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Jamie LePage (1953-2002)
http://www.spectropop.com/Jamie.htm
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There are 7 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. Lightnin' in these Thunder Thighs
From: Stewart Mason
2. Re: Kenny Laguna; Fluffy; Molly; Earl Sink, David Box & KDAV
From: Paul Payton
3. Queen Anne's Lace
From: laughingmood
4. Re: "Lovers" / Brian W.
From: Kingsley Abbott
5. Re: Roger Nichols
From: Jeffrey Glenn
6. Re: "Snow Queen"
From: Jeffrey Glenn
7. Re: Kenny Laguna
From: Warren Cosford
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Message: 1
Date: Fri, 07 Jun 2002 23:31:53 -0400
From: Stewart Mason
Subject: Lightnin' in these Thunder Thighs
Phil Milstein wrote:
> Simon White wrote:
> On the subject of later girl sounds, can I just ask what we know collectively > about The Pearls on Bell in the U.K ? Also maybe Thunder Thighs [surely the
> best girl group name ever]. There was a Thunder Thighs credited for backing
> vocals on Lou Reed's Transformer album (from c.1973).
I heard from a couple of sources that Helen Terry, who was the de facto
fifth member of Culture Club during the COLOUR BY NUMBERS years -- that's
her on "Church of the Poison Mind," for example -- was a Thunder Thigh, but
I've never seen any confirmation of this. A discography at
http://home.swipnet.se/skroff/thunderthighs.html claims that their names
were Karen Friedman, Dari Lalou and Casey Synge, who all have a few
individual and collective backing vocal credits on allmusic.com. Their
single "Central Park Arrest" sounds like a hoot!
Stewart
With apologies to Saffire the Uppity Blues Women for stealing their song title for the subject line.
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Message: 2
Date: Sat, 08 Jun 2002 00:25:54 -0400
From: Paul Payton
Subject: Re: Kenny Laguna; Fluffy; Molly; Earl Sink, David Box & KDAV
Mark Frumento asks what Kenny Laguna is like. Check Glenn Jones' remarkable
interview with him at http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/JS. I met him for two
seconds once when Joan Jett was just starting out solo, but from that brief
impression and Jonesy's interview, I'd say you're spot on.
Jimmy C, "Fluffy" is a lost dog. Gloria can't sing (on purpose). The song's
chorus has a beautiful melody. The combination is deadly. On a personal
note, WFMU was playing it the morning my mother passed on; talk about a
catharsis! I believe it's on the out-of-print Rhino LP, "World's Worst
Records." Or call someone off the wall at WFMU and request it; Hova, Saturday
afternoon 3-5pm ET, is a likely candidate!
And if Bobby Goldsboro's "Honey" moves you, may I suggest an earlier (and
IMHO much better) Goldsboro song? "Molly," on Laurie, his first hit, still
dampens my eyes. Less sachharine, more direct. (He comes home blind from the
war.)
Mikey, thanks for the Earl Sink lead. There was also another young singer
from Lubbock, David Box, who filled those shoes briefly; he also had several
singles on his own, including a hit in the early 60's in several markets
(including Buffalo, where Joey Reynolds played it) called "Little Lonely
Summer Girl" on Jo-Ed. (Check it out if you can find it - it's
Holly-meets-Orbison, and darn good.) Sadly, David Box also died in a small
plane crash very early in his 20's. I somehow navigated to the web page with
that info via www.rockin50s.com. Host and webmaster Bill Griggs is such a
Holly fan that he moved from Connecticut to Lubbock just to be close to the
source! He used to do a show at KDAV www.kdav.com, which must be heard to be
believed/appreciated. The station concentrates on 1947-1963, and stays
credible as all getout (at least they were last I tuned in). The midday jock
is the lead of the Velvets ("Tonight Could Be The Night"), Virgil Johnson!
Their 9-mid weeknight jock, Jimmie Mac, was drummer for J. Frank Wilson &
The Cavaliers, perpetrators of the "mortal" "Last Kiss." They also have a
"softer side of the 50's and 60's" show Sunday nights 8-mid MT.
Country Paul
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Message: 3
Date: Sat, 08 Jun 2002 05:35:19 -0000
From: laughingmood
Subject: Queen Anne's Lace
Anyone out there have this LP? Desperate to find it.
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Message: 4
Date: Sat, 08 Jun 2002 12:03:50 +0100
From: Kingsley Abbott
Subject: Re: "Lovers" / Brian W.
So happy to have solved John's age old Cover
Girls problem!! But solve one and create more
as others will now want to hear it!
I had the good fortune to interview Ronnie S
a few years back, and I made a point about
asking her about 'Lovers' and its history. At first
she didn't know the track I meant, but when I sang
a few bars to her she immediately knew it (if you
know my singing, you'd realise how amazing that
was...). She said that she was pretty sure that it
was one Phil had written by himself, and may even
had been a sort of 'work in progess'. It rang true to
me as it didn't quite have the finished hooky feel
of any of his normal writing partnerships. Ronnie then
sang a few bars back to me, transporting me back to
those tender teen years when everything curled at the
sound of her voice!
Several of those Wall of Sound Vinyl sets were split
by shops...I got the albums I wanted in a shop in
Welling in Kent quite cheap, and they kindly gave
me the box for them. I now keep all my originals in
there with R Vol 2, Darlene etc. What you would
nowadays call a result!
Saw Brian Wilson last night at Nottingham. Fab!
His voice is even better than January and he is hitting
higher notes with even more confidence. Also very
relaxed, happy and jiggy on stage, and even appearing
to actually play the keyboard a few times! Concentrating
and following the notes though not audible - probably not
plugged in, but maybe next time...
As well as being a GREAT band, all his musicians are
really splendid people, who are all very happy to talk
afterwards, especailly the Wondermint guys when it
comes to obscure CD track details, covers etc.
Following the footie (England 1 Argentina 0), even Brian
was moved to shout about it.."You Guys Won!! You Won!!"
They had all 'noticed' the fans as they got to Nottingham,
as all around the concert hall was heaving with happy,
drunken people before, during and after his show.
Drummer Jim got a huge cheer when he appeared
in the second half in an England shirt! Oh, the stuff of
dreams....:-)
Kingsley
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Message: 5
Date: Sat, 08 Jun 2002 07:40:03 -0700
From: Jeffrey Glenn
Subject: Re: Roger Nichols
And here's a couple more Roger Nichols covers:
Always You (Tony Asher-Roger Nichols) - Linda Ball, Jerden 816: 1967,
Produced by Asher-Nichols-Kaye, Arranged by Roger Nichols
- This is the original version of the song better known in the version by
The Sundowners, and it's great. The flip ("The End" - written by Ian
Whitcomb) is also excellent.
We've Only Just Begun (Paul Williams-Roger Nichols) - Freddie Allen, White
Whale WW-345: 1970, Produced by Smokey Roberds & Eddie Biscoe, Arranged by
Roger Nichols
- This may be the original of the song - notice the Roger Nichols
involvement - and it predates The Carpenters' version by several months.
Good, but not as good as The Carpenters. And notice that Smokey Roberds
coproduced this. I ran both Nichols and Roberds through BMI and ASCAP, and
there was nothing there that made me think that they were the same person.
But you never know...
Let Me Be The One (Paul Williams-Roger Nichols) - Sharon Cash, A&M 1268:
1971, Produced by George Tobin, Arranged by Gene Page
- A very good soul version of the Williams/Nichols standard arranged by one
of L.A.'s finest.
I Won't Last A Day Without You (Paul Williams-Roger Nichols) - Andy & David
Williams, Kapp K-2179: 1972, Produced by Jackie Mills for Wednesday's Child
Productions, Arranged & Conducted by Al Capps
- This predates The Carpenters' hit version by a couple of years, and is
excellent. This isn't on the new Andy & David Williams CD that was released
on Varese this week.
I Kept On Loving You (R. Nichols, P. Williams)/Out In The Country (R.
Nichols, P. Williams) - Skin, Melba 6001: ?, Produced by Stan Farber, A-Side
Arranged by Don McGinnes, B-Side Arranged by Al Capps
- This one is a mystery that I borrowed from a friend (and haven't burned
yet). Does anyone know about this one - date, who's in the group, etc?
It's definitely an L.A. record from the names involved. And could this be
the original version of "Out In The Country"?
I can post any of these to musica (but give me an extra day or so for the
Skin tracks).
Jeff
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Message: 6
Date: Sat, 08 Jun 2002 07:59:21 -0700
From: Jeffrey Glenn
Subject: Re: "Snow Queen"
Bill Reed:
> Instead, the lion's share of arrangments were done by
> Nick DeCaro, who himself performs that little airy
> filligree at the end of "Snow Queen," that prefigures
> that same La-a-a-a-ah hook on Carpenters' "Close to
> You" by more than a year.
Closer to 3 1/2 years before The Carpenters, as this version of "Snow Queen"
was originally issued at the beginning of 1967 as by the Roger Nichols trio
(A&M 830).
Jeff
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Message: 7
Date: Sat, 08 Jun 2002 14:38:03 -0400
From: Warren Cosford
Subject: Re: Kenny Laguna
> Now here's my question for anyone who knows Kenny or has met him: what's he
> like? I ask this because I found the liner notes very entertaining.
> Sometimes quite frank and even sarcastic, maybe even a tad bitter in places.
> Maybe I'm getting the wrong impression but this is almost certainly an
> interesting person?
You must have missed my earlier posts.
First listen to a recent interview with Kenny at http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/JS
You might hear something else....but to me he sounds anything BUT bitter or even burned out. Second... check: http://www.lagunatunes.com/
Warren Cosford
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