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Post by sirrastus on Nov 14, 2017 2:58:20 GMT
If it's doable for me that would be great. BTW TJ and the Shondells had broken up when HP started getting airplay in Pitt. Just like Paul Simon had moved to England(and lived in a flat where other later stars like Al Stewart and Sandy Denny lived)and had to come back when Sounds Of Silence hit big.
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Post by sirrastus on Nov 14, 2017 3:00:29 GMT
BTW Hanky Panky was written by Ellie Greenwhich and Jeff Barry.Here's the original version Ellie had a few hits as The Raindrops:
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Post by sirrastus on Nov 14, 2017 3:04:06 GMT
And this was the second version before TJ did it:
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Post by Buck on Nov 14, 2017 6:45:35 GMT
Did TJ write some new words for the song?
I despised "Hanky Panky" when it came out. Cheesy lo-fi garage rock, not that garage and lo-fi were bad. I wouldn't have guessed it was a NYC broadway composition. I was really surprised when Tommy James followed up with the quality and depth of songs and hits he had later.
Looking back on the song from today, I could hear a dark funk/industrial version that might fly with hipsters and grandpas.
Hey, did anyone watch the Bert Berns movie besides me? It's well worth the watch.
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Post by sirrastus on Nov 14, 2017 18:57:52 GMT
LOL Hanky Panky was just a bit weird which kind of made it unique.I think I stole it from a local store. I actually bought Mirage as I liked that better. I believe ex-BOC bass player Greg Smith was with TJ when I saw him in the 90's. Still have to get the Berns film.I haven't yet gotten around to watching The Wrecking Crew either but I did watch some great Carol Kaye vids on YT.
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Post by marty on Nov 15, 2017 0:59:37 GMT
My fave is Crystal Blue Persuasion, but we had all the hits on 45, and Mirage was pretty big here. My best friends mom worked at the local IGA and would sing HP on the intercom, back in 1966 or 67. I like the music, not much for the vocal, though.
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Post by duckbarman on Nov 15, 2017 1:28:47 GMT
Now, after listening to this, I can't be 100% certain, but I do get the impression that her "baby" does the "hanky panky"... just my first impressions, you understand - clearly more research is needed...
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Post by sirrastus on Nov 15, 2017 6:41:26 GMT
Joan Jett covered a really cool tune called Make Believe by Wind from 1969.Of course I later learned that Wind was really Tony Orlando.One of the few records I bought that summer the others were Sugar Sugar by The Archies and Israelites by Desmond Dekker and the Aces. 1969 was a good year as I saw my first two concerts The Four Seasons in West Orange,N.J. in Aug and Richard Naders First Rock Revival at the Felt Forum in Oct.Bill Haley and the Comets ,Chuck Berry were among the artists but the surprise was the unknown Sha Na Na who brought the house down doing and acting songs out Teen Angel blew everyone away LOL. Berry did My Dingaling a song none of us knew and he made it a total sing a long and who doesn't like to sing My Ding-A-Ling and with a smile on our collective faces. Buck probably has his own My Ding-A-Ling Berry story. Oh yeah Make Believe:
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Post by duckbarman on Nov 15, 2017 16:04:39 GMT
Joan Jett covered a really cool tune called Make Believe by Wind from 1969. Yes, I have the LP that's on... I had no idea it was a Tony Orlando song, though... by the way - here's her version - it's not bad:
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Post by marty on Nov 16, 2017 18:37:01 GMT
My fave Joan Jett tune
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Post by pdiddy on Nov 18, 2017 0:50:35 GMT
The Bert Burns documentary, "Bang," is out on iTunes. I watched it free with an Apple Music subscription. Don't know what or if they charge if you don't subscribe. Found it on itunes tonight. Probably rent it this weekend at some point.
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Post by Rich on Nov 20, 2017 1:41:06 GMT
If it's doable for me that would be great. BTW TJ and the Shondells had broken up when HP started getting airplay in Pitt. Just like Paul Simon had moved to England(and lived in a flat where other later stars like Al Stewart and Sandy Denny lived)and had to come back when Sounds Of Silence hit big. I been away and just noticed this and was a bit puzzled. You are right, the first Shondells split before it was reintroduced. There were two incarnations of the Shondells. The first released HP in 64 without much success. He later reformed the Shondells with a group called the Raconteurs from Greensburg and they had the hit with it around 66 or 67. They were the ones who had their following hits. Here is a bit on what happened below.The DJ they mention, Mad Mike was broadcasting one night from a pizza shop on a low watt AM station. I was tuned in and happened to by driving by and stopped in and chatted with him a bit. He looked gaunt and weak. The next day I learned of his passing. I remember that night I was wearing my DFTR shirt. He's heyday was a bit before my time but I had a good friend that was a bit older then me and was huge 50's 60's record collector, he really dug him and told me many a stories about him.
Here's the story..
The band formed in 1960 in Niles, Michigan, first as the Echoes, then as Tom and the Tornadoes, with 12-year-old Tommy James (then known as Tommy Jackson) as lead singer. The group released its first single, "Long Pony Tail", in 1962.[3] In 1964 James renamed the band the Shondells because the name "sounded good" and in honor of singer Troy Shondell, famous for his 1961 release "This Time." At this time, the band included Tommy James (vocals and guitar), Larry Coverdale (lead guitar), Larry Wright (bass), Craig Villeneuve (keyboards) and Jim Payne (drums). In February 1964 the band recorded the Jeff Barry–Ellie Greenwich song "Hanky Panky" (originally a B-side by the Raindrops[4]). Released by Snap Records, a local label, James's version sold respectably in Michigan, Indiana and Illinois, but Snap Records had no national distribution. The band toured the eastern Midwest, but no other market took to the song. The single failed to chart nationally, and the Shondells disbanded in 1965 after its members graduated from high school.
After first considering taking a job outside of music, James decided to form a new band, the Koachmen, with Shondells guitarist Larry Coverdale and members of a rival group called the Spinners (not the hit-making group from Detroit). The Koachmen played a circuit of clubs in the Midwest through the summer and fall of 1965 but returned to Niles in February 1966, after the gigs dried up, to plot their next move.
Meanwhile, in 1965, Pittsburgh dance promoter Bob Mack unearthed the forgotten single "Hanky Panky", playing it at various dance parties, and radio stations there touted it as an "exclusive". Listener response encouraged regular play, and demand soared. Bootleggers responded by printing 80,000 black market copies of the recording, which were sold in Pennsylvania stores.
James first learned of all this activity in April 1966 after getting a telephone call from Pittsburgh disc jockey "Mad Mike" Metro to come and perform the song. James attempted to contact other members of the Shondells, but they had all moved away, joined the service or gotten married and left the music business altogether.
In April 1966, James went by himself to make promotional appearances for the Pittsburgh radio station in nightclubs and on local television. He recruited a quintet from Latrobe, Pennsylvania, at the Thunderbird Lounge in Greensburg called the Raconteurs – Joe Kessler (guitar), Ron Rosman (keyboards), George Magura (saxophone), Mike Vale (bass), and Vinnie Pietropaoli (drums) – as the new Shondells.[5] "I had no group, and I had to put one together really fast," recalled James. "I was in a Greensburg, P.A. club one night, and I walked up to a group that was playing that I thought was pretty good and asked them if they wanted to be the Shondells. They said yes, and off we went.
Mad Mike
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Post by Rich on Nov 20, 2017 2:25:17 GMT
The Bert Burns documentary, "Bang," is out on iTunes. I watched it free with an Apple Music subscription. Don't know what or if they charge if you don't subscribe. Found it on itunes tonight. Probably rent it this weekend at some point. Got it in que on Roku ..it's not yet available but it will be in my feed when it is. Looking forward to it.
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Post by pdiddy on Nov 24, 2017 14:01:40 GMT
Watched it last night. Great stories and well put together. Really enjoyed it.
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Post by pdiddy on Nov 26, 2017 1:02:06 GMT
Takeaway from the movie and recent events (RIP David Cassidy whose last words regretted all the wasted time) is to stop living like you're shooting for 300 years. Life is damn short and Bert knew he wasn't going to have an average one already. No doubt that pushed him to get shit done before his colleagues could hope to catch up.
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