Let me take you down

[manho]

reading about a skinny van and 1965 put me in mind of bert berns. he wrote van's greatest song, here comes the night in 1965.

it's worth reminding everybody just how great berns was. he started in 1961 with "a little bit of soap":

the jarmels, a little bit of soap:
www.sendspace.com/file/s5b5e0
johnny kidd & the pirates, a little bit of soap:
www.sendspace.com/file/oskruy


and finished in 1967 (heart failure at the age of 38) with this erma franklin song you might recognise:
www.sendspace.com/file/tr6pkk


in 1965 he also wrote this one:

the strangeloves, i want candy:
www.sendspace.com/file/90k3g8


some of his other songs?

twist and shout
cry to me
tell him
one way love
everybody needs somebody to love
baby let me take you home
hang on sloopy
down in the valley


and the guy was white. can you dig it?

[david]

I agree that Here Comed the Night was Van's best song. I like a lot of his stuff, but except for Astral Weeks, his best work were those pop r&b singles he made with Them.

[owen]

G-L-O-R-I-A muthafuckas

but yeah here comes is a little masterpiece

[manho]

reperata &the delrons had a big hit in england in 1968. pretty cool record.

rep & the dels, captain of your ship:
www.sendspace.com/file/1d2ghk

[cripes]

From wiki entry on Reparata & the Delrons:
In 1968 they released "Captain of Your Ship", co-written by Kenny Young. The song missed the U.S. national charts, but made the U.K. top 20 and the group toured the United Kingdom. Young said[2] of this period:-"If they had been more attractive there could have been a decent career there. They were responsible for me moving to England. I accompanied them to Top Of The Pops...[and]...attended the reception for their hit single "Captain Of Your Ship", along with John Lennon and Ringo at the Revolution Club in London. I met half the Beatles at our own reception...".


"If they had been more attractive there could have been a decent career"

[Cat Stevens]

ouch!

[dino]

porca troia che mostri

[toom]

It's not fair to judge them by a picture that was obviously taken on Halloween.

[manho]

[manho]

lulu & the luvvers, here comes the night, november 1964:
www.sendspace.com/file/negqws

[manho]

some info about tthe butterflys..

Ellie Greenwich was one of the most successful song writers of the sixties, but she also had a fairly successful career as a singer in her own write. Beginning as a solo recording artist, she later became a member of "dummy" recording groups like the Raindrops, the Popsicles, and the Butterflys. The latter group had a brief touch of hit status on the Red Bird label in late 1964.

    Greenwich and husband Jeff Barry had been having great success as writers in the Brill Building, and after a highly successful stint writing with Phil Spector for his Philles label, they left to establish Leiber and Stoller’s Red Bird Records. The ninth release for the company was "Good Night Baby," released as by the Butterflys. It’s pretty clear that Ellie was singing back-up, but the other members of the group are unknown. Some believe a group called the Buttons who recorded for the Ember label were actually the remaining Butterflys, but nobody who knows has come forward. Mary Thomas of the Crystals probably sang lead on the Butterflys hits.

    In late 1964 the group followed their labelmates the Dixie Cups, and the Jelly Beans into the Top 100 at number 51. The single was backed with the group’s version of "The Swim." Red Bird seemed very happy with the group’s debut, and it received quite a bit of promotion.

    Greenwich and Barry decided to follow-up the big hit with a power-charged version of "I Wonder," a song which they recorded with both the Crystals and the Ronettes at Philles. The new version began which a hypnotic drum beat, which a vocal chorus harmonizing majestically, and all topped off with a huge echo. It should have been a monster song in January 1965, but it languished at the bottom of the charts, only bubbling under at number 117. Backed up with a fantastic bubblegum classic, "Gee Baby Gee," it would be the group’s final waxing on Red Bird. The group didn’t really fit in with the label’s other girl groups, whose vocals were much more gritty and untextured.

    Although the group failed to be seen on the charts ever again, Ellie Greenwich recorded a new version of "Good Night Baby," for a solo album in the 70s.




red bird label, 1964. written and produced by ellie greenwich & jeff barry.
the jelly beans, i wanna love him so bad:
www.sendspace.com/file/v9p5yy

[owen]

thx for the bert berns trip nick. shouldnt he be in the what a shame thread? fuck knows what he would have written.

edited to add: total genius.

[manho]

"fuck knows what he would have written"

yep, he would have loved the 70s. i can see him working with eno on "ambient music #2" and writing some cool tunes for rick wakeman.

[manho]

... and don't forget, songwriting was more or less a hobby for berns. his real job was as number one producer for atlantic records during their golden period in the early/mid 60s (think under the boardwalk, saturday night at the movies...).

here's one of his lesser known things:

barbara lewis, baby i'm yours, 1965:
www.sendspace.com/file/5yn9zs

[manho]

in 1962 bert berns gave twist and shout to this group. i guess he'd heard this single in 1959:
www.sendspace.com/file/jezc3l

[manho]

goldie & the gingerbreads, can't you hear my heartbeat:
www.sendspace.com/file/50uyuu

you have to imagine it in mono.

[manho]

1965? yeah well 64 was pretty good too...

bessie banks, go now:
www.sendspace.com/file/cjjp1c

www.soulwalking.co.uk/Bessie%20Banks.html
Bessie Banks Page

[manho]

just came across this great foto of doc pomus performing in 1947:



pomus has a special significance for me cos he wrote (with mort shuman) the first song i ever bought - save the last dance for me by the drifters. he also wrote a few other songs:
sweets for my sweet, viva las vegas, can't get used to losing you, suspicion, surrender, teenager in love, little sister, his latest flame (and lots of other stuff for elvis)...

just another guy at the brill.

here's one of the first things he ever wrote...

ray charles, lonely avenue, 1956:
www.sendspace.com/file/poot7s

[dino]

that photo is unbelievable, it seems like a film, not reality

[manho]

here's another early pomus/shuman song.

the mystics, hushabye, 1959:
www.sendspace.com/file/j8zm80