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Jamie LePage (1953-2002)
http://www.spectropop.com/Jamie.htm
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There are 17 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. Re: B.T. Puppy Girls
From: Mick Patrick
2. Bravo Mark Wirtz!
From: John Hesterman
3. Re: Tony Hatch
From: Artie Wayne
4. Re: Three Pennies/English Muffins/Dorothy Jones
From: John Clemente
5. Re: Brian Wilson etc
From: Phil Reynolds
6. Re: Jack Nitzsche at Spectropop update
From: Phil Milstein
7. Re: Samantha Jones
From: Elisabeth Kurtis
8. Re: Brian Wilson
From: Billy G. Spradlin
9. Re: Pussycats
From: Martin Roberts
10. Re: Tony Hatch and Julie Grant
From: Mick Patrick
11. Raider music!
From: Guy Lawrence
12. Re: Brian Wilson / Smile
From: Robbie McCabe
13. Brian
From: Bob Rashkow
14. Tony Hatch and Julie Grant
From: David Bell
15. Re: Brian Wilson
From: Phil Milstein
16. Turtle tails / Ron Dante maybe?
From: Ken Silverwood
17. Re: New website....new project
From: Paul Richards
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Message: 1
Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2003 10:13:53 -0000
From: Mick Patrick
Subject: Re: B.T. Puppy Girls
Ian asked:
> Anybody any info on the English Muffins 45?
Martin replied:
> English Muffins, Penny Sisters and The Three Pennies are
> different group names for the same recordings. The records
> are so good they named the group thrice.
More to the point, does anyone have a copy of the Penny Sisters'
B T Puppy LP? I only have a xerox copy and the sound quality is
a little bit dull!
MICK PATRICK
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Message: 2
Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2003 07:54:01 -0800
From: John Hesterman
Subject: Bravo Mark Wirtz!
Bravo Mark Wirtz!!!! Your comments on Brian Wilson were dead on target!!!
The man has earned his station in life, if he wants to use a teleprompter,
let him!
This isn't a one of us, who as we age, won't begin to experience the same
kind of challenges. When you stop to consider all that Brian has overcome,
his achievements in music and life are even more amazing.
You Rock, Brian :)
John Hesterman
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Message: 3
Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2003 07:58:16 -0800 (PST)
From: Artie Wayne
Subject: Re: Tony Hatch
Mick........I've really been enjoying Tony Hatch exchanges. I've always
considered him one of the ultimate songwriter/producers. Even though I know
he's English, I think "Downtown" is as much of a "New York Anthem" as "On
Broadway"!!!
Would you ask Tony which of Petulas' hits [if any] were cut in New York?
Thanks and regards, Artie Wayne
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Message: 4
Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2003 11:52:20 -0500
From: John Clemente
Subject: Re: Three Pennies/English Muffins/Dorothy Jones
Hello All,
I believe that The English Muffins was a reissue of The Three Pennies
with a different name (same cut, including the flip).
Dorothy Jones still has the life-size cutout publicity figure of her
photo shoot for "It's Unbearable/Takin' That Long Walk Home". "It's
Unbearable" has the same melody line as "Stranger In My Arms", which I
prefer.
Regards, John Clemente
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Message: 5
Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2003 11:20:27 -0600
From: Phil Reynolds
Subject: Re: Brian Wilson etc
Mary S:
> I think the BB offshoot group I would most like to see right now is
> the group fronted by Al Jardine and the Wilson sisters. I know that
> Mama Cass's daughter, Owen, has been with this group at times, also.
> It would be interesting to me to hear Al's sons sing and play.
> Certainly, that is a very family-oriented group. I read that Carnie
> and Wendy Wilson's mother, Marilyn Rovell Wilson, has also made some
> appearances with the group. Have any of you been to any of the
> concerts given by this group?
Re: Al Jardine's Beach Boys Family & Friends. I have a cd of a concert
they gave at a college, but the best way to hear them is to get their
"Live in Las Vegas " cd. It's available on Al's web site, or via:
www.cdbaby.com. It's excellent, with a very good selection of songs from
all era's of the Beach Boys career. The vocals are by Al, his son's (son
Matt toured with them for years doing the falsetto part), with Carnie and
Wendy Wilson as well. The backup band contains BB alumni Ed Carter, Bobby
F. on drums, Billy Hinsche, and others. Part of the fallout between Al and
Mike Love was apparently Al's desire not to become an oldies act, and above
all not concentrating on the surf/car songs. The Live in Las Vegas list
goes into songs from "Holland", "MIU", Breakaway, and more from their
catalog as well as their hits. It's worth looking into.
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Message: 6
Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2003 11:50:56 -0500
From: Phil Milstein
Subject: Re: Jack Nitzsche at Spectropop update
> - LHI 1216 with either Lee Hazlewood's spoken intro or without!
That had better be WITH, or you'll hear from my lawyer!
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Message: 7
Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2003 18:49:01 -0000
From: Elisabeth Kurtis
Subject: Re: Samantha Jones
Mark Wirtz said (while discussing the ultra fabulous Samantha Jones):
> It so happens that I personally believe that my "Today Without You"
> single recording with Sam was the best "pure pop" record I ever
> produced.
It must be a sign...after reading Mark's note yesterday, I finally
tracked down a (Belgian) copy of this single at a record fair today,
with the picture sleeve as well. I nearly died - I've been searching
for ages! (I love the flip "Until Tomorrow" too...although it
couldn't be more different in mood.)
It's one of my favourite Sam songs and I couldn't agree more on
the "pure pop" comment - it really should have been a big hit. Well,
at least I can try and fill the dance floor next time I DJ!
Thanks for the extra insight as well, Mark - it really makes for
wonderful reading.
Oh, and I wholeheartedly second Mark's recommendation of the Samantha
Jones cd comps on RPM. It's handy to have such a lot of her material
all in one place, but the amazing liner notes and photographs make
them extra special and worth buying even if you have quite a lot of
her vinyl. I have had many a male friend drool over that pic of her
in the white mini dress! ;-)
Elisabeth xo
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Message: 8
Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2003 21:10:26 -0000
From: Billy G. Spradlin
Subject: Re: Brian Wilson
Great Reply Mark!!
I saw Brian about 2 years ago and for the second set he picked up a
bass (and PLAYED it) and ran through a excellent set of Beach Boys
oldies, no teleprompter too. Gave me a TAMI show flashback to the
early Brian.
BTW I think Brian's voice still sounds great - though it's a pale
shadow of the youthful voice he had in the early 60s, it still gives
me goosebumps when he overdubs it (check out the a cappella version
of "Your Imagination").
Billy
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Message: 9
Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2003 21:30:30 -0000
From: Martin Roberts
Subject: Re: Pussycats
Mick queried the two sets of Pussycats, the wonderful gals on Columbia
and the (to these ears) more soulful Keetch labeled kittens. Bert Berns'
production and Teacho Wilshire's arrangement on the Tom Dowd-written
"Come On And Ska", although in a different style, holds just as much
magic and fun in the recording.
One other set of 'Pussycats' that could be the Columbia girls released a
45 on Dynamic 101. 'Garage-girl' style, they're okay and I do like the
meow at the beginning of "A Little Bit Never Hurt Anybody" but not in the
same league as the rest of the pack.
Martin
PS Hi Phil,
Checked the votes so far and some folk seem quite keen NOT to hear Lee
Hazlewood! Have you cast your vote yet? :)
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Message: 10
Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2003 11:09:54 -0000
From: Mick Patrick
Subject: Re: Tony Hatch and Julie Grant
David Bell:
> I'd like to ask Tony what it was like to work with Julie Grant,
> one of the main interpreters of his songs, albeit not quite in
> the Petula premiere league. However, she did possess a good set
> of pipes and her strident contralto made many a pleasant Britpop
> 45 in the early to mid 60s. What does Tony think of her as a
> singer? What were the sessions like with Julie? Did he have high
> hopes that she would make it bigger in chart terms? Just want to
> know what he thought of her professionally and personally.
David,
I've already asked Tony Hatch about Julie Grant. While not directly
relevant to your actual questions, here's what the great man told me:
> I signed Julie Grant and produced all her records, writing quite a
> lot of them. As I said before about Bob Leaper, he wrote to order
> so if the arrangements even sound like mine it's because I would
> carefully stipulate to him what I wanted. Also (and I still think
> it applies today) many good record productions benefit by having a
> catchy riff or figure built into the intros and links. Certainly,
> almost every rhythmic song I wrote came with such a riff or figure.
> I had my own style and that's what people recognise. I tried very
> hard with Julie and she was completely different to the other girls
> I was recording so there was no conflict except, perhaps, in the
> amount of time I could devote to each artiste. I was particularly
> pleased with "Count on me". We got so close to breaking her but it
> just wouldn't happen. Regards, Tony
Tony has mentioned Julie to me several times. Amongst other things,
he told me that the story about him writing "Downtown" for her is not
true. However, she was one of three singers slated to cut "Where Are
You Now (My Love)". The other two were Petula Clark and Jackie Trent.
The TV company that commissioned the song insisted that they wanted a
"new" singer, so Jackie Trent got the job.
I agree with you David, Julie was quite fabulous, in a Helen Shapiro
meets Petula Clark meets Dusty Springfield way. By the way, S'poppers
might like to know that her RPM CD, which contains her complete Pye
output, is still available. I just saw it listed in Bim Bam's new
catalogue. They have an excellent website: http://www.bim-bam.com
MICK PATRICK
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Message: 11
Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2003 21:44:48 -0000
From: Guy Lawrence
Subject: Raider music!
Nice to see some Raiders-related music at musica. I've long
fantasized about a compilation of Revere's friends and relations
where the Unknowns track would be included alongside Don & The
Goodtimes, Jim Valley's solo singles, the Wilde Knights, Fang
and Drake's post Raiders stuff and lots of other cool things
tenuously linked to the Raiders.
I recently dug out Keith Allison's solo album "In Action" from
'67 (Columbia CS9441 Pr. Gary Usher). Alongside some pretty
perfunctory covers and two tracks where he sings over Raiders
backing tracks there is a great, almost country rock, version
of "Leave My Woman Alone" by Ray Charles and an excellent take
on Neil Diamond's "Do It". This dates from the days when Keith
was still a Raider wannabe, hanging around the set of "Where
The Action Is" winning McCartney lookalike contests and not yet
a fully signed-up band member.
On the subject of the Raiders in the Hall Of Fame, I can
understand why many don't remember them with much respect.
As a Brit who didn't grow up watching the Raiders daily on WTAI,
I discovered the band purely through their music and grew to love
them thanks to those classy Columbia albums. It was only recently
that I saw a few "Action" episodes and I was quite shocked to see
the amount of general goofing-off Paul and the boys got up to.
While cutting-edge musical guests played the very latest psychedelic
sounds, the Raiders would be lip-synching to something like "Alley
Oop" or "Ahab The Arab"! One clip has a really grimy looking 13th
Floor Elevators doing "You're Gonna Miss Me" while Keith Allison
sits on the side of the stage with a big gormless grin on his face!
Don't get me wrong - I love the Raiders - but I can see how anyone
who was subjected to daily doses of this would not take them seriously!
Guy.
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Message: 12
Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2003 01:31:39 EST
From: Robbie McCabe
Subject: Re: Brian Wilson / Smile
Watson Macblue writes:
> Let's be plain what's going on here. Anyone who got past
> the goons and saw the monitor by Brian's keyboard during
> the Pet Sounds tour got a frightening surprise. Sure, it
> had the lyrics of the songs (which Brian doesn't know after
> 35 years?). It also had instructions: "Stand up now." "Sit."
> "Smile at the audience more." "It's really great to be doing
> this for you." Nearly every word he said was scripted for him.
And when you get to see Sir Paul in the UK, dear Watson, you will
see that he definitely uses a teleprompter not only for lyrics,
but for his stage patter as well. (In fact, that is a very common
practice) The "blown lyrics" in his performance of "Golden Slumbers"?
Part of the script! Even the "touching and funny anecdotes"! The
smart-assed comment to the one guy who applauds the mention of
George Formby's name when Sir Paul tells of Mr. Harrison's love
of the ukelele? All scripted!
> Play the live PS album to anyone outside the cult, and they
> blench - Jeez, that guy can't sing.
As well or, more accurately, as smoothly as he did. But I maintain
that he is much better in his lower register, when he isn't pushing
his voice. And it's not always about being note perfect. It is about
conveying the song's emotion. I would argue that "I Just Wasn't Made
For These Times", for instance is better suited to his current voice
than his 1966 voice. His more disabled voice displays the song's angst
more than his more pure tones.
And BTW, I knew two non-fans who saw the Queen's Jubilee on TV
and were quite impressed with both Brian and the band - and that
appearance shows what you are trying to say about Brian's scripted
patter much more obviously. (Watch him try to introduce the Coors)
> If Brian 1966 had heard Brian 2001 singing, he would have
> fired him.
I don't know about that. Marilyn Rovell Wilson wasn't the greatest
singer in the world but he thought differently obviously.
> The only reason those shows worked so well musically was because
> everybody *else* was note-perfect (itself a weird concept of rock).
> They weren't concerts; they were revival meetings. The faithful
> were so glad to see Brian that they forgot to listen to him.
The faithful are not as gullible as you seem to think we are. The
first time I saw him in concert in 2000, I was estatic, of course
and that night, to me, he was perfect. But when I heard the boot
of the show two years later, I was cringing. He was flat on Sloop,
but at least he was consistently flat! The 2001 shows were a definite
improvement and each time I have see him (PS Symphony tour in 2000, 03 times in 2001 opening for Paul Simon, and last year in Chicago)
he has improved tremendously every single time. And we note that.
(and I have heard boots of those shows and actually found myself
enjoying his performace more than I did in person)
And the strange thing is, Watson, if I had never seen him in
concert, I would agree with you about his (in)ability to perform
in front of an audience. I saw that Gawdawful performance he did
on Farm Aid '98 and everything you said about the PS shows was
more applicable to that performance than it is to his own concerts.
Yes, he is nervous, but if he didn't have *that* band (meaning
Foskett, Wondermints et al) with him, he would not be in front
of audiences. Period. And like others, I do find myself enjoying
those shows and sometimes feeling guilty for enjoying them because
of who it is (no one ever wonders if Macca and Mick and Keith still
perform because they are "forced" to do so). But this is Brian
Wilson. I go to applaud his acheivments first, listen to a wonderful
band play this atypical rock music the way it is *supposed* to be
played second, and to be amazed when Brian pulls an unexpected rabbit
of the hat with his own vocal performance third. The shows that linger
most in my mind are when all three happen.
> Soon after Elvis died, someone made a cartoon that showed people
> digging him up and using the corpse as a puppet in a stage show
> called Necrophilia, Hawaian Style. The upcoming Smile show will
> probably be in the same high taste. Poor Brian.
My jury's still out on the Smile show (even though he has performed
already "Our Prayer", Heroes and Villains -both 45 single arrangement
and Smile arrangement, Surf's Up, You're Welcome, Wonderful and
Cabinessence), but the Elvis analogy is innacurate. If anything,
Brian's tours have added some lustre to a legacy that has been
defaced by 20 plus years of Mike Love's Endless Summer Travelling
Jukebox Tours. And as a member of the "cult", I disagree that I
am too starstruck to be able to listen to Mr. Wilson objectively.
Rob "the artist former known as Noble Surfer" McCabe
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Message: 13
Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2003 16:57:47 EST
From: Bob Rashkow
Subject: Brian
I really love "Melody for an Unknown Girl" (I have the 45).
Another brilliant tune that mysteriously didn't go Top Ten
as it most certainly should have!
I kiss the ground Brian Wilson walks on. If he so much as smiled
at me, now or in 1963, I would probably curse myself for not
bringing along a camera. I would probably kill to stand within
100 feet (or heads) of him, and it isn't necessary for me to say
why, so I''ll just say this: "Wonderful", "Darlin'" and "Heroes
and Villains." That's a good enough explanation!
Bobster
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Message: 14
Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2003 17:57:45 EST
From: David Bell
Subject: Tony Hatch and Julie Grant
Thanks for that reply, Mick.
Coincidentally, I went onto eBay soon after writing that
email and saw that someone is offering "Then Only Then"
by Julie Grant with a starting bid of $100. For me that
was just another b side but it is apparently "good popcorn".
You live and learn.
David.
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Message: 15
Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2003 17:10:35 -0500
From: Phil Milstein
Subject: Re: Brian Wilson
Billy G. Spradlin wrote:
> BTW I think Brian's voice still sounds great - though it's a pale
> shadow of the youthful voice he had in the early 60s, it still gives
> me goosebumps when he overdubs it (check out the a cappella version
> of "Your Imagination").
Which I just heard on a Muzak-like station piped in at the drug store.
I'd never heard it before, but it sounded great, and I was delighted the
current Brian was getting some "air"play.
--Phil M.
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Message: 16
Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2003 00:31:42 -0000
From: Ken Silverwood
Subject: Turtle tails / Ron Dante maybe?
I have always enjoyed the wide variety of recordings made by
The Turtles especially "You Showed Me " written by Roger McGuinn,
"You Don't Have To Walk In The Rain" produced by Ray Davies & a
track called " Too Young To Be One". But my fondest memories are
of sitting in pubs back in 1966 nursing a pint all night & annoying
all the *old* people by pressing B5 on the Rockola to get The
Turtles doing " We'll Meet Again" & commenting that it was much
better than Vera Lynn! Rebels with a cause eh.
The Turtles Present The Battle Of The Bands was one of the weirdest
LPs I ever bought & I'm not weird (trust me), all the turtle talk
made me root it out again to listen to "I'm King Kamanawanalea
(we're the Royal Macadamia Nuts)", cue strange looks from rest of
family, oh well perhaps they'll like " Surfer Dan".
A question: Who are Ronnie & The Dirtriders/ Yellow Van RCA 10651/
c1976, I believe it to be Ron Dante & Barry Manilow, am I correct?
Ken On The West Coast
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Message: 17
Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2003 20:31:15 EST
From: Paul Richards
Subject: Re: New website....new project
Cheers Artie, I love your new song-fantastic lyrics. Poor
Little Jenny Skipping Rope! Your website is also fascinating,
I wish I knew more of your songs. My personal favourite you've
written is 'Flashback' for The Fifth Dimension,great song. It
really builds & builds, I'll have to try & find it & give it a
play. 'Queen for Tonight' by Helen Shapiro I also know & love.
I don't know many others but I'd like to. Thanks Artie.
Paul Richards
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