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Volume #0082 May 11, 1998
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The Get-with-it Sound
Subject: The Association
Sent: 05/09/98 9:50 pm
Received: 05/10/98 8:15 am
From: Alan Haber, zoog ink.net
Jamie wrote:
>Next Tuesday at the BMI Pop Awards Richard Addrisi will be
>given the Seven Million Performance Award for co-writing
>Association's "Never My Love." Reportedly, this has always been
>one of Alan Haber's favorite songs in the whole wide world ;-).
Indeed it is, Jamie! In the sixties, The Association almost
always managed to edge out every other fave group of mine as
tops of the pops. I used to play the Insight Out album on my
parents' Lafayette stereo and play with the left and right
channels on Windy, separating the harmonies on the chorus.
Basically, I just loved, and continue to love, the group's
intricate harmonies.
Somewhere around this musical museum/apartment in which I live
I have a videotape of The Association guest hosting on The Mike
Douglas Entertainment Hour television show in the 1970s. They
sang a good number of songs, all live. If I can dig it up, I'll
report back to the list on contents.
And Jeff said:
>The best available Association compilation CD is by far the
>Japanese FROM THE ORIGINAL MASTER TAPES CD ... Another
>excellent Association CD was a U.S. disc released on Pair
>Records (licensed from WSP) called SONGS THAT MADE US FAMOUS.
The available Association CDs are few, unfortunately, and hard
to get on top of it all. The French E.P. CD has been spoken
about here. The Original Master Tapes CD is the best, as Jeff
says. I play it regularly. I didn't know Dreamer was taken from
a 45! :o) It sounds great! The Pair two-fer of the first two
albums really sounds pretty wonderful, but, alas, it is out of
print. I've never seen a copy in a used bin. I picked mine up
at Sam Goody's in New York City when it came out those many
years ago and treasure it still.
Jeff also said:
>Hey, Jamie, why haven't they put out the Association LP's out
>on CD in Japan?
I can shed a little light on this. Well, not as to why these
CDs aren't out in Japan specifically, but... When I had Russ
Giguere on my Pure Pop radio show last summer, he told me off
the air that the group has been trying to get them released
forever, but Warner Brothers wants way too much for the masters.
And apparently Warners doesn't think enough people will buy
them. I'm sure they're wrong -- The Association is one of the
seminal harmony groups in popular music. And they had hits,
Warners! Wake up! Hey, I'd buy a zillion of 'em!
I could go on with this Association stuff -- I bought two
copies of the group's Columbia comeback, Waterbeds in Trinidad
(a terrific album, by the way), last year to replace my worn
copy that I bought at May's Department Store in Massapequa on
Long Island when it came out (I traded one copy to fellow
Association fan Herb Somers recently). I rode by bike from
Farmingdale (a no-speeder, by the way -- the bike, that is :o))
and had to throw it over a fence so I could cross the main drag
to the store. And then I had to fight the windy elements to
ride back home. That's a fan for you!
Alan
====================[ archived by Spectropop ]====================
Subject: Re: Spectropop V#0081
Sent: 05/09/98 3:45 pm
Received: 05/09/98 3:54 pm
From: Paul MacArthur, RTF_ DU
>>Imagine, the Beatles having the Top 5 songs on Billboard at
>>once!
>Didn't the Bee Gees come close to equalling or this mark
>during their Saturday Night Fever fling.
Not sure off-hand, but the one act that had five albums in the
Billboard Top 20 is... Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass.
- Paul
----------
Album of the Week: Philip Glass HEROES
Song of the Week: Gil Scott-Heron "Winter In America"
RIP: Carl Dean Wilson (1946-1998)
Thumbs Down: To VH-1 for their wimpy disclaimer before their
Ted Nugent documentary and their attempts to slight his
politics in the documentary. Nothing short of a disgrace.
----------
====================[ archived by Spectropop ]====================
Subject: Re: "Sukiyaki"
Sent: 05/10/98 11:06 am
Received: 05/10/98 5:55 pm
From: Marc Wielage, rax.com
Jamie LePage <le_page_ ies.com> asked:
>This is an interesting song. I believe it holds a couple of
>records in terms of chart success; say - Mr. Wielage, do you
>have any noteworthy musictrax facts about [Sukiyaki]?
------------------------<snip>------------------------
Here's most of what I know about the song, from my notes:
"Kyu's first and only Top 40 American single, though he went on
to have dozens of major hits in his native Japan. The original
Japanese title of this song was "Ue O Muite Aruko," which
loosely translates to "I Look Up When I Walk," a downbeat
ballad about a man trying to recover from a failed romance.
This song was one of the rare hits to make the Top 10 in three
different decades, each by different performers: Taste of Honey
did it in 1981 as a soulful Top 5 ballad, and 4 PM did an
updated pop version as a Top 10 hit in early 1995. Sakamoto was
one of only two Japanese artists to score a Top 40 hit in
America; the other performers were Pink Lady, from 1979."
--MFW
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
-= Marc Wielage | "The computerized authority =-
-= MusicTrax, Ltd. | on rock, pop, & soul." =-
-= Chatsworth, CA | rax.com =-
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
====================[ archived by Spectropop ]====================
Subject: Regional Hits
Sent: 05/10/98 5:09 am
Received: 05/10/98 8:15 am
From: David Feldman, feld erables.com
DICKYG ponders:
> Interesting observation, Doc. Question: What makes certain
> songs big hits in some parts of the country while the same song
> might be completely ignored in other areas?
>
This subject has always fascinated me. The Carolinas have
always fascinated me. I think the aficianados of beach music
have great reason to be proud, because they have adopted music
that suits them based on feel and quality rather than strict
genre or image requirements. Like pornography, beach music is
hard to define but somehow identifiable.
Of course, some songs became regional hits primarily because
of the proximity of the proximity of radio stations to the
record companies. It seems to me that growing up in L.A. in the
50's and 60's, Capitol and Dot/Liberty had more than their share
of regional hits. I remember listening (and buying) the Four
Coquettes "Sparkle and Shine," a white female-harmony song that
was a hit in L.A. (in the late fifties, I believe) for Capitol.
I've never heard it anywhere else.
But some regional hits seem to be based much more on taste.
It's still hard for me to believe that Them's "Gloria" wasn't a
huge hit everywhere. It was a *monster* in L.A. When KHJ did its
Top 300 of all time yearly surveys, based on listener votes, "
Gloria" consistently scored in the top 5 ("Satisfaction" always
seemed to win) man years after its release. I'm not sure the
Shadows of Knight version was even played in L.A.
Dave Feldman
RIP: Carl Wilson
Song of the Week: "Landslide" (Fleetwood Mac) from "The Dance"
Movie of the Month: Love & Death on Long Island
Best Time Killer of the 90's: Filling out the gender survey at
"http://www.imponderables.com"
====================[ archived by Spectropop ]====================
Subject: Regional Hits
Sent: 05/09/98 1:04 pm
Received: 05/09/98 1:08 pm
From: Doc Rock, docro om
>Interesting observation, Doc. Question: What makes certain
>songs big hits in some parts of the country while the same song
>might be completely ignored in other areas?
Well, several possibilities come to mind.
1. Payola
2. Home-town act.
3. DJ or music director who likes the song/singer.
4. Station that plays what is requested, and not just what
is on the national charts.
5. Record company rep (or a local distributor) who pushes a
release.
6. An act that tours only regionally (like the Pixies Three)
'cause they are still in school.
>And, can anybody think of any other examples
>of regional hits like this one?
A very big hit in Kansas City the summer of '62 was Tobin
Mathews "Susan" on Columbia. But it never even bubbled on
Billboard. Another is the Original "Yellow Balloon" by Jan &
Dean (Columbia) and the cover of "Bonnie & Clyde" (Buddha) by
the Chicago Prohibition 1941.
I am sure there are hundreds if not thousands more.
====================[ archived by Spectropop ]====================
Subject: 60s radio is back
Sent: 05/10/98 1:26 pm
Received: 05/10/98 5:55 pm
From: Big L, bi mail.com
<>>>>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.....
FINALLY, THE LONG WAIT IS OVER. 60S PERSONALITY TOP FORTY RADIO
IS BACK AS BIG AS EVER. STARTING MONDAY, MAY 18TH, RICKY THE K'S
SOLID GOLD TIME MACHINE WILL COMMENCE BROADCASTING 60S
PERSONALITY RADIO FIVE NIGHTS A WEEK OVER INTERNET RIGHT TO
YOUR COMPUTER. TO FIND OUT HOW TO BE A SUBSCRIBER, THE
SUBSCRIPTION RATES AND MUCH MUCH MORE, HERE IS THE WEB ADDRESS:
www.60sradio.com
THERE ARE TWO HOURS OF FREE DEMOS IN REAL TIME AT THE WEBSITE.
LISTEN TO DEMOS A THROUGH D. DEMOS E AND F ARE FOR FUTURE USE.
ENJOY THE DEMOS AND REMEMBER THE FUN BEGINS FOR REAL ON MONDAY,
MAY 18TH!
"PAMS is a registered service mark of PAMS Productions, Inc.,
Dallas, Texas. Used under license."
==
Big L Check out my Radio Legends pages at:
bi mail.com http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/9816
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