SEPTEMBER 2001-
PART TWO
by Eric Predoehl
first posted September 17, 2001 (all
rights reserved)
THE LONG-AWAITED
BOOK ON L.A. VOCAL GROUPS
 After many years of research, Steve Propes
and Galen Gart have finally finished their very
ambitious book, "L.A. R&B Vocal Groups 1945-
1965." Documenting the phenomenon of what's been
typically labeled as the "doo wop music" of
Los Angeles, this book explores the stories behind the
great vocal groups that emerged from the Southern California
region.
Both authors had previously written some
very authoritative books on the field of roots music.
Steve Propes, a prominent disc jockey on KLON
for most of the 1980s, and music historian, co-wrote
"What Was the First Rock 'n' Roll Record"
with Jim Dawson, "Merry Christmas, Baby
: Holiday Music from Bing to Sting" with Dave
Marsh, as well authoring countless articles for
Goldmine, Discographies, and the Record
Collector News. Galen Gart, owner of Big Nickel
Publications, created the "First Pressings"
R+B book series, the "American Record Label &
Dating Guide," and co-wrote "Duke/Peacock
Records- An Illustrated History with Discography."
Together, they worked on this book for many years, providing
an exhaustive overview of an underrated, overlooked
musical heritage that was often glossed over in music
history books.
For the Richard Berry fan, this
book provides a wonderful overview of his career, his
first group (The Flairs), and many artists that were
his musical peers in the Los Angeles region. Steve Propes
has been a friend and consultant to my production for
years, and this book provides some information that
I never knew about. There are a few minor errors in
this book, such as the mention of the Richard Berry
& Pharaohs reunion which actually occurred in
1996, not 1995, but for the most part, this is a very
comprehensive historical overview, backed by literally
hundreds of interviews conducted by Steve Propes. There's
also a cool photo of Richard Berry, Gaynel Hodge,
Eugene Church, Jesse Lee, Tommy "Buster"
Williams, Gary Peterson, and author Steve
Propes.
This book is available at many of the
cool bookstores, but you can also order it directly
from http://www.vocalgroups.com
or mailto:galeng@softwaresuccess.com.
Be sure to tell them LOUIE sent 'cha!
NORTHWEST STOMP,
SHOUT, AND WORK IT ON OUT
 For many people, the American territory known
as the Pacific Northwest is the "Land of LOUIE."
It was here that LOUIE LOUIE was tranformed from a calypso-inspired
rhythm and blues ballad into a greasy little rock and
roll song with cojones. Thanks to Ron Holden &
the Playboys, the Frantics, Rockin Robin
Roberts, the Wailers, Little Bill,
Dave Lewis, and countless others, the LOUIE LOUIE
roadmap was charted for the Kingsmen and others
to follow in their path.
Among rock and roll producers in the Pacific
Northwest, Kearney Barton provided the stuff
that dreams were made of in the rockin' 1960s. Audio
Recording Masters, the recording studio based in
various locations around the Seattle-Tacoma region,
was Kearney's mad laboratory where rock and elixir oozed
out in big chunks of vinyl. Recognizing a rare breed
that deserved preservation, Norton Records struck
a deal with Kearney to release some of his prize productions
in the form of a 3 part CD collection entitled "STOMP,"
"SHOUT," and "WORK IT ON OUT!" Of
the 61 total tracks on these releases, 51 were never
before released.
Among these tracks is one particular recording
that will have LOUIE LOUIE connoseurs salivating at
the mouth. Little Bill and the Adventurers recorded
one of the very first cover recordings of Richard
Berry's iconic melody, and it was Kearney Barton
behind the controls of this particular rendition. For
the first time ever, the original master tapes were
used for this release. There's a significant difference
in quality from previously released CDs that featured
this rendition.
There's also a a very rare version of
LOUIE LOUIE by the Nomads, not to be confused by Scandinavian
garagepunkers of the same name. Some of the other releases
on these compilations include tracks by such bands as
the Frantics, the Artesians, the Imperials,
the Canadian VIPs, the Incredible Kings,
Mr Clean & The Cleansers, Woody Carr &
El Caminos, the Misterians, and Plymouths,
among others. Celebrity-watchers will be tickled to
discover Tommy Chong of Cheech & Chong
fame, playing guitar on a 1964 recording by Little
Daddy and the Bachelors. What the band changed their
name to will certainly shock some listeners, but I won't
spoil the details in this article. Seek out these recordings,
and you'll find some great music for your library.
http://www.nortonrecords.com
THE BATTLE OF THE
BATTLE OF THE BANDS
 As luck would have it, Norton is not alone in
the attempt to unleash Northwest nuggets from the 1960s.
The interest in Northwest rock continues to grow, as
more labels unearth music from this vibrant region of
America.
Recently, there has been an onslaught
of archival Northwest rock collections from two record
labels with very similar names. Both sets of collections
have the title "Battle of the Bands," and
feature material from the archives of Jerden Records.
As a consumer, one might be easily confused by the two
different sets of products.
Jerden Records was one of the largest
regional record labels in the Pacific Northwest in the
1960s. Founded by Jerry Dennon, Jerden Records
came into national prominence when they released the
first pressing of "Louie Louie" by the Kingsmen
in 1963. As this single took off in popularity, Jerden
Records cut a deal with the Wand/Scepter Company
to sign the Kingsmen to the larger label, and became
a major player in the Northwest music scene. Over the
years, Jerden released a lot of music, focusing on a
wealth of material emanating from the Northwest region
surrounding Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon.
Under the Jerden umbrella, other labels emerged from
basically the same company, including Panaroma
and Picaddilly, which were created for the purpose
of regional marketing under different distribution companies.
When Jerden decided to package some of their popular
hit singles into some LP compilations, they chose a
common theme used by concert promoters to assemble a
group of bands onto one stage. Using the same title
that was used for a multitude of regional concerts,
Jerden Records would often call their compilations simply
"Battle of the Bands."
Some thirty odd years later, two prominent
reissue labels recently decided to license material
from the Jerden record label, resurrecting the catchy
title of "Battle of the Bands' for both series
of collections. I had a chance to compare the titles
side by side, and this is what I came up with:
Sundazed Records of New York,
has 2 volumes of their "Battle of the Bands"
series, sold under the "Beat Rocket"
imprint.
Ace Records of England, will
release 5 volumes of their "Battle of the Bands"
series, sold under the "Big Beat"
imprint.
The Sundazed collections feature liner
notes by Neal Skok. The Ace collections feature
liner notes by Alec Palao, Peter Blecha,
and Don Rogers.
The Sundazed collections include a 16
page booklet, and the Ace collections include a 32
page booklet.
The Sundazed collections have 25 songs
on each CD, and the Ace collections have 30 songs
on each CD.
The Sundazed collections are compilations
of some of the most popular recordings from Jerden.
The Ace collections dig a bit deeper into the archives,
combining many of the same popular songs with unreleased
recordings from the Jerden archives.
From a "LOUIE LOUIE" perspective,
to date, I've only seen one pure "LOUIE LOUIE"
recording on one of these compilations- "Louie
Louie" by Don & the Goodtimes on the
Sundazed/ Beat Rocket BATTLE #2, aka "Knock You
Flat." The song "Louise" by The Raymarks,
a song my friend Theo DeGrood of the Netherlands
would label a "LOUIE BASTARD" appears on Sundazed/
Beat Rocket BATTLE #2, and Ace/Big Beat BATTLE #1. There
are some other Jerden songs that "borrow"
from the LOUIE LOUIE riff, but I'll leave that subject
for another discussion.
From a audio perspective, it's an easy
task to compare, as many songs appear on both sets of
compilations and can be compared side by side- the aforementioned
"Louise," "The Owl & the Pussycat"
by The Bards, "Tomorrow's Gonna Be Another
Day" by Sir Walter Raleigh & the Cupons,
"Little Sally Tease" by Don & the Goodtimes,
"I've Searched" by the Juveniles, "She's
Boss" by The Dimensions, and "Crisco
Party" by George Washington & the Cherrybombs,
among others. The Ace compilations have a crisper, fuller
sound, whereas the Sundazed compilations sound slightly
muddy, with more of the scratchy elements you'd expect
of the original 45s, if you could actually find the
original vinyl.
The liner notes with the Ace compilations
are also far more comprehensive, providing significantly
more detail about the personnel of the different groups,
the recording dates, and the music publishing. I was
surprised that certain photo credits weren't provided
on the Sundazed compilations. The photo of the live
Sonics on the cover of the first Sundazed compilation
provided no acknowledgment of Jini Dellaccio,
whose photographs have graced the covers of many Northwest
productions.
All in all, who really "won"
the Battle of the Battle of the Bands? When all is said
and done, the ultimate winner is truly the consumer.
Both collections provide the best packages ever assembled
of the Jerden catalog. In fact, both collections are
vastly superior to any compilations ever assembled by
Jerden, as they are assembled with the type of loving
care this great music deserves. Both companies must
be commended for their efforts, as these compilations
are worthy of any rock and roll music collection!
In the world of "Louie Louie"
releases, both Ace Records and Sundazed Records must
be applauded for their efforts. In the last issue of
the LOUIE REPORT, I mentioned a superb new Paul Revere
& the Raiders release from Sundazed, "MOJO
WORKOUT," which showcases the original recording
sessions for their first album "HERE THEY COME,"
including two versions of THAT SONG. Expanding on an
underrated rock masterpiece, Sundazed has done an excellent
job in assembling this new 2-CD collection.
Sometime in the early part of 2002, Ace
Records will release a "Louie Louie" collection
of their own, featuring the very first legitimate CD
release of Richard Berry's original LOUIE LOUIE
recording, direct from the original tape master. As
this internet newsletter was going to "press,"
I just received a copy of yet another Northwest rock
collection from Ace, hot off the presses. "Riot
City!- Rocking Northwet Instrumentals," is comprised
of non-vocal rock tracks from the Jerden archives, circa
1960-1965. With 31 tracks, and a 12 page book crammed
with more information than you'd ever expect, this new
collection provides a lot of great music in a superb
package.
Both record labels have done the music
fan a great service and should be applauded for their
efforts.
http://www.acerecords.co.uk
http://www.sundazedrecords.com
GERMAN LOUIE RADIO
I'd like to thank Hans Stecker
of Bayern 2 Radio, based in Munich, Germany.
Hans talked me into an interview for a special radio
program on LOUIE LOUIE that was broadcast in March within
Germany, and also webcast around the world using the
power of streaming audio. I loved hearing my comments
translated to German! In addition to being a radio journalist
in Germany, Hans is also a member of the band Paleface
Hank, which recorded yet another version of this
iconic melody!
SONGS OF THE CENTURY
It's an interesting thing to consider
what sort of songs would be considered as the best representations
of any given moment in time. Every year, various entertainment
magazines have annual music round-ups to highlight what
they believe were the finest songs of that emerged in
the past 12 months. With the end of the 20th Century,
it was only natural that certain entertainment entities
would consider which compositions could be considered
as "the songs of the century."
Towards the end of 2000, the Recording
Industry of America and the National Endowment
for the Arts created a poll to determine the most
important 100 songs of the 20th Century. In March, CNN
posted these results on their website (http://www.cnn.com/2001/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/07/list.top.365.songs/index.html),
and there some aspects in this survey that should be
noted.
The number one song of the 20th Century,
was judged to be "Over The Rainbow," as sung
by Judy Garland , followed by "White Christmas"
by Bing Crosby at the number two slot, followed
by 'This Land Is Your Land" by Woody Guthrie
at number three, "Respect" by Aretha Franklin
at number four, and "American Pie" at Don
Mclean at the number five slot.
"Louie Louie" did arrive at
the number 57 slot, preceded by Paul McCartney's
"Yesterday" at the number 56. According to
the record industry statistics, there are more recordings
of "Yesterday" available to the consumer than
another other song on the planet. Based on my research,
however, I do believe the number of "Louie Louie"
recordings exceed any other song, including "Yesterday,"
or "Over the Rainbow," for that matter.
Another song worth noting is "You
Are My Sunshine" by Jimmie Davis, former
Governor of LOUISiana, which came in at the number 14
slot. When "Louie Louie" was originally released
by Richard Berry in 1957 on the Flip label,
it was as the B-side of his rendition of this great
Jimmie Davis song. Incidentally, Jimmie Davis died last
year at the ripe age of 101 years, and this particular
song was prominently featured in one of the funniest
movies of the year, "O Brother Where Art Thou."
It's interesting to see how the entertainment
industry places the significance of "Louie Louie"
in the scope of important songs, but I prefer the opinion
of Rhino Records, who placed "Louie Louie"
in their "20 Centuries of Hits" compilation,
as well as Bing Crosby's "Star Dust" as the
two most significant songs of the 20th Century.
On a semi-related note, there was an excellent
music documentary series produced by Bravo &
BBC entitled "POPULAR SONG: SOUNDTRACK OF
THE CENTURY." This was an 8-part series that aired
from August 12th until August 17th this year. This show
featured interviews with almost 150 writers, performers
and producers who influenced the history of modern music.
I don't know if this show will be re-aired, or released
on home video, but it's certainly worth the search.
APRIL MAYHEM
In April, I was alerted to a very interesting
historic tidbit from a viewer that discovered this tidbit
on the www.musiciansfriend.com
site:
"This is
the week that was in matters musical...1961, members
of H.B. and the Checkmates are lynched in the
Hermiston, Oregon, town square by members of the Society
for the Moral Protection of America's Youth, after
the mob is driven into a murderous frenzy by the group's
bitonal version of 'Louie Louie'..1997, three and
a half decades later, a network of 'All Louie Louie
24/7' radio stations opens across the country..."
As I continued to read this clipping,
I also discovered some other music history I didn't
know about:
"...1979,
Frank Sinatra joins the Grateful Dead for
a headline stint at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas...1982,
Anita Bryant of Florida Orange Juice fame undergoes
a sex change operation in Geneva and changes her name
to Andrew...1998, San Francisco police respond to
a domestic violence call to find Pat Metheny
and live-in partner Kenny G throwing dishes
at one another..."
Of course, when I noticed that the date
for all of this "history" was April 1st, it
all made perfect sense. Some joker created this mock
history for an April Fool's gag!
AN UNLIKELY FAN
OF LOUIELOUIE.NET
Running this LOUIE LOUIE website has been
a very rewarding experience, as I learn of some rather
amazing individuals that have been touched by the song.
While I continue to receive way too many requests by
people asking for the actual lyrics (see LOUIE FAQ for
my standard response), I also receive some intriguing
emails from unlikely readers. Here's one of my favorite
emails, from John McCann <John.McCann@ssa.gov>,
a visually-impaired man that works for the U.S. government:
"I must say
that I got a real chuckle out of the Ed Burkle
parody in the last Louie report. By way of context,
I'm a blind fellow and navigate in the Windows/GUI
environment via the use of fairly sophisticated screen
reading software. It's a bit of a technological high-wire
act, but not that unusual as attested to by the significant
number of blind computer users. This having been said,
most blind folks (me included) rather dislike Windows/GUI,
finding it rather frustrating at times, and many have
doggedly held on to their older DOS machines and protocols.
I'm fond of saying: 'give me a command line and a
path statement and I'll rule the world.' Well, given
our collective antipathy to GUI, I clipped and posted
the parody on the American Council of the Blind
list, (ACB-L); I'm sure they got a kick out of
it too. If time permits, (and it may not), I'm going
to see if I can't arrange for some time in my friend's
studio to record the parody. If this happens, you'll
be the first to get a copy. (Having played guitar
for thirty-five years, I can actually do that guitar
solo note for note; not that it was ever terribly
challenging except to replicate the exact sound.)"
As a visual person that relies heavily
on his highly-graphic-oriented Macintosh interface,
I loved reading letters from someone like John, whose
universe is so very different from mine. I applaud John's
efforts, and look forward to hearing his version of
"GUI GUI!"
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