That Old Time Rock ‘n Roll II
In the comments to my Old Time Rock ‘n Roll post over at The Impolitic, the highly cultured Captain Fogg mentioned that one of his favorite old “girl group” songs was Da Doo Ron Ron by the Crystals. I had already scoped out what was available from this great group on YouTube and had found this great up-to-date vid of La La Brooks, the original lead singer, doing that song.
I chose this because of the great audience response and it really shows that some of these very underrated and under paid singers had tremendous talent and still have what it takes.
May 7, 2008 at 9:44 pm
You’re so right about many talented singers not getting their due — due to bad contracts and managers, to just bad luck. I read somewhere that the singer for the Cadillacs, who had such huge hits as “They Call Me Speedo” was virtually penniless when they found him for a reunion tour — had made little money from the group and was working part-time as a janitor. I’ll try to track down the story. I know blues singers were famous for getting screwed by exploitive management.
May 8, 2008 at 6:18 am
Yes, I’ve heard that many of the singers of that era got paid studio time or for performances but no royalties on record sales at all. Really, how many from that era are prominent or well off? Probably very few. Diana Ross comes to mind but who else?