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!

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!