2004 – one of three RCA microphones used by radio station KWKH for the historic Elvis Presley appearance at the Louisiana Hayride was sold for $37,500. The microphone was one of three used during 50 performances by Elvis Presley when he performed for the radio show in Shreveport from 1954 to 1956.
2002 – More than 25 years after his Death, Elvis Presley is once again the King. RCA Records’ “Elv1s 30 No. 1 Hits” boys at No. 1 on the Chart Toppers 200 with 500,325 units sold. This marks the first Elvis album to ever debut at the top of the U.S. chart.
2002 – The Strokes get into a fistfight with a record executive in Paris. The RCA employee was trying to force the exhausted group to appear on a TV show when singer Julian Casablancas whacked him.
2001 – Jazz tenor saxophonist Harold Land dies in Los Angeles after a stroke. He is 73. Land gained prominence in 1954 when he joined a quintet led by trumpeter Clifford Brown and drummer Max Roach.
For many performers, working with a string section is a long-held dream. The lush backdrop warmly supports an instrumentalist or a singer, setting the stage for emotional, often unforgettable performances. Listen to orchestral albums by such greats as Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Clifford Brown, and Johnny Hodges, and the beauty and feeling that arise from these situations is soon appreciated.
A Lazy Afternoon is a stellar contribution to this genre. Here, the consummate tenor saxophone artistry of Harold Land, easily one of jazz’s premier improvisers, meets the sumptuous string orchestrations of Ray Ellis, who is best recalled for Lady in Satin, a 1958 session for Columbia Records for which he wrote gorgeous string backdrops for Holiday.
A Lazy Afternoon features ear-pleasing renditions of such evergreens as “You Go To My Head,” “Invitation,” “You Don’t Know What Love Is,” “Nature Boy,” “In A Sentimental Mood,” “Wave,” and the title track, “Lazy Afternoon.” Land and the string and orchestral palette are accompanied by the ace rhythm team of Billy Higgins (drums), William Henderson (piano), and James Leary (bass).
The tenor saxophonist, who will always be remembered for his scintillating performances with the masterful quintet led by trumpeter Brown and drummer Max Roach in the mid-50′s and with the internationally acclaimed quintet he co-led with Bobby Hutcherson in the late ’60s and early ’70s, fits superbly into the context. He employs his rugged, individualistic style and his trademark expressive tone, mixing compelling melody readings with alluring improvisations.
For years, Land had wanted to do an album with strings, having been touched by recordings by Parker and Brown, as well as by Lady in Satin. And his appearances with Tony Bennett in the late ’60s and ’70s also flamed his desire for a string album. Then, he’d join the singer, mostly in Las Vegas, but occasionally on tours of Latin America, serving as the star soloist with the full orchestra that backed Bennett and reaching audiences that might not have otherwise known of his work. “Those appearances were always memorable and helped foster the desire in my soul to make an album with strings,” says Land.
A Lazy Afternoon came to fruition when a story on Land, written by Jason Fine in Option magazine, told of his wish to make a string album. Postcards A&R Director Ralph Simon read the story, liked the idea and, being another fan of Lady in Satin, tracked down Land and then Ellis, both of whom live in Southern California.
Both principals, who had never worked together prior to A Lazy Afternoon, were enthusiastic about the collaboration. “Harold is a beautiful guy, and laid-back, and he plays that way,” says Ellis. “The album feels real good to me.” “Ray’s beautiful writing was so tasteful and romantic — that’s a good word,” says Land. “The album worked out the way I wanted. With the turbulent state of affairs in this country, as well as the world, I would hope this album would manifest a little peaceful feeling, a positive effect, to all who hear it, as opposed to the negativity we are bombarded with every day. That feeling of peace is something I have been trying to express through music for a long time and, hopefully, this album will be a continuance of that effort.”
The saxophonist and the arranger have lived fulfilling artistic lives. Land, born in Houston and raised in San Diego, moved to Los Angeles in the early ’50s. In 1954, he joined the famed Brown-Roach quintet, with which he toured the United States and recorded several albums for EmArcy (all of which are available as reissue CDs). After two years with the ensemble, Land felt the need to be closer to his family, which was in Los Angeles, and so he returned and has resided there ever since. Land recalled the mid-to-late ’50s, when LA was teeming with jazz. “That was a very healthy period here,” says the tenorman. “A lot of clubs around the city had a six-night-a-week policy, and most musicians were working.”
He soon began to establish himself as one of the most singular and powerful of jazzmen, making albums with bassists Red Mitchell and Curtis Counce and then, in 1958, making his 12” LP debut (he had recorded four selections in 1949 that were released by Savoy). Harold in the Land of Jazz was issued on Contemporary Records, and was followed a year later by The Fox, on HiFi Jazz (available as a Contemporary Records reissue), which many consider his best early recording. He also began performing with Gerald Wilson’s orchestra, and with pianists Hampton Hawes and Carl Perkins, becoming an essential cog in the wheel of Los Angeles jazz. Nonetheless, the saxophonist didn’t really get much exposure outside LA until he formed a quintet with vibist Bobby Hutcherson in the late ’60s. The band recorded for Blue Note and toured the US and Europe. “There were a lot of similar things that Bobby and I responded to emotionally and musically,” Land says.
Also during the ’60s, Land, like so many saxophonists, became enamored with John Coltrane, and he found that both his smooth sound and his approach to improvising changed during this period. “John definitely inspired me with his intense spirit, and I usually say that spirit moved me so much that I became a little more intense in my own musical presentation,” says Land. “At the same time, I was trying to maintain a certain individuality that I hope I have managed to do.”
In the late ’70s and ’80s, Land joined the Timeless All-Stars, which also included Higgins, Hutcherson, Cedar Walton (piano), and Curtis Fuller (trombone). In and around performances with the Timeless band, Land fronted fine quintets that featured trumpeters Blue Mitchell (their Mapenzi, on Concord Jazz, is a classic) and Oscar Brashear (documented on Xocia’s Dance on Muse). Land remains one of the most impressive and deep improvisers in jazz. As is said in the Penguin Encyclopedia of Popular Music, “Land is a fine musician who has not received the fame he deserves.”
Ellis, a Philadelphia native, was originally a tenor saxophonist who taught himself to write while serving in the Army band during World War II. His first commercial charts were crafted in the mid-’50s for pop singers such as the Four Lads (“Moments to Remember,” “Standing on the Corner” — both Billboard Top 10 pop chart hits) and Johnny Mathis (“That Certain Smile,” “Wild Is the Wind”). Later, during his tenures at Columbia, MGM, and RCA Records, he wrote arrangements for hit records by Connie Francis (“Where the Boys Are”), Bobby Darin (“Splish Splash”), Clyde McPhatter (“Lover’s Question”), Brook Benton (“It’s Just a Matter of Time”), and Tony Bennett (“Firefly”). “I think I was a success because I figured out how to write what the producers wanted,” he says.
But the biggest record of Ellis’s career is the timeless Lady in Satin, on which Holiday sang such torch songs as “You’ve Changed” and “Violets for Your Furs.” “Billie picked the tunes and they were all stories of unrequited love — the story of her life,” Ellis recalls. The recording, done in three sessions at Columbia’s then-fabled 30th street studios in New York, was mostly a series of first takes. Her raw talent and emotional quality were astounding, and really moved Ellis. “It was great,” he says of her ability to give the songs meaning. And the album has held up, he feels. “It still sounds contemporary, and people keep calling me because of it,” says Ellis, who has also scored for television, including a theme for NBC’s “Today” show which has run from the ’70s into the ’90s.
Now, Ellis has written the kind of arrangements that have moved Land to deliver powerful performances. It seems clear that people will be talking about, and listening to, A Lazy Afternoon for years to come as well.
Harold Land Discography (as a leader)
Grooveyard (Contemporary) 1958
Harold in the Land of Jazz (Contemporary/OJC) 1958
The Fox (HiFi Jazz/OJC) 1959
Eastward Ho! Harold Land in New York Jazzland (OJC) 1960
Westcoast Blues! Jazzland (OJC) 1960
Hear Ye! Harold Land Quintet with Red Mitchell (Atlantic) 1961
The Peacemaker (Cadet) 1967
Take Aim (Blue Note) 1969
Jazz Impressions of Folk Music (Imperial) 1971
A New Shade of Blue (Mainstream) 1971
Choma (To Burn) (Mainstream) 1971
Damisi (Mainstream) 1977
Total Eclipse (with Bobby Hutcherson) (Blue Note)
Mapenzi (Concord Jazz) 1977
Xocia’s Dance (Muse) 1981
A Lazy Afternoon (Postcards) 1995
Promised Land (Audiophoric) 2001
1986 – The show business newspaper Variety reported that RCA dumped John Denver from its roster after the release of his single, “What Are We Making Weapons For”. Variety said the song upset the record company’s new owner, General Electric, one of the largest defense contractors in the US. GE sold RCA two months later.
1983 Bob Neal (DJ and former Presley manager) dies this day in rock history!
We didn’t have a picture of Bob, so here is a pic of the King to pay tribute to his former manager! He’s singing, ” He did it his way!”
BOB NEAL – MANAGING THE HILLBILLY CAT
This interview took place in June 1973 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Rockville International interviewed Bob Neal, one of Elvis Presley’s first managers, in the offices of his Bob Neal Talent & Booking Agency in Music City USA. Welcomed at the reception by Bob’s lovely wife and after some small talk about Holland, wooden shoes and tulips she introduced us to her husband who, after a firm handshake, offered us a seat and invited us to get the questions rolling.
The interview was originally published in the December 1973 issue.
Looking at your office I see a strong African motive with spears, drums and hides on the wall, not at all what I expected to see in the office of a manager and booking agent.
Oh the reason for the decoration of our offices goes way, way back. I was born in the Congo of Africa on October 6th, 1917. My parents were missionaries and as a youngster I traveled back and forth between Africa and Europe and later America many times. One time I actually stayed in Brussels, Belgium for over two months.
How did you become interested in music ?
My mother liked classical music a lot but I did not have a great interest in music while growing up. Like many other kids I took piano-lessons and while in college I joined the chorus-club, but that was about it. Then after I finished college I went into radio. I was a deejay. In fact at that time, it was before they called them deejay, back in 1939 you were an announcer or a newscaster or whatever. I was in radio for a number of years settling in Memphis in 1942 and I stayed there until 1958 and most of that time was in radio. In the late forties I started doing an early morning program on WMPS Radio featuring country music.
What kind of music had you been playing before that time ?
When I first got into radio in 1939, basically the music that we used then was just general music; a bit of pop music, some classical music, a few country programs. When I started this specialized program in 1948, called “The Bob Neal Farm Program”, I played country music entirely. The program relied basically on the requests of listeners as to the guidance of the music to play. I did that program from 1948 until 1956. Consequently becoming more and more familiar with country music and more found of it all the time. The reaction to the program was very good and I started occasionally doing some little shows within a 100 or 150 miles range of Memphis. I would take some local people, and every now and then some Nashville musicians like Johnny and Jack, Kitty Wells or Bill Carlisle, and I set up arrangements for them to play at a Highschool auditorium, a Gymnasium or a Ballpark or something. I would plug the shows on my radio program and I’d go out and be the host and MC and so on.
I understand everything was rather small until you decided to take a chance and organized a country show in Memphis at the Auditorium. The first show did quite well and more shows followed but your biggest success came after a phone call from Sam Phillips, right ?
Yes, Sam phoned me and said he had this new boy who just had a record out and would I put him on a show. I agreed with Sam and so I got Elvis on a show on August 10th, 1954. He got a tremendous reaction, which really amazed me, because he had just started. Then a couple of months after that I was thinking one day and asked Elvis had he got a manager. He said “No” and well I said I’ve never been a manager but let’s try it. So I was his manager for about a year and a half.
While managing Elvis you got a good look at the Sun Record Company and you worked with Sam Phillips before in radio. How do you recall the SUN days ?
Sam Phillips is credited with discovering a different sound but he had been a radio engineer prior to that time and I know we had done some things on radio programs in Memphis on commercials where we used the electronic-slap-back-type-sound and everything. Sam more or less was the first one that really capitalized on that sound on his recordings. He was also fortunate enough to see people like Elvis and Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and Carl Perkins knocking at his door. It was like everything fitted together and clicked at the same time. Ofcourse a lot of people have criticized Sam about the way he drove the company business wise. He was not quite as good a merchandiser or salesman as he could have been, because with the material he had at that time, if he had had the imagination and sales concepts that some other record people have, Sun Records might have become a big record company instead of reaching a peak and sort of staying there and dropping off.
What are your views on the fall of SUN in 1963 ?
Well Sam seemed to loose interest. In the later Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee days, as I recall, he seemed to loose interest to a great extend in the recordings. He had Jack Clement working with him and Jack carried the ball a lot of times. Sam was involved in various other projects and investments and he just didn’t seem to have a great deal of interest in the record business anymore. For what ever reason I don’t know but it just looked like it had fascinated him for a while and then it just seemed that he got interested in other things.
Do you think that he one man type record company, where he was in control of the recordings, the pressing, the administration etc., contributed to his success ?
Yes it contributed to his success but then like I said a moment ago I think it also kept his company from becoming a huge strong company. Sam is the type, and always was, that believed in doing everything himself or supervising everything. He never thought in concepts of becoming like an RCA or Columbia or Mercury or anybody else, where you have a large number of people that have delegated authority and run the shop themselves. I think Sam always wanted to be the whole ball of wax, which possibly was the reason that Sun Records did not expand, and later on folded.
You worked with Elvis as his manager for about a year and a half when a certain Tom Parker came into the picture. When Parker took over the management of Elvis there actually still was a contract between you and Presley was there not?
Yes I had a contract with Elvis and when, through part of my efforts, Parker got interested we had a partnership agreement. You see I was doing quite well with my radio program in Memphis. We had a record store, a large family and I didn’t really … well I felt that Elvis was going to be very big, and I didn’t want to get into the picture of being gone from town all the time. So I preferred to stay there and more or less then turned everything over to the Colonel with no…. I mean it was a friendly relationship all the way.
Are you still following Presley’s career ?
Yes and I think the Colonel has done a tremendous job with Elvis. I possibly would differ a little bit with the ways he’s gone down the line as far as concerts go. Elvis always is very found of performing for a live audience and I think possibly instead of keeping him away from an audience for so long I might have felt that it would have been better to be back with a live audience every now and then. However who is to argue with success, because apparently it’s worked tremendously well and since he has come out to do live shows again everything is a sell-out …. so like I said who is to argue with success.
The unreleased Presley Sun tracks is a subject which always jumps up when rock & roll collectors talk about Elvis and Sun Records. What can you tell us about any recordings Elvis made for SUN ?
I was involved in working on that because the interest in Elvis was growing rapidly. At first when people talked to Sam it was a fairly moderate amount of money. I recall one time being on tour with Elvis out in Texas, when Mitch Miller, who was in with CBS, called, and asked about what the price was. And I told him since I had nothing to do with the record company I would simply find out and call him back. I think Sam at that time said he wanted $ 18.000 and I called Mitch and he laughed and laughed, because back at that time in the early fifties they were not making fantastic record deals and putting out a lot of money. Then later Colonel Parker worked on it with RCA and finally got the deal okay and they paid $ 35.000 for the complete masters, tapes and everything plus a $ 5.000 bonus that went to Elvis for signing. So back at that time in late 1955 that was considered a real big deal. Sam was happy with it because he had never had a lot of money or capital and that gave him some capital to operate with and to build and to make some investments and so fort for the future.
Do you know any reason why RCA is still denying that they have the Presley tapes ?
Well no, because that was part of the deal, of the contract. They bought everything… all the tapes… the masters… demos..it was all to be delivered to RCA.
After Elvis went with Parker you went back to radio but eventually you started organizing country shows and ended up in the managing end of the business and became involved with Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and also Carl Perkins. He is one of you favorites I understand.
Carl is a wonderful person. I met him about the same time I met Johnny Cash back in Memphis and that was about the time he came out with “Blue Suede Shoes”. He was always a very pleasant person, a fine showman and a very likable person. I’ve always had a high admiration for him. I think he is one of the most underrated performers and writers in country, country-rock, rockabilly or whatever you might call it. Down through the years I think he has had more recognition overseas then he has here at home, which is … you know, it’s great that he’s received recognition but he’s not been nearly as popular here at home as I think he could have been, and I don’t know the reasons. Basically I think it’s just that when he came into the rock area, back there with “Blue Suede Shoes”, the only thing that I’ve ever thought was possibly a reason is that Carl didn’t go the route of being the pretty boy rock type thing that so many of the performers came along to at that time. Like Frankie Avalon and others that really didn’t have the talent and everything but they got TV-exposure and the image type thing that Carl just never fitted into … he was just Carl Perkins !
Wouldn’t it have helped him if he had not been the friendly type of person he is. I mean from the first minute you meet him he is your friend, and in the record business you just cannot be friends with everybody….
That’s true, if Carl would have been like other people I know, more demanding and pushing harder and so fort, it’s possible that could have made a difference. Ofcourse he had a tremendous bad break too at that time as far as exposure is concerned when he had the huge record of “Blue Suede Shoes” going and went to New York to do the Perry Como Show and he had the car accident. When we went back and did the Perry Como Show it was good but this was several months later when the record had died off you know. There is so much involved in music whether it’s pop, country or rock where the element of timing gets into it you see and if Carl had been able to get the exposure at that time I think it would have been tremendously strong. In the meantime Presley had recorded the song and as a matter of fact on many jukeboxes around the country (because Presley had the image of having the screaming kids after him) Carl’s record would be on the juke-box but the juke-box operators labeled it Elvis Presley. Simply because they thought they would get more plays that way. So possibly the wreck may have been something, being more demanding might have been another and you know it’s just unfortunate because Carl is such a wonderful person and such a fine person… it’s just a shame that he hasn’t received the recognition that I think he deserves.
What do you specifically like about the music business ?
I don’t know, I guess I just like the business as a whole. I’ve always found it very interesting, it’s always exciting to find a new artist that has promise and that you can push. It was exciting to work with Presley in the old days and it still is to work with a professional artist like Sonny James. It was exciting to work with an artist who is a little bit different like Johnny Cash and it still is today with Tom T. Hall. It was exciting to work with a talented guy like Carl Perkins and it still is with Johnny Rodriquez. It’s rewarding and interesting and I’ve always enjoyed being involved in the business.
1978 – Player started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Baby Come Back’, a No.32 hit in the UK, the groups only UK hit.
Peter Beckett grew up in Liverpool, England, where he spent four years playing in a band called Palladin. He quit to come to America and join another group, Friends, which recorded for MGM. After a short time, they evolved into Skyband, which released one album on the RCA label. Skyband lasted long enough to play one concert in L.A. and tour abroad before breaking up.
In 1976, Peter slipped on his jeans and attended a classy Hollywood party. To his surprise, everyone there was wearing white except for one other guest, who had also come in Levi’s. Peter figured the other guy had to be a musician, so they sat down together and began to talk. As it turned out, he was John Charles Crowley, a singer/songwriter from Galveston Bay, Texas. The two hit it off, and made a date to listen to each other’s material.
THE TOP FIVE
Week of January 14, 1978
1. Baby Come Back
Player
2. How Deep is Your Love
Bee Gees
3. Here You Come Again
Dolly Parton
4. You’re in my Heart
Rod Stewart
5. Back in Love Again
LTD
A few days later, Peter and J.C. held a jam session, and afterward decided to form a band. They added Ron Moss, a bass player from L.A., and veteran of two bands: Punk Rock and Count Zeppelin and his Fabled Airship. Ron brought along a high school friend, John Friesden, who, at one time, had toured the world as the assistant producer and drummer with the Ice Follies. Keyboard man Wayne Cook came abroad just a little too late; he missed being included in the photo used on their first album cover.
The boys were spotted by the production team of Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter, and signed to their company, Haven. Lambert and Potter then negotiated a deal with RSO. A debut album was planned, which one critic was to call “a ten-song exercise in straightforward, romantic pop.” One of those tunes was “Baby Come Back.”
We wrote that pretty quickly,” recalled Peter. “It took about three hours one night, and then we spent about an hour the next night polishing it up. J.C. and I had just broken up with our girlfriends, and we were still feeling the sting. When we sat down to write, our moods just blended, and it came out as ‘Baby Come Back.’
“I remember rehearsing the song in J.C.’s garage studio. It was the middle of summer, hotter than hell, and there we sat with our acoustic guitars, working it up amid the spiders and cockroaches. We knew it sounded like a hit, though. There was so much personal feeling in the song that we knew we had something special.”
“Baby Come Back” broke on the radio in October 1977 and reached number one early in January. It spent three weeks at the top — more than seven months on the charts. During that time, over two million copies were sold.
This infuriated some critics, who felt that the boys’ style was a “blatant carbon” of several other groups. However, reviewers couldn’t seem to agree as to the source of their familiar sound. Various writers claimed that “Baby Come Back” was an imitation of Hall and Oates’ “She’s Gone,” while others insisted the band copied Foreigner, the Bee Gees, Steely Dan, the Eagles, Journey, and even Andy Gibb.
“Just call it rock ‘n’ soul,” said Ron Moss. “We pull from the best of both worlds.”
Player didn’t perform live until November 1977, when they appeared as the opening act for Gino Vanelli. Later, they toured with Heart, Boz Scaggs, Kenny Loggins, and Eric Clapton. Their second single, “This Time I’m in it for Love,” was a Top 10 hit in the spring of 1978. “Prisoner Of Your Love” was a Top 40 hit in November of that year. Their last charting singles were for Casablanca in 1980 and RCA in 1982.
And their name? “We saw the word on television when the players from the show were listed,” Peter explained. “We knocked off the ‘s’ and went with it. I think the word holds a certain ambiguity.”
“And also, people can hold up our album, point to it, and say, ‘That’s a great record, Player’.”
1971 – Donald McPherson of the Main Ingredient dies of leukemia. Age 29. The group’s biggest hit is the million-selling No. 3 song “Everybody Plays the Fool.” by Aaron Neville.
Much too young!
The group was formed in Harlem, NY in 1964 as a trio called the Poets, composed of lead singer Donald McPherson, Luther Simmons, Jr., and Panama-born Tony Silvester. They made their first recordings for Leiber & Stoller’s Red Bird label, but soon changed their name to the Insiders and signed with RCA. After a couple of singles, they changed their name once again in 1966, this time permanently to the Main Ingredient.
Nothing much happened until the Main Ingredient hooked up with producer Bert DeCoteaux, who had an excellent sense of the lush, orchestrated direction soul music would take in the early ’70s. Under his direction, the Main Ingredient reached the R&B Top 30 for the first time in 1970 with “You’ve Been My Inspiration.” Things grew steadily from there; a cover of the Impressions’ “I’m So Proud” broke the Top 20, and “Spinning Around (I Must Be Falling in Love)” went Top Ten. They scored again with the McPherson-penned black power anthem “Black Seeds Keep on Growing,” but tragedy struck in 1971: McPherson, who had suddenly taken ill with leukemia, died unexpectedly. Stunned, Silvester and Simmons regrouped with new lead singer Cuba Gooding, Sr., who’d served as a backing vocalist on some of their previous recordings and had filled in on tour during McPherson’s brief illness.
The Gooding era began auspiciously enough with the million-selling smash “Everybody Plays the Fool,” which hit number two R&B and number three pop to become the group’s biggest hit ever. The accompanying album, aptly titled Bitter Sweet, became their first to hit the Top Ten on the R&B charts; its follow-up, 1973′s Afrodisiac, featured several songs written or co-written by Stevie Wonder, although it didn’t produce any huge successes on the singles charts. They peaked at number eight on the R&B chart in 1974 with “Just Don’t Want to Be Lonely,” which sold over a million copies and also reached number ten on the pop chart, and the disco-flavored “Happiness Is Just Around the Bend,” which did not. In 1975, the group recorded several songs co-written by Leon Ware, including the R&B Top Ten “Rolling Down a Mountainside.” By this point, however, Silvester was harboring other ambitions; he released a solo album called Magic Touch that year, and left the group to form a production team with Bert DeCoteaux.
Later Years
Silvester was replaced by Carl Tompkins, but the chemistry wasn’t the same, and Gooding departed for a solo career on Motown in 1977, which produced two albums; Simmons, meanwhile, left music to work as a stockbroker. Gooding, Silvester, and Simmons reunited as the Main Ingredient in 1979, and cut two more albums, 1980′s Ready for Love and 1981′s I Only Have Eyes for You (the latter featured a minor hit in “Evening of Love”). The trio reunited for a second time in 1986, but their Zakia single “Do Me Right” flopped, and Simmons returned to his day job. He was replaced by Jerome Jackson on the 1989 Polydor album I Just Wanna Love You. In the wake of Aaron Neville’s Top Ten revival of “Everybody Plays the Fool,” Gooding resumed his solo career and issued his third album in 1993. Silvester and Simmons re-formed the Main Ingredient in 1999 with new lead singer Carlton Blount; this lineup recorded Pure Magic in 2001. Gooding’s son is, of course, Cuba Gooding, Jr., the actor best known for his Oscar-winning performance in Jerry Maguire.
Silvester died on November 27, 2006, at the age of 65.
Discography
Albums
* 1971: Black Seeds (RCA) – US #176, R&B #35
* 1971: Tasteful Soul (RCA) – US #146, R&B #26
* 1972: Bitter Sweet (RCA) – US #79, R&B #10
* 1973: Afrodisiac (RCA) – US #132, R&B #16
* 1974: Euphrates River (RCA) – US #52, R&B #8
* 1974: Greatest Hits (RCA) – R&B #32
* 1975: Rolling Down a Mountainside (RCA) – US #90, R&B #3
* 1976: Shame on the World (RCA) – US #158, R&B #27
* 1976: Super Hits (RCA) – R&B #46
* 1977: Music Maximus (RCA) – US #177
* 1980: Ready for Love (RCA) – R&B #69
* 1981: I Only Have Eyes For You (RCA)
* 1989: I Just Wanna Love You (Polydor) – R&B #59
* 2001: Pure Magic (Magnatar)
* 2005: Everybody Plays the Fool: The Best of the Main Ingredient (RCA/Legacy)
Singles
* 1970: “I’m Better Off Without You” – US #91
* 1970: “You’ve Been My Inspiration” – US #64, R&B #25
* 1971: “Black Seeds Keep On Growing” – US #97, R&B #15
* 1971: “I’m So Proud” – US #49, R&B #13
* 1971: “Spinning Around (I Must Be Falling In Love)” – US #52, R&B #7
* 1972: “Everybody Plays the Fool” – US #3, R&B #2
* 1973: “Girl Blue” – R&B #51
* 1973: “You Can Call Me Rover” – R&B #34
* 1973: “You’ve Got To Take It (If You Want It)” – US #46, R&B #18
* 1974: “California My Way” – US #75, R&B #48
* 1974: “Happiness Is Just Around The Bend” – US #35, R&B #7
* 1974: “Just Don’t Want To Be Lonely” – US #10, R&B #8
* 1975: “Rolling Down a Mountainside” – US #92, R&B #7
* 1975: “The Good Old Days” – R&B #45
* 1976: “Instant Love” – R&B #96
* 1976: “Shame On The World” – R&B #20
* 1986: “Do Me Right” – R&B #75
* 1989: “I Just Wanna Love” – R&B #15
* 1990: “Nothing’s Too Good For My Baby” – R&B #29
1965 – The Rolling Stones recorded ‘The Last Time’ and ‘Play With Fire’ at the RCA studio in Hollywood, California. Phil Spector played acoustic guitar on ‘Play With Fire.’
1962 – RCA Records release Sam Cooke’s “Twistin’ the Night Away,” which will become the soul singer’s 15th top 40 hit.
Lyrics:
Let me tell you ’bout a place
Somewhere up-a New York way
Where the people are so gay
Twistin’ the night away-ay
Here they have a lot of fun
Puttin’ trouble on the run
Man, you find the old and young
Twistin’ the night away
They’re twistin’, twistin’, everybody’s feelin’ great
They’re twistin’, twistin’, they’re twistin’ the night away
Here’s a man in evenin’ clothes
How he got here, I don’t know, but
Man, you oughta see him go
Twistin’ the night away-ay
He’s dancin’ with the chick in slacks
She’s a-movin’ up and back
Oh man, there ain’t nothin’ like
Twistin’ the night away
They’re twistin’, twistin’, everybody’s feelin’ great
They’re twistin’, twistin’, they’re twistin’ the night away
Let’s twist a while!
Lean up, lean back
Lean up, lean back
Watusi, now fly, now twist
They’re twistin’ the night away
Here’s a fella in bluejeans
Dancin’ with a older Queen
Who’s dolled up in-a diamond rings and
Twistin’ the night away-ay
Man, you oughta see her go
Twistin’ to the rock and roll
Here you find the young and old
Twistin’ the night away
They’re twistin’, twistin’, man, everybody’s feelin’ great
They’re twistin’, twistin’, they’re twistin’ the night away
One more time!
Lean up, lean back
Lean up, lean back
Watusi, now fly, now twist
They’re twistin’ the night away
“Twistin’ the Night Away” is the name of a song written and recorded by Sam Cooke. The song was released as a single in 1962 and became very popular, charting in the top ten of both the Billboard Hot 100 (#9) and Billboard’s R&B chart (#1), as well as the UK Singles Chart (#6).
In 1973, Rod Stewart released his version as a single from his album Never a Dull Moment. This version achieved marginal success, peaking at #59 on the Billboard Hot 100. A new version by Stewart was featured in the movie Innerspace. When released as a single in the Summer of 1987, this version hit #80 on the Hot 100.
The Shins titled their third album Wincing the Night Away in an apparent reference to the song.
Motown Girl Group “The Marvelettes” Recorded this song and it appeared on there 1962 album “Marvelettes Sing Smash Hits Of 1962″.
“Twistin’ the Night Away”
Single by Sam Cooke
from the album Twistin’ the Night Away
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