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AUGUST, '99 ISSUE |
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Hey, you all... The time has come to book Christmas parties, wedding receptions, bowling banquets, and next year's class reunions! The word to the wise is "Book Early!" Don't forget: Old C.A. has a complete library of new sounds, old sounds, disco, pop, rap, country, etc. etc....to make ANY PARTY.... EXTRA SPECIAL! Call for availability or free brochure at 412.734.1146 or eMail: CARocks177@aol.com
"Have Music, Will Boogie"
"Letters, we get
letters...." From C.A. : Thanks, Marvin...and keep the kids listening....they are the ones who can carry on the tradition. From John McCall formerly of Greensburg: "...Apple corps # 94-222... My wife & I decided to retire and move to Florida....but I sure do miss your oldies show on FM 104 with all the other d.j.'s..." From C.A.: Thanks, John...we miss you and your wife, too. From
C.A. : Special thanks to the Wingenroth family of
Irwin for sending the great photos from Porkstock '98.....the Wingenroths
and C.A. (and Shane) go From Skip Paulick: "I've been a listener of yours since the original days of the late 60's. Your music always brings back great time of then: when music was music with meaning. I was at Greengate Mall's Record Mart & saw where the slot was for C.A.'s C.D., but it was empty... where can I get one!" From C.A.: Thanks for the kind words...CD is no longer available, I'm sorry to say. Charlie received the following interesting article via eMail and received permission from the sender to send it out to the Apple Corps Members: It is important news to those who feel that originators of rock and roll should not get ripped off as they did so many times in the past:) Herb Reed Awarded exclusive rights to "The Platters" Name Resolving a years-long controversy over the right to perform in public as "The Platters," the classic Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ensemble, a Federal appeals court has decided which party is `The Great Pretender' and which is not. In a ruling issued in San Francisco, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has held that Herb Reed of Arlington, Massachusetts, the original group's founder, manager, & sole surviving member, has the exclusive right to use "The Platters" trademark. In addition to "The Great Pretender," the group's most popular hits included "Twilight Time," "Only You," and "My Prayer." Though other members of the original group have left it over the years, Reed has managed, performed, and toured with The Platters continuously since he founded the group and coined its name in 1953, replacing departing singers with a series of new members. When a rival group, consisting of none of The Platters' original members began performing under that name, a lawsuit ensued. Upholding a federal trial court's ruling that Reed alone is entitled to use The Platters name, the appellate court found that The Platters' name had belonged collectively to its original five members and that Reed, the sole survivor, "was the person who maintained continuity and was in a position to control the quality of the group's services." The court also found that confusion would result if the rival group were allowed to continued to perform as The Platters. In the 1960's, Paul Robi, one of the group's original members, broke off from the Platters and later claimed to have assigned to his wife, Martha Robi, whatever rights he had to that name. Martha Robi, who never performed with the Platters, then assembled a new group that performed and toured as The Platters, though none of its members were part of the original ensemble. The Ninth Circuit's ruling against Robi and in favor of Reed creates a precedent that may impact controversies between other original rock & roll performers and "copy cat" groups that use their name but include no original members. Reed is delighted that the Federal court had vindicated his rights to the name he coined over 45 years ago and has nurtured ever since. "My Prayer has been answered", Reed said. "it's Twilight Time for the Great Pretenders." T. Christopher Donnelly, of the Boston law firm of Donnelly, Conroy & Gelhaar, is "enormously pleased by this result. Herb Reed has devoted a lifetime to this group and the court's recognition that he is solely entitled to enjoy the benefits is good news for everyone who believes in the law's protection of servicemark rights." Here at www.theapplecorps.com the staff can add only our "Hurrah!" It's about time: now how about all those back royalties that so many artists deserve.....isn't it time the companies started paying up? (actually, some have...but there is much more work to be done! )
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eviews Lots available by Frankie Ford on C.D.! Folks who LOVED Frankie Ford & LOVE his sound will find lots on C.D. to choose from. His Ace (Mississippi) stuff is available on any number of anthologies from the "hit-oriented" like Sea Cruise-Very Best of...., Music Club 50062 to in-depth releases like Ooh-Wee Baby...The Best of....., West Side (England) 519 (includes good booklet) In addition, his tracks on Imperial & from the London Sessions in the 80's are available on Cruisin' With... , ACE (London) 696. His Ace(MI) stuff is more heavily R 'n B in tone, some of the Imperial is more "Pop"-oriented, while the grooves in London run quite a gamut. Check out his Rockin' Behind the Iron Curtain (and recent interview material) from the ACE 696 C.D. Check out Frankie's Web Site: www.frankieford.com. Watch for them on www.theapplecorps.com soon!
What a great night that show provided. "Hot, Hot Tamales....ah, Hot Tamales...." Everyone is singing that well-known refrain since that evening. It
was a superb show....the Counts did ALL their sounds on Dot records...and
chatted with Charlie for WQED's do-wop shop afterwards.... These guys
hailed from Indianapolis and had a unique sound that their lead singer
indicated was early-on influenced by the Four Freshmen and the Hi-Lo's....
groups also mentioned by the late Rudy West of the Five Keys as influences
on him when Charlie interviewed him a number of years back for the Charlie
Apple Show. The Magnificents were Magnificent, as always. C.A. had the wonderful opportunity to M.C. the Magnificents' show at SOC on July 25, 1999. The Magnificents, a truly amazing group, were part of the spectacular roster of artists at VeeJay out of Chicago back in the 50's. Johnny Keyes (the original founder & lead singer), Rufus Hunter, Skeeter Hawkins and Reggie Gordon put on a show with great harmony & hard core rhythm and blues. Their renditions of classic Moonglows' & Flamingos' material were superb...most notably Secret Love. The show was filmed for later broadcast on WQED on their DoWop Shop. Charlie was honored to be able to do the after-the-show interview with Johnny Keyes for the Do Wop Shop.....Johnny indicated that he never realized how important the music he had a chance to take part in meant to the USA until one time when he was really feeling low: There were no singing jobs left, he felt down-hearted...and he tuned in to a late night TV show on which one of those "60 great hits of the Past" commercials came on. He did not pay much attention until he heard the familiar strains of his own "Loomdy Loomdy Wop...wop wop... Loomdy Loomdy Wom..." Upon The Mountain came blaring through his TV set...and gave him a new lease on life....he wrote a great book, reformed the group....and is feeling on top of the world again. NOTE: If anyone is interested in BOOKING the Magnificents or the Counts or the Harptones or the Six Teens or anyone else you read about on C.A.'s Website...eMail...and Charlie will put you in touch with the right folks. These guys are GREAT!!!!!!
DoWop
50! At 8 P.M. on August 10 on Pgh.'s channel 13 and then again the entire Sunday afterwards, groups like Speedo & the Cadillacs, Pookie Hudson & the Spaniels, Norman Wright & the Del Vikings, Herb Reed & the Platters, the Marcels, Arlene Smith & the Chantels, and many, many more spectacular group harmonizers graced the TV screens. It was truly a Night to Remember. WQED in Pittsburgh had THEIR LARGEST SHARE EVER FOR A NIGHT TIME PROGRAM....IT BEAT ABC AND NBC both! The taping of the show, itself, under the supervision of T.J.Lubinski (whose grandfather, many of you know, started & owned Savoy Records), was in itself a momentous extravaganza, running like clockwork even with the short delays needed to enhance the production. Between the acts Mike Fraser and the gang from 3WS handled the emcee chores....and graciously introduced The Old King Bee....and asked him to come onstage and intro the rest of the MusicPower-104 DJ's who were in the audience. The highlight of the evening in many folks' opinion was the comic, yet magnificent, bit when The Passions, Earl Lewis & the Channels, Vito of The Salutations, and the incomparable Earl "Speedo" Carroll & the Cadillacs did their various renditions of Gloria, each one interrupting the other saying, "Hey, wait...that was MY song!" The resulting medley of Gloria was not simply fun rivalry, but excellent theater.... This tape program, edited by T.J., was SPECTACULAR... and the reason PBS was willing to put it together was the excellent response that ALL the Pgh. vocal group harmony fans gave to the DoWop pledge drives & fund drives on WQED...it is those Pittsburghers that made it all possible....
One final note: one
cannot praise this show without giving credit to Henry DeLuca of HJD
Enterprises who put the acts together... He has the Master Touch on lining
up the artists, just as T.J. has the Master Touch when it comes to
directing & editing.... It will be well worth your tuning in!
More New Angels in Soul
Heaven: Teddy Marsh, the lead for the Arcades on Johnson Records' "My Love"/"Fine Little Girl," passed away at the age of 58 on June 14, 1999. Theodore Albert Marsh, Jr., was born on April 16, 1941, in Brooklyn, New York. James 'Archie' Archer, the bass of the Crows died on June 22, 1999. Who can forget "Gee"/"I Love You So?" Sadly so many have passed on to Rock And Roll Soul Heaven where they now sing with the angels!!! |
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Recent Phone Calls to the Apple Corps... |
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Harvey Fuqua called Old C.A.
a couple of weeks ago to chat about a version of Any Way You
Wanna...that C.A. has been playing...turns out Harvey remembers it dubbed
over the original track...and called Loopy Loo...(he wasn't sure of
the spelling!)
Johnny Keyes of the Magnificents called and shot the breeze for a bit about the fun he had in Pittsburgh.... and Speedo called one morning to thank C.A. for the picture in the Apple Corps News Letter (Apple Sauce) that appeared in a recent issue.
Recent Trips: Charlie has made a couple of trips lately... one was to Collectable Records in Narberth, PA where he met extensively with Dennis Pettet who filled him in on the pending Pure Gold Acappella C.D. which will be out on Collectables in early 2,000. Tracks to look for on that one: The Poets' Vowels of Love (bo-wah, now now now now now now...bo-wah...a favorite of Porky's) Patti Drew's Tell Him, which is reportedly a phenomenal version... and a version of You're Gonna Cry featuring not only Pure Gold but also Jimmy Beaumont of the Skyliners...doing a bang-up job of this old Spaniels' tune. Watch for it... Charlie has also made several trips to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since March...and has had a Blast there... so much so that he ran a series of mini-programs every week on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum for several months. Check out the Hall of Fame web site at www.rockhall.com For the text (no music, of course) of the first 11 mini-shows about the Hall of Fame...look below: (The following scripts are copyrighted ©1999 by Charlie Apple)
Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame & Museum Series from the Charlie Apple Show:
Program #0001: On June 24th, 1999, at 4:45 in the afternoon, I was walking out of the great CD and souvenir store at the Hall of Fame and whom should I run into but Martha Reeves of Martha and the Vandellas, honorees in the Hall of Fame. Not only is she a beautiful woman, but she was warm, gracious, & friendly. When I told her I was buddies with Porky Chedwick, her eyes lit up and she said --- "Please tell Porky I said, 'Hi!'" What a special woman, what a talent... here are two in a row by Martha and the Vandellas... two of my favorites......(play two Martha/Vandellas songs) #0002: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has a very poignant and fascinating display about Sam Phillips and his Sun and Flip labels. There are original 45 and 78 RPM's of the rockabilly stars and film footage featuring lots of Sun performers including the great Howlin' Wolf in a recording session. Right smack in the middle of the display is Sam Phillips's hand-written log book listing the songs Sam planned to release and the release dates-- I choked up and got tears in my eyes because written on the left hand side of the page in Sam Phillips's own hand was the title of a song that Porky Chedwick fans will remember with fondness: The Signifying Monkey by Smokey Joe....(play song) #0003: In Cleveland to dedicate an historic plaque in conjunction with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was Jerry Butler. Jerry attended the after-the-dedication luncheon at the Hall of Fame where many folks had a chance to glimpse him along with many other soul and rhythm and blues dignitaries. As Jerry wandered the halls of the Hall of Fame I was reminded of his appearance in Pgh. to emcee the Dowop50 special at the Benedum for QED and PBS and how graciously he consented to sing for us! Jerry Butler...the Impressions...Curtis Mayfield...all inductees in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...and folks who gave us such classics as these next two tunes....(play two early Impressions' tunes) #0004: An incredible film extravaganza featuring many of the inductees into the rock and roll hall of fame in a year-by-year progression forms an exciting slice of time to sit back, relax in a reclining position on the floor, and absorb history. While admittedly the film clips are thin on some of the early stars and on some of the African American inductees...nonetheless, when Little Richard's image came screaming across the screen and the man pounded the keyboard and wailed out his sounds...I found the hair rising on my neck in excitement as I remembered back to that glorious moment in my own life when I first heard...(play tuitti frutti, followed by 'drinkin' gin' version of Keep a Knockin') #0005: Talking to and listening to Bob Santelli, the resident rock critic and historian at the Rock and Roll of Fame was an experience that is unforgettable....the man is a veritable walking encyclopedia of every aspect of rock history from the roots of rock to today's music... In a lecture I heard Bob give....he was talking about some of the early roots of rock and roll....he played Rocket 88 by Jackie Brenston/Ike Turner for us and then talked about Bill Haley...who probably could have been the King of Rock and Roll had not his age worked against him....but Bob played for us Bill Haley's version of Rocket 88 and showed how this was probably the very first time that a rhythm and blues song had been combined so successfully with country and western to produce one aspect of the hybrid called rock and roll... take a listen now to Rocket 88 first by Jackie Brenston/Ike Turner...then by Bill Haley and His Saddlemen and check out how Bill Haley substituted the steel guitar for the sax and helped create rock and roll....(play the songs) #0006: One of things I really like about the rock and roll hall of fame and museum is that it is indeed a museum....there is no insane pace that you have to keep...there are not the inundation of endless bells and whistle to distract you....you can walk through at your own pace, look at videos, look at pictures, read about artists, see costumes people wore, etc. and as I wandered through...I found some pictures of a very important man...the man who wandered through the Mississippi Delta with an old tape recorder and recorded blues that would never have seen the light of a larger world if it weren't for him....what a thrill it was to see Alan Lomax's picture, read his story, and realize that he is the man who discovered Muddy Waters....just think...without this man and his tape recorder...the world would never have seen Muddy Waters or heard these sounds...! (play two songs by Muddy) #0007 When you first walk up to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...you cross a large beautiful open space that affords not only a view of the magnificent glass dominated Hall of Fame and Museum building, but also a view of Lake Erie.... and as you cross toward the main doors, you become aware of music playing all around you....even as you step into the building that music permeates the atmosphere...the music is rock music of every era...from the early days to modern times....on one trip to the Hall Of Fame...I noticed that as I walked in and as I walked out......the familiar strains of Harvey, Bobby, and the Moonglows wafted through the Cleveland/Lake Erie breeze....On the way in I heard Sincerely...on the way out Ten Commandments of Love....the Moonglows' sound filled my heart and my spirit and brought back a flood of memories of the sounds of the greatest Blow Harmony group of all time....and I knew also that one of the reasons that two Harvey, Bobby, and the Moonglows' sounds were playing there is that Terry Stewart, the CEO of the Hall of Fame is a big Harvey Fuqua friend and fan... how great it is to know that someone like Terry is there pulling for folks like the Moonglows... (play the two songs) #0008 I saw an excellent display about the history of Atlantic records at the Hall of Fame, telling the story of Ahmet Ertegan and Herb Abramson....and how they created a roster of some of the greatest rock, rhythm, and blues stars of all....Ahmet was in the video that is shown as part of the exhibit talking about how he wanted to make records that sounded like the records he loved....he said with an awed reverence: I loved something more than the average American knew about......and create he did...writing, producing, and developing talent...like one of his greatest early roster members....a group he knew would become stars...they appear briefly in the video...and Ahmet recalls that they did not want to record a particular song he wanted them to record that he wrote for them, but he told them...."this will be a hit"...they recorded it...he was right and the rest is history....the Clovers....Fool Fool Fool.. (play song ) and another one of the early sounds of Atlantic was listed there.... Stick McGhee's Drinking Wine Spo-dee O-dee, another classic that help shaped rock and roll history (in some folks minds, this was the 1st rock and roll record) (play it) #0009: the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has lots of video monitors around playing all kinds of interesting footage from the past, including shots of various preachers and community leaders telling their flocks that rock and roll music is the devil’s or the communists’ plot to overthrow the USA... One video monitor has scenes from a whole host of movies that featured rock and roll...I clicked on one of the icons...and up popped a scene from the great Jayne Mansfield/Tom Ewell rock and roll fluff classic...the Girl Can’t Help It...and there was Little Richard....pounding the ivories and wailing...Ready Teddy.... (play ready teddy)...and how can we leave the Girl Can’t Help It without the song itself.. (play that one)#0010: Glass case after glass case contains relics of rock and roll's past....tributes to Otis Redding, The Isley Brothers...and one that particularly brought a tear to my heart...a whole display about Jackie Wilson...included are mailgrams from Elvis and from Redd Foxx wishing Jackie get well soon right after his heart attack.. Jackie suffered the attack in 1975 and never regained consciousness when he died in 1984...but his music and memory lives on in this wonderful display and in our hearts and spirits...A beautiful poster from one of his appearances in 1967 hangs in the display...featuring the names the Drifters, Major Lance, Moms Mayfly, BIB. King....all on the same bill with Jackie that day...and you could have bet...that as great as all those legendary performers were....Jackie probably blew them all away...his stage show was without doubt...the most spectacular of its time... (play two Jackie sounds) #0011: At the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...lots of performers from the Atlantic records roster are everywhere...one that particularly caught my eye...was a display about the Queen of Soul...Aretha Franklin...I put on a head set and heard Jerry Wexler...one of the important tycoons at Atlantic...talking about how they transformed Aretha from a little known Columbia records roster member...to one of the biggest soul stars of all time...he said that the key to it was moving the whole operation to Muscle Shoals...whose legendary funky soul sound excitingly gave Aretha just the back ground she needed to blast her full gospel voice to the world...Aretha Franklin, Atlantic records, Jerry Wexler, and there it all was...on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. (play goodies by Aretha) |
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Tracks down original Counts!