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SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
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There are 23 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. Welcome, Alan O'Day; Phil M's covers; Phil C's video; Barry White's piano
From: Country Paul
2. Re: Joel Christie
From: Brent Cash
3. Nashville Beatles Festival
From: Ed Salamon
4. John Denver/Mitchell; (Pirkle?) Lee Moses
From: Country Paul
5. Re: 45 rpm picture sleeves
From: Margaret G. Still
6. Re: "Bedazzled"
From: Clark Besch
7. Re: Arkay IV on Marion
From: Ed Salamon
8. lingo gap
From: Phil X Milstein
9. Re: Neil Diamond's first recordings
From: Tom Diehl
10. Re: LS Bumblebee
From: Howard
11. The Five Dutones/ Kathy/ Helen
From: Simon White
12. Re: "A Satisfied Mind"
From: ACJ
13. Re: Help! I need a Beatles Weekend...
From: Joe Nelson
14. Welcome Joop
From: Lyn Nuttall
15. Re: Neil Diamond's first recordings
From: Fred Clemens
16. Re: Louie loosey goosey, oh no; Pittsburgh hits; Artie Lewis?; quickies...
From: Country Paul
17. Re: Neil Diamond's first recordings
From: Phil X Milstein
18. Vicki Sallee on Dot - "Jimmy Darling"
From: Chris Brame
19. Re: Barry White/Arkay IV
From: Guy Lawrence
20. Re: Welcome Joop
From: Joop Jansen
21. Re: Cook, Moore, and Goons
From: Andrew Hickey
22. Re: Kathy Kirby, Helen Shapiro
From: Rick Hough
23. RIP Eddie Barclay
From: Eddy Smi
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Message: 1
Date: Tue, 10 May 2005 00:33:12 -0400
From: Country Paul
Subject: Welcome, Alan O'Day; Phil M's covers; Phil C's video; Barry White's piano
Welcome out of lurkage, Alan O'Day. You have a really
informative website ( http://alanoday.com ) which I
look forward toexploring at more length. Also, a note
for collectors: the Norton Records site Alan referred
us to, http://nortonrecords.com/index2.html , also lists
the remaining catalog of Relic Records, which they picked
up, both CDs and LPs.
Phil M:
> The [new album cover] gallery is at
> http://www.philxmilstein.com/gallery2 ....Unfortunately my
> gallery does not include Stan Cornyn's amazing liner notes!
Although you specifically refer to the Dean Martin album re:
Stan Cornyn's liner notes, his written ouevre during the mid
-60s for WB and Reprise was remarkable. He seemed to be playing
both the house hipster and house hippie (different breeds) and
succeeded in frequently going over the top. We did a lot of
laughing at him (and a little with him) at the time; I wonder
how his writing would "feel" reading it today. Also, you choice
of covers is very interesting; I shudder to think how many of
the mainstream middle-road albums depicted I was forced to play
on the radio until I could get a gig doing rock and/or pop.
Phil Chapman wrote:
> There's a reasonable mpeg of "Another Tear Falls"
> at: http://www.amajor.com/video
Norm D. replied:
> Phil, thanks so much for posting this link. It must be
> decades since I last saw this film, and it's certainly as
> I remember it....moody and noir, very art house. What a
> great experience.
I never saw the film, nor heard the song; I'll confess that the
big Liberty hits weren't quite my cup of tea, but McDaniels
displayed a remarkably rich and true vocal style here - plus
those atmospherics.... Thanks for the cool find!
Peter Lerner re: Barry White discography:
> It doesn't seem to include Barry's sterling work as part of
> Jackie DeShannon's backing band (also including Dr John) on
> the adventurous "Laurel Canyon" album.
...nor his early piano work with Jesse Belvin. (I believe that's
his piano work on "Goodnight My Love.")
Country Paul
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Message: 2
Date: Tue, 10 May 2005 11:02:05 -0000
From: Brent Cash
Subject: Re: Joel Christie
Hi all, earlier I wrote:
> is that the same great Joel Christie who did
> "Since I Found You" on Liberty?Love that record!
Well, I still love it and he's still great, but I now correct
myself by stating it's actually on Imperial, not Liberty. And
if all goes well,it's also on musica - my first attempt at that.
Details:"Since I Found You" Imperial 66198 (wr. by Joel Christie),
Arranged by Gene Page, Produced by Marshall Leib.
Does anyone else think that the first verse sounds a bit like
B.J. Thomas belting it out?
Best wishes,
Brent Cash
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Message: 3
Date: Tue, 10 May 2005 14:11:25 -0000
From: Ed Salamon
Subject: Nashville Beatles Festival
Nashville will be having its second annual Fab Four Fest July 7-9
at The Tennessee Performing Arts Center. Louise Harrison, Joey
Molland (Badfinger), Mark Hudson (Ringo Producer), Joe Johnson
(Beatle Brunch radio show) are among those who will be participating.
I was on a panel last year, and this year am penciled in to moderate
a panel on Ringo's Beaucoups of Blues album with those who participated
in it. If any S'poppers attend, please say hello.
Details at http://www.fabfourattpac.com.
Ed Salamon
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Message: 4
Date: Tue, 10 May 2005 01:10:20 -0400
From: Country Paul
Subject: John Denver/Mitchell; (Pirkle?) Lee Moses
Phil X Milstein re: John Denver with Mitchell 3:
> Does anyone know which (if any) songs John Denver sang lead
> on during his time with the Mitchell Trio, or even any lead
> sections of?
Anything by them on Warner Brothers, I believe, including the
notorious "'68 Nixon" ("He's liberal and conservative, he's humble
and he's proud / He's more than just a candidate - he's a crowd!")
Phil X Milstein:
> Anyone know anything about guitarist/singer Lee Moses? His
> "Bad Girl, Pts. 1 & 2" (included on the "All Tore Up" bootleg
> compilation) is one of the greatest records of my life, but my
> attempts to locate any of his other material have gone down in
> way overpriced flames.
I wonder if he is/was Pirkle Lee Moses, lead singer of The Eldorados
("At My Front Door," "Bim Bam Boom" on VeeJay), who passed away in
2000. Some perfunctory research has led to no reliable conclusions,
but most bios of the singer and group that I found stop with the
dissolution of the group.
Country Paul
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Message: 5
Date: Tue, 10 May 2005 18:00:48 -0000
From: Margaret G. Still
Subject: Re: 45 rpm picture sleeves
unsteady freddie wrote:
> I would love to hear your thoughts and comments and I got
> more where these came from
Nice! I have a few of these myself. I wonder if anyone has done
research on where location shots were done on the ones that are
done on location. And - it would be fun to see a list or database
giving location info on a whole bunch of picture sleeves. Know of
anyone who has done that?
I can tell you that the "I Get Around" sleeve was taken on the
U.C.L.A. campus.
Best,
Margaret G. Still
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Message: 6
Date: Tue, 10 May 2005 17:38:01 -0000
From: Clark Besch
Subject: Re: "Bedazzled"
Lobby:
> "Bedazzled" was the musical work of Dudley Moore with some lyrics
> by Peter Cook. Its a shame Dudley didn't write more pop tunes
> really he certainly had the talent. His jazz LPs are brilliant.
> Try and track down the LP "Bedazzled" which contains all the
> songs from their classic movie of the same name.
Hey, I have seen the original "Bedazzled", but never saw the 2000
remake. I did see this quote on a site that in the new movie,
there is reference to Dudley & Cook. It said: "During the scene
where Brendan Frazer is in the guise of "the most sensitive guy",
when he tries to kiss his dream girl Alison, he gets interrupted
by Elizabeth Hurley brandishing two Dobermans who she calls back
with "Peter! Dudley!"
Not exactly a great tribute, but nonetheless.....
Clark
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Message: 7
Date: Tue, 10 May 2005 14:19:53 -0000
From: Ed Salamon
Subject: Re: Arkay IV on Marion
Mikey:
> Speaking of Gateway Studios in Pittsburg, they turned out some
> Rock and Roll classics, the best being (in my opinion) "You're
> The One" by The Vogues. I wonder whatever became of that studio,
> if it was bought by another studio, or what?
I remember Gateway Studios well from the 60s. It was above the
National Record Mart on Forbes Avenue, near Market Square. My
band's only recording was a Gateway acetate. They had their own
label as well which was best known for its albums by local jazz
trumpeter Harold Betters, but also had single releases by Janet
Dean (Skyliners), Donnie Elbert, and The Dell Vikings.
Ed Salamon
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Message: 8
Date: Fri, 06 May 2005 14:09:53 -0800
From: Phil X Milstein
Subject: lingo gap
Does a term already exist for recordings that weren't released until
several years or more had already passed?
If not, I would like to propose calling them "post-release" tracks. What
think yuz?
--Phil M.
--
My Dinner With Hasil:
http://www.philxmilstein.com/hasil
new Cover Art Gallery:
http://www.philxmilstein.com/temp/gallery2
new MP3s:
http://www.philxmilstein.com/probe
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 9
Date: Tue, 10 May 2005 21:53:45 -0000
From: Tom Diehl
Subject: Re: Neil Diamond's first recordings
I have a promo of Pat Boone's 45 of Ten Lonely Guys. It credits
the songwriters as follows: Feldman, Goldstein, Gottehrer, Elgin,
Rogers, Edwards. Jr, Weiss, Adams, Farrell, Lewis.
I kept a small story of the Ten Broken Hearts version on my
computer that I had found a while back on ebay (and later used
the same story when I sold one of my copies of the single on
ebay as well.) It is as follows:
"In 1962, Neil Diamond was living in New York, cranking out tunes
on his piano and passing out those demos to prospective people
interested in recording one of his songs. Along the way he recorded
two singles with Jack Parker as Neil & Jack for Duel records, and
recorded his debut Columbia single, Clown Town. What generally isn't
included in the common story of Neil's early history is this little
single for the Diamond (No relation to Neil) record label out of New
York.
Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein, Richard Gottehrer, Neil Diamond, Bob
Elgin, Kay Rogers, Lockie Edwards, Jr, Laurence (Larry) Weiss, Cliff
Adams and Wes Farrell are the 10 names credited as writing the song
on this 45. Kay Rogers was actually Eddie Snyder, and Bob Elgin was
actually Stanley Kahan. When Pat Boone covered the song, Neil
Diamond's name on the label also changed, to Mark Lewis. Pat's
version peaked at 10/20/62 on both Billboard and Cash Box, peaking
at 45 and 58 respectively.
This version, while it most likely sold a bunch of copies around New
York, failed to chart. It has been reported that Gary Criss sang the
lead on this record, but after hearing a few of his other solo
records released for Diamond, that just is not true. So, WHO is the
lead singer? I don't know. Maybe you can tell me.
As a side note, Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein and Richard Gottehrer
later became popular as The Strangeloves (they had also written My
Boyfriend's Back for the angels around the same time this 45 was
recorded)."
I do know that the single sold a lot of copies within New York,
as Joe Kolsky really pushed it there. I have seen only two promo
copies of the single ever (one being yours, i dont own any) and
only one of those inserts, being the one you posted. Also, for the
lead singer of Shining Star, I do honestly believe it is sung by
the same guy who did the lead on Ten Lonely Guys. I've played both
sides to hear the similarities in the voice. I also do know that
some internet sites claim Gary Criss (shown on websites as Gary
Chris) is the lead singer of the sides, but it isn't true, even
though he did have a few releases on Diamond before and after the
Ten Broken Hearts single. His voice is too different. BTW, on your
promo 45 is Shining Star on the B side? On the other promo I've
seen, Ten Lonely Guys was on both sides. Its also on both sides of
my Pat Boone promo 45....which I bought only because I wanted to
hear how it differed from the Ten Broken Hearts version....it does
have some different lyrics, in fact, as some of the names have been
changed.
As for the history of the tune I've kept on my computer, I think
I will rewrite it to incorporate the other two stories told about
it, to make it more accurate. BTW, as for the lyrics, the Ten Broken
Hearts version shows Larry as the last one on the list, while Pat
Boone says it's "I". Does that mean there are ELEVEN lonely guys on
the Diamond label recording?
Tom "Diamond Hunter" Diehl
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Message: 10
Date: Wed, 11 May 2005 02:37:40 -0400
From: Howard
Subject: Re: LS Bumblebee
Clark Besch wrote:
> Now do I have this wrong, or did he and Cook
> do "LS Bumblebee"?
You're right Clark, it was banned by the BBC I believe
for its drug connection. The 'b' side (sic) was a monologue
refering to taking mind bending drugs, very funny too.
Howard
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Message: 11
Date: Tue, 10 May 2005 19:06:14 +0100
From: Simon White
Subject: The Five Dutones/ Kathy/ Helen
Phil M.:
> Very cool Barry White discography at
> http://members.chello.nl/p.klein6/Html/barry_white_discography.htm
> ...include[s] quite a lot of surprises.
> ...Such as the fact that he was in the Five DuTones ("Shake
> A Tail Feather"). Big change to the Love Man from that one!
I'm very curious about this. Barry's recordings and productions
are all L.A. as far as I'm aware and The Five Dutones were a
Chicago group. I can't think of a single reason he would be a
member of the Five Dutones. Incidently, James and Bobby Purify's
version of "Shake a Tail Feather" got the Northern Soul vote in
England.
Re: Kathy Kirby
Spectropop rules say I can't post it into musica because it's
readily available on CD. But for U.S. members who may never have
heard it, Kathy's version of of "Secret Love" is a showstopper.
UK members will know it well,as it was a big hit in the UK - I
remember loving it as a child- it is, in my opinion simply the
best UK girl record ever. There, I've said it. I will try and post
a scan of the sleeve of the E.P.from which "Reach Out For Me" is
taken though. The same E.P. contains a track "Big Man" which has
a somewhat camp value to it.
....Which brings me to something else I've been meaning to
mention for more than two years....... A small team of UK
Spectropoppers convened in Manchester a few years ago for a
'Discotheque' night in a room above a pub. Some of us were
DeeJaying there, myself included. Many classic Girl Group and
Girl records were played that night. However, one record in
particular caused a rush to the dance floor by some rather
serious young mods in period costume who had previously chosen
to dance only to Northern Soul records. Believing it to be a
hitherto undiscovered NY soul gem, they left their girlfriends
stranded clutching their rum & Cokes and Pernod & gins while the
boys threw shapes and posed in the coolest manner on the wooden
dancefloor shuffling around after a serious, masculine fashion.
It provided we with great amusement from behind the wheels of steel,
because the record in question was Helen Shapiro's "Queen For Tonight"
which, enhanced by Helen's deep voice and the shrill girlie backing
vocals, is a very camp record indeed given the title and lyrics.
The song, as we know, was written by Spectropop member Artie Wayne.
Artie, I'm sure you were not writing the song with thatrical camp
in mind, but the fact remains it has a huge value in that direction
and the juxtapostion that night truly made it a "moment".
Simon
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Message: 12
Date: Tue, 10 May 2005 15:55:27 -0400
From: ACJ
Subject: Re: "A Satisfied Mind"
Country Paul, Believe it or not, gospel legend Mahalia Jackson
recorded a version of "A Satisfied Mind" - one of the very few
secular songs she ever did, though she did it in a gospel context.
Even so, you can't get much more soulful than that!
ACJ
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Message: 13
Date: Wed, 11 May 2005 13:15:31 -0400
From: Joe Nelson
Subject: Re: Help! I need a Beatles Weekend...
David Walker:
> "...plus the reel-to-reel 2-track recorder used by the
> Beatles to record the first "demo" recordings, owned
> by Pete Best, the Beatles original drummer."
FWIW, the first demos of the group were recorded there was
no drummer in the group.
Joe Nelson
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Message: 14
Date: Wed, 11 May 2005 06:40:16 -0000
From: Lyn Nuttall
Subject: Welcome Joop
I want to welcome my friend/collaborator/informant Joop
to Spectropop and warmly recommend him to other members.
Joop's knowledge, scholarship and analysis often leave me in awe.
Indeed, his name is sprinkled around my website where I have
acknowledged his contributions in nailing that elusive original version.
The Problemsolving Forum at The Originals is cleaned out now and then,
so not all threads remain, but to read Joop, 'honeydhont' and Kees
(also a member here) tracking down some obscure fine point about music
history is to observe geniuses at work.
It all illustrates something I took a while to discover: some of the
very best research and documentation in the area of pop music history
originates in the Netherlands and Dutch-speaking Belgium.
Lyn
at http://www.PopArchives.com.au
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Message: 15
Date: Tue, 10 May 2005 23:53:43 -0000
From: Fred Clemens
Subject: Re: Neil Diamond's first recordings
David A. Young wrote:
> Check the Photos section, Labels and Sleeves folder, for a
> label scan, as well as one of the card-stock insert distributed
> with the DJ copies (a true period piece, as, obviously, is the
> song itself). And check musica to hear the 45 version, which I
> assume is the rarer of the two.......... the lead singer's
> definitely neither Diamond nor the A-side vocalist, but it is a
> male ensemble, so who knows?
I'd read somewhere that the lead voice on the "Ten Lonely Guys"
Diamond issue was Gary Criss, another Diamond Artist. Listening
to it and comparing the voice to another Criss record, I still
can't hear any similarity.
I have the Diamond promo issue, which was pressed on brown wax
(holding it up to the light will bring out the translucent color).
Most Diamond promos that I have are on "brown wax". I never knew
of the insert. Thanks for posting it.
Fred Clemens
http://www.bobshannon.com
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Message: 16
Date: Wed, 11 May 2005 20:17:15 -0400
From: Country Paul
Subject: Re: Louie loosey goosey, oh no; Pittsburgh hits; Artie Lewis?; quickies...
Patrick Rands passed along:
> BENTON HARBOR, Mich. --A pop culture controversy that has
> simmered for decades came to a head when a middle school
> marching band was told not to perform "Louie Louie." ...
> The best-known, most notorious version was a hit in 1963 for
> The Kingsmen; the FBI spent two years investigating the lyrics
> before declaring they not only were not obscene but also
> were "unintelligible at any speed."
I just want to reassure our foreign correspondents that this narrow-minded
view is far from a majority viewpoint in the U.S., although it appears to
be held by an embarrasing minority. Nor do most of us think that a two-year
investigation by the FBI was worth one penny of whatever they spent on it.
I am frustrated on behalf of my country.
Mikey wrote:
> Speaking of Gateway Studios in Pittsburg, they turned out some
> rock and roll classics, the best being (in my opinion) "You're
> The One" by The Vogues. I wonder whatever became of that studio,
> if it was bought by another studio, or what?
The studio/label had a whole herd of releases, my favorite being the
Pittsburgh hit "Another Night Alone" by Janet Deane (Janet Vogl of The
Skyliners). The pop programming of WBRU, my old college radio station and
an early progressive voice in the Northeast, was, in its 1960s Top 40 shows,
strongly influenced by a guy from Pittsburgh who turned us on to a lot of
the local hits of his hometown. The station is having a major mid-60s-folks
reunion at the end of June, by the way, and I'm hoping that the guy (Dave
Ogden) will attend. Strangely, I've never been to the city, but hear that
it's a great place to live.
By the way, another Pittsburgh hit, "Let's Be Lovers" by The Starglows, was
discussed here some time back. Someone opined that it was The Flamingoes
using a nom de plume. Not quite so; I've since learned that when lead singer
Nate Nelson and guitarist Terry Johnson left that The Flamingoes, they
formed The Starglows; so the comment is at least looking in the right
direction. (I'll never know why this record never went national.)
I have a long-time favorite single by Artie Lewis (Atco 45-6169, 1960):
"Abracadabra"/"Hey Little School Girl." It's a rockin' big band sound,
arr./cond. Richard Wess. I think it was a hit at some level, possibly in New
York, where it got significant airplay. There's also an Artie Lewis release
on Loma 2073, "Falling (In Love With You)"/"Ain’t No Good," from 1967 (same
person), and a reference to an actor in Hollywood bythe same name, who once
worked with Dean Martin. With so many new correspondents on board, does
anyone have any knowledge about this record or its artist? (One of the very
few Google listings that isn't offering a copy for sale is a reference I made
in these posts a while ago.)
Quickies...
Interesting version of Patty Michaels' "Born A Woman" -- nice reading, but
the cry in Sandy Posey's voice, in my opinion, demanded that her version be
the hit. Glad to have this, though!
Great stories: Thank you -- David A. Young for "Ten Lonely Guys," Artie Wayne
for "Heavy Church" and Bob Celli for the Snuff Garrett update and the tale
of "Chip Chip."
Country Paul
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Message: 17
Date: Thu, 12 May 2005 13:46:56 -0400
From: Phil X Milstein
Subject: Re: Neil Diamond's first recordings
Tom Diehl wrote:
> I have a promo of Pat Boone's 45 of Ten Lonely Guys. It credits
> the songwriters as follows: Feldman, Goldstein, Gottehrer, Elgin,
> Rogers, Edwards. Jr, Weiss, Adams, Farrell, Lewis.
Note that the "ten lonely guys" of the song's lyrics bear the same first
names as those of the "ten lonely guys" who wrote the song together.
Cool record -- does anyone else hear a faint strain of "Memories Are
Made Of This" in its melody?
I dig the idea of Neil Diamond being involved with a record on the
Diamond label! For comparison's sake, I've posted the Neil-sung version,
from Bob Feldman's "Roots Of S.O.B., Vol. 2," to my Probe site. Note
that what was "Ten Broken Hearts" on Diamond is "Ten Lonely Guys" in
this version, with the artist name and song title thus matching one
another.
Dig,
--Phil M.
--
My Dinner With Hasil:
http://www.philxmilstein.com/hasil
Joker's Bent Circuits:
http://www.philxmilstein.com/joker
new Cover Art Gallery:
http://www.philxmilstein.com/gallery2
new MP3s:
http://www.philxmilstein.com/probe
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 18
Date: Thu, 12 May 2005 19:48:13 -0000
From: Chris Brame
Subject: Vicki Sallee on Dot - "Jimmy Darling"
One of my all-time favorites is "Jimmy Darling" by Vicki Sallee on Dot.
To me it's always sounded like a sequel to "It Might As Well Rain Until
September" (including the plucked strings for raindrops), but much more
desperate. Does anyone know who were the musicians on this record?
Particularly the drummer, as it's a very drum-driven track.
Thanks!
Chris
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Message: 19
Date: Thu, 12 May 2005 21:35:46 +0100
From: Guy Lawrence
Subject: Re: Barry White/Arkay IV
Phil wrote:
> Very cool Barry White discography ...
Is The Atlantics on Rampart a doo-wop version of "Home On The Range"?
Sounds like a nice idea to me -- has anybody heard it?
I have little to add to Rob's mention of the Arkay IV except to say that
their "I'll Keep On Trying" is an absolutely gorgeous instrumental, with
Runaway-esque keyboards to the fore, and is well worth seeking out (or
playing to musica?).
Guy
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/TweedleeDumsDrive-In/
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Message: 20
Date: Thu, 12 May 2005 20:34:48 -0000
From: Joop Jansen
Subject: Re: Welcome Joop
Lyn Nuttall wrote:
> Joop's knowledge, scholarship and analysis often leave
> me in awe. Indeed, his name is sprinkled around my website
> where I have acknowledged his contributions in nailing that
> elusive original version.
Thanks for your kind words, Lyn, but it's a little bit too much honour
for this musicfan. I would rather give the honour to Arnold Rypens and
his fantastic work in the past -- and, hopefully, the future -- on
the Originals website: http://www.originals.be/eng/main.cfm
Joop greets
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Message: 21
Date: Thu, 12 May 2005 22:28:02 +0100
From: Andrew Hickey
Subject: Re: Cook, Moore, and Goons
Lobby wrote:
> I have to correct one thing, though: neither Peter Cook nor
> Dudley Moore had anything to do with the original Goon
> Shows. They started out on a satirical theatre show called
> "Beyond The Fringe," before moving on and working for David
> Frost on "That Was The Week That Was". ...
> The Goons are the work of Spike Milligan (genius), Peter
> Sellers, Harry Secombe and Micheal Bentine ...
And I have to correct the correction -- Bentine was not actually ever
in The Goon Show. He only appeared in the two pre-Goon series of The
Crazy People, before it changed its name to The Goon Show. Cook
and Moore were also never involved in That Was The Week That Was --
TW3 was in fact an attempt to capitalise on the 'satire boom' started
by Cook's Establishment Club (Cook cordially loathed David Frost,
and said his only true regret was that he once saved him from drowning).
Cook and Moore's TV careers pretty much started with what was
originally intended to be a Dudley Moore special but which ended up
being the first Not Only ... But Also. The Goons, incidentally, started
due to music -- Milligan and Sellers met in the army when they both
played in troop shows, Milligan on trumpet and Sellers on drums.
George Martin, of course, produced the Goons' records, providing
him with useful experience when it came to the Beatles' work. Dudley
Moore's best musical work, IMO, is actually in the Beyond The Fringe
recordings (also produced by Martin, and sampled for the audience
noise on Sgt Pepper), where he provided much of the background
music (such on the merging of Beethoven and Lili Marlene in the
Aftermyth Of War sketch) as well as musical parodies like his setting
of Little Miss Muffet in the style of Benjamin Britten.
--
http://dumbangel.keenspace.com
A webcomic about Smile
On temporary hiatus while I'm lacking net access, but back soon
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Message: 22
Date: Fri, 13 May 2005 03:37:15 -0000
From: Rick Hough
Subject: Re: Kathy Kirby, Helen Shapiro
Simon White wrote:
> I've been a closet Kathy Kirby fan since I was a kid --
> I realise now it was the shiny lipstick that did it.
Way to go, Simon!
Here's Kathy Kirby's own official website. By the way there's a KK-
approved tell-all on the way: http://www.kathykirby.co.uk
It's great to see some long-overdue mentions for Helen and KK, two
all-time faves, even if it's in the context of camp. Although The Times
bemoans a dearth of gay appreciation for Kathy Kirby, it's great to know
that Northern Soul metrosexuals dig Helen Shapiro (they're solely
responsible for making her "Stop (And You Will Become Aware)" so
collectable 20 years ago); and their dancing to "Queen For Tonight" --
GREAT song, GREAT production -- is a vindication of good taste! Or
maybe it's the end of masculinity as we know it -- something which
arch-Conservatives have long prophesized.
But I digress. Can anyone explain why these two girls remain so
uncelebrated and apparently unappreciated? They're both brilliant
vocalists and both made amazing records during and after their
chart reigns.
"Helen In Nashville" (1963) is so good that it demands instant replay,
and "Helen Hits Out" (1964) has to be one of the finest girl group albums
ever made. There are gems galore among her 1964-70 singles, such as
"Stop", "She Needs Company", "You'll Get Me Loving You", "Silly Boy",
"Today Has Been Cancelled" and the brilliant "Queen For Tonight," but
you'll rarely hear them on CD. And if that's not enough, she was able to
smooth out her foghorn pipes enough to turn in some excellent jazz in
the '80s. Why can't she even attract contemporary though empty buzzwords
like "diva" and "icon"?
Of course Kathy Kirby's camp overload (her "personal problems"), looks
(Monroesque), voice (Garland meets Connie Francis) and the now-
legendary lipgloss) has its counterpoint in her music: a schizoid mix
of excellent Great American Songbook LPs offset by some outrageous
titshaker 45s. But the quality is there by the bucketload. Evidence
for the defense: "Big Man" (an upbeat rewrite of "Uptown" -- yes,
it's possible!); those eight-bar sustains on the bullfight epic "You're
The One"; the insinuating horns which make "Love Me Baby" just as
dirty as it should be; '50s schlock like "Secret Love" and "Let Me
Go Lover" reinvented as pseudo-rock blasters; the haunting balladry
of "Where In The World"; the throb power of "Dance On", Snuff Garret's
blueprint for Cher's chart-topping "The Way Of Love". Producer Charles
Blackwell should've been given an OBE for this stuff!
The music of Helen Shapiro and Kathy Kirby doesn't really attract trendy
(or respectable) labels nowadays, but their catalogs are littered with
superb records which may or may not unleash The Drag Queen Within.
So be it!
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 23
Date: Fri, 13 May 2005 10:30:11 +0200
From: Eddy Smi
Subject: RIP Eddie Barclay
Flamboyant Famous French record producer Eddie Barclay (real name
Edouard Ruault) died in Paris at the age of 84. He discovered a.o.
Jacques Brel, Charles Aznavour and Mireille Mathieu.
Eddy
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