BIRMINGHAM RECORD COLLECTORS
DEDICATED TO THE COLLECTING OF MUSIC, ITS PRESERVATION AND LASTING FRIENDSHIP
THIS MONTH’S MEETING WILL BE THE SECOND SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10TH 2:00 PM
HOMEWOOD PUBLIC LIBRARY 1721 OXMOOR RD BIRMINGHAM, AL 35209
NEXT MEETING, DECEMBER 8TH 2:00 PM THE SECOND SUNDAY
THIS MONTH’S MEETING
Our meeting this month will be what I call a ‘business meeting’. Here at the end of the year is a good time to recall things we have talked about getting done as we cover the recent record show, our need to file for tax exempt status, future meetings and such. Please be a participant at this meeting since it will cover so much of what lies ahead for BRC. Thanks for a great 2024 and now let’s get ready for 2025.
December will be playing our ‘Dirty Santa’ game. Bring a wrapped gift (if you purchase something – $10 max) and join in the fun. Even if you don’t want to participate in the game, come and join us anyway. And we will do our ‘Free For All’ as well. Do you have vinyl, CD’s DVD’s or such that you want to get rid of? Bring whatever you have and let everyone pick out something for free!
FUN FACTS
This month has been a busy one for me so I am using some clips from past New England Doo Wop Society’s Newsletters for this month’s BRC Newsletters. Thanks to the NEDWS for allowing me to use their stories. Hope you enjoy.
Booker T. Jones and Steve Cropper tell the story of how – along with Steinberg and Jackson – they accidentally created a masterpiece. The quartet was booked to record demos, but the scheduled singer arrived too hoarse to record. Instead of packing up, the band stayed and started noodling on a blues riff. Jim Stewart, the owner of Stax, was engineering the session that day. He liked what he heard and began recording the band without telling them. When they finished, he liked it so much that he wanted to release it immediately as a single. The group agreed and returned to the studio to write and record a B-side for the new song they named “Behave Yourself.” Back in the studio, Cropper asked Jones to play a riff he’d played during a recent show. Jones recalls the moment: “I’d forgotten those riffs…so I asked Steve to stand next to the organ and help refresh my memory. I played several licks before Steve stopped and shouted, ‘That’s it!’ He identified the opening notes of what would become ‘Green Onions.’ The song burst to life on the spot.” The next day, Cropper took the then-unnamed B-side to a local deejay who played it on the air four times in a row. The station’s phones lit up with callers asking where they could buy the song. Naturally, “Green Onions” graduated to the A-side, and the rest is history. (here is ‘Green Onions’ and the flip side, ‘Behave Yourself’)
Bobby Pickett and Lenny Capizzi wrote the song “Monster Mash” in about two hours. They recorded a demo to tape and brought it to Gary Paxton, lead singer of The Hollywood Argyles who had the hit “Alley Oop”. They recorded the song with Paxton and studio musicians Leon Russell, Johnny McCrae and Rickie Page, who were credited as “The Crptkickers.” Paxton, who is credited as the song’s producer, also added the sound effects. (Some stories say that Leon Russell was late to the studio that day and that he was not on ‘Monster Mash’ but was on the flip side)
Shreveport, LA native and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, James Burton’s name was forever etched on another famed music hall on Sunday. The Country Music Hall of Fame inducted its 153, 154, and 155th members during a ceremony in Nashville on October 20,2024 where John Anderson, James Burton, and the late Toby Keith joined a league of Country Music giants.
October 22, 1958 – At Pythian Temple studios in New York City, Buddy Holly does what will be his last studio session, recording the tracks “True Love Ways,” “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore” “Moondreams” and “Raining In My Heart.”
On October 19, 1958 – In Nashville, Tennessee, Brenda Lee records “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree.” To get her in the Christmas spirit, her producer, Owen Bradley, sets up a Christmas tree and turns on the air conditioning!”
When Hank Williams described his first wife as “a cheatin’ heart” to country singer Billie Jean Jones, who would soon become his second wife, he was inspired to write the song. According to Jones, she and Williams were en route to her parents’ home in Louisiana to announce their engagement when Williams uttered the title phrase. “Then he said, ‘Hey that’d make a good song! Get out my tablet, baby, you and I are gonna write us a song,'” she recalled. “Just about as fast as I could write it, Hank quoted the words to me in a matter of minutes.”
Bill Justis, (October 14, 1926), known for his 1957 hit “Raunchy,” is born in Birmingham, Alabama, raised in Memphis, Tennessee. This was originally called “Backwards.” Justis changed the title when he heard someone enjoying the tune say that it was “raunchy,” which meant “messy” or “dirty” in ’50s teenage slang. Ernie Freeman covered this. It was a reversal of the usual process as Freeman was black and Justis was white. Freeman’s version hit #4 while Justis’ hit #2. Although both did extensive session work, “Raunchy” remains each act’s sole Top 40 hit. George Harrison played this on his guitar for John Lennon when he was auditioning to be a member of The Quarrymen.
The Beatles’ 1964 trip to America will be chronicled in a new documentary from producer Martin Scorsese and director David Tedeschi. Titled “Beatles ’64,” the film will be released on Disney+ on Nov. 29 and features never-before-seen footage of the band and its legions of young fans during the height of Beatlemania. The doc follows Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr as they land in New York City in February 1964 and solidify their status as the biggest band in the world. “Beatles ’64” promises to tell “a more intimate behind the scenes story” of the Fab Four as they debut on “The Ed Sullivan Show” to more than 73 million viewers, which back then was the most-watched television event of all time.
BRC RADIO
And don’t forget that BRC radio is on the BRC website. We have three different “DJ’s” if you will. Joe Reddick, Tom Faison and myself play all kinds of music including, hit songs from the 1950’s – present, LP cuts, songs that received little or no air-play, and all genres. Check out some of the shows. Just go the birminghamrecord.com and click on the ‘RADIO’ icon.
See ya,
Charlie