http://spectropop.homepage.com
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Volume #0410 April 23, 2000
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a new stereophonic sound spectacular
Subject: Beach Boys info needed for Mojo, please
Received: 04/23/00 9:54 pm
From: Michael White
To: Spectropop!
Hello all!
Although it feels like I've had half the state of
California researching for me, I've been unable to
scrounge up the following info. Can anyone help?
I need to find out who played what on the Beach Boys'
"Today!" and "Friends" albums. The info is for a
forthcoming 'Essential Albums'-style book being compiled
by Mojo magazine.
I'm afraid I won't be able to give a published credit to
whoever can help, but I hope my eternal gratitude will do
(this disclaimer has become my mantra lately).
Cheers folks!
Michael White
Vancouver, BC
Subject: RDMH
Received: 04/23/00 9:54 pm
From: Ron Bierma
To: Spectropop!
In a message dated 4/13/00 2:27:36 PM, spectropop writes:
<< >>>>>Or why it was so popular in England?<<<<
Having been a bass player on this hit and working for Phil
on most of his dates (there's many that Larry Levine forgot
about in his article like Howard Roberts etc. who were
regulars on Phil's dates etc.), we were all expecting this
to be his greatest hit yet. He was a great producer, but
kept in that "wall of sound" mode maybe too long and
eventually styles did change. >>
Darlene Love, in here book "My Name is Love" says about
the RDMH sessions; " ...But the session for RDMH was
miserable. The studio was crammed with singers. Besides
Tina, there were Fanita, Jean, Clydie King, Grazia, and me.
It was mass confusion. This time it was all din, no
music. No one could hear anything, and the musicians could
barely make sense of Phil's directions because everything
was submerged in echo. He kept overdubbing the backup
singers, and by the time he got to Tina, he worked her so
hard that she had to hold herself up by the overhead
microphone. She had never before had anyone make her sing
the same few words over and over again, and by the time
she got to about the fortieth take, she was screaming and
losing her voice. She thought she sounde horrible, but she
hung in there. And that's exactly how Phil wanted her to
sound, like a woman on the verge of submission. I've ever
seen anyone, not even Phil, treat an artist like that in
the studio. Nobody's heart was in it, except Phil's. By
the end of the session I was wondering what I was doing
there. It was a Wall of Sound, all right: a wall of water,
and everyone was drowing.
"Ellie Greenwich told me that when she got an acetate of
the recording, she ripped it off the turntable before it
was halfway through and threw it across the room. Ellie
thought Phil had really lost it. And disc jockeys, whom
Phil could always count on to give his records a chance,
were sudddenly otherwise engaged when Phil's promotion men
called. True, we all thought the record was crap, but it
deserved a little better than # 88, which is where it
crashed and burned.
"Phil's arrogance and hubris had finally caught up with
him, and there was probably some collective bad karma
emanating from every singer, songwriter, musician,
engineer, promotion man, and disc jockey he had stepped on.
RDMH could have been the greatedst record ever made and
it still wouldn't have mattered. The Phil Spector era was
officially over...."
But what do you really think, Darlene?
RB
Subject: Demos across the Atlantic
Received: 04/23/00 9:54 pm
From: Ian Chapman
To: Spectropop!
Jamie wrote:-
> Ian Chapman wrote about Funny How Love Can Be
> >...the Ivy League version...remains to me one of the most
> >appealing and poignantly performed records in the "harmony"
> >genre. And whilst I wouldn't by any means label the
> >Danny Hutton version "a travesty", I've never quite been
> >able to get into it.
>
> Hi Ian,
>
> As someone who heard the Ivy League original long after
> the Hutton cover, I found your comment most interesting. I
> do so admire Carter/Lewis' work. I wondered if you had any
> idea how these Denmark Street writers got their songs
> placed with Vine Street post-surf artists?
Hi Jamie,
I can't say exactly how Carter & Lewis' demos got to Vine
Street, but I do think that once the Beatles had hit big
in the States and the so-called British Invasion got off
the ground, the UK was considered hot by many US record
companies, who went looking for Brit material to record.
And on the other side of the coin, there is also evidence
that a few Brill Building writers tried to tailor material
to fit British artists. A few years ago, a batch of New
York Screen Gems 12" demo acetates turned up on a market
stall in London. Luckily they were found by a girl-group
collector who knew what he'd stumbled across. One of these
demos (sung by Toni Wine!) was a Russ Teitelmann
composition called "A Toy Is Only Made For Play"......it
was very obviously intended for Dusty Springfield, as it's
practically "I Only Want To Be With You Pt. 2". Another one
- not sure of the composer - a slower, Shirelles-like
number entitled "Give Your Heart Another Chance", had
"Sandy (sic), Cilla, Dusty" hand-written on the paper
sleeve. Evidently, somebody - the writer? - had ideas
about who they thought the song could be placed with.
Out of interest, the other demos in the batch included
Goffin & King's "Don't You Wanna Love Me Baby" (this one
we know was recorded by Brit-girl duo The Other Two);
another Toni Wine-sung (and co-written) number, "Just Go
Away", which the Shirelles recorded as "Go Away"; an Ellie
Greenwich-sung number called "Can't Hide the Hurtin'" (this
one was eventually used on Sequel's Raindrops collection);
a fairly nondescript girl-group item called "He's My Kinda
Guy" (writers unknown, but not the same as the Reasons/
Willows song of the same title); and last but not least,
Boyce & Hart singing the demo of "I'm Not Your Stepping
Stone"!
Ian
Subject: OBSURITIES VS THE HITS etc
Received: 04/23/00 9:54 pm
From: radiopro
To: Spectropop!
I've been lurking on this list for some time, have been
enjoying the stories and thought I'd make a contribution.
My first job in radio was working part time in the record
library at a Middle of The Road station in Winnipeg,
Manitoba Canada that only a few years earlier had "banned"
Rock and Roll. It was 1963. The "good news" about working
at this kind of station was that, while they didn't play
any Rock and Roll, the record companies still serviced
them with most of the 45s that were released. So I got to
keep them!
To this day, I have boxes upon boxes of 45s from the 1963-
69 era. One day I must find the time to catalogue them all.
This advantage allowed me to start a "radio station" at my
school and to start a record hop business in schools and
"community clubs" . One of my most prized possessions is a
record called Aurora b/w The Sultan by The Squires....a
group that went to Kelvin Highschool. The guitar player
was Neil Young.
At any rate....while I played "The Hits" at the dances,
some of my favourite records were not hits. I had no idea
why they weren't hits. I just know that I liked them. So...
I agree with some recent posts about great records that
were missed.
Subject: Obscurities over Hits
Received: 04/23/00 9:54 pm
From: Ian Chapman
To: Spectropop!
Jamie wrote:-
>Take the Caravelles, for
> instance. Their "You Don't Have To Be a Baby to Cry" is
> great, but the lesser known "Other Side of Love" blows it
> away! Also, I prefer nearly everything else Lesley Gore
> did far more than It's My Party or Judy's Turn to Cry.
Well, Jamie, I have to confess to preferring Ike & Tina's
"I'll Never Need More Than This" way above its "sister"
record, "River Deep, Mountain High". I think "Never" is a
much more emotional song, and a far better showcase of
Tina's vocal ability. Listen to the latent power as she
sings - rather than yells - that ending, "for ever, and
ever and e-e-ver". She really wrings every shred of
emotion out of that song, and the Wall of Sound never
sounded more gargantuan! As a fellow fan of "needle in the
red" barnstormers, I well remember how exhilarated I felt
after hearing it for the first time. That was the mono mix,
however - I also recall hearing the stereo mix on an
album some time later, and couldn't believe how the
separation of the channels had "watered-down" the whole
thing! Dig out the mono 45 and play it LOUD!!
Ian
Subject: spectropop radio
Received: 04/23/00 9:54 pm
From: john rausch
To: Spectropop!
Listening to Spectropop radio broadcast @
http://www.live365.com
Recommended!
John Rausch
Presenting The Fabulous Ronettes @
http://www.geocities.com/Sunsetstrip/Studio/2469/
Subject: spectropop radio i hate you
Received: 04/23/00 9:54 pm
From: Jack Madani
To: Spectropop!
I hate spectropop radio. I hate it because I heard this
song:
Yume de Chigaetara - Celia Paul
And now I want to own this song and I can't.
I was happier when I had never heard Celia Paul before. I
was happier not knowing what I didn't have.
jack "boo hoo" madani
n.p. spectropop radio "yellow balloon - yellow balloon" ba
ba ba ba bah......
Subject: Fishing For Toni
Received: 04/23/00 9:54 pm
From: DJ JimmyB
To: Spectropop!
>Where, oh where is some bio information on Miss Toni
>Fisher? Two big hits - "The Big Hurt" (1959) and "West Of
>The Wall" (1962) You able to help?
Have you not read "Toni Fisher: Was It Real Or Was It
Phase-Shift" by Mike Hunt?
Just kidding. All I can dig up on Ms F is that she was
born in L.A. in 1931.
Jimmy Botticelli/not very helpful was it
ADMIN NOTE: A very warm word of thanks to everyone who has
written kind words about Spectropop Radio, both on and off
list. Your support and encouragement is most appreciated.
Spectropop Radio stations broadcast on Live365 24 hours a
day 7 days a week.
To listen to Spectropop Radio from your computer, go to
http:www.live365.com
click listen and search the word "spectropop".
Search results will show two stations. Take your choice!
Broadcasting at 56k is Spectropop Radio, which plays a mix
of Brill Building, soft pop, harmony pop, surf, and of
course Wall of Sound. Tracks are programmed from the
collections of Spectropop Members. The tone of the station
is decidedly mellow, and the playlist includes records
often discussed on the Spectropop List, from Things are
Changing by the Supremes and Close Your Eyes by Bonnie to
Rosecrans Blvd. by Johnny Rivers and Baby It's Real from
the new Curt Boettcher release.
Broadcasting at 32K is Girlpop Spectropop, Billy
Spradlin's rockin' Girl Groups Only station, featuring
well known and obscure girl group records from Spector's
stable and East Coasters Shirelles and Chiffons to all
those great girl group records from the United Kingdom.
Tracks are culled from Billy's own collection and those of
other Spectropop members.
Care is being taken to keep the playlists of the two
stations relatively free of duplication, so listeners
whose connection speed can handle the 56k station can
listen to both stations for a wider variety of titles. For
those whose connection speed cannot handle 56k, Girlpop
Spectropop is available for you at 32k.
Listeners can also access both stations via direct links
at the Spectropop Website.
http://www.spectropop.com
Oldies radio has NEVER sounded so good!
End
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