Girls and their Groups Part 2

       Greetings fellow Doo Woppers and Rock & Roll fanatics! I was so excited to write about the girls last time that I just had to get crackin' on Part 2! Just like there were/are certain periods in certain genres, like the late 50's that get overlooked, I also think that there are genres where folks just don't dig as deep. In addition to the great tunes the fun of this stuff is the diggin'! Or the thrill of the hunt or whatever you want to call it. With the early 60's girls there is a laundry list of great records! Some of which we've never heard of, some of which we'll never find but, as I said the diggin' is the groovy part. Lately I've had what we refer to as the fever and Girls and Doo Wop have been my only cure. Ya know when you see some label and your eyes just bugg out! Or hear some crazy tune and you're instantly a changed person? Well that's been me lately. So today I'm gonna share with you some of my recent finds and acquisitions. Some of which you might know. But brother they all send me to the moon!
        As the record industry grew in it's fledgling years new sounds in rock & roll would develop. As early as 1956 if someone had a hit there would be some savvy record impresario waiting to grab up that sound and run with it. Every once in a while someone would come around and invent a sound. In the case of the early 60's girls that guy was Phil Spector. His work with The Ronettes, Darlene Love and The Crystals is heralded and respected 'til this day and countless new groups use that sound as a template. Now folks we're tryin' to borrow that sound years ago too and boy did some real doozies appear! My all-time favorite is Baby That's Me by The Cake. To call this a Spector sound-alike would be cheapening it. This is a fantastic song written by two heavy hitters, Jackie De Shannon and Jack Nitzsche with an amazing arrangement by Harold Battiste and Stan Ross behind the board you know you can't go wrong. This tune makes me wish I was stuck at a party in 1964 that never ends! Well i guess I already am but.....you know what I mean!

In addition to this tune, another came to my attention this year that is fantastic. My good buddy Bob Volturno turned me on to this one and I'm forever in his debt. Bonnie and the Treasures doin' Home Of The Brave on the Phi-Dan label. What a solid sender. On my journey through this trip I am able to carry the great knowledge of my friends with me and I'm so thankful. My best friend Vicky Tafoya and my good pal Dave Gnerre have also been instrumental and influential in turning me on to great stuff. It's so fun to push this info back and forth and share the experience with your friends! Speaking of sharing great ones. My friend Vicky tried to get me to learn this one 20 years ago and I had forgotten about it. I recently rediscovered the magic of this record and had to own it. Now I know everyone always looks for the one on Teenage but DAMN.....this one is capitol BAD.....The Dolls Please Come Home on Okeh! Dig it!

Gettin' back to the Spector sound. No one knew it better than the cats that were in the room, right? That's clear on Sonny Bono's first attempt to bring CHER to the world. Get a load of  Dream Baby on Imperial! It's got that churning Da Do Ron Ron beat.....outta sight! 

Now I don't know if I was livin' under a rock or what but no matter how long you've been at this your always discovering new stuff. My moto's always been if it's new to me it's new stuff and I love gettin' excited about new stuff! Now I new the novelty stuff by this next group. Don't Hang Up, South Street, ya know, the dance stuf. But lemme tell ya when I heard Heart Darling Angel by The Orlons....my hair parted right down the middle! You can just picture a couple in Anytown, USA swaying gently to this tune at a weekend dance. By far and away one of the most beautiful songs of this era or any other!

Being a song writer myself I'm always captivated by the song first. Now, everyone know that the finest writers in this genre came out of the Brill Building in New York City. That's a fact and let me tell you it is a real treat to hear the the writers of these tunes perform them. That's why The Raindrops album is a must have. So proud to finally have this.....

Even though we long for these days we're pretty lucky to be around in current times. If not for only one reason......RE-ISSUES! These records are getting harder and harder to find so I must thank the good folks over at Sundazed and Norton for re-issuing some of these fine albums and in Norton's case putting out new albums by these great artists! Please pick up all these releases! If you don't have the scratch to buy the originals or you have originals you can pick these up and have a play copy. They are beautifully done and they are very modestly priced......and the tunes sound FANTASTIC on 120 gram! Well that's it for now folks.....enjoy the tunes and see ya soon!

Girls And Their Groups and Frankie & Ronnie Pt. 1

Somewhere between the breakout success of The Hearts Lonely Nights and The Chantels Maybe there was such a wonderful explosion of females singing the greatest Doo Wop and for whatever reason I never hear people making that big of a deal about it.....AND THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN! It seems that when folks mention the "Girl Groups", and I use that term loosely because I know that some of the architects of that genre don't really care for the term, they primarily talk about the early 60's groups such as The Ronettes, Crystals, Shangri-Las....or they mention The Shirelles and or The Chantels and they stop there. First off let me say I absolutely LOVE the a fore mentioned groups, which you will see later! Especially The Ronettes and the Shangs!! (look for more on them in Part 2 of this post) but there seems to be an area in the great Rock & Roll lineage that the Ladies don't get discussed as much. From the years 1956-1959 there were some GREAT tunes put out! So if you don't mind let's delve into that. Shall we? Now most of these are known and have made it on to comps but PLEASE take the time to look them up 'cause there are some serious heavy hitters in here!

Well the undisputed king, or queen as the case maybe be is this jem outta Philly. I LOVE THIS! As my good buddy Bob would say...."This record sends me to the moon!" These four girls from Philly only made one record but man oh man is it a doozy!  A School Girl In Love by The Sharmeers. This is Bob Volturno's color boot by the way.

Find this any way you can! On a comp, on Collectibles, what ever, it rules! Speaking of comps that are chock full of heavy hitters, you gotta grab this one.....Talk about being ahead of the curve! Two guys out of New York and New Jersey put this out in the early 80's and not only does it have The Sharmeers but it has 13 more solid senders on it as well! Thanks to "Kenny Foxx" and "Eddie Owl's" Wizard Records  for Angels of the Night 

There was also a lot of diversity in sound....The Antoinettes Johnny is very street but there were many sophisticated sounding groups as well. Two of my favorites are Lullabye of the Bells by The Deltairs on Ivy and The Devaurs Where Are You on Moon. Also ANYTHING by Lillian Leach and the Mellows will sooth your soul. If you're a fan of the female group sound it doesn't get any better than this. There were so many ladies working behind the scene too. Check out anything on any of Zell Sanders wonderful labels.

The Mellows with Alan Freed

The Devaurs

The Deltairs

Ironically, in addition to all these wonderful sounds, a young man helped influence and inspire alot of these young woman. That young was Frankie Lymon. When he and the Teenagers burst on the scene in 1956 all hell broke loose in New York City and the world! His influence is so vast. Berry Gordy has even been quoted as saying that Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers was his template for the Jackson 5. But....let's get back to the genesis of his influence. One of the first and best groups that come to mind that were definitely borrowing from Frankie and the boys were Pearl Mckinnon and the Kodaks from Newark, NJ. Get or check out Oh Gee Oh Gosh and Make Believe World just to name a few. There was even a time in the 70's/80's that Pearl and Frankie's brother Lewis sang with the Teenagers! Now, not just anyone can pull that off! Another huge singer that Frankie influenced was Arlene Smith of The Chantels. Now that voice is a gift from God and where would we be without Maybe!

Pearl McKinnon, Lewis Lymon, Jimmy Merchant and Herman Santiago

in full Teenagers Gear!

In my opinion people can sometimes be dismissive of the sounds of the 50's as basic or pedestrian. Especially the "kiddie sounds" or Doo Wop in general. I would have to disagree. There is nothing basic or simplistic about Frankie Lymon's voice or Arlene Smith's voice. They have influenced the world.

      You can't really mention this era of ladies and not mention Frankie. In my opinion I have saved the best for last here. He has directly influenced one of my favorite voices of the Rock & Roll era and that is the voice of Ronnie Spector! I would not have a band if it weren't for these voices and the voice of Vicky Tafoya. We were lucky enough to meet Ronnie a few weeks ago and what transpired was amazing! Not only did she sign for us and spend quite some time talking, but when I showed her a picture of Vicky and I at Frankie's grave site.....she and Vicky burst out into a rendition of Share by The Teenagers....UNBELIEVABLE! The impact that these folks have had on us and Vicky especially, is very hard to put into words. This year we got to visit them both. So blessed! Stay tuned for more "Angels of the Night" in part 2 when we get down to all our early 60's groups! Can't Wait!!

Me at Frankie's Grave in The Bronx R.I.P Frankie

...and what a beautiful head stone, Thank You Ronnie I!

Wow! Vicky and I with Ronnie Spector...and she's holding

our record!!!

P.S This is also required reading. FANTASTIC BOOK!

Girl Groups Fabulous Females That Rocked The World

What is Doo Wop?

        Now, this is an age old question that has been debated  for decades. It's hard to answer because the name itself was actually made up and put in to use after the genres hey day. There are several theories that exist and can be read about in several publications. Like Anthony J. Gribin and Matthew M. Schiff's book The complete Book of Doo Wop for example. You can also check out veteran collector's and writers Like Louie Silvani and Steve Propes on-line to see their thoughts on the matter. But what IS Doo Wop? Where does it start? When does it stop being Vocal Groups and start being Doo Wop? It depends on who you ask....Veterans like Val Shively and Gerry Diez probably still call it Vocal Groups. But there is an answer for this. When these guys started collecting or acquiring or what ever you want to call it, no term like doo wop existed! So here's my theory: and this is only my opinion....How far back do you want to go? To me the "Vocal Group" era was from about 1947-48 to somewhere in 1954. These Vocal Groups or R&B Vocal Groups as they're sometimes called include everyone from the Ink Spots to The Orioles, Marshall Brothers, The Ravens etc. and had what I consider to be more of a classy, smooth sound more aimed at adults. Then somewhere in '54 when records like Gee by The Crows and Earth Angel by The Penguins came out they were in my opinion, whether it was planned or not, capturing the attention of the "youth." But undoubtedly when 1955 came around and Rock & Roll was an actual thing and had been distilled into a phrase and a rhythm then........to me, you had DOO WOP! By that I mean that THAT is when we can start calling it Doo Wop. Because to me that is what Doo Wop is. It is Vocal Group Rock & Roll. Not Vocal Group R&B. And Rock & Roll was definitely about teenagers. So, most assuredly you can call it Doo Wop by the time Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers came out 'cause....it's in the name, TEENAGERS! And let's face it. We're just splitting hairs here. No matter what, it's all great music and all came from the same place. But when all these genres cross-pollinate that's where these debates start. But to me those hybrid musics are the best because that stuff only can happen at that place, at that point in time and that's why it's the best!
         
Now when Slim Rose was doing the Times Square thing and the first doo wop resurgence was happening in the early 60's the Kiddie sound was being favored which I love! Here's a few examples. I can blame Vicky Tafoya, and I use blame VERY loosely, for showing me a good majority of these....they are heavy hitters! A few fine examples of the kiddie sound....

Now, I don't care what anyone says, when I hear The Charts out of Harlem New York I can't think of callin' it anything else other than DOO WOP! They are my favorite!

The one thing that I absolutely LOVE about this music is that it included EVERYONE! There were guy groups, girl groups, interracial groups. Everyone was on the same team and just completely gone with the sounds of Rock & Roll. Everyone had to be in a group if they could. On top of The Chantels and The Hearts there were so many girl doo woppers! My friend Bob Volturno turned me on to this one and it's a wopper! Pick it up, but don't burn yourself!

I can't even tell you what I feel when I here this song.....Unbelievable!

And of course by the early 1960's folks who went on to be Rock & Roll Hall of Famers were doing their versions of songs that were already considered classics to them. Even though the song had only been released a few years earlier. Trailblazers like this woman right here....

We were lucky enough to meet and perform with the one and only Ronnie Spector just last week, but I'll save that for another entry....

Well there you have it. Some more rantings from your friendly neighborhood doo wopper. The birth of "Doo Wop." When did it start? Debatable. But I know were all real glad it did!


P.S. I just love to gab about this stuff folks so if you want to weigh in on the conversation, leave comments, links whatever I encourage it. Bye for now!

WFMU Goes OFF!

                                            (Billy Miller from Norton Records and Myself...and pizza)

         So like most people I was a changed person after the first time I went to New York City. I have been infatuated with it ever since my first trip there in 1997. I've been there several times since, but I must confess, I've spent many a smog-filled So. Cal. afternoon dreaming of the long shadows of Manhattan and the parks & street corners of Brooklyn. Especially considering the music I've been ODing on is all from there, I just had to get back! My band, Vicky and the Vengents, was lucky enough to go back in 2012 and we just had a ball! One of our discoveries that trip was we were able to play live on a radio station in Jersey City, NJ called WFMU and boy, WAS OUR MIND BLOWN! Folks let me tell you this station is everything right with Rock & Roll! They have the most fantastic programming! It was October when we went and we spent an entire afternoon driving around Brooklyn listening to Halloween Doo Wop! I didn't even know that there was enough doo wop inspired by scary sounds to constitute a whole radio show let alone think I'd ever hear one! Amazing! ...Well after reading all these stories in fanzines about cool record buying excursions and discoveries I could no longer live vicariously through Bim Bam Boom. We needed a trip of our own. Ad we found one! The WFMU Record Fair was happening in NYC and we were going!
            Monday, May 29, my best friend Vicky Tafoya and our good buddy Dave Gnerre packed up the van and and headed East. After spending a few days in Connecticut with friends (Thanks Geoff, Melinda and Bones!) and seein' some sights we were primed and ready. Entering the Armory on Lexington we were beside ourselves! At least 50 vendors, DJs spinning tunes, food, beer, not to mention all the little vinyl nuggets we had yet to find. ....And find we did! When I left I had told myself I wanted anything on Onyx, Teenage, Rama, Fury...some how I just knew they'd be there waiting for me. My first big find  was this......

The Kac-Ties on Kape purchased from the one and only Billy Miller! What a great tune. Billy told me that the group was from Brooklyn and the lead singer's name was Jackie Robinson! Go figure. How's that for luck. If you've never heard this tune I highly recommend it. This is THE sound. Norton Records has reissued it. It can be found on the Wolf Call album and also on Billy and Miriam's new Golden Group series. They cleverly picked up where Donn Fileti and Eddie Gries left off and started with Vol. 56 and 57 and continued one of the finest vocal group traditions on wax. Once again, Thanks Billy and Miriam! Some of my other finds included The Kodaks on Fury, Dean Barlow on Onyx, Ronnie Spector solo as Veronica doing So Young! Now to someone who's been collecting for eons these might not sound like crazy finds but take it from me you don't see these records laying around Southern California! One thing we were very amazed at was the abundance of everything. Between Vicky and myself we came home with sacks full of doo wop and the amount of fantastic garage that Dave got was amazing! Plus being able to buy records from folks like Billy and Miriam and folks who helped start this stuff was a truly unique experience. Night One ended with us cruisin' over to New Jersey to hang out and spin reckids with our friend Ken "Rockin' Daddyo" Abruzi. Ken is a fantastic DJ and spins frequently around NY and at Rebel Night. If you get an opportunity cruise by and see Ken. He always packs the dance floor! Day Two: Reckids, Reckids, Reckids, all day long and then a quick trip to Brooklyn to see the A-Bones tear it up at Union Pool!
          What a trip! I'm tired just writin' about it!  All I can say is WFMU knows how to throw a party. A big thank you to all the DJs, crew, and vendors who helped make this event a real blast! Thanks for making this stuff even more fun than it already is!!

A quick P.S. One of the records I desperately wanted to find in NY was The Heartbeats on Hull and I found it when I got back at Amoeba in LA! Ain't it how it goes!

Hello All! Not sure exactly how this works yet as I am still working the bugs out of the layout. But, until I get it figured out lemme tell you a little bit about myself. I'm pretty much a Rock & Roller. I started playing guitar when I was 13 and have always been motivated and inspired by good, young-hearted, spirited Rock & Roll. I was born and raised in Southern California and was brought up on my parents music. So. Cal radio provided a very in depth view of 50's music back then and you could really learn alot. All ya had to do was listen. My first guitar heroes were Dick Dale and Link Wray and like most young kids I wanted to play loud and fast so that's when I discovered punk rock. When I saw the Ramones when I was 17 it changed my life! Well I think all journeys are different but after doin' it 20+ years now I have really returned to the 50's and landed smack dab in the middle of Doo Wop!!! It has it all: Infectious melodies and harmonies, heart felt lyrics, simplicity, spontaneity, rebellion, and......because of the time period (mainly early 50's to early 60's and beyond...) the wells of discovery are endless with this stuff! There are so many fantastic groups to discover and turn people on to! Garage, you have a few good years then it becomes psyche.....Punk Rock....a few good years.....Surf....even fewer years. But if you're a Rock & Roller this is where it started!
So that's pretty much what you'll find hear Postings of great singles, labels and groups, interviews with collectors who have forgotten more about this stuff than I will ever know and general rock n roll rants and raves. Tune in and turn it up!