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SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
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There are 12 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. Re: Chiffons
From: Gary Myers
2. New York Times Op-Ed article on New York radio
From: Country Paul
3. Re: Honey Ltd picture gallery
From: Mick Patrick
4. DC5 "Because"
From: Steve Harvey
5. Oldies Radio
From: Will Stos
6. Re: Big John
From: Phil X Milstein
7. R. Carlos sings Tony Hatch; Van and Kendra; "In My Imagination" demo.
From: Julio Niño
8. My Sweet Lord, That Handsome Boy Over There
From: Lloyd Davis
9. More Sandi Sheldon
From: John H
10. Re: Honey Ltd picture gallery
From: John H
11. The Shirelles are messin' up my mind
From: David A Young
12. Dean Reed in Musica
From: Thirteen Eagle
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Message: 1
Date: Sat, 18 Jun 2005 23:55:12 -0700
From: Gary Myers
Subject: Re: Chiffons
Ray:
> In 1975 To capitalize on the publicity of the lawsuit the Chiffons
> recorded their version of "My Sweet Lord."
And, circa 1972-73, the Belmonts did a medley of MSL and HSF on their
"Cigars, Acapella, Candy" LP.
gem
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Message: 2
Date: Sun, 19 Jun 2005 11:39:36 -0400
From: Country Paul
Subject: New York Times Op-Ed article on New York radio
Since reading this at the New York Times website requires
registration (and after a period of time incurs a cost), I thought
that posting the article here would not be a bad idea. It's about
more than just the CBS-FM switch, and says a lot about US radio
today. (How this will affect the making of music in the future, and
the circulation of music of the past, is less clear.)
Coincidentally, my wife and I went to the movies last night; as walk-
in music, they were playing a now-outdated promo track from 'CBS-FM,
with some generic DJ raps between various oldies. Most of the music
was pretty predictable, but the gem was "Because" by the Dave Clark
5 - a last glimmer of what we're missing.
Country Paul
June 19, 2005
The Day the Music Died
By KEVIN GOLDMAN
DANNY AND THE JUNIORS had it wrong. Rock 'n' roll, the 1950's and
1960's high-charging, gyrating soundtrack to a generation of baby
boomers, isn't here to stay. It wore out its welcome, a victim of age
discrimination and corporate greed.
On June 3, WCBS-FM, which since July 1972 had broadcast artists from
the 1950's and 60's, including the Beatles, the Five Satins, Dion and
the Four Seasons, abruptly switched its format from oldies to the
latest craze in commercial radio, Jack. The Jack format is a
hodgepodge of hits and album selections from the last 30 years. On
the same day, WJMK-FM in Chicago changed formats after 21 years from
oldies to Jack. Both stations are owned by Infinity Broadcasting, a
division of Viacom, which had earlier switched another station, KCBS-
FM in Los Angeles, which played album hits from the 1970's and 80's
under the moniker Arrow, to Jack.
Oldies is just the latest music genre to disappear from the
metropolitan region's commercial airwaves. In the largest radio
market in the country, listeners cannot regularly hear Miles Davis,
John Coltrane or Dexter Gordon because there isn't a commercial jazz
radio station. Nor can they hear Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald or
Tony Bennett because there isn't a radio station playing American
popular standards. Nor can they hear Hank Williams, Dwight Yoakam or
Trisha Yearwood because country music long stopped being programmed
on any commercial station. And now, the volume has been turned off on
first-generation rock 'n' roll.
And these formats will probably never be back. Once they disappear,
they seldom return. For example, it's been at least six years since
popular standards were silenced on commercial radio in the city.
Since then, songs by the Gershwins, Richard Rodgers and Cole Porter,
among others, have been heard only 12 hours a week on two
noncommercial stations, WNYC-FM and WFUV-FM and a mediocre program in
the wee hours of Sunday morning on WOR-AM.
The reasons the plug has been pulled from commercial radio are not
entirely convincing. Advertisers are most eager to reach the group of
listeners most likely to buy what's being advertised, and according
to conventional theory, that is 18- to 49-year-olds. And, the theory
continues, the music formats that have disappeared have done so
because they cater to older people, who are too set in their buying
habits to be influenced by commercials and don't have disposable
income. But statistics don't necessarily bear this out: according to
AARP, four million Americans turn 50 every year and last year
consumers over 50 spent nearly $400 billion. A 2002 Roper ASW study
reported that people over 50 are just as likely as younger consumers
to change brands.
The fans of solid gold oldies are not taking the loss of their music
lightly. A bulletin board on the Internet dedicated to the memory of
WABC-AM when it was a top-40 giant has been flooded with so many
protest messages that its moderator has been overwhelmed. The marquee
D.J. of WCBS-FM, Bruce Morrow, has been interviewed by nearly every
newspaper and many television and radio stations. Exactly one week
after WCBS-FM switched formats, Cousin Brucie was signed by Sirius
Satellite Radio for three shows a week beginning in July.
What's at stake is more than the memories these oldies provoke. Jack
radio features no disc jockeys, but instead, at least in New York, a
smart-alecky unnamed announcer. Jack may have attitude, but it has no
soul.
When I was growing up in Brooklyn, there was a plethora of
imaginatively programmed radio stations with smart, fun and
entertaining D.J.'s, including powerhouse WABC and its all-Americans
(Dan Ingram, Ron Lundy), top-40 WMCA and its good guys (Gary Stevens,
Joe O'Brien), WNEW-FM (Pete Fornatale, Jonathan Schwartz), WABC-FM
(Bob Lewis, Vin Scelsa), top-40 WOR-FM (Sebastian Stone, Steve Clark)
and even WCBS-FM when it was pre-oldies (Gus Gossert, Bobby Wayne).
No more. Talented, creative on-air personalities have fled or, worse,
been banished: Mr. Schwartz, for instance, to WNYC-FM and XM
Satellite Radio and Mr. Fornatale to WFUV-FM and XM.
Slowly, corporate greed has ended the era of radio that mattered.
Stations are now owned by a handful of large corporations - Viacom,
Clear Channel and Emmis, among them - that are interested in
bolstering the stock price. That's no sin, of course; corporations
aren't to be faulted when a goal is to make money.
WCBS-FM, however, was no slouch when it came to profits. It was
recently ranked the No. 11 top billing station in New York City with
$34.1 million in advertising revenue (compared with the No. 1 billing
station, WLTW-FM, or Lite FM, with $70.2 million). But $34 million
clearly wasn't enough.
WCBS-FM was a radio station with a reliable sound, a fiercely loyal
audience and a talented staff that had been in place for years (D.J.
Bill Brown was with the station since October 1969).
Cousin Brucie will return to the airwaves soon, but what about the
rest of the D.J.'s and what about the music? The city that was the
first American host to the Beatles, the city where the legendary
D.J.'s Alan Freed and Murray the K emceed rock 'n' roll shows at the
Brooklyn Paramount Theater, has gone radio silent on an entire genre
and an entire generation.
As Fats Domino would say, "Ain't that a shame?"
[Kevin Goldman, a former advertising columnist at The Wall Street
Journal, is the author of "Conflicting Accounts: The Creation and
Crash of the Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising Empire."]
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Message: 3
Date: Sun, 19 Jun 2005 18:11:19 +0100
From: Mick Patrick
Subject: Re: Honey Ltd picture gallery
The S'pop Team:
> The Team has assembled [the Honey Ltd. photos] into a nifty picture
> gallery, complete with captions and click-to-enlarge option.
Country Paul:
> Thank you to all concerned for the pictures -- and the article.
> They fill in the knowledge chasm behind one of the most interesting
> singles in my collection ("Tomorrow Your Heart"/"Come Down"). It's
> a shame more people didn't know about this group at the time; they
> could have bridged the gap from "girl group" to "progressive pop"
> for the larger audience, instead of just us music junkies. Oh, well
> -- we'll take our pleasure where we can!
Paul's right, the Honey Ltd sound as good as they look. It's time
some of their tracks appeared on legit CD - easier said than done, I
guess. In the meantime, I've posted one to musica - The Honey
Ltd "Come Down" (LHI 1208, 1968), written by Laura L. Polkinghorne
Creamer, arranged by Ian Freebairn Smith, produced by Lee Hazlewood.
Enjoy.
Honey Ltd Picture Gallery: http://www.spectropop.com/Honey/index.htm
Loud Harmonic Transcendence - The Honey Ltd Story, by Jonathan Ward:
http://www.perfectsoundforever.com/v/2005034/features/150
Hear Honey Ltd: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spectropop/files/musica/
The b-side, "Tomorrow Your Heart", reminds me of the Murmaids. If
you'd like to hear it, shout.
Does anyone out there have their LP?
Now for a raspberry smoothie.
Hey la,
Mick Patrick
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Message: 4
Date: Sun, 19 Jun 2005 10:45:18 -0700 (PDT)
From: Steve Harvey
Subject: DC5 "Because"
Country Paul wrote:
> The gem was "Because" by the Dave Clark 5 - a last glimmer of what
> we're missing.
There is an interesting story on the release of that tune in America
as a single. Dave ran things for the band instead of using a manager
which is why they probably ended up with money at the end of their
careers. Anyway, Dave tried to get their English label (EMI?) to
release the tune, but they wouldn't have it because it wasn't the
thumpin' sound the DC5 were known for. Same deal with Epic. However,
Dave told Epic they didn't have to release it as a single, but they
wouldn't get any new product until they did. They thought it over and
the tune was a hit.
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Message: 5
Date: Sun, 19 Jun 2005 17:35:10 -0000
From: Will Stos
Subject: Oldies Radio
As sad as I am to hear another oldies station is off the air, I think
the Jack concept (we have a Bob station in Ottawa) is an exciting
idea. This group has complained about how stale radio has gotten over
the past decades, including many oldies stations. Jack/Bob, which was
started up here in Canada a few years ago, constantly surprises
listeners because their playlist is so much bigger than usual. You
can hear Abba after ACDC, and despite losing great people like Cousin
Brucie, there are a lot of duds we've been spared from. These
stations play more music and less advertising, and certainly less
inane babble. If you like that stuff, tune into talk radio.
Considering oldies music is 40 or 50 years old, its not surprising
there's a "new" oldies format for the next generation. Since there
are only so many traditional frequencies, oldies and other specialty
stations with have to either move online or to satellite channels.
Hopefully Jack/Bob might eventually even include some oldies/jazz/
standards too. The best thing about these stations is that they
quickly become the most popular in their markets. They prove people
don't like hearing the same 40-50 songs repeated over and over, and
that genre-specifc stations are getting too dull. Give us variety!
Will : )
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Message: 6
Date: Sun, 19 Jun 2005 13:53:27 -0400
From: Phil X Milstein
Subject: Re: Big John
Anthony Parsons:
> Patti Page recorded a version of Big Bad John which appeared on her
> Patti Page Sings The Golden Hits Of The Boys LP. Is there another,
> "secret" version? And if so, why?
There is a long tradition of "alternate versions" being sold under-
the-counter, down there with the filthy comedy records, as "party
records," mostly in ghetto record stores. I don't know if that sort of
sales access is what Miss Page had in mind when she recorded her
"double secret" "B.J.," but I'll bet that tradition had at least some
influence in generating the recording itself.
Skip Woolwine wrote:
> The "double-secret alternate" version of Jimmy Dean's BBJ explains
> a... let's just say...different reason for his nickname...and
> lifestyle. I was sworn to secrecy, and I've said too much already.
> Lord, forgive me!
Does this version exist anywhere that's readily available? And/or, can
it be played to musica?
--Phil M.
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Message: 7
Date: Sun, 19 Jun 2005 19:40:13 -0000
From: Julio Niño
Subject: R. Carlos sings Tony Hatch; Van and Kendra; "In My Imagination" demo.
Hola everybody.
Summer is assertively here. During the day the whole city seems
incandescent. That makes me feel hounded and depressed. I spent the
whole weekend locked in my flat in darkness, listening to sad songs,
of course that fed back my turbid feelings and completely depressed
me. Sometimes, when I let me drown viciously in gratuitous and
twisted feelings like these, I remember with sarcasm a scene in
Aldous Huxley´s novel, "Brave New World", when a character felt very
anxious and unbalanced because of his too ordered life so he took a
dose of a drug called "substitutive of violent passion". One song
that for some reason has particularly touched me this weekend is
"Esqueça" (forget), by the great Brazilian singer Roberto Carlos.
It´s a extremely cool, minimalist version of Tony Hatch´s "Forget
Him" that was included in his 1966 LP "Roberto Carlos", which also
included the hit "Namoradinha De Um amigo Meu". This record is by far
my favorite Roberto Carlos´LP. Could someone tell me if Bobby
Rydell´s version of "Forget Him" was the original one, or if it was a
previous UK version?
Changing the subject, this morning, influenced by the updating of the
article about Kendra Spotswood in S´pop webpage (thanks to the
responsible for employing their time and efforts in doing such
things), I´ve been listening to Van and Kendra´s tracks. When they
sing together, their voices mixed in a extraordinarily sexy magma, I
love their voices. I would love to listen to The Vonettes´ and The
Pacettes´ tracks that are mentioned in the article. Maybe someday.
Some grotesque and fun events had happened this weekend here in
Madrid, maybe I´ll tell you all one of these days.
Chao.
Julio Niño.
PS: Thank you very much to Jeff for the lovely new demo he´s just
posted in musica. I love it.
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Message: 8
Date: Sun, 19 Jun 2005 14:12:08 -0400
From: Lloyd Davis
Subject: My Sweet Lord, That Handsome Boy Over There
Ray wrote:
> In 1971, he was sued by Ronnie Mack's estate and Bright Tunes.
> Harrison lost the case in 1976 and was ordered to $587,000 in
> composer's royalties.
And now, as Paul Harvey would put it, the rest of the story.
Harrison tried to settle out of court by buying the "He's So Fine"
copyright. But he was outbid by his own manager, Allen Klein!
Bright Tunes won its case, and Klein bought the song for $587,000.
The judge put damages at around $1.6 million, so ABKCO came out a
million bucks to the good. Harrison turned around and sued ABKCO,
claiming a breach of fiduciary duty. He won.
For the infringement, the second judge ruled that Harrison owed ABKCO
what it had paid Bright Tunes -- $587,000. But as a remedy for Klein's
misconduct, the judge also awarded the copyright to Harrison's
publishing company, Harrisongs.
Both sides appealed -- ABKCO claimed it hadn't breached its duty to
Harrison, while Harrison claimed his plagiarism had been
unintentional. The matter remained before the courts until 1983.
-Lloyd Davis
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Message: 9
Date: Sun, 19 Jun 2005 21:34:05 -0000
From: John H
Subject: More Sandi Sheldon
I see an auction currently on eBay for a Sandi Sheldon single on the
Okeh label: "One Minute Too Late/ Touch My Heart." I didn't see this
title listed in her discography on the main Spectropop site. Can
anyone shed some light on it?
http://tinyurl.com/a97ec
-John H
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Message: 10
Date: Sun, 19 Jun 2005 21:04:41 -0000
From: John H
Subject: Re: Honey Ltd picture gallery
The Honey Ltd. sound amazing. I would love to hear anything and
everything else they've done!
I think I'm in love.
-John H.
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Message: 11
Date: Sun, 19 Jun 2005 21:59:05 -0000
From: David A Young
Subject: The Shirelles are messin' up my mind
Howdy, y'all,
I've always wondered about two "missing in action" Shirelles songs
listed on the jackets of LPs I own but not included on the discs
inside. The albums in question are the two Scepter-era collections on
that label's budget imprint, Pricewise: "The Shirelles Swing the
Most," Pricewise 4001, and "The Shirelles Hear & Now," 4002. The
former lists "That Boy Is Messin' Up My Mind" as the fifth of six
tracks on side one, but in fact there are but five songs on that side
and that ain't one of them. Similarly, the latter shows "Happy
Birthday" as the lead track on side one, but the tune is not to be
found in the grooves.
For a while I thought my pressings were unusual and that eventually
copies would surface that included the missing songs, but years of
associating with other girl-group collectors never yielded a sighting
of either song. By the time of the CD era, a compilation of previously
unreleased Shirelles material hit the shelves, and other unreleased
tracks showed up here and there on other collections, but never either
of these mystery songs.
Until now. I just got the new "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" anthology on
(UK) Castle and was thrilled to see that "That Boy..." has been
rescued from obscurity and included in position 13 on disc two. Not
only does it exist, but it's credible competition for the highly
regarded version of the Greenwich-Barry tune by The Orchids. Now if
only "Happy Birthday" could be found; wouldn't that be great? I'm
assuming that this'd be the song we know by Bernadette Carroll. Mick,
your name's on this new collection; any chance you've seen "Happy
Birthday" knocking about the vaults? Have I reason to hope?
It's been good to see Shirley's and The Shirelles' names discussed
here lately. I'm wild for their simultaneously sophisticated and naive
sound, and as far as I know I'm just one song short of a complete
collection. If anyone out there could send me (or play to musica if
it's worthy) their 1967 "There's a Storm Goin' on in My Heart," I'd be
most grateful.
Finally, does anyone else think that Gold Records 212, "You Will Never
Get Away"/"Cry for Me" as by Cholli Maye is really Shirley? I'd have a
hard time believing that anyone else could approximate her unique
delivery so accurately, but whence the Four Seasons connection? (The
names Callelo, Valli, and Gordio - which I assume should be Gaudio -
all appear on the labels.) The A-side is now playing in musica for
your dining and dancing pleasure. And be sure to pick up the new
Shirelles collection on Castle; even without "That Boy Is Messin' Up
My Mind," it'd be their best anthology on the market. With it...what
can I say? My mind's messed up!
David A. Young
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Message: 12
Date: Sun, 19 Jun 2005 20:56:04 -0000
From: Thirteen Eagle
Subject: Dean Reed in Musica
Finally got a decent computer so I posted my favorite Dean Reed song
to musica - "Don't Tell Him No" from 1964, Odeon label recorded in
Argentina. He sang a less frantic version in his first film,
"Guadalajara en Verano" (Guadalajara in the Summer). I found it as a
7" 33 1/3 in Evanston, IL of all places... Enjoy!
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
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