Dean Scott, "Gotta Be Losers Too" c/w "Two Years Ago Today," Scepter 12137 (rel. 7/1966)
It seems odd to write about non-r&b artists after a week of just that. Today we travel to Houston, Texas, where producer-songwriter-promoter Huey P. Meaux established a recording fiefdom in the 1960s. Meaux recorded everyone from female soul artist Barbara Lynn to white rocker Roy Head, Latino country star Freddie Fender, Doug Sahm's garage-pop Sir Douglas Quintet, blue-eyed soulster B. J. Thomas, et al.
In Meaux's q.v. are some Northern Soul favorites alongside the pop, rock, soul and country hits he achieved as producer. Born in 1929 in Louisiana, Meaux relocated to Texas in his teens. After his military service, he got into the music biz with his production of swamp-pop artist Jivin' Gene Bourgeois' 1959 classic "Breaking Up is Hard To Do." The momentum of this pop hit kickstarted his second career--his first, short-lived, was as a barber in a small Texas town.
In Meaux's q.v. are some Northern Soul favorites alongside the pop, rock, soul and country hits he achieved as producer. Born in 1929 in Louisiana, Meaux relocated to Texas in his teens. After his military service, he got into the music biz with his production of swamp-pop artist Jivin' Gene Bourgeois' 1959 classic "Breaking Up is Hard To Do." The momentum of this pop hit kickstarted his second career--his first, short-lived, was as a barber in a small Texas town.
Nicknamed "The Crazy Cajun," Meaux made slews of singles for bayou-country artists of all genres in the 1960s. Alas, his personal flaws got the best of him. In 1967, he was indicted, with two other men, on charges that he brought an underage girl to a Nashville music convention as a sex object for other attendees. He served three years in prison on that charge; in 1977 president Jimmy Carter pardoned him--not the first nor last of questionable actions in this department.
None of that was on the horizon yet as Meaux produced a 1966 single for Dean Scott, charismatic all-'round entertainer who was the alternate lead vocalist for Roy Head's band The Traits. Content to be a big fish in a small pond, Scott and his band often entertained at a Houston Shakey's Pizza restaurant, where his antics, which included comedy and celebrity impersonations, are fondly remembered by the now-elderly members of his bygone audience.
Meaux saw star quality in Scott, and with today's single achieved a magnificent wall-of-sound vibe that anticipates the early sound of Bruce Springsteen. "Gotta Be Losers Too," penned by Texas singer-composer Dale Ward, wouldn't be out of place on Springsteen's first couple of albums. Though mixed too "hot" on the white-label promo pressing I have (which has the B-side label on both faces of the record), it's a majestic sheen of sound that rivals anything made in LA studios that year.
Meaux saw star quality in Scott, and with today's single achieved a magnificent wall-of-sound vibe that anticipates the early sound of Bruce Springsteen. "Gotta Be Losers Too," penned by Texas singer-composer Dale Ward, wouldn't be out of place on Springsteen's first couple of albums. Though mixed too "hot" on the white-label promo pressing I have (which has the B-side label on both faces of the record), it's a majestic sheen of sound that rivals anything made in LA studios that year.
Majestic 12-string guitar chimes in the opening; Scott's vocal performance, which ranges from a whispered plea to gravel-voiced rave, relates a philosophy that "everybody can't be a winner" and that life's ups and downs are to be expected; to navigate with grace and dignity is the key.
It appears Scott recorded a faint guide vocal with the backing band (who might be The Traits). Meaux left that looser performance in the final mix; it's sometimes confusing to hear two conflicting voices and the record loses some of its potential impact via this sloppy touch. It transcends this fault and is a rousing, emotional song that had hit potential in the pop market of 1966. I'm sure it did well around the Houston metro area, where Scott had a devoted following. File it under Lost Classics. Wait: that filing cabinet is full; so are #2 and 3. There may be some space in #4, down at the end of the hall. Right...there.
Cash Box felt confident the fine A-side of today's single would be a hit. With a tad more TLC, Dean Scott could've been a household name.
"Two Years Ago Today" is in more familiar pop territory. It's no "husky, infectious chant," as Cash Box pegged it. In the Roy Orbison-Charlie Rich vein, it's the sad story of a jilted man who's had the blues for two years over a woman who he can't forget. He eats crow every day of his life, as he can't leave the scene of his heartbreak.
A gentler arrangement with flute and piano to the fore leaves Scott ample room to emote. He anticipates B. J. Thomas' forthcoming pop hits for Scepter Records and has a showman's skill at making someone else's song his personal property. I'm sure the patrons of Shakey's Pizza were wowed by his "emotion and soulfilled reading" of whatever song he chose to sing for their supper.
Meau'x later life was a sad affair; read his Wikipedia page for the depressing details. Scott kept on performing for years in Texas. After a brief retirement, he emerged as lead singer for the parodic Deja Boomers, a local band who sang classic songs with satirical lyrics and provided a stage for Scott's more jovial side. On his own, he made one album, Holdin' On for Dear Life, in 1989 as a CD release on his own Scarob (sic) imprint. I believe he's still with us. He has quite a low internet profile.
Tomorrow: The Chiffons return with an outstanding 1967 Laurie Records single; a non-Motown up-beat A side and a B swathed in that unique New York shade of melancholy.
Wow! Thanks, Frank! This dude also had some "Davie Jones/Bowie-like" warbling going on.These are fascinating tracks!
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure, Dean, as always. I hadn't considered the Bowie-esque qualities of this other Dean's voice, but you're right!
DeleteThanks, Frank--glad that wasn't in my imagination? I agree that both tracks here are Springsteen-ian...the second track in particular reminds me of what Springsteen ended up doing on "Greetings From Asbury Park" and the first track to me is a little more in the "Darkness on the Edge of Town" vein.
ReplyDeleteWell, we all hear something different with our different set of ears and music prompts. The 1967 King/Goffin song recorded by the Monkees— "Sometime In The Morning" —sounds borrowed from "Gotta Have Losers Too"—at least the beginning bars. I got a more Roy Orbison vibe on "Two Years Ago Today." Of course, Springsteen songs borrow heavily from the 1960s and 1970s pop. That's what he would have grown up on. Wish Scott had skipped that falsetto at end of "Two Years..." His bass voice would have made that a stronger song. He seems to be parodying someone. Oh well...
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