BIRMINGHAM RECORD COLLECTORS
DEDICATED TO THE COLLECTING OF MUSIC, ITS PRESERVATION AND LASTING FRIENDSHIP
THIS MONTH’S MEETING
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11TH 2:00 PM
HOMEWOOD PUBLIC LIBRARY 1721 OXMOOR RD BIRMINGHAM, AL 35209
NEXT MEETING, OCTOBER 9TH 2:00 PM
BIRMINGHAM RECORD COLLECTORS 37TH ANNUAL RECORD SHOW
Once again the BRC Record & CD show was a success. Thanks to everyone who volunteered during the 3-day show and a special thanks to all those who helped get secure venue, procured needed items such as tables, tickets, postcards, wristbands, food trucks, stamps, advertising and so much more. And speaking of advertising, thanks to WBHM, aka Red Mountain Radio, Lee Perryman & Alabama Radio (WSGN 98.3HD), Bob Greene (WFEB, Sylacauga, AL) and Bob Labbe (WLRH, Huntsville, AL) who all advertised for us. Lee (WSGN) did a remote from the show on Saturday and we were glad to have him there giving out prizes. I know when I do this I leave out something someone did but let me just say, THANKS! to all who had a hand in getting the show going and making it a success.
RICK HESTER
Rick Hester, lead guitarist for two local Birmingham bands, The Epics and the Townsmen passed away on August 17, 2022. Rick was our special guest speaker at our November 2021 monthly meeting and everyone really enjoyed the stories he told and the guitar lessons he gave us all. He and the guys he was in bands with left us some fine recordings on 45’s and we are glad they did.
The Epics – ‘Epic Cha Cha’ (click to play)
The Epics – ‘On The Rocks’ (click to play)
The Townsmen – ‘Tequila’ (click to play)
THIS MONTH’S MEETING
Thanks to Jack Wilson for spinning tunes for us last month. Whether it was teener, a rocker, C/W, rockabilly, soul, R&B or an instrumental from the past it is always good to hear those sounds and thanks to collectors like Jack for keeping the music alive.
This month we will once again hear some tunes from the past but in a special kind of way. It is a presentation that combines 3 things. Berry Gordy/Motown, the girl group/female sound and uncharted releases. Here is how it will go. Berry Gordy would meet with his writers and production staff weekly and they would play recent recordings and Berry would ask the group if they were hungry and only had a dollar which would they buy, the record just played or a sandwich. Well, at the September meeting a girl group/female singer record that charted will be pitted against an uncharted genre of the same and you will have to decide; if you went to your favorite record store back in the day and HAD to buy only one, which would it have been. Let’s see if some of the uncharted female singers would have sold rather than a record that went on to chart. Drop by and give your opinion.
MUSCLE SHOALS MEETS THE SWAMPERS
On Friday, November 18th at the Princess Theatre in Decatur, Alabama a musical event will be help called Muscle Shoals Meets The Swampers. Performers will perform some of the songs the Swampers have played on over the years. Of course, the Swampers were the original session players for Rick Hall at the FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals. Scheduled to be at the event are the Fiddleworms, David Hood, Travis Wammack, the Muscle Shoals Horns and more. For tickets go to princesstheatre.org, click on upcoming events and find the event. The event begins at 7:00 PM with tickets ranging from $25-44.
WHO IS THIS MACK PERSON ANYWAY?
I receive a newsletter each week from a group called the NE Doo Wop Society (NE standing for New England). There are some very interesting articles in the newsletter that cover, of course Doo Wop music but sometimes even more. This month for me has been very busy with our record show so I did not have enough time to come up with an article for our newsletter so I asked permission to use one from this group and they said OK. I was also told to let you know that if you want to get the newsletter just send your request and email address to echoes.past@yahoo.com. It will be worth reading. I hope you find the article interesting.
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The #1 song of 1959 was no overnight success. “Mack the Knife” debuted in Germany in 1928 in the KurtWeill/Bertolt Brecht production of The Three Penny Opera, a scathing social commentary which parallels the rise of Adolf Hitler. The song was about MacHeath, a character in the play. The Nazis didn’t like Weill – he and Brecht fled to America, bringing Weill’s wife, Lotte Lenya, who created the role of Jenny in the play. By the early 50s, a different version of the song was heard in the U.S.. “Mac the Knife,” was thought to be too violent, so Mark Blitzstein was assinged to rewrite it. They asked Louis Armstrong to sing the song and when he did, he made a mistake in the list of characters in the lyrics near the end, and ADDED Lotte Lenya’s name to the roll-call of ladies who had succumbed to “Mackie.” Bobby Darin was an established singer with “Splish Splash, “Dream Lover” and “Queen of the Hop” to his credit….but he was hesitant to sing THIS song! He did record it on an album titled “That’s All,” but didn’t think it was worthy of a single. His close friend, Dick Clark told him it would never be a hit…but ATCO Records thought differently. They released it and it sold over two million records – AND won the Grammy for “Record of the Year”! Darin was named “Best New Artist” (although he had three hit records on the charts). This song kind of transformed him into a Frank Sinatra-type crooner! In all, between 1956 – 1960, “Mac the Knife” appeared in the Top 40 seven times! It was even done by Ella Fitzgerald who recorded live at a concert in Berlin…and she ALMOST forgot the words!! But, no problem…Ella just made up some lyrics and the Germans had no idea what the English version meant anyway!
BRC RADIO
Check out our latest shows at birminghamrecord.com. Click on ‘RADIO’ and listen to some long-lost music and even some new sounds. There is a wide variety of music now that we have 4 hosts doing shows which provides a wide-range of musical genres. Check out all our shows.
See ya,
Charlie