Phil Spector Series – Part 7 – Post-Philles Productions – Part 1
Subsidiary Labels - Earlier in this series, the Philles Subsidiary labels were mentioned, and promised to be discussed in this section. Even though these labels were actually active during the Philles era, they are covered here as part of the Post-Philles Productions. Phil decided to add other labels to the Philles family. He introduced Phil Spector Records, Phi-Dan Records, Annette Records and Shirley Records.
Phil Spector Records was a short lived label that had only two releases. Both releases were songs he had produced by the Ronettes earlier for potential Philles releases and both are regarded as regional test releases. Few copies of either were pressed and both usually sell for between $200 and $300.
Phil Spector Records 1 was “So Young” / “Larry L.” by Veronica. Veronica was Ronnie Spector. “So Young” was a great doo-wop song made popular as “I’m So Young” by a group called the Students in 1958 and re-released in 1961. Phil turned it into a great girl group sounding record but did not release it until 1964. For the record, another of Phil’s throw away instrumentals was used as the B side – this one named after Larry Levine, his engineer.
Phil Spector Records 2 was “Why Don’t They Let Us Fall In Love” / “Chubby Danny D.” by Veronica. The song was a Spector-Greenwich-Barry composition. The record was perfect for Ronnie. The flip side was another Spector throw away instrumental – this one named for Danny Davis, his promotion man. If released and promoted as a Philles record, this would have been a smash hit. It was such a good record that Sonny & Cher included it as an album cut and Red Bird Records issued it by the Dixie Cups with a few modifications calling it “Gee The Moon Is Shining Bright.”
Phi-Dan Records was named by combining Phil and Dan from Phil’s promotion head, Danny Davis. This label was intended to be a label that released songs produced by other producers whom Phil Spector had trained. Only eight records were ever released on this label, and only one of them charted.
It is very hard to believe that the one that did chart is not a Spector production, but it was (according to the label) produced by Jerry Riopelle. “Home Of The Brave” / “Our Song” [Phi-Dan 5005] by Bonnie & The Treasures is an excellent record, but it was out-charted by a simultaneous release by Jody Miller. Bonnie is not Ronnie as often rumored. The record was actually performed by Charlotte O’Hara along with Vinnie Poncia and Peter Andreoli, writers signed to Mother Bertha Music. Phi-Dan 5005 entered the charts on 8/28/65 and climbed only to #77. The de-Spectorized and countrified version by Jody Miller also entered the charts also on 8/28/65 and climbed all the way to #25.
The other records released on the Phi-Dan label were:
Phi-Dan 5000 – Florence DeVore - “We’re Not Old Enough” / “Kiss Me Now”
Phi-Dan 5001 – Betty Willis – “Act Naturally” / “Soul”
Phi-Dan 5002 – Phi-Dan 5004 – unissued
Phi-Dan 5006 – Al DeLory – “Yesterday” / “Traffic Jam”
Phi-Dan 5007 – George McCannon III –
“You Can’t Grow Peaches On A Cherry Tree” / “Seven Million People”
Phi-Dan 5008 – Lovelites – “(When) I get Scared” / “Malady”
Phi-Dan 5009 – Ikettes – “Down Down” / “Whatcha Gonna Do”
Phi-Dan 5010 – Sugar Plums – “Lover’s Wonderland” / “Sugar Plum Blues”
Annette Records was named for his wife, Annette Merar. Only three records were issued on this label. Each of them is highly collectible, selling for $200-$1,000.
Annette 1000 – Bonnie Jo Mason – “Ringo, I Love You” / “Beatle Blues”. This is an absolutely horrible record, but it is diligently sought after by collectors of three sorts. First, Bonnie Jo Mason is, in reality, Cher. This is Cher’s first record. Second, it is a Beatles novelty, and third, it is a Phil Spector production. Expect to pay $300 for white promotional copies and $1000 for the super rare red stock copy.
Annette 1001 – Gene Toone & The Blazers – “You’re My Baby” / “Jose”. “You’re My Baby” is not a great record but not a horrible one either. It is obviously a Spector production sounding quite a lot like “You’re So Fine”. It is rumored that the Blazers are Poncia & Andreoli.
Annette 1002 – Harvey & Doc With The Dwellers – “Oh Baby” / “Uncle Kev”. This is another absolutely horrible record, but again a very collectible one. Harvey is Phil Spector. Doc is Doc Pomus, and the Dwellers are Poncia & Andreoli. Phil and Doc take turns screaming out “Oh Baby” throughout the length of the record – dreadful, but essential and amusing to Spector freaks. It is a Phil Spector production, and sells in the $200+ category.
Shirley Records was named for his sister. Only one record was released on this label, and it is a classic well worth the $500 price tag it usually gets.
Shirley 500 – Treasures – “Hold Me Tight” / “Pete Meets Vinnie”. The Treasures are Vinnie Poncia & Peter Andreoli. The instrumental flip was named for Pete & Vinnie. They were songwriters that Phil frequently used for Philles releases. (There will be more on this duo in the Loose Ends segment of this series.) This is a doo-wopped Spectorized version of a Beatles classic. Both Spector and Beatles collectors drool at the thought of finding this record.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a GREAT record! – kk)
The Post-Philles A&M Story - It was 1967; Philles was dead, and Phil had retired from record production. For nearly two years he was lost from view. There were rumors that he was living in the desert. In truth, Phil had turned his back on the music world. He first attempted to establish himself in the movie industry. He worked with Dennis Hopper on a film called “The Last Movie.” That effort failed, but Hopper’s next effort, “Easy Rider,” was a smashing success. Phil even had a small cameo role in that movie as a cocaine dealer. Phil had pretty much shut out all of his old friends with the exception of Ronnie and his song writing buddy, Gerry Goffin, who was also going through a rough time since his divorce from Carole King. The two would hang out riding their motorcycles through the desert. Ronnie and Phil were married on April 14, 1968, in a small ceremony. It was beginning to look like the world would never hear from Phil again, but that proved to be untrue in 1969.
Watch for Phil's comeback on A&M Records ... coming up in Chapter 7-B!!!
Today’s songs:
Why Don’t They Let Us Fall In Love – Veronica
Home Of The Brave – Bonnie & The Treasures (Jerry Riopelle producer)
Hold Me Tight – Treasures
You Came You Saw You Conquered – Ronettes
Without question, my favorite NEW discovery during the course of this special PHIL SPECTOR Series has been THE TREASURES' version of HOLD ME TIGHT ... I never even knew that this one existed.
HOLD ME TIGHT has never been one of my favorite BEATLES' songs ... in fact, I always took this one to be one of PAUL McCARTNEY's earliest "throw-away" tracks ... until I heard THIS inventive interpretation. (Oddly enough, this song ALSO rocked me in the recent movie release ACROSS THE UNIVERSE ... quite frankly, I think BOTH these versions COMPLETELY blow THE BEATLES' original take away!!!)
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