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Prentice John Delaney Jr. was born on January 8, in 1945. Known as Sean Delaney, he was an American musician, producer, road manager
and songwriter best recognized for his work with the rock band KISS (link below) from the early 1970s until the early 1980s.
date & photographer unknown
After releasing his solo album, Highway, Delaney formed a band in 1979 called Skatt Bros (link below). The band was composed of Delaney on keyboards, Pieter Sweval on bass (a member of Starz), Richard Martin-Ross on guitar, David Andez on guitar, Richie Fontana on Drums and Guitar ( a member of Piper) and Craig Krampf
on drums. Delaney had known Fontana from when he had produced the band
Piper, who had opened for KISS on the 1977 Love Gun tour.
The band released two albums: Strange Spirits (Casablanca, 1979) and Rico And The Ravens (Mercury, 1981). The second album was only released in Australia, on the strength of the band's popularity there. In support of the first album, a Village People inspired video for Life At The Outpost was filmed, created by their record company (Polygram Records in Australia), using actors to appear in the video. The members of The Skatt Bros do not appear in the video.
Because of the Strange Spirits album the band was pegged into the disco category. However, this 1980 recording of their cover of the Elvis Presley song, Don't Be Cruel, clearly places them as a rock band. However, a "sledgehammer" version (link below) of the Presley song, (Casablanca NB-2258), backed with Dancin' For the Man, puts them back in the disco mode.
The band released two albums: Strange Spirits (Casablanca, 1979) and Rico And The Ravens (Mercury, 1981). The second album was only released in Australia, on the strength of the band's popularity there. In support of the first album, a Village People inspired video for Life At The Outpost was filmed, created by their record company (Polygram Records in Australia), using actors to appear in the video. The members of The Skatt Bros do not appear in the video.
Because of the Strange Spirits album the band was pegged into the disco category. However, this 1980 recording of their cover of the Elvis Presley song, Don't Be Cruel, clearly places them as a rock band. However, a "sledgehammer" version (link below) of the Presley song, (Casablanca NB-2258), backed with Dancin' For the Man, puts them back in the disco mode.
Elvis Presley recorded Don't Be Cruel on July 2, 1956 and, again, the rest is history. Many recording artists have covered the song: Connie Francis (1959), Annette Peacock, Barbara Lynn, the Bill Black Combo, Billy Swan, Devo, Cheap Trick, Merle Haggard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Neil Diamond, Jackie Wilson (links below) and even Daffy Duck, had a go at the song.
The interesting thing about this 7" 45 RPM record is the "A" side (Side 1) is a monaural recording . . .
. . . while the other "A" side (Side 2) is a Stereo recording.
Tracklist:
A Don't Be Cruel (Mono) 3:54
B Don't Be Cruel (Stereo) 3:54
Credits:
Producer – Lee DeCarlo
Producer, Arranged By – Skatt Bros.
Written-By – Elvis Presley, Otis Blackwell
Notes:
Logo on label: "Casablanca Records and Filmworks"
Skatt Bros. – Don't Be Cruel
Label: Casablanca – NB 2258 DJ
Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Single, Mono, Stereo, Promo
Country: US
Released: 1980
Genre: Electronic, Rock, Funk / Soul
Style: Disco
Label: Casablanca – NB 2258 DJ
Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Single, Mono, Stereo, Promo
Country: US
Released: 1980
Genre: Electronic, Rock, Funk / Soul
Style: Disco
Sean Delaney died on April 13, 2003, in Utah and is buried
in the city of Orem. A diabetic, he had suffered a
series of strokes before his death.
Viewfinder links:
Elvis Presley ~ Don't Be Cruel
Skatt Brothers ~ Don't Be Cruel
