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SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
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There are 15 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. Reparata & the Delrons
From: S'pop Projects
2. Re: Teddy Vann discography
From: Hasse Huss
3. Willie Tee
From: Bill Swanke
4. Re: discography websites
From: Al Quaglieri
5. "A rough game ..."
From: Andrew C Jones
6. Re: The Changing Scene
From: Lyn Nuttall
7. Re: NYC studios
From: Phil X Milstein
8. Re: "Sold more records than The Beatles and Elvis combined"
From: Various
9. Harold Leventhal
From: Phil X Milstein
10. The Monkees
From: S'pop Projects
11. The LA press double-dips the Bubblegum Awards
From: Kim Cooper
12. Re: NYC studios of yore
From: Al Quaglieri
13. Re: Digest Number 2087
From: Joe Foster
14. Re: Myrmidons of Melodrama CDs
From: Larry Watts, Jr.
15. Re: Teddy Vann pic
From: Hasse Huss
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Message: 1
Date: Fri, 7 Oct 2005 00:31:05 +0100
From: S'pop Projects
Subject: Reparata & the Delrons
Without a doubt, "I'm Nobody's Baby Now" by Reparata & the
Delrons is one of *the* most revered recordings here on planet
Spectropop. Incredible, but true - S'pop's Ray Otto was there
at the session. Find out more in his review of the group's
new "Best Of" CD:
http://www.spectropop.com/recommends/index2005.htm#Reparata
No doubt Ray will be happy to answer questions about his friend
Reparata, so fire away.
Enjoy,
The S'pop Team
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Message: 2
Date: Fri, 7 Oct 2005 04:02:23 -0700 (PDT)
From: Hasse Huss
Subject: Re: Teddy Vann discography
Teddy Vann's liner notes to the Johnny Thunder album offer this interesting quote:
'I've been producing records now for over ten years and have had the good fortune to
have scored with such hits as "Clap Your Hands," "Cindy," "Teenage Ride" and others.'
The first two are in Davie's extensive discography already, but we may add this one:
TENDER SLIM (Grey Cliff 723)
Teenage Hayride (T. Vann)
Hey Joe!
Prod: Teddy Vann
"Hits" is perhaps stretching it a little, though of course they may have been big locally.
'Clap Your Hands' and 'Cindy' both bubbled under the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1960;
'Clap Your Hands' for seven weeks, peaking at #102; 'Cindy', also for seven weeks,
peaking at #104. 'Teenage Hayride' (an instrumental, according to Joel Whitburn) did
marginally better, it was in the Hot 100 for two weeks, peaking at #93 in January 1960.
Now all I'd like to know is, who was the Great Nathaniel?
Hasse Huss
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Message: 3
Date: Fri, 7 Oct 2005 05:52:11 -0500 (Central Standard Time)
From: Bill Swanke
Subject: Willie Tee
Tonight at 10pm(EDT) on the Rollye James Show Atlantic Records recording
artist Willie Tee (Walking Up A One Way Street, Thank You John, Teasing You)
will be interviewed by Rollye. The show is carried on XM Satellite Radio
Channel 165 as well as syndicated on 25+ stations across the nation and
streamed on the Internet at http://www.rollye.net/
Willie C.
---
See the Cafe at:
http://www.BeachMusicCafe.com
Listen to the Cafe at:
http://www.live365.com/stations/williecs
BLOG the Cafe at:
http://williecs.tripod.com/williesblog/
(843)455-6689
Member of The Academy of Carolina Beach Music #1050 -
http://www.carolinabeachmusicawards.com
The National Association Rhythm& Blues Dee Jay's -
http://www.randbdeejays.com
The BMAI - Beach Music Association International - www.BMAI.net
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Message: 4
Date: Fri, 07 Oct 2005 11:12:53 -0400
From: Al Quaglieri
Subject: Re: discography websites
Country Paul asked:
> Anyone else know of amazing labor-of-love reference sites like
> the discography sites I mentioned?
There's also:
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Venue/6784/labels.html
UK labels -- complete Apple, Dawn, Deram, Immediate, London and Tamla Motown,
as well as partials of others.
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Message: 5
Date: Thu, 6 Oct 2005 23:16:45 -0400
From: Andrew C Jones
Subject: "A rough game ..."
Some US members may remember "Solid Gold Rock'n'Roll, Volumes 1&2," two
oldies LPs released by Mercury in the early 1970s. Here is a direct
quote from the liner of Volume 2:
"A rough game to play, this keeping up with the oldies. Every time you
turn around, someone has more knowledge than you concerning records and
artists of the past. And often someone has more actual, first-pressing
oldies stashed away to bring out at quiet parties just to see you do a
slow burn in the middle of your 'this is what I know about Johnny and
the Hurricanes' speech."
The internet wasn't even an embryo back then, and Spectropop wasn't even
a gleam in Jamie LePage's eye. But I think whoever wrote these notes had
our numbers even then, don't you?
ACJ
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Message: 6
Date: Fri, 07 Oct 2005 06:41:43 -0000
From: Lyn Nuttall
Subject: Re: The Changing Scene
Davie Gordon wrote:
> There's a Fontana single from '69 by a group called The Changing Scene
> but I don't know if it's the same group as on Avco. The Fontana single
> was produced by Dan Oriolo, co-written by Oriolo and Bobby Flax.
Could that be Don Oriolo? AllMusic lists the Changing Scene track as by Don, and
he's the only Oriolo I can find at BMI or ASCAP. He has the earlier Changing Scene
song ('Is It Really Worth It', on Fontana) listed at ASCAP: he seems to have been
involved with Felix the Cat cartoons.
> If either of those names crops up on the Avco album (which I've
> never seen) I think we can safely take it they're the same group.
One of the songs on the Changing Scene album, 'Sit Down Lorraine', was written
by Don Oriolo.
> Looks to me as if the Bobby Corrado is the original
> Bobby Corrado - 12/69 prod: Bernstein - Millrose
> Chris Holland - 12/70 prod: ?
Thanks for your quality help once again, Davie. Page now updated in light of this:
http://www.poparchives.com.au/feature.php?id=86
Lyn
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Message: 7
Date: Thu, 06 Oct 2005 18:38:18 -0400
From: Phil X Milstein
Subject: Re: NYC studios
Greg asked:
> In a few weeks I'll be visiting the States for the first time.
> Apart from seeing the usual things, the *main* thing I'm excited
> about seeing, or finding, are the recording studios in New York
> where so much music that I adore has been recorded. I realise a
> lot of these studios no longer exist, but I hope to at least try
> and find the locations.
One of the great studios in Manhattan was the Pythian Temple Studios. If I
have my story straight, it was originally a meeting hall-slash-ballroom (for
the Knights of Pythian fraternal lodge, hence the name), which Decca, noting
its wonderful natural acoustics, had converted to a recording studio. Bill
Haley & The Comets's breakthrough "Rock Around The Clock" may have been the
most famous track recorded there, but Buddy Holly did "True Love Ways"
there, Patsy Cline cut a few sessions there, the Johnny Burnette Trio tore
it up on "Tear It Up," and The Harptones cut at least some backing sessions
there.
I've seen Pythian alternately addressed at either West 18th or West 80th
Streets -- big difference, and the hope is that one of the old-time New
Yorkers on the list will be able to provide a more precise location.
Fraternal lodge buildings tend to have pretty long shelf lives (and often
betray some glorious architecture), and there's a good chance that the
building is still standing.
Dig,
--Phil M.
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Message: 8
Date: Wed, 05 Oct 2005 18:55:16 -0400
From: Various
Subject: Re: "Sold more records than The Beatles and Elvis combined"
Ray wrote:
> I'm thinking this must be da place to ask this! Back in the '70s,
> I believe, there was a commercial for "Slim Whitman's Greatest
> Hits" on cable channels everywhere. In the ad it was stated "He
> has sold more records than the Beatles and Elvis." How was this
> claim justifed? Another thing, on that show from a couple of
> weeks ago, where they were trying to find a new member for the
> group TLC, they said they had sold more records than any other
> girl group! How can these things be? Must I bring back the spirit
> of Criswell to help me find the answers, or does one of my fellow
> Spec-poppers know how to solve these mysteries?
-----
Phil M.:
It was a simple typographical error. What they meant to say was that he sold
more records than CRISWELL.
-----
Nick Archer:
Criswell also said that by the year 2000 clothing would be entirely replaced by
body paints, and that the American South would be Republican. Wait a minute. ...
-----
Tom Taber:
I used to set up at record shows, and still occasionally sell through the mail.
I must have sold over a thousand records in my lifetime. While RCA and Capitol
sold hundreds of millions of Elvis and Beatles records, I doubt the artists
themselves actually sold many.
So, in effect, I have sold more records than Elvis and the Beatles, but I doubt
Slim Whitman or TLC did!
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Message: 9
Date: Thu, 06 Oct 2005 17:53:38 -0400
From: Phil X Milstein
Subject: Harold Leventhal
One of the more enjoyable aspects of the recent Bob Dylan documentary "No
Direction Home" was finally getting to see the talking-head of one of the
most influential figures in the history of American folk-pop, albeit one
little-known to the general audience. Impresario and artist manager Harold
Leventhal, who died this week at age 86, was as beloved by his artists and
their fans as he was essential to folk's occasional surges of popularity,
not to mention its lasting strength during its more fallow commercial
phases.
Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that, while finding a music
industry businessman who is universally trusted and respected is about as
rare as the sight of Morris Levy handing out dollar bills in Times Square,
Leventhal was, by all accounts, one of those few.
Because the site requires registration, I am taking the liberty of pasting
Leventhal's obituary from today's New York Times/AP website here. Although
he might at first glance seem too tangential to the music of Spectropop to
merit such inclusion here, I think reading it will dissipate such doubt.
See http://www.woodyguthrie.org for more.
--Phil M.
-----
Harold Leventhal, Promoter of Folk Music, Dies at 86
By Margalit Fox
October 6, 2005
Harold Leventhal, an internationally renowned folk music promoter who in
1963 presented an unkempt 21-year-old named Bob Dylan in his first major
concert-hall appearance, died on Tuesday at New York University Medical
Center. He was 86 and lived in Manhattan.
The death was confirmed by Nora Guthrie, Woody Guthrie's daughter and the
director of the Woody Guthrie Foundation and Archives, of which Mr.
Leventhal was a founder and trustee. Mr. Leventhal had been Woody Guthrie's
business manager and later his executor.
If, at any time during the last 50 years, you wanted to hire a folksinger,
especially a famous folksinger, Harold Leventhal was the man to call. Mr.
Leventhal, who began his career in the 1930's as a song plugger for Irving
Berlin, was by the early 1950's the Sol Hurok of America's flourishing
folk-music revival. He remained in the role until the close of the 20th
century, weathering historical onslaughts from the cold war to rock 'n'
roll.
Besides handling Mr. Dylan and Guthrie, Mr. Leventhal presided over a stable
of artists that at various times included Joan Baez, Harry Belafonte;
Theodore Bikel; Oscar Brand; Johnny Cash; Judy Collins; Arlo Guthrie; Jim
Kweskin; the Mamas and the Papas; Holly Near; the New Lost City Ramblers;
Phil Ochs; Odetta; Tom Paxton; Peter, Paul and Mary; Jean Ritchie; Martha
Schlamme; Earl Scruggs; the Weavers; and Neil Young.
He also introduced American audiences to foreign artists then largely
unknown in this country, among them Jacques Brel, Miriam Makeba, Nana
Mouskouri, Jean Redpath and Ravi Shankar.
"With all of the history that he'd had with the Weavers, he really was a
connection between my dad's era and the world of the late 60's," Arlo
Guthrie said in a telephone interview last night.
Mr. Leventhal produced several movies relating to the folk-music world,
including "Alice's Restaurant" (1969); "Bound for Glory" (1976), a film
biography of Woody Guthrie starring David Carradine; and "Wasn't That a
Time!" (1982), a documentary about the Weavers' celebrated reunion in 1980.
In 2003 Mr. Leventhal was honored with a Carnegie Hall concert featuring an
all-star lineup of folk performers. The concert became the basis of a
documentary film, "Isn't This a Time!" (2004), which is scheduled to open in
New York on Dec. 19.
Mr. Leventhal was also widely, if tacitly, acknowledged to have been the
inspiration for Irving Steinbloom, the folk impresario whose memorial
concert sets in motion the plot of the 2003 film comedy "A Mighty Wind."
Harold Leventhal was born on May 24, 1919, in Ellenville, N.Y., and grew up
on the Lower East Side and in the Bronx. In the late 1930's he went to work
for Berlin, haunting New York nightclubs to pitch his songs to the likes of
Frank Sinatra, Dinah Shore and Peggy Lee.
During World War II, Mr. Leventhal served in the Army Signal Corps,
stationed in India. There, he came to know Jawaharlal Nehru and, through
him, gained an audience with Gandhi. On the appointed day, Gandhi greeted
Corporal Leventhal with a burning question:
"The first thing he wanted to know was how Paul Robeson was," Mr. Leventhal
told The New York Times in 1998.
After the war, Mr. Leventhal returned to New York, where the Weavers were
singing "Goodnight, Irene" and "Tzena, Tzena" in Greenwich Village
coffeehouses. Falling under the spell of those songs, Mr. Leventhal began
managing the group. A pragmatist, he did not immediately give up his day job
at his brother's company, Youthcraft Foundations, a maker of girdles.
By 1952, the Weavers, a highly public casualty of the McCarthy blacklist,
had been forced to disband. Intent on reuniting them, Mr. Leventhal booked
Carnegie Hall for Christmas Eve 1955. He told each of the Weavers that the
other three had already agreed to a reunion.
The concert was a spectacular success, leading to invitations to perform in
other cities. The trouble was, out-of-town promoters refused to touch the
group. But as Mr. Leventhal knew, the Weavers had a cadre of ardent,
far-flung fans.
"He practically wrote a manual for them on how to produce a concert: This is
how you rent a hall; this is when you take out the ads," Fred Hellerman, a
former member of the Weavers, said last night. "He led them by the hand and
made them into concert promoters."
On April 12, 1963, Mr. Leventhal presented Mr. Dylan at Town Hall in New
York, in his first appearance on a big-city concert stage. He was also the
longtime producer of the Thanksgiving folk concert at Carnegie Hall, which
traditionally featured Mr. Seeger and Arlo Guthrie.
Mr. Leventhal had been prescient enough to give the younger Mr. Guthrie his
first break - as his office boy.
"I wasn't very reliable," Arlo Guthrie recalled yesterday. "People like Pete
Seeger would show up there, obviously needing somebody to accompany him on
the guitar while he went over some new songs. All of the office work just
got left."
Mr. Leventhal is survived by his wife, the former Natalie Buxbaum; two
daughters, Debra Leventhal-Nuyen of Los Angeles and Judy, of Manhattan; and
four grandchildren.
His honors include a Grammy Award in 1989 as a producer of the album
"Folkways: A Vision Shared - A Tribute to Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly"
(Columbia Records). "Bound for Glory" received two Academy Awards, for music
and cinematography.
Though Mr. Leventhal occasionally managed performers in other musical
genres, he remained to the end of his life an unreconstructed folkie. In an
interview with The Times in 1998, he spoke of having been approached by a
rock group, but was hard pressed to remember which.
"A trio," Mr. Leventhal said. "I can't recall the name. Stills was one of
them."
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Message: 10
Date: Fri, 7 Oct 2005 00:43:21 +0100
From: S'pop Projects
Subject: The Monkees
Ever wondered on what date and at which studio Jack Nitzsche's
orchestral arrangement for the Monkees' "Porpoise Song" was
recorded? If so, you need to read Andrew Sandoval's new book
The Monkees: The Day-By-Day Story Of The 60s TV Pop Sensation.
Find a review/taster right here:
http://www.spectropop.com/recommends/index2005.htm#Monkees
Enjoy,
The S'pop Team
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Message: 11
Date: Thu, 6 Oct 2005 08:58:40 -0700
From: Kim Cooper
Subject: The LA press double-dips the Bubblegum Awards
The International Bubblegum Month virus is spreading, and the latest
to succumb are the LA Weekly and CityBeat, both of which have listed
Friday night's Bubblegum Achievement Awards as their first choice for
a fun night out. Thanks!
http://lacitybeat.com/article.php?id=2720&IssueNum=122
http://www.laweekly.com/ink/05/46/la-molyneaux.php
We've still got tickets for this once-in-a-pop-lifetime affair,
featuring a monster-packed record collector marionette spectacular
from Bob Baker, the west coast premier of Kier-La Janisse's delicious
documentary adaptation of "Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth," live
performances by Canned Hamm, the Bubblegum Queen and Ron Dante,
inductions of Steve Barri, Ron Dante, Dr. Demento and Joey Levine into
the Bubblegum Canon, plus free tickets for the coolest and craziest
raffle ever, bubblegum-themed cakes, snacks, punch and all the Bazooka
bubblegum your jaw can stand.
Where: Bob Baker Marionette Theater, 1345 W 1st Street, Los Angeles 90026
When: 7pm sharp, Friday October 7
How much: $52/person
Tickets available: online at http://www.bubblegum-music.com or at the
door as available
See you gum-fiends there,
Kim
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Message: 12
Date: Thu, 06 Oct 2005 14:28:02 -0400
From: Al Quaglieri
Subject: Re: NYC studios of yore
Greg asked:
> In a few weeks I'll be visiting the States for the first time.
> Apart from seeing the usual things, the *main* thing I'm excited
> about seeing, or finding, are the recording studios in New York
> where so much music that I adore has been recorded. I realise a
> lot of these studios no longer exist, but I hope to at least try
> and find the locations.
Record Plant was at 321 W. 44th St. It's now Puff Daddy's enterprise,
and he may even be using one or more of the old RP rooms (updated and
probably unrecognizable, of course, not that you'll ever see it).
The first Hit Factory was somewhere on W. 48th Street. Then it moved
to 237 W. 54th Street, into the former Bell Sound Studios. Don't know
what's left there to see, structurally.
CBS had three now-gone studios. n the 50s and 60s one was a
decommissioned church on W. 30th Street, with legendary acoustics.
Then there were studios at 799 7th Ave (which I believe were the old
A&R Studios, on the 26th floor). Both of these buildings are long
gone, nothing to see at either location. Studio B was at 49 E. 52nd
Street. CBS used to own the entire building, which housed live
studios for the Arthur Godfrey radio show, the company's tape
archive, mastering suites, photo archive and a couple of live rooms
(B&E). An architectural firm now owns the building. The Duane Reade
drugstore downstairs at that location occupies what used to be the
first two floors of CBS Studios. Studio C used to be on the second
floor, and had a 20' ceiling and rounded corners. I understand that
if you go to the far right end of the store's sales floor and look
up, you can still see evidence of both. And you'll be standing right
under where the bulk of Columbia's '60s pop recordings were tracked.
NYC has had a fascinating studio history, only pieces of which have
been properly documented.
Hope this helps.
Al Q.
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Message: 13
Date: Thu, 06 Oct 2005 20:18:48 +0100
From: Joe Foster
Subject: Re: Digest Number 2087
Laura Taylor asked:
> I think there's a few different versions of 'Myrmidons
> Of Melodrama'. How do I find the one that has the most
> amount of mono and least amount of stereo? Different
> cover, copyright date, song lineup?
I rather think the first issue -- which was in a jewel case, NOT in a digipak --
is the one you want. Mr. Patrick, can you confirm?
Later,
Joe
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Message: 14
Date: Thu, 06 Oct 2005 15:54:45 -0400
From: Larry Watts, Jr.
Subject: Re: Myrmidons of Melodrama CDs
Laura Taylor asked:
> I think there's a few different versions of 'Myrmidons
> Of Melodrama'. How do I find the one that has the most
> amount of mono and least amount of stereo? Different
> cover, copyright date, song lineup?
The mono versions are on the RPM 136 edition, which has the comic cover ("and
the road was wet and ... and ...), while the later edition -- black & white photo
cover -- has the stereo versions of several tracks. Both are excellent, and would
be needed if you're a completist. The latter has the Simon Says/Simon Speaks
single, while the former has the Wishing Well/Hate To Say I Told You So single.
Regards,
pres
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Message: 15
Date: Thu, 6 Oct 2005 14:21:37 -0700 (PDT)
From: Hasse Huss
Subject: Re: Teddy Vann pic
Davie Gordon asked:
> Any chance of posting the Teddy Vann pic to the photo section?
A pic of Teddy Vann, the "Marlon Brando" of Bell Sound Studios, has now been
posted to the Photos section. It comes from the back of Johnny Thunder's "Loop
De Loop" album (Diamond 5001); no photographer is listed.
Hasse Huss
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