Sunday, April 13, 2008
Gallahads,Wolfman Jack,Rosie/Starlite
The story of the Gallahads has lot's of twists and turns, and ends up as a great group that should have been successful, not really getting the attention they deserved. Lead singer Jimmy Pipkin was raised in the Seattle area, and the group first recorded on the Nite Owl label. They ended up down in Los Angeles, and recorded for the Delfi and Donna labels, amongst others. Somewhere in the mix of being dissapointed with the direction the group and music was going, they went back to Los Angeles. Another Gallahads group was formed by taking a local group called the Chants, and changing their name to the Gallahads. They released Sad Girl and Keeper Of Dreams on the local Beechwood label, before it was picked up by Art Laboe's Starla label. There was one other release that stayed with Beechwood, but not long after that, another incarnation of the Gallahads with Pipkin recorded I'm Without A Girlfriend. It was a local hit in Los Angeles and a few other regions as well. They continued to change personel, and recorded a few more records before the end of the line. Shown is the original first label for Sad Girl, and I will add that one along with the Starla label, for the unofficial Gallahads.
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I have been listening to some Wolfman Jack reel to reel tapes this week. They were part of a syndicated show that he must have produced in the mid 1970's. They say "Gold" on the tape box, but during the shows, he just says "The Wolfman Jack Show". They were set up especially for radio stations and included cue sheets showing where the breaks where. In fact, the idea was to let the tape roll, and when the break came up, the station engineer would just insert an ID that was the correct amount of time and the tape would continue on. As I have listened to 6 parts of the show, I have found a few interesting things, at least to me as a fellow DJ. Some of the music sources are direct from scratchy 45's. Heck, that was a common source back then. I just thought he could have found slightly cleaner copies. Then again, did it really matter? He played a wide range of music, and I would think the tapes could have been played years later and still sounded good. Maybe even today? He inserts a few funny bits, and has that Wolfman persona. They sometimes sound a little rushed or slapped together, but still - it's the Wolfman!
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I finally got a copy of the Rosie and the Original 45 on the Starlite label, issued in the 90's, I believe. It was actually not Rosie and the Originals, in spite of what it said on the label. It doesn't sound like her either. When Ace contacted Rosie before they compiled her songs for two different CD's they produced, the writer asked her about the record. It was the first time she had ever heard about it. Anyway, I plan to add that to my Rosie and the originals site just so people are informed. A quick Google check using the artist name and Starlite didn't bring much to light.
.
I have been listening to some Wolfman Jack reel to reel tapes this week. They were part of a syndicated show that he must have produced in the mid 1970's. They say "Gold" on the tape box, but during the shows, he just says "The Wolfman Jack Show". They were set up especially for radio stations and included cue sheets showing where the breaks where. In fact, the idea was to let the tape roll, and when the break came up, the station engineer would just insert an ID that was the correct amount of time and the tape would continue on. As I have listened to 6 parts of the show, I have found a few interesting things, at least to me as a fellow DJ. Some of the music sources are direct from scratchy 45's. Heck, that was a common source back then. I just thought he could have found slightly cleaner copies. Then again, did it really matter? He played a wide range of music, and I would think the tapes could have been played years later and still sounded good. Maybe even today? He inserts a few funny bits, and has that Wolfman persona. They sometimes sound a little rushed or slapped together, but still - it's the Wolfman!
.
I finally got a copy of the Rosie and the Original 45 on the Starlite label, issued in the 90's, I believe. It was actually not Rosie and the Originals, in spite of what it said on the label. It doesn't sound like her either. When Ace contacted Rosie before they compiled her songs for two different CD's they produced, the writer asked her about the record. It was the first time she had ever heard about it. Anyway, I plan to add that to my Rosie and the originals site just so people are informed. A quick Google check using the artist name and Starlite didn't bring much to light.
