Dorothy Berry, "You're So Fine" c/w "Cryin' On My Pillow," Challenge 59221 (rel. 11/1963)
Ms. Berry met her future husband while still in high school. Richard was an alumus of Jefferson High School in LA and dropped in to visit his youthful stomping grounds. Dorothy caught his eye and a courtship began. During the time they dated, Richard worked up a little song called "Louie Louie;" perhaps you've heard of it.
Richard admired Dorothy's vocal talents and did his best to get her recognition and success. He pawned off future rights to "Louie" to afford a wedding ring; his legal struggles to get ownership of the song, the 1980s and '90s, were dramatic but successful. All that was in the foggy future when they wed.
Ms. Berry first recorded as part of a girl group called The Idols, then made a 1961 single for Vanco Records, "You Know You Lied," that commands triple-figure sums nowadays--a trait of many singles she made. She tried answer records: "The Girl Who Stopped The Duke of Earl," "I'll Say You're Driving Me Crazy." These early singles are all excellent, and feature songs written or co-written by her hubby.
Then came David Gates, young Oklahoma transplant who'd become a songwriter and producer of note in Los Angeles. His song "Popsicles and Icicles" would be the last song to top the American pop charts before the onslaught of The Beatles on the American consciousness. His productions, inspired by Phil Spector's, chose a lighter, more compact sound and stressed the appeal of the song and its performer(s).
He and Dorothy were an ideal fit; they worked together for the next few years. No hits resulted, but the singles are spendy items nowadays. Today's record was the first in this series. I found it last Saturday; I got it for a bargain and the moment I sighted it was a thrill. At last! Let's get to it...
I'm saving the best for last. Not that Berry's version of "You're So Fine" is a slouch. First recorded by Detroit vocal group The Falcons in 1959, and a Top 20 pop hit that year, it's rethunk as a Wall of Sound girl-group mover, with uncredited co-stars The Blossoms (with Darlene Love) on stellar backup vox. The original didn't get played to death on oldies radio, so the song retains its freshness and its gospel-flavored melody and clever lyrics ("you're my first cup of coffee; my last cup of tea") are ideal for these talented women to tackle.
In most cases, this would be the highlighted side. It is quite good. But girl-group heaven awaits on the flip-side. (Speaking of sides, I think it was difficult for disc jockeys to agree on which side was the one to spin. Such confusion often canceled out a promising single, but sometimes both sides were of equal value and appeal.)
Cash Box vied for "You're So Fine" and got into some verbal be-bop. "Tune her bespeaks of today's melodic clicks," e.g.
David Gates' "Cryin' on My Pillow" is on the short list of girl-group masterpieces. Dorothy does an intense double-tracked lead vocal on this melodic meditation on a love affair gone South, with lyrics reminiscent of a Johnny Mercer (this couplet slays me: "Can't forget the day we met, by chances quite remote/Flashed a glance, I took romance and man, that's all she wrote").
Add reverbed surf guitar and the warm backup of the talented Blossoms and it's just plain perfect. This teen-noir story song packs a sardonic punch; once heard, it's never forgotten. The dynamite melody had me hitting the repeat button on my CD player many times in the late 1990s. Three decades (!!!) later, it still evokes that reaction. Dorothy Berry made some bigger and, perhaps, better records in years to come, but this one has stuck with me, and I'm delighted to have a copy of this hard-to-find record.
Berry and Gates' collaboration went into overdrive when they signed with Dot Records, who had launched a new subsidiary, Planetary. There, the two made Northern Soul favorites--two singles that demand a large chunk of change for clean originals.
A major career change came in 1968, when Dorothy began to work with soul legend Ray Charles as his lead Raelette. She toured with Charles all over the world for a decade-plus. By then, her marriage to Richard Berry had fizzled out; they'd had two children and they remained friends.
Her travels took her to the Middle East, where she witnessed bloodshed and destruction. She wrote a sincere song, "The World Needs Peace," and asked her ex-hubby to help her get it recorded. Released as a duet, it resounds as an anthem for human kindness and acceptance, and is worth hearing right now:
Beloved by family, friends and colleagues, Dorothy Berry never had a chart hit or an album, but made records that continue to be heard and savored. She passed on in late 2019 from complications with COPD. She is an American treasure.
Tomorrow: a switch to 1960s garage with Colorado's Moon Rakers, via a delightful 1965 single for Capitol's Tower imprint. A record with a vague Beach Boys connection!
"You're So Fine" seems like a logical progression from songs of the Chiffons:"He's So Fine" and "One Fine Day." Where the Chiffons pine for the guy or lose him to another girl—Dorothy Berry gets the guy. Love "Cryin' On My Pillow" with its twangy Dick Dale guitar and Beach Boys beat.
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