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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: Alex Chilton -The Letter
From: Mike Rashkow
2. Group Called Us / Sonny Bloch’s Elephants
From: Andres
3. Re: Monkey Time at Mary's Place
From: Richard Williams
4. Re: Robbs / Gary and the Hornets / RRHOF
From: Larry Lapka
5. Re: Where The Girls Are, Volume 5
From: Billy G. Spradlin
6. Re: Where The Girls Are
From: Mark Frumento
7. Re: Nino Tempo & April Stevens
From: Mary S.
8. Re: It's Not Easy by Normie Rowe
From: Mark Frumento
9. Re: "(There's) always something there to remind me"
From: Justin McDevitt
10. The Ron Dante Interview
From: Laura Pinto
11. Jeff Foskett & Billy Hinsche
From: Kingsley Abbott
12. Re: thee Wild Angels
From: Phil Milstein
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Message: 1
Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 20:32:21 EST
From: Mike Rashkow
Subject: Re: Alex Chilton -The Letter
Message dated 3/16/2003:
> O.K., so just how are Spooner Oldham and Andrew Loog Oldham related--
> or maybe they are the same person. I for one have never seen them
> together.
Or maybe it's acutally Andrew Lincoln Chase I'm thinking of--I am getting
confused.
This post shall remain unsigned
and hopefully anonymous.
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Message: 2
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 12:02:39 -0000
From: Andres
Subject: Group Called Us / Sonny Bloch’s Elephants
James Botticelli wrote:
> I'm hoping that some of the collectors among us can shed a little
> light on these long held 45's from my collection
Guy Lawrence replied:
> I have the Group Called Us 45 too, though I always assumed the plug
> side was the flip - "American Girl And Liverpool Boy". It's a
> charming little track that must have been released at the very onset
> of the British Invasion...
Does anybody know the exact year of release for the mentioned "American
Girl And Liverpool Boy"?
Thanks to one Spectropopper I've got a very interesting recording -
BEETLE SQUASH by Sonny Bloch's Elephants. Unfortunately, cannot find
any info about the band and when this seemingly anti-Beatles song was
released. Could anybody help?
Thank you,
Andres
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Message: 3
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 12:23:04 +0000
From: Richard Williams
Subject: Re: Monkey Time at Mary's Place
Tom Taber's suggested resemblance is perhaps to be found in the distinct
similarity between the melodic shape of Bruce's "...we'll be havin' a
party" and Major's (well, Curtis Mayfield's) "...whenever you're ready."
And that's a fine perception (by Stewart Mason) of the unhappiness under
the surface of Springsteen's ostensibly cheerful song: it's an addendum
to the Miracles' great "I Gotta Dance (To Keep from Cryin')", I guess,
and all Smokey's other "mask" songs.
Richard Williams
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Message: 4
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 13:22:56 -0000
From: Larry Lapka
Subject: Re: Robbs / Gary and the Hornets / RRHOF
I contacted Collectors Choice Music about possible releases of Robbs
and Gary and the Hornets material. They said that while they found
these two acts pretty obscure, they would definitely look into my
request. I don't know if they were paying me lip service, but
especially with the Robbs, there is a large amount of interest in
releasing something legit.
With the Hall of Fame, I find both the Raiders and at least Mike
Nesmith of the four Monkees quite influential. Any listen to Van Halen,
and you will see the influence. Also, David Lee Roth stole Mark
Lindsay's entire act, lock, stock and barrel. In addition, they were on
American TV more than any other rock band in the 1960s, and certainly
Where the Action Is was that generation's MTV.
Nesmith is a special case altogther. You can say he brought country
music to the ears of the weenyboppers, but his influence beyond the
Monkees is quite significant. He was the guy who created MTV (for
better or worse), and he also won the first Grammy for Elephant Parts,
which was quite an influential video in its time, and still is, in my
estimation.
I mean, who has AC/DC, a band that I've had some affection for over the
past three decades, influenced? In this country, who did the Clash
influence?
I think the place looks down at the pop rockers because they feel they
are so superficial, but those songs stay with you forever.
Larry Lapka
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Message: 5
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 14:42:51 -0000
From: Billy G. Spradlin
Subject: Re: Where The Girls Are, Volume 5
Me:
> I just got my copy of the CD last week and loving it. The
> Jan Tanzy track was a nice surprise, did she cut any other
> great singles?
Mick Patrick:
> Did you read the booklet? You'll find that info there.
Ooops yeah, didnt read that until after I wrote my message - only
just ONE single?? What a great voice.
Me:
> My only (little) gripe is that the CD turns very R&B/Soul
> oriented in the middle of the CD...
Mick:
> I like variety on my compilations and always include some soul
> tracks. Besides, doing that also widens the market. After all,
> if the CDs don't sell enough, there might be no further volumes.
> An entire CD of whiney white "Da Doo Ron Ron"-alikes would
> irritate me greatly.
I agree - I was just curious why you sorted it this way - the
sequence just struck me strange when I listened to it all the way
through. On most of your other compilations the Soul cuts are mixed
in better with the Pop.
> Actually, the two Orchids' tracks are disc dubs. I shall
> inform the mastering engineer that you approve of his work.
> Sony could not (or would not) supply master tapes for the
> Orchids' and Bootiques' tracks, despite agreeing to license
> the cuts to Ace. They couldn't find them or, more likely,
> couldn't be bothered to look. Go figure.
They are proably "buried" in a salt mine somewhere. I remember Dawn
Eden (or someone here) telling me that CBS destroyed many of thier
non-hit mono 45 master tapes in the 70's for more storage space. (MCA
did the same thing) So they proably didnt have them. At least the
Bootiques cut sounds cleaner than the homemade dubs I have collected.
> To date MB and I have included tracks by the lovely Tracey Dey
> on three legit CDs. The folk at Sundazed have a licensing deal
> with BMG for Bell/Amy/Mala material. Perhaps it's time a US
> label got involved in the girl-group reissue scene instead of
> leaving the job to us Brits. Howzabout it, Ephram?
I agree - Sundazed is a outstanding label but besides thier fine
reissue of the Toys first album and the garage band Luv'd Ones, they
have done nothing else in the Girl group genre. Maybe they should
contact you two to have you concieve thier compilations?
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Message: 6
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 15:23:48 -0000
From: Mark Frumento
Subject: Re: Where The Girls Are
The S'pop Team:
> New at S'pop Recommends - Where The Girls Are, Volume 5 "A CD that
> has clearly set the standard for girl group compilations to come?"
> Why, Miss Sheila B must surely be referring to the latest addition
> to the "Where The Girls Are" series! It appears she quite likes it.
> Click here to find out why: http://www.spectropop.com/recommends/
I was pretty well stunned by the number of great tunes on this set. I
kind of figured that the WTGA series would run out of steam at some
point. Not! I think Vol 5 just may will be my favorite so far.
The review points out most of the highlights but what attracted me is
the "big" sound of the tracks. The two opening tracks by the Pussycats
are practically straight rock 'n roll. The force of the first 5 tracks
is only stopped by limboing Doris Day.
So here's my review: any CD that has a Bernadette Peters track that
get's my attention is worth buying (saying so with all due respect to
Bernadette Peters' fans).
And yes, the cover is amazing.
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Message: 7
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 15:39:07 -0000
From: Mary S.
Subject: Re: Nino Tempo & April Stevens
David Coyle wrote:
> Am I missing out on something? Is there anything else enough like
> "Deep Purple" to reel me in?
David, everyone has such individual tastes that it would be hard for
me or for anyone else to know which songs by Nino and April
would "reel you in"! If "Deep Purple" is by far the favorite of
those songs of theirs that you know, though, I would think you would
be a big fan of their second LP, "Nino and April Sing The Great
Songs". It is full of songs that bear a similarity to the style
of "Deep Purple", and I know it is out on CD. Actually, I think that
a lot of us at Spectropop were pleased when they moved away from the
early sound to experiment with other things, esp. when they did "All
Strung Out" and other Wall of Sound-type productions (After all, this
IS Spectropop, so I guess this wouldn't be a surprise). Many of N&A's
early songs, though very lovely, had the same thing with April doing
a spoken section while Nino played something on the saxophone, or
sang a response. I was very happy when they BOTH sang. For one
thing, it was a way to showcase the fact that April had a strong
singing voice, and that she could indeed do rock and roll and soft
rock numbers. Their voices had a great natural blend, which had a lot
to do with genetics, and I never felt they needed a gimmick of any
kind.
As far as the Scopiotone thing goes, I only wish I had been lucky
enough to see it. I have heard about it from other fans of theirs.
N&A have also done some songs in a country style, and have dabbled in
calypso ("Tea For Two", one of my all-time favorite songs of theirs).
They did a few semi-disco numbers in the 1970's, along with some jazz-
type stuff and ballad/soft rock numbers (such as April's solo
vocal, "Won't You Marry Me Again?", a gorgeous song recorded on the
A&M label).
Mary S.
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Message: 8
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 15:37:50 -0000
From: Mark Frumento
Subject: Re: It's Not Easy by Normie Rowe
Norman wrote:
> Hi, going back a couple of weeks ago Phil Chapman posed the question
> about Normie Rowe's "It's Not Easy": "Does anyone know if Normie's
> is the original version of this Brill Building song?"
> The following is an extract from Normie's answer to the question;
I guess it can be inferred that Colin Blunstone heard this song by NR
before recording it as Neil MacArthur?
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Message: 9
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 11:33:03 -0600
From: Justin McDevitt
Subject: Re: "(There's) always something there to remind me"
Anrew Jones wrote:
> I have the Shaw and Warwick versions, but I've never heard the complete
> Johnson version. Has anyone? Is it worth my seeking out? Thanks.
Hi Andrew,
SOme years ago, a three cd box set cd compilation was released of
Bacharach-David recorded songs from approximately 1958 to he late 90's
with Elvis Costello's God Give Me Strength. Lou Johnson's version of
Always Something There To Remind Me is included on this anthology. It's
my second favorite of these threeversions, Dionne Warwick's being my
favorite.
Justin McDevitt
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Message: 10
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 19:11:02 -0000
From: Laura Pinto
Subject: The Ron Dante Interview
Hi folks. Ron Dante graciously agreed to be interviewed by me for my
web site, and the result is now online at Laura's Ron Dante Fan Pages.
Check it out at: http://lpintop.tripod.com/laurasrondantefanpages/
Ron Dante and Andy Kim have teamed up and are headlining at the
Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas on September 6 (Labor Day Weekend). So if
you live in or near Vegas or are planning a vacation there, mark your
calendar. This promises to be a super show.
Laura
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Message: 11
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 19:01:57 -0000
From: Kingsley Abbott
Subject: Jeff Foskett & Billy Hinsche
Jeff F & Billy H (ex Dino Desi & Billy) appeared for six hours
last Saturday at Lutterworth in the UK (in the Midlands),
telling Beach Boy & Brian Wilson related stories and singing
and playing many songs, and conducting a special auction
with much of the money going to the Carl Wilson Foundation.
Highlights included Jeff singing a wonderful version of
Orbison's 'Crying' and a young lass called Charlotte
joining them for a simple and emotional 'Don't Worry Baby'.
A splendid day, topped only by the news that on his return
Mr Foskett is spending much time in the studio working
towards a running order for a live Smile performance for Brian
Wilson to debut in London early next year. As expected it's
finally coming...expect approx 40 minutes of Smile without
any breaks! More news when I know...
Kingsley
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Message: 12
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 16:42:46 -0500
From: Phil Milstein
Subject: Re: thee Wild Angels
Mick P:
> ...are you aware of a girl group called the Wild Angels? They didn't
> just sound like the Shangs, they looked like them too. You should see
> the picture I have in front of me at the moment. All four of them in
> matching leopard print pant suits and ruffled shirts!...
Mick will you be posting that amazing Wild Angels pic to the S'pop photo
board? It's too ghastly-good for mere wurds to suffice. I mean, those
Hicksville chicks look like they could eat fellow Hicksvillite Billy
Joel for breakfast, and then (also f. H'ite) Ellie Greenwich for lunch.
Wrestlemania before dinner with the Shang's? I wouldn't bet on 'em to
conquer this rumblicious combo!
--Phil M.
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