Love Potion Number 9

 

From L. to R. : Sharon, Janice, Pat

The Mam'selles - Love Potion Number 9 (Bison LP)

From their Bison Records LP issued in 1971 and re-issued in 2021 by Beat Rocket. Label is from Buffalo, New York. Recorded in Nashville at Woodland Sound Studio, opened n 1968 at 1011 Woodland Street by audio engineer Glenn Snoddy.

On this track, Janice Plinkze  - lead vocal; Sharon Walker - Cordovox; Janice Plinkze : drums :  

 

Jackson

 

Jackson

"Jackson" was first recorded by The Kingston Trio in 1963. Written by Jerry Leiber and Billy Edd Wheeler. Although Jerry Leiber co-wrote this song, his wife Gaby Rogers got the writing credit. For a list of cover versions see Second Hand Songs.

This version is from the album "Sunday Afternoon" by Reid and Bobbi Northrup and the New Arkansas Travelers, issued by Tarot Recordings. Recorded at Vibra-Sound Studio in Schenectady, Upstate New York. Date unknown (circa 1970?)

Joe Sixpack has excellently reviewed that album :

A charmingly rough-edged (yet ambitious) set of regional twang by a husband-wife duo who were active in the Northwestern country music scene. The Northrups were from East Berne, New York (near Schenectady) and performed with various backing bands for many years in the late '60s and early '70s, most notably this group, the New Arkansas Travelers. [...]
As far as I know, this was their only album, but it's a doozy. It opens with a gloriously flawed rendition of "Jackson," where both singers flub their delivery, and seem to forget the lyrics while their hotshot guitarist keeps the hot licks coming. [...] All in all, a fine example of "real people" regional twang, with some lively, committed performances, particularly my Bobbi Northrup, who combined a mousy little voice with a wicked, Wanda Jackson-style snarl. Fun stuff!

Born in 1939, Bobbi Northrup was the daughter of Clarence "Pee Wee" Overbaugh, a popular area musician, who passed away in 1945, at the age of 34. He sang and played tenor banjo with the Arkansas Cowboys band (who were from Schenectady, not Arkansas).

Roberta "Bobbi" Overbaugh Northrup, 76, passed away on August 1, 2015, at her home in Converse, Texas. She lived in Berne and Altamont most of her life, moving to Converse when her husband passed away. Bobbi and Reid opened Heldeberg Appliance in East Berne and later moved the business to Altamont. She was trained as a bookkeeper, and also managed the concessions for the Altamont Fair for a number of years.

Reid Northrup retired and moved to Florida, where he passed away in December, 2000.

 

Little Girl

Bob Dell

ML-23 Stars Come Twisting In (Del Giorno-Levandowski) S212-101
ML-24 little girl (Del Giorno-Levandowski) S212-102

 RD Records, 132 Boston St. Syracuse, N. Y.

This is Robert Del Giorno, then DJ on WOLF radio, in Syracuse as Bob Dell. The backing band (uncredited) is Paul [Levansdowki] and the Velvets.

Disc jockeys recordings have, most of the time, this uninhibited and amateurish quality that I like.

132 Boston St. Syracuse, once the home of
Robert Del Girono (and of RD Records)

When It's Time

Mike Rogers
Nashville Jamband

JOiFU 149

When It's Time
wr. joi dibrango - fu wilson

Oddity from 1975.  Who were Joyce Di Brango and Frank Wilson, sole owners of JOiFU Records, located at 102 Hobart Street, in Utica, N.Y.? I can't find much info about them. 

Joi (Joyce Lauraine DiBrango) was born in 1944.  A 1959 newspaper tells us that she was a member of The Utica Grammar School Girls Basketball League team that wins a city “sports day” tournament  and that she was from Roosevelt School.

Even more mysterious is Fu aka Frank Edward Wilson, born in 1912.

JOiFU Records was active in the seventies and released two "Broadway Musical Show" albums and several singles recorded by 

Mike Rogers, 
Gene Marshall, 

Gene Marshall & The Clicking Flicks, 

Jim Fraser, 

Big Jim Biji (Jim Fraser?) And The Biji Roks, 

Connie Heywey And The Biji Roks

Connie Wayne and the Winchester Beegees.

Text (mixing upper and lower case) found on the back of their second album cover is a complete nonsense :

Excerpt:

This is the 2nd Broadway Musical Project by ASCAP writers/publishers and record label owners Joyce Lauraine Dibrango "joi" and Frank Edward Wilson "fu" from Utica New York. They are experienced veteran professional all music artists, Jazrok is their paramount style and Frank's stint with the Utica Civic Orchestra brought the USA National Title to that Group in the 1950's.  

"Rocking with Barbara" song 5 explains "Queen Barbara" is the real USA all Music Queen. She is Real. You may see her any day at her executive office desk. Her 1970-1980 The greatest in all time USA history. That gigantic.

 More later, hopefully...

Frank "Fu" Wilson
Broadwady ASCAP

Chloe

Sister Grace Capellas

Chloe

According to Sister Grace Capellas once the soloist of The Singing Sisters :

There is a unique connection between the artist and the Divine. When we look at the life of St. Francis of Assisi, he was a troubadour. Francis used his musical gifts to serve the Lord. Like him, if there is a need and you have the talents, you must use them. Sometimes gifts can get suppressed, but we must not hide them as in the parable of the steward who buried the talents given him. In the same vein, from the very beginning my mother told me, “When you sing, you must always offer it up to God.” Performance is prayer.

When I was in Syracuse in New York, I was the soloist of the Singing Sisters of Syracuse. We did albums and even cut a gold record. I remember always getting these beautiful floral bouquets after performances and taking them to my room. One day, one of the sisters said to me, “Don’t you want to put your flowers in chapel?” Having already offered up my work to God, I quipped, “No, God gets the singing; I get the flowers.”

"Chloe" was originally released on a Century Custom album in 1965 (#20991).  Track here is from the CD "The Annoying Music Show"

Welcome Heartache

Green Mountain 1130
"Starday custom" from Glens Falls, New York

late '65 or early '66?

Bernadette Williams has been a regular with Pete Williams and the Ranchers on WRGB-TV in the mid-sixties and has sung on radio stations in Schenectady. She also has shared the stage with Hank Snow, Dottie West, and Ernie Tubbs,   Inducted into The New York State Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in 2002.

Welcome Heartache

Freddie's Marilyn

Here is Freddie Dino backed by his Fabulous Jerrels on Star Artists, a Rochester label, pressed by the Capitol Records custom division in 1965.  This is the last of three singles on Star Artists, soon renamed Capitol Star Artists, owned by Don Redanz assisted by Tony Powlowski (the Tony of The Don & Tony Show)

Is this the same Freddie Dino on the Queen label? I don't known

Freddie's Marilyn

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.

Louie Louie

The Moongazers
vocalist Gino Wertz

Louie Louie

Millbrook School

mid-sixties

Buck ?  lead guitar - Ron Artinian, drums - Peter Hazzard, rhythm guitar - Charlie Ingersoll, bass guitar

Not the worst cover of this classic garage song.  The Moongazers were a school band from Millbrook School in the New York State, a private school located in Dutchess County, New York, (county seat is Poughkeepsie). Rufus Wainwright attended this school which was later the inspiration for one of his songs.

Pete Hazzard   wrote his first compositions, The Horses' Hooves, and Evening Song, for violin and piano at the age of eight. He played violin studying in New York with Arlie Furman, and was a member of the New York Young People’s Orchestra. He also played guitar, and piano in both orchestras and dance bands throughout his youth. After graduation from Millbrook School and two years of study at Boston University, Mr. Hazzard entered the Berklee College of Music in 1968, receiving his Bachelor of Music in Composition in 1971.

Millbrook School

Staten Island Baby

Don Roberts & The Islanders

Staten Island Baby
Roberts, Island Music BMI

Plaza Records 103
Distr by Island Music
1964

Don't expect exotic tropical rhythms from these Islanders.  These Islanders called home Staten Island, the New York City less populated borough. 

Leader was probably this Donald Roberts who died in 2008.

He was VP of Construction for Shearson Lehman Hutton and Macy's NYC, and was Director of Construction for Consentini Associates. He managed and oversaw construction for many Hi Tech buildings all over the world.

He was also a successful leader and musician in the Don Roberts Orchestra, where he sang and played guitar in many of the Metropolitan area establishments. Later, he played with his son, Willy, as the Continental Duo/Don & Willy.

Bridgestone 90

 The Panthers

Bridgestone 90
T. Dishaw - J. Cunningham

D&C 12/13

1966

Massena, Upstate New York band led by Tommy Dishaw.

With the introduction of the 90 series to America in 1964 the Bridgestone 90’s placed Bridgestone in the American motorcycle market as a serious and dominating force.
With a total production sales of 51,000 by 1966 the 90 series was truly the model that proved it. Offered in nine different models the 90 series had the most models of any other series offered by Bridgestone to the U.S. market.