Amsterdam Russ

It's in the title of the thread…

A couple of photos taken at the Dutch seaside resort of Scheveningen...

Dirty, dirty minds…

That sounds like a later re-recording of this Goodman classic. It sounds very 'modern' to the version I have (not the live one) on a compilation LP. Maybe it's just been over-mixed into stereo, which to my ears isn't a good thing in this instance. Thought I had it on one of those wonderful British jazz EPs from the 50s, but sadly, no. There is a version of it on 45 RCA-Victor. In fact, there's one on eBay now. Great except for the stupid postage. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/45-RPM-Benny-Goodman-Sing-sing-sing-RCA-Victor-Record-EPA-5042-Black-Label-/301467417624 It's a great tune. Good luck in your search

Steve Mancha...

Another one on eBay already. I thought these were rare!

That he's able to generate any sort of income from his photography is fantastic! Sounds like he's well on the way in crossing over to being a recognised professional.

Lumas Berlin - had to look that up. The Berlin branch of an international chain of art galleries? I reckon any opportunity to present your work to the public - commercially or otherwise - is a great achievement! And that the interest is there in the first place shows that his name and his work is out there... Great stuff!

Of course you weren't being serious about Doris Day. That was obvious and my own humour is obviously a tad too dry for you. Perhaps I should just reassert that I wasn't being serious either in linking Gordy and Rock Hudson (just in case Gordy's lawyers happen to stumble upon this now or in the future). As you say, we all have our own opinions. C'est la vie & vive la différence.

Ha-ha. What's missing though, is the evidence to support that claim. Without evidence all it can be is an assumption and you can make those about absolutely anything. For example, perhaps Gordy was really reaching out to Rock Hudson and thought he could do it through Doris. Write her a song. It becomes popular. Gordy gets to meet Doris and they collaborate successfully, all of which enables he and Rock to get acquainted. NIce. Without anything to support that claim, it is of course absurd. In the case of the Buddy Holly comment, it is incredibly vague and does need a supporting explanation; we shouldn't have to interpret what he might mean or examine other sources (which we've done) to understand it. Having looked at other sources, we find that Gordy's own words stand as evidence to support the Buddy Holly statement: putting out a Buddy-esque song, and the negative response received from the record-buying public when they discover the singer is back, taught Gordy a very important lesson, one that shaped how he made and marketed the music of Motown. Suddenly the author's Buddy Holly statement is no longer unsupported. We have Gordy's own words to back it up. Therefore it's not incorrect to say, even tenuously, that Gordy's success came about in a round-about way because of Buddy Holly. As to Doris Day being responsible for Motown's success, well, as said, unless there's some actual evidence - perhaps some words from Gordy about how the experience of writing and sending a song to Doris influenced him - it's entirely unfounded. You have to go with the evidence.

Here's an advertising industry insider's perspective on the making of the ad. It's an interview with the director, Finn McGough, who has... Tap to view this Soul Source News/Article in full

A market stall selling brightly painted gourds and local produce - seen on the island of Lesvos opposite the site housing the tree cave lived in by Greek folk painter Theophilis.

Hassling women while they're in labour marks a new extreme in the hunt for coveted 45s! Shame on you - and congratulations at the same time!

Absolutely no offence taken. My opening point is exactly as stated - that the only way you'd get a proper answer to your question would be to ask the author what they meant or to run it by Berry Gordy. I wasn't able to add earlier - as I was using my iPad - this screen grab of some text from a book entitled "The black culture industry" by Ellis Cashmore. In his own words Berry Gordy highlights the lesson learned from the Bob Kayli situation, and a life lesson that I feel the author Maury Dean is referring to in his left-handed Buddy Holly comment. It certainly all adds up for me. Now, about you being able to show how Doris Day was left-handedly responsible for the Motown sound. I'd like to hear that one…

It doesn't matter if you don't have a poker face - they can't see you at all! ;-)

So the seller gets $361 for it, but that's not enough for them. They put it up for auction again and this time get less - only $350! It would be a pretty dumb seller who couldn't see the writing on the wall here: only one buyer is interested in acquiring it in this price range - you. If they put it up for sale again, bid on it again. Be cool in your communications with the seller - point out the obvious: that the record has your name on it. And, faced with what you're prepared to pay and no other buyers, common sense should prevail. If there is a next time on this, don't go sending three messages all in a flurry. You know they're getting your messages, so be cool; be poker-handed about it. They can have your money or nothing. That means you have the upper hand because you know they're in it for the money. Good luck with it, and remember Ezzie's words - good things come to those who wait...

Isn't that something you should be taking up with the author, or better still, Berry Gordy? The author's comment is incredibly ambiguous, meaning it's not clear what he's actually conveying. If we don't know what the author means exactly, it's hardly possible to conclude that he's "taking a few liberties with the facts..." The Gordy-co-penned Reet Petite made it to 62 in the Billboard Top 100 in Sept 1957. The Bob Kayli track hit something like 92 a few months later, thus at best both songs were minor Billboard hits. There's quite a bit of biographical information out there that highlights the ultimate failure of his brother's recording as being a formative and very important lesson for the ambitious Berry Gordy. It appears that Kayli's song was selling quite well until he decided to make personal appearances, after which sales dried up. Seemingly the record-buying public took it for granted he was white (singing in a Buddy Holly style) and turned their back on the song when they discovered he was black. Apparently this had a profound effect on Berry Gordy. Perhaps the author is in some way alluding to this lesson. Perhaps he means something completely different. Considering the vagueness of the statement about the Buddy Holly contribution to the success of Motown, any discussion around it is pure speculation.

Cheers, Bud, but it was a joke! Some people have no sense of humour whatsoever. If you can't laugh at your collective self, ie, the scene as a comic whole, then there's little hope. Good luck to Dave and family. They made the choice to be on telly, in an advert that uses Northern Soul to promote a high-fibre cereal. I'm sure it's been a very exciting ride for them, and I'll bet they're chuffed to bits with the outcome. I probably would be too if it were me. At the same time, I reckon Dave & Co can also see a humorous side to the whole thing. For sure they'll have mates who are giving them a right good ribbing. There are far more important things in the world than shredded wheat, and in a week or so when the campaign's run its course we'll all move onto something else. That's life. Let's not be too serious about it.

Wonder if it'll be jumping on the Northern Soul cereal bandwagon. If it does, it might be wise to change its name to shredded credibility.

The only connection that I can make is courtesy of a book called Rock and Roll: Gold Rush (Maury Dean). On page 252 it states: "Buddy left-handedly created the Motown Soul Empire for Berry Gordy, via Robert Gordy's "Everyone was there"." That's it. Robert Gordy released the song on the Carlton kabel in 1958 under the name of Bob Kayli and it was bit of a hit. The label credits songwriters as Kayli-Gordy Jr. It also states that it's Bob Kayli with the Barry Gordy Orchestra! The allusion is that the song is in the Buddy Holly style and that its small success encouraged Berry Gordy move on to greater things musically. Possibly - through bad editing - Betts' encyclopedia accidentally left out the specific reason for Holly's inclusion. Stranger things have been known in publishing. Here's the song...

I'm sure it must have been a really amazing experience, especially in those conditions.

Excellent light - everything's just starting to turn golden.

And a worthy winner, without a doubt. I noticed that he likes to be "on high" when taking photos - and with stunners like this one, you can immediately see why. Really fantastic work!

Great photos - really impressive. Your son has buckets of talent!