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SPECTROPOP - Spectacular! Retro! Pop!
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There are 13 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. Re: Stax Power
From: Artie Wayne
2. Re: WABC to play '60s music again
From: Paul Oliverio
3. Re: Mouse & The Traps
From: Andrew Hickey
4. Mike Clifford follow-up
From: Dave
5. Orphelia McFall / Ophelia McCall
From: Hans Huss
6. Re: Ron Marshall
From: Artie Wayne
7. Top 10 Classic Rock Christmas Albums ???
From: Bill Smith
8. Re: "Baby I Love You" alternates
From: Pres
9. Joe Jones
From: Bill Swanke
10. Re: "A Christmas Gift" versions
From: Mark Hill
11. Re: "A Christmas Gift" versions
From: Howard Earnshaw
12. Re: Mousie & the Traps
From: Davie Gordon
13. Re: workin' it with the Fourmost Authority
From: Davie Gordon
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Message: 1
Date: Fri, 2 Dec 2005 09:47:16 -0800 (PST)
From: Artie Wayne
Subject: Re: Stax Power
How ya'll doin'? I've been online with Spectropop for
about three years, and I'm curious as to why I haven't
heard as much about Stax records and artists as I have
about Motown or Philadelphia International? They
played such a major role in the evoloution of popular
music, and it's time they get their Spectroprops!
The Memphis sound intrigued me so much that Stax
Records became the first stop on my publishing tour
of the south. When I was general manager of Warner
Brothers Music in 1970, my longtime friend and
sometime collaborator, Steve Cropper, who co-wrote
"In The Midnight Hour", "Dock Of The Bay", "Knock On
Wood", etc., took me around his town, winding up at
the offices and studios of the legendary record and
publishing organization.
The company occupied an old movie theater in the ghetto,
with a markee that simply said STAX.The reception area
was once the place where refreshments were sold, and
the recording studio was where the movies were once shown.
I was humbled to be in the same studio where Booker T.
& The M.G.s, Otis Redding, The Mar-Keys, Sam & Dave,
Wilson Pickett, The Barkays, Eddie Floyd, Johnny Taylor
and Isaac Hayes made all of those mega-hits!
I've always believed that every studio has its own
flavor, due to the collective consciousness and
spiritual vibrations from all those who have poured
out their hearts and souls within its walls. This
place was no exception. I walked around mesmerized
with the sounds of the late Al Jackson, Jr.'s solid
drumbeat running through my head. I even had the
urge to yell out, "Play it, Steve!", but I restrained
myself!
Before I had to leave for my next stop, Muscle Shoals,
Alabama, Steve invited me into the control room to
hear some remixes he was doing on the late Otis
Redding. It was a spectacular ending to a day I'll
never forget.
Regards, Artie Wayne
http://artiewayne.com
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Message: 2
Date: Fri, 2 Dec 2005 12:22:11 -0800 (PST)
From: Paul Oliverio
Subject: Re: WABC to play '60s music again
Paul Rusling wrote:
> [WABC] switched from Top 40 to talk back in the
> early 1980s, and WCBS FM took the crown but a
> few months ago they fired all the Good Guys ...
Please don't get the impression that the "Good Guys" were from
WABC, the New York radio station that fired Bob Dayton, on the
spot, for playing "Happy Birthday Baby" on Pearl Harbor Day.
WMCA, at 570 on the AM dial, was the home of the "Good Guys,"
such as Dandy Dan Daniels ("...especially you size 9" was his outro)
and resident hipster B. Mitchell Reid. I was a proud owner of a
Good Guys sweatshirt.
Besides Bruce Morrow -- still cousining on satellite radio -- WABC
had Dan Ingram, the master of the seven-second wit, and Scott Muni,
who hightailed it for WNEW-FM where he was no longer subject to
WABC's extremely limited playlist.
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Message: 3
Date: Fri, 2 Dec 2005 22:26:36 +0000
From: Andrew Hickey
Subject: Re: Mouse & The Traps
James Botticelli wrote:
> The male Mouse & The Traps later became in part if not wholly the
> group that did "Lookin' For Some Tush", the guys with the long
> long beards and sunglasses who's name escapes me at the moment...
> Oh yeah, ZZ Top.
I think you're confusing Mouse & The Traps with The Moving Sidewalk,
Billy Gibbons' old band. Googling on both bands finds a Lenny Kaye
essay that mentions them in consecutive sentences, and that's about
it. Both were also Texas bands, and seem to have been part of the same
scene. But according to http://www.cyserv.com/lsbk/projects.html,
Mouse & The Traps consisted of:
Dave Stanley: bass
Jerry Howell: keyboards
Ken "Nardo" Murray: drums
Bugs Henderson: lead guitar
Ronny "Mouse" Weiss: guitar and vocals
--
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A webcomic about Smile
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Message: 4
Date: Fri, 02 Dec 2005 21:41:47 -0000
From: Dave
Subject: Mike Clifford follow-up
The recap: Mike Clifford is alive and well. I read Mike the many e-mails
I received about him, and he was really, really touched. He wanted me
to post his mailing address in case anyone wants to reach him directly
(as he doesn't have email). He's at:
Mike Clifford
P.O. Box 27761
Los Angeles, CA 90027-0761
Please direct all inquiries, including all requests made via the e-mails
last week, directly to him. He seems quite amenable to requests.
Cheers,
Dave
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Message: 5
Date: Fri, 2 Dec 2005 15:11:00 -0800 (PST)
From: Hans Huss
Subject: Orphelia McFall / Ophelia McCall
Martin Roberts wrote:
> Playing as the new Jack Nitzsche Record of the Week on the
> home page is Orphelia McFall's "He's Never There" (Saturn 403),
> a fairly rare record and a very good one. Be there or be
> square, man:
Indeed a very good record. The flip, 'Did You Know', is just as
good - though without the Jack Nitzsche input. 'Did You Know'
was composed by one Yolanda Garlio; this could be the same
Yolanda who sang with the Charmanes on Smash, and the Castanets
on Tandem - though perhaps not with the Naturals on Kimley;
Steve Propes and Galen Gart have her surname as (possibly)
Campos. My copy is on the Concert Room label, Concert Room CR
373, with the address, 6644 Hollywood Blvd, and Jack's surname
as "Netzche". Same matrix number and type font though. I've a
hunch this could be prior to the Saturn release. Does anyone
know?
In 1962, as Ophelia McCall, she had one release on Little Star,
'One Heart, One Love' / 'Every Every Night' (Little Star 110) -
no doubt every bit as elusive as Dorothy Berry's 'The Girl Who
Stopped The Duke Of Earl' on the same label, though 'One Heart,
One Love' can be found on Volume Four of Crime Dog's "Bring Back
Yesterday" series (Crime Dog 104). Has anyone heard these sides?
Hasse Huss
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Message: 6
Date: Fri, 2 Dec 2005 07:50:51 -0800 (PST)
From: Artie Wayne
Subject: Re: Ron Marshall
Mark...How ya'doin'? It's nice to hear from you after all of
these years.
I'm sorry to hear about your father's tragic passing...he was
a very talented man. I never met him before our first rehearsal
for "What Can I Wish You My Son?", nor saw him after you both
recorded your vocals at ODO studios, but I recognized his his
voice on commercials for years after.
I remember that your father wrote the song from the perspective
of a soldier that had been killed in Vietnam...who came back to
talk to his young son as he said his evening prayers. You both
gave real performances and showed a love for each other in the
studio that made me a little envious...since I never knew my own
father.
Wishing you the best, regards, Artie Wayne
http://artiewayne
__________________________________________
Yahoo! DSL – Something to write home about.
Just $16.99/mo. or less.
dsl.yahoo.com
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Message: 7
Date: Fri, 2 Dec 2005 18:15:55 -0500
From: Bill Smith
Subject: Top 10 Classic Rock Christmas Albums ???
It can be safely said, the only thing rock critics agree on is
Spector's "A Christmas Gift To You" is the best Christmas album.
Not to this guy:
http://holidays.about.com/od/entertainment/tp/top10_christmas.htm
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Message: 8
Date: Sat, 03 Dec 2005 12:46:31 -0000
From: Pres
Subject: Re: "Baby I Love You" alternates
While the Ronettes' record is what I meant, I must say that
Andy Kim's version is another record that I cherish. But there
is something about this SONG that really works for me because I
love the Dave Edmunds version, the Cher version AND the Ramones
version. With three out of five produced by Spector, it's not
too surprising, I guess. What does surprise me is how many copies
of each I own. On vinyl alone I have about 15 copies of the
Ronettes 45, 6 copies of the Cher 45, 2 Andy Kim 45s, and 4
copies of the Ramones. Whenever I see a copy of this record (by
anyone, it appears), I can not leave it. The only other record/
song that I've noticed also causes this... er, affliction, is
the 12" of Burning Up by Madonna (around 20 copies and counting.
I don't know what to call this problem but I wonder if any of
you out there share it? I think Dave Monroe might...
pres
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Message: 9
Date: Fri, 2 Dec 2005 17:55:07 -0600 (Central Standard Time)
From: Bill Swanke
Subject: Joe Jones
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Joe Jones, a musician-turned producer who
sang the 1961 R&B hit "You Talk Too Much" and went on to become
an independent music publisher and advocate for black artists'
rights, has died. He was 79. Jones died Sunday in a Los Angeles
hospital of complications from quadruple bypass surgery, said
his 40-year-old son Dwayne Jones. The New Orleans native, who
in recent years fought colon and prostate cancer went into the
surgery in good sprits. "The last month of his life, I spent
the majority of my time with him," Dwayne Jones said. "He just
said to keep the music going." Jones took to music when he was
very young. After serving in the Navy during World War II,
Jones trained at the Juilliard Conservatory and then went on
work as a band leader at a university in New Orleans, said wife
Marion Jones 67. Eventually Jones broke into the red-hot New
Orleans music scene as a big band leader for the likes of B.B.
King, playing the piano and arranging music.
"So he started singing. He always had a band," his wife said.
"He started going on the road, so one day he just decided to
sing this song ... 'You Talk Too Much.'" The song was a hit,
but Jones felt he failed to see any real money from the sale
of the record and became transfixed with learning about the
business side of the recording industry. "He was broke, so
that's when he started learning about the music business,
learning about contracts," Marion Jones said. "He started
teaching others the same thing." At the time, Jones also became
more focused on developing other artists. He's credited with
discovering the Dixie Cups trio, who sang the 1964 hit Chapel
of Love," among other artists. He was also the lead singer on
the Pentagons big hit "To Be Loved".
In 1973, he moved to the Los Angeles area and started an
independent music publishing business. He also began devoting
himself to help black artists recoup the rights to their works
since many hadn't known much about recording contracts and
unwisely signed away their royalties in the 1950s and 1960s.
"All he did was fight for the rights of his black fellow
musicians for them not to be ripped off," Marion Jones said.
In addition to his wife of 49 years and son Dwayne, three other
sons, three daughters, 10 grandchildren and three great-
grandchildren survive Jones. A fourth daughter died 15 years
ago.
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Message: 10
Date: Sat, 3 Dec 2005 00:26:59 -0500
From: Mark Hill
Subject: Re: "A Christmas Gift" versions
JJ:
> I have a US Philles (PHLP 4005), mono, yellow/red label copy
> of the "A Christmas Gift" LP.
I wanted to ask about STEREO versions of "A Christmas Gift."
My first vinyl copy was the 70s WARNER BROTHERS reissue in FULL
STEREO. I later found a CUTOUT(!) of the Apple pressing in mono.
I'm not a MONO purist and I found the Warner LP to sound
WONDERFUL in stereo. It's the one I've listened to for almost
30 years. If not true stereo, it sure doesn't sound
electronically channeled.
I also have an 8-Track of the STEREO 2-LP "Spectors Greatest
Hits" set on WARNER that I hope to transfer to CD someday. No
one could convince me that any mono versions sound better. To
me the official CD of "Gift" sounds muddy in comparison. How
were the excellent Warner stereo mixes created?
10 or more years ago, I recall seeing a CD of "Christmas Gift"
being advertised by one of the prominent oldies CD sellers in
Goldmine, noting that it was in STEREO. Unfortunately, I didn't
order it then and haven't seen it since. Wondering if that was
a legitimate CD and if it's still available? What label would I
search for?
If you haven't heard these stereo versions, seek them out.
Dr. Mark Hill
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Message: 11
Date: Sat, 3 Dec 2005 07:03:53 EST
From: Howard Earnshaw
Subject: Re: "A Christmas Gift" versions
This has been issued several times in the UK also, the first being
on the London label, second time around was on the Beatles' Apple
label, both fairly hard to come by now I believe. Later issues on
Ronco or was it K-Tel?? and another even more recently........
Howard
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Message: 12
Date: Sat, 03 Dec 2005 13:59:55 -0000
From: Davie Gordon
Subject: Re: Mousie & the Traps
Mick Patrick wrote:
> I've had a record on the brain all day - "It's All In The
> Way" by Mousie & the Traps. [...] How's the original b-side,
> "How About You"? What year was the record released? I can't
> tell if they're black or white, not that that makes a
> difference. In fact, that pop/soul crossover sound appeals
> to me no end.
Hasse Huss:
> Hi Mick, It's circa 1968, I would say.
It's earlier than that - Billboard listed it as a new release
in their July 23, 1966 issue - tipped as a prospective Hot 100
entry.
Toddlin' Town seems to have set up as a pop subsidiary of One-
Derful / Mar-V-Lus in 1966 issuing a handful of singles in the
8200 series then was quietly dropped. The label resurfaced in
late 68 using a 100 numbering series issuing about three dozen
singles before finally folding for good around '71. They had a
few minor hits (Bull and The Matadors, Alvin Cash) but none of
the records I've heard is particularly interesting. Thanks to
James for the background info. on Mousie & The Traps - any
chance of a scan of the photo :)
Regina Litman wrote:
> So, if Mouse and the Traps were from Texas, and the all-female
> Mousie and the Traps were from Chicago, they are probably not
> brother/sister groups.
James Botticelli:
> The male Mouse & The Traps later became in part if not wholly
> the group that did "Lookin' For Some Tush", the guys with the
> long long beards and sunglasses who's name escapes me at the
> moment...Oh yeah, ZZ Top.
Hi James, I think you're confusing Mouse and The Traps with The
Moving Sidewalks - their guitarist was Billy Gibbons who formed
Z Z Top with ex-members of The Warlocks. Some of the members of
Mouse and The Traps went on to form a country-rock band called
Rio Grande who had an album on RCA around '71.
Davie Gordon
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Message: 13
Date: Sat, 03 Dec 2005 14:19:16 -0000
From: Davie Gordon
Subject: Re: workin' it with the Fourmost Authority
Phil X Milstein wrote:
> ... Does anyone know anything about the Fourmost Authority?
MopTopMike:
> I'm pretty sure they were a UK or European combo. "Dance,
> Dance" was also recorded by The Chartbusters, on the Bell
> label, released prior to the F.A's version.
James Botticelli:
> Something tells me that Mike is right. Weren't Ola and the
> Janglers also on GNP Crecendo and weren't they from Sweden?
GNP licensed in some records from the UK and Europe but not
until a few years later - the Ola and The Janglers releases
were in 1969.
The Fourmost Authority version of "Dance,Dance" seems to be the
original - it was listed as a new release in Billboard for May
6, 1967.
The Chartbusters' was listed as a new release in Billboard for
Aug. 12, 1967.
The Fourmost Authority had another single on GNP 403 issued
around 12/68 but credited to The Foremost Authority. The A-side
was a Dick Torst song "Childhood Friends" which had been
recorded earlier by both The Yellow Payges (on UNI, 6/68) and
Teddy and The Patches (on Tower, 7/68).
I'm sure the group were American - the full writer credits for
"Dance, Dance" and its b-side are Ronald Craig Karp, Lloyd
Whelchel and Theron Holloway.
Those songs are the only credits on BMI for Whelchel and
Holloway but Karp has well over a hundred songs to his credit.
It looks as if he became primarily a songwriter for country
singers like Tanya Tucker, Gary Stewart and Marie Osmond.
I haven't checked yet but wasn't there a Craig Karp involved
with The Lyrics - a Californian garage band on Era and GNP -
they did a brilliant snotty rant called "So What ?" which was
on one of the very early Pebbles comps.
Davie Gordon
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