One of the things that makes FORGOTTEN HITS so much fun for me to do is sharing the life experiences of some of the folks on the list ... personal moments where music made a difference.
Thanks to list member STEVE CALANDRA, we're able to present a personal review of a RON DANTE / ANDY KIM Concert that STEVE attended in Las Vegas a couple of years ago [EDITOR'S NOTE: Believe it or not, it's now been 23 YEARS since this piece first ran! - kk] ... along with a picture of STEVE with these '60's legends.
What follows is what can ONLY be described as a gushing review of the show. (FRANNIE and I had ALSO hoped to attend this performance but with all the wedding hook-up stuff going on, we ended up missing the show. We're hoping to catch RON DANTE at one of his 2006 appearances ... that California show with THE BEACH BOYS and AMERICA sounds ESPECIALLY appealing!!!) Since we couldn't be there, we are grateful for STEVE's detailed review!
Back in September of 2003, I flew to Las Vegas with some friends for a wedding. (Ed and Diana Parker) On the first day there, I decided to go to the Hilton to see the Star Trek Memorabilia Display. While riding in a cab stopped at a traffic light, I stared a long time at a billboard that said "Ron Dante and Andy Kim appearing at The Riviera." It took a while for dawn to break. But as it did, the cab started pulling away and I didn't remember where or when this event would take place.
For the last five years or so I had been collecting the old Archies LPs and CDs. I even have some of the records that were on the back of cereal boxes when the Archies were popular in the late sixties. I've found that I enjoyed all of their music that wasn't made popular on the radio. I have a lot of favorites (Catching Up On Fun, Melody Hill, Rock 'n' Roll Music, Don't Touch My Guitar, Waldo P. Emerson Jones) to name a few.
These songs made me feel like a kid again and (at 48 years old!), I started to have silly daydreams about meeting Ron Dante and telling him how much I enjoyed his arrangements on these songs. I never thought that this would ever come true. But it did, and here it was staring me in the face for several minutes sitting at one of those long traffic lights in Vegas.
After returning to my hotel, I frantically tried looking through entertainment flyers and asking people on the street if they knew about it. I got the info from the front desk of my hotel that did some research for me. I found out that the show was going to be starting in an hour at the Riviera. So I got my money together and rushed down there just in time.
There was an extra bonus to this show, when I found out that there was going to be a meet and greet session afterwards.
When the show started, I had written down every song in the order it was performed. I came across it about a year ago and tossed it thinking it was no longer needed. (Rats!) I remember hearing the most popular Archies tunes and Tracy by the Cuff-Links. There were also a lot of tunes co- written by Ron, Andy and the famous writers Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, and Robin McNamara. Andy did some of his solo stuff that included a song called "Shoot Em Up" that he told the story about how he came to write it and the criticism that he endured when the critics misunderstood the title for sounding like he was a pro weapon lobbyist. It was just a song inspired by some good memories growing up with his parents. He also ended by singing Rock Me Gently and included the audience in singing the chorus.
After the show I saved the best for last by talking with people in line. I met a couple that brought their old record player for him to sign. I was the last in line to see Ron and Andy and realized that my dream came true. I told Ron about my favorite songs and that I wished they had gotten air play. He said that no one had ever said that to him before and he was very appreciative of my saying so. I asked him if he still lived in Staten Island, New York. He replied that he moved out west and goes back to visit sometimes. I have some relatives there and we talked about some of the towns and roads on the Island.
There was a photo session including two signed CDs and photos of Ron and Andy, AND! a picture of me with both of them! I never thought this dream would come true and I almost missed it. This must be a wish granted from GOD for some of the times I've helped people in need on the highway when their car broke down or other good deeds. Thanx GOD! I've sent you a copy of the photo in this e-mail message for the rest of your list to enjoy.
Thanx,
Steve Calandra
Thanks, STEVE, for sharing your experience with our list! (kk)
HERE ARE SOME OF THE COMMENTS THAT WE RECEIVED DURING OUR RON DANTE SERIES:
Hi Guys! I thought I'd take a little bit of a different approach with today's COMMENTS PAGE ... whenever possible, I asked RON DANTE to answer some of your questions himself ... so HIS COMMENTS are splattered throughout today's page! This way, you're getting some of your information "right from the horse's mouth" so to speak. Enjoy!
P.S. Hopefully you guys enjoyed our special RON DANTE series ... it looks like HE did!!! (LOL)
I read your series of interviews with me. Really well done I thought.
You rock.
Ron Dante
re: RON DANTE:
Hi Kent
I just love Ron Dante and hope to see him perform here April 15th at the Scottish Rites Cathedral in West Reading, PA. Also hoping to get him to autograph my pic sleeve of Leader of the Laundromat, Archies LP and Tracy 45. It sounds like it’s going to be a really good show. The line up not only includes Ron, but also features Merilee Rush, Jay Procter (Jay and Techniques), the 1910 Fruitgum Company (wonder how many are original members) and Tommy Roe.
Also, I recently came across some interesting CD's (yes, I finally know what CD's are) titled "Before They Were Hits" or "We Did It First" ... some of the best ones are: On Broadway - The Cookies; We Gotta Get Out Of This Place - Barry Mann; Mama Told Me Not To Come - Randy Newman; Thou Shalt Not Steal - The Newbeats; Doo Wah Diddy - The Exciters; Just To Be With You - Paul Simon (was really surprised on this one); I Can Hear Music - The Ronettes; Hanky Panky - The Raindrops; He's A Rebel - Vicki Carr; Higher And Higher - The Dells; Chapel Of Love - both Darlene Love and the Ronettes did it before The Dixie Cups; His Latest Flame - Del Shannon plus many others.
Hugybear45
Tom
Sounds like a GREAT show ... Ron’s got a show coming up in July with THE BEACH BOYS and AMERICA … we’d LOVE to see that one!
I've seen these CDs advertised (GOLDEN GALLERY out your way sells these and tons of other interesting compilation CDs ... you can reach them at PO Box 222; Pine Grove, PA 17963 or by email at goldngallery@comcast.net ... tell them FORGOTTEN HITS sent you ... you may recall that they were offering special pre-order pricing on the CAMEO / PARKWAY CD Boxed Set through our newsletter a few months back!) Send us a concert review in April!!! (kk)
Uh-oh …
RON DANTE: This date has not been confirmed so it will not take place. I checked with Tommy Roe and Jay Proctor and they are not booked.
FORGOTTEN HITS: Better look into the ticket return policy, Tom ... based on what RON's telling us, this doesn't look good!!! (Hey RON, is the July 1st Show in California featuring THE BEACH BOYS and AMERICA booked solid? Frannie and I would LOVE to go to that one!!!) EDITOR'S NOTE: I'm not sure that Golden Gallery link is still live in 2026 either! Remember that ALL of the information shown yesterday and today is at least twenty years old ... while, we're still around and kickin', that doesn't mean that everyone else is! -kk
Kent,
Cool stuff on Ron Dante. ALWAYS loved "Leader of the Laundromat." Archies songs I liked were "Who's Your Baby" and "Feelin' So Good." Not faves, but good. I believe Toni Wine sang on "Who's Your Baby." My fave Dante 45 would likely be 1976's "Yellow Van" by Ronnie & the Dirt Riders on RCA. With a little turnabout, I think Barry Manilow produced it! I emailed Ron about the song awhile back, but can't find his response now. It was only a sentence. Anyway, it was a breath of fresh air during the disco era.
Clark
FH: What can you tell us about a song called YELLOW VAN that was released as RONNIE AND THE DIRT RIDERS on RCA RECORDS in the mid-'70's? Did BARRY MANILOW produce this track? Also, is there a COMPLETE RON DANTE discography available somewhere on line? You've recorded under so many different names (and worked with so many different artists) ... how would one go about putting together a COMPLETE RON DANTE music collection?
RD: A fan of mine has a discography on me on his site. His name is Mark Chadborne.
(Unfortunately, RON did not give me the address of this website ... however, a quick GOOGLE search shows a number of fan sites out there, many offering discographies ... perhaps consulting several of them will yield a complete (or near-complete) listing. (kk)
UPDATE: It looks like the “official” Ron Dante OnLine Website is now shut down – but a number of fan sites still exist. (kk)
FH: What can you tell us about the YELLOW VAN recording mentioned ... released by RONNIE AND THE DIRT RIDERS ... was BARRY MANILOW involved in this recording?
RD: I wrote and recorded this with Barry Manilow doing the arrangement and singing along with me. It was released on RCA records. It sounded like the Beach Boys and had a really good hook of a chorus.
FH: (If anybody on the list has a copy of this to share, I'd love to hear it ... I tried to get a copy through EBAY but the auction didn't close until after this piece needed to run.)
UPDATE: Thanks again to Tom Diehl, who ALWAYS seems to come thru for me when it comes to these rare ones, we DO have a copy to share with our readers!
Did you know one of the other "Archies" was a woman named Toni Wine? She is also a songwriter and wrote such songs as "Groovy Kind of Love." She has been touring in Tony Orlando's band for a few years.
Eileen
Yep ... and, as you've likely seen by now, we covered her involvement a little bit later during our series!!! (In fact, she also just sang back-up vocals on RON DANTE's latest CD!) Cool ... an ARCHIES mini-reunion!!! (more below)
Well, of COURSE you knew that, Kent!!!
E
FH: What is TONI WINE up to these days? What are some of her other recording credits? Has she been touring as part of TONY ORLANDO's back-up band / singers these past few years? We know that she co-wrote the '60's #1 smash hit GROOVY KIND OF LOVE ... are there any other songwriting credits we should know about?
RD: Toni is working with Tony Orlando in his band playing keyboards and singing great backgrounds. She wrote Tony's first hit "Candida" and sang on that record also. Tony is a wonderful singer/songwriter and a terrific person. Very loyal and a great friend of mine.
FH: I'm guessing that that statement would be true for both TONY and TONI ... especially since TONI WINE sang back-up vocals on RON DANTE's latest CD! VERY cool that all these folks have stayed in touch and still get the chance to work together from time to time after all these years.
Kent--
Two things come to mind for me while reading your article:
#1. Back in the mid-to-late sixties, I used to subscribe to Billboard magazine. Believe it or not I paid an exorbitant subscription price just so I could find out about the weekly new releases! But I became fascinated by the industry articles and ads, special sections, and "insider" information as well. I remember right after the Archies hit the big-time with "Sugar, Sugar" I saw a full-page ad touting the talent of Ron Dante. I believe the mystery was still awash regarding who the Archies really were. The title copy of the ad, as I recall, was RON DANTE BRINGS YOU UP! In retrospect I wonder if that was an ad touting an upcoming LP. Could RON DANTE BRINGS YOU UP have been the working title or was there actually an LP released as such?
#2. I recall I was a bit embarrassed at the time (late sixties) to admit I bought the Cuff Links LP on Decca. I recall it being OK-to-quite good in terms of its genre. Uneven obviously in terms of content, but the several standout tunes were well crafted. There were two young lads sitting under a tree as I recall on the cover. Could one of them have been Ron Dante? Vance and Pockriss? Male models? Yikes!
Robert Conway
I'm thinking your memory's a little bit fuzzy here ... otherwise, a quick check of THE CUFF LINKS TRACY LP Cover shows two of the PRETTIEST "lads" I've ever seen!!! RON DANTE BRINGS YOU UP was, indeed, the name of an LP ... in fact, it was also the title single from that album (LET ME BRING YOU UP). Released on the KIRSHNER label, this was evidently one of the trade ads that DON KIRSHNER took out to announce the fact that RON DANTE was the voice behind THE ARCHIES ... probably quite a collectible now!!!
FH: Was there more than one LP cover issued for the TRACY album by THE CUFF LINKS? Someone on the list seems to remember it being a couple of GUYS sitting under a tree and wondered if one of them was you ... or perhaps the dynamic duo of VANCE and POCKRISS ... or (shudder ... even worse) MALE MODELS?!?!? (A quick check of the LP cover listed on EBAY shows two girls on the front ... I guess I always just figured that this was "TRACY" ... or might that perhaps be TRACY AND JULIE??? LOL) Was this the ONLY version of that cover that was ever issued???)
RD: The album with the girls pictured on the front cover was the only one. Her picture was done twice and it looked like twins but it was just a teen model the label photographer knew. I've never even knew her name.
FH: Regarding the RON DANTE BRINGS YOU UP LP ... was THIS the album (and series of ads) that you mentioned that DON KIRSHNER took out, promoting the fact that you were the voice of THE ARCHIES? I noticed that this album was released on KIRSHNER RECORDS and figured it probably was ... can you confirm?
RD: I recorded under my own name for Kirshner right after all the Archies success. He took out ads for over a month teasing with things like "Do You Know This Face? You Know His Voice. He Was The Voice Of The Biggest Record Of The Year And Numerous Hit Commercials." Then, after a month, he put in my name under the picture. My album was produced by Jeff Barry and I wrote most of the songs.
FH: Sounds like a pretty good marketing strategy (or, at the very least, an attention grabber.) Unfortunately, the album never made the Billboard Charts. Apparently, the public preferred the illusion of THE CUFF LINKS and THE ARCHIES ... between them, they scored six LPs on Billboard's Album Chart! Going back to THE CUFF LINKS for a minute ... after the first album (the one with the hits on it), you walked away from THE CUFF LINKS to concentrate on more jingles work ... and RUPERT HOLMES stepped in to keep the "band" alive for another album ... were you involved in his selection? What were your reasons for abandoning THE CUFF LINKS after one album, especially after a couple of hit singles?
RD: Rupert Holmes was already involved with The Cuff Links since he had arranged the horn and strings on the first one. The producers liked him and kept him on when I left.
The Rip Chords backed up Ron Dante and Andy Kim when we were first re-forming. Ron, in particular, is a very nice and talented fellow. We're still in touch from time to time.
Best,
Bob Rush
The Rip Chords
And ... I see that on the PBS "AT THE DRIVE-IN" Television Special, you also appeared with BOBBY VEE ... who, as I'm sure you all know by now, is gonna do a FORGOTTEN HITS interview ANY year now!!! (LOL) Actually, BOBBY DID comment for us during our RON DANTE series (which I also know that he read and, hopefully, enjoyed ... now we just need to get HIM to answer our questions!!!)
TRUTH IN (TV) ADVERTISING:
Must have been sometime when "Sugar, Sugar" was still near the top of the charts ... I remember hearing a TV-staion promo telling viewers to watch some variety show later in the week because the "real" Archies would appear and sing their big hit. I caved in to the hyped suspense and arranged my teenage-weeknight schedule to accommodate the TV variety show (cannot recall the name). I remember getting a bit agitated watching the TV program as the minutes slowly went by in agonizing fashion until the last few minutes. OK, I'd been suckered into watching the entire program hoping to see the "real" Archies, but alas the time was finally at hand. After the last commercial the host finally introduced the Archies! Who was Betty? Who was Veronica? Would Moose and Midge make a cameo appearance as well? Viola! The cameras moved to the set ... where finally the "real" Archies appeared ... behind the mikes, guitars strapped on, ready to rock! And I'd been duped! Or had I? The Archies sure enough were the "real" Archies as I had known them for the many years that I had followed their antics in my Archie comic books! (Yes, it was the animated Archies in a faux concert setting. Anybody else out there remember this? In retrospect it was a funny trick to play on those who were dumb enough to stick around waiting until the end of the show.)
Bob Conway
Bob: I sent RON DANTE a copy of your email and asked him if he could recall what program this might have been.
FH: Were you in any way involved with this performance? Were there ever any OTHER appearances by THE ARCHIES???
RD: The live Archies never appeared during my time making our records. There were many bogus groups out on the road saying they were The Archies but none of them were official. Kirshner and Archie Comics sent out the FBI to stop the fake groups. One night Ed Sullivan presented the Archies singing Sugar, Sugar. The cartoon was played that night.
FH: That might be the night you're thinking of, Bob.
Ron Dante also cut a performance video for “Sugar, Sugar” … but that was quite a bit later. (Very cool as you see LOTS of Ron Dante's in this video, several years prior to Paul McCartney's "Coming Up" video.) kk
>>>I told Ron about my favorite songs and that I wished they had gotten air play. He said that no one had ever said that to him before and he was very appreciative of my saying so. (Steve Calandra)
MY SANSA MP3 PLAYER FROM SANDISK HAS A VOICE RECORDER IN IT ... YOU CAN RECORD 30 HOURS ON HALF A GIG ... IT'S TINY AND NOT BAD FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS ... LIKE A COP BEING AN A-HOLE AT A TRAFFIC STOP ... ONE IN POCKET FOR OCCASIONS LIKE THIS MIGHT BE A GOOD IDEA ...
RENFIELD
Check back again for more great travel tips from RIP RENFIELD. (LOL) kk
I just thought I'd share this mp3 ... it's a four and a half minute long remix of Sugar, Sugar, done by my buddy Mark Mathews a few years ago .... in fact, this one is known as the "Mark Mathews Super Sweet Remix." There are other "remixes" of this song that add new instrumentation and junk to the song, but with this one, Mark took only what was in the song originally to make it longer ... and I believe that this is the version Dick Bartley plays on his radio show. Unfortunately, it isn't available commercially. I think it's great though.
tomd
Thanks, Tom ... we've included it with today's COMMENTS PAGE mailing.
As someone who used to watch "The Archies," I'm really enjoying reading about Ron Dante. My two favorites songs from them were "Sugar, Sugar" and "Jingle Jangle." (Thanks for including them in this piece.) Glad to hear that Ron Dante is still performing. Thanks again.
Diana S.
Kent,
I enjoyed your series on Ron Dante. I never downloaded your "new disco" Sugar Sugar version. I assume it is the one that starts out "cold a ccapella" with "Honey, honey … Sugar, sugar ..."? I know Dick Bartley started playing this one on his show in the 90's and it went over well.
Actually, no, it's NOT ... give it a listen ... it starts out with a VERY disco beginning "Pour Little Sugar On Me, Honey ... Poor Little Sugar On Me, Baby" ... it got some airplay when it first came out ... mainly because MANILOW was so hot at the time and it was such a unique take on a VERY popular song. (The fact that the original singer of the song was doing the remake also gained it some notoriety!) DEFINITELY worth a listen ... this one's getting harder and harder to find on vinyl.
It's weird how many things happen when I am listening to stuff here and it happens to relate to your projects.
Clark Besch
Tell me about it ... I run into this ALL day long!!! (When the PSYCHEDELIC MUSIC Series was running, I betcha I heard CRIMSON AND CLOVER thirty times ... and INCENSE AND PEPPERMINTS NINETY TIMES!!! (LOL) Sometimes I'll simply mention a song ... something that I haven't heard played for YEARS ... and it'll show up on the radio a day or two later. (Gremlins?!?!? Or just my own paranoia?!?!?) Actually, sometimes I almost feel flattered ... like I'm in tune with the rest of the oldies world! Other times it feels like my entire life is bugged! Lol
Wait a second ... paranoid??? ... who said that?!?!? Downright eerie sometimes!!!) kk
I was just dubbing a copy of 1969 "Music Scene" hosted by Chicago's own David Steinberg and it came time to play Billboard's #1 song that week and it was "Sugar, Sugar." To show that the song was even harassed when it was out, the show had a skit where a guy was listening to the news on the radio. Every time there was a bad news event about the world, he started to jump out his window. Just when he was ready, a good news item made him come back in and smile just in time to hear another bad one make him head for the window again. After this happened about three times, the announcer on the radio mentioned that "Sugar, Sugar" had been #1 again for the second week, at which point he actually jumped! Funny that it was panned even then!
Don't know if you've ever seen the Ron Dante video of "Sugar Sugar," but it is really cool. It is a band performing the song and EVERY member is RON! Great technology for the day. Ron playing drums, Ron on guitars, Ron singing. Pretty cool idea. Then at work the other night, I was listening to an old cassette of Bartley's "Solid Gold Saturday Night" and on came a "Sugar, Sugar" along with an SGSN jingle introing "Sugar & Spice" by the Cryan’ Shames! How cool! I wonder if Ron had any input into RCA's ventures into the Archies arena -- cartoon series rock groups. They had the Globetrotters and Hardy Boys. The Hardy Boys was produced by our Chicago icon, Bill Traut, for Dunwich productions. One of his last Dunwich things before he made it big again with Styx. And, if all that wasn't enough, I was trying to dub all my Beta video stuff to DVDs for safe keeping and ran across Peter Noone on an old Wolfman Jack TV show. He was great (in 1987?) on there, but Wolfman helped on "Henery" and that was not a thing of beauty.
Take care,
Clark
Weird how all this works out sometimes ... someone else just told me the other day that while they were in Las Vegas ... down on Freemont Street ... the light show started and SUGAR, SUGAR started blasting out of the loud speakers ... and all the bars and casinos emptied out and people were whooping it up and dancing in the streets to RON DANTE and THE ARCHIES!!! VERY cool, indeed!!! (Might have been the very first Flash Mob!!!) Did you know about this, RON??? (kk)
Hello,
Thank you so much for the Ron Dante interview. I run fan sites for both Ron Dante and Jeff Barry. Thanks a million for putting the interview online through the ONMYMIND website / webblog.
Regarding Part 7 of the interview, the concert review for Ron's appearance at the Riviera in Las Vegas, here's the link to a couple of pages of photos I took at that concert: http://lpintop.tripod.com/laurasrondantefanpages/id36.html
In fact, here's a picture of Ron Dante, Andy Kim and me at the "Meet And Greet" Party after the concert:
ANDY KIM, LAURA PINTO and RON DANTE
While the "On My Mind" website seems to have disappeared over the past twenty years, I just checked and that website link that Laura sent us is still live. You’ll find lots more great pictures on her website ... check 'em out!!! (kk)
At the bottom of page two there is a link to my Webshots album, which has all the Vegas photos (those on the fan page plus more). Thanks again for running Ron's interview.
Take care,
Laura
Laura's Ron Dante Fan Pages
Jeff Barry: The Man and His Music
Oldies Connection
Robin McNamara
Glad you enjoyed the series ... as a devoted RON DANTE fan, we're happy to have pleased you! (LAURA is hopefully going to hook me up with a couple of other '60's celebrities for more FORGOTTEN HITS interviews through her booking agency ... stay tuned to these pages for more details!!!) kk
Kent
Just wanted to say thanks again for letting me run the Ron Dante interview on my ONMYMIND website. On the last day of the interview, I broke my record for most visits to my site. Your interview was a big part of this.
Thanks again.
Rick
Glad to hear it ... maybe we'll pick up a few new FH readers as well! (It's all word-of-mouth, you know!!!) And, through your archives, others will be able to find our RON DANTE feature for a long time to come. (kk)
Many Thanks, Kent, for uncovering the track I CAN NEVER EAT HOME ANYMORE and for the GREAT Ron Dante feature this week that I absolutely LOVED! I Can Never Eat Home Anymore is probably one of the funniest and cleverest parodies I have ever heard. Great interview, too!
MFPing
Yeah, this is a pretty rare track ... and pretty clever ... also pre-WEIRD AL by nearly 30 years!!! (Although I betcha even WEIRD AL would have some appreciation for this one!) kk
Wow ... THAT'S Andy Kim??????
TokeiTwo
Yep!!! (He looks a little bit ENGELBERT-ish in this photo, doesn't he?!?!?) kk
Greetings, Kent!
I have really enjoyed your articles on Ron Dante et al ... Keep up your great work!!
Byron Stewart
Hi Kent ...
Totally enjoyed the Ron Dante series ... awesome interview ... Thanks!
Todd (Tin Tear)
Thanks, guys! ... RON DANTE was very cooperative and accommodating ... as you can see by his willingness to answer this NEXT batch of questions scattered throughout today's COMMENTS PAGE mail! Thanks again, RON, for taking the time to do this ... maybe we'll see you at the July 1st Show?!?!?!
re: BARRY MANILOW:
Hi Kent ...
Although I am not a Manilow fan, actually about as far away from Manilow as you can get, but when I saw "Weekend In New England," I couldn't help but laugh. By rough estimate, since I've been over here near the Massachusetts coast my entire life, I've spent at least 2,800 weekends in New England!! When I get to 3,000 in a couple years, I'll let you know!! But seriously, it's a great part of the country to live in, as long as you don't mind shoveling snow, raking leaves, tromping through mud, and enduring heat waves that'll melt anything plastic in the trunk of your car!! Come on over sometime - we'd love to have you!!
Bill
Frannie and I have talked about a New England vacation the past couple of years now ... once we're headed down the highway, we'll give you a heads-up so that you can put the kettle on!!! (kk)
Also, in case you don't know, I heard that Barry Manilow is singing next week on Dancing with the Stars. I think it is on Friday night. Just FYI.
Rick
Cool, we'll have to check that out ... although (from the looks of some of the COMMENTS I've received) I think SEVERAL people on the list would prefer watching MANILOW on REALITY TV if he were the one getting his face slammed into the ice on SKATING WITH CELEBRITIES (or whatever the heck it's called) instead. (LOL) THAT appearance might draw higher ratings!!! (Hey, it's easy to slam MANILOW ... but his recording legacy speaks for itself ... 25 Top 40 Hits in ten years ... and still just as popular with his FANILOWS as ever ... one of the hottest recording artists of the '70's ... and all-time!) kk
FH: In addition to working with BARRY MANILOW (RON DANTE produced his first ten solo albums), you also worked with some other '70's talent (perhaps, most notably, CHER and PAT BENATAR) ... tell us about that:
RD: Working with Cher was a real privilege. She was always happy to be in the studio. She showed up early and sang all day for me. The “Take Me Home” cuts I did were pure joy. Cher is a total pro and a complete star. Pat Benatar was also a terrific experience. She had just a little problem singing in the studio on “Heartbreaker” and “You Better Run,” so I built a stage in the studio for her and recorded her as if it were a live show. I also recorded Ray Charles, John Denver and Irene Cara. All sang great and did their best for the projects.
TODAY'S MUSIC: How about "Heartbreaker" by Pat Benatar ('cause how many of you out there ever even knew that RON DANTE was involved with this recording?!?!?)
It's amazing just how fast things happen around here sometimes ... just goes to show you the power of our musical connection ... it never ceases to amaze me!
Only yesterday in our COMMENTS PAGE we mentioned (thanks to a comment made by SN0REFEST) the fact that THE CUFF LINKS recorded a version of SHE LETS HER HAIR DOWN (then still titled EARLY IN THE MORNING) on their very first album. We said that we would love to hear a copy (especially since we had already featured the GENE PITNEY version, THE TOKENS' version and a LOCAL HIT version by DON YOUNG.) In an earlier feature, we had already recounted the story of how this song first sprang from a shampoo commercial and that all of these competing versions may have, in fact, canceled each other out from any ONE version becoming the stand-out hit.
Within a matter of minutes ... OK, maybe a couple of hours, but hey, it seems like I've waited longer in line for a ten minute oil change than this in the past! ... we not only had THE CUFF LINKS' version (courtesy of PSTET by way of THEONEBUFF) but a comment from RON DANTE (who WAS THE CUFF LINKS ... he handled all of the vocals on this track) himself!
Early In The Morning was recorded by me as the Cuff Links in our first album. It's the same song Gene Pitney recorded also. I got to record it because the writers were my producers, Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss. Check my website vault for the Cuff Links album. I think there's a file on it. (You have to follow the Cuff Links bio thread in my vault to the end and at the bottom you find the file to play.
All the best
Ron
Since the team of PAUL VANCE and LEE POCKRISS wrote and produced RON's album, I had to wonder if RON DANTE was perhaps the very first artist to record this song. While it doesn't have the mass pop-appeal of TRACY, his version may have been able to leap out of the box ahead of the other "cover" versions had it been promoted as a single. Seems like once it hit the airwaves as a TV commercial (and became somewhat familiar as a melody in the public's head), several other artists jumped on the chance to record the song. (In fact, I couldn't help but wonder if perhaps, thanks to his jingles connection, RON DANTE might have had "early access" to this work in progress!)
I don't know for sure if I was the first to record Early In The Morning but if not the first, then it had to be a close one!
Thanks,
Ron
RON DANTE also took a moment to pay tribute to GENE PITNEY, obviously a recording artist's recording artist based on the outpouring of love and appreciation that we've heard so far. (We tried to hook up with RICHIE ROTKIN of THE RIP CHORDS for a comment, too, but have yet to connect via phone ... BOB RUSH, musical director of THE RIP CHORDS, tells me that RICHIE was truly saddened by PITNEY's passing as THE RIP CHORDS had toured with GENE in the past.)
RD: Gene had the best voice I had ever heard when I got into the music business. I was on the same label with him early in my career and met him on many occasions. I even tried to get him to record some of my songs at the time. He was a totally cool star and will be missed.
[EDITOR’S NOTE: Every artist I’ve ever talked to that toured or worked with Gene Pitney sings his praises … they can’t say enough nice things about him. (He had just passed when this piece first ran.) Simultaneously as this piece was running, FH Readers were voting on their all-time favorite Gene Pitney songs. Just to wrap things up here today, I’ve included the final tally that ran back in 2006 on the Forgotten Hits website in conjunction with Ron Dante’s comments about the man. -kk]
BASED ON JUST OVER 1000 OF YOUR VOTES RECEIVED, HERE ARE YOUR ALL-TIME FAVORITE GENE PITNEY HITS:
15. TOWER TALL
14. LOOKING THROUGH THE EYES OF LOVE
13. THAT GIRL BELONGS TO YESTERDAY
12. LAST CHANCE TO TURN AROUND
11. BACKSTAGE
10. JUST ONE SMILE
9. TWENTY FOUR HOURS FROM TULSA
8. LOVE MY LIFE AWAY
7. SHE LETS HER HAIR DOWN
6. I'M GONNA BE STRONG
5. THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE
4. ONLY LOVE CAN BREAK A HEART
3. IT HURTS TO BE IN LOVE
2. SHE'S A HEARTBREAKER
1. TOWN WITHOUT PITY
