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Volume #0276 June 18, 1999
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Apply the same care as with conventional records
Subject: "Where the Blue of the Day......"
Received: 06/18/99 12:28 am
From: Carol Kaye, carolkxxxxink.net
To: Spectropop List, spectroxxxxies.com
>Phil Crosby - Where The Blue Of The Night Meets the Gold
>Of The Day - Reprise (probably not as old as he sounds,
>but yep, it's Bing's tune, only a Jack Nitzsche-produced
>stomper version with a killer sax break - has to be Steve
>Douglas. Carole, I'd bet you were on this, from '63?)
I must have missed this earlier quote. Yes, that does ring
a bell, and of course, that has to be Steve Douglas....he
was the king of what we called the "chicken sax" or
rock-sax solos of the 60s era in LA recording. Plas
Johnson did his share of white-rock sax solos too (and he
didn't want his name on the records sometimes he said, as
he is black and just didn't want to be "known" for that
kind of soloing), but knowing it's Jack Nitzsche (who
always hired Steve, but sometimes Plas too), I'd say it
has to be Steve.
If I listened more to oldies stations and caught some of
these records I could tell you for sure.....but we cut
them and forgot them back then. Maybe I should listen more
again to these recordings so I can tell you more.
Russ Wapensky's good book of credits will be out toward
the end of this year (Greenwood Press) and will have the
actual credits based on the Musicians Union contracts.
>Or like another of my favoritest songs *ever*, Mel Carter's
>Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me.
We cut that with a big live band at United Recorders, Hal
Blaine on drums. I remember that date very well....I loved
chatting w/Mel Carter, himself a very reticent nice human
being, friendly, very self-composed but very happy to have
all the fine musicians to back him up.
It was necessary tho' to talk to his lovely lady manager
too, so she wouldn't think I was "too friendly" to Mel - I
was getting some "looks" from her on the date -- (she then
knew it wasn't "personal", just a professional
conversation).
Mel, who I loved to talk to, is a very intelligent and
interesting person. Nice voice - great singing style. We
did some more nice dates w/Mel, but none so memorable as
"Hold Me, Thrill Me".
Carol Kaye
http://www.carolkaye.com/
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: 60's TV girls & a hello to JimmyB
Received: 06/18/99 12:28 am
From: Marc Miller, marxxxxom
To: spectroxxxxies.com
For me, it was Julie Newmar - 1st, last and always...
however, when she enlisted the help of Leslie Gore (she
sang "California Nights on that episode), I nearly lost my
mind. I really wish I still had the autographed pic of
Julie N that I wrote away for, but my 1st girlfriend (I
think we were 10 or 11) made me rip it up. Oh well...
And it's great to see DJ JimmyB here!!!
Marc
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: Re: Andy Ellison
Received: 06/18/99 12:28 am
From: David Bash, Bashxxxxm
To: Spectropop List, spectroxxxxies.com
In a message dated 6/16/99 8:38:06 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
spectroxxxxies.com writes:
> The other member of John's Children who went on to better
> things was singer Andy Ellison, who reappeared in the fine
> punk-era pop band The Radio Stars along with ex-Sparks (a
> band that nowhere near enough people are suitably
> worshipful of) bassist Martin Gordon. Their SONGS FOR
> SWINGING LOVERS (the sleeve features a couple dangling
> from nooses -- it was 1977, remember) on Chiswick is
> good-to-great guitar pop with a handful of brilliant songs,
> my personal favorite being "Macaroni and Mice."
>
> Stewart
Hi Stewart,
Andy Ellison was also the leader of the band Jet, whose
self-titled LP on CBS UK from 1975 is a great, glammy,
Sparks influenced disc! Now, *there's* one that should be
reissued on CD!
--
Spectropop Rules!!!!!
Take Care,
David Bash
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: John's Children
Received: 06/16/99 12:02 am
From: Jamie LePage, le_page_xxxxies.com
To: Spectropop, spectroxxxxies.com
kana haoleboy wrote:
>Why do I keep thinking Marc Bolan & John's Children????
Because Marc Bolan was briefly a member of John's
Children.
I looked into my John's Children material after the last
digest and found a few more pieces to the puzzle. The group
started off in Surrey in 1964 as The Few and later The
Silence. The group were renamed John's Children by Simon
Napier-Bell in 1966.
Again, in every account I have on the band, the story
goes that Simon Napier-Bell travelled to Los Angeles and
got some of California's top session musicians to record
the backing track to a song he'd written, Smashed!
Blocked!, then added Andy Ellison's vocal back in England.
The B-side was called Strange Affair. Released on White
Whale on the unlikely date of December 31, 1966, the
record actually got as far as 102 on the Billboard charts.
EMI refused to release the song in UK because of its
drug-related title, so it was rechristened The Love I'd
Thought I'd Found in the UK. To no avail, the record
completely flopped in England.
Their second single, "Just What You Want -- Just What
You'll Get"/"But You're Mine, " did chart in Britain,
but the band apparently didn't play on this one either,
Napier-Bell hired sessionmen to do this, reportedly this
time in England. The band played on the B-side, but
Napier Bell erased the lead guitar and overdubbed Jeff
Beck on it instead. He obviously didn't think much of the
band's playing.
Napier-Bell booted the guitarist out of the band and
brought in his latest discovery Marc Bolan to replace him.
The result was the brilliant Desdemona, with Marc's
unmistakable backing vocals. The song has the unforgettable
lyric "lift up your skirt and speak". Promptly banned again.
The followup single was to be Midsummer Night's Scene. A few
white labels were pressed but Track withdrew the record
before it was issued. Bolan left the group at this point.
This was followed by Come And Play With Me In The Garden,
and although Bolan had already left the band, his Sara,
Crazy Child was used for the B-side.
There is a whole lot more to the John's Children story,
and if anyone is interested to learn more, go to:
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Amphitheatre/3735/jc/index.html
Jamie
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Subject: Bobby Rydell sings Ray Davies etc
Received: 06/18/99 12:28 am
From: Ian Chapman, iandxxxxnet.co.uk
To: Spectropop List, spectroxxxxies.com
Jack Madani wrote:-
>>Well, Ian, for some unknown reason your mention of Steve
>>Lawrence made me think of Bobby Rydell's version of Volare,
>>with the yacky/waily backing girl vocals that could
>>almost have been the Tammys.
Hmm.....I always thought it was the girls from the Orlons
behind that one (and most of Chubby Checker's stuff too).
...but whatever, I totally agree with you, I really like
that record too....falls somewhere between Bobby Darin's
"supper club" phase and the Philly dance stuff that was to
follow soon after.
>>I always liked Rydell's voice,
>>and thought that it was a little unfair that he got
>>tagged with that "no-talent Philly Pretty Boy" label.
He did? In the USA, I presume...........he was quite
popular over here in the UK at the time, even recorded
here with Tony Hatch ("Forget Him"). Saw him in "Bye Bye
Birdie" on TV recently.....maybe "under-nourished Philly
Pretty Boy" would be nearer the mark. Anyway, I always
liked his voice too, and can strongly recommend a couple
of his post-Cameo Capitol 45s, from around '64: "When I
See That Girl Of Mine", is a Ray Davies song, good and
beaty with an echoey double-tracked vocal. Then there's "I
Can't Say Goodbye", a Goffin/King number that starts with a
chime-bar intro and more double-tracking, lotsa strings and
heavy drums, with Jimmy Wisner behind the ork.
>>Or like another of my favoritest songs *ever*, Mel
>>Carter's Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me.
Oh yeah, now you're talking real class!!
Ian
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: creamy purity
Received: 06/18/99 12:28 am
From: Glenn Sadin, gsaxxxxemedia.com
To: Spectropop List, spectroxxxxies.com
Jack sez...
>I dunno. Something about the flip hairdos, the gogo boots,
>the Betty & Veronica fashions, the black stripe around the
>nose of the Chevy Camaro. Robert Wagner in It Takes A
>Thief. Culp & Cosby in I Spy.
>
>The creamy purity of the primary colors in the AIP beach
>movies.
>
>The echo of Goldstar.
>
>Gawd, I miss them days.
Amen, brother.
Glenn
gsaxxxxemedia.com
glenn_marxxxxink.net
Guitarist/Vocalist/Songwriter for THE BERKELEY SQUIRES:
http://www.termites.com/BerkeleySquires.html
Read about JAPANESE POP MUSIC from the '50s to the '90s!:
http://home.earthlink.net/~glenn_mariko/nihon.htm
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: Groovy!
Received: 06/18/99 12:28 am
From: Andrew Spellman, spellxxxxcom
To: Spectropop List, spectroxxxxies.com
Glenn sez...
>Actually, wasn't that Michael Blodgett hosting?
Yeah, Michael Blodgett hosted, along with Charlie Tuna,
but I remember Robert W. Morgan as the primary host in the
'68-'69 era.
Being just a wee tyke at the time, I have some fuzzy
memories of the Lloyd Thaxton show (also LA regional)
circa 1965, diagonal camera cues and all!!
Glenn, can you give us a rundown of some of the _Groovy_
guests on the videos you've acquired?
spellmax
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: Hall Of Fame
Received: 06/18/99 12:28 am
From: Paul Urbahns, Paulurbxxxxm
To: Spectropop List, spectroxxxxies.com
>Having learned of a number of names that I'd never heard
>of prior to joining Spectropop, I have begun to wonder,
>who would we want to put in the Spectropop Hall of Fame?
The only recommendation I would make hardly comes up in
conversation but his contributions to pop music is
staggering. Boots Randolph (Mr. Sax Man of Nashville) Not
only has he recorded over 40 albums for Monument Records
but played on many of the big hits of the 60s. If it was a
hit from Nashville he was probably on it. Connie Francis,
Brenda Lee, Elvis Presley, Johnny Tillitson "Poetry In
Motion", Roy Orbison, and tons more. He even did one cut
by REO Speedwagon, "Little Queenie'. Other sax players
like Jr. Walker admit they were influnced by his "yakety"
style. Though recording in the Capital of Country Music,
Boots normally plays country, pop and jazz in his concerts.
You haven't heard anything until you hear him play a
jazz arrangement of the "Flintstones" theme.
Paul Urbahns
paulurbxxxxm
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: One Veto for the Hall of Fame?
Received: 06/18/99 12:28 am
From: David Feldman, feldxxxxerables.com
To: Spectropop List, spectroxxxxies.com
Jack's list:
> Please feel free to disagree with any of these names:
> Phil Spector
> Brian Wilson
> Bacharach/David
> Goffin/King
> Bob Crewe
> Jack Nitzsche
> Jimmy Webb
It just wouldn't occur to me to put Bob Crewe on a list
with these other brilliant musicians. And much as I love
his work, I'm not sure I'd rate Nitzsche this high. I
totally agree with Jimmy Webb up there, but I know others
would disagree. I don't see how anyone could argue with
the first four choices.
Off the top of my head, I've got several other nominations
for non-performers:
Luther Dixon -- woefully neglected, his work for Scepter
was sensational. He didn't have as identifiable a sound
as Spector, but wrote and produced wonderful song after
wonderful song.
Ellie Greenwich/Jeff Barry, for all their great songs. I'm
also a sucker for their songs.
Berry Gordy/Smokey Robinson -- for their songwriting alone,
but obviously they contributed in many other ways
Holland-Dozier-Holland, for obvious reasons.
And lest we forget, not all the great singles/albums were
the creation of music publishers hawking to record labels.
There are many others, but offhand, I think of Sam Cooke,
Del Shannon, and Lou Christie as early examples of how
singer-songwriters need not be folky-troubadors. Like them
or love them (I happen to love all three), these guys were
important because they proved that you can be personal and
commercial at the same time. Of course, Sam Cooke also
happened to be one of the greatest singers who ever lived.
Dave Feldman
Star of the Week: Heather Graham
Concert of the Week: Brian Wilson in NYC
Scariest Cast on Television: Real World -- Hawaii
Best Time Killer of the 90's: Filling out the UPDATED gender survey at
"http://www.imponderables.com"
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Subject: Where The Girls Are
Received: 06/18/99 12:28 am
From: Jack Madani, Jack_Madxxxx2.nj.us
To: Spectropop List, spectroxxxxies.com
spectroxxxxies.com writes:
>I found a few new girl group cds that may be of interest
>Where The
>Girls Are vol 2. ACE I haven`t heard the WTGA cd but have
>vol 1 and there should be more goodies on the next vol.
>They are available at http://www.discol.com
John, I checked out the site and wasn't able to locate
anything on the vol. 2. I have vol. 1 and was a *little*
disappointed that many of the songs that i liked on the
old Kent vinyl release of the same name weren't on the ACE
cd release--and in one case, the song Please Don't Kiss Me
Again, the cd contains what is called an "underdub"
version, which lacks the spectorian punch of the vinyl
version. Any idea what's going to be contained on that
volume 2 cd?
I believe I also saw the WTGA cds, both vols 1 and 2,
listed in the latest catalog from Midnight Records, for
what that's worth.
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
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