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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. Thanx for the info
From: Bob Rashkow
2. Re: Eve Of Destruction...
From: James Botticelli
3. Little Eva alternate tracks and l'il ol' me in an alternate city
From: David A. Young
4. Re: Song Search
From: Bob Beason
5. Re: Stolen Licks
From: Artie Wayne
6. Re: Tony Hatch instrumental
From: Den Lindquist
7. Re: Crystals - Wall Of Sound
From: Robert
8. Re: The one and only Lesley
From: Artie Wayne
9. Re: Lesley Gore - life story
From: John Fox
10. Keith
From: Mike Edwards
11. Danny Valentino
From: Mike Edwards
12. Re: Lesley Gore - life story
From: Mikey
13. My Canadian Sunset Guy
From: Steve Harvey
14. Re: The one and only Lesley
From: Steve Harvey
15. Re: Lesley Gore - life story
From: James Botticelli
16. Only The Strong Survive
From: Phil Milstein
17. Fifth Estate/Reparata/Crystals/Carol Connors
From: Ian Chapman
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Message: 1
Date: Fri, 09 May 2003 21:02:24 EDT
From: Bob Rashkow
Subject: Thanx for the info
THANK YOU DAVID COYLE!!! I recently inquired on Pop45 about
a Fifth Estate CD and you have ANSWERED my question here on
S'pop. I'm going to check out Boston Skyline to see if
they've got a website, because "Ding Dong, The Witch Is Back"
(sounds like a reunion with my 4th-grade teacher) is for me a
MUST-HAVE!!!! Can anyone recommend it? Are "Do Drop Inn",
"The Goofin' Song" and "Morning Morning" on there?
Re Danny Valentino: He also did a great song on MGM that did
not chart, called "Stampede" which was released after his chart
"Biology." Don't have any additional info about him, but he
must've been an "almost star." Good voice, good arrangements.
Some of that late 5Ts stuff is great. Here I go to play
"I've Had It" by the Bell Notes and "What Is Love?' by the
Playmates! Etc, etc!
Bobster
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Message: 2
Date: Fri, 09 May 2003 20:19:10 -0400
From: James Botticelli
Subject: Re: Eve Of Destruction...
balidrengen wrote:
> P. F. Sloan has revised the song lyrics on a number of
> occasions, and also recorded it with partly new lyrics,
> most recently on Still On the Eve of Destruction which
> was re-recorded in 1997.
On which he said?
Jimmy B
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Message: 3
Date: Sat, 10 May 2003 02:21:42 -0000
From: David A. Young
Subject: Little Eva alternate tracks and l'il ol' me in an alternate city
Hello again, friends,
First, briefly: I've taken the plunge and booked a flight
to New York for the June 20 party and can't wait to meet
all of you. In an effort to dedicate as much of my very limited
travel budget as possible to the purchase of cocktails, I'd
like to be so bold as to inquire whether any New York member(s)
might be able to host me during my trip. Please contact me off
list if you can help; I'll arrive Thursday morning June 19 and
depart Monday afternoon June 23. In case this doesn't work out,
I'd be interested in sharing a room with a fellow traveler, so
correspondence along these lines is also welcome.
Simon White asked about alternative Little Eva tracks, and if
mine isn't a complete answer, then I hope someone else will
jump in and further educate us both!
The first appearance of an alternate take and a previously
unreleased track by her was on the 1988 Murray Hill LP "The
Best of Little Eva," which included an alternate version of
"Wake Up John" and the first-ever release of "Get Him." These
were also included on the roughly equivalent (though two songs
shorter) Collectables CD of the same title from three years
later.
The 1995 UK compilation CD "Here Come the Girls 7: The Trouble
With Boys" features the same two songs (as well as the disc's
title cut) by Little Eva, but both songs appear here in
different (I'm guessing earlier) takes than on Murray Hill.
Somewhere in the early '80s, there was a British 12" single
that featured an extended mix of the original "The Loco-Motion,"
not an alternate take or a remix per se, but a re-editing that
lengthened the track for the dance floor. I assume that it was
approximately contemporary to Kylie Minogue's and/or Dave Stewart
and Barbara Gaskin's dancy revamps of the tune. The fact that
the Shell Oil logo appears in the lower left corner of the cover
sleeve suggests a tie-in with an ad campaign of the time.
The only other "surprise" track by her of which I'm aware is
her duet with Jimmy Jones on "Don't You Just Know It." The first
I knew of the track was when it was included on the 1984 LP
"Roots of S.O.B. Vol. 2," a collection of Bob Feldman hits,
odds, and sods. ("S.O.B." stands for "Sounds of Brooklyn," and
there never was a Vol. 1.) Feldman states in the liners that he
knows it dates from 1967 but recalls no other details. I've not
yet located a copy of "Good Timin': The Jimmy Jones Anthology"
recently featured in Spectropop Recommends, but the label scan
there of the Parkway 45 on which "Don't You Just Know It" was
issued shows only his name, not Little Eva's, so I don't know if
she participated uncredited or if a second version was recorded
and issued for the first and only time on the S.O.B. record. I'd
appreciate clarification from anyone that does know.
Speaking of Parkway, Mick and Malcolm, in the liner notes to
"Here Come the Girls 7," say that post-Dimension label, Little
Eva recorded for Amy, Parkway, Verve, and Spring. I have singles
credited to her on all those labels (plus reissues on Bell and
Eric) except Parkway. Could the Jimmy Jones disc be the one
they mean? If so, does she feature on the flip as well? If she
had something on the label under her own name, what was it?
The people have a right to know!
David A. Young
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Message: 4
Date: Sat, 10 May 2003 04:03:44 +0000
From: Bob Beason
Subject: Re: Song Search
Richard Havers wrote:
> Someone on another group I subscribe to wanted to know the
> title and artist who recorded a song with the words, "reds
> and yellows, blues and greens" and "police going to take my
> mama away." Apparently it was bluesy and it was mid 60s.
It was Gale Garnett, "Prism Song." Flip side of "We'll Sing
In The Sunshine," RCA Victor 47-8388, 1964.
Bob Beason
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Message: 5
Date: Fri, 09 May 2003 21:31:40 -0700 (PDT)
From: Artie Wayne
Subject: Re: Stolen Licks
Steve Harvey:
> Kinda like Bowie using "Lavender Blue" to intro one of
> his tunes.
Jimmy B:
> Or like Billy Paul stealing a lick from "Secret Love" during
> the instro intro to "Me & Mrs. Jones...this could be the start
> of a thread. Any other needles? pinza?
J B...... Let's not forget the intro to "My Guy" by Mary Wells
is "Canadian Sunset."
regards,
Artie Wayne
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Message: 6
Date: Sat, 10 May 2003 02:57:44 -0400
From: Den Lindquist
Subject: Re: Tony Hatch instrumental
Mick,
Would you ask Tony Hatch about a song I have as a downloaded
file. It's listed as by Tony Hatch and is called "Spanish
Charade", a wonderful instrumental. I know nothing about the
song, but I'm guessing it's circa 1968. I'm curious as to
release number, year of release, writing credits, and whether
it's still available on a CD release.
Thanks.
Den.
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Message: 7
Date: Sat, 10 May 2003 12:59:39 -0000
From: Robert
Subject: Re: Crystals - Wall Of Sound
Jimmy Crescitelli wrote:
> .....Phil's Wall was most absolutely a solid block, to which
> he would add bricks as the years went by. I think the public
> said "enough" after a while. Granted-- promotion was nil on
> "Little Boy"-- but one can play "Then He Kissed Me" endlessly,
> but is "Little Boy" in its league? I don't think so.
"Then He Kissed Me," "Little Boy" and "I Wonder" (The Crystals'
version) define, for me, the Wall of Sound. I don't think Spector
ever made anything to match these three songs. La La Brooks has
the greatest voice ever. I sent her an e-mail to that effect 18
months ago and she wrote back within an hour or so. What I wouldn't
give to meet her.
Robert
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Message: 8
Date: Sat, 10 May 2003 08:35:18 -0700 (PDT)
From: Artie Wayne
Subject: Re: The one and only Lesley
Alan..... Patrick ......I'm glad you guys have brought Lesley
Gore back into the spotlight! My partner [at the time] Kelli
Ross and I represented her publishing companies until 1969.
It wasn't until she had her run of teenage hits as an artist
did she come into her own as a writer.
She and Ellen Weston came to see me a few times at Warner Bros.
and knocked me out with some of things they had written. Looking
forward to hearing the CD you're talking about.
regards,
Artie Wayne
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Message: 9
Date: Sat, 10 May 2003 11:47:19 EDT
From: John Fox
Subject: Re: Lesley Gore - life story
Who should play Lesley Gore in her life story?
There's only one perfect choice, but the make-up crew would
have to do a time machine-type job. It's Patty Duke. They're
about the same age, and not only did Patty have the Lesley look
in the mid-60s, with the "flip" hairdo (well, at least as Patty,
not Cathy, in The Patty Duke Show), she virtually stole Lesley's
singing style with her few singles' releases. "Don't Just Stand
There" was a complete rip-off of "You Don't Own Me". Now, who's
going to play Quincy Jones?
John Fox
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Message: 10
Date: Sat, 10 May 2003 16:35:06 -0000
From: Mike Edwards
Subject: Keith
Mid '60s artist Keith has had a few mentions recently.
He, among a few others, is in dire need of a CD compiling
his hits and album tracks. He had 4 very good Hot 100 entries:
"Ain't Gonna Lie", "98.6" (which made it to # 7), "Tell Me To
My Face" (written by the Hollies) and "Daylight Saving Time".
Joel Whitburn in his book, "Top Pop Singles" claims that the
Tokens sang on the first two of these songs. Artie Wayne points
out that:
> The Tokens didn't sing on "Ain't Gonna' Lie" ...but I arranged
> for them to sing for my friend producer Jerry Ross on "98.6"
> [on which I sang the high harmony part] and 3 more songs for
> Keith which I co-wrote with Jerry - "The Teeny Bopper Song",
> "Candy, Candy" and "I Can't Go Wrong".
I have played "The Teeny Bopper Song" to musica (it was the
b-side of "98.6"). Artie, is that you or the Tokens singing the
falsetto back-up behind Keith on this one? Great cheesy organ
sound in here, too.
Enjoy,
Mike Edwards
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Message: 11
Date: Sat, 10 May 2003 17:16:17 -0000
From: Mike Edwards
Subject: Danny Valentino
David Bell writes about Danny Valentino:
> This guy is a complete mystery to me but someone here must
> know something about him.
Well I do not know anything about Danny, either, but I do have
one of his 45s. Written by the great Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman,
it's an out and out rocker from '59 called "Stampede". It has a
great sax break and the whole thing sounds like it could have
been released on the Specialty label. It is playing on musica now.
David mentions a possible Connie Francis connection and Danny (a
fellow MGM labelmate) could have even been the "Valentino" that
Connie sang about.
Enjoy the 45,
Mike Edwards
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Message: 12
Date: Sat, 10 May 2003 20:09:39 -0400
From: Mikey
Subject: Re: Lesley Gore - life story
John Fox said:
> Who should play Lesley Gore in her life story?
> There's only one perfect choice, but the make-up crew would
> have to do a time machine-type job. It's Patty Duke.
Yea, they'd have to do SOME make-up job - Patty Duke is 60,
I believe.
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Message: 13
Date: Sat, 10 May 2003 17:21:41 -0700 (PDT)
From: Steve Harvey
Subject: My Canadian Sunset Guy
Artie Wayne wrote:
> Let's not forget the intro to "My Guy" by Mary Wells
> is "Canadian Sunset."
I always thought I heard a snippet of "Canadian Sunset"
in that song, but it wasn't enough to warrant suing for
copyright infringement, I guess.
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Message: 14
Date: Sat, 10 May 2003 17:28:23 -0700 (PDT)
From: Steve Harvey
Subject: Re: The one and only Lesley
Artie Wayne wrote:
> ....I'm glad you guys have brought Lesley Gore back into
> the spotlight! My partner [at the time] Kelli Ross and I
> represented her publishing companies until 1969.
> She and Ellen Weston....knocked me out with some of things
> they had written.
So Artie, how'd you like her medley with "98.6" in it?
You sang on the original, so it must have been cool to
hear somebody (and a fairly well-known somebody) do a
cover of a tune you were on.
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Message: 15
Date: Sat, 10 May 2003 19:58:32 -0400
From: James Botticelli
Subject: Re: Lesley Gore - life story
John Fox wrote:
> Now, who's going to play Quincy Jones?
Doesn't he do that pretty well himself?
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Message: 16
Date: Sat, 10 May 2003 20:28:10 -0400
From: Phil Milstein
Subject: Only The Strong Survive
Four-star recommendation for the new documentary film
"Only The Strong Survive." It's similar to "Standing In
The Shadows Of Motown" in that it compiles recent interview
and performance footage, but in this case the focus is on
lead performers rather than sidemen. Featured performers
include Jerry Butler, Rufus and Carla Thomas, Isaac Hayes,
Sam Moore, Ann Peebles, The Chi-Lites, Mary Wilson and Wilson
Pickett. All of them shine. The premise is to bring the
audience up-to-date on these artists. Thus, while there's
little archival material, the stars all turn in noteworthy
performances of one or two of their most important hits,
infusing them with new fire while still respecting the
original versions.
Definitely worth seeing if it comes to your town.
--Phil Milstein
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Message: 17
Date: Sun, 11 May 2003 02:00:47 +0100
From: Ian Chapman
Subject: Fifth Estate/Reparata/Crystals/Carol Connors
David Coyle wrote:
> Wasn't "It's Waiting There For You" written by one of
> the Fifth Estate? There's a demo of a song by that
> name on their "Ding Dong The Witch Is Back" CD on the
> Boston Skyline label.
The Fifth Estate's version of "It's Waiting There For You"
was issued on a 45, as the flip of "Heigh-Ho" (Jubilee 5595
or Stateside 2068 in the UK). Like Reparata & the Delrons'
version, it too was a Real Good production, i.e. the Jerome
Bros. Both came out in '67. Has anyone mentioned that the
Reparata version got played on the northern soul circuit?
Not as much as their other northern biggie, "Panic", but it
was considered worth bootlegging.
Robert wrote:
> "Then He Kissed Me," "Little Boy" and "I Wonder" (The
> Crystals' version) define, for me, the Wall of Sound.
> I don't think Spector ever made anything to match these
> three songs. La La Brooks has the greatest voice ever.
Couldn't agree more Robert. In the Rob Finnis book, "The
Phil Spector Story", Larry Levine described Phil as
"overstepping the mark with the echoes on those late
Crystals things......they were messy." While that might
possibly be true of "All Grown Up", I fervently disagree
about "Little Boy" and "I Wonder". I enjoy hearing the
Wall of Sound at its extreme, and the productions on those
two tracks are powerful, yet controlled, giving an impression
of a reigned-in thunderstorm. The intro to "Little Boy"
never fails to take my breath away, especially played
floor-shakingly loud!!
Country Paul, many congratulations on the fantastic Carol
Connors interview, which was very entertaining and full of
great anecdotes. Despite her claiming at first to have a
very poor memory for the post-Teddy Bears period, she did
in fact recall more than she realized, prompted by your
knowledge. It's a pity she doesn't quite appreciate the
mark she made on the west coast music scene of the early 60s.
I suppose I can see why she doesn't regard her early recording
and writing in the same league as her Oscar-nominated songs
and current film work, but I sometimes wish artists who are
successful in the present, in whatever capacity, would be a
little more proud of their musical curriculum vitae (Bernadette
Peters, take note). You were very brave to point out the
name-dropping on her website!
I wonder if sister Cheryl made any more records other than
the "Go Go GTO" duet and its flip?
Ian
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