BIRMINGHAM RECORD COLLECTORS
DEDICATED TO THE COLLECTING OF MUSIC, ITS PRESERVATION AND LASTING FRIENDSHIP
THIS MONTH’S MEETING THE SECOND SUNDAY, MARCH 10TH 2:30 PM
HOMEWOOD PUBLIC LIBRARY 1721 OXMOOR RD BIRMINGHAM, AL 35209
NEXT MEETING, APRIL 7TH 2:30 PM THE FIRST SUNDAY
PLEASE NOTE THE NEW MEETING STARTING TIME: 2:30
THIS MONTH’S MEETING – HIGHLY IMPORTANT
The March meeting will be what we will call a business meeting. We will need to appoint duties to those who will volunteer to help do upcoming BRC Record Shows and club business. Please attend if you will help with these important issues. If we don’t get enough help, as as been stated before, there probably WON’T be a 2025 record show. We need your assistance so we can continue doing our annual show. We will continue as a club whether we do record shows or not. The newsletter, BRC Radio, monthly meetings and the HOF will continue. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT MEETING. Hope to see you there!
The April meeting will be held the first Sunday due to the library changing their schedule for that month.
MORE INFO THAN YOU WANT TO KNOW
Due to circumstances beyond my control I did not have time to do my own research for a newsletter article. So, from a newsletter I get from the New England Doo Wop Society I chose some articles I thought might be of interest. Thanks to the NE Doo Wop Society for letting me use their articles in the past and now.
BRIAN WILSON’S FAMILY SPEAKS OUT ON CONSERVATORSHIP FILING AMID ‘MAJOR NEUROCOGNITIVE DISORDER’!
LeeAnn Hard and Jean Sievers filed paperwork to Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday to become Wilson’s co-conservators, court records viewed by USA TODAY show. The 81-year-old Beach Boys co-founder and mastermind has a “major neurocognitive disorder” and is taking medication for dementia, according to a doctor’s declaration filed with the petition. The petition asks a judge to appoint two longtime Wilson representatives — publicist Jean Sievers and manager LeeAnn Hard — to be conservators overseeing his personal and medical decisions because “Mr. Wilson is unable to properly provide for his own personal needs for physical health, food, clothing, or shelter.” The two women “have had a close relationship with Mr. and Mrs. Wilson for many years, and Mr. Wilson trusts them,” according to the filing.
THE COVER OF THE ROLLINGSTONE MAGAZINE ON FEBRUARY 15, 1969!
Rolling Stones front cover features an article on “groupies” – introducing a new term to the popular lexicon. As rock and roll matures, fan culture also becomes more refined, and a name is needed for ther ladies who hang out at the stage door hoping for some intimate interaction with the band. These girls add color to and intrigue to the rock starts’ stories, but they are typically minor characters in music journalism, often sneered upon in print. Rollin g Stone, in just their 27th issue, makes them the cover story and defines their moniker: Groupie.
DAVID BOX
Harold David Box (August 11, 1943 – October 23, 1964) was an American rock and roll musician in the early 1960s. Box was influenced by fellow Texan Buddy Holly, and even took his place as singer of his group, the Crickets, for a short time after Holly’s death. His father taught him to play guitar at the age of nine. In 1958, Box formed his own band, The Ravens, with Box on vocals and Fender Stratocaster guitar, and classmates Lynn Bailey on bass, and Ernie Hall on drums. As a close neighbor of Jerry Allison’s parents, Ernie Hall reported that The Crickets needed a replacement for guitarist and vocalist Sonny Curtis, who had been drafted into the Army. The Ravens sent in their demos and auditioned, eventually winning the role; Box and Hall went to Los Angeles to cut the Crickets’ next single. Box and Hall’s composition, “Don’t Cha Know” was used as the A-side, while a Buddy Holly composition, “Peggy Sue Got Married” was used as the B-side. Box played guitar and sang, Joe B. Mauldin played bass, Ernie Hall played drums on “Don’t Cha Know”, while Jerry Allison played drums on “Peggy Sue Got Married” and acoustic guitar on “Peggy Sue Got Married.” David Box played guitar for Dusty Springfield first USA recording at RCA. David Box was also a friend of fellow Texan artist, B.J.Thomas, and were both label-mates signed to the independent Joed label. On October 23, 1964, David Box was a passenger in the small Cessna 172 Skyhawk, piloted by Bill Daniel including passengers Carl Banks and Buddy Groves of The Kings Band Houston, Texas. The other band members, Glen Spreen and Bill Tillman, were invited earlier on this flight, however, both declined; David Box, who was a visiting musician guest, accepted the invitation. Their plane crashed, killing him. The plane’s pilot did not possess a federal license. Many accounts exist about that day with pilot error given as the final contributing factor.
THE TOWER IS GONE
Brazen thieves managed to steal a 200-foot radio tower in Alabama, leaving a local radio station on standby. According to New York Post, radio station staff in Walker County has no clue how the thieves made off with the heavy steel structure. However, WJLX station general manager Brett Elmore said he remains hopeful that somebody will share information to help law enforcement find those responsible for the theft. Still, he said he is blown away by what happened. “I have tried all weekend to figure it out, and I just can’t,” Mr Elmore told local television station. “I have been in the radio business, around it all my life and then in it professionally for 26 years, and I can say I have never heard of anything like this. I can say I’ve seen it all now,” he added. Mr Elmore said he first learned about the theft on Friday when a landscaping crew visited the spot, but the thieves had already cleared out the tower. “When he arrived, he called me Friday and said, ‘The tower is gone.’ I said, ‘What do you mean the tower is gone? Are you sure you are at the right place?’ you know. He said, ‘The tower is gone. There is wires everywhere, and it is gone’,” the station general manager said what one of the staff members told him. “This really hurts a small operation like this, but like I said, I believe we will find out who did this. It is a federal crime and it absolutely will not be worth it to them,” he further told WBTV.
GRAM PARSONS
Ingram Cecil Connor III (November 5, 1946 – September 19, 1973), known professionally as Gram Parsons, was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist. He recorded as a solo artist and with the Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers and others. Parsons spent the first half of 1971 with Keith Richard living in France. After traveling around Britain with friends in late 1971, he was treated for heroin addiction and returned to the U.S. Having just completed the now enormously celebrated classic, Grievous Ange (released posthumously in 1974), Parsons, headed to The Joshua Tree Inn to wind down with enough booze and morphine to kill two men—allegedly. Naturally, Gram suffered a major overdose that ended his life. Here’s where things get strange. While Parson was in transit to Louisiana for burial, friend and producer, Phil Kaufman intercepted his body. He was fulfilling a pact the two had made. Phil managed to seize the body, evade capture from the police, and with the help of some gasoline, set his buddy’s remains alight. Gram’s remains were eventually found and flown back to New Orleans. Kaufman was only charged $750 for his stunt!
ANONYMOUS QUOTE
“Nobody in Decca studios had ever witnessed somebody setting up their guitar and amp and playing at that volume. People in the canteen were complaining.” (How Eric Clapton revolutionized electric guitar in the ‘60s.)
FOR TRUE ROCK & ROLLERS
(Wasn’t the late 50’s a great time for rock and I always wonder about the musicians on recordings like these, who are these guys??!!)
EDDIE CASH
(1958 Peak label, books for $100-125))
BOBBY LOLLAR
(1958 Benton label, books for $1500-2500)
RONNIE DOVE
(1958 Dove label, books for $3000-4000, 500 copies made)
JOHNNY REBB
(1959 Bullseye label, books for $400-500, singer from Australia)
(1957 Valiant label, books for $2000-3000)
See ya,
Charlie