Continuing with three in one pattern, all of todays songs are the result of a second chance in one way or another. All three failed to make an instant splash the second time around either but have achieved a cult following that continues to grow.
The Royal Guardsmen are best known for "Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron" and its many sequels but their first forty-five, "Baby, Let's Wait", is the one I love the most. It's plea of not rushing into a commitment drenched in echo and drowning in its organ heavy arrangement sounds like a man trapped between his heart and his future. The (Young) Rascals had already recorded the Lori Burton - Pam Sawyer composition (following creative, if not huge commercial, success with the team's flawless "Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart (Anymore)") but left it as an album cut on their debut, leaving the singles field open. It may have been too heavy - in every sense of the word - for the dj's of '66 but it finally found an audience upon re-release in '68 and would be the last hit for The Royal Guardsmen. If the songs scenario sounds familiar, it may be because co-author (with Lori Burton) Pam Sawyer would revisit the theme with The Supremes' "Love Child" as part of the songwriting team The Corporation. The song has shown up on several compilations over the year but I've yet to find the mono single mix available in digital form. So bad is the stereo mix that I've resorted to doing a little Sound Forge magic on my own to approximate the claustrophobia found in the grooves of the 45.
Orpheus was born in Worcester, Massachusetts and signed with M-G-M in late 1967. Their self-title debut album and the single, "Can't Find The Time" were released the following January. The single stopped at #111 but the album did well enough (#119 on the album chart) to warrant the release of two more albums. Finally cracking the Hot 100 with "Brown Arms In Houston" in 1969, M-G-M re-released "Can't Find The Time" and it crept to #80 as the band was falling apart. Chief songwriter, Bruce Arnold, would sign a newly staffed Orpheus to Bell Records in 1970 for one final album before disbanding the group in 1972. "Can't Find The Time" would hit the charts one more time in 1971, recorded by the Dallas act Rose Colored Glass, peaking at #51. A version by Hootie And The Blowfish was recorded for "Me, Myself, And Irene".
Little Jimmy Scott suffered from a rare genetic condition known as Kallman's syndrome that left him with the body of a prepubescent boy and the voice of an angel. He began singing while ushering at a Cleveland theater, performing for the crowd that lingered after the headliner had finished. Working his way to New York, he formed a close friendship with Doc Pomus who, at that time, was still trying to make it as a blues singer. Jimmy finally saw success in the late forties as the vocalist on the Lionel Hampton Band hit "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" although the success was hindered by a label credit that read "with male vocalist". Signing a with Savoy Records, owned by Herman Lubinsky, a man notorious for his cruel and deceitful dealings, would bring some immediate success, the arrangement would effectively halt his recording career for nearly two decades. As his recordings for the label stopped finding an audience, Jimmy signed with Ray Charles' label, Tangerine, and the Genius himself produced an album that was hailed as a landmark in jazz vocals. As buzz for the album grew Lubinsky brought suit against all parties involved, resulting in the album being pulled and a disillusioned Scott returning to Cleveland and menial jobs, losing touch with Pomus in the process. In 1969, and again in 1972, Atlantic recorded albums for Jimmy but the release of each would be hindered by the litigious nature of Herman Lubinsky and Scott would again return to Cleveland.
Doc Pomus never forgot Jimmy or his voice and began searching for him during the eighties with no success until he came across a concert listing for a show Scott was doing in Newark. Reunited with his old friend and with Lubinsky having died in '74 and finally out of the way, Doc began shopping tapes of Jimmy to anyone who would listen. Failing to get Scott a deal, he wrote a letter, published in Billboard, venting his frustration and daring those who would probably show up at Scott's funeral in hipster fashion only to foster their cool credentials to record this singer before it was too late.
Pomus died without seeing Jimmy signed but, after hearing Jimmy sing "Someone To Watch Over Me" at Doc's funeral, Seymour Stein was so impressed that he signed Scott to Sire Records. The resulting album, "All The Way", and it's title track, are stunning. Scott also sang with Lou Reed on "Power And Glory" that year and was seen singing "Sycamore Trees" on the series finale of "Twin Peaks". He has released ten further albums, been nominated for a Grammy, and performed with Michael Stipe, Antony and The Johnsons, and Pink Martini.
