Trans Atlas was a brief 1962 continuation of Warwick after the parent company of the latter, Seven Arts Record Productions Corporation,* went bankrupt in April 1962. It even continued Warwick's numerical series, which ran from 501 to 681 and then went from 682 to 699 as Trans Atlas.
Morty Craft died as recently as 2022, aged 101. Can't think of many other record industry figures who made it to a hundred.
* Unrelated to the movie production company Seven Arts Productions which briefly owned Warner Bros. in the late '60s, despite misinformation online.
Dave Yorko apparently originated the turn-your-back-to-the-audience-while-playing-live schtick that Miles Davis would later employ, as he was fiercely protective of his guitar licks and didn't want any other axe handlers stealing them.
Dan, Your article today stirred up a pleasant memory for me. Back in 1959, after the release of my first record, I spent an evening backstage at an Alan Freed Rock and Roll Show in New York. Mostly I hung out with Jimmy Clanton, Thomas Wayne, and Dale Hawkins. The four of us sat around a dressing room and talked music non-stop. At the time, there were two records called (You’re) So Fine on the charts. One by the Fiestas, and the other - the one you discussed - by the Falcons.
We got into comparing the two records and when it was my turn I said I like the Fiestas doo-wop version better. I'm telling you, those three guys jumped down my throat with surprising enthusiasm, telling me I was crazy, that the Falcons had the better record, that only a New Yorker could see it the way I did, etc. It was all good-natured, but those guys weren't kidding. To a man, they went for the proto-soulish arrangement on the Falcons record, and found very little to love in the gospely doo-wop sound of the Fiestas. Throughout the evening, the four of us agreed on most everything - but not So Fine.
Hank Davis
(author) Ducktails, Drive-Ins And Broken Hearts: An Unsweetened Look At 50s Music
I love it when these things happen & I understand your attraction to that Magic Sam album, from the one song you posted, I must now get the whole album.
Trans Atlas was a brief 1962 continuation of Warwick after the parent company of the latter, Seven Arts Record Productions Corporation,* went bankrupt in April 1962. It even continued Warwick's numerical series, which ran from 501 to 681 and then went from 682 to 699 as Trans Atlas.
Morty Craft died as recently as 2022, aged 101. Can't think of many other record industry figures who made it to a hundred.
* Unrelated to the movie production company Seven Arts Productions which briefly owned Warner Bros. in the late '60s, despite misinformation online.
Ah, thank you for the clarification! And yeah, 101 is a helluva run, especially for a record man!
Dave Yorko apparently originated the turn-your-back-to-the-audience-while-playing-live schtick that Miles Davis would later employ, as he was fiercely protective of his guitar licks and didn't want any other axe handlers stealing them.
Interesting! Eddie Van Halen did that early on, too...
It’s interesting to me that the Hurricanes briefly had another existence on wax apart from John Paris (ne Pochic)
Queen II is their best.
Ogre Battle lives forevermore!
Oh my. Is it my recently rattled brain but it sounds suspiciously like Carly’s “You’re so Vain”— I bet you think this song is a rip-off. 🥺
Dan, Your article today stirred up a pleasant memory for me. Back in 1959, after the release of my first record, I spent an evening backstage at an Alan Freed Rock and Roll Show in New York. Mostly I hung out with Jimmy Clanton, Thomas Wayne, and Dale Hawkins. The four of us sat around a dressing room and talked music non-stop. At the time, there were two records called (You’re) So Fine on the charts. One by the Fiestas, and the other - the one you discussed - by the Falcons.
We got into comparing the two records and when it was my turn I said I like the Fiestas doo-wop version better. I'm telling you, those three guys jumped down my throat with surprising enthusiasm, telling me I was crazy, that the Falcons had the better record, that only a New Yorker could see it the way I did, etc. It was all good-natured, but those guys weren't kidding. To a man, they went for the proto-soulish arrangement on the Falcons record, and found very little to love in the gospely doo-wop sound of the Fiestas. Throughout the evening, the four of us agreed on most everything - but not So Fine.
Hank Davis
(author) Ducktails, Drive-Ins And Broken Hearts: An Unsweetened Look At 50s Music
Wow, what a cool moment! (And for the record, I agree with those cats!) Thanks for sharing, Hank!
Spin them wheels! Neat read, gotta listen, cheers ~
I love it when these things happen & I understand your attraction to that Magic Sam album, from the one song you posted, I must now get the whole album.
It's so good!