Robin Ward with The Rainbows, "In His Car" c/w "Wishing," Dot 45-16624 (rel. 5/1964)
The voice of Robin Ward was ubiquitous in the 1960s and '70s. She was a background singer who made countless uncredited appearances singing commercial jingles, TV theme songs and as part of large ensembles like The Ray Conniff Singers. Seldom is her voice heard on its own. She had one major hit with the ethereal "Wonderful Summer," a million-seller for Dot Records in the summer of 1963.
Born Jacqueline McDonald on a Navy base in Hawaii sometime before Pearl Harbor day, she and her family relocated to Nebraska for a spell. She began to sing in public, and after she won a major talent contest, her family sensed a career opportunity. No more corn-husking for them; they were off to California.
She gained local exposure via a four-year run on an LA teen music show where she sang hits of the day. This led to her doing demo recordings of new songs and the first of many background vocals for other peoples' records. (Among them was cringe king Pat Boone's "Speedy Gonzales;" she sings the catchy la-las.)
Songwriter-producer Perry Botkin Jr. had her do the demo honors for a new teen song he co-wrote with Gil Garfield. In post-production, Botkin played with the recording and raised the pitch to make Ward's voice brighter. The results, everyone agreed, were worthy of commercial release. Because her voice now sounded so youthful, Ward used the name Robin and watched the single soar into the Top 20 in the fall of 1963.
The song's theme--summer was over, and a wonderful guy made it the best three months of the narrator's life-to-date--was romantic and appealing. With a better B-side in "Dream Boy," this single is a classic LA pop confection recorded at the legendary Gold Star Studios.
The follow-up, "Winter's Here," continued the narrative with an elegant melody and a haunting arrangement. It and a third single, "Johnny Come and Get Me," failed to click with the public. 'Robin Ward' was destined to be a one-hit wonder.
Dot Records tried once more with today's single, a favorite of girl-group afficionados. I found this record in a cluttered, tiny store's scrabble of random 45s in beat-up cardboard boxes, stacked without care.. New items pop up in this mass of forgotten music, and a nice copy of "In His Car" was my reward for not giving up. There was one box I'd not dug through. I was tired; I'd been in the store for over an hour, but in for a penny, in for a pound. I found a dozen other 45s but this was the prize of the lot.
The influence of Brian Wilson is evident in this eerie ode to the intimacy our narrator shares with her special guy within his automobile. A double-tracked Ward self-harmonizes with backgrounds by "The Rainbows"--multi-tracked Robins.
This pop hymn has a warm, weird vibe, with Hal Blaine's drumming among other Wrecking Crew denizens in support of this ethereal slice of teen psychology. Though thoughts of real-world hanky-panky might come to the listener, it's all innocent and serene. No fogged-up windows. One can almost smell the vinyl seat-covers and a faint hint of Fritos. Ms. Ward co-produced this single too!
This record was ignored by all the music biz papers. Released in the late spring of 1964, it couldn't help sounding out of sync with the British bands who dominated the American pop charts.
"Wishing" is a waltz-time girl-group song--not many of those! The many voices of Ms. Ward are in fine fettle, with piano to the fore. It doesn't try to sound country, though the waltz tempo suggests that genre. It's a sweet li'l B-side; no patch on the epic vibe of "In His Car." Bonus points for unexpected hot guitar towards record's end.
This single's failure was the finale for 'Robin Ward,' but not for the woman behind the voice. She sang the classic Rice-a-Roni TV commercial spot, was a mainstay of TV variety shows and provided the vocals for members of The Partridge Family who weren't singers.
This Wikipedia entry (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Ward_(singer)) gives you a taste of all the anonymous work Ward did over the years. There were many like her, but few could boast a hit single.
Tomorrow: feisty Black girl group The Rubies (one of many with that name) deliver a pair of earthy delights via a rare 1963 Zenith Records single.
Wow--thanks, Frank! Even though I don't own a 45 of it, "Wonderful Summer" has always been a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. I also find "In His Car" oddly affecting...I remember the experience fondly from my early driving days. I checked out "Winter's Here" on Youtube and was surprised to hear that it's an almost identical twin of The Caravelles' "You Are Here" (April 1964). Different lyrics but otherwise really similar. Looks like Ward's cut was March 1964? Mysterious!
ReplyDeleteD'oh! I meant to mention that. It is the same song. The British girls changed the lyrics to make it more of a year-round song. Confusing listeners for 62 years and change!
DeleteI love that Caravelles' track (even though the compression in the production is way over the top)
Delete"In HIs Car" sounds to me pretty much a girlish continuation of the Beach Boys "In My Room" from 1963—definitely, as you mention, under the influence of Brian Wilson. (BWUI in California Highway Patrol parlance) Love the waltzy "Wishing"—Miss Ward's vocal ranges are beatific and recording her own different voices as her back up singers must have been something to see in the studio.
ReplyDelete