Eye For an Aye: The Nautical Log of Singer Diane Renay, Dated 1964--"Navy Blue" & "Kiss Me Sailor"
Armed with a rare pair of themed "sequel singles," Diane Renay surged full speed ahead into The British Invasion, armed only with a Crewe of one...hitmaker Bob.
Diane Renay didn’t know it at the time, in late 1963, but a musical tsunami was about to wash ashore and engulf the entire country in a wave of Beatlemania. She’d release the first of two oddly thematic singles in December, two short months before The Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show.
All it took was Ed bellowing, “Ladies and gentlemen, The Beatles!”…
…And, the careers of virtually everyone on the national record charts either came to a screeching halt in February 1964, or had to be radically altered. Self-contained groups (mostly from the UK, and armed with musicians who could write) began to march their way up the charts. The American entertainment media could justifiably call it a “British Invasion,” so they did.
These bands had songwriters already onboard, and all the Frankies (Sinatra, Avalon, Laine, Valli), Bobbys (Rydell, Vee, Vinton), and Diane Renays of the day, all of whom had to rely on outside writers for their material, were destined, if not doomed, to become instant relics.
Ahoy Matey! Diane Enlists Her Crewe
Renee Diane Kushner was born in July 1945 in South Philly, not far from the birthplaces of Todd Rundgren, Daryl Hall, and Tim Moore (who, while born in New York City, was raised in Philadelphia), and around the same post-war time frame as that musical trio.
Two singles for Atco Records (Atlantic Records subsidiary) in 1962 did nothing, and the label dropped the newly-renamed Diane Renay from their roster. Enter Bob Crewe, who had contributed writing and producing for her second Atco single, “A Dime a Dozen.”
Seeing the potential of the pretty, blonde 17-year-old, Crewe signed her to 20th Century-Fox Records, with the caveat that he be the one to guide her career, writing and producing (Charlie Calello arranged and conducted both nautical songs).
Sure Enough, The Expected Logjam at the Top
Right out of the box came “Navy Blue,” which peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart the week of my 9th birthday, mid-March 1964. Blocking the high-schooler’s path to the pinnacle? JohnPaulGeorgeandRingothankyouverymuch….holding a lock on #s 1 through 3, with “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “She Loves You,” and “Please Please Me,” respectively.
The Fab Four couldn’t be bothered with what songs were beneath them on the charts that week, as they were firmly ensconced at London’s Twickenham Film Studios, wrapping production on the “I Should Have Known Better” sequence (and other scenes) for A Hard Day’s Night. Not only that, but on March 16, Capitol Records (US) would release yet another single by The Beatles: “Can’t Buy Me Love” b/w “You Can’t Do That.”
Just what Diane needed to hear…more potential chart competition!
At #4 that same week was “Dawn (Go Away)” by the Four Seasons (led by one of those aforementioned Frankies!), a group that Renay’s new mentor, Bob Crewe, had more than a little to do with, eventually co-writing a string of Four Seasons hits with Bob Gaudio (although not “Dawn,” written by Gaudio and Sandy Linzer).
“Navy Blue” even hit the top spot on the Adult Contemporary chart (sure, once she found a chart not monopolized by four cheeky Liverpudlians)! Naturally, an album followed, and no less naturally, was titled Navy Blue.
“Navy Blue” was written by Crewe, actor/singer Eddie Rambeau, and Bud Rehak, whom we met in the article, linked below, about the notable career of singer/actress, Julie Budd. It was Rehak’s (an associate of Julie’s manager, Herb Bernstein) first name that inspired Julie’s stage name:
“Navy Blue” tells the story of a girl who was lonely for her steady boyfriend while he was away from home in the U.S. Navy, and could hardly wait to see him again. The song’s story is continued in “Kiss Me Sailor,” written by Rambeau and Rehak:
“I refer to [‘Kiss Me Sailor’] as ‘Navy Blue Chapter Two,’ Diane recently told Gary James of ClassicBands.com, with a chuckle. “It hit the charts. It didn't do as well as ‘Navy Blue.’ I think it went up to number 20 on Billboard [actually, #29], but a lot of people loved it.”
They loved it to the point of shoving nickels into enough jukeboxes prevalent at bowling alleys and diners to get the attention of at least one trade mag: According to the April 25, 1964 Billboard, “Kiss Me Sailor” “is getting excellent juke box action”! That declaration appeared on a page headed, “Music Machine Programming”! That page and the industry on which it was reporting couldn’t have lasted much into the next decade.
Diane continued: “A lot of people have told me they liked ‘Kiss Me Sailor’ better than ‘Navy Blue’ [as did this writer when first heard in the ‘80s], and so do I and so does the writer who wrote ‘Navy Blue’ and ‘Kiss Me Sailor,’ but Eddie Rambeau said he liked ‘Kiss Me Sailor’ better than ‘Navy Blue.’ It was a better song. But of course, ‘Navy Blue’ came out first. That's the way it was.”
Well, it's a Friday night,
My favorite guy is due;
I just can't wait to see him in his Navy blue;
As soon as he opens that door,
I'll be in his arms once more.
Fun story, but contained within it is the seed of a truly big topic. It shows up in your casual mention of "self-contained groups" with songwriters already on board, as exemplified by the Beatles, and the swift sidelining of the old guard. I think of it as the "CEO" model (single headliners commanding the resources of legions of songwriters and musicians--think Ellington, Sinatra, Fitzgerald, Elvis, Ronstadt) being replaced by something like an artistic SWAT team--self sufficient, agile, and deadly at everything. Today, we have transitioned back to the CEO model (Beyonce, Gaga, Swift, etc., as well as all of hip-hop), and the burning question is, why has the SWAT team model died in the U.S.? It is still thriving elsewhere, but the bands pursuing that model here are considered "indie", and most of them, frankly, are not that good. The best musicians are largely doing session work for the CEOs, or playing in metal bands where technical badassery still matters. Your thoughts?