THE PASSIONS, "MADE FOR LOVERS" C/W "YOU DON'T LOVE ME ANYMORE," AUDICON 112 (REL. 4/1961)

 

Apologies for the one-week delay on the podcast. Time has not been on my side the last week or so, but I'll have it for Friday next. It should be a good one!

Today’s record is as produced and polished as yesterday’s was not, but it teems with teen spirit nonetheless. The Passions were one of many groups of white teenagers enamored with the sound of doo-wop and inspired to try it themselves. These five Brooklyn youth weren’t intent on cultural appropriation: they loved a sound and wanted to experience it.

Unlike many such groups, The Passions were excellent singers—on-pitch, expressive and engaging. Their proximity to New York meant they worked with the same top-tier arrangers as the Black vocal groups. Carole King wrote string arrangements for some of their songs; today’s single was produced and arranged by Teacho Wiltshire, a Black musician whose name on a record is enough for me to pick it up. Wiltshire had a golden ear and could give any recording just the right touch of class. His techniques were much-imitated, often without the same stellar results; he was as influential as the musicians he produced.

Lead Passion Jimmy Gallagher fronted a quartet of young Italian-Americans. First tenor Tony Armato helped the group get a leg up. He attended the 1959 recording session of “Hushabye” by fellow Big Apple group The Mystics. He schmoozed with their agent and convinced him to work with his group—then known as The Sinceres. Said agent renamed them The Passions and hooked them up with Audicon Records and handed them a demo disc of a song called “Just to Be with You,” sung by Carole King and Paul Simon. The Passions’ version went Top 20 in the Northeast and to #69 on the national pop charts.

Their follow-up, “I Only Want You,” with a fantastic string arrangement by Ms. King, bubbled under the Hot 100 at #113. The group was popular in the Northeast and their singles sold enough there to warrant Audicon’s continued interest. Today we’ll hear their fifth release on the label, which failed to chart but is a fine example of their vocal style.

“Made for Lovers” is a longtime favorite of doo-wop fans. Wiltshire’s arrangement echoes Ms. King’s busy string section style, which suited the group’s sound. A big production spotlights Gallagher’s mellow-but-emotive vocal, with baritone Lou Rotondo given a solo moment in best doo-wop tradition.

This could have been a Drifters record of 1961; just add some prominent Latin percussion, put lead singer Charlie Thomas’ voice in place of Gallagher’s and there you go. They might have gotten a hit with this stirring, positive song that has a haunting quality that belies how put-together and planned out it was in every aspect.

The Cash Box verdict: solid chart go.

“You Don’t Love Me Anymore” puts The Passions as a group to the forefront. Those zwooping strings are still present, but the five voices get more force on this ballad B-side. The song is typical doo-wop wallpaper; despite its predictable course, the five vocalists infuse it with sincerity and emotion. 

Interviewed in 2014, lead Gallagher recalled his teenage roots and the joy of singing with friends:

Down the street, there was a subway that had a beautiful echo. It was so pristine that when we sang — we were kids, so we had high voices -- it was so clear. People coming home from work would stop and listen to us sing. The echo was that beautiful.

Tomorrow: prepare yourself for the eerie onslaught of The Echolettes, via their only recordings in a 1963 Imperial Records 45. Like nothing else you've heard this week.