[Harp-L] Re: Motown

[Ronnie Schreiber <autothreads@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

My Boy Lollipop, was decidedly not a Motown release. Written as My Girl 
Lollypop by Robert Spencer of the Cadillacs, who recorded for NY based 
Morris Levy. The original female version by Barbie Gaye was a regional 
hit in NYC and the northeast. The Rod Stewart angle is just another Rod 
Stewart urban legend. From Wikipedia:

"Eight years later the song was discovered by Island Records founder, 
Chris Blackwell <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Blackwell>, who, 
with his associate Chris Peers, was trying to find songs for his young 
artist Millie Small <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millie_%28singer%29> 
to record. Changing the spelling to read "lollipop" instead of 
"lollypop", Millie's version was recorded in a similar shuffle 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuffle>/ska 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ska>/bluebeat 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Beat_Records>-style, and in 1964 it 
became her breakthrough blockbuster hit in the United Kingdom, reaching 
No. 2. The song also went to No. 1 in Republic of Ireland and No. 2 in 
the United States (on the Smash Record label). Considered the first 
commercially successful international ska song, Small's version of "My 
Boy Lollipop" sold over six million records worldwide and helped to 
launch Island Records <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_Records> into 
mainstream popular music. It remains one of the best-selling reggae/ska 
hits of all time.^[8] 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Boy_Lollipop#cite_note-amg-8>

The record's arrangement is credited to Ernest Ranglin 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Ranglin>, who also plays guitar on 
the recording. The saxophone solo from the original version was replaced 
by a harmonica solo. It is unclear who played the harmonica -- urban 
legend credited Rod Stewart <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_Stewart> 
for many years, but he has denied it. Instead, it was almost certainly 
either Pete Hogman or Jimmy Powell 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Powell_%28singer%29>, both of The 
Five Dimensions. Pete Hogman and Five Dimensions guitarist Kenny White 
both maintain it was Pete Hogman, while Jimmy Powell asserts that it was 
he who played this solo.^[9]" 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Boy_Lollipop#cite_note-9>



On 12/6/2014 7:13 PM, harp-l-request@xxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> Date: Sat, 6 Dec 2014 04:31:03 +0000 (UTC)
> From: Glenn Weiser<banjoandguitar100@xxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: [Harp-L] Motown
> To:"harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx"  <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Message-ID:
> 	<1973953293.335904.1417840263303.JavaMail.yahoo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
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>
> I think "My Boy Lollipop was Motown." Harmonica solo by Rod Stewart 
> Glenn Weiser
>
> Web:www.celticguitarmusic.com
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