Vietnam Blues

Vietnam Blues

What better way to finish the month with a nice little depressing song?  Here is one, courtesy of Miss Earnestine Quick (of Arkansas, I assume) on the Jonesboro label Jon-Ark.

 

Have A Gluey Christmas

Have A Gluey Christmas

Georgie Holiday (r.n. Joseph Giorgio), a comic entertainer, has performed extensively in and around Boston, Massachusetts from the forties to the eighties.  The first mention of him I've found is from 1947 describing the artist as "the fantastically funny GEORGIE HOLIDAY".  Last mention is from 1980 : Sheraton Regency Resort Hotel: Floor show roster includes.singer Gayle Short, comic Georgie Holiday and Frankie Capri (the Italian Sammy Davis Jr ) plus the Jane Leonard Quartet for dancing.

The Date single, first issued for Christmas 1966, was re-issued the following year and reviewed by Cash Box :

“LITTLE” GEORGIE HOLIDAY (Date 1541)

Have A Gluey Christmas (3:11) [Razzle Dazzle, BMI-Holiday, Trovato]

Weird sense of humor on the part of a “child” sets up a funny side that

stands a chance of copping novelty honors for this year’s Christmas

sales. High-voiced lead, soft choral backdrop and a quaint ork sound make

for a wild bit of change-of-pace spinning. Flip: “Clarence the Cross-Eyed

Bear” (2:10) [Same credits.]

Cash Box — November 18, 1967

The Date label, a subsidiary of Columbia Records, promoted independently produced recordings as opposed to Columbia's in-house productions. This Date single was one of the earliest Eastern Productions, a firm formed in 1966  by singer & songwriter Teddy Randazzo.

Randazzo Forms Eastern Productions

NEW YORK — Eastern Productions,

an independent record production firm,

has been formed bv Teddy Randazzo.

The company will headquarter at

1631 Broadway (PL 7-7630). The

new enterprise will focus on and in-

corporate elements of Eastern music

in its disk productions.

Artists signed by Eastern to date

include Jeff Monn & the Third Bardo

and John Power & the Facts of Life.

A disk by the former group is due

for release shortly. Randazzo is ne-

gotiating pacts with several labels.

Producers for Eastern, in addition to

Randazzo, are Victoria Pike and Rusty

Evans.

Cash Box, 26 November 1966

Your Love Is My Goal

Your Love Is My Goal



The Top 40


 Tommy Biener
With Wendy & The Schoolgirls
Blackie Schackner and Orchestra

Your Love Is My Goal
T. Biener, Cal Cagno, A. Schackner  Beta Music BMI

The Top 40
Sy Levitan Michel Music ASCAP

Golden Crest label CR-501
1958

Billboard rev. May 19, 1958 :

TOMMY BIENER Golden Crest 501 TOP 40 (Michele, ASCAP) An effective novelty-blues with clever lyrics about a guy's personal fem hit parade. Swingin' backing by a fem group gives the disk a provocative sound. It rates whirls. Flip, "My Love Is Your Goal," is a medium-beater (Beta, BMI).

Born John Thomas Biener in New York (in 1937 or 1938).  John Byner's stand-up comedy career began in New York's Greenwich Village where he worked for a year for Max Gordon at Gordon's jazz club "Village Vanguard". He then went on to open for some of the finest jazz greats of his time and steadily became a favorite New York nightclub fixture. As he rose to the top of his game, he opened or headlined prominent niteries throughout the country included headlining stints at Basin Street East, Copa Cabana, Latin Quarter, The Rainbow Room and at such showrooms as Harrah's, The Sahara, The Sands, Caesar's Palace, The Tropicana and Las Vegas Hilton.

In the 1960's anyone want to get national exposure wanted to be on Ed Sullivan. For John Byner his big break came in 1964 when he was a feature act on the show. The highlight of his act was when he did an impression of Mr. Sullivan introducing Elvis Presley and then did a song as Elvis.

Waxmate of the month : Marva King

Born in Flint, Michigan, USA.  Marva King has been performing with major artists since the age of 13 with the Clarke Sisters and Andre Crouch. Marva was nurtured by a family of entertainers with gospel, classical, and secular music. Her mother, who is a vocal and piano teacher, between touring, nourished and influenced Marva's skills. Marva has taken audiences by storm in her stunning role as "Helen", the lead in the hit musical play "Diary Of A Mad Black Woman", which has been in theatres across the country since January, 2001.

In addition to her vast resume as a session singer—which also includes recordings by Lionel Richie, Whitney Houston, Jimmy Cliff and Chaka Khan—she co-wrote The Whispers’ single “Innocent,” which debuted at #4 on the Billboard Hot Singles Chart and sold more than one million units worldwide. King also wrote the lyrics & melody for ”A piece of Love” on Lionel Richie’s CD “Louder than words.” Over the years, she has performed live with Lenny Kravitz, Seal and William and toured with many affiliated hit makers.

King’s mesmerizing delivery inspired Larry Flick to write in Billboard, “Marva King is a supreme diva, and her name will go down in history as one of the best.” In 1997, Prince took her on the road, under his wing, and made her a member of his group, New Power Generation (NPG)—a stint that included recording on his New Power Soul album. In 2007, she reunited with Prince for another series of arena and intimate venue concerts, which included the record breaking “21 Nights Concerts” at the 02 Arena in the UK, as well as recording on his Lotus Flower recording in 2009; she also made several appearances in his bestselling coffee table book “21 Nights.” King managed 15 shows of her own in between the Prince dates. “Those two years were intense,” she says. “I was exhausted the entire time, yet it was so exciting. I learned a lot about performing from Prince.”
Other career highlights include Stevie Wonder hiring King as an eager teen; performing on “Natural Wonder,” a double album recorded live in Osaka and Tel Aviv in the mid 90’s.

Marva King official website