Tune Tag #26 with Andres of "The Vinyl Room," Pt. 2: Donny Hathaway, Captain Beyond, Strawberry Alarm Clock, Al Kooper, Gary Lewis & The Playboys, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Hunger
Who's the 16-year-old "mystery" lead singer? Who on earth is Willy Dee, and just how many bands did he front? How many City Boys are there? Questions dominate this one! So do the musical answers!🎶
It’s Andy! Tune Tag welcomesof The Vinyl Room for his second go-‘round in the Tune Tag Arena!
Andy: I have a complicated relationship with the term “audiophile”, so let’s say I am a vinyl lover and high-quality sound fiend who has been collecting records in various formats since childhood. Born in Buenos Aires (Argentina), settled in London (UK) for 10+ years, I write on all things vinyl: sound hacks, collection tips, industry trends and more.
I really enjoyed playing Tune Tag with Brad last summer, and I’ve been a regular cheerleader in the comments section ever since. When Brad suggested Round Two, how could I resist!
Andy’s song #1 sent to Brad: Donny Hathaway, “I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know,” 1972
Andy’s rationale: This has always been a favourite of mine. Donny’s vocal performance is just… something else. It takes the meaning of “heart-wrenching” to a whole new level. If Hathaway doesn’t send shivers down your spine when he’s singing this, check your pulse!
He really makes it his own (it’s actually a cover of Blood, Sweat and Tears, a band I got to know courtesy of Hathaway and this song):
I picked this as my first track as there were so many different avenues Brad could take: the theme of love and despair, the tune’s somber vibe, Donny’s soulful rendition, or… well, the maddening and nerve-racking exercise of tracking the individuals and masterminds behind the songs we choose! Need I say more?
Brad’s song #1 sent to Andy: Al Kooper, “This Diamond Ring,” 1976
Andy’s response: I didn’t know this song, but I can see Al Kooper was one of the founding members (if not the founding member) of Blood, Sweat and Tears, and the composer of “I Love You More…”.
I like how it starts off defiantly (lyrically and musically… that beat is irresistible!), but then mellows out in the chorus, with a whiff of power pop harmonies promising riches and happiness to a future, more-deserving ring holder who will let it shine in all its glory.
With this connection in mind, I sent Brad another favourite of mine (yes, another bluesy ballad, because that’s how we roll sometimes), not written, in this case, but produced, by Al Kooper (Andy’s Song #2, up next).
Brad’s rationale: Kooper (above), our newest Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame inductee (with a Musical Excellence Award), wrote the Hathaway song. He also co-wrote (with Bob Brass and Irwin Levine) “This Diamond Ring,” which became a hit for Gary Lewis and the Playboys in 1965, but not before an interesting trip to even get to Jerry’s kid (or this, Kooper’s own arrangement eleven years later)!
The original “Diamond Ring” demo was sung by studio session singer, Jimmy Radcliffe in 1964 (made available on a CD compilation in 2007). Kooper and the other two songwriters had intended to pitch this demo to The Drifters for a possible recording:
Radcliffe’s demo was quickly followed by the first official release of the song, a single by Sammy Ambrose on Musicor Records in December 1964. Both were decidedly soul/R&B arrangements:
Also in December ‘64, a supercharged pop version by Gary Lewis was released on Liberty Records (produced by Snuff Garrett, it was arranged by Leon Russell).
Lewis’ version lapped the Ambrose arrangement and charted first, #101 on the January 2, 1965 Billboard “Bubbling Under” chart. Both versions charted on January 9, Lewis still at #101, with Ambrose at #117. Ambrose, though, dropped off the chart at that point, but Lewis made #65 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart the next week (January 16), and his version continued to climb until it reached #1 on February 20, 1965.
The band appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, December 6, 1964, coinciding with the single’s initial release (ten months after The Beatles debuted in the States on the show), but reprised the song’s performance on this March 21, 1965 Sullivan appearance (3 days after my 10th birthday. I had seen The Beatles’ appearance a month before my 9th birthday; it’s highly likely I saw this performance at the time, too).
Gary Lewis & the Playboys were an American band, of course, but in the era of The British Invasion, Gary and his ‘Boys appeared on the Sullivan show 5 times in two years, one of only a handful of acts to claim that distinction!
According to David Brackett in his 1995 Interpreting Popular Music, Lewis’ vocals were heavily supported by Ron Hicklin’s overdubs (it was Hicklin’s Singers who provided most of the in-studio background vocals; Shirley Jones and David Cassidy were the only two of the show’s actors who sang on record) for The Partridge Family TV show and records 5 years later.
The Lewis sessions were filled, though, with L.A. Wrecking Crew members: drummer Hal Blaine, Joe Osborn on bass, with arranger Leon Russell on keyboards. Lewis has denied claims that the Playboys did not play on the record, and says that not only was the band largely self-contained, but the Wrecking Crew session musicians only came in to do overdubs or solos.
Jerry’s boy and the Playboys play “This Diamond Ring” half-a-century later(!):
Andy’s song #2: Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Tuesday’s Gone,” 1973
Brad’s response: Produced by Al Kooper, and written by bandmembers Allen Collins and Ronnie Van Zant from their debut Pronounced LP.
Andy’s rationale: This song has always given me a strange feeling of hope. Yes, there’s heartbreak, longing and sadness, but the train rolls on, and (unlike in “I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know”), there is a clear determination to turn the page and move on. It’s one of those tunes born out of that sweet spot of feeling sad for an ending, but knowing deep down it’s actually for the best.
Brad’s song #2: Strawberry Alarm Clock, “Incense and Peppermints,” 1967
Andy’s response: Coming from Brad, I knew there was one place I had to check first: the credits, of course! So, Ed King, then (guitarist in gold, far left, in video above), who eventually played guitar and bass for Lynyrd Skynyrd and was, apparently, uncredited as a writer on this track.
I note he was also in this lesser-known band called Hunger. I realize he didn’t play on all of their tracks, plus the material available online is, in general, quite limited. At this stage, I’m frantically searching the web like a maniac knowing full well I’ve only got myself to blame for this beautiful yet, at times, exasperating rabbit hole I got myself into! Fine. I think I’ve got it [we’ll see in his Song #3]!
Brad’s rationale: The song is officially credited as having been written by John S. Carter (aka Carter) and Tim Gilbert, although it was based on an instrumental idea by band members Mark Weitz and Ed King (both are credited with arranging the song).
According to Bruce Eder of Allmusic.com: “Thanks to a manager [Bill Holmes] who was, at best, inept, and a producer [Frank Slay] who played fast and loose with parceling out credit, neither [Weitz’s] nor King’s name ever ended up on the song as composers”:
The single was released in May 1967 by Uni Records, and reached the top position on the Billboard Hot 100, where it stayed for one week before beginning its fall down the charts. Although the single was released in the UK, it failed to break into the UK Singles Chart.
According to keyboardist, Mark Weitz, the lead singer on the recorded song not only wasn’t in the band, he was just a teenager!
“Back in the studio, we went around the room and everybody tried to sing the lead to ‘Incense and Peppermints.’ No one sounded right for the part [apparently, “the song’s key was wrong for everybody,” said bassist, George Bunnell, in one interview].
“There was a 16-year-old kid friend of our manager [Bill Holmes] sitting on the floor watching the session, Greg Munford. He got in front of the mic and started singing in a nasally sort-of-English voice. He sounded the best, and ironically he wasn’t in the band. And that was the lead vocal we used on the record. Came back to haunt us later.”
Andy’s song #3: Hunger, “Colors,” 1969
Brad’s response: Man, it took awhile, but finally….Ed King, between his Strawberry Alarm Clock and Lynyrd Skynyrd stints, was in Hunger (I wonder if Hunger ever toured Hungary….on an empty stomach)! On tiny Public Records, I’d never heard of Hunger (or the Strictly from Hunger album that featured this song), and certainly had never heard their “Colors,” written by Hunger singer, Mike Lane.
Andy’s rationale: There’s something quite resolute about those drums, but what stood out the most for me was the guitar solo. How it envelops you, electrifies you, teases you with sweet distortion, and leaves you wanting more. I wonder how Brad will respond…
Brad’s song #3: Captain Beyond, “Do or Die,” 1977
Andy’s response: Willy Daffern on vocals, just like in my Hunger track! The man of many aliases, as if one needed an extra complication when playing Tune Tag with the King of Tune Tag! And, on top of that, covering 70’s/60’s prog rock repertoire! I mean, what was I thinking?!
Loved the vocals. The energy of the track is so contagious that, before I know it, my feet are stomping in unison.
Chakras is some of Daffern’s lesser known work, as far as I’m concerned, at least, so here goes…(for my next song)!
Brad’s rationale: Bill Daffern (Willy Daffern or Willie Dee) was in Hunger. He was lead singer for this 1977 Captain Beyond track on their third and final album, Dawn Explosion.
While the band had broken up four years before after just two albums, Warner Bros. Records signed a deal with the band’s original label, Capricorn Records (which had been distributed by Warners during Captain Beyond’s early-’70s label tenure), and contacted the band members asking them to reunite.
Original member Bobby Caldwell returned on drums, but original lead vocalist Rod Evans could not be contacted after multiple inquiries: Captain Beyond held auditions, and selected Hunger’s Willy Daffern to replace him.
Andy’s song #4: Chakras, “City Boy,” 1969
Brad’s response: Another Willy Daffern sighting! I had heard of neither Chakras nor their “City Boy” (written by Michael Kaplan, produced by Jim Hilton, with horns arranged by Jimmy Haskell) prior to Andy’s well-found Tag! Nicely done, young weedhopper!
I certainly recognize the American label, the white promo Reprise/Warner Bros.-7 Arts label (hello, old friend)! Fairly pedestrian classic rock with a country twang and a possible dash of psychedelia, simply because they were likely smoking while recording….allegedly (hey, it was ‘69)!
Andy’s rationale: I’m not saying anything new if I mention the Beatles’ influence, but as someone who, unlike Brad, didn’t get to experience this era in the flesh, what I found particularly revealing is that the guitar riff instantly gave me “Sweet Home Alabama” vibes.
Older readers will forgive my ignorance, but I had never seen the connection with Lynyrd Skynyrd this clearly. Finally being able to fill this gap was quite mind-blowing!
Brad’ song #4: City Boy, “5.7.0.5,” 1978
Andy’s response: Well, talking about Beatles’ influence! I love how genre-defying this track is, though. The beat is infectious. I really enjoyed this live performance, particularly the singer’s stage presence and vocal skills.
Other than the obvious song/band name overlap, I cannot find a connection, but at this stage, I am just enjoying the music. If there is a further connection, I am sure Brad will fill that gap nicely!
I love how we started on a low and ended on a high.
By the end of the track, more than rock and rolling, I am boogieing down so hard to this banger that I am once again bitterly regretting not even being born when this song came out.
Now, thanks to YouTube, and with the help of my friend, I can get a little glimpse into an era I actually missed, but still, funnily enough, somehow terribly miss.
Brad’s rationale: “City Boy” song (written by Steve Broughton and Lol Mason, produced by Robert John “Mutt” Lange) to the City Boy group on Mercury/Phonogram (U.S.), Vertigo Records/UK.