Gospel Norm

Time seems to be fleeting again, and I really want to get another set of song-poems out there before the month ends in three hours or so. I had one post ready to go, then found out that the song in question was readily available on youtube. So I've grabbed a record by one of my favorite singers, Norm Burns, and am offering it up instead. It's Sterling Records' attempt at a Gospel feel, not terribly successful, I'd say, but I almost always find Norm worth hearing. Here's "I Am Going Home With Him".

Download: Norm Burns and the Five Stars - I Am Going Home With Him
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I won't be surprised if the flip side is the preferred one for many listeners. "My Broken Heart Will Heal Someday", is a fairly bland, midtempo thing, but there's some stellar drumming going on, and the little fill in melodies (and the song melody itself) are not too shabby, at least in places. In other places, particularly at the section starting at 1:48, the construction is laughably bad. But honestly, mostly I just really dig the drumming.

Download: Norm Burns and the Five Stars - My Broken Heart Will Heal Someday. 
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Roger and Ronnie, Margie and Hawaii

First and foremost, Happy Father's Day to all of you fathers out there, and to the fathers of everyone reading this!

Here's my solemn promise to everyone out there - when I obtain a Roger Smith 45, I will always post it here very quickly. Or maybe that doesn't mean much to anyone but me, but I sure do love the barely-in-control vocals on many of his records (at least the upbeat ones). 

Here we have a very early release on the Ronnie label (the first one documented at AS/PMA), dated to early 1961, via a mention in Billboard within a list of records believed to have "limited sales potential". That assessment was no doubt accurate, but I really enjoy one side of the record, "Margie Now", which features some lyrics about the nicknames of a certain young woman. The words seem to assume we will understand what the changes in names indicate about her, but I admit to being clueless about this. But Roger Smith sure sells it, and the pedal steel sounds nice, too. 

There is a some truly awful damage to the record, at the 2:32 point, which is really peculiar, lasting essentially two rotations of the disc, and barely visible at all on the record itself. It plays right through, though. 

Download: Roger Smith: Margie Now

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I cannot work up much (or any) enthusiasm for the flip side, "Aloha, Miss Hawaii", but it would have been quite topical at the time, given that this record was produced less than 18 months after our 50th state joined the union, and the lyrics are serviceable enough. Like the flip side, this record sounds, to me, very much as if it came from the early days of the Globe song-poem factory. 

Download: Roger Smith: Aloha, Miss Hawaii

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The Cool Cats Are On Star-X

Before I get to this week's offering, I need to share a link that Darryl Bullock sent me, of an astounding Halmark record featuring Bob Storm, which has been shared for the world on youtube. While this might not raise many eyebrows, were it to be released today, it certainly would have been the conversation piece in the early '70's, when it was actually released. I will say no more - I don't think I have any other words for this anyway. 

Have a listen, here. Thanks, Darryl

The AS/PMA website tells us that Star-X was a song-poem label, and of this there seems no doubt, given that it released discs by Sammy Marshall and the great Roger Smith. I have some question as to the actual story behind today's record, but the A-side is so fun I thought I'd share it anyway. The concern for me is that both sides were written by a team, and the same team. Then again, the performances are so ham-fisted they certainly sound like a group that was churning out demo-level renditions. Those with more knowledge than me can chime in with whether they think this is a song-poem, a vanity record or a legit release.

When I saw the credited artist, Dick Mason, I had guessed it would be Dick Kent in disguise. However, this record is from 1958, a bit early for him to have been the singer, I think, and besides that, it sounds nothing at all like him. I have no idea who this singer is.

The stronger of the tracks, by far, as I've indicated, is the A-side, "Cool Cats". These folks don't really understand rock and roll, aside from perhaps the guitarist, but they have a good time approximating it, and the result is infectious, rather ridiculous fun. Plus, the lyrics are certainly song-poem level, if that helps anyone in determining whether this is animal, vegetable or mineral. ,

Download: Dick Mason and Chorus, Music by the High Fives - Cool Cats
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The flip side, "Heavy Heart", has very little to recommend it, to my ears. The ponderous vocal and cookie-cutter, morose lyrics sound a lot like 100 other forgettable song-poem records.

Download: Dick Mason and Chorus, Music by the High Fives - Heavy Heart
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I Love That Sound!

Not that anyone asked me, but... What's my favorite "sound" from within the song-poem world? That's hard to say. Contenders include the sound of Norris the Troubadours 1950's releases, the feel of most of Cara Stewart's records, and the Sterling records crisp production and precise feel. But my favorite of all my be the ridiculously mechanical sound of the Film City song-poem machine, run by Rodd Keith in his Rod Rogers persona, arranging the entire song on the wonderful instrument known as the Chamberlain, and often completing the one-man effect by singing on the final project. Today, two examples of the result of this process at its most peculiar, as featured on two patriotic songs with lyrics written by Clarence Boness. This record just entered my collection two or three days ago, and I couldn't wait to offer it up! First up is the very brief (105 seconds!) song "The 678th", which features an otherworldly solo which sounds like it belongs on a record about alien invaders, rather than the protection offered by a military troop. What a wacky, wonderful sound: 

Download: Rod Rogers and the Film City Orchestra - The 678th

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On the flip side is yet another trip to "John F. Kennedy", again featuring that unique, indescribable Rodd Keith/Chamberlain sound, with only a slightly less odd solo section!:

Download: Rod Rogers and the Film City Orchestra - John F. Kennedy

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Upcoming Song-Poem Event in Chicago

I've received a couple of messages in the past week regarding an upcoming song-poem event in Chicago. I'll actually be out of town that weekend, but it seems like something those who read my posts might be interested in.

Specifically, this is a new musical called "Song-Poems Wanted!", to be presented August 22 & 23 at Theatre Building Chicago. It's the brainchild of (among others) Larry Carpenter and Arthur Kaufmann (of Magic Key Records), who was featured in the Song-Poem documentary "Off the Charts". It features a number of song-poems as well as original material.

More information can be found here:

http://songpoemswantedthemusical.com

RATE A RECORD!!!!

Today I'm sharing three of my newest 45 rpm acquisitions. All three come from labels associated with the song-poem field, but I suspect that only one, and perhaps two, of the three. are technically song-poem records. 

That one I'm sure is a song-poem, is "Atom Dynomic Dance" by that man about town, Phil Celia. One doesn't come across a twist styled record suggesting a dance based on an atom bomb explosion every day. Not only the words strike me as some amateur's attempt to clever, but the fact that the melody (at least as sung by Mr. Celia) doesn't quite fit the chord changes, tells me that this wasn't designed to be promoted as an actual hit. The Tin Pan Alley label on the record helps, too. And is "Dynomic" even a word? Okay, everybody! "Let's Go Boom and Mushroom, Let's Be an Atom Blast...!" 

Download: Phil Celia - Atom Dynomic Dance

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Next up is Barney Spencer and the Vellaires, on the Vellez label. I have only a few records on this label, and each of them is odd in its own unique way. This is just a cute little song, pushed over that line between fun and really fun by the singer's Scandinavian accent. I have a suspicion that this one - "Beginner's Luck" - was a vanity release, but I could be wrong.

Download: Barney Spencer and the Vellaires - Beginner's Luck

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And then there is "Shakespeare Rock", by the Eligibles. Records on the sometimes song-poem related label Fable never cease to amaze me, whether they are song-poems or not. The lyrics of this one strike me as far too knowingly ironic, and it also seems too well arranged, musically, to be a throwaway song-poem. Plus, the flip side was a cover of a minor hit song. I suspect this record was meant as a deliberate joke, and whether I'm right or not, it sure as hell makes me laugh. It's well done, all the way around. I'll let you discover its charms yourselves.

Download: The Eligibles - Shakespeare Rock

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Comments welcomed and greatly appreiciated!

The Latest in Song-Poems!

Here are a few comments about two tracks I'm sharing today. I've been collecting song-poem records for nearly ten years now, and although my collecting had slowed to a crawl a couple of years ago, it is now going at full speed again, due to CDR trading and online buying.

(for those of you just joining the song-poem world, or not there yet, please see www.songpoemmusic.com for an explanation.)

The songs I've uploaded are two of my favorites among my recent purchases. The first is "Be Optimistic" by Sammy Marshall and the Rays, on the "Roxie" label. Following a short burst of the chorus, this song opens up with a line which has to be among the least likely lyrics one would ever imagine opening a song called "Be Optimistic". But I'll leave that surprise for you.

In general, the song doesn't sustain that insanity level, but the main point of the song - which seems to be along the lines of "don't gamble, and don't believe in luck, but still, 'be optimistic' " - is muddled enough to make for a bizarre listening experience, especially since the singer barely describes anything good happening to you - prior to your arrival in heaven, that is.

Of course, that is to say that the Lord is involved, a message I could agree with, if the theology wasn't so completely black and white: is he actually saying that the bad news of the first verse happened because he "rolled them dice"? And is blind faith in God the very definition of Optimism? Apparently so. Well, um....

But above all, that opening verse, with it's combination of peppy presentation and sad lyrics, just floors me. All of the above is strongly enhanced, all that much more, by one of my four favorite song-poem singers, Sammy Marshall. (The glitches near the end of this MP3, by the way, are present on the record itself.)

The other disk is my very first 78 rpm song-poem purchase. At least I assume it's a song-poem - it's on a label said to be dedicated to such releases, "Stylecraft". On the other hand, maybe it isn't a song-poem - it sounds fairly professional, if odd in lyric and subject. The song is "The Grinder Man", performed by Frankie Day. I love the arrangement, and I'd also love to know exactly what the lyric "...knives and shivs..." means, as I'm not aware of the difference between the two. Perhaps a kind reader/50's gang member out there can clarify this point for me. I'm just glad to own a smoothly sung, demo performance of a tin pan alley-ish song which contains the word "shiv".

Enjoy!

Download: Sammy Marshall and the Sun Rays with the Gold Coast Boys - Be Optimistic

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Download: Frankie Day - The Grinder Man

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ADDENDUM, 2/22: As seen in the comments, the line in question is "Knives and Shears", and the song is about a traveling knife sharpener. D'uh.