Showing posts with label KISS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label KISS. Show all posts

August 16, 2024

Henry Mancini postage stamp by Victor Stabin

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On August 16, 2003, a United States postage stamp featuring Henry Mancini was unveiled. The design showed Mancini conducting with titles of his works on a screen behind him with Breakfast at Tiffany's at the top of the list. The stamp was designed by artist Victor Stabin.           

Stabin, born on March 5, 1954, is an American "eco-surrealist" painter, author and illustrator. He is noted for his work in education and has used his book Daedal Doodle as a teaching tool in several schools, an endeavor sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts.          
 
His father invented scientific instrumentation and worked on the Manhattan Project. His mother Florence was a piano teacher in Brooklyn. Stabin worked for numerous different publications including Newsweek, The New York Times, Time Magazine and Rolling Stone as well as designing book covers for publishers Penguin Books, Random House and others. Some of his most well-known work as an illustrator includes painting nine stamps for the United States Postal Service, the cover for the KISS album Unmasked, and a mural for the RCA/BMG headquarters.        
 
He was hired by the USPS in 2008 to create the artwork for stamps depicting four American scientists—theoretical physicist John Bardeen, biochemist Gerty Cori, astronomer Edwin Hubble and chemist Linus Pauling.           
 
 
American scientists - 2008
 designs by Victor Stabin
 
            
            
            
            
Viewfinder links:           
            
Henry Mancini            
Postal stamps on the Viewfinder             
Victor Stabin           
           
Net links:            
           
Victor Stabin website           
U. S. Postage Stamps           
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
Styrous® ~ Friday, August 16, 2024          








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January 1, 2022

Gene Simmons articles/mentions

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Kiss X Four      
The Skatt Brothers - Disco Daze     
     
     
      
     
      
     
      
     
     
     
      
Gene Simmons     
photo by Manfred Baumann     
     
      
     
      
     
      
     
      
     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

January 8, 2020

45 RPMs 38: Skatt Brothers ~ Don't Be Cruel (Disco Daze 4)

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45 RPM record, side 1
photo by Styrous®


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.          
         
      
45 RPM record, side 1 (MONO) label detail
detail photo by Styrous®
    

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 . . .          
 
45 RPM record, side 1 (MONO)
detail photo by Styrous®


45 RPM record, side 1 (MONO) label detail
detail photo by Styrous®


. . . while the other "A" side (Side 2) is a Stereo recording.




45 RPM record, side 2 (STEREO) label detail
detail photo by Styrous®

             
     
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

         
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:       

Sean Delaney         
Devo        
Disco Daze                
Don't Be Cruel lyrics        
Connie Francis     
KISS         
Jerry Lee Lewis          
Elvis Presley       
   
YouTube links:       
        
Elvis Presley ~ Don't Be Cruel
Skatt Brothers ~ Don't Be Cruel    
          
        
        
   
         
Styrous® ~ Wednesday, January 8, 2020       




       
        










January 6, 2020

Sean Delaney articles/mentions

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KISS X Four           
The Skatt Brothers: Disco Daze    
   
      
     
     
     
   
      
     

     
Sean Delaney        
date & photographer unknown      
      
     

     
     
   
      
     


















February 14, 2018

Casablanca Records ~ Disco Daze 3





        


Casablanca was the major label for disco music in the late 70's.




Casablanca record sleeve
photo by Styrous®
 

         
Casablanca Records was an American recording label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. It was founded in 1973 by former Buddah Records executive Neil Bogart, who named the label in homage to the classic film, Casablanca, and was based in Los Angeles in Southern California, The label became most successful as a disco label in the 1970s and currently operates as an electronic dance music label under the direction of Tommy Mottola.    
               
The Casablanca Label launched the careers of KISS, Donna Summer*†, Meco*†, Parliament, The Funkadelics*†, Angel and the Village People. It also recorded Cher, The Sylvers, Buddy Miles, Giorgio Moroder*†, Santa Esmeralda*† and many others.




Kiss was the first group to be signed by Casablanca. It released three albums by the group: Kiss (1974), Hotter Than Hell (1974), and Dressed to Kill (1975), but all failed to make an impact on the charts, however, the glam rock band did amass a following. However, it was NOT a disco album.  


Kiss - Kiss (1974)
vinyl LP cover 
 cover photo by Joel Brodsky
photo of album cover by Styrous®


Although the band's studio albums had not been strong sellers, the band had a reputation for performing exciting live shows. Casablanca decided to try to capitalize on that reputation by releasing the double-live Alive! (1975) album. It became both Casablanca's and Kiss's first top ten album, being certified gold.     

The Kiss follow-up studio albums to Alive! were better sellers than its previous studio albums. Destroyer (1976), Rock and Roll Over (1976), and Love Gun (1977) were all certified platinum in the United States. The band would release several more albums, with its last studio album on Casablanca being Creatures of the Night (1982).      




In 1975, Casablanca signed a new artist named Donna Summer and released her album entitled Love to Love You Baby which was certified gold. I will never forget this song; it was my introduction to the world of DISCO!  


vinyl LP cover 
 cover photo/art direction by Stephen Lumel
photo of album cover by Styrous®

The title song, written by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, is over 17 minutes long, and Casablanca released the song in its entirety as a single (a shorter version was also promoted for radio). In releasing the 17 minute version as a single, Casablanca would help make popular a format that would become known as the 12 inch. The song,  featured Summer seductively moaning and groaning, it was banned by some American radio stations (as it was in Europe) but made its way to #2 on the US Hot 100. Summer had several gold and platinum albums on Casablanca from 1975–1979, and became the label's most successful act on the singles chart. At one point, she scored eight US top 5 singles within a 19-month period. Summer had 10 gold singles (1 million), 2 went platinum (2 million) and a gold maxi-single while with Casablanca.




In 1979 Lipps Inc., with Steven Greenberg as writer, producer, and musician, and Cynthia Johnson on lead vocals, signed with Casablanca. Soon the single Rock It was released, followed by the album Mouth to Mouth. The album included the #1 smash hit Funkytown. A totally bubble-gum tune, it's one of my all-time favorite hits.     


Lipps Inc. - Mouth To Mouth
vinyl LP cover  
Illustration by Jan Kovaleski & Michael Kevin Lee
 photo of album cover by Styrous®
Parliament with group leader George Clinton was signed to the Casablanca label in late 1973. Their  first official release for the label was in 1974 with the album Up for the Down Stroke.


vinyl LP cover 
 cover photo by Leandro Correa
photo of album cover by Styrous®

The title song from the album gave Parliament its first top ten R&B hit. Their next album, Chocolate City sold approximately 150,000 albums in the Washington, D.C. area alone. But it would be their next release, Mothership Connection, that would give the group its first gold and, eventually, platinum album. Parliament would achieve either gold or platinum status with each album release up until 1980, as well as scoring hit singles with Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker), Flash Light (Casablanca's first R&B #1 hit) and Aqua Boogie (A Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop). The success of Parliament allowed George Clinton to develop another P-Funk spin off act known as Parlet.         

Casablanca also financed the various extravagant P-Funk stage shows, including the "Mothership Connection/P-Funk Earth Tour" of 1976-77; as well as the Motor Booty Affair underwater tour of 1979. Parliament were later inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Parliament also gave Casablanca Records a much needed presence in the R&B/Soul market.     
        
The Casablanca film division produced the films, The Deep, Midnight Express*†, Foxes and The Hollywood Knights. Casablanca Records was purchased by PolyGram after which the label went into decline. Visit the Casablanca website to see more Casablanca Records videos. Be warned, however, it takes forever to get the pages to open.            

*† future article      

        



        
Viewfinder links:       
       
Disco Daze                          
KISS        
Record Labels        
Santa Esmeralda
Donna Summer        
Village People           

Net links:       
        
       
        
         
          
            
           
           
          
        
Styrous® ~ Wednesday, February 14, 2018          
    















KISS articles/mentions

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Kiss X Four                 
 
mentions:   
Guns N' Roses ‎– Appetite For Destruction (Uncensored)    
The Skatt Brothers - 
     Disco Daze                 
     
     
      
     
     
     
     
     
     
      






















July 20, 2012

20,000 vinyl LPs 4: The Skatt Brothers - Disco Daze


I started the Vinyl LP series because I have over 20,000 albums I am selling; each blog entry of the series is about an album from my collection. Inquire for more info.

At the apex of the Disco rage, late in 1979, The Skatt Brothers issued an album entitled, "Strange Spirits". The title song was my favorite but it was "Walk the Night" and "Life at the Outpost" that were their big hits. "Walk the Night" reached #9 on the Billboard chart.

 (click on any image to see larger size)
front cover photographer: Dean Tokuno
photo of album cover by Styrous®


back cover photographer: Dean Tokuno
photo of album back cover by Styrous®


The Skatt Brothers was formed in Los Angeles by Sean Delaney. The group was similar to the Village People (remember them?) but never reached the same exposure (notoriety?). It was, however, extremely popular in Australia for some reason. The album was recorded in Toronto, Canada.

back cover detail
photo of album back cover detail by Styrous®



The line-up was:
Sean Delaney (keyboards)
Pieter Sweval (bass)
Richard Martin-Ross (guitar)
Richie Fontana (drums, guitar)
David Andez (guitar)
Craig Krampf (drums)

There is an animated interpretation of the song "Walk the Night" on uTube.

The original 1980 Australian music video for "Life at the Outpost" can also be seen on YouTube. The men dancing in the video are not the real Skatt Brothers but Australian male models (for some reason they did not want to appear in the video). It's fun watching it, however, from this vantage in time (30 years later) it is a bit dated.

The album was released by Casablanca Records; Casablanca was a major label for disco music in the late 70's. 

Standard record sleeve
used by Casablanca records.
photo of record sleeve by Styrous®
 

Casablanca launched the careers of KISS*, Donna Summer*†, Parliament, The Funkadelics*†, Angel and the Village People but also recorded Cher, The Sylvers, Buddy Miles, Giorgio Moroder*†, Santa Esmeralda*† and many others. The Casablanca film division produced the films, "The Deep", "Midnight Express"*†, "Foxes" and "The Hollywood Knights". Casablanca Records was purchased by PolyGram after which the label went into decline. Visit the Casablanca website to see more Casablanca Records videos. Be warned, however, it takes forever to get the pages to open.


The Skatt Brothers vinyl LP label detail, side 1 
photo by Styrous®


Sean Delaney would go on to work with members of the hard rock band, Kiss, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley, Gene Simmons and Peter Criss. David Andez would work with The Village People.   

When I recently found the videos on YouTube, I wrote to a friend, "I just came across this song [Walk the Night] on YouTube. Although it was played in every gay bar in existence, it was the anthem of the leather crowd in 1979/80. I remember being totally ripped out of my mind with a friend in a bar somewhere and fiercely dancing to it like there was no tomorrow. It [the video] brings back wonderful memories of a new, free and exotic world that seemed to have no end; or so we thought at the time."   
*† Another blog entry for this album may come in the future.   




The Skatt Brothers vinyl LP label detail, side 1 
photo by Styrous®



Tracklist:      

Side 1:

A1 - Dancin' For The Man, written by Sean Delaney* - 3:46
A2 - Fear Of Flying, written by W. Morrison* - 3:44
A3 - Midnight Companion, written by Pieter Sweval, Sean Delaney - 3:25
A4 - Walk The Night, written by D. Andez*, Richie Fontana - 3:53

Side 2:

B1 - Strange Spirits, written by Pieter Sweval - 4:21
B2 - Someone's Taken My Baby, written by Pieter Sweval, R. Martin-Ross*, Sean Delaney - 4:29
B3 - Life At The Outpost, written by Pieter Sweval, Sean Delaney - 4:56
B4 - Old Enough, written by Pieter Sweval, Sean Delaney - 5:43

Companies, etc.

    Recorded At – Phase One Studios
    Mastered At – Sterling Sound
    Manufactured By – Casablanca Record and Filmworks, Inc.
    Distributed By – Casablanca Record and Filmworks, Inc.
    Phonographic Copyright (p) – Casablanca Record and Filmworks, Inc.
    Copyright (c) – Casablanca Record and Filmworks, Inc.
    Published By – Skattsongs
    Published By – Ample Parking Publications
    Produced For – Three Hats Productions

Credits:

    Arranged By [All Arrangements, Vocals Arrangements] – Pete Pedersen, The Skatt Bros.*
    Art Direction – Phyllis Chotin
    Bass – Pieter Sweval
    Design – Gribbitt!
    Drums – Craig Krampf, Richie Fontana
    Engineer [First] – George Semkiw
    Guitar – Richard Martin-Ross
    Guitar [Lead] – David Andez
    Keyboards – Sean Delaney
    Mastered By – George Marino
    Performer [Auxialiary Musicians] – Barry Keane, Brian Russell, Carl Marsh (2), Errol Thomas, Michael Toles
    Photography By – Dean Tokuno
    Producer – Ian Guenther - Willi Morrison*
    Producer [Produced With] – The Skatt Bros.*

Barcode and Other Identifiers

    Other (Pressing Plant ID): 26
    Rights Society (A1, A3 to B4): ASCAP
    Rights Society (A2): CAPAC
    Matrix / Runout (A-Side Label): NBLP 7192 AS
    Matrix / Runout (B-Side Label): NBLP 7192 BS
    Matrix / Runout (A-Side Runout Etching): NBLP-7192-A3-PRC-C-3RE 1-11 MUSIC FOR MISS THING STERLING
    Matrix / Runout (B-Side Runout Etching): NBLP-7192-BS-PRC-C-3RE 1-1 I LOVE PAUL STERLING

Skatt Bros. ‎– Strange Spirits
Label: Casablanca ‎– NBLP 7192
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1979
Genre: Rock, Funk / Soul
Style: Pop Rock, Disco



The entire collection is for sale. Interested? Contact Styrous®


Enjoy, Styrous® July 20, 2012
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