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Volume #0270 June 9, 1999
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A spectacularly complete kind of music-making
Subject: Re: Vogues "You're The One"
Received: 06/09/99 12:29 am
>From: Michael Coxxxx1.com
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxities.com
Stewart's and Dave's comments about the Vogues rendition
of "You're The One" brings back lots of memories. Though
Petula Clark's version did appear on her "I Know A Place"
lp, it was never released as a single. The Vogues single
hit my neck of the woods (Raleigh, NC) like a ton of
bricks, with almost every local combo (we didn't call
them/us "bands"), doing their own cover - its was sooo
danceable and sooo garage-pop - a popular song with the
crowds and so fun to play. The Vogues began in Pittsburgh
as a doo-wop group called the Val-Aires (they returned to
that sound with "Turn Around, Look At Me" and "My Special
Angel"). Man, Pittsburgh of the early 60's must have been
a hoppin' place, with the Caravelles, the Marcels, the
Del-Vikings, Lou Christie, Chuck Jackson and Val-Aires/
Vogues. A wonderful fusion of R&B, R&R and pop - my kind
of sound...
- michael
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: Soft Pop's Birth
Received: 06/09/99 1:18 am
>From: chuck, chxxxo.com
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxities.com
Hello to the list and thanks for all the intelligent and
fun posts I've read so far. I'm a new member and a short
introduction I think is in order. My first record was
"He's a Rebel" and I have enjoyed the wall of sound and 50/
60s music ever since. I have an enormous 45 record
collection from that time. I live in New Orleans.
I have developed a recent interest in the concept of soft
rock/pop music, (I've always liked the songs) I've been
thinking about the origins of this soft pop music and I
personally believe you can look to big band ballads of the
40's or doo wop songs of the 50's and catch a glimpse at
grandparents of soft pop.
It recently came to my attention that Patience & Prudence
released their 2 singles in 1956. It seems to me the best
definition of these 2 songs is soft pop or soft rock. I
can't imagine calling them anything else. Please help me
with any insights you have on this. Could these be the
first soft pop songs?
One more observation. For those of you that own the Rhino
box set, "Nuggets", isn't it amazing how it comes to a
screeching uturn when "Sit Down I Think I Love You" comes
on, followed by a couple of other soft pop songs.
Thanks for a great list
Chuck
Michael "Doc Rock" Kelly, docxxx.com wrote
>
> The trio taped a seven-minute version called "Come Softly."
> When the professional version was recorded, the title
> was changed for reasons of taste, and Soft Rock was born!
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Subject: Claudine Longet/King Cousins
Received: 06/09/99 12:29 am
>From: Ian Chapman, iaxxxalnet.co.uk
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxities.com
Tobias wrote:
> .................the flyer lists two
> artists I haven't heard of. Claudine Longet's "Love Is
> Blue" (A&M, 1968) and The Four King Cousins' "Introducing..."
> (Capitol, 1968)...the covers look great...what kind of
> music did they make? The heading says "soft rock - late
> sixties dreamy pops [sic]. dedicated to roger nichols".....
>
> Come to think of it, I have The Four King Cousins's cover
> of Love So Fine on tape, and it's brilliant! Is it from
> "Introducing..."?
>
> Tobias
Tobias:
I'm sure this won't be the only reply to tell you that
Parisian-born Claudine Longet was once the wife of Andy
Williams, and she made several albums and singles for A&M
in the late 60s/early 70s. She sang in a wispy French
accent (had Priscilla Paris been born in France, she would
have sounded like this!) and her repertoire sat comfortably
next to the likes of Sergio Mendes and Burt Bacharach.
Several nice tracks to choose, my personal faves being "
Small Talk" (better known by Lesley Gore) and the terrific
"I Don't Intend To Spend Christmas Without You".
After she and Andy had divorced, things went rapidly er,
downhill you might say, for Claudine. In 1976, in Aspen,
she shot her boyfriend, champion skier Vladimir "Spider"
Sabich, who, it was believed, was about to end the
relationship. She was convicted of "criminally negligent
homicide" and it was labelled a misdemeanour. The outcome
of the trial was a controversial one, and the media was
awash with "accidental or deliberate?" theories at the
time. Claudine spent just 30 days in jail. Some -
especially Sabich's family - believed she got off lightly.
Claudine had reason to be thankful she had a high-powered
defense attorney in her corner - in fact she later married
him! Apparently the couple still live in Aspen.
The King Cousins? Am I correct in thinking these were the
collective offspring of the King Sisters? No whiff of
scandal there, I'm sure.........
Ian
(Spectropop Babylon rules!)
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: Introducing the Four King Cousins
Received: 06/09/99 12:29 am
>From: Jack Madani, Jack_Mxxxk12.nj.us
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxities.com
spectxxxities.com writes:
>Come to think of it, I have The Four King Cousins's cover
>of Love So Fine on tape, and it's brilliant! Is it from
>"Introducing..."?
yes, Tober. It's a fantastic album, just outtasite. They
do a marvelous job on the Beach Boy classic God Only Knows
--they change the phrasing on the opening couplet so that
it makes far more sense to the listener. But every cut on
their album is good. It'd make a natural twofer with Roger
Nichols' Small Circle of Friends.
and leave us not forget the 4KC's include one Tina Cole,
Robbie Douglas's wife and mother of the triplets on My
Three Sons. All my friends were going gaga over Jeannie
and Samantha Stevens; my total heartthrobs were Katie
Douglas and Mrs. Maxwell Smart (aka 99). Oh Katie!
BTW, just saw Tina Cole on an episode of Adam-12. Her hair
was all different, almost skanky, but you couldn't hide
those bright eyes and perky disposition. Officer Malloy
had the hots for her.
One other quick note: Robbie Douglas was in the Yellow
Balloon. But I think we may have already covered that
before.
jack
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jack Madani - Princeton Day School, The Great Road,
Princeton, NJ 08540 Jack_Mxxxk12.nj.us
"You knew the job was dangerous when you took it, Fred."
--Henry Cabot Henhouse III
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--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: Claudine Longet
Received: 06/09/99 12:29 am
>From: Paul Urbahns, Pauluxxxcom
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxities.com
Tobias,
I have most everything Claudine Longet recorded, she had a
very light (almost whispering voice that was very popular
with DJ's (most of which were guys) in the 60s. I am still
looking for "Sugar Me" if anyone on the Spectropop List
has it please let me know. She co-starred with Peter
Sellers in The Party and sang the title song for the movie
"A Flea In Her Ear" which starred Rex Harrison.
Paul Urbahns
pauluxxxcom
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: Claudine Longet/Hamilton Camp
Received: 06/09/99 12:29 am
>From: Stewart Mason, flaxxx.com
To: Spectropop List, spectxxxities.com
Tobias asked:
>I found a flyer a Japanese guy once sent me along with a
>tape of Roger Nichols' album. Next to RN, Harpers Bizarre,
>Chris Montez and The Free Design, the flyer lists two
>artists I haven't heard of. Claudine Longet's "Love Is
>Blue" (A&M, 1968) and The Four King Cousins' "Introducing..."
>(Capitol, 1968)...the covers look great...what kind of
>music did they make?
I have the lovely Claudine's LOVE IS BLUE and it's
excellent late-60s adult pop somewhere between the late
albums by Astrud Gilberto and PORTRAIT OF PETULA-era Pet
Clark. Besides a wonderful rendition of Paul Mauriat's
classic title track (fans of this song should find Future
Bible Heroes' 1997 EP LONELY DAYS, which has a beautiful
synth-based version), the album's highlight is Randy
Newman's "Snow," a remarkably pretty song delivered in
Claudine's endearing voice, which has both a heavy French
accent and a noticeable lisp, which makes everything she
sings sound like baby talk. I think her voice is adorable,
but if you're not a fan of either Astrud or the current
crop of artless female indiepop singers with wispy voices
and wobbly pitch, you might find it kinda irritating.
Fans of the 70s golden age of Saturday Night Live might
remember an incredibly mean-spirited and very funny piece
called "The Claudine Longet Invitational," aired sometime
after Claudine (she claimed accidentally) shot her
professional-skier boyfriend. The sketch is nothing but
film clips of skiers wiping out, accompanied by gunshots
and an announcer exclaiming, "Oh no! He's just been
accidentally shot by Claudine Longet!" Other biographical
trivia: during her fairly brief late-60s recording career,
Claudine was married to Andy Williams.
And then Dave Feldman shares in my joy:
>> Hamilton Camp -- "Here's To You" / "Leavin' Anyhow"
>>
>But I love the "Here's To You" album. To me, it opened up
>Camp emotionally in the same kind of way that "Pleasures
>of the Harbor" did to Phil Ochs. I have to admit my
>favorite Camp song is his most commercial and pop-ish --
>"Here's To You" -- and it just killed me when this wasn't a
>big hit single (I think it rose to the nether-regions of
>the Hot 100), but I'm fond of the whole first side of the
>album.
I'm right with Dave on this one, "Here's To You" is an
incredible single, with this unbelievably catchy scatted
chorus that will not leave your head for hours. The
closest analogue I can think of would be Nilsson's first
two albums, which may help explain why, sadly, the song
was not a hit; it's wonderful but it's just slightly too
odd to really break through big.
>The sound of Here's To You is quite different from
>all of his earlier albums -- you might recognize a few of
>the names 
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