The Tune Tones, "Lonesome Soul" c/w "She's Right For Me," Herald H-539 (rel. 3/1959)
A mathematician might work out the formula for the ratio of documented information to the obscurity of a 45-rpm record. They'd need to be bored or obsessed to do such a thing. It does seem that the more intriguing a super-obscure record is, the less information exists about it. Thanks to fellow blogger JC Piazza, who's run a doo-wop/r&b blog since 2007 (though it's been dormant for two years now), I have some information about the makers of a haunting li'l single that came out one month after "the day the music died" and shows two New York teenagers' attempt to keep the flame going with their own adventurous efforts.
You may recall our recent post about The Deuces Wild; if not, click on that link and check it out. The Tune Tones were two music-mad teens, Allen Levy and Gilbert Kaplan, who went from fans to creators. With the fervor of youth, they felt they stood a chance of making it in rock 'n' roll.
They attended Tildan High School in Brooklyn. Kaplan was delayed in the school halls by piano music. He looked into a room and saw Levy tickling the ivories. He was impressed. Kaplan had a friend in the music business. They decided to write some songs and audition for this man. He was Jim Gribble, who had a modest studio and was a potential manager for young, unknown performers. His studio was a popular hangout for such hopefuls. Paul Simon and Lou Reed were among the many who called Gribble's pad a second home.
They sang their material for Gribble, who was impressed. Did they have a group name? No. Hmmm: how about...uh...The Tune Tones? Yeah. That's it. I know someone who knows someone who...
Gribble hooked them up with Herald Records, an indie label in business since 1953. Herald had such hits as "Stay" by Maurice Williams, "Shake a Hand" by Faye Adams and "Story Untold" by The Nutmegs; it also recorded blues, r&b, pop and lasted til the early days of Beatlemania in 1964. Herald's offices were in the same building as Gribble's; they went up unannounced and sealed a deal with label owner Al Silver.
Herald issued two singles by the duo, who were augmented with session musicians. The first, "Please Baby Please," was issued in the summer of 1958. It got some radio play but didn't chart and was soon forgotten. (It's a schmaltzy ballad and nothing like the record you're about to hear.)
Kaplan and Levy returned for a second session which produced today's single. Its success made the first seem like a gold record. It's unlikely it was released to the music market; only radio station advance copies appear to exist. This one paired two guitar-led teen mood pieces with unusual chord changes and harmonies that anticipate those lads from Liverpool whose arrival would overlap with Herald's end of days.
"Lonesome Soul" has the excitement of the early Beatles recordings; the same attempt at unusual, unpredictable melodies guides this beguiling mid-tempo mover.
The two sing with a real gutsy feeling; they're in tune and their harmonies are advanced beyond the usual clean thirds you hear in most '50s pop-rock records. Though the influence of The Everly Brothers is a given, Kaplan and Levy take their approach into strange and beguiling places.
It's an outstanding song and performance that deserves to be heard and appreciated. A simple arrangement adds to the fine effect. This might have been a Sun Records release in a better universe. Cash Box, Billboard and the other music mags weren't aware of its existence.
"She's Right For Me" is the uptempo side. Kudos to the two cleffers for not writing yet another cookie-cutter rocker. Their lyrics,detailed and relatable, make a big difference. At a medium tempo, this bops along well and I wish the lead guitarist did more than they do; whomever they are, they have a fine sound.
I can't figure out what they sing in the chorus: "well, she's got the strokes/and I love her the most..." that can't be it, but it sounds that way. Perhaps those with keener ears can suss it out.
And that was it for The Tune Tones. Perhaps they bowed to parental pressure; it was time to put this silly music aside and get a real job. Allen Levy's love of music guided his future career. He was an associate editor of Record World, and wrote rock criticism. He did PR for a few record companies and for ASCAP, the songwriter royalty firm.
In 1990, he became a professor at Chapman University in Orange, CA. He served as Assistant Professor of Media Studies and was an advisor to the school's radio station, where he was encouraging and adventurous and left behind an Internet-only station with an eclectic programming policy. He retired in 2015 and is still with us.
Gilbert Kaplan became a veternarian and passed away some years ago. It's proven impossible to find out anything about his later years, but an animal doctor is a compassionate soul, and I hope he had a good life.
Tomorrow: weird country-folk-pop by Linda Thomas, with a song co-written by Marvin Rainwater and Wayne Walker. A Reprise Records oddity from 1963.
I enjoyed "Lonesome Soul" at the end of the podcast, but both of these tracks are very likably earnest and clean. I like the backing tracks a lot and yeah, though the Everly's influence is obvious I agree there's some Mersey feel in there that's ahead of the curve! Pretty cool to hear--thanks, Frank!
ReplyDeleteThese great songs sound like a link between the Everly Bros. harmonies and the mutation of John and Paul's skiffle influences into what would be the Beatles sound—with George Martin's help of course. Too bad Levy and Kaplan didn't get hits from these—they would have been able to produce more good records like these.
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