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Volume #0207 January 8, 1999
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The World's Foremost Amusement Newsletter
Subject: Hi Everyone!
Sent: 01/02/19 11:25 pm
Received: 01/07/99 3:58 am
From: Barbara Alston, BARBXXXXXXXXom
To: Spectropop List, spectrXXXXXXXXties.com
Hi Everyone!
I have a lot of catching up to do because I've been out of touch
for the last month or so on your newsletters. Please forgive and
understand that it was just the holiday season that put me out of
commission.
Now that the new year has commenced, I urge all of you to take a
look at my project for 1999:
http://www.popenterprises.com/
POP Enterprises Home Page.
Just click on the Michael Jackson dancing figure and you will
surely see the spectacular event of the century. If you know of
anyone who might be eligible to enter this "oldies but goodies"
talent jamboree, then you must let them know about it. Anyone can
enter from anywhere within the USA or Canada. We are soliciting
sponsors also and received one yesterday who offered a FREE CD
recording session to the winning vocals. Isn't that wonderful? We
will accept any sponsor offers submitted to us and wish to make
this talent review one of the biggest of the century (in
Charlotte at least). Anyone can enter who is not a working
professional in the entertainment field. Please send a tape or
video for us to either hear or view your performance.
If you know of anyone who would be interested in this oldies but
goodies extravaganza, please let me know. Now I will take time to
read the past newsletters and respond to anyone who has requested
my advice.
Thank you.
B. Alston
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Subject: Skeeter
Sent: 01/03/19 9:43 pm
Received: 01/07/99 3:58 am
From: James Cassidy, casswrXXXXXXXXlink.net
To: Spectropop List, spectrXXXXXXXXties.com
Following up on recent posts about Goffin-King's "Let Me Get
Close to You," the Skeeter Davis version can be found on her
"Essential" collection on RCA. Skeeter's girl-group songs
represent only a couple of tunes on the disk, but it does include
"I Can't Stay Mad at You," another Goffin-King gem that benefits
from Skeeter's sincere, naive-sounding delivery. Her classic "The
End of the World" is also on it.
Jim Cassidy
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Subject: Re: Look of Love Box Set
Sent: 01/10/19 8:23 am
Received: 01/08/99 12:43 am
From: Marc Wielage,XXXXXXXXtrax.com
To: Spectropop List, spectrXXXXXXXXties.com
David Feldman said on The Spectropop List:
>His version of "Reach Out For Me" is also a killer (also
>featuring wonderful piano) Fool Killer--a great Gene Pitney movie
>title song about a crazy but sympathetic murderer. The movie was
>never released.
>--------------------------------------<
As a matter of fact, I actually saw THE FOOL KILLER in the
theater, probably in late 1965. It starred Anthony Perkins and
Edward Albert (13-year old son of Eddie Albert of GREEN ACRES
fame). Not a great film, but Maltin's book says it's out on home
video.
I think the Bacharach song was better than the movie. :-)
--MFW
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
-= Marc Wielage | "The computerized authority =-
-= MusicTrax, LLC | on rock, pop, & soul." =-
-= Chatsworth, CA | XXXXXXXXtrax.com =-
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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Subject: Re: Bacharach Box Set
Sent: 01/03/19 5:41 pm
Received: 01/07/99 3:58 am
From: Ivan From Marseille, MUV9XXXXXXXXnt2.lu.se
To: Spectropop List, spectrXXXXXXXXties.com
David Feldman, felXXXXXXXXderables.com wrote:
>1. Bacharach's progression and maturation is overwhelming.
>Perhaps his progress wasn't as quick as Brian Wilson's, but it was
>just as profound.
Brian Wilson's 'mature' music certainly was influenced by
Bacharach...huge chunks of Pet Sounds could've been written by
Burt...although the music does sound different of course.
>2. Hal David is my favorite pop lyricist of the "rock era" and
>the box does nothing to change my mind. He's capable of the
>briliant bons mots (My favorite --- the brilliant A House Is Not
>a Home: "A chair is still a chair/Even when there's no one
>sitting there"),
Don't forget those great lines "What do you get when you fall in
love?/You get enough germs to catch pneumonia/And if you do/He'll
never phone ya"!
>If there is anything that saddens me about the box, it
>is that once again Hal David is not given equal status.
At the time in the early seventies, Bacharach said that Hal spent
more time playing tennis than writing lyrics for the songs...and
then they fell out in the middle of the making of Lost Horizon,
which BTW I see as Bacharach's greatest album.
>Cilla Black's version of "Alfie" is, er, interesting
>-- Ethel Merman would have loved it.
I think this version is the definitive and best version of Alfie...
there's a wider emotional range in Black's version whereas with
Dionne, it basically has the same mood throughout.
>4. Some songs/versions I'd never heard before that I love: The
>Last One To Be Loved -- Dionne Warwick's version (on the fabulous
>"Make Way for DW") is my favorite Burt Bacharach song
You might be interested in Bacharach's own semi-instrumental
version which is really good. It can be found on the CD "Hit
Maker! Burt Bacharach Plays His Own Hits".
Tobias
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Subject: Re: Mysteries of the DC5
Sent: 01/04/19 9:05 am
Received: 01/06/99 8:08 am
From: David Bash, BasXXXXXXXXom
To: Spectropop List, spectrXXXXXXXXties.com
Hi Everyone,
List member Greg Matecko had a lot to say about The Dave Clark 5,
the gist of which was that he was wondering whether Dave might be
likely to license his videos and music in the future. I don't
really know the answer, but his post promted me to share my views
about Dave Clark.
Dave Clark, like Allen Klein and Don Kirshner, seems to me to be
one of those people who possesses the fascinating combination of
business acumen and arrested development. These gentlemen strike
me as being similar to ultra intellegent, spoiled children, who
say "It's mine and you can't have it", and then go out and make a
brilliant investment. They have got to be the most frustrating
people to deal with on a business level. At any rate, whether
they do finally decide to release their precious material at the
"right time financially" or they hold out past the point where
anyone cares, when they're gone from this earth they will have
left nothing but a legacy of greed and parsimony.
That's my virtriolic catharsis for the day. :-)
--
Spectropop Rules!!!!!
Take Care,
David
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Subject: A Couple of Questions
Sent: 01/06/19 11:43 am
Received: 01/07/99 3:58 am
From: CLAUDIA CUNNINGHAM, TXXXXXXXX.net
To: Spectropop List, spectrXXXXXXXXties.com
I have a couple of questions for the delightful Barbara Alston
and Carol Kaye.
For Barbara: Which songs did you record as a Crystal..were you on
all of them or a few? Are you doing any touring now?
For Carol, tell us about how you learned your mastery of the
guitar. Did you take lessons as a child or was it later in life
that you learned music? Your web site is wonderful and
informative, but specifically I want to know all about how you
mastered your craft so beautifully.
Can't wait to read your book!
...and tonight I heard "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder on the
radio....what a killer bass line!....Carol?.....'zat you? Claudia
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Subject: AN ARTICLE
Sent: 01/09/19 2:03 am
Received: 01/06/99 8:08 am
From: Warren Cosford, rXXXXXXXXNet
To: Spectropop, SpectrXXXXXXXXties.com
Hi Folks:
Thought you might enjoy this:
Cheers
WC
--------------------------------
DARLENE LOVE
It was the 70's. Because of the "vision" of J. Robert Wood, at
CHUM, we were producing documentaries on Rock and Roll for The
World. First The Beatles, then Elvis, and later, 64 hours of The
Evolution of Rock.
Pretty heady stuff for a kid from Winnipeg.
Today, the interviews I did seem like a blur. I remember Elvis's
pals in Memphis and Nashville with Ashby and McMillan. Little
Richard, George Harrison, Rick Hall and Jeff Barry in LA with
Wood. But where did we "do" Lennon, McCartney and Ringo? I got
them on tape and hundreds of hours more, I should remember better
than I do, but I don't. The pressure was intense. Taking an
airplane from Toronto to New York was like taking a bus from
Scarborough to downtown Toronto. In the winter I often didn't
even take a coat. From CHUM to taxi to airport to airplane to,
American Airline's Admiral's Club in an airport, somewhere, then
The Interview.
It was an era where there was one book written about Elvis, and
maybe two on everyone else. Hell, our "research" was often record
labels.
I had interviewed people I would have been thrilled just to see
on stage, much less meet. And we would chronicle history.
But there was always one person I could never find. Her name was
Darlene Love. Lord knows I looked for her. Everyone thought I was
nuts. "What'd she do"? "Well, she had a couple of minor hits, but
most of all she sang on hundreds of Big Hits, as a background
singer. "A background singer! Who cares?"
"Yea well, maybe no one cares. But I bet she'd have some stories
to tell."
Darlene Love was one of The Blossoms. In the 60's and much of the
70's, if a record was made in LA, she likely sang on it. Most of
what I knew about her was rumour. The "stars" I interviewed often
mentioned her. "What a Voice!" "If you find her say hello for me".
Elvis, Aretha, Cher, most of The Bobbys and a lot of The
Johnnys spoke of her in "awe". And most everyone mentioned her
work with Phil Spector, who produced a couple of singles with her
that used her name.
It was 1980. I was holed up in a little Motel near LA thinking
about producing a series of documentaries on record producers.
And then I saw It in Sunday's LA Times. Darlene Love was singing
Tuesday night at Medley's in Fountain Valley! Tuesday night?
Medley's was a pretty good little steakhouse, with a showbar, on
the way to San Diego from LA. Of course it was owned by Bill
Medley of The Righteous Brothers. And there,finally,was Darlene.
She sang a little bit of everything,from Rock to Pop to Gospel to
Jazz. It was mesmerizing. She looked nervous, but the voice was
strong. And then she said,"here's my Greatest Hit". It was "He's
a Rebel". What? I thought that was The Crystals! I had to get an
interview.
After the show, the World's Largest Woman (who I was sure had
brass knuckles in her purse) told me that Darlene would see me
but,"don't count on an interview." "Darlene is just coming out".
So I met her. She invited me over to her house the next day.
The "house" was in an apartment in the heart of Watts. I would
have felt safer in disguise. But what a story she told!
A few months later I read she'd played The Starwood in LA.
Springsteen, Dylan, Harrison and a bunch more showed up. Then,
when I moved to New York, she did too, taking a musical from The
Bottom Line called Leader Of The Pack, about songwriter Ellie
Greenwich, to Broadway. I got to meet her again. And she
remembered. I was "that radio guy who made me feel special again".
Blush.
But the biggest thrill was watching Lethal Weapon in a theatre
with Denise. "Doesn't Danny Glover's wife look a lot like Darlene?"
The credits said it was. Wow, I betcha that's a story in
itself!
It is. And there are many more.
Fortunately, if you care anything about Rock and Roll and how it
really was, you can read all about it. Darlene's book is called
"My Name Is Love". It's at a bookstore near you.
Warren Cosford
RPM Music Weekly
January/98
rXXXXXXXXnet
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Subject: Hi
Sent: 01/09/19 8:23 pm
Received: 01/07/99 3:58 am
From: Tom Simon, tsXXXXXXXXom
To: Spectropop List, spectrXXXXXXXXties.com
I have been reading this list for several weeks now, and really
enjoy it. Hello to Marc Wielage.
I want to say thanks to everyone who posts here, the information
is fascinating. Special thanks to Carol Kaye for all of the
interesting insights into things that happened in her long career.
Keep up the good work.
Tom Simon
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Subject: Dear (Here Comes My Baby)
Sent: 01/07/99 11:26 pm
Received: 01/08/99 11:17 am
From: Jamie LePage, le_pageXXXXXXXXties.com
To: Spectropop List, spectrXXXXXXXXties.com
Billy G. Spradlin wrote:
>Toni Jones
>Dear (Here Comes My Baby) (P.Spector)
>Love is Strange (E. Smith-M. Baker)
>Smash S-1814
>Produced by Lester Sill & Steve Douglas
>Arranged by Jack Nitzsche
Yeah, that's a good find. A perfect faux Spector record. After
all, it's Phil's ex-partner, his regular session contractor/
saxophonist and his most celebrated arranger, AND they're doing a
Phil tune. Undoubtedly a Gold Star recording too. Why mess with
the formula?
I think the Mickey and Sylvia cover was the A, but I'm not sure.
Dear (Here Comes My Baby) is a cover of the Bob B. Soxx and the
Blue Jeans album track, and comparing the two versions is
interesting because in a way, Phil's colleagues got it closer to
"Spector" than he did himself. Not to dismiss Spector's version,
but the song is pretty much a clone of Why Do Lovers Break Each
Others Heart in the first place, and it's pretty obvious Phil
didn't bother with his version much. Toni Jones' version has a
more comfortable groove and the arrangement is a bit tighter. But
it is purely faux Spector. Whatever! They're both good!
btw, when I pulled the Bob B. Soxx LP to relisten to the track, I
was reminded that the original Philles LP has musician credits on
the back sleeve. Indeed, Carol Kaye is listed, so at least someone
at the time was being honest enough to give credit where credit
was due about using the session regulars!
Can't get Pitney's Bacharach songs out of my head for the last
few days thanks to Toby, Dave and Marc. True Love Never Runs
Smooth, 24 Hours From Tulsa, Liberty Valance...been great reading
about that here lately. I've pulled out the Bacharach stuff for
yet another listen.
--
Hal David rules!!!!
All the best,
Jamie LePage
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Subject: Carol Kaye
Sent: 01/07/19 5:33 pm
Received: 01/06/99 8:08 am
From: Marty Rudnick, mrudXXXXXXXXro.com
To: Spectropop List, spectrXXXXXXXXties.com
Please indulge me while I suck up to a legend...
I get so much email these days, work related, personal, and a ton
from the pop music mailing lists I subscribe to. It's forced me to
learn to speed read/scan most of them.
However, whenever Carol Kaye posts anything, I make sure I take
my time and relish every word. All the tales about the music I
grew up with. It's simply great stuff.
Carol, surely you must have considered writing a book about your
experiences. Or maybe it exists, and I just have never heard of
it?
/Marty
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Subject: Herb Alpert and Martin Denny
Sent: 01/01/19 2:35 am
Received: 01/08/99 12:43 am
From: Doc Rock, docrXXXXXXXXcom
To: Spectropop List, spectrXXXXXXXXties.com
Herb Alpert and Martin Denny had something in common. Researching
Liberty Records, I learned that Martin did not play on most of his
own records. Wasn't good enough.
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Subject: The truth, Ruth
Sent: 01/09/19 3:43 pm
Received: 01/06/99 8:08 am
From: Carol Kaye, carolXXXXXXXXlink.net
To: Spectropop List, spectrXXXXXXXXties.com
Doc, I don't know where this guy is getting his facts from, Tommy
Allsup, I've seen him around, but "barely". It's simply NOT TRUE
that he "knows how Hal Blaine got his start" -- I worked with Hal
Blaine in H.B. Barnum's band (see the picture on my website w/Hal
in it) 1958- 1959-60 etc. and it was H.B. who gave Hal his big
start (and Jack Nitzsche and quite a few others) in recording.
I bumped into Russ Wapensky, the meticulous book researcher of
all our Musician Union studio musician contracts last night, he's
out here in LA for a short hop.
We spoke about Tommy Allsup. He said that Tommy worked mostly as
a contractor for the Snuffy Garrett dates about 1964 or so and
then moved to Nashville right after that.
We knew they were letting the public believe they cut "their own
records, all the groups" -- we not into being "stars", we got
paid better than doctors did, plus the wonderful local prestige
we enjoyed, and we didn't have to put up with that "stardom"
stuff either, the jive and politics.
All we had to do was play our instruments, collect our checks at
the Union, and go home to our families. But this charade has been
carried forward for over 30 years -- even bassist Steve Bailey who
currently records for many rock groups, has to sign a paper
stating "I won't tell". The beat goes on.
Hal Blaine tells the story about us doing the Monkees track in
the big room at RCA while the Monkees were holding a press
conferance in the small studio there at RCA (same time as we were
recording their tracks) and they pretended (just for the press) to
be "recording" in that studio -- really something.
Others have tried to do that, especially the Detroit Motown bunch,
and have gotten away with it. So there it is, from the horse's
mouth and Russ will be back soon and will look at my quoted email
for further comment.
Sometimes there is a date that is a little "off" as the record
companies, to avoid the hefty 10-20% "late fees" in paying us,
they sometimes (although rarely) changed the original date on the
contract of that particular recording date. And.....you must
remember, that when record companies put DATES on the backs of
albums, they are often quoting the SINGER'S OVERDUB DATES, not
the dates the studio musicians laid down the real tracks.
Russ caught practically all of those mistaken dates made up to
avoid late-fee penalties from record companies, thanks to our
Logs and interviews with the scores of us. He's a government man,
very trustworthy and meticulous in his work. Russ helped the Union
put their house in order too with years of free work in the
archives, finding "long-lost" contracts etc., helping us to get a
few of our rightful re-use monies.
No, we're not getting "rich" off of re-uses, and thank God for
our Pensions, very few are rich in my crowd, and we did the most
work and played intensely too.
One year, it was discovered that some original Beach Boy record
contracts (they were copied though in our Pension files back east)
are missing (packed off by "souvenir writer/hounds they think")
- - and we've found out since then, that those very contract
copies were found (complete with our damaging social security
numbers) on the backs of bootleg album covers printed in Japan!
Writers etc. have been prohibited from Union records for a few
years now because of this theft from the archives -- the missing
contracts have been put back in mostly, thanks to the duplicate
records back east.
Carol Kaye http://www.carolkaye.com/
PO Box 2122, Canyon Country
CA 91386-2122
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