Archive for the ‘The Small Faces’ Category
Tuesday, June 8th, 2010
Listen: Happy Jack / The Who WhoHappyJack.mp3
Pull this out and give it a spin. You’re bound to say, “Man I have not heard this in ages”. Well, my guess is you’ll say that. I loved all the singles up through and including ‘Pictures Of Lily’. Then came ‘I Can See For Miles’. Something about that one, it was good but didn’t hit dead center. Was a first real understanding of my body’s reaction to music. ‘I Can See For Miles’ may have been the record that set the template for an A&R career years later: if I didn’t love it – chances were good it’d be a huge hit. Hey, as long as you know how to read the indicators, that’s all that really matters. ‘I Can See For Miles’ was in fact their only ever US Top 10. Hard to believe I know.
Back then, The Who weren’t much different than The Small Faces or The Move when it came to US radio. You never heard them. Yeah radio was much better in the 60′s, but still fairly narrow. These bands just didn’t get national airplay – if they were lucky, regional exposure was usually the extent of it and then maybe a crossover….leads me to an interesting memory about The Who.
I and my Anglophile friends religiously bought every single by The Who. My teenage girlfriend and I missed our junior prom the night I got ‘Substitute’ it was so good – we just played it over and over and fiddled about, as someone once coined. It was the plan anyways.
There were a few shops around town that would get two to five copies of the non hits, or hopeful to be hits – like Walt’s Records or Smith’s Records or that huge record department in WT Grant’s on Salina Street in Syracuse. So starting with ‘I Can’t Explain’, we bought ‘Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere’, every single right through and including the immaculate ‘Substitute’, ‘I’m A Boy’, ‘The Kids Are Alright’ and this one, the psychedelic ‘Happy Jack’, which actually did crack the Billboard chart peaking at #24 in ’67. A few years later when TOMMY was released, everyone noticed a rock opera similarity between that and it’s predecessor, The Pretty Things S.F. SORROW, still we listened to them both regularly during several weekend Parcheesi matches. The Who finally made a return visit after opening for Herman’s Hermits a few years earlier. Even though in my opinion the glow of those earlier singles had dimmed down noticeably, of course I went along. TOMMY admittedly wasn’t bad.
After the show, a few of us waited around for autographs, brought albums, singles, the works. I wasn’t quite as fussed and brought nothing, but seriously, was there something better to do in Syracuse as a teenager than possibly say hello to The Who? When my best friend Denny went up to Pete Townshend proudly with his MY GENERATION album to get signed, the guy turned his nose away, dismissiveley refusing to sign anything. He proceeded to make his way toward their station wagon with band members including Keith Moon and Roger Daltry already inside waiting. Even Keith Moon jumped out of the car to oblige, looking at Pete with a ‘you asshole’ glare, I couldn’t resist. So I spoke up.
“Pete, you know those few copies of the older singles you used to sell in towns like this prior to your hits, we were were the kids that bought them.” As the car pulled away, plain as day, I recall him hanging out the window, wearing a coat that looked like a piece of ghastly ornate drapery, middle finger on both hands projecting at me and shouting “you got a show for your $6 prick”.
Hmm. Not really, you didn’t play any of the aforementioned songs I came to hear. Not one. Still it was rude, certainly embarrassing and I never bought another record by The Who. Big deal, basically my bitterness toward he and unfairly the other guys in The Who went unnoticed and I’m sure Pete Towshend never lost a wink of sleep because of me.
About thirty years later, his keepers were doing the rounds of labels trying to hawk a new, not very good Pete Townshend album. I was at Columbia then but decided to pass on the record, or more specifically on him, his talent to write those gems long ago withered in my opinion. Still, it was a very hard call. You’d be a fool to not want to work with Pete Townshend. Honestly, he is a higher form of life but I’d experienced his temper. Once bitten, twice shy.
‘Happy Jack’ really is a terrific single.
Tags: Billboard, Decca, Herman's Hermits, Kit Lambert, Pete Townshend, Smith's Records, The Creation, The Marquee, The Move, The Pretty Things, The Small Faces, The Who, Track Records, Walt's Records, WT Grants
Posted in Decca, Herman's Hermits, Pete Townshend, Smith's Records, The Move, The Pretty Things, The Small Faces, The Who, Walt's Records, WT Grants | No Comments »
Friday, May 28th, 2010
Listen: Nitty Gritty / Gladys Knight & The Pips GladysNitty.mp3
What’s really proof of this record’s power: the most addicted to any other genre of music fan can’t resist instant curiosity when ‘The Nitty Gritty’ powers through a set of speakers. I had quite the time spinning singles at Brooklyn Bowl last Sunday with Lord Wardd, playing mostly 60′s – present, basically tomorrow’s sound today stuff – even the one’s from the 60′s and 70′s, when released, would have been considered that: The Small Faces, T. Rex, or X. So it’s really fun to watch a younger but musically informed crowd light up when some down and dirty funk or soul hits. Even better, a whole bunch of parents and their young kids, out bowling for a fun afternoon, suddenly doing an about face toward the DJ booth with that ‘Oh my God, I remember this’ look burned onto their face.
Gladys Knight could belt it out every time, when she was given the green light that is. Looking back on a few gems like ‘The Nitty Gritty’ need only one listen to show us why.
Some friends stuck with her from the Motown move to Buddah. Suddenly she was sounding a touch buffed around the edges for my tastes, but the pre ‘Midnight Train To Georgia’ era, all that Tamla/Norman Whitfield stuff, there’s no topping it.
Tags: Buddah, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Gordy, Lord Warddd, Motown, Norman Whitfield, T. Rex, Tamla, The Lo Fidelity Allstars, The Small Faces, X
Posted in Brooklyn Bowl, Buddah, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Gordy, Lord Warddd, Motown, Norman Whitfield, T. Rex, Tamla, The Lo Fidelity Allstars, The Small Faces, X | No Comments »
Saturday, May 15th, 2010
Listen: Stop – Get A Ticket / Clefs Of Lavender HillClefsStop.mp3
I’m sure this happens to us all – occasionally there are a couple of records that basically get connected at the hip in one’s memory. For whatever reason, with me it’s usually a time period that links them.
On first airing, I was sure ‘Stop – Get A Ticket’ was the new Byrds single. Must’ve been that electric twelve string sound in the solo. Still feels like a Roger McGuinn moment.
No. it was a local garage band, one of hundreds that sprung up as a result of the British Invasion. The Clefs Of Lavender Hill were from Florida, and their followup singles were just, well not very good. This, in fact, was originally a B side, eventually getting national release and reaching a Billboard #80 as a result of play and instant reaction in Miami.
When Corinne, the kids and I ventured down for a long weekend last winter, there was an arts and crafts street fair just off the main drag of Collins Ave, with it’s endless blocks of beautifully restored art deco hotels and such. One local oldies station, their van set up, complete with free bumper stickers and ghastly t-shirts, was blaring a live feed, audible a couple blocks away. I was pleasantly surprised when The Small Faces ‘Itchycoo Park’ came on – man did it sound great and definitely out of place, but when The Clefs Of Lavender Hill got played about half an hour later, I was genuinely floored. Huh? What’s up? I had no idea then it was in fact a massive local smash.
Trust me, when both these songs were mixed in amongst a pretty common array of the usual overplayed hit staples, they were hands down standouts.
Listen: Peter Rabbit / Dee Jay & The Runaways DeeJayPeterRabbit.mp3
You’ve all heard of Spirit Lake, Iowa I’m sure. If not, let me tell you ‘Peter Rabbit’ probably still gets played down / over there. This band put the town on the map and from all accounts, the place is still pretty proud of the fellows.
Why not, great single. Heard it constantly at the time. It and ‘Stop – Get A Ticket’ always getting back to back spins on WOLF. These singles played a big part in my soundtrack of that summer. Proof below:
Tags: Billboard, Clefs Of Lavender Hill, Date, Dee Jay & The Runaways, Roger McGuinn, Smash, The Byrds, The Small Faces, WOLF
Posted in Billboard, Clefs Of Lavender Hill, Date, Dee Jay & The Runaways, Roger McGuinn, Smash, The Byrds, The Small Faces, WOLF | No Comments »
Saturday, March 13th, 2010
Listen: Wavy Gravy (Part 1) / Kenny Burrell KennyBurrellWavy1.mp3
Listen: Wavy Gravy (Part 2) / Kenny Burrell KennyBurrellWavy2.mp3
When I was a kid, we went to see Chet Atkins play the State Fair. I couldn’t believe I was being dragged to this horribly unhip show, why weren’t some British Invasion bands booked instead?
April ’69, Humble Pie played that very stage on their first US tour: Steve Marriott and Peter Frampton. Seemed like an eternity, but it was only three or four years later that those former members of The Small Faces and The Herd stood where I had suffered through Chet Atkins.
Now in hindsight, I wish I’d have paid more attention. And to be honest, it did leave a lasting impression. I can still hear his clean, electric hollow body technique. It’s what connected me to jazz guitarists.
I never bought the albums, not ever. But I sure did look at them in the shops. The Blue Note sleeves in particular were pretty stunning. Once the 70′s and my college radio years began, suddenly all those jazz albums became accessible: Wes Montgomery and Kenny Burrell.
Give me a clean, fast jazz player any day of the week. The horns and brass, I can’t take it, but guitarists, never get tired of them.
Tags: Blue Note, Chet Atkins, Kenny Burrell, Peter Frampton, Ray Barretto, Stanley Turrentine, Steve Marriott, The Herd, The Small Faces, Wes Montgomery
Posted in Blue Note, Chet Atkins, Kenny Burrell, Peter Frampton, Ray Barretto, Stanley Turrentine, Steve Marriott, The Herd, The Small Faces, Wes Montgomery | No Comments »
Friday, February 19th, 2010
Listen: Baby Don’t You Do It / Alvin Robinson AlvinRobinsonBabyDont.mp3
Correct. It’s the Holland-Dozier-Holland hit from ’64 by Marvin Gaye, covered by many a Mod band (The Who, The Poets, The Small Faces) in that heyday, and come late ’68, by Alvin Robinson as well.
Not nearly enough Alvin Robinson circulates on 45, which is both surprising and a shame. His guttural blues vocal style was instantly signature, and copied by some of the best. Plus his guitar playing, then in much studio demand, had a similar swagger. So logically, during sessions with Dr. John, did Atco decide to give him a studio whirl, resulting in this, his only single for the label. Given the purity of his sound, and his legendary New Orleans cred, it’s rather shocking that Ahmet Ertegan and Jerry Wexler didn’t release more sides.
The nice thing about this one is it’s subtlety. You don’t realized how strong a grip it has until you find yourself playing it repeatedly. Well I did at least.
Tags: Ahmet Ertegan, Alvin Robinson, Atco, Dr. John, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Jerry Wexler, The Poets, The Small Faces
Posted in Ahmet Ertegan, Alvin Robinson, Atco, Dr. John, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Jerry Wexler, The Poets, The Small Faces | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 17th, 2009
Listen: Remember Me / Rita Pavone RitaPavone.mp3
Remember Rita Pavone? Something to the effect of a sixteen year old Italian teen sensation. She was on Ed Sullivan many times, or seemingly. How her tomboy, hobo image slotted in so nicely with the English Invasion’s mini skirted and Yardley’s Slickered lipped Twiggy types in hindsight doesn’t make much sense. It didn’t last long anyways.
She did make a decent album, and a couple of good singles. ‘Remember Me’ got some radio traction here, despite the accent, which I found very exotic. The lure of a picture sleeve was too much for me to resist. In a very, very, very small way, I suppose it helped the record’s climb to #26 on the Billboard charts.
You have to hand it to RCA, they were pretty good at handing out full color sleeves: Duane Eddy, The Youngbloods, The Small Faces, Jefferson Airplane, Little Peggy March.
Tags: Duane Eddy, Ed Sullivan, Jefferson Airplane, Little Peggy March, RCA, Rita Pavone, The Small Faces, The Youngbloods, Twiggy
Posted in Duane Eddy, Ed Sullivan, Jefferson Airplane, Little Peggy March, RCA, Rita Pavone, The Small Faces, The Youngbloods, Twiggy | No Comments »
Thursday, October 1st, 2009
Listen: Night Comes Down / The Mickey Finn MickeyFinnNight.mp3
Often confused with the bongo player from T. Rex, this is actually a band, not that person. The Mickey Finn’s career highpoint, according to most, was a two single association with producer Shel Talmy. And if you want to have your heart freeze for kicks, check out his discography.
Out of that came ‘Night Comes Down’ / ‘This Sporting Life’, their only US release via World Artists. Seems Shel Talmy had some juice there, having produced a few big hits for Chad & Jeremy. Although not listed on the above discography, I do believe he also produced The Moments version of Ray Davies’ ‘You Really Got Me’ for the label. The Moments were Steve Marriott’s first band, predating The Small Faces. That single, as with The Mickey Finn release, are stupid rare, making them very fun items to have and hold.
I got an unsolicited call from Shel Talmy many years back, I think when I was either at Elektra or Island. He had moved to LA, and was looking for work, still in that has-been stretch, not yet having graduated to legend status. I foolishly didn’t follow up, not necessarily with getting him some work, but neither forging a friendship, something I do regret.
Listen: I Do Love You / The Mickey Finn MickeyFinnIDoLove.mp3
Of lesser notoriaty is the band’s ’66 single “I Do Love You’. And I’m not sure why. Even amongst those who live for all things underrated, this is very underrated. It starts out noticeably similar to ‘Heart Trouble’ by The Eyes Of Blue, and then proceeds to a perfect groove a la The Foundations. I’d give anything to know how many copies would have been pressed of a single like this.
Tags: Chad & Jeremy, Elektra, Island, Jimmy Page, Polydor, Ray Davies, Shel Talmy, Steve Marriott, T. Rex, The Eyes Of Blue, The Foundations, The Mickey Finn, The Moments, The Small Faces, World Artists
Posted in Chad & Jeremy, Elektra, Island, Jimmy Page, Polydor, Ray Davies, Shel Talmy, Steve Marriott, T. Rex, The Eyes Of Blue, The Foundations, The Mickey Finn, The Moments, The Small Faces, World Artists | No Comments »
Thursday, August 20th, 2009
Listen: Where The Action Is / Freddy Cannon FreddyCannonAction.mp3
Let’s face it. The theme song to ABC’s syndicated daily pop show, WHERE THE ACTION IS, titled ‘Action’ by Freddy Cannon, was so good, even The Ramones could have covered it.
I lived for WHERE THE ACTION IS and saw many a great act each day after school. Our local Syracuse affiliate, WSYR-TV, was wishy-washy, and many times pre-empted it with other things. Looking over the complete, chronological list of episodes and guests, I’ve only just discovered missing Pinkerton’s Assorted Colours, The Action and Dave Dee Dozy Beaky Mick & Tich for just that reason. Indeed, I’m a bit crushed having now discovered these atrocities. Scumbags.
But seeing an LA centric act almost daily, given they were basically down the street from the studios, must have been daily bliss. To name a few: The Guillteens, The Ikettes with and without Ike & Tina Turner, The Vejtables, The Leaves, The Seeds, Gary & The Hornets, Love, Dino Desi & Billy, The Buffalo Springfield, Jan & Dean.
Not to mention the RnB stuff: Martha & The Vandellas, Doris Troy, The Royalettes, Mary Wells, Brenda Holloway, The Toys, Maxine Brown, Kim Weston, Carla Thomas, Billy Stewart, Bobby Hebb, Alvin Cash & The Crawlers or Felice Taylor. I still replay The Vibrations doing ‘My Girl Sloopy’ vividly in my memory.
Then there were the black and white segments from England, a real high for we Anglophiles: The Small Faces, Gary Farr & The T-Bones, Them, The Mindbenders, The Zombies, The Moody Blues, The Kinks, Unit 4 + 2, The Who, Wayne Fontana, Marianne Faithfull, The Yardbirds and The Cryin’ Shames.
Tags: ABC-TV, Alvin Cash & The Crawlers, Billy Stewart, Bobby Hebb, Brenda Holloway, Carla Thomas, Dave Dee Dozy Beaky Mick & Tich, Dick Clark, Dino Desi & Billy, Doris Troy, Felice Taylor, Freddy Cannon, Gary & The Hornets, Ike & Tina Turner, Jan & Dean, Kim Weston, Love, Marianne Faithfull, Mary Wells, Maxine Brown, Pinkerton's Assorted Colours, The Action, The Buffalo Springfield, The Cryin' Shames, The Guilteens, The Ikettes, The Leaves, The Mindbenders, The Moody Blues, The Ramones, The Royalettes, The Seeds, The Small Faces, The Toys, The Vejtables, The Vibrations, The Who, Them, Unit 4 + 2, Where The Action Is, WSYR-TV
Posted in ABC-TV, Alvin Cash & The Crawlers, Billy Stewart, Bobby Hebb, Brenda Holloway, Carla Thomas, Dave Dee Dozy Beaky Mick & Tich, Dick Clark, Dino Desi & Billy, Doris Troy, Felice Taylor, Freddy Cannon, Gary & The Hornets, Gary Farr & The T-Bones, Ike & Tina Turner, Jan & Dean, Kim Weston, Love, Marianne Faithfull, Martha & The Vandellas, Mary Wells, Maxine Brown, Pinkerton's Assorted Colours, The Action, The Buffalo Springfield, The Cryin' Shames, The Guilteens, The Ikettes, The Kinks, The Leaves, The Mindbenders, The Moody Blues, The Ramones, The Royalettes, The Seeds, The Small Faces, The Toys, The Vejtables, The Vibrations, The Who, The Yardbirds, The Zombies, Them, Unit 4 + 2, Wayne Fontana, Where The Action Is, WSYR-TV | No Comments »
Friday, August 7th, 2009
Listen: The Universal / The Small Faces SmallFacesUniversal.mp3
I remember reading ‘The Universal’ was a demo Steve Marriott later overdubbed some electric guitar and saxophone onto. Then somebody, apparently at Immediate Records, decided it was a single. For years, maybe a few decades, I had no idea what a demo was. When Howard hired me at Elektra in ’84, I initially couldn’t understand the concept of booking a studio to record songs, then weeks later go back in, many times to the same studio, to re-record them. Why not just record them correctly the first time? Being a kid who’s Dad was a janitor, and in a band that paid for their own recordings (done super fast because we simply didn’t have any money), this all appeared unnecessarily extravagant. Dumb even.
Well anyways, Dale Winton played ‘The Universal’ on his chart rundown from ’68 on BBC Radio’s PICK OF THE POPS a few weeks back, and it, as always, sounded clean and refreshing (if I may use a few politically correct slogans). Lots of folks rant and rave about many singles by The Small Faces, as they should. But usually, ‘The Universal’ is seldom mentioned. I think it peaked at #16 or so, and doesn’t compare chart wise to most of the others. But hey, it was a demo.
I bought this week of release at Walt’s Records, hence the US stock copy pictured above. Try finding one of those these days.
Posted in Andrew Loog Oldham, Howard Thompson, Immediate, Steve Marriott, The Small Faces, Walt's Records | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 5th, 2009
I got a fantastic email today from a reader in France, Bands Michel, who alerted me to a site whereby you can read just about every BILLBOARD from the 50′s, 60′s and onwards. These are mesmerizing. Scrolling through the weekly singles reviews whereby they predict records that will achieve Top 20, Top 60 or simply a ‘Chart’ placing alone is worth the visit. Most of the greats are in that later section, although many a ‘should have been a hit’ record features in the other two as well. Not to mention stunning full page tip sheet adds for singles by The Herd, The Who, Mary Wells, Scott Walker, Ike & Tina Turner, The Small Faces, multi artist adverts for Mercury, Okeh, Motown, Fontana, Deram, Ric Tic, Bang, Sue Records plus hundreds and hundreds more. Do yourself a favor:
BILLBOARD MAGAZINE ARCHIVE
Tags: Bang, Billboard, Deram, Fontana, Ike & Tina Turner, Mary Wells, Mercury, Motown, Okeh, Ric Tic, Scott Walker, Sue Records, The Herd, The Small Faces, The Who
Posted in Bang, Billboard, Deram, Fontana, Ike & Tina Turner, Mary Wells, Mercury, Motown, Okeh, Ric Tic, Scott Walker, Sue Records, The Herd, The Small Faces, The Who | No Comments »
Sunday, July 26th, 2009
While I’m on the subject of TV shows – there was a great summer replacement in ’67 for HOLLYWOOD PALACE, the weekly Saturday night variety program hosted by Dean Martin on ABC-TV. You know the one The Rolling Stones made their US network debut on, whereby Dean poked fun their way during his into and outro to the performance.
Well, in summer ’67 it was replaced with PICCADILLY PALACE. The sight to the series lists air dates and guests for each episode. I generally lived each week for the moment. Well that’s not entirely true, a lot happened that summer. Still, some of the guests: The Small, Faces, The Hollies, Manfred Mann, Dave Dee Dozy Beaky Mick & Tich, The Kinks and The New Vaudeville Band. If anyone has footage, please let me know.
Tags: ABC-TV, Dave Dee Dozy Beaky Mick & Tich, Dean Martin, Hollywood Palace, Manfred Mann, Piccadilly Palace, The Hollies, The Kinks, The New Vaudeville Band, The Rolling Stones, The Small Faces
Posted in ABC-TV, Dave Dee Dozy Beaky Mick & Tich, Dean Martin, Hollywood Palace, Manfred Mann, Piccadilly Palace, The Hollies, The Kinks, The New Vaudeville Band, The Rolling Stones, The Small Faces | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 20th, 2009
Listen: Jelly Roll Gum Drop (Mono) / Ruben & The Jets
Jelly
Proof positive that those mono mixes back in the 60′s were approached very differently than their stereo counterparts. Word has it the importance of the 7″ single, and early indifference towards albums, many times resulted in leaving the stereo mix to one of the studio engineers, while the band and producer focused only on mono. Might explain the radical difference in mono/stereo versions of The Pink Floyd’s PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN and A SAUCERFUL OF SECRETS. Not to mention The Pretty Things S. F. SORROW or The Small Faces OGDEN’S NUT GONE FLAKE. If you’re lucky enough to have both versions, a/b them sometime. You’ll hear different vocal takes and even additional instruments throughout.
No exception is this mono version of ‘Jelly Roll Gum Drop’. Like other early mono releases by The Mothers Of Invention, who were one in the same with Ruben & The Jets, this too is radically different, and therefore much desirable in it’s mono 7″ issue.
Tags: Frank Zappa, Ruben & The Jets, The Mothers Of Invention, The Pink Floyd, The Pretty Things, The Small Faces, Verve
Posted in Frank Zappa, Ruben & The Jets, The Mothers Of Invention, The Pink Floyd, The Pretty Things, The Small Faces, Verve | No Comments »
Saturday, April 4th, 2009
Listen: Here It Comes Again / The Fortunes FortunesComes.mp3
Back in the 70′s, many record stores bought direct from each label. Only the really small shops were forced to buy via a one stop, which were distributors that represented all the labels, a kind of middle man. I worked for Discount Records in ’74-75. Although a chain owned by CBS, they were deep catalog stores and centered around college towns and campuses, hence their two Syracuse locations. And each of these shops would buy direct from the various labels. Every Tuesday all the reps would stop by, bring the staff hot drinks and donuts, plus stacks of promos, T shirts and posters. It was heaven. One summer day, I went to the Syracuse University library, having been alerted to their complete bound collection of BILLBOARD magazines from the 60′s, to sit for hours and pour through them. I took a new marble notebook and dated each page to the corresponding issue then listed any facts of interest. Chart entries, new releases with catalog numbers, etc. Years later, I managed to find a magazine dealer selling a complete run of issues from ’64 – ’68. Perfect, I bought them all.
A few days later, I got this ‘why not’ idea. I ordered about one hundred long out of print 7″ titles on the London family labels from our rep, one copy each, using the newly acquired catalog numbers from my day of research.
I’d actually blanked and didn’t even think more about the order, being sure they’d never turn up. I mean how could they? This was ’75 and some of them had come and gone, most were flops, some ten years prior. But lo and behold, about a week later, the London order arrived, and one of the boxes was chock full of many, many of those very titles. Oh man, I was flying. Amongst them were all the Press singles from The Fortunes, not to mention The Small Faces, Los Bravos, The Pudding, The Gibsons and loads more. And those was just the ones on Press. I won’t even get into the Deram, London, Tribe, Hi and Parrot selections on this post. My immediate reaction was to order five copies of many that had turned up, which I did, but no more ever came. Obviously, these had been sitting on the shelves for literally a decade.
I think most kids considered The Fortunes sound to be manufactured, over orchestrated, adult leaning, the music your parents would like too. All true I guess, but I did love those big, ballad-y Greenaway/Cook and/or Les Reed boomers. ‘Here It Comes Again’ was a decent hit here, #27 in Nov ’65.
Listen: This Golden Ring / The Fortunes FortunesGolden.mp3
But the followup, ‘This Golden Ring’ struggled slowly, and perfectly, to a problem #82 in February ’66. The Fortunes were burned into my psyche as a wintertime sound. Most of their records remind me of the freezing cold walks to and from school with my little red transistor radio clamped to my ear, pre ear buds by decades.
Listen: Gone From My Mind / The Fortunes FortunesGone.mp3
‘Gone From My Mind’, despite it’s confident delivery, didn’t make a ripple. Never heard it on the radio in my life, and therefore really excited to find it amongst the others in that London shipment. No surprise, it’s ended up as my favorite.
Tags: Billboard, Deram, Discoint Records, Greenaway/Cook, Hi, Les Reed, London Records, Los Bravos, Parrot, Press, The Fortunes, The Gibsons, THe Pudding, The Small Faces, Tribe
Posted in Billboard, Deram, Discount Records, Greenaway/Cook, Hi, Les Reed, London Records, Los Bravos, Parrot, Press, The Fortunes, The Gibsons, The Pudding, The Small Faces, Tribe | No Comments »
Sunday, December 28th, 2008
Listen: Zabadak / Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich
Zabadak
Last year around this time, Bob Lefsetz, who publishes a fascinating subscription letter you should all Google and sign up for, wrote about hearing The Box Tops during Christmas break in Vermont, ’67. It was a nice piece, time traveling me back to that Christmas/New Year’s week, growing up outside of Syracuse, a ten year old obsessed with records. I wrote him a response with much of the following, but don’t know if he ever read it. He never responded.
Everything happens for a reason. It motivated me to start my own blog, so all good.
Basically, I still like the winter weather as it reminds of that week off school as a kid. Everyone wants to escape it here in NY nowadays but I love staying home, hanging around the deserted city, having friends over especially if they bring Christmas cookies, keeping the fireplace going and hoping for snow.
Growing up near Syracuse was pretty drab but we had one remarkable perk: a Top 40 station, WOLF, that from ’64 – ’67 seemed to flawlessly play the good bits of BILLBOARD’s chart alongside national non-hits, most of them British, and many rightfully considered classics today, including several US flops each by The Who, Them, The Move, The Zombies, The Kinks, The Moody Blues, Unit 4 + 2, The Hullaballoos, The Pretty Things and Manfred Mann.
So I’d spend that whole week glued to the radio, crawling the record shops and record departments at W.T. Grants and Woolworths, collecting chart handouts, asking for discarded Billboard magazines and stocking up on deletions.
One of the UK bands whose label, Fontana, didn’t or couldn’t put the needed payola cash behind them on a national level, actually had hits upstate: Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich. Some consider them too pop, or zany, but I just loved their image of paisley pants with flowered shirts and their music.
Eventually, they switched US labels in late ’67, to Imperial, who made a big attempt at breaking them here and almost did. ‘Zabadak’ got a lot of play, charted in many markets and got great reaction. KHJ in Los Angeles took it Top 10. (See chart above). Both my local Top 40′s were spinning it, and even the adult contemporary one.
I was feeling liberated. Finally Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich were having a hit, and The Small Faces too, ‘Itchycoo Park’ was doing equally well. US radio was about to be on pulse. I didn’t need to find a way to live in England after all.
Then thud. ‘Zabadak’ stalls at #52 on BILLBOARD’s Hot 100 (above). Seems it’s been all down hill ever since.
December 28th: it’s been 41 years today, the receipt is still in the sleeve, that I bought ‘Zabadak’ at Walt’s Records on Salina Street, doing my part. It’s a fantastic single. All jungle drums with haunting strings and chants. Sounded stunning on the radio then, like nothing else. A lot of stations played it for a few weeks. The kind of record that zaps me right back, hence I always remember the date and I’ll always remember that great record shop.
I can easily visualize the decor and it’s unique record shop smell. I wanted everything in the place, still do. One whole wall was lined with brackets that held 25+ copies of a single, where all the biggest sellers made it. But the obscure records, many of the ones I mentioned, would reside in the back on a four sided carousel that swirled, and had slot like pockets, each able to hold ten or so copies of a single. I would go straight to that unit every visit which was usually once or twice a month, having to decide which two or three singles I could afford on my dollar per week allowance. Some of the ones I had to pass up took me years to locate: The Small Faces ‘All Or Nothing’ with the picture sleeve and The Riot Squad ‘How Is It Done’ come to mind. But there were many I did get like Them ‘Richard Corey’, The Yardbirds ‘Goodnight Sweet Josephine’ and The Herd ‘From The Underworld’.
On December 28, 1967 I tore to that rack and there it was. ‘Zabadak’. My Aunt Nancy, a grand lady, had brought me shopping and kindly paid as a Christmas treat, thereby allowing me to spend my dollar allowance on Inez & Charlie Foxx’s ‘(!-2-3-4-5-6-7) Count The Days’. We went on to visit another relative that afternoon where I was tortured, staring at these jems, jonesing to get home and play them as they did not own a record player.
Now I’m convinced Hot Chip could do a killer remake of ‘Zabadak’.
Oh and one other tid bit about Walt’s. I ran there to buy Traffic’s ‘Hole In My Shoe’ the day after seeing them at Syracuse University’s Jabberwocky Club on their first tour. As I walked in, out came Traffic, with loads of soul and jazz albums. They patiently waited as I bought the single then signed it’s picture sleeve.
Tags: Billboard, Bob Lefsetz, Dave Dee Dozy Beaky Mick & Tich, Fontana, Imperial, Jukebox Tab, KHJ, Manfred Mann, Radio Charts, The Box Tops, The Hullaballoos, The Kinks, The Moody Blues, The Move, The Pretty Things, The Small Faces, The Who, The Zombies, Them, Traffic, Unit 4 + 2, Walt's Records, Woolworth's, WT Grants
Posted in Billboard, Bob Lefsetz, Dave Dee Dozy Beaky Mick & Tich, Fontana, Hot Chip, Imperial, Inez & Charlie Foxx, KHJ, Radio Charts, The Box Tops, The Herd, The Hullaballoos, The Pink Floyd, The Riot Squad, The Small Faces, The Who, The Yardbirds, Them, Traffic, Unit 4 + 2, Walt's Records, WOLF, Woolworth, WT Grants | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 18th, 2008
The NY Subway System and an iPod shuffle make for a great couple. I love when something comes up I haven’t heard for a bit, and it sounds so good you play it a bunch of times. Of course, in the subway, there’s no phone, no email, no distractions really from the music – not that I’m telling you anything you don’t know. My iPod rule is, only songs I love. At the least one I take on the subway. It’s filled with my favorites. So the other day, up comes ‘Battleship Chains’ from The Georgia Satellites first album. Now the two front guys of the band, Dan Baird and Rick Richards, they made a great couple as well. Danny pretty much sang lead on the songs, but occasionally Rick would, taking the roll of Keith if you will. And it’s Rick doing the singing on this one, with Dan’s signature harmonies making it very ‘them’. This band could set fire to any stage – that never failed – ever. I love this song, and their performance on it, so fucking much. It brings back the most incredible memories of great, fun times. I have a picture of the band and I on stage at London’s Marquee Club (during soundcheck) which is like the alter of life for me. I remember the second time I went down to Nashville to check them out. They were looking for a deal, and a bunch of labels were after them. Howard and I had pretty much decided we were signing them to Elektra, but for whatever reason, I made that second trip down as I think Epic were trying to close in on us. They played a bar, a restaurant really, called Margaritaville. Something was going wrong with their amps, and the guys were quite nervous probably thinking they’d blown their record deal. As the Epic fellows stood arrogantly at the bar, I just jumped on stage and offered everyone a valium. Jaws dropped (the courage you muster up on a valium is amazing). It probably clinched the deal. Even though Dan never did a drug, I’d bet he used his pill to negotiate something out of Rick relatively soon. I must remember to ask Dan about that next time we talk. Luckily, I still see both guys if I’m down south, or when they come to NY. Friends for life. Oh, an important piece of trivia: the natural wood coloured Strat that Dan played, and can be seen holding on this sleeve, was originally owned by Steve Marriott of The Small Faces. It’s the guitar he played on ‘Tin Soldier”.
Posted in Dan Baird, Elektra, Epic, Howard Thompson, Marquee, Rick Richards, Steve Marriott, The Georgia Satellites, The Small Faces | No Comments »
