Everything's Blue Hill! Plus, The Merigail Moreland Story Continues

Hello, everybody, Hello!

What a cornucopia I have for you today! I have two singles - unrelated in style, background or any other aspect, except that both feature the same odd aspect of having the same word repeated over and over again, and both contain the same vocal sound, not often heard on records. 

Before that, I will announce here that I have gone even further back in the archives and corrected three more posts from the initial year of this blog, 2005. That October, I featured a fairly horrible record by Pinky Pinkston (whom I was later to feature in much more detail at WFMU, as mentioned and linked in that post). I also offered, for the very time on this blog, two song poems, and, on what would have been John Lennon's 65th birthday, I shared four favorite excerpts from the often bootlegged "Get Back" sessions. While obviously those have become even more widely available in the more than 16 years since (and been the focus of a marvelous recent documentary), I still want to make this blog look like it originally did, so I have shared those tracks again. 

And now, let's climb the Blue Hill

The Blue Hill label seems to have been the creation of a handful of people whose names show up on the eight known songs produced on the label. Seven of those eight tracks came out of the Globe song-poem factory, but here we have one which came from Lee Hudson's production house, with Hudson's go-to male vocalist, Jeff Reynolds. 

This record apparently dates from 1962, and perhaps the lyricists expected a twist beat. I mean, it is called "Blue Hill Twist". But as you may know from experience with his productions, Lee Hudson didn't do twists. He did do slinky, bluesy numbers, though, and that's what we have here. 

First, I will say that this record sounds great. But second, I will add that I've listened to it at least five times now, and I don't know what the hell he's singing about. And I really don't understand the buzzing bee sound he throws in. And yet, all in all, a very enjoyable record. 

If someone out there "gets it", please chime in. 

Download: Jeff Reynolds - Blue Hill Twist

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The flip side is from the folks at Globe, as indicated above. And for the third time on the record - including the label name and both songs, we have a reference to Blue Hill. This one is called "Full Moon Over High Blue Hill", and is sung by the inevitable Sammy Marshall. This one has some nice Hawaiian style guitar, but very little else to recommend it. 

Download: Sammy Marshall - Full Moon Over High Blue Hill

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~~~

And now, something I am VERY excited to share. I have discovered yet another record by Merigail Moreland. If that name means nothing to you, click on her name at the bottom of this post, to find other posts I've made here about her, but also visit my lengthy posts about her at WFMU, here and here. 

Anyway, I never would have found this record, had I not also been searching for records by her father, Don Moreland, as Merigail, in yet another reworking of her name, is here credited as Merri Gayle (another pair of releases had it as Merri Gail). 

The record was released on the Beeline Records label, and (as was true of the record above) BOTH tracks contain the name of the label in their titles. Here's the better of the two sides: 

I am increasingly in love with the track titled "Be My Beeline Baby", and it once again plays up how fantastic a singer Merigail was, even in her teen years - which, based on the little I know of her life, is when I'm guessing this comes from. 

This was, in fact, the b-side of the single, but it is by far the stronger of the tracks, at least to me. But then again, the calypso shadings of the arrangement and fantastic horn track are right up my alley. All that pales, however, before Merigail's vocal, which I find to be off the charts sexy, particularly in the bridges, and even more so on the lines where she sings "I want kisses by the dozens", etc. 

An absolutely stunning vocal and a great record. 

Download: Merri Gayle with Larry Wellington's Orch - Be My Beeline Baby

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The flip side, "I'm Makin' a Beeline For You!", sung with Don Moreland, was the a-side, but it doesn't do nearly as much for me. The standard late 1950's big band sound is not a favorite style of mine, the song doesn't do it for me, either. Oh, and maybe it's just me, but knowing the singers were father and daughter make the whole exercise sort of weird. 

But, as with Jeff Reynolds, on the previous 45, we have some bee buzzing sounds here, tying these records together in another weird way. 

Download: Merri Gayle and Don Moreland with Larry Wellington's Orch - I'm Makin' a Beeline For You!

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~~~

Okay, for the last few posts, by request, I have been sharing some of the best of my "Cut-Up's", reworkings of hit songs and other material that I like, in which replacement words are plugged into key moments of the songs. For more information, please look at my recent posts. Today I'm sharing one of my all time favorites. 

But before I share this one, I have a question. Are people enjoying these, and wanting to hear more? This feels sort of self-indulgent to me, but won't feel quite so much that way if people are actually digging them. 

Okay, so here's today's "Cut-Up". When Elvis returned from the army, he cut the masterful "Such a Night". It resides in my all time top 25 tracks that anyone has ever recorded, and remains my second favorite Elvis track, behind only "A Fool Such as I", but was shelved as a single in favor of the milquetoast "Stuck On You". Perhaps it seemed out of touch with the softer sounds of 1964. After the Beatles hit, it was belatedly released as a single and made the top 20. 

So it was a natural for me to do a cut-up of this record. And the repeated lines, and story nature of the lyric, made it a natural for cut-ups, too. I think this came out great, particularly what I interspersed in with the grunting and chanting at the end. 

There is a low level four letter word repeated here, and also another word which is not obscene, but is also not typically used in polite conversations, so this is probably not safe for work. 

Download: Elvis Presley - Such a Night (cut-up)

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Back in Business!

Hi, everyone!

Well, as you may have seen on other blogs, or learned for yourself, Divshare is back up and running. Thanks to everyone who chimed in, either with confirmations that it wasn't "just me" or ideas for other sites. By the time I had an opportunity to look more in depth at some of those other sites, the divshare folks (who were remarkably responsive, this time around) had let me know they were back in business.

I've also included a bonus at the bottom for those who love the late '50's and early '60's as much as I do, and I will post again a few times in the next week in order to get caught up.

And so....

     

Today's feature comes from a guy I've been happily corresponding with for over four months now. His name is Andy, and he first contacted me regarding my posts about Merigail Moreland. This led to a sharing of a lot of late '50's and early '60's singles through e-mail (mostly - and with great appreciation) from him to me, as we discovered where our tastes overlap, and what we have that might be of interest to each other.

His interest is not really in song-poems, but as he owns some, he was nice enough to send a few my way, and so far, this is my favorite among those he's sent. It's on Tin Pan Alley, and features Gus Colletti, whose stylings would seem to be spectacularly mismatched for a song titled "At the Rock and Roll Party". He has a choked, strained quality which seems more in tune with ballad singers, or at least dramatic readings of more serious material (not that I'd like him in that material, but at least it would seem a better match).

At the same time, though, this seems to show the influence of Paul Anka, one of my least favorite singers of the era. The band is giving it their best, but the whole enterprise seems doomed to failure, due to the choice of vocalists. Still, it's fun failure! 

Download: Gus Colletti - At the Rock and Roll Party
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I cannot even pretend to drum up any enthusiasm for the flip side, the appropriately sad and dreary song "Life is Sad and Dreary". Tin Pan Alley at least tried to capture the sounds of the day, and this sounds like any number of hit songs of the era, without sounding like it would ever have been a hit, itself. And this does seem like a slightly better match for Gus Colletti's supposed skills than the rave up on the flip side.

Download: Gus Colletti - Life is Sad and Dreary
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By the way, in sending me all of these treasures, along the way, Andy sent me a record that has become easily my favorite "new-to-me" record, one that I've heard for the first time and can't get enough of, in at least the last five or six years. It's called "Love in Return" by the Nightingales.

This is close to a perfect record. I love the wild drumming, the struggle the girls have to stay on pitch and in unison several times during the song, and the bridges are particularly magical to me. Only the presence of a dumb-guy vocal at the end of each of those bridges keeps me from thinking this to be among the best things ever released.

This was a cover of a release on a larger label. I've heard that one, too, and it has absolutely none of the charm and magic of this record. The really captured lightning in a bottle here.



Download: The Nightingales - Love in Return
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By Special Request

A bit of cross-pollination today.... I recently received this photograph of Merigail Moreland at about age 17, from a person who had known her during High School. He requested that I post her version of "Unchained Melody" to this site. It's been featured here before, when I used to have the actual music at a separate download site, but never with the actual track within the post. And any reason to share Merigail's music is good enough for me. Here is her amazing 1960 45 of "Unchained Melody" 

Download: Merri Gail - Unchained Melody

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And "Oo-Lee, Oo-Lee, Papa, Oo-Lee": 

Download: Merri Gail - Oo-Lee, Oo-Lee, Papa, Oo-Lee

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I've also used the opportunity afford by having been sent this photo, to post later recordings of Merigail (previously featured here) to WFMU, which I meant to do ages ago. That post can be found here, and it gives further links to other posts and information about her.

Drama Queen

I'll say right off the bat that today's selection is one which may have many listeners having the sort of negative response which may range anywhere from "no, that's not for me" to violently stopping the sound file with something approaching disgust. And I'll admit that the opening 19 seconds, which contain a dramatic recitative type introduction, are cringeworthy, and I encourage you to wait them out and try the rest of the song. 

There is simply something about a certain subset of teen girl records from the late '50's and early '60's that makes those records connect with me in a way few other records do. I've already shared the Merigail Moreland recording of "Oo-Lee, Papa", in this blog and elsewhere, and the masterful "What's She Got (That I Ain't Got)". 

In this case, the song is "She's Going Steady with You", by Janie Grant, the B-side of a hit song from 1962 called "Triangle". While the A-side visits much the same topic within the same genre of music, the real winner is hiding on the flipside, and should have been the hit. 

It helps that the song is, at times, taken almost directly from the song "A Fool Such as I", in terms of chords and melody, and that the overall feel is similar to Elvis' rendition of "Fool" (perhaps my favorite of Elvis' big hits). But there's something more to it, and for me, that's in the singer's performance. 

There are at least as many teen girl songs in this genre that I can't stand, the worst of all perhaps being "Bobby's Girl", and that's where I have a hard time explaining what's wonderful and what's horrid. For me the difference tends to be in what I perceive in the performance. 

In "Bobby's Girl" and its ilk, I don't sense for a moment that the singer or anyone else on the record believes the lyric - the singer sounds like she's there to do a job. On today's record and others I have shared and might share, I sense that the singer feels the lyric with every inch of her being, perhaps has even lived it, and I also find that the music sounds as if the musicians were trying to make a good record, rather than simply make something that 13 year olds might like for a month. 

Have a listen, and let me know what you think:

Download: Janie Grant - She's Going Steady With You

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ADDENDUM, 2021: After writing this post, I heard from Janie Grant herself, who confirmed that, yes, this was a song based on personal experience, as I had perceived upon hearing it. 

My New Favorite Record

I first heard this song about four months ago, and since then, it's sometimes seemed like it's the only thing I've been listening to ever since. It's called "What's She Got (That I Ain't Got?) and it's by Betty Jayne.

This is a song-poem record, as far as I can tell (NOTE: See addendum below), but it's unlike just about any I've ever heard. The amount of arrangement and planning that must have gone into this record amazes me, as do a lot of other features of the recording.

Where to begin? The insane amount of echo? The sparse instrumentation, featuring a guitarist who clearly has spend hours on end listening to "Love is Strange"? The key change in the middle? The complex (for a song-poem) backing vocals, sometimes singing oohs and aahs, in three part harmony in spots, sometimes singing the lyrics to the song in harmony with the lead? The violin (!!) that pops out of nowhere to lead into the first bridge? 

Those are all great. In fact, there's not a moment of this record that I don't adore, even after dozens of listens. But a few things stand out. First are the lyrics. I expected a song with this title to be a whine, or at least something of a pouty complaint. But instead, they contain an indignant challenge, not just about the singer's qualities in comparison with the current girl, but also the good points of countless other girls, too:

"Her hair is blonde, with natural curls, but so is mine, and a lot of other girls'"

In other words, 'this girl you're with, she's okay and all, but there are PLENTY of other girls you'd like better, not just me'. (I know it's not a good thing that all of the comparisons made are with regard to looks and kissing ability, but such was the era...)

The writer was Edith Hopkins, who went on to establish her own song-poem label, using many of those who are today the best known names in the field from that era, and I have yet to hear one of her songs that hasn't been far above average for this genre. In fact, my guess is she wrote the words and music to her songs, and used the song-poem teams as hired help for her demos.

In this case, she got a perfect singer for the job, and that's perhaps the biggest reason I can't do without this record. Betty Jayne, whoever she was, sells this song like every word of it rings true to her. She's got me sold! If I was around, back then, and she was singing this to me, I'd probably think twice about her challenge, and then another six or eight times. Her inflection for the line "Sugar Sweet and Pepper Hot" is unbelievably sexy.

Saving the best for last, there is a moment in this song that transcends just about everything else, where all of the above adds up to 15 seconds of music I never want to be without again. It's the first bridge, starting at about the 33 second point, with that violin mentioned above. The backing vocals kick in, just short of sounding out of control, Betty ups the challenge with an irresistible vocal, and the guitarist goes to town. I find this segment of music as intoxicating as anything I've ever heard.

Hope you enjoy it at least half as much as I do, and perhaps quite a bit more!

Download: Betty Jayne - What's She Got (That I Ain't Got)

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ADDENDUM, 2021: After living with this record for 14 years, hearing from Edith Hopkins' family, and learning more about her career, it's now clear to me that this record was not a song-poem effort, and was at the worst a vanity release, and more likely an actual attempt at producing a hit record. I won't go into all the details here, but although Edith Hopkins did later engage song-poem companies, her releases, especially the early ones such as this one, are not song-poems in the traditional sense, and in this case, not at all. 

Also, I have never for a moment fallen out of love with this record. I think  it's one of the half dozen greatest singles ever released. The b-side is great, too. 

They Don't Make 'Em Like This No More!

Here's a song which serves to remind me that musical releases haven't been much fun for a long time, and that record labels in the '50's and '60's could be expected, on a regular basis, to release something wonderfully insane, and to hold legitimate hopes that at least a few of those releases would be a hit. 

This (being a hit) wasn't the case for the song I'm describing here - in fact, it was a b-side to a hit, but it doesn't stop me from wishing that someone, anyone, would start releasing songs and recordings that are this goofy, again. 

The song in question is "Dum-Dum" by Joy Layne, from 1957. I found this on eBay last month, in an ad which also contained a sound clip of the record. 45 seconds or so of it, and I was hooked. The seller tried to make his sale based on the record being idiotic, but that thought never would have occurred to me.

Instead, I heard this record as a classic novelty record, set to a Latin-style beat then common and popular (and again, quite wonderful). Everything about this record works for me. The vocal is appropriately off the wall and just barely in control, the bass voice (which is clearly Thurl Ravenscroft) adds a nice touch, the arrangement is well done - hardly a throwaway for such a weird song, and fairly complicated - and the lyrics are genuinely weird: 

The verse begins: "Love me, you yes; Love you, no me; Love maybe you me, too..." The chorus ends: "Is, Am, or Ain't You Is My Darling?" I think we've all said, thought and/or been asked those things in our lives.

Download: Joy Layne - Dum-Dum

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Merigail

I don't really have any clue how many or how few of you are out there reading this little site, but if you've been here from the start, or read the archives, you may have come across my post about "The Moreland Tapes", connected to the posting of the song "Head Cheese". You can read it here: http://bobpurse.blogspot.com/2005/07/cheesy.html 

Well, since the last time I posted, I've learned a lot about the singer of that song (and of the other song referenced in that post, "Reputation"). Another piece of writing I did about these tapes came to the attention of a relative of the Moreland family, and I eventually heard from two of Merigail (correct spelling) Moreland's relatives. 

This quite quickly became the most bittersweet of meetings: I was, on the one hand, able to learn that Merigail, whose voice I'd adored on these tapes for so many years, actually made a handful of records, copies of which I was sent. I even learned that she was(perhaps briefly) a Chicago area celebrity, co-hosting her own "American Bandstand" style show, locally, while still in High School in the late 1950's. On the other hand, I was deeply saddened to learn that her life was cut short by Lupus, at around age 48, in 1991. 

She apparently worked as a singer for much of that short life, and I may yet get to here more of her recordings. But for the time being, I have spent the last six or seven months, listening, obsessively at times, to a single she released on a small Chicago label, in 1960. There were actually at least three singles, under then name "Merri Gail", one in 1955, and two in 1960, but this one is the "shoulda been" hit, and the quality of her singing just gives me chills at times. And she was all of 16 or 17 at the time.

Today, I'm sharing both sides of this 45. The version of "Unchained Melody" is first rate, with a great arrangement (love that accordian), and a sexy, longing vocal that seems more knowing than I'd expect from someone so young. Also, the growth in ability and technique from "Reputation", just three years earlier, is astonishing. Here's Merri Gail's "Unchained Melody":

Download: Merri Gail - Unchained Melody

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But as great as I think "Unchained" is, it was only the B-Side to the completely wonderful (if oddly named) "Oo-Lee, Oo-Lee, Papa, Oo-Lee". There is not a thing about this record that I don't adore right down to my bones, and it's flown right to the top of my favorite records of 1960, along with "Cathy's Clown", "It's Now or Never" and the Olympics' "Dance By the Light of the Moon". For "Oo-Lee", before even considering the lead vocal, there is the goofy way the song starts in the middle of a musical phrase, that great bass voice, more coloring from accordian, and a swinging late '50's take on doo-wop. The lyrics are a bit ridiculous in places, but Merigial just sings the hell out of it, suggesting a depth of emotion behind the words that makes me believe she meant every word of it. And the dichotomy between the softly longing vocal of the choruses and the demanding, pleading vocal in the bridges is great, too. 

Download: Merri Gail - Oo-Lee, Oo-Lee, Papa, Oo-Lee

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It pales next to the tragedy of her short life, of course, but I was truly hoping to someday find Merigail Moreland, meet her, and tell her how much I've loved her recordings, and I've been very saddened to learn that this can never happen. Is it possible to have a crush on a singer who was grown before I was born, and who has been gone for 15 years, based on nothing more than her recordings?

Dear Prudence

I love the music of the late '50's. As much as I love the Beatles and the music of the late sixties, as well as the music of my early adulthood (late '70's and early '80's), the pop and rock from the 1954-63 era is more enjoyable to me than that of any other 10 year period of the last 60 years. And one reason for that preference has to be records such as those made by Patience and Prudence.

Patience and Prudence had just two hits, one of which, "Tonight You Belong to Me", would be high on my list of the best hit records ever. And yet, after years of finding other P & P records in used record stores, I discovered that a good percentage of their non-hits were almost as good as that lone top ten hit. An early favorite of mine, during that collecting binge, was "You Tattletale", which I discovered well over 20 years ago. More recently, with the release of a CD of virtually all of their recorded work, I've been enamored of "Over Here", as bizarre an attempt at 1950's hit making as you're likely to hear.

While these tracks can probably no longer be considered "obscure", what with the CD release I mentioned, they are both certainly wonderful. "You Tattletale" deserved to be nearly as big of a hit as "Tonight, You Belong to Me", what with it's peppy piano, swinging brushes on the drums, and the wholly wonderful harmonies by Patience and Prudence McIntyre. The song itself is a great little piece of writing, too.

Download: Patience and Prudence - You Tattletale

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"Over Here", on the other hand, defies explanation, except to say that it involved Ross Bagdasarian, which is perhaps all one has to know. The future David Seville co-wrote this beautiful train wreck of a song, and the only bad thing I can say about it is that the production values make the words hard to decipher. But there's a real treat waiting for those who listen closely: It's almost unreal to hear these 15 and 13 year old sisters singing sarcastic lyrics in which the "ridiculous" behaviors of a series of foreign cultures are played against the clearly more outlandish behaviors of Americans.

To paraphrase some of those verses:

Isn't it terrible how they torment the bull in Spain? Oh, and can I have some more
steak?

Isn't it odd how the Italians spend a whole evening working on, eating and enjoying
a meal? Boy, I gotta finish this drink and get outta here - I sure hate this ulcer.

All set to a rollicking arrangement, in which each verse's music reflects the culture they are supposedly dismissing. And this was supposed to be a hit? Couldn't be. But a killer track, nonetheless!

Download: Patience and Prudence - Over Here

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The Other Songs

This is a continuation of my post honoring Michael's request to hear songs from my June listening list, which I posted a few weeks ago. In addition to the Percy Faith songs, detailed above, I'm also sharing two songs from 1960 and one from 1959.

"Pineapple Princess" is goofy and cheesy, but it pulls me in with the stereotypical hawaiian arrangement, and a better than usual vocal from Annette. This is really the only record of hers that I love.

Download: Annette with the Afterbeats - Pineapple Princess

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"Bumble Bee" is the other end of the spectrum, a weird, almost spooky arrangement, far more poppy than I'd expect from Lavern Baker. I first heard this, many years ago, on a poorly recorded reel to reel tape of a poorly received AM radio broadcast. That could be the kiss of death, but what I heard through the muck intrigued me, and once I got a better copy, I was not disappointed.

Download: LaVern Baker - Bumble Bee

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"My Heart is an Open Book" is a left-field hit from a guy - Carl Dobkins, Jr. - who only had a couple of hits. That this was a top three smash is yet another reason that I wish today's music and charts were more varied and unpredictable (and contained more interesting music....)

Download: Carl Dobkins, Jr. - My Heart is an Open Book

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Hope any and all who are listening enjoy them!