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SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
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There are 17 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. "Jersey Boys"
From: Mike Edwards
2. Reparata & the Delrons > Hash Brown (Harry Lookofsky) > Michael Brown
From: Mick Patrick
3. Re: Grady Chapman
From: Gary Myers
4. Bob Crewe website
From: Mike Edwards
5. Bogus Coasters Del Vikings Platters and Drifters
From: Paul Urbahns
6. Re: Reparata & the Delrons > Hash Brown (Harry Lookofsky) > Michael Brown
From: John Kennedy
7. Cameo-Parkway songwriters
From: Mike Edwards
8. Hash Brown & the Cupcakes
From: Mick Patrick
9. Re: Hash Brown & the Cupcakes
From: David A. Young
10. Litle Rascals/Our Gang
From: Lapka Larry
11. Guy Fletcher/Doug Flett
From: David Walker
12. Re: Cameo-Parkway songwriters
From: Chris
13. Re: Bogus Coasters, Del Vikings, Platters and Drifters
From: Gary Myers
14. Re: Hash Brown & the Cupcakes
From: John Kennedy
15. Re: Hash Brown & the Cupcakes / Brooks Arthur & Kenny Karen
From: Mick Patrick
16. Spanish Girls sing Tony Hatch
From: Julio Niño
17. Re: Litle Rascals/Our Gang
From: Tom Taber
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Message: 1
Date: Sat, 19 Nov 2005 15:25:53 -0000
From: Mike Edwards
Subject: "Jersey Boys"
After much anticipation, I got to see Jersey Boys, the story of
Frankie Valli & The 4 Saesons, last Thursday. The show was at the
August Wilson Theatre on 52nd Street. It was a thoroughly
entertaining experience. The characters handled the Season's
songbook with a lot of energy with the audience clapping and
stomping along with them. The show was very well received.
In addition to the flawless interpretation of the Seasons'
recordings, the cast depicted the inner workings of the group,
much of which would have been unknown even to their staunchest
fans. Surprisingly, there was a lot of emphasis on Tommy Devito
and Nick Massi, two group members who have come down in history
as mere band members. Tommy Devito's role in the early years
seemed to be extensive. His presence gave the show a strong New
Jersey edge, something that the producers were clearly trying to
push.
There was some nice attention to detail. I liked when the show
featured the Seasons' work as back up singers in the early days.
A character playing Hal Miller comes on and the whole ensemble
rocks to "An Angel Cried". A couple of the songs got big build-
ups as the audience's expectation was heightened: "Sherry" and
"Can't Take My Eyes Off You". The reception for these songs was
rapturous and well deserved. The appearance of the horn section
for "CTMEOY" was memorable.
I have seen a number of musicals over the last year or so. Some
sway towards the music, such as "Dancing In The Streets", some
towards the drama, as in the Joe Meek story, "Telstar". "Jersey
Boys" does the best job in combining both elements. The musical
performances are excellent and the dramatic parts are engrossing.
Finally, Spectroppers have their very own "Mama Mia". I so
totally recommend this to fellow members. Please check out some
videos from the show at:
http://www.jerseyboysbroadway.com/
Mike Edwards
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Message: 2
Date: Sat, 19 Nov 2005 19:04:49 -0000
From: Mick Patrick
Subject: Reparata & the Delrons > Hash Brown (Harry Lookofsky) > Michael Brown
Tim:
> ... one of the great Reparata & the Delrons tunes, "Summer
> Laughter", released on Mala in 1968 and produced by the
> Jeromes. It's a beautiful melody with inspired singing and
> an instrumental background, while not very Spector-esque,
> that compliments the tune perfectly.
As there wasn't room for it on their CD, I've posted this
lovely track to musica:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spectropop/files/musica
Details are: Reparata & the Delrons "Summer Laughter" (Mala
12,026, 1968); written by M. Benedikt and M. Small; arranged
by John Abbott; produced by Steve and Bill Jerome for Real
Good Productions, Inc. So, what do you all think of it?
Me, previously:
> Michael Brown played harpsichord and/or piano on some
> Reparata & The Delrons cuts.
John K:
> Sherry Lookofsky told me this was not true. Is there any
> hard evidence either way?
What does Michael say?
Sherry Lookofsky is his mother, right? Pre-Left Banke, Michael
Brown assisted his father, Hash Brown (Harry Lookofsky), at his
World United Studios, where Reparata & the Delrons recorded
some or all of their World Artists tracks. Michael co-wrote one
of those songs, "Remember When". Why is it so unlikely that he
played on at least that track too?
It would be nice to think that Michael wrote "I Shall Call Her
Mary" (recorded by the Mirage on Laurie) about Mary Aiese
(Reparata), but the song was actually an homage to Mary Weiss
of the Shangri-Las. But you all knew that.
In the 1970s, Harry Lookofsky ran a new studio, Sound Ideas,
with partner George Klabin. Harry died in 1998.
Does anyone have any of Harry's own recordings? I've heard none.
The ones listed below sound especially interesting:
Harry Lookofsky "Moose The Mooche" (Atlantic 5004, 1960)
Hash Brown "Stringy Mashed Potatoes" (Philips 40061, 1962)
For more info on Reparata & the Delrons one could read:
Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow: Girl Groups From The 50s On
by Charlotte Greig (Virago Press, 1989).
Girl Groups: Fabulous Females That Rocked The World by John
Clemente (Krause Publications, 2000).
Reparata & the Delrons by Edward R. Engel in Time Barrier
Express magazine, #25, 1979.
Reparata & the Delrons by Ranaan Geberer in Goldmine magazine,
#83, 1983.
I already have.
Hey la,
Mick Patrick
Reparata & the Delrons Picture Gallery:
http://www.spectropop.com/Reparata/index.htm
CD:
http://www.acerecords.co.uk/content.php?page_id=59&release=4668
CD:
http://www.spectropop.com/recommends/index2005.htm#Reparata
At Cha Cha Charming:
http://www.chachacharming.com/article.php?id=9
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Message: 3
Date: Fri, 18 Nov 2005 22:59:01 -0800
From: Gary Myers
Subject: Re: Grady Chapman
Previously:
> By the way, Grady could sing. I have a unreleased record of him
> fronting the Robins that is killer-diller.
I remember that he did a very good job on that "Coasters" gig. A
few years after that, I saw the Robins on the KRTH Legends of R'n'R
Show and he seemed to be lost on stage. It looked as if they had
tried to do too much with too little rehearsal.
gem
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Message: 4
Date: Sat, 19 Nov 2005 16:14:57 -0000
From: Mike Edwards
Subject: Bob Crewe website
Ken Charmer writes:
> Just found this website about Bob Crewe which appears to be
> almost official: http://www.crewestudio.com/index.html
> Lets hope this develops.
Let's hope also, Ken, that this site incorporates some of the fine
work that you and fellow members of the 4 Seasons UK Collectors'
Group have put out over the years. In the blog section of the site,
I notice some pertinent comments from Casey Chameleon of the
Collector's Group. Casey points out that:
"Its clear from the Blogs and comments placed here that there is
no co-ordinated story of Bob Crewe's work and whilst many of us
have stumbled on the immense breadth and character of it there is
a dearth of the music available on CD. It is such a pity that
Westside's issue of The DynaVoice Story CD provoked a legal action
which prompted a quick deletion of this wonderful compilation. To
those of us who have it, it is a treasured item. There seems
little prospect of the story being told properly by Bob himself
and our researchers are sounding out the former entourage of
artists who worked with Bob for accurate facts and memories of
those times.
The Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons UK Collectors Group have
been working with a team of people across the UK and USA since
2001 gathering information on key tracks produced by Bob, his key
arranger Charles Calello or the Four Seasons themselves. The
artists from the time have also contributed their memories and
contributions from Artie Wayne, Charles Calello, Eddie Rambeau
and Jean Thomas have enabled a better understanding of Bob's
production work."
There's more and I would recommend that members check it out at:
http://tinyurl.com/agq23
Casey (whom I don't know) is so right in his enthusiasm for the
deleted DynoVoice Story CD. With 56 tracks, many of them on CD
for the first time, it ranks up there with the best. Compiled and
annotated by our own Mick Patrick (with Malcolm Baumgart), this
was clearly a labor of love and not an attempt to earn a shilling
at Bob Crewe's expense. Casey calls for some incorporation of the
Collectors' Group work into the Crewe Studio site. Let's hope
this comes about.
There appears to be hope. As I note in my recent comments about
the "Jersey Boys" show, there are a lot of enthusiastic 4 Seasons'
fans out there. The success of the show no doubt led to the
creation of Crewe Studio site and to the announcement on the site
(by a 11/17/05 blog entry from the manager) that "right now, we
are gathering material for his upcoming memoirs....so please stay
tuned."
I think the manager has realized that there is a wealth of
information out there, which is available in a very organized
format. Hopefully he taps into it and creates a truly memorable
site and Bob Crewe memoir.
Mike Edwards
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Message: 5
Date: Sat, 19 Nov 2005 15:56:50 -0500
From: Paul Urbahns
Subject: Bogus Coasters Del Vikings Platters and Drifters
Paul Oliverio wrote:
> "Bogus Coasters" can be defined as any Coasters singing group
> not including Carl Gardner, who owns the rights to the name.
> Grady Chapman sang with Bobby Nunn's Coasters.
Actually Paul there are lots of "Bogus Coasters" but your
defination is not correct. I have on tape and have heard Carl
Gardner in interviews any times stating that he gave all the
original Coasters permission to use the name, including Bobby
Nunn. Now the problem comes when the one original member in the
group dies. Can he pass that license on to the other members of
the group to continue working, or are they all on the
unemployment line. Carl Gardner is not in good health the last
tv performance I saw, do the Coasters die with him?
The reason is I have a budget CD made by a Del Vikings group
that contains no original members. They used to have an original
member in the line up and performed in the Florida area until
the original member died. The preformance quality is very good,
and the CD is dedicated to the deceased original member. It's my
understanding there were two different Del Vikings groups on the
charts at the same time back in the 1950s which makes the
definition of bogus even harder with them.
Finally everyone knows there are many Drifters and Platters
groups operating and they are legally licensed but with no
original members. Are they bogus?
As the original members of these and many other groups die, do
we stop going to concerts because the groups we grew up with no
longer exist, or do what the big band generation does, they
still go to hear the Glenn Miller and other "ghost bands" play
original arrangements of the songs they like?
That is something all us oldies fans have to consider, as
performers get older they don't want to do one night stands.
Paul Urbahns
Radcliff, KY
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Message: 6
Date: Sat, 19 Nov 2005 15:49:52 -0500
From: John Kennedy
Subject: Re: Reparata & the Delrons > Hash Brown (Harry Lookofsky) > Michael Brown
This is what Sherry Lookofsky (Michael Brown's step-mother) wrote
in April 2000.
"The sax solos on Reparata and the Delrons were played by Seldon
Powell. Michael Brown did not play any keyboards on the record.
Several keyboardists were used. Stan Free was one. Paul Griffin
played on 'Whenever a Teenager Cries'."
When I asked Michael about it in January 2003 he couldn't remember
anything about the song.
Given Harry's suspicious attributions of artists and writers on
his World Artists label, I wouldn't be surprised if Michael had
nothing to do with the song at all.
Here's the Hash Brown discography as I know it:
Philips PHS 600-018 (ND[1962?]) also on PHM 200-018
1.1. Ain't She Sweet (Ager/Yellen)
1.2. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (Otto Harbach/Jerome Kern)
1.3. Jeanie (Bobby Scott)
1.4. Overseas Operator (Inga Otto)
1.5. Missouri Waltz (J.R.Shannon/J.V.Eppel/F.K.Logan)
1.6. Margie (Con Conrad/J.R.Robinson/Benny Davis)
2.1. Never On A Sunday (M.Hadjidakis)
2.2. Water Hole Holler (Bobby Scott)
2.3. Love Is The Sweetest Thing (Noble)
2.4. It Ain't Necessarily So (Ira Gershwin/George Gershwin)
2.5. Chug-A-Lug (Harry Lookofsky/Pat Williams)
2.6. The Rumble (Bobby Scott)
Hash Brown And His Ignunt Strings
Philips 40005 (ND)
A. Ain't She Sweet (Ager/Yellen)
B. Never On A Sunday (M.Hadjidakis)
Hash Brown With The Milestone Singers
Philips 40061 (ND)
A. Dear Addy (Jerry Kennedy/M.Singleon)
B. Stringy Mashed Potatoes (B.Justis/J.Kennedy/M.Singleton/R.Stevens)
Hash Brown And The Cupcakes
Philips 40093 (ND)
A. The Nearness Of You (H.Carmichael/N.Washington)
B. I Got My Job Through The New York Times (Dorothy Jones)
A Harry Lookofsky discography would be near enough impossible.
Atlantic 5004 is a single edit of a track from the Stringsville
album.
And a question:
Does anyone know anything about Peter Lookofsky?
Regards.
John K
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Message: 7
Date: Sat, 19 Nov 2005 16:45:30 -0000
From: Mike Edwards
Subject: Cameo-Parkway songwriters
Will Stos writes:
> I just got Dee Dee Sharpe's Cameo-Parkway "Best Of" in the mail,
> and have been enjoying it immensely.
Good for you, Will; this is a fine set and probably the best of
the six recent Cameo-Parkway compilations from Abkco with Chubby
Checker's being a close second. They're all good, though. Dee
Dee's CD covers the years 62-66 and she went through a number of
style changes during this time without any falloff in quality.
Will again:
> I know that "Mashed Potato Time" borrowed liberally from "Please
> Mister Postman," but I was struck by how many other songs on the
> CD sounded so similar to other tunes I was familar with.
Wasn't it cool to see the Marvelettes' Georgina Dobbins with a
writing credit in the accompanying notes? Your point about the
Cameo Parkway songwriters borrowing the work of others is valid
and I quote from the notes to Abkco's recent 4 disc set:
"and "South Street", the melody of the latter not so discreetly
based on the 19th century minstrel song, "Camptown Races" ("They
did a really good job at stealing songs. That's what they were
famous for," comments the Dovells' Jerry Gross of the C-P
songwriters. "Hey there's good crooks and bad crooks," Kal (Mann)
once shrugged to an interviewer.)"
My favorite "borrowings" are:
The Dovells' "Bristol Stomp" (from the Students' "Every Day Of
The Week"); Bobby Rydell's "The Cha Cha Cha" (from Davy Baby
Cortez's "Rinky Dink"); Chubby Checker's "Toot" (from the Royal
Teens' "Short Shorts") and "Limbo Rock" (from the Champs' "Limbo
Rock"); and The Dovells' "Bristol Twistin' Annie" (from Gene
Vincent's "Pistol Packin' Mama").
That doesn't make them bad records. In fact, they're pretty
awesome.
Mike Edwards
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Message: 8
Date: Sat, 19 Nov 2005 21:31:52 -0000
From: Mick Patrick
Subject: Hash Brown & the Cupcakes
John Kennedy mentioned:
> Hash Brown And The Cupcakes
> Philips 40093 (ND)
> A. The Nearness Of You (H.Carmichael/N.Washington)
> B. I Got My Job Through The New York Times (Dorothy Jones)
Given that the b-side is written by Dorothy Jones, one suspects
that the vocalists on this record are really the Cookies. It
sure would be great to hear it. There's room @ musica (hint,
hint).
Hey la,
Mick Patrick
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Message: 9
Date: Sat, 19 Nov 2005 23:26:20 -0000
From: David A. Young
Subject: Re: Hash Brown & the Cupcakes
John Kennedy mentioned:
> Hash Brown And The Cupcakes
> Philips 40093 (ND)
> A. The Nearness Of You (H.Carmichael/N.Washington)
> B. I Got My Job Through The New York Times (Dorothy Jones)
Mick replied:
> Given that the b-side is written by Dorothy Jones, one suspects
> that the vocalists on this record are really the Cookies. It sure
> would be great to hear it. There's room @ musica (hint, hint).
James Moniz posited a few weeks ago that The Cupcakes of "Pied
Piper" fame (on Diamond) were The Cookies, and the Dorothy Jones
writer credit on the Philips Cupcakes disc would seem to corroborate
this. The single that Mr. Kennedy cites was reissued a short time
later on Philips 40108 as by The Stepping Stones. I don't have
either of the Philips 45s, and I join Mick in requesting a musica
post (or two, if both sides are good).
David A. Young
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 10
Date: Sat, 19 Nov 2005 19:36:46 -0800 (PST)
From: Lapka Larry
Subject: Litle Rascals/Our Gang
To All:
Going completely off topic here, but here goes:
I am an avid collector of Little Rascals/Our Gang
films. I have many in my collection, and as everyone
probably knows, music was a large part of these
episodes. Alfalfa Switzer and Darla Hood were the
primary singers, but music at least backed nearly
every episode during the sound era.
I am wondering if any records were ever put out
featuring Little Rascals/Our Gang alumni, whether
during their time in the series or afterward. Of
course, their time in the series was way before the
rock 'n roll era, but as they grew up, their
recordings could have at least touched that era.
I had heard that Darla Hood had a few sides in the
1950s, but I have never found any of them. I would
assume that Alfalfa Switzer probably had something on
record at some time in his short life, but I haven't
seen anything.
Does anyone at least know whether any recordings of
these actors was ever released in any era? As this
kind of encompasses a different era than is spoken
about here (I think), please contact me off the group.
If anything came out during the period that this group
looks at, please share the information with all.
Thanks.
Larry Lapka
P.S.: Yes, I know that there was a group known as Our
Gang (not Spanky and Our Gang) that had a single in
1966, Summertime, Summertime. Does anyone have this or
at least know anything about this band?
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Message: 11
Date: Sun, 20 Nov 2005 09:33:48 +1030
From: David Walker
Subject: Guy Fletcher/Doug Flett
Hello Spectroppers,
Among the few singles I picked up was one by an artist named
"Jeremy". The info on this Australian pressing is:
Festival Records FK-3546 (Yellow Label)
Cherry (Fletcher-Flett) (MX34141)
b/w One Day, Some Day (Fletcher-Flett) (MX34142)
Licensed by Egg Productions, London, England.
Any assistance welcome, especially from Aussies who can tell
its date by the Festival FK number.
cheers
David Walker
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Message: 12
Date: Sun, 20 Nov 2005 08:05:06 -0000
From: Chris
Subject: Re: Cameo-Parkway songwriters
Mike Edwards wrote:
> "They did a really good job at stealing songs. That's what they
> were famous for," comments the Dovells' Jerry Gross of the C-P
> songwriters. "Hey there's good crooks and bad crooks," Kal (Mann)
> once shrugged to an interviewer.)"
Was that the same interview in which he stated that when he found
that the copyright had run out on the song "Ida, Sweet as Apple
Cider" he rewrote it as Bobby Rydell's "Wild One"?
-Chris
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Message: 13
Date: Sat, 19 Nov 2005 15:55:48 -0800
From: Gary Myers
Subject: Re: Bogus Coasters, Del Vikings, Platters and Drifters
Paul Urbahns:
> ...I have a budget CD made by a Del Vikings group that contains
> no original members. They used to have an original member in the
> line up and performed in the Florida area until the original
> member died.
That must be Dave Lerchey's group.
> It's my understanding there were two different Del Vikings groups
> on the charts at the same time back in the 1950s which makes the
> definition of bogus even harder with them.
Yes, their's is complicated story.
> ... everyone knows there are many Drifters and Platters groups
> operating and they are legally licensed but with no original
> members. Are they bogus?
In 1975 I worked opposite the "legal" Platters (Buck Ram management)
at Harrah's Tahoe, with no originals. Around '86 I backed Paul
Robey's Platters and, as I understood it then, he was the only
original entitled to use the name because he had not relinquished
it to Ram when he left.
gem
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Message: 14
Date: Sun, 20 Nov 2005 07:41:30 -0500
From: John Kennedy
Subject: Re: Hash Brown & the Cupcakes
I mentioned:
> Hash Brown And The Cupcakes
> Philips 40093 (ND)
> A. The Nearness Of You (H.Carmichael/N.Washington)
> B. I Got My Job Through The New York Times (Dorothy Jones)
Mick replied:
> Given that the b-side is written by Dorothy Jones, one suspects
> that the vocalists on this record are really the Cookies. It sure
> would be great to hear it. There's room @ musica (hint, hint).
David A. Young:
> The single that Mr. Kennedy cites was reissued a short time later
> on Philips 40108 as by The Stepping Stones. I don't have either
> of the Philips 45s, and I join Mick in requesting a musica post
> (or two, if both sides are good).
I've uploaded to b-side:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spectropop/files/musica
Regards.
John K
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 15
Date: Sun, 20 Nov 2005 13:03:41 -0000
From: Mick Patrick
Subject: Re: Hash Brown & the Cupcakes / Brooks Arthur & Kenny Karen
John Kennedy mentioned:
> Hash Brown And The Cupcakes
> Philips 40093 (ND)
> A. The Nearness Of You (H.Carmichael/N.Washington)
> B. I Got My Job Through The New York Times (Dorothy Jones)
> I've uploaded to b-side to musica:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spectropop/files/musica
How fantastic! Thanks so much. That is indeed the Cookies, with
Dorothy Jones on lead. I've been itching to hear the track ever
since I first read about it in John Clemente's book. There's room
at musica for the A-side - sorry to be so grasping.
Brent Cash wrote:
> If all got uploaded OK, Brooks Arthur's take on "Sunrise Highway"
> should be in musica, by implicit request from Mr. Patrick (I can't
> wait for the upcoming feature!).
Excellent track, with strong vocals from Kenny Karen, many thanks.
I had no idea Brooks was going after the Bacharach sound on that
album. Whenever you're ready, I'm sure we'd all like very much to
hear more.
Thanks again, both.
Hey la,
Mick Patrick
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Message: 16
Date: Sun, 20 Nov 2005 13:58:41 -0000
From: Julio Niño
Subject: Spanish Girls sing Tony Hatch
Hola everybody,
It´s a dark cold morning here in Madrid. Suddenly the mountains
are white and an instantaneous Winter has seized the city. I´m
going to spend the whole day lazing around (as usual) listening
to versions of Tony Hatch´s song by Spanish girls, which there
are plenty of.
I have played to musica one of them that I think some of you
might enjoy, "Sé de un lugar" by the perky Marta Baizán
(Columbia EP, 1965) a version of "I know A place". The lyrics are
very similar to the original but Marta sounds much more youthful
(she was sixteen then) than Petula, and the club she suggests
sounds much more exciting.
There´s another version by the very sexy brunette "Silvana
Velasco", more sedated and sensual, but it lacks the hormonal
appeal of Marta´s cover.
Changing the subject, many thanks to John Kennedy for playing
in musica the great "I Got My Job Through The NY Times".
Listening to things like that is a very effective remedy for my
Sunday-itis.
Have a happy Sunday.
Chao.
Julio Niño.
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Message: 17
Date: Sun, 20 Nov 2005 08:15:04 -0800 (PST)
From: Tom Taber
Subject: Re: Litle Rascals/Our Gang
Lapka Larry wrote:
> Yes, I know that there was a group known as Our Gang (not Spanky
> and Our Gang) that had a single in 1966, Summertime, Summertime.
> Does anyone have this or at least know anything about this band?
It was a Dean Torrence (of Jan and Dean) project.
Tom Taber
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
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