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Volume #0012 11/13/97
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Subject: Re: Things You Don't Miss
Sent: 11/12/97 4:37 AM
Received: 11/12/97 8:43 AM
From: carol knudson, knudXXX@XXXXXXolumbia.edu
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXX@XXXXXXies.com
Dave Marsteller said:
>
> I know we all tend to feel nostalgic about the 'glory days' of
> songwriting, but are there any features of songs from that period that
> you don't miss? I can think of one. I call it the backhanded compliment
> song. <snip>
I've gotta disagree with you on this one Dave- I find those 'backhanded compliments' very endearing
at times. Though not of the 'Spectropop' era, one of my favorite lines in any song is "You
ain't a beauty, but hey you're alright..." And let's not forget the Main Man himself in "He's
Sure The Boy I Love" "When he holds me tight, everything's
right..." They're saying you don't HAVE to be the pressed
and painted model of a person that the media is always
forcing down our throats- you CAN be a *normal* human
being and still be pretty special. (but hey, you don't
want me to get going on that subject any further, I'm sure)
CAROL (who had Jimmy Soul's "If You Want To Be Happy" played at her
wedding...Really!! I thought it very sweet and appropriate)
Subject: Re: Tracy Ullman
Sent: 11/12/97 11:22 AM
Received: 11/13/97 12:30 AM
From: Chuck Limmer, CLimXXX@XXXXXXm
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXX@XXXXXXies.com
In a message dated 97-11-11, David Bash noted that:
> I suppose one could make the claim that "They Don't
> Know" by either Kirsty MacColl or Tracy Ullman had the
> classic girl group sound, especially Ullman's version
> because it was more vocally expansive.
David:
Good call. Hard to believe, for those who know her only
from her career as a respected comedian (comedienne?
probably not the PC term), but Ullman recorded some
terrific pop for a short period in the early '80s. Her
LP, _You Broke My Heart In 17 Places_ (MCA-5471, 1983)
has been a guilty pleasure of mine for years. In
addition to "They Don't Know," it contains Tracy's
enthusiastic covers of Marcie Blaine's old hit "Bobby's
Girl" and the Dells' "Oh, What a Night," as well as the
wonderful pop ballad--first recorded by Doris Day--"Move
Over Darling." For the curious, I'm pretty sure that an
Ullman comp CD exists on Rhino (where else?)
Chuck Limmer
n.p. _The Pet Sounds Sessions_
Subject: Re: Phil and Celine
Sent: 11/12/97 4:45 AM
Received: 11/12/97 8:44 AM
From: Mark Easter, MCE1XXX@XXXXXXm
To: spectroXXX@XXXXXXeocities.com
In a message dated 97-11-11 14:25:28 EST, you write:
> Here's a question maybe someone can answer. Two or three
> years ago, Phil Spector was cutting in the studio with
> the Wrecking Crew. I believe it was Ocean Way. It was
> learned that he was tracking for Celine Dion (!). When
> Dion's latest album was released, it included a cover of
> River Deep, Mountain High, the Mother Bertha/Trio song
> first cut by Tina Turner for Philles. Mother Bertha is
> Allen Klein o/b/o Phil Spector, Trio is Leiber/Stoller
> o/b/o Barry/Greenwich. So, figuring Spector must have
> worked on River Deep, Mountain High, I checked the
> credits. Not a single mention of Phil or the Wrecking
> Crew. I listened. Not a sign. Checking a bit more
> closely, I discovered that the lyrics to every song were
> printed in the CD booklet, except for River Deep
> Mountain High. No Phil, no Wrecking Crew, no
> lyric...Hmmm. Any ideas why the Spector dates were
> scrapped?
Well, it's a pretty funny story as far as why they didn't
"click". Apparently, Phil was doing a "Ramones" with her
where he'd make her sing one note over and over until he
was satisfied (which he never was). Prima donna that she
is, she walked, and Phil later spilled his guts about the
whole affair in an open letter that was reprinted in (I
believe) Q Magazine a couple of years ago, and was none
to complimentary to her or her other producers or record
label. It was a pretty hilarious diatribe... I can't
remember which issue it was in, but it's worth searching
out.
Mark
Subject: Re: Spectropop V#0011
Sent: 11/13/97 12:11 PM
Received: 11/13/97 12:30 AM
From: David R. Modny, dmoXXX@XXXXXXcom.com
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXX@XXXXXXies.com
Jamie LePage wrote:
> Here's a question maybe someone can answer. Two or three years
> ago, Phil Spector was cutting in the studio with the Wrecking
> Crew. I believe it was Ocean Way. It was learned that he was
> tracking for Celine Dion (!). When Dion's latest album was
> released, it included a cover of River Deep, Mountain High,
> the Mother Bertha/Trio song first cut by Tina Turner for
> Philles. Mother Bertha is Allen Klein o/b/o Phil Spector, Trio
> is Leiber/Stoller o/b/o Barry/Greenwich. So, figuring Spector
> must have worked on River Deep, Mountain High, I checked the
> credits. Not a single mention of Phil or the Wrecking Crew. I
> listened. Not a sign. Checking a bit more closely, I
> discovered that the lyrics to every song were printed in the
> CD booklet, except for River Deep Mountain High. No Phil, no
> Wrecking Crew, no lyric...Hmmm. Any ideas why the Spector
> dates were scrapped?
Hi all,
There was a big article on this subject, I believe, in
EW a couple of years ago. As I recall, Spector COMPLETED
an entire album's worth of tracks with C. Dion, and I
believe the record company rejected it as not being
commercial enough. David Foster was then brought in to
re-work or re-record things, and that's what eventually
came out. Spector then went on the record as saying, that
HE would release his produced version of Dion's album
anyway, and I believe the quote was "the American people
would find out who really did the better one" - or
something to that effect. I believe, he also stated that
he would end up sueing someone. I also recall that the
reason Phil wanted to work with her, was him seeing her
do 'RDMH' on the Letterman show and being impressed. For
the record, I am in no way, shape, or form a Celine Dion
fan !! ( no flames please ).
D-Mod
Subject: Re: Gary Zekley
Sent: 11/12/97 5:35 AM
Received: 11/12/97 8:44 AM
From: David Bash, bashXXX@XXXXXXt.com
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXX@XXXXXXies.com
> From: carol knudson, knudXXX@XXXXXXolumbia.edu
> So, first- a song writer I have come across recently
> (though I bet he's > not unknown to the experts on this list
> :)) is Gary Zekley. Aside from > "Yellow Balloon", I have
> found several tunes by him, but would love to > hear more!
> Anyone know anything about him?
Hi Carol,
Gary Zekley wrote many a wonderful pop song in the late
60s! I have three albums that prominently feature his
songwriting:
One is the album by the group that you mentioned, The
Yellow Balloon. He co-wrote 8 of the 13 tracks on that
album, including their near hit "Good Feelin' Time" (which
was co-written by Don Grady!), and if you love the song
"Yellow Balloon" then you'd love this album. It's pretty
difficult to find, but there is a CD reissue, mastered
from vinyl, on the Japanese label M&M Records.
Apparently, Sundazed is going to do a reissue of the album,
along with bonus tracks, but I'm not sure when.
Another album which features Zekley is "Elephant Candy" by
The Fun and Games, a group from Texas that specialized in
harmony pop and Bubble Gum. Zekley co-wrote 7 of the 12
songs on this album, including the abslolutely joyous
"Close To Carmel" and the wonderful bubblegum hit "The
Grooviest Girl In The World". The album came out on UNI
Records in 1969, and is not all that hard to find, usually
not going for too much if you do find it.
The third album I have is "The Clique" by The Clique,
another band from Texas which did some great pop with an
edge during the late 60s. Zekley co-wrote 5 of the 10
songs here. The Clique are primarily known for two
things: Having a top 30 hit with Tommy James' "Sugar On
Sunday", and doing the original version of the Zekley
co-written "Superman", which was covered by R.E.M. on
their "Life's Rich Pageant" album. The album was on White
Whale Records, and isn't too difficult to find.
I also have a various artists CD on the M&M label
called "The Melody Goes On" Volume 1, which is loaded with
excellent soft pop of the late 60s. There are quite a few
Zekley written tunes here, including "Baby, Baby It's You"
and "Can't Get Enough Of Your Love" by The Group (both
songs are also done by the Yellow Balloon on their album),
"Don't Be Gone Long" and "The Fun We Had" by The
Ragamuffins, a Beach Boys-ish group, "Like A Summer Rain"
and "Yellow Balloon" by Jan & Dean, the former being
an absolutely beautiful Pet Sounds-ish track, and "Other
Towns, Other Girls" and "Here Comes The Rain" by the man
himself! There are actually three volumes of The Melody
Goes On series, and although the second and third don't
have Zekley tracks, if you're a fan of soft pop you need
to have these because they contain some true obscurities!
Sadly, Zekley passed away a little more than a year ago, and he'll definitely be missed. :-(
--
Spectropop Rules!!!!!
Take Care,
David
Subject: Re: Less known writers, Honeys, Girl Groups
Sent: 11/12/97 3:05 PM
Received: 11/13/97 12:30 AM
From: Darian Sahanaja , monsaXXX@XXXXXXink.net
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXX@XXXXXXies.com
Carol wrote:
> Gary Zekley. Anyone know anything about him? . . does
> anyone know of anything else. . .
Wow. . .a Gary Zekley fan! Zekley has a slew of great
records under his sleeve. You should check out the great
article/discography that Domenic Priore did (okay, I
helped a little) in his Dumb Angel Gazette Vol. 3. The
flip side of "Cause I Love Him" ("A Little Love Will Go A
Long Long Way") is fantastic as well. But his girl-group
tour-de-force is "Close Your Eyes" by Bonnie (same who did
"Home Of The Brave"). The best Zekley male group record
has got to be the version of "Baby, Baby It's You" by The
Group. . .an incredible 45! As for the Honeys/Ginger, have
you heard the flipside of "Growing Up Is Hard To Do"
("Seven Days In September")? I think it's the better side.
If you're at all interested in checking any of this stuff
out, feel free to e-mail me.
> In talking about New 'Girl Group' sounding tunes- from the
> "Grace of My Heart" Soundtrack are probably as close as we can
> get to that sound these days.
I must say I wanted to like that film/soundtrack so bad
but I just found the whole thing way too mediocre. . .not
really good enough to be that impressive but not really
bad enough (like let's say the made-for-TV Beach Boys
rockudrama) to be entertaining. The only song that came
off with any sincerity to me was the Lesley Gore-type
character's. But that's probably cuz it was written by
Lesley herself and sung by Miss Lily Banquett (from the
great Combustible Edison). Being a HUGE fan of the girl
group genre I think I've got some recent stuff that you'd
find more convincing.
--DARIAN
Subject: Re: Gary Zekley
Sent: 11/12/97 7:56 PM
Received: 11/13/97 12:30 AM
From: Jamie LePage, le_page_XXX@XXXXXXies.com
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXX@XXXXXXies.com
carol knudson wrote:
>Led Zeppelin...
Definitely off-topic! :-)
>
>...Gary Zekley. Aside from "Yellow Balloon", I have found
>several tunes by him, but would love to hear more!
You and I both. Maybe others can help with more info on
Zekley. He was friends with Dean Torrence and involved
with the Songs For a Rainy Day album released as Jan
& Dean. I know of only a few Zekley-related records
(see list below). Of very, very special note: A wonderful
full blown Phil Spector production called Close Your Eyes
by Bonnie. This was recorded October 20, 1965 at Gold
Star with the Wrecking Crew including Carol Knud... I
mean Carol Kaye, Frank Capp, Harold Battiste, Jay
Migliori, Julius Wechter, Al Casey and more! Spector's
protogEJerry Riopell was involved, as he was with Home
Of The Brave by Bonnie and the Treasures. The label says
produced by Jerry Riopell, but I'm convinced it's Spector
start to finish, as is Home of the Brave and Things Are
Changing (both also credited to Riopell). btw, the record
doesn't mention Spector's name, but the master was paid
for by Philles Records who owned it at one point, which
makes sense of course since Bonnie and Riopell were both
under Philles' umbrella. Spector was on the date. Why
Riopell was credited is open to speculation, but one
thing for sure; Riopell's post-Spector work sounds
nothing like wall-of-sound.
Zekley is listed at ASCAP as Brandon Chase. That is most
likely his real name (but why Gary Zekley for a pka?). He
was one of the West Coast Brill writers and has most of
his songs published under the Colgems catalog (like
fellow West Coast Brill writer David Gates).
>He's also responsible for the song "Cause I Love Him" sung by
>Alder Ray.
Yes, this is a great track as is the B side "A Little
Love (Will Go a Long Way)." Both fabulous faux Spector
(Jack Madani: N.B.). This disc points to the fact that
there were so many great records in the early-to-mid
60's that there wasn't room on the charts for all of
them. That's what makes this genre so interesting. btw,
Cause I Love Him was produced by Marshall Leib (of the
Teddy Bears). But Carol, where did you find this?
>I just came across "Growing Up Is Hard To Do" (by Ginger and the
>Snaps) which I hadn't heard before-Great Tune!! Another recent
>find is "Golly Gee" by Sheila North. Another great song,
>in the Patience and Prudence vein.
Same question. Where did you find these? Are you holding
out? :-)
To follow is a working list of Gary Zekley songs I have
been compiling over the last few months. Culled from a
number of sources including international copyright
societies' data bases, I am sure the list remains
incomplete, and probably contains a few inaccuracies.
Please help fill in the blanks, Spectropop members! btw,
if anyone has Fun & Games or Clique albums that they
would dub for me, preferably to DAT, MD or CD-R (even
cassette!) please Email me privately. I probably can
compensate in some way for the trouble.
Thanks,
LePageWeb
-------------------------
The Gary Zekley Song List
ACE OF HEARTS - Matadors
BERRY JAN/DIAZ VIC/ZEKLEY GARY
BABY BABY ITS YOU - the Group, Yellow Balloon
GOSTING/RICHARD/ST JOHN/ZEKLEY GARY
CAN T GET ENOUGH OF YOUR LOVE - the Group, Dick & Dee Dee, Yellow Balloon
ANTHONY/GOSTING/ST JOHN/ZEKLEY GARY
CAUSE I LOVE HIM - Alder Ray
ZEKLEY GARY
CLOSE TO CARMEL - Fun & Games
BOTTLER MITCH/ZEKLEY GARY
CLOSE YOUR EYES - Bonnie
RIOPELL JERRY/ZEKLEY GARY
CLOSE YOUR EYES (AND KISS ME) - Unusual We
BOTTLER MITCH/ZEKLEY GARY
DONıT BE GONE LONG - Ragamuffins
ALTFELD DONALD/ZEKLEY GARY
ELEPHANT CANDY - Fun & Games
BOTTLER MITCH/ZEKLEY GARY
THE FUN WE HAD - Ragamuffins
ZEKLEY GARY
GOOD FEELIN TIME - Yellow Balloon
GRADY DON/ZEKLEY GARY
GOTTA SAY GOODBYE - Fun & Games
BOTTLER MITCH/ZEKLEY GARY
GROOVIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD - Fun & Games
BOTTLER MITCH/ZEKLEY GARY
HALLELUJAH - Sweathog
BOTTLER MITCH/TWAIN ROBERTA/ZEKLEY GARY
HERE COMES THE RAIN - Gary Zekley
ZEKLEY GARY
HOW CAN I BE DOWN - Yellow Balloon
ALTFELD DONALD/GIBSON JILL/ZEKLEY GARY
I CAN'T BREAK AWAY - Big Pig
BOTTLER MITCHELL/ZEKLEY GARY
I'VE GOT A FEELING FOR YOU - Yellow Balloon
ALTFELD DONALD/GIBSON JILL/LEE JAY
JUDY JUDY JUDY- Clique
BOTTLER MITCH/ZEKLEY GARY
LIKE A SUMMER RAIN - Jan & Dean
DEAN CLARK/ZEKLEY GARY
A LITTLE LOVE (WILL GO A LONG WAY) - Alder Ray
KING/ZEKLEY
MAKE UP BEFORE WE BREAK UP - Dick & Dee Dee
SAINT JOHN DICK/ZEKLEY GARY
OTHER TOWNS, OTHER GIRLS - Gary Zekley
ZEKLEY GARY
PANAMA RED - Yellow Balloon
LEE JAY/ZEKLEY GARY
POOR BOY - (?)
LEE JAY/ZEKLEY GARY
RESTLESS SURFER THE - Jan & Dean (?)
ZEKLEY GARY
SADIE - Fun & Games
BOTTLER MITCH/ZEKLEY GARY
SOONER OR LATER - Grass Roots
BOTTLER/MC NAMARA/PARIS/PARIS/ZEKLEY
SUPERMAN - Clique, R.E.M.
BOTTLER MITCH/ZEKLEY GARY
STAINED GLASS WINDOW - Yellow Balloon
GRADY DON/ZEKLEY GARY
TELL ME WHO YOU LOVE - ?
ZEKLEY GARY HORD ERIC
THEME FROM LEONıS GARAGE (HAL RECORDS SCAB DATES THERE) - Our Gang
DEAN CLARK/ZEKLEY GARY
TOPANGA CANYON ROAD - Fun & Games
BOTTLER MITCH/ZEKLEY GARY
TUESDAY, TUESDAY - Fun & Games
BOTTLER MITCH/ZEKLEY GARY
WAIT A MILLION YEARS - Grass Roots
BOTTLER MITCHELL/ZEKLEY GARY
WE - Fun & Games
BOTTLER MITCH/ZEKLEY GARY
WHEN I GO TO SLEEP - Gary Zekley
ZEKLEY GARY
YELLOW BALLOON - Yellow Balloon, Jan & Dean
LEE JAY/ST JOHN DICK/ZEKLEY GARY
End
