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You'll get all the Top Pops at Boots Record Shops
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There are 13 messages in this issue of Spectropop.
Topics in this Digest Number 419:
1. MATCHMAKERS
From: Erik
2. re: Nick DeCaro
From: "Jack Madani"
3. I Want You For My Sweetheart/Globetrotters
From: "Don Charles"
4. NewVoice-Excerpt
From: Michael Sinclair
5. Re: Another Living Legend on Spectropop!!
From: Michael Sinclair
6. Lothar CD; Bosstown victims
From: "Paul Payton"
7. Re: From Mark Wirtz re Philwit&Pegasus
From: "cchaillet"
8. Re: MATCHMAKERS
From: Michael Sinclair
9. Re-air of three-hour Bobby Vee interview show
From: Ronnie Allen
10. Philwit release on RPM
From: "Cedric"
11. Re: MATCHMAKERS
From: Luis Suarez
12. Re: Globetrotters
From: "Laura.E.Pinto"
13. The Grape
From: James Botticelli
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 1
Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 15:08:38 -0000
From: Erik
Subject: MATCHMAKERS
Dear Mr. Wirtz,
What's the story on the Matchmakers? I have a Belgian
single by this group, "Thank you baby" b/w "Sandy", on
the obscure Eurec label (#713) from 1969 or 1970. I think
this record came only out in Belgium and Germany, right?
The picture sleeve (that I have posted to the Spectropop
Photos section !!) shows you in front. Who were the other
members of this band? I very much like the B-side "Sandy",
great soft sitar psych pop! The songs are credited to "R.
Lindt" and "Petra Hold" ????? I've heard the Matchmakers
also made an album in the U.K. on Chapter One...is that
right? Are there any other releases?
cheers,
Erik
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 2
Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 12:08:13 -0500
From: "Jack Madani"
Subject: re: Nick DeCaro
Bill Reed asked about Nick DeCaro, and while I don't have
anything new to tell him, I did want to pipe up with a
hearty endorsement of DeCaro's arranging and producing of
the Andy Williams album "Love, Andy." A nice mix of
then-currently popular soft-pop hits, including The Look
of Love, What Now My Love, Can't Take My Eyes Off You, The
More I See You, and God Only Knows. The arrangements are
clever and fresh sounding (only The Look of Love and Can't
Take My Eyes Off You sound like what you'd expect them to
sound like, and even in those cases I'd say it's more a
case of recognizing the worth of the original arrangements
and not messing with a good thing), and Andy knows how to
sing these songs without sounding like an old fogey workin'
on his combover.
But of all, my favorite track is "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine."
It's groovy, eccentric, with lots of depth and detail,
bouncing back and forth between a sort of "workin' on a
coal mine" vibe and a movie-music-jazz-walking-bass thing
on the chorus. Oh, it's cool. And at the end, Andy
swoops up into a falsetto. Like to hear Sinatra try THAT.
Right in the middle of the song, there's a little drum
fllllip flllip flllip riff, no more than a bar or two long.
Sounds exactly like the kind of filler stuff Hal Blaine
would do.
This is a great sounding album. Attaguy Nick DeCaro.
jack
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 3
Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 16:28:20 +0000
From: "Don Charles"
Subject: I Want You For My Sweetheart/Globetrotters
Ever heard a dance disc called "I Want You For My
Sweetheart," circa 1965? This Bobby Sheen record has
always been one of my favorite Barry-Greenwich rarities.
Does anyone know the story behind it? It's a Steve Venet
production and co-composition . . . why wasn't it
released on Red-Bird? Was it a track recorded at
Red-Bird that Venet took over to Dimension? Was Bobby
Sheen the original vocalist? I'm pretty sure I hear
Ellie Greenwich on backing vocals.
Also, does anyone have detailed information about the
sessions that produced the soundtrack for the
Hanna-Barbera cartoon series "The Harlem
Globetrotters?" (released on Kirshner Records in 1970).
I was told by a deejay named Bobby Jay that the date
included several vocal group veterans, like JR Bailey,
Billy Guy and Sonny Turner. Yet, I just contacted Sonny
Turner, and he said he never sang on those sessions.
Don Charles
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 4
Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 05:08:58 -0000
From: Michael Sinclair
Subject: NewVoice-Excerpt
--- In Spectropop, Leonardo Flores wrote:
> How did it come about that Excerpt from a Teenage Opera &
> White Bicycle end up being released on Bob Crewe's New
> Voice label? Who contacted who about this set up? Did you
> ever plan to have any more records released by Crewe but
> were not released because of the low chart positions of
> the first two New Voice records ?
Dear Leonardo,
Thank you so much for your mail and interest in my music.
In answer to your question, Capitol Records, EMI's at the
time contractually bound US distributor refused to releae
any of my productions (as they also refused to release
the Beatles early material). Bob and Dan Crew and I had
become buddies simply because their music catalogues were
administered by EMI's publishing company Ardmore and
Beechwood in those days, also my publsher at the time.
The Crew brothers and I met during one of their London
visits, and, enjoying my music, they managed to get the
US distribution rights for Excerpt. However, their
promotion muscle was not strong enough to push Excerpt
into the Top 50. Also, remember, nobody at the time
wanted to invest any kind of real money in this record,
or the promotion of it, as they firmly believed it was
just a freak novelty hit with no future yield.
Ironically, in 1975, on the other side of the planet in
Los Angeles, Dan Crew and I met again when he signed me
to a recording contract for his RCA distributed TomCat
label with Tom Catalano. My first single, "We Could Have
Laughed Forever" (on the KitschinSync CD) had come out,
and I was in the midst of the album recordings, when
TomCat folded, virtually overnight. I don't know what
happend to Dan after that. All I know is that Tom
Catalano had a nervous breakdown and left the business
completely, retiring to a hermit existance on a house
boat. That's show biz for ya kiddo! LOLOL
very best,
Mark (Wirtz)
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 5
Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 11:16:15 -0800 (PST)
From: Michael Sinclair
Subject: Re: Another Living Legend on Spectropop!!
Dear Martin,
Happy to hear from you :)
--- Martin Roberts wrote:
> one LP release that
> has always intrigued me is "Ten Again".
Wow! Where and how on earth do you guys find this
stuff??? Amazing... Yes, I remember those sessions
well. We had a great time recording those tracks -
live - in 3 three hour sessions. Mike Ross at the
board. Ah yes, those good old days, when it felt like
playing in a sand box...
> What happened with the comedy?!
Well, it took many years, but in 1992 I studied Improv
Comedy under Phil hartman at the The groundlings Theater
in Hollywood, where I eventually performed with the
groundlings Comedy Troup. Eventually, I took the plunge
into stand up comedy, and got as far as performing at
Hollywood's world famous Comedy Store and The Improv.,
shortly before I left California for Savannah, GA on the
opposite coast. No comedy performance opportunities here,
so I just put my humor into my writing these days.
> PS What's the story with producing those sex kittens
> known as Sheila & Jenny??
>
Now you are REALLY going back in time. That was one of my
very first productions - independently produced for my
then "Colinio Productions" company. RPM bought the Colinio
catalogue from me not long ago, which includes all the
Russ Loader, Dany Chandelle, Peanut and early Mood Mosaic
tracks (A Touch Of Velvet...).
Hope these answers shed some light.
Thank you again for your interest and support!
Very best,
Mark (Wirtz) (AKA, Michael Sinclair)
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 6
Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 15:20:11 -0500
From: "Paul Payton"
Subject: Lothar CD; Bosstown victims
I believe someone on this list was looking for Lothar and
the Hand People's CD with "Machines" and "Sex & Violence."
Coincidentally, a friend found it at
http://cdnow.com/switch/target=buyweb_purchase/itemid=642018/
(Note long URL - you may have to reassemble it. No
commercial endorsement here, just something that aligned.....)
Javed writes:
> [Moby Grape and Brinsley Schwarz were v]ictims of a publicity
> stunt from which they had a hard time recovering.
Add to that the similar tragedy of the groups swept up in
MGM's hype of The Bosstown Sound. Orpheus emerged onto the
top 40 (at least in New England), and who knows how
Ultimate Spinach and Beacon Street Union might have
matured given time to develop their music and build a
following. By the way, another Boston psych band, Phluph,
was released contemporaneously on Verve, an MGM subsidiary.
Although not part of the same promotion, they too suffered
destruction by association.) Incidentally, I believe "8:05"
did chart, at least locally, in Providence and other
northeast markets. And the Grape was indeed supurbly
talented, both individually and as a group.)
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 7
Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 22:06:05 -0000
From: "cchaillet"
Subject: Re: From Mark Wirtz re Philwit&Pegasus
--- In Spectropop, Michael Sinclair wrote:
> To my knowledge, there are no plans to re-release Ph&P.
> (By the way, it was released in the States on London
> Records - and a shit mastering job they did!). Mind you,
> if enough people bugged Mark Stratford of RPM Records to
> put it out, I am sure he would. I am also sure Les Reed
> would gladly give his permission.
I'm pretty sure i saw a release plan for the Philwit &
Pegasus LP in the "new release" section of the RPM
website. That was 3 or 4 months ago. I've just checked
but it's no more. (there's a new Margo Guryan cd planned
btw) I'll contact them to figure it out.
Cedric
ps : welcome to Mark from another french fan!!
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 8
Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 22:01:47 -0000
From: Michael Sinclair
Subject: Re: MATCHMAKERS
--- In Spectropop, Erik wrote:
>
> What's the story on the Matchmakers? I have a Belgian
> single by this group, "Thank you baby" b/w "Sandy", on
> the obscure Eurec label (#713) from 1969 or 1970. I think
> this record came only out in Belgium and Germany, right?
> The picture sleeve (that I have posted to the Spectropop
> Photos section !!) shows you in front. Who were the other
> members of this band? I very much like the B-side "Sandy",
> great soft sitar psych pop! The songs are credited to "R.
> Lindt" and "Petra Hold" ????? I've heard the Matchmakers
> also made an album in the U.K. on Chapter One...is that
> right? Are there any other releases?
Dear Eric,
Where on earth do you guys find this stuff? The
Matchmakers? Now there is a skeleton that you managed to
dig out of the closet. Well, here is the true jiffy:
In the Spring of 1998 I was very broke. A German Music
publisher (who happened to be a patient of my doctor dad
at the time), pleaded with my Dad to put him in touch with
me. When he finally connected with me, he told me how much
he loved my music, and could I possibly write and demo a
few tunes for him - he would suggest the titles - offering
me some tempting money (not a lot, but certainly enough to
pay the rent). Subsequently, I knocked off a few "bubble
gum" type tunes with my then lyric collaborator Maria
Feltham, AKA Petra Hold, AKA "Pegasus," then went into a
cheap 3-track basement studio in London and, together with
the guys with whom I was working as a studio band at the
time for the Kris Ife (Judd) demo tracks (which later were
released on the Judd LP)recorded and mixed the tunes in
two days. One of the tunes was "Baby make Me Happy." As it
turned out, the publisher begged me to let him release
"Baby Make Me Happy" as a single, on the absolute agreed
conditions that the performers' name would be a fictitious
one, and my and my musician buddies' identity would remain
secret. Moreover, he offered to keep my composer credit
hidden behind his own name (the clever bugger) to assure
anonymity.
Well, I thought, what harm could it do, so long as it all
remained a secret. The picture of the "Matchmakers"? Well,
even though my name was known at the time, nobody in
public knew what I looked like - I was a bit of an enigma.
And my musician buddies actually liked the idea of their
images being used. So, we dressed up like a psychedelic
Rock band and had a picture taken, to make the illusion
complete. Only a week later, "Baby Make Me Happy" came out
as a single on the German Vogue label under the moniker
The Matchmakers (it actually became somewhat of a hit!). I
guess it also came out in Germany's neighboring countries,
I had and have no idea. A month later, the publisher put
out the Matchmakers LP (on German Vogue), and that was
that. Nothing I could ever do about it, because we never
had more than hand shake agreements. Needless to say,
beyond the initial fee for my supposed mere "demo"
production, and the straight session pay for the other
musicians, I never saw a penny from what those recordings
earned. But, since to my knowledge those recording were
only released in Europe (where they couldn't harm my
reputation in the UK, where nobody gave a darn about local
European releases), I just shrugged the whole thing off as
unimportant and got on with my regular work. LITTLE DID I
KNOW THAT THIRTY YEARS LATER, THESE TRACKS WOULD COME BACK
TO HAUNT ME!! LOLOLOL.
Well, what can I say, other than - yep, I am guilty of
those recordings. The only other thing I can add is that,
even though they were contrived "knock offs," we got into
it and enjoyed ourselves in our earnest pretense role of
being a bubble gum group for a couple of days. The music
may not add up to much, but even in its raw and nebulous
simplicity, it was sincere. The names of the other
musicians? To my shame, I have to admit I don't remember.
But if you really want to know, e-mail my UK associate <snip>
and tell him that I asked you to ask him - he's got the
LP. He knows more stuff about me than I do, LOL.
How is that for a long answer to a short question, huh?
very best to you, and thank you for enjoying
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 9
Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 22:19:54 EST
From: Ronnie Allen
Subject: Re-air of three-hour Bobby Vee interview show
To all Bobby Vee fans .....
The rebroadcast of my three-hour interview special with
Bobby Vee will take place on Friday evening, March 22,
2002.
If you are reading this message on THURSDAY then the show
is tomorrow night.
If you are reading this message on FRIDAY then the show
is TONIGHT!!!
Here's the details:
Show: Rebroadcast of Bobby Vee three-hour interview show
on M-PAK Radio with Ronnie Allen
Date: Friday, March 22, 2002
Time: 9 PM to Midnight E.S.T.
Originating station: M-PAK Radio (Internet Only)
Internet access: http://www.warpradio.com/asx/MPAK-IN.asx.
Note: You can also access the station by visiting Bobby
Vee's official website at http://www.bobbyvee.com.
When the
homepage comes up click on the M-PAK link to the right of
the bunny playing the big red guitar!
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 10
Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2002 12:26:07 -0000
From: "Cedric"
Subject: Philwit release on RPM
Here is the answer from Mark Stratford :
"Yes , sometime in the future but not sure when exactly .
Will post news on the web site http://www.rpmrecords.co.uk"
MS
Now let's hope it won't take too long.
Cedric
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 11
Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2002 07:30:07 -0000
From: Luis Suarez
Subject: Re: MATCHMAKERS
Hello Mr. Wirtz.
Thank you so much for your recollections regarding the
Matchmakers. When was the last time you heard those songs?
The Matchmakers tracks hold up better than you would think,
especially considering how quickly they were written and
recorded. Being a big fan of bubblegum music, I like all
of the songs, but Sandy, Leila, Baby Make Me Happy, Tell
Me A Secret, Thank You Baby and Lovers' Congregation are
my favorites.
I have some Matchmakers 45's from Germany and Spain. Take
a look at some of the picture sleeves:
http://www.geocities.com/popfortyfive/matchmakers.html
These European record companies sure got a lot of mileage
>from that one photo shoot! Do you recognize anybody in the
photos?
The Matchmakers lp is called Bubblegum a Go Go. Cellophane
Mary Jane by Astronaut Alan and his Planets and Fantastic
Fair by the Guards both make uncredited appearances.
Thank You Baby For Coming (Rudi Lindt/Petra Hold) b/w
Sandy (Petra Hold)
Wooly Wooly Watsgong (R. Lindt/Bigsby/M. Antony) b/w Tell
Me A Secret (M. Antony/Bigsby)
Droopy Loopy (Rudi Lindt/Petra Hold) b/w Laila (Rudi
Lindt/Chas Mills)
Droopy Loopy (Rudi Lindt/Petra Hold) b/w Gently Baby
Gently (R. Lindt/M. Antony/Bigsby)
Baby Make Me Happy (Mark Wirtz/Chas Mills/Rudi Lindt) b/w
Goody Goody Goody (Mark Wirtz/Chas Mills)
Lover's Congregation (Lindt/Mills/Hold) b/w Leila
(Lindt/Mills)
The German Vogue pressing of Wooly Wooly Watsgong b/w
Tell Me A Secret says A Mark Wirtz Production,
substitutes Rosalind Wirtz for the Bigsby writing credit
on both sides.
So here are the players, correct me if I'm wrong:
Mark Wirtz aka Rosalind Wirtz aka Bigsby aka Philwit
Petra Hold aka Maria Feltham aka Pegasus
Miki Antony and Chas Mills were established session men,
am I correct? What part did they take in the recordings?
Are either of them on the Matchmakers picture sleeves?
So does that make Rudi Lindt the German music publisher?
Thank you for the music Mr. Wirtz,
Luis Suarez
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 12
Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2002 00:20:50 -0000
From: "Laura.E.Pinto"
Subject: Re: Globetrotters
--- In Spectropop, "Don Charles" wrote:
> Also, does anyone have detailed information about the
> sessions that produced the soundtrack for the
> Hanna-Barbera cartoon series "The Harlem
> Globetrotters?" (released on Kirshner Records in 1970).
> I was told by a deejay named Bobby Jay that the date
> included several vocal group veterans, like JR Bailey,
> Billy Guy and Sonny Turner. Yet, I just contacted Sonny
> Turner, and he said he never sang on those sessions.
Don, I'd sure be interested in learning about those
sessions too. I've heard varying details, that some of
the Globetrotters actually sang on the records and that
they didn't; that the vocals were "supplemented" by
veterans such as the ones you mention, and so forth. Did
you know that Ron Dante co-wrote one of the songs on the
LP, "Cheer Me Up?" Most of the cuts on the album were
written by the Sedaka / Greenfield team I believe. Good
music!
Laura
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
Message: 13
Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 22:39:43 EST
From: James Botticelli
Subject: The Grape
Spectropop writes:
>Incidentally, I believe "8:05"
>did chart, at least locally, in Providence and other
>northeast markets. And the Grape was indeed supurbly
>talented, both individually and as a group.)
I recall seeing "the Grape" at The Psychedelic Supermarket
in Boston, probably following the release of that LP with
8:05.... It must've been 1968. It was the first small
venue I'd ever been to and truth be told I was so
overwhelmed with the brush with greatness that I couldn't
really give an accurate report of the show. Suffice to say
the post "summer of '67" haircuts and the electric fuzz
served as my own cultural epiphany. the actual music was
strickly secondary my fren's, strickly secondary..JB
-------------------[ archived by Spectropop ]-------------------
End
