Pop Matters is doing an anniversary feature on the Beatles’ White Album in which each song is commented on by a staff writer. I do a serviceable job on “Mother Nature’s Son” even though McCartney was probably just goofing on Donovan.
posted by Kim Simpson
In the early sixties Keith Colley was headed toward a Gene Pitney-esque sort of situation – crashing the gates as a teen idol while working behind the scenes as a songwriter and publisher. For Colley, though, the behind-the-scenes stuff won out and he ended up with only one charting single, “Enamorado,” which peaked at #66 in ‘63 (although his “Queridita Mia” did bubble under at #122 later that year). Colley, a non-Spanish-speaking Washingtonian, wound up giving this track the south-of-the-border treatment at the visionary behest of his label. And it sounds, in fact, a bit like Gene Pitney singing in Spanish. Doo-doo-be-doo.
Keith Colley – “Enamorado”
posted by Kim Simpson
So you have this charming Jesus thrift store find floating around forever, then you come to find out the duo that recorded it is actually Kevin Bacon’s brother Michael and Larry Gold, a man responsible for some of the entire Philly soul genre’s crucial string arrangements.
Good News – “I’m a-Losin’ My Mind” (1969)
I came across this anecdote when I was reading Alice Cooper’s Golf Monster last summer, and I guess it will now accompany every Liberace encounter I’ll ever have. Take it away, Alice:
Liberace had two dressing rooms. He had his meet-and-greet dressing room and another private area for his closest friends. We went back to the meet-and-greet room, and he told us, “Look, if you guys could just wait in the other room, that would be great.”
Inside the meet-and-greet room were all these little old ladies filing in and out. Liberace was showing off his jewels. He had a couple of little dogs yapping around him.
Now, this is the weird part.
As soon as everybody leaves, Liberace kicks the dogs away. “Get these freakin’ mutts outta here. They’re drivin’ me nuts.”
It was Liberace speaking in a voice I’d never heard him speak in before. It wasn’t the lazy-tongued effeminate Liberace voice. It was a regular, straight-guy voice.
“Where’s my beer?” he shouted.
No kidding. Then Liberace comes out wearing a pair of Levi’s, a white T-shirt, and cowboy boots. “Hey, guys, let’s go grab a beer someplace. Don’t worry. Nobody’ll recognize me”. . . If he was messing with us, he was really good at it.
posted by Kim Simpson
Thanks to my friend Dennis who steered me toward this truly extraordinary version by Liberace (1919-1987) of the Neil and Barbra torcher, recorded sometime during the great one’s last decade with us. More on Liberace tomorrow.
posted by Kim Simpson