Audio Autopsy, 1981👟Sneaker: 2 Albums, 1 Hit + Steely Dan Guitarist, Jeff Baxter, Producing
They took their name from a Steely Dan song, covered one of their songs, and even had their guitarist produce their only two albums! Pretzel logic that focused should've paid off!
Not to be confused with Alex Chilton’s, Chris Stamey’s, and Mitch Easter’s (pre-dB’s and Let’s Active) Sneakers.
The group’s name, “Sneaker,” was taken from the Steely Dan song “Bad Sneakers” (above) from their 1975 album, Katy Lied, a fact confirmed by Michael Carey Schneider, who co-wrote “More Than Just the Two of Us” with guitarist, Mitch Crane.
From Westcoast.dk: “Sneaker was formed in Los Angeles in 1973, and would probably not be remembered at all aside from their status as one-hit wonders and their association with Doobie Brothers/Steely Dan guitarist, Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, who produced their two Handshake Records albums (self-titled 1981 debut, and 1982’s Loose in the World).”
So, there are two Steely Dan references in the two above paragraphs. But, there’s a third Dan reference: The fact that they recorded a Walter Becker/Donald Fagen song, “Don’t Let Me In,” as their follow-up to their “More Than Just the Two of Us” single.
We recently unearthed the post-Bard, little-known staff-songwriting career of the Dan duo before they formed the band that recorded a tasty catalog of righteous tunes, and was inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame in 2001:
Back to Sneaker, and the Westcoast.dk site: “Featuring dual lead vocalists, Mitch Crane and Michael Carey Schneider, guitarist Tim Torrance, keyboardist Jim King, bass player Michael Cottage, and drummer, (Houstonian) Mike Hughes, they were signed to Handshake Records (distributed by CBS in the States), releasing a self-titled collection of soft pop in 1981.
“In addition to Baxter’s involvement, David Foster (clavinet on one song) and noted session percussionist, Paulinho da Costa also contributed. Their one shot at glory came in the form of the airy ballad, ‘More Than Just the Two of Us,’ which reached #34 on the charts in early 1982.”
Here they are on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand in early ‘82, in what appears to be a live performance. In the post-performance interview, Clark asks Houstonian Michael Hughes how the band found him. His reply? “They found me in the Pomona Valley Mining Co!” He had been drumming in a band there in about 1978, and Michael Schneider and Mitch were looking for a drummer to audition for Sneaker:
Sneaker appearing on The Merv Griffin Show:
And, here’s a performance on a Japanese TV show, Funky Tomato, also 1982:
“As a follow-up, Sneaker released a version of the Walter Becker/Donald Fagen composition “Don’t Let Me In” and, once it fell off the charts after a mere five weeks, the band would not chart again. The group released another album, Loose in the World, during 1982, but for Sneaker, the proverbial 15 minutes of fame had expired.”
In an interview with SteelyDanReader.com a decade later, their producer, Jeff “Skunk” Baxter (shown above), had very complimentary things to say about working with Sneaker:
Asked about their label, Handshake, Baxter replied: “One of my favorite albums, by a band called Sneaker, was on Handshake. Sneaker broke up after their second album.
“There had been some talk that a Japanese record company wanted to re-release their albums now. I hope so! [They did, in 2001] One of the most impressive bands I’ve ever had the opportunity to work with. I knew [former Epic Records exec and Handshake co-founder], Ron Alexenberg because he was president of Handshake Records, the company to which Sneaker was signed.”
Before we introduce what ended up being Sneaker’s second single, here’s a nifty cover of “More Than Just the Two of Us” by Filipino singer, Dianne Elise, from 2008:
“Don’t Let Me In” (Becker/Fagen)
Here’s the Becker/Fagen original, apparently an early recording of a song that didn’t appear on an album until several compilations highlighting Dan’s early work included it:
Sneaker’s pic sleeve for the single:
Definitely friends of The Merv Griffin Show, here they are showcasing the new single in 1981, as Merv interviews them briefly before they perform:
Sneaker Encore
Michael: “We were impressed when we found out a vocal group, The Mike Sammes Singers, covered our song ‘More Than Just the Two of Us.’ It was a ‘Muzak’ sort of recording which I once heard waiting in line at a post office! Quietly screaming inside, ‘Hey, that’s my song on the Muzak machine!!!’ ;o)
“We were even more impressed and very surprised to learn, years later, that The Mike Sammes Singers was the choir who also performed on The Beatles’ ‘I Am the Walrus,’ (Ho-ho-ho, Hee-hee-hee, Ha-ha-ha, and more), and ‘The Long and Winding Road’!”
Yet another coulda, shoulda, woulda kind of story that happens so often. I’m always left wondering what might’ve made the difference with bands like this that would’ve pushed them over the top.
What a great deep dive! Do you reckon the performances by Sneaker are live or mimed? They sound way too perfect to be fully live, but talented musicians are often accused (in some cases, wrongly) of lip-synching.
What I like about "More Than Just The Two Of Us" is how unpretentious it is. True, it's a bit cheesy, like Steve says, but trust me, I've consumed (and still consume) my fair share of cheese, and I can confidently say... at least there's no obvious key change, or a big belt at the end! 🤣
Now, the other song, the Steely Dan cover, "Don't Let Me In", is probably an underappreciated gem. I love some rock 'n' roll with bluesy vibes, sliding vocals and some edgy rhythm! I must confess I prefer the Sneaker version, particularly the vocals. They just hit the notes more precisely (just off the top of my head, I haven't done any research on this, but I suspect this might be due to the age difference between the respective singers at the time of recording).
Merv Griffin's comments on their hair though 😂😂 oh, how times have changed!