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/ The Ronettes

February 26, 2022 By The Second Disc 2 Comments

Stream

Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing weekly review of notable digital-only catalogue titles. There may be no CD or vinyl, but there's plenty of great new/old music to discover! This week's got plenty of remixes, from New Wave to soul - plus some novelty hip-hop that'll offer a much-needed laugh or two. Depeche Mode, A Broken Frame | The 12" Singles (Warner/Rhino) (iTunes / Amazon) Last week, Rhino made the 12" singles set devoted to Depeche Mode's debut digitally available, and

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Categories: Features, The Weekend Stream Formats: Digital Download, Digital Streaming Genre: Classic Rock, Country, Disco/Dance, Electronic, Everything Else, Folk, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul, Rap/Hip-Hop, Rock, Soundtracks Tags: Buddy Holly, Burt Bacharach, Depeche Mode, Ed Ames, Eric Burdon, Hoyt Axton, Jodeci, Joni James, L.A. Guns, Madonna, Mint Condition, Ronnie Spector, The Ronettes, War

March 3, 2021 By Joe Marchese 14 Comments

Its Whats Happening Baby DVD

It's What's Happening, Baby!  That's the name of the 1965 television special hosted by influential New York disk jockey Murray Kaufman, a.k.a. Murray The K.  Over the course of 90 minutes, the jocular, hep-talking Murray (who christened himself The Fifth Beatle as an early friend and supporter of the Fab Four) shared musical performances by the day's biggest pop and soul acts including The Supremes, Dionne Warwick, Ray Charles, The Righteous Brothers, The Miracles, Marvin Gaye, Johnny Rivers,

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Categories: News Formats: CD, DVD Genre: Pop, R&B/Soul Tags: Chuck Jackson, Dionne Warwick, Four Tops, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, Herman's Hermits, Johnny Rivers, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Martha and the Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, Mary Wells, Murray the K, Patti LaBelle and The Bluebelles, Ray Charles, The Drifters, The Ronettes, The Supremes, The Temptations

October 5, 2020 By Joe Marchese 8 Comments

johnny mathis merry christmas

October is upon us, and while 2020 hasn't given us much to rejoice about, the holiday season is almost here.  Before the month is out, radio stations will begin switching to seasonal formats, and television will begin showing yuletide movies.  With a never-ending barrage of bad news, "we need a little Christmas right this very minute" has hardly seemed more apt.  Sony's Legacy Recordings is getting a head start on Christmas this year with the release on vinyl of 10 favorite albums from the

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Categories: News Formats: Vinyl Genre: Country, Holiday, Jazz, Pop, Popular Standards/Vocal, R&B/Soul Tags: Alabama, Andy Williams, Darlene Love, Dean Martin, Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley, Gene Autry, Johnny Mathis, Kenny G, Kenny Rogers, Perry Como, Phil Spector, The Crystals, The Ronettes

October 26, 2015 By Joe Marchese 1 Comment

London American Label 1966

Ace is saying "All Aboard!" with a pair of recent releases spotlighting the label's pursuit of the diverse sounds of music.  The London American Label Year by Year: 1966 continues Ace's long-running survey of the American sides issued on London Records in the U.K. between the 1950s and the 1970s while All Aboard! 25 Train Tracks Calling at All Musical Stations spotlights (you guessed it!) "train songs." The eleventh volume of Ace's The London American Label series is here, with 28 selections

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Categories: News Formats: CD Genre: Blues, Country, Pop, R&B/Soul Tags: Chuck Berry, Neil Sedaka, The Righteous Brothers, The Ronettes, The Vogues, Various Artists

January 29, 2015 By Joe Marchese 5 Comments

London American 1965

With the recently-released tenth volume of its year-by-year chronicle, Ace’s The London American Label series revisits 1965.  Though America was swept up in the sounds of the British Invasion, Great Britain was still interested in the music from the United States – as evidenced by the 27 selections here drawn from 72 singles.  That said, the tide was turning; London American issued 109 singles in 1964 and 177 in 1963.  Hit-wise, though, the London American label yielded 11 chart records in 1965

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Categories: News Formats: CD Genre: Pop, R&B/Soul Tags: Burt Bacharach, Lou Johnson, The Righteous Brothers, The Ronettes, The Vogues, Various Artists

June 20, 2013 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

london american 1964

1964 will forever be remembered on American shores as the year of Beatlemania, when those four moptops from Liverpool led the British Invasion to the top of the pop charts.  That tale has been chronicled many times, but one of the most recent releases from U.K.-based label Ace tells the story of the year's American Invasion - via the American records imported to London on the London American label.  This latest volume in the long-running series (which now features an entry for each year between

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Categories: News Formats: CD Genre: Pop, R&B/Soul Tags: Lou Johnson, Louis Armstrong, Otis Redding, The Crystals, The Drifters, The Ronettes

March 11, 2013 By Joe Marchese 5 Comments

mann and weil born to be together1

Born to Be Together: could a more apropos title have been devised for a collection of the songs of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil?  Married since 1961, the team both defines and defies the phrase “unsung heroes.”  Without hit records as recording artists, Mann and Weil have never had the name recognition of their Brill Building-era compatriots like Carole King or Neil Sedaka, but these Grammy Award-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Famers are hardly unsung.  If all they’d ever written was the most

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Categories: News, Reviews Tags: The Crystals, The Drifters, The Monkees, The Righteous Brothers, The Ronettes

September 26, 2012 By Joe Marchese 2 Comments

the ramones heard them here first

Ace Records is cheering “Gabba gabba hey!” with the recent release of The Ramones Heard Them Here First, an overview charting the influences behind New York’s seminal punk pioneers.  Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee and Tommy didn’t exactly try to hide their inspirations when they included a cover of Chris Montez’ 1962 hit “Let’s Dance” on their debut long-player Ramones in 1976 and over the years, they continued to tip the hat to rock and roll heroes from The Ronettes to The Beach Boys.  The new

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Categories: News Tags: Louis Armstrong, Love, Motörhead, Ramones, The Beach Boys, The Byrds, The Ronettes

May 24, 2012 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

greenwich and barry1

The union of Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry was a brief one.  Married in 1962, the same year that they began a songwriting partnership, they were divorced in 1965.  Their professional partnership only continued for a short time thereafter.  And to this day, the team of Greenwich and Barry is spoken of in the same breath as two other successful Brill Building husband-and-wife teams, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil (married 1961, still going strong!) and Gerry Goffin and Carole King (married 1959,

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Categories: News Formats: CD Genre: Pop Tags: Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry, The Crystals, The Monkees, The Ronettes

May 11, 2012 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

the crystals twist uptown1

It's once again time to go back to mono.  Sundazed has just announced the vinyl reissue of four classic albums from Phil Spector's Philles label.  On July 31, The Ronettes' Presenting The Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica by the Ronettes; Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah by Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans; and The Crystals' Uptown and He's A Rebel will all receive the Sundazed treatment.  All four albums were reissued on CD last year from Phil Spector Records and Legacy Recordings as part of The Philles

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Categories: News Tags: Phil Spector, The Crystals, The Ronettes, Vinyl

December 7, 2011 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

let it snow

With each holiday season inevitably comes a new Christmas-themed compilation CD from Starbucks, combining rare and familiar tracks from artists new and old, designed as the perfect accompaniment for that venti skinny Peppermint Mocha!  2011’s entry in the annual series, Let It Snow, features Michigan singer/songwriter Rosie Thomas’ recording of the Jule Styne/Sammy Cahn title song, along with fifteen other tracks.  Some tracks are from the “usual suspects” (Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley) and others

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Categories: News Tags: Bing Crosby, Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, The Ronettes

October 25, 2011 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

presenting ronettes

Whoa-oh, a-whoa-oh-oh-oh! Think of The Ronettes' wail, every bit as iconic a cry as a-whop-bop-a-loo-a-whop-bam-boom.  Doesn't rock and roll have a way of elevating onomatopoeia to poetry?  And no label made sweeter poetry in the first half of the 1960s than Philles Records.  The voices of Ronnie Spector, Darlene Love, La La Brooks, Barbara Alston and the rest spoke directly to America’s teenagers.  These women, alternately vulnerable and defiant, were little more than girls when they began

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Categories: News Formats: Box Sets Tags: Phil Spector, The Crystals, The Ronettes

October 25, 2011 By Mike Duquette Leave a Comment

spector philles box

It's Tuesday, but most of the new music this week has already been out for a day. But assuming you were too busy to get out to the shops, here's a look at what's new. And there's quite a bit! Various Artists, Phil Spector Presents The Philles Album Collection (Phil Spector Records/Legacy) Six of the first seven Philles albums presented in mono, along with a bonus disc of those delightfully out-there instrumental B-sides. Seriously, have you heard any of them? They're crazy. In a good way, that

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Categories: News, Release Round-Up Tags: Mumford & Sons, Neil Young, Nirvana, Paul Simon, Pearl Jam, Phil Spector, The Crystals, The Mamas and The Papas, The Monkees, The Ronettes, The Supremes, The Temptations

October 19, 2011 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

rock hall live

Since its formation on April 20, 1983, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has inducted a slate of accomplished musicians into its ranks on a yearly basis, causing excitement, consternation and everything in between.  Though the worthiness of nominees and inductees is hotly debated with each “class” and a number of distinguished artists continue to be ignored year after year, one thing can be agreed upon: a lot of great music has been played for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  It continues to host

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Categories: News Formats: Box Sets Tags: Billy Joel, Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Prince, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, The Doors, The Mamas and The Papas, The Righteous Brothers, The Rolling Stones, The Ronettes, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, U2

August 4, 2011 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

spector philles box

Well, get a load of that!  This is the photo I've been waiting for - and if you're reading this, chances are you've been waiting with bated breath, too!  As of August 4, we have official confirmation that Legacy's Phil Spector Presents the Philles Album Collection is, indeed, coming on October 18, along with a two-disc retrospective as part of the label's long-running Essential series. Most purchasers of Legacy's first wave of Philles Records reissues last February took immediate notice of a

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Categories: News Formats: Box Sets Tags: Phil Spector, The Crystals, The Ronettes

April 14, 2011 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

london american 1963

It’s 1963. Imagine a label that counted Roy Orbison, Darlene Love, James Brown, The Drifters and Jerry Lee Lewis all among its artists. While such an array of talent never convened under one roof in America, it was a very different story in the United Kingdom. The U.K.’s  Decca Record Company indeed brought all of those artists, and more, under the umbrella of its London American label. London American delivered the best in American pop, R&B and rock and roll to British audiences. Ace is

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Categories: News Tags: Roy Orbison, The Crystals, The Righteous Brothers, The Ronettes

February 22, 2011 By Joe Marchese 12 Comments

the very best of the crystals

If Phil Spector didn’t exist, someone would have had to invent him. Spector scored his first chart-topper as writer, artist and arranger in 1958 with “To Know Him is to Love Him” performed his by group, the Teddy Bears. But a 1960 apprenticeship with famed songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller convinced the ambitious young man that his future was behind the scenes as a producer. (His 1960 stint with Leiber and Stoller also yielded “Spanish Harlem,” which Spector co-wrote with Leiber.) With

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Categories: Reviews Tags: The Crystals, The Ronettes

February 22, 2011 By Mike Duquette Leave a Comment

the very best of phil spector 61 661

In another time, in another place, I would not be writing this review of Legacy's new Phil Spector compilation with a slight pang of melancholy. And you wouldn't be reading it with the possible tug at the heartsrings you might face now. Phil Spector was one of the most significant pop producers of the 20th century - a creator of pop music as a blissful, romantic, universal commodity - but recent events have ensured that anyone who speaks his name today does so with hesitation, with knowledge of

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Categories: Reviews Tags: The Crystals, The Righteous Brothers, The Ronettes

February 22, 2011 By Mike Duquette Leave a Comment

from memphis to hollywood

Johnny Cash, Bootleg 2: From Memphis to Hollywood (Columbia/Legacy) Rarities from the Man in Black, including rare radio performances, demos and single sides. (Official site) Various Artists, Wall of Sound: The Very Best of Phil Spector / The Ronettes, Be My Baby: The Very Best of the Ronettes / The Crystals, Da Doo Ron Ron: The Very Best of The Crystals / Darlene Love, The Sound of Love: The Very Best of Darlene Love (Phil Spector Records/Legacy) Legacy finally gets things going with their

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Categories: News, Release Round-Up Tags: The Crystals, The Flying Burrito Brothers, The Monkees, The Ronettes

January 17, 2011 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

the very best of the crystals

When Sony announced in September 2009 that rights had been acquired from EMI Music Publishing to reissue Phil Spector's Philles catalogue after years of neglect from the ABKCO label, great anticipation was in the air. A major campaign was planned by Sony's Legacy division with projects in development including "Artist's Playlists, Best-of collections, and first-ever releases of Philles studio rarities - as well as facsimile reproductions of original singles and albums," but since that heady

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Categories: News Tags: The Crystals, The Ronettes

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