(361) DAVID GATES SONGWRITER ARRANGER PRODUCER

"We drove from club to club, three a night, auditioned for everybody until we finally got a job and got rolling again. And then on Saturday nights, after hours, musicians from all over the city would meet at a place called the Crossbow, in the Valley. It was at the Crossbow that I met guys like Steve Douglas, Glen Campbell, James Burton, Leon Russell, Chuck Blackwell, Jerry Cole. Slowly they were getting into recordings, mostly demo sessions, some union jobs. By jamming with these people, I got more work. All of a sudden, I was being asked to play on demo sessions and then on recordings." - David Gates

Linking here to David Gates - In His Own

(I liked Johnny Crawford's hit "Sandy" that David arranged.)

A session player who became a composer, singer-songwriter, arranger, and music producer, before he became an entertainer, DAVID GATES is certainly an underrated talent. His work appears on many record labels. We chose this YouTube video because he's credited in every role he played. GWENN STACY from 1964:

(360) DEMO TREASURE CHEST! DAVID GATES, LEON RUSSEL, GLEN CAMPBELL, and ME

Here's a demo or two I would love to find and hear again!

Pat Boone paid for the session time.
David Gates was the arranger.
I was the producer.
Leon Russel played piano.
Glen Campbell and I did two instrumentals together.

I sang on two songs which were "20 Acres of Land," and "I'm Such a Fool."

Auctioneers and collectors!?

(303) SHARON SHEELEY - SONGWRITER

We're linking to the ROCKABILLY HALL OF FAME page for songwriter SHARON SHEELEY here. SHARON was Eddie Cockran's girlfriend at the time he was killed in the car accident in England and that is unfortunately, what she first became famous for. She and Gene Vincent survived the car crash. She was still dating Eddie when I first met her. I was with the Everly Brothers at the time. Sharon was great friends with Nan Morris, the agent I've blogged about - a friend of mine to this day. It was Nan who took a demo of "POOR LITTLE FOOL" to Rick Nelson. In fact the two women were near stalking Rick to get that song to him because they were so sure it was going to be a hit for him. And they were right.

Sharon Sheeley continued to write songs including in collaboration with Jackie DeShannon and Brenda Lee.

Now we've mentioned before (and on some of our Youtube postings) that many DEMOS were made that did not turn into records for the market and that on many of these DEMOS some artists performed who became famous in their own time.

Some of the Demo Makers included Glen Campbell and Leon Russel and David Gates. A few years ago demos of some of Sharon's compositions that featured these artists came out on the market. And one of the singers is P.J. Proby, another demo maker who became famous and continues to perform, and who remained a friend of Sharon's until her death a few years ago ...

AMERICAN SONGWRITER MAGAZINE SONGWRITERS HALL OF FAME - NOMINEE LIST FOR 2010

Kevin Richards reporting for AMERICAN SONGWRITER MAGAZINE: You can go to the article linked above but this is the list as it applies to those we have or will be blogging about here at WES BRYAN - MY LIFE IN MUSIC!

Non-Performer Songwriters
Jackie DeShannon – * Bette Davis Eyes * Breakaway * Dum Dum * Everytime You Walk In The Room * Put A Little Love In Your Heart" (Jackie was a performer but these hits that she wrote were recorded by other artists.)

Performer/Songwriters
Dion DiMucci – * Born to Cry * Donna The Prima Donna * King Of The New York Streets * Love Came To Me * Runaround Sue."

David Gates (Bread) - * Baby I’m-a Want You * Diary * Everything I Own * If * Make It With You

Leon Russell - * A Song For You * Delta Lady * Superstar * This Masquerade * Tight Rope

(293) HOLLYWOOD RECORDING STUDIO : DEL-FI LABEL BOB KEANE

Del-Fi was a small label owned by BOB KEANE, who passed away December 1, 2009.

He was the man who signed Ritchie Valens and if you've seen the bio-pic about Ritchie called La Bamba, you know that his records were recorded simply, without a lot of equipment. Yet, as you can hear on the Youtube video below, very simply, the no frills appoach showed just how good Ritchie was.



Bob went on to also produce the successful surf band, Dick Dale and the Del-Tones, who we blogged a bit about last summer when we were talking about the surf music sound, and even a young Frank Zappa.

We're linking to an article from LA Observed about Bob... He also wrote a memoir...

(282) PJ PROBY LIVED IN A CASTLE and DROVE A ROLLS - MAKING DEMOS IS HONORABLE WORK

Like Bobby Darin and several other other music stars and singer-songwriters, P.J. Proby recorded demos for other artists.

If you can get this work today, do it! It can be a very smart move. First of all it gives you experience recording in a studio, all the equipment and possibilities open to you working in there. Other artists are recording in the same or adjacent studios. You meet singers, musicians, and producers. You get to test and train your voice. It's an in.

PJ recorded demo records for Elvis Presley, though you can hear the difference in his and Elvis' voices. This is how it worked in the songwriting business. The demo singer tried to emulate the style or sound of the singer so that he or she could really try it on. Sometimes the end result was a record that was very different from the demo anyway and sometimes the song was picked up by another artist. This kind of pitch honored the artist that may have had the song written with him or her in mind.

P.J. got his own career going and he still does! P.J. lived in a castle and drove a Rolls when he got his going. He's a hardworking and talented man and I'm happy to call him a friend!



And yes, David Gates, Leon Russel, and Glen Campbell, who were session musicians on this song, all went on to have great individual careers!