169 since 7 pm
RIP
P.F. Sloan
writer of "Secret Agent Man"
and
"Eve of Destruction"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfZVu0alU0I
PF Sloan by Jimmy Webb Song Review by Joe Viglione [-]
On his self-produced Words & Music release from 1970 songwriter Jimmy Webb does a dramatically different version of this tribute to Buzzy Linhart's ex-roommate,Philip "Flip" Sloan.
This is a major colleague writing an ode to one of the quirky but brilliant West Coast writers of song. Though Webb re-recorded this in 1977 with producer George Martin, it is still The Association's version which gets much attention. Their spacious and experimental production is interesting on a tune which relishes the harmonies, but seems a bit too far out for that crew.
It is Webb's original rendition on the Words & Music album which is condensed and has some staying power. He sings it with sheer enthusiasm giving a protest song feel to a composition about a protest songwriter. Webb's original rendition is marvelous with a sincere charm. Picture early Neil Young singing on key. It's four minutes of a descending musical line and interesting hook which doesn't sound very much like Sloan's own work - remember, it's about him. "Don't sing this song...it belongs to P.F. Sloan...from now on." Enter harmonica.
______________________________________________________________________
On his self-produced Words & Music release from 1970 songwriter Jimmy Webb does a dramatically different version of this tribute to Buzzy Linhart's ex-roommate,Philip "Flip" Sloan.
This is a major colleague writing an ode to one of the quirky but brilliant West Coast writers of song. Though Webb re-recorded this in 1977 with producer George Martin, it is still The Association's version which gets much attention. Their spacious and experimental production is interesting on a tune which relishes the harmonies, but seems a bit too far out for that crew.
It is Webb's original rendition on the Words & Music album which is condensed and has some staying power. He sings it with sheer enthusiasm giving a protest song feel to a composition about a protest songwriter. Webb's original rendition is marvelous with a sincere charm. Picture early Neil Young singing on key. It's four minutes of a descending musical line and interesting hook which doesn't sound very much like Sloan's own work - remember, it's about him. "Don't sing this song...it belongs to P.F. Sloan...from now on." Enter harmonica.
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Met P.F. twice in the 1980s in Los Angeles with the late Jo Jo Laine, the late producer of the Rolling Stones, Jimmy Miller.
Memories and songs now.
The plane arrived. As Jimmy drove the rent-a-car from the airport to the Chateau Marmont (where Myra Breckinridge was filmed - featuring Mae West and Raquel Welch) I dressed up in Jo Jo's big red coat and sat on the back of the convertible.
People were waving to us.
With jet lag I just wanted to go to sleep. The phone rings. It's Jimmy Miller. "Let's go to Carlos and Charlies."
"Miller...I gotta get some rest...I'm exhausted..." (I was only 32 at the time...half a life time ago...)
"Oh let's go to Carlos and Charlies" (which was across the street from the hotel - 8240 Sunset Boulevard - it has changed names over the years in L.A., but the restaurant is still in Cancun, Mexico, I believe --- Carlos & Charlie's during the '70s & '80s, and Dublin's Irish Pub during the 90s. https://www.facebook.com/VintageLosAngeles/photos/a.122373011152760.18320.121097987946929/587893751267348/)
Well, who was sitting across from us but Herve Villiechaize - Tattoo from Fantasy Island and Nick Nack from James Bond's Man with the Golden Gun. As Jo Jo said "L.A. is a magical place."
Through a friend of Jo Jo's who became a co-host of Visual Radio, and her roommate - who was in love with P.F. Sloan, I met the legendary songwriter for the Grass Roots, the Turtles...guitarist with the Mamas and the Papas.
P.F. Sloan
Text Copyright 2015 by Joe Viglione from his forthcoming book.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herv%C3%A9_Villechaize
Hervé Jean-Pierre Villechaize (23 April 1943 – 4 September 1993) was a French actor of English and Filipino descent who achieved worldwide recognition for various roles including that of the evil henchman Nick Nack in the James Bond film, The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
Ze Plane! Ze Plane! (also sometimes quoted as Da Plane! Da Plane! or The Plane! The Plane!) is a cultural reference to the typical opening of Fantasy Island, a television series which aired in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Each episode began with the diminutive Tattoo (played by Hervé Villechaize), one of the main characters, spotting the seaplane approaching the island and running up a tower and excitedly yelling, with a French accent, "Ze Plane! Ze Plane!" and ringing a bell. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ze_plane!_Ze_plane!
Secret Agent Man
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iaR3WO71j4
P. F. Sloan (born Philip Gary Schlein; September 18, 1945 – November 15, 2015) was an American pop-rock singer and songwriter. He was very successful during the mid-1960s, writing, performing, and producing Billboard top 20 hits for artists such as Barry McGuire, the Searchers, Jan and Dean, Herman's Hermits, Johnny Rivers, the Grass Roots, the Turtles, and the Mamas & the Papas.[1]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._F._Sloan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P.F._Sloan_%28song%29
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