________________________________________________________________________
______________ ______________
______________ ______________
______________ S P E C T R O P O P ______________
______________ ______________
________________________________________________________________________
There are 8 messages in this issue of Spectropop.
Topics in this Digest Number 248:
1. Tell Him For Me
From: "Ian Chapman"
2. Re: BERNADETTE CASTRO
From: "Jeff Lemlich"
3. Re: rare "Needles and Pins" version
From: Ton Borsboom
4. A&E's "Hitmakers"
From: "James F. Cassidy"
5. Evie Sands? PF Sloan
From: Will George
6. Re: GOIN' BACK - THE SONGS OF GOFFIN & KING
From: Mike C
7. Killer Joe - Rocky Fellers
From: LePageWeb
8. April goes to Boys' Town
From: "Ian Chapman"
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 1
Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2001 01:32:30 +0100
From: "Ian Chapman"
Subject: Tell Him For Me
Will asked:
> Tell Him For Me/They Don't Understand (P.P.X. 719)
> Is this the same song as Dan Folger's Tell Her For Me? I
> believe it was written by Orbison/Melson? Great song.
> Should have been a huge hit.
Will,
This one is written by Slinger Francisco and Jerry Mot.
I thought it was Bernadette Carroll who recorded "Tell
Him For Me". Mick, can you remember?
Ian
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Message: 2
Date: Fri, 21 Sep 2001 13:47:06 -0400
From: "Jeff Lemlich"
Subject: Re: BERNADETTE CASTRO
Will George wrote:
> Tell Him For Me/They Don't Understand (P.P.X. 719)
>
> Is this the same song as Dan Folger's Tell Her For Me? I
> believe it was written by Orbison/Melson? Great song.
> Should have been a huge hit.
-------------
Hi Will,
I don't know Dan's version, but the writing credits on
Bernadette's single are Mot-Sparrow.
I'd love to find a clean copy of Dan's "The Way of the
Crowd", on Buzzy Cason's Elf label.
Jeff Lemlich
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Message: 3
Date: Fri, 21 Sep 2001 20:09:58 -0000
From: Ton Borsboom
Subject: Re: rare "Needles and Pins" version
> I have found a rare version of "Needles and Pins" which
> most of us know from the 60's performed by U.K. group The
> Searchers. This song sounds different and has a different
> singing then the ones I know. It is sung by 2 different
> male voices and halfway the song the singing tempo goes
> up in a different style.
>
> Does anybody know the name of the artists by reading the
> above or could anybody give me some information so that I
> can search for the performers?
>
> I hope that this rings a bell in somebody's head.
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Message: 4
Date: Fri, 21 Sep 2001 09:24:08 -0400
From: "James F. Cassidy"
Subject: A&E's "Hitmakers"
Like Jamie, I thought the show was very well done. I
know from experience that it's not always easy to weave
so many disparate elements into a cohesive, well-paced
narrative, but they did it.
The biggest surprise for me was finding out that Doc
Pomus' brother is well-known media celebrity/divorce
lawyer, Raoul Felder! I wonder if he knows Doug Fieger's
(The Knack) brother, who represented Dr. Kevorkian?
Jim Cassidy
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Message: 5
Date: Fri, 21 Sep 2001 12:59:18 EDT
From: Will George
Subject: Evie Sands? PF Sloan
Has anyone found her new re-release in the shops. It
doesn't seem to exist on this side of the pond.
I'm having similar trouble finding the PF Sloan demos CD.
It should be easier as it is on Varese Sarabande.
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Message: 6
Date: Fri, 21 Sep 2001 10:22:17 -0000
From: Mike C
Subject: Re: GOIN' BACK - THE SONGS OF GOFFIN & KING
Mick Patrick wrote:
> If and when you purchase the new "LOOK AT KILLER JOE GO"
> CD by 1960s Filipino boy band THE ROCKY FELLERS (Westside,
> WESA 898), make flipping sure you pay attention right to
> the very end because mystery bonus track 23 is a
> previously unissued version of the Goffin/King
> composition "SCHOOL BELLS ARE RINGING". It uses the same
> backing track as Carole's own version. If you ask me...she
> and her hubby wrote this song especially for the little
> "Killer Joe" chaps.
>
> And further to the ongoing originals-versus-covers debate,
> this CD also features the Rocky Fellers' version of the
> Goffin/King-penned "Will You Love Me Tomorrow". It uses
> the very same backing track as the Shirelles' original,
> as does their rendition of "Foolish Little Boy (Girl)".
Ding Ding Ding! Bong Bong Bong! Go the school bells.
Thank ya Mick P. And you are probably right about her
writing this especially for this band or singer. What?
Surely New York based? Friends with Dorothy Jones or
Earl-JEan and Russ? Carole's accent on her version is
quite apparent. I can't wait to hear this! Looks like I
have some shopping to do this weekend. Click Click! And
ANOTHER version of Will You Still Love Me. One of these
days I'm gonna count or maybe I won't. I can only count
so high...whew.
I find it fascinating when listening to some of Carole
King's demos that she has recorded certain songs in lower
keys and she sings them out of her range, so to speak, so
as maybe to entice the listener right off the bat to be
able to sing the song. Especially the ones obviously
intended for male singers. And the original demos came
with a lead sheet you know. So the words were right in
front of you too. Goffin was well represented!
Buried deep on two compilations which I believe were
Westside releases are a couple of Freddie Scott sung
Goffin and King songs "Brand New World" and "The Slide".
I will never understand why "Brand New World" wasn't a hit.
A fantastic arrangement, a beautiful melody, great vocal.
Any dolly bird ever record that one?
MC
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Message: 7
Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2001 13:10:07 +0900
From: LePageWeb
Subject: Killer Joe - Rocky Fellers
Mick wrote:
> "LOOK AT KILLER JOE GO" CD by 1960s Filipino boy band
> THE ROCKY FELLERS (Westside, WESA 898)...make flipping
> sure you pay attention right to the very end because
> mystery bonus track 23 is a previously unissued version
> of the Goffin/King composition "SCHOOL BELLS ARE RINGING".
Yeah! And if you don't listen really carefully, you'd
swear it was Carole singing lead!
> It uses the same backing track as Carole's own version.
It sure does - it's almost spooky because the lead
vocals are nearly identical.
> If you ask me...she and her hubby wrote this song
> especially for the little "Killer Joe" chaps.
I always thought it odd that Carole sang the song in a
pseudo Caribbean accent and I speculated that it was a
demo intended for Millie Small, the only artist I could
think of that sang with such an accent. But that was
before I heard this CD. Rocky Fellers look like a Asian
import Vegas lounge act - who could tell from the photo
that the grooves on their records would prove so
satisfying? I highly recommend this CD, especially if
you like that "NY Latino Groove thing" as the liner
notes call it. Anyway, now that I've heard Rocky Fellers'
School Bells are Ringing, I am convinced the song was
written to order for them. Listening to Carole King and
Barry Mann Brill Building demos, you can hear first hand
how the Brill writers wrote specifically to pitch to
certain acts. I find this fascinating, and now Rocky
Fellers' School Bells are Ringing fits another piece of
the puzzle into place. Another super Carole King demo
good enough to release on Dimension.
> And further to the ongoing originals-versus-covers debate,
> this CD also features the Rocky Fellers' version of the
> Goffin/King-penned "Will You Love Me Tomorrow". It uses
> the very same backing track as the Shirelles' original,
> as does their rendition of "Foolish Little Boy (Girl)".
The group recorded for Scepter so it isn't *quite* so
surprising as is the use of the School Bells backing
track. But what is really interesting about the reuse of
the Shirelles tracks is that the strings are mixed way,
way back so the rhythm bed that is largely inaudible on
the Shirelles version is right up front on Rocky Fellers.
The vocal is not as sweet as the Shirelles, and with the
strings not dominating the mixes, it is really
interesting to compare how this subtle difference
dramatically changes the overall feeling of the
recordings. Will You Love Me Tomorrow sounds like a band,
not a studio orchestra. Fascinating stuff.
Jamie
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Message: 8
Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2001 01:17:32 +0100
From: "Ian Chapman"
Subject: April goes to Boys' Town
Remember when Nino Tempo's fab "Boys' Town" was on
topic some months ago? Well, I was vinyl-hunting today
and came across an April Stevens 45 from '74 on A&M.
She's billed as just "April" and it's entitled "Gotta
Leave You Baby". On first glance, I almost dismissed
it as probably being too late for my tastes, but then I
thought what the hell, a co-production job between Nino
and Jeff Barry should be worth a listen. Lucky for me
I did. In a nutshell, this is April's version of "Boys'
Town"!! It's the same song, with the only change of
lyric coming in the chorus - instead of singing "I'm
going to Boys' Town...where my broken hearted buddies
go....where a girl can't hurt me with 'no'...", April
sings "Gotta leave you baby....gotta find a place where
I can go...where you can't hurt me with 'no'..." It
doesn't use the same backing track as Nino's, neither
does it have as many Beach Boys touches as his does,
and you do find yourself missing the backing vocals.
But hey, it's April in top form, with that purring
voice enhanced by stereo, and you even get Nino coming
in to join her in the last verse. 1974 - who'd'a
thought it!
Ian
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
End
Spectropop text contents © copyright Spectropop unless
stated otherwise.
All rights in and to the contents of these documents, including each element embodied therein, is subject to copyright
protection under international copyright law. Any use, reuse, reproduction and/or adaptation without written permission of the owners is a violation of copyright law and is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved.
