Now, THAT'S rock n roll! Wanda Jackson and (early) Ronnie Dawson, aside, rockabilly always sounds so freakin' masculine. That's not an endorsement, nor a condemnation, just a fact. Mark Volman: Even without the perfect song that 'Happy Together' is, he'd be more than worthy for those spine-chilling background vocals he and Howard Kaylan did for T Rex, which are undisputedly my favorite background vocals ever. C in California
Some of his other 50s-era rockers (including "Dancing Doll" and "She Don't Live Here No More") are also pretty great. He's actually 93, and although I'm not sure he's in the very best of health, he's definitely still around. I've seen recent photos of him on the "The Art Adams Band" Facebook page, and there are at least a couple more Facebook pages for him as well.
Art Adams on Cherry is totally tits with this Rock Crazy Baby. That’s when rockabilly was authentic and not a bunch of latent posers in wifebeaters knockin’ the shit out of each other in the pit.
Volman R.I.P. – Bummer. He brought a lot of joy to people. His harmonies were uncanny. LBD is a bitch. I know somebody that had it. They went downhill fast. And I thought Howard would go first. Tick tick tick ….
The Turtles were a local band and played around here a lot. First time I saw them I was 9 years old. It was at Pacific Ocean Park (aka P.O.P.) on the old Venice Pier. P.O.P. was a low-rent Disneyland that went belly up. They were still called the Crossfires then. Next time I saw them was at Disneyland as the Turtles. They hadn’t even released “It Ain’t Me Babe,” yet. Nobody knew who they were and they weren’t very sexy. We didn’t go to see them. We went to see the regulars, The Mustangs. I mean what’s sexier? A Turtle or a Mustang?
After the Turtles became more well known, I saw them numerous times. Notably, opening for the Mamas and the Papas in West Covina, headlining over Dick Dale, P.J. Proby and the Palace Guard at the Hullabaloo in Hollywood, headlining over an unsigned Iron Butterfly at the Whisky, and, headlining over Sly & the Family Stone at Melodyland, which was across the street from Disneyland. Oh, and they co-headlined with Eric Burdon & the (Zoot & Andy) Animals in Santa Monica. I elected not to go to their local Berdoo show because the Sandpipers were opening. “Guantanamera” didn’t exactly rock.
For the most part, the Turtles were a better live band than you’d expect them to be. When they got Barbata, and later, ex-Leaves Pons, Sandy and I took a shine to them. Nice guys. They don’t call it the rhythm section for nothing.
I somewhat followed Flo and Eddie from their time with the Mothers through the mid 70’s. They opened for the peaking Alice Cooper on the Billion Dollar Babies tour. The Cooper band sold out five arena shows at three different venues in SoCal. I went to all five, each night with a different guy. It was about a month before I graduated from high school. Flo & Eddie held their own, all things considered. But their act was better suited for clubs
One of my boyfriends in the mid-70’s loved Flo & Eddie. He dragged me to some of their club dates at the Roxy and Golden Bear. They had crack backing bands every time I saw them. For me, their “zany schtick” wore thin. But I loved the nearly flawless renditions of Turtles tracks. Howard Kaylan is a vastly underrated singer. Volman and Kaylan had a nice blend which was sometimes augmented by a trio of black female backing vocalists.
Jeez, I gotta listen to Lady-O right now. It might have bombed nationally but it deservedly cracked the Top Twenty in Los Angeles. Judee Sill had the goods. Kaylan almost sounds like Karen Carpenter on this one. The background vox are gorgeous.
8 comments:
a rockabilly treasure for sure. 90 years old now i believe.
rs
Thanks, Daddio.
Now, THAT'S rock n roll! Wanda Jackson and (early) Ronnie Dawson, aside, rockabilly always sounds so freakin' masculine. That's not an endorsement, nor a condemnation, just a fact.
Mark Volman: Even without the perfect song that 'Happy Together' is, he'd be more than worthy for those spine-chilling background vocals he and Howard Kaylan did for T Rex, which are undisputedly my favorite background vocals ever.
C in California
Love the rockabilly and BOC’s Joan Crawford.
- Paul in DK
Good rockin' 'n pickin' today!
Some of his other 50s-era rockers (including "Dancing Doll" and "She Don't Live Here No More") are also pretty great. He's actually 93, and although I'm not sure he's in the very best of health, he's definitely still around. I've seen recent photos of him on the "The Art Adams Band" Facebook page, and there are at least a couple more Facebook pages for him as well.
Art Adams on Cherry is totally tits with this Rock Crazy Baby. That’s when rockabilly was authentic and not a bunch of latent posers in wifebeaters knockin’ the shit out of each other in the pit.
Volman R.I.P. – Bummer. He brought a lot of joy to people. His harmonies were uncanny. LBD is a bitch. I know somebody that had it. They went downhill fast. And I thought Howard would go first. Tick tick tick ….
VR
Re Volman
The Turtles were a local band and played around here a lot. First time I saw them I was 9 years old. It was at Pacific Ocean Park (aka P.O.P.) on the old Venice Pier. P.O.P. was a low-rent Disneyland that went belly up. They were still called the Crossfires then. Next time I saw them was at Disneyland as the Turtles. They hadn’t even released “It Ain’t Me Babe,” yet. Nobody knew who they were and they weren’t very sexy. We didn’t go to see them. We went to see the regulars, The Mustangs. I mean what’s sexier? A Turtle or a Mustang?
After the Turtles became more well known, I saw them numerous times. Notably, opening for the Mamas and the Papas in West Covina, headlining over Dick Dale, P.J. Proby and the Palace Guard at the Hullabaloo in Hollywood, headlining over an unsigned Iron Butterfly at the Whisky, and, headlining over Sly & the Family Stone at Melodyland, which was across the street from Disneyland. Oh, and they co-headlined with Eric Burdon & the (Zoot & Andy) Animals in Santa Monica. I elected not to go to their local Berdoo show because the Sandpipers were opening. “Guantanamera” didn’t exactly rock.
For the most part, the Turtles were a better live band than you’d expect them to be. When they got Barbata, and later, ex-Leaves Pons, Sandy and I took a shine to them. Nice guys. They don’t call it the rhythm section for nothing.
I somewhat followed Flo and Eddie from their time with the Mothers through the mid 70’s. They opened for the peaking Alice Cooper on the Billion Dollar Babies tour. The Cooper band sold out five arena shows at three different venues in SoCal. I went to all five, each night with a different guy. It was about a month before I graduated from high school. Flo & Eddie held their own, all things considered. But their act was better suited for clubs
One of my boyfriends in the mid-70’s loved Flo & Eddie. He dragged me to some of their club dates at the Roxy and Golden Bear. They had crack backing bands every time I saw them. For me, their “zany schtick” wore thin. But I loved the nearly flawless renditions of Turtles tracks. Howard Kaylan is a vastly underrated singer. Volman and Kaylan had a nice blend which was sometimes augmented by a trio of black female backing vocalists.
Jeez, I gotta listen to Lady-O right now. It might have bombed nationally but it deservedly cracked the Top Twenty in Los Angeles. Judee Sill had the goods. Kaylan almost sounds like Karen Carpenter on this one. The background vox are gorgeous.
VR
Post a Comment