The Kaplan Brothers – Eleanor Rigby (The Kaplan Brothers, 1973)
Ponytone has long been a connoisseur of fine Rigbies of the Eleanor variety, and this one is stellar. According to the back of the record, not only did the Kaplan Brothers have a long standing gig at Chicago’s Sheraton O’Hare, they were the hosts of a one-hour nationwide television show sponsored by the San Antonio World’s Fair. They also entertained Lady Bird Johnson, one of my heroes because apparently she conducted all of her business from bed. (Which does make me wonder just where exactly this “entertainment” took place)
The Holy Ghost Reception Committee #9 – Know They’re You
(The Torchbearers, 1968)
To alleviate the boredom of weekly Mass, students from Regis Jesuit High School in New York City started writing and performing their own songs. They ended up with a recording contract with the Church of the Apostle of St. Paul.
One Sunday afternoon in 1970, Sister Marianne Misetech invited two accomplished musicians — Cookie Routtu and Jeannie Rey Routtu — to listen to Marianne and her fellow sisters perform her quirky compositions. Cookie and Jeannie Rey had been performing professionally as The Rey Sisters throughout the Pacific Northwest and Europe. They were masters of the piano, marimba, guitar, mandolin, string bass, and drums. When they heard the nuns perform that afternoon they found “a very modern approach to the celebration of life” and they wanted to help them get their songs recorded. At that moment the five nuns and the Rey Sisters became The Nun-Plus. The Croatian titled Ljubimo (“Let Us Love”) was released in 1970 on Amato Records, featuring lyrics and music by Marianne Misetech with arrangements by Jeannie Rey Routtu.
In keeping with the theme of football, let’s shift our attention across the pond for a moment and take a look at its brutish American cousin. The NFL season is getting ready to start, and though we at ponytone couldn’t care less where Brett Favre is playing or whether Pac Man Jones ditches his nickname or not, we are vastly interested in the goings-on of defunct teams from a bygone century.
In the late 1970s the Houston Oilers were one of the best football teams in America, due in large part to the strong coaching of Bum Phillips and the brilliant playing of Earl Campbell, a “one-man demolition team” widely recognized as one of the best running backs in NFL history.
In 1979, Bellaire Records put out an LP to honor and celebrate the Oilers’ success. The album contains mostly original songs of a wide range of artists and styles, including “Houston Oiler Polka” by the Janicek Polka Band, and “I’m Proud To Be A Houston Oiler Fan” by Mike Boyd and 5000 Oiler Fans. Personally, I had high hopes for the “Houston Oiler Disco” by Donna & the Dolls, but it proved to be a disappointment. The standout tracks are two songs written and performed by Tom Cantrell. The first is a tribute to Earl Campbell, and the second is the gritty tale of a grueling battle with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Tom Cantrell with Dink & The Ootes – Big Bad Earl
A sad footnote to the Oilers saga: Earl got injured, Bum got fired, and the franchise moved to Tennessee and changed its name to the Titans in 1997.
Gadi Elon was an Israeli lounge singer who captivated audiences from the trenches of the Israeli wars to the nightclubs of New York and Las Vegas. Presumably he sold this privately pressed record at his shows. According to the liner notes the song “Smilin Eyes” was especially written for Gadi by Butch Poverno and George Bitzer, who are also credited with background vocals. A bit of googling revealed that George Bitzer was also the main keyboardist on Andy Gibb’s Shadow Dancing LP and wrote the theme song for the cartoon “Galaxy High”.
