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SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
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There are 10 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. Re: Answering to Gene Pitney and Phil Spector
From: Mark Wirtz
2. Re: "Happy Thatīs Me"/ Little Frankie.
From: Julio NIņo
3. Summertime, Summertime; short shorts (not the song)
From: Country Paul
4. Kyu Sakamoto
From: Lex Cody
5. Photos; Jamies redux; Top Rank; "Utopia"; in brief
From: Country Paul
6. Re: now playing: Wood
From: Bill Reed
7. Re: Jack Nitzsche at Spectropop update / Bobby Vee
From: Bob Celli
8. Kyu Sakamoto
From: Joe Nelson
9. Re: which Artie?
From: Phil X Milstein
10. For Spectropoppers in the NYC Area....
From: Mikey
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Message: 1
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2004 06:54:06 -0700 (PDT)
From: Mark Wirtz
Subject: Re: Answering to Gene Pitney and Phil Spector
David A. Young wrote:
> Tying two current threads together ("golden throats" and Gene Pitney)
How about going one step further and tying Pitney, Goffin-King and Phil
Spector together? Wasn't Pitney's Goffin-King written "Every Breath I
Take" produced by Phil Spector?
Mark Wirtz
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Message: 2
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2004 14:30:59 -0000
From: Julio NIņo
Subject: Re: "Happy Thatīs Me"/ Little Frankie.
Hola Everybody.
John Grecco asked about "Happy That's Me":
> ...If anyone is familiar with this record and can fill me in on who
> the writer of the song is, the publisher and the label with the
> release number, that would be great!!
Hola John, I've found this in a web page about The Country Gents. I
hope it helps you:
"...Undaunted by their bad luck, The Country Gents did, however,
resurface on record that same year, backing female singer Little
Frankie (ex-Chimes) on a trio of singles for the Columbia label.
All the songs, several of which were written by Silverman-Lisberg-
Gouldman, bear the unmistakable stamp of the deft Country Gents
arrangements and style, with Cowap's guitar craftsmanship as a key
factor. Despite strong support from Charles Silverman and Harvey
Lisberg (the management team of Herman's Hermits) and the songwriting
skills of Graham Gouldman, none of Little Frankie's releases managed
to enter the charts.
Her three excellent singles recorded with The Country Gents were a
cover of The Raindrops' "The Kind Of Boy You Can't Forget" written by
Greenwich-Barry, b/w "I'm Not Gonna Do It" (UK Columbia DB 7490, US
Capitol 5416), "Make-A-Love" b/w "Love Is Just A Game" (UK Columbia DB
7578) and Buddy Holly's "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" b/w "Happy That's
Me" (UK Columbia DB 7681)..."
Chao.
Julio NIņo.
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Message: 3
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2004 00:39:45 -0400
From: Country Paul
Subject: Summertime, Summertime; short shorts (not the song)
Darn - again, I'm a week behind in catching up.
'Summertime' Austin Roberts:
> Do any of you Spectro folks know anything about the Jamies of
> It's Summertime fame? Loved that record.
"Summertime, Summertime" was a hit in '58 and again in '62. Some pretty fine
baroque four-part harmony mixed with teen attitude, it appeared twice on
Epic. (The group also recorded for United Artists.) From the Sony Music
website:
"The interweaving of intricate vocal harmony and the liberating effect of
summer vacation would become a predominantly west coast theme a few years
later, but this quartet from Massachusetts set the irresistible ground rules
in 1958. With nasal petulance, lead singer Serena Jameson flipped off the
restrictions of school and bopped into two months of sun-drenched playtime
with rebellious abandon ('I'm sorry teacher, but zip your lip'). A rare
teen-themed 45 for Epic, it became a Top 40 staple each June, as Serena
asked the perennial rock 'n' roll question, 'Are you comin' or are you
ain't?' Who could say no?
[credits] "(T. Jameson/S. Feller); Produced by The Jamies; Tom Jameson,
Serena Jameson, Jeannie Roy, Arthur Blair, vocals; Rec. New York, 1958. Epic
single 5-9281 (mx. CO 61342); Originally Released 1958."
And from the All Music Guide:
"The Jamies' 'Summertime, Summertime' is one of those songs you only have to
hear once for it to live rent-free in your mind forever. The bouncy doo wop
novelty, which featured a harpsichord prominently in the mix, surely
provided inspiration for later novelty groups like the Village People and
Sha Na Na to perform songs in the same campy style. The New York-based group
derived its name from lead singer Thomas Earl Jameson, who wrote the song
with the lyrics 'Summertime, summertime/sum, sum, summertime' with Sherman
Feller; the pair also collaborated on the flip side 'Searching for You.' The
45, released in 1958 on Epic, became one of the most popular summer songs of
all time. It broke the Top 40 but stopped short of the Top 20 by six rungs
at number 26, on September 22, 1958.
"'Summertime, Summertime''s follow-up, 'Snow Train' (written by Feller) b/w
'When the Sun Goes Down' (written by Jameson) failed to chart and slowed the
Jamies' roll to a virtual stop. A switch to United Artists was hardly a
panacea, as 'Don't Darken My Door,' written by Larry Jaspon and Vicki Gay,
stiffed (along with the flip side, Jameson's 'The Evening Star') in 1959.
The Jamies had numerous personnel changes: Robert Paolucci joined shortly
after 'Summertime, Summertime' hit; he became a monk afterward, but
eventually left that calling to work as a translator. When they couldn't
find another hit, the Jamies went to the well again with 'Summertime,
Summertime' and broke the Top 40 with it for the second time on August 4,
1962, at number 38.
"A year later, the Fortunes (formerly the Cliftones) redid the song for
their first release on Decca Records. But they weren't the only ones. The
infectious ditty has also been redone by the Doodletown Pipers, Hobby Horse,
Jan & Dean, the Legendary Masked Surfers, Mongo Jerry, and Sha Na Na. In
addition, Buick and Applebee Restaurants both revitalized the song in their
commercials. ~ Andrew Hamilton, All Music Guide"
And from http://www.amiright.com/misheard/artist/jamies.shtml, these gems:
Misheard lyrics:
It's time to head straight for the mills.
Correct Lyrics:
It's time to head straight for them hills.
Misheard Lyrics:
What's suffocation without romance?
Correct Lyrics:
What's a vacation without romance?
Short shorts, part 2:
Phil Milstein, thank you for the excellent bio on Mike Clifford. "What To Do
With Laurie" is a beautiful song, probably my favorite by him; it's good to
know more.
Dawson & Propes' "45 RPM: The History, Heroes And Villains Of A Pop Music
Revolution" could be good beach reading next week when I'm on vacation.
Thanks for the info.
Joe Nelson: I enjoyed your personal history. I've got 13,000 45s and 10,000
albums plus a bunch of CDs and a couple of hundred 78s - something in most
genres of music - and I'm still delighted to hear new and exciting talent as
well as classics, sales- or music-wise, that I missed. The music bug bites
ya, and despite tastes transforming periodically along the way, it doesn't
let go.
Letting go for the moment,
Country Paul
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Message: 4
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 22:00:43 -0700 (PDT)
From: Lex Cody
Subject: Kyu Sakamoto
Margaret G. Still wrote:
> Dr Mark, Can you or anyone here i.d. what Kyu Sakamoto's "Sukiyaki"
> came from? His LP credits the song to "R. Ei - H. Nakamura".
This link will answer what you want to know:
http://www.japanorama.com/kyuchan.html
Lex
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Message: 5
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2004 01:54:57 -0400
From: Country Paul
Subject: Photos; Jamies redux; Top Rank; "Utopia"; in brief
Phil M:
> Now playing at Photos, a full-page ad, from the close-of-the-Sixties
> (i.e., 12-69)...jointly promoting both Kustom amps (of Chanute, Kansas)
> and the group Mercy, of "Love Can Make You Happy" fame. As grotesque
> a period piece as I've ever seen.
Seconded. And Kustom was not exactly known as top-end material in the
musical circles I hing with! (Some other cool pix are posted, too,
including Ersel Hickey.)
I meant to add in my Jamies post that I also thought they were from the
Boston area (I'll buy Dorchester) despite All Music Guide citing New
York. And Phil, that's great stuff you posted about them:
http://www.dirtywater.com/a2z/j/jamies/
Also, on the same webpage as the Jeannie Roy of the Jamies pic
http://www.rockinoldies.com/watdvisitors.htm there's one of Jack Scott
and The Pixies Three. (There are other interesting artist shots from
the same website at http://www.rockinoldies.com/artists.htm including
Shirley Alston Reeves, Moulty of the Barbarians, Gale Storm, Frankie
Ford, The Fleetwoods and the late Carl Perkins, among others.)
Mikey:
> Hey, "Utopia" is a great record. It's a product of another time, but
> BOY does that record make you smile...you know what I mean.
Very interesting and innovative rhythmic structure as I remember, with
odd numbers of measures per phrase. Do you know what label it was on?
(In my mind I see a green background with some dots on it, but can't
remember the name; I think it may actually have been a Brill Building
indie.)
In brief:
Kingsley, re: Judy Dyble, please let us know when the release of her new
album occurs.
Michael Fishberg wrote:
> Whatever happened to Top Rank Records?
Joe Foster:
> EMI own that catalogue now. The label didn't last long, though, and a
> lot of its output was licensed in....
Does EMI have the Jack Scott or Fireballs material? And how many US
releases did Top Rank have? (Or has that been covered already?) By the
way, the label had sort of a US instrumental hit with The Knightsbridge
Strings' "For You, My Lover."
Gary Myers:
> Does anybody remember, or have any info or pictures, of this group,
> who had a record out (in about 1968/69) called "Hayride" on Elf Records?
I believe there was Buzz Cason involvement. Elf was distributed by Bell.
Country Paul
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Message: 6
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2004 00:49:52 -0000
From: Bill Reed
Subject: Re: now playing: Wood
Phil X Milstein wrote:
> Now playing in musica is a track by a famous actress whose talents
> as a vocalist remain (to my knowledge) otherwise unheard:
> Natalie Wood: The Sun Is Gray
Music by John Williams; lyrics by Vic Mizzy and it was on the soundtrack
album for the film Penelope, if not (?) included in the film.
Bill Reed
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Message: 7
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2004 01:17:09 -0000
From: Bob Celli
Subject: Re: Jack Nitzsche at Spectropop update / Bobby Vee
Martin Roberts:
> While on the Home page listening to (Bobby Vee's) "Like Someone
> In Love" ...
Gary Myers:
> I'm sure it's due to my own ignorance, but I haven't been able to
> find this. At any rate, I assume it's *not* the song done by Bing
> Crosby?
Never heard it by Bing but I did hear Sinatra's version. The Nitzsche
arrangement puts quite a different slant on this song!
If you follow this URL: http://www.spectropop.com/JackNitzsche/index.htm
you will find where to click on the song all the way down the bottom of
the page just above Bobby's photo.
Bob Celli
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Message: 8
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2004 09:49:30 -0400
From: Joe Nelson
Subject: Kyu Sakamoto
Margaret Sill:
> Dr Mark, Can you or anyone here i.d. what Kyu Sakamoto's "Sukiyaki"
> came from? His LP credits the song to "R. Ei - H. Nakamura".
Thems be the authors. Funny thing is, although a completely new English
lyric was written for anyone wishing to sing the song in that language,
the title remains mistitled (i.e. nothing to do with sukiyaki) and the
new lyricist isn't credited. I've heard that new lyric described as a
translation, but I've read a translation of the original Japanese and
there's no simularity whatsoever.
Joe Nelson
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Message: 9
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 23:45:33 -0400
From: Phil X Milstein
Subject: Re: which Artie?
Artie Wayne wrote:
> No......it's not me. That was an old band singer with the same name,
> who passed away about 30 years ago.
Which of you two Artie Waynes did the album that had a photo of ... of,
who was it? Kim Novak? Jayne Mansfield? ... on the cover?
Vaguely,
--Phil M.
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Message: 10
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2004 21:58:11 -0000
From: Mikey
Subject: For Spectropoppers in the NYC Area....
just thought I'd mention to all my Spectropop Buddies in the NYC Area
that my band, "Mr Action and The Boss Guitars" will be appearing on
Wed night 7/21 at The Lakeside Lounge in The East Village at 9:00.
We will be doing a 20 song set, all 60s Instrumentals including our
swinging versions of "Downtown", "More" "When You Walk In The Room",
"Love Potion Number 9", "Please Please Me" , "Venus" and many others.
I promise, it WILL be like being back in 1965!!!
There is No COVER!! So some on down and cheer us on.
The Lakeside is on Ave B and 10th street in The East Village,
Manhattan.
All the Best,
Mikey
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SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
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