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Jamie LePage (1953-2002)
http://www.spectropop.com/Jamie.htm
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There are 12 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. Re: Third Finger Left Hand/81/Ode To BG
From: Phil Chapman
2. New At Spectropop
From: Spectropop
3. Jack Nitzsche At Spectropop update
From: Martin Roberts
4. Re: Pretty Things
From: Mick Patrick
5. Re: Craig Douglas - The Singing Milkman
From: Richard Havers
6. Re: Ode to Billie Joe
From: Bill George
7. Re: Then He Kissed Me
From: Peter Lerner
8. Ode to the internet
From: Phil Chapman
9. Re: Toni Wine's Christmas 45
From: James Botticelli
10. What's for Dessert Ma??
From: Bob Rashkow
11. Re: Then He Kissed Me
From: Phil Chapman
12. Re: Peter James
From: Mike Edwards
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Message: 1
Date: Sat, 30 Nov 2002 12:38:18 -0000
From: Phil Chapman
Subject: Re: Third Finger Left Hand/81/Ode To BG
JB:
> More than a demo, more than a demo to me. It's the flipside
> Stateside of "Jimmy Mack",
Absolutely! It was the flip here too, and, as JM was all over
the radio, I found myself playing "Third Finger...." more. The
song's a bit "Chapel Of Love", Motown-stylie - and I suppose it
would be real schmaltz if it wasn't for a great rhythm track
and Martha's fiery vocal.
Incidentally, this was M&V's return to the charts in the UK,
not having had a real hit since "Dancing In The Street". As
the charts were populated in the main with home-grown stuff,
Motown struggled to retain a presence. In fact, the only bit
hit between "Stop In The Name Of Love" and "You Can't Hurry
Love" was SW's "Uptight", even though a lot of the intermediate
releases (arguably some of the best 'classic' Motown records)
got fair exposure on radio & TV. I used to drool enviously over
the U.S. chart positions that some of these achieved.
Doin' The 81 In My Lonely Room:
How do they sound? Close, very very close, although the verse
of either reminds me a touch of "That Old Black Magic".
on "Ode To Bobbie Gentry":
>The instro remains silent on the bridge issue...
One of those Glass bridges, no doubt.
I guess it's time to throw this thread off the bridge.
Phil
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Message: 2
Date: Sat, 30 Nov 2002 12:31:26 -0000
From: Spectropop
Subject: New At Spectropop
Dear Members,
"...How many music fans know there are eight full CDs worth
of British acts doing American-style melodic pop? England,
last I heard, has never been known as the land of sun, surf
and sand! Get this CD...then get the rest". (Mark Frumento)
The CD in question? "Butterfly: Ripples, Volume 8".
Mark's full review can be read here:
http://www.spectropop.com/recommends/index.htm#Ripples8
And click on the URLs below to be transported directly to
the other latest doings at Spectropop.
The Ramones & Phil Spector by Martin Roberts:
http://www.spectropop.com/recommends/index.htm#ramones
Kenni Woods/Kendra Spotswood/Sandi Sheldon by Mick Patrick:
http://www.spectropop.com/SandiSheldon/index.htm
Nick DeCaro: Big In Japan by Bill Reed:
http://www.spectropop.com/NickDeCaro/index.htm
Baby Jane & the Rockabyes by John Clemente:
http://www.spectropop.com/BabyJane/index.htm
Jack Nitzsche At Spectropop, curated by Martin Roberts:
http://www.spectropop.com/JackNitzsche/index.htm
Enjoy,
The Spectropop Team
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Message: 3
Date: Sat, 30 Nov 2002 08:10:25 -0000
From: Martin Roberts
Subject: Jack Nitzsche At Spectropop update
Soundalikes have been discussed recently. Are they accidental
or deliberate? Record Of The Week at Jack Nitzsche At Spectropop
http://www.spectropop.com/JackNitzsche/index.htm is an obscure
Reprise "is it or isn't it Elvis?" recording from the wonderful
Ral Donner arranged by Jack Nitzsche.
Curtain up, light the lights, this week's jingle is straight
from a Broadway orchestra pit.
ENJOY!
Martin
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Message: 4
Date: Sat, 30 Nov 2002 09:46:53 -0000
From: Mick Patrick
Subject: Re: Pretty Things
Mike Edwards wrote:
> ...I found a Barry-Greenwich song, "Pretty Thing", by Gary
> (Criss) on Avco and have posted it to musica. It is from 1972
> and is arranged by Bill Ramal who did the arrangements on (his)
> Diamond sides.
For the record, the original version of "Pretty Thing" was by
the great Andy Kim on his "How'd We Ever Get This Way" LP on
Steed in 1968, produced by Jeff Barry. Ethan Frome also did the
song on Happy Tiger two years later. My pal J.D. gave me this
info some years ago. Sadly, he has since abandoned collecting
girl group, Spector and Brill Building records for other pursuits.
MICK PATRICK
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Message: 5
Date: Sat, 30 Nov 2002 13:12:57 +0000
From: Richard Havers
Subject: Re: Craig Douglas - The Singing Milkman
On the subject of Milkman Douglas.......
In the book Rolling with the Stones this is Bill's revelation
on the milk bottle matter.......
On Sunday 8th September (1963) we arrived in Birmingham to record
our appearance on Thank Your Lucky Stars. Craig Douglas was topping
the bill and to thank him for his bad review of "Come On" a few
months earlier we decided a little trick was in order. He was a
milkman before he made records, so we gathered up every empty milk
bottle we could find, and put them outside his dressing room with a
note saying '2 Pints Please'. He went mad and reported us, and we
were given a ticking off by the producers of TYLS. Ironically, the
song he was promoting, "I'm so glad I found her" failed to make the
chart.
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Message: 6
Date: Sat, 30 Nov 2002 10:09:25 EST
From: Bill George
Subject: Re: Ode to Billie Joe
Phil C:
[from various sources]
>In the spring of '67 unheralded newcomer Bobbie Gentry got signed by
>Capitol Records in L.A. to see what kind of records she could make
>and what kind of reception they'd get; within a few days she recorded
>a standard blues song, "Mississippi Delta," with her own unknown
>"Ode to Billie Joe" as the B-side.
I've never heard this theory, but I can tell you one mistake made here:
"Mississippi Delta" is an original Gentry tune, and it isn't blues.
It's rockin' swamp soul. I doubt there ever was a seven minute version
of the song though, as it would have been released on the LP most likely.
=Bill
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Message: 7
Date: Sat, 30 Nov 2002 16:34:50 -0000
From: Peter Lerner
Subject: Re: Then He Kissed Me
Phil said a couple of weeks ago, about the intro to Then He Kissed
Me:
> This seemingly innocuous riff is, in my opinion, incredibly
> significant, as its use here propagated the circular figure
> employed throughout the Crystals' "Rudolph.....", which in
> turn no doubt prompted Jack Nitzsche to take the same approach
> on Jackie DeShannon's "When You Walk In The Room". And this
> latter example is the figure that (IMO) spawned the jangly
> folk-rock sound of the Byrds. "Mr Tambourine Man" was produced
> by Terry Melcher, Doris's lad, who'd already had a single or
> two prod/arr by Nitzsche, and a version of Jackie's "Don't Doubt
> Yourself, Babe" was included on their first album.
I'm certain you're right, Phil. What grabbed me immediately about
Jackie's mind-blowing 45 was that it sounded like a Spector
production of its day but with a cleaned up sound and a fabulous
singer. That guitar riff was so important, but add to that the
"building up" of Nitzsche's arrangement and the grown-up lyrics of
the song.
And yes, I've always thought that Jackie's WYWITR, as distilled by
the Searchers, must have been the inspiration for whoever was really
behind the Byrds. And it's well documented that the Byrds featured
this song - WYWITR - in their repertoire in their early days.
Peter
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Message: 8
Date: Sat, 30 Nov 2002 16:54:01 -0000
From: Phil Chapman
Subject: Ode to the internet
Bill George:
> I've never heard this theory......I doubt there ever was a
> seven minute version of the song though, as it would have
> been released on the LP most likely.
It came as news to me too. I was just roaming around the internet,
like y' do, and found lots of this stuff in more than one location:
http://www.countrypolitan.com/bio-bobbie-gentry.php
http://www.swinginchicks.com/bobbie_gentry.htm
If it doesn't exist, then it's a great bit of Capitol marketing,
and also goes to support the theory that mystery outlives fact.
If it does exist, then someone somewhere will have a copy, or at
least know the lyrics that were edited out.
There are a number of chat boards for Bobbie, still discussing the
bridge incident. Theories include:
"...according to Bobbie Gentry in an interview I saw on TV back
then, it was the still-born baby of the girl and Billy Joe
McAllister.."
"Peter Seeger once remarked that the Tallahatchee Bridge was less
than a mile from where Emmet Till was killed. So Black people knew
who had really been tossed off that bridge."
Check out: http://www.nyx.net/~anon52ea/DeadTeenSongs.html
Apparently Bob Dylan was annoyed by this song and wrote a parody of
it: Clothesline Saga (Answer to Ode)
http://bobdylan.com/songs/clothesline.html
And, just to round things off: The Tallahatchie Bridge collapsed in
1972.
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Message: 9
Date: Sat, 30 Nov 2002 11:45:33 -0500
From: James Botticelli
Subject: Re: Toni Wine's Christmas 45
Mike Edwards wrote:
> I guess everyone knows that Toni cut a Christmas 45, "My Boyfriend's
> Coming Home For Christmas" on Colpix in 1963. Looks like it was her
> first 45.
I love the spoken bit in the middle when Toni pronounces "hard" as
"hawd". That was the start of the era of the New York exodus to LA
when entertainment began going west in earnest. Is Toni yet another
Brooklynite who went into show biz?
JB
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Message: 10
Date: Sat, 30 Nov 2002 20:42:39 -0500
From: Bob Rashkow
Subject: What's for Dessert Ma??
OH YEAH Jerry Ross meets Linzer-Randell (& a few others)
equals Jay & The Techniques! (aforementioned). Superterrific
dance sound for those of us who were pre-teen-y-boppers in
1967-68. My favorite is Strawberry Shortcake, the entire
arrangement of which still can conjure up a period when
everything was groovy and far out...what a magical tune to
dance to, whether Boogaloo, Shing-a-ling or Philly Freeze.
Jimmy Bee:
> ...The Hallucinations, later to become J. Geils.
Really?! Was this around '65/'66 - Wolf and Justman with a
garage sound? Can you add a little more info about this please?
This is all news to me!!
Bobster
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Message: 11
Date: Sat, 30 Nov 2002 22:27:02 -0000
From: Phil Chapman
Subject: Re: Then He Kissed Me
Peter Lerner:
> That guitar riff was so important [on Jackie DeShannon's
> "When You Walk In The Room"], but add to that the "building up"
> of Nitzsche's arrangement and the grown-up lyrics of the song.
Hi Peter, yes I think there was a step forward with this one.
Bill George pointed out that Jackie herself came up with the
riff, and it comprised two 6-string guitars (although after
careful lisening, I doubt the latter). But what I'm really
interested in is the origin of the idea, than of the actual riff.
There's a tune embedded in the acoustic part of "Needles And Pins"
(quite familiar, at that), but it wasn't picked out separately.
Even though I have cited "Then He Kissed Me", and "Rudolph.."
as embryonic 12-string riffs, they could both have been played
equally as convincingly on a keyboard, or tuned percussion.
However WYWITR, as far as I can ascertain, is the first of the
'natural' jangly guitar figures that characterised a whole genre.
Phil
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Message: 12
Date: Sat, 30 Nov 2002 22:11:39 -0500
From: Mike Edwards
Subject: Re: Peter James
Mick Patrick wrote:
> there was a US version of Goffin/King's "Stage Door".
> It was by Peter James on Reprise 0383, 1965. Fabulous song.
> Good record too. As was the Tony Jackson rendition.
Peter James has a song, Wind Me Up And Let Me Go, to his credit
(Liberty, 1963). Does anyone know whether or not this was the
same song that Cliff Richard recorded in 1964?
Thanks,
Mike Edwards
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