Larry Page RIP - the Teenage Rage

A couple more music deaths to catch up on. Larry Page, who has died aged 86, was promoted as the 'Teenage Rage' when his career was launched in the late fifties. He received his moniker from a Sunday newspaper journalist and his bespectacled look set him apart from other pop contenders. He made appearances on TV shows such as 'Six Five Special' and 'Thank Your Lucky Stars' and he toured with Cliff Richard. But records such as 'Under Control' showed that he didn't have a great voice. He realised this and made his mark as a manager, record producer and record label owner in the sixties. Indeed his management career rivals that of sixties legends such as Brian Epstein and Andrew Loog Oldham. He was involved with early sixties artists such as Johnny B Great and girl group the Orchids along with the Riot Squad, but in 1963 he became one of three managers of the Ravens, who became the Kinks. They of course enjoyed great success but not always a harmonious relationship with Page. The partnership broke up acrimoniously and Page eventually lost a court battle for a 10 per cent share of their earnings. But by this time he had found a new group, Andover-based the Troggs. Their recording of Chip Taylor's 'Wild Thing' was a smash hit and led to a string of successes over the following few years. Page set up his own label, Page One, in partnership with music publisher Dick James, and released a variety of records ranging from US soul such as Pic and Bill, West African Highlife and material by the Larry Page Orchestra. His relationship with the Troggs eventually resulted in another court case and Page One closed down, but, undeterred, Page went on to found Penny Farthing records. This had initial success with 'Venus' by Shocking Blue but despite an early release by Heatwave the label steered towards middle of the road records by artists such as Daniel Boone and Johnny Pearson and included items such as the Chelsea club song 'Blue Is The Colour'. He went on to launch yet another label, Rampage, before reviving his original Page One name in the eigthies. RIP The Teenage Rage.

Another recent death is that of keyboard player Mike Pinder, aged 82, who was the last surviving original member of the Moody Blues. He performed on all the seven Moody Blues albums up to 1974 and was one of the first musicians to play the mellotron. He released a solo album 'The Promise' in 1976.

Chan Romero RIP

Chan Romero, who has reportedly died aged 82, had his moment of fame in 1959 when he recorded one of the great Latino rockers of all time 'The Hippy Hippy Shake'. The record became something of a Latino rock and roll anthem. It was of course covered in rather limp fashion by the Swinging Blue Jeans, but this was merely a poor shadow of Chan's original. Chan came from Montana and was inspired by seeing Elvis perform 'Hound Dog' on the Steve Allen Show. He tried to interest Specialty records in his song 'My Little Ruby' (later the follow up to his big hit) but it was Bob Keane's Del-Fi label that signed him after he sent a demo of his 'Hippy' record to him. Following the death of fellow chicano rocker Ritchie Valens he seemed like a natural successor, but 'Hippy Hippy Shake' failed to make much of a splash in the US. Indeed, Bob Keane, in his autobiography 'The Oracle of Del-Fi', doesn't even give Chan Romero a mention. The record did gain a UK release however, which led to UK beat groups such as the Beatles and, of course, the Swinging Blue Jeans, including it in their stage shows. It was also successful in Australia and he toured there with Jerry Lee Lewis. Chan's vocal and cultural resemblance to Ritchie Valens led to him becoming close to Valens' mother and he stayed at her home during his visits to Los Angeles, even sleeping in Valens' bedroom apparently. He remained in touch with the Valens family and performed regularly at the Ritchie Valens memorial concert held yearly in Pacoima, California. Sadly his recording career stalled after 'My Little Ruby' and although he recorded a couple more 45s in the mid sixties ('Funny Things' for Challenge and 'Humpy Bumpy' for Philips), none of them came close to matching his big hit.

Another recent death is that of Dickey Betts, singer and guitarist with the Allman Brothers Band, at the age of 80. After Duane Allman's death in 1971 he became the main guitarist in the band and wrote many of the songs on the 'Brothers and Sisters' album, including 'Ramblin' Man' and 'Jessica'. Betts' first solo album 'Highway Call' was released in 1974 and subsequent albums included 'Dickey Betts and great Southern' and 'Stlanta's Burning Down'.

Farewell to the Frogman

It's very sad news that Clarence 'Frogman' Henry has died aged 87. Clarence was a regular in Bourbon Street and at New Orleans Jazzfest - indeed I saw him perform at last year's festival and he appeared to be having the time of his life. I wrote at the time: 'Next was a real highlight, Clarence 'Frogman' Henry, in a wheelchair and lacking quite a few teeth but still in fine voice and clearly enjoying himself. He was note perfect on 'But I Do' and 'You Always Hurt The One You Love' and showed he can still 'sing like a girl and sing like a frog' on 'Ain't Got No Home'.' He was often seated as he suffered back problems but always put on a marvellously entertaining show. His first hit 'Ain't Got No Home', way back in 1956, showed off his vocal range and his croak earned him his 'Frogman' name, but his biggest successes, especially in the UK, came in 1961 with 'But I Do' and 'You Always Hurt The One You Love'. I know that several Woodies experienced his hospitality when they visited his home in Algiers but I missed out on that particular New Orleans trip. But I did see him when he toured the UK in the early sixties with Bobby Vee and Tony Orlando. I saw him perform at Jazzfest on countless occasions and at the Ponderosa Stomp and he was without exception a joy to behold. I am reminded by Tony Burke that he also did a summer season at Scarborough in 1983 with Cannon and Ball! He was the epitome of good time New Orleans R and B - not subtle perhaps but highly enjoyable. I for one will miss him as in many ways he summed up just what it is that makes New Orleans such a great place to visit. The top picture shows Clarence with me at Jazzfest in 1989. The photo below shows him at Jazzfest in 2023. Bottom photo shows three of his albums: the 'Legendary' LP was recorded in Stockport in 1983. RIP the one and only 'Frogman'.

Freakbeat finds

I had a bit of luck at my regular car boot sale recently when I picked up several 'Freakbeat' singles by bands such as the Birds (with an I not a Y), the Creation and the Artwoods. They are all pretty collectable, as are many other original sixties 45s that fit into the Freakbeat genre. But what is Freakbeat exactly? According to Wikipedia it's 'a loosely defined subgenre of rock and roll music developed mainly by harder-driving British groups during the Swinging London period of the mid-to late 1960s. The genre bridges British Invasion R&B, beat and psychedelia.' The word was apparently invented by music journalist Phil Smee who compiled a series of 'Rubble' compilations in the eighties featuring the genre. Since then there have been other compilations but it seems quite hard to pin down. There are similarities to such bands as the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds but it seems that to really qualify as a Freakbeat band your records have to be quite obscure and not very successful at the time they were made. Apart from the bands mentioned above other leading Freakbeat bands include the Sorrows, the Pretty Things and Brinsley Schwarz. There's a Joe Meek compilation that includes tracks by the Syndicats, the Buzz and Jason Eddie and the Centremen, all of whose singles go for big prices. A couple of the Birds singles that I picked up are covers of Motown songs by Eddie Holland ('Leaving Here') and Marvin Gaye ('No Good Without You Baby'), although the style is a long way from that of its Detroit original. As for quality, there's probably a reason why they didn't make it big in the sixties in many cases, but for record collectors it would appear to be a niche area that is both expensive and exclusive.