________________________________________________________________________
______________ ______________
______________ ______________
______________ S P E C T R O P O P ______________
______________ ______________
________________________________________________________________________
Jamie LePage (1953-2002)
http://www.spectropop.com/Jamie.htm
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are 16 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. The Association Live
From: David Ponak
2. Re: Scopitone questions
From: Patrick Rands
3. Re: Fake Merseybeat
From: Andres Jurak
4. Howdy Doody
From: James Cassidy
5. Re: The Association at musica/The Gordian Knot/Fake Merseybeat
From: Jeffrey Glenn
6. Re: Fake Merseybeat
From: Antonio Vizcarra
7. Re: American Dreams
From: Andrew Jones
8. Brill Building comic strip
From: Richard Gagnon
9. Re: Action
From: Guy Lawrence
10. Cash-In Records
From: Guy Lawrence
11. Re: More Tony Hatch
From: Peter Lerner
12. Re: Scopitone questions
From: Jeffery Kennedy
13. Re: Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
From: Doug
14. Association, American Beetles
From: Country Paul
15. Tony Hatch/Mark Anthony
From: Mike Edwards
16. Re: Fake Merseybeat/Play The Other Side
From: Jeff Lemlich
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 1
Date: Wed, 02 Apr 2003 12:25:44 -0500
From: David Ponak
Subject: The Association Live
I've seen the current Russ Giguere/Larry Ramos version of
The Association a couple of times and was surprisingly
impressed. The execution and arrangements of the vocals
were great. The first time I saw them was about 4 years at
House Of Blues in Los Angeles. (It was a rather sparsely
attended double bill with the Friends Of Distinction).
My friend Gordon and I shouted out for "Goodbye Columbus"
during a pause. Larry and Russ looked at each other, a bit
bemused, and said, "gosh, we haven't played that one in ages."
They then launched into a note for note perfect version of it
on the spot. Amazing!
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 2
Date: Wed, 02 Apr 2003 17:32:10 -0000
From: Patrick Rands
Subject: Re: Scopitone questions
Do some poking around at this site and you can find some
scopitones for Michèle Richard and Jenny Rock, and some
others too - http://www.disquesmerite.com/
Sometimes I really like the boring ones. Like in the case of
Michèle Richard. It's just her in a convertible the entire time!
Not very exciting, I know, but there's something about the idea
that the scopitone maker thought that all you need is a car and
a girl and one roll of film. Anyone know of any other scopitones
online?
:Patrick
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 3
Date: Wed, 02 Apr 2003 14:33:53 +0400
From: Andres Jurak
Subject: Re: Fake Merseybeat
David Coyle:
>I never understood why people actually mistook songs
>like "Lies" by the Knickerbockers and "New York Mining
>Disaster 1941" by the Bee Gees for Beatles songs in
>the '60s. Maybe I'm just spoiled by having been a
>Beatles fan for all these years, but songs like these
>don't sound that much like the Beatles vocally. All
>four Beatles individually had/have distinctive singing
>styles.
I had the same surprise when I first heard 'Klaatu'. Who on
Earth could ever think that these Canadian guys sing like the
Beatles?! (to say nothing of the LS Bumble Bee...)
Andres
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 4
Date: Wed, 02 Apr 2003 08:19:09 -0500
From: James Cassidy
Subject: Howdy Doody
Phil Reynolds wrote:
> Here in Chicago, the lead singer of the Cryan Shames
> (Tom "Toad" Doody) spoke with a phony Liverpool accent.
If I had a name like "Toad Doody" I'd probably change my name
before I changed my accent.
Jim Cassidy
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 5
Date: Wed, 02 Apr 2003 06:37:46 -0800
From: Jeffrey Glenn
Subject: Re: The Association at musica/The Gordian Knot/Fake Merseybeat
David Coyle:
> (sic)"At the show I went to, they introduced a song
> as their very first record and immediately launched
> into what was "One Too Many Mornings". Certainly the
> highlight of the evening. Not long after that I found
> the song on a Collectors Choice comp called "Buried
> Treasure", which also featured the song's b-side,
> "Forty Times".
Since you have the Rhino anthology, you know that
"One Too Many Mornings" actually wasn't their first
single, that being their great take on "Babe I'm
Gonna Leave You" (Jubilee 45-5505, 06 /65). But the
B-side - "Baby Can't You Hear Me Call Your Name" -
wasn't included, so I've just played it to musica
for your listening enjoyment. The two sides show that
The Association's sound was fully realized by the time
they recorded that first record. Great stuff! I've
got another version of "Baby Can't You Hear Me Call
Your Name" from around the same time by The What Four
(B-side of Capitol 5449, 1965) produced by Steve Douglas
and arranged & conducted by Jack Nitzsche!
> Clark also produced one album on Verve for the Gordian Knot,
> that was a very Association influenced band. One of their
> singer/songwriter members was Jim Weatherly, who wrote "Midnight
> Train to Georgia" and other hits, and had a few hit singles and
> albums on his own. It also is worth checking out.
Yes, if you like The Association you'll love the Gordian Knot
LP. If you belong to the pop45group yahoo group, The Gordian
Knot's "You Still Thrill Me, Babe" - the mono 45 mix - is
currently posted in their equivalent to musica.
> The zine "Garage And Beat" features a recurring column
> by the editor called "Unifying Order Of The Universe,"
> in which he frequently writes about these "fake
> Beatles" that were released on myriad LPs and knockoff
> 45s. One of my favorite such numbers is "You Got Me
> Bugged" by the Buggs, which appeared on the famous
> "Beetle Beat" LP (under a different title, something
> like "Mersey Mercy"). Unlike so many others of its
> ilk, it does have a killer British beat sound to it.
I just picked up another of these LP's called THE LIVERPOOL
BEAT by The Weasels (Mercury/Wing MGW 12282, Mono, 1964).
As these things go it's pretty good, with competent covers
of "I Want To Hold Your Hand", "She Loves You", "From Me To
You", "I Saw Her Standing There", and "My Bonnie" along with
Merseyfied versions of "This Little Girl Of Mine", "Danny Boy",
"Corrine, Corrina", "Swanee River" (yeah, I know The Beatles
recorded this, but at the time the people involved wouldn't
have known it), and "Greensleeves". This last one is pretty
cool and will definitely make this year's Christmas comp!
Jeff
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 6
Date: Wed, 02 Apr 2003 13:53:39 +0200
From: Antonio Vizcarra
Subject: Re: Fake Merseybeat
Andres:
> There were two groups in the 60s - The 'American Beatles'
> and The 'Canadian Beatles'. I never listened to their music
> (alas!), but it seems that they tried to copy the Beatles
> sound, otherwise they wouldn't choose such names...
Hi Andres
Well, I have listened to the American Beetles and they were
really bad!!! I remeber an interview they did for the Spanish
press in 1965 where they declared that they were the real Beatles
and that the Beatles from Liverpool had copied their image and
sound. Well, judging from the records the American Beetles
released at the time nothing could be farther from the truth.
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 7
Date: Wed, 02 Apr 2003 15:35:55 -0500 (EST)
From: Andrew Jones
Subject: Re: American Dreams
My big question about "American Dreams" is: What's gonna
happen when Bandstand moves to L.A.? Is the family gonna
move to L.A., too? Will Meg run away to L.A.? Or will the
show always take place in that brief time period in Philly?
I guess we'll just have to watch and see.
About Scopitone: Anybody see a Scopitone clip called "Love
Being Here With You," by one January Jones (no relation)?
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 8
Date: Wed, 02 Apr 2003 15:56:27 -0500
From: Richard Gagnon
Subject: Brill Building comic strip
Well, folks, I'm happy to say that I'm finally done working on my
little 4 page comic strip on the (very condensed) history of the
Brill Building, for publication in Danny Hellman's "Legal Action
Comics volume 2". Nothing you folks don't know, but I've put some
work into the durn pictures, at least.
I'd be honoured if anyone had a look at the results and let me know
where I've succeeded (and failed).
It can be found, in downloadable Acrobat pdf format, on my website at:
http://www.richardgagnon.com/1619_Broadway.pdf
Thank you!
Richard
--
*********** "Elle avait toutes les qualités que je déteste, et aucun
des défauts que j'adore" *************
S.A. Steeman, Brelan d'As
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 9
Date: Wed, 02 Apr 2003 22:29:40 +0100
From: Guy Lawrence
Subject: Re: Action
Phil Milstein wrote:
> Judging only from a variety of non-contiguous clips,
>I am vaguely haunted by the structure of Where The
>Action Is...It seemed to always position its musical acts
>along some kind of waterfront, with segments introduced
>off-camera by the voice of Dick Clark...there's
>something inherently strange about the mandatoriness of
>all these waterfront clips...
Yeah, that's exactly what I thought - I found the whole
thing quite bemusing. On the episodes I've got the most
responsible adult around is Paul Revere! Is it the case
that the footage Phil and I have seen has had a lot of
the between song banter cut out? That would explain the
absence of Clark on camera. Watching the excellent video
clips at http://www.theassociation.net last night I did
see a clip of "Action" where Clark was on camera
interviewing the band. As for those waterfront shots -
watching Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels mime to some
of their small club - condensation dripping down the walls
- R&B while sailing around some "Swingin' Summer" resort
on a pontoon boat was a strange experience indeed!
Guy
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 10
Date: Wed, 02 Apr 2003 23:02:16 +0100
From: Guy Lawrence
Subject: Cash-In Records
A while ago we had a Lovin' Spoonful tribute record at musica
(The Distant Cousins "Mr. Sebastian") and of course, some of
us Spectopoppers spend more time listening to Beatle novelty
records than actual Beatle records. I was wondering - was
there ever a novelty record inspired by the Monkees? In a
huge bout of wishful thinking I've managed to convince myself
that someone must have recorded say, a "Don't Draft My Darling
Davy" record. Does anyone out there know of any kind of Monkee
cash-in? Or, for that matter, any other records dedicated to
medium-sized artists like the Spoonful?
Guy
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 11
Date: Wed, 02 Apr 2003 22:48:41 +0100
From: Peter Lerner
Subject: Re: More Tony Hatch
Michael wrote:
> "Forget Him", written by Tony Hatch, reminded me that
> Tony wrote under two pseudonyms, Mark Anthony and
> Fred Nightingale."
I had always assumed that the Mark Anthony, who crept into
the NME Top 30 in 1960 with "Why Didn't You Tell Me" was
indeed the singing Mr H. Was I correct?
Peter
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 12
Date: Thu, 03 Apr 2003 00:00:18 -0000
From: Jeffery Kennedy
Subject: Re: Scopitone questions
Patrick:
> Do some poking around at this site and you can find some
> scopitones for Michèle Richard and Jenny Rock, and some
> others too - http://www.disquesmerite.com/
Wow! That's a great website! So much French pop music,
so little time!
You can see more Scopitones here:
http://www.stim.com/Stim-x/9.4/scopitone/scopitone-jukebox.html
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 13
Date: Thu, 03 Apr 2003 02:24:21 -0000
From: Doug
Subject: Re: Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
Larry Lapka:
> Lastly, tonight, with very little on TV, I watched a movie
> I hadn't seen in years, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. I
> knew Frankie Avalon was in it, but I had totally forgotten
> that he sung its theme song! Honestly, it was pretty bad,
> but I was wondering if anyone knows where I might be able
> to get this tune. Was it ever on an album? It's so bad that
> it's intriguing.
Here you go:
http://www.ccmusic.com/item.cfm?itemid=FSM40102
Doug
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 14
Date: Wed, 02 Apr 2003 19:20:01 -0500
From: Country Paul
Subject: Association, American Beetles
Phil Reynolds:
> ...the Association Admiration Aggregation at
> http://www.theassociation.net - It is wonderful,
> with biographies, snapshots, chat rooms, updates,
> and real time video and audio of almost all
> their television appearances and releases.
> It's well worth the effort and time to visit.
> The fun is that they have either audio/video of
> their unreleased material as well as concert
> appearances with obscure songs (ie: Elton John's
> "Take Me to the Pilot" and more).
Great site, indeed. The obscure stuff is pretty fascinating -
I like the 1983 (New Memories" LP) remake of Dean Martin's
"Memories Are Made of This" (at least until the fade). It
reminds me of Billy Swan's undeservedly obscure "P.M.S." -
"Physical, Mental, Spritual" - not the other PMS! Also
interesting to discover a cover of Judee Sill's "Ridge Rider"
(Hexagram 16 LP, 1971), although the original is still the
greatest. I also appreciate "Baby Can't You Hear..." on musica;
I remember playing it on the radio when new (not a lot, but
someone in Providence, RI heard it besides me!).
Antonio Vizcarra:
> Subject: Fake Merseybeat....
> Are there any other American groups who pretended to be from
> England and that tried to cash in on the Merseybeat craze
> that swept America in 1964? Any bands recommended?
Not quite an answer to your question, but I always had a soft
spot for the American Beetles (talk about chutzpah!) on Roulette
with "Don't Be Unkind", about as Mersey as it gets without being
there. Anyone have any info on this group?
Re: Timmy Brown, "If I Loved You" - very good Spector-lite
production, but in doing this particular song, what were they
thinking?!? My first impression was of a Bobby Rydell outtake.
Ashley: "Skip Bifferty"?!?!?!? (or am I showing my ignorance again?)
Country Paul
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 15
Date: Wed, 02 Apr 2003 22:00:19 -0500
From: Mike Edwards
Subject: Tony Hatch/Mark Anthony
Peter wrote:
>I had always assumed that the Mark Anthony, who crept into
>the NME Top 30 in 1960 with "Why Didn't You Tell Me" was
>indeed the singing Mr H. Was I correct?
A great question for Mick to ask Tony. I do not know but the
reference I looked at for the song shows a Marke Anthony on
UK Decca. I wonder if the "e" means that he was a person other
than the Tony Hatch Mark Anthony. Tony's "Look For A Star"
credited in the US to Mark Anthony came out at around the same
time Mark with an "e" made the NME top-30 in the UK.
Mike Edwards
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 16
Date: Wed, 02 Apr 2003 23:45:52 -0500
From: Jeff Lemlich
Subject: Re: Fake Merseybeat/Play The Other Side
Andres Jurak wrote:
> There were two groups in the 60s - The 'American Beatles'
> and The 'Canadian Beatles'. I never listened to their music
> (alas!), but it seems that they tried to copy the Beatles
> sound, otherwise they wouldn't choose such names...
The American Beetles were originally the Ardells (aka The
R-Dells) from West Palm Beach, Florida. Their name was
changed while they were touring South America at the height
of Beatlemania. By 1966 their name was changed again, to
the Razor's Edge. It was then that they had their biggest
hit, "Let's Call It A Day Girl".
Their story is in "The Book".
Re: Play The Other Side
> And muchas gracias from me to Phil as well. "Beep" was the
> only song I didn't listen to in its entirety. After about 3
> minutes or so, I had to go on to the next track!
Jeff Lemlich
http://www.limestonerecords.com
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
End
