Spectropop - Digest Number 322

• From: Spectropop Group
• Date: Mon, 17 Dec 2001 14:26:50

                  
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There are 8 messages in this issue of Spectropop.

Topics in this Digest Number 322:

      1. Atkins, Emjays
           From: "Paul Payton" 
      2. Re: Porpoise Song/Spectropopper media glimpse
           From: Stewart Mason 
      3. mojo collections
           From: John Rausch 
      4. Crazy Horses!!
           From: "Martin Roberts" 
      5. Darlene performs
           From: John Rausch 
      6. WEST COAST GIRLS: OMA HEARD
           From: Mick Patrick 
      7. Re: Bernie Schwartz
           From: "Peter Lerner" 
      8. He's a Rebel
           From: "Ken Levine" 


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Message: 1
   Date: Mon, 17 Dec 2001 00:31:51 -0500
   From: "Paul Payton" 
Subject: Atkins, Emjays

Re: Chet Atkins - I saw him work in 1967 with Bobby Bare
at RCA studios. He was absolutely laid back, professional,
offered help to the band but trusted them implicity - and
appropriately. And let's not forget he also produced
Skeeter Davis as well as the Browns, whose sisters' magic
harmonies could easy qualify for "girl groupdom" on many
occasions. Say what he would about rock music in Nashville,
he created some of the best. Definitely worthy of the
RRHOF (more than some already there). Carol Kaye, your
turn is coming!

Seeking information: Talking with another collector
off-list, we got into singles by the Emjays on Greenwich
Records. They were earlier that we usually discuss here,
but were a co-ed group with dominant female harmonies and
were quite genre-leaping. "This Is My Love" is a beautiful
doo-wop rock ballad; the flip, "The Pitty Pat Song
(Waiting)" is a rockabilly jump with high female harmonies,
a slightly-but-wonderfully misplaced bass singer, a
searing guitar solo - and no bass player on either side,
electric or acoustic! Their follow-up had a cha-cha beat,
"Cross My Heart." No names on the label connect it to
anything, but if I remember Greenwich Records was in the
neighborhood of the Brill Building. The releases were c.
1958, some carrying the sub-heading "Featuring Judy and
Billy" (no last names - I don't have the 45's in front of
me, but I think that's right). Who were these people, and
did any of them go anywhere afterwards? Anyone with any
help anywhere, please? Thanks in advance!

Country Paul


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Message: 2
   Date: Sun, 16 Dec 2001 21:06:24 -0700
   From: Stewart Mason 
Subject: Re: Porpoise Song/Spectropopper media glimpse

Paul Payton asks:

>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?  

Nope, just the usual three-minute version.  Sorry.  (But
while the movie is a disappointment, this is the best yet
of Crowe's always-remarkable soundtracks, with a
remarkable range but a consistency of mood.)

Stress-related insomnia caused me to spend a couple
early-morning hours in front of the TV last night, where
to my shock I discovered our very own Dave Feldman hiding
behind a goofy red Zorro mask as one of the
tasters/celebrity judges on Food Network's READY SET COOK
(imagine IRON CHEF as a low-budget American game show
hosted by Ainsley Harriott, a wonderful and extremely odd
British cooking show host).  Dave unfortunately only got
in a couple of sentences, not quite enough to namedrop
Lesley Gore or anything like that.  Still, it was a
startling moment, sitting up on the couch and saying,
"Hey!  I know that guy!"

Stewart, now one of at least two food writers here


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Message: 3
   Date: Sun, 16 Dec 2001 22:36:49 -0500
   From: John Rausch 
Subject: mojo collections

Can any Spectropoppers help me out?

I want a copy of the Mojo Collections publication with
the Spector article, I tried purchasing it on line when
it was out but after quite a few emails (none returned by
them) I finally discovered they never "recieved" my order.

If anyone can help me get my hands on a copy please email
me privately.

Thanks,

John Rausch


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Message: 4
   Date: Sun, 16 Dec 2001 22:37:44 -0000
   From: "Martin Roberts" 
Subject: Crazy Horses!!

Long Haired Lover From Liverpool, Puppy Love, Love Me for
A Reason!!!! The Osmond Brothers, oh how the memories
come flooding back. TURN THAT S..T OFF!!

Don't know Jeffrey Glenn's recommendation "Mary Elizabeth".
(Although-sorry!-I would treat anyone who rates "The
Saddest Bank Robbery Culver City Ever Had"'s judgement
with caution! But I can not believe it is better than "My
Mom" on "The New Sound Of The Osmond Brothers" MGM Album.
Sandwiched between "Chim Chim Cher-ee" & "Hello Dolly"
this track is just gorgeous!!!!!

Co Written 'Mr Supper Club' Bobby Darin with Terry
Melcher who also Cond & Prod. "My Mom" is a soft wistful
Beach Boys "In My Room", Robin Ward "In his Car" and
Susan Lynne "Don't Drag No More" surfing styled weepie.
Weepie? Evertime I hear it I shed a tear.  One other
track on the LP again Prod. by Terry is also excellent an
uptempo surfin' styled "Mr Sandman" my son's just come in
the room and he reckons 170BPM! (He'd no more about this
than me!).

Would have made a wonderful single.
 
Martin


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Message: 5
   Date: Sun, 16 Dec 2001 21:13:08 -0500
   From: John Rausch 
Subject: Darlene performs

According to the cbs website, Darlene performs on
Letterman on Wed 19th.

John Rausch


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Message: 6
   Date: Sun, 16 Dec 2001 21:17:21 +0000 (GMT)
   From: Mick Patrick 
Subject: WEST COAST GIRLS: OMA HEARD

Greetings,

> Original Message from Jimmy Crescitelli:
> OMA HEARD....great to see her name in print again!

I agree. Oma's one and only Motown 45 is among my most
prized possessions. Yes, if you like Brenda Holloway
you'll love Oma's MR. LONELY HEART and the B-side was a
fantasic female Beatles soundalike. I kid you not, Jimmy
boy. Unfortunately it's a bit rare and has never been
legally reissued.

Oma should be of particular interest to all Spector buffs
out there - check out the small print on the Back To Mono
box set and the Leonard Cohen's "Death Of A Ladies' Man"
LP, for starters.

Here's a bit more info about her culled from the book L.A.
R&B Vocal Groups 1945-1965 by Steve Propes and Galen Gart.
Go to their website for further details on this book:
www.lavocalgroups.com

Oma began her recording career on the Play label in 1959
in a girl group called the GAY CLIFFS. She moved on to
THE SWEETHEARTS (Hi III), THE UTMOSTS (Pan-Or), THE SA
SHAYS (Alfi and Zen), THE DYNELS (Dot and Natural), THE
POSTALETTES (Dore), THE DARLINGS (Dore) and THE DELICATES
(Celeste and Dee Dee). Full personnel details of all
these groups are given in the book. 

And here's a liitle extra info about Oma not filtched
>from that book but told to me by (name dropping alert!)
Darlene Love and her sister Sandy Wynns (Edna Wright).
Oma was married to guitarist Phil Drake and often used
her married name. She recorded a few duets with Marvin
Gaye before Motown sacked her for busting her diet. When
the company eventually released the tracks many years
later they erroneously billed her as Oma Page thinking
she was arranger Billy Page's sister. Oma Page and Oma
Heard-Drake are two completely different people.

It took some nerve for me to talk about Motown now that
John Lester is on board the good ship Spectropop.

MICK PATRICK


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Message: 7
   Date: Sun, 16 Dec 2001 17:40:57 -0000
   From: "Peter Lerner" 
Subject: Re: Bernie Schwartz

"Paul Payton" wrote:

> I think that the CoBurt (MGM-distributed)
> pressings I heard of the Bernie Schwartz LP came from the
> same bad batch, because the harsh distortion is there -
> but MGM in that era was not known for quality control.
> Also, European pressings were known to be of much better
> quality. And the performances are excellent. I also
> didn't know that Bernie Schwartz was "Adrian Pride"; "Her
> Name Is Melody" on WB is another old fave of mine -
> beautiful "raga rock" written by the Phil Everly!

So who on earth is Bernie Schwartz.

US WB 45 5651 has him singing the Jackie DeShannon /
Sharon Sheeley composition Baby Bye-Oh (so popular in the
UK that it gave its name to the best selling tomato
fertiliser), the label saying it's a Phil Everly / Sharon
Sheeley production. It sounds so Everlys that there is
clearly one or more of the Brothers singing along with
Bernie.

So why, when 5651 was released in the UK, was the singer
re-named Bernie Balentine?

I'd previously heard that Bernie S was actor Tony Curtis
(his real name, I believe - but unlikely) or former
Searchers drummer Chris Curtis (a short-term collaborator
of Sharon's) - but I didn't realise that this guy had a
career and some more pseudonyms. The clues seem to
indicate that he's really the lost Everly Brother, Curtis
Everly. (So I made that bit up...but does anyone have a
proper answer?)

Peter


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Message: 8
   Date: Sun, 16 Dec 2001 22:38:30 -0800
   From: "Ken Levine" 
Subject: He's a Rebel

Just got the book "He's a Rebel" about you-know-who
written by Mark Ribowsky.   Any good?


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