FROM WES BRYAN - MY LIFE IN MUSIC ARCHIVES : (18) New York, NEW YORK, It's A Wonderful Town! & NEIL SEDAKA

FROM OUR ARCHIVES  SEPTEMBER 5th  2007 POST #

(18) New York, NEW YORK, It's A Wonderful Town! and NEIL SEDAKA

In New York the Brill Building became the epicenter of my existence. I became part of the vital music scene. I used the rehearsal studios and recording studios in the Brill and I carried tunes in my head to the Turf restaurant, which was the scene to make. I met countless stars from the world of music and the theatre there, all having coffee, talking into the wee hours.

One day when I was in the Brill, Neil Sedaka ran downstairs to bring Bobby Darin up to meet me. Bobby was recording demos for other people then. It was the beginning of my friendship with Bobby.

(479) JAMES DEAN THE ICONIC ACTOR and WHAT THAT HAS TO DO WITH ME and MY DAD

People say to me, especially when they see this blog, Wes, you met so many interesting people!

I have.

I've also lived my life as a private citizen and private person for many years since those days when I was part of a scene in New York, on the road, or in Los Angeles.

Today I'm a retired senior citizen, and so many of my friends and associates, one's I've written about, have passed.

You know, I did meet and have friendships with many people who became famous - more famous than me - Elvis Presley being the most famous of them all, but it's funny because the person I wanted to meet and never could, besides Marilyn Monroe, was James Dean.

My dad was initially not for my having a career in entertainment.

Dad was teaching me the home building and remodeling trade and we were in Akron, Ohio working when my picture hit the Akron Beacon Journal Roto Magazine cover, and it was a photographer on staff there who saw the resemblance and did that cover.

I always credited him with "discovering" me but I also had to my credit Jimmy Bowen, who was in Akron and liked a demo I did in a kitchen, and a local DJ who played my demo, too.

Soon Hollywood was sending telegrams and calling me as was New York - United Artists.

I went visiting my dad, and remember being in a movie theatre in the South with him where we'd gone to watch a James Dean movie together. Dad got the full picture of whose shoes I was supposed to fill then, especially because early on I was "discovered" and promoted to be "The Next James Dean," after the real James Dean's death, on September 30, 1955.

Since beginning this blog, we've focused on music, because there was a fork in the road for me early in life, and that was acting or music and I took music,  but  this month we're taking a detour to focus a bit on Jimmy.

FANTASTIC! JOHNNY RIVERS : POOR SIDE OF TOWN : MARTY STUART SHOW NASHVILLE

VIDEO TAKEN DOWN DUE TO YOUTUBE NOTIFICATION
The show aired on May 18 2013... WOW!  As I've said JOHNNY RIVERS WOULD NOT QUIT!
FULL SHOW...

ERSEL HICKEY : TRYING TO GET TO YOU

(458) THE TURTLES : CROSSING THE BIG POND and LANDING IN LOS ANGELES!

THE TURTLES FEATURING FLO AND EDDIE official site! link here!  (Lot's of laughs!)

The TURTLES crossed "the Big Pond" and were a great success in Britain as they were in New York and then Southern California. 

Like so many others we've covered here at Wes Bryan - My Life in Music, the Turtles spent years becoming an "overnight success."  I remember when one of my associates who ran a club on the Sunset Strip were sure they were the competition for the Beatles.  This was the time of my life when, after working at American Music all day and sometimes spending all night in recording studios doing unpaid "overtime," recording demos and pitching songs, that I also spent a lot of time on the Sunset Strip (and surrounds) going to clubs like The Whiskey.

From their site: "When the Turtles played at the Phone Booth in New York, they were pleased to see Bob Dylan sitting a mere eight feet away. He had his shades on and was slumped over. Afterwards the boys eagerly introduced themselves. Dylan responded, deadpan, to the Turtles live performance of their hit, Dylan's very own "It Ain't Me Babe,": "That's a great last song, it should be a record."

Yes friends, we're going to be covering Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Johnny Rivers on this blog as we head towards a Motown summer!

Introduced by Pat Boone!

BUDDY KNOX INTRODUCED ME TO BUDDY HOLLY

I met Buddy Holly in New York City in the late 1950's.  Buddy Knox, who I went on tour with for a couple years,  introduced us first. 

You can pull up older posts on this blog by using the Google Search feature.  Try the words BUDDY HOLLY or BUDDY KNOX!