Thanks to the local public library, I am no longer the same person I once was after reading Roger Steffens‘ comprehensive and thoughtfully organized oral history of Bob Marley and, by extension, The Wailers, from their earliest days. Halfway through the book I felt compelled to take notes about a number of the more obscure early Wailers tracks.
What got me off the couch was the reminder that Johnny Nash, Arthur Jenkins, and Danny Sims (i.e., the JAD production team, featured late last December) brought in top NYC session players to “sweeten” the tracks for American ears – including Bernard Purdie (subject of a recent King history piece). However, when you check the credits on disc one (1968) of the three-disc JAD box set, it says musicians “probably include” Eric Gale, Bernard Purdie, et al. If not Purdie on tracks 1 through 14, asks Zero to 180, then what other drummer? Check out “Love” – a surprisingly tender ballad from the Wailer with the most militant reputation – and decide whether Bernard Purdie provides the drum part on this JAD production from 1968:
“Love” The Wailers 1968
Speaking of Peter Tosh, Steffens notes that the original Studio One ska version of “Maga Dog” includes little-known female Wailer, Cherry Green:
“Maga Dog” The Wailers (backed by The Skatalites) 1965
“It Hurts to Be Alone” features vocalist, Junior Braithwaite, another early member. Check out the opening guitar line and instrumental solo break – who else could it be? Answer: Ernest Ranglin.
“It Hurts To Be Alone” The Wailers 1964
Bunny Wailer affirms that “It Hurts to Be Alone” — a “smash” when performed live in the early days – was a song directly inspired by Curtis Mayfield‘s “I’m So Proud,” as recorded by The Impressions:
“I’m So Proud” The Impressions 1964
Beverley Kelso, another member from the earliest days [who can be heard on early hit, “Simmer Down“], tells The Jamaica Observer in 2012 that she provided harmony on the original recording of “It Hurts To Be Alone“. This song, notes Steffens — “the group’s first ballad to make a big impression” (get it?) — was written by “the teenaged Junior Braithwaite and recorded on August 28, 1964, the day before he left the island for Chicago” to join his family in the States.
Kelso sang on Wailers recordings sessions throughout 1964 and into the beginning of 1965 — including “Habits” from the group’s sixth recording session in mid-July 1964:
“Habits” The Wailers 1965
“Dreamland” (Steffens points out) is not a Bunny Wailer original but rather an adaptation of a relatively obscure A-side – “My Dream Island” by El Tempos – that had been suggested to the group by Studio One owner, Coxson(e) Dodd:
Originally (but never officially credited on Wailers-related records), it was an adaptation of a song “My Dream Island” by El Tempos on a Vee Jay Records 7-inch (VJ 580, 1963). Composed by Al ‘Bunk‘ Johnson, lead singer of El Tempos.
Wailers in the JA Pop Charts: What Constitutes a “Hit”
Steffens states (on pgs. 56-7) that in 1965, “the Wailers had the number one [“Simmer Down”], two [“It Hurts To Be Alone“], three [“Rude Boy“], five [“Jailhouse“], and seven [“Put It On“] songs in the Top Ten at once.” Earlier in the book, Dodd helps give some context as to what constitutes a “hit”: “When ‘Simmer Down’ come out, in those days, anything from five thousand was a hit. I would say twenty thousand would be a strong hit.” Steffens adds, “At the height of the success of ‘Simmer Down’ it kept four pressing plants going and sold a reported eighty thousand copies on an island with only about two million inhabitants.”
During their early years, The Wailers were a pretty volatile live act, you might be surprised to know, as Bunny Wailer makes clear:
Our first appearance was at the Palace. Wailers were hot. When we hit the stage it was just fire … When we came on, half the people left their seats and were down almost to the edge of the stage, ’cause Wailers were like gymnastics. Flickings and splits and snap falls. All Wailers split. We did stuff where Bob would take me and throw me in the air and we’d split. Bob would kneel down, I would go over his back — splits. Peter would come there and bounce us like rubber balls, just comin’ up and goin’ down like that. I would run to him, he catches me, and as my belly cross his arm he just flicks and split.
Bunny says that at the last show before Bob left for Delaware, it was a first-ever concert in the National Stadium, and the moment that made the crowd lose control happened during one particular Bob ballad, “I’m Still Waiting“:
We had a little plan for “I’m Still Waiting” where when Bob said ‘my feet’, his feet just feel from under him, and we caught him before him hit the ground and just bring him back on mic.
“I’m Still Waiting” The Wailers & Soul Brothers Orchestra 1965
“Freedom Time” – 1966 song of liberation from Dodd, despite being recorded at Studio One with The Soul Brothers is the first Wail‘n’ Soul’m 45 b/w “Bend Down Low” (Bunny says it sold something like 50,000 copies):
Check out the loping rocksteady version of “Stepping Razor” from 1967 — augmented by heavy hand drums (note the flubbedchord by the band just seconds before fading):
More Nyabinghi hand drums on Tosh/Wailers “Burial” (below) the flip side to “Pound Get a Blow,” almost certainly recorded during the time Bob was in Delaware (where part of his time was spent sweeping floors at the opulent Hotel Du Pont in Wilmington) –- great piano on this killer rocksteady Wail’n Soul’m 45 release from 1968:
Hotel Du Pont: Where Jeff Nold once imbibed
Musical blooper: bassist accidentally plays opening note too early (or does he?)
Glad to be reminded that the ill-named Best of the Wailers album that was recorded at Leslie Kong’s studio (and released August, 1971) was intended as reggae’s first “concept” album — a “thematically structured collection of songs,” explain the liner notes to JAD’s 3-disc box set, “geared to the idea of giving themselves a pep talk: we’re back in the business, we’re not afraid, and we’re moving forward to new heights, and the past be damned.”
A more appropriate album title, asserts Bunny Wailer, would’ve been “Cheer Up”:
“Cheer Up” The Wailers 1970
Carlton + Family Man = “Hippy Boys”: Trivia
Bunny Lee produced the first recording session to feature Carlton and Family Man on a song (“Bangarang” by Stranger Cole & Lester Sterling) “that marked the transition from rocksteady to reggae” (see earlier sidebar re: “first reggae song“):
“Bangarang” Lester Sterling & Stranger Cole 1968
Two songs recorded for Catch a Fire that got reissued in recent years as bonus tracks:
“Survival featured a song written by [Anthony] Sangie Davis called ‘Wake Up and Live‘ … Sangie was given credit on the original Survival cover for co-writing ‘Wake Up and Live.’ He received a small payment upon the album’s release in 1979, but nothing since. His name has been removed from the credits on all subsequent pressings.”
“In late summer of 2006, Sangie and reggae great Joseph “Culture” Hill visited the Reggae Archives. Davis, who had been a staff producer at [Bob Marley’s studio] Tuff Gong, revealed that he was the composer of the unreleased gems “Babylon Feel This One,” a dub-plate commissioned for the Twelve Tribes Sound System, and “She Used to Call Me Dada.”
“She Used to Call Me Dada” Bob Marley & the Wailers
“Babylon Feel This One” Bob Marley & the Wailers
Roger Steffens Weighs In on the King Records Legacy!
Zero to 180 is delighted to report that Roger Steffens himself was kind enough to check out this history piece on the early Wailers recordings and respond to my query about Bernard Purdie and the King Records legacy:
“As far as Mr. Purdie’s contributions to the catalog, I don’t think there’s anything I could add to what is in Leroy Pierson and my Bob Marley and the Wailers: The Definitive Discography. (If you don’t have this book, it’s indispensable to your work, and still available on Amazon.) I wouldn’t trust Danny [Sims]’s memory on any specific tracks, but Purdie himself has acknowledged being on several. We acknowledge specifically “Nice Time”; “Soul Almighty” & “Bend Down Low,” and you can check the discog book for many others too.
In 1956, after my graduation from grade school in suburban NJ, my dad was transferred to Cincinnati. We lived in North Norwood and I started high school at Purcell, working six afternoons a week delivering 356 copies of the Post and Times-Star. I went back to Cincy many times in the ’60s and ’70s while reading poetry in the schools. Saw REO Speedwagon in ’70 at the Ludlow Garage. Have very fond memories of the city.
I have dinner every Tuesday night with a bunch of aging musos, and a frequent guest of late has been Seymour Stein. He also moved from NY to Cincy in 1956, and we were born in the same hospital in Brooklyn, three months apart (he’s older). Stein’s autobiography, Siren Song, is a great read, with much about his time as a youth mentored by the King Records head.”
It always helps to have streaming audio within arm’s reach to make music history more of a ‘multimedia’ experience.
From reading Young Gifted and Black: The Story of Trojan Records by Michael de Koningh & Laurence Cane-Honeysett, for example, I have picked up a number of helpful listening tips and historical revelations, such as this one:
King Records makes an appearance early in the book when the authors recount the rise of Duke Reid, owner of Treasure Isle, one of the top Jamaican labels in the 1960s:
“In the early ’50s, Reid’s wife, Lucille, won a substantial lottery prize, which she invested in their future by buying a business, an off-license called the Treasure Isle Liquor Store, which was located in the same run-down ghetto area that the Duke had patrolled [as a police officer] for a decade. The store was such a success that, in 1958, they relocated to larger premises at 33 Bond Street.
It was normal practice around Kingston for shopkeepers and bar owners to play recorded music to attract customers. Not to be outdone, Reid rigged up a 78 rpm record player in the shop, with a speaker outside the front door, and discovered a formula for increasing his turnover. Nothing drew in the music-hungry local people like a Wynonie Harris record rocking out through the speaker and carrying right across the street.”
The First Trojan Record
The authors identify the very first Trojan 45 release on page 32 — nevertheless, from the comfort of your computer, you can pull up the titles of the A and B sides of TR-001 yourself in three easy steps:
Observe the very first item listed — “Judge Sympathy” by Duke Reid [& His All-Stars] b/w “Never to Be Mine” by Roland Alphonso — with a release date, 28 July 1967, that coincides with the label’s founding by Lee Gopthal and Chris Blackwell.
“Judge Sympathy” Duke Reid All-Stars 1967
“A classic tale of a rude boy getting his comeuppance -or not- in court.”
It is highly improbable, of course, that producer Duke Reid appears on this recording but rather, as YouTube contributor rudeboy6000 states, “Alton Ellis and John Holt are probable guest voices [ref.: Trojan Records].”
< click on all song titles below for streaming audio>
Two years after its founding, the Trojan organization would expand operations in 1969:
“Another significant move in that year was the appointment of St. Kitts-born Joe Sinclair. Joe had been with the Musicland shop at 23 Ridley Road since 1965 … and had elevated the premises to be the number-one retail outlet of the chain. He was rewarded with an appointment as the manager of Trojan Records.
Joe was an accomplished keyboard player and, as well as being responsible for the day-to-day running of the office, moved into playing on and producing records. He founded the Grape label in late 1969 as a ‘take on Apple‘ and started to record UK-based group The Rudies on crunching skinhead-friendly numbers like the revamped ‘Guns of Navarone‘. Some of their records were covers of other artists’ tunes, such as ‘Shanghai‘, which was similar to the Lloyd Charmers original, already released by Pama.
“As reggae gained a firm hold in the charts and minds of Mr. Average Record Buyer, the stars of rock took notice, including The Rolling Stones, who had championed black music since their early days. Under the headline ‘Rudies Play at Mick Jagger‘s Wedding‘, the 10 June 1971 issue of US magazine Rolling Stone reported, ‘At the slightly seedy Cafe des Arts, where the reception was held, a local band opened the show and flopped. Next came The Rudies, a thumping reggae group big in their own scene in Britain. They lifted up plenty of souls ready for a set by Terry Reid and his band.”
Depends What You Mean By “Exclusive”
Part of the UK reggae industry’s colorful history includes a bit of “double dealing”:
“The other problem that confronted [Joe] Sinclair, and that had caused headaches far back for Chris Blackwell, was the [Jamaican] producers’ philosophy of getting as much mileage out of a record as possible. Sometimes Trojan were offered a brand-new recording from Jamaica; they would buy the master tape from the producer and issue it on one of their labels. Pama would have gone through a mirror-image situation with the same producer, who would have two or three copies of his ‘exclusive’, which he would proceed to sell to rival companies before jetting back to the sunshine with a maximum profit.
Sometimes two rival companies’ labels would release a record almost simultaneously — such as Marley‘s “Lively Up Yourself“, which appeared on Trojan’s Green Door imprint and Pama’s Punch label — or, if one unfortunate owner saw it already out on the street, they would just shelve their release. Trojan Records own a considerable number of recordings that they have never released due to this problem, and one can conjecture that the other labels active at the time also had a box of unuseable master tapes.”
This inter-label rivalry (according to Wikipedia – please don’t hit me) “had been fuelled by Bunny Lee’s earlier licensing of Derrick Morgan’s ‘Seven Letters‘ to both Pama and Trojan.”
Both singles released in 1969 – on (Trojan-owned) Jackpot & (Pama-owned) Crab
JA’s Omnipresent Engineer
Syd Bucknor, audio engineer emeritus, receives a musical salute on page 55:
“The engineer at Harry Johnson‘s session at Dynamic Studios on the day that ‘Young, Gifted And Black‘ was recorded was Sid Bucknor. A first cousin to Clement ‘Coxson‘ Dodd, Bucknor started his recording career at Studio One in around 1963. He was with Lee Perry when the youthful Wailers first auditioned for the studio and was impressed by their sound. History vindicates his opinion.
Sid estimates that, by the end of the decade, his hand was present in around 70 per cent of all the recordings coming from the small island, so great was the demand for his talents as a freelance producer and engineer. He estimates that the average number of recordings he would undertake in a normal day was a staggering 12. He never had to look for work as his reputation preceded him and most producers looked to him to turn a song into a hit.
As a professional engineer and producer at Dynamic Studios (after leaving Studio One and his freelance career), he recorded work for, among others, Bunny Lee, Harry Mudie, Alvin ‘GG’ Ranglin and Leslie Kong. He was the engineer on Johnny Nash’s smash ‘I Can See Clearly Now‘, engineered the formative DJ work of producer Keith Hudson with Big Youth on ‘Ace 90 Skank‘ and worked on the first three Marley Island albums. He also remixed both Duke Reid’s and Coxson’s work at various times to give ‘a more up-to-date sound’.
Sadly, much of Sid’s work has been unrecognised, and it is only now that account has been taken of his vast input to Jamaican music. He recalls that, in the reggae heyday of the start of the ’70s, ‘I would be asked to do two mixes of a tune, one for Jamaica and a lighter one for the UK as a new burgeoning market for their products and their need to retune the sound accordingly.”
Clyde McPhatter and the Trojan Connection
One original era vocal legend, tragically, was not able to hang on for the roots rock revival scene that began to take shape in the early 1970s — Rob Bell recounts:
‘Here’s one artist probably no one in the world knows had a Trojan connection – Clyde McPhatter, lead singer of the Drifters in the early ’50s, who then branched out to a solo career by around 1955 or ’56. Huge influence on R&B – you can listen to thousands of R&B or doo-wop recordings from the ’50s and hear Clyde’s influence. Enormous.
‘He was in London for awhile around 1971 [the master index shows that Clyde recorded in 1970 for Trojan], down on his luck. I don’t know how he showed up at Trojan, but he did. We cut a session with him and The Rudies, with ex-Pioneer Sydney Crooks as producer. Four tunes, assigned Song Bird matrices. Somewhere around SB 1027 to 1032 A and B, as far as I can recall … For some reason, Graham [Walker] and Lee [Gopthal] hated him, and I remember having to tell Clyde that we had no bread for him on the one occasion that I met him.
‘It is not a moment that I recall with relish. He seemed like a nice man and was certainly a singer for whom I had a very high regard. As far as I know, these titles have never been issued.’
Actually, one single ‘Denver‘ would be issued on the “pop-slanted” B&C label in September of 1969 — a nicely arranged piece of pop soul (penned by Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham) that would be one of the last releases from the legendary vocalist, who succumbed to alcoholism in 1972 at the age of 39.
UK release in 1969 + Picture sleeve for Spain – 1970
I Roy vs. U Roy vs. Hugh Roy
Forget what you learned in school: U before I, except after Roy. Rob Bell explains:
“I myself was responsible for one cock-up, and that was calling toaster U Roy on his early UK releases Hugh Roy. As you know, Jamaicans tend to drop Hs, and to add them sometimes, viz Marley’s line in ‘Trench Town Rock‘, ‘an ‘ungry man is a hangry man’.
So little old middle-class Rob Bell, one of whose tasks it was to prepare label copy, very carefully typed ‘Hugh Roy’ on the copy for those releases … As I did all the label copy for at least two years, I am sure I am responsible for many cock-ups! However, in my defence, I took the details from the Jamaican label, or got the info from the producer — both sources being, of course, absolutely infallible!
(If it’s any consolation to Rob, the toaster’s debut LP, Version Galore, was issued by Duke Reid in Jamaica in a sleeve proclaiming the artist to be I-Roy!)”
“Full-price ska/reggae albums sold in minute quantities. The Tighten Up series did sell well, but that was because they consisted of compilations of singles that had already sold very well indeed. Trojan wanted to piggyback other titles … hence the ambitious TTL reissue project.”
Tighten Up‘s first volume featured primarily previously-released Trojan 45s and was given the TTL “budget” designation (“though no one now can recall what these initials stood for”). The authors further explain —
“Priced at just 14/6d – the cost of two singles – this album moved units, and its first pressing on the original all-orange Trojan label sold out quickly. It was repressed with a slightly altered sleeve design using the new orange-and-white label design, which was introduced in 1969 …”
“Tighten Up Volume Two appeared quickly afterwards and was not only much more up to date in its tracks; it was also a sizzling selection of recordings … Tighten Up Volume Two was Trojan’s all-time best-selling album and would remain available for many years, such was its enduring popularity. It even score in the pop album charts, the entry rules for which were promptly revised to exclude budget records!”
“Tighten Up Volume 3, issued in 1970, took the pretty girl off the sleeve and on to the bedroom wall with a splendid double-album-sized poster nestled in a die-cut sleeve. The young lady peeped through the central hole and, when the poster was opened out, revealed the titles of all the album’s tracks painted on her finely toned body. It may have been a gimmick, but because of the poster Tighten Up Volume 3 became legendary in every school classroom and extremely popular on the skinheads’ walls.”
Here’s a link to the track listing for Tighten Up Volume 4 — six songs per LP side.
With respect to Pama’s competing series of budget-priced oldies — Straighten Up — Lloyd Bradley, in 2000’s Bass Culture: When Reggae Was King, would simply say that the “sleeves were tacky enough to make Trojan’s lewd efforts look classy.”
Trojan’s reliance on “strings reggae” would hurt the label during the 1970s, as reggae audiences gravitated toward a heavier roots sound as the decade progressed. The label would have liquidity issues in the mid-1970s and find itself under new ownership: Marcel Rodd of Saga/Allied Records. Former Island staffer, Dave Hendley (“with the departure of Tony Cummings”) would be promoted to Artists & Repertoire. The authors take the baton:
“So in the late ’70s, Trojan was drifting, as the only product which producers would offer them was rejects from other deals or substandard work. Due to the company policy of not paying to the same level as their competitors, such as the rapidly expanding Greensleeves Records, Trojan’s reputation in the marketplace had taken a dive. Marcel Rodd was determined to reverse this trend. And so February 1979 saw Dave Hendley, Mo Claridge and fast-rising reggae DJ David Rodigan heading out to Kingston. Dave’s brief was to raise the Trojan flag in Kingston and sign up some acts – although the company had provided no contacts for him to visit.
Due to Dave’s resourcefulness, the outcome was Sugar Minott‘s Ghetto-ology album and The Morwells‘ 12″ disco 45 ‘Kingston 12 Tuffie‘, with a stunning remix by courtesy of Prince Jammy.”
Dave Hendley breaks down the economics for the rest of us:
“Trojan would pay £300 max for a disco 12” single, while the going rate was £400, and they would only pay up to £2,500 for an album, when up to £4,000 was the normal price. I badly wanted a Freddie McGregor album that Niney had and, give him his due, Rodd went to four grand, but Niney wouldn’t let it go for that. Freddie was just so big back then. I tried for the ‘Hard Time Pressure‘ 12″ single from Sugar Minott but couldn’t get it due to the money. In the end I put it out on my own Sufferers’ Heights label.”
Music in Advertising
“[Page 81] After the departure of Dave Hendley, Trojan began a period of comparative inactivity, seemingly reissuing the same dozen golden oldies in as many permutations as possible, until it was sold to Sharesense Ltd. in 1985…
[Former Chairman, Colin Newman] No matter what some people want to say about the period in which we ran Trojan, we think we acted in manner that was fair and reasonable. We think we gave care and attention to the music, care and attention to the artwork, care and attention to the way the music was presented to the public. We enjoyed doing it and, as you know, we built up other labels which had other genres of music — again, all built up with direct artist relationships. with very few problems. We built up a big chart list of British singles charts, tracks that ha individually been in the charts, and we mixed the benefit of those releases with Trojan’s expertise, in terms of the ability of putting tracks on compilations and things like that. And we had some success with TV ads, probably the most famous was ‘Israelites‘ by Desmond Dekker for a TDK ad [Maxell, actually], with ‘My Ears Are Alight’, which we thought was great and very funny.”
Desmond Dekker’s “Israelites” = Maxell Cassettes
Lord Tanamo’s “I’m In the Mood for Ska” = Paxo Stuffing
Toots & the Maytals’ “Broadway Jungle” = Adidas Footware
Mastered From Vinyl: Superior to Master Tapes?
Those of you who wondered if Trojan’s often murky mixes were somehow caused by limitations in your sound system, you can now rest assured that neither your ears nor playback equipment were at fault:
“Many high-street retailers disliked stocking reggae singles due to their poor sound quality. Joe Sinclair explains the reason:
‘Apart from the big producers like Leslie Kong and Byron Lee, who provided us with master tapes, we always had to dub off a record for our releases.’
In other words, a normal Jamaican-pressed record would be used as the master copy for the Trojan release. All the inherent faults of the none-too-special JA pressing would thereby be transferred to the UK issue, along with a second step away from master-tape sound quality.”
All playlists below in order by catalog #
All dates indicate year of release in the UK — not Jamaica
Amalgamated: According to Discogs —
Founded in 1966 by Joel Gibson (a.k.a. Joe Gibbs) at his radio and TV repair shop on Beeston Street in Kingston, Jamaica, Amalgamated became one of the fastest-rising labels in correlation with the uprising of Rocksteady music. Though the credits almost always read “Produced By Joel Gibson”, production was actually handled by Lee ‘Scratch‘ Perry for the first two years, followed by Winston ‘Niney‘ Holness who took over for the following six years after the fact.
Says the book: “Some of the best sides from 1968 and 1969 were collected on Amalgamated’s Jackpot of Hits compilation.” Also of note to historians: “… the sides by The Cobbs are believed to be Ken Jones‘s productions.” Worth pointing out that obscure early reggae track ‘Red Red Wine‘ by The Immortals – flipside of AMG 869 – “has nothing to do with its more famous namesake.”
Reggae label based on Bunny Lee productions. This label contains releases on multinational markets [from multiple producers, actually].
This UK label were originally started in 1969 as a subsidiary of [Grame Goodall‘s] Doctor Bird Records. Trojan Records took over in 1970, and the label lasted until around 1980. Attack was briefly revived in 1988 until about 1991, issuing compilations of classic Jamaican music from the sixties and seventies.
Zero to 180 emphasizes the array of producers issued on Attack besides Bunny Lee, including (but not limited to) Tony Brevitt, ‘Prince’ Tony Robinson, Warwick Lyn, Winston Riley, Phil Pratt, Alvin ‘GG’ Ranglin, Lloyd Coxson, Lee Perry, Pat Rhoden, Sidney Crooks, Ernie Smith, Earl ‘Chinna’ Smith, Eric Donaldson, Linval Thompson, and Harry J.
UK reggae label and a subsidiary of Trojan Records initiated for productions from Rupie Edwards. Active between 1970 and 1972 and released a total of about 35 releases on 7″.
Originally a subsidiary of Island Records in 1968, Big Shot was absorbed into the Trojan Records group when it spun off from Island that same year, and became one of Trojan’s top secondary subsidiary labels, particularly thanks to its consistent output of material from controversial artist Judge Dread.
Zero to 180 notes the variety of producers whose recordings were issued on Big Shot: George ‘Clive’ Tennors, Ken Khouri, Paul Khouri, Derrick Harriott, Bunny Lee, Niney, Sonia Pottinger, Herman Chin-Loy, Eric Barnett, Alvin ‘GG’ Ranglin, Des and Webster, Les Foster, Winston Riley, Rad Bryan, Lloyd Daley, Hugh Madden, Glen Brown, Lloyd’s TV & Radio, Lloyd Charmers, and Lloyd & Glen, among others.
Blue Cat Records (UK) was a subsidiary label of Trojan Records. Around 70 records were released on the label between 1968 and 1969, with a variety of early reggae and rocksteady releases from artists such as The Pioneers, The Untouchables, and The Maytones.
Zero to 180 notes the various producers who were represented on Blue Cat, including Dermot Lynch, Joe Gibbs, Charles Reid, Coxson Dodd, Clancy Collins, Charles Ross, Enos McLeod, Alvin ‘GG’ Ranglin, Nehemiah Reid, and others.
UK reggae label launched by Trojan in 1970 as a subsidiary label for Jackie Edwards and his productions. Almost halfway through Bread’s 20-issue existence, Jackie’s output seemed have been switched to Trojan Records and Horse, with other producers taking over the Bread label [such as Lee Perry, Clancy Eccles, Alvin ‘GG’ Ranglin, and Bunny Lee].
Clancy Eccles label. Established by Trojan Records in 1969 as the UK counterpart to Clancy Eccles back-a-yard operation in Jamaica.
Clandisc ground to a halt early in 1972, and Clancy Eccles seemed to disappear from the recording scene.
Zero to 180 notes that by 1972, Downtown would showcase the work of other producers, including Kenneth Wilson, Derrick Harriott, Lee Perry, Bunny Lee, ‘Prince’ Tony Robinson, Alvin ‘GG’ Ranglin, Gussie Clarke, Glen Brown, Clancy Eccles, and Byron Lee, among others.
UK reggae / ska label, active from 1968 until late in 1973 when Trojan Records didn’t need the label any longer. Originally initiated to handle output from Arthur “Duke” Reid. Also, label issued Joe Mansano production with ‘blue’ Joe labels and ‘DU’ catalog numbers. Later, label got separate catalog numbers with ‘JRS’ prefix and brown/yellow design.
Zero to 180 adds this observation:
Plenty of producers showcased on this imprint besides Duke Reid: JJ Johnson, Harry J, Joe Gibbs, Lynford Anderson, Hot Rod, Winston Lowe, Clancy Eccles, George ‘Clive’ Tennors, Byron Lee, Bart Sanfilipo, Herman Chin-Loy, Sir Collins, Maurice ‘Blacka Morwell’ Wellington, Rupie Edwards, Lloyd Charmers, Bruce Anthony, Alvin ‘GG’ Ranglin, Lee Perry, Keith Hudson, Pat Rhoden, Glen Brown, Neville Willoughby, Phil Pratt, Lloyd Daley, Sonia Pottinger, Vincent ‘Randy’ Chin, Hugh Madden, Dennis Bovell, Gussie Clarke, Bunny Lee, and Whistling Willie, among others.
Duke Reid, a subsidiary of Trojan Records, was a UK reggae label active from 1970 until 1972, issuing Duke Reid / Treasure Isle Productions exclusively.
This Trojan subsidiary dealt with releases from Byron Lee‘s Dynamic Studio (formerly WIRL, or West Indies Records Limited) and spanned some 55 releases between 1970 and 1972. Aside from Lee’s productions, Dynamic also put out material from a variety of other producers recording at Dynamic at the time, most notably Syd Bucknor, Lee Perry, Bunny Lee, and Tommy Cowan.
Adds Zero to 180:
Other producers include Max Romeo, Barry Biggs, S. Francisco, J. Franscique, Eric Donaldson, Neville Willoughby, Neville Hinds, Comic Strip, Winston Wallace, Jimmy Sinclair, C. Wilks, and Geoffrey Chung, among others.
British reggae label started in 1969 and released about 90 vinyl 7″ singles until it’s end in 1974.
Zero to 180 adds this note:
A multitude of producers spinning the dials on these 45 tracks: ,Lloyd Charmers, Derrick Harriott, Alvin ‘GG’ Ranglin, Rupie Edwards, Keith Hudson, Laurel Aitken, Nat Cole, Harry Mudie, Neville Willoughby, La-Fud-Del, Herman Chin-Loy, Sir JJ, Vincent Chin, Lloyd Daley, Lloyd’s Radio & TV, Bunny Lee, Pat Rhoden, Federal, Bush, Sonny Roberts, Lee Perry, Harry J, Duke Reid, and Randy’s, et al.
Check out the Clavinet-like sounds coming from Jerry Whitehurst‘s electric harpsichord on “Wild Blue Yonder,” side one’s closing track from Lloyd Green‘s third solo LP Day of Decision, an album that was recorded (like Stones Jazz) in one day — in this case, on June 18, 1966 at RCA Studios in Nashville:
“Wild Blue Yonder” Lloyd Green 1966
Lloyd Green: Steel Guitar Billy Sanford: Lead Guitar Jerry Reed: Lead Guitar Jerry Shook: Guitar Roy Huskey,Jr.: Bass Glen Davis: Drum[s] Jerry Whitehurst: Electric Harpsichord
Somehow I failed to notice the significance of this announcement on the album’s back cover until now:
“The Baldwin Piano and Organ Company of Cincinnati, Ohio recently invented and began manufacture of a completely new electric Harpsichord.
This instrument is being used for the first time in the ‘Day of Decision’ album. You will notice the various unusual sounds on the different bands; these are just a few of the sound combinations possible on this instrument.
A number of musicians, who have played the Harpsichord, feel that it is the most original and versatile new instrument to be devised in yours.”
Cash Box‘s Tom McIntee would talk up the exciting array of sounds made possible by Baldwin’s new electric harpsichord in the patriotic liner notes that accompany this album:
“Something new has been added to America in this performance. That something new is Lloyd on the steel and Billy Sanford and Jerry Reed on guitars. That something new is an acoustical electric harpsichord. An amazing instrument that sometimes sounds like a kazoo, sometimes like an organ, sometimes like a tuba. The great majority of tracks in this album are old, but the sound is something new. It’s a breath of new life into an America that sometimes grows weary beneath its burdens.
“Lloyd Green plays a Sho-Bud steel guitar” – back cover
The Baldwin electric harpsichord would be used most notably on “Because” from 1969’s Abbey Road by [K-Tel artists] The Beatles, as well as the opening theme to TV’s “The Odd Couple,” according to Spectrasonics (who states that the keyboard was “developed in the early 1960s by the Cannon Guild and marketed by Baldwin from 1966 into the early 1970s.”)
“Each note has its own string and jack, which employs a pick and a damper felt. When the key is depressed, it raises the jack which causes the pick to pluck the string, then come back down and pass over the string and come to rest on the damper. It’s a pretty neat design, but somewhat flawed in that the picks can and will break, and the jacks themselves become brittle. On this one in particular, we had all the jacks replaced with brand new ones. It takes a lot of adjustment to get it right, but once it’s right it sounds awesome.”
This design includes a “very unique pickup system,” in which, as Baldwin’s own literature explains —
“Each pickup can be activated by two switches, one for the treble half of the keyboard and one for the bass. Individually, the treble and bass switches for each pickup can be set for either the left or right volume pedal. All of these tonal combinations can be doubled with a foot control that [indecipherable] the overall tone of the keyboard. The Baldwin two-channel amplifier with tremolo, reverberation, and its exclusive Supersound tone controls bring the tonal possibles to a phenomenal total.”
Click on image below to view in Ultra-High Resolution
Despite the ingenuity of design (did I mention that the CW-9 model includes an “amplifier housed in the same compact floor unit as the two volume pedals”?), Vintage Keyboard Studio affirms that Baldwin electric harpsichords are, indeed, “pretty rare,” most likely due to the challenge of maintaining the instrument’s integrity over time. The relative durability of the Clavinet would account for Hohner’s dominance of the electric harpsichord market by the early-to-mid 1970s, the funky new keyboard’s Golden Age.
Note: For optimal presentation, view website on computer screen
Ruppli’s King Labels discography is a 2-volume reference set that can be hard to make sense of initially, given all the subsidiary labels and various quirks in its numbering systems, among other things.
Volume 1 features information pertaining to the recording sessions at King‘s Cincinnati studios, and it can be great fun to browse chronologically in order to determine whether any recording took place on the birthdate of someone you know, such as family members and friends. At first I was disappointed to find out that no King artists were laying down any new sounds on the day of my birth — at least, in Cincinnati.
Page 470 concludes the post-Syd Nathan Starday-King era, with a listing for a Nashville session that took place on September 23, 1973 by a group called The B.K.‘s [Bob Kames + company], with only one song recorded “Choo Choo Choo” (the B-side of King 6426 — a 45 that appears never to have been issued). However, pages 471-476 list a King 16000 master series of recordings that took place in Los Angeles between the years 1961-1963 (sessions with Johnny Otis and Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson, et al., including “Gangster of Love“).
But the real kicker is this announcement near the bottom of page 476:
“Note: Series discontinued and resumed later in Macon, Ga.”
Thus, Volume 1 ends with four pages of King recording sessions between the years 1964-1965 that took place in Macon, Georgia at Bobby Smith Studios (and therefore serve as the “missing link” to all the later work* highlighted in last October’s celebration, “Bobby Smith’s King Productions“). So, today I decided to browse these pages with a certain date in mind, and wouldn’t you know it: The Fabulous Denos recorded two songs with Bobby Smith at the helm [“Once I Had a Love” & “Bad Girl“] on the day of my birth — April 13, 1964!
“Bad Girl” The Fabulous Denos 1964
“Bad Girl” – the featured song in this King history piece – served as the B-side of a single released in June, 1964.
Tip of the hat (again) to 45Cat contributor davie gordon for this snippet from Billboard‘s August 22, 1964 edition that shows “Bad Girl” to be a ‘R&B Regional Breakout’ for the urban centers of Atlanta and Cleveland, the city where my dad would relocate by decade’s end — foreshadowing?
Bobby Smith Productions = 1964-1965
Info from The King Labels: A Discography compiled by Michel Ruppli
<click on all song titles below for streaming audio>
Sam Anderson & the Telstars [No Date]
BS500 Standing at the Edge of the Sea King 5855
BS501 Back on the Block King 5855Wayne Cochran [No Date]
BS502 Last Kiss King 5856
BS503 I Dreamed, I Gambled, I Lost King 5856
BS504 The Coo King 5874
BS505 Cindy Marie King 5874Alice Rozier March 16, 1964
BS16133 I Love You a Bushel and a Peck unissued
BS16134 My Candy Man King 5896
BS16135 George, BB and Roy King 5896
BS16136 Love Me Like I Love You unissued
Eddie Kirk March 17, 1964
BS16137 Let Me Walk With You King 5895
BS16138 I Just Want to Be Loved unissued
BS16139 Monkey Tonight King 5895
BS16140 Mary unissued
James Duncan [and The Duncan Trio] [1964]
BS16141 Here Comes Charlie King 5887
BS16142 Everybody Needs Somebody to Love King 5923
BS16143 I'll Be Gone King 5923
BS16144 My Pillow Stays Wet King 5887Billy Soul March 19, 1964
BS16145 My Darlin' Honey Baby King 5929
BS16146 Big Balls of Fire King 5929
BS16147 She's Gone (Pt. 1) King 5904
BS16148 So Many People unissued
Bobby Leeds March 22, 1964
BS16149 Nothing Too Good for You King 5928
BS16150 When I Fell King 5928
BS16151 I'm Through, I'm Gone, I'm Free King 5903
BS16152 Big Brick Wall King 5903C.V. Williams March 19, 1964
BS16153 I've Lost the Only One unissued
BS16154 My Once-a-Week Love unissued
Eddie Kirk September 8, 1964
BS16155 Hog Killin' Time King 5959
BS16156 Treat Me the Way You Want Me King 5959
James Duncan October 11, 1964
BS16157 Three Little Pigs King 5966
BS16158 I Can't Fight the Time King 5966Bobby Skelton [No Date]
BS16159 It Goes Without Saying King 5897
BS16160 Just Two People in the World King 5897
The Fabulous Denos November 23, 1964
BS16161 Hard to Hold Back Tears King 5971
BS16162 I've Enjoyed Being Loved by You King 5971
King Keels April 4, 1964
BS16163 Wondering, Wondering, Wondering King 5969
BS16164 I Hear Love Bells King 5969James Styles April 4, 1964
BS16165 Sweeter Than a Flower unissued
BS16166 I'm on My Way unissued
Bobby Cash April 12, 1964
BS16167 I Don't Need Your Love and Kisses King 5894
BS16168 Answer to My Dreams King 5894Dennis Wheeler April 12, 1964
BS16169 Down in Daytona King 5898
BS16170 Rock Bottom King 5898The Fabulous Denos April 13, 1964
BS16171 Once I Had a Love King 5908
BS16172 Bad Girl King 5908Bennie Anderson and the Teals April 28, 1964
BS16173 Little School Girl King 5893
BS16174 Sugar Girl King 5893Billy Soul March 19, 1964
BS16175 She's Gone (Pt. 2) King 5904Oscar Toney Jr. (& The Kayos Band) April 19, 1964
BS16176 You're Going to Need Me King 5906
BS16177 Can It All Be Love King 5906Wayne Cochran January 17, 1965
BS16178 Think King 5994
BS16179 You Left the Water Running King 5994James Duncan March 12, 1965
BS16180 All Aboard unissued
BS16181 My Baby Is Back unissued
Alice Rozier February 24, 1965
BS16182 Lonely Girl unissued
BS16183 Hold on to You unissued
Oscar Toney Jr. (& The Kayos Band) February [ ], 1965
BS16184 I've Found a True Love King 6108
BS16185 Keep on Loving Me King 6108James Duncan March 12, 1965
BS16186 Guilty King 6013
BS16187 Mr. Goodtime King 6013StanleyK. [No Date]
BS16188 unknown title unissued
BS16189 unknown title unissued
Zero to 180 on his Father’s lap – Cincinnati, OH – March, 1966
*Brian Powers was, indeed, correct in his assertion (back in October, 2018) that Bobby Smith Studios had been up and running prior to 1966
For Serious King Records Fans Only: Page 481
Check out these random bits of King recording session info on the very last page of Volume 1 that fall under the catch-all title Additional King Sessions — including a live James Brown & the Famous Flames set at Baltimore’s Royal Theater in 1963.
“Dry Bones Twist” would be among the last songs written by Toombs, however, as 45Cat contributor mickey rat notes darkly:
R-T Pub. Co. (BMI) was one of the many publishing imprints that Syd Nathan at King shared with his favoured producers and songwriters. Rudy Toombs in New York had a share in R-T which was officially located at 1540 Brewster Avenue, Cincinnati along with all Nathan’s other ventures. Rudy Toombs was brutally murdered [by robbers in his Harlem apartment house] in November 1962 just a few months after this record was released and I guess R-T was folded into King’s flagship publishing imprint Lois.
Note misspelling of Windsor King’s name in copyright registration.
Both tracks recorded in Cincinnati April 12 1962.
This 1962 single would also signal, coincidentally perhaps, the end of The Drivers’ recording career, whose first recordings for King were on its DeLuxe subsidiary label.
Would You Believe?
Someone paid $271 in 2014 for a copy of The Drivers’ King 45.
Rudy Toombs Fun Fact
In 1974, Mike Lookinland (TV’s “Bobby Brady”) laid down his version of “Gum Drop” — a Rudy Toombs song that would be designated the B-side of his one and only record release. Initially recorded by Otis Williams and the Charms, “Gum Drop” would appear to have served as the launching pad for fellow King artists, The Gum Drops.
Check it out: 1956 Otis Williams & the Charms “Gum Drop” EP sold for $209 in 2016.
Extra Credit: Library Assignment
Check out the “Publication Timeline” in OCLC’s fabulous WorldCat database (combined holdings of member libraries worldwide) for Toombs, Rudolph which utilizes a color-coded bar graph to illustrate the extent of publishing activity during the artist’s lifetime, as well as after.
I met John Simson around the time Zero to 180 had first hung out a shingle and was grappling with its mission and scope. After explaining the website’s concept to Simson, I remember asking if he might suggest any overlooked songs worthy of celebration. Much later, I would learn the depth of Simson’s involvement in DC’s multi-faceted music scene over the last few decades, in the course of pulling together first one and then another long-form tribute to Silver Spring recording studio, Track Recorders. It’s probably a good thing that I waited until I had more experience under my belt before following up on Simson’s recommendation, though a part of me still needs to ask: What took me so long to examine the back story behind “Desiree” by The Left Banke?
For one thing, digitization efforts in recent years have increased access to music industry publications, such as Billboard and Cashbox, making it easier to piece together history from primary sources. Thanks to a tip from 45Cat contributor davie gordon, anyone with web access can read Claude Hall‘s original front page story from the September 2, 1967 edition of Billboard, “Long Sessions Required for ‘Serious’ Pop,” in which we learn that “the Left Banke just spent more than 30 hours in planning and producing their new single – ‘Desiree’ – for Mercury Records.”
“Desiree” The Left Banke 1967
“Charlie Fach, director of record product for the label,” notes Hall (who coined the term, easy listening), “thought this set a record for the firm, but considers the group ‘the most creative act in our corporate history.”
Given the considerable time and expense that went into this song, 45Cat contributor RecordDragon rightly asks, “Does a true stereo version of the A-side exist?” Sadly, that does not appear to be the case, at least judging from streaming audio available on YouTube, not to mention the LP label itself [see image further down the page].
Rear text of 45 picture sleeve:
“Putting it rather mildly, you are about to listen to a major achievement. The Left Banke (and this is the same Left Banke that gave you “Walk Away Renee” and “Pretty Ballerina“) has created a masterpiece. Dozens of hours in the recording studio have resulted in this, their greatest creation — “Desiree.” Since their first record, the avowed policy of the Banke has been that each successive record must be better than the last. A lofty goal, yes; but one that they definitely have reached. Much of the success lies with Michael Brown, who has quit performing with the group to devote his full energies to composing-producing-arranging for the Left Banke. The other reasons are Steve Martin, Rick Brand, Tom Finn, and George Cameron. Listen carefully. You’ll begin to wonder how they’ll outdo themselves the next time.”
Music historian (and member of St. Etienne) Bob Stanley, in his appreciation of the Left Banke’s recorded legacy for the 20 March 2015 edition of The Guardian, bitterly notes the group’s cleaving into two factions (“one of the most pointless and depressing scraps in pop history”) that resulted in the simultaneous release of two singles in 1967 [“Ivy Ivy” vs. “She May Call You Up Tonight“], both bearing the name, Left Banke. By the time Michael Brown had rejoined the group in late 1967, “the momentum was lost.” Futhermore —
The real tragedy of this was that the Left Banke then released arguably their greatest single, Desiree. Urgent strings played “Eleanor Rigby” line at double speed, a bassoon was used as percussive counterpoint. There was a booming brass bridge – or is it a first chorus? – of Wagnerian import before massed harmonies sang out the title. “Desiree” was a masterpiece; it dared radio not to play it, laughed at contemporaneous efforts like the Stones’ Satanic Majestiesand the Beatles’ lightweight “Hello Goodbye“, urged other groups to follow its lead, and then peaked at No 98 in November 1967.
Oh, dear: Label says, “Electronically re-recorded to simulate stereo”
Simson himself — in a Zero to 180 exclusive — provides additional historical context:
One of my band mates from my high school band, the Valhalla Chemists, was a member of Stories, a great early 70’s band that Mike Brown started with Ian Lloyd, my good friend, Steve Love and drummer Brian Madey (Brian and Steve were my rhythm section when I opened for Jethro Tull in 1971 [debut album released]). Their first record had a Beatlesque single, “I’m Coming Home” that did fair, but the follow up album had some amazing tracks on it and was not doing well so the label forced them to cover a big hit in England by Hot Chocolate called “Brother Louie” and it was a number 1 smash. Mike Brown hated it and left the band.
Mike then produced another version of ‘Desiree’ in 1976 (I think) with a group called Montage, and it was a pretty faithful version to the original Left Banke. The Banke played my High School in 1967 and did a great version of “A Day in the Life” in addition to their repertoire.
44 years after the song bubbled under the Top 100, “Desiree” would finally receive proper recognition when performed by The Left Banke, with NYU’s All University Choir, Drama Cantorum, on December 10, 2011 (thanks to Music Director, Ralph Affoumado, for uploading this video):
“Desiree” The Left Banke + NYU’s All University Choir, Drama Cantorum 2011
Pop Music Time Capsule
Excerpt from Billboard‘s Sept. 2, 1967 “Serious Pop” feature article
The talk of the industry is the amount of time spent in the studio — and the astronomical studio costs that have resulted — by the Beatles and the Beach Boys. But other long hours inside studio walls have been chalked up by such artists as Oscar Toney Jr., Aretha Franklin, The Youngbloods, Eric Burdon and the Animals, The Music Explosion, the Mothers of Invention, and Simon and Garfunkel, just to name a few …
The first Aretha Franklin hit — “I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You” — took almost three days of work in a Muscle Shoals, Ala., studio. Papa Don Schroeder, independent producer, said it took 23 hours in a studio to come up with “I’m Your Puppet” by James and Bobby Purify and 27 hours for “Shake a Tail Feather.” Felix Pappalardi, who produced an album by the Cream recently in New York for Atlantic Records, said it took six hours to do “Strange Brew,” a big British hit.
The reason that it is taking longer to produce records, according to MGM Records producer Tom Wilson is that the record business today is an “intensely creative business.” Songwriters are trying to say more and the producers and performers are trying to say more in their records. Any record by the Mothers of Invention takes two weeks to record and two weeks to edit, he said. And this occurs in spite of the fact that Frank Zappa, leader of the group, sometimes writes out a full script to an album, so the group knows exactly what it’s doing.
At the Monterey Pop Festival, Simon and Garfunkel said they’d been working 51 hours on their current single — “Fakin’ It.” At that point, they had not finished the record.
The Beatles freed everybody, Wilson said. “And many people don’t realize what fantastic musical growth there has been in a group like the Beach Boys. Motown product never stays the same, each new record is a little different, a little more sophisticated.”
Innovation is the key element. Bo Gentry and Richie Cordell taped the sound of a kettle drum backward to get a unique sound on their production of a recent Tommy James and the Shondells hit. And this is one of the reasons, Wilson felt, why Bob Crewe is such a great producer. “If he hears a bluebird flying by the window, he’ll stick a microphone out and record it and use it on a record if he likes the sound.”
Records are becoming more and more an art form, says Pappalardi, who has produced records by the Cream, the Youngbloods, the Vagrants and others. “There’s a great deal of thought put into a record before ever going into a studio, then you’re constantly fighting in the studio to reach your ideal. I try to get the absolutely best production every time and expect the B side to be as good as the A side. The time for throwing away the B side is past.” He said he already spent six hours in the studio with “Sparrow Tune” by Bo Grumpus and hasn’t finished the session yet.
While studio costs have gone up, because many groups do their experimenting in front of a mike, recording costs as a whole have not gone any higher than in previous years, said Wilson. The reason is that most of the music is made by a small group today; whereas in the old days a record company had to hire 30-35 musicians for a session.
1967: Year of the Guitar-Phonograph Combo
Just below the fold in that same September 2, 1967 issue of Billboard is an oddball item that almost escaped unnoticed: “Phono-Guitar Combo Hits.” Ray Brack reports:
“The hottest phonograph promotional gimmick to emerge with the 1968 lines is the offering of low-priced portable phonograph-guitar combinations. Three companies are making available this package, guitar and phonograph included, for about $100. Several other phonograph manufacturers have models with jacks capable of accepting amplified guitar input.”
What prompted this innovation is “the realization that the millions of guitar players in the U.S. do most of their learning by listening to records.”
I was delighted to learn that the father of a childhood friend from Cincinnati was once a professional musician, whose chosen instrument was the saxophone. Milton Ostrow, in fact, was captured in a live performance with Tony Pastor and His Orchestra, accompanied by Dolores Martel, in a “Snader Telescription” short film from 1951 entitled, “Your Red Wagon” — Ostrow is standing behind Pastor (far right), the lone member of the horn section playing baritone sax:
“Your Red Wagon” Tony Pastor & His Orchestra (feat. Milton Ostrow) 1951
WeirdWildRealm serves up a little history about Snader films, in general, and this one, in particular:
The Snader Telescriptions were filmed in black & white, but someone, Turner Broadcasting probably, colorized a [boat]load of them, including Your Red Wagon (1950) with Tony Pastore & His Orchestra.
Tony was a top sax man shown wearing black in the opening scene, sharing a sax duet with a bandmember. It’s his sideman playing the lead though, so that Tony can sing to the jazzy beat:
“If you wanna go crazy & act the clown/ Be the laughingstock all over town/ That’s your red wagon / That’s your red wagon / That’s your red wagon so just keep draggin’ your red red wagon around…”
Your Red Wagon quite a delightful & amusing number, with some call & response from the band. After Tony sings the second verse, Dolores Martel squeezes up close to the microphone & takes over the vocal for a few lines, then it’s back to Tony. Very nice.
Milton Ostrow with Tony Pastor (Behind, Right) & Dolores Martel (Ditto)
Several years earlier, Pastor had recorded this same song on top label, Columbia, in 1947 as the B-side of “Gonna Get a Girl” (a song that featured The Clooney Sisters – Rosemary & Betty – from the Greater Cincinnati area by way of Maysville, Kentucky). Zero to 180’s big question: Did Milton Ostrow play on this recording (which has not yet been uploaded on YouTube) or any other?
In the days of 78s, pretty much every song was a “fox trot” – right?
The 1940 Census (thanks to Ancestory.com) notes the following facts about the Ostrow family, who lived on Prospect Place in Cincinnati:
Head Isaac Ostrow 40
Wife Sophie Ostrow 40
Son Alfred 17
Son Milton 12
Milton served a stint in the Army (and The U.S. Army Band, it is believed), prior to his work with the Tony Pastor Orchestra.
Milton & Sandra Ostrow
Music would eventually give way to more traditional methods of generating an income, when marriage and family entered the picture. Covington, Kentucky served as the base of operations for A & M Furniture, a store jointly owned by brothers, Alfred and Milton, during the years 1961-1979, possibly 1980.
Billy Nicholls, staff writer for Andrew Loog Oldham’s Immediate Records, would pen three songs for Del Shannon‘s album, Home & Away, 11 tracks that were recorded in February of 1967 at London’s Olympic Studio but shelved until the release of 1978’s … And the Music Plays On, an LP released only in the UK and Australia. Here in the US, Liberty ended up releasing from these sessions (“the best album Marianne Faithfull never made,” according to the aforementionedRob Chapman) a total of just three tracks across a pair of 45s (“Led Along” b/w “I Can’t Be True” plus “Runaway ’67” b/w “He Cheated“) issued in 1967.
What a loss for radio in pop’s peak year of 1967, as today’s featured song “My Love Has Gone” somehow got overlooked by Immediate and Liberty as an obvious A-side:
“My Love Has Gone” Del Shannon 1967
Nicholls would join Shannon’s heavyweight backing band for these sessions, along with Steve Marriott, John Paul Jones, Nicky Hopkins, Andy White, Twice as Much, and Pat Cole “P.P.” Arnold, (who was featured last year by Zero to 180 on the cusp of her first ever Australian tour).
Discogs includes a catalog record for a single-sided 7-track acetate on which “My Love Is Gone” serves, fittingly, as the final track:
“One-sided, 7-song Demo Acetate test pressing for Del Shannon’s unreleased 1967 album Home & Away, recorded for Immediate in the UK with a stellar backing line-up (Billy Nicholls, etc.). This was likely Del Shannon’s personal copy because at the end of Track 3, “Cut And Come Again,” an engineer adds a joking voice-over “Hey, Del – you blew the words!,” which is missing on the later re-released versions of the album. This appears to be the only actual pressing of the album (actually, half the album) from when it was recorded in 1967. No label or trail-off markings, but acetate is clearly seven songs from Home & Away when listened to.”
Rumor has it this was the original LP cover
American fans finally got their chance to obtain Home & Away (whether or not they realized it), when all 11 songs ended up sandwiched in the sequencing (tracks 12-22) for 1991 compilation Del Shannon: The Liberty Years — with all recordings mixed in stereo and “mastered from the original 4- and 8-track master session tapes.” In 2012, Home & Away finally enjoyed a proper release on compact disc – though only in the UK – supplemented by mono singles mixes of five tracks.
Known to his mum as Charles Weedon Westover (born in Grand Rapids, Michigan), Del Shannon – as Discogs contributor RoryHoy would have you know – is “one of the most seriously underrated talents in Pop Music history.” And furthermore —
While most 1960’s boffins know his song “Runaway”, there’s a whole 30 years worth of amazing music from this man. With his incredible voice complete with trademark falsetto and of course his fantastic songwriting, what is there not to like with this guy. If you like Elvis, Buddy Holly, The Beatles etc — Del is much recommended!
“My Love Has Gone” (composed, not by Nicholls but rather, by Ross Watson, the songwriter’s sole contribution to pop music, possibly) – enjoyed a new lease on life in 2014, thanks to a 7-inch winner of a release by Miriam, i.e., Miriam Linna, founder – along with Billy Miller – of Norton Records, as well as the original drummer for The Cramps.
Miriam Speaks With Zero to 180:
“My Love Has Gone” 45
Miriam Linna was kind enough to chat with Zero to 180, who called to inquire the reason for choosing this particular song from Shannon’s Home and Away as the A-side of her debut 45 (not to mention kick-off track for 2014’s Nobody’s Baby), a recording session that began as a special offer to work with Sam Elwitt, Nutley Brass producer [who can ever forget his fun and imaginative arrangements of “Beat On the Brat” and other Ramones classics?], as well as musician.
Linna, who rates Shannon as the most “charismatic” performer in her estimation, identifies Shannon’s 1967 Home and Away sessions as one of her all-time favorite albums — a “complex” set of songs, in terms of composition, artistry, and production. Elwitt, who was hoping to evoke the sound of Hollywood’s legendary Gold Star studio (Pet Sounds, et al) with this project, invited Linna to choose the songs. Miriam’s husband, Billy Miller, was ill at the time she had selected “My Love Has Gone,” though Linna fully believed he would pull through. However, when Miller unexpectedly passed in 2016, the song suddenly took on an unintended poignancy.
“My Love Has Gone” Miriam Linna 2014
Linna, in fact, had listened to the Home and Away album two days prior to my phone call from start to finish — a moving experience. In terms of emotional directness to the listener through “the magic of records,” Shannon possesses a gift that brings to Linna’s mind one other artist — Bobby Jameson (featured by Zero to 180 in 2014). And the “common thread” linking these two artists, Linna points out, is the A&R visionary Andrew Loog Oldham, whose ability to “match songs with artists” was a big part of his genius.
Rhino Records co-founder and one-time Del Shannon manager, Dan Bourgoise, was immediately smitten by Linna and Elwitt’s rendition and urged her to cover “another Del Shannon song.” Miriam and Sam would collaborate on another Norton 45 the following year, this time breathing new life in “The Hand Don’t Fit the Glove,” a great UK 45 by Terry Reid (with Peter Jay’s Jaywalkers) from 1967. Both singles from 2014 and 2015 are still available at Norton’s website, along with lots of other cool vinyl.
Billy Nicholls Debut Album: Limited Issue Yields IMPRE$$IVE Auction Prices Decades Later
One year after the Del Shannon sessions, Immediate, sadly, “left in the can” Nicholls’s grand opus, Would You Believe, an album highly prized by collectors though essentially unreleased “save for a few promo copies” (according to The MOJO Collection). Note the four and five figures paid for a UK 1st edition mint condition — as high as £8,000 (i.e., over $11,000).
In 2017, Discogs contributor Grippo would remark on the artistic merits of Would You Believe – “the third most expensive record that’s ever been sold in the Discogs marketplace” – for a piece entitled Top 30 Most Expensive Records Sold in April Topped by Billy Nicholls (I happened to enjoy the tuba/banjo bit myself).
How tragically odd that not one but two LP-length responses to Pet Sounds from the same label would be kept under wraps for years before eventually finding acclaim.
[Note: Piece updated on February 15, 2019 – see special coda at the tail end]
Zero to 180 is intrigued to discover that today’s featured song is the sole composition attributed to Vic Coppersmith-Heaven [whose impressive audio engineering CV includes Cat Stevens, The Rolling Stones, Billy Preston, and even Stanley Kubrick] on Discogs. This entrancing and otherworldly (near) instrumental can only be found on the 1982 double LP anthology Music and Rhythm that features artists who performed in the first World of Music and Dance (WOMAD) festivals in the UK organized by Peter Gabriel, with help from heavy friends. For the 1980s college crowd, Music and Rhythm served as a gateway album of sorts into “Worldbeat” (i.e., music from outside Europe & the US).
The early-to-mid 1980s would find this idealistic, clueless college student in thrall to a cassette mix of The Jam‘s brilliant run of singles (compiled in chronological fashion by Tom Newbold), culminating in their double-A side masterwork “Going Underground” paired with “Dreams of Children.” The single-sentence summary blurb below from Wikipedia very much captures the extent of my knowledge at that time about the engineer/producer with the distinctive name:
Vic Coppersmith-Heaven (born Victor Smith in England) is an English sound engineer and record producer best known for his production work with The Jam.
Those of us who were initially surprised to see the producer behind The Jam’s finest 45 included in the track listing of Music and Rhythm wondered, therefore, to what degree his preceding work might have informed his musical sensibilities. As it turns out — not in the slightest:
“Pensgosekan” Vic Coppersmith-Heaven 1982
Preston Hayman: Percussion & Gamelan Vic Smith: Guitars & Gamelan Tony Levin: Bass Paddy Bush: Gengong Johnny Warman: Voice
Composed & produced by Vic Coppersmith-Heaven.
Recorded at Eel Pie Studios & The Manor – Spring 1982.
Engineered by Richard Manwaring & remixed at Crescent Studios. Note: “Pengosekan” fades into a short excerpt from The Ramayana Monkey Chant recorded by Vic Coppersmith-Heaven in Bali — February, 1982
Music and Rhythm‘s liner notes, for one thing, were a tip-off that something more “avant-pop” was afoot on this exclusive recording:
“Vic is best known as a record producer, and over the last five years he has been associated with some of Britain’s most contemporary and successful groups, notably The Jam.
Besides his production work, Vic spends much time pursuing his passion for Bali and its culture. He visits the country frequently, and has made many field recordings of music traditions in that region. In ‘Pengosekan’, especially recorded for this LP, he uses Balinese orchestral percussion — gamelan — instruments to embellish the rhythm track, and overlays this further with vocal improvisations derived from the Balinese Ketjak[or Kecak] or Monkey chant.
We would like to thank Vic for his enthusiasm and faith in this album project as a whole, and we are also indebted to the Indonesian Embassy, Mr. Suparmin and Mr. Abidin in particular, for their kind co-operation and loan of the gamelan instruments used on this track.
We would like to thank [Pete Townshend-owned] Eel Pie Studios for their kind co-operation in the recording of this track. We would also like to thank the Virgin Manor Studio, and Richard Branson in particular, for their kind donation of free time in completing this track; and for their first-class attention and co-operation on this project.”
UbuWeb helpfully elaborates on the history behind this ancient tradition, with this explanatory text that accompanies their streaming audio of a 20-minute field recording from Bali:
“Performed by more than 200 men seated in tight concentric circles around a small central space reserved for the chief protagonists,” the ketjak (loosely called “Monkey Chant”) was first recorded in Bali by David Lewiston and released by Nonesuch Records in 1969. As a spectacular and alternative performance mode, it has had a germinal influence on western performance and poetics since then.
David Lewiston’s original comments follow:
‘While the ketjak is a creation of this century, it is descended from something much more ancient — the trance dance, the dance of exorcism called sanghjang; its ancestry is clear. Ostensibly, the ketjak is a reenactment of the battle described in the Ramayana epic — in which the monkey hordes came to the aid of Prince Rama in his battle with the evil King Ravana — complete with a chorus imitating monkeys, as they chant the syllable tjak.
But as perceptive observers have noted, the ketjak is primarily a dance of exorcism. Its connection with the sanghjang remains unbroken. As pointed out by Walter Spies and Beryl de Zoete in Dance and Drama in Bali, “Most of the movements are exorcistic in origin and contribute together to produce a tremendous unity of mood … to drive out evil as by an incantation. The cries, the crowding, lifted hands, the devouring of single figures, the broken lines of melody bewildering to butas [demons], who can only move straight ahead, all enhance the exorcistic effect.”‘
Glenn Kotche at University of Maryland — sans crickets
Imagine Zero to 180’s surprise 20+ years later during 2009’s Bang on a Can Festival at University of Maryland’s Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center when [Wilco drummer] Glenn Kotche performed his own interpretation of the Balinese “Monkey Chant,” a composition that not only was included on 2006 solo album, Mobile. but also served as the subject of a 15-minute film by Brendan Canty of DC’s legendary Fugazi [and currently The Messthetics, with bassist Joe Lally and guitarist Anthony Pirog {also of Janel and Anthony}]:
Glenn Kotche – “Monkey Chant”: A Movie by Brendan Canty
In an exclusive exchange facilitated by the filmmaker himself (thank you, Brendan!), Glenn Kotche had this to say in response to Zero to 180’s basic query:
Q: Had you been aware of “Pengosekan” by Vic Coppersmith-Heaven prior to composing “Monkey Chant”?
A: I’m surprised, but I’ve never heard that song before – just heard it for the first time after getting this email! The crickets don’t surprise me though. I included those since all of the recordings that I based my version of the Monkey Chant (Ketjak) on, were recorded outdoors in Bali – so the insect sounds are prevalent and add a really nice atmosphere. Most of those recordings were from the Nonesuch Explorer Series btw. I assume Coppersmith-Heaven noticed that while experiencing it live or was inspired by similar recordings.
2006’s Mobile released on Nonesuch – is that ironic?
Coda: Who Is Walter Spies and Why Are We Talking About Him?
Zero to 180’s eyebrows went up upon receiving this email from Steve Feigenbaum of Cuneiform Records — Silver Spring-based independent label [last celebrated here] that released Janel and Anthony’s Where Is Home in 2012:
I own that Music and Rhythm album and it was a great revelation to me when I first got it when it was released in 1981 or so?
Really like it and really like Vic’s track.
The monkey chant was invented as a tourist kinda thing from ancient, borrowed elements of traditional culture by a German!
Steve’s Wikipedia link immediately brought me to a “Russian-born German primitivist painter” named Walter Spies, who is a “person of interest” in Michael B. Bakan‘s article published in the June, 2009 edition of Ethnomusicology Forum entitled “The Abduction of the Signifying Monkey Chant: Schizophrenic Transmogrifications of Balinese Kecak in Fellini’s Satyricon and the Coen Brothers’ Blood Simple,” a scholarly piece that “begins with a historical overview that situates kecak’s own history as a Balinese cultural phenomenon within broader frameworks of hybridity, schizophonic and appropriative processes, and international filmmaking, devoting special attention to the contributions of Walter Spies.”
Walter Spies with Ketut the Cockatoo and Ida Bagus, the Monkey c. 1935
Further sleuthing would reveal that — “according to the standard English leaflet text used by many groups all over Bali” (so says Kendra Stepputat in her research piece entitled, “The Genesis of a Dance-Genre: Walter Spies and the Kecak“) —
“Contrary to popular belief the Kecak dance is not particularly old. It was probably first performed in 1930, although the chorus had its origins in a very ancient ritual of the Sanghyang (trance) Dance, which is still performed sometimes in the village.”
“Kecak is one of the most popular dramatic dance forms performed for tourists on Bali. It has been developed cooperatively by Balinese artists and Western expatriates, most prominently I Wayan Limbak and Walter Spies, living on Bali in the 1930s, with the explicit purpose of meeting the tastes and expectations of a Western audience. Driven by economic considerations, in the late 1960s kecak was standardized into the kecak ramayana known today.”
Feigenbaum gets the last word:
That Music and Rhythm record holds up really well, I think. It never came out fully on CD. I still have my truncated CD AND the original vinyl.
I liked it because it cast a very wide net from The Specials to Peter Hammill!
My children’s violin instructor, Ken Giles, I was delighted to discover, had once been part of a contemporary folk ensemble that, as Stephen Holden of the New York Times noted, embraced “the left-wing populism of Pete Seeger,” as it also incorporated “comedy and theatrical horseplay” into its performances. Formed in 1978 and named for an old Appalachian hymn, Bright Morning Star (“a lively and engaging fixture in the peace and antinuclear movement,” according to The Washington Post‘s Richard Harrington) once toured with Odetta and Pete Seeger, having also previously shared the stage with Holly Near, Ronnie Gilbert, John Hall, and Gil Scott-Heron.
Photos courtesy of Ken Giles
Often appearing at rallies and public events that promoted peace and safe energy, Bright Morning Star — Charlie King, Court Dorsey, Cheryl Fox, George Fulginiti–Shakar, Marcia Taylor, Laura Kolb, and Giles — would travel with over two dozen instruments, including harmonica, guitar, autoharp, stand-up bass, electric bass, piano, drums, 5-string viola/violin, banjo, recorder, and various percussion. Kolb served a special role within the group as artistic interpreter for the deaf and hearing-impaired during live performance.
In the musical tradition of The Weavers and The Freedom Singers, the ensemble’s satirical sensibilities and “cabaret folk” approach hewed closer to Tom Lehrer, perhaps (Washington Post‘s Geoffrey Himes) or the San Franciso Mime Troupe (Boston Globe‘s Jeff McLaughlin). Nevertheless, Pete Seeger himself gave the group his seal of approval, having once asserted, “I’m so proud — this whole wonderful group Bright Morning Star – they’re doing just exactly what Woody Guthrie and I tried to do 40 years ago.”
Founding member Charlie King would tell The Boston Globe in 1988:
“What I think Pete meant is Woody and I got on the union bandwagon and the Henry Wallace bandwagon; we went out into the communities and brought people together; we gave energizing concerts and we sang about the issues. And we presented good music. Bright Morning Star is doing that 40 years later with different issues, certainly a different crowd, different generation, different songs. But there’s that continuity.”
Noting how the group leans toward celebration and humor rather than dark political commentary, King also shares this bit of wisdom gleaned from front-line experience:
“I think the political song at its worst says that things are really bad, probably hopeless, but at least you can feel self-righteous and get a cynical laugh during the last days of the empire. There are a lot of songs written in that vein, I’m sure I’ve written a few. But at its best, the political song builds a sense of possibility and humor.
I think political music records our history from the bottom up, from the grass roots, the stories of every day people; not just individuals, but also of popular struggles. Within that historical context, it seems to energize and reinforce people and movements. It pokes fun at the powerful, reminds us that the emperor is naked. I’ve always liked the quote – I’m not sure of the source, but I got it from Dorothy Day – that it comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable.”
The group’s three long-playing releases include two for Rainbow Snake Records — Arisin’ in 1981 (which includes women trucker anthem “Truck Drivin’ Woman”) and Live in the US in 1984 — plus one for noted Chicago blues & country indie label, Flying Fish, 1988’s Sweet and Sour. Rob Okun would pen a mission statement for the group’s debut album:
“They pollinate the grass roots. They bang away at the walls of indifference. They celebrate humanity.
The six members of Bright Morning Star do a better job educating people to what’s right and what’s wrong on this crazy planet than a half dozen politicians, teachers, or preachers.
They take their music to big city auditoriums and down-home coffee houses, to college towns and union halls, to demonstrations and celebrations. They put melodies to our brightest visions and lyrics to our darkest mornings. On stage, and on this record, they lead odysseys into the worlds of personal and social change. And they do it all with lightness, laughter, and love.”
Image of ‘Man with tricycle’ by Karl Valentin – University of Cologne
Steve Snyder’s “They Ought to Put It On the Radio” from Sweet and Sour prods the nation’s news media to rely less on sensationalism and, instead, report on a broader (and healthier) array of human activity, so as to foster a more compassionate world in which all human life is valued:
[Psst: Click on triangle for “They Ought To Put It On the Radio” by Bright Morning Star]
A retired music teacher with DC Public Schools and a violin teacher with the DC Youth Orchestra Program, whose 35 years of working for health and safety programs was inspired by the social activism spirit of the 1960s, Ken Giles also enjoys singing with the DC Labor Chorus.
Photo courtesy of Brandon Wu Photography
