Barbara George--I Know (You Don't Love Me No More)--1961

     New Orleans has always been a hotbed of music and in the early 60's, many record companies sent their scouts to that great city to find new talent. One who decided there needed to be a local company that catered to the needs of the black musician was Harold Battiste. More can be read about him and the AFO (All For One) record label here:  http://www.rockandrollomnibus.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-weekend-vault-afo-executives-and.html and http://www.rockandrollomnibus.blogspot.com/2013/03/weekend-vault-afo-executives-with-tammy.html
     One of his breakthrough artists was Barbara George. Born in Smithridge she was discovered singing in her church choir by singer Jesse Hill, who recommended her to Battiste. She recorded the first single on the AFO label, and it hit big reaching number one on the r&b charts and number 3 on the Hot 100. I Know (You Don't Love Me No More) was written by George herself.
     She had a couple more songs which reached the charts on AFO in 1962, but nothing that reached the success of her hit. Along with others, George was poached by Sue Records (which AFO had a distribution agreement) and shortly afterward AFO folded and Battiste headed to Los California. She never approached the success with Sue that she had with AFO and by the mid-60's was out of music.

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Joe Dowell--Wooden Heart (1961)

    Joe Dowell was from Indiana then moved with his family to Illinois where he went to college. During a semester break he drove to Nashville to look for a record company to record him. On his last day in the city, he was signed to Smash records not only because of his voice, and his clean cut look. After school was out in May of 1961 he went to record four songs.
     The night before the recording session, producer Shelby Singleton was at the movies watching "G.I. Blues" which was Elvis' latest movie. He was attracted again to a song in the movie called, "Wooden Heart" which was sung partly in German. A version was already going up the charts IN Germany, and with another Elvis song climbing up the charts at the time in the US, it was thought that Presley would not be releasing the song anytime soon, so it was presented to Dowell as one of the four songs to be recorded.
     Dowell took about three hours to learn the song phonetically that next day. It was released in June and a couple of months later it reached number 1. Presley himself had it issued as a single in the UK where it went to number 1, but never released it in the states. Joe had a couple more songs reach the charts, but was dropped by Smash after a contract dispute in late 1962. He spent the rest of his career in radio advertising.

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The Dovells--Bristol Stomp (1961)

     The group formed as the Brooktones in 1957. The Philadelphia based group consisted of Jerry Summers, Mark Stevens, Len Barry, Mike Dennis, Arnie Satin, and Danny Brooks. Their early songs attracted a small amount of attention in the city, but not enough to warrant a look from any record company, so in the summer of 1960 Jerry and Mike left to form The Gems. 
     Things began to change however late that year as Cameo/Parkway records brought in The Brooktones for an audition and did well enough on the strength of two of Barry's songs to be signed. Jerry and Mike were asked to come back, as the group changed their name to The Dovells. During the late spring of 1961, while in the studio, a PR guy was talking to the group about a new dance that he came across at the Goodwill Fire Hall at Bristol. The dance was called, "The Stomp". Several of the guys thought it cool to write a song about it, and just over 24 hours later, they song was written and recorded.
     Although released in the summer of that year, the single went nowhere. Finally it began to catch in the midwest during the Fall, and it wasn't long before it became the number 2 hit in the nation. For the next two years, they hit the top 100 another 7 times. Most of the songs were related to dances that were popular at the time ("Do the New Continental", "Bristol Twistin' Annie"). They did reach the top five again in mid-1963 with the number three hit, "You Can't Sit Down". A dispute however in 1964 led Barry to leave the band for a solo career, where he had several top 40 hits. Summers and Stevens still tour as The Dovells today.
      Check them out at http://www.thedovells.com/index.html

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Sunday Morning Vault: Jimmy Dean--Big Bad John (1961)

     If you are under the age of 50, the name of Jimmy Dean probably is linked (no pun intended) to sausage. Pretty good sausage too as Jimmy and his brother Don founded the company in 1969 and his business acumen secured him a great deal of success. However, an older generation knew Dean as an all-round entertainer....

     He spent much of the 1950's recording a bunch of singles, but outside of the top 5 country hit, "Bumming Around" in 1952 he had no success to speak of. He was however making a name for himself on television hosting and singing on several local shows. The big break came in 1957 as Dean's show, "Country Style" on WTOP in Washington DC was picked up by CBS. and renamed "The Morning Show", which lasted for 8 months. The network then hosted "The Jimmy Dean Show" which lasted from September 1958 to June of 1959.

      Jimmy made the charts in a big way with, "Big Bad John" hitting number 1 on the country and pop charts in late 1961.  This led to a series of top 40 hits in 61' and 62'. From 1963-66 he starred on "The Jimmy Dean Show" on the ABC network, which kept him in the spotlight and helped keep the hits coming on the country charts through the mid-60's.

     All of this gave him a lot of recognition and when the chance came about to start the sausage company, it was decided that he would be in the ads. The homespun humor that made him a hit with TV viewers was also helpful in the early success of the business.  He also did quite a bit of acting during that time being on several variety shows, Daniel Boone and The Love Boat. Interesting to note that Dean played billionaire Willard Whyte in the James Bond movie, "Diamonds Are Forever"

     Dean sold his part of the company in 1984, but continued to have a hand in it's running until old age, and poor health forced him to step aside for good. Jimmy died June 13 of 2010...

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Ben E. King--Stand By Me (1961)

     Ben E. King began his career as Ben E. Nelson and a singer in The Drifters (the second version of the group....that's story is a blog in itself....). They had several big hits with him in lead with, "Save the Last Dance for Me" reaching #1 on the pop charts. After a dispute over money, he was let go, and embarked on a solo career.

     After a name changed to Ben E. King, he scored his first hit with, "Spanish Harlem", then "Stand By Me" in 1961. The song was written by King, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and was based on the spiritual, "Lord, Stand By Me" and two lines that were rooted in Psalm 46:2-3. It was a hit twice in it's original form, in 61' and then again in 1987 in conjunction with the movie of the same name. It has also been a hit for John Lennon in 1975 (#20) , Mickey Gilley in 1980 (#1 Country), and Maurice White in 1985 (#6 R&B/Hip Hop).

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Patsy Cline--Crazy (1961)

     The song "Crazy" put two different artists on the musical map. The singer who made her signature song, and the writer who would later become an star in his own right.....

     By 1961, Patsy Cline had just taken a turn in her career that would help her break through in a big way. In 1955, she had signed a contract with Four Star Records, but there was stipulation that she could only record songs by Four Star songwriters. This didn't set well with her as she struggled to find a sound suitable for her husky voice. Through appearances on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts in 1957, the song, "Walkin' After Midnight" reached the charts, but it was the only song in 5 years that even charted.

     Her contract went out in 1960 and she signed with Decca Records-Nashville under the direction of legendary producer Owen Bradley. Her first single, "I Fall to Pieces" went to No. 1, but the next song, "Crazy", was one she didn't like, nor did she like the way it was sung. Part of the problem seemed to be that Nelson's demo was a faster tempo than Cline was comfortable with, and the second was the attempt to sing it with the vocal breaks like Nelson. Anyone who has heard Willie's music knows his vocal style is truly one of a kind, so an adjustment to a ballad type style, along with Patsy's smoothing out of the rough edges of the vocals created a musical masterpiece.

    Two years later Cline was gone, but in that short time, the music, and her take charge attitude concerning her career totally redefined country music for generations of women. Although it would take Nelson another decade to break through on his own terms, "Crazy" gave a hint of what would make him a star. This song, became the base for which the both of them became American icons.

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John Ashley--Little Lou (1961)

     As you view this clip...notice the voice narration and the last credit before the clip goes off.

      That voice belongs to John Ashley, who also produced the show, which was by far his biggest claim to fame.

       That doesn't mean however that he wasn't a busy man. While on a vacation in California in 1956,  a friend from Oklahoma State University got him onto the set of the John Wayne  movie The Conquerer, and Wayne steered him toward a job in television in the William Castle series Men of Annapolis. A year later, Ashley was at the offices of American International Pictures to pick up his girlfriend, who was auditioning for a part in the company's Dragstrip Girl. AIP house writer Lou Rusoff saw Ashley waiting in the hall and decided the young man was the type AIP was looking for to play the male lead in the movie!! (He must have been really photogenic....)

     This began a career in the movies, but someone picked up on the fact that he had a voice as well, and for about 5 years put out singles, mostly in a rockabilly style. They went nowhere, but are of interest all the same. Ashley has had a very busy career with some TV and lots of  "B" movies. The most famous of those are the "Beach Party" movies of the early and middle 60's. (Beach Party, Muscle Beach Party, Beach Blanket Bingo, How to Stuff a Wild Bikini.). Sometimes in the mid/late 70's, he began a career as a producer and in 1983, landed the gig as producer of the A-Team. He's stayed very busy since then producing movies and television. But with a handful of singles, we remember Ashley as a singer......

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Joey Dee & The Starlighters--Peppermint Twist (1961)

     On today's date in 1940, Joseph DiNicola better known as Joey Dee was born in Passaic, New Jersey. Along with David Brigati, Larry Vernieri, Carlton Lattimore and Willie Davis, Dee and The Starlighters got a standing gig at the Peppermint Lounge in New York in 1960. This song was based on that venue, and also gave them their only number one song in late 1961.

     The hits kept coming over the next two years (including three top 40's) then dried up. However, the band never stopped touring and still continues to this day (www.joeydee.com). Another interesting note, during the early 60's they had some interesting members of the backing band including three future members of The Young Rascals, Jimmy Jones, who would later drop the moniker and go by his real name of Jimi Hendrix, and a young Joe Pesci.

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Sunday Morning Valut: Ann-Margret (1961)

When Ann-Margret came on the scene in 1961, her background had been acting, dancing and singing onstage, so signing a 7 year contract by 20th Century Fox in 1961 AND charting her first hit with RCA Victor shouldn't have been a surprise. However it was not long before the singing was confined to stage and screen and the career on the charts was over. "I Just Don't Understand", was her first and only top 20 hits. To me, her voice is an acquired taste, but as long as I can see the pictures, who cares? Have a happy Sunday everyone!

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The Miracles--Shop Around (1961)

On this day 50 years ago, The Miracles with Smokey Robinson had Motown's first million seller....check it out.

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