Or How “the Most Brutal, Ugly, Degenerate, Vicious Form of Expression” Beat Frank Sinatra

Nearly 60 years ago, Frank Sinatra announced the launch of his own record label, Reprise Records. In fact, it was his position as CEO of Reprise that earned him his enduring nickname as “Chairman of the Board.” Now Ol’ Blue Eyes was no fan of rock music back in the day. He told a French magazine: “My only deep sorrow is the unrelenting insistence of recording and motion picture companies upon purveying the most brutal, ugly, degenerate, vicious form of expression it has been my displeasure to hear—naturally I refer to the bulk of rock ‘n’ roll.”

Not content to stop there, Frank added, “It fosters almost totally negative and destructive reactions in young people. It smells phony and false. It is sung, played and written for the most part by cretinous goons and by means of its almost imbecilic reiterations and sly, lewd—in plain fact dirty—lyrics, and as I said before, it manages to be the martial music of every sideburned delinquent on the face of the earth.”

So when Frank launched his record label in 1960, he promised Reprise Records would never ever sign any rock & rollers to record deals. Instead, he signed his Rat Pack pals like Sammy Davis, Jr. and Dean Martin, as well as Rosemary Clooney, Jo Stafford and even comedian Redd Foxx.

As the sixties rolled on, those kind of artists sold less and less while rock ‘n’ roll sold more and more. By 1963, Reprise Records was bleeding cash and Frank sold 80% of the label to Warner Brothers. Warners promptly fired most of the older acts, and as the British invasion got underway, Reprise began signing rock bands - beginning with those early head-banging classics by the Kinks. Imagine what Frank thought the first time he heard “You Really Got Me!”

By the end of the decade, Reprise had evolved into a very important and successful rock label with acts like the Electric Prunes, Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell and Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention.

During the early 70’s, the label added other highly successful acts like Emmylou Harris, Jethro Tull, Gordon Lightfoot and Fleetwood Mac.

For some strange reason, Warners deactivated the label in the late 70s, releasing only Frank Sinatra and Neil Young records under the Reprise name. Then in late 1985, the label was reactivated for the Dream Academy’s “Life in a Northern Town.” The label continues to this day with acts such as Stevie Nicks, Eric Clapton, Tom Petty and more.

Just call it “Revenge of the Cretinous Goons!”

Why Hollywood is buzzing about Tuesday Weld & Elvis PLUS! The Connie Francis Story and all the lyrics to your favorite songs! All in this month's issue of the official magazine of Rock & Roll!

Mousketeer Roll Call: Karen Pendleton

While some of us watched The Mickey Mouse Club and focused on Annette, many of us who were a little younger paid attention to the youngest Mousketeers, Karen & Cubbie. Cubbie O’Brien grew up to become an accomplished professional drummer, but whatever happened to Karen Pendleton?

Hers is a bittersweet story. Karen did not continue in show business after the Mouse Club show wound down. Instead, she finished school, married lawyer Mike DeLaurer in 1970 and had a daughter in 1973.

Then, her life took a downward turn. First, she was in a bad car accident in 1983 that left her paralyzed from the waist down. For a woman who had a passion for dancing, it was a devastating turn of events. That was followed by a divorce in 1985.

Instead of retreating from life, Karen made a decision to push forward. She went back to college, completed her Bachelor's degree in psychology and then went on to earn her Master’s degree, one of only two Mousketeers to earn a postgraduate degree.

She went into counseling for women, working at women’s shelters and holding classes on single parenting.

Karen also appeared in many of the frequent Mousketeer reunion events sponsored by Disney and in 2014 she was given a Disney Legend award. Sadly, she passed away in 2019 at the age of 73.

Make sure you're "hep to the jive" by staying "up-to-date" with the latest dance craze. Learn the Batusi now!

Ever been worried you might lose your job because you were getting too old?

Relax. Many employers are now looking specifically at hiring and retaining workers over the age of 60. Why? Because of their knowledge, work habits and temperament.

For example, 10 years ago 9% of the workforce at CVS pharmacies was over age 50. Today, it’s 24%. Other employers looking to hire older workers include United Healthcare, ATT, the Hartford and more!

New medical research indicates that light may be of significant help in treating a number of medical conditions.

Among those now be studied for the positive effects of light therapy are:

• Depression
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Sleep Disorders
• Skin Cancer

If you or someone you love is affected by these conditions, consult with your physician.

A Look at Some of the Best of the “One-and-Done” Recording Acts

This catchy little pop tune was part of the British Invasion that took over world radio in 1964.

The band was originally called the Sheratons. They were performing at the Mildway Tavern in London when a young songwriting duo approached them. Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley offered the group several tunes. The group jumped at the chance as they were about to audition for record producer Joe Meek.

The group passed the audition and Meek decided to use one of the Howard Blaikley songs, “Have I the Right?” as the group’s first single.

The song was actually recorded in Meek’s apartment. In fact, Meek had also recorded the Tornados’ hit “Telstar” in the same apartment. Meek really wanted to feature the percussion, so in addition to the drums, he had all the band members stamp their feet on chairs while a band member smacked a tambourine directly against a microphone during the recording.

To top it all off, Meek took the finished recording and sped it up slightly to make the final mix move even faster. In the end, that frustrated lead singer Dennis D'Ell, who could never reproduce the exact sound of the record onstage.

Meek then shopped the single to various British labels. Pye Records took a chance on it, but insisted on changing the name of the band to call attention to one of the group’s most unique features, a female drummer. Ann “Honey” Lantree also worked as hairdresser’s assistant, so the label re-christened the band, the Honeycombs.

“Have I the Right?” shot to the top of the British charts. It also hit #1 in Australia, Canada and Sweden. In the States, it broke into the Top 10 (#8) and amassed more than 2 million in sales around the world.

The band found follow-up success in Sweden, Japan and their native England, but they never again cracked the American charts.

After some personnel changes, the band finally threw in the towel and called it quits in 1967.

If you are one of the many who want to keep learning no matter how old we get, you should know that many state colleges and universities waive tuition on courses for residents who are age 60 or older.

In addition there are many free courses available online at sites like:

• Coursera.org
• edX.org
• Udacity.com
  
  

New research shows that you may reduce your risk of diabetes by taking a 15-minute walk after meals.

Or How a Black Man from South Africa Was Screwed Out of Several Million Dollars

“A-wimowack, a-wimoweh A-wimowack, a-wimoweh…”

Everybody knows that hook from the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” The song was a staple of the folk music circuit of the late 50s and early 60s. In 1962, it went to #1 in the U.S. when the Tokens recorded a more rock-oriented version. Robert John took it to #3 in 1972, and the British ensemble Tight Fit had a #1 hit in the UK in 1982. It was featured in the Disney movie The Lion King and even played a prominent part in an episode of the popular sitcom Friends.

Few know who really wrote the song or the long journey it made to become the classic we know today.

The song was written in the 1920s by a South African man named Solomon Linda and recorded by his musical group, the Evening Birds. Linda’s original version was titled “Mbube,” and the lyrics were entirely in the Zulu language. The original recording was successful in South Africa and made its way to England via South African immigrants moving to the UK.

In 1949, the song was brought to the attention of folk music legend Pete Seeger. He sang it with his original group, the Weavers, for about a year. The group then recorded a version, renaming the song “Wimoweh.” That was a misspelling by Seeger of the original chant “Uyimbube,” which means “you are a lion.” As Seeger did not know the name of the composer, the record was credited as “Traditional.” And that’s where the trouble started.

Many folk acts, including the Kingston Trio, soon covered the Weavers' version. So many that two RCA records producers, Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore, decided to record a pop music version of the song as the B-side of a single by the early doo-wop group the Tokens.

They hired lyricist George David Weiss to come up with some English words to go with the African chanting. It was Weiss who wrote the “In the jungle, the mighty jungle…” lyrics we all know so well. For an extra kick, Weiss got the producers to use soprano Anita Darian to add an extra high level of warbling before, during, and after the record’s saxophone break. As the composer, Hugo and Luigi listed an Albert Stanton (more about him coming up).

The A-side of the Tokens record (“Tina”) was quickly forgotten as the B-Side, finally titled “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” roared up the charts in a matter of weeks.

It turned out that “Albert Stanton” was simply a pseudonym used by Pete Seeger’s music publishers when they wanted to claim royalties for songs that were in the public domain.

Of course, Solomon Linda’s tune was NOT in the public domain. Lawsuits flew across the ocean. The American company that was earning millions in publishing royalties claimed that South African copyrights were not valid in the United States.

Music experts have estimated that the song has earned more than $15 million in royalties. Solomon Linda saw none of it.

His estate, however, kept up the lawsuits after his death. Eventually, the Richmond Organization (owners of that music publishing company) began to pay the Solomon Linda estate $3,000 a year.

In 2006, the estate and the Richmond Organization reached a final settlement, with the Richmond Organization agreeing to place all future earnings of the song into a trust.

Finally, the lion can sleep peacefully tonight.