JEFF VEE RESPONDS TO COASTERS STORY

Today I received a response from Jeff Vee, who is organizing the music for the Clovis Music Festival, regarding my story on The Coasters that was published in Sunday's New Mexican.

Also, I got word from Rep. Al Park, D-Albuquerque, last night and he said he'll be sponsoring the Truth in Music bill again in next year's Legislature.

Here's what Mr. Vee said:

Hi Steve-

I regret missing your call Friday as our office was closed and I was not actually aware you had called until this morning and had first seen your story yesterday. For what it is worth, however, I thought I would follow up as a professional courtesy and to let you know our feelings about the situation as it pertains to your article.

First off, with my father being 60's singer Bobby Vee, we have always been serious advocates for "Truth in Music" by keeping the fake groups off of shows we are involved with where and when possible. They are a detriment to the real artists still performing and a disservice to fans. This we fully appreciate as it effects our business very directly.

Billy Richard's group was formed by Bobby Nunn who was an original Coaster as well. Believe me, I know that a PHD thesis could be written on the this and the many other groups that have splintered and morphed over the years. Billy Richards actually grew up performing with his uncle's group "The Robins" which later became the Coasters. After the Coasters split Carl and Bobby each formed groups within their legal rights and Billy went on to front Bobby Nunn's show for years. As with many groups of that period there were a lot of versions, some legitimate, many not (Drifters, Platters, etc). As an aside, Bobby and Billy's version of the group were the Coasters of choice for many years for Dick Clark's revival shows. I myself go back over 30 years with the group and my Father much further. We have fond memories of Mr. Nunn as does my entire family and many friends in the industry. It was always a wonderful and first class show and still is. When Bobby passed, Billy filed for the legal rights to continue the legacy of what had been his livelihood for over 40 years. A judgement was made in a court (attached) that Billy did in fact have a right to continue to perform as "Billy Richard's Coasters." The bottom line fact today is that there is not an "original" Coaster performing in any group. It is quite clear that there are two legal Coasters groups, Carl's & Billy's. As you may be aware, there have been many others over the years, and I'm sure still are. These are the bogus groups and are an entirely different story, and yes: a major problem.

We understand there are hard feelings that remain between these two groups, however, we feel the festival just got caught in the middle. Everyone involved with the Clovis Festival was made clearly aware of the two groups and the differences before Billy Richard's group was booked. There was a mistake made when the show was listed on the website that unfortunately flew under our radar, however, was quickly revised when we realized this.

BIlly's group did not appear out of nowhere. It is and has been working consistently for over 50 years. It feels to us that the Santa Fe paper has allowed itself to be a vehicle for someone's personal vendetta and did not hear and report the whole story. In our view Billy's connection to the Robins, added to his lengthy history with The Coasters/Billy Nunn makes his the most authentic and credible show going today.

The Clovis Music festival has a mission statement that simply states a goal of bringing first class entertainment into it's community in the form of rock and roll to celebrate the city's musical history and the legacy of Norman Petty and his world famous studios. This is something we feel the entire state of New Mexico should be very proud of. My Dad first recorded with Norman in Clovis in 1960. Our history with the city, the studios and the event is very special to us. We feel with total confidence that we are on track with festival's mission statement. Our only goal is to preserve and to promote a great piece of American pop culture and a history that is also part of our personal fabric by doing what we know how to do: produce and perform in shows.

While the 'Coaster' story makes for interesting news, it will undoubtedly affect the music festival and the city of Clovis adversely.

Best Regards,

Jeff Vee

(Click image to see 1997 court document to which Vee referred)

THROW AWAY THE KEY!

Mark David Chapman, the stalker who murdered John Lennon 30 years ago, once again is seeking parole. The New York parole board has denied this request five times previously.

As she has been in the past, Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, is opposed. ""I am afraid it will bring back the nightmare, the chaos and confusion once again," Ono wrote in a previous letter to the parole board. "Myself and John's two sons would not feel safe for the rest of our lives."

I don't want Chapman released either. But I'm willing to compromise.

I say transfer him to California's Corcoran State Prison and let him be cell mates with another famous Beatlemaniac: Charlie Manson.

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, August 8, 2010
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell
Webcasting!
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
96 Tears by Big Maybelle
I'll Be Back by ? & The Mysterians
Buy a Gun, Get a Free Guitar by Deadbolt
Virginia Avenue by Kid Congo Powers & The Knoxville Girls
Sex Cow by Teengenerate
Ikebukuro Tiger by Guitar Wolf
Chicken Thighs by Andre Williams
She's a Tiger by The Ding-Dongs

Break the Spell by Gogol Bordello
Idiota Stąd by Kult
Cantina by Pinata Protest
Sally Go Round the Roses by The Jaynettes
Too Many Fish in the Sea/Three Little Fishes by Mitch Ryder & The Detoit Wheels
What You Lack in Brains by Batusis
You Got the Love by The Cynics
Cannibal Girls by The Hydes
Shopping For Clothes by The Coasters

Deep in the Sand by The Budos Band
Be Kind, Be Foolish, Be Happy by Chuck Barrister & The Voices of Darkness
All Night Long by Bongos Ikwue Bongos Ikwue
Rough Rider by The Hygrades
Freaking Out by Mondo Topless
Doing the Crawdaddy by Bo Diddley

D.O.A. by The Fuzztones
Bird Brain by Kevin Coyne
Lost Girl by The Troggs
Underdog Backstreet by Warren Lee
Soul Man in the Underground by Jon E. Edwards
Take My Hand Precious Lord by Pinetop Perkins & Willie "Big Eyes" Smith
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE

More Yakety Yak About Truth in Music

I'm not sure whether to post this one in my music blog or my political blog. Guess I'll do both.

Today The New Mexican published my story about Veta Gardner, wife of Carl Gardner, the last living member of The Coasters, being upset about an imposter version of The Coasters playing The Clovis Music Festival. Initially the festival advertised that The Coasters were playing, but after complaints, the festival website was changed to reflect that these Coasters are "Billy Richards' Coasters."

As Mrs. Gardner points out, the website still says Richards' Coasters "breathed life into classic Leiber & Stoller songs like: `Charlie Brown,' `Yakaty Yak,' (sic) `Love Potion No. 9' and many more." She also said using the phrase "Clown princes of Rock 'n' Roll" is a copyright infringement.

Richards was a member of an early '60s Coasters offshoot, started by Bobby Nunn, an original member who Veta Gardner says was fired from the band in the late '50s. But he didn't record with the actual Coasters on those songs listed above or "Along Came Jones," "Searchin'," "Youngblood" or any of the Coasters hits you might remember.

The story of "the man with the big cigar" ripping off rock 'n' roll artists in the '50s and '60s is well documented. "Imposter" bands is just another way to screw the artists who created the music.

This issue -- a phenomenon that has been going on for decades -- was discussed last year in the state Legislature. (Here's my column about that .) The House passed the "Truth in Music Act," sponsored by Rep. Al Park, D-Albuquerque, and the bill made it through the Senate Judiciary Committee. But the session ended before the full Senate could vote on it. Maybe next year.

A little story-behind-the story: The issue of The Coasters at the Clovis Music Festival was first brought to the attention of Veta Gardner, the festival, myself and anyone else who would listen by a lady named Virginia Pritchett. Though she lives in Texas now, she's a former College of Santa Fe student who was raised in eastern New Mexico. Virginia is a record collector, an "oldies" fanatic who used to be a DJ at an oldies station in California. She's genuinely concerned about imposters harming the livelihood of the musicians who created the music.

She pointed me to this 1997 article in the New York Observer about Carl Gardner's long struggle against imposters.

And here's the link to the Vocal Group hall of Fame Foundation, which is leading the effort nationwide for "Truth in Music" legislation.

Here's a 2007 report on this issue by ABC's 20/20 featuring a confrontation between a real Drifter and a fake Drifters group.




Here's a video of The Coasters

eMusic August

* The World Ends: Afro-Rock and Psychedelia in 1970s Nigeria by various artists This is the latest collection from the incredible Soundways Records. I spent nearly half my monthly credits on this cool collection, but it's worth it.

In the early '70s, following the bloody Biafran civil war, Jimi Hendrix guitar and James Brown funk invaded Nigeria.

Fuzz and wah-wah seized control of African guitars. Slinky organ sounds crept into the music. And the African drum was stronger than ever.

Bands like The Hykkers, Cicada and The Semi Colon created funky little masterpieces. In "Ottoto Shamoleda" by a band called Colomach you could hear a little Santana. The Hygrades' "Rough Rider" would fit in the soundtrack of any decent Blaxploitation movie.

And I like the advice of Chuck Barrister & The Voices of Darkness: "Be Kind, Be Foolish, Be Happy."


* Reform School Girl by Nick Curran & The Lowlifes. I owe Los Alamos music fiend Russ Gordon for turning me on to this band.

Basically Curran plays some of the roughest, rawest R&B/rockabilly this side of Barrence Whitfield. This album has a lo-fi, '50s car-radio sound to it. Curran sounds as if he's channeling Little Richard filtered through the ghost of Ronnie Dawson, the late rockabilly rowdy, with whom Curran used to play.

But the title song reveals a Phil Spector side. Probably Shadow Morton would be a more apt comparison, as the song has a distinct "Leader of the Pack" vibe to it.

Curran & The Lowlifes are playing up in Nuke City as part of Gordon's Free Concert Series on Friday August 20.

PLUS:

* The 35 songs from The Very Best Of by Hoosier Hot Shots that I didn't get last month. (This only cost me five credits though because the eMusic price was 40 tracks for 12 credits and I downloaded seven tracks last month. What a deal!)

Basically these Indiana cut-ups, who started recording in the early '30s, were the harbingers of Spike Jones. The slide whistle (played by Paul "Hezzie" Triesch) was an important part of the Hot Shot sound, as was the clarinet, played by Gabe Ward.

Among the tunes in this collection are whizbang versions of American standards like "The Band Played On," "Sioux City Sue," "Toot Toot Tootsie," and "I Wish I Cold Shimmy Like My Sister Kate."

There's also some bizarre obscurities by the quartet. My favorite is "I've Got a Bimbo Down on The Bamboo Isle." I found a scratchy old 1920 version of this tune by Frank Crumit on the Internet Archive a few years ago. It's about a swell gal who "all she wore was a great big Zulu smile." As I wrote of this song in a column a few years ago, "A ship wreck never sounded so sexy."

* 9 tracks from Hillbilly Classics. Talk about deals ... This is a 73 (!!!) song collection of mostly obscurities from the '40s and '50s. Costing only 12 credits, it's definitely one of the biggest bargains I've stumbled across on eMusic for some time.

My favorites of the ones I nabbed for now are "Nothin' Clickin', Chicken" by The Down Homers and "My Dreamboat Hit a Snag" by Louis Innis & The String Dusters." I'll start downloading the rest of this when my account refreshes.