Dear Hollywood Underground,
I am writing this at Teen Set’s (ex) Editor’s desk, because Teen Set’s (ex) Editor is in London and Gunther is below in the dungeon and the lovely Ginni (?) is out rounding up more bread crusts for him… and the whole office is mine! (Well, actually, the radiant Nancy and the comely Lee are here too, but I’ve locked myself into this office and I won’t come out until I’ve told you all about…)
A phone call from London: (Is that like a postcard from Jamaica?) Judy called one afternoon (nighttime in London) to report that she had just left a recording session. (Not just any recording session, no. When TeenSet goes to London, we go all the way!) Read all about a BEATLES’ recording session in the August issue of Teen Set!! Judy was also lucky enough to talk to Donovan, Cilla Black, David Warner (Did you fall in love with him in “Morgan” too?), take a tour of London with Alan Price and Teen Set’s London correspondent, Carol Gold, and many more fab people! She will tell all (or most) next month…
Another ex-Raider: Jim Valley finally left the Raiders! He will finish out the present tour and then choose a record company (there are several vying for his signature), so you will be hearing Harpo sing his own (great) songs soon! Best of luck to a really groovy guy…
Openings around town: Lightnin’ Sam Hopkins opened at the Ash Grove with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band—they keep getting funnier and funnier! Even though the audience was mostly younger kids off school for Easter vacation, they seemed to enjoy the slow, easy blues of Lightnin’ Hopkins. (But the girl next to me turned to her boyfriend and theorized, “He’s a lot like Chuck Berry, but much too lazy.”).
Single artists making it: Lee Mallory is bound to be the king of the underground hits! His second release, “Take My Hand,” is getting as little air play as his first, but is becoming a hit anyway! Bobby Jameson will be debuting his new single soon and, judging from the tracks on his proposed lp, anything released will be a hit! Jesse Lee Kincaid is working on his first album as a single artist. All the material will be original. Tim Hardin is the man behind Bobby Darin’s recent hits, and it’s about time he received some of the glory! He writes beautiful love ballads and sings them in the style that has made the Lovin’ Spoonful famous…
Lunch with Tommy Roe: (He had breaded veal.) “Now that the show is off, I hope to continue touring with the Dick Clark tours. This summer, I will, hopefully, begin filming a movie that is being written for me right now.” The film will be a musical comedy, but with a dramatic story line…
Romeo and Juliet: Jane Asher was in town to perform with the Bristol Old Vic company. (She was great!) Peter was here with Gordon to promote their new single, “Sunday for Tea.” He asked me to explain that the duo is not breaking up for good and that they are still good friends, despite rumors to the contrary. Gordon’s first single, “Speak For Me,” was set to be released on April 10th.
An Easter egg hunt (Or, On The Road to Chip Douglas’ House): Signs (“Get a free egg,” “Bring your own bacon,” etc.) and arrows all along Laurel Canyon inviting one and all to an easter egg hunt on the front lawn of Chip Douglas’ house have been going up and coming down all month. The question is: Does Chip know that he’s having an easter egg hunt? We’ll let you know next month!
The Teenage Fair: KRLA’s booth at the Los Angeles Teenage Fair played host to several popular local acts, including the Seeds, Lee Mallory and the Yellow Balloon. We were delighted to find that (arrggghhhh) John Beck, formerly with the Leaves, is singing lead with the Balloon. (Mommy, can I please have a balloon?)
In Town: The Blues Magoos flew in to tape a Smothers Brothers show and a few local shots. Ralph says, “I sure wish we could move out here!”
The Buckinghams are due to be in Holyword (Thank you; Stephen.) to promote their new Columbia disc. Maybe I’ll get a chance to do another interview… the one with Chip was fun!
San Francisco’s Moby Grape have been in and out of LA, trying to decide who to sign with and when to record. We really don’t care when and who, we just want them to come out with a hit!
The First Monterey Pop Festival: Plans are under way for the first annual Monterey Pop Festival, to be held June 16, 17 and 18 of this year. Invited guests are the Monkees, Beatles, Stones, Raiders, Herman’s Hermits and countless other groups that have helped to make rock and roll the institution that it is. Even if only one third of the performers are able to attend, it will be an event not soon to be forgotten…
The Association share the bill with Eric Burdon and his new Animals at a concert in the bay region this month. TeenSet will be there, trusty photographer in hand, to capture all the happenings for you!
In the IS-MY-WORLD-NOT-FALLING-DOWN-DEPT. My Monkee stand-in, Ric Klein is no longer a bachelor! Best man at his wedding was My Monkee, Micky Dolenz. (Just don’t you get any ideas, Mick… unless they’re about me!)
In the SO-YOU-WANT-TO-BE-A-ROCK-AND-ROLL-STAR-DEPT. Watch out for the Ballroom! Three guys and a girl, fantastically versatile, the group will debut at UCLA’s Mardi Gras and follow shortly thereafter with a single…
Happiness is a thing called: a hit record. Just ask the Buffalo Springfield, the Turtles, the Blues Magoos, Harper’s Bizarre and the Mojo Men. Fear is a thing called: a follow-up. But stick around and watch them do it again!
Well, Hollywood Underground, I think that’s it. I’ll just sit back at my desk here and… hey, what’s this button?…
