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Spectropop - Digest Number 2043
- From: Spectropop Group
- Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2005
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SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
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There are 17 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. Re: Desdemona
From: Harvey Williams
2. "Those Were The Days"
From: Dave Heasman
3. Re: John Carter song - Midnight Girl
From: Roberto Lanterna
4. Songwriting / Production Question
From: Dave O'Gara
5. "It's My Party"
From: Matt Spero
6. Re: Pleasure Seekers
From: Harvey Williams
7. The original "It's My Party"
From: Mick Patrick
8. Allen Toussaint
From: Mike Rashkow
9. Re: Carpenters - Richard lead vocals
From: Anthony Parsons
10. 60sgaragebands.com September Updates
From: Mike Dugo
11. Alan Lorber, etc
From: Country Paul
12. Jimmy Clanton, etc
From: Country Paul
13. The Models, etc
From: Country Paul
14. Ernie Johnson, R.I.P.
From: Mick Patrick
15. Re: Who played what on the Carpenters discs
From: Frank Jastfelder
16. On Spoons
From: Steve Harvey
17. One version of US radio/music history
From: Country Paul
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Message: 1
Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2005 18:14:53 +0100
From: Harvey Williams
Subject: Re: Desdemona
Phil M asked:
> Is the Searchers' song "Desdemona" (RCA, 1971 in US) a cover of
> the T. Rex song of that name, or a different song altogether? If
> the former, is it available anywhere?
Hi Phil. Desdemona was actually a John's Children number, though
written by Bolan of course (on reflection, did T Rex ever record a
version? Maybe they did...). As for the Searchers song of the same
title, it's a different song entirely; a very different song in
fact... If you're still interested, it's available on "Second Take",
a Beat Goes On reissue from a couple of years back, and on Amazon
here: http://tinyurl.com/aoosk
harveyw
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Message: 2
Date: Sat, 27 Aug 2005 00:03:54 +0100
From: Dave Heasman
Subject: "Those Were The Days"
Joop:
> Mary Hopkin lends a hand on the title-track of "Those were the
> days" by Dolly Parton as she is probably most associated with that
> song. But the origins of it lie in Russia where it is performed in
> 1926 by Alexander Vertinsky with it's original title "DAROGAI DLI
> MAYOU": http://www.originals.be/eng/main.cfm?c=t_upd_show&id=1257
Goodness, is there *nothing* Joop isn't on top of. John Peel found
this track, or one like it, in the BBC archives, and played it
several times. Who wrote TWTD? How did he or she or they get to hear
this Russian song?
Dave,
frozen on the steppes,
they don't call it London N10 for nothing.
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Message: 3
Date: Thu, 25 Aug 2005 11:12:44 -0700 (PDT)
From: Roberto Lanterna
Subject: Re: John Carter song - Midnight Girl
Mark Frumento wrote:
> Sadly (Paul) Craig's version (of) "Midnight Girl" isn't all that
> good either.
Martin Roberts:
> Isn't all that good?!!! This is what Jeffrey Glen had to say about
> the track: Now this is a great record! Catchy song and excellent
> mid-60's U.K. arrangement and production, well performed. Nice use
> of bells and horns, and Craig's double-tracked voice is perfect for
> this type of song. How could this have been not a hit?
I agree with you Martin, but maybe Mark Frumento doesn't rate it very
much because he has John Carter's original demo, and he says it's
much better, in a kind of P. F. Sloan-y way.
Ciao,
Roberto
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Message: 4
Date: Thu, 25 Aug 2005 22:11:16 -0000
From: Dave O'Gara
Subject: Songwriting / Production Question
If you'd like to reply this this post, please do so off-list.
As one who loves the music of the Spectropop era but not being a
musician, through the years there have been several songs that have,
to me, a fascinating production element: The song comes to a sudden
and often dramatic end, and then after a pause, begins again.
Bernadette by the 4 Tops is one of example of this technique and of
course there are so many more; (feel free to mention your favorites
in a reply). My question is who comes up with this? The songwriter?
The Producer? Both? Or does it sometimes happen by chance? I'd be
curious to hear from you musicians and producers on this topic and
maybe some specific stories on how this "pause" came to be in a given
production. I love the break in songs like She's the One by the
Chartbusters and others but always wondered why it was included. As
always, thanks in advance for your answers.
Dave 0'
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Message: 5
Date: Thu, 25 Aug 2005 21:57:14 EDT
From: Matt Spero
Subject: "It's My Party"
On yesterday's Biography show it was pointed out that Lesley Gore had
recorded It's My Party within days of a version by The Crystals
produced by Phil Spector. Does anyone have this version? I am really
curious to hear it. If you have it please post it to musica. Thanks.
Matt Spero
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Message: 6
Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2005 10:11:58 +0100
From: Harvey Williams
Subject: Re: Pleasure Seekers
As requested, The Pleasure Seekers' "If You Climb On The Tiger's
Back" is now playing in Musica.
Have fun,
HarveyW
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Message: 7
Date: Sat, 27 Aug 2005 01:00:06 +0100
From: Mick Patrick
Subject: The original "It's My Party"
Matt Spero:
> On yesterday's Biography show it was pointed out that Lesley Gore
> had recorded It's My Party within days of a version by The Crystals
> produced by Phil Spector. Does anyone have this version? I am
> really curious to hear it. If you have it please post it to musica.
> Thanks.
I'd love to hear it too, but I'm not holding my breath. In the
meantime, I put together an article about the origins of the song
"It's My Party" for Sheila at Cha Cha Charming a while back, which
you might care to give the once over. Find it here:
http://www.chachacharming.com/article.php?id=16&pg=1
Who knows, maybe Joop will have something extra to add.
Hey la,
Mick Patrick
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Message: 8
Date: Wed, 17 Aug 2005 16:28:54 EDT
From: Mike Rashkow
Subject: Allen Toussaint
Previously:
> was the Toussaint song "Wanted $10,000 Reward" ever released. If
> so by who on what?
I guess everyone knows that his mother was Naomi Neville and that he
wrote under her name as well--right?
Di la,
Rashkovksy
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Message: 9
Date: Thu, 25 Aug 2005 15:24:23 -0500
From: Anthony Parsons
Subject: Re: Carpenters - Richard lead vocals
Clark Besch:
> the B side to "Close to You", "I Kept on Loving You" had the unique
> distinction of having Richard as the singer. It was a great song
> and version and made me surprised he did not do more vocals. Had
> "Close to You" not been a mega-monster, would he have sung more??
Probably not, as Karen far surpassed Richard as a soloist and he darn
well knew it. Richard was quite capable of hitting the notes, as all
those gorgeous multi-track backgrounds prove, but his voice really
doesn't have the depth or vibrato required for a "hit single". My
favorite Richard lead vocal is the happy, upbeat and a bit difficult
to sing "Saturday", which was also the B-side of one of their
singles. If I Were A Carpenter, I'd let Karen sing the leads too!
Antone
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Message: 10
Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2005 20:11:50 -0700 (PDT)
From: Mike Dugo
Subject: 60sgaragebands.com September Updates
The September updates to 60sgaragebands.com are now online. This go
'round we feature interviews with Larry Deatherage of the Nomads
("Thoughts of a Madman"), Carl Adams and Steve Brown of Iowa's
Thunderbirds, and Scott Jones of the Daze of the Week (and the
Grotesque Mommies) both of "One Night Stand" fame. We've also raided
our archives and reprinted Zack Bocelle's exhausitive biography of
his days in the Redcoats and the Sidekicks ("Fifi The Flea" LP).
Check them out at http://www.60sgaragebands.com
Mike Dugo
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Message: 11
Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2005 23:29:38 -0400
From: Country Paul
Subject: Alan Lorber, etc
Phil X Milstein Re: some fun links mentioned back on August 10th:
> Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge:
> http://tinyurl.com/7ss8b
Been there! Hot, desolate, fascinating. An ecological conundrum,
manmade, now essential to nature, but drying up. (I leave you to make
any connections to Sonny from all of that....)
Mick Patrick asked:
> How great to see someone mention Alan Lorber, one of my favourite
> arrangers. You seem to know a lot about him. By any chance, do you
> have a complete list of the records he arranged?
JB added:
> Look for Susan Rafey on Verve from '66 doing a fuzz-filled easy
> rendition of "The Big Hurt" Wow!
I don't have a list, but he did a lot of the MGM-and-related-companies
product int he mid-60s, including some of the Bosstown Sound material.
ACJ wrote:
> A long time ago, I may (or may not) have told this group about my
> "U.P.Grooves!" If I didn't, it's an attempt to chronicle every
> pre-1987 commercially-released record with a connection to the
> Upper Peninsula, or U.P., of Michigan....
> http://community.webtv.net/andrucharlz/UPGROOVESTheUpper
Must admit, I'd only heard of Cub (ne Mike) Koda. Cool site; hope
you're having research success.
Me earlier:
> ...[A] veritable doo-wop orgy takes place every Labor Day weekend
> at the Parsippany [NJ] Hilton at Lead East ( http://leadeast.net/ ),
> "The world's biggest hot rod party." Local doo-wop groups aplenty,
> plus bigger names with many of the original members (this year the
> recently-disappointing Kenny Vance & The Planotones....
I heard the tail end of something new by them on our local oldies
outlet, WMTR: www.wmtram.com. The 30 seconds I heard was not
disappointing at all, raising my expectations slightly.
Ivor Lyttle:
> Camillo (Camille Jean-Nicolas Felgen) passed away on July 16th
> this year in his native Luxembourg at the age of 84....He was
> probably best known in Germany as their presenter of the daft
> international game show "Jeux Sans Frontier" ("Spaß ohne Grenzen"
> or "It's A Knockout" in England)....
I never had heard of it until now. (My guess is that most Americans
who bought that record never did, either.) Thank you; now the Peter
Gabriel song takes on additional layers of meaning!
And if I haven't done so already, thanks to everyone who commented
re: "Oh Why"/"Sag Warum" on- and off-list.
Me, earlier:
> Who was Sandy Stewart?
Gary Myers:
> She was Sandra Galitz (b: 7/10/37; Philadelphia) - per Whitburn:
> regular on Eddie Fisher and Perry Como shows. No other chart
> action besides MCB.
Interesting - one hit at age 27 (pretty late to get started for that
era), then - gone! Thanks for the info.
Country Paul
(back to being 2 weeks behind, for those keeping score*)
(*and if you are, stop - you've got better things to do!)
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Message: 12
Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2005 23:58:41 -0400
From: Country Paul
Subject: Jimmy Clanton, etc
Artie Wayne:
> ... Sandy Stewart ... also co-starred, opposite Jimmy Clanton, in
> Alan Freeds' "Go Jimmy, Go !" in 1959. She used to sneak me in
> backstage when she appeared at Alan Freeds' live Rock n' Roll",
> where she promoted the movie.
Very cool! Thanks, Artie. And since you mentioned him, Jimmy Clanton
would be an interesting topic of discussion. I have a CD by him
revealing him to be a very fine Louisiana swamp rocker. Perhaps if
he'd been less good-looking (and/or not promoted as a teen idol) he'd
get a little more respect in that area.
Phil X Milstein, Subject: Link and Archie take a Rollercoaster ride
(hope this hasn't been discussed already):
> Anyone know anything about a Link Wray & The Ray Men CD on
> Rollercoaster titled "They're Outta Here, Says Archie"? The cover
> (!) notes say it's from tapes of an unreleased LP for Cadence.
No clue to the quality of the album, but as "Rumble" was a large hit,
it would have been a surprise Archie Bleyer hadn't recorded an album
of them. (While much of their output was on Swan, Mick, "Rumble" was
a Cadence original - and a very unusual sound for that much-poppier
label.) That quotation construct was common to all early Cadence
albums, as I remember.
Joe Nelson's comment:
> Cadence owner Archie Bleyer sometimes named albums after comments he
> made about the artists: an Everly Brothers LP showing Phil and Don
> on motorcycles was titled "'They're Off And Rolling,' says Archie".
> My favorite in this genre was Andy Williams' "'He's All Male And
> Catnip to Quail,' says Archie". You don't want to see the cover.
Amen re: Williams. For the Chordettes album, they're pictured in his
convertible (he's driving, back to camera), and the quote is,
"'They're riding high,' says Archie." (And you thought Phil Spector
had a huge ego!!!!!) Anyone know if there were others besides these?
Country Paul
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Message: 13
Date: Sat, 27 Aug 2005 00:18:26 -0400
From: Country Paul
Subject: The Models, etc
Frank J:
> Btw, are there any photos of "The Models", eg promo shots out there
> in Spectroland?
Country Paul:
> There was a picture sleeve for the 45.
Frank again:
> Please upload to the S'pop Photos section!
Not sure I still have it, but I am sure I don't have a scanner. Anyone else?
T. D. Bell:
> Is the Fender "dripping" sound on Rome and Paris' version of
> "Because of You"?
I don't know, and have nothing really to add to this except that it's
very cool that you know this fine 45. So, who were Rome and Paris?
Anyone?
Country Paul
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Message: 14
Date: Sat, 27 Aug 2005 10:57:13 +0100
From: Mick Patrick
Subject: Ernie Johnson, R.I.P.
Ernie Johnson who, with Eddie Campbell, comprised the soul duo Eddie
& Ernie, died on 20 August, the victim of a hit-and-run incident in
his home town of Phoenix, Arizona. Find an obituary here:
http://www.acerecords.co.uk/content.php?page_id=1086
R.I.P.
Mick Patrick
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Message: 15
Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2005 01:20:28 +0200
From: Frank Jastfelder
Subject: Re: Who played what on the Carpenters discs
Steve Harvey:
> Now we know about the guitar solo, but how many know that Karen was
> the bassist on several cuts on their first album, Offering? Through
> that website Richard answered my question as to what type of bass (a
> knockoff of Macca's Hofner which Joe Olson gave her when they were
> recording the Magic Lamp sides in his garage). He also mentioned
> hearing the Wildweeds' "And When She Smiles" on the radio in the
> early 70s while traveling to gigs. I always thought it was because
> they both came from the same state.
Steve, I don't want to be a know-it-all, but I guess you mean Joe
Osborn. Strange, I can't remember any reference of Karen playing
bass. I thought she only played drums on "Offering". In the box-set
Joe Osborn is mentioned as bassplayer on the "Offering" tracks. Now,
you know that Karen is quite a drummer, when you've seen her playing
on a TV show prior to the Carpenters (as shown on the Carpenters DVD
I mentioned in an earlier post) that she was a bassist too, would be
too cool to be true.
Frank Jastfelder
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Message: 16
Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2005 10:40:17 -0700 (PDT)
From: Steve Harvey
Subject: On Spoons
Norm D wrote:
> The recent postings about John Sebastian, and bands reviving
> themselves without their identified heads (Love, Lovin' Spoonful,
> etc.), has reminded me of a recent radio interview I heard with
> Dennis Locorriere (ex-Dr. Hook). He revealed that he had been
> approached to be the lead singer in a revived Lovin' Spoonful. He
> declined because "I don't even wanna sing my own songs anymore. So
> why should I sing theirs?". There's a man of principle for you.
> (Great voice too! Catch him live. He *does* do his old songs, by
> the way.)
I remember meeting the Spoons in the 90s and talking to Joe Butler.
He said, "I tried everything short of putting on a blonde wig, a
dress and seducing John to try get him to join the band again, but it
didn't work".
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Message: 17
Date: Sat, 27 Aug 2005 00:45:59 -0400
From: Country Paul
Subject: One version of US radio/music history
Passed along from my WBRU discussion group:
"Legendary" radio audio collector Ken R is releasing the entire 1981
radio documentary series "The History of Rock n Roll." Produced and
hosted by Bill Drake, "The History of Rock n Roll" was heard on CKLW,
KHJ, KFRC, WLS and most of the other heritage AM rock stations of the
era.
The audio demo is at http://www.historyofrockandroll.net . $799 for
all 36 Cd's - and you get Free FedEx Shipping!
Country Paul
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
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