The Jean Thomas Story - Part 1

The sound of the female voice in harmony was best captured for a fleeting moment in time in the 1960's. It has been described as.... "Providing the soundtrack to a generation of young lovers, good-bad rebels, the candy store crowd and soulful swingers were artists with names like the Shirelles, the Ronettes, the Crystals, the Shangri-las, the Supremes, the Chiffons, the Pixies Three, the Toys, the Cookies, the Rag Dolls - and hundreds more whose time in the spot- light was as brief as a kiss on the cheek. The girl group's sound was one of the most popular rock & roll genres in the early '60s. The sound drew from earlier and much rawer 50s rock & roll and rhythm & blues records, but the girl group sound had far more polish and sheen than its predecessors, mainly because it was a product of professional record producers and Brill Building songwriters who commandeered the groups and tailored their reper- Sarasota and the state singing toire." The Girl Groups website songs like 'Come Go With Me' and (http://www.spectropop.com/gg/hgi 'Get A Job'' said Jean. rlgroups.html) In 1959 -1960, Jean took a break The voices that led this sound are from her musical ambitions to attend timeless and etched in the annals of Florida State University in Tallahassee pop music. Lesley Gore, Ronnie Florida. Meanwhile, brother Don, a Spector, Judie Craig and with the junior in high school, became interest- Motown sound Martha Reeves and ed in guitar and amazingly learned to Diana Ross are just some of the bet- play in six months. He and three ter known songstresses but there are and went to school in Sarasota, classmates started a group called some no lesser voices that never Florida and spent summers in "The Merrymen" which had a sought the lime-light but loved the Nantasket Beach, Massachusetts, Kingston trio style. When Coca Cola profession of being a writer and where my father and mother owned sponsored the "Talentsville USA singer and left their mark on its body a summer business", Jean told us. Contest" to find the most talented of work. In High School, Jean was heavily musicians in the country, "The One such voice is that of Jean involved in music and school projects. Merrymen" won not only their local, Thomas, whose vocal work, though She was a major part of the Sarasota state and regional heats, but became little known, made an outstanding Youth Center Radio Show and Youth National Champions in the pop cate- contribution, not only with her own Center Director, Bill Blackburn, who gory with their mixture of good and tracks, but to so many other artist's loved music, nurtured Jean's talent. At funny folk songs. The winning artists vocal tracks in the first half of the 15, she and five classmates started a were placed on a major label decade vocal group they named "Preacher (Cadence Records - Archie Bleyer), a Jean was born in Weymouth, John and The Five Saints". "At tour with Chubby Checker, Brenda Massachusetts but grew up in the time we were considered 'really Lee, Frankie Avalon and Fabian, and Sarasota, Florida. " I was raised cool' and became popular around then, on the Ed Sullivan Show. sufficiently rudimentary that one can survey, in retrospect, the whole process of how songs entered the culture as if it were happening in the backyard" ('Will You Love Me Tomorrow' By Geoffrey O'Brien) One of the most respected men of that time was Archie Bleyer of Cadence Records ("The Merrymen's" former label) and Jean's voice was noticed by Bleyer at an audition. This was October of 1961 and he told her if she came back in January of 1962 he would record her. Besides the importance of his own work, as an orchestra leader during the1940's, Bleyer's influence was to become felt through the efforts of his most impor- tant follower, Phil Spector. Spector held Cadence as a model for his own Philles label and followed Bleyer's credo of quality, not quantity. Bleyer brought an engineer's precision and a the 1960's. The world they dropped musician's feel to his productions. into was unique. Cadence never had a large roster of "Even though rock and roll made artists, and it put out records judi- popular music a much bigger busi- ciously so that each one could be ness, in the late Fifties and early worked to achieve its full potential. Sixties it was still a network of cot- Bleyer spent as long as it took to find tage industries. Because the major the right material for his artists, and labels had mostly missed the boat even then would not hesitate to dump at the outset, a host of smaller out- a session that didn't meet his stan- fits quickly moved in to feed a dards. Jean was in good company at teenage market that grew by the Cadence with The Everly Brothers, year. Mass culture was undeniably Johnny Tillotson, Lenny Welch, The Amazingly, the parents of two of "The getting more corporate all the time Cordettes and Julius La Rosa. Merrymen" 'pulled the plug' by saying but rock was far from a monolithic Upon returning to New York, Jean their sons had to go on to college and machine; market research consist- began her career as a solo recording the group broke up. ed of putting out a record and see- artist and here's where the story of Jean and Don decided it was the right ing what happened when it got her sound really begins. time to go to New York and pursue played on the radio, with or without At Cadence, Jeans first single was their dreams through the contacts some greasing of the wheels by 'Moon River b/w My Ideal' (Cadence Don had made while with "The record promoters. By comparison 1419), The "A" side was the well Merrymen". In preparation, they with what was to come it was known song from "Breakfast at began writing songs together to take almost pastoral, if your idea of pas- Tiffany's", written by Henry Mancini with them. Their first meeting was toral allows room for a good num- and Johnny Mercer, and a hit a few with Paul Anka's publishing company, ber of gangsters and con men to months before the release of Jean's Spanka Music, and they were signed ply their trade. One of the fascina- version. Archie Bleyer chose this to an exclusive writing contract. They tions of the Brill Building era is that song because he had his concept of began making contacts in the close the scale was still small enough how it should have been recorded knit world of New York music scene of and the relevant technologies still and never was. He felt that the sim- make ends meet and plicity of Audrey Hepburn's version in their parents moved up the film had never been captured and from Florida to work that Jean's voice could do just that. and financially help Bleyer's was to be a very 'stark' them build their arrangement best described by John careers. Clemente in his book "Girl Groups":- Jean's second single "Excercising perfect diction, Jean's moved more toward alto stands alone, save for guitar the "girl sound" of the and harmonica, appropriating a day becoming a dis- fanciful mood for this splendid ver- tinctive genre with sion." "He's So Near" This was not typical of the female backed with "Seven vocal pop style but the voice showed Roses." (Cadence exceptional talent and the recording 1435). rose to the top 5 on the record chart "He's So Near" was a in New England and throughout the chance for Jean and East coast of the USA in the spring of brother Don to show- 1962. Jean says, "This was my very case their writing tal- first professional recording. The ents on a song set to producer/arranger, Archie Bleyer, appeal to young girls in was an incredibly talented man. It's love with the boy next such a beautiful song and I loved door. Arranged with a his arrangement. He was formerly rolling rhythm track and the bandleader for The Arthur support vocals, Jean Godfrey Show and was the gentle- sings the track with man of gentlemen. I had the great- enthusiasm and style. est respect for this man. Every day "Seven Roses" was a I used to rehearse the song in his Marcel Stellman/Heinz Alisch compo- prove of key importance as Jean's office in preparation for when we sition and is sung in a Connie Francis career developed. could record it. One day he said choral style with strong backing New York was a unique place at this vocals, but again displays the plain- time as described by Theodore tive voice of Jean, on a very melodic Dreiser, The Colors of a Great City song. ….. "In Twenty-seventh or Twenty- In a short period of time Jean and eighth Street, or anywhere along Don became well known enough to Broadway from Madison to Greeley be offered higher salaried positions at Squares, are the parlors of a score publishers Shapiro-Bernstein and of publishers, gentlemen who coor- their parents were able to move back dinate this divided world for song to Florida. publishing purposes. There is an Gloria Shane helped Jean immensely office and a reception-room; a during this period. She introduced her music-chamber, where songs are to all the key publishers and took tried, and a stock room.... A Jean under her wing, promoting her salaried pianist or two wait to run skills around the business and helped over pieces which the singer may "OK, we're ready" and we just did to establish her as one of New York's desire to hear. Arrangers wait to it. It was planned to perfection". main demo session singers, a covet- make orchestrations or take down The "B" side was "My Ideal", a ed position in those days. Gloria was newly schemed out melodies which Robin/Whiting/Chase composition that a songwriter and studio musician and the popular composer himself can- was also a strong performance, again wrote the famous, “Do You Hear What not play." allowing the purity and innocence I Hear”. Jean and Don did studio work while Archie Bleyer saw in Jean's voice to Jean moved to an apartment in New writing songs and creating demo's. shine through on a similarly harmoni- York City and shared it with two This was where they learned their ca and guitar backing. The success friends from Sarasota, Florida, one of trade. The world of demo records was brought Jean some personal appear- which was Mikie Harris, who became a tale of unsung musical hero's and ances to promote the record touring part of the session backup three- heroines. They had to write or learn a with Jay and The Americans, Brian some, Ellie Greenwich, Mikie Harris new tune, arrange it musically, find Hyland and Del Shannon. and Jean. suitable musicians, lay down the Jean and Don found themselves living Don began to work as a key session backing vocals, record the lead, put with their cousin, Joyce Fisher, in guitarist and he shared an apartment the whole thing together in an after- Levittown, New York writing for in New York City with two young men noon, so it would 'sell' to the record Spanka Music and recording for in the music business, one of whom companies and artists. "The demo Cadence. With only a small salary was a young and ambitious Denny studios were mainly two track stu- from Spanka Music it was hard to Randell, a connection that would dios, so we had to make sure we made the most of each track." The skills needed to succeed in the world of 'demos' are described by Geofrey O'Brien: "The distinctions between writing a song, arranging it, pro- ducing it, and performing it were often blurred at these sessions where the hits were coaxed into being. What it came down to was the capacity to focus all that skill, energy, and intuition on perhaps two minutes and forty seconds worth of monophonic sound. The singer Tony Orlando's description of how these sessions tended to be run now seems an echo of a sim- pler age: "Everyone was singing live. No overdubs. One, two, three takes, and that's it. No fixing. You better be in key, and you better be singing from the heart, 'cause this is a live show, baby!" And as John Clemente tells us Today Jean owns …."Many demos were cut at with her daugh - Associated, Dick Charles, or Bell ters Haley and Sound. Everyone on the circuit Lauren this award used these studios for their demo winning Tea house work and constantly crossed in NYC. Visit the paths. Once on the network, Jean web site met other songwriters and produc- http://www.alices - ers and began collaborating on teacup.com or call more and more compositions." in to sample Jean's voice was perfect for such Jean’s ’not-yet but work and she and Don could arrange soon to be famous’ and produce good quality demos . mocha chocolate Meanwhile, Chip Taylor heard Jean's chip cake version of 'Moon River' and liked her Miss America" com- boyfriend in a very unconvincing way. voice so much he asked her to do his poser) song, "Appreciation", for The "B" side returns to Jean's inno- demos at MGM. This was timely as Ann-Margaret to sing in the movie cent vocal as she resists the seduc- Archie Bleyer was retiring from and the final version is an exact tive attempts of her boyfriend on a Cadence and a new direction beck- copy of my demo. I also did "My Chip Taylor composition. oned Jean Rival", which was also a Bernie This was to be the last of the sweet Jean's final single at Cadence was Wayne composition." At this time and innocent style vocals that had "The Boy That I Want Doesn't Want these demos were still to come, but in been Jean's solo trademark to date. Me" backed with "He's So Near" 1963 Jean was continuing to find The work in her backing sessions and (Cadence 1438) . The "A" side is was plenty of work as a session singer on harmonies in 1963 was to take her an up tempo catchy song written by doing backing vocals. Producers on a path that would allow the true Peggy Farina of the Angels and Jean where finding her voice perfect for potential of her vocal skills to mature. Thomas and as the title suggests 'sweetening' the harmonies of groups END OF PART ONE Jean was out of luck again with the they were quickly assembling for one Compiled by Ken Charmer boys. The Angels, like Jean and Don project or another. were part of the mix of artists meeting Jean's demo work at MGM was to and Jean Thomas with spe - regularly at sessions as musicians lead to another solo release. "My cial thanks to John Clemente. and backing vocalists MGM records were produced by Chip Photos courtesy of Jean and The BMI database shows that Jean Taylor, who also wrote the songs. He John. Louise Thomas wrote over 80 songs is best known for having written and what we have of her singles is "Angel Of The Morning" and "Wild In the next part we will see how only a small sample of the many Thing." The sessions produced a sin- Jean's demos were so good one demos of her own and others compo- gle, "I Don't Miss You At All" was released and topped the sitions that she and Don did. backed with "Don't Make Me Fall In charts and how her emerging One of Jean's best pieces of demo Love With You" (MGM 13263). The work with the girl groups was to work that she recalls was for the Elvis "A" side, co-written by Jean and Chip lead her back into the charts Presley 1964 movie "Viva Las Taylor, again uses Jean's plaintive with the Rag Dolls thanks to Vegas." Jean said, "I did the demo voice with spoken sections to explain Denny Randell and Bob Crewe of the Bernie Wayne ("There She Is, how she is getting over her ex-