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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: Ron Dante/Barry Manilow/Yellow Van
From: Laura Pinto
2. Re: Knickerbockers/Standells
From: Phil Milstein
3. Re: Brian Wilson etc
From: Dave Marshall
4. More Tony Hatch Questions...
From: Jeffery Kennedy
5. Re: Ronnie Dante: "Poor Boys"
From: Mick Patrick
6. Paul Revere and the Raiders/The Association
From: Larry Lapka
7. Re: Ron Dante maybe?
From: Billy G Spradlin
8. Re: Julie Grant: "Then Only Then"
From: Syd Kreft
9. Re: Al Jardine
From: Andrew Hickey
10. Re: Julie Grant: "Then Only Then"
From: Michael Robson
11. Brian doing it again
From: Kingsley Abbott
12. Patsy Ann Noble
From: Norman
13. Connie and Tony
From: David Bell
14. Re: Where The Action Is/Raiders
From: Mary S.
15. Re: Brian doing it again
From: Phil Milstein
16. Re: Where The Action Is
From: Mikey
17. Al Jardine
From: Kingsley Abbott
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Message: 1
Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2003 22:07:04 -0000
From: Laura Pinto
Subject: Re: Ron Dante/Barry Manilow/Yellow Van
Ken Silverwood:
> A question: Who are Ronnie & The Dirtriders/ Yellow Van RCA
> 10651/ c1976, I believe it to be Ron Dante & Barry Manilow,
> am I correct?
Yes ... Ron Dante AND Barry Manilow are correct.
Here are Ron's comments on "Yellow Van":
"That song is a Manilow arrangement with Barry playing piano.
Barry had to go out on the road right after the tracking
session so I did the backgrounds with some NYC studio singers.
Always had fun singing like the Beachboys and this song gave me
the chance."
Thanks,
Laura
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Message: 2
Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2003 16:43:15 +0000
From: Phil Milstein
Subject: Re: Knickerbockers/Standells
David Coyle wrote:
> I've seen numerous low-quality clips and complete
> episodes of "Where The Action Is." While I love Paul
> Revere & The Raiders, the Knickerbockers made for a
> pretty good house band when the Raiders were on the
> road.
The Standells also frequently served in that role. Ironically,
I'll bet that the same musicians played on many records released
under all three of these groups' names.
--Phil M.
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Message: 3
Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2003 18:08:45 -0500
From: Dave Marshall
Subject: Re: Brian Wilson etc
Mary S:
> I wonder if the lawsuit that Mike Love brought against Al
> has prohibited him from doing any Beach Boys materials,
> as well as taking the Beach Boy name away from him?
Try this page.
http://www.californiasaga.com/
Al has been doing shows with members of old 60's surf bands
like the Sufari's the last I saw, some public some corporate.
The lawsuit was about the use of the name, Beach Boy's Family
and Friends, not specifically about the material although the
manner of the performance was used as evidence in the case.
There are at least 5 boots circulating of Al Jardine live material.
Owen wasn't really active too long (pregnancy I believe). He had
a great sound with Carnie and Wendy but never really was able to
establish any significant touring even before the lawsuit. The
lawsuit didn't help by any means. Carnie and Wendy announced they
were going to work on Wilson Phillips material, but nothing has
popped up as of yet.
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Message: 4
Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2003 23:45:03 -0000
From: Jeffery Kennedy
Subject: More Tony Hatch Questions...
I've loved the recordings Tony Hatch made with Petula Clark for
many years, and they all still sound so great. The arrangements
are spectacular, I think. It's hard to choose a favorite, but I
particularly love the strings on Clark's cover of "What Now My
Love" when they sort of "mimic" the sound of stars tumbling.
Hatch also worked with other singers I like, including Francoise
Hardy ("Catch a Falling Star" - with the Breakaways very recognizable
in the background) and Connie Francis ("Love Is Me, Love Is You"
and "Roundabout"). I've heard a rumor that Hatch recorded several
tracks with Francis, but only these two were released by MGM. Is
that true? And did he do any recordings with Hardy besides "Catch
a Falling Star"? Seems like Charles Blackwell was the English
producer she worked with most.
Jeffery Kennedy
San Francisco
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Message: 5
Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2003 00:18:15 -0000
From: Mick Patrick
Subject: Re: Ronnie Dante: "Poor Boys"
Mick Patrick:
> Our beloved quartet of Shangri-Las may have been *the* angels of
> angst, the most melodramatic of myrmidons, the loneliest of lorelies
> and the quintessential queens of carnage, but they did not have the
> world of teen torment entirely unto themselves. In fact, boys have
> feelings too, as S'pop favourite Ronnie Dante (he of the Detergents
> and the Archies) proved with his stupendous Shangs-like death-disc
> "In The Rain". This great platter was written by Richard Rosenfeld,
> arranged by Bert Keyes, produced by Stanley Kahan (aka songwriter
> Bob Elgin), engineered by Brooks Arthur and released on Musicor 1090
> in 1965. (When else?!) I have asked someone capable of such technical
> matters to have it posted to musica.
Laura Pinto:
> Thank you so much for playing it. I have a copy of "In the Rain"
> on tape, and the sound quality is dreadful. The 45 seldom appears
> on eBay, and when it does, I usually get outbid.
>
> Here are Ron's comments on "In the Rain":
>
> "What I remember about this session is that we recorded it in the
> same studio the Shangri-las recorded in and used an arranger who
> worked for Redbird records and used the same engineer who did most
> of the girl groups at that time. I did the vocal in one take and
> thought we had a good chance to have a hit with this one."
Hi Laura, or am I allowed to address you as Pineapple Princess? A foul
sounding cassette, you say? Poor baby! I borrowed "In The Rain" from
a friend of mine over 20 years ago. Luckily for you I never did return
it. This fact has tormented me every night for two decades. Serves me
right, I guess.
Thanks for the quote from Ron about the session. Could you ask him if
he can remember who the backing singers were please. I'd also like to
know who sang the original demo version. And which came first, "Leader
Of The Laundromat" or "In The Rain"? Two more different Shangri-Las
pastiches it would be hard to find.
In the meantime, you'll find the B-side, "Poor Boys", playing in
musica now. The song was written by Bob Elgin and Bert Keyes;
otherwise the label credits are the same as for "In The Rain":
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spectropop/files/musica/
MICK PATRICK
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Message: 6
Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2003 04:21:04 -0000
From: Larry Lapka
Subject: Paul Revere and the Raiders/The Association
I think that one of the reasons why the Raiders are pretty much
forgotten is that Dick Clark refuses to release any Where the
Action Is stuff legitimately. Sure, you can get bootlegs (I've
got plenty), but I think if he would release the stuff himself,
the Raiders might get the respect they are due.
By the way, on another subject, I just found out that Collectors
Choice Music will be releasing some of The Association LPs later
this year. No word on extra tracks or just what they are releasing,
but look for them later this year.
Larry Lapka
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Message: 7
Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2003 08:29:26 -0000
From: Billy G Spradlin
Subject: Re: Ron Dante maybe?
Ken Silverwood:
> A question: Who are Ronnie & The Dirtriders/Yellow Van
> RCA 10651/ c1976, I believe it to be Ron Dante & Barry
> Manilow, am I correct?
Just got a nice sounding lift of the 45. I will play it to
musica when some space frees up. I heard it was a one-shot
single written/produced by Dante & Manilow, I wonder what
the B-side was.
As for the song, had the Archies lasted into the mid 70s,
this is what they would have sounded like. Perfect Bubblegum!
Ron sounds great and the record deserved to be a hit.
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 8
Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2003 08:33:57 +0000
From: Syd Kreft
Subject: Re: Julie Grant: "Then Only Then"
Mike Edwards:
> "Then Only Then" is an excellent popcorn song. Julie Grant's
> is a great version, which came out on UK Pye (1963) and saw
> the light of day in the US on Dot. I have a lot of the Pye
> compilation CDs from Sequel but don't remember this track.
> Has it been issued on legit CD?
Yes, there was a CD years ago with Julie Grant's complete output.
Think it was on RPM. There's even better songs on said CD (e.g. a
great version of "Everyday I Have To Cry", the Moodies' "Stop",
"Come To Me" etc.)
Syd
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Message: 9
Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2003 12:07:57 +0100
From: Andrew Hickey
Subject: Re: Al Jardine
Mary S:
> The current Al Jardine official website seems very bare,
> and I think that he might just be touring with one or both
> of his sons now (plus backup people, of course).
Al's touring in various configurations, including an 'all-star'
band with members of the Surfaris and the Rip Chords. He only
seems to get a very small number of mostly corporate bookings
though :-/
> I read something on the internet about Carnie and Wendy Wilson
> getting back together with Chyna P. to re-form their group,
> Wilson Phillips. Do any of you know anything about that?
They've apparently been in the studio for a while. They're no
longer performing with Al.
> I wonder if the lawsuit that Mike Love brought against Al
> has prohibited him from doing any Beach Boys materials, as
> well as taking the Beach Boy name away from him?
No - Al is allowed to perform Beach Boys songs if he so wishes,
just not to use the Beach Boys name in his band name.
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Message: 10
Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2003 11:18:04 -0000
From: Michael Robson
Subject: Re: Julie Grant: "Then Only Then"
Then, Only Then" is included on the only official Julie Grant
CD currently available, "Count On Me - The Complete Pye
Sessions" released on RPM 133.
It's also available on Sequel's northern soul compilation, "Soul
For Sale - Pye Northern Soul Chapter 2" (NEMCD 975).
I've also got a French version by Nicole Josy - "La Vie C'est Toi"
- on volume one of the less than official Marginal series of CDs,
"Nous Les Filles", which tend to be very popcorn orientated.
MICHAEL CLUNKIE VINYL JUNKIE
(who occasionally buys CDs also)
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Message: 11
Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2003 16:24:22 -0000
From: Kingsley Abbott
Subject: Brian doing it again
Interesting to read all the comments that Watson's initial
points have raised - Thanks to Mark W for the most succinct
offering! I pondered all of this for a bit I wrote about
BW recently for the update to 'Back To the Beach'. His voice
is certainly better that a few years back, and actually
improved a year ago over the four nights at RFH. In June on
his return it was even better - lighter, brighter, and most
importantly more confident. When I spoke with him about two
weeks before the June trip, I could hear right away that his
voice was a tad higher, and that he was happy and relaxed.
I reckon that now it is roughly where we may have expected
it to be had we extrapolated from the 23 year old we all love
- had he not messed up so spectacularly in the 60s and 70s.
I look forward to Smile for a couple of reasons - to see if
the increased cofidence is maintained - and to see which
sections get included in the musical fare we are served.
Brian should be OK about it all for one big reason - HE doesn't
have to sift through the tapes and make the decisions - that
job Melinda had delegated to the trusted band leader Jeff
Foskett, whose musical integrity I for one will run happily
with for this project. For me what will be fascinating will
be how the well known songs (GV, H&V, Cabinessence) get used
in a whole Smile Suite - how it all gets put together into a
continuous piece. Which Instr sections will they use to give
BW a 'breather'? Will they write new links? New pieces/songs?
(Why not?) Brian has a band who can offer whatever is needed,
and more besides. He will offer input when he sees how it is
shaping. Remember that at first Brian didn't think they could
pull off Pet Sounds...
His confidence is greater now than for a very long time.
Let him eat steak and join the preparations at an appropriate
point, and I'll certainly be at the RFH to see what has been
forged from Brian's original inspiration. It will undoubtedly
be one of the most significant pop music events ever, and I
don't use those words lightly...
Kingsley Abbott
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Message: 12
Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2003 22:25:18 +1030
From: Norman
Subject: Patsy Ann Noble
Hi Spectropoppers,
I have noticed over the past few post the mention of Australian
girl singers Lynne Randell and Patsy Ann Noble. Patsy, unlike
Lynne, was Australian born. Being the daughter of Australian
entertainer/comedian Buster Noble and choreographer Helen de Paul,
she stepped straight into showbiz from an early age. She featured
regularly on Australian TV, especially Bandstand (the local version)
before going to England in (about) 1962.
She recorded in England with Norrie Paramour between 1963 and 1964
for the Columbia label. As well as getting a lot of TV exposure in
England she also fell into acting there including parts in Z Cars,
Callan and the like.
She later made the move to the US signing with William Morris Agency
and getting parts in the Rockford Files, Love Boat etc., (I remember
her a lot from the 1970s and 80s in a lot of American shows). Along
the way Patsy Ann Noble was also known as Trisha Noble (maybe
Americans would recognise this moniker), and of course Trish Noble.
A fascinating chapter on Patsy Ann Noble is featured in John Byrell's
"Bandstand and all that!" Including a humorous account of how Paul
McCartney mistook Patsy's mom as the make-up lady! (1995, Kangaroo
Press, Kenthurst, NSW).
regards,
Norman
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Message: 13
Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2003 14:55:11 EST
From: David Bell
Subject: Connie and Tony
I've looked up the details for Connie's recordings with
Tony Hatch and have come up with the following information:
26 May 1965.
Roundabout. 65-XY-443.
Love Is Me Love Is You. (Take 1). 65-XY-441.
Love Is Me Love Is You. (Take 2). 65-XY-441.
Once A Day. (65-XY-442). Released on the Jealous Heart album.
The session took place at Philips Studios, London.
It must have been a split session as Connie then went on to
record several German language tracks with another producer.
Earlier in the same week she had been recording tracks at
Abbey Road studios for her All Time International Hits album.
Busy lady. According to my sessionography there were only 3
songs done with Tony Hatch....unless the man himself remembers
differently.
David.
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Message: 14
Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2003 19:59:00 -0000
From: Mary S.
Subject: Re: Where The Action Is/Raiders
Larry Lapka wrote re. Dick Clark's refusal to release "Where
The Action Is" shows.
Larry, have you heard any reason why DC is refusing to release
these shows? I loved that program and used to see it on tv
right after school. I enjoyed seeing Paul Revere and the Raiders,
the "house" band. I would also love to see the shows from the
series released because my all-time favorites, Nino and April
were on the show once or twice. I don't see how it makes any
sense for these shows NOT to be released since those of us who
were around for the original shows are not exactly kids anymore,
and eventually (since DC is apparently an eternal presence) there
won't be anyone left who would be interested in it, since they
wouldn't know who any of the performers were.
Mary S.
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Message: 15
Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2003 15:12:18 +0000
From: Phil Milstein
Subject: Re: Brian doing it again
For my two cents the main criterion as to whether Brian Wilson
should or should not be performing again is whether or not he's
happy doing so. This, of course, isn't really ours to gauge, but
isn't his comeback at least in part an intellectual game anyway?
By that I mean that our enjoyment of the musical results seems
to demand qualifiers such as (to quote Kingsley) "extrapolate,"
as our ability to simply sit back and bask in the pure loveliness
of the sounds he and his band are creating is mitigated for the
many factors of which we are too well aware.
My own opinion, based on the few times I've seen him on TV in
the last couple of years, is that he's looked rather in pain,
and a bit like a deer caught in the headlights, but if I were
(hypothetically) to learn that he really wants to be out there,
and is thrilled doing so, then I would be genuinely thrilled
for him.
--Phil M.
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Message: 16
Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2003 15:22:24 -0800
From: Mikey
Subject: Re: Where The Action Is
Larry Lapka wrote:
> I think that one of the reasons why the Raiders are pretty much
> forgotten is that Dick Clark refuses to release any Where the
> Action Is stuff legitimately. Sure, you can get bootlegs (I've
> got plenty), but I think if he would release the stuff himself,
> the Raiders might get the respect they are due.
I can tell you what the problem is there. The original Quad video-
tapes of "Where The Action Is" are gone. Erased. Zapped.
This was done in the 1970s to save storage costs. The quad reels
were HUGE and took up a lot of warehouse space. It was thought
then, during the Disco era that no revenue would ever be derived
from WTAI again.
The low quality clips we have left all come from "Kinescopes".
These were done cheaply as backups just in case. It was much cheaper
to rent a kinescope machine than to run dual video, so most of the
network shows were backed up this way.
The "good" news is that a lot of the WTAI shows DO exist, albeit
in Kinescope form. It's better than nothing. Same goes for
"Hullabaloo". We have a few color videos left, but the majority
of the shows exist in kinescope form.
Mikey
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Message: 17
Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2003 19:02:18 -0000
From: Kingsley Abbott
Subject: Al Jardine
A recent comment suggested that Al J wanted out of the Beach
Boys Touring group because he didn't want to sing the old Surf/
car songs any more. Whilst his (occasional) stage shows do
indeed feature more of the classy side of the BB's back
catalogue, his recent recorded track 'PT Cruiser' certainly
takes him fully back to the car sound with every drag song hook
squashed in there! GTOO3 indeed! Billy Hinsche, who plays with
Al's band, did say that there was one gig planned...April I think...
Now, if Al was to record the great California Ecology album that
he has deep within him somewhere, then maybe we could get a bit
more excited.
Kingsley
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