Dee Dee Phelps

DAY TWO AT THE DOO WOP CONFERENCE

After a great buffet breakfast (cheese blintzes with German cherries on top and a huge bowl of fruit) everyone reconvened in the Conference center. We joined another “meet and greet” session and again signed autographs and photos. I met many wonderful music lovers and had a great time talking to fans and hearing what music meant to them. As Lou Christi told me recently, our music was the sound track for people’s lives.

Cool Bobby B acted as M.C. and introduced acts entered in a talent show. I expected something like the American Idol try outs, featuring a number of people with questionable talent. To my surprise, the performers were terrific. Four women from Texas won the amateur Doo Wop contest. Wearing identical black dresses (with full skirts) and pink cinch belts, they belted out “girl group” songs and won the “applause meter” (shades of American Bandstand).

Saturday night featured the concert. As guests of Cool Bobby B (also known as Bobby Backman), Kane and I had great seats. We loved feeling the living pulse of the crowd reaction to the various doo wop groups. We were told that each group had at least one original member.

Like many Doo Wop shows, not all the groups are recognizable, but most have had at least one hit record. In some cases, the hit was local, only known in one part of the country. Still, the songs rolled forth. Nineteen groups performed that night. Often groups performed their single hit and then one or two of their favorite songs. Many memories flashed through my mind as I recalled performing with the original artists of the songs I was hearing.

A few of the highlights for me were the Edsels featuring the Reynolds Brothers (Rama Lama Ding Dong),” led by their father, age 72. The five brothers created tight, high energy harmony. Several of them served our country in the military and one recently returned from Iraq.

The lead singer of the Capris (There’s a Moon Out Tonight) told a heartrending story about working in New York City during 9/11. He had asbestos in one lung and had it removed. But he was back on stage with full vigor and gave a spirited performance.

The Doo Wop Daddies, from Milwaukee, all wearing red sports coats, gave their rendition of a number of Doo Wop songs. At the “meet and greet” I talked to several people from the Mid-West who told me to watch for this group. They have fans that followed them all over the state when they perform (sort of like the fans of the Grateful Dead).

By this time, it was difficult to stay seated. Most of the acts received standing ovations. In addition to the acts previously mentioned, other acts performing that evening were: Harvey Fuqua and The Moonglows, The Pentagons, Philly Cuzz, Jimmy Castor, The Elegants, The Olympics, Little Caesar and the Romans, The Murmaids (yes, they spell their name that way), Stevie Dunham and the Emerald Dreams, The Moonlites, The GoodFellas, and The Fleetwoods, starring Gretchen Christopher. I see now why Don Everly is quoted as saying, “You’re never too old to rock and roll.”

We left Vegas early Sunday morning, as we had a meeting a noon back in the L.A. area. But the wonderful songs echoed in my mind for days. No wonder Doo Wop is growing more and more popular. And the great news is Cool Bobby B plans to return to Las Vegas next year with another Doo Wop Convention.

Kane and I drove from Pacific Palisades (located between Santa Monica and Malibu) to Las Vegas in three hours and twenty minutes, something I didn’t think possible. Although the speed limit on Highway 15 in Nevada is 70 miles per hour, most of the cars were averaging 80-85 and some zoomed by at 95 miles an hour. Apparently everyone was in a hurry to get to Vegas for the weekend.

Our first glimpse of the city of Las Vegas revealed a cloud of smog surrounding it, visible for miles. I’ve never seen a sight like that. Above us was clear, blue desert sky, crisp hills with healthy Joshua trees and in the distance sat a large area of grayish black smog.  I would have imagined the place was on fire, but the sky was too murky gray to be smoke. However, when we arrived at our destination it didn’t seem as polluted.

We found our hotel, the site of the Second Annual Doo Wop conference, several blocks off the Strip, across the street from the Hard Rock Hotel. I appreciated the hotel’s low key approach, a combination of two story buildings and numerous swimming pools.

While strolling the paths looking for our room we passed an open doorway. Voices singing “In the Still of the Night” in four part harmony floated out. I knew we were in for a special weekend.

Our first event Friday night combined a meet and greet of the Doo Wop acts performing the next evening and a sock hop dance, all taking place in the Convention Center on site. My friends Lane Quigley and his wife Pat waved hello from their Rocket Radio table. I set up my table nearby with copies of Vinyl Highway, The Best of Dick and Dee Dee CD and photos. Soon fifteen to twenty tables were occupied by various recording acts and the doors opened.

Approximately 500 to 600 Doo Wop fans (double last year’s attendance) arrived for the event, from all over the United States and even England. I spend several hours talking to many of the music fans. A live band played and folks hit the dance floor, some women dressed in mid-Fifties poodle skirts, cinch belts, saddle shoes and bobby socks. The music was infectious and joyful. No longer able to sit in my chair, I danced by the table (note I didn’t say ON the table).

The definition of Doo Wop is recorded music from 1954 to 1964; with four part harmony back up vocals that often went doo wop she bop, etc. Although Dick and Dee Dee didn’t sing Doo Wop, we did have hits in the early Sixties and the Doo Wop era covers that time. I wasn’t the only non Doo Wop group from that era. Gretchen Christopher, founder of The Fleetwoods (Come Softly to Me) and The Murmaids (Popsicles and Icicles) joined us at the tables.

The event was created and hosted by disc jockey Cool Bobby B (coolbobbyb@doowopstop.com). His wife and adult children worked hard to pull off all the logistics and make this year’s event even more spectacular than the year before.

No one wanted the dancing to end, but finally the music stopped and the attendees drifted away, to dream in rock and roll heaven.

More to come about Day Two and the concert.

Read press coverage and see photos from the Doo Wop Convention.

Date of Release: October 18, 2007
Contact: Contact Information
Web: www.dickanddeedee.com

Author: Cindy Holden

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Former TV anchor, author, and celebrity presenter Kelly Lange will give the Best Pop Campaign Award to Dee Dee Phelps for her 2007 promotion of “Vinyl Highway, Singing as Dick and Dee Dee” (ISBN: 978-1-934321-75-1). The award will be presented at the 13th annual Book Publicists of Southern California Awards Dinner on Thursday, October 18th, 8 p.m. at the Sportsmen’s Lodge in Studio City, California.

Dee Dee was chosen to receive this award for her innovative publicity campaign which included over 50 radio interviews, including AM, FM and Internet radio, posting vintage videos and author video trailers on web video sites and creative use of her blog and website (www.dickanddeedee.com).

Vinyl Highway Her author readings included behind-the-scenes stories of Sixties rock and roll touring. She recently appeared at the Hollywood Book Festival and used portions of the talk for her video book trailer.

Vinyl Highway recently won honorable mention in Writer’s Digest 15th International Book Awards.

BOOK SUMMARY

Title: Vinyl Highway, Singing as Dick and Dee Dee
Author: Dee Dee Phelps
Category: Memoir-Narrative Non Fiction
ISBN: 978-1-934321-75-1
Publisher: Altergate Publishing

Distributor: IPG (800-888-4741)
Publication Date: September 2007
Price: $16.95 US

###

Dee Dee Phelps has been a newspaper columnist, top forty recording artist (singing as Dick and Dee Dee, one of the most popular recording duos of the Sixties), songwriter, performer, and author of the newly released narrative non fiction memoir, Vinyl Highway. More information about the Dee Dee at the Official Dick and Dee Dee web site at www.dickanddeedee.com.

Wow! I just got the following e-mail:

Dear Dee Dee:

Congratulations! Your book, Vinyl Highway, in the Nonfiction, has been chosen as an Honorable Mention in the Writer’s Digest 15th Annual International Self-Published Book Awards. Your book will be promoted in the March/April 2008 issue of Writer’s Digest. In addition, you will receive a letter, a Notable Award Certificate and $— worth of Writer’s Digest Books. Your award package will be sent out within the next 4 weeks.

 I am humbled and honored!

Gold Star sound engineer, Larry Levin, re-wound the massive tape reel, setting forth a cacophony of babble and music. The tape slowed and finally halted. Phil Spector, sitting in the control booth, leaned his head towards a microphone connecting the booth with Studio A.

“Sing it again,” he instructed.

Standing alone and wearing a headset, Lala, lead singer for the Crystals, nodded and waited to hear the sound track repeat in her ears. Phil Spector was in the process of creating his first “wall-of-sound” Christmas album, recorded with cutting edge technology, four tracks in monaural.

             Lala sand, “It’s such lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you.”

             “Cut,” Phil shouted. Then he told Lala, “Do it again.”

And so the marathon began.I’d been invited to sit in on a Phil Spector recording session by Stan Ross, owner of Gold Star Recording Studios in Los Angeles. By then Dick and I had several hit records and were starting to produce other acts. Stan wanted me to come into the studio to observe a maestro at work.

            “It’s such lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you.”

            “Again.”

By the time I’d walked into Gold Star, most of the musical tracks had been cut and voices

recorded in New York. For some reason, Phil appeared dissatisfied with one line in one

song and booked studio time in Los Angeles to fix the problem.

            “Sing it again.”

I observed Lala’s eyes glancing at Phil through the studio window, full of trust in his

guidance. I realized she’d probably sing that line a thousand times, and be happy to do so,

if he asked. And he just might.

Phil wasn’t drinking or doing drugs that day at Gold Star in the Sixties. As far as I could tell, he wasn’t carrying a gun. He was simply doing what he did best, producing music. At the peak of his form, with closed eyes, focused on the sound coming from the speakers, he commanded, “Sing it again.”

 As a teenager, Phil had written and recorded a hit song with the Teddy Bears, “To Know Him Is To Love Him.” He copied the song title from his father’s grave stone.

            “Sing the line again.”

            “It’s such lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you.”

Finally, after an hour Phil took a break. Animated and happy he told the sound engineer, “I just became a member of the Young Millionaires Club. They only take members under thirty years of age. I’m the only one who shows up at the meeting wearing jeans and a tee shirt, with long hair. Everyone else dresses in suits and ties. They don’t know what to make of me.”

He shot a smile in my direction, but seeing me reminded him of the task at hand, getting a perfect version of one line in the song.

            “Let’s go,” he shouted to Lala. “Try that line again.”

            It’s such lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you.”

After what seemed like a hundred more takes, I finally left the studio, leaving Lala sitting on a stool in front of the microphone and Phil in the control booth. I felt exhausted. I couldn’t tell the difference each time Lala sang her one line. By now Phil had at least a thousand takes to choose from and he was still recording more! Was he really a musical genius or was he just obsessive? I felt positive that if I were in Phil Spector’s shoes, I could have settled on the best line in the first hour.

As I drove off I pondered the question, why did Lala put up with Phil? And then I realized how important it was for a recording artist to have full confidence in the producer’s judgment.

Later, when Dick and I produced a Reprise Records session for Jill Jackson (she sang professionally as Paula of Paul and Paula) I thought I heard something unusual on the track and asked her to sing it again. She smiled and said, “Oh, sure.” We wound up repeating the song seven or eight more times to get it right. I took pride in the fact we only took an hour to record an entire song while it took Phil Spector an hour to record one line. Everyone felt convinced we had created a hit single.

But you don’t know what sounds the public likes. Our session with Paula never produced a hit record but Phil’s Christmas album was played on the air every Christmas for the next forty years and became a Golden Classic.

This episode was eliminated from the text of Vinyl Highway, Chapter 7, Life in a Sedan. It shows how teenagers will resort to anything to add a little excitement to a long car tour. This incident took place in the Midwest during a tour in the early Sixties, while stopping for lunch in some roadside restaurant. ……………………………………………………………………………………………

One afternoon, we stopped for lunch at a fairly nice coffee shop. Dick and I, Jan and Dean were seated at the table. When Jan left to use the rest room, Dean turned to us. 

“I’m playing a joke on Jan,” he informed us. “No matter what I say, just go along with it. And pretend his name is Randy.”

Dean called the waitress over. “You know that guy that was sitting here a

moment ago? He was just released from a lock up facility into my care. But, don’t worry. He isn’t really dangerous, at least, not to others. But he might try to hurt himself.”

The waitress stared at him with concern on her face.

“Forks and knives are too sharp,” Dean continued. “So no matter what food he orders, even if it’s solid food, please bring him only a large spoon. Also, he’s on a liquid diet. Whatever he orders, just bring him a bowl of soup.”

The waitress nodded vigorously.

“And don’t worry if he gets upset,” Dean added. “I know how to handle him.”

The waitress quickly scooped up the knife, fork and small spoon on Jan’s place mat, plunking down one giant spoon in their place. When Jan returned to the table, he didn’t notice his silverware change. The waitress returned to take our orders. Jan ordered a hamburger and fries. She pretended to write the order down, sneaking furtive glances in Dean’s direction. 

“She’s acting weird,” Jan said.

Dean smiled, pretending everything was normal. When the food finally arrived, the waitress set the plates down in front of everyone but Jan. Finally, she slid his bowl of soup onto his placemat and hurried away.

            “What’s this?” Jan asked. “I didn’t order soup. I ordered a hamburger.”

“Just eat what she gave you,” Dean ordered. “Be grateful for what you

            get.”

            Jan gave Dean a frustrated look. “WAITRESS!” he shouted. The woman hesitantly approached the table. “I didn’t order soup. I ordered a hamburger.”

“Now, Randy,” Dean cooed, as if he were talking to a child. “Soup is much

better for you than a hamburger. Go ahead and eat it.”

“I DON’T WANT SOUP! Why are you calling me Randy?”

“Dean’s right,” Dick added. “Just eat the soup, Randy.”

Jan glared at everyone sitting around the table and turned to the waitress.      

            “Will you bring me my hamburger? Now!”

Dean nodded to the waitress that she should do this and she hurried off to the kitchen.

“What is this, some kind of joke?” Jan asked.

“Now, Randy,” Dean continued. “You know it isn’t good for you to get upset. They might have to put you back in the lock up facility.”

“You know what? You’re crazy.”

A hamburger arrived shortly. “Do you think I could have some silverware to eat my burger with? Not just a big spoon?” Jan asked the waitress.Dean caught the waitress’ eye. She raced away.

“This is just ridiculous.” Jan wailed. “I can’t eat a hamburger with a spoon.”

“Now, Randy,” Dean cooed. “It’s going to be alright. Do you want me to cut up your food for you?”

Jan grabbed the bottle of ketchup and angrily turned it upside down, smacking the bottom to get some out. The thick tomato paste remained trapped in the container. Jan hit it harder and harder. Finally one tremendous blow released a large amount ketchup all at once, flooding over his hamburger, fries and onto the table.

We were unable to control ourselves any longer. With peals of laughter, we howled until tears ran down our faces. Finally, even Jan joined in. Now that all eyes were on him, Jan scooped most of the ketchup into his soup bowl with his big spoon and ate his hamburger with his hands.

            “Very good, Randy,” I said.

Everyone started laughing again. Now that Jan was in on the joke, in future restaurants he took it over the edge.  He would always leave the table and Dean would tell the waitress about Jan’s alleged problems. When Jan returned, he talked slowly and slurred his speech, like a big baby. No matter what he ordered, he was always given a big spoon. He would proceed to use it for his meals, no matter what he was eating.

This amazing video, apparently recorded on Danish television in the mid-Sixties, was recently sent to us. Since we thought we were singing live on that show, we were thrilled to discover a taped copy existed. “Use What You Got” was the first cut on the A Side of our “Songs We Sung On Shindig” LP. In hindsight, I wish they’d released it as a single. After viewing the video, the song has been in my head all day! View video now >