Valentine’s Day is a tricky occasion for many of us to have live through. Whether you’re ‘in a relationship’, ‘happily single’ or ‘it’s really complicated, seriously I couldn’t explain to you what’s going on between us if I had a million years’ everyone wants to know what you’re doing for Valentine’s Day.

Are you going to waste £10 of you’re hard-earned, or not really that hard-earned in my case since I work in media and stare at a screen for the majority of my day, money to see a truly, god-awful chick flick and receive a present that you honestly can find no use for.

It’s fine if you like that kind of thing but for the cynical folk like me another second of this mindless lovefest cannot be tolerated. In the spirit of all things cynical I have whipped up a 15 track mixtape that features anti-love songs about heartbreak, cheating, lying and a whole lotta crying. That should stop you feeling lovesick.

Tracklisting:
1. February 14th- Huggy Bear
2. Beat Your Heart Out- The Distillers
3. No- Vivian Girls
4. Only Loved at Night- The Raincoats
5. I Love You Eddie- The Crystals
6. Single Again- The Fiery Furnaces
7. Love und Romance- The Slits
8. This Isn’t It- Giant Drag
9. I’m Blue- Shangri-Las
10. Don’t Wanna Hold Your Hand- thee headcoatees
11. A Real Man- Sleater-Kinney
12. Legs- PJ Harvey
13. I Don’t Wanna Be Friends With You- Shop Assistants
14. Cheated Hearts- Yeah Yeah Yeahs
15 Girlfriends Don’t Keep- Bratmobile

I know that Mr.Spector isn’t exactly the posterchild for clean living- but his personal life has nothing to do with you or I. He has produced so many records from the likes of The Ronnettes to the Ramones. His songs are still being covered to this very day. What he created also influenced one of the greatest records of all time; Back To Black by Amy Winehouse. I don’t go out of my way to purposely find new muisc. A lot of the time, I listen to stuff that was made decades before I was born. It’s frustrating because nothing will ever be as amazing as that again. Music now will never have that power. It’s a shame, and it always makes me believe I was born in the wrong era. Imagine hearing songs by The Crystals or The Girlfriends for the very first time- as it was happening.

So, this week’s mix is going to be my favourite tracks that Phil Spector produced. Songs that still cover me in goose bumps when I listen them now. Songs that I will search for eternity to find on vinyl because I know they will sound so much better; and will have that vulnerable feel to it that sounds so much more intense and painful accompanied with the crackling background noise.

These are the songs that define Phil Spector’s career and the era of the Wall Of Sound. Enjoy :

“Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” by [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Darlene Love[/lastfm] first appeared on A Christmas Gift to You, a compilation album produced by [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Phil Spector[/lastfm] and featuring several artists from his stable: [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]the Crystals[/lastfm] (which Love fronted), [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Bobb B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans[/lastfm], and [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]the Ronettes[/lastfm]. And in fact, Ronnie Bennett (later [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Ronnie Spector[/lastfm]) was supposed to sing “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” but she couldn’t bring it home the way Phil wanted it, so Love was brought into sing it. And did she ever.

Since 1986, Love has appeared on David Letterman’s last show before Christmas each year to perform it. There are lots of those performances available at YouTube, but we’re posting the 1963 original here, featuring the Spector Wall of Sound, played by musicians including [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Leon Russell[/lastfm], [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Sonny Bono[/lastfm], [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Hal Blaine[/lastfm], and [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Tommy Tedesco[/lastfm]. Love’s performance is charged with desperation — not an emotion much associated with Christmas apart from 12-year-olds who want an Xbox.

Be warned: versions by other artists are superfluous. This is the only one anyone needs, and it will be for all time.

Experience more Rock Flashbacks.

Short one but I had to post this mixtape since I’ve posted a Christmas mixtape every year on Don’t Dance Her Down Boys and I’m a sucker for tradition.

So here it is, Christmas. It exists. Deal with it.

Tracklisting:
1. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer- The Crystals
2. Christmas is Cancelled- The Long Blondes
3. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)- Darlene Love
4. Christmas Wrapping- Summer Camp (Waitresses Cover)
5. December Will Be Magic Again- Kate Bush
6. Santa Claus- Throwing Muses
7. All I Want for Christmas- Yeah Yeah Yeahs
8. Just for Now- Imogen Heap
9. Home Sweet Home (at Christmas)- Viv Albertine
10. Black Christmas- Poly Styrene

Los Angeles

Sting

- Nov. 30. (Wed.)  Sting. One of the iconic masters of popular song makes a rare Southland appearance as part of his extended, “Back To Bass” tour.   The  Wiltern.     (877) 686-5366.

- Nov. 30. (Wed.)   The Ron McCurdy Collective.  Trumpeter/educator McCurdy blends his soaring trumpet sounds with the lush harmonies of the four-voice Collective.  Catalina Bar *& Grill.  (323) 466-2210.

- Nov. 30 – Dec. 4. (Wed. – Sun.)  The Blue Man Group.  The blue-skinned, multi-media specialists blend comedy, music, technology into an evening of sheer audio-visual excitement.  Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza.   (805) 449-2787.

- Dec. 1. (Thurs.)  Chris Walden Quintet.  Arranger/composer/conductor/trumpeter Walden, a true musical multi-hyphenate, takes a break from his large ensemble chores to lead a quintet of stellar L.A. players: featuring saxophonist Rob Lockhart, pianist Josh Nelson and bassist Pat Senatore. Vibrato Grill Jazz…etc.  (310) 474-9400.

- Dec. 1 – 4. (Thurs. – Sun.)  The Mike Stern Band.  Always an exciting, compelling player in his own right, guitarist Stern takes it up to an even higher level when he’s working – as he is here – in the company of players such as drummer Dave Weckl, bassist Richard Bona and saxophonist Bob Franceschini.  Catalina Bar & Grill.  (323) 466-2210.

Mike Melvoin

- Dec. 2. (Fri.).  A Celebration of 50 Years of the Music of Mike Melvoin. A much deserved tribute to pianist/composer/activist Melvoin – a vital figure in the jazz and music world and a supporter of aid for musicians and entertainers for decades.  Participants include pianist Mike Lang, singer David Basse, saxophonist Pete Christlieb, bassist Jim Hughart, drummer Ralph Penland and more. Culvers Club For Jazz.  6161 W. Centinela Ave.  Inside the Double Tree Hotel.  Presented by In-House Music.

- Dec. 2 (Fri.)  The Shanghai Quartet.  Together since the mid-‘80s, the highly praised Chinese string quartet performs the Mozart Quartet No. 17 (“The Hunt”) and Schubert’s Quartet No. 15 in the beautifully atmospheric setting of the Doheny Mansion.  A Da Camera Society “Chamber Music in Historic Sites” program.    (213) 477-2929.

- Dec. 2 (Fri.)  “Holiday Doo-Wop.”  An evening of sheer doo-wop nostalgia, featuring The Crystals, Johnny Tillotson, Kenny Vance & the Pianotones, and Cleve Duncan (from the Penguins).  Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts.   (562) 916-8501.

- Dec. 3. (Sat.) Holiday Wonders: Festival of Carols.  The Los Angeles Master Chorale.  Disney Hall.  It’s one of the great holiday musical blessings – a program of favorite Christmas carols, performed by one of the world’s finest vocal ensembles.  Disney Hall.    (323) 850-2000.

Jane Birkin

- Dec. 3. (Sat.)  “An Evening With Jane Birkin.”  The image of ‘60s mod style, singer/actress Jane Birkin had a long, passionate, professional and personal relationship with iconic French singer Serge Gainsbourg. Her performance recalls the drama of their connection and the impact it had upon the ‘60s and ‘70s.   Luckman Fine Arts Complex.   (323) 343-6600.

San Francisco

- Dec. 1 – 4.  (Thurs. – Sun.)  The Eddie Palmieri Salsa Orchestra.  The rhythms will be provocative, and there’ll be a great desire to get up and salsa.  But Latin jazz great Palmieri also adds an irresistible seasoning of jazz to almost everything he plays.  Yoshi’s San Francisco.

Chicago

Benny Green

- Dec. 1 – 4 (Thurs. – Sun.)  Benny Green Trio. Pianist Green has been carrying the banner for straight ahead, bebop-driven jazz in his dynamic playing since he was an emerging jazz star in the ‘80s.  And he’s still at it.   Jazz Showcase.   (312) 360-0234.

New York

- Dec. 1. (Thurs.) Shane Endsley and the Music Band.  Versatile trumpeter Endsley was a founder of the Grammy nominated band, Kneebody.  But his colorful resume includes gigs reaching from Ani DiFranco and Pearl Jam to Steve Coleman and Slavic Soul Party.  For this gig, he leads a group that includes pianist Uri Caine, bassist Harish Raghavan and drummer Justin Brown. Cornelia St. Café.   (212) 989-9319.

SPECIAL EVENT

- Dec. 1. (Thurs.)  Jackson Browne.  Veteran rock singer/songwriter Browne takes up the cause of Occupy Wall St. with a live performance in Zuccotti Park at 1 p.m.  Also on the program — the California band Dawes.  Zuccotti Park at Liberty Plaza between 6th Ave. & Broadway.  Backpacks, camping gear and large bags are reportedly not permitted. 

- Dec. 1 – 4. (Thurs. – Sun.)  “Tango Meets Jazz Festival.”  For the 11^th year in a row, the Festival explores the surprisingly compatible common ground between tango and jazz.  This time out, the featured performers are nuevo tango master Pablo Ziegler with his quartet, jazz vibraphonist Joe Locke and jazz violinist Regina Carter.  The Jazz Standard.    (212) 576-2232.

- Dec. 2 & 3.  (Fri. & Sat.)  Tudo Isto E Fado (“All This Is Fado”). Like American blues, Argentine tango and Brazilian samba, the fado is deeply rooted in the emotional expressiveness of its native culture.  Here, in two extraordinary nights of music, every aspect of fado – from  historical to contemporary – is on full display.  Performers include: On Fri.: Lisboa Soul and Camane.  On Sat.: Deolinda and Amalia Hoje.   The Gilman Opera House at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.    (718) 636-4100.

- Dec. 4. (Sun.)  Bobby Avey Quartet. Winner of the Thelonious Monk Competition for Composition in 2011, pianist Avey is a certified emerging jazz star.  His impressive group includes MacArthur “genius” award winner, Miguel Zenon on saxophone, bassist Thomson Kneeland and drummer Marcus Gilmore. Cornelia St. Café.    (212) 989-9319.

Berlin

Jeff Lorber

- Dec. 2 (Fri.)  Jeff Lorber Fusion.  Keyboardist Lorber’s original fusion band virtually defined the crossover styles that led to contemporary groove jazz, smooth jazz and more.  But Lorber’s music – past and present – has also always simmered with swinging jazz authenticity.  Expect the same, from a group that includes saxophonist Eric Marienthal, bassist Jimmy Haslip and drummer Gary Novak.  A-Trane.    030 / 313 25 50.

Tokyo

- Dec. 1 – 4. (Thurs. – Sun.)  David Sanborn.  Not only does alto saxophonist Sanborn have one of the most unique sounds in jazz, he also has one of the most influential.  Transforming the blues styles of Hank Crawford and David “Fathead” Newman, he’s been among the most imitated saxophonists of the past four decades.  The Blue Note Tokyo.   03-5485-0088.

On Nov. 22, 1963, the same day that President Kennedy was assassinated, A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records was released. Phil Spector and Lester Sill started Philles Records in 1961. The label focused mostly on producing and releasing 45 r.p.m. singles. Their Christmas album was one of only twelve albums released on the label.

The LP has four of Philles’ recording artists (Darlene Love, The Ronettes, The Crystals, and Bob B. Soxx and The Blue Jeans) singing secular Christmas standards (i.e., “White Christmas,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”). The songs were produced with Spector’s famous “Wall of Sound” — a monaural (mono) recording technique that used large groups of musicians to create densely layered sound. It made Spector’s recordings sound fantastic on single-speaker AM radios and jukeboxes. Incidentally, Leon Russell was one of the pianists on the album and Sonny Bono played percussion.

The only original song on the LP was “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” written by Spector, Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry. The 2:45 recording features Darlene Love on lead vocals and she sings with the full force of heartfelt emotion. The song was released as a single, but was a flop on the charts. In fact, the entire album was considered a failure.

Today, most of the 13 songs on the album are thought to be classics. Cover versions of the originals have been performed by Bruce Springsteen, U2 and Destiny’s Child with minor variations to the arrangements. The album has been re-released over the years and even re-titled as A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector.

In today’s world of endless and obligatory rock ‘n’ roll Christmas albums, A Christmas Gift for You is the standard by which all are judged.

Side note: A Christmastime performance of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” by Darlene Love has become an annual tradition on The Late Show with David Letterman.
http://youtu.be/UV8x7H3DD8Y

Whoa-oh, a-whoa-oh-oh-oh!

Think of The Ronettes’ wail, every bit as iconic a cry as a-whop-bop-a-loo-a-whop-bam-boom.  Doesn’t rock and roll have a way of elevating onomatopoeia to poetry?  And no label made sweeter poetry in the first half of the 1960s than Philles Records.  The voices of Ronnie Spector, Darlene Love, La La Brooks, Barbara Alston and the rest spoke directly to America’s teenagers.  These women, alternately vulnerable and defiant, were little more than girls when they began putting their voices to the “little symphonies” being crafted by producer Phil Spector and his house arrangers, most notably Jack Nitzsche.  Tom Wolfe once famously deemed Spector “America’s first teen-age tycoon.”  Why?  Spector recognized the paradigm shift in the late 1950s, when teenagers began accruing disposable income and exercising newfound spending power.  He tapped into uncharted territory.  Cole Porter and Irving Berlin weren’t writing songs about teenagers.  Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil were.  Like Spector, they were barely out of their teen years themselves.  The songs they created at Philles remain both of a distinct time, and timeless.  It’s those songs that are celebrated on Legacy Recordings’ 7-CD box set The Philles Album Collection (Phil Spector Records/Legacy 88697 92782-2).

So why an album collection, when the producer famously derided albums in favor of singles?  These albums do little to dissuade the notion that Spector was a great, perhaps the great, singles producer.  He reportedly paid little attention to the long-players bearing his imprint.  But if an album is viewed as a collection of great songs, it’s impossible to argue with the success of these platters.  There’s little doubt, too, that the producer’s ethos was on-the-money, viewed from the present music climate which has shifted back to an emphasis on singles.  The Philles Album Collection marks the very first time that any of its six albums have been released on CD in their original configurations, and for that alone, it would be noteworthy.  Each album is housed in an attractive, sturdy mini-LP jacket.  Its seventh disc is even more exotic, though: a bonus disc of offbeat, B-side instrumentals that accompanied some of these songs for single release.  Spector took the art of recycling tracks, album-to-album, to a new level; there’s frequent repetition among these discs that doesn’t make for ideal consecutive listening and may be frustrating for some.  But Spector and co. could have had little idea that, nearly fifty years later, listeners would be revisiting these long-players in one sitting.

Phil Spector was still producing outside artists when he launched Philles with Lester Sill; in 1962 he produced the hit “Second Hand Love” for Connie Francis at MGM after a string of hit recordings for Gene Pitney, Ray Peterson, Curtis Lee, the Paris Sisters and other notables.  The Philles Album Collection begins, appropriately enough, with the girl group that graced the label’s first album and single, The Crystals, led by Barbara Alston.

Hit the jump, and it’s 1962!   You’ve just put The Crystals Twist Uptown onto your new turntable!

From New York to Los Angeles: Building a Wall of Sound

The Crystals Twist Uptown (PHLP-4000, 1962) is distinguished mostly by the presence of unsung arranger Arnold Goland, Spector’s most consistent collaborator prior to Jack Nitzsche.  New York’s Mira Sound was the studio for these early recordings, with a sonic signature far less dramatic than Los Angeles’ Gold Star.  It’s clear on these tracks that the producer and arranger were still finding a “sound,” but one bona fide classic arrived right out of the gate: Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil’s “Uptown,” a definitive mini-movie, or melodrama.  Their Brill Building comrade Doc Pomus co-wrote “Another Country, Another World” with Spector himself.  The song has remnants of the Atlantic uptown soul sound which Spector would have learned from Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller: those shimmering, swirling strings, the Burt Bacharach-esque “La la la”s.  The Crystals split up lead vocal duties; Patsy Wright handled “Oh Yeah, Maybe Baby,” and it’s La La Brooks on “Frankenstein Twist,” which contrary to the lyrics, won’t make you fall into a trance.  It’s not particularly ghoulish, but it’s the track that nominally gave the LP its twisting title.  A cover of Carla Thomas’ “Gee Whiz” also has La La on lead and “Twist” parenthetically appended to its name, but I defy you to attempt to dance to it!

Carole King and Gerry Goffin’s “Please Hurt Me” is musically a 1950s leftover, and lyrically of the masochistic variety (“If you’ve gotta hurt somebody/Please hurt me/And if I have to be your plaything/That’s what I’ll be”).  It predates “He Hit Me (It Felt Like A Kiss)” which explores a variation on the same unsettling theme.  The most fascinating track on Twist Uptown is Mann and Weil’s “On Broadway” in its original version, before the songsmiths joined with Leiber and Stoller to give it a makeover, both in the lyric and arrangement departments.  “What a Nice Way to Turn Seventeen” explicitly addresses the album’s target audience, and “No One Ever Tells You” is another study in teenage angst and melancholy.  Despite the lack of a concept for the LP, its songs of a piece (“No one ever tells you of love/And how it can make you cry/No one ever tells you/How your heart can break/When someone that you love tells you goodbye”).

The seismic shift came with the title song of The Crystals’ next LP, He’s a Rebel (PHLP-4001, 1963).  New York gave way to Hollywood, and Arnold Goland to Jack Nitzsche.  “Rebel” crystallized the so-called Wall of Sound.  Ingredients at various times include thunderous echo, stacked layers of choral vocals, percussion, a soulful yet sophisticated rhythm section, a swath of strings and a honking saxophone, with multiples of instruments playing in unison.  La La Brooks recently recalled a comment made by Jack Nitzsche: “If it wasn’t for me, there’d be no Phil.”  One could say the same thing about the musicians of the Wrecking Crew.  There’s not enough room here to list them all, but let’s recognize Hal Blaine, Glen Campbell, Steve Douglas, Carol Kaye, Barney Kessel, Larry Knechtel, Bill Pitman, Ray Pohlman, Leon Russell, Tommy Tedesco and Nino Tempo, consummate musicians all.

The LP itself is essentially a retread of The Crystals’ debut platter, with nine of the original eleven songs retained. “Please Hurt Me” has given way to an even harsher song in the same vein by the same Goffin/King team, the infamous “He Hit Me (It Felt Like a Kiss).”  It was recorded at Mira Sound with a Spector/Goland chart just a couple months after “Please Hurt Me” in 1962.  Spector pulled the song as a single, realizing that the lyrics would prove controversial on AM radio.  Gerry Goffin agreed with the decision, admitting his lyrics were “a little too radical” for the time.  The song’s chilling depiction of abuse is a powerful one, but the singles audience of 1962 wasn’t ready for a song, sung in character, that could have emerged from a dark musical.  There’s nothing “pop” about it.

The Carla Thomas cover “Gee Whiz” has also disappeared.  “He’s a Rebel” and the ebullient “He’s Sure the Boy I Love” (both sung by Darlene Love and the Blossoms though credited to The Crystals) provide the album with crucial jolts of energy.  Though separated by mere months, the Gold Star tracks heralded a pivotal new sound.  Steve Douglas’ honking saxophone on “He’s a Rebel” could have signaled the change.

The Crystals ceded to Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans for Philles’ third LP release, Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah (PHLP-4002).  Darlene Love took the spotlight from the lead singer of the group, Bobby Sheen (who supplies the out-front vocal on “Let the Good Times Roll”) as Spector continued to craft his perfect formula.  This album is one of the box set’s greatest revelations, with a number of new-to-CD tracks.  Jackie DeShannon is represented with two early songs, the groovy “Jimmy Baby” and “I Shook the World,” with its cool organ part.  The Sheen-led songs are particularly discoveries for those only familiar with the Bob B. Soxx recordings sung by the versatile Love. The exciting “Dear (Here Comes My Baby)” is a lost gem with Sheen in the lead, as is the atypical blues “Everything’s Gonna Be All Right” which he effectively drawls. (Another track from these sessions, “Do the Walk,” also featured Sheen on lead.  It, however, wasn’t released until 1981 on a Philles anthology.)  Bobby might have been usurped by Darlene on many of these tracks, but he in turn, replaced Billy Storm of the Alley Cats for their classic “Puddin n’ Tain” (heard on Today’s Hits, also in the box.)

It’s remarkable that Darlene Love never saw a solo LP on the Philles label, so volcanic are her contributions here.  The men back her up with the onomatopoeic sounds on “Why Do Lovers Break Each Others Hearts” while she’s slow-burning on “My Heart Beat a Little Faster.”  Spector clearly liked the title of a very different “Baby (I Love You),” a solo composition of his, and also must have had a fondness for “The White Cliffs of Dover” which he recorded here and later famously covered with the Righteous Brothers.  Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land,” with its light guitar strumming and piano tinkling, seems an odd inclusion, as if it wandered in from another album altogether.  The same goes for the song that rounds out the original LP, the instrumental “Dr. Kaplan’s Office,” with its “Sea Cruise” feel and some wild crowing!  (It’s repeated on the bonus disc here.)

Tomorrow’s Sound Today: The Greatest Hits

Of its twelve songs, The Crystals Sing the Greatest Hits Vol. 1 (PHLP-4003) was built around seven repeats and five new songs.  Four were cover versions, and one was the titanic “Da Doo Ron Ron.”  After the mercurial Spector deemed Darlene Love’s take unsatisfactory, he dispatched La La Brooks from New York out to Gold Star, where she made perfect sense of Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry’s nonsensical lyric.  The Crystals fare well on The Chantels’ “Look in My Eyes,” enhanced with sweet vocals and a Spector/Goland arrangement somewhat reminiscent of Etta James’ “At Last.”  The other covers, however, were actually performed by the Ronettes, who had yet to release anything of their own on Philles!  These songs lack the flavor or distinction of the original songs being churned out by Spector’s stable of songwriters.  The all-but-unknown “Hot Pastrami” is vocal equivalent of a B-side as Ronnie Spector exclaims, “Hot Pastrami, yeah” and “Phil Spector, yeah” to an enthusiastic response of “yeah” by the boys in the background!

When it comes to Philles Records Presents Today’s Hits (PHLP-4004), the compilation LP reprised here in CD form, apologies must be extended to the long-running series of the same name.  Now this is what I call music!  For the first time, Philles released an LP that was “all killer, no filler.”  It featured the Crystals’ and Ronettes’ then-current A-sides, although as per Philles tradition, there are more repeats, such as “Da Doo Ron Ron,” “Oh Yeah Maybe Baby,” ”Zip A Dee Doo Dah,” “Why Do Lovers Break Each Others Hearts” and “My Heart Beat a Little Faster,” now credited to Darlene Love solo.  But Today’s Hits marked the first album appearance of The Crystals’ classic “Then He Kissed Me” (again, a La La Brooks lead) and The Ronettes’ immortal “Be My Baby” which remains the often-imitated, never-topped high watermark of the Wall of Sound, not to mention Brian Wilson’s favorite song!

Be My Baby: Presenting The Fabulous Ronettes

Where to go from there?  The final album included in the box set, Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica (PHLP-4006) is the most cohesive album in the collection, with the repeated cuts kept to a minimum.  It’s hard to top the opener of “Walking in the Rain” by Spector, Mann and Weil, but the producer’s latest favorite team of (Pete) Anders and (Vini) Poncia were able to follow in their big footsteps.  “Do I Love You” is as driving and danceable as anything that came out of the Motown hit factory; just try to keep those hands from clapping!  From the same duo came “(The Best Part of) Breakin’ Up,” again proving that the new team could compete with the other greats Spector poached from the Brill Building and its environs.  Greenwich and Barry’s “Baby I Love You” appears here, and epitomizes the joy that’s over practically every track of this album, even the melancholy ones.  Put simply, it’s the sound of young love as epitomized by Ronnie Spector (then Veronica Bennett), Estelle Bennett and Nedra Talley.

“So Young” is a throwback, with one of Ronnie Spector’s most aching vocals.  Originally recorded by The Students, it was one of her favorite songs and also appeared on a quickly-deleted single bearing the Phil Spector Records imprint, not Philles.  The quirky “How Does It Feel” boasts a fast tempo, insistent percussion and some big-band style horn flourishes – and then there’s another familiar tune, like “On Broadway” from the earlier LP, in a largely unfamiliar version.  This time it’s the original, pre-Dixie Cups “Chapel of Love.”  This track shows that the First Tycoon of Teen didn’t hit it out of the ballpark every time!  It took Spector’s old mentors Leiber and Stoller, at their own Red Bird label, to give Greenwich, Barry and Spector’s song the success it deserved.

Joining these six LPs is a seventh CD entitled Phil’s Flipsides.  The seventeen instrumentals on this disc are hardly classics, but the collection fills in a gaping hole in the Spector discography.  These are the tracks recorded by Spector to outwit disc jockeys who might have been inclined to flip over his intended A-side.  His solution was, quite simply, to record tracks with little to no commercial appeal.  On these largely improvised short jams, Spector name-checked his first wife, his analyst, Sonny Bono, engineer supreme Larry Levine and the personnel of the Wrecking Crew, among others.  Spector didn’t exclusively use instrumentals as B-sides (see Darlene Love’s “Take It From Me” on the flip of Philles 114 or Ronnie Spector’s “Blues for Baby” on Philles 126) but the practice was quite frequent.  “Dr. Kaplan’s Office,” the only one of these tracks to make an LP appearance, is the only track that bears the true Wall of Sound style, not coincidentally because it bears Jack Nitzsche’s name as arranger.  It began life as the backing track to Goffin and King’s “You Can’t Sit Still,” which sits in the vaults with a Darlene Love vocal performance!

If not the Wall of Sound, then what?  You’ll hear boogie-woogie piano and some very loose vocal wailing on “Annette” (Spector’s first wife) and dinner party jazz on “Tedesco and Pitman,” a.k.a. Tommy and Bill.  The jazzy “Nino and Sonny (Big Trouble)” also features vocal interjections alongside its sax, guitar and piano. Its bebop sound nothing like anything else Spector ever recorded, but the level of the playing by the versatile Wrecking Crew on this track and “Miss Joan and Mister Sam” is unassailable.  Miss Joan was Spector’s secretary, while Mister Sam might be Nino Tempo’s father or Spector’s own uncle.  “Harry and Milt Meet Hal B” name-checks Hal Blaine, the anchor of the group, and “Chubby Danny D” (Philles’ promotion man) is set apart by a frenetic drum solo.  “Torpedo Rock (Surfing Corrido)” employs brass from somewhere around Tijuana, but not much surf or rock.  It actually wasn’t a B-side but rather an instrumental that didn’t see release until 1976.

Playing for Keeps: Truly Essential

Expertly produced by Rob Santos and copiously annotated by Mick Patrick, The Philles Album Collection belongs on the shelf of anyone with more than a passing interest in American pop music.  (Patrick’s notes consist of a terrific essay plus track-by-track commentary on the bonus disc.)  The only remaining commercial LPs released on the Philles label are A Christmas Gift to You From Phil Spector (representing catalogue number 4005 and already reissued on CD by Legacy), three Righteous Brothers collections now controlled by Universal (You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’, Just Once in My Life and Back to Back, numbers 4007, 4008 and 4009, respectively), a Lenny Bruce LP (4010) and Ike and Tina Turner’s River Deep Mountain High (4011) which never saw U.S. release in this format. (Some mono records were pressed, but this release never made it to the cover printing stage. The track listing was released in the U.K. on the London label and later in America on A&M with one alteration.) River Deep Mountain High has already been reissued earlier this year courtesy Hip-o Select. (For label completists, a 1972 radio promo compilation entitled The Phil Spector Spectacular apparently exists as Philles 100, compiling old material.)

Vic Anesini has remastered the entire collection, and the songs sound better than ever.  Anesini did the same for the other Philles release which has just arrived from Legacy, The Essential Phil Spector (Phil Spector Records/Legacy 88697 86422-2).  This 2-CD, 35-track anthology features all of the hits you know and love from every group mentioned above.  It begins with Spector’s pre-Philles period, and continues through 1969’s “Black Pearl” by Sonny Charles and the Checkmates, Ltd.  All that’s missing, to nobody’s surprise, are the tracks Spector produced for The Beatles (individually and collectively) and late-period productions for artists like Leonard Cohen and the Ramones.  Each track on The Essential Phil Spector has already been released on ABKCO’s now out-of-print Back to Mono box set (7118-2, 1991), but those familiar with that box will note the superior sound on The Essential brings more clarity to these mono singles.  (Back to Mono contains 60 tracks on its first three compact discs, with the fourth dedicated to Christmas Gift.)

What could still be forthcoming from Legacy and Phil Spector Records?  A rarities collection (rounding up both unreleased material and the odds and ends that trickled out on the Phil Spector International LPs of the 1970s) must be high on every wish list, as well as a collection of this famously mono material in stereo.  Most of all, a Complete Singles collection would be a truly definitive document of the Philles and Spector legacies, including all of the sides helmed by other producers like Lester Sill, Lou Adler, Jeff Barry, and Bob Crewe.

In the meantime, though, The Philles Album Collection is a striking reminder of when all was right in the world, even for just three minutes at a time.

Various Artists, Phil Spector Presents The Philles Album Collection (Phil Spector Records/Legacy)

Six of the first seven Philles albums presented in mono, along with a bonus disc of those delightfully out-there instrumental B-sides. Seriously, have you heard any of them? They’re crazy. In a good way, that is.

Diana Ross & The Supremes, The 50th Anniversary Collection 1961-1969 / The Temptations, The 50th Anniversary Collection 1961-1971 (Hip-o Select/Motown)

Two new triple-disc sets capture two of Motown’s greatest groups at their peak, with every A- and B-side from the listed periods contained therein.

Paul Simon, One Trick Pony / Hearts and Bones / Graceland / The Rhythm of the Saints / Songwriter (Legacy)

The first four are the 2004 Rhino reissues in jewel cases instead of digipaks (although Graceland is re-remastered), the last is a two-disc compilation handpicked by Simon himself with a big thick booklet for your persual. (Have you read Joe’s great review? You really should.)

Pearl Jam, Pearl Jam 20 (Sony Music Video)

Cameron Crowe’s celebratory documentary, now available for home viewing.

Various Artists, The Bridge School Concerts: 25th Anniversary Edition (Reprise)

Two new sets – a 3-disc DVD box and a double-disc CD set – capture 25 years of one of the best known (and, let’s face it, best) benefit concert series of all time. Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, Bob Dylan, The Who, Simon and Garfunkel, Paul McCartney, Sonic Youth and a host of other rock luminaries appear.

Howlin’ Wolf, Smokestack Lightnin’: The Complete Chess Masters 1951-1960 (Hip-o Select/Chess)

Four CDs of vintage blues goodness from The Wolf – including some tracks making their Stateside debut.

Mumford & Sons, Sigh No More: Deluxe Edition (Glassnote)

The great British roots-rockers’ major label debut, expanded with a bonus track, a live disc and a DVD documentary.

The Monkees, Head (Rhino)

A shiny new vinyl reissue of the cult classic album.

The Mamas and The Papas, If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears / Strawberry Alarm Clock, Incense and Peppermints (Sundazed)

The original, classic albums in mono, on CD! (There are a few other notables coming from Sundazed for you ’60s fans, too.)

Yes, 9012Live: The Solos – Expanded Edition (Friday Music)

The first-ever domestic CD release of Yes’ overlooked live album/side project, with two live bonus tracks for good measure.

Deftones, The Vinyl Collection 1995-2011 (Reprise)

A limited edition collection of the alternative band’s studio albums, plus an album of non-album covers, previously only available as a Record Store Day exclusive. (It’s sold out online, but I’m sure it’s still up for grabs here and there.)

Nirvana, Nevermind: Super Deluxe Edition (Geffen/UMe)

Previously a Best Buy exclusive, it’s worth noting that this title is now available everywhere. Hooray!

Don’t miss out on what could be the ONE book on Sixties Music you’ve been wanting.

The Sillhouettes

Doo-Wop originated in the ’40s in African American communities and became maintream in the ’50s and 60′s. The Orioles helped develop the doo-wop sound with their hit “It’s Too Soon to Know” by Deborah Chessler (1948).

Some of the popular groups and their songs:

1954 The Penguins – Earth Angel

1954 The Wrens – Come Back My Love

1955 The Rainbows – Mary Lee

1955 The Valentines – Lily Maebelle

1957 The Monotones – Book Of Love

1957 The Charts – Dance Girl

1958 The Danleers – One Summer Night

1963 The Crystals – Da Doo Ron Ron

To name a few…

The Silhouettes – The Silhouettes were a Philadelphia doo-wop and soul group best known for their self-penned song Get A Job, recorded in 1957 and a number one hit on the R&B and pop charts in 1958.

Photo Courtesy: TheSilhouettes.org

Original Members

Bill Horton (lead, 1956-61, 1980-93)
Raymond Edwards (bass, 1956-61, 1980-93)
Earl Beal (baritone, 1956-68, 1980-93)
Richard Lewis (tenor, 1956-68, 1980-93)

The Philadelphia Tribune 15 March 1958
Gold Record presentation for Get A Job
Viola Williams, Bill Horton, Raymond Edwards,
Dick Clark, Kae Williams, Earl Beal, Rick Lewis

Kae Williams was the group’s first manager and instrumental in getting The Silhouettes on the map with “Get a Job”.

He was a prominent radio personality and the father of our very own D.A. Williams. Click here to listen to our interview with D.A.

The New Silhouettes in 1968
Back: Richard Lewis, Cornelius Brown
Front: Earl Beal, John Wilson

Courtesy of: TheSilhouettes.org

Later Members

John Wilson (lead, 1961-1968)
Cornelius Brown (bass 1961-1968)

Elaine Lewis, widow of Silhouette Rick Lewis was an integral part of the group’s revival in the 1980s and who is now releasing a brand new CD compilation of the groups music.

Elaine was born in Philadelphia, PA. and as a child picked up the guitar right away, parents bought her a uke when she was around 10. She says: “Thanks to Elvis Presley being all the rage. I figured out chords on my own, I later found out that what I was playing were real chords–C, Em, G and so on. Later was given a really cheap guitar with a chord book and learned all the chords from that and I played by ear and played along with the radio and records…”

Elaine Lewis 1964

Courtesy of: TheSilhouettes.org

The CD took a year to complete, and Elaine had material on every kind of medium–records, reel-to-reel tapes, MP3′s, cassette tapes, CD’s, even her phone’s voice mail had material.

The CD is very creative, a fabulous tribute to the group and a wonderful collectors item.

We are honored to have her with us on Sunday, November 6, 2001 at 3PM Pacific /5PM Central/6PM Eastern.

Elaine Lewis presents the legendary The Silhouettes 11/06 by Colored People | Blog Talk Radio.

Visit the Silhouette’s official website for history, photos, discography and much more. TheSilhouettes.org

Sponsored by:

DaughterNature.com

HealthRoads.net

Sign up for our Blog – Artheo-Megazine

The credit on the box says the Crystals. Yet, the Crystals didn’t sing on the track – and, from reports, didn’t know the track was being released under their name until they heard it on the radio. Nope, it’s a woman named Darlene Love, backed by the Blossoms, none of whom are Crystals but all of whom are quite good at singing and have given us a good song after a string of stuff I don’t like very much. He’s a rebel is charming, a fun track about dedication to a man who might not play by the rules, like a cop on an ’80s crime show. Love has fun with it, taking the vocal to interesting places and really selling the song. She does it so well I don’t see why she wasn’t made a star rather than the secret Crystal.

Of course, the song will always have its legacy besmirched by Phil Spector’s chicanery. See, the Crystals were out touring and Spector didn’t want to wait for them to return, so he brought in a different group. He didn’t even bother trying to get singers that were actually similar to Crystals singers, so the group had to reorganize just to sing it live. And as fun, catchy and well recorded as it might be, it can be hard to get past the lie at the core. Though, admittedly, easier than it would be if it wasn’t really good. See Vanilli, Milli.

1. “Let’s Have a Party” Wanda Jackson
2. “Da Doo Ron Ron” The Crystals
3. “Come Go With Me” Sugar & Spice
4. “You Beat Me To The Punch” Mary Wells
5. “Remember (Walkin’ in the Sand)” The Shangri-Las
6. “After Last Night” The Revlons
7. “When You Walk In The Room” Jackie DeShannon
8. “Nobody Knows What’s Goin’ On (In My Mind But Me)” The Chiffons
9. “You Came, You Saw, You Conquered” The Ronettes
10. “Watch Out, Sally!” Diane Renay
11. “Playboy” The Marvelettes
12. “Then He Kissed Me” The Crystals
13. “As Tears Go By” Marianne Faithfull
14. “The Happening” The Supremes
15. “The Train From Kansas City” The Shangri-Las
16. “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” Nancy Sinatra
17. “Mama Said” The Shirelles
18. “(Love is Like A) Heatwave” Martha & The Vandellas
19. “A Lover’s Concerto” The Toys
20. “My Boyfriend’s Back” The Angels
21. “You Don’t Own Me” Lesley Gore
22. “Tell Him” The Exciters
23. “That’s When The Tears Start” The Blossoms

download it here and enjoy.

I must say, I have never drank whiskey (Theresa from Warpaint told me to never drink it) but the level of sadness is so severe, it would drive you to it.

The Shangri-Las have influenced so many bands from the Vivian Girls to The Horrors. If you listen to He Cried by The Shangri-Las then listen to Who Can Say by The Horrors, you can hear the influence so clearly.

When The Shangri-Las first played together, they performed without a name. As they hailed from New York, they named themselves after a restaurant in Queens. Pretty cool way to name yourself; I wonder if they had free food for life.Their early work was heavily produced by Shadow Morton which had the essence of the Wall of Sound. Big drums, big sound. It didn’t matter if anyone was copying someone else- it was just a brilliant movement in music that still, even if it isn’t as obvious, influences so many.

The Shangri-Las toured with many bands, one being the Iguanas which of course had a member in the group that later became one of the greatest front men ever- Iggy Pop.

Staying with the Punk feel, the group have influenced so many from the Punk era including New York Dolls who covered part of Give Him A Great Big Kiss in their song, Looking For A Kiss. The Shangri-Las have even played the most legendary venues of all time-CBGBs.

If you listen to What’s A Girl To Do by Bat For Lashes, the atmospheric drum sound is highly influenced by The Shangri-Las. More recently, Hollie Cook covered Remember (Walking In The Sand) and you cannot mention any 60s girl group without mentioning the truly wonderful, Amy Winehouse. To write her in the past tense does not seem right. It will never seem right. So I will just leave it at that.

The Ronettes, the band who defined Wall of Sound are undoubtedly one of the greatest girl groups ever. Like The Shangri-Las, they had sisters in the group. This gave a feel of unity in the music, a true sisterhood.

In 1963, the girls auditioned for Phil Spector. Regardless of what he did in his personal life, you cannot deny that he is quite possibly the greatest record producer of all time. After all, he did create the Wall of Sound. Be My Baby catapulted The Ronettes into superstardom; it was also the first song Cher ever sang on- as a backup singer.

Baby, I Love You was the follow-up to Be My Baby. Again, to mention Punk- Baby, I Love You was covered by the Ramones. I also saw Faris Badwan from The Horrors join The Vaccines on stage last year at Koko in London as part of the tribute night to Charlie Haddon from Ou Est Le Swimming Pool. To see Faris on stage singing this just blew my mind. To hear one of my favourite songs of all time being sung by one of the best front men in music right now, well, it was an honour.

The Ronettes released a Christmas album, and after the release came Walking In The Rain. Since Be My Baby, this was their greatest success in the charts.

Of all the girl groups that emerged in the 60s, the one girl group that I adored the most was The Girlfriends. Although they had only one hit, My One and Only Jimmy Boy, they just as good as The Shangri-Las, The Ronettes etc.

It’s an utter shame that they only released just the one song- if they had more songs, there is no doubt that they would’ve been equally as influential as the other groups, but regardless- they are still just as important.

My love for 60s girl groups has been with me all my life. As a result, I feel it has influenced the kind of music I listen. I love music that has a lot of feelings and I love anything with a massive drum sound in it. Anything from Florence And The Machine to The Raveonettes, I just love anything with an atmospheric sound.

Current girl groups such as the Vivian Girls. Dum Dum Girls, The Like are influenced by the sounds created in 60s from girl groups.

However, it isn’t just girl groups that are influenced by them- bands such as The Horrors and The Drums are highly influenced too. If you listen to Glasvegas- especially their latest album, you can get a feel that sound too. Yes, they have a female drummer- but that isn’t the point. I must say though, anyone who can drum like that whilst standing up is extremely musically gifted aren’t they.

Cat’s Eyes carry the true feel of the girl group in their music. They are a duo consisting of Faris Badwan and Rachel Zeffira. Their album that as released this year is truly gorgeous. It made me want to raid a market full of vinyl searching for girl groups. It also made me feel I was in the 60s not 2011. The track, Over You felt like a song that could’ve easily been sung by The Shangri-Las. I’m Not Stupid creates the same feel of sadness these girl bands did. Really heartbreaking, insanely breathtaking.

Vivian Girls are a group I just adore. I love the way they dress, I love their songs. I just love everything about them. Yes, I fancy them and yes the dream girl would be one that dresses like them. However, I’m not shallow. With my face, I can’t be. I love the feel you get from their music.

Like most of the girl groups from the 60s, Vivian Girls are from New York. This leads me to believe that the vast majority of music from New York is actually the best thing ever. You don’t believe me? Listen to Ramones, New York Dolls,The Strokes, Vivian Girls, Mos Def- I’ll stop right there because I will just reel off a load of bands and bore you even more.

Fun fact for you, Ali who used to be in Vivian Girls now drums for Best Coast. If you listen to Best Coast, you can easily here the girl group influence in the music. Bethany has such a beautiful and soulful voice.

Totally shitting on my theory that all good music comes from New York, Dum Dum Girls hail from Los Angeles (alright, a lot of good music comes from NYC and LA!) They cite The Ronettes as one of their influences. They have this atmospheric sound surrounding them especially in songs such as Bhang, Bhang, I’m A Burnout and He Gets Me High.

They’ve just created this whole sound that makes you ant to jump in a car and drive off to escape how mundane real life is. That’s what good music does; it provides comfort and also an escape. Lord knows we all need it at times.

The last band I am going to mention involves me taking you all the way back to New York. Brian Oblivion and Madeline Follin met whilst at University in 2010, fast forward to June 7^th this year and they released their debut album. The band, of course is, Cults.

When I first heard them late last year I was transfixed. I just couldn’t get my head around what I heard. I bought the album the day it came out and it instantly became the best debut album of this year. Nothing and no one can top it this year. Yes, I have also placed it in my albums of the year also. It is has such a 60s feel to it. My favourite track off the album, Never Saw The Point is so painfully gorgeous. Like most of the album tracks, it posses a haunting feel to it- but Madeline’s voices are so angelic and stunning, it works so well. I’d imagine they are my age, maybe a bit younger. So to hear a band so young (I’m nearly 25, most days I feel about 50) create such a sound is truly wonderful.

If I was to ever start a band, which won’t ever happen because I cannot play an instrument, I’d want it to create the same vibe you get from The Velvet Underground, Townes Van Zandt, Warpaint, The Kills and Cults. Dare I mention all in the same sentence? Yes, yes I bloody well do.

As I listen to Cults’ first album, I cannot help but think how their future albums will sound. Will they still have this big sound? Will they take a completely different direction? I have no idea, but I’m excited for it.

I just love their music a daft amount. I think my summer would’ve been even more boring if it wasn’t for their album.

So there you have it. If any decade played a vital role within music- it was the 60s. Whether it was the girl groups or the psychedelic sounds, it is all highly influential and something that will never happen again. It shouldn’t happen again because it is that vital yet extremely rare.

From this, all I know I was born in the wrong era. I’ve always believed that but listening to music then- and listening to music now, I feel more for what was created rather than what is current.

Here are some more girl groups you need in your collection :

The Crystals.

The Chiffons.

The Exciters.

The Cookies.

The Shirelles.

Of all of Phil Spector’s productions in his halycon period (1960 – 65), this one probably symbolises his contradictions best. Gorgeous melodies and seductive vocals are played off against dark unsettling lyrics to produce a record not of its time or really of any other. Unlike most ‘controversial’ records of the 1960s which now seem tame by today’s standards, this still makes for uncomfortable listening. It stood out from its contemporaries not only lyrically but also musically. While most other records of the day were upbeat and made for teenagers to dance to, Spector was already developing a penchent for slower, funereal numbers. Quite apart from the wall of sound that has been well-documented, Spector was beginning to stand out as a producer who did things his way and was not one to pander to the requirements of the music establishment.

The song was not written by Spector, although, as with many of his productions, he added his name to the writing credits at the end, thus ensuring for himself another slice of publishing royalties. It was written by the prolific song-writing duo Gerry Goffin and Carole King, who were then husband and wife. The inspiration for the lyrics came from their babysitter, Eva Boyd (who later carved out her own pop career performing under the name Little Eva) who arrived at the couple’s home sporting bruises that had been administered by her boyfriend. When quizzed about it, she said that he had only done it because he loved her.  For the writers, this was not a song that glorified domestic violence but rather one that illustrated the terrible deceptive nature of abuse in which the perpetrator is able to justify his actions as an unavoidable extension of his passions and one for which the victim should somehow be grateful. This may have been their take on it, but it was hard to see most of middle America interpreting it in such a way, and the danger that thousands of teenage girls, the unmistakable market for these records, may learn from this song that being hit by your boyfriend is normal and, worse still, romantic, was a very real one.  Unsurprisingly DJs refused to play it while music publications refused to advertise it and in June 1962, Spector’s label Philles were forced to pull the plug on it. The Crystals themselves disowned the recording, lead singer Barbara Alston stating it was “absolutely, positively, the one record that none of us liked”. Spector’s biographer, Mick Brown, writes that “with its over-heated production and melodramatic string arrangement, it sounds almost comically kitsch by today’s standards” but in this he is wrong. He Hit Me is one of Spector’s finest productions, starting with a hypnotic bass line accented by delicate singular percussive hits, the song builds and builds, adding walls of percussion, gorgeous rising strings and haunting vocal harmonies. It may be melodramatic, but only as all great pop songs should be, and easy listening it certainly ain’t.

‘Tearing Down the Wall of Sound: The Rise and Fall of Phil Spector’,  from which the above information is taken, is a meticulously researched and scintillating biography. Whilst it pulls no punches in revealing the numerous aspects of Spector’s warped persona and the sociopathic tendencies that hastened his downfall, it also reminds the reader just why Spector became the most in-demand record producer of his generation in the early 1960s. At the time the music industry viewed the production of pop records as a conveyer belt, churning out as many as possible in the shortest possible space of time, in the knowledge that most would flop but some would make them a huge amount of money, the ‘see what sticks’ mentality. Pop music, or rock n roll as it it was more widely known then, was largely seen as being a fad, a musical style that would disappear as quickly as it emerged, and therefore one that should be capitalised on as much as possible before it was wiped from the mainstream radar. Spector saw it differently. He knew a rock n roll record could be a thing of enduring beauty, as timeless and important as a Beethoven sonata, and he built them to last. When he had finished his work with the Righteous Brothers on You’ve Lost that lovin’ Feelin’, his label agents had to literally pin DJs to the wall and force them to listen to the record properly; most had already dismissed it as too long and unconventional. As a promoter of that time told Brown, “Phil’s music required undivided attention, and not everybody could understand that”. In the UK, the Stones’ manager, Andrew Loog Oldham, understood what it was Spector was trying to do and took out an advert in the British music papers, announcing You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feelin’ as “Spector’s greatest production, the Last Word in Tomorrow’s Sound Today, exposing the overall mediocrity of the music industry”, a sentiment which, almost 50 years on, might still be expressed today, as the battle against musical mediocrity well and truly lives on.

Get Down and Party: Leslie Gore (YouTube)

The first in a long line of Number 1′s for producer[lastfm link_type="artist_info"] Quincy Jones[/lastfm] and (then) engineer Phil Ramone, [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Lesley Gore[/lastfm]‘s “It’s My Party” took just four weeks to reach the top of the Hot 100.

A precocious child who loved to sing, Lesley Gore was a teenager singing with a wedding/bar mitzah/sweet 16 outfit at Manhattan’s Prince George Hotel when Quincy, then a house producer with Mercury Records, heard her singing from the hotel cocktail lounge. With the “OK” from label chief Irving Green, Jones visited Gore’s Teaneck home armed with over 200 demo tapes, from with “Party” and three others were chosen.

Once the recording session was over, Gore went about being a high school kid, not expecting the songs to ever be released. Six days later, it was on the radio, rushed into release to stave off a competing version of the song planned by the [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Crystals[/lastfm]. Gore was 17 years and 3 days old when the song entered the charts. Four weeks later, she had her first Number 1.

There’s a lot more ammo where this came from. Check out more songs that were “#1 with a Bullet” here…

Peter Allen, Whose "Taught by Experts" Album Was Produced by Brooks Arthur (YouTube)

Along with fronting his own band as a vocalist, Brooks Arthur was a highly-respected engineer and producer who started his career in the early 1960s.

Engineering was where Brooks Arthur got his start and, to some degree, continues to do most of his work. In 1961, he was credited with engineering [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Tommy Hunt[/lastfm]‘s Human album, followed by projects with the [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Chiffons[/lastfm], the [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Crystals[/lastfm] and the [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Dixie-Cups[/lastfm] (under the auspices of one Phil Spector).

Arthur started wearing both the engineer’s and the producer’s badge in the mid-’70s, when he worked on [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Janis Ian[/lastfm]‘s Aftertones album (on which he also contributed vocals). Other projects included sets with well-known singer/songwriter’s [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Carole Bayer Sager[/lastfm], [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Barry Mann[/lastfm] and [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Neil Sedaka[/lastfm]‘s longtime partner, [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Phil Cody[/lastfm]. [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Debby Boone[/lastfm], [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Peter Allen[/lastfm] and [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Bette Midler[/lastfm] also enlisted Arthur’s talents as a producer.

And, not to seem too serious, Arthur also worked as a producer on comedy albums by Adam Sandler and Robin Williams.

A full list of Arthur’s many credits can be found here.

They’re rock’s movers and shakers … read more about The Producers here …

There’s a major celebration going on as I arrive at the Brooks mansion. It seems as though branches of the family from all over the world have gathered together for this special Sunday lunch. Mum Elkie is singing and playing the piano (standing up for some reason), her American cousin Avery is tossing a baseball from hand to hand and Rebekah, the woman I’m here to profile, is at the centre of it all. “What’s the special occasion?” I ask her.

“Things are just going really, really well at work,” she says, smiling tightly. “I’ve got some exciting new opportunities coming up and I’m just really happy with how everything’s turned out.”

As if by magic her dad Ray appears. I ask if he’s proud of his daughter. ”She’s a terrible disappointment to be honest,” he says in a warm voice. “I used to tell her she could be anything she wanted when she grew up, but —”

“Dad you were always getting me to dress up as a knight, or a deep sea diver, or a clown!” scowls Rebekah.

“They’re good steady jobs! And I had the costumes lying around.”

“You substantially and deliberately misled me. You’re fired.”

“Big deal,” says Ray, slouching off.

Mum Elkie hands Rebekah a glass of a pale purple drink. “Never mind, love, have a swig of this. It’ll make you see what you want to see, and be what you want to be.”

“Well I don’t have any difficulty with that,” Rebekah snaps. “Things are going really well!” Just then there’s a knock at the door. It’s cousin Mehcad, back from the shops. “Have you got my shredder from Argos?” shrieks Rebekah excitedly.

“You said eggs!” smiles Mehcad handsomely, proffering a basket.

“It is inconceivable that I knew about or worse, sanctioned these appalling eggs,” snaps Rebekah in reply.

I spot great-aunt LaLa from America in the corner, sipping from a crystal goblet. I walk up to her and ask her if she wants to dance. She declines, so I ask her about Rebekah’s romantic life.

“There was a guy once,” she says. “Somebody told me that his name was Bill. They had a disagreement about her stance on domestic violence though.”

We’re interrupted as Rebekah raises a furious toast to her own success, forcing everyone to join in while glaring at them.

“What do you think the secret of your success is, Rebekah?” I ask afterwards.

“I learned everything I know from my grandad Mel,” she says proudly. I turn to the beaming old man and ask him what his story is.

“I don’t know,” he says slowly. “I had a good story once. An idea about someone who creates a piece of entertainment in the most cynical way possible, who deliberately embraces and celebrates evil, and yet somehow fools the public and their backers and ends up a great success. It was a silly idea really.”

Rebekah hands me a knife. “Time for the carve up!”

[continued on page 38]