The Styrous® Viewfinder: Al Caiola

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October 27, 2023

45 RPMs 75: Ben E. King ~ Stand by Me

Ben E. King ~ Stand by Me

45 RPM record in sleeve

Sixty years ago today, on October 27, 1960, Ben E. King recorded his first solo songs after he left the Drifters. They were Spanish Harlem (link below) and Stand by Me.

Ben E. King ~ Stand by Me

45 RPM record label

photo by Styrous®

Stand By Me was written by King with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who together used the pseudonym Elmo Glick. According to King, the title is derived from, and was inspired by, a spiritual written by Sam Cooke and J. W. Alexander called Stand by Me Father, recorded by the Soul Stirrers with Johnnie Taylor singing lead. Stand By Me went to number one on the R&B charts and was a Top Ten hit on the US charts twice—in its original release, entering the Billboard chart on May 13, 1961 and peaking at number 4 on June 16, 1961.

Ben E. King ~ Stand by Me

45 RPM record

photo by Styrous®

The personnel on the song included Romeo Penque on sax, Ernie Hayes on piano, Al Caiola and Charles McCracken on guitars, Lloyd Trotman on double bass, Phil Kraus on percussion, and Gary Chester on drums

In 1986 a re-release coinciding with its use as the theme song for the film of the same name peaked at number 9 on December 20, 1986 – January 3, 1987, following its appearance in the film.

Ben E. King ~ Stand by Me

45 RPM record label

photo by Styrous®

The song was covered by The Drifters and Aretha Franklin in 1971. The Drifter's version is a little faster while the Franklin version is way faster and a bit jazzier (links to all below).

Spanish Harlem lyrics

There is a rose in Spanish Harlem
A red rose up in Spanish Harlem
It is a special one, it's never seen the sun
It only comes out when the moon is on the run
And all the stars are gleaming
It's growing in the street right up through the concrete
But soft and sweet and dreaming

There is a rose in Spanish Harlem
A red rose up in Spanish Harlem
With eyes as black as coal
Then look down in my soul
And starts a fire there
And then I lose control
I have to beg your pardon

I'm going to pick that rose
And watch her as she grows in my garden

La la la, la la la, la la la la
(There is a rose in Spanish Harlem)
La la la, la la la, la la la la
(There is a rose in Spanish Harlem)

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Jerry Leiber / Phil Spector

Ben E. King ~ First Taste of Love

45 RPM record in sleeve

photo by Styrous®

The "B" side on this record, Taste of Love, actually started out as the "A" side with Spanish Harlem on the "B" side. By the time this record was issued, the switch had been made.

Ben E. King ~ First Taste of Love

45 RPM record label

photo by Styrous®

First Taste of Love was written by Doc Pomus, who wrote songs for many blues and rock singers, and Phil Spector, record producer, musician, and songwriter who developed the Wall of Sound, a music production formula he described as a Wagnerian approach to rock and roll.

Ben E. King ~ First Taste of Love

45 RPM record label

photo by Styrous®

Tracklist:

Side 1:

A    Stand By Me, written by King*, Glick* - 2:44

Side 2:

B    On The Horizon, written by Leiber, Stoller* - 2:18

Companies, etc.

    Published By – Progressive (3)
    Published By – Trio (8)
    Published By – Adt
    Lacquer Cut At – Atlantic Studios

Credits:

Arranged By, Conductor – Stan Applebaum
Producer – Leiber-Stoller*

Notes:

Both sides recorded at Bell Sound Studios, New York City on October 27, 1960

Barcode and Other Identifiers

    Matrix / Runout (Side A label): 60C-5164
    Matrix / Runout (Side B label): 61C-5442
    Matrix / Runout (Side A runout, etched): 45-60-C-5164-13 AT W
    Matrix / Runout (Side B runout, etched): 45-61-C-5442-11
    Rights Society: BMI

Ben E. King – Stand By Me
Label: Atlantic Records – 7-89361

Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1961
Genre: Rock, Funk / Soul
Style: Rock & Roll, Soul, Rhythm & Blues

Viewfinder links:

The Drifters

Ben E. King
Doc Pomus

Spanish Harlem

Net links:

50srockin ~ Bell Sound Studios N.Y.C

YouTube links:

The Drifters ~ Spanish Harlem

John Lennon ~ Stand by me

Ben E. King ~

First Tast of Love

Spanish Harlem

Spanish Harlem (Original 1960 version in MONO recorded by Phil Spector)

Cliff Richard ~ Das Ist Frage Aller Fragen

Styrous® ~ Friday, October 27, 2023

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December 30, 2021

45 RPMs 68: Del Shannon ~ Runaway & Max Crook's Musitron

Del Shannon ~ Runaway
45 RPM record

photo by Styrous®

Today, December 30th is the birthday of Del Shannon who ran away with the Billboard Hot 100 song, Runaway, sixty years ago in 1961. It was written by Shannon and keyboardist Max Crook and became a major international hit. It was No. 472 on the 2010 version of the Rolling Stone list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

I was snagged by the song from the first time I heard it. How could you not? The great guitar, piano & bass intro and that squeaky synthesizer played durng the instrumental break by Crook, “The Man From The Musitron", and Shannon's falsetto, totally weird and wonderful!

Del Shannon - 1963

photographer unknown

In 1957, Crook built a monophonic synthesizer, which he called the Musitron, out of a clavioline heavily enhanced with additional resistors, television tubes, and parts from household appliances, old amplifiers, and reel-to-reel tape machines. He was unable to patent the Musitron because most of its components were previously patented products.

Max Crook & his Musitron

date & photographer unknown

When their first recording session for Big Top Records in New York City had ended in failure, their manager Ollie McLaughlin persuaded them to rewrite and re-record an earlier song they had written, Little Runaway, to highlight Crook's unique instrumental sound. On January 21, 1961, they recorded Runaway at the Bell Sound recording studios, with Harry Balk as producer, Fred Weinberg as audio engineer and also session musicians on several sections: session musician Al Caiola on guitar, Moe Wechsler on piano, and Crook playing the central Musitron break. Other musicians on the record included Milt Hinton on bass, and Joe Marshall on drums. Bill Ramall, who was the arranger for the session, also played baritone sax. Al Casamenti and Bucky Pizzarelli were also on guitar (Pizzarelli died last year from COVID-19).

Bucky Pizzarelli

date & photographer unknown

After recording in A minor, producer Balk sped up the recording to pitch just below a B-flat minor. Runaway was released in February 1961 and was immediately successful. On April 10 of that year, Shannon appeared on the Dick Clark American Bandstand, helping to catapult it to the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100, where it remained for four weeks. Two months later, it reached number one on the UK's Record Retailer chart, spending three weeks in that position. On the Billboard Hot R&B Sides, Runaway peaked at number three.

The song was ranked No. 5 on Billboard's end of year "Hot 100 for 1961 – Top Sides of the Year" and No. 9 on the Cash Box "Top 100 Chart Hits of 1961"

Elvis Presley covered the song live at The International Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, at Midnight on August 24, 1969. His version is not as interesting as Shannon's (link below)!

Elvis Presley - 1969
photographer unknown

My favorite song by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers refers to Runaway in the 1989 tune Petty wrote with Jeff Lynne, Runnin' Down a Dream from his first solo album Full Moon Fever and featured in the 1998 film, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas which starred Johnny Depp.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas poster

There are many songs by the title Runaway, none of which have anything to do with the Shannon version but are interesting in one way or another. Aurora has a "New Wave" treatment that is mellow and beautiful in spite of the rather downer lyrics but the one I have found fascinating and quite well done is the rap song by Kanye West, but beware, the lyrics are a bit explicit (links below).

Del Shannon was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame by Art Alexakis, singer-songwriter and guitarist of the rock band Everclear in 1999.

Del Shannon was born in Coopersville, Michigan, on Dec. 30, 1939. He began playing guitar as a teen-ager and took his stage name from a friend, Mark Shannon. He learned to play the ukulele and guitar and listened to country-and-western music by artists such as Hank Williams, Hank Snow, and Lefty Frizzell. There are some great images of Shannon's life on the History of Rock website (link below).

Shannon committed suicide by a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his Santa Clarita, California, home on February 8, 1990 (link below). A .22-caliber rifle with no note was found next to Shannon's body in the den. He was 50 years old. Shannon’s widow would later file a high-profile lawsuit against Eli Lilly, the manufacturer of the antidepressant Prozac, which Shannon had begun taking shortly before his suicide. That suit was eventually dropped, but the case brought early attention to the still-unresolved question of the possible connection between suicidal ideation and SSRIs, the class of drugs to which Prozac belongs.

Del Shannon ~ Jody

45 RPM record

photo by Styrous®

Tracklist:

Side 1:

A - Runaway - 2:20

Side 2:

B - Jody - 2:20

Companies, etc.

    Published By – Vicki Music, Inc.
    Published By – McLaughlin Publishing Co.
    Record Company – EmBee (2)
    Record Company – Bigtop Records, Inc.
    Lacquer Cut at – Bell Sound Studios

Credits:

Written-By Shannon*, Crook*

Notes:

Vicki Music, Inc. BMI
McLaughlin Pub. Co. - BMI

Barcode and Other Identifiers

    Rights Society: BMI
    Matrix / Runout (A-side label): BG-1181
    Matrix / Runout (B-side label): BG-1182
    Matrix / Runout (A-Side Runout Etching): BellSound 45-BG-1181-2 2 BT
    Matrix / Runout (B-Side Runout Etching): BellSound 45-BG-1182-2 2 BT

Viewfinder links:

Aurora

Al Caiola

Al Casamenti

Dick Clark

Max Crook

Milt Hinton

Jeff Lynne

Tom Petty

Bucky Pizzarelli
Elvis Presley

Kanye West

Hank Williams