Month: June 2006

THE BUBBLEGUM FILES- Check Out the First in a Series of Shares at MONDO DADDYKIN!!

Hi. As you all know by now, I’ve collected bubblegum records all my life. Well, when I first bought my computer, I decided to see what was out there on the various filesharing sites. While I didn’t find many full albums from bands, I did find a wealth of obscure singles being shared…which is great. This is what bubblegum is really about to me- the 2-minute pop song with hooks that grab you and won’t let go. I have a lot of this stuff on vinyl, but some of it is too rough to transfer. So, the keyword "bubblegum" was my starting point. Over the last five years, I have gathered hundreds of great tracks from the mid-60s through the early 70s. The term "bubblegum" is sometimes too general for these gems, as they also cover sunshine pop, AM radio hits, and even psychedelia at times. It was an incredible age for music, a pocket of time when The Ohio Express, The Supremes, and Buck Owens could all share the Billboard Pop Charts at the same time. Well, obviously the fan-originated "Bubblegum MF" series gets a big nod here. Many of the rarer tracks come from that series, but there are also files from official CD compilations, K-Tel albums, Ronco albums, personal collections, etc. My goal was and is to put together the biggest Bubblegum Box Set possible, not for sale but for personal enjoyment and to share with other fans. As I would gather enough tracks for each 80-minute CD, I would copy the results and clear the decks to start all over. Now, one disc at a time, I will share what I call "The Bubblegum Files" with you. Please be patient with these, as I’m going to upload them sporadically between my other posts, with no set timetable. You’ll probably be getting volumes a year from now, so take your time and really get into the music. I’m sharing Volume One at my blog,   http://www.mondodaddykin.blogspot.com/      

Enjoy!   TRACK LISTING: 01. TOOT TOOT TOOT- Ganip Ganop, 02. JAMAICA- Bohanna, 03. SWEETS FOR MY SWEET- Central Park West, 04. PAM- Crazy Elephant, 05. LOOKY LOOKY- Giorgio, 06. LAST OF THE WINE- The Robbs, 07. NAMBY PAMBY- The Hardy Boys, 08. BANG BANG- Nancy Sinatra, 09. SUNSHINE GAMES- The Music Explosion, 10. YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY- The Ohio Express, 11. REMAINS TO BE SEEN- Steve and Stevie, 12. MUNY MUNY MUNY- Daisy Clan, 13. CINNAMON- Derek, 14. CHEWIN’ GUM KID- Ice Cream, 15. YES SIR, NO SIR- Art Movement, 16. PATTY CAKE- The Yummies, 17. HIP HIP HOORAY- The Troggs, 18. NEON- Young Turks, 19. ALICE LONG- Boyce and Hart, 20. BEEP BEEP- The Bumbles, 21. SUNDAY MORNING- Oliver, 22. FEE-FI-FO-FUM- Hungry Tiger, 23. SNOWBALL- American Machine, 24. LOOK AT YOU- Bazooka, 25. STOP- Giorgio, 26. FAIRY TALES CAN COME TRUE- San Francisco Earthquake, 27. SALLY ANN- The Cuff Links, 28. LOLLIPOP MAN- The Sweet, 29. TRACY- The Cuff Links, 30. CHIRPY CHIRPY CHEEP CHEEP- The Others, 31. LOVER’S CONGREGATION- The Matchmakers.

The Juicy-Fruity Four !!

  GARY PIG GOLD’s  ALL-TIME FAVORITE

                                                                      BUBBLEGUM ALBUMS

(in the strictly Long-playing, Long-lasting, but pretty well long out-of-print category)

JONATHAN KING  Bubble Rock Is Here To Stay  (U.K. Records, 1972)

Including witfully-wadded takes on anything and everything from “Satisfaction” and “Mr. Tambourine Man” to “Rock Around The Clock” and beyond, this truly is the world’s tartiest collection of, as Mr. King describes it himself, “fabulous old wines in beautiful new bottles.”

Various Artistes  The Fabulous Bubblegum Years  (Kory Records, 1976)

Fifteen (“count ‘em!”) of K&K’s gooiest ‘n’ gummiest of all, expertly sequenced and lovingly packaged by the good folks at — who? — Kory.  This, along with that first Ramone album, surely made 1976 the year of Bubblegum’s last great (original) gasp.

BUTTERSCOTT  Great Scott  (Grapefruit Records, 1998)

The proudly self-confessed Bubblegum Man of Boston herein gathers together an hour of his greatest three-chord, four-track creations and offers them boldly to a world which, long ago it seems, seems to have all but forgotten the simple joys in rhyming “yummy” with “tummy.”

CANDYPANTS  Candypants  (Sympathy For The Record Industry, 2000)

What do you get when you toss together a wad of Los Angeles’ greatest unsung musicians to create a clutch of tunes that veer wildly between pop-a-billy sass, Ronettes mascara-raunch, and the attraction(s) that was very early Elvis Costello?  Top it all with the provocatively crayola-tones of the one and only Lisa Jenio and you honestly have one of the gummily-greatest creations this side of Josie and her Puddytats.  Brings ALL new meanings to the expression “pony up” (for starters).  
 

 

Ron Dante’s Lost Singles- Forgotten Gems From The Voice Of The Archies!

Hi. As a huge Archies fan and avid record collector, I set out to find as many tracks as I could that featured the golden pop voice of Ron Dante. Many of you may know that in addition to the wonderful Archies catalog, Ron was also the voice of "Tracy" by The Cufflinks. Well, his pop music history goes much further and deeper than that. While researching his career on the internet a few years ago, I stumbled into a website called "Laura Pinto’s Ron Dante Fan Pages." This chick had written extensive articles on Dante, including a discography that blew me away! While I had found a few old singles at yard sales and flea markets, Laura had amassed a collection so thorough that she was providing the man himself with copies of his own lost songs! Well, after a few e-mail exchanges, Laura and I became friends and started to trade tracks and videos back and forth. While the CD that I’m offering at MONDO DADDYKIN does not give you everything from our collections, it is definitely the cream of the crop of the rarities. These 32 tracks are all compiled from Laura’s singles. She had me transfer them for her and Ron awhile back, and has graciously given me permission to post them. We tried to avoid songs that are available commercially or for download from Ron’s official site. Ron Dante’s work was often released under the name of a "ghost group" or a pseudonym. The CD starts with his very first record, Ronnie Dante’s "Little Lollipop" from 1963! Laura Pinto also runs several other awesome sites dedicated to bubblegum music and classic oldies, and contributes invaluable articles to the pop community on a regular basis. Laura, bless you for sharing your collection with us. Hopefully, this will give our readers a new appreciation of the pop giant that is Ron Dante. I am sharing mp3’s of many of these rarities at my blog,  http://www.mondodaddykin.blogspot.com/ Check it out!! daddykin

So You Are A Star- Remembering The Hudson Brothers

Hi. Remember The Hudson Brothers? They had a great primetime variety series on CBS-TV in the summer of 1974. "The Hudson Brothers Show" did so well as a summer replacement series that CBS put in a quick order for a Saturday morning version to debut the following month. Becoming "The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show," the boys graced our TV sets through 1975. Mark, Brett, and Bill had been making records since 1972, originally under the name "Hudson." By the time their second album was picking up speed, Casablanca Records scurried to put together a soundtrack album to tie in with their TV success. "Hollywood Situation," from 1974, offers songs heard in both TV series as well as a comedy skit called "The Adventures of Chucky Margolis," one of the more popular segments from both series. This album, along with the TV push, scored them a hit with the Beatlesque "So You Are A Star." Even as their TV career was nearing its end, they scored a big hit in 1975 with "Rendezvous." This is from their Rocket Records debut called "Ba-Fa." As an FYI, I should mention that Bill is the father of actress Kate Hudson (he was married to Goldie Hawn at the time). I haven’t heard much from Brett since, but Mark has been busy collaborating with, producing, and touring with Ringo Starr in recent years. Their songs were all solid AM pop material, mostly penned by the three brothers themselves. I’m sharing mp3’s of "Hollywood Situation" and "Ba-Fa" at my blog, http://www.mondodaddykin.blogspot.com/  Check it out! daddykin

The Higher They Climb- A Look Back At David Cassidy’s RCA Debut!

Hi. Even though this was technically David Cassidy’s fifth "solo" album, many consider it his first because of the circumstances surrounding it. His career to this point was orchestrated by Bell Records. Even the non-Partridge Family records had a similar thread in that they used a lot of the same musicians, songwriters and producers. Now, to my ears, the Bell period will always be the golden period. Wes Farrell’s production and arrangements, using strings and harpsichords with a pop group, were the perfect complement to David’s throaty vocals. Let’s face it, the boy had some chops. Well, when "The Partridge Family" was cancelled in 1974, so ended his contract with Bell. The end of a great era. Now a free agent for the first time in his career, David signed with RCA, who gave him complete control over his output. Cassidy could finally make the rock and roll album that he’d always wanted to. Released in 1975, this first RCA album is almost a concept album. Titled "The Higher They Climb, The Harder They Fall," it’s a tongue-in-cheek jab at his own rise and fall. Cassidy produced the album himself with the help of Bruce Johnston. In addition to Johnston, the players include Beach Boy Carl Wilson, Richie Furay, Jesse Ed Davis, Danny Kortchmar, and Jim Gordon- all session players of rock and roll legend. The Turtles’ Flo and Eddie sing backup on a couple of songs, and there’s even a comedy skit with Phil Austin of The Firesign Theatre! A fine, underappreciated album that tends to be forgotten with time. I’m sharing mp3’s of this classic album at my blog,    http://mondodaddykin.blogspot.com    Check it out! daddykin

MONKEES “RARITEES” UNEARTHED!!

Hi. Just when I thought Rhino had given us everything and the kitchen sink, I found this awesome boot a couple of years ago. "Raritees" gives you demo tapes that Michael Nesmith would submit for use in the TV series and records, 45-RPM singles that he released as Michael Blessing, a rare Micky Dolenz solo single, the original pilot versions of the theme song and "I Wanna Be Free" performed by Boyce & Hart, Monkees musical bumpers from the show, and "The In Sound," a recorded interview with the Monkees from 1966! There are also alternate versions of songs that have yet to be officially released. It’s an amazing find for the Monkees completist, and even good listening for the casual fan. I’m sharing mp3’s of these "raritees" at my blog, http://www.mondodaddykin.blogspot.com/

Check it out! daddykin