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SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
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There are 14 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. Re: The Roulettes
From: Dave Monroe
2. Another reason why Long John Baldry was cool
From: Dave Monroe
3. Streisand's "My Coloring Book"
From: Paul Urbahns
4. Re: "Susan" & the Cryan' Shames
From: Jim Kauffman
5. Re: Tony Christie's "Avenues & Alleyways"
From: Simon White
6. Re: The Roulettes
From: Karl Baker
7. Re: Reparata & the Delrons' "I'm Nobody's Baby Now"
From: Mikael
8. Re: The Roulettes
From: James Botticelli
9. Eugene Record
From: Phil X Milstein
10. Re: Streisand's "Coloring Book"
From: Chris
11. The Roulettes, Unit 4+2, and The Reflections, too
From: S.J. Dibai
12. Re: Streisand's "My Coloring Book"
From: George Schowerer
13. "Bon Anniversaire"; " Cerca de Ti"
From: Julio Niņo
14. Re: "Bon Anniversaire"
From: Steve Crump
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Message: 1
Date: Sun, 24 Jul 2005 06:27:46 -0700 (PDT)
From: Dave Monroe
Subject: Re: The Roulettes
Michael wrote:
> I'm wondering if any of the record collectors among you can help me
> with something: Can anyone confirm any American releases of records
> by The Roulettes, the British group, not the American vocal group.
United Artists 990 - THE ROULETTES: The Long Cigarette*/Junk* (1966)
http://www.helsinki.fi/~tuschano/wants/records/
http://members.libcom.com/jhurray/HTML/TXT-HTML/r3.htm
http://tinyurl.com/al9kw
"Soon You'll Be Leaving Me" was the closest thing The Roulettes had
to an American hit, as some American stations, anxious for anything
British during the initial boom of the Invasion, added an American
pressing of this single on United Artists to their playlists (WABC in
New York even marked this one as a 'Hot Prospect' in Spring 1964). On
the flip lay a mostly one-chord rocker akin to The Beatles' cover of
The Shirelles' "Boys," right down to the screams and shouts. The song
was not about female anatomy but actually about a woman who cannot
keep a secret, based on an old Mother Goose rhyme.
(Note: Most Roulettes discographies list this single as having been
released in September 1963, but your humble narrator here has seen an
advert that specifies November 8 as a street date.)
http://www.fufkin.com/columns/lynch/lynch_10_02.htm
That may or may not be it, but that's all I could find, at least
efficiently. Here's a nice UK discography for comparison ...
http://www.geocities.com/fabgear6366/roulettes.htm
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Message: 2
Date: Sun, 24 Jul 2005 06:39:16 -0700 (PDT)
From: Dave Monroe
Subject: Another reason why Long John Baldry was cool
He recorded the third best version of "Sunshine of Your Love," after
Ralph "Soul" Jackson and The Fifth Dimension, and before Ella
Fitzgerald, Mongo Santamaria, Jimi Hendrix and, well, Cream.
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Message: 3
Date: Sun, 24 Jul 2005 10:01:22 -0400
From: Paul Urbahns
Subject: Streisand's "My Coloring Book"
Bob Rashkow wrote:
> ... capitalize on the MOR success that Barbra Streisand (whose
> version unfortunately overshadowed Sandy Stewart's and Kitty
> Kallen's wonderful, heartbreaking renditions) had with the tune.
This brings up a point that has always irritated me, the way major
record companies can rewrite history in their favor. Barbra's My
Coloring Book was issued as a single in November 1962 but failed to
chart nationally. Her version became known when it was included on her
first album. Barbara's first big hit I can think of was "People".
However, Columbia put My Coloring Book on her first greatest hits
album, which also sold well, and has kept the song in circulation for
years. And yes radio stations have probably played it as an oldie
because the two real hits were not available. So Barbra's My Coloring
Book was not a hit on it's own but by association because of being on
several best selling albums. That's the record business.
Paul
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Message: 4
Date: Sun, 24 Jul 2005 16:16:06 -0000
From: Jim Kauffman
Subject: Re: "Susan" & the Cryan' Shames
S.J. Dibai:
> Is it true that WLS only played an edit of "Susan" that didn't
> have the weird musique concrete in the middle?
Sorry to get to this thread so late, but that was no "musique
concrete" -- that was a snippet from Charles Ives' Central Park in the
Dark. The Buckinghams were on Columbia, of course, and so was the
Leonard Bernstein recording of this piece, released a couple of years
before "Susan".
Jim K.
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Message: 5
Date: Sun, 24 Jul 2005 19:36:12 +0100
From: Simon White
Subject: Re: Tony Christie's "Avenues & Alleyways"
Are these new ones remakes - or do my ears decieve me?
"Avenues And Alleyways" is the only Tony Christie 45 I possess.
Whereas Tony's recent hit revival was certainly helped by comedian
Peter Kaye's charity involvement (and for overseas veiwers, Peter is
a comedian firmly planted in the North of England and his humour is
very much of that strange land of small time entrepeneurs playing as
he does Bingo callers, club owners, small time entertainers, caberet
singers ect.) The songs stand up in thier own right. And least we
forget, Andy Williams' "Music To Watch Girls By" was a big UK hit
again a few years back and falls into the same category: pop crooner
of the red cardigan and white "turtle" neck (or "polo neck" in
England where there are no turtles) wearing kind, singing a groovy
song.
Tony's "5 fave tunes" are published in one of today's tabloid sunday
supplements and goes like this:
1. Ella Fitzgerald
3. Hoagy Carmichael
4. Elvis Costello
5. Frank Sinatra
Number 2? It's Little Richard's "Long Tall Sally". Tony Christie is a
genius.
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Message: 6
Date: Sun, 24 Jul 2005 11:17:38 -0400
From: Karl Baker
Subject: Re: The Roulettes
The Roulettes had two US singles:
Can You Go / Soon You'll Be Leaving Me (United Artists 718, 1964)
Long Cigarette /Junk (United Artists 990, 1965)
There were also five issued on Amy as backing group for Adam Faith.
Karl
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Message: 7
Date: Sun, 24 Jul 2005 17:24:59 +0200
From: Mikael
Subject: Re: Reparata & the Delrons' "I'm Nobody's Baby Now"
Me:
> Also, I read in the ("Phil's Spectre II") booklet that Reparata
> doesn't know who Jeff Berry penned "I'm Nobody's Baby Now" (best 45
> ever made in my opinion) for. I know, he wrote it right after Ellie
> left him.
Ray:
> I haven't read Reparata's exact quote yet, but I'm pretty sure she
> meant that she didn't know what singing group Jeff wrote the song
> for.
You're probably right. A slight misinterpretation on my behalf.
Anyway, I read what the subject of the song was years ago in an
article on Jeff.
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Message: 8
Date: Sun, 24 Jul 2005 10:20:59 -0400
From: James Botticelli
Subject: Re: The Roulettes
Oh, THOSE Roulettes. "If you should walk right out of that door, a
bad bad time, a bad bad time"? They were on an early 8T's UK reissue
of some 6T's Beat groups and I'm sorry, but the title escapes me
at the moment. It wasn't 'Beat '63' which I got the same day in '82
or so. It was a slightly cheesier reissue. I since sold it off. Sorry
to be so vague. Maybe someone knows the reissue I'm talking about.
JB
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Message: 9
Date: Sun, 24 Jul 2005 15:58:11 -0400
From: Phil X Milstein
Subject: Eugene Record
Eugene Record, 64, Singer and Writer for Chi-Lites, Dies
By Ben Sisario
New York Times
Eugene Record, the leader of the 1970's harmony group the Chi-Lites,
which scored hits with mellifluous soul ballads like "Oh Girl" and "Have
You Seen Her?," died yesterday. He was 64.
The cause was cancer, Jack Bart, the president of the group's booking
agency, told The Associated Press. The place of death was not announced.
With smooth, yearning vocals and streamlined arrangements, the
Chi-Lites, named after the group's hometown, Chicago, mingled
sentimental street-corner doo-wop with the sounds of Motown and funk to
create a sleek new soul style in the early 70's. "Oh Girl" became a No.
1 hit in 1972, and 11 of the group's songs reached the Top 20 on the R&B
charts from 1969 to 1974.
Mr. Record wrote or helped to write many of the group's most popular
songs and frequently sang the lead as well, in a velvety and often
melancholic tenor. He sometimes sang in a euphoric falsetto, as he did
in "Stoned Out of My Mind," which he wrote with his former wife and
songwriting partner, Barbara Acklin.
Another device favored by Mr. Record was the pensive spoken verse, which
he used in "Have You Seen Her?" and "A Letter to Myself."
The Chi-Lites' biggest hits have remained radio staples for decades, and
the group's songs have frequently been covered by other performers. In
1990 MC Hammer recorded a popular version of "Have You Seen Her?," and
in 2003 Beyoncé Knowles's song "Crazy in Love," a blockbuster hit,
sampled the horn fanfare in "Are You My Woman? (Tell Me So)," a
Chi-Lites song written by Mr. Record. When "Crazy in Love" won a Grammy
Award for best R&B song, the prize was shared by Mr. Record; Ms.
Knowles; her producer, Rich Harrison; and Shawn Carter, better known as
Jay-Z, who contributed a rap.
The Chi-Lites' origins were in the late-50's doo-wop era. Mr. Record
formed the Chanteurs with Robert Lester and Clarence Johnson, and
released a single in 1959. The next year Creadel Jones and Marshall
Thompson joined them, and the group became the Hi-Lites, changing its
name to the Chi-Lites in 1964.
The group signed with the Brunswick label in 1968, and began to taste
success that year with the song "Give It Away," which reached No. 10 on
the R&B charts. But it was a string of hits in the early 70's that
established the group's reputation. In addition to its breezy and
romantic ballads, the Chi-Lites had a handful of stern political songs,
including "(For God's Sake) Give More Power to the People," "There Will
Never Be Any Peace (Until God Is Seated at the Conference Table)," both
written by Mr. Record.
Mr. Record left the group in 1976 and released three solo albums on
Warner Brothers. He rejoined the Chi-Lites in 1980, and the group had
two more minor hits on Mr. Record's label, Chi-Sound, "Hot on a Thing
(Called Love)" and "Bottom's Up." The group has continued in various
permutations since the mid-1980's, and Mr. Record performed with it in
"Only the Strong Survive," a 2002 documentary of 1960's and 70's soul
stars that was directed by Chris Hegedus and D. A. Pennebaker.
His survivors include his wife, Jackie.
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Message: 10
Date: Sun, 24 Jul 2005 16:06:14 -0400 (EDT)
From: Chris
Subject: Re: Streisand's "Coloring Book"
Paul Urbahns wrote:
> [Streisand's] version became known
> when it was included on her first album.
For the record, it was the second Barbra Streisand album -- titled, imaginatively enough, "The Second Barbra Streisand Album" -- that included Kander & Ebb's song "My Coloring Book."
Chris
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Message: 11
Date: Sun, 24 Jul 2005 20:51:39 -0000
From: S.J. Dibai
Subject: The Roulettes, Unit 4+2, and The Reflections, too
Greetings, fellow Spectropoppers. I have been reading the posts on The
Roulettes with great interest. From the fufkin.com description of the
song "The Long Cigarette," it is clear that this is the same tune The
Reflections had out as a single in 1966. I have always been intrigued
by the writers' credit on that one, which is "B. Parker - T. Moeller"--
clearly Brian Parker and Tommy Moeller of Unit 4+2. It's reasonable to
assume The Roulettes' version preceded The Reflections', but how did
The Roulettes get a Unit 4+2 song that, to the best of my knowledge,
the Unit never put out? It seems there was a relationship between the
bands as Russ Ballard and Bob Henrit reportedly joined the Unit later
on.
Furthermore, is the Roulettes song "I Can't Stop" the same tune that
Unit 4+2 released on their second album? (Writers' credit is also
Parker & Moeller.)
S.J. Dibai
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Message: 12
Date: Sun, 24 Jul 2005 12:34:13 -0700 (PDT)
From: George Schowerer
Subject: Re: Streisand's "My Coloring Book"
Paul Urbahns wrote:
> This brings up a point that has always irritated me, the way major
> record companies can rewrite history in their favor. Barbra's My
> Coloring Book was issued as a single in November 1962 but failed to
> chart nationally. Her version became known when it was included on
> her first album. Barbara's first big hit I can think of was
> "People". However, Columbia put My Coloring Book on her first
> greatest hits album, which also sold well, and has kept the song
> in circulation for years. And yes radio stations have probably
> played it as an oldie because the two real hits were not available.
> So Barbra's My Coloring Book was not a hit on it's own but by
> association because of being on several best selling albums. That's
> the record business.
Paul: If I can remember correctly, Barbra had recorded material
before "People"...if not, a tv special. She had two tv specials, one
entitled "Color Me Barbra".
Regards, George Schowerer
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Message: 13
Date: Sun, 24 Jul 2005 19:39:12 -0000
From: Julio Niņo
Subject: "Bon Anniversaire"; " Cerca de Ti"
Hola everybody,
Today I got up with a severe sleeping abstinence syndrome that made
me feel totally cosmophobic. But later, I listened to Pat Powdrillīs
"Happy Anniversary" and that little pleasure instantly healed me
(today is the anniversary of my current relationship).
Talking about "Happy Anniversary," some time ago at a party, the DJ
played a French version titled, I think, "Bon Anniversaire." It was
sung by a girl I couldnīt identify that reminded me of Michelle Torr.
Iīve been searching and I couldnīt find any reference to Michelleīs
version of the song. Does anybody know who the singer of that French
version could be?. Thanks.
In a few days Iīll migrate to Barcelona to spend the rest of my
holidays, but before I go I would like to wish you all a happy summer
by playing in musica a song that I think some of you might like:
"Cerca De Ti" (close to you) by the Spanish girl group Las Chic,
composed by A. Algueró and A. Guijarro, produced by Augusto Algueró,
Hispavox 1966. I mentioned this song some time ago in a post in
Sīpop. I like it very much. The singers declare their intention to
pursue obsessively their desired prey until he accepts that they are
the girls he needs. They sing it innocently, but somehow the results
are totally menacing. There are many versions of the song; all are
very interesting.
Chao,
Julio Niņo.
P.S. I loved Don Randiīs majestic "Baby You Donīt Understand
Nothin'," the current record of the week on Jack Nitszcheīs home
page. Jackīs portentous arrangement completely devours the song.
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Message: 14
Date: Sun, 24 Jul 2005 23:33:51 -0000
From: Steve Crump
Subject: Re: "Bon Anniversaire"
Julio Niņo wrote:
> Talking about "Happy Anniversary," some time ago at a party, the DJ
> played a French version titled, I think, "Bon Anniversaire." It was
> sung by a girl I couldnīt identify that reminded me of Michelle
> Torr. Iīve been searching and I couldnīt find any reference to
> Michelleīs version of the song. Does anybody know who the singer of
> that French version could be?. Thanks.
Hi Julio, Your first instinct was correct - that version is by
Michele Torr. It appears on her first Mercury ep 152.101 from 1963.
Enjoy your vacation.
Cheers from Australia,
Steve
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