Obscure Singers, Musicians Recalled
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I wonder what happened to these--Frank Stallone, brother of Sylvester, thought he had a great voice. Sounded sort of like Michael McDonald of the Doobie Brothers who went solo. Harper Simon, son of Paul Simon--heard one by him I liked but haven't seen him hit the big time The Roche Sisters--folky trio of sisters, had some albums by them including "Nerds"--they always dressed nerdy they called it, in mismatched sloppy thrift shop togs, kind of grundge looking. Grundgy. (I wish that was still in style. You could thrown on any old thing and it was cool, LOL.) Evelyn Champagne King--I recall liking some of hers. Was thinking about her the other day. Mary Chapin Carpenter--she was pretty good but dropped off the radar. Can you think of any? (I guess I could google these to find out what they've been up to, LOL)
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One hit wonders are not supposed to last. Mary Chapin Carpenter is still around. Her last album came out a few years ago.
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I read "Joy of Cooking" and "Fanny" were the first all girl rock bands way back when
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"Vashti"--I found out about this obscure 1960s English folksinger a few years ago--and was amazed she looked like a young (but brown-haired) Marianne Faithfull, and sounded like Faithfull's soprano voice and came out the same time Faithfull hit the charts big.
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Billy Joe Royal ("Down in the Boondocks") has passed away in Morehead City, North Carolina. He had become so obscure that he even played my smallish county seat town. He sounded like Gene Pitney, sort of.
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NJ band the Nerds ??? http://www.the-nerds.com/index.html
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"Hanson" popped up in Philly last week for a show. They're a bit on the has-beenish side, aren't they? I liked their song I heard way back on "Total Request Live" with the youngest Hanson boy swimming underwater video. That song filled with teen angst. How about Terrence Trent Darby ("Wishing Well"), he had a piquant old-timey sounding voice but might have been a one-hit wonder. Made a bit of a splash, at the time.
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My fave songs by The Roches The Hammond Song if you go down to Hammond, you'll never come back in my opinion you're on the wrong track you'd be okay if you'd just stay in school oooooooooooh, ooooooooh well I went down to Hammond, I did as I pleased I ain't the only one who's got that disease Do your eyes have an answer to this question of mine, they say we'll meet again on down the line where is on down the line, how far away? tell me I'm okay Quitting Time You can go north in summer, be what you are, a goose gaze at the moon o're the ocean your clothes can fit you loose now is the time of quitting Twilight paints the town, old industrial skyline, how does the sun go down, how does the sun go down "Run in the Family" I remember that night, it was the one I picked a fight with you Kid, you're gonna run in the family (line from song) If you'll give my job back I'll clean behind the steam table
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The McGarrigle Sisters, Kate and Anna (one or both now dead) Old North State well I bid fare well to New York State My home away from home I never thought I'd have the blues like that again in New York State I got 'em Tonight, you're mine let's not waste time and when the sun rises in the sky we'll kiss and say goodbye
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I think both of the McGarrigles have passed, Susy. I liked them a lot. This is typical of their plaintive melodies:
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Really liked the Roches, Susy. Good recall. Always wondered why Norman Greenbaum never got beyond the one hit "Spirit in the Sky". It still gets tons of airplay, but never heard any more about him.
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It's an insanely risky business. When I worked at Warner/Reprise as a temp, Mr. Benson told me that (in 1977) there were 300 albums released per month worldwide. All categories. Speaking of Michael McDonald, I met his Sister Kathy. She was the lead singer in a country-rock band in '77. They were doing covers and playing local small country bars. I remember them doing Anne Murray's "Hey! What About Me?", rocking it out more than the original, and it was good. You can have the talent, all of the breaks that being directly related to music royalty can provide, and still not make it. From the 60's I remember The Left Banke, "Walk Away Renee" and particularly "Pretty Ballerina". And what happened to The Wallflowers?
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You really should Google more. Kate passed. Not Anne. The McGarrigle Sisters received basic promotion at Warner/Reprise based on sales feedback. Gordon Lightfoot received moderate promotion due to his excellent "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" and other hits. Frank Zappa also received moderate promotion. The high promotional work was paid to Neil Young, Stills/Young, The Beach Boys, Gary Wright, Grateful Dead, Debbie Boone, Jethro Tull, Doobies, Alice Cooper, Joni Mitchell, George Benson, George Harrison's Dark Horse Records (distributed by Warner/Reprise), and Fleetwood Mac who took the cake. Artists not mentioned, such as Sinatra, had no releases while I was there. Else, I don remember... There were also a handful of high promotions for artists who never made it. The remaining LPs of these artists, leftovers after the promotion and the subsequent failure of those releases to catch on, ended up being shattered by hand one by one against the edge of the metal dumpsters so that they could not be sold by scavengers. The company gave everyone the same shot at first, and then pulled back or increased promotional work based on sales results.
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Thanks for all that insider info, Audrey Piano
Darn I sure wish I still had my Roches and McGarrigle sisters albums, had at least two by each set of sisters. Moving around so much makes you lose some valuable stuff. "We are Maggie and Terre and Suzzy...Maggie and Terre and Suzzy Roche" I recall that opening line to one of their charming folksy tunes. Had never heard of the name "Suzzy" before. The McGarrigle sister who passed away was Loudon Wainwright II's mother, I think. (He's a bit obscure-ish, too. But has some good stuff, youtube him). "Melissa Manchester" just popped into my head. I don't think she was extremely talented. Also That one who sang "Gloria"--she passed away. Taylor Dane, for example, became obscure. Imparts a bit of a headache, trying to come up with these (ouch, LOL). "Francesa Bega"--her label promised she was gonna hit big, but after, I never heard any songs from her. -
beatlesfanrandy:
Really liked the Roches, Susy. Good recall. Always wondered why Norman Greenbaum never got beyond the one hit "Spirit in the Sky". It still gets tons of airplay, but never heard any more about him.
I heard this about Norman Greenbaum in the past year or so, fairly recently--that he got hit by a car! While walking. I immediately thought of his Jesus Freak song "Spirit in the Sky." He must have been a Jew for Jesus as they're called. He didn't get killed or we would have heard. Audley's Piano, not Audrey's (sorry for misreading)--have you more interesting insider info from the music biz ? I know you're amazed by how it's changed.
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"The Wallflowers"--saw a vid recently of Jakob Dylan performing "Ruby Tuesday" by the Stones and shared it on my F.B. page (on a Tuesday, naturally). I always felt Jakob was brave to attempt music what with his daddy being the King Bee and all. Could have been really intimidated by that. Jakob and his band did have some talent, my fave song by them is "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out" They performed at the Myrtle Beach, S.C. House of Blues not long after they first hit the scene (Fiona Apple played there too on the heels of her first big hit). Always kicked myself for not going to theirs and Fiona's. Small intimate venue, those are great.
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SusyLuvsPaul:
beatlesfanrandy:
Really liked the Roches, Susy. Good recall. Always wondered why Norman Greenbaum never got beyond the one hit "Spirit in the Sky". It still gets tons of airplay, but never heard any more about him.
I heard this about Norman Greenbaum in the past year or so, fairly recently--that he got hit by a car! While walking. I immediately thought of his Jesus Freak song "Spirit in the Sky." He must have been a Jew for Jesus as they're called. He didn't get killed or we would have heard. Audley's Piano, not Audrey's (sorry for misreading)--have you more interesting insider info from the music biz ? I know you're amazed by how it's changed.
Living in L.A., the visibility of the biz is not as pronounced as one might expect. Every now and then I encounter something, though infrequently. The locals are very careful about being seen in public, so if you see somebody, it is usually deliberate. In 1977, I saw Davy Jones shopping for a reel-to-reel tape deck at a Hollywood electronics store. Federated Electronics, long gone. Not music, but one night on Sunset Blvd. I was rear ended at the stop light by David Milch, then a writer on "Hill Street Blues". He was driving a Maserati. My rear end was tossed upwards and landed on his hood, very close to the windshield. He left the scene on foot before the cops arrived. Both of us were uninjured. And I didn't know who he was. A tall man with curly blond hair wearing a tan/beige suit. He left no information. Six months later, I watched The EMMYS. Hill Street Blues won for writing. A group of writers took the stage. One of them was the guy who fled the accident. Same tall guy. Same curly hair. And the same tan/beige suit that he was wearing the night of the accident. Many years ago, David Milch appeared on the CBS program, "Late Night with Tom Snyder", and he told a story about his first year in Hollywood writing for the series, and that, one night, he borrowed a friend's Maserati while on Cocaine and had an accident. He left out a few details. But the story was essentially what had happened that night to me. I e-mailed Tom Snyder, asking him about it and he replied that "he didn't know if it was David or not". They protect their own in Hollywood.
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I should mention that I am not in the biz, though I've done grunt work there. I've also at times lived among those in the biz, and they have a habit of borrowing anything that I come up with, and then taking credit for themselves without my consent. Back around the time of the accident with Mr. Milch, a few of the folks decided to put me in the biz by Hazing me in my family home. But I was born a cleft palate with a then severe speech impediment, and they gave no directions. Only loud disruptions of my sleep from the apartment above me. 24/7. One evening I overheard Paul Lynde comment, "There are a lot of low-lifes around here". He said it from the upstairs porch and my downstairs window was open. I believe he was visiting the Gay neighbor upstairs. And he may have said it with the intent to be heard, given the hazing that, for the most part, was being handled as "The Silence". With that technique, they say nothing and admit to nothing personally or directly. I was on the job at Warner/Reprise Creative Services as an outside temp the day that Elvis died. When the news broke, there were no gasps. No tears. There was no response at all. It was just another day on the job. They talked about how his death was expected, given the drug abuse issues. In spite of being Warner/Reprise which was not Elvis' record label, those in the industry still knew about Elvis' issues. And I don't know, but the manager of Creative Services was Mr. Benson. He was Sinatra's right-hand man. So maybe Frank told him about it. The song, "Candyman" by The Grateful Dead mentions a "Mr. Benson". Many people assume the song to be about a drug pusher. They may not be aware that the demo dept. at Creative Services (for artist promotion and demos) was managed by Mr. Benson. The song also refers to "coming from Memphis". Warner/Reprise has a Creative Services dept. in Nashville, but for Country Music releases, or did at that time. Pop, Jazz, Comedy, Folk, Soundtracks and rock were promoted through the North Hollywood location under Mr. Benson.
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SusyLuvsPaul:
beatlesfanrandy:
Really liked the Roches, Susy. Good recall. Always wondered why Norman Greenbaum never got beyond the one hit "Spirit in the Sky". It still gets tons of airplay, but never heard any more about him.
I heard this about Norman Greenbaum in the past year or so, fairly recently--that he got hit by a car! While walking. I immediately thought of his Jesus Freak song "Spirit in the Sky." He must have been a Jew for Jesus as they're called. He didn't get killed or we would have heard. Audley's Piano, not Audrey's (sorry for misreading)--have you more interesting insider info from the music biz ? I know you're amazed by how it's changed.
re. Norman Greenbaum - was news to me, here's what found (with pictures - approx. 7 months ago): http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3017262/Songwriter-injured-California-crash-motorcyclist-killed.html One more: http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/03/29/spirit-in-the-sky-singer-norman-greenbaum-critically-injured-in-santa-rosa-crash-that-killed-motorcyclist/
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Audley's Piano:
I should mention that I am not in the biz, though I've done grunt work there. I've also at times lived among those in the biz, and they have a habit of borrowing anything that I come up with, and then taking credit for themselves without my consent. Back around the time of the accident with Mr. Milch, a few of the folks decided to put me in the biz by Hazing me in my family home. But I was born a cleft palate with a then severe speech impediment, and they gave no directions. Only loud disruptions of my sleep from the apartment above me. 24/7. One evening I overheard Paul Lynde comment, "There are a lot of low-lifes around here". He said it from the upstairs porch and my downstairs window was open. I believe he was visiting the Gay neighbor upstairs. And he may have said it with the intent to be heard, given the hazing that, for the most part, was being handled as "The Silence". With that technique, they say nothing and admit to nothing personally or directly. I was on the job at Warner/Reprise Creative Services as an outside temp the day that Elvis died. When the news broke, there were no gasps. No tears. There was no response at all. It was just another day on the job. They talked about how his death was expected, given the drug abuse issues. In spite of being Warner/Reprise which was not Elvis' record label, those in the industry still knew about Elvis' issues. And I don't know, but the manager of Creative Services was Mr. Benson. He was Sinatra's right-hand man. So maybe Frank told him about it. The song, "Candyman" by The Grateful Dead mentions a "Mr. Benson". Many people assume the song to be about a drug pusher. They may not be aware that the demo dept. at Creative Services (for artist promotion and demos) was managed by Mr. Benson. The song also refers to "coming from Memphis". Warner/Reprise has a Creative Services dept. in Nashville, but for Country Music releases, or did at that time. Pop, Jazz, Comedy, Folk, Soundtracks and rock were promoted through the North Hollywood location under Mr. Benson.
Audley, I'm sorry you had to go through that. And was surprised to hear about the lack of response to Elvis's death. "Borrowing anything I came up with, and then taking credit for themselves without my consent"--I can relate to that. It might have happened to me at least twice, that my online ideas were stolen--will share that later when I get more time. Both instances involved my descriptions of unusually vivid nocturnal dreams I had.
