself in an
> uninhibited young (16-19y.o.) embarassing voice. They are ALL
> acetates. About 40 of 'em. I'm thrilled to get them into the
> digital domain for my archives.
Blimey! Jimmy Radcliffe demos?! Is there any chance of some
finding their way to musica, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeze? Obscure is my
favourite!
Hey la,
Mick Patrick
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