In my main post on Bulwinkle in the desert, I linked to this small post of bigger steel pieces with names.  I dig Bulwinkle’s naming.

Lover Boy, Splendido, Willy, Nature, Lucile, Bustin’ Up, Beverly, Good Dog, Father, Bigger Trick.

I asked my friend for his take on Bulwinkle’s naming.

After he read the post, he handed me this photograph.

I admitted I wasn’t sure what I was looking at.  Four tough young women from the 1960s – but – who?

And then he hit play on his computer.

BINGO!  The two sets of sisters from Queens, the Shangri-La’s.  He asked if I knew why he went there.

I asked him what I had done to earn his disrespect – when I wrote “Get the picture / yes we see” in the main post, it was one of my pathological conjurings of musical lyrics, these from  “Leader of the Pack.”.

Now came more than I needed to know about the Shangri-Las.

“Their parents signed their first contract cuz they are 15 and 16 and 17, tough girls from Queens.  They took their name from a restaurant in Queens.  In the summer of ’64 they had their first hit, “Remember (Walking in the Sand.”  Billy Joel played piano on the demo for the song.

“They performed with James Brown and the Rolling Stones when they were still in high school.

 

 

 

 

“A producer with the entirely cool name of Shadow Morton discovered them in Queens.

 His next big discovery was Janis Ian – he produced her ‘Society’s Child.’

In 1970 Morton produced Haystacks Balboa, a heavy rock band that most people never heard of.  Go ahead – click on the album cover to hear some of their work.  Let me know how long you last.

He worked with Iron Butterfly – they gave him credit for producing “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.”

“He discovered a group called Mark Stein & the Pigeons, who became Vanilla Fudge,

“He produced the second album by the New York Dolls.  Dude got around.  From the Shangri-La’s to the New York dolls – quite a trip, no?

“I praised his rock knowledge and asked about this little side post.