This week saw the passing of Len Barry, one of the original members of The Dovells who also enjoyed a bit of solo success with the #1 Hit “1-2-3” in 1965, “Like A Baby” (#13, 1966) and “Somewhere” (one of MY favorites from “West Side Story” that reached #17 in 1966.)
The Dovells were one of the early Philly groups that enjoyed success during the early Bandstand era, scoring two Top Ten Hits with “Bristol Stomp” (#2, 1961) and “You Can’t Sit Down” (#3, 1963). (Other Top 40 Hits included “Do The New Contiental” (#32, 1962) “Bristol Twistin’ Annie” (#27, 1962), “Hully Gully Baby” (#21, 1962) and “Betty In Bermudas” (#39, 1963).
Fellow Dovell Jerry Gross posted on the band’s Facebook page:
We lost one of our original members. Our lead singer from 1960 – 1963 … has gone on to Rock ‘n’ Roll heaven. In these trying times that we’re living in, with the politics and the virus, and now one more sad moment.
Very few people know that we did two reunion shows in 1994 in Syracuse (NY) and Hartford (Conn). We had a fabulous time both on stage and in the car between the dates. Between Lenny and Mark, the comedy never stopped. It was the best of times.
Great being with him again after 31 years. RIP old friend.
From all the remaining Dovells –
Jerry, Arnie, Mike, and Mark
Len Barry was 78. No cause of death was given.
Long-time Forgotten Hits Reader and Contributor John Madara cowrote “1-2-3” with Len Barry and David White.
Several years ago, he gave us a little background on the track … which also includes some commentary from Len himself …
‘60’s FLASHBACK:
After scoring five Top 40 Hits with THE DOVELLS, LEN BARRY decided to pursue a solo career. In the liner notes of his Greatest Hits CD, here is how he describes the excitement of 1, 2, 3 becoming such a HUGE chart success:
LEN BARRY: When we did '1, 2, 3,' we got to where I was trying to go since
1961. I was really at home with that. I was a Motown act as far as I was
concerned. It was the second take. We did it live in the booth. There were no
overdubs, no punches. It was great! It had never sounded like that --- ever! I
said to myself, 'The Man upstairs is hearing me.' If you listen to '1, 2, 3,' I
have sung better, but I have never communicated with the public like that,
ever. Because on that song, the vocal is total desperation. I was saying to the
public, 'Look, I'm 22, let's get serious because I don't know what I'm gonna do
if you don't buy this record.' That desperation was in the performance.
About the song itself,
BARRY had this to say:
I didn't write that for me. I wrote that for the Pixies Three. They had '442 Glenwood Avenue' and such. That's why it had numbers. I don't know why they didn't do it, but they didn't do it --- and I should be grateful.
JOHN MADARA: With regards to writing 1-2-3, you told me that Len Barry had said that it was written for The Pixies Three. That's not correct, because by 1965 we were not producing anything for Mercury Records anymore. I remember clearly that we were set to have a writing session at the office for Lenny's recording session, and I walked in with the melody and a title of "1, 2, and 3." Lenny said, "Let's make it 1-2-3." So we sat and wrote the song ... with no help from Motown.
BARRY's last DECCA single was cowritten with and produced by KENNY GAMBLE and LEON HUFF, two OTHER figures who would later feature prominently in the career of JOHN MADARA. One of MY personal favorite LEN BARRY records is his take on SOMEWHERE, from the Hit Musical WEST SIDE STORY. (It hit #17 on the CASH BOX Chart in 1966.) This was another song selected and produced by the team of MADARA and WHITE, much to the disdain of LEN BARRY ... especially when they arranged it to sound similar in style to his two previous hits, 1, 2, 3 and LIKE A BABY. BARRY felt pigeon-holed by the sound.
LEN BARRY: SOMEWHERE I didn't even want to do ... I wanted to throw up. The drummer must have died from repetition.
I don’t know … I totally dig it … and have always liked this song. (kk)
Hello kk,
I was led to your site by the MeTVFM website.
I read the article about CCR and my reply would be the same.
It reminded me of seeing The Guess Who touring 20+ years ago in Danville, IL. They called themselves the "Grandfathers of Rock in Roll."
I don't know who was original to the group at the time, but they sounded great. They did a different arrangement of American Woman and I will never forget the feelings and emotion that caused in me.
After the show, I found the Soundboard Man / (Manager?) and excitedly told him they should release that version now and that they would blow away everything else on the radio. (Yes it was 20+ years ago) He looked at me like I didn't know what the heck I was talking about, which I didn't … but that version was so powerful, so memorable, that I believe the memory will be with me forever.
The
Guess Who was the first 8-track / cassette I every owned … the player was in my
car in 1972.
-- Larry
Our Creedence article has always been one of the most highly regarded.
(Others can check it out here: http://forgottenhits.com/creedence_clearwater_revival)
As for The Guess Who, I’m guessing you saw the “current” band (even 20 years ago, that features Jim Kale and Garry Peterson, who own the rights to the name. (Although in 2001, The Guess Who … with Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman onboard … did a reunion tour and put on an incredible show … but this sounds more like the OTHER version of the band who, quite honestly, I have never seen.)
I guess I’ve never seen much point, since Burton and Randy have been touring on their own now for decades … and were due to team up again this year for a show right here in Chicago that got cancelled due to Covid (as did most of the rest of our lives!)
Part of me feels like I should at least check them out … kinda like Creedence Clearwater Revisited with Stu Cook and Doug Clifford … but without the guys who wrote and sang all the hits, it just doesn’t feel right, even as much as I love this music. (Even more so after having seen the REAL Guess Who, back in their hey-day in the early ‘70’s!)
Hope you’re enjoying the site … you’ll find ALL kinds of things of interest here … and you’re coming up on 21 years of catching up to do! (lol) kk
Best Classic Bands reran a piece they did on CCR back in 2016 earlier this week …
Once again, it shows just how big (and prolific!) this band was during 1969 …
(DAMN! THREE brand new albums of all new material! And I bought … and played the heck out of … every single one!) kk
https://bestclassicbands.com/creedence-clearwater-revival-1969-archive-box-4-3-16/
Here’s a great new interview with Peter Noone …
https://bestclassicbands.com/peter-noone-hermans-hermits-interview-12-22-199/#
From FH Reader Frank B …
Elton John says he doesn't want to sing 'Crocodile Rock' anymore …
kk …
Why should I sing my Hit Songs that my fans want to hear?
I'll just charge them a lot of money and sing what I want to sing.
FB
In all fairness, he’s saying he doesn’t want to sing it anymore AFTER he finished up his Farewell Tour (which at THIS rate could be YEARS from now!!!) … and that’s fair. By the same token, if you’re hanging things up, then I think you owe it to your fans to do your biggest hits one last time because, let’s face it, we all have our favorites. With a catalog as deep as Elton John’s, he’d have a tough time narrowing down his set list to under 60 of his Top 40 Hits! (And still find time to play some of his own, personal favorites … along with a handful of key album tracks.) No wonder it’s taking him so long to say goodbye! (lol) kk
In Bee Gees news, Barry Gibb has put together what he’s calling “Greenfields: The Gibb Brothers Songbook, Volume One,” featuring a dozen songs written and recorded with his brothers given a country spin.
The new release features tracks recorded by Barry along with country artists Keith Urban (“I’ve Gotta Get A Message To You”), Brandi Carlile (“Run to Me”), Alison Krauss (“Too Much Heaven”), Little Big Town (“Lonely Days”), Dolly Parton (who scored a pretty significant pop and country hit with The Gibb Brothers’ “Islands In the Stream” back in the ‘80’s), performing a duet on The Bee Gees’ hit “Words,” Miranda Lambert and Jay Buchanan (“Jive Talkin’”), “How Deep Is Your Love” (with Tommy Emanuel and Little Big Town), “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart” with Sheryl Crow, “Rest Your Love On Me” with Olivia Newton-John and more.
Of the new album, Gibb says “From the first day we stepped into RCA Studios in Nashville (the very place where Elvis, Willie, Waylon, Roy, the Everly Brothers and so many other legends made their magic) the album took on a life of its own. I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity to work with all of the artists who stopped by. They were all incredibly generous with their time and talent. They inspired me more than words can express. I feel deep down that Maurice and Robin would have loved this album for different reasons. I wish we could have all been together to do it … but I think we were.”
In addition, a new 3-CD Live Set, spanning the entire career of The Bee Gees, is also available, featuring early live appearances on The BBC, the complete Soundstage Special filmed right here in Chicago, the VH1 Storytellers episode from 1996 … as well as a show taped in Melbourne, Australia, that takes the band into the disco era. (Sounds like a nice mix of material, although there is some song repetition throughout the set.)
https://bestclassicbands.com/bee-gees-rare-performances-transmission-impossible-box-10-5-20/
And let’s not forget the brand new Bee Gees documentary, “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart,” coming to HBO next month (December 12th) … looks like the guys are hot again!!! (What is this … comeback #47?!?!?) kk
Hi, Kent -
I believe "Stairway to Heaven" was released 50 years ago today
(11-8-70).
Here's a GREAT knockoff, which actually appeared many years ago by another
artist whose name I don't remember.
This one is a riot.
Mike
Actually, you’re off by about a year … Led Zeppelin’s fourth album came out in November of 1971 … but since this ties in so perfectly with our TV Themes ballot (for which the polls close at midnight tonight!), we’re gonna feature it today anyway … and encourage all of our readers to make one last trip to the polls to wrap up our latest Forgotten Hits Countdown.
(Watch for the final results the weekend of November 21st and 22nd … and keep listening to Me-TV-FM until midnight tonight to hear more of your TV Themes Favorites!) kk
Underdog only got ONE vote????????????? That's a classic song!!!!
Clark Besch
Did you really think it was gonna win??? (kk)
Speaking of which …
I have to extend my VERY special thanks to Sam Tallerico for his TOTALLY unexpected show opening on Saturday … you’ve gotta hear this! (kk)
Before his show was over the announcement came that Biden had been declared the next President of the United States …
But that’s NOT the way the show started.
Biggest voter turn-out in the history of America … people felt a need to express themselves … and NOBODY could have predicted just how tight of a race it would be …
But now we need to move past this and focus all of our attention on making our country strong and healthy again …
And the sooner the better!!! (kk)
