Sunday Morning Vault: Louisiana's LeRoux--New Orleans Ladies (1978)

    A couple of days ago, I asked my wife the question, "Was there a local band that everyone listened to when you were a kid". She is from Southern Mississippi, but was heavily influenced by music which came from New Orleans which is just 90 minutes to the West. Her answer was immediate, "Louisiana's LeRoux". I have to admit total ignorance to the group, which of course piqued my interest
     They began from the remnants of a group called the Levee band in 1977, who had backed Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown and Clifton Chenier. They first called themselves The Jeff Pollard Band, then Louisana's LeRoux (it would be later shortened to LeRoux). The group first consisted of Jeff Pollard (vocals, guitar), David Peters, (drums, percussion, backing vocals), Leon Medica (bass, backing vocals), Tony Haselden (vocals, guitars), Rod Roddy (keys, synths, vocals), Bobby Campo (horns, violin, percussion, vocals). They quickly scored a contract with Capitol and went to work on their first album.
     That album, "Louisiana's LeRoux", spawned the single, "New Orleans Ladies" which reached #59 on the US charts, but at least in their home base, it became their signature song. They released a couple more well received albums, but it wasn't until the 1982 album, "Last Safe Place" that they hit big with the single, "Nobody Said It Was Easy" which reached the top 20 (#18) and it looked as thought the future was bright for the band.
     However after a couple more singles which reached the bottom rungs of the top 100, Campo and Pollard both left the band. They faded from view until the 2000 release of the album, "Ain't Nothing But a Gris Gris" which showed a group that was still musically strong. You can check out their big hit, but at least for a generation of girls in the late 70's/early 80's this song became the band's theme.
You can read a lot more about this great band here: http://www.laleroux.com/

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Weekend Vault: AFO Executives With Tammy Lynn (Pt.2)

     When we left off, many of the members of AFO, including Tammy Lynn went to the west coast seeking work. After some difficulty getting regular work in LA she went to New York long enough to play some gigs at the Birdland and to hook up on a recording session with producer Bert Berns. However, there wasn't enough to keep her busy so she moved back to California and reunited with Harold Battiste who had made a foothold for himself by producing early sides for Sonny and Cher, and reuniting with other New Orleans musicians such as Dr. John. She got quite a bit of work doing commercials, and backing vocals including the artists just mentioned. Over the years she has contributed her voice to many projects including the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street.
     In 1971, she was approached by Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records to re-record one of the songs off of the AFO Executives album called, "Mojo Hannah". She agreed and it was released on Cotillion Records to little fanfare, but it was a fantastic recording and felt the need to include it in our retrospective.

     While this is going on, just based in a hunch, Atlantic released the song which Tammy had recorded back in New York in the mid-60's. "I'm Gonna Run Away From You" became a big hit for her in the UK and it looked as if she was finally going to make it big. Here is an old video from the "Top of the Pops" show in England.

     On the success of the single, she went to the studio and recorded a number of cuts, which Atlantic pasted together with, "I'm Gonna Run Away From You" and "Mojo Hannah" with a group of songs that were haphazardly put together. The resulting album, "Love Is Here and Now Your Gone" went nowhere. Looking back, it was easy to see what happened. The cuts that were recorded in the states were quite inconsistent and she didn't even have a foothold in the US that would warrant an album in the first place. Secondly, the hit in the UK was a straight up piece of pop, and Mojo Hannah and much of the album were blues and jazz inflected. Not exactly the intended market who bought the single.
     As mentioned before, she probably best known in the states for her work on the album, "Exile on Main Street" and also on the single, "Would I Lie To You" by Eurythmics in 1985. She has kept busy over the years and released a new CD in 1992 called, "Tamiya Lynn". After 30 years of success in LA as a producer, Harold Battiste returned home to New Orleans and restarted AFO Foundation to recognize and document the musical history of his home. 

    
    

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The Weekend Vault: AFO Executives and Tammy Lynn, Part 1

    Today we start a two part set featuring the AFO Executives with Tammy Lynn. AFO stands for "All For One' and was the brainchild of New Orleans native Harold Battiste who believed that his city needed and deserved a black owned and operated record label. A place where local songwriters and musicians could come together as a collective and everyone could share in the profits rather than the constant bickering with labels who's dealings were a bit more than shady.
     Part of the support for the label was bankrolled by Juggy Murray who was the president of Sue Records out of New York City, which although giving immediate capital for the fledgling new label and would also provide national distribution. It came right out of the gate in 1961 with Prince La La's single, "She Put the Hurt On Me" (#28 r&b, #119 pop), the next single did even better, Barbara George's "I Know (You Don't Love Me No More) (#1 r&b, #3 pop).

     Subsequent follow-up's to both singles didn't do very well, and Murray, who thought they could do better with George on their own, signed her away to a larger contract. This seemed to be the Achilles heel of AFO as over the three years of their existence, they recorded many of the hottest names in New Orleans at that time; Prince La La, Barbara George, The Blenders, Willie Tee, Mac Rebennack (Dr. John), but they would be "discovered" by bigger labels and would soon sign up with them and move on.
     An interesting sidelight to AFO was their Jazz division. One of the albums featured some of the best session musicians that New Orleans had to offer; Battiste on alto sax and piano, Alvin "Red" Tyler on tenor sax, John Bordreaux at the drums, Melvin Laste on Cornet, Peter Badie on Bass, and a young singer known as Tammy Lynn.
    Tammy Lynn was born Gloria Brown in the Gert Town area of New Orleans in 1942 She began like many singers of that day in the church, but also had a love of musical theater in school. Her first gig came about totally by chance as Red Tyler's band was to play at a club down the street from Brown's house called, the Joy Tavern. Tyler's vocalist was a no show and the owner of the club mentioned there was a girl down the street who was a good singer. Although very nervous, she held her own and soon became a regular singer with the band.
     In 1961, Tyler became a member of the AFC Executives and brought Tammy along with him. Battiste signed Brown (now Tammy or Tami Lynn) and they released her first single on the label called "Baby"/"Where Can I Go"

     The single went nowhere, but Tammy Lynn continued to tour the New Orleans area with the AFO Executives, as they finally went into the studio in 1963 to record, "A Compendium". The album went nowhere at the time, but it's seen now as a classic recording of what was happening in the New Orleans jazz scene at the time.The following is the Barrett Strong song, "Money".

Soon afterward AFO went out of business and many of the musicians went to the west coast. Tomorrow we pick up the story of Tammy Lynn....

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Sunday Morning Vault: Darla Hood--My Quiet Village (1959)

     Those of a certain age remember "The Little Rascals". When I was a kid of the late 60's and early 70's they were a staple of my Saturday morning television along with "The Three Stooges". Back when they were made from 1922 to 1942, it was known as the "Our Gang" series. Most casual fans of the show are mostly familiar with the cast from the shows dated 1936-39 with Alfalfa, Spanky, Porky, Buckwheat and Darla Hood.
     Darla Jean Hood was born in Leedey, Oklahoma in 1931. Her mother, a music teacher taught her dancing and singing at an early age. In fact, at the age of 3 the family traveled to New York City for a screen test with Joe Rivkin who was a scout for Hal Roach Studios. She did well and the family moved to Culver City, California to appear in the "Our Gang" series, where she made her debut at the age of four in 1935. She was to stay with the group until 1941. Most of the time I remember her as the love interest of Alfalfa. Here is an early clip....

         After she left the group, other than an occasional movie role, she was your normal teenager at Fairfax High School in Los Angeles. After her graduation she made a number of television appearances and began a long and successful career as a night club singer in LA (at the Coconut Grove), in New York (at the Copacabana) and in Las Vegas (at the Sahara). During the late 50's and early 60's she attempted to translated this into record sales.
     The song your going to hear today is from 1959 and was done first by Martin Denny the pianist who popularized the "exotica" style of music in the late 50's. She has a great voice (she also did a number of sides for Acama Records as well), but this one was truly a record of it's time. Darla performed and did a great number of "Our Gang" reunions up to her death from diabetes at the age of 47 in 1979.

  
    

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Sunday Morning Vault: Hal David (1921-2012)

     Yesterday we lost one of the great American lyricists of the last 50 years. Hal David with his songwriting partner Burt Bacharach defined 60's pop music. His timeless lyrics are still being sung by many an artist who's parents were children when they were first performed.
     David dabbled in lyric writing, but was preparing for himself a career in journalism. He was writing for the New York Post, when a lucky break allow him an opportunity to write for big band leader Sammy Kaye. Several hits came for Kaye and for Guy Lombardo's band s well. However it was hit meeting with Burt Bacharach in 1957 that would change the life of both men, and of American music. Starting with, "The Story of My Life" written and recorded that year by Marty Robbins, and "Magic Moments" sung by Perry Como, they were off and running.
     Their biggest success came though with the collaboration with Dionne Warwick. There was a chemistry between the three that made it impossible to mention one without the other. "I'll Never Fall In Love Again", "Do You Know the Way to San Jose", "Walk On By", and "I Say A Little Prayer" were touchstones of mid-60's pop and are still fresh and inviting today.
     The following is a listing of David's biggest songs and a video or two as well.

"The Story of My Life"--Marty Robbins
"Magic Moments"--Perry Como
"(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Vallance"--Gene Pitney
"Only Love Can Break a Heart"--Gene Pitney
"Close to You"--The Carpenters
"Wives and Lovers"--Jack Jones
"Wishin and Hopin"--Dusty Springfield
"Walk On By"--Dionne Warwick
"There Was Always Something There To Remind Me"--Dionne Warwick/Naked Eyes (82)
"What The World Needs Now Is Love"--Jackie DeShannon
"What's New Pussycat"--Tom Jones
"Alfie"--Dionne Warwick
"I Say a Little Prayer"--Dionne Warwick
"The Look Of Love"--Dusty Springfield/Sergio Mendes & Brazil 66'
"Casino Royale"--Herb Alpert
"One Less Bell To Answer"--The Fifth Dimension
"This Guys In Love With You"--Herb Alpert
"Do You Know the Way to San Jose--Dionne Warwick
"Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head"--B.J. Thomas
"I"ll Never Fall In Love Again"--Dionne Warwick
"To All The Girls I've Loved Before"--Nelson/Iglesias
"It Was Almost Like A Song"--Ronnie Milsap

 

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Sunday Morning Vault: The Dixie Cups--Chapel Of Love (1964)

     Sisters Barbara and Rosa Hawkins along with school friend Joan Johnson began singing in the Calliope housing project in New Orleans. First known as Melltones, they caught the attention of singer Joe Jones who became their manager. By 1963, they went to New York for an audition and was signed by Leiber and Stoller signed them to Red Bird Records.
      They were renamed "The Dixie Cups" and was assigned a song written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector which had originally been meant for The Ronettes. "Chapel Of Love" became their biggest hit, although it was not their only one having three more top 40 hits. it was also the first American song to reach the top 40 after the British Invasion, knocking off "Love Me Do" in the summer of 1964.
      The sisters still continue to perform along with Athelgra Neville. You can see more of them at  http://lpintop.tripod.com/thedixiecups/

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Sunday Morning Vault: Mark Dinning--Teen Angel (1959)

     From a purely historical standpoint, I was always amused by certain religious groups in the late 80's and 90's who were claiming that rock songs promoted death. Not that the subject would be worth discussing, but this was not the first time that popular music had been preoccupied with it. In fact, it has been a part of rock and pop music since the late 50's. There have been many over the years, but for those who think this is a subject of later rockers consider the death in a car songs, "Dead Man's Curve" (1964), and  "Last Kiss" (1962). Or maybe on a motorcycle with "Leader of the Pack" (1965). In fact, if you are wanting to dive into this a bit more, there is an entire page of this stuff with dozens of examples of death in music, either by accident, by murder, or by war. So any talk of death in today's music seems a bit disingenuous. (By the way...that website is  http://www.nyx.net/~anon52ea/DeadTeenSongs.html. Your welcome.)
     Anyway, this leads our blog today to look at, if not the first, the first popular "death" song on the charts. Mark Dinning was one of nine born to a couple who lived in Oklahoma,  (where Mark was born) Kansas, and finally Nashville. Three of his sisters had recording success as "The Dinning Sisters" in the late 40's. Mark however fancied himself as a country singer. He was signed to a contract with MGM in 1957, but really hadn't done much until he was given a song written by his sister Jean and her husband Red Surrey.
     The song had all the makings of a hit. Danger (car stalls on train), devotion (she goes back for ring), unrequited love (she dies in his arms...never to love her again ), and of course eternal devotion (assuming she is watching over him from above). It took awhile for the song to make it to the charts as US and UK radio stations at first would not play it because of what was considered morbid material. Between some stations what would play it, and word of mouth, the song would quickly make it up the charts becoming a number 1 hit in February 1960.
    Dinning would have three more minor hits over the next couple of years, but alcoholism hindered his career greatly. He died in 1986 of a heart attack driving home from a gig in Jefferson City MO.

 
   

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Sunday Morning Vault: Cliff DeYoung--My Sweet Lady (1974)

    Cliff DeYoung began his career as a musician with the group Clear Light, who opened for several of the major stars of the day, but who's own light would be out by 1968. DeYoung then tried out and won a part on the Broadway version of "Hair" then later the Tony award winning, "Sticks and Bones"
     After four years on the east coast, he went back to the west side to star in the movie "Sunshine". The movie was a real tear-jerker as it told the story of a mother who discovers she has cancer and recorded her last days for her family. The music in the show was written by John Denver (who had recorded it on his 1971 album, "Poems, Prayers, and Promises") but the single was the recording that DeYoung sang in the movie. Denver was to release his own single version in 1977.
     Cliff continues to act, having been in almost 100 movies and tv shows. The clip below has part of the audio from the movie with Christina Raines and Cliff DeYoung.

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Sunday Morning Vault: Delaney & Bonnie--Only You Know and I Know (1970)

     Delaney and Bonnie were not around a long time, but they made quite a splash as the predominant white soul duo of not only the late 60's/early 70's, but of all time.
      Delaney Bramlett was born in Mississippi and moved to California to try to make it as a guitar player. His break came as a member of the house band, "The Shindogs" for the ABC music series, "Shindig" from 1964-66. It's was through this band that he met and befriended Leon Russell, who would figured in his career.
     Bonnie O'Farrell was born in Alton Illinois and migrated to LA where she met Delaney at a bowling alley where The Shindogs were playing. Within a week they were married and decided to record together. They became the first white artists signed to Stax records to a one album contract.
     That album, "Home" and it's follow up "Accept No Substitute" on Elektra, didn't make much of a splash on the charts, but the talent of the duo spread among the major artists around the world who clamored to work with them. George Harrison, who learned to play slide guitar from Bramlett in turn introduced him to Eric Clapton who invited the couple to open for his group, Blind Faith in 1969.
    Clapton, who was still searching for the group setting that he could feel comfortable with, felt so much at home with the couple, the he would come on stage with them and play during the opening set. Eric would later say that Delaney taught him everything he knew about singing. That might be overstating a bit, but there is no doubt that his music took on a more soulful turn after his association with the Bramlett's.
     They went on tour as Delaney, Bonnie and Friends in 1970 which contained Eric Clapton and a rotating group of friends who love the couple and the music that they were making. George Harrison, Bobby Whitlock, Dave Mason (who wrote, 'Only You Know and I Know'), Leon Russell, Duane & Gregg Allman, Rita Coolidge, and King Curtis all would be found jamming on any given night.
     The tour was documented on the album, "On Tour with Eric Clapton" which did what none of the studio albums could, to capture at least in part the magic of Delaney & Bonnie.

   
     

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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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Sunday Morning Vault: Skeeter Davis--The End of The World

     There is a healthy crossover between country and pop artists on the charts anymore, but at one time (prior to Garth Brooks), it was more the exception than the rule. Before Tammy Wynette and Dolly Parton made it commonplace for female country artists to cross from country into pop, there was Patsy Cline, but even more so, Skeeter Davis.
      Skeeter was born Mary Penick in Dry Ridge, Kentucky in 1931. Her dad started calling her Skeeter due to her being so full of energy as a child (in this area, a 'Skeeter' is a slang term for a mosquito) She had success in gospel then country in the 50's as the other half of the duo, "The Davis Sisters", although partners Betty Jack Davis and later Betty's sister Georgia were not related to Mary.
     She retired from music in 1956, but returned a couple of years later to focus on a solo career. 1960 brought her success on the pop charts with two top 40 hits, "(I Can't Help You) I'm Falling Too" and "My Last Date (With You)". Her next placement on the charts would be in 1963 with the massive hit, "The End of The World".
     Written by Arthur Kent and Sylvia Dee, and produced by Chet Adkins, the song not only was a hit on the country and pop charts, but has become the most successful crossover hit in history. The song peaked at #1 on the Adult Contemporary charts, #2 on the pop charts, #2 on the country charts, and #4 on the R&B chart!
     The song has been covered many times, and although Davis would score another top 10 pop hit that year, "I Can't Stay Mad At You", she would always be identified by this song. She had a total of 8 songs in the top 100, with 4 of them in the top 40. Her hit making in country would last well into the 70's, and would be a concert favorite up to near her death in 2004.

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Sunday Morning Vault: Daddy Dewdrop--Chick-A-Boom (1971)

     Every so often I find a song that deserves to be re-heard just because it was a hit in it's time. Daddy Dewdrop is the pseudonym for songwriter Dick Monda. He has written for a host of other artists, but his main claim to fame was a song he recorded in 1971. "Chic-A-Boom" reached the top ten in the spring of 1971, and never had another song come close to the top 40. You can read more about him here: http://daddydewdrop.com/

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Sunday Morning Vault: The Crystals--He's A Rebel (1962)

     It's hard to think today how little control artists had in the first years of rock and roll. Stories about bad contracts and rip offs have always been a part of the landscape as unscrupulous record companies and managers took advantage of men and women who just wanted hear their records on the radio. 
     In the early 60s,  Barbara Alston, Mary Thomas, Dolores "Dee Dee" Kenniebrew, Myrna Girard, and Patrica "Patsy" Wright made up The Crystals. They signed with Phil Spector's Philles Records, and their first hit was 1961's, "There's No Other One (Like My Baby)". Another hit followed about 6 months later with, "Uptown".
      The potential third hit was written by Carole King and Jerry Goffin. "He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss)". It's subject matter kept many radio stations from playing it, and the song never reached the charts at all. This leads up to our featured song...
      By mid-1962, Spector was recording in LA much of the time, and had found Darlene Love and her group The Blossoms and began recording THEM under the name, "The Crystals". This song, which was released in the fall of 1962 was not actually recorded by the original Crystals. There are a couple of stories concerning this. One legend was that he was so enthusiastic about the song that he recorded it as soon as he heard it. The more likely story has that the original Crystals were based in New York and as there was a race to get the recording out as soon as possible, Spector didn't want to wait for the girls to travel cross country, so he used what he had.
    The song, written by Gene Pitney, which began a trend among girl groups to sing about the relationships between the girl and her tough guy boyfriend, went to number 1 in the fall of 1962. Phil Spector played fast and loose with both groups and the names associated with them for the next couple of years This clip which was filmed in 1965 is very ironic considering the real Crystals are lip syncing to a song they never recorded...

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Sunday Morning Vault: Marshall Crenshaw--Someday, Someway (1982)

    Over the years of studying popular music, one comes to the conclusion that most of the hits over the years were that way because they ARE good. However, to just dismiss all other songs as unworthy is musically throwing the baby out with bath water. Anyone who has spent time attempting a career in this business can tell you that many variables come into play for a song to even get a record deal, much less making a hit out of it. Some will play for awhile, and decide to quit music after awhile to pursue more lucrative interests.  Others seems to be happy doing what they are passionate about despite popular sentiment, they make enough money to make a secure living (sometimes not), and in the case of artists like Marshall Crenshaw, have a solid cult following.
      Marshall would be considered an artistic renaissance man. His Beatles roots were deep early as his first group was called, "Astigafa" which is an acronym for "a splendid time is guaranteed for all" from 1968 to 1973. His first break came playing John Lennon in the off-Broadway version of "Beatlemania". He has penned songs for movies, written books, and played Buddy Holly in the 1987 movie, "La Bamba".
      It's interesting that he played Holly, because with his debut release in 1982, he seemed nothing less than a second coming of the fallen star. Just a look at the cover of that album showed an uncanny resemblance with the glasses and his angular frame. More importantly, the music had a clean, fresh production and an enthusiasm that almost glistened off of the disc. It sounded so new at the time, but for those who knew better, it's roots were the short, to the point songs about love in it's various forms that Holly wrote and sang, and filtered through the early Beatles.
     "Someday, Someway" barely made the top 40 in the summer of 1982, but none of it's follow-up's ever made the charts. The single and the album that is came off of however, was not ignored as a very strong cult following has developed over the past 30 years who consider him (as I do), the most underrated artist of the last three decades. His second album, "Field Day" is actually my favorite, and the single off of it, "Whenever Your On My Mind" is one of the finest pop singles ever. His latest release, "Jaggedland" was released in 2009. You can see what he's up too at: http://www.marshallcrenshaw.com/
     Not only are we playing, "Someday, Someway", but as a bonus...am putting up "Whenever Your On My Mind" as well. Happy Sunday!!

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Sunday Morning Vault: Sam Cooke--You Send Me (1957)

     Because of his long life and continued presence in the spotlight, Ray Charles is considered by many the father of soul music. While this technically may be true, it was another giant who gave it legitimacy beyond the clubs. Because of his early death, there are several generations who have missed the influence and legacy that was Sam Cooke.
      Soul music by definition is a blending of rhythm & blues, and gospel. Whereas Ray Charles' background wasn't necessarily in the church, what was seen as a blending of the sacred and profane divided many who thought it was sacrilege. Cooke's background was much different. He grew up the son of a pastor in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and after singing in several groups as a child and teenager, filled the role of tenor in the groundbreaking group, The Soul Stirrers.
     The stigma of crossing over from gospel to secular was enough that Cooke released his first single under the name "Dale Cook", which didn't fool many. However, the head of Specialty records, Art Rupe, gave Sam his blessing to leave for a secular career, although wasn't happy at the direction of the music and the singer finally had to separate himself from the label.
     Signing with Keen records, he recorded, "You Send Me", which was actually the B side of the record. The A-side, a reworking of George Gershwin's, "Summertime" was slated for release, the disc jockeys preferred the Cooke-penned song. It was his only number 1 song, but was the beginning of a long stay on the charts as he logged 17 top 20 hits up until his death in December of 1964

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Sunday Morning Vault: Dee Clark--Raindrops (1961)

Delectus Clark was born in Arkansas in 1938, with the family moving to Chicago in 1941. He spent his teen years singing in various groups, and began a solo career in 1957. His first big break occurred when Little Richard retired (for the first time) and Clark stepped in to fill the dates that Richard abandoned. Over the next several years, he had success on the charts with 5 top 40 hits, but his only top 10 came in the spring in 1961 when "Raindrops" reached #2 for a week. Ironically, it was also his last hit as the next two songs could not replicate that, and by the late 70's was on the oldies circuit.

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Sunday Morning Vault: Chubby Checker--The Twist (1961)

     Ernest Evans at times lamented the fact that many overlooked his talent, but one thing is for sure, he was smart enough to ride "The Twist" to a solid career for the entirety of his career.
     Evans was working at a chicken processing plant and a produce market in the late 50's, and was known as a good singer who had the gift of making impressions of popular singers of the day, Fats Domino, Elvis, and Jerry Lee Lewis were just a few of the artists that he would imitate. He would entertain workers at both places with his talents. It was the owner of the produce market and his friend who was a songwriter for Cameo-Parkway records who arraigned for him to make a private recording for Dick Clark (who was still based in Philadelphia at the time) using the voices.
     It was Clark's wife who gave him the name "Checker". She asked him his name and Ernest said that his friends called him, "Chubby". She was making a play on Fats Domino's name when she saying, "Like Checker?". The name got a laugh from all there, but it also stuck. The record that Checker made was sent to Clark's friends as a Christmas gift. However, the folks at Cameo-Parkway was so impressed that they signed him to a contract and released, "The Class" as a single in the spring of 1959. It reached the top 40 later that year.
     "The Twist" had been recorded by Hank Ballard & The Midnighters in 1959, and reached the top 20 that year. They had also introduced the dance, but it was Checker's version, released in the summer of 1960 that stormed up the charts, all the way to #1. It not only hit the top of the charts that year, but it went on to reach number 1 again in late 1961.
     This launched Checker into international stardom, but it also trapped him by producers who saw him as a, "dance" singer, and had him not only attempt songs with a "Twist" theme (Let's Twist Again, Twistin' USA, Slow Twistin'), but a whole bunch of other songs about dancing, (The Hucklebuck, Pony Time, The Fly). He wasn't always happy about this, but on the other hand, was a smart enough businessman to strike while the iron was hot.
     As it turned out, Checker finished with three #1's and had 24 songs on the top 40, with the last time being a re-recording of "The Twist" for a new generation with The Fat Boys in 1988. 

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Sunday Morning Vault: The Casinos--Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye (1967)

     Those who listen to a broad range of music from the past century is familiar with the term "The Great American Songbook". It defines music generally from the late 1920's to the mid 1950's. (although purists and historians would date it back much further than that...say the turn of the century) It was defined by music that was heard on Broadway and then adapted to radio and records and has more to do with the songwriters on Tin Pan Alley then it does the performers.
     It has been said that this period ended with the advent of Rock and Roll. Well, I have been working with a theory that suggests that there was (and is) another period that extends the idea of "The Great American Songbook" for decades after that. It's just that the media had changed. One of the songs that I would put in that group we looked at in the vault last week, (Vicki Carr's, "It Must Be Him")..today we look at another one, The Casinos and "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye".
     The group was a nine piece at the time of their hit, although several members had been working together since 1958, the version that record this came together in 1965. It's writer, John Loudermilk was a popular songwriter, mostly in country music, but more than a few pop and rock artists cut his tunes as well. Loudermilk's cousins, Ira and Charlie, were better known as the country duo The Louvin Brothers.
     "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" was a hit in early 1967, reaching #6 on the Billboard 100 chart. Their follow up, "It's All Over Now" was written by Don Everly and reached the charts, but that was about it for the group in the public eye. However, they never stopped touring and still remain a concert draw to this day.

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Sunday Morning Vault: Vicki Carr--It Must Be Him (1967)

     Vicki Carr has been a star in the Latin music world now for over 25 years. He has been nominated for five Grammys since 1986, winning five of them. She has done a wealth of humanitarian work especially in  behalf of Hispanic students, where her Vicki Carr Scholarship Foundation has awarded more than 280 scholarships totaling over a quarter of a million dollars. What many have forgotten was her start as a easy listening pop star.
     Carr was born Florencia Bisenta de Casillas Martinez Cardona in El Paso TX in 1941. Her first recording success was in 1962 as she recorded the song, "She's A Rebel", which went top 5 in Australia. She gained more exposure from being a regular on TV's Ray Anthony Show. The singles for the next few years all flopped, and the several albums had spotty success. However the 1966 album, "It Must Be Him" was nominated for 3 Grammy's on the strength of the title track which reached #3 on the charts.
     She had moderate success on the pop charts over the next several years, although doing well in the Adult Contemporary field scoring 7 top twenty songs through 1972. In 1980, she began a series of  Latin albums sung entirely in Spanish (she had recorded many of her hits in Spanish much earlier). She broke through in to that market several years later, and continues to tour and record to this day.

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Sunday Morning Vault: The Caravelles--You Don't Have to be A Baby to Cry (1963)

     "You Don't Have to be A Baby to Cry" was written by Bob Merrill and Terry Shand. It was recorded twice for the US Country market, once by Earnest Tubb and the other by Tennessee Ernie Ford (it was the B-side of "Sixteen Tons").
     The Caravelles, a duo made up of Lois Wilkinson and Andera Simpson recorded the song in 1963 and not only reached the UK charts, but soared to #3 on the US pop charts as well. The girls never had another hit on either side of the ocean, but even after Wilkinson left, Simpson kept the name, and The Caravelles toured well into the 1980's.

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