During his all-too-short lifetime, Bert Berns never received the kind of fame afforded many of his contemporaries on the New York music scene such as Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Burt Bacharach and Hal David, or Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman. Yet, across the pond, young men like Paul McCartney and Keith Richards were taking notice whenever they saw the Berns imprimatur on one of their favorite 45s. McCartney and Richards are just two of the luminaries who lined up to salute the
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Debby Boone, You Light Up My Life: 40th Anniversary Expanded Edition (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Finally, the platinum LP containing the biggest hit of the 1970s arrives on CD! Real Gone's new edition expands Debby Boone's original You Light Up My Life album by a whopping thirteen tracks, tracing Debby's career back to her earliest recordings with her sisters as The Boone Girls. You'll hear their effervescent
Even if you don't know the name of Bert Berns, chances are you know the songs he wrote ("Twist and Shout," "I Want Candy," "Hang On, Sloopy," "Piece of My Heart"), produced ("Under the Boardwalk," "Baby I'm Yours," "Brown-Eyed Girl," "Here Comes the Night") and oversaw as head of Bang Records ("Cherry, Cherry," "Solitary Man" and the rest of Neil Diamond's earliest recordings). Though Berns died in the final days of 1967 at just 38 years of age, a year hasn't gone by since when his songs haven't
The first sound that jumps out at you after inserting Van Morrison's The Authorized Bang Collection is that of the familiar "Brown Eyed Girl," but something about it is different. As presented in its original stereo mix as remastered from the original 1967 first-generation tape, it's more vibrant than ever, with pronounced instrumental separation and a crisp sheen - as if that misty morning fog has been lifted, and the green grass smells fresher than ever. It will have you singing sha la la la
Almost exactly 50 years ago today, on March 28, 1967, Van Morrison and Bert Berns went into a studio for a two-day session for Bang Records. The results of this session gave Morrison a signature song but also led to eventual trouble between the artist and label, unauthorized albums, and legal entanglements. Morrison's released Bang material has been reissued and his unreleased Bang sessions have been bootlegged many times over the subsequent five decades, but now Legacy Recordings is bringing
We've already filled you in on Ace's recent collection from the great Jackie Wilson; today, we turn the spotlight to another classic R&B vocalist, Garnet Mimms! West Virginia-born, Philadelphia-raised Garnet Mimms is best remembered today for his 1963 hit "Cry Baby," which reached No. 1 R&B/No. 4 Pop and inspired Janis Joplin's scorching revival years later. "Cry Baby" was the work of songwriters Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns, both of whom played key roles in the vocalist's career.
Here comes the night…again! Even if you don’t know the name of Bert Berns, chances are you know the songs he wrote (“Twist and Shout,” “I Want Candy,” “Hang On, Sloopy,” “Piece of My Heart”), produced (“Under the Boardwalk,” “Baby I’m Yours,” “Brown-Eyed Girl,” “Here Comes the Night”) and oversaw as head of Bang Records (“Cherry, Cherry,” “Solitary Man” and the rest of Neil Diamond’s earliest recordings). Though Berns died in the final days of 1967 at just 38 years of age, a year hasn’t gone by