________________________________________________________________________
______________ ______________
______________ ______________
______________ S P E C T R O P O P ______________
______________ ______________
________________________________________________________________________
Jamie LePage (1953-2002)
http://www.spectropop.com/Jamie.htm
------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are 13 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. Goodees--Goodees? Gumdrops!
From: Bob Rashkow
2. Re: Goodees and Wes Farrell
From: Scott
3. Re: Dawn's Early Light
From: Den Lindquist
4. Brook Benton/favorite labels
From: Frank Youngwerth
5. Now at musica
From: Spectropop Admin Team
6. MARK WIRTZ & THE BREAKAWAYS
From: mick patrick
7. Re: Kenny Karen
From: Al Quaglieri
8. FINDERS KEEPERS
From: Stephen McParland
9. Re: MARK WIRTZ & THE BREAKAWAYS
From: Norman
10. Re: Curt Boettcher Ads
From: Neb Rodgers
11. McPARLAND, WIRTZ & THE BREAKAWAYS
From: mick patrick
12. Re: MARK WIRTZ & THE BREAKAWAYS
From: Phil Chapman
13. Re: MARK WIRTZ & THE BREAKAWAYS
From: Mark Wirtz
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 1
Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 01:46:28 -0000
From: Bob Rashkow
Subject: Goodees--Goodees? Gumdrops!
I never know whether to approach "Condition Red" as a parody or a
serious "guy-gangster girl-weeping" sicky. I think of it as both,
in a way, even though Ron Dante did hysterical work with "Leader
Of The Laundromat".
I'll share my memory of first hearing "C.R." on WLS radio, though,
because about 6 or 7 months earlier I stayed up until about 3 in
the morning getting acquainted with the whole "sicky" genre as
Super CFL (darn, I wish I could remember which DJ was on that late!!)
proceeded to play one every 3 songs as an oldie. I'm surprised I
slept at all that morning; Laurie, Patches, Last Kiss, Running Bear,
Teen Angel, Tell Laura I Love Her, Three Stars, The Three Bells,
you name it. (Even Ronnie Dove's non-hit, "Tomboy"!!) I think they
were capitalizing on the then-recent 3-week run of Bobby Goldsboro's
dismal "Honey" at the top of the charts. So when I heard Condition Red,
Oh No! There's another one!! And now to add Kenny Karen to the list -
what a title, "Susie, Forgive Me"!
Bobster
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 2
Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 21:50:42 EDT
From: Scott
Subject: Re: Goodees and Wes Farrell
A couple of months back I bought a book that focused on Memphis
bands of the 60s and 70s. Can't remember the name or author
(I have it upstairs somewhere), but one of the chapters dealt
with The Goodees.
Scott
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 3
Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 22:35:07 -0400
From: Den Lindquist
Subject: Re: Dawn's Early Light
>Anyone ever hear "Monday Kind Of Friday" by Dawn's Early Light
>on Diamond? Great song!
You're right, Jeff, so I thought I'd post it to musica.
From my 45 library: Dawn's Early Light - Monday Kind Of Friday
(Diamond 224) (writer : Danny Jordan)- a Wild Prod. by Singleton
for Shelby Singleton Productions, Inc.
..and, speaking of Shelby Singleton Productions - a lot of good
music from that stable.
@The Doctor - dispensing musical remedies for whatever ails you
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 4
Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 00:24:45 EDT
From: Frank Youngwerth
Subject: Brook Benton/favorite labels
Thanks, Jeff, for the "Do Your Own Thing" information. I'm
interested in the wide range of things Leiber and Stoller tried
over the years.
So why is Paris Tower your favorite label of all time? Who else
has a favorite label, and which is it?
Frank Youngwerth
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 5
Date: Thu, 25 Apr 2002 01:24:27 +0100
From: Spectropop Admin Team
Subject: Now at musica
-----Original Message-----
From: Yahoo! Groups Notification [mailto:notify@yahoogroups.com]
Sent: 24 April 2002 03:33
Hello,
This email message is notification that a file has been uploaded
to the Files area of The Spectropop Group.
File: /musica/Dawn's Early Light - Monday Kind Of Friday
(Diamond 224).mp3
Description : Great 1967 pop tune
You can hear it at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spectropop/files/musica
Thank you for choosing Yahoo! Groups as your email group
service for the spectropop group.
Regards,
Yahoo! Groups Customer Care
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 6
Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 07:34:39 +0100 (BST)
From: mick patrick
Subject: MARK WIRTZ & THE BREAKAWAYS
Hi,
My turn for a question for Mark Wirtz, methinks . . .
In Detroit they had the Andantes, in New York the Cookies and
the Sweet Inspirations, in Los Angeles the Blossoms, in Chicago
the Gems and in Memphis they had Rhodes, Chalmers & Rhodes.
Over here in England we had THE BREAKAWAYS, top back-up group
to the stars. In their unique way Jean, Vicki & Margot were the
equal of their American counterparts. Here's a very brief list
of just some of the big names they supported on record: Dusty
Springfield, Lulu, the Walker Brothers, P J Proby, Petula Clark,
Jackie DeShannon, Big Dee Irwin, Dionne Warwick and Jackie Trent.
Impressive, huh?
Mark, what are your memories of working with the Breakaways? They
sang on your recently mentioned production of "That Girl Of Mine"
by Russ Loader, for example. What other sessions of yours were
they on? What did you make of their streetwise vocal style? And
what were the three girls like in person?
MICK PATRICK
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 7
Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 09:42:21 -0400
From: Al Quaglieri
Subject: Re: Kenny Karen
Gene Sculatti said:
>Kenny Karen, I believe, was a solo (male) act on Columbia.
>Can't recall any of his sides, though I think I might have a 45.
>(Or am I thinking of Kenny Dino, who was on Columbia and Musicor?)
Kenny Karen had four singles on Columbia, and one each on ABC,
RCA and Big Tree. A while ago I posted his [unintentionally?]
hilarious "Susie Forgive Me" to musica. Just to prove he really
existed, I've just posted a nice color photo of him from a Columbia
picture sleeve.
Al Q.
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 8
Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 22:06:01 -0000
From: Stephen McParland
Subject: FINDERS KEEPERS
Anyone out there have the label details for FINDERS KEEPERS' CBS UK
single "Light". I need the info for my uocoming book - ALL AMERICAN
BOYS - on the early recording antics of those guys who became THE
WALKER BROTHERS. I need WRITERS/PRODUCTION-ARRANGING/MATRIX NUMBER
details.
SJ
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 9
Date: Thu, 25 Apr 2002 14:26:02 +0930
From: Norman
Subject: Re: MARK WIRTZ & THE BREAKAWAYS
Mick Patrick's question to Mark
> Over here in England we had THE BREAKAWAYS, top back-up group
> to the stars. In their unique way Jean, Vicki & Margot were the
> equal of their American counterparts. Here's a very brief list
> of just some of the big names they supported on record: Dusty
> Springfield, Lulu, the Walker Brothers, P J Proby, Petula Clark,
> Jackie DeShannon, Big Dee Irwin, Dionne Warwick and Jackie Trent.
> Impressive, huh?
The Breakaways were a spin-off group from the Vernon Girls. I'd
like to see a thread touching on the Vernon Girls and the spin-off
groups that they led to. I know that Vicki was married to
multi-instrumentalist and one-time idol Joe Brown (whose daughter
Sam scored with "Stop" several years ago).
Another group I can recall eventuated from the Vernon Girls
was The Ladybirds (Maggie Stredder and Gloria George) who later
found TV fame on the Benny Hill Show. Also a member of the
Vernon Girls was Joyce Baker (married Marty Wilde, and Kim is
their daughter).
There were a few backing singers in England back then. Take a
look at some early Dusty Springfield live performances and spot
Kiki Dee belting it out. Then there was combinations such as
Lesley Duncan, Madeline Bell and Doris Troy to a few. Let's not
forget ex-Ikette PP Arnold's contribution to the Small Faces' hit
"Tin Soldier"!
Writing this list I can spot an American connection: ex-Ikette,
Vanetta Fields settled in Australia quite some time ago and apart
from her own work backed John Farnham on some of his tunes.
Back to England - there was also Sue and S(o)nny. Among the
recordings they sung backup on were "With A Little Help from My
Friends" by Joe Cocker and "United We Stand" by Brotherhood Of Man
Heather (Sonny) Westman sang on this session. Her sister Sue
(Yvonne) appears on some of the promotion photos. They were also
featured as a regular backing on Lulu's TV show in the late 60's.
I need some one to confirm how Sonny spelt her name. Was it 'Sonny',
as I have been under the impression for 30 odd years or 'Sunny' as
quoted in the notes to Varese Sarabande's Tony Burrows compilation.
Norman
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 10
Date: Thu, 25 Apr 2002 21:07:21 -0000
From: Neb Rodgers
Subject: Re: Curt Boettcher Ads
Joey Stec:
> I most likely have copies of all the commercials we did with
> Curt way back when..
Joey, thanks for your response. Are there more tracks in the vault
like the ones on Curt's cd's? Could they be posted to Musica without
breaking any copyright laws? :-) I've been impressed with the music
I've heard on the Poptones and Sundazed discs, and hope there's more
to come!
Sincerely,
Neb
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 11
Date: Thu, 25 Apr 2002 21:23:45 +0100 (BST)
From: mick patrick
Subject: McPARLAND, WIRTZ & THE BREAKAWAYS
Hi,
Can I be the first to welcome Stephen J. McParland to Spectropop.
As many of you know, Stephen is probably THE leading authority on
all things surf, drag and West Coast-related and has published
numerous books on those subjects. I'm sure there are plenty out
there gagging for his forthcoming Walker Brother tome. Gotta Jan
& Dean question? Stephen is your man! Hey, can you get me a copy
of the PIXIE single, mate? If ya don't ask, ya don't get!
> Original message from Mark Wirtz:
> ...A stand-out solo performance by one of THE BREAKAWAYS
> was Margo's rendition of "I Can Hear Music" on my Decca LP
> "Come back And Shake Me". The track is on the recently released
> RPM CD "The Fantastic Story Of Mark Wirtz & The Teenage Opera".
Yep, I've got that CD Mark, but it doesn't contain your version
of "I Can Hear Music". Is that track on of your other RPM CDs?
"Fantastic Story...", however, does contain some of my favourite
Wirtz productions, such as "Feeling Better" by Krimson Kake from
1969. Can you remember who sang back-ups for Kris Ife and Samantha
Jones on this track?
MICK PATRICK
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 12
Date: Thu, 25 Apr 2002 20:43:57 +0100
From: Phil Chapman
Subject: Re: MARK WIRTZ & THE BREAKAWAYS
Mark Wirtz:
> A stand-out solo performance by one of the Breakaways, by the
> way (who were a bit funkier and less slick then the Ladybirds)
> was Margo's rendition of "I can Hear Music" on my Decca LP
> "Come back And Shake Me"
...erm, Mark, is there more than one version of "I Can Hear Music"?.
Your comment has me intrigued: It's on the CD "The Go-Go Music Of...",
and Ian Chapman says it sounds like a female vocal, but I favour
it's a male vocal (Chas Mills?) a la Beach Boys. Incidentally, are
you familiar with the OTT version by Larry Lurex (Freddie Mercury,
pre-Queen)? Staying on the subject of this song; as you know, I
especially like your Spector influenced recordings, but this seems
to be the only actual Spector (co-)written song that you have recorded.
Are there any others, released or not?
I recently dug out Ray Singer's "The Richest Man Alive" (in picture
sleeve!), which, apart from the strangely pompous vocal delivery,
contains a number of musical ideas utilised in your later recordings
(inc. "A Touch Of Velvet...."). How did you persuade the engineer to
mix the tambourine so LOUD? Is this a cover version (Z.Sands - M.Rubin),
or is it another one of your pen names? Why did you use so many different
writing names?
Finally, what were you on when you recorded "Good Wizard Meets Naughty
Wizard":-)???
Phil
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 13
Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 23:52:40 EDT
From: Mark Wirtz
Subject: Re: MARK WIRTZ & THE BREAKAWAYS
Mick Patrick writes:
> Mark, what are your memories of working with the Breakaways?
> They sang on your recently mentioned production of "That Girl
> Of Mine" by Russ Loader, for example. What other sessions of
> yours were they on? What did you make of their streetwise
> vocal style? And what were the three girls like in person?
Cute and sexy as hell, totally professional and never moody, sang
anything you asked them to and were great readers. The Breakaways
were on all my earlier Colinio recordings. When I recorded my
"Wirtz and Music" LP for Ember (later re-titled "Latin A-Go-Go")
they were already booked, so I tried the Ladybirds. It was like
Kismet, and we worked together from then on until I left England.
On many occasions, however, I used 6 female singers. That's when
I would have both the Ladybirds as well as the Breakaways perform
together. They got along so well, in fact, that they filled in for
each other regularly on sessions when one or the other girl couldn't
make it.
A stand-out solo performance by one of the Breakaways, by the way
(who were a bit funkier and less slick then the Ladybirds) was Margo's
rendition of "I can Hear Music" on my Decca LP "Come back And Shake Me"
(the track is on the recently released RPM "Fantastic Story...." CD
To me, the Breakaways went more for that Stax/Atlantic R&B sound,
whereas The Ladybirds were more of the New York/LA pop ilk...
You sure brought back some nice memories with your question!
M:)
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
End
