The featured Music Business 09/05/1964 RCA Victor Records ad was digitally re-imaged and restored by Motor City Radio Flashbacks
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Category: Music Business
MUSIC BUSINESS | THE CHIPMUNKS DISCOVER THE BEATLES . . . AUGUST 29, 1964
Alvin, Simon and Theodore-and David Seville have their hottest selling album in years with the new “Chipmunks Sing The Beatles Hits”
The biggest-selling new album in the U.S. at this moment is a Liberty LP called “The Chipmunks Sing The Beatles Hits.” It was released less than two weeks ago, and has already passed the 250,000 mark.
According to Liberty executives it is the fastest selling Chipmunk product in its initial weeks since the little creatures’ first hit, “Witch Doctor”, about four years ago. Say Liberty spokesmen, “It is selling like a single.” The firm had ordered 250,000 jackets in front before the LP was issued. They have since ordered another 250,000 jackets.
Long in the works
The Chipmunks-Beatles LP has been in the thinking stage for a long time. A while back, the versatile and imaginative Ross Bagdasarian, whose record name is David Seville, did a takeoff on the English sound on a single record. He called the group The Bed Bugs. Not much happened with the record, mainly because teens aren’t interested in satire of their record heroes, but that’s when the idea to record The Chipmunks singing Beatles’ hits was born.
The Obvious appeal of the Chipmunks-Beatles LP is the power of the two names. In addition to that is the fact that the album is not a satire. The Chipmunks, those immediately identifiable electronic voices, sing all of the songs straight. This keeps them in good with their own youthful fans (often reckoned as ranging in age from three to seven) who also appreciate The Beatles. (Their appeal is much wider than that of The Chipmunks, ranging to the late teens, but it also reaches down to the tricycle and scooter set.)
Even before Bagdasarian started working on the Chipmunks album, requests were coming in from the field for Alvin, Simon and Theodore to do The Beatles hits. Since the album has come out and hit with such a tremendous impact requests are coming on from the field for the next album to be “The Chipmunks Sing The Dave Clark Five Hits” or the Rolling Stones or some other English group.
Even F. A. O. Schwartz
The Chipmunks LP is not only selling well in traditional record outlets and department stores and racks, but is getting action in outlets that do not usually carry records. F. A. O. Schwartz, the posh children’s toy store on New York’s Fifth Avenue, has ordered a substantial quantity of the LP. The Korvette chain has made the album a key display item. And Woolworth’s has made it the LP to be played on phonographs in record departments of its immense chain.
The most played bands in the album by the top radio stations to date are: “Do You Want To Know A Secret,” “All My Lovin’,” “Twist And Shout,” and “From Me To You.” However, at this time Liberty has no intention of issuing any of the bands as a single. “Why hurt our album sales?”, they ask.
Liberty-Imperial comeback
Smash sales of the Chipmunks-Beatles LP on Liberty is another giant step on the remarkable comeback trail of Liberty and its subsidiary label Imperial. Less than a year ago Liberty-Imperial was far down from its peak period of two and three years back. President Al Bennett had just bought the firm back from Avnet, the electronics firm that had purchased the company in 1962.
Since then Liberty has come back with hot releases with Jan and Dean’s “Dead Man’s Curve” and “Little Old Lady From Pasadena,” and Vic Dana’s “Shangri-La” and “Love Is All We Need.” On Imperial the firm came up with a smash with Johnny Rivers’ “Memphis.” On the album level Liberty has had solid acceptance with its new fall line, especially with its new Johnny Mann, Julie London, Martin Denny, and Si Zentner LP’s. The Johnny Rivers album “Memphis” Vol. II, is also doing very well. END
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Information, credit and news source: Music Business, August 29, 1964
MUSIC BUSINESS | MOTOWN MONDAY! THE SUPREMES: ARTIST OF THE MONTH
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MUSIC BUSINESS | NEW HORIZONS FOR SCEPTER-WAND . . . JULY 11, 1964
Indie singles label, now grossing close to $3 million annually, readies domestic and international LP lines.
Like a rocket that’s just dropped off its first stage and is quickly moving into orbit is one way of picturing the present stage of the developing Scepter -Wand Records operation.
Stage One for Scepter — its old office at 1650 Broadway — has just floated away into space. Stage two has begun in a luxurious new suite of offices incorporating the entire sixth floor at 254 West 54th Street in New York. Another kind of Stage One, the pre-occupation with singles, has also been put aside in favor of currying a more or less all-round singles-album label image.
In another sense, the second phase has started in full sway. Previously, the company has devoted itself strictly to domestic r. and b. oriented product. Now, under an experienced hand in the overseas scene, a new emphasis is being placed on the international area.
The company began, in a sense, in nearby Passaic, N. J., the home at the time of the head of the company, Florence Greenberg. It has grown from a vision in Mrs. Greenberg’s mind, in the late ’50s, to a firm which today is grossing at a rate of close to $3,000,000 annually, and a company which has its own artist management set-up, an international division and a handsome new recording studio, due for completion soon.
“My son, Stan, who is 26 today and earned a Ph.D in music, had written a song called ‘Nightbeat’,” Mrs. Greenberg recalled last week. “We hired a singer and went into a studio and recorded it. We didn’t know what we were doing at all but we enjoyed the experience. My daughter was in high school at the time. In her class was a group of girl singers who had written a song and we recorded them too. We called them the Shirelles. The recording, “I Met Him On A Sunday,” was finally put out by Decca.
“They didn’t become anything big and we finally got a release from Decca and cut another thing, “Dedicated To The One I Love,” which George Goldner distributed for us through his Gone-End company.”
Shortly before this activity, Mrs. Greenberg had met Marvin Schlachter, a young advertising salesman for Cash Box Magazine. Ultimately, the two decided to open their own company. Joining them in the venture were Luther Dixon, a songwriter -producer and Goldner’s accountant, Jerry Roth. It was the start of Scepter and the first release was the Shirelles’ “Tonight’s The Night,” which was followed shortly by the group’s first smash hit, “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.”
“It was all pretty nutty,” Schlachter said last week. “We had an awful lot to learn about making records and selling them, and artist contracts and even keeping books. It’s really something that we were able to keep going. But we’ve developed something that can last a long time. We don’t have very many artists but the ones we do have we work with all the way.
“Look at Dionne Warwick, for example. She’s been on this scene for only about a year. But she was the featured singing star of the Cannes Festival last month and she has a schedule of top engagements lined up in the months to come here and in Europe.
“Look at Chuck Jackson. He hasn’t had many big hits but he sells well in the r. and b. areas and he’s getting great money on his personal appearances. Chuck makes $3,500 to $4,000 a week. The point is that we’ve made him into an artist who will be around for a long time to come.
“To do this we started our Wand Management firm. Paul Kantor, who used to be in the agency business, is the head of this. We do everything we can to teach an artist to perform properly. The record business is full of one-shot hit artists who don’t know what to do on a floor. Actually, we don’t make any money directly out of managing. We plough the income right back into the artist’s career, so it’s a form of insurance that we’re buying with the money.
“We’ve been almost completely a singles company so far. But now that we’ve been able to really establish our artists we’ll be moving more and more into albums. We’ll be very selective because you can get ruined fast by spending a lot of money to turn out an album that won’t pay its own way. Now, we’ve reached the point where we have 10 albums ready to go and we’ll probably hire a merchandising man soon.
“We take masters of course. We had a great success with the Kingsmen and “Louie Louie.” And we’ve had others, but we honestly prefer being able to have the artist right with us, so we can help build the career rather than working through outside producers.
“That pays off with record sales as well as personals because when you build the career, you also build a hard core of fans for the artist even if they don’t get the top hits. The Shirelles album that came out two and a half years ago, still sells about 1,000 albums a month, a nice catalog item. Chuck Jackson may not make the charts every time out but he sells a minimum of 75,000 to 100,000 singles on every release, which isn’t bad in today’s market.”
The company also is involved in publishing, with such firms as Zann and Flo-Mar-Lou, both BMI, and Mary Jane (ASCAP) and named after Mrs. Greenberg’s daughter. Ludix Music (BMI) is wholly owned by Luther Dixon, who has been with the company since its start except for one sallying forth into other areas for about a year (he had one working arrangement with Capitol for a time) and who has since returned to Scepter as executive a. & r. producer.
The personnel line-up includes Mrs. Greenberg as president, Schlachter as vice president on the sales and merchandising front, Dixon as vice president in charge of a. & r., Kantor as general manager of Wand Management, and Joe Zerga, formerly of Transglobal Music, in charge of publishing and the International Department. In addition there are nearly 30 employees in the office and the warehouse across the street.
“We’re going in for a big expansion in the international field,” Schlachter continued. “Joe Zerga is in Europe now, setting up a number of releasing agreements for our product over there and for release by us in this country of various albums from Europe. Pye distributes us in England now and Joe is on the pointing of completing distribution in some of the other countries.
“We expect to introduce the Scepter International album line in September. Joe has already arranged for us to put out six LP’s in our first release of albums from Ireland, Greece, Germany, Italy, France and Norway. We’ll have an album of Sophia Loren reading poetry, to give you an idea. Our income from overseas release of our records just this year will probably be close to $250,000. We expect that to be increased this year from these new deals we have.”
The overall Scepter Music Corporation, contains, in addition to the Scepter and Wand labels, the management and the publishing firms, a new studio now being fitted out. “We haven’t decided yet whether that will be a separate corporation but it probably will,” said Schlachter.
“We have a young engineer, John La Kata, installing the equipment. When it’s finished it will be worth close to $100,000. We’ll confine it mostly to our own use. Some other firms may be cutting here too but it’ll be on a limited, controlled basis.
“Another artist we are working with now is Big Maybelle. We’ve recorded some great things with her and they’ll be coming out soon.” “She is such a fine artist, and we’re willing to work hard with her,” Mrs. Greenberg added. “We think we can do a lot with her and for her, just as we have with the others. We’ve never lost an artist that we’ve signed. This isn’t called the Scepter family for nothing.
We’re basically r. and b., I guess you’d say. And I doubt if we’ll get too far away from that. It’s what we know and love. A shoemaker sticks to his last. Or you can put it another way and say if you know how to sell $3.98 dresses, you stay with that and forget about the $25 ones. We like to think of ourselves as another Atlantic Records. But I’ll say that I have a great admiration for Kapp Records and we watch what they do all the time too,” said Mrs. Greenberg. END
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Information, credit and news source: Music Business, July 11, 1964
MUSIC BUSINESS | A GOOD GUY [Gary Stevens] JOINS THE TEAM . . . MAY 15, 1965
Gary Stevens, Top-Rated Deejay From Detroit, Has Become the Fifth Good Guy on New York’s WMCA. This Is What It’s Like
THE NEW SCENE. What’s it like for an out-of-town deejay to move into New York and try to become part of a team of Good Guys on a highly rated station in the big town? How does he react to the change of climate, change of scene, change of audience and a change of hours? How does he feel about four -sheets posted all over town reading “Is Gary Stevens really a good guy? No. He’s a great guy!”
Gary Stevens is the new Good Guy in New York. He comes from Detroit, from station WKNR where he was a top-rated disc jockey. He is now with Station WMCA in the 7 to 11 p.m. slot, the big slot, make or break slot.
He came into New York after the biggest radio night time shakeup in Gotham in the memory of most record and station people. The big guns, the big names who used to hold down the top posts and who made New York still seem like the swinging rock town it was when Alan Freed was creating all kinds of excitement at WINS in the mid -1950’s, have vanished.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW. Murray the K is no longer on WINS. WMCA’s B. Mitchell Reed, who had captured a big segment of the kid audience, has left to return to his old post at KFWB in Los Angeles. Scott Muni has been long gone from WABC. Only Bruce Morrow, the cousin Brucie of the laughs and the gimmicks is still swinging at night. The other big night names have fled, and the kids get their sounds via TV.
WINS has turned to news. WMCA let its night time slot be filled by swing-shifting its other good guys for almost two months. WNEW’s new policy of playing slightly more raucous records has led some radio-record people to intimate that the station might go rock all the way, a possibility that seems as distant as the moon landings.
The Good Guys at WMCA give away sweatshirts, appear in funny costumes, play baseball with the Playboy Bunnies, make all trade functions and are probably the closest group of guys working together since the Harlem Globetrotters.
Gary Stevens has been through all this before. He was a Good Guy at WFUN in Miami, which helped to originate the Goody Guy format. So he knows.
NEW YORK KIDS. What has surprised him is the New York kids. “They’re more hip than the kids in Detroit,” he said a while back at a luncheon at Sardi.” A lot of the things I used to do in Detroit have not made out here. I guess it’s because the kids are more sophisticated.
“It’s all part of being in New York, I think,” continued Gary Stevens. “In other cities you look for things that are happening-here anyone or anything that happens comes to you.
“I get calls from kids who want to talk to me about my show. They use words like gimmick and format, words you wouldn’t hear used in Detroit by anyone except radio people. One youngster called me up a few days after I started at WMCA and said “Man, you need more gimmicks.”
NEED TO BE TALKED TO. “Yet, in spite of all this, New York kids still need to be talked to, like normal youngsters anywhere. I’m willing to alter my style to fit the market, but I still want to be myself.
I’ll use my own gimmicks, the Wooleyburger, a ferocious animal that doesn’t talk, only growls. I have to interpret what he says. I’ll also introduce the Frog. He growls too, and I’ll have to explain what he is saying.
“And I won’t play Joe Nice-Guy, just because I’m in New York. Some jockeys come to the big city and try to please everybody. Not me. I’ll be me.
“Even though the New York kids are more sophisticated about things, they are not more hip musically. In fact they are not as aware of many of the new records as the youngsters in Detroit. That could be because they have so many radio stations in New York with all kinds of different formats. It also could be because there are so many things here to distract them from records.”
SHOW A MIXTURE. Stevens’ show is a mixture of up-to-date and on the way up rock discs, a mixture of rock and rhythm and blues that lies more in the old Alan Freed tradition than that of his predecessor B. Mitchell Reed. He intersperses his commercials and straight announcements with gags and sort-of-one line put-ons. He doesn’t sound like anyone else in town, so he has to make it on his own.
With the help of the Good Guy image that is.
Is Gary Stevens a Good Guy? Can he bring to his shows that mixture of freshness and audience appeal that WMCA wants to make that night time slot the top-rated of the pop music stations? He’s trying hard, with the Wooleyburger, one-liners, and smartly paced programming.
He’ll probably learn a lot from those smart New York kids. And they might learn a lot from him. If they like him he’ll be a Good Guy for a long, long time to come. END
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Information, credit and news source: Music Business, May 15, 1965
Gary Stevens WMCA April 8, 1965
MUSIC BUSINESS | HERMAN’S HERMITS - ‘YOUTHS MUST BE SERVED’ . . . MARCH 27, 1965
The English Group, whose leader, — “the one with the tooth” — is only 17, has themselves a smash, and another on the way — Music Business
IT JUST FIT. “I mean-Hermit fits so well with Herman, that there was nothing more to it. We became Herman’s Hermits. And just in case you don’t know who I am, I’m Herman-the one with the tooth. Actually, my real name is Peter Blair Dennis Bernard Noone. It’s really a bit much. Herman’s so much easier, don’t you think?”
Sometimes Herman plays a little piano. Other times he claps a bit. Most times he makes hit records, like “I’m Into Something Good”, and now “Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat”. There was also a record called “Show Me Girl”, which was never released here, but nonetheless hit the British charts.
Herman is only 17-honest, it’s no publicity gimmick. But already he and the Hermits have made one trip to the U.S., and he’s due back again next month to go out with the group as special guest stars on the Dick Clark package.
ALMOST AN ACTOR. At one time he was going to be an actor. He even got roles in two television shows, and appeared in two children’s plays, but since he became a singer, he’s given up all thoughts of pursuing an acting career. “I didn’t like the people anyway”, he says. “On the other hand, of course, if it would be a movie, then that’s something else.
“I believe there’s a possibility of a film for MGM as soon as a suitable script can be found. I’d like a dramatic role, and it has to be a supporting one. A starring part would be a little beyond me right now.”
Herman, who is fascinated by such unlikely things as Afghanistan steaks and launderettes (he would like to open a cross country chain of them when he’s made enough money), was a little uncertain about the success of his first record, “I’m Into Something Good”, released here on MGM.
KNOCKED OUT. “I felt sick when I first heard it. I went flat on one of the notes in the song. Wanted to go over it again, but when I discovered it would be another four hour session, we had to leave it as it was. Because we weren’t confident about it was why we were so knocked out when it happened”. (The record stayed at the top of the British charts for three weeks, and went top twenty here).
Herman had more faith in his second British release, “Show Me Girl”, but said he realized why it didn’t get higher than 20 in their charts, when he heard it on the radio for the first time. It was never released here. Instead, MGM came out with “Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat”, his current smash. Strangely enough, this record has been covered for England by an American group, “Goldie and the Gingerbreads”, and is their first hit in the British charts. However, Herman’s recording of it was never released over there, and he and his group are happily holding down the current number 4 slot with “Silhouettes”.
With all these records flying about, even Herman could be forgiven for getting a little confused. But what do you do, when, having experienced success in two different countries, with a variety of different discs, you have the added problem of a hit track from your first L.P.
MRS. BROWN TRACK. “Introducing Herman’s Hermits”, came out here a little more than a month ago. Already in the top hundred, just last week a flush of radio stations all over the country, decided to lay on “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter” and use it as a single track on their station playlists. MGM is now faced with the dilemma of whether or not this track should be issued as the group’s new single. At press time there had been no definite decision, but it would seem like a good idea.
Getting back to the group, Herman’s Hermits present line up has been together about six months. They were called the Heartbeats and playing the local Manchester, England, scene, when Herman joined them, and had a pretty big following even then.
Herman’s name is derived from a British TV series called “The Bullwinkle Show”. In it, there’s a character called Sherman, who bears a strange resemblance to Peter Noone. The Heartbeats mistook the name, called their new lead singer Herman, and changed their name to the Hermits.
Their record producer is Mickie Most, who signed them after having traveled North especially to watch one of their concerts. The rest of the group comprises of Karl Green (bass guitar), Derek Leckenby (lead and rhythm guitar), Barry Whitwarn (drums) and Keith Hopwood (lead and rhythm guitar).
DECIDED IDEAS. Herman has very decided ideas on lots of things. Speaking frankly, a little while after his first hit, he said “Of course our initial success has knocked us out, and the extra money has been very useful. But I’m jealous of ne groups that keep cropping up. They make things harder”.
Herman says that he loves what he’s seen of show business, and never wants to leave it. Realizing that trends are forever changing, he says he hopes he and the Hermits will always be able to adapt their style to fit in accordingly.
He’s looking forward tremendously to his next trip here, next month, and figures that although the Dick Clark tour is going to be pretty exhausting, the experience, and exposure will be worth it.
“I mean, it’s great to be the first ever British group on a Dick Clark package”, he says. “We hear so much about it in England, and how successful it is, that it’s a terrific honor to be invited to go on it. Of course, we’ve worked and traveled with American acts at home, but traveling in the U.S. will help us get a real feel for their music, and ours. It’s also encouraging to know that this is known as a very successful show, which makes it all the better”. END
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Information, credit and news source: Music Business, March 27, 1965
MUSIC BUSINESS! A PHILIPS RECORDS CLASSIC ’45 RPM AD! JANUARY 1965
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The above Music Business 01/16/1965 Philips Records ad was digitally re-imaged and completely restored by Motor City Radio Flashbacks
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MUSIC BUSINESS | THE T.A.M.I. SHOW! ‘TEENAGE COMMAND PERFORMANCE’. . . DECEMBER 5, 1964
In less than three weeks the new Electronovision movie is due to open in 1000 theaters throughout the United States, while it promises to be the biggest grossing rock film ever
Two a day. In less than three weeks the first TAMI (Teen-Age Music International) show, called “Teen-Age Command Performance,” in Electronovision, will open in 1000 U.S. theaters. Opening day is December 19. The movie, which stars the top U.S. and British acts in the rock and roll sphere, will run for 24 days, through January 11. The picture will be shown twice a day in the 1000 theaters, once in the morning and once at midnight. Price for the morning show will be 99 cents, for the midnight show, $1.25.
It is believed by many in the music-record business, especially those who are hip to the rock and roll field, that the TAMI show will be the ‘biggest-grossing U.S. teenage rock film’ since “Don’t Knock The Rock” started the film industry series of rock and roll movies during the past decade.
Imaginative presentation. The reason for this belief is due to the quality of the TAMI show, as against most of the rock pictures which have preceded it. The one exception to this is probably the Beatles film, “A Hard Day’s Night,” which has had grosses as spectacular as the sales of the lads’ recordings. (Which may also be due to the fact that an amazingly large number of adults have accepted the Beatles film as an “art” picture.)
Where the TAMI show leaves the old fashioned rock and roll films behind is in the manner of presentation. Like the current TV teen success, “Shindig,” TAMI makes use of teen dancers who perform while the acts are singing. And like “A Hard Day’s Night,” the artistic use of the cameras have added a dimension to the TAMI show that was certainly rarely present in any of the hastily assembled rock films of the late 1950’s.
The opening of the TAMI show alone, with its swift succession of staccato photography shots, sets up the picture as artistic as well as musical, and the manner of photographing the performers in action leaves nothing to be desired on that level.
Filmed “live.” In order to achieve the excitement that a rock show has for rock fans, the artists in the TAMI movie all performed in front of 18,000 youngsters jam-packed into California’s Santa Monica auditorium. Their filmed excitement adds to the excitement of the film and make the entire picture seem more like a live show than a filmed one.
The Electronovision process, a tape filming method for theaters, has been used once before for a film, the modern dress version of “Hamlet” starring Richard Burton. According to those who saw both “Hamlet” and the TAMI show, the Electronovision process has been much improved since the Burton movie. In fact many tradesters consider it equal in quality to any other film process.
Powerful performers. The power of the TAMI show basically lies in its performers. The manner of presentation, the artistic camera shots, the exciting opening, the screaming finale, a real icing to the cake. The cake is of course such hot rock names as Chuck Berry, Gerry and The Pacemakers, the Miracles, Marvin Gaye, Lesley Gore, The Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, The Supremes, James Brown and the Flames, and the Rolling Stones. (A new group, the Barbarians, are also featured but they are too new to be considered a box-office draw.)
There has never been such a potent line-up of teenage box office power concentrated in any one film. Add to this the fact that all of the artists do a large part of their complete stage act, making the two hour film sock entertainment for rock fans, and even for dispassionate observers of the genre.
Huge potential. Electronovision’s “Hamlet” played only 44 theaters, and ran for only two days. It made money, the actors made money, and according to Elec-tronovision President William Sargent, the theaters made money. With 1000 theaters playing the TAMI show for 24 days, the rock picture could gross much, much more, even at lower admission prices.
If it succeeds as everyone expects it to do, there will be many more TAMI shows in Electronovision, and the TAMI show could be as important in breaking an act on a national scale as records have been, and as TV’s “Shindig” is on its way to becoming.
There is little doubt that Electronovision and the TAMI show could be a major factor in boosting the sale of records to teenagers for a long time to come. END
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Information, credit and source: Music Business, December 5, 1964
MUSIC BUSINESS | ROLLING STONES: THE REBELS ARRIVE . . . OCTOBER 31, 1964
The image the group created here last spring appears to be paying off on their current tour, which could be the biggest invasion since the Beatles
The Stones are here! The five long haired, boot-footed, leather-jacketed beats were scheduled to arrive in New York on Friday (October 23), for their second American stomp, which promises to be a gash-of-a-bash, kicking off with two SRO
performances at the New York Academy of Music on October 24.
According to the Rolling Stones their last tour here in the spring was a disaster. The one bright spark which saved them from an almost total wash out on the tour circuit was their final, chaotic New York, Carnegie Hall scene, which resulted in the hall being banned to other beat groups and an eleventh hour triumph for the boys.
Happy promoters. There are several happy promoters on the current Stones tour — and very few empty seats. The five rebels have arrived. They’ve done it the hard way, without a great big smash record and with only the one redeeming factor from their last tour. Their image, and the impression they left behind on their previous trip is one of belligerence and rebelliousness. They didn’t achieve their desire to conquer the entire American market, but they passed judgement too quickly. The sum total of their previous tour and its publicity has meant big box office on their current swing across the country.
Before the five Rolling Stones — Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, Keith Richard, Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman — arrived, publicity, promotion and general arrangements had reached pandemonium, stage 1. GAC, London Records and publicist Connie deNave had been besieged with limitless phone calls and letters, asking for press interviews, personal interview sand any other contact with the boys.
Big magazine coverage. Nearly every fan magazine in the country (and some of the slicks ones too), woke up to the fact that the Rolling Stones were coming and planned six or eight page spreads on the boys both in color and black and white. Other press interviews and photo sessions have been set up across the country, including one which was scheduled at the New York Astor Hotel immediately after their arrival Friday (October 23). At press time, it was also hoped that a complete photo session could be arranged during rehearsals for the Ed Sullivan Show, Sunday (October 25).
Because of the ban on arrival receptions at Kennedy Airport, the Rolling Stones arrival was kept a complete secret until a couple of days before they came in. As it is, arrangements were made for the group to have special security at all times during their stay, and for the most part they will be accompanied by private guards wherever they travel. However, these plans are not expected to curb Stones fans from turning up at other airports throughout the United States or at any hotels. In fact, mass riots and a way to deal with them were points high on the agenda for attention some weeks before the boys came in.
50,000 eager fans. An example of the Rolling Stones increasing popularity here is the staggering total of 52,000 official national fan club membership with another 10,000 unofficial followers.
Rolling Stones mania finally hit home when two girls from Cleveland left their families in an attempt to visit the boys in England. Miserably for them, they failed, but as a result of their efforts, the girls and their families will be guests of the group at their Cleveland concert on October 31.
Will record here. During their trip, the Stones will record several sessions under the aegis of their British producer Andy Oldham. Recording dates have been set up in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. The group will also tape an Electronovision spectacular for a Christmas showing, appearing on the same show, along performances by Billy J.Kramer & The Dakotas, Gerry & The Pacemakers, The Beach Boys and Lesley Gore (and possibly other big names may be added).
Out in time for their arrival were three new one shot fan books and a new hit single on London, “Time Is On My Side” which is bounding up the charts.
Last time, people were curious. This time they’re excited, and in terms of prestige alone, this tour could turn out to be one of the most sensational and spectacular concert events of the year.
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Information, credit and news source: Music Business, October 31, 1964
MUSIC BUSINESS | “WE’RE HAVING A BALL!”, THE SUPREMES . . . OCTOBER 10, 1964
It’s fun being a success,” say the Motown stars. But success hasn’t changed them too much. They still live at home, date old boyfriends, and like to talk about clothes.
TIGHT PANTS. Should a girl wear tight, tight pants, like some of the fashions seem to dictate these days?” I think it’s all in how a girl acts when she gets them on,” says Mary Wilson, of the smash-hit Detroit group, the Supremes. Mary made the observation during a break in the group’s recent appearance at the Brooklyn Fox Theater, with jockey Murray “The K” Kaufman.
“For one thing,” Mary continued, “Those tight-fitting pants are particularly good when you’re on the road, because you don’t have to press them so much. But we’re all quite petite and we like flare-outs (dresses) too and we often wear
them in our shows. But really, it seems to be that the tight things are the favorites and we often have to wear them, sort of by demand, if you know what I mean.
“Like with Dick Clark. We were out on his tour for 48 days this past summer. We had silver pants for our act on that show, and I must say, he just loved them. In fact, he just about insisted that we wear them all the time. He would getup- set when we would try something else. We’re getting a lot more clothes for our wardrobe now and we plan them all ourselves too.”
Want more than rock. Obviously, the Supremes are interested in more things than clothes-musical styles for instance. “Nobody seems to get anywhere these days without a hit record,” Mary continued.” We started singing over seven years ago. For most of that time, we’ve been making records, on a lot of different labels. Then with a good rock and roll sound, after all these years, we get a hit and things start to happen. People notice us. The trouble is that they think rock and roll is all we can or want to do, and that isn’t true. We hope to do an album soon with songs like ‘People’ and ‘I Am Woman’. ‘Those ballads are a long way from ‘Where Did Our Love Go.’
“We hope to get into the nightclub field and we’re working at it right now. We just appeared for a while in the20 Grand Club in Detroit and we tried out our new act recently in a Bermuda Club called the Clay House. We seemed to go over real big there but I know there’s a lot more work left to do before we’re really ready for the big time.
“In a way we’re old-timers already. We’re all about 21 now, but we started singing when we were all in school at 14. We knew the fellows in the Temptations and we got to be like a sister act to them, doing shows with them. We were all from the same neighborhood.
STILL LIVE HOME. “We still live in the same neighborhood at home with our Moms. One of them usually goes on tour with us. When we’re home, between tours and one-nighters and record dates, we sometimes still go out with old friends on dates. We all like to go bowling and Diane (Ross) loves to swim. She won some prizes when she was on her high school team.” (The third member of the trio is Florence Ballard).
It’s no secret that such Britishers as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones have openly dug the artists from the Tamla- Motown group, and the Supremes have often been mentioned as among the top favorites. But it’s really a mutual admiration society, trans-Atlantic style, since the Supremes have just recorded a new album of Beatles and other British group hits.
LIKE BRITISH ACTS. “When those fellows first got started here in America, we all just asked, who are they and what have they got. Now I think the Beatles, and the Dave Clark Five, especially, get better with each record. I like their songs. The other night, a couple of us saw the Animals and I can tell you that they were a terrific group too. “We’re having a ball right now our- selves. It’s fun being a success and it’s even fun going on tour. It means a lot of bus riding but the groups are all swell and we have a lot of fun flirting, in a nice way, on the bus with all the fellows. I know we’re going to have great fun in England too (the group was due to appear on British TV Sunday, October11). I hope they’ll like us, even though we haven’t had a chance to take Berry Gordy upon his offer to send us to drama school yet. He thought we had a lot of promise and wanted us to get that training for TV work. I guess things have just been too good for us. We haven’t had time to study. We’ve been too busy working.” END
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Information, credit and news source: Music Business, October 10, 1964
