Tune Tag #32 with Dan Pal of PalCinema, TV & Music: Police, Barbra Streisand, Turtles, Durocs, Michael Jackson, Code Blue, Brian Wilson
A celluloid pro (with a musical jones) meets a vinyl nerd whose Police record is lengthy (with skips that reflect years of play), and whose rap sheet includes the pre-doctorate Intern Dre.š©ŗ
Hey, Danā¦.Nanu Nanu and Shazbot!
Tune Tag welcomesof PalCinema, Television, & Music!
Dan Pal is a Film Professor at DePaul University in Chicago, Film Critic, Director, Screenwriter, Producer, & Festival Programmer. Heās also an avid music fan and has hosted and administered annual Top Ten Parties for over 40 years.
I dig deep into my knowledge and interests as well as share personal details about what entertainment means to me. I also love to interact with people who have similar interests!
Dansās Song #1 sent to Brad: The Turtles, āHappy Together,ā 1967
Danās rationale: I had just posted it on my Substack page as my favorite song from 1967:
Bradās response: Danās only been on Substack for a month, and heās already established himself as a positive musical force to be reckoned with! His choice of āHappy Togetherā as his fave song of ā67, alone, shouts that loudly from the rooftops (in 3-part harmony, yet)! Plus, heās got family in Houston, my hometown!
If you were, say, over 30 in the late-ā60s (and, thus, werenāt to be trusted, according to hippies of the day), and found The Beatles to be noisy and bothersome, āHappy Togetherā (produced by Joe Wissert on independent White Whale Records) had to put a smile on your face!
Singer/songwriters, Alan Gordon and Garry Bonner (shown above when in The Magicians, circa 1966) knitted together the most exuberantly joyful and thrilling song that, vocally, took what The Beatles and Beach Boys were inventing and perfecting in the rock arena, and upped the glorious ante ten-fold! In case there was any doubt, the songwriting pair fashioned the celebratory āCelebrateā two years later. Three Dog Night (with the Chicago horn section in tow) took their party to #15 in the States, and #8 in Canada in 1969. An early Uriah Heep coverāknown as Spice in 1968, and unreleased at the timeācan be heard here.
According to the June 4, 2013 RockCellarMagazine.com, both Kaylan and Volman praised bass player, Chip Douglasās arrangement, the former stating that āChip knew what he wanted to hear, and he actually heard in his head the blend of horns and voices. He wanted to have the flutes echo the high voices and the horns be the middle voices.ā
For The Turtles, Howard Kaylan (Eddie in the eventually comedic singing duo, Flo & Eddie) sings lead. Mark Volman (aka Flo) became one of the first (if not the first) rock band member to ādo nothing but sing,ā easily earning his keep by doing that one thing incredibly well. Heās the super-high harmony on T. Rexās āBang a Gong (Get it On)ā! The two singers met at L.A.ās Westchester High, and were both members of its a cappella choir. When the band that became The Turtles formed, and Mark wanted in, the members didnāt want a spot to be taken by someone who ājust sang.ā Hence, the tambourine and fake trumpet Mark always had on hand!
Who saw (or heard) this coming? Both songwriters were performers, as well! Weāll get to Alan Gordon in a minute. But, in 1974, Bonner recorded his and Alanās āHappy Togetherā on Atlantic Records, with Bob Ezrin producing!
By this time, āour George Martinā (as Alice once asserted) had already produced Alice Cooperās Love it to Death, Schoolās Out, and Billion Dollar Babies albums! Ezrinās production discography is jaw-dropping!
Bradās Song #1 sent to Dan: Alan Gordon, āSoul Sneekers,ā 1978
Danās response: Alan Gordon co-wrote āHappy Together.ā
Bradās rationale: By 1978 (I was 23, and in retail records in Houston), when I got the promo of this Alley & the Soul Sneekers Gordon album on Capitol Records, I was well aware of his hit-making songwriting career from a decade before. But, my singular Alan Gordon album story revolves around his album release two years before: His 1976 The ExtraGordonary Band effort on the tiny (and run with dubious intentions, it turns out) Tiger Lily Records, distributed by the just-barely bigger Roulette Records.
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