The Styrous® Viewfinder: Arif Mardin

Showing posts with label Arif Mardin. Show all posts

February 16, 2024

45 RPMs 77: Aretha Franklin ~ Spanish Harlem

On the 16th of February in 1971, Aretha Franklin recorded a cover of the beautiful song, Spanish Harlem and it was released on July 9th of that same year. It was written by Jerry Leiber and Phil Spector and produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The song was originally recorded by Ben E. King in 1960.

Where King's version is languid and dreamy, Franklin's is faster, upbeat, bouncy and happy. The piano, played by Franklin herself, is absolutely beautiful, the reason I love her cover of the song. The backing vocals by The Sweethearts of Soul and Carolyn Franklin are gorgeous. An occasional keyboard riff by Donny Hathaway is a nice touch. The production by Arif Mardin is faultless.

Tracklist:

Side 1:

A - Spanish Harlem, written by Jerry Leiber, Phil Spector - 3:30

Side 2:

B - Lean On Me, written by J. Cobb*, Van McCoy - 4:20

Companies, etc.

    Manufactured By – Atlantic Recording Corporation
    Recorded At – Criteria Recording Studios
    Lacquer Cut At – Atlantic Studios
    Pressed By – Plastic Products
    Published By – Progressive (3)
    Published By – Trio (8)
    Published By – Van McCoy

Credits:

    Arranged By [Strings Arr. By] – Arif Mardin
    Lacquer Cut By – DK*
    Producer [Prod. By] – Arif Mardin, Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd

    Piano, Vocals: Aretha Franklin
    Arranger, Producer: Arif Mardin
    Drums: Bernard Purdie
    Backing Vocals: Carolyn Franklin
    Bass Guitar: Chuck Rainey
    Guitar: Cornell Dupree
    Electric Piano: Donny Hathaway
    Backing Vocals: Erma Franklin
    Producer: Jerry Wexler
    Backing Vocals: The Sweethearts of Soul
    Producer: Tom Dowd
    Writer: Jerry Leiber
    Writer: Phil Spector

Notes:

"PL" plant code printed in label matrices denotes Plastic Products pressing.

Recorded at Atlantic South-Criteria Studios, Miami, Fla.

[A]: Pub., Progressive-Trio, BMI
[B]: Pub., Van McCoy, B M I

Mfg. By Atlantic Recording Corp., 1841 Broadway, New York, N.Y.

Runouts are etched, "X" in runouts indicates a lacquer blank from Transco was used.

Barcode and Other Identifiers

   Rights Society: BMI
    Pressing Plant ID (On labels): PL
    Matrix / Runout (A-side label): A-21311-PL
    Matrix / Runout (B-side label): A-21423-PL
    Matrix / Runout (A-side runout, variant 1): A - 21311 - 9 AT/DK X
    Matrix / Runout (B-side runout, variant 1): A - 21423 - 3 AT/DK X
    Matrix / Runout (A-side runout, variant 2): A - 21311 -10 AT/DK X
    Matrix / Runout (B-side runout, variant 2): A - 21423 - 3 AT/DK X
    Matrix / Runout (A-side runout, variant 3): A-21311-3 AT/DK X
    Matrix / Runout (B-side runout, variant 3): A-21423-3 AT/DK X
    Matrix / Runout (A-side runout, variant 4): A - 21311 - 10 AT/DK X
    Matrix / Runout (B-side runout, variant 4): A - 21423 - 3 AT/DK X

Aretha Franklin – Spanish Harlem
Label: Atlantic – 45-2817
Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Single, PL - Plastic Products Pressing
Country: US
Released: 1971
Genre: Funk / Soul
Style: Soul

Viewfinder links:

Aretha Franklin

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller

Arif Mardin

Phil Spector

The Sweethearts of Soul

YouTube links:

Aretha Franklin ~ Spanish Harlem

Ben E. King ~ Spanish Harlem

Styrous® ~ Friday, February 16, 2024

45 RPMs Archive
MAIN MENU - Blog Articles
~

December 1, 2023

20,000 vinyl LPs 340: Bette Midler ~ The Devine Ms. M

Bette Midler ~ Bette Midler

Today is the birthday of The Devine Ms. M, Bette Midler who was born December 1, 1945, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Midler released her debut album, The Divine Miss M, on Atlantic Records in December, 1972, which reached Billboard's Top 10 and became a million-selling Platinum-certified album, earning Midler the 1973 Grammy Award for Best New Artist. It featured three hit singles one of which was Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy; it became Midler's first No. 1 Adult Contemporary hit. Bugle Boy became a successful rock cover of the classic swing tune originally introduced and popularized in 1941 by the Andrews Sisters, to whom Midler has repeatedly referred as her idols and inspiration.

Bette Midler, released in 1973 on the Atlantic Records label, was the follow up to Divine Miss. Produced by Arif Mardin and Barry Manilow, The album includes Midler's interpretations of the Johnny Mercer and Hoagy Carmichael song, Skylark, the Berthold Brecht and Kurt Weill song Surabaya Johnny from Happy End, a three-act musical comedy by Kurt Weill, Elisabeth Hauptmann, and Bertolt Brecht which first opened in Berlin at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm on September 2, 1929, I Shall Be Released by Bob Dylan, In the Mood by Glenn Miller as well as a Phil Spector medley.

Bette Midler ~ Bette Midler

vinyl LP front cover

cover illustration by Richard Amsel

cover design by Loring Eutemey

photo of album cover by Styrous®

Bette Midler ~ Bette Midler

vinyl LP back cover

back cover photo by Richard Amsel

cover design by Loring Eutemey

photo of album back cover by Styrous®

Bette Midler ~ Bette Midler

vinyl LP back cover detail

detail photo by Styrous®

Most of the songs on the album are ballads, Skylark, the 1962 torch song, Drinking Again written by Johnny Mercer and Doris Tauber, and my favorite song on the album, Surabaya Johnny by Kurt Weill.

Bette Midler ~ Bette Midler

vinyl LP back cover detail

detail photo by Styrous®

Bette Midler ~ Bette Midler

vinyl LP back cover detail

detail photo by Styrous®

Then, just for yuks, there's the silly little ditty, Optimistic Voices from The Wizard of Oz which is sung when The Gang awakens from the poison the Wicked Witch of the West has sprinkled in a poppy field . . .

The Wizard Of Oz

. . . which mixes very nicely into Lullaby Of Broadway written by Harry Warren with lyrics by Al Dubin, published in 1935. The lyrics salute the nightlife of Broadway and its denizens, who "don't sleep tight until the dawn."

Bette Midler ~ Bette Midler

vinyl LP back cover detail

detail photo by Styrous®

Another great medley is Uptown, originally recorded by the Crystals in 1962, which blends quite nicely into Da Doo Ron Ron written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector.

Bette Midler ~ Bette Midler

vinyl LP back cover detail

detail photo by Styrous®

The Bette Midler album included a 21" by 29" fold-out poster that featured the illustration on the cover by Richard Amsel.

21" by 29" fold-out poster

illustration by Richard Amsel

photo by Styrous®

21" by 29" fold-out poster detail

illustration by Richard Amsel

detail photo by Styrous®

One of the albums that was promoted on the record sleeve was the first album by Bette Midler, The Divine Miss M.

Atlantic Records vinyl LP sleeve

promotional albums

Bette Midler, The Divine Miss M

photo by Styrous®

Bette Midler ~ Bette Midler

vinyl LP, side 1

photo by Styrous®

Bette Midler ~ Bette Midler

vinyl LP labels, side 1 & 2

photos by Styrous®

Tracklist:

Side 1:

A1 - Skylark, written by Hoagy Carmichael, Johnny Mercer - 3:02

A2 - Drinking Again, written by Doris Tauber, Johnny Mercer - 2:46

A3 - Breaking Up Somebody's Home, Arranged By [Horns] – Arif Mardin, written by Denise LaSalle - 3:47

A4 - Surabaya Johnny, written by Bertolt Brecht, Herbert Hartig, Kurt Weill - 4:52

A5 - I Shall Be Released, written by Bob Dylan - 4:55

Side 2:

B1a - Optimistic Voices, written by E. Y. Harburg*, Harold Arlen, Herbert Stothart, Leo Feist -

B1b - Lullaby Of Broadway, written by Al Dubin, Harry Warren (2)

B2 - In The Mood, Arranged By [Horns] – Arif Mardin, Lyrics By [Additional] – Bette Midler, Lyrics By [Additional], Arranged By [Vocals] – Barry Manilow, written by Andy Razaf, Joe Garland - 2:37

B3a - Uptown, written by Mann And Weil - 3:22

B3b - Da Doo Run Run, written by Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry, Phil Spector

B4 - Twisted, written by Wardell Gray - 2:23

B5 - Higher And Higher (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me), written by Carl W. Smith*, Gary Lee Jackson*, Raynard Miner - 4:08

Companies, etc.

    Manufactured By – Atlantic Recording Corporation
    Phonographic Copyright (p) – Atlantic Recording Corporation
    Copyright (c) – Atlantic Recording Corporation
    Recorded At – Atlantic Studios
    Recorded At – A&R Studios
    Recorded At – Kaye-Smith Studios

Credits:

    Backing Vocals – Ann S. Clark, Charlotte Crosley*, Gale Kantor*, Merle Miller, Myrna Smith, Robin Grean, Sharon Redd, Shirley Brewer, Sylvia Shemwell, Tasha Thomas
    Bass – Chuck Rainey, Milt Hinton, Stu Woods, Will Lee, Bill Salter*
    Concertmaster – Gene Orloff
    Cover – Richard Amsel
    Design – Loring Eutemey
    Drums – Bernard Purdie, Grady Tate, Rick Morotta*, Steven Gadd*
    Drums, Percussion – Luther Rix
    Guitar – Cornell Dupree, David Spinozza, Frank Vento, Hugh McCracken
    Keyboards – Don Grolnick, Ken Ascher, Pat Rebillot
    Mastered By – Dennis King, George Piros
    Percussion – Ralph MacDonald
    Photography By [Back Cover] – Lee Gurst
    Producer, Percussion, Piano, Arranged By, Conductor, Backing Vocals – Barry Manilow
    Producer, Percussion, Remix – Arif Mardin
    Recorded By – Buzz Richmond, Elliott Sheiner*, Gene Paul, Jimmy Douglass, Robert Warner (2), Scott Schreckengost
    Recorded By, Remix – Lew Hahn
    Synthesizer – Kenneth Bichel*

Notes:

Issued with fold-out poster featuring the cover artwork.

Recorded at Atlantic Recording Studios, New York, NY.
Additional recording at A&R Studios, New York, NY, Atlantic Recording Studios, New York, NY, & Kaye Smith Studios, Seattle, Washington.

There are several versions of this album with varying label typeface and matrix suffix. This has the MS suffix on the labels matrix. This version also has the 1973+ Rockefeller Plaza address in the rim text and on the back cover. There are several other pressings with the pre-1973 1843 Broadway address on the label rim text, but all have the Rockefeller Plaza address on the back cover.

Although "PR" is etched in the run-outs on this version, the single 1⅛" press ring is inconsistent with this being a Presswell pressing.

B3a. Thomas McKinney credited in error as songwriter on both sleeve and label, correct songwriters are Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil. Later issues of this release would correct the error.

Barcode and Other Identifiers

    Matrix / Runout (Side A label): ST-A-732989-MS
    Matrix / Runout (Side B label): ST-A-732990-MS
    Matrix / Runout (Side A runout, etched): ST-A 732989-C PR (upside down)
    Matrix / Runout (Side B runout, etched): ST-A-732990 C PR (upside down)

Bette Midler ‎– Bette Midler
Label: Atlantic ‎– SD 7270
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, MS Suffix
Country: US
Released: 1973
Genre: Pop
Style: Vocal

Viewfinder links:

Andrews Sisters

Bertold Brecht

Hoagy Carmichael

the Crystals

Bob Dylan

Loring Eutemey

Elisabeth Hauptmann

Barry Manilow

Arif Mardin

Johnny Mercer