30.9.09

DOWNLOAD NO.257 - WINIFRED ATWELL

Una “Winifred” Atwell (27 February 1914 – 28 February 1983) was a pianist who enjoyed great popularity in the UK and other Commonwealth countries (including Oz) from the 1950s with a series of boogie and ragtime hits. Atwell was born in Tunapuna in Trinidad and Tobago. Her family owned a chemist shop and she was expected to take over the family business when she grew up but luckily for us average punters she decided her musical gifts were more important. After being discovered playing music in a bar by Americans who visited her homeland in WWII she was encouraged to study music seriously in London. While she studied she played boogie in the local bars and clubs. Her popularity in variety and clubs led to recording contracts and within a few years she was making a fortune. She often came to Oz because she had fallen in love with NSW and its people.

Winifred Atwell purchased waterside properties in Bilgola and Seaforth, as jumping-off bases for her worldwide performance commitments. Enjoying the deep affection of the public, she was nevertheless keenly aware of prejudice and injustice, and was outspoken about racism in Australia. She always donated her services in a charity concert on Sundays, the proceeds going to orphanages and needy children. She spoke out against the third world conditions endured by Australian Aborigines, which made headlines during an outback tour of the country in 1962. Dismissing racism as a factor in her own life, she said she felt she was "spoiled very much by the public." When she died she left her estate to the Australian Guide Dog Association and a small amount to her goddaughter. Winnie’s husband was Lew Levisohn. After Winifred had died it was one of Lew’s cousins that contested Winifred’s will and is reported to have been granted $30,000 from her estate.

Winifred Atwell suffered a stroke in 1980. She officially retired on The Mike Walsh Show, then Australia's highest rating television variety program, in 1981. Her only public performances from this point were as an organist in her parish church at Narrabeen. She categorically stated on the Mike Walsh show that she would retire and not return as a public performer, but that she had had an excellent career. Her last TV performance was a medley of "Black and White Rag" and "Twelfth Street Rag", before being given a standing ovation and awarded a bouquet.

In 1983 following a fire that destroyed her Narrabeen home, she suffered a heart attack and died while staying with friends in Seaforth. She is buried beside husband Lew Levisohn in South Gundurimba Private Cemetery in northern New South Wales, just outside Lismore.

Info on Win's Oz recordings:

RCA had established an Australian subsidiary in the mid-1950s and released its first locally-made recordings in late 1956. It launched the Bluebird label in Australia ca. 1964 but it released only a handful of singles, all catalogued in RCA's standard '100000' series. All but one of these singles were by local performers - country duo The Webb Brothers, pop band Bobby Thomas And The Beaumen, Peter Hiscock and The Starliners and New Zealand-born jazz singer Ricky May - although the first local Bluebird release (1964) was by British pianist Winifred Atwell, who became an Australian - she was naturalised two years before she died.

For download is the original 1964 Australian Bluebird/RCA single "Revival". It is courtesy of Jimmy Barnes who has contributed many wonderful songs from his personal collection. This track is very rare and Winifred's many fans overseas may have not heard of it before.

http://rapidshare.com/files/286876198/Winifred_Atwell_-_Revival.mp3

27.9.09

DOWNLOAD NO.256 - ROB GUEST

Rob Guest (17 July 1950 – 2 October 2008) was a British-born performer who had enjoyed a long career on the stage and screen. He was the world's longest serving Phantom Of The Opera having played the title role for seven years in both Oz and NZ.

Rob left England and lived in Canada for a while where he sang in a pop band called Apparition. By 1968 he had moved to NZ where he sang in a band called The Shore Thing. In 1969 they changed their name to Apparition. They recorded a couple of non-hit NZ singles and by 1970 Rob was in a band called In-Betweens.

His solo career began in 1972 when he signed with Polydor. The first single was "House Of Cards" and was followed by "All The Time In The World". In 1973 he had "Mr Blue" and then shared one side of a single with the Footsteps. His side was "Oh What A Day". A one off single on the Family label came in 1974 called "I Can't Make You Love Me".

Rob started doing stage work and his recordings slowed for a while with only occasional releases happening, like "Sing" in 1977. He joined Festival in 1978 releasing a single "Hangin' On", written by Mike Harvey, and then an album in 1979 called "Dedication". The title track "Dedication" was released as a single.

Also in 1979 a single on the Key label came out, "There'll Never Be
Another For Me". During the eighties Rob only released three solo singles. On Festival in 1980, "Can't Play With You" and then RCA in 1984 "Show Me How To Be Like You" and 1987 "Celebration (Rugby World Cup Song)".

Rob’s stage musical career flourished in Australia where he had leading roles in Phantom, Les Miserables, Jesus Christ Superstar and Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. He died in 2008 while starring as the Wizard of Oz in the Melbourne stage production of Wicked.

His biggest selling single “Hangin' On” was from 1978. Rob sang this song when he was representing New Zealand in the South Pacific Song Contest.

The version for download is the single 7" mix:

http://rapidshare.com/files/285793739/Rob_Guest_-_Hanging_On.mp3

DOWNLOAD NO.255 - VARIOUS ARTISTS


This big download packs a punch with over 20 songs in great condition all scraped clean using "Click Repair" technology. Some songs are from the Ozburn collection which I've cleaned up dramatically and in some cases repaired. One song is from a Midoztouch contributor but most songs are from my own vinyl copies. They are in a zip file with a password: http://tommixmusic.blogspot.com/

All songs are 320KB mp3 files. It will take a fair while to download (155244 KB). Don't forget to say thanks in the comment box - as suggested by the folks at the Midoztouch forum...

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Kevin Kitto Singers - The Lights Of Adelaide (Mono Single Mix)


Vic Christopher - All His Children (Mono Single Mix)

Ticket - Country High (Mono Single Mix)

Nolan Buddle Quartet - Picnic At Hanging Rock (Jazz Mix)

Mega Set - We'll Be Together (Mono Single Mix)

Marc Hunter - X-Ray Creature

Mad Turks - Tempers Fire

Lobby Loyde - Liberate Rock (Ext Tom Mix)

Liv Maessen - Here I Go Again (Mono Single Mix)

Lester Coombs - I'm Fine Thank You (Mono Single Mix)

Lee Conway - Wanted Man

Kal-Q-Lated Risk - Looking Through The Eyes Of A Beautiful Girl

John Macrae - Soldiers (Mono Single Mix)

Jimmy Hannan - You Make Me Happy (Mono Single Mix)

Jelly Roll Big Band - I've Been Away Too Long

Jel Ellff - Going Nowhere (Mono Single Mix)

Jel Eliff - Cotton Jenny (Mono Single Mix)

Jamie "Agro" Dunn - Fun Fun Fun (Mono Single Mix)

Hot Cottage - Made To Love You

Frank Hyde - Danny Boy (Mono Single Mix)

Brass Carnival - One Little Kiss (Mono Single Mix)

Avalanche - Wizard Of Love

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http://rapidshare.com/files/285654224/lotz_of_oz_hitz.zip

23.9.09

DOWNLOAD NO.254 - LORRAE DESMOND

Lorrae has several postings so please use search facility to locate previous downloads.

Lorrae Desmond went to the UK circa 1955 and recorded numerous songs. Four have been issued on CD in the UK to date. The CDs are: "Lipstick, Nylons, Petticoats & Stilettos", "As Good As It Gets - Skiffle Vol.2" and "Female Vocalists Of The 1950s".


Lorrae’s first television appearance was in “Teleclub”, on radio in “Twelve Thousand Miles From Home” and appeared with actor Terry Thomas in “Strictly T-T” and “The Terry Thomas Show”, and in the comedy sitcom “Trouble For Two” with Jacqueline Mackenzie in 1958 (the year I was born).

Her own TV shows were “Meet Lorrae Desmond” and “Swing Along With Lorrae” on BBC. Also she appeared in cabaret and pantomime. In the early 1950s she was in a travelling variety show that played for the troops in the Suez Canal deployment and later in the 1960s she played for the troops in Vietnam. She returned permanently to Australia where she was very successful and appeared in the long-running series “A Country Practice” as Shirley Gilroy, which she played from 1981-1992.

The songs Lorrae recorded for Parlophone were all produced by a young George Martin the man who became the 5th Beatle in the 1960s. *Lorrae has an interesting story about George Martin. Apparently he was notorious for listening to the first take and then turning the sound down so he could do other things while the singers did umpteen more takes. Lorrae changed the words to "Tall Paul" while she was recording the second take making them very raunchy. She bounded up into the box and asked George how the last take sounded. George said, "Great". So Lorrae asked him to play it back for her. I am told the colour of his face changed markedly when he heard it. (*This excerpt is from Lorrae's friend DT).

The following download contains 3 tracks which have been taken from the abovementioned UK CDs currently on sale. I have extended and remixed them to be a little punchier than their original vinyl equivalents. If you like the remixes don't forget to buy the originals on CD while stocks last!

There is a password on the zip file: http://tommixmusic.blogspot.com/

The remixes are:

Preacher Preacher - Tom Mix 12"
You Must Be Around - Tom Mix 12"
Kansas City Special - Tom Mix 12"

http://rapidshare.com/files/284160210/lorrae.zip

18.9.09

DOWNLOAD NO.253 - MATT TAYLOR (OF CHAIN)

This is the second post of Matt's work. His other songs can be found elsewhere on this blog.

Matt Taylor worked solidly from the late 1960s pumping out good Oz rock and blues - see previous post for more information re his solo work and his work with the Melbourne band Chain.

Matt's voice is very gravely and distinctive. His biggest solo single was "I Remember When I Was Young" in 1974. The follow up "Fair Dinkum Aussie Blues" didn't chart that well outside Melbourne but it has a nice country rock feel which was not that in vogue when it was released. Some songs miss their target
audience when first released and acquire more status later in the fullness of time. Matt's work is now becoming more into vogue. Oz rock was once not thought of as important as that of the big overseas acts but time has changed that perception too.

Some of Matt's music is available for purchase at BigPond Music and there are a number of albums there for download (they are not too expensive) click the following link:

http://bigpondmusic.com/

Here for download is a mono single mix of
"Fair Dinkum Aussie Blues":

http://rapidshare.com/files/281984517/Matt_Taylor_-_Fair_Dinkum_Aussie_Blues__Mono_Single_Tom_Mix_.mp3

15.9.09

DOWNLOAD NO.252 - TONY BRADY

Tony Brady has other songs on this blog for download. Please use search function top left to locate them.

Tony began singing in the late fifties as a dance band vocalist. His main claim to fame, initially, was the fact that he looked and sounded like Frank Sinatra.

In 1959, he worked with vocal group the Graduates for a five month period, their single "Little Donkey" charted in Sydney. In 1960 they toured with the Fabian Show. Then in January 1961, at the age of 23, he signed with Coronet Records, and released his first single "Angel In A Red And White Scarf". The song sold moderately well, although it wasn't until Tony moved to the Leedon label later in the year that he scored a hit with "
Big Things Are Happening". Also in the early part of 1961, he compered a national Friday night radio show on the ABC called Mainstream For Moderns.

In 1962 Tony embarked on a tour of Asia and there after only had moderate success. Although he changed labels and went on to release more records over the next couple of years, further chart success eluded him. Eventually Tony gave up singing to take on show business management and promotion with Col Joye's agency.


Tony's 1961 hit "Big Things Are Happening" is a lovely piece of fluff about settling down and getting married. It was written by Mickey Gentile and Mike Anthony.
It makes an ideal addition to include in today's modern wedding music set when working as a mobile disc jockey.

The introduction has a chorus and plucked harp and sounds reminiscent of many American tunes of the 1950s.
The original song was 1:50 mins and so I gave it the Tom Mix treatment and now in its extended form it runs 1:59 mins!


http://rapidshare.com/files/280584542/Tony_Brady_-_Big_Things_Are_Happening__ext_tom_mix_.mp3

12.9.09

DOWNLOAD NO.251 - LORRAE DESMOND

NB. There are other songs by Lorrae Desmond on this blog. Please use the search facility at the top left of this screen to find them.

Here is some email correspondence from DT a visitor to this site…

Hi Tom Mix,

I recently found your post of “Blue Blue Day” by Lorrae Desmond. I have sent you a download link to "Everybody’s Favourite Model Girl" the 1970 song by Lorrae with “Dear John” the B-side included (click link below). It is an interesting story with “Everybody’s Favourite Model Girl”…Lorrae was sitting under the hairdryer having literally just landed in London and getting ready for a gig. Her former manager just happened to be walking by and came in and said "I have this Peter Sarstedt song I want you to record". So within 2 hours Lorrae was in the recording studio learning the song and recording it. She did the gig and flew back to Australia. And what a great song it is…

Regards,
DT


Hello DT,

A truly great song, thanks for sending. Do you know Lorrae personally to have heard the above story? Is it OK to set it up on the Tom Mix blog for others to download or are you just sharing it with moi?

Cheers and thanks,
Tom Mix


Hi Tom Mix,

Yes, I know Lorrae. She would be thrilled to have it on your blog.

Regards,
DT


Here for download are both sides of the 1970 single courtesy of DT:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4TG88GMR

For those who have already downloaded Lorrae's "Blue Blue Day", found further over on this blog, here is a Tom Mix exclusive 12" remix of "Soda Pop Hop" the cute flip side:

http://rapidshare.com/files/279419380/Lorrae_Desmond_____Soda_Pop_Hop__Ext_Tom_Mix_.mp3

For further download is Lorrae's 1955 hit "On The Waterfront", its flip side "Hold My Hand" and a bonus song all courtesy of DT:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=Y87HOAJS

6.9.09

DOWNLOAD NO.250 - COL JOYE

Colin Frederick Jacobsen (b: 13th April 1936 Sydney) aka Col Joye, is an Oz entertainer and entrepreneur. He was the first Australian to have a #1 rock’n’roll record that charted Australia-wide, and the first Australian to reach the American charts, with "Bye Bye Baby".

Col recorded with his brothers Kevin and Keith (who were part of Col's backing band The Joy Boys). Keith was married to Oz star Little Pattie up until 1984. Kev is partners nowadays with Col and they run Jacobsen Promotions.

Col had many hits over the years and was still releasing singles well into the 1990s. He has helped launch many famous Oz artists including the Bee Gees and their younger brother Andy Gibb.
Col had his own studios called A.T.A. in Glebe Sydney and the early recording work of Andy Gibb is still locked in their vaults.

Col’s 1982 single “Rest Your Love On Me A While” was penned by Barry Gibb and has all the trademarks of the Bee Gees 1978 original but Col tried to give it “country ballad” feel.


Olivia Newton-John and Andy Gibb had a pop duet version in 1980.
It competed against a country version by Conway Twitty.

Here for download is a Tom Mix edit of Col Joye's version of
Rest Your Love On Me A While:

Sorry song file deleted by Blogger Inc.

DOWNLOAD NO.249 - TREVOR GORDON AND THE BEE GEES

Trevor Gordon, born 1948 in Yorkshire, emigrated to Oz nearly at the same time as the Bee Gees. Trevor was known in Australia for variety television work, just as the Bee Gees were. They became friends and Trevor appears in some home movie footage of the Bee Gees in Australia that is still used in TV documentaries &c.

Trevor was coerced by one of his cousins to return to England in about 1968 and was later in the UK band The Marbles along with Graham Bonnet.

Trev’s first hit “House Without Windows” was written by Barry Gibb and came out in January 1965. The flip was called “And I’ll Be Happy” also written by Barry. The A-side was almost a Bee Gees single except that Trevor got to sing over a guide track done by Barry.

Later when Trevor joined The Marbles, Barry wrote some tracks for them.

Band line-up:

Trevor Gordon — vocal

Barry Gibb — vocal, guitar

Robin Gibb — vocal

Maurice Gibb — vocal, organ

Unknown — drums, bass

Jimmy B. a regular contributor to this blog site spotted the vinyl single with the "NOT FOR SALE" label (shown above) on sale on e-Bay for over $500.

Here for free is a great copy of the old original track House Without Windows:

http://rapidshare.com/files/276306851/trevor_gordon_with_the_bee_gees_-_house_without_windows.mp3

4.9.09

DOWNLOAD NO.248 - LONNIE LEE

Lonnie Lee was a pioneer of OZ rock and roll. He and Johnny O'Keefe were hit makers who recorded on the Lee Gordon owned record label Leedon. If you look on the label you'll note that the musical arranger was Eddie Cash Jr. This is a pseudonym for Johnny O'Keefe. You can see another of these production credits on a number by The Fauns further over on this blog.

"
Defenceless" was one of Lonnie's early 1960 smash hits. It has recently been released on CD along with numerous other Lonnie Lee tracks. Lonnie's production team have also included bonus material on the 2 new CD collections which includes a bonus CD-Rom set of snaps and clippings etc. Lonnie, will if wanted, sign the covers of both sets of CDs if ordered in 2009. For info on his CD releases please click the following link to Mustang Records:

http://mustangrecords.com.au/category9_2.htm

Here for download in an extended Tom Mix version of "
Defenceless" mixed from CD:

http://rapidshare.com/files/275779854/lonnie_lee_-_defenceless__ext_tom_mix_.mp3

3.9.09

DOWNLOAD NO.247 - ROLF HARRIS

Rolf Harris was born in Perth Western Australia and was a champion swimmer and then went to Teachers College and for some strange reason he gave up teaching and went into showbiz!

Rolf had so many hits here and in England that he was parodied by just about everyone. His persona was the basis of one of my favourite episodes of The Goodies TV Show. Because Rolf is such a talent he is still going strong some 50 years later. He is an Oz icon.

His brother Bruce Harris was also a showbiz personality. When I used to take students to Sydney to be in the Schools Variety Spectacular at the Sydney Entertainment Centre I would sometimes meet Bruce and his team including Mary Lopez and Kevin Jacobson. They would help students make the leap from school to the professional stage. It was all so many years ago now!

Rolf had a minor hit in 1971 with his version of "A Ram Sam Sam". This is a song I have used occasionally with the students I have taught because it easily converts from being a piece for a soloist or can be performed by a group and/or can be sung as a "round".

"A Ram Sam Sam" was reworded and used in a novelty kid's song called "The Fast Food Song" by The Fast Food Rockers. The song mentions by name Pizza Hut, KFC and Macca's. It managed to reach #2 in the UK charts in June 2003. It was produced by Mike Stock from the famous production team of Stock, Aitken and Waterman.

Rolf's original version of "A Ram Sam Sam" had a gap in the middle which for this download I have edited out. The start was also a little longer than my edited version. If you click the picture of the label you can see that Rolf used a well-known UK backing group on this track.

http://rapidshare.com/files/275077710/Rolf_Harris_-_A_Ram_Sam_Sam__Tom_Mix_Edit_.mp3