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Volume #0251 April 5, 1999
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Young - New - Exciting
Subject: GTO-the car, not the group
Received: 04/03/99 11:31 pm
From: james fisher, JHFAXXXXXXXX.net
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXXXXXXXties.com
This is off Spectropop topic but....thanks Jack Madani for
mentioning the Pontiac GTO--I've got two 1967's! Whenever I
dust one off and take it out on a Sunday for a little
nostalgic cruise I always play a tape (8-track of course!)
of The Rascals "Groovin'"---that song sounds like it was
written for that car! The Pontiacs and this-list-type '60's
music are my big time-consumers. Some unkind souls would
say "time wasters" but I don't really think so, do you?
Regards,
Jim
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: Re: The GTOs
Received: 04/03/99 11:31 pm
From: Stewart Mason, flamiXXXXXXXXcom
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXXXXXXXties.com
William Stos asks:
>Has anyone ever heard
>of Girls Together Outrageously (the GTOs). Frank Zappa's
>girl group? A little off-topic, but I'd like to know. I've
>never heard anything by them, although they recorded an
>album.
I have the GTOs sole album, PERMANENT DAMAGE (reissued by
Restless in 1990), and I absolutely love it. The
uninitiated should definitely know beforehand that most of
this album has a tangential relationship to music at best,
as most of it consists of bizarre scripted (I'm pretty
sure) exchanges between the GTOs, a loose knit tribe of L.A.
groupies, the most famous of whom these days is author/
VH1 Behind the Music regular Pamela des Barres. The songs,
such as they are, are mostly these kind of simple mass
chants about other members of the Zappa universe, like
Captain Beefheart, Rodney Bingenheimer and Larry "Wild Man"
Fischer. That said, some of them (especially "The
Captain's Fat Theresa Shoes") are awfully catchy.
I suppose the closest approximation to *anything* that I
can come up with is "If Zappa's LUMPY GRAVY had funnier
dialogue segments and its sections of Varese-inspired
modern "classical" music were replaced with schoolyard
jump-rope rhymes as performed by either the very stoned or
the slightly autistic, it would sound like PERMANENT
DAMAGE." Whether you want to hear this album depends on
whether or not you think this would be a good thing.
Stewart
****************************FLAMINGO RECORDS****************************
Stewart Allensworth Mason
Box 40172 "It's my party and I told you
Albuquerque NM 87196 to eat it!"
www.rt66.com/~flamingo
**********************HAPPY MUSIC FOR NICE PEOPLE***********************
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: Jerry Riopelle
Received: 04/03/99 11:31 pm
From: Ian Chapman, iandXXXXXXXXlnet.co.uk
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXXXXXXXties.com
I'd have to echo Carol's comments about Jerry, not that I
ever met him, but the guy that interviewed him said what a
nice guy he was, and he certainly came over that way. Jerry
lives in Arizona, and still performs regularly in Phoenix.
Sometime in the 80s, he had a small acting part in a movie
(I think it was a TV movie), called "A Shining Season".
Timothy Bottoms starred in it, and it was based on a true
story of an athlete who developed cancer. Jerry looked a
lot younger than you might expect.
Ian
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Subject: MIKE BERRY
Received: 04/03/99 11:31 pm
From: Warren Cosford, raXXXXXXXXNet
To: Spectropop, SpectroXXXXXXXXties.com
Someone mentioned Mike Berry.
One of the reasons The Guess Who were such a great band in
the 60's is, when they were Al & The Silvertones, Chad
Allen and The Reflections and Chad Allen and The
Expressions (they were all of those within a period of a
few years with, essentially the same group of guys),
someone in the group had family in Great Britain that sent
them hit records from England's charts.
While the rest of the hundred or so bands in Winnipeg were
doing mostly "covers" of U.S. Chart Records, The Guess Who
were doing covers of English Chart Records. Pretty smart.
Two of their biggest hit singles in Winnipeg were Shakin'
All Over (Johnny Kidd and The Pirates) and Tribute To
Buddy Holly (Mike Berry).
In the 70's, Steve Popovitch who owned Cleveland
International Records (the guy who discovered Meatloaf)
released a Mike Berry album.
And now you know the rest of the story.
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: Mrs. Kotter's singing career
Received: 04/03/99 11:31 pm
From: Brian, LesToilXXXXXXXXom
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXXXXXXXties.com
In my vast collection of not-too-glamorous girl group cd
comps that list nothing but the tracks and their
performers I came across a song recorded by Marcia
Strassman--that's right, Mrs. Kotter from the '70's tv
show Welcome Back Kotter. I was blown away by this
discovery, not because it displayed any great singing
ability (cuz it actually displayed unbelievably BAD
singing ability, which suited me just fine) but because I
had no idea this woman had any type of a career in
entertainment before Kotter. I absolutely love this nicely
produced pop song and I found it amusing that she sung JUST
as bad as she acted. Can anyone give me some background on
HER? I suppose she was in her early twenties then. Same
goes for Bernadette Peters. How developed was her 60's pop
career? Was there a label that did a "build up" for her?
I'm sure we all have a few cuts from her.
And by the way, wasn't it Cher who recently said "A Whiter
Shade of Pale" was her all time fave song? I think so.
And it's a pleasure to email someone who was responsible
for ANY part of the great Pet Clark's career. We were
mentioning all time greatest pop/rock songs? Well
"Downtown" ranks up there in my book for sentimental
reasons. Every time I hear it I turn in to a 5 year old kid
again. *sniff*
Brian
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: Boy, is my bass red!
Received: 04/03/99 11:31 pm
From: Brian, LesToilXXXXXXXXom
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXXXXXXXties.com
I'm sorry for dividing my e-mails into two but I just came
back from visiting Ms. Carol Kaye's website and I feel kind
of--er--lame for being so awestruck over the fact that she
worked with Pet Clark. It's kind of like asking Quincy
Jones if it was a thrill working with Snoop Doggy Dog
(though God forbid I'm comparing the legendary Petula to a
rapper!). My brain reeled in a frenzy when I laid my
peepers on that staggering list of musicians she's worked
with.
I just read a book called Angry Women In Rock about the
women that broke the barriers of gender discrimination.
They went on and on about groups like Fanny and The
Runaways because both were among the first female rock
artists to get signed to major labels. In my opinion a
huge major documentary should be made with Ms. Kaye as the
subject! Obviously one is long overdue.
I'm sure Ms. Kaye wants to smash her bass over my skull
for being the umpteenth Johnny-Come-Lately to embarrass
her like this. My apologies. =c)
Brian
PS: While I'm here, may I say your site was
aesthetically candy to my professionally-trained eyes. I
happen to play a mean tune with my pencils and paint
brushes and I think your web publisher is A-1.
www.lestoil.net (click the brian clarke site)
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: Wonder Bread
Received: 04/03/99 11:31 pm
From: Doc Rock, docroXXXXXXXXcom
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXXXXXXXties.com
> white wonderbread blandness
Careful, Buddy! Them's fightin' words!
Doc
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: RE: Home of the Brave
Received: 04/03/99 11:31 pm
From: Doc Rock, docroXXXXXXXXcom
To: Spectropop List, spectroXXXXXXXXties.com
Some thoughts on this song that has gotten such coverage
lately! From a guy who was nagged to get a haircut by his
mom for years before the song came out in 1965. Bonnie and
the Treasures made the play lists of very few stations, as
evidenced by a Billboard national chart placing of 77. I
never heard their version on the radio, not once. However,
on the stations I listened to, Jody Miller was played a lot
and made the Top 10 (#25 nationally). I always thought that
this success was odd, as she was a country artist, and I
expected country fans to resent the somewhat
anti-patriotic slant of the song. Being on Capitol
probably helped Jody.
And, in fact, my rural friends had long hair long before
the Beatles did (like Chuck Conners, TV's Rifleman had).
Only squares had short hair!
Doc
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