TOM & STEVE-THE ROUTEENS, "YOU ARE MY GIRL" C/W "YOU'RE UNFORGETTABLE," CHARM CH-102 (REL. ?/1959)

    
Zero information on today's single, another one-off effort that was the musical debut of Steve Duboff, beloved songwriter with a long career and many hits (including 1965's "The Pied Piper" as sung by Christian St. Peter). For this 1959 mega-obscurity, Duboff teamed up with Tom Fexas, who I'll asuume was a teenaged chum, in one of hundreds of attempts to make the Everly Brothers sound click for performers not named Don and Phil.

Like the many similar efforts to capture The Coasters' rollicking sound, it failed, but a guy's gotta start somewhere, capiche? And this isn't a bad start-at least for the up-tempo side, which is an excellent try with a winning lo-fi vibe.

"You Are My Girl" opening with a Latin rhythm and strummed acoustic guitars, with a sparse backup including electric bass. Its strong, sure tones are recorded well-unlike the acoustic guitars, whose thrashings don't retain much fidelity on this Columbia Records custom styrene disc. Columbia used the worst styrene: quite the comedown from their shellac-based 78 rpm discs of the 1920s, which have low surface noise and a stunning depth of fidelity. Those days were long gone in 1959, and the astro-modern idea of records made from Styrofoam felt futuristic. As did Red Dye #2 and cancer-causing artificial sweeteners, et al.

Back to the music. These two sound a bit like 'Tom and Jerry,' AKA Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, who got a 1957 pop hit with "Hey Schoolgirl" for Big Records. "The Sound of Silence" was a galaxy away from Tom & Jerry's upbeat pop sides. Music and society were on the sudden brink of change.

Speaking of which, weren't the election results heartening? If Democrats don't fumble this gift given them, we may yet slay the spray-tanned dragon and his soul-less dragoon of goons (who, as restitution, should be made to do storybook readings in drag at public libraries. Just a wild thought.)

This is not an important record. It isn't a great record. But it's a success story for two ambitious teenagers who broke through enough barriers to get a record out. Steve Duboff built on this. He and Fexas co-wrote one other song that got recorded. In 1964, white doo-woppers the Demilles cut "Um-Ba-Pa," a record that could not have seen more dated and corny upon its February release, as Beatlemania whopped American music upside the head.

I like the long minor chord that's held during the Routeens' verses here. That's the most winning aspect of "You Are My Girl." With, of course, the chonky rough-edged sound.

"You're Unforgettable" would be forgettable were it a slick professional production. Our Routeens go off-pitch throughout, which may make this side tough sledding for some. I find it enhances the DIY feeling, which I love in rock music of this era. But I'm a bit of an eccentric in this capacity. I can imagine this being rough going for some ears. Anyhow, here it is, warts and all.

By the early 1960s, Steve Duboff was an established songwriter. Associated with Roulette Records until "The Pied Piper" gave him leverage, he was among several songwriters who bashed out Merseybeat soundalikes for minor British beat group The Hullaballoos.  With fellow cleffer Artie Kornfeld, "The Pied Piper," "Aladdin," "The Rain, The Park and Other Things" resulted, among lesser-known but often-solid work.

A decade after today's record, Duboff released "Woodstock '69 (In the Peaceful Valley") for Cotillion Records. These two records demonstrate how huge a societal change struck the world in one decade.

May your day be merry and bright.

Tomorrow: our teen trio closes with an Atlanta-made single by Al Hartley and The Heartbeats. One side of this 1964 Limelight Records 45s is a killer evocation of the Del Shannon sound.