Tune Tag #47 with Jared the Curator: Carpenters, Kenny Rankin, Harlem Shakes, Buzzcocks, Kenny Rogers, Barry Manilow
Wow! Barry and the Buzzcocks! Two Kenny R's! Harlem Shakes?🍓Make mine strawberry! The mind boggles at the possibilities in this Tune Tag, and Jared the Curator doesn't disappoint!
Then, Tune Tag, it is! Welcome, Jared!
Tune Tag welcomes of The Wax Museum!
Jared Smith curates The Wax Museum on Substack, and created Vinyl on Sale, the Internet’s #1 vinyl deal finder. His mission is to elevate the quantity and quality of your record collection. A passionate physical media advocate, Jared is always on the hunt for the next great sound!
Last week, we were graced by the musical presence of of Rock’n’Roll With Me!
Next week, we can expect fun galore from from Song of the Day!
Jared’s song #1 sent to Brad: Harlem Shakes, “Strictly Game,” 2009
Jared’s rationale: There was something magical in the water back in 2009. Within months, the music gods blessed us with Dirty Projectors’ Bitte Orca, Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavilion, Phoenix’s Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ It’s Blitz!, Grizzly Bear’s Veckatimest, and Passion Pit’s Manners.
This was the “blog rock era”—a carefree time for me in college running my own MP3 blog, Too Good For Radio (RIP). Writing about music and hitting up shows—what could be better?
One of those shows was Vampire Weekend, with Brooklyn’s Harlem Shakes opening. After that show, I became their unofficial hype man, convinced they were the next big thing. Spoiler alert: I was wrong.
Their debut album, Technicolor Health, dropped in March 2009, and by September, the band had called it quits! Listening to this record now is like finding an old love letter—it’s a bittersweet reminder of what could have been and one of my favorite overlooked albums of the “blog rock era”.
Brad’s song #1 sent to Jared: Kenny Rankin, “Spanish Harlem,” 2002
Jared’s response: We stay in NYC for Kenny Rankin’s “Spanish Harlem.” First time listen, so thanks for that. Sensual and jazzy, muy bien. I dove into the rest of the album (Rankin’s last hurrah, as he passed away at 69 in 2009…there’s that year again: when Harlem Shakes dropped their lone album and broke up) and got hooked on his take of Thelonious Monk’s “Round Midnight.” Smooth as silk, that one.
Brad’s rationale: Matching Jeremy’s Harlem Shakes group with Phil Spector and Jerry Leiber’s classic “Spanish Harlem” (an original 1960 #10 hit for Ben E. King), as done by singer/guitarist/songwriter, Kenny Rankin, who also arranged, in case you’re as enchanted by those key changes as I.
This is from Rankin’s A Song For You album, produced by longtime veterans, Tommy LiPuma and Al Schmitt. The session players were unusually numerous, and worth checking out, with many well known jazz players present!
Jared’s song #2: The Headhunters, “God Make Me Funky,” 1975
Brad’s response: Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters, formed in 1973. This ‘75 album debut was on Arista Records, produced by Hancock and David Rubinson. Tough to find a connection between Jared’s Headhunters track and the Rankin “Spanish Harlem” cover.
Jared’s rationale: Whenever I think of “Spanish Harlem,” for better or worse, my mind drifts to the ubiquitous-at-the-time, “Maria Maria,” from Santana’s 18th album, Supernatural, released in 1999.
This track (above, featuring The Product G&B), which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for ten weeks, samples the drum beat from “God Make Me Funky” (with The Pointer Sisters) by jazz fusion band, Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters in 1975, while the melody riff takes its cue from the Wu-Tang Clan’s “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing ta F*** Wit.”
Wyclef Jean was the mastermind behind the “Maria Maria” beat (and, he co-wrote the song with Jerry “Wonda” Duplessis, Carlos Santana, Karl Perazzo, and Raul Rekow); he was one of many to sample The Headhunters’ head-nodding drum groove, a group that included The Roots, De La Soul, and Eric B. & Rakim.
Jared also recommends this live version of the song performed the same year (1975):
Brad’s song #2: Barry Manilow, “New York City Rhythm,” 1975
Jared’s response: Staying in 1975 and speaking of Santana, holy guacamole, listen to that very Santana-esque breakdown in the back half of this one, with the “Nueva York” chants over the guitar, drum, and organ solos! Was not expecting that from Manilow, and would have loved to catch this one live.
Brad’s rationale: 2 matches to Jared’s song: Year and label. Both The Headhunters album and Barry’s Tryin’ to Get the Feeling album were both on Arista Records in 1975. This was the opening track on the album (never a single…in the States, anyway; the single shown in the video is a Latin American release), “New York City Rhythm,” and was written by Manilow and longtime collaborator, Marty Panzer.
The two grew up within blocks of each other in Brooklyn, and actually met while working in the CBS-TV/New York mailroom together in the mid-’60s.
I’m also shamelessly matching the R&B/dance vibe of the Manilow song to “God Make Me Funky” and the very New York-“Spanish Harlem” song before it with Barry’s mid-song Latin break-down in “NYC Rhythm”!
I see Jared’s phoned in a request, and the switchboard has passed this along….it seems Jared would love to see Barry perform “New York City Rhythm” in concert! Well, I caught Barry, live, a couple times in Houston in the late ‘70s, and loved his shows! Yes, call me a cab, call me collect, call me irresponsible, but, also call me a happy Fanilow!
This concert clip’s perfect for several reasons: He’s back in Texas (Midland), and it’s 1995, well within the peak of his performing powers! Plus, he’s doing a 5-song medley, which, para mi dinero, shows off Manilow’s super-power…his arranging skills!
Whatever you might think of Manilow, whether you think he’s just a gooey pile of marsh-Manilow Fluff, or you’re too cool for his school, please appreciate the fact that everything you see and hear during these 9 minutes, he created, coordinated, produced, and….here’s the key….arranged…all 5 songs, one into another:
The choreography, the staging, the key changes, the segues…everything! You even get the surprise appearance of Debra Byrd, one of his three Lady Flash background singers back in the ‘70s (she appears on the far left of the 3 singers)!
A decade later (in the early noughts), she popped up on FOX’s American Idol for ten seasons as contestant vocal coach! Plus, I’m saddened, now, to learn of her unfortunate passing this past March at 72. So, along with Jared and our readers, this one’s for Debra:
Here’s a quick 3-minute vid of Barry demonstrating and explaining how he slowed down the arrangement and tempo on “New York City Rhythm” for a recent album. Barry has had a fully-functioning recording studio in his home for years, and has mastered the digital side of creating his music there!
Finally, an incredible 21-minute non-stop medley of what has to be close to 20 song snippets of his hits performed by Barry and his band, recorded in 1990 on Broadway! Truly a master class in arranging and performance endurance! Click here to see the YouTube video!
Jared’s song #3: Kenny Rogers, “Through the Years,” 1981
Brad’s response: Marty Panzer! Barry’s longtime songwriting partner (he co-wrote “New York City Rhythm” with Barry) co-wrote “Through the Years” with Steve Dorff, a recently-acquired Facebook friend! I never knew who wrote this Kenny hit, and never knew Panzer co-wrote with anyone but Barry! Now, I’ll need to see if Dorff’n’Panzer pitched this to Barry before it landed with Kenny (on a song produced by Lionel Richie)! Very cool Tag, Jared!
Jared’s rationale: Manilow’s frequent songwriter, Marty Panzer, penned this gem for Barry, but he passed on it. That opened the door for “The Gambler,” turning it into one of his most beloved hits. I bet Barry’s kicking himself for letting this one slip, because listening back, it sounds like a classic Manilow ballad.
In fact, according to Songfacts, “Panzer wrote the lyric, which he brought to Dorff’s house, where they were having dinner. According to Dorff, they put the music to the song in just 15 minutes while they were waiting to eat.
“Kenny was actually the third or fourth person who was approached with that song,” Dorff continued. “Manilow and Mac Davis passed on it. Glen Campbell passed on it. Those were the notable ones. Lionel Richie had heard the song and loved it and played it for his people and that’s how it happened. I got a phone call from Gene Page, that great arranger, who called me and said, ‘Congratulations! We just cut your song with Kenny Rogers, and it sounds amazing!’”
Brad’s song #3: Carpenters, “I Just Fall in Love Again,” 1977
Jared’s response: I think the thread here, which I didn’t realize until researching, is that Karen Carpenter auditioned to be a vocalist in Kenny Rogers and The First Edition, but got rejected. Imagine that parallel universe! Her voice is pure heaven here, matching Richard’s lush arrangements. One of the best to ever do it.
[Brad butts in: I hadn’t heard about that Carpenters/First Edition audition, either, Jared. In looking it up, there appears to be some verification from a reputable source: Click here, readers, and you can read the discourse on a blog site called A&M Corner.
As for fellow native Houstonian, Rogers, my mom (an entertainment booking agent for years) used to book Kenny into some Houston-area clubs in the ‘60s. Kenny also played bass in The Bobby Doyle Three (pictured above; Bobby, too, was a fellow Houstonian), and I recall that name from Mom having booked them in the early-’60s.]
Brad’s rationale: My link, here, was the other writer who collabbed on the Kenny Rogers song with Marty Panzer: Steve Dorff, who usually worked in the country lane, co-wrote this MOR ballad with Larry Herbstritt, co-writers Dorff, Harry Lloyd, and Gloria Sklerov. Herbstritt had composed the melody and chords for the chorus and a chord progression for the verse, which he took to his friend, Dorff.
Harry Lloyd and Gloria Sklerov completed the lyrics. The song was originally recorded by The Carpenters and later covered by Dusty Springfield and Anne Murray, who was unaware Springfield had recorded it just 6 months prior!
Jared’s song #4: Phantogram, “Fall in Love,” 2014
Brad’s response: At first glance, it appears Jared is matching the middle three words of the Carpenters song with the “Fall in Love” by Phantogram.
Jared’s rationale: Taking us back to The Big Apple with Phantogram, who cranks up the tempo with “Fall in Love.” Phantogram is made up of friends, Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter -- Carter made this killer beat for an MC like Jay-Z to rap over, but Sarah snagged it for herself, and the world is better for it. It’s one of the most addictive songs I’ve ever heard; a decade later, and it’s still an un-skippable track on my playlist.
Brad’s song #4: Buzzcocks, “Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve),” 1978
Jared’s response: To my recollection, this is the only Buzzcocks song I recognize! This led me to their singles compilation Singles Going Steady, and I’m loving what I’m hearing: Catchy pop with punk rock energy. The drumming especially stands out on first listen. I’d never guess they were still an active band touring, with an album out as recently as 2022, with Sonics in the Soul!
For more on The Buzzcocks and their “Ever Fallen in Love,” see this excellent article from the always entertaining
and her Songs That Saved Your Life:Brad’s rationale: More “fallin’ in love”! In fact, here’s some more….a 1995 bonus from La Bouche (Lane McCray and Belle Johnson), covering Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds’ #1 U.S. smash from 1975, “Fallin’ in Love,” written by Joe Hamilton:
Absolutely thrilled to be Tune Taggin with Brad, diving into these picks were a blast. Who knew Manilow had Santana vibes?
Huge thanks to all you music lovers for reading, keep those records spinning!
This story doesn't have anything to do with the article really, but y'all mentioned Kenny Rogers, so you brought it on yourself.
When I was a little kid, probably 6 or 7, I went to the dentist to get my first filling. Understandably, I was nervous, but the dentist had a walkman and a selection of tapes to help put patients at ease. He asked me what I wanted to listen to, but I was young and I didn't know very many artists' names. At the time, I only owned a couple of tapes myself, but one of them was the Top Gun soundtrack, so I knew Kenny Loggins, and I threw his name out there. The nurse misheard me though, and put on the Gambler. So for the next 45 minutes or so, I sat there listening to Kenny Rogers, thinking the rest of Kenny Loggins' stuff was way different than Danger Zone. When I mentioned this after the filling was done, they explained the mix-up and had a good laugh.
Strangely enough, this did not turn me against Kenny Rogers. I've had many unpleasant visits to many sadistic dentists since that day, but my first dentist was the exception. (Unfortunately, he was forced to retire and passed away due to cancer only a year or two after that. I wanted this story to be amusing, not a downer, but that part of the story sucks, I'm afraid.) In fact, it's given me a soft spot for the Gambler that persists to this day. Generally, Kenny Roger's style of music is not my thing, but I'll never turn him off the radio, thanks to a minor misunderstanding at the dentist nearly four decades ago.