Spectropop - Digest Number 321

• From: Spectropop Group
• Date: Sun, 16 Dec 2001 20:16:21

                  
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There are 7 messages in this issue.

Topics in this Digest Number 321:

      1. More Bonner & Gordon
           From: "Jeffrey Glenn" 
      2. Mick & the West Coast Girls
           From: Jimmy Crescitelli 
      3. THE SHIRELLES, THE VANDELLAS AND THE AFFLATUS OF LAURA NYRO
           From: Mick Patrick 
      4. Holiday greetings and RRHF post
           From: Carol Kaye 
      5. WTGA - Lucky?
           From: James Botticelli 
      6. Re: Patrice Holloway
           From: "John Lester" 
      7. Monkees, Garry Bonner
           From: "Paul Payton" 


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Message: 1
   Date: Fri, 14 Dec 2001 18:00:09 -0800
   From: "Jeffrey Glenn" 
Subject: More Bonner & Gordon

>That's about all I can tell you about them and I do hope
>others can tell more.

Glad to oblige, Jamie.

Garry Bonner issued at least three 45's in the 60's:

"The Heart Of Juliet Jones" (Bonner-Gordon)/"Me About You"
(Bonner-Gordon)(Columbia 4-44306, Fall 1967) - I don't
have this one, so I don't know anything more about it
other than your mentioning that Jack Nitzsche produced it.
I do have a version of "Juliet Jones" - see below.

"The Saddest Bank Robbery Culver City Ever Had" (R.
Dino-J. Sembello)/"Jug Of Wine" (R. Dino-J.
Sembello)(Columbia 4-44703: Late 1968) - Produced by Gary
Klein - A Product of Koppelman-Rubin Associates, Inc.

"It's So Easy" (Bonner-Gordon)/"Mother's Waiting" (J.
Goldstein-H. Hoffman)(Columbia 4-44927: Summer 1969) -
A-Side Produced by Garry Bonner & Alan Gordon; B-Side
Produced by Gary Klein & John Townley; Both Sides
Products of Koppelman-Rubin Associates

The latter two singles are both very good, though I
wouldn't say they are as good as a lot of the songs they
gave away.

I also went through my Lost Jukebox track listings and
found that I've comped the following songs on CDR's from
the original 45's:

Julie (The Song I Sing Is You)(Gordon-Bonner)/"Sleeping
Out The Storm" (Bonner-Gordon)(The Barracuda, RCA
47-9743: 1968, Produced by Charles Koppelman and Don
Rubin with Alan Gordon, a product of Koppelman-Rubin
Associates) - both sides are excellent; much better than
their subsequent singles!

Mary Elizabeth (A. Gordon-G. Bonner)(The Osmond Brothers,
Barnaby ZS7 2002: 1968, Produced by Gary Klein A Product
of Koppelman-Rubin Assoc., Inc., A,C: Kirby Johnson) -
this is an excellent soft pop tune and easily one of the
best things The Osmonds ever did!

The Heart Of Juliet Jones (Gary Bonner-Allen Gordon)(The
Trav'lers, Atlantic 45-2398: 1967, Produced by Chris
Huston) - knowing how good this is - and it is very, very
good - I really want to hear Bonner's own version
produced by Nitzsche!

Do Drop Inn (A. Gordon-G. Bonner)(The Fifth Estate,
Jubilee JB 5617: 1968, Produced by Steve & Bill Jerome
for Real Good Productions, Arranged by John Abbott) -
this is one of the later Fifth Estate 45's and probably
doesn't feature the original group, but it's still quite
good.

Contact (Alan Gordon-Garry Bonner)(Teddy Neeley, Capitol
5967: 1967, Produced by Ted Daryll - A Product of
Koppelman-Rubin Associates, Inc., Arranged and Conducted
by Lee Holdridge) - another excellent record!

Jeff


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Message: 2
   Date: Sat, 15 Dec 2001 09:34:06 EST
   From: Jimmy Crescitelli 
Subject: Mick & the West Coast Girls

Thanks for the heads up! This sort of reading material is
invaluable to those of us who have a need to know the
Jelly Beans' middle names, or the names of the
Crystalettes' mothers-in-laws' second cousins twice
removed. Those young ladies... just one big happy family!
I've come to the conclusion that exactly fourteen black
teenage girls did 99.99% of girl-group recording between
1958 and 1964. 

Ome Heard... great to see her name in print again!


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Message: 3
   Date: Sun, 16 Dec 2001 01:36:03 +0000 (GMT)
   From: Mick Patrick 
Subject: THE SHIRELLES, THE VANDELLAS AND THE AFFLATUS OF LAURA NYRO

Greetings,

My, how the jaws dropped when Waxie Maxie Baumgart and I
announced to Ace Records that the inclusion of a track by
LAURA NYRO on the next volume of WHERE THE GIRLS ARE was
our desire. Sheesh, it's a smaller step from Laura Nyro
to Lesley Gore than many imagine. Laura grew up a girl
group fan. Acts like THE SHIRELLES and MARTHA & THE
VANDELLAS were her inspiration and a cornerstone of her
creative ethos. Girl groups were the Mermaids in Laura's
Basement, to (probably mis-)quote her favourite poet
Emily Dickinson.

Prior to her recording debut Laura sang with an Hispanic
doo wop group. Her first album featured DynoVoice girl
group THE HI FASHIONS on backing vocals and she later
made a whole LP with PATTI LABELLE & THE BLUEBELLES. What
a groovy kind of love is that?! When I saw Laura perform
a few years back, she opened her show with OH YEAH, MAYBE
BABY. That night was a very special experience. With
careful sequencing we can make Laura Nyro fit very
comfortably on a girl group CD. Anyway, it's what she
would have wanted.

But to my point. I do, after all, know the meaning of the
word "thread". And this rant is linked to a previous
posting . . . 

John Lester's revelation about the "secret" track lurking
in the "negative space" on Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell's
"Complete Duets" spurred me to pay more attention when I
play CDs. Waddya know, the very next CD I played has a
hidden track that I had not found before. Spooky. Fast
forward for about 3 minutes after the last cut on Laura
Nyro's ANGEL IN THE DARK CD (Rounder 3176, 2001) and you
will find her "secret" version of Martha & the Vandellas'
COME AND GET THESE MEMORIES. Laura died in 1997 and this
CD contains her final recordings. Amongst them is a
stunning "out there" version of the Shirelles' WILL YOU
LOVE ME TOMORROW. If I knew Shirley Owens and Martha
Reeves, I'd buy them each a copy of this CD for Christmas.

Laura must also have had a special fondness for the
Vandellas. Her 1971 "Gonna Take A Miracle" album, so
titled after THE ROYALETTES classic, contained
interpretations of three songs originated by Martha and
her cohorts. I'd like to think she would have been
thrilled to be rubbing shoulders with names like THE
ORCHIDS, THE OPALS, THE SWEET THINGS, THE PUSSYCATS and
THE COOKIES on a compilation CD. We'll consider it our
tribute to girl groups on Laura's behalf. Hopefully we
might broaden a few minds too.

MICK PATRICK


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Message: 4
   Date: Sun, 16 Dec 2001 12:17:52 +0900
   From: Carol Kaye 
Subject: Holiday greetings and RRHF post

Freeman, thank-you so much......that's very nice.  It is
a huge political thing tho' I think so am not looking for
anything...I have some fine awards already, the Lifetime
Achievement Award for excellence and professionalism in
the music business, given by the Duquesne University in
the fine musician-city of Pittsburgh PA, and the Pioneer
Touchtone Award given in NYC last year by the Women In
Music...you have to earn those with integrity and
professionalism and that's what I'm about.  Plus am the
official bass sounds of Paul Allen's EMP Museum in
Seattle as well as archived there....they know about the
importance of our studio musician work.  And the recent
book of Quincy Jones' said some nice things...I'm
indebted to Q.  Hal Blaine is there at EMP too, others. A
special thanks to Freeman for this message.

---------------------------------------------------

To Andrew Hickey, I appreciate also your nice message. 
It's simply great that the super-talent Chet Atkins is
getting in....he's an enormous influence in the music
business...and a heck-of-a wonderful person.  But I do
believe that the RRHOF has yet to understand the
influence of studio musicians to back up the singers,
especially the 60s group which not only played from years
and years of intensive background (we were HAPPY to get
the money for our families!).  

Plus the new rock was fun to groove on. I am listening to
the backgrounds of some of the Phil Spector
things....wow....to hear Phil again, and some of us
talking...just is amazing to hear again, brings tears to
my eyes...I was there playing for my 3 kids like we all
were, and the strength and the creativity we came up with
too, along with the arrangements was really
something...Hal Blaine played his ass off...I'm playing
guitar on most but some bass later on too...the energy
was so important that we gave to the recordings and some
of the hook lines we'd come up with too...it was fully
great production all the way, I gotta hand to Phil...he
was and will always be a genius).

Like I say, the RRHOF is into the "stars" part of it, not
the background musicians who made the singers sing their
hearts out.  Thank-you Andrew, and everyone.  Have some
nice Holidays ....it's so important to think of our NYC,
our Penn. and our Wash. DC. victims and their families
this Season.  Wow there's goes "Sleigh Ride", playing
bass on this one.  

All the best, 
Carol Kaye  


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Message: 5
   Date: Sat, 15 Dec 2001 22:28:59 EST
   From: James Botticelli 
Subject: WTGA - Lucky?

> Waxie Maxie Baumgart and I announced to Ace Records
> that the inclusion of a track by LAURA NYRO on the
> next volume of WHERE THE GIRLS ARE was our desire. 

Does that make it a reality? And if so, may I suggest
"Luckie" or "Flim Flam Man" which is Laura at her best
IMHO...and Babs did a nice job on it too....botticelli


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Message: 6
   Date: Thu, 13 Dec 2001 08:22:23 -0000
   From: "John Lester" 
Subject: Re: Patrice Holloway

> > > does anyone know if there are enough Patrice Holloway
> > > recordings available to make a decent CD compilation?
> >
> > There are just about enough if you count the unreleased
> > stuff around now...
> 
> Wow - I never realised Patrice recorded enough for an
> album at Motown. Does anyone have any track details? -

I dont think it was meant as an album of Motown material.
I am assuming the Capitol recordings - Love and Desire,
etc.


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Message: 7
   Date: Sun, 16 Dec 2001 01:43:35 -0500
   From: "Paul Payton" 
Subject: Monkees, Garry Bonner

David Ponak writes: 
>... "Porpoise Song" by the Monkees is ... on the
> soundtrack CD to Cameron Crowe's
> new film "Vanilla Sky" How odd! (but cool)

Full-length (with the great fade) AND stereo, I hope?

Guy Lawrence writes: 
> The Mojo Men also recorded "Me About You" ...

...but it seems stiff and martial compared to Garry
Bonner's impassioned solo reading - "simple," Martin
Roberts notes, but in my opinion "Zen simple." The Spoons
version works for me, too....

One Magicians' song, "I'll Tell The World About You"
(flip of the "Invitation to Cry" 45), also got some
airplay on progressive radio in New England - kinda slow
doo-wop tempo but definitely "of the 60's." Joe Walsh did
a nice cover as well with Barnstorm.

And if you follow the links at http://www.petersando.com

(amazing site, worth bookmarking IMO) you can get to
Kenny Vance & the Planotones, in which group Garry Bonner
currently plays! (So now does Johnny Gale, also of the
wonderful Little Isidore & The Inquisitors - but that's
another story, which you can check out at
www.littleisidore.com). From the Vance website's Bonner
bio:

"Garry Bonner has been with Kenny Vance and The
Planotones since 1994 and has had a successful career as
a songwriter and singer spanning over more than 30 years.
A Bronx native, at the age of 13 he performed at the
Audubon Ballroom with Louie Lyman. In the early '60s he
won first prize on amateur night at the Apollo.
Throughout that decade and the early '70s he secured
record contracts with his group, The Magicians, and also
as a solo act with Columbia, Atlantic and MGM labels.

"Garry has had an expansive career as a co-writer for the
#1 chart hit "Happy Together" by The Turtles - preventing
The Beatles songs "Strawberry Fields" and "Penny Lane"
>from the #1 spot for eight weeks. The Turtles went #1
again with another Bonner song, "She'd Rather Be With Me".
Garry penned two more top ten songs for The Turtles,
along with "Celebrate" for Three Dog Night. Other artists
who have benefited from his collaboration with Allen
Gordon were the Righteous Brothers, Lou Rawls, Petula
Clark, Bobby Darin, Lovin' Spoonful, Lesley Gore, Captain
and Tenille, The Nylons and many others. Currently
Garry's song "Happy Together", recorded by The Turtles,
is featured in the national Burger King commercial."

There's also a photo of the promo picture sleeve Columbia
issued for "Invitation to Cry" with a different flip side
than the one I have!

Last light of Hanukkah tomorrow. Then Solstice, Christmas,
Kwanzaa, New Year's, Twelfth Night .. and taxes! Happy
everything, y'all.

Country Paul


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