Thanks for posting that version - I didn't know that it existed. It's sort of like the latter-day "Tom & Jerry"s where they are pals.
Yeah. The "Bandstand Version" was a complete re-record, and, as if to make up for the toned-down lyrics, the band swings harder and faster, with a grittier sax solo.
That Bandstand version is awful, lyrically. Too bad there isn't a way to put the original vocals on the new instrumental backing.
The mono version of Stagger Lee is posted in the video by alphanguy. The original ABC-Paramount single (45-9972), released in November 1958, had the mono mix as does the mono The Exciting Lloyd Price LP (ABC-277), released in early March 1959. The original stereo mix of Stagger Lee was first issued in early March 1959 as a single (ABC-Paramount 45-S-9972) and on the stereo The Exciting Lloyd Price LP (ABCS-277). For reference, here's the stereo mix (disregard the picture of the original mono 45 in the video): The stereo version of Stagger Lee is the one found on almost all CDs (Steve did a nice stereo mastering on the Vintage Music Volume 2 CD). The mono 45 version has appeared on a couple of Reader’s Digest CDs. I prefer the mono mix of Stagger Lee to the stereo. Although some individual elements of the recording are better heard in stereo, the stereo version is lacking a bit in the middle and it does not match the overall impact of the original mono 45.
This. I agree that the “Bandstand Version” makes for an interesting listen (that’s why I posted it!) with the band cutting loose a bit more than on the original, but I can’t get past the revised lyrics, perhaps because I’m so familiar with the original lyrics and the event they describe. In that context, the "family friendly" rewrite with its happy ending comes off as self-parody, and I could see why some might include it on a novelty or comedy compilation.
Although he began his musical career as a trumpet-playing child prodigy recording instrumentals and then later played trumpet in a Philadelphia rock combo (Rocco And The Saints), Frankie Avalon is best known, of course, as a teen idol and for singing Venus. Venus was originally pitched to fellow Philadelphia native Al Martino who liked the song and wanted to record it as an album cut. When the song was brought to Avalon’s attention, he instantly recognized its hit potential and recorded it shortly thereafter in New York City. On Venus, Avalon ditched the nasal delivery that was characteristic of his earlier recordings and sang in his normal voice, and his backing combo was replaced by an orchestra. I have always enjoyed the arrangement of this song with the bells and chimes over a soft calypso-like beat. The female background vocals are a nice touch too. Avalon appeared twice on Dick Clark’s Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show in a span of five weeks to promote the song. The more interesting of the two appearances, in my opinion, is the second one on March 14, 1959 when Venus had reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 (and Dick Clark’s Top 10). Following Frankie’s performance, Dick presents him with a gold record for Venus and a solid gold watch with the Chancellor 45 label inside the crystal:
I was a child when this came out but had 2 teenaged girl cousins from whom I gained an appreciation for this kind of music. Frankie, the Bobbys Rydell, Vee and Vinton and a whole lot of other teenaged dream acts. I too love the arrangement and while Avalon's vocal is serviceable, the female backup ooohs give the song an ethereal quality that I enjoyed in a lot of girly pop hits of the era (think Johnny Angel). An enduring pop hit that stands the test of time.
I find it interesting that Al Martino had the first chance to record "Venus." How different things might have been if he and/or his people had recognized the song's potential. In 1959, he had just signed with the new 20th Century Fox label, which was one of several attempts by movie studios to diversify into the music business. Warner Bros. and United Artists both started labels around the same time, and Paramount, rather than starting its own, bought an established label (Dot). 20th Fox was by far the least successful of these. Martino had his initial success with "Here in My Heart," which he recorded for the short-lived BBS label from Philadelphia (owned by the same man, Dave Miller, who had started the Palda, Essex and Media labels and would finally become wealthy by peddling 101 Strings LPs on Somerset). It became his only #1 U.S. single in 1952, and it also was #1 on the first British singles chart later that same year. He immediately signed with Capitol, and he quickly had a top-20 single with his new label, "Take My Heart." But he almost immediately stopped charting, and he spent most of the rest of the 1950s in Europe, allegedly to escape a mob contract. His recorded output slowed to a trickle after 1954, and Capitol dropped him in 1957. By 1958, Martino had returned to the States, and he briefly signed to MGM's Cub subsidiary, for whom he made a new version of "Here in My Heart." He then was one of the first artists signed to 20th Fox, and he was there until early 1961. He had two charted singles and half a dozen more that didn't, and he also made two albums for the label. In 1961, Martino returned to Capitol, where he finally had sustained success.
Al Martino also gave Frankie Avalon his first big break in the music business. Frankie recalls how that came about in this clip: Here’s footage of a young Frankie Avalon playing Tenderly on trumpet from that Jackie Gleason Show: http://www.yourememberthat.com/media/1699/Jackie_Gleason_and_a_Very_Very_Young_Frankie_Avalon/
For a brief look at a latter-day Frankie Avalon playing the trumpet, some may remember this performance from American television in 1981. For those who don’t remember or haven’t had the opportunity to see it before, Dick Clark calls a(n) [insert your favorite adjective] group of musicians to the stage (and don’t forget your beverage, Mick Fleetwood!) to join a “virtual” Bill Haley (who had passed away earlier that year) & His Comets in a performance of Rock Around The Clock (a Billboard number one on the pre-Hot 100 and pre-Top 100 Best Sellers in Stores, Most Played by Jockeys, and Most Played in Jukeboxes charts). The occasion was the 25th Anniversary of American Bandstand on ABC-TV. Several musicians who appear in this clip have had a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 either as a solo artist, producer, or as part of a group, and/or have played on one as a session musician, and those songs will appear later throughout this thread:
Aw man! That was a stellar performance, and every one of those guys are fantastic musicians! I have recordings from every single one of them!
Several stereo masterings of Venus that I have heard over the years have closely matched the original stereo 45 (Chancellor S-C 1031, released May 1959), including the one Steve mastered for CD several years ago. The original stereo version of Venus also appears on the stereo 15 Greatest Hits LP (United Artists 6382) released in 1964. Frankie’s echo-laden vocal is pushed back in the original stereo mix. I have heard some stereo remixes, however, that have moved Frankie’s vocal more toward the front of the mix. The original mono 45 of Venus was released in January 1959 (Chancellor C-1031, heard in post #184) and also appears on the mono The Hitmakers (Chancellor CHL 5009, 1960) and A Whole Lotta Frankie (Chancellor CHL 5018, 1961) LPs. The mono mix of Venus is available on only a few CDs including the Reader’s Digest CDs I mentioned earlier in my Lloyd Price post.
Gorgeous song... Heard it for the first time not too long ago, but it really stays with you. Light and easygoing - but not in the bad sense.
Beautiful song by one of the more underappreciated vocal groups of that period. They were certainly appreciated at the time, with two #1 hits, but - possibly as a result of that success! - you rarely hear The Fleetwoods mentioned among the great acts of their time now. Also memorable among record collectors because the original pressing was on Dolphin Records, which had to change its name to Dolton immediately afterward because the publishing company already had dibs on the Dolphin name. Their version of "Goodnight My Love," while not a very big hit, is quite possibly my all time favorite version of that song. Gary Troxel was briefly in the news again in 2000 when he lost a Supreme Court case over grandparents' rights...I remember reading about it in the New York Times and thinking his name sounded familiar - and then the article confirmed that it was the same guy.
I wonder if Poor Little Fool - Ricky Nelson had an influence on Teenager in Love - Dion. Is it me or does it have something similar? Even voice wise.
This is one of the best threats, I read so far. It's like reading a music encyclopedia with extra marks in the sidelines. Just love it.
Gorgeous...and so bizarre. I mean that in a good way. Their quiet blend has almost a psychedelic, hypnotic effect on me. I've loved this group since I first heard them for myself some time in the early 1970s. I recently picked up a still sealed Dolton hits album in true stereo and WOW.
I wonder if the fact that their were less "different" music style radio stations available in that time, has had anything to do with that? I do agree with the statement that the quality of songwriting Fantastic, good for him. I don't like the song myself but my kids are a huge fan.
