New Oldies - Elvira by The Skunks

The Skunks

Back in 1981, when the people of Milwaukee, Wisconsin first heard Joe Bonsall and the Oak Ridge Boys sing Elvira, they already knew the song very well. That's because it had been a regional hit fourteen years earlier for a local band who called themselves The Skunks. If that band's 1967 recording had broken out nationwide, Elvira might have been a pop hit before it was a Country hit. But that's not what happened. On Memorial Day in 1981, the Oak Ridge Boys version of Elvira had already gone to #1 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart, and by August it had crossed over to become a #5 hit on Billboard's Hot 100 as well.

The Skunks were four guys pulled together by guitarist Larry Lynne, aka Larry Ostricki of the western Milwaukee suburb of Waukesha. He brought in Rick Allen, aka Rick Sutherland, to play keyboards, Duane Lundy on drums, and Tony Kolp on sax. Playing on the band's name, Larry had everyone dye their hair black with a white stripe down the side. The band first appeared in 1964 at a place called Monreal's on 16th Street at National Avenue. The group went to Chicago to record some demos with the legendary Sonny Boy Williamson sitting in on harmonica, but those recordings were never released. A couple of changes were made, with Rick Allen replaced by Jack Tappy on bass, and Duane Lundy replaced by Teddy Peplinski on drums. The band moved about 100 blocks west to a place called Papa Joe's in Brookfield. Tony Kolp was then replaced by Randy Klein, playing rhythm guitar, and the band moved out to California. They played at a club called Gold Street in Garden Grove. They cut their first record on the Era label for release in November 1965. But the label's owner, Herb Newman, didn't like their name and changed it to The Unbelievables for that release. For their second single, the guys went to the Gold Star Studio and recorded their version of Elvira, along with the flip side, The Journey. The record wasn't released until the band moved back to Milwaukee.

Here's Elvira by The Skunks on USA 865 from 1967:



But The Skunks didn't record the first version of Elvira. The song was written and first recorded by Dallas Frazier in 1966. His version didn't do very well, peaking at #76 on Billboard's Hot 100 and only touching the very bottom of the Cashbox charts at #100.

Here's Elvira by Dallas Frazier on Capitol 5560 from 1966:



But The Skunks didn't cover Dallas Frazier's version. Instead, Larry Lynne heard a blues version of the song on WLAC Radio from Nashville by a cat named Baby Ray, aka Ray Eddlemon. All I know about Ray is that he married a girl named Terri Prim Zephyrhills. Ray and Terri were good friends with the famous World War II hero and actor, Audie Murphy and the three of them wrote songs together. Ray made many other singles, all of which are great, and opened for a Sonny And Cher concert in Dallas in late 1966. He died in 2000 at the age of 62 while serving time in the Nevada State Penitentiary, but I can't tell you what Ray did to get sent there. Although he sounded black, Ray is actually a white singer. Attempts to keep that information from the public is probably the reason why it's virtually impossible to find a photograph of him today. More mysteries to solve, I guess!

Here's Elvira by Baby Ray on Imperial 66232 from 1967:

Elvira - The Mistress of the Dark

The song really has nothing to do with the sexy TV movie host Elvira, host of the syndicated Movie Macabre television show. They simply share the same name. But, if you are one of Elvira's many fans, you probably think of her when you hear the song. But just how much do you know about the Mistress of the Dark?

Cassandra Peterson

Elvira was born Cassandra Peterson on 17 September 1951 in Manhattan, Kansas, and raised in Colorado Springs. She became a Las Vegas showgirl when she was just 17 years old, appearing in Viva Les Girls at the Dunes. She made her TV debut doing a guest appearance on Seymour's Fright Night on KHJ-TV in Los Angeles, featuring Larry Vincent as Seymour, the weekly horror movie host. Ironically, Cassandra would, herself, eventually become a horror movie host on that same station several years after Larry's death, thus getting her start as Elvira.

While working in Las Vegas, Cassandra met Elvis Presley who convinced her that she should go to Europe to pursue a career as a singer and actress. She did just that, landing a small part in a Federico Fellini film called Roma. She also toured Europe as lead singer of an Italian rock band called I Latins 80, incorrectly called I Latins Ochanats on many online reference sites. Good luck trying to research the band using that name! For you die-easy Elvira fans (sorry for my lame attempt at Elvira humor), here's a sample from that group's 1972 album, which was called Foglie Gialle All'imbrunire, or Yellow Leaves at Dark in English.

Here's Ci Vuol Pazienza (English: It Takes Patience) by I Latins 80 on Cinedelic CNCZ20083 from 1969:



I find it odd that Cassandra isn't credited on this album. It could be that she simply joined the group when they went on tour, or maybe she was using a fake name. The girl on the left in this photo from the back of the album sure looks like Cassandra to me.

After making this album, the group accompanied several other artists, including Domenico Modugno. In 1974, they changed their name to Expo 80, and then became known as Cappuccino in 1976. The band members credited on their 1969 album were: Franco Marcangeli on piano and vocals, Wilfrid Copello on drums and percussion, Lino Ranieri on bass, Vincent Barbera on guitar, percussion and voice, with Jackie Gustamacchio and Rosalba DiMarzio on vocals.

Another mystery, perhaps solved, perhaps not. If you can shed any light on Cassandra's other life in Italy, please share what you know with the class. In the meantime, I'll keep coming up with interesting bits of musical history for you, all of which can be heard in the massive archive of MusicMaster Oldies.

New Oldies - Jesus Is Just Alright by The Art Reynolds Singers

Michael Hossack

Today's New Oldie is another Original Version, dedicated to drummer Michael Hossack of The Doobie Brothers who lost his battle with cancer a couple days ago (Monday 12 March 2012). Big Mike played with the Doobies on three albums, Toulouse Street, The Captain And Me, and What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits, which included the hits Listen To The Music, Rockin' Down The Highway, China Grove, Long Train Runnin', Black Water, and this song, Jesus Is Just Alright.

Many people think this song was first recorded by The Byrds in 1970. Their version, which peaked at only #97 on Billboard's Hot 100, was actually a cover of the original version by The Art Reynolds Singers. The song was written Arthur "Art" Reid Reynolds and appeared as a track on the 1966 album, Tellin' It Like It Is on Capitol Records. The song was listed as Jesus Is Just Alright on the album cover, but abbreviated to Jesus Is Alright on the label.

Thelma Houston

To create this gospel singing group, Art Reynolds selected five of the best singers from his choir at the St. Vestal C.M.E. church. One of those singers, Thelma Houston (no relation to the late Whitney), would go on to win a Grammy Award in 1978 for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for her #1 1977 hit Don't Leave Me This Way.

Here's Jesus Is Alright by The Art Reynolds Singers on Capitol LP 2534 from 1966:

Here's the Byrds version of the song on Columbia 45071 from 1970:

Big Mike Hossack was back with The Doobie Brothers for this 25 July 2004 performance at Wolf Trap National Park in Virginia:



You'll hear music from 1911 through 1973 on MusicMaster Oldies, including the early 1970's hits of the Doobie Brothers. You'll also hear the original versions of many hit songs, and I guarantee that you didn't know that many of them existed and you've probably never heard them before!

New Oldies - Race With The Devil by Johnny David

All I know about Johnny David is that his real name is John McNeill and he's probably from around New York City. I found a solid lead last week and thought I was hot on the trail of tracking him down, but it just lead me to a dead end. So, I've decided to crowd-source the mystery. If you know anyone involved in making this record, or if you're the one who made this record, I'd love to hear from you!

The record was first pressed on the Gil label, but later picked up for national distribution on Dot 16078. The original single is worth around $100, about twice the value of the reissue.

Here's Race With The Devil by Johnny David on Gil 104 from 1959:



For those of you who like to sing along, here are the lyrics:

When I was young, well I was full of life
Dreamed of a home, a family and a wife
But somehow all my dreams fell through
Leaving my heart all feelin' like I do
My life, my life is a race
A race with the devil, a race with the devil

Worked real hard, well just to pay my rent
Worked real hard, and I don't waste a cent
Had many jobs that I didn't like so well
Swept many floors and I drove on many mill
My life, my life is a race
A race with the devil, a race with the devil

That's the reason I drink and gamble
That's the reason I love to ramble
And at last when I leave this Earth
Racing with the devil for all I'm worth
My life is a race
A race with the devil, a race with the devil

I do things when I know I shouldn't do it
May Hell be as happy as the road that leads to it
Why should I try to change my way
I'll outrun the devil on judgement day
My life, my life is a race
A race with the devil, a race with the devil
A race with the devil, a race with the devil
[Fade]

This is the flip side, a nice Teener called I Met A Girl:



There are many more mystery records from the 1950's and 1960's waiting for you on MusicMaster Oldies, and, I'm sure, many more yet to be discovered. Hunting for them is fun!

New Oldies - Don't Ever Leave by The Delcounts

These guys had been recording as the Del Counts on the Soma label in 1966 and 1967, but they changed their name to the Delcounts when they cut this record on the Mar-Bil label in 1968. The group comes from Hopkins, Minnesota, a southwestern suburb of Minneapolis. The band's members were Charles John "Charlie" Schoen on vocals and keyboards, Steve Miller on guitar (not the Space Cowboy one), Bob Phalen on bass, and Kelly Vincent on drums.

Here's Don't Ever Leave by The DelCounts on Mar-Bil 109 from 1968:

And here's the flip side, Ain't Got The Time:



Like most local garage rock bands, the Del Counts played lots of local gigs, including stops at Hopkins High School, Richfield High School, and a place called The Barn which was actually located in a barn on old Highway 169 at I-494 in Eden Prairie. They continued playing into the 1970's at places like the Cascade 9 Club at 829 Hennepin, Diamond Jim's in downtown Minneapolis, the Dance Land Ballroom in Excelsior, Grandma B's, The Leaning Post, Hopkins Bowl, Maplewood Bowl, Burnsville Bowl, Iron Horse, Mr. Nibs, The Presidents Bar, and Apple Place. If you're from the Twin Cities, you've probably heard of most of these places.

On the day after Christmas in 1966 a huge show called The Biggest Dance In History was held at the Minneapolis Convention Center Auditorium. The Del Counts were there, along with several popular local bands including The Castaways, The Accents, the Underbeats, the Electras, the Fabulous Flippers, Michael's Mystics, and many others.

On 27 May 1967 the Del Counts were chosen by the Midwest Academy of Contemporary Music to win the first Connie Awards, an honor created by jazz drummer Connie Hechter who was also the editor of the T.M.C. Insider, which later became Connie's Insider. The event was held at the Sheraton-Ritz Hotel in Minneapolis, hosted by Charlie Boone, and attended by 325 members of the music industry. The other bands nominated that night were Danny's Reasons, T.C. Atlantic, The Underbeats, and the Hot Half Dozen.

The Del Counts performed on the final installment of the Saturday afternoon B-Sharp Beat radio show on WDGY on 10 June 1967. The show was hosted by disc jockey Jimmy Reed and sponsored by the B-Sharp Music store owned by Jim Lopes. Jim's store was known for stocking the instruments used by British Invasion groups, especially those used by The Beatles. He carried all the good stuff, like Rickenbacker guitars, Hofner bass, and Vox amps and keyboards. When the Beatles came to Minneapolis in 1965, Jim presented Paul McCartney with a free Rickenbacker guitar.

Stillroven and The Del Counts opened an Aqua-centennial event sponsored by WDGY Radio on 14 July 1967. The headline act was supposed to be Sonny And Cher, but Sonny ended up doing the gig by himself. Cher suffered a miscarriage just a few days before the concert. It was the first time Sonny ever performed without Cher at his side. Instead, while interviewing Sonny on the air, WDGY Radio asked for female listeners who wanted to volunteer to sing with Sonny on stage!

The Del Counts opened for The Byrds at a dance-concert on 10 November 1967 at the Marigold Ballroom in front of 1,500 teenagers and, according to newspaper critics, blew the Byrds off the stage. According to the reporter, the show was "something of a drag" and The Byrds "appeared bored" with the whole affair. Maybe that's because Jim McGuinn, David Crosby, and Chris Hillman all dropped acid before the show, while Gene Clark was drunk on Jack Daniels. You could say The Byrds were "flying eight miles high" that night!

On 8 March 1968, The Del Counts were part of a huge show sponsored by WDGY Radio called Super Scene '68 at the Metropolitan Sports Center, hosted by local disc jockeys Johnny Canton, Scott Burton, Jerry Brooke, and JJ Bowman. In addition to many local bands, the show included Strawberry Alarm Clock, Wilson Pickettt, and The Hollies.

The Del Counts never made an appearance on any of the national charts, but they had regional success in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. On 3 June 1967, one of their songs, a cover of What Is The Reason by The Rascals, went to #4 on the KDWB Radio Big 6 Plus 30 chart, and #13 on WDGY Radio 1130's 30 Star Survey. That record was also mentioned as a Breakout Single in Billboard Magazine's 27 May 1967 edition. Local teens fondly recall their rockin' cover of Let The Good Times Roll, a 1956 hit for Shirley And Lee.

Unlike a lot of the local groups of the 1960's, the DelCounts are still playing gigs today. You can check out their website and see where they'll be playing by clicking here.

A lot of really great music came out of Minnesota in the 1950's and 1960's, beyond Bob Dylan and Eddie Cochran, and you'll hear all of it on MusicMaster Oldies.

New Oldies - Daylight Savin' Time by Keith

In honor of this morning's time change, here's Daylight Savin' Time by Keith on Mercury 72695 from 1967:



This song became a Northern Soul favorite, heard frequently during All-Nighters at dance clubs in England. Daylight Savings Time, known as Summer Time in several countries, was first mentioned by Benjamin Franklin in 1784. In 1895, the idea was officially proposed by George Vernon Hudson. But it wasn't actually implemented in America until World War One, and later in other parts of the world. It's never been used in much of central Africa, southeast Asia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and a few other places. It's was used, but has been discontinued, in most of Asia, western and northern Australia, and much of South America. In my humble opinion, it made more sense back in the days when people actually owned farms (as opposed to automated farms operated by giant food corporations). We could probably drop it now and nobody would miss it. If we did drop it, I'd be in favor of leaving us on the advanced summer time, which would just mean it would get dark an hour later in winter. Since I live in a place where it's always summer and the nightlife is incredible, that wouldn't bother me one bit!

Keith was born James Barry Keefer on 7 May 1949 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His family moved to Atlantic City for a while, then back to the Philadelphia suburb of Clifton Heights. While attending high school, he joined an acapella harmony group called Barry And The Bel-Airs, performing at local dances and variety shows. One Friday night they were working a dance at a Catholic school that was hosted by WCAM Radio DJ Kal Rudman. Kal was an expert at spotting hit record talent. He introduced Keith to Jerry Ross, who was then an A&R man at Columbia Records. According to legend, Keith was so determined to get a recording contract, he camped out at Jerry's door. Whatever he did worked. His first recording contract with Columbia produced one single, Caravan Of Lonely Men b/w Dream, under the name Keith And The Admirations. Unfortunately, that record didn't make the national charts.

Kal was born Soloman "Kal" Rudman on 6 March 1930 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with a love of music and radio in his bloodstream. After graduating from Central High School, the second oldest public high school in America, he began attending the University of Pennsylvania. In 1959, he took a job at WCAM Radio in Camden, New Jersey as a disc jockey. He transferred to the Philadelphia College of Osteopathy, but decided not to become a doctor when he was offered a fellowship from the Pennsylvania Association of Retarded Children. This enabled him to earn a master's degree in education from Temple University. He began working as a teacher in the daytime, but continued his R&B radio show at night. He gave up teaching after moving to WDAS Radio in Philadelphia where he continued to spin the R&B hits. He also started working for Billboard Magazine as their first R&B editor. In 1968, his amazing ability to predict hit records led him to leave Billboard and begin publishing a weekly tip sheet out of his basement that he called Friday Morning Quarterback, which became a must-read in radio stations around the country. Kal continued working in radio on the side and his popular show was syndicated in Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and many other major markets. Later, he did a lot of television shows, and even became the announcer for the World Wrestling Federation. Kal and his wife Lucille became noted philanthropists, creating the Kal And Lucille Rudman Foundation to provide financial support for many causes, primarily in the fields of education and public safety.

Here's Caravan Of Lonely Men by Keith And The Admirations on Columbia 43268 from 1965:



And here's the flip side, Dreams:



When Jerry Ross moved on to Mercury Records, he took Keith along with him. The decision was made to drop the band and refer to him as simply Keith. Not many artists did that. The only others I know about are Fabian, Dion, Lulu, Donovan and Cher. Can you think of any more? Now backed by The Tokens, Keith started putting out hit singles on Mercury, starting with Ain't Gonna Lie, which went to #39 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1966. His follow-up record, 98.6, shot up to #7 in January 1967. His cover of Tell Me To My Face by The Hollies stopped at #37 on the charts. But today's New Oldie, Daylight Savin' Time, marked Keith's final appearance on the Hot 100, struggling up to only #79 in the summer of 1967. Mercury bundled his hits with some other tracks and put them on Keith's debut album. A couple of singles later Keith made a brief appearance on Billboard's Bubbling Under chart at #135 with a song called I'm So Proud.

Keith was just 18 years old and it looked like the end of his hit-making career, but he had a great run, earning as much as $15,000 a week and touring all over the world. One day while he was visiting London, a man standing next to him at the urinal slapped him on the back and told him that 98.6 was a really great record. That man was John Lennon!

Keith's second album, Out Of Crank, failed to gain any momentum. It seemed things couldn't get any worse, but they did. Keith was arrested for draft evasion in the middle of a concert, inducted into the United States Army, and stationed in New Jersey for a year. After being discharged, Keith hooked up with Frank Zappa and joined his touring band in 1974. You can hear him injecting a little Philadelphia Soul in one of Zappa's more commercial-yet-bizarre tracks, Don't Eat The Yellow Snow. Keith hooked up with RCA Records to make one more album, The Adventures Of Keith. When that failed to do anything, he left the music business. Keith tried a comeback under his real name in 1986, but that also proved to be unsuccessful, although the record company he set up, A.I.R. Records in Redondo Beach, California, managed to produce albums for several local acts.

Bazza Keefer (from 2008)

In 1988, he changed his name to Bazza Keefer in memory of his mother. In the 1990's, a old friend and former band member, Randy Johnson, helped Bazza get into the TV industry as a audio technician for many shows, one of which being Judge Judy. Bazza continued to remain active in the music business, writing and playing songs and doing radio interviews, and plans to publish a book. He has two children, son Jamie and daughter Kristen. Bazza, if you're reading this, I'm just down the road in San Diego. I'd love to come visit you and pick your brain about the music industry! Oh, and I hope you'll check out MusicMaster Oldies where you can still hear every song you ever made during the 1960's.

New Oldies - Just Dropped In by Jerry Lee Lewis

Kenny Rogers And The First Edition

Kenneth Donald Rogers was born in Houston, Texas on 21 August 1938. He started performing in the 1950's, running through several musical genres from Doo Wop to Folk to Country, and passing briefly through Psychedelic Garage Rock along the way. Every stoner from the 1960's knows his version of this song, but most people don't know that he wasn't the first person to record the song.

Was this a drug song? The line, "I found my mind in a brown paper bag within" could refer to drinking cheap wine or sniffing glue from a brown paper bag. But it was originally written to describe the aftermath of an LSD trip. I suppose the way you interpret the song all depends on your particular mind-altering chemical of choice. The lyrics refer driving off the road at high speed and leaving one's soul in a deep dark hole. But I'll leave it up to you to determine if this qualifies as a "death" song.

On the studio recording for the single, Mike Deasy handles the acoustic guitar parts, while Glen Campbell plays the electric guitar with plenty of heavy compression and tremolo. Producer Mike Curb took one of the electric guitar riffs and played it backwards to create the psychedelic opening.

Although the song clearly paints a bleak picture about the aftermath of getting high, some heard it as a pro-drug message song back in the 1960's and tried to get radio stations to ban it. They were not successful. Kenny's version went to #5 of Billboard's Hot 100 in February 1968, and did even better on many local charts.

Jerry Lee Lewis

Jerry Lee Lewis was born on 29 September 1935 in Ferriday, Louisiana. The Killer's rock and roll career had stalled in the 1960's until he decided to start doing Country ballads.

This is the original version of Just Dropped In by Jerry Lee Lewis from his 1967 Soul My Way album on Smash 67097:



No, that's not a field of marijuana he's standing in on that album cover!

Kenny Rogers wasn't the only one to cover the song in 1968. Betty LaVette took a shot at a soul version as well.

Betty LaVette

Betty LaVette, who also recorded as Betty LaVett and Bettye LaVette, was born Betty Haskin on 29 January 1946 in Muskegon, Michigan. She started recording in 1962 and moved to New York in 1963 to become the featured vocalist for The Don Gardner Band. She went back to cutting solo singles in 1965. Any record you find of hers is worth keeping!

Here's What Condition My Condition Is In by Betty LaVette on Karen 1544 from 1968:



No version of this song ever showed up on the R&B charts. Maybe it was a little too early for blatant drug songs to appeal to that audience. In fact, it would take another year before ANY drug-related song would make the R&B charts, with the first one being Cloud Nine by The Temptations in 1969.

Mickey Newbury

Just Dropped In was written by Mickey Newbury, who did his own version of it in 1968 after it became a hit for Kenny Rogers. He slowed it down considerably and added more of a hip Country flavor with a nice string section. His version is actually my personal favorite!

Here's Just Dropped In by Mickey Newbury from his 1968 album Harlequin Melodies on RCA Victor:



Mickey Newbury was born Milton Sims Newbury, Jr. in Houston, Texas on 19 May 1940. He started performing as a teenager with a group called The Embers. After a tour with the Air Force, he moved to Nashville to become a songwriter for Acuff-Rose Publishing. He passed away on 29 September 2002 from pulmonary fibrosis at age 62.

If you're old enough to remember watching Kenny Rogers And The First Edition on Shindig or The Smother Brothers or hearing Just Dropped In as a current hit on the radio, here's something that will make you feel really old. Here's Kenny Rogers doing this song many years later to an audience that probably never heard it before.

Now, if you wanna feel really old, try this 2008 hard rock cover of the song from a group called Children of Bodom:

You don't need drugs to get high, kids. All you need is a healthy dose of MusicMaster Oldies. Why not take a trip through the psychedelic sixties today?

New Oldies - Midnight Hour by The Heywoods

The lead singer on this record, Johnny Schott, passed away on 27 January 2012 at his home in Harrogate, Tennessee. He was 65. He had been working as a booking agent and promoter for local bands around Cincinnati, Ohio. Johnny only sang on this side of this single, the first one ever made by The Heywoods. Johnny had been a member of another Cincinnati-area garage rock group called The Radicals. Bea Donaldson, the emcee at a dance where The Radicals performed, approached Johnny and asked him to cut a record with a brand new garage rock group she was putting together around her keyboard-playing son, Bo Donaldson, who ultimately became the leader of Bo Donaldson And The Heywoods.

The other members of The Heywoods were Sonny James on drums, Phil Beard on guitar, David Flitner on bass, and Randy Jester on sax. Their theme song, Hey Hey We're The Heywoods, was borrowed from The Monkees. Drummer Sonny James sang on the flip side of this single, a cover of Hey Joe. The origins of that song, by the way, are shrouded in mystery. I'll do a nice long blog post about that soon!

Here's Midnight Hour by The Heywoods on Queen Bea 507 from 1966:



Queen B Records in Cincinnati was run by Buzz Cornelison, former keyboard player for The Exiles from Richmond, Kentucky, the band that became Exile (Kiss You All Over) in the mid-1970's. Johnny Schott suggested calling the label Queen Bea for the Heywoods record in honor of Bo's mother, who had a reputation for being, let's call it, somewhat assertive!

Here's the flip side, Hey Joe by The Heywoods:

The Heywoods in 1967

Billy Don't Be A Hero was one of those 1970's records that I personally liked very much, even though I didn't dare admit that to my harder-rock loving buddies.



This is yet another example of the Future Superstar songs you'll hear on MusicMaster Oldies. There are hundreds more where this came from, so stay tuned!

New Oldies - Makin' Deals by The Satans

Is it possible that Mick Jagger picked up some local rock records while on tour? The Rolling Stones did come through California in July 1966, playing in Sacramento, Bakersfield, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Do you think there's a chance Mick picked up a copy of this record during that tour? Some Garage Rock lovers are convinced that he did! In fact, they're convinced that this record stuck with him so much that, consciously or subconsciously, it had an influence on a song he wrote and recorded two years later for the Beggars Banquet album, Sympathy For The Devil. His original working title for the song was The Devil Is My Name, to be sung from the perspective of the Devil himself. Mick once claimed that the song was inspired by something he'd been reading, written by a 19th Century French Poet named Charles Baudelaire, who was also a known drug user and advocate of Satanism. My childhood friend Mike was convinced that the song was prophetic, insisting that the lyrics had to have been written before the assassination of Bobby Kennedy, so how come when Mick sings, "Who killed the Kennedy's," it's in the plural form. Actually, Bobby Kennedy was killed while the band was in session recording the song. They changed that part of the lyrics on the spot from the original, "Who killed Kennedy."

So then there's this record. It's another near-total mystery to me. All I've been able to learn about the five kids who made this record is that they're from Fullerton, California, and two of them were named Mike Murphy and Randy Stewart. My guess is they attended Sunny Hills High School there and graduated in 1966. That means they were probably seniors at that school when they recorded this incredible fuzz monster!

The similarities between Makin' Deals and Sympathy For The Devil are impossible to ignore. Both are sung in the first person perspective by Satan. But the line, "Can you guess my name?" is what really puts the icing on the cake!

Here's Makin' Deals by The Satans on Manhattan 801 from 1966:



Here's the flip side, Lines And Squares:



If you want to buy an original pressing of this single, expect to shell out around $500 cold hard cash. But I suspect it would be a good investment. Unlike many other records that have dropped dramatically in value after appearing on compilation CDs, this one is likely to continue increasing in value due to the bizarre connection with the Stones.

I was planning to post a different song today, but I got sidetracked when I found a possible lead to the mystery artist who recorded it. If it pans out, it could be a rock and roll history revelation. That's actually a subtle clue!

The range of information available about the music of the 1960's is incredible. There are some artists whose history has been incredibly well documented. Much of the music from the better-known artists has been digitally cleansed from the master tapes and reissued in box sets, often with with some of the original studio chatter heard between the tracks. I like to say you can hear every belch and fart these guys ever put on tape! But there are many others who are complete mysteries. You can't even find anyone who knew the people involved. But when these obscure tracks are posted on blogs, like this one, sometimes people with first-hand knowledge come forward to fill in the missing pieces. That's one reason why I do this! You can hear hundreds of mystery songs on MusicMaster Oldies. Some of them, like this one, are far more famous today than they were back when they were made, and certainly worth a lot more money!

New Oldies - Lightning by Howard Davis

Death sells. Well, at least it helped sell a bunch of records in the 1950's and 1960's. There are some classic teenage tragedy songs from that era such as Teen Angel, Tell Laura I Love Her, and Leader Of The Pack. But for each successful death record there must have been dozens of others that died before they had a chance to grow old. Sorry ;-)

All I know about Howard Davis is that he was from Dayton, Ohio and used to play at a bar called the Melody Pine Tavern on the corner of Richard Street and Pritz Avenue back in the early 1960's. The Cincinnati-based Ark record label was owned by Roy Shepard and Bob Lanham and was best known for producing Country-flavored Gospel records. There were only a few exceptions, and this is one of them.

There are so many different ways to get yourself killed at an early age that it's a wonder any of us lived through our teen years. I'll bet there's at least one song for every conceivable cause of accidental death. This is one of the most unusual I've heard, and also one of the most depressing. It's also a pretty good example of the Teener style that has become really popular with many collectors. Howard first cut a version of this song in 1962 on Dixie 1000 under the name Howard And The Darts.

Here is Lightning by Howard Davis on Ark 251 from 1963:



I'll go back to this theme again over the coming weeks with more songs that feature really unusual ways for a teenager to buy it, each one written into a song in an attempt to get a teenager to buy it. Sorry again. When you need some cheering up, there were plenty of happy songs to offset the depressing ones, and you'll hear them all on MusicMaster Oldies.

New Oldies - There's Something About You by Terry Black

Terry Black

I'm going to talk about Terry Black in a bit, but first some news. There is a kind of six-degrees-of-separation connection which I'll explain later.

Davy Jones

The pop music world lost another legend last week with the passing of Davy Jones of The Monkees. David Thomas Jones was born in Manchester England on 30 December 1945, just 40 clicks east of Liverpool where Paul McCartney had been born three and a half years earlier. At age 14, David got an early start as an actor playing Colin Lomax on the British soap opera Coronation Street. In that same year his mother died of emphysema. Davy decided to quit school to become an apprentice jockey. He began working with trainer Basil Foster, but that didn't last long. David was soon recruited to join a theatre group in the West End of London to star as the Artful Dodger in the musical production of Oliver!

Used for the original London Production in 1960

A week after his 17th birthday, that role took David from London to Broadway and earned him a nomination for a Tony Award. He and co-star Georgia Brown appeared on the Ed Sullivan show on 9 February 1964 to sing a couple of songs from the show.

The Beatles with Ed Sullivan

As fate would have it, that turned out to be the same night The Beatles made their American television debut. Davy watched them perform from the side of the stage, saw the teenage girls screaming and crying, and decided he wanted a piece of that action! He got a contract with Columbia Screen Gems and got some more exposure on American television. In fact, a week or so ago I showed you some footage of Davy Jones appearing on The Farmer's Daughter playing a rock and roll musician singing Gonna Buy Me A Dog. David began cutting records for Columbia's Colpix label and managed a #93 Billboard chart hit with his second single, What Are We Going To Do, in 1965. He was well on his way to becoming a teen idol in places like Chicago where his record climbed to #30 on the WLS Silver Dollar Survey. This prompted the release of his first album, simply called David Jones, which was also issued on Pye Records in England.



Things were happening quickly for David. On 8 September 1965, he learned about this ad for auditions in Daily Variety, but never actually saw it. Ironically, another recording artist on Colpix who called himself Michael Blessing, real name Mike Nesmith, also heard about the auditions without actually seeing the ad. Peter Tork didn't see it either. He learned about the auditions from his friend Steven Stills. Micky Dolenz heard about the auditions from his agent and didn't actually see the ad either. You're looking at an ad that changed the lives of these four young men, even though none of them ever saw it!

Wanna be a Monkee?

The audition was being conducted by producers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider who were crafting a show inspired by the Beatles movie A Hard Day's Night featuring a fabricated Beatle-esque rock and roll group called The Monkees. Davy Jones was one of the 437 young men who showed up for those auditions, along with Steven Stills and John Sebastian. The producers originally wanted to sign John Sebastian's Lovin' Spooonful as The Monkees, but a previous recording contract made them unavailable. Instead, as everyone now knows, David "Davy" Jones, Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork were selected to play The Monkees on television.

Davy Jones passed away last Wednesday, 29 February 2012, at Martin Memorial South Hospital in Stuart, Florida. He'd been found sitting in his car that morning having trouble breathing and complaining of chest pains. He suffered a massive heart attack caused by atherosclerosis. Our hearts go out to his wife Jessica, and his four daughters (from previous marriages), Talia Elizabeth, Sarah Lee, Jessica Lillian, and Annabel Charlotte.

Don Kirshner (right) with The Monkees

Everyone knows by now that The Monkees were allowed to sing on their early hit recordings, but did not write the songs or play instruments. Their songs were carefully crafted to become hits by Don Kirshner and written by his Brill Building superstars. These songs were recorded in Los Angeles, often using studio musicians who drummer Hal Blaine called The Wrecking Crew. These guys were mainly jazz musicians who were extremely versatile players. They were the "A Team" in Hollywood and used on hundreds of projects including television theme songs, film scores, jingles, and pop hits. In addition to The Monkees, other notable artists who used these guys included Bobby Vee, The Carpenters, The Beach Boys (on California Girls and Good Vibrations), The Byrds (on Mr Tambourine Man), Simon And Garfunkel, The Mamas And The Papas, The Partridge Family, John Denver, Nancy Sinatra, and even Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole. Producer Phil Spector used the Wrecking Crew to develop his Wall Of Sound production style. In addition to Hal Blaine, some of the other musicians who became members of The Wrecking Crew included Glen Campbell, Al Casey, Billy Strange, James Burton, Jerry Cole, Nino Tempo, Plas Johnson, Leon Russell, Mac Rebennack (Dr. John), Larry Knechtel, Earl Palmer, Julius Wechter, Jack Nitzsche, and many many more, including a very talented female bass player named Carol Kaye.

The Wrecking Crew (with Carol Kaye in front)

The Wrecking Crew was also called in by producers P F Sloan and Steve Barri to back a young Canadian singer named Terry Black.

Terry Black's Only 16 LP on Arc Records

Terry Black was born on 3 February 1949 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Terry was just 15 years old when he began singing on Buddy Clyde's Dance Party show on CHAN TV in Vancouver. The fan mail received by the station prompted Bill Gilliland of Arc Records to sign him to a recording contract. Buddy Clyde helped connect Terry with the owners of Dunhill Records in Los Angeles. When he was just 15 years old he became a teen idol with his first hit single, Unless You Care, featuring Wrecking Crew members Glen Campbell on guitar, Hal Blaine on drums, and Leon Russell on organ. That single was released in the United States on the Tollie label near the end of 1964. Coincidentally, this is the same label that issued a couple of demo recordings by The Beatles in 1964, There's A Place b/w Twist And Shout. Small world, isn't it?

Here's Unless You Care by Terry Black on Tollie 1074 from 1964:



Almost all of Terry Black's several Canadian hits were written and produced by P F Sloan and Steve Barri, the guys who also worked with Jan And Dean, The Turtles, The Grass Roots, and many more 1960's superstar recording artists. Today's New Oldie is the flip side of one of Terry Black's Canadian hits, a cover of Russ Hamilton's 1957 hit, Rainbow. This song was written by P F Sloan and Steve Barri and, in fact, comes from a demo recording made by P F Sloan himself. Terry Black was not involved in any way, except getting credit for it on the single. Remind anyone of The Monkees?

Here's There's Something About You by Terry Black on Arc 1125 from 1965:



Here's the flip side, Rainbow, which went to #22 on 1050 CHUM in Toronto in February 1966:



Terry Black won the Top Male Vocalist Of The Year award at the 1964 RPM Magazine Maple Music Awards, which later became known as the Juno Awards. Like Davy Jones, Terry Black got involved in acting. Following a job transfer, Terry's father moved his family to Hollywood in January 1966. Shortly afterward, a movie script was made that was designed to feature Terry as the brother of Elvis Presley. His hopes of becoming the next Frankie Avalon were dashed when the movie didn't pan out. Disgusted by the politics of the movie business and encouraged by his old boss Bill Gilliand, Terry decided to go back to Canada in 1968. He performed in clubs around Toronto, then joined the cast of the Toronto production of Hair! in 1969. Terry shared that stage with singer Laurel Ward and the two of them were married in 1970. They started performing and recording together as Black And Ward for Doug Riley's band called Dr. Music. After 2000, Terry could be heard hosting an evening oldies show called The Sixties At Six on NL Radio in British Columbia. Terry Black passed away in Kamloops on 28 June 2009 after suffering for a year with multiple sclerosis. He was just 60 years old.

I'm in the process of adding the Canadian RPM singles chart information to my MusicMaster Oldies database, a process that has led me to discover several other "hit" records from the 1960's. You can expect to start hearing those songs in the mix real soon!