TSV Straight Outta Natick!

I didn’t know it at the time when I picked this up on my recent trip, but this George Roberts LP is a fairly sought-after recording:

It hasn’t been re-released on CD, so it remains steeply priced on the Intar-Webs.  Roberts was known as “Mr. Bass Trombone,” and he is certainly that and more on this LP.  It’s hard not to like the bass trombone as played by Roberts.  No gimmicks on this LP;   just straight-ahead playing of American standards with a great embouchure and sound.  And the sextet rocks along the whole way.  Every song’s a winner, and if you’ve never heard a bass Tram-Bone, you don’t know what you’re missing (and John Williams of movie-music fame is on the piano).  

I found a youtubes of George Roberts playing on the Lawrence Welk show.  Dig the product placement in this one:

Pow Pow Satisfaction!

OK. Here are two more recent finds, fresh purchases from this morning’s brief visit to the Buford Highway Goodwill.

First, here is a pretty hot Cha Cha Cha LP on the Fiesta label:

Fiesta is a now-defunct NY, NY label that recorded a lot of cool Latin bands. This particular LP features Monchito -not to be confused with the more-recognized Machito- and his very tight orchestra of Cha Cha Cha musicians and singers known as the Mambo Royals. And wouldn’t you know it, track one of side one, a Ramon Monchito original entitled Pao Pao (Pow Pow), shows up on The YouTubes as a minor hit; check it out:

Can anyone out there, perhaps Fleischmanns in Spain, help me out with the lyrics (other than the “Pow Pow”)?

Some people collect nothing but Latin vinyl, as well they should. New York City, in particular, had some kick-ass record labels that produced some very authentic Latin dance music with its roots in the rich, cultural cross pollination between New York City and Cuba, Puerto Rico, and other Latin countries.  Fiesta was just one of many Latin labels, including Seeco, Tico, and Fania.

The next LP I picked up just because any easy-listening cover of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” has to be good (maybe). David Rose is famous for writing “The Stripper,” but most of his later fare is pabulum, except for, perhaps, his version of Satisfaction:

ADENDUM

I’m gonna send out the above cover tune in honor of Glen Leslie over at Jet Set Planet…he’s probably familiar with it.

He Presides Over The Hammond Organ

 

Just how a nice copy of a Blue Note Jimmy Smith LP ends up among the Andy Williams and Mantovani seems a mystery that could never be solved; yet there it was, a small-but-interesting portion of the prolific jazz organist’s famous 1957 session with guitarist Eddie McFadden and drummer Donald Bailey (among others).  My favorite track from this LP just happens to be on the YouTubes, albeit with only 95 views.  It deserves a lot more.

This particular track is interesting to me for 3 basic reasons:

 

1. Jimmy Smith has set the stops on his Hammond to create a warbling, trill like effect that you don’t usually hear on most of his recordings.

 

2. Maybe because of reason # 1, Jimmy plays in a straight-forward, smooth and un-flashy style that really lets the song take center stage.

 

3. The Eddie McFadden guitar solo that kicks in around 3:15 is natural and restrained; you can actually “see” his fingers on the strings.

 

Enjoy:

 

Soul Music From Hanna Barbera? WTF?

If I told you that the famous American cartoon concern, Hanna Barbera, the folks that brought you Yogi Bear, Magilla Gorilla, and The Flintstones (among dozens of other Saturday morning TV fare) had their own record label, you would be correct to assume that it featured kiddie records that exploited parents by inducing the knee-jerk demands of their childdren to buy them a record that had their favorite cartoon character on the cover.  

 

 

  

But what if I told you that, in the short-lived history of Hanna Barbera Records (HBR), they were also responsible for producing some of the more obscure and collectable garage rock, soul, and psychedelic rock LPs of the 1960s? As WFMU’s Beware of The Blog has noted in an amazing post about HBR, “HBR’s obscure garage rock oddities are one of the reasons the label attracts plenty of attention from record collectors and nerds.”

 

 

So call me a nerd record collector. All I know is that I found a cool thrift store HBR LP last weekend and had no idea what to expect:

 

 　

 

Turns out that these Dynatones, some white boys from West Virginia, can lay down some pretty funky instrumentals. Their particular shtick on this LP is to use a fife to add a sort of jazzy backdrop to some Booker T. And The Mgs-sounding soul.  The title track, Fife Piper, blew up to become a big hit with the kids, especially with the kids over in Britain.

 

Why Britain? Well, the Dynatones, like dozens of other American soul groups of the 60s, were adopted by the British “Northern Soul” movement. The latter featured all sorts of crazy attributes in terms of clothes, dances, clubs, scooters and, most important, music.

  

If you’ve never heard of the Northern Soul movement, the Wiki entry for the topic is a good place to start:

 

Wikipedia Entry For “Northern Soul”

 

And here, for your listening pleasure, is the Dynatones hit, “Fife Piper,” along with some vintage moving images of some British Northern Soul kids doing their thing.  Still amazed at how that kid does that bounce-up dance move; WTF? 

Here is a better-sounding, audio-only version:

A King in The Land of Thrift Store Vinyl

There is, I admit, a certain level of frivolity associated with TSV; after all, much of the music associated with these LPs IS frivolous, existing in the throw-away world of temporarily popular music; that’s why it (thankfully) ends up in thrift stores.

 

But every once and a while a band and its creator represent an interesting intersection in popular music that is worth a little more digging.  And with the Intar-Webs, the digging usually provides some good context for a band that seems, at first, utterly ridiculous. I present here a group from a recently purchased thrift store LP: King Richard’s Fluegel Knights:

 

  

 

The “King Richard” of this Tijuana Brass-with-a-twist band was Dick Behrke. His name won’t ring any chord unless you are really into Bobby Darin, for it was Dick Behrke, Darrin’s high school buddy, bandmate, and eventual arranger, that helped to launch the latter to astounding and rapid success.

 

As the name and “family” crest of the Fluegel Knights suggest, this is a band with a slightly medieval shtick, with Baroque-like trumpet intros and bridges throughout, and some medieval-related song titles like “Camelot” and “Castle Holiday.” But most of the music is that happy, bouncy “now sound” that evokes the world of TV game shows Like Celebrity Bowling.  Try out this YouTube of the Fluegel Knights instrumental rendition of the well-worn tune “Everybody Loves My Baby:”  

 

 

Gotta love an instrumental tune that clocks in at 1:54. For a lot of people, that is probably all they could take; for me, however, I could listen to this stuff all day. Evidently, a lot of people did listen to the tune as it reached #11 in 1967 on the easy listening charts.

 

But “King” Richard Behrke was no fly-by-knight (sorry) slacker trying to ride the coattails of the Great Herb Alpert and his TJB. Berhke was active in many areas of music, including composition, arranging, and teaching, not to mention being a competent horn player and pianist. And his work with Darin was pivotal for both artists. You can go here to read more about the partnership of Darin and Behrke.

 

There is also that movie with Kevin Spacey playing Darin that elicited a pretty divided criticism.  I think I’ll watch it just for heck of it, and because maybe the Dick Behrke character may show up.  Have any of you folks out there seen it yet?

 

 

There are plenty of free download sites with Fluegel Knights LPs out there, but there is nothing like holding that nice, Thrift Store Vinyl.   Mmmmmm.  Smells so good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Balanced For Broadcast

 

I picked up my second Capitol Records promotional sampler LP this past weekend: 

  

This recent one is “June 1965“ and is part of a “Balanced For Broadcast” series of sampler LPs that Capitol distributed to radio stations (later called The Capitol Disc Jockey Album); each sampler represents a selection from Capitol’s huge stable of musical talent at that particular time. These LPs are great audio history, even if you don’t like a particular artist.

 

The covers, in particular, have great vintage feeling and association, along with stylistic continuity.  Sure, they’re ”sexist” and male-oriented, but they still have some design integrity.  Check out this impromtu gallery of some ”Balanced For Broadcast” LPs that can be found on The Ebays.  August 1967 is my favorite. (click on the image for a larger version):

  

 

Here’s the playlist from the BFB LP I scored:

 

 

Balanced For Broadcast 1965 LP

Capitol Records, 1965 (#PRO-2879)

SONGS:

Nancy Wilson – Reach Out For Me

Nat King Cole – Blue Gardenia

Wanda De Sah – So Danco Samba

George Shearing – Quiet Nights

King Family – Little Grass Shack

Marlene Dietrich – A Little On The Lonely Side

Don Scaletta – Bitter Wine

Georgia Brown – Riding On The Moon

Nat King Cole – They Can’t Make Her Cry

Wanda De Sah – Once I Loved

Dean Martin – Carolina In The Morning

Don Scaletta – Chim Chim Cher-EE

Vicky Autier – A Quoi Ca Sert L’Amour

Seekers – Water Is Wide

Stan Kenton – Tampico

Liza Minnelli – For Every Man There’s A Woman

As you can see, some of the artists you know, and, I’ll bet, there are several you don’t. That’s one of the things to love about these sample LPs: you’ll usually find an artist that you somehow missed in all your years of LP thrifting, or you’ll find one you never thought would be on a big American label like Capitol. Such was the case on this post’s featured LP, when I noticed two songs from one of twelve different artists. Her name at that time was Wanda de Sah (later to become simply Wanda Sa), and I was impressed with how Capitol recorded her simple singing to some classic Bossa Nova tunes.

Wanda de Sah was taught by, and mixed with, some of the legends of Brasilian Bossa Nova.  Think of her as a thinking man’s Astrud Gilberto.  The Japanese are nuts for bossa nova, and they were the ones to re-release her first LP on CD.  Here’s a good example of some early Wanda de Sah (Wanda Sa): 

 

 

Miracle on Buford Highway (based on a true story)

Twas the day before Christmas, with nothing to do,

so I went to the Goodwill, to waste an hour or two.

The used crap was stocked on the shelves with care,

And, as per usual, I hoped that some good thrift store vinyl would also be there.

 

The records were stacked all snug in their place,

while a look of hope enveloped my face.

And while the little Hispanic kids around me played with used toys,

I perused the vinyl with determined poise.

 

When up on the top shelf, what did I see?

A friggin 3-record Terry Baxter box set, starin’ right at me!

I could not fathom my luck at this find,

For several weeks Baxter’s “The Best of 71“ had been on my mind.

 

And in the midst of the joy that good thrifting brings,

I espied a near mint LP of Ruben Rodriguez and his Guadalajara Kings!!

 

 

“How could this be? What miracles are these?”

But my good feelings departed, when I saw a record by Rick Dees.

 

 I continued to look. I was in no hurry,

“Why did so many people listen to Anne Murray?”

Country, Praise, and some bad Helen Reddy,

“Wait! Look at that! I think it’s Duane Eddy!”

 

 

And wouldn’t you know, on this Christmas Eve day,

More Christmas miracles were coming my way.

For within a few minutes, as I sifted through the pile,

I uncovered a 3-LP box that would make anyone smile.

 

The London Sound 70, Orchestra and Chorus,

The vinyl thrifters’ Christmas dream, one made just for us.

30 songs of yuletide bliss on the Decca label,

A welcome addition to any Christmas LP stable.

 

So if you don’t think miracles are true,

I’ve got something to say to you.

I’ve proved that they’re real, and my word is final.

The proof is right here, at Thrift Store Vinyl.

 

Goodwill To All!!

A Lot of LeFevres Lately

I found another White Gospel Group Tour Bus (WGGTB) LP when I scrambled to catch the last half-our of business at one of the country’s more pitiable Goodwill stores in Middlesboro (Middlesborough), Kentucky. More on the store in a later post; lets get on to the prolific LeFevres and their WGGTB!

 

I would have appreciated a larger photo of The LeFevres and their tour bus on the cover (talk about bad cover design), but it meets the criteria for a WGGTB LP. It will take some Intar-Webs sleuthing to confirm the year, make, and model of the bus, so stay tuned.

 

The LeFevres may seem obscure to some, but they were a HUGE success in The South and commanded their own gospel music empire with a big recording studio in Atlanta. You can see the latter behind them and their bus on the cover above. Talk about your large, modern curtain wall!

 

The bus on this LP was just the most recent bus for The LeFevres; they had others in their long career:

The above bus was brand-spanking new in 1959. The bus on the featured LP is from 1964.

 

OK. Now it’s time to give The LeFevres a look and listen with two of dozens of YouTubes that feature the group. White Gospel Music is much more tolerable than, say, Christian Rock, and at times it’s even enjoyable.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wouldn’t you know it.  Right before I was gonna post the above piece about The LeFevres, I took a ten-minute stroll through my local ATL Goodwill and picked up this:

Raymond LeFevre provides a nice, more secular antidote to the overt Christianity of the gospel LeFevres.

 

Raymond LeFevre created one of my favorite easy listening “sounds,” a thoughtful fusion of orchestra with now sounds. Lush strings mixed with solid beats and gentle chorus. This sound tends to divide people, with many declaring it schlock while others, like myself, close their eyes and let the LeFevre music wash over them like a comforting and warm waterfall. He can also produce some dramatic, Morricione-inspired movie music. And it’s always well-recorded.  You probably have heard one of his most famous arrangements, but in case you missed it, here it is:

 

~

The Advantages of The Intar-Webs

I’m sure most of you have some TV commercial jingle tunes in your head, you know the ones; they strike a nostalgic chord when you hear the tune and you say to yourself “I know I’ve heard that before…what was it? Some cereal? Some kinda new gasoline? Some cigarette?

Now, with the Intar-Webs, you can immediately sate that desire to know the associated product with a few clicks.

I heard one of those tunes today as I was continuing to catalog some of my LPs. I came upon one of my favorites in the form of Phil Bodner’s famous Dis-Advantages of You on the Dunhill label. Give it a listen before you go on to the commercial clips:

Phil Bodner is the little guy on the cover.  He was no schmuck, let me tell ya.  He could make fun of his short self because he was a real mover in the NY studio music scene; he was also an accomplished musician (mostly woodwinds/reeds).  The tune is from what were in the late 1960s the new Benson & Hedges 100s cigarette commercials.  These commercials reveal a simple playfulness that seems lost today.

There’s something very comforting about cigarette TV commercials; they’re so self-assured, so confident, so pre-WARNING message.

Call For Philip Morris

 

While it was the awesome Flxible Vistaliner tour bus that caught my attention, a listen to this LP was a pleasant surprise. Even though its called a “Country Music Show,” this is really a multi-genre LP; it serves up an amalgam of Jazz, Country, Folk, Blues, Western Swing, Rockabilly, R&B, and a bunch of nice steel guitar to boot.  There are a few clinkers, but overall a good listen.  Here is the list of artists on this LP, some of whom you may know, others may seem obscure:

 

 

CARL SMITH

 

LITTLE JIMMY DICKENS

 

GOLDIE HILL

 

RED SOVINE

 

GEORGE MORGAN

 

MIMI ROMAN

 

RONNIE SELF

 

BUN WILSON

 

SHIRLEY CADDELL

 

DALE POTTER

 

THE TUNESMITHS

 

THE COUNTRY BOYS

 

 

 

 

Their crossing of paths on the Philip Morris Country Music Show marked a period of change and cross-pollination in American Popular music. It was 1957. Think Elvis and Sun Records. Think Patsy Cline. Think Bill Monroe. Because each of the above artists had their own unique careers under way before they were hired by Philip Morris, I will, in no particular order, present an overview of each (with links) and hope you will take the time to listen to some of their music.

 

 

RONNIE SELF

  

 

AMG has this to say regarding the fairly obscure Rockabilly performer Ronnie Self:

 

 

Why Ronnie Self never made it as a performer is one of the great mysteries and injustices of pop music history. He had the look and the sound – a mix of country, rockabilly and R&B that sometimes made him sound like a white Little Richard, but mostly like the young Elvis or Carl Perkins – and he wasn’t lacking for good songs, which he mostly wrote himself. He should have been there, thought of in the same breath as Perkins or Jerry Lee Lewis; instead, he’s a footnote in rock & roll history outside of Europe, where he’s treated as a legend. (Bruce Eder)

 

 

I have no reason to question the judgment of Mr. Eder, and I have to say that Ronnie Self seems cut right out of the mold of Elvis; not that he TOTALLY imitates The King, but the influence is undeniable. Imitation is the…you guys know the saying. And when your only charted “hit” was “Bop-a-Lena,” a song that was released just after Gene Vincent hit it big with “Be-Bop-a-Lula”…Nonetheless, Self still sounds different enough to be given some respect; his energy level was off the charts.

 

 

Ronnie Self was notorious for constantly moving back and forth on stage while singing (screaming?), more of a frantic running and squating than Elvis-style gyrating in place. His manager, in fact, dubbed him “Mr. Frantic” to help explain his kinetics. You got to admit that photo above makes one want to go back in time and listen to a group that has fiddle, bass fiddle, drums and gui-tar!

 

 

Give a listen to some classic Ronnie Self and dig his vocal style. How a guy could sing a whole gig this way and not lose his voice is beyond me. Also keep in mind that he has some street cred too in that he actually was a juvenile delinquent in real life (vandalism arrest?). It’s guys like Self that made conservative parents fear for their daughters’ safety.

 

This was the age of the two-minute song, so it won’t take up too much of your time:

 

 

 

CLICK HERE AND LISTEN TO RONNIE SELF

 

 

 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

 

ABOUT THE BUS

 

The awesome tour bus on the cover of the Country Music Show LP is a custom Flxible Vistaliner (VL 100).

 

 

The Vistaliner was a competitor to GMC’s more famous Scenicruiser.

 

 

 

 

The Raymond Lowey-influenced Scenicrusier, a superior and more sexy 3-axle, dual-level bus, is the one that is still considered an American design “icon.” To me, it’s just a well-designed and attractive bus, more attractive than the VL100.  One could say that the Vistaliner is to the Scenicrusier as Ronnie Self is to Elvis. It’s kinda like that.

 

………………………………………………………………………………………