________________________________________________________________________
______________ ______________
______________ ______________
______________ S P E C T R O P O P ______________
______________ ______________
________________________________________________________________________
Demonstrated at all dealers the 28th of each month
------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are 23 messages in this issue of Spectropop.
Topics in this Digest Number 388:
1. The Four Seasons' Name, the books are wrong.
From: Doc Rock
2. Re: "All Strung Out" by Nino Tempo & April Stevens
From: "Dave Swanson"
3. Re: Five for 88 cents
From: Billy G. Spradlin
4. A DOLLAR APIECE
From: Jimmy Crescitelli
5. Bargains, covers and others
From: "Paul Payton"
6. Del Shannon
From: "Don Charles"
7. Jeff and Ellie, Country Style!
From: "Don Charles"
8. Re: Bubblegum
From: Patrick Rands
9. Re: Bubblegum
From: "Laura.E.Pinto"
10. Re: Bubblegum
From: Paul Richards
11. Re: "All Strung Out" by Nino Tempo & April Stevens
From: "Keith Beach"
12. RE: "I Love How You Love Me" by Nino Tempo & April Stevens
From: "Phil Chapman"
13. RE: Jeff and Ellie, Country Style!
From: "Phil Chapman"
14. Re: Jeff and Ellie, Country Style!
From: "Robert Beason"
15. Re: Grapevine
From: "John Lester"
16. Re: Bubblegum
From: "Robert Conway"
17. Re: Bubblegum
From: "Laura.E.Pinto"
18. Re: The Four Seasons' Name, the books are wrong.
From: "Javed Jafri"
19. Superior covers
From: "James F. Cassidy"
20. RE: Cholly Op
From: "Andrew Simons"
21. More on that dreaded bullet-riddled La-La
From: Thomas Taber
22. Re: Ray Stevens
From: Michael Rashkow
23. Novelty records
From: "Guy Lawrence"
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 1
Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2002 19:21:57 -0500
From: Doc Rock
Subject: The Four Seasons' Name, the books are wrong.
>From my recent Bob Crewe interview:
"Where the name the Four Seasons came from? At that time,
I was dealing with a little store on the corner of 3rd
Avenue and 53rd Street that was called the Four Seasons
Antiques. That's where I first picked up on the name. It
was not the restaurant, it was not a bowling alley, it
was not Vivaldi, it was not any of those. I tossed it in
the pot as one name for consideration, and somewhere
along the line the guys have forgotten that. But that's
OK, I don't care. It was a great name."
Doc Rock
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Message: 2
Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2002 16:45:12 -0500
From: "Dave Swanson"
Subject: Re: "All Strung Out" by Nino Tempo & April Stevens
Speaking of Nino and April, a must hear is their version
of "I Love How You Love Me". It managaes to combine
harmony vocals fuzz guitar, and bagpipes! in a fantastic
mess! It is, as they say...way out! That's all...
DS
-----Original Message by jjfitz
> "All Strung out" is one of the ultimate
> Spector/production records of the mid-60's...the
> follow-up "The Habit of Loving you, baby" and ..."Boy's
> Town" are among the very best of the Spector-influenced
> records of the 60's. The dream-like atmosphere achieved
> on these above mentioned discs are pure pop-heaven and
> should be in everyone's collection who is serious about
> the Spector/Wall of Sound and Brian Wilson mentality.
> Pure rock and roll perfection all. Jack Fitzpatrick
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Message: 3
Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2002 08:31:39 -0000
From: Billy G. Spradlin
Subject: Re: Five for 88 cents
--- In Spectropop, Dan Hughes wrote:
> Billy mentions some of his finds in the bargain packages:
>
> > The Packers - Pink Chiffon on Hanna-Barbera (a cool
> > instrumental)
>
> Good grief, that's one of the ones I got too! Mine was
> white label--how about yours? Refresh my memory--what
> was the flip side?
>
> ---Dan
The B-side was called "Boondocks" but I dont remember it
as fondly after 30+ years as I do "Pink Chiffon". My
brother and I wore that 45 out to the point of almost
being unplayable, and I was really happy to find a clean
MP3 of it using WinMX. I guess "Northern Soul" fans
discovered it in the UK...
Also about TG&Y - They had a LOT of good stuff in the
bargan bins in the 70's-Early 80's before the Wal-Mart
onslaught killed them off. I remember buying the Hollies -
"Stop! Stop! Stop" (the first Hollies LP I had - made me a
lifetime fan), The Who - "Happy Jack" and the Kinks -
"Kinkdom" in echoey fake stereo for 50 cents each in the
mid 70's!
Also I picked up several original Raspberries albums in
the early 80's, A Hall & Oates greatest hits import from
Singapore, a Moody Blues best-of from K-Tel in the UK and
found bootleg copies of "Introducing The Beatles" on Vee
Jay for as little as $2.99 in those bins too. Always
wondered how those got in there!
I also remember seeing a LOT of copies of Big Star's #1
back then - when I bought the Import CD in the late 80's I
thought "I've seen this damn cover somewhere before..."
"Toys, Guns and Yo-Yo's"
Billy
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Message: 4
Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2002 14:34:04 EST
From: Jimmy Crescitelli
Subject: A DOLLAR APIECE
Years ago, in the early 70s when I still lived the life
of a kid in Brooklyn, I saw an ad in the paper for a
place that was selling oldies... I figured it was a store
of some kind, so I took the bus (two or three transfers)
into deepest Downtown Brooklyn... and found a place that
looked nothing like a store, but more like an abandoned
storefront... a big guy with a cigar answered and asked
what I wanted. I mentioned the ad, and he let me in. OH
MY GOD... it was a veritable SEA of 45 RPM records... he
said something about the fact that he used to supply
jukeboxes, because almost every stack of alike records
was accompanied by perforated sheets of those pinkish
labels that they stick in jukebox directories (I still
have them)... some were even typed. Anyway, being a kid,
I didn't have the money to buy the piles of Philles 45s.
that were stacked all over the place in boxes and on the
floor. OY... it was like being in one of those dreams
where you find unlimited stacks of the things you collect...
I had ten dollars with me, and I did get a nice mint copy
of "Da Doo Ron Ron" in blue, I remember, and a few things
by the Angels... I wanted to buy all the "He Hit Me" that
I saw, but... alas. Poor me.
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Message: 5
Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2002 15:34:59 -0500
From: "Paul Payton"
Subject: Bargains, covers and others
>From: Dan Hughes
> What were some of your great finds in those Hits You
> Missed packages??
As a kid, I could usually only afford to get discounted
or cut-out stuff, so I found some cool things, some of
which I bought, some I wish I had - like a used Teddy
Bears Imperial original LP for $1.98 in 1961 (but that
was 2/5 of my weekly allowance!). I also regret passing
up The Devotions' "Rip Van Winkle" on the original label,
Delta, for 39c. I did get the Chants' version of the
Isleys' "Respectable" in a hits-you-missed package (one
of the few cases where I find the cover better than the
original), and found a Canadian pressing on the Texans'
"Green Grass of Texas" (Infinity in the US) too. (Rumor
has it The Texans were Dorsey and/or Johnny Burnette.) I
still check bargain bins and tag sales for cool stuff.
The latest major finds were print: Timothy White's "The
Nearest Fawaway Place" and Wolfman Jack's autobiography,
each in hardcover for $1.98 in a remainder/close-out
store on Staten Island early last summer!
Incidentally, holes drilled through labels or LP covers
were not just for cut-outs; sometimes commercial copies
sent to radio stations as DJ copies received the same
treatment, especially 45's if the release was so hot
they couldn't afford the time lag needed to press DJ
copies. (This was a problem with Mercury-Smash-Philips
releases, since their DJ copies were on higher quality
vinyl, like RCA pressings, and their stock copies
usually suffered cue burns after just one or two plays,
especially wirth DJ's who liked to "massage" their cues
and/or slip-start the records.)
Tom Taber wrote:
> I remember a neighbor around 1967 getting "Who Shot
> The La-La?" which I thought was the worst record ever.
> I believe I later saw it listed as the 1st record on
> GNP Crescendo.
Who's the artist, please? Or more properly, who was
responsible for it? And what did it sound like?
By the way, earlier Swan labels were white with red or
maroon printing (white with black on the promos); later
they were black with silver lettering on the commercial
copies. The "Don't Drop Out" slug was in support of a
federal stay-in-school campaign of the era.
Kevin Kern: thanks for filling in the "You Are What You
Eat" soundtrack blank - and for the compliment. Does
anyone know if it's available, either CD or LP?
Dan and Billy: I never knew the Packers lived to record
again after their first (and only) hit, "Hole In The
Wall," on Pure Soul Records. By the way, I seem to
remember "Hole..." having fake party noises going on,
too.
Now, off to the "covers" department. First, Jeff Lemlich
wrote:
> "Look at Me Girl" ... was a nearly note-for-note
> duplication of the original by Texas band PLAYBOYS OF
> EDINBURGH (Columbia). Bobby seemed to do well covering
> U.S. garage bands-- "Come Back When You Grow Up"
> (Shadden & The King Lears)...."
I never knew about the P of E, and was actually able to
play it! (The computer gods must be smiling today!)
After a couple of listens, I actually think Bobby Vee's
version has more snap, energy and drive, and I still
prefer it. I do have the Shadden & King Lears version of
"Come Back...", IMO making two cases where the cover
equals or surpasses the original. And JB, I'd say it was
Bobby Vee's fortune, not fault, that he sounded a lot
like Buddy Holly. I don't think he "strapped it on";
even on the "Robert Thomas Velline" album you can hear
the vocal similarity to what Holly might have sounded
like had he lived into the progressive era.
Next, Billy Spradlin wrote:
> I really love many cover versions by The 4 Seasons on
> their early albums. (Especally the "Dawn" album -
> Frankie's falsetto on "You Send Me" after the guitar
> break is spine-tingling!) Unlike most groups they really
> played around with the arrangements of the originals,
> sometimes drastically (changing keys/tempos) to showcase
> the Seasons vocal talent.
Exactly; I've always felt there's no reason to cover
anything unless you're bringing something new to it (or
no one else has heard or will ever hear the original).
The Seasons' covers always brought fresh energy to
songs; for example, "Peanuts'" great new (at the time)
rising riff from Valli, and "Ain't That A Shame" emerged
as a super shag. In general, my leaning to "the
original's still the greatest" comes in terms of covers
that are trying to be "exactly" like the originals, and
I still stand by that position.
David Feldman: I agree with your high opinion of Del
Shannon's music and his covers. A favorite: Roger
Miller's "Fair Swiss Maiden" on Bigtop, as good as
Miller's RCA original. Even if I don't love everything
they do, there are certain artists I love for just doing
it, and Del Shannon is certainly one of those. I still
can't believe he voluntarily "left this sweet old world"
(in Lucinda Williams' words) just as his comeback was
finding traction.
Jack Fitzpatrick and Bill Green: Agree with "All Strung
Out" being of Spectorian majesty - and for all the right
reasons. BTW, the 45 and a nice career retrospective can
be found on The Best Of Nino Tempo & April Stevens,
Varese Sarabande VSD-5592 (1996). Also on board that
disc, a very credible new-at-the-time 1996 recording,
"Why Don't You Do Right," and the incredibly sexy
"Together" (Atco, 1962), the song that introduced me to
them. (And in the new-juice-for-old songs department,
there's the obvious "Deep Purple," the
less-obvious-but-great "Sweet and Lovely," etc.)
Thanks to everyone for keeping this list fascinating!
Country Paul
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Message: 6
Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2002 17:47:53 +0000
From: "Don Charles"
Subject: Del Shannon
> Del Shannon's career was amazing. Always
> distinctive, always personal, always intense, and almost
> always worthwhile, even when the records sunk into
> obscurity.
Agreed. He was an awesome talent. By the way, Jeff
Barry wrote and recorded two songs under the name The
Redwoods that would've fit Del to a tee: "Never Take It
Away" and "The Memory Lingers On." The production on
these numbers even has that echoey "Embee" sound.
Don Charles
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Message: 7
Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2002 18:03:58 +0000
From: "Don Charles"
Subject: Jeff and Ellie, Country Style!
Remember when I speculated about how classic
Barry/Greenwich songs would sound in country music
versions? Well, after having spoken directly to Jeff
Barry and to Ellie Greenwich's manager Bob Weiner, I can
say I'm not the only one who has engaged in such
speculation. It turns out that both Mr. B and Miss Ellie
would be thrilled to pieces if a country artist or group
of country artists recorded a tribute album of their hits.
And why the hell not? These songs were chart-topping hit
fodder for Tommy James, Manfred Mann, Ricky Valance, The
Shangri-Las, The Dixie Cups, The Archies, Shaun Cassidy,
Olivia Newton-John, Phil Spector's artists and many
others, and contrary to what some people may believe,
they're still plenty commercial. Imagine, if you will,
Dwight Yoakam givin' out with a western swing version of
"Da Doo Ron Ron" . . . Shania Twain tearin' it up to "He
Ain't No Angel" . . . Tim McGraw and Faith Hill duetting
on "River-Deep, Mountain-High" . . . Garth Brooks putting
his stamp on "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)" . . .
or Reba McIntyre gettin' sassy with "Lay A Little Lovin'
On Me." A Travis Tritt rendition of "Sugar, Sugar" would
surely make your life taste sweet, and just think what
Wynonna could do with "Keep It Confidential!!!" Hot damn!
Just thinking about it gets me the mood to dance the Tush
Push.
Does anybody out there in Spectropopland know someone in
Nashville circles who could get the ball rolling on a
project like this? If so, email me privately. Or better
yet, email your Nashville contacts and light a fire under
their asses! Who cares how it happens . . . as long as
it happens!
Don Charles
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Message: 8
Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2002 11:33:01 -0500
From: Patrick Rands
Subject: Re: Bubblegum
---- On Fri, 15 Feb 2002, Don Charles wrote:
> This is incredible, given the enduring popularity of
> songs like "Sugar, Sugar," "I Think I Love You," "Yummy,
> Yummy, Yummy," etc. There simply HAS to be a reissue
> label somewhere in the world willing to put together a
> Bubblegum Music Is The Naked Truth compilation CD!!!
There already is a compilation cd companion to the
Bubblegum Music Is The Naked Truth book (which by the way
is an AMAZING book), of sorts. Somebody has taken it upon
themselves to do a bootleg series of Bubblegum called
Bubblegum MotherF***er and they are awesome. I believe
they are coming out of Japan where copyrights and all
that aren't as strict? I'm not one to know - but keep in
mind these are mainly culled from vinyl so the sound
isn't always so great but you DO get all the classic
Bubblegum tracks and that's all that matters to us
musically obsessed. I hope I'm not incurring wrath from
anyone in mentioning these cds - and if anyone has MORE
information about them I'd love to know. Anyways, until
someone takes it upon themselves to sort through the
rights to this stuff I would recommend dishing out for
these cds.
Now here's my question: when is someone going to write
another book about Bubblegum??? The Naked Truth book is
great but I want more!!! We have many book about Girl
Groups, now we need more about Bubblegum - so get writing!!
Patrick
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Message: 9
Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2002 01:45:52 -0000
From: "Laura.E.Pinto"
Subject: Re: Bubblegum
--- In spectropop "Don Charles" wrote:
> This is incredible, given the enduring popularity of
> songs like "Sugar, Sugar," "I Think I Love You," "Yummy,
> Yummy, Yummy," etc. There simply HAS to be a reissue
> label somewhere in the world willing to put together a
> Bubblegum Music Is The Naked Truth compilation CD!!!
I'm surprised Varese or another oldies compilation label
hasn't GRABBED it! I wonder if there are any oldies
radio stations which could maybe get together and sponsor
a reissue of some kind as a companion to the book?
Laura
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Message: 10
Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2002 03:32:55 EST
From: Paul Richards
Subject: Re: Bubblegum
Just to mention a couple of my current fave bubblegum
tracks, The Banana Splits' Wait till tomorrow' [I just got
it from audiogalaxy] & 'Captain Groovy & his Bubblegum
Army' [also on audiogalaxy,it was never made into a
cartoon was it?Shame] The B Splits' tune has a great
harpsichord, anyone know what type of harpsichord they
used?
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Message: 11
Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2002 08:18:31 -0000
From: "Keith Beach"
Subject: Re: "All Strung Out" by Nino Tempo & April Stevens
> a must hear is their version of "I Love How You Love Me".
I agree, this eccentric track reduces me to hysterics
every time I hear it. It's genius + stupid. Nino Tempo &
April Stevens have a fascinating back catalogue, but some
of the tracks seem too similar if you listen all in one
go. Savour each one individually as a single, then come
back later for another taste.
keith beach
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Message: 12
Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2002 12:33:29 -0000
From: "Phil Chapman"
Subject: RE: "I Love How You Love Me" by Nino Tempo & April Stevens
Keith:
>I agree, this eccentric track reduces me to hysterics
>every time I hear it.
And I guess you've heard the equally amusing UK cover by
Paul & Barry Ryan? This was [in musica] last May, and
again right now. You might like to answer the following
trivia question: The two versions are in different keys,
but standard Scottish bagpipes only play in one key -
which is the correct pitch version?
Can't mention Nino & April without referring to Nino's
epic "Boys Town (Where My Broken Hearted Buddies Go)",
which I think holds the record for the longest stay in
musica. Little did I know on a rainy Saturday afternoon
in Golborne Road (off Portobello) that, for an outlay of
one paltry shilling, 07 " of plastic would give me thirty
plus years of lasting pleasure. This has to be my
personal best 'find', and on the original 'Daddy Sam'
label (no, not 'Mother Bertha'). I wish someone could
persuade Nino to slip it on to a future comp in
(((STEREO)))
Phil
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Message: 13
Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2002 16:15:31 -0000
From: "Phil Chapman"
Subject: RE: Jeff and Ellie, Country Style!
Don:
>I speculated about how classic
>Barry/Greenwich songs would sound in country music
>versions?
Probably not what you had in mind, but worth a listen is
the mildly Cajun version of "People Say", complete with
fiddle and harmonica, by the delightful 60s Malagasy
sextet 'Les Surfs', in musica. They also recorded
respectable covers of many other Spectropop classics.
There are a couple of pics in the photos area, along with
some Spector related additions and a dozen Ronettes pics,
including an informal shot of Ronnie & Estelle, which is
the one of the nicest I've seen.
Phil
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Message: 14
Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2002 12:57:00 +0000
From: "Robert Beason"
Subject: Re: Jeff and Ellie, Country Style!
Greetings all from a longtime lurker, first-time poster.
Anyone interested in hearing Spectropop songs done up
country style should check out Jody Miller's Anthology
CD, which includes C&W versions of "Be My Baby," "He's
So Fine," "To Know Him Is To Love Him" and "Will You
Love Me Tomorrow". All these tracks were recorded in
the early 70s. Also included, of course, is the
brilliant "Home Of The Brave", which pretty well sums up
the entire previous decade in 2 minutes 50 seconds.
Bob Beason
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Message: 15
Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2002 11:32:44 -0000
From: "John Lester"
Subject: Re: Grapevine
Tom Taber wrote:
> I'm no Motown expert, but wasn't Marvin's version done
> first, then voted down in one of those meetings they
> used to pick single releases?
John Lester writes:
No......it was originally assigned to the Isley
Brothers.......no vocals exist now though it is not clear
whether Ronald cut it.......next was Smokey and his vocal
appeared on the wonderful Motown Treasures
CD..........then Marvin Gaye and then Gladys et al.
Smokey later changed some lines on his first vocal and
THAT version went on his Special Occasion album..
Anyone close enough to Ronald Isley to ask him? If
there is someone, can they also ask him why he doesn't
seem to want to talk about his Motown recordings....
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Message: 16
Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2002 23:41:55 -0600
From: "Robert Conway"
Subject: Re: Bubblegum
Bob Conway writes:
Re. Bubblegum Music--My apologies for not reading my
mails in a timely fashion and thereby jumping into this
topic much too late but here is my input...but first a
historical perspective from the pen of the late Lillian
Roxon: "Why did records like "Chewy Chewy" and "Yummy
Yummy" (10/68 and 7/68 respectively) dominate the charts
during a period that is often described as the most
sophisticated in rock? Because, statistically, there are
more ten- and eleven-year-olds than ever; not only that,
more ten- and eleven-year-olds are buying records than
ever before. The most popular of the marching morons of
bubblegum were such stellar bands as The Nineteen-Ten
Fruitgum Company, The Ohio Express and, later on, Dawn.
Bubblegum music died in the late sixties...in name. Today
it is called great art or the Carpenters or something
close to that." Roxon's critique of this genre is as
definitive as any critic/writer of the late sixties/early
seventies. That is to say, most observers gave Bubblegum
music the thumbs down. Even Rolling Stone magazine lifted
the "marching morons' reference from Roxon in a written
reference to BG music in the early seventies.
Today many people have shed their guilt of enjoying the
pleasure derived from listening to the Lemon Pipers, Salt
Water Taffy, Vanity Fair, etc. Recently Buddah Records
(BMG) has released the best of Ohio Express, Lemon Pipers,
and 1910 Fruitgum Company. Varese Sarabande also has
issued a number of "Bubblegum Classics" with 20 or more
tracks that do indeed include the classics but also stir
the debate as to what truly deserves to be labeled
Bubblegum.
Lastly, I do recall the Buddah Records slogan from the
late sixties, "Bubble Gum Music Is the Naked Truth,"
which also became the title of a "best of" Buddah artists
compilation LP that featured a bunch of bare-bottomed
babies sitting on a floor, perhaps enjoying the fact that
they could finally eat solid food...no doubt while
listening to the strains of "Yummy Yummy." -Bob Conway
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Message: 17
Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2002 14:41:08 -0000
From: "Laura.E.Pinto"
Subject: Re: Bubblegum
--- In spectropop, Patrick Rands wrote:
>
> There already is a compilation cd companion to the
> Bubblegum Music Is The Naked Truth book (which by the way
> is an AMAZING book), of sorts. Somebody has taken it upon
> themselves to do a bootleg series of Bubblegum called
> Bubblegum MotherF***er and they are awesome. I believe
> they are coming out of Japan where copyrights and all
> that aren't as strict? I'm not one to know - but keep in
> mind these are mainly culled from vinyl so the sound
> isn't always so great but you DO get all the classic
> Bubblegum tracks and that's all that matters to us
> musically obsessed.
Yes, I've been seeing those Bubblegum CD compilations on
Ebay for months now. Several in the series are listed
every week and have the "Buy it Now" option, so no
bidding is needed. I've purchased four so far. Among
the gems I've found in this series are several very
obscure Ron Dante cuts (he recorded two songs, "Oh What
a Wonderful Day [Hey Pierre]" and "Lay a Little Love on
Me" as Abrahamm and Strauss, complete with a convincing
British accent!), the two tracks from the final Archies
single ("Plum Crazy" and "Strangers in the Morning"),
and an unreleased Josie and the Pussycats track called
"Together." I suggest mixing and matching and trading;
each CD contains an average of 28 tracks and only the
most avid and dedicated bubblegum fan will be familiar
with most of them.
Laura
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Message: 18
Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2002 19:17:00 -0500
From: "Javed Jafri"
Subject: Re: The Four Seasons' Name, the books are wrong.
Doc wrote:
> From my recent Bob Crewe interview:
> "Where the name the Four Seasons came from? At that time,
> I was dealing with a little store on the corner of 3rd
> Avenue and 53rd Street that was called the Four Seasons
> Antiques. That's where I first picked up on the name. It
> was not the restaurant, it was not a bowling alley, it
> was not Vivaldi, it was not any of those. I tossed it in
> the pot as one name for consideration, and somewhere
> along the line the guys have forgotten that. But that's
> OK, I don't care. It was a great name."
Well I guess another urban myth bites the dust. Thanks
for the info Doc. Now if we could only solve the mystery
behind cranberry sauce.
Javed
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Message: 19
Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2002 13:28:54 -0500
From: "James F. Cassidy"
Subject: Superior covers
David Feldman noted:
>There aren't too many pop masterpieces that have a cover
>version as great as the original, but there are a few.
"Respect" springs to mind, although I love both Otis' and
Aretha's versions. As Otis himself supposedly exclaimed
"That little girl stole my song!"
Then there are the hit cover versions of songs that were
never hits in the first place. My favorite in this
category is "You Showed Me." The original by the Byrds
(okay, "the Beefeaters") was a sloppy, Beatle-esque
diamond-in-the-rough. It wasn't even considered good
enough to be included on the first Byrds album. The
Turtles transformed this Gene Clark/Roger (Jim) McGuinn
tune into something sublime.
Jim Cassidy
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Message: 20
Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2002 10:02:35 -0000
From: "Andrew Simons"
Subject: RE: Cholly Op
-----Original Message from: Paul Payton:
> One I'd love to hear again if anyone here has it: Gary
> Paxton's You Been Torturin' Me.
>
> Another great fun tune - the follow up to their version
> of Alley Oop, if I'm not mistaken; I liked it much more
> (preferred Dante's AO), but the record-buying public
> didn't agree. :-)
Paul and y'all:
I seem to recall that Gary Paxton did his own answer
record, possibly titled "Cholly Op," by the Hong Kong
White Sox.
-Andrew Simons
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Message: 21
Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2002 08:28:18 -0800 (PST)
From: Thomas Taber
Subject: More on that dreaded bullet-riddled La-La
For Paul Payton - No idea who did it (is there a GNP
Cres. discography around?) It went "Who shot the La-La?
- I don't know; Who shot the La-La? -I don't know; Who
shot the La-La? - I don't know - he must be a (two
syllable word) soul." It must have been catchy enough,
as I heard it maybe once, probably not the whole way
through, and I remember it.) I can't remember the
names of people I've worked with for 10 years - I
apologize, then say it's their fault for not making an
obscure record in the 50s or 60s! Now somebody tell me
they've seen that record sell for 150 dollars or so.
Tom "Smells Like Camp Granada" Taber
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Message: 22
Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2002 09:04:32 EST
From: Michael Rashkow
Subject: Re: Ray Stevens
In a message dated 2/15/2002, Country Paul writes:
> Re: "Ray Stevens' top-40-hit-with-longest-song-title-ever
> Jeremiah Peabody's Polyunsaturated Quick-Dissolving
> Fast-Acting Pleasant-Tasting Green and Purple Pills (with
> picture sleeve!)":
I'm a Ray Stevens booster. Think he is a biog talent.
Writes, arranges, sings, plays and comes with unique
perspective. Sometimes a little over the top but
Guitarzan is masterful, Mr. Business Man a major league
piece, Unwind a killer record and he is still out there
30 or more years later--currently with Osama Your Mama.
Rashkovsky
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
Message: 23
Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2002 13:27:01 -0000
From: "Guy Lawrence"
Subject: Novelty records
Hi everyone,
For all you novelty record nuts who came out of the
woodwork after my "Juanita Banana" enquiry check out this
site which I came across whilst doing a bit of Peels
research for myself. www.execpc.com/~brikrn/ It's a great
list of someone's novelty collection with a superb page
of Beatle cash-ins.
Regards, Guy.
--------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]--------------------
End
