Trials of obtaining music

I had given Brian my standard advice of doing a Google search for the artist - song title and looking for a Last FM or Amazon result and using that to click on more information on any CDs listed to find an image of the CD, sometimes track listing, and perhaps a CD number to then go track it down in their favourite record store or at The Warehouse.

Sent: Sun 12/02/2012 9:23 p.m.
To: Ray Mankelow
Subject: That song
Hi Ray,
I have been given your email as part of a quest that I have been on for the last Fifty plus years. The song "Stair Way Of Love" had me enraptured as a mere Five to about Ten year old. I could even get it on my Crystal Set if I was very careful and didn't breath to loudly. I never could remember the singer, too young I suppose. However, now I appear to be getting closer to one of my most cherished dreams, to have some sort of record that will enable me to play it over and over again. All that stands in my way now, is how on earth does an old bloke like me figure out this down load business. I don't own any I pod, E pod or any other sort of pod, I have a rather ancient CD player and that's it. I did manage to bring up the site as given to me by one of your fellow D.J's, it certainly sounds like the right one, but there was only a snippet of the song which certainly sounded right, the intervening years being what they are. At least now I am a little closer, the song was sung by Michael Holliday, and the year sounds about right.
Will it be possible for me to buy the disc from somewhere, possibly a whole Michael Holliday disc.
With a little, a whole lot , of help from my reasonably savvy Wife we, with pointers in right direction, might even manage to burn it to a CD.
I would love to be able to listen to the whole song, but don't even know where to start.
This list of questions, I realise, is a hell of a cheek and a most unreasonable imposition, but the technology is way over my head and I don't have anyone else to ask.
So, I am taking a big breath and asking you to give of your unmistakeable ability with this technology and tell me, WHERE TO FROM HERE.
Please, please help me when you get a moment and you will make an almost old man very happy.
Most humble regards,Brian

Ray Mankelow
Sun, Mar 11, 2012 at 10:01 PM
to Brian
Once you've sampled the song and decide this is the track you want click on any of the albums pictured above - for example
The Magic of Michael Holliday
and you will see this includes "Stairway Of Love"
Now you know what CD you are looking for in your favorite record store.
Where abouts do you live and/or what Record Store would you go to?

11:23 AM
Hi Ray, that song is really starting to get in my head, my face, all the places that I don’t want it to, except somewhere I can actually listen to it, all of it.
I live in Pukekohe, there used to be a record shop, a good one, it closed. I Have’nt got a clue where I could go to even start to make enquires about a CD. It’s possible that the Warehouse might have something, but it’s like looking for the EYE of a needle in a haystack in those bins. I think that I might have to put that song right back to where it has been for all these years, in my distant memory. I really thought, with all the modern Techno gear available these days it would be a piece of getting a song, even just to listen to it again. That does not appear to be the case, not where I am concerned anyway.
Thanks anyway for all your help and Raylene’s.
There are about a dozen Emails in my file, all full of your good information, but I can’t unravel any of it to make it work.
I suppose that fact that I have seen sixty quite a while ago might have something to do with it. This is way over my pay scale, as the saying goes.
Cheers

12:21 PM
Hi Ray,
Absolutely had to send you a quick line.
I DID IT!
Believe it or not, I actually ordered a CD from Amazon of Michael Holliday with THAT SONG on it. What a process! My blood pressure has gone into dangerous, I have a headache, but I did it!
Thank you, thank you, thank you, for all the help that you have given me. At long last, well sometime in April, at least, I will be able to sit back and let all those childhood memories come flooding back. FABULOUS. LOVE IT.
Thanks again

Ray Mankelow
12:51 PM
to Brian
Well done, enjoy when the CD arrives.
As with all things, it's easy when you know how - it's just getting to that knowledge!
I was asking about location as there was one store in Taradale that seemed to be able to get records in for customers. I think it was Wayne of Zinc Records that would go to the trouble to source a song, whereas most record stores (with young staff) find it too difficult to go out of their way. Lucille Starr - The French Song was a case in point. Wayne at Zinc could get it in for customers but Coast listeners from around the country were being told it was just NOT available.
From an email sent Friday, June 26, 2009 8:41 PM that endorses the efforts of Wayne of Zinc Records

Hello Ray
SO good to hear you on Coast tonight and so glad you are getting plenty of shifts! To me you are a very special announcer. Do you remember poking me in the direction of Wayne at Zinc Records in Tarradale - Napier - well Wayne and i have developed a very special - almost 'pen friend' type correspondence - he is SO good at local news etc plus able to get any music purchases I require - ie, I have acquired several really good music DVDs from him which I really enjoy watching. Would love Coast to give him a plug?? Am currently listening to Kristoffeson - belive he turned 73 the other day? Remember my love of that famous line of his " Fumbled through my closet and found my cleanest dirty shirt"? Still love it. Meantime take care, keep up the good work and best wishes and regards from Jewells (Jim)!

Thoughts for the Chairman's Report 2012

Fit for purpose - a message, a saying, that Warren Vickery wanted me to remember as we said goodbye at the Hospice.
Warren was referring to dealings with the Government's fobbing UMSi off from getting an Auckland wide frequency with their machinations on granting us a license that had so many restrictions.
What the Government (and it's agencies) was offering was definitely NOT fit for purpose in Warren's mind. A mind that was continuing to plan/plot/strategise around these impossible conditions and to achieve an Auckland wide frequency for the Unforgettable Music Society.
I wonder what Warren would have made of Lawyer Mai Chen's book, Public Law Toolbox. Her book has advice on where to go, who to see and how to make representations. Instead of hiring a costly legal team to fight a battle against a government decision, she advises spending time hunting out the right body to take up the cudgels on your behalf.
Chen writes that, dealing with government does not have to be David vs Goliath. "Governments have unique vulnerabilities."
Secondly, timing is critical. "Most clients do not understand that government works to yearly and three-yearly (election) timetables.
Thirdly, find a common national or public interest. "The most important determinant for success in fixing a problem with government is not who you know, as clients often think, but whether there is a shared national or public interest for fixing a problem. Politicians and officials have to be able to justify policy or law reform, or expenditure of public funds to the electorate. The skill is in finding a shared interest with government in having a problem resolved.
Finding a national or public interest was a suggestion that had the UM Society try to develop a relationship with Grey Power. Warren was the main driver in that. I'm not sure that our Unforgettable Music voice has risen high enough up in the concerns of Grey Power as a body.
You may have seen/heard that Kiwi FM has been allowed to relax their commitment to all NZ music from 100 to 60%.
Ministry of Economic Development was looking at including the non-commercial Kiwi FM frequencies for Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch and two others - all of which were set aside for the youth radio network - in a review.
Whether that review gives us any opportunities to lobby our cause for the music for the Seniors of this country and steer the Government boffins away from youth radio network thoughts.
A John Drinnan story on Kiwi FM suggests that Government tender could realign the division between the two players in the commercial radio duopoly of Radio Network and Radio Works. That is especially the case in Auckland where the two firms are finely balanced.
With the passing of Warren and no visible means of financial support to get our Auckland-wide radio dreams up and running - is the Unforgettable Music Society 'fit for purpose'
Maybe the internet is a way of the future. Social media giants in Google and Facebook are using the radio model in some ways, offering a free service in exchange with putting up with some Ads. Facebook has to offer something to its users to attract more eyes that appeal to advertisers. Much like a radio programme attracts ears (listeners) to sell to businesses that want to use those ears to get to the purchasing minds. Somehow the social media likes of Facebook are (appealing to their users egos) getting more involved with their users, learning more about each and everyone of them to customise sales messages in a way radio hasn't been able to. Imagine an Ad break between songs that has different messages targeted at different listeners - individualised to each listener. Rather than say, just having Auckland Ads for Auckland listeners and Christchurch Ads for Christchurch listeners.
Maybe if we are streaming Unforgettable Music on the internet we could engage with listeners with our common interest in music. Maybe we could create podcasts on feature artists (Today FM Tonight At Seven style) and these podcasts could have targeted Ads based on customer supplied information.
At the moment we have a number of individual low power fm stations (mostly in Auckland) that use a base of Unforgettable Music to deliver their own particular style.

After posting this, through Richard Phelps on FB, I can across a discussion on using QR codes on radio

CRIMSON AND CLOVER

Tommy James & The Shondells

US#1(2) from 1 February and NZ#1(3) from 24 April 1969 Their 5th million-seller, with global sales of over 4 million - Monster Hit in NZ (from my Million-Sellers file) See also Wikipedia

Thursday 6th Oct Bill Ashworth popped up on Facebook chat ...
Hey Ray, next time you are on Coast can you find the exact album your version of Crimson and Clover by Tommy James and the Sondells is from? I bought one off i-tunes but I like the version that Coast plays

Hi Bill, the version Coast play is the long version, presumably the album version. Coast have the song on a computer hard drive, so not sure if I can check on the source. Will check one of my music books.

Pat Downey's book on Top 40 songs on CD, says 5:23 (LP) version is on K-Tel 3183 Psychedelic Mind Trip. Plus a 5:09 (LP version faded early) was on Time-Life 2CLR-04 Classic Rock - 1968.

Suggest do a Google search and see what Amazon and Last FM offer up

Bill came back with ...
Hello Ray, Thanks for the clues, the version I have is from their album Crystal Symphonies The Psychedelic Years, is extended play 5:31 but is modified from the Coasts version which I prefer.

then later Bill reported he had ...
Found it on i-tunes Pop Hits Vol 2- 5 minutes 30 secs

Pat Downey's book says that a 5:30 version was on Rhino 70534 Crimson & Clover/Cellophone Symphony. (LP version with :07 of studio talk) Pat Downey also notes there was available (a noble attempt at recreating the 45 version but unfortunately this is not the real 45 version) for example on Rhino 70630 Billboard's Top Rock & Roll Hits of 1969.

Bet you didn't realise things can be so complicated when you're trying to obtain an 'original' version of a song.

Big Pizza Pie

Searching through CD back ups of data and found my answer to the question what was a big pizza pie a replacement for?
Answer: "Jerry Lewis even had a hand in altering the lyrics slightly - substituting ‘gefilte fish’ for ‘big pizza pie’and the song became Dean’s first million seller." (Notes from Tonight At Seven script for a feature on Today FM)

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie
That's Amore - eye - pie but what rhymed with gefilte fish?

Some links to You Tube clips of the song, with lyrics

or to see Dean do the song in the movie The Caddy

Rock legend Carl Gardner, lead singer of the Coasters, dies age 83

As the lead voice of the Coasters in the late 1950s, Carl Gardner delivered some of early rock 'n' roll's most indelible lines.

It takes a microsecond for any fan to recognize "Yakety Yak," where the first sound out of the grooves is Gardner's voice barking, "Take out the papers and the trash / Or you don't get no spending cash."

The root of teenage exasperation was never nailed more succinctly.

Gardner, who started as a traditional rhythm-and-blues harmony singer and in later years became an advocate for artists' rights and fair financial compensation, died 12 June 2011 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. He was 83 and had been suffering from congestive heart failure and vascular dementia. He retired from singing with his last Coasters group in 2005.

The Coasters were formed in 1956 around Gardner and bass Bobby Nunn, who had previously sung in the respected Los Angeles group the Robins.

The Coasters became the musical vehicle for the songs of Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller, who used rock 'n' roll to create a hilarious chronicle of American life, particularly American teenage life.

"Along Came Jones" satirized TV Westerns and "Charlie Brown" honored the original slacker. "Poison Ivy" may be the only pop hit ever to mention Calamine lotion, and "Searchin'" turned a routine love song into a pop culture drama by having the elusive girl pursued by contemporary TV stars like Sugarfoot and Paladin from "Have Gun Will Travel."

Gardner took pride in the group's ability to deliver tongue-in-cheek humor while still creating songs that sounded compelling on a car radio.

At the 1987 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremonies, where the Coasters became the first vocal group inducted, he said he considered the group professional entertainers rather than the street-corner singers who were popular in the late 1950s.

"People may have called it doo-wop or novelty music," he said. "But we sang songs that lasted."

Again thanks to Music Maestro Mark for passing on the obituary

Recently I had discussion about the tune that used as the theme for the Benny Hill Show. This was inspired by the sax solo by King Curtis in The Coaster's 1957 No.1 hit "Yakety Yak" and became a hit for Boots Randolph, which he called Yakety Sax. A US#35 from February 1963.

Whiskey In The Jar

from Facebook posting and comments ...
What song immediately puts you back in school with a car full of friends singing at the top of your lungs? come on , we all did it?
mine was " i'm every woman " by Chaka Khan and " Le Freak " by Chic

There were a number of songs mentioned and then came one I thought was from my era ...
CC whiskey in the jaro! remind me who sang it!
May 28 at 6:16am · Like
Ray Mankelow I remember the Seekers doing Whiskey In The Jar, probably best known by The Dubliners. What ho the daddy oh.
May 28 at 9:28am · Like

LH Sticking my beak in - Thin Lizzy did a great version with Phyll Lynott singing.

Wikipedia says ...
"Whiskey in the Jar" is a famous Irish traditional song, set in the southern mountains of Ireland, with specific mention of Cork and Kerry counties, as well as Fenit, a village in Kerry county. It is about a highwayman, or perhaps a footpad, who is betrayed by his wife or lover, and is one of the most widely performed traditional Irish songs. It has been recorded by numerous professional artists since the 1950s. The song first gained wide exposure when the Irish folk band The Dubliners performed it internationally as a signature song, and recorded it on three albums in the 1960s. Building on their success, the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy hit the Irish and British pop charts with the song in the early 1970s. The American metal band Metallica brought it to a wider rock audience in 1998 by playing a version very similar to that of Thin Lizzy's with a heavier sound, and won a Grammy for the song in 2000 for Best Hard Rock Performance.

Music Maestro Mark said, The Highwaymen had a popular version in 1962. So perhaps that is the one in my subconcious. Then Mark followed up with 'By the way The Dubliners version was only available here on an album.' So that probably precludes them reaching my ears over the radio.
Last-fm says the Highwaymen's version appears on the album Encore and other website mention the album 'Still Rowing'


I found it difficult to find a Highwaymen version on You Tube but, I did get to hear the song


Checking the various versions I found the lyric line was "Whack for my daddy-o" and not as I thought 'What ho the daddy Oh'

And music buff and collector, Scott said ...
I'm familiar with the Thin Lizzy version. Can imagine the Dubliner's doing it, remember them doing Seven Drunken Nights ? Great Irish humour.
Song that takes me back like that is Goodybe Yellow Brick Road. Just two notes of the intro and it's like being sent back in a time machine to summer late 1973 / early summer 1974.

My song of strong memories is the Loving Spoonful - Daydream. That puts me around the swimming pool in the sunshine at Ohakea Air Base during my first year in the RNZAF.

The other memorable songs listed on that Facebook page were ...
MB We are all gonna on a summer holiday we sang that every boxing day as we all headed off camping and yes stop laughing please I have camped in the PAST !!!!
May 27 at 3:43pm · Like · 1 person

JH Band on the Run by Paul McCartney and wings
May 27 at 7:33pm · Like · 1 person

EH I can make you feel good - Shalamar
May 28 at 5:54am · Like · 1 person

Narcissism and hostility show an increase in popular music

Listening to World Watch on National Radio Sunday morning heard an item about research showing an increase in the focus on self in song lyrics.
Radio NZ websites says Worldwatch audio is not available on demand due to copyright restrictions. So did a Google search and found various results including a New York Times feature ...

Now, after a computer analysis of three decades of hit songs, Dr. DeWall and other psychologists report finding what they were looking for: a statistically significant trend toward narcissism and hostility in popular music. As they hypothesized, the words “I” and “me” appear more frequently along with anger-related words, while there’s been a corresponding decline in “we” and “us” and the expression of positive emotions.

And also covered in a Blog Post

I liked the line from Dr Margaret Paul; "Many do not understand the vast difference between being self-centered and being self-responsible and self-caring."