InternetFM.com

Hand Curated Radio

You are here: Home / Archives for Phil Spector

Phil Spector

Today in Rock History – May 29

by

1965, Bob Dylan’s album Bringing It All Back Home was at number one on the UK charts, his second chart topping album. It would be displaced the following day by the soundtrack to The Sound of Music.

1965, The Beach Boys started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Help Me Rhonda,” the group’s second US chart topper.

1967, The Move, Cream, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Zoot Money and Pink Floyd all appeared at the Tulip Bulb Auction Hall in Spalding, Lincs, England. Tickets cost £1 ($1.60).

1969, Crosby, Stills & Nash released their self-titled debut on Atlantic Records label. It spawned two top 40 hits, “Marrakesh Express” and “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes.”

1969, The Who appeared at the Kinetic Playground in Chicago.

1970,  Pink Floyd’s soundtrack to the Michelangelo Antonioni film Zabriske Point had its UK album release. It featured previously unreleased Pink Floyd tracks “Heart Beat, Pig Meat,” “Crumbling Land,” and “Come In Number 51, You’re Time Is Up.”

1970, Jethro Tull played at the Eastown Theater in Detroit, Michigan.

1971, The Rolling Stones started a two week run at number one on the American singles chart with “Brown Sugar.” The song was purportedly about Mick Jagger’s affair with American singer Marsha Hunt. It was the band’s sixth chart topper, and a number two hit in the UK.

1971, Three dozen Grateful Dead fans were treated for hallucinations caused by LSD after they unwittingly drank spiked apple juice served at a gig at San Francisco’s Winterland. This was the first of two nights at Bill Graham’s venue. Tickets cost $2 (£ 1.25).

1972, Paul McCartney releases his bizarre interpretation of “Mary Had a Little Lamb” as Wings. It barely makes the top thirty on the charts. McCartney apparently was making a point about censorship after the BBC banned his political single “Give Ireland Back to the Irish.”

1973, Record executive Clive Davis is fired from Columbia for misappropriating $100,000. He later founded Arista Records and engineered Santana’s comeback with Supernatural.

1973, David Bowie performed at Victoria Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, England.

1973, Mike Oldfield releases his ambient masterpiece Tubular Bells.  The opening piano solo was used briefly in the soundtrack to the William Friedkin film The Exorcist (also released in 1973), and the album gained considerable airplay because of the film’s success.

1973, Roger McGuinn performs his first solo gig at New York’s Academy of Music and confirms rumors that his band The Byrds is finished.

1975, Aerosmith were at Cobo Arena in Detroit, and Rush appeared at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas.

1976, Diana Ross started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Love Hangover,” her fourth chart topper.

1976, ZZ Top appear at Groves Stadium, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

1977, Fleetwood Mac, Bob Seger, Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Kenny Logins all appeared at the Tangerine Bowl, Orlando, Florida. Tickets cost $10 – $12.50.

1977, Manchester band Warsaw, (later to become Joy Division) made their live debut supporting The Buzzcocks at The Electric Circus, Manchester, England.

1979, Yes performed at the McNichols Sports Arena, Denver, Colorado.

1980, Thin Lizzy played at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.

1980, The Grateful Dead performed at the Civic Center in Des Moines, Iowa.

1981, Bruce Springsteen appeared at the Wembley Arena in London.

1983, Styx played at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi.

nirvana-nevermind1991, After just completing the recording of the Nevermind album, Nirvana played a last-minute show at the Jabberjaw in Los Angeles. In the audience was Iggy Pop, Dave Grohl’s girlfriend and L7 bassist Jennifer Finch who brought along her best friend Courtney Love.

1997, Singer songwriter Jeff Buckley disappeared after talking a swim in the Mississippi River, his body was found on six days later, after being spotted by a passenger on a tourist riverboat.

1997, The Manic Street Preachers won the best song award for “A Design For Life” at the 42nd Ivor Novello awards. Other winners included The Spice Girls for Hit of the year with “Wannabe,” Elvis Costello for Outstanding contribution to music. George Michael won Songwriter Of The Year and Most Performed work for “Fastlove.”

1999, Skeletal remains were found by photographers looking for old car wrecks to shoot at the bottom of Decker Canyon near Malibu, California. Based on forensic evidence the remains were Philip Kramer, former bassist with rock group Iron Butterfly, who had disappeared on his way home from work on February 12, 1995. His death was ruled as a probable suicide.

2007, A piano used by John Lennon on the night he died was put up for sale for $375,000 (£189,000) on The Moments in Time memorabilia website. The upright grand piano was part of the Record Plant Recording Studios in New York where the former Beatle recorded his 1971 Imagine album. Lennon was said to be so fond of the instrument that he had it moved to whichever studio he was working in and had used the piano hours before being shot on December 8, 1980.

2009, Phil Spector was jailed for at least 19 years for murdering an actress in 2003. The producer, 69, famed for his Wall of Sound recording technique, was  found guilty of shooting Lana Clarkson at his California home. Spector had pleaded not guilty to the second-degree murder during the five-month retrial in Los Angeles. His lawyers said he would appeal. Spector was given a sentence of 15 years to life for second-degree murder and an additional four years for personal use of a gun.

2015, Michael Jackson’s Neverland ranch went up for sale with a price tag of $100m (£65m). Jackson bought the Santa Barbara development in 1987 for $19.5 million, but struggled to pay for it, until an investment company stepped in to help him save it from auction.

Born on May 29:  Gary Brooker, Procol Harum (1945); Mike Porcaro, Toto (1955); La Toya Jackson (1956); Mel Gaynor, drums, Simple Minds (1959); Noel Gallagher, Oasis (1967)

Get more Today in Rock History

Today in Rock History – April 2

by

The Beach Boys, 1964

1964, The Beach Boys recorded their next single “I Get Around,” which became their first US number one in the summer of ’64.

1965, The Who made their first radio appearance on the UK BBC’s Joe Loss Pop Show.

1966, a charity concert at The Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood, California, took place featuring, Jan and Dean, Sonny & Cher, The Mamas And The Papas, The Turtles, Otis Redding, Donovan, and Bob Lind.

1967, 154 Austrian Rolling Stones fans were arrested when a riot broke out at a 14,000-seated Town Hall gig; a smoke bomb was thrown on the stage.

1967, Steve Winwood leaves the Spencer Davis Group to form his own band, Traffic.

1968, Janis Joplin and Big Brother & the Holding Company, as her band was being billed, performed at The New Generation in New York.

1968, Jimi Hendrix appeared at the Paul Suave Arena, Montreal, Canada.

1969, Bruce Springsteen’s new group Child made their live debut at the Pandemonium Club in Wanamassa, New Jersey.

1970, Phil Spector completed final editing and mixing for The Beatles Let It Be album, 16 months after the “Get Back” project had begun.

1970, Janis Joplin decides to get a tattoo on her wrist and another over her heart reading “One for the Boys.”

1971, Janis Joplin was posthumously at number one on the album charts with Pearl.

1971, Ringo Starr releases his debut single, “It Don’t Come Easy.”

1973, The Grateful Dead performed at the Boston Garden.

1973, Led Zeppelin played at the Centre Sportif on the Ile de Vannes, in Paris. The setlist: Rock and Roll, Over the Hills and Far Away, Black Dog, Misty Mountain Hop, Since I’ve Been Loving You, Dancing Days, Bron-Y-Aur Stomp, The Song Remains the Same, Rain Song, Dazed and Confused (incl. San Francisco), Stairway to Heaven, Whole Lotta Love (medley including Everybody Needs Someone To Love, Let That Boy Boogie, I’m Going Down, (You’re So Square) Baby I Don’t Care, Let’s Have a Party, I Can’t Quit You Baby), Heartbreaker.

1974, Queen performed at Barbarella’s, Birmingham, England.

1975, Genesis appeared at Killesberghalle, Stuttgart, Germany.

1976, Robin Trower played at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1977, Abba were at number one on the UK singles chart with their fifth chart topper, “Knowing Me, Knowing You.” The song was also a Top ten hit in over 15 countries.

1977, Fleetwood Mac went to number one on the US album chart with Rumours. Also on this day Fleetwood Mac kicked off a 7-date UK tour at the Odeon, Birmingham, England.

1983, Pink Floyd release the US version of The Final Cut, their last album with Roger Waters. The UK release took place on March 21st.

1987, U2 kicked off their 29-date North American Joshua Tree tour at Arizona State Activity Centre in Phoenix.

1987, One of the greatest jazz drummers of all time, Buddy Rich died aged 69 due to complications caused by a brain tumor. Rich worked with many acts including, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Tommy Dorsey’s band, Dizzy Gillespie and Oscar Peterson. Rush’s Neil Peart organized a pair of 90s tribute albums (titled Burning for Buddy), which also featured the work of Kenny Aronoff, Dave Weckl, Steve Gadd, Max Roach, Steve Smith and Matt Sorum.

1990, Nirvana went into Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin and started work on demo versions of “In Bloom,” “Dive,” “Lithium,” “Pay To Play,” “Imodium,” “Sappy,” and “Polly,” with Butch Vig producing.

1998, Rob Pilatus, one half of pop duo Milli Vanilli was found dead in a Frankfurt Hotel room after taking a lethal combination of drugs and alcohol. Milli Vanilli won the 1989 best new artist Grammy after hits like “Blame it on the Rain” and “Girl, You Know It’s True,” selling 30 million singles and 14 million albums. But in late 1990, the performers were stripped of the award after it was revealed that neither actually sang on the Milli Vanilli album.

2003,  soul singer Edwin Starr died at his British home in Nottingham aged 61. Formed The Future Tones in 1957, had the 1970 US number one and UK number three anti-Vietnam War protest song “War.” According to Starr, the song was recorded in one take.

2006, A John Lennon schoolbook containing the 12-year-old’s drawing of Lewis Carroll’s poem The Walrus and the Carpenter was sold at auction for £126,500, ($239,733). The poem inspired Lennon to write The Beatles’ 1967 song “I Am the Walrus.” Also sold for £12,000, ($22,741) was a ship’s log book written by Lennon during a stormy trip to Bermuda in 1980, and a letter from Paul McCartney to his bandmates Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr failed to reach its £50,000, ($94,742) reserve price

2006, Gnarls Barkley started an eight-week run at number one on the UK singles chart with “Crazy.” The American duo made chart history by becoming the first act ever to reach the top of the charts through computer downloads only. The single was not available to buy in shops until the following week.

2013, A grand piano used in the Motown Records studios was fully restored and put on display at a museum dedicated to the legendary record label in Detroit. Sir Paul McCartney helped fund the restoration of the 1877 Steinway, which was originally in Motown’s Studio B. and was used to create hits for names including Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Edwin Starr.

Born on April 2: Serge Gainsbourg, (1928); Marvin Gaye (1939); Leon Russell (1941); Emmylou Harris (1947); Leon Wilkeson, bass, Lynyrd Skynyrd (1952); David Robinson, The Cars (1953);  Greg Camp, Smash Mouth (1967)

Get more Today in Rock History

Today in Rock History – February 10

by

1967, The Beatles recorded the orchestral build-up for the middle and end of “A Day in the Life.” At the Beatles’ request, the orchestra members arrived in full evening dress along with novelty items. One violinist wore a red clowns nose, while another a fake gorilla’s paw on his bow hand. Others were wearing funny hats and other assorted novelties. The recording was filmed for a possible Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band television special which was ultimately abandoned. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Mike Nesmith from The Monkees, and Donovan also attended the session.

1967, Heavy metal pioneers Blue Cheer, best known for their cover of Eddie Cochran’s “Summertime Blues,” perform at a “Tribute to J. Edgar Hoover” in San Francisco.

1967, At a concert at the Golden Sheaf Bakery in Berkely, Janis Joplin meets Country Joe MacDonald, whose group, the Fish are also on the bill. Shortly afterwards, Janis moves in with Country Joe.

1967, Pink Floyd played at the Leicester College Of Art and Technology, Leicestershire, England.

1968, The Who played a Valentine Ball at Essex University in Colchester, England. They are supported by The Shell Shock Show, Yum Yum Band and Exploding Orange.

1968, The Four Tops Greatest Hits was at number one on the album chart, the first chart topping album for the Motown label.

1968, Jefferson Airplane appears at the Terrace Ballroom in Salt Lake City, Utah.

1969, Led Zeppelin performed at the Field House on the campus of Memphis State University, in Memphis, Tennessee.

1970, Neil Young appeared at the Music Hall, Cincinnati, Ohio.

1971, Carole King releases her album Tapestry bringing the contemporary singer-songwriter character to the mainstream radio.

1972, The Faces appeared at The Rainbow Theatre, London, England

1972, David Bowie appeared at the Tolworth Toby Jug, London, on the opening date of his Ziggy Stardust tour.

don't shoot-elton john1973, Elton John had his first No.1 album when Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only The Piano Player started a six-week run at the top of the charts.

1973, King Crimson played at the Marquee Club, London.

1973, British Rail, which was due to demolish Liverpool’s Cavern club to build a subway station, gives the fabled venue a stay of execution. Owner Roy Adams says he will try to use the extra three months to preserve the famed cellar where the Beatles played some of their earliest concerts.

1974, record producer Phil Spector was injured in a car crash. He needed extensive plastic surgery that dramatically altered his looks. Details of how the accident happened were kept secret.

1974, Deep Purple kicked off a 28-date North American tour at the Los Angeles Forum, California.

1975, Dave Alexander, the original bassist for The Stooges died from pneumonia aged 28. He was fired from the band in August 1970 after showing up at a gig too drunk to play.

1975, Roxy Music performed at Massey Hall in Toronto.

1976, Elvis Presley was made a police reserve for the Memphis police.

1977, The Clash started recording their debut album at CBS studios in London, England.

1979, The Grateful Dead played at Soldier’s and Sailors Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Missouri.

1979, Rod Stewart started a four week run at number one on the singles chart with “Do Ya Think I”m Sexy,” his third chart topper. Also today Rod started a three-week run at number one on the album chart with Blondes Have More Fun.

1980, ZZ Top played at the San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, California.

1984, Frankie Goes To Hollywood were at No.1 on the UK singles chart for the third week with “Relax.” Eurythmics had the UK No.1 album with Touch.

1986, Bob Dylan appeared at the Entertainment Centre, Sydney, Australia.

1993, On a special edition of the Oprah Winfrey show, Michael Jackson gave his first TV interview for 14 years, live from his Neverland Valley Ranch.

2005, Prince topped Rolling Stone magazine’s annual list of the years biggest money earners after his 2004 tour grossed over $90 million (£53 million). Madonna came in second place after earning $54.9 million (£34.3 million) and Metallica came third with $43 million (£25.3 million).

2008, Amy Winehouse won five prizes at this year’s Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year and record of the year, both for her single “Rehab”, and Best New Artist. The UK singer was not at the Los Angeles ceremony to collect them due to visa problems. Instead, she made an acceptance speech by satellite, paying tribute to her husband, “my Blake incarcerated,” who was in custody awaiting trial on charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice and grievous bodily harm. Kanye West took home four Grammy Awards, while Bruce Springsteen won three. The White Stripes, Justin Timberlake, Carrie Underwood and Mary J Blige all picked up two awards.

Born on February 10: Jerry Goldsmith, film scores (1929); Don Wilson, The Ventures (1937);  Roberta Flack (1937); Jimmy Merchant, singer, Frankie Lymon And The Teenagers (1940); Nigel Olsson, Elton John Band (1949); Cliff Burton, bass, Metallica (1962)

Today in Rock History main page.

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Uptown” by The Crystals

by

They had a string of hits in the early ‘60s written and produced by the best of what The Brill Building had to offer. There was “Uptown,” written by Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil, the somewhat ludicrous “He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss), (Carole King and Gerry Goffin), “He’s A Rebel” (Gene Pitney), “Da Doo Ron Ron” and “And Then He Kissed Me” (Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich), to name but a few. Many of the aforementioned classics were produced by Phil Spector utilizing the Wrecking Crew session musicians on his over the top “Wall Of Sound” production. The seminal records they cut sounded best when emanating out of a mono car radio (preferably of early ‘60s vintage). But who were The Crystals…and were they the same group on all of their records? The original Crystals consisted of school friends Barbara Alston, Mary Thomas, Dolores “Dee Dee” Kenniebrew, Myrna Girard, Patricia “Patsy” Wright and Dolores “Lala” Brooks (who replaced the pregnant Girard after their first few hits). This was the group that gave us the hit “Uptown.” Soon thereafter, Spector began using whoever was available when he was ready to record resulting in Darlene Love and The Blossoms billed as The Crystals on several of their hits. A slightly different version of the original group was soon back on their records until jealousy began to bear its ugly head between them and Spector’s other main protégé’s The Ronettes. Things got so bad, that The Crystals finally dissolved and Spector used The Ronettes (billed as The Crystals) on several tracks of the album “The Crystals Sing Their Greatest Hits.” Such was the music business of the early sixties! No matter who was actually in the studio, I think it’s safe to say that The Crystals made a clutch of world-class classics that have stood the test of time.

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #94 – The Crystals: “He’s A Rebel” b/w “He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss)” – Collectables/Philles Records COL 3200

by

crystalshesarebel45crystalshehitme45

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #94 – The Crystals: “He’s A Rebel” b/w “He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss)” – Collectables/Philles Records COL 3200

They had a string of hits in the early ‘60s written and produced by the best of what The Brill Building had to offer. There was “Uptown,” written by Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil, the ludicrous “He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss) (Carole King and Gerry Goffin), “He’s A Rebel” (Gene Pitney), “Da Doo Ron Ron” and “And Then He Kissed Me” (Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich), to name but a few.

All of the aforementioned classics were produced by Phil Spector utilizing the Wrecking Crew session musicians to employ his over-the-top “Wall Of Sound” production that sounded best when emanating out of a mono car radio speaker (preferably of early ‘60s vintage).

But who were The Crystals…and did they even perform on all of the records that were credited to them?

The original Crystals consisted of school friends Barbara Alston, Mary Thomas, Dolores “Dee Dee” Kenniebrew, Myrna Girard, Patricia “Patsy” Wright and Dolores “Lala” Brooks (who replaced the pregnant Girard after their first few hits).  This was the group that was featured on the classic single “Uptown.”

Once The Crystals began to tour in support of their hits, Spector began using whoever was available when he was ready to record, resulting in hit records credited to The Crystals that were actually performed by Darlene Love and The Blossoms.

Lala Brooks shared how she first heard today’s jukebox classic with Songfacts.com: “We’re riding in a car, all of us girls going on a gig, and we hear: ‘He’s a rebel and he’ll never never be any good.’, but we don’t think anything of it. At the end, the DJ said, ‘The Crystals, ‘He’s a Rebel.” We looked at each other like, ‘The Crystals? Where did that come from?’ So we were confused.”

The song went on to top the pop charts in spite of New York DJ, Murray the K who sensationalized the story on WINS radio that the Crystals were not the group on the song. On the road, it was business as usual with The Crystals performing the song as if they actually recorded it.

Crystals member Dee Dee Kenniebrew had this to say about the record: “The Crystals’ first hit in the UK was ‘He’s A Rebel,’ but we didn’t sing it. When we rehearsed it we hadn’t particularly liked it. Also, we’d already had two hit records in the States, plus an album, yet we still hadn’t been paid. Phil Spector probably thought we were giving him too much hassle about money, so he got a studio group to record the song. Unfortunately, our first manager didn’t get us a good contract and Spector was able to use the group’s name.” (as told to the Daily Express Saturday Magazine 8/25/07 via Songfacts.com)

The lead vocal on the original single was sung by Darlene Love of The Blossoms who got paid $5000.00 for her session work along with the promise of a future solo single under her own name which took a long time to materialize. Spector recorded Love as the lead vocalist on the single “He’s Sure The Boy I Love,” but ended up releasing the record as a Crystals record without giving her credit. It wasn’t until 1963 that Love finally got her own singles including “Wait Til’ My Bobby Gets Home,” “(Today I Met) The Boy I’m Gonna Marry,” “A Fine Boy” and her signature recording “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home.)”

Darlene Love: “Between ‘He’s A Rebel’ and the Christmas album two years later, The Crystals didn’t sing on any of their own records, they just went out on tour to promote them.” (Record Collector via Songfacts.com) A slightly different version of the original group was soon back on their records until jealousy began to bear its ugly head between them and Spector’s other main protégé’s The Ronettes.

Things got so bad, that The Crystals finally dissolved and Spector used The Ronettes (billed as The Crystals) on several tracks of the album The Crystals Sing Their Greatest Hits. Such was the music business of the early sixties! No matter who was actually in the studio, I think it’s safe to say that The Crystals made a clutch of world-class classics that have stood the test of time.

Phil Spector used the royalties from “He’s A Rebel” to buy out his partners at Philles Records using profits from the next two Crystals singles as collateral. The first single was the aforementioned “He’s Sure the Boy I Love” (recorded by The Blossoms as The Crystals), and the second single was a five minute tune called “(Let’s Do) The Screw.” The song featured Spector’s lawyer saying “do the screw” over and over again. A total of one copy of the 45 was pressed and given to Spector’s partner Lester Sill. The single made no money and received no airplay.

The flip of today’s single is by far the most embarrassing record to come from the pens of Carole King and Gerry Goffin. The song was written after their babysitter, Little Eva (of “The Locomotion” fame) told King and Goffin that her boyfriend beat her on a regular basis, and it proved to her how much he loved her. (Go figure!)

It was a song that garnered little airplay, and even The Crystals didn’t want to record it. Lala Brooks: “That was weird for us. We were thrown aback by the song. I’m a teenager at the time. Barbara (Alston, fellow Crystal) was a little uneasy doing it. And I was trying to figure out the song and why Phil would record something like this. Barbara was so turned off because she was singing the lyrics and can’t feel anything. So in the studio Phil was telling her, ‘Don’t be so relaxed on it.'” (Mojo via Songfacts.com)

Even during the relatively innocent early sixties, this record is totally cringe-worthy. That said, it does have its kitsch value. Where is Quentin Tarentino when you need him…

“The Jukebox Series” focused on the 80 records that currently inhabit my 1963 Seeburg LPC1 jukebox. I’ve had my jukebox (or as I like to call it “the prehistoric iPod”) for a little over twelve years and in that time I’d like to think that I’ve perfected the mix of 45s within. Over the years, records have come and gone out of the ranks of the juke, but they were all at one time juke-worthy. I’ve decided to expand “The Jukebox Series” to include many of the “juke-worthy” records that are no longer currently in the mix, but at one time inhabited a coveted slot.

Song Of The Day – The Jukebox Series #5 – Ben E. King – “Spanish Harlem” b/w “Don’t Play That Song (You Lied)” – Atlantic Oldies 45 OS-13068 (I1/J1)

by

001BenEKingspanishharlem003

 

 

 

 

 

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #5 – Ben E. King  – “Spanish Harlem” b/w “Don’t Play That Song (You Lied)”  – Atlantic Oldies 45 OS-13068  (I1/J1)

“The Jukebox Series” focuses on the 80 records that inhabit my 1963 Seeburg LPC1 jukebox. I’ve had my jukebox (or as I like to call it “the prehistoric iPod”) for a little over twelve years and in that time I’d like to think that I’ve perfected the mix of 45s within.

Today’s Song Of The Day exposes me for who I really am…a sucker for a great pop song. Give me a lush hummable melody and a simple lyric that I can relate to, add to it some strings for sweetening, and I’m a happy boy. So it should come as no surprise that the music that emanated from The Brill Building in New York City (1619 Broadway on 49th Street) from the late 1950s through the mid-sixties is right up my alley.

I think that growing up in proximity to New York City gave me an added appreciation of the music that came from that building’s hallowed halls, as the rhythm of the streets, the vibe and sounds of the city are inherent in every recording, and “Spanish Harlem” is certainly no different.

Today’s jukebox classic is from a double A-sided single I purchased cheaply on line when I first got the juke. It is one of the original records that I put in there, and it is also one that I can’t see myself ever taking out. I just never tire of Ben E. King’s classic “Spanish Harlem.”

The Spanish Harlem section of New York City was a crime-ridden Latino neighborhood, and the 1960 hit was written by Jerry Lieber and Phil Spector and released on the burgeoning Atco record label. Lieber’s partner Mike Stoller, did the arrangement on the track and came up with the song’s signature intro fill that runs throughout the song; however he does not receive a composer credit. Mike Stoller: “I presumed my contribution was seminal to the composition, but I also knew that Phil didn’t want to share credit with anyone but Jerry, so I kept quiet.”

The song was King’s first hit after leaving The Drifters, climbing to the #15 position on the R&B charts and #10 Pop, and it also served as the title track of his debut solo album. Singing background vocals was a then-unknown Dionne Warwick (as a member of The Gospelaires). The day the track was cut was indeed very productive, as King also recorded his follow-up single “Stand By Me” during the same session.

Aretha Franklin covered the song in 1971 and scored an even bigger hit with it climbing to the #1 position on the R&B charts and #2 on the Pop charts. Dr. John is also heard playing piano on her version. The song was also covered by the likes of Larua Nyro (on her essential 1971 album Gonna Take A Miracle), Jay And The Americans, The Mamas & The Papas, Leon Russell, Chet Atkins, Neil Diamond, Tom Jones, Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass and even Led Zeppelin, who used to incorporate the song’s melody into live performances of “Dazed And Confused.”

The flip of this double A-sided 45 is King’s 1962 version of “Don’t Play That Song (You Lied)” which was written by Atlantic Records head honcho Ahmet Ertegun and Betty Nelson (although my 45RPM copy is credited only to “Nugetre” which is Ertegun backwards). King’s version of the song climbed to the #2 position on the R&B charts and up to #11 on the Pop side. The song was also covered again by Aretha Franklin on her 1970 album Spirit In The Dark. Her version peaked at #1 on the R&B charts and went to #11 Pop.