Dave Dexter, Capitol and the Beatles

Which is why I replaced the U.S. version of MMT cover art with the British version of the EP on my iTunes. When the US version became canon, it just looked out of place with song titles all over the cover, unlike any other canon release.

 

Absolutely.

The thing is, I love rock, but my musical tastes have NEVER, literally since childhood, been rock-centric.

 

yea that made it a hit for them! LOL...The Beatles with balls...

 

Mine were mostly as a child and teenager. My dad was a rocker - Zep, Sabbath, Free, Purple etc which I loved and still do. I was into Queen, Iron Maiden, U2, Metallica etc. I still love Queen and Maiden.

Then I borrowed a collection of 60s soul LPs and 45s from a friend's parents when I was about 18.

I'd possibly go as far as to say they changed my life! Over 25 years later I've bought an original soul LP today and have got into so much since those. I really appreciate great singers.

 

I worked at that archive mentioned in the original post (UMKC Libraries | Marr Sound Archives ) when I was in grad school and got to drool over all the goodies in person (it's also home to the Raymond Scott collection and the Buck Clayton archives among many others).
Say what you will about Dexter missing the boat in the rock and roll era, but he was definitely an important figure in American music (and, as a result, rock and roll). He was the guy who sold John Hammond on all the jazz talent in Kaycee (while it's a great story, Hammond did not "discover" Basie's live broadcast on his car radio and follow it down to Kansas City). Dexter is in large part responsible for Basie, Big Joe Turner, Jay McShann and a bunch more.

 

I went from Southern Gospel and bluegrass and Sinatra type stuff which was ubiquitous around my house ... my dad took me to see Flatt and Scruggs at age 5 ... to rock and roll, then basically did a full circle to everything without losing my love for rock.

As a child I used to run around singing Al Hibbler's "After the Lights Go Down Low." No clue about what the words meant of course, but I loved the sound.

 

Flatt and Scruggs so young. Fantastic! I love them. Also the Louvin Brothers, Delmore Brothers, Stanley Brothers style country. l don't know any Al Hibbler at all. I don't even recognise the name, but I will listen.

 

Thanks for the link, I just read it. Wow, Dexter's remembrance is a mess.

Btw, it's kinda weird he did nearly everything for the Fabs at Capitol.
Turned them down first, brought them to the label then, remixed the songs, was involved with advertising the band and designing their US album covers?
Sorry but how small was the Capitol staff back then?^^

 

IMO, he did mostly everything RIGHT...thanks for the memories DAVE.

 

Yeah, it's totally ugly on all fronts!
However, it IS a great and rocking album for sure!

 

if you can grab the Flatt & Scruggs Bear Family Boxes..they are fabulous!

 

Except the ugly covers; miserly 11-song programs; bad over compression; tone- stereoizing; and that's all I can think of....

 

ah, yes... paradise! and such wonderful memories of getting each and every one of those beauties as they were released while I was growing up...sorry dude nothing will change my Beatles world...it was glorious growing up with the Beatles AMERICAN ALBUMS...

 

Yeah, just meant his misremembering of some timeframes (wrong years etc.) which was mentioned in the article. Kinda funny.

 

don't we all forget times and places...I agree....gotcha. : )

 

I know this! I was just giving you the business!
Like I said earlier, these LPs were all we Americans had for a long time. Of course I loved 'em too- at the time....

 

very funny! LOL...people seem to forget we were not able to purchase the UK albums here in the US during the 60's...at least I couldn't...so the US Albums are it for me...who knows if we were able to buy them I may have a different set of nostalgic Beatles albums that are bonded into my soul...

 

But . . . he landed the Beatles, and sold more records than all the other "invasion" acts combined.

 

Read the memos. He was repeatedly handed the Beatles, signed to Capitol's parent, EMI, and rejected them. He "landed" them only when he could no longer do otherwise. A real visionary.

 

His mangling of the Beatles music is sufficient testimony to that.

 

Indeed...; )
...well it sure worked out cash wise for the lads...didn't it? I wonder if they felt guilty from taking the profits from the American Albums that most likely doubled or tripled the profit on what they made on their beloved UK albums? well they finally got even giving us an American Albums Box with mostly UK 2009 sources, ERASING the Original US Albums totally in the retail world...Hysterical on us...well we do have nice covers in that U-US-K fake Box...

 

He brought life to those puny-sounding early Beatles recordings!

 

you got it... true words have been spoken. : ) Indeed...

 

I'll repeat something I've said in every thread here about the Capitol albums I've participated in.

I do not care 3.5 cacas that it wasn't their "artistic intention."

IMO Rubber Soul is supposed to start with "I've Just Seen A Face" and have the false start in "I'm Looking Through You."

In fact I've made my own Rubber Soul mix adding "Nowhere Man" back after "You Won't See Me" and "We Can Work It Out" after "Girl."

 

The ugly truth that too many refuse to accept is that there was little “artistic intention” to their early albums in the first place - as if they weren’t subject to EMI & Parlophone marketing.