________________________________________________________________________
______________ ______________
______________ ______________
______________ S P E C T R O P O P ______________
______________ ______________
________________________________________________________________________
Girl Groups - Fabulous Females That Rocked The World
The book by John Clemente about the Girl Groups phenomenon
Reviews, photos, artist line-up and how to order.
http://www.spectropop.com/gg/girl.html
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There are 11 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. #224
From: Tony Leong
2. Re: Flowerpot Men/Cryan Shames
From: Stewart Mason
3. Re: Flowerpot Men & Cryan Shames
From: Richard Havers
4. Cryan Shames
From: Dan Hughes
5. Re: Flowerpot Men and Cryan Shames
From: LePageWeb
6. Bessie Banks -- Go Now
From: John Clemente
7. Dusk
From: John Clemente
8. I Have A Boyfriend
From: Jimmy Crescitelli
9. Reparata / Ellie
From: John Frank
10. New/Old Cowsills Reissue
From: Billy Spradlin
11. Breakfast w/ George Harrison- 97.1 KLSX
From: "Chris Carter"
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 1
Date: Thu, 09 Aug 2001 01:54:24 EDT
From: Tony Leong
Subject: #224
Excellent digest!!
Yes, Mr. Ron B., I love Reparata and the Delrons'
"ballroom version" of "I Have A Boyfriend"!! Reparata and
the Delrons do great cover versions (Mr. John Clemente
mentions "Bye Bye Baby" in his book "Girl Groups:
Fabulous Females That Rocked The World" -- GO BUY THAT
BOOK if you are a girl group NUT like me!!!).
And John, when did the Chiffons record that Hoagy Lands
cut? Oh, my ultimate killer Reparata track is still "Do
Wah Diddy"--Brooklyn rawness at its' best!! I feel left
out here though, I've NEVER HEARD "I'm Nobody's Baby Now".
Can't someone just put out a Reparata and the Delrons'
2-cd set?? They have enough material!! I need to have a
clean copy of "I Can Hear The Rain" on CD. Out of
curiousity, was Reparata's song "Heaven Only Knows" the
same song that the Shangri-las sang?
For those interested Delrons fans, Mary (Reparata) just
recently retired the group, and she lives in Queens.
Shelia is a school principal in Seattle. Carol died
years ago. Nanette lives in Queens, and she sings with a
local band. And Lorraine.....who knows??? And wow, I can
imagine what went on in the studio with the
Shangri-Las--the girls (esp. Mary and Betty complaining
about hating what they were singing, the girls cursing
(at Ellie??), and gum cracking?? Just kidding--people I
have spoken to said that they were regular teenagers, not
the stereotypical thuggish chicks that most journalists
(not my buddy John Clemente) make them out to be. And
Mary was sophisticated and gracious at the Brill Building
documentary screening.
Lastly, there's lots of Neil Sedaka stuff in the
documentary too...there's something in this documentary
for everyone of you guys that posted in this digest!!!
(Sorry, no Reparata footage though--does any exist??).....
Tony Leong
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Message: 2
Date: Thu, 09 Aug 2001 19:02:32 -0600
From: Stewart Mason
Subject: Re: Flowerpot Men/Cryan Shames
Brian asked:
>Who are these groups? A little info please? Are they
>Zekley projects?
Nope, Gary Zekley had nothing to do with either band.
The Flowerpot Men were a trio of UK session singers
featuring the great Tony Burrows (Edison Lighthouse, etc.
etc.) who had a 1967 UK hit with the harmony-heavy
lite-psych "Let's Go to San Francisco." They later
relased one single as Friends before splitting.
The Cryan Shames were from Chicago and sounded like a
more garagey version of the Byrds. They had a minor hit
with a version of "Sugar and Spice," which I think the
Searchers had the biggest version of.
S
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Message: 3
Date: Thu, 09 Aug 2001 08:24:17 +0100
From: Richard Havers
Subject: Re: Flowerpot Men & Cryan Shames
Hope this helps
Flowerpot Men
The Flowerpot Men's Let's Go To San Francisco was a
classic instance of recording a song and then forming
the group to promote it. Written by John Carter & Ken
Lewis, they hired a studio, recorded the backing track
and brought in Ivy League members Tony Burrows
(b.14.4.43 Exeter) and Neil Landon (b.26.7.44 Kirdford
Sussex) to sing the vocals. The voices of session
vocalists Robin Shaw (b.6.10.43 Hayes Middlesex) and
Peter Nelson (b.10.3.46) were also added, released on
Decca's Deram label and it reached No.4 in the late
summer of '67. The excellent follow-up Walk In The Sky,
failed to register, as did two other singles.
The voice of Tony Burrows has featured on many hits,
both before and after the Flowerpot Men. He was in First
Class, The Ivy League, Edison Lighthouse and The Pipkins,
he was also one of the backing vocalists on the early
Who singles. Throughout the 70's and 80's he also sang
on numerous advertising jingles.
Neil Landon was born Patrick Cahill, after the demise of
the group he became the vocalist with Noel Redding's Fat
Mattress. Robin Shaw re-emerged in the chart in the
summer of '74 when he teamed up with Tony Burrows, John
Carter, Spencer James and others to become First Class
and have a hit with Beach Baby.
Deram DM 142 Let's Go To San Francisco (Parts 1 & 2) 1967 4
Deram DM 160 A Walk in The Sky/Am I Losing You? 1967
Deram DM 183 A Man Without A Woman/You Con Never Be Wrong 1968
Deram DM 248 In A Moment of Madness/Young Birds Fly 1969
Cryin' Shames
Originally known as The Bumblies, this five piece R&B
group came from Liverpool. The nucleus of the Bumblies
was John 'Ben' Bennett guitar, George Robinson
(b.26.12.46) bass and Charlie Gallagher (b.17.3.46) drums.
These three were joined by Phil Roberts (b.28.4.47) organ,
and Joey Keen (b.6.11.47) harmonica/vocals. All of them
were born in Liverpool, as was their last recruit Paul
Crane (real name Charles Crane b.30.7.47), who was a
vocalist with a local blues group, The Protests. The
Bumblies built a big following on Merseyside, before they
decided it was time to get a recording contract. On the
spur of the moment, after a gig at the Orrel Park
Ballroom, they drove their old van through the night to
London. Their destination was the studio of renowned
record producer Joe Meek, they arrived at six in the
morning, and none too surprisingly got a negative
response. Undaunted they waited until late afternoon when
Meek, who admired their determination, gave them an
audition. They sang The Drifters Please Stay; it so
impressed Meek he recorded it there and then. Meek 'sold'
the recording to Decca and the band were signed, although
Meek was not happy with his new protegees calling
themselves The Bumblies, so the Cryin' Shames were born.
The story goes that the group were travelling to the
studio on the tube one day and elderly lady disgusted at
the group's appearance, remarked "The kids today are a
cryin' shame!" To promote the band their name was written
with a teardrop as the apostrophe. As Please Stay was
released, the group were unsuccessfully wooed by Beatles
manager Brian Epstein, preferring to sign with the
equally eager Walker Brother Management, in retrospect
they felt, a bad decision, and one which affected the
singles ultimate chart position; Please Stay peaked at
No.26. Before recording a follow up Richard 'Ritchie'
Routledge (b.27.11.49) guitar/vocals replaced Bennett.
Nobody Waved Goodbye a song that Meek was adamant they
release missed completely and in the late summer of '66
the group split up. Gallagher went to run a taxi company,
Keen worked in electronics, Roberts ran a coach hire
business and Robinson moved to the West country; where he
continued to play part time. Crane and Routledge
continued and brought in bass player Brian Norris
(b.13.11.48 York), the husband of Beatles fan club
secretary Freda Kelly, and three members of another
Liverpool group. Pete Byrne (b.9.2.46) organ, Paul
"Whiskey" Commerford (b.3.10.48) drums and Michael Espie
(b.4.11.48) guitar; they were all Liverpool born. This
line-up, billed as Paul & Ritchie and The Cryin Shames,
recorded a third single, a version of George Shearing's
'49 million seller September In the Rain; it failed to
chart. Robbie Hewitt had replaced Norris on bass by the
time Meek committed suicide in February '66. Crane and
Routledge then argued, which resulted in the latter
leaving; ex Masterminds member Joey Molland (later to
join The Uglys/Badfinger) replaced him. Routledge moved
to America, playing pedel steel guitar; he returned to
the UK and is thought to have a recording studio.
Gradually the group fell apart, Commerford ended up
playing drums for Tangerine Dream. Crane and Molland
joined John Lawson and Walker Brother's drummer Gary
Leeds to form Gary Leeds and Rain. They released a Scott
Walker produced single, Spooky, it suffered from the
release of the original by Classics IV in the same week;
there was also the little matter of a high court
injunction which prevented Gary Walker and Rain from
performing Spooky on TV. Rain were massive in Japan, they
had 3 major albums, 03 top 3 singles and Crane was voted
No.5 top world male singer.
Rain lasted until '68; Crane then re-recorded Please Stay
with Scott English. English wrote Brandy for Crane, which
he unfortunately refused to record, although English did
produce Come Day Go Day Man which come out in '68 as
Charles Crane. Crane moved into the business side of
music, In the mid 70's he teamed up with Radio Luxembourg
DJ Mark Wesley to record as The Philadelphia Flyers.
Later still he recorded as Leroy Brown, releasing One
Woman Man and I'll Keep Holding Out. Crane also recorded
again as The Cryin' Shames, with I'm Gonna Tell The World
on the York label, Over My Head on Logo and as The
Outsiders with Autumn In The City. During the 80's he
worked in music publishing and his company looked after a
singer/songwriter called Harriet. Les Crane died sometime
at the end of the 1990s, Joey Keen is also dead. George
Robinson is still playing in Liverpool as a duo called
Class of '59.
Decca F 12340 Please Stay/What's New Pussycat 1966 26
Decca F 12425 Nobody Waved Goodbye/You 1966
Decca F 12483 September in the Rain/Come On Back 1966
Best wishes
Richard
--
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Message: 4
Date: Wed, 08 Aug 2001 20:31:06 -0500
From: Dan Hughes
Subject: Cryan Shames
The Cryan' Shames were a Chicago group; I saw them
several times in the late 60's when they did concerts at
my college (Purdue). They had one chart hit: Sugar and
Spice.
They're still going strong, and would love to play at
your bar mitzvah:
---Dan
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Message: 5
Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2001 11:45:41 +0900
From: LePageWeb
Subject: Re: Flowerpot Men and Cryan Shames
Brian Chidester wrote:
> Who are these groups? A little info please? Are they
> Zekley projects?
There is a small site on Gary Zekley linked here:
http://www.spectropop.com/go2/producers.html
He had nothing to do with either of the groups you
asked about.
But oh, Brian - You're gonna love the Flowerpot Men! The
two principals, John Carter and Ken Lewis, were formerly
the core of the British vocal group Ivy League - you
need to get a good Ivy League comp, Brian, because they
were the original group to (write and) record My World
Fell Down! As producers, Carter/Lewis did a bunch of
British girl group records too,
Just about the time Gary and Curt were making
magic on the West Coast, on the other side of the world
Carter and Lewis were recreating themselves as the
Flowerpot Men. You need a good Flowerpot Men comp too!
An essential Mellotron drenched summer-of-'67 psyche pop
classic - Let's Go To San Francisco!! I also highly
recommend John Carter's Denmark Street demo collection
on the UK West Side label (also the label for Girls Will
Be Girls, co-compiled by our own Mick Patrick). Carter's
Denmark Street demos are so well produced, it's like a
collection of long lost recordings by a non-existent
British Invasion band - plus you get demos of several
tracks that ended up on Flowerpot Men too. Go now and
buy these - knowing you are into harmony pop a la Beach
Boys and Millennium - I guarantee them.
As to the Cryan Shames, Dave could have meant the Cryin'
Shames, and if so, it's Joe Meek. It should only follow -
They're out of this world!
All the best,
Jamie
n.p. Little Bit O' Soul - Music Explosion
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Message: 6
Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2001 02:20:07 -0400
From: John Clemente
Subject: Bessie Banks -- Go Now
Hello All,
In answer to the question about Bessie Banks in the
Brill Building/Red Bird entry, yes she did record in
the 50s as Toni Banks (real name Bessie White). Her
husband, Larry Banks, who wrote "Go Now" was in the
Four Fellows, a group from Brooklyn, NY who had a hit
with a song called "Soldier Boy" on Glory Records in
1955 (#4 R&B). Bessie sang with the group when they
were Three Guys and a Doll prior to becoming the Four
Fellows. The Four Fellows back her on "You're Still In
My Heart/Johnny The Dreamer on Glory in 1957. She and
Larry were married on stage after a performance in
Baltimore at the Royal Theatre. I'm sure the Moody
Blues version of "Go Now" netted the family some
royalty money. Larry Banks passed away about 8 years
ago. This info comes from Jim McGowan's website
(http://soldierboy.50megs.com/McGowan/fourfellows.htm)
He is an original Four Fellow.
Regards,
John Clemente
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Message: 7
Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2001 02:01:44 -0400
From: John Clemente
Subject: Dusk
Hello All,
In regard to Dusk on Bell Records, the lead singer is
Peggy Santiglia of The Angels (My Boyfriend's Back),
formerly of The Delicates (Unart/UA/Roulette) and, aka
Jessica James.
Regards,
John Clemente
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Message: 8
Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2001 02:13:59 EDT
From: Jimmy Crescitelli
Subject: I Have A Boyfriend
Fon-chif-fon-FON!
When I was 14 a cousin brought over a box of 45s for me
to hear, in 1970. In one night I heard "I Have A
Boyfriend," "Then He Kissed Me," and "He's Sure the Boy
I Love." Since I had no memory of those particular songs
>from 1963, suffice it to say... my life was changed.
'nuff said.
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Message: 9
Date: Thu, 09 Aug 2001 21:16:57 -0700
From: John Frank
Subject: Reparata / Ellie
Hello All:
Billy G. Spradlin said:
> BTW: Was Reparata in the (studio?) group Dusk, which
> had a 45 on Bell in 1970-1 called "Angel Baby"? I just
> scored a copy last month and the vocalist sounds
> awfully familar!
To which John repled:
Mr. Clemente can comment on whether Reparata was in the
group, but it's my understanding that the lead vocalist
for Dusk was none other than the absolutely GREAT Peggy
Santiglia. Dusk had a sizeable hit with "I Hear Those
Church Bells Ringing."
Back to Reparata, though. It's always struck me as
unusual that they recorded for so long and for so many
labels all throughout the 60s and into the 70s without
charting at all nationally after their initial outings
on World Artists. (Well, I guess "Captain of Your Ship"
did bubble under int he US and made the Top 20 in the
UK; and "Shoes" scratched the bottom of the Top 100 in
'75...)
Their songs were adventurous and varied all throughout
this period. I think I have all of them on vinyl or
tape -- and some of their early and later ones on CD.
It's the middle period, though that just fascinates me,
though: "You Can't Change A Young Boy's Mind," their
remake of the Paris' "Always Waiting", their version of
"I Can Tell," (was it theirs or Lesley's that was the
original?) "Saturday Night Didn't Happen," "(That's
What Sends Men To) The Bowery," "Weather Forecast,"
"Your Life Is Gone," "I've Got an Awful Lot of Losing
You To Do," and, of course, the exquisite
Barry-produced "I'm Nobody's Baby Now." This last must
be on my Top 10 -- and why wasn't it on the national
Top 10, I wanna know! And I also wanna know where's the
double-CD or Boxed set? In fairness there were so many
labels involved, it would probably take a gaggle of
lawyers to get it out. I'll just make my own minidisk,
I guess. The first volume of "Where The Girls Are"
(liner notes by someone called Mick Patrick -- where
have I heard that name?) gives up the amazing and,
amazingly, never-previously released "Look In My Diary."
---and Vlaovic B said:
> I just picked up the Varese Red Bird compilation...the
> other I dunno....A sort of Ellie Greenwich vocal doing
> a rather Lesley Gore-ish type track called (I assume),
> 'There could never be another boy like mine'. Any ideas?
John's 2 cents:
It's her version (maybe the demo?) of "Another Boy Like
Mine" which was on the Dixie Cups' "Chapel Of Love"
album -- may have been one of their B-sides, too. I
much prefer Ellie's take on it.
Vlaovic again:
> Other stuff I'd like to know...Did Bessie Banks ever
> record anything else.
Moi:
She released at least 7 singles from 1964 to 1976 on 7
different labels, two of which were Red Bird subsids:
Tiger and Blue Cat. The others were Wand, Volt, Verve,
Spokane and Quality. Wonder what the story is behind
such a superb singer not being held on to and
"developed" by one label...
John Frank
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Message: 10
Date: Thu, 09 Aug 2001 20:21:41 -0000
From: Billy Spradlin
Subject: New/Old Cowsills Reissue
Just a quick note to 60's Pop fans that Polygram has
issued the "The Best Of The Cowsills - The Millennium
Collection" as part of their budget "20th Centruy
Masters" series.
It's a different comp than the old MGM "The Best of
The Cowsills" LP that was re-issued on CD by Polydor
in the mid-late 80's (or the truncated budget version
with a different cover on Rebound). I only paid $8.99
for it at Best Buy and it contains several songs that
haven't appeared on CD before:
Most of All (the group's first single on Philips)
The Rain, The Park And Other Things (Mono 45 mix)
We Can Fly (Mono 45 mix)
In Need Of A Friend
Indian Lake
Poor Baby
Hair
The Prophecy Of Daniel & John The Divine (Six-Six-Six)
(Single version - The strangest thing they ever did,
and it made it to #75 on Billboard)
Silver Threads And Golden Needles (stereo)
II X II
Love American Style (mono)
When Everybody's Here - Bill Cowsill
Its a nice collection, if you can find it under 10
bucks. I wish it was a bit more comprehensive, but its
nicely done, well mastered, and it does fill in some
gaps. (Now if we can only get their great 1968 "We Can
Fly" album on CD!)
Bill
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Message: 11
Date: Wed, 08 Aug 2001 13:44:29 -0700
From: "Chris Carter"
Subject: Breakfast w/ George Harrison- 97.1 KLSX
Breakfast with the Beatles - 97.1 KLSX - FM
George Harrison Special / 8/5/01
Guest Host - Chris Carter
Hare Krishna...Welcome to my George Harrison Special
Playlist. I would like to thank in-studio guest
engineer/producer Ken Scott, who was extra cool... and I
appreciate all your votes at www.fmtalki.com I hope
this won't be my last Playlist from Breakfast with the
Beatles, as there is nothing I'd rather be doing on a
Sunday morning....(and I mean that!).....Thanks for all
the support.....and EXTRA Special THANKS to all my
guests who helped make these shows so fun > Brian Wilson,
Denny Seiwell, Don Novello, Ken Scott, Matthew
Sweet....and lets say a prayer for Deirdre for starting
such a great show.
Cheers,
Chris ...........................>
Wah Wah - All Things Must Pass
Devils Radio Cloud Nine 87
Sue Me Sue You Blues Living in the Material World 73
Do You want to Know a Secret? (George vox) Feb 11 3/
Please Please Me
Don't Bother Me With the Beatles - Sept. 12 63
I Need You HELP! Feb. 15 /16 65Tk.5
You Like Me Too Much HELP! - Feb. 17 65
It Don't Come Easy DEMO for RINGO
Mo 1977 Outtake orig slated for 1978 George Harrison LP.
Issued on a 6 CD Promo set celebrating Mo Ostin's tenure
@ WB in early 95
Think For Yourself Rubber Soul Nov. 8th 65
Taxman Revolver Outtake
I Dig Love All Things Must Pass
Soul Milk Sea From George's living room w/ all 4 Beatles.
When We Was Fab Cloud 9
Interview Disc trk's 1 into 2
I'd have you Anytime Re-Mastered
Tired of Midnight Blue Extra Texture 75
Here Comes the Moon George Harrison 79
Here Comes the Sun Abbey Road July 7,8 / Aug. 15/19..69
It's All Too Much -Long Version
Blue Jay Way Early Mix (No Strings) Ken S. 2E
Within You Without You - MONO/Sgt. Pepper
Only Northern Song New Yellow Sub Re-master
Martin Lewis Phones In w/ Salon.com report on George Harrison story
The Art of Dying
In Studio Guest - Ken Scott~~~~~~~~~~~
Savory Truffle MONO/ Trident Oct. 68 Ken S. E
Let it Down Demo 70' Ken Scott re- master
Not Guilty Ken Scott/ More takes than other track !
While My Guitar Gently Weeps MONO Ken S. E
Piggies - From George's living room w/ all 4 Beatles. (Esher)
My Sweet Lord 2000/ Ken S. E 2000
Apple Scruffs - All Things Must Pass
Nowhere at All - Acoustic Demo 70'
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