re: PHOEBE SNOW:
Phoebe Snow ... dead at 58. Whoa ... way too young.
I saw her once ... she opened for Jackson Browne at Princeton.
Renfield
We were all saddened to hear of Phoebe's passing yesterday. Although she has had some serious health problems this past year, it's still hard to hear that she didn't make it. Her biggest hit, of course, was "Poetry Man", a #5 Hit back in 1975 ... but I always liked her duet with Paul Simon, too ... "Gone At Last" reached #20 later that same year. (kk)
Phoebe Snow, best known for the #5 1975 hit, "Poetry Man," died Tuesday (April 26) from complications of a brain hemorrhage she suffered last year. She was 58. Born Phoebe Laub in New York, she grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey, and took her stage name from an advertising character who appeared for the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. First appearing as a folk artist in Greenwich Village, she was discovered by Shelter Records. Besides "Poetry Man," she also dueted with Paul Simon on "Gone At Last" (#23 - 1975) -- her only U.S. Pop top 40 hits (mainly due to contractual rifts with Shelter and other labels). Phoebe put her career on hold to take care of her brain-damaged daughter, Valerie, who was born in 1975 and died in 2007. She continued performing until her hemorrhage in January of 2010 when she was planning the release of a new album. She was placed in a medical coma and never really recovered. In 1975, Phoebe was nominated for the Best New Artist Grammy award. She will also be remembered for singing the theme to the NBC-TV show "A Different World" and for the classic "Celebrate the moments of your life" commercial for General Foods International Coffees.
-- Ron Smith
re: THE FORGOTTEN HITS BOOK CLUB:
We've been waiting for THIS one for a long, long time ...
Artie Wayne's book "I Did It For A Song" is FINALLY available for purchase!!!
Check out the links below!
Kent,
I hope you and your readers had a HAPPY EASTER!
I'm proud to announce the official release of my autobiography
"I DID IT FOR A SONG".In my book I write about my first hand experiences songwriting (Aretha, Michael Jackson,Tony Orlando, Cher, etc.) producing (the Kingsmen, The Shirelles, the Guess Who) and getting hits for Warner Brothers Music (“You’re 16″, “R+R Heaven”) and Irving / Almo music (“I Honestly Love You”, “Our Day Will Come”).
I share my private stories about, Carole King, MORRIS LEVY, Neil Bogart, The BEATLES, Jimi Hendrix, SCOTT SHANNON, Eagles, MICHAEL JACKSON, Bert Berns, Alan Freed, BOBBY DARIN, Brian Wilson, PAUL WILLIAMS, Murray The K, TOMMY JAMES and the Shondells, Olivia Newton-John, HERB ALPERT, JERRY MOSS, Don Kirshner, RICK JAMES, Rolling Stones, ELLIE GREENWICH, Clive Davis, Barrry White, DAVID GEFFEN, Marvin Gaye, QUINCY JONES, The Rolling Stones, DAVID BOWIE, Phil Spector, AND DOZENS MORE!
“I DID IT FOR A SONG” IS NOW AVAILABLE AT SMASHWORDS http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/53813
Special thanks to Sally Stevens for the Rainbow’s End photopainting on the cover. http://sallystevens.fineartstudioonline.com/
Copyright 2011 by Artie Wayne
And, speaking of new books, I just got a copy of "AND ON PIANO ...
NICKY HOPKINS" by Julian Dawson. Nicky played with just about everybody over the years ... The Beatles (both as a group and as solo artists), The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Kinks, David Bowie, Steve Miller, Jefferson Airplane, Van Morrison, Nilsson, Joe Cocker, Peter Frampton, Rod Stewart ... the list goes on and on. I can't wait to read this one (and am hoping to meet with Julian when he visits Chicago in June.)
For more information on how YOU can get a copy of this hot new book, visit Julian Dawson's website at juliandawson.com.
By the way, Ron Smith's new Rock And Roll Calendar Book, "EIGHT DAYS A WEEK: Births, Deaths And Events Each Day In Oldies History" could be available in the next couple of weeks! We'll keep you posted ... (in fact, we might even have an autographed copy to give away!) ... or you can always just check Ron's incredible oldies website www.oldiesmusic.com ... which will also provide ordering links once the book is ready to ship. (kk)
>>>There is no end to greed. Davie, you made me want to play guitar. Mike Curb and all the lawyers in the world never made me want to do anything.
>>>All this is so disturbing! Life itself is hard enough without any added dramas and, as unpredictable as what tomorrow has in store, the world is a very foreign place now rather than the land of dreams we had in our naive yesterdays. BUT one thing is a certainty ... we of our generation have this pioneer spirit ... an inner constitution that supercedes any aim to destroy us. We have survived many slings and arrows and still remain to be the legacy of our parentage even if the scenario has morphed into chaotic uncertainties and dismal reflections. Through it all, we have to see within ourselves and examine our faith and beliefs and as our turmoils boil and see the the inner steam from it becomes evident around us like a halo aura that others can perceive and say to themselves ... " This individual is going through some pressure and hardships but they can be trusted with the load of issues because they have been through many fires and remain tempered and somehow keep that eye of the tiger to survive the ordeals ... DAMN THE TORPEDOES!!! ... Full steam ahead! That don't mean we still don't whine and hiss and kick and cuss and cry and wallow in self pity, but we get up and brush off and put on a happy face.
"Atta boy Davie!"
"Atta girl Janine!"
No matter what bedevils us ... no matter what it looks like ... it is a wonderful life!
Glad to be riding this orb together with such beautiful people.
"This too shall pass!"
>>>Dang it! There is no justice...
>>>"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side."
Hunter Thompson
>>>This is another reason why I have NO problem with people who burn CDs ... these scoundrels are nothing but human garbage wrapped in skin. Hold your head up, Davie ... these scum bags eventually will get theirs. What a load of crap. Still scratching my head in frustration.
>>>What we have that others have not is ... a responding soul.
Those with a responding soul hear music and are able to respond to it intimately.
Those who do not have the responding soul see music as their commodity to broker and although they know a good tune when they hear one, they can never ride it to the place we can because as corrupt as our flesh may be, we never compromised our respondent soul but kept it guarded with much melodies of music.
They on the other hand are music pimps and see music as Ted Bundy saw women.
Hi! Who are you? I'm Davie Allan. I am a musician and I offer my gift of music to the world.
Off in the shadows: And then who might you be? I'm the wrangler of his music. I'm a "Serial Music Pimp".
>>>Far be it from me to tell Mike Curb what to do, but if I were him, I would be honored to have nurtured Davie's career, promoted him and his music to the max and re-launch those fabulous movie soundtracks. Curb is aptly named because he has curbed one of the most enduring musical talents if not his career in the US, maybe the world. Davie Allan is part of the soundtrack of my life even before I heard of him. So glad I made the effort to seek out his albums and surf onto the website.
Still, Davie, you are still standing and still playing. The rock historians should be rewriting their history books, especially after the surprise package that is "Retrophonic 2".
>>>The limitless greed and lack of human-soulful connection of the music biz sharpsters never ceases to amaze and repulse me. Curb has feasted heavily off not only Davie Allan, but a stable of other very profitable talented artists. He has already made a very comfortable fortune. There is a concept called "pro bono" which he continues to ignore. My concept of pro-bono is to GIVE BACK to the universe some pittance of what you have already reaped or squeezed out of it.
>>>How stupid. It sounds like someone who can't take the heat but still wants to stay in the kitchen!
>>>What can I say about Curb that we don't already know, but it's a drag he blew the deal by not playing ball with Sundazed. Come on what does he really have to lose?
>>>I'd like to see what both their "models" are ... Record companies suck.
>>>It would be amazing to see (not to mention, hear) "Glory Stompers," both "Wild Angels," "Thunder Alley" etc., as properly released CDs. It seems that it was out of Bob Irwin's hands and Curb just chose to make the price so high. I'm sure Bob's mightily disappointed and this 'dog in the manger' routine Curb pulls makes it beneficial for no one -- not even him. (And to think I always thought he valued profit before anything else. Hmmm ... ) Seems like he's being vindictive for no good reason.
>>>This whole thing with the soundtracks deal is pretty sad to hear about. I was hoping it would happen. I don't understand ... would it be too expensive to release all this stuff?!?! This confuses me: "Curb is required to pay out to royalty participants and leave something for Curb." Wouldn't he just need to pay you? Also the guy is pretty freakin' loaded; why does he need something left for him. Even a small percentage would work for him ... he owns the rights too all the soundtracks!!! This sucks. Is there any other way that this would get released or is it pretty much a lost cause?
It would have been cool to see this released. I had the idea that it could have been done as sort of a box set with ALL the soundtracks, 2 or 3 movie soundtracks in each CD. And you could have a couple of discs with the box set as well as pictures of the movie posters more photos of DA & the Arrows, stories and such. It could have been freakin' awesome!!!
>>>Jesus ... Davie, this is appalling. Curb is going to take this insanity to the grave, isn't he?
Is it possible to take this deal elsewhere, or will Curb's greed torpedo it again? How much money does the man need? What is he getting from this? It has passed far beyond the realms of pathological and into the realms of the sadistic. I'm so, so sorry.
re: DAVIE ALLAN AND THE ARROWS:
Davie Allan fans are not too happy about the fact that the Mike Curb / Sundazed Records deal fell through to release many of Davie's great movie soundtrack recordings for the first time on CD. Below he shares some of the comments he has received by way of emails to his own website and other oldies music posting boards. (kk)
>>>I don't know if you still wondered about the Sundazed deal with Curb but here is the final word on that. Our backyard (and into the back room and garage) was flooded in December from record rainfall and the nightmare continued with three months of construction. As bad as that has been, even more galling is the canceled deal between Curb and "Sundazed". The following note came two days after we received a revised bill on the rain repairs: (From one of Curb's lawyers, regarding the deal to re-release all the 60's soundtracks of which I was a part on CD) Davie Allan
>>>We received an email from Sundazed the other day that Sundazed will not be able to work with the economic model we proposed. They offered an alternative model, but such model will not work, as it does not cover the amount that Curb is required to pay out to royalty participants and leave something for Curb. Sundazed's decision came somewhat as a surprise to me as the model that Curb proposed was not questioned by Sundazed until just recently.
And then this from Bob "Sundazed" Irwin:
>>>I simply cannot work with the Curb "model" without losing money on each and every release sold - their proposed royalty structure is far beyond anything that could be considered reality. I had talked with them about this for over a year, so it should come as no surprise to them ... And I worked extremely hard to propose an alternative (which also would have been extremely costly to us, but manageable), but they rejected that two weeks ago. I absolutely cannot spend any more time on this - the math does not work, they will not accept my proposed terms, and I now have to let it go and move on to other things.
>>>That's too bad ... I'm sure a number of our readers were looking forward to these releases, long out of print, including many of which never saw release in the CD format. (Aren't SOME sales at SOME rate better than NO sales at a 0% royalty rate?!?!? Some of this stuff just doesn't make sense anymore ... meanwhile, EVERYBODY loses. I cannot help but wonder what "new" audience this music might have found had a workable agreement been reached.) kk
Kent,
Sorry if my message seems too negative for your site, but here are some of the comments I received on other posting boards after word got out about the now defunct Sundazed-Curb deal to re-release ALL the 60's soundtracks on CD. (By the way, if you read through all of this, you will see that I did NOT put the blame on either Sundazed or Curb when I was asked about the deal ... plus I deleted the names to protect the innocent!):
>>>It just doesn't make sense to me. Why lock up these treasures and deny them to a potential new audience? Is Curb going to release them himself? Surely it would be good for him to have the music out there instead of left in the vaults. I know I know little about the music industry, but I would have thought these releases would be of historical interest as well as financial. As usual, the actual talent, the artist, is given last consideration.
Sorry if my message seems too negative for your site, but here are some of the comments I received on other posting boards after word got out about the now defunct Sundazed-Curb deal to re-release ALL the 60's soundtracks on CD. (By the way, if you read through all of this, you will see that I did NOT put the blame on either Sundazed or Curb when I was asked about the deal ... plus I deleted the names to protect the innocent!):
>>>It just doesn't make sense to me. Why lock up these treasures and deny them to a potential new audience? Is Curb going to release them himself? Surely it would be good for him to have the music out there instead of left in the vaults. I know I know little about the music industry, but I would have thought these releases would be of historical interest as well as financial. As usual, the actual talent, the artist, is given last consideration.
>>>There is no end to greed. Davie, you made me want to play guitar. Mike Curb and all the lawyers in the world never made me want to do anything.
>>>All this is so disturbing! Life itself is hard enough without any added dramas and, as unpredictable as what tomorrow has in store, the world is a very foreign place now rather than the land of dreams we had in our naive yesterdays. BUT one thing is a certainty ... we of our generation have this pioneer spirit ... an inner constitution that supercedes any aim to destroy us. We have survived many slings and arrows and still remain to be the legacy of our parentage even if the scenario has morphed into chaotic uncertainties and dismal reflections. Through it all, we have to see within ourselves and examine our faith and beliefs and as our turmoils boil and see the the inner steam from it becomes evident around us like a halo aura that others can perceive and say to themselves ... " This individual is going through some pressure and hardships but they can be trusted with the load of issues because they have been through many fires and remain tempered and somehow keep that eye of the tiger to survive the ordeals ... DAMN THE TORPEDOES!!! ... Full steam ahead! That don't mean we still don't whine and hiss and kick and cuss and cry and wallow in self pity, but we get up and brush off and put on a happy face.
"Atta boy Davie!"
"Atta girl Janine!"
No matter what bedevils us ... no matter what it looks like ... it is a wonderful life!
Glad to be riding this orb together with such beautiful people.
"This too shall pass!"
>>>Dang it! There is no justice...
>>>"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side."
Hunter Thompson
>>>This is another reason why I have NO problem with people who burn CDs ... these scoundrels are nothing but human garbage wrapped in skin. Hold your head up, Davie ... these scum bags eventually will get theirs. What a load of crap. Still scratching my head in frustration.
>>>What we have that others have not is ... a responding soul.
Those with a responding soul hear music and are able to respond to it intimately.
Those who do not have the responding soul see music as their commodity to broker and although they know a good tune when they hear one, they can never ride it to the place we can because as corrupt as our flesh may be, we never compromised our respondent soul but kept it guarded with much melodies of music.
They on the other hand are music pimps and see music as Ted Bundy saw women.
Hi! Who are you? I'm Davie Allan. I am a musician and I offer my gift of music to the world.
Off in the shadows: And then who might you be? I'm the wrangler of his music. I'm a "Serial Music Pimp".
>>>Far be it from me to tell Mike Curb what to do, but if I were him, I would be honored to have nurtured Davie's career, promoted him and his music to the max and re-launch those fabulous movie soundtracks. Curb is aptly named because he has curbed one of the most enduring musical talents if not his career in the US, maybe the world. Davie Allan is part of the soundtrack of my life even before I heard of him. So glad I made the effort to seek out his albums and surf onto the website.
Still, Davie, you are still standing and still playing. The rock historians should be rewriting their history books, especially after the surprise package that is "Retrophonic 2".
>>>The limitless greed and lack of human-soulful connection of the music biz sharpsters never ceases to amaze and repulse me. Curb has feasted heavily off not only Davie Allan, but a stable of other very profitable talented artists. He has already made a very comfortable fortune. There is a concept called "pro bono" which he continues to ignore. My concept of pro-bono is to GIVE BACK to the universe some pittance of what you have already reaped or squeezed out of it.
>>>How stupid. It sounds like someone who can't take the heat but still wants to stay in the kitchen!
>>>What can I say about Curb that we don't already know, but it's a drag he blew the deal by not playing ball with Sundazed. Come on what does he really have to lose?
>>>I'd like to see what both their "models" are ... Record companies suck.
>>>It would be amazing to see (not to mention, hear) "Glory Stompers," both "Wild Angels," "Thunder Alley" etc., as properly released CDs. It seems that it was out of Bob Irwin's hands and Curb just chose to make the price so high. I'm sure Bob's mightily disappointed and this 'dog in the manger' routine Curb pulls makes it beneficial for no one -- not even him. (And to think I always thought he valued profit before anything else. Hmmm ... ) Seems like he's being vindictive for no good reason.
>>>This whole thing with the soundtracks deal is pretty sad to hear about. I was hoping it would happen. I don't understand ... would it be too expensive to release all this stuff?!?! This confuses me: "Curb is required to pay out to royalty participants and leave something for Curb." Wouldn't he just need to pay you? Also the guy is pretty freakin' loaded; why does he need something left for him. Even a small percentage would work for him ... he owns the rights too all the soundtracks!!! This sucks. Is there any other way that this would get released or is it pretty much a lost cause?
It would have been cool to see this released. I had the idea that it could have been done as sort of a box set with ALL the soundtracks, 2 or 3 movie soundtracks in each CD. And you could have a couple of discs with the box set as well as pictures of the movie posters more photos of DA & the Arrows, stories and such. It could have been freakin' awesome!!!
>>>Jesus ... Davie, this is appalling. Curb is going to take this insanity to the grave, isn't he?
Is it possible to take this deal elsewhere, or will Curb's greed torpedo it again? How much money does the man need? What is he getting from this? It has passed far beyond the realms of pathological and into the realms of the sadistic. I'm so, so sorry.
Clearly, there is a fanbase clamoring for the release of this music. Here's hoping that SOMETHING can be worked out that would satisfy ALL of the parties concerned. (kk)
re: DO WE REALLY REMEMBER THE HITS
AND THE ORIGINAL VERSIONS?:
AND THE ORIGINAL VERSIONS?:
Now, is this the "hit" Kent remembers?
Could it be someone's trying to fool him and messed with the stereo mix, maybe even left some tape tracks out!? Kent claims they know the "originals"! But, really, just how well do the know them!? Even I am sometimes fooled into thinking it's a remake, when it was just actually (re)mixed differently!!!
The Beatles - I'm Looking Through You
http://www.angelfire.com/empire/abpsp/images/throughu.mp3
Best,
http://www.angelfire.com/empire/abpsp/images/throughu.mp3
Best,
Jersey John
Do I remember it? You betcha!!! In fact, MY copy of "Rubber Soul" was one of those rare mono editions that had the false start of "I'm Looking Through You" ... which was the ONLY way I knew this song for probably ten years. I had NO idea at the time that it was a false start or a rare pressing ... it truly was the ONLY way I had ever heard it so I just assumed that this was the way The Beatles intended it to be. The first time I heard it WITHOUT the false start, I thought THAT was a mistake ... figured the needle skipped ('cause this was back in the day when they still played vinyl in the studio on many of the FM stations.) Only YEARS later did I find out that this was a rare mistake that made it through into the fans' hands! So yes, I ABSOLUTELY remember what "I'm Looking Through You" sounded like on MY record player!!! (kk)
re: ELVIS AND THE BEATLES:
Kent;
Don't know about how U.S. radio station were (?) regulated in the days that the Beatles were intro-ed TO north America ... but I DO know that each ANNOUNCER, be they a disc jockey or just announcer of info, had a LOG BOOK, before them with what was to be played or said
along with any commercial. As each speaking and record playing was done, its id was crossed out.
Don't know about how U.S. radio station were (?) regulated in the days that the Beatles were intro-ed TO north America ... but I DO know that each ANNOUNCER, be they a disc jockey or just announcer of info, had a LOG BOOK, before them with what was to be played or said
along with any commercial. As each speaking and record playing was done, its id was crossed out.
How it's done today (????????) I don't know.
How to find out WHO actually spun that FIRST EVER Beatle 45 ... the station that played that type of music in the early 60s (Somehow I figure some are OFF the air) one would have to tediously go back to look it up.
How to find out WHO actually spun that FIRST EVER Beatle 45 ... the station that played that type of music in the early 60s (Somehow I figure some are OFF the air) one would have to tediously go back to look it up.
Here in Toronto, there is a station CFRB Newstalk 1010 AM, that, back then, had a gentleman, RAY SONIN, who on Sat evenings had a program, CALLING ALL BRITONS, and, on a regular basis, he and his wife went 'ome for visits and to first hand catch up with the musical happenings of any type. Seems that on one visit he heard of this group, the BEATLES, gave them a listen to, and brought back a 45.
What the broadcast licensing deal was, I've no idea, but, he often said in later years that HE was the first person in NORTH AMERICA to spin, the BEATLES ...
BUUUUUUUUUUUUUT, there again, one would have to look up the log books ... again/
About two years prior to the Beatles, I had been into listening to the radio and gotten the liking of Elvis' style and my younger brother was listening to THEM. I remember the big build up when they were announced by Ed Sullivan, they'd be on NEXT WEEK. Their many records had been being played at the high school dances, which was just up the street from our house, so getting there was easy. HEY, I liked their stuff, too ... I just didn't go "GA-GA" over them.
Well, we sat and watched 'em on Ed Sullivan ... yep, the girls squealin'. Watching was my mother and, after a few seconds, she commented, "They did the same for Elvis!"
Who? I wonder who was theeeee first to send his / her audience into a frenzie???
Read somewhere that one of the master piano players of the 17 or 1800's did it!!!!!!
Yep, this column blog, whatever it be called in computer linguistics, what we celebrate
wouldn't be, but for them guys back THEN.
wouldn't be, but for them guys back THEN.
Robert Black
(By the way, it's Contrario, not C;Ontario ... I like to play with words ... CONtrario describes our Prov gov't.)
Scroll back on the blog and you'll find several instances where we addressed Ray Sonin and playing The Beatles first in North America. Like you said, the ONLY way to know ... and PROVE ... for sure would be to track down those vintage log books. Honestly, I can't believe ANY of this stuff still exists anymore. With so many radio stations changing hands and changing formats over the years, I believe it would be virtually IMPOSSIBLE at this point in time to determine anything for certain ... but what we did in the research that we did way back when (in determining that Dick Biondi was the first disc jockey in America to play The Beatles) was double-check, triple-check and quadruple-check the timelines and then bear these out with actual documentation of these songs showing up on the radio station's survey charts. I'm pretty confident that we're right ... and any number of challengers have come along over the past several years stating otherwise ... but NONE of them have offered anything in the way of documented proof like what we show on the website. So for right now ... and until somebody conclusively proves otherwise ... we're stickin' with our story! (kk)
Kent ...
Ticket prices are 95 Korner.
I don't know what that means, but it sounds expensive.
Frank B.
Kent ...
That's a lot of money to spend on a used piano. LoL !!
Frank B.
