Lotti Golden
In Look magazine for September 9 1969, there's an article about an aspiring young singer named Lotti Golden, who wanted to be just like Dylan. Never having heard of her before, I got curious and did some research.
She did go on to release a couple of albums. This blogger discusses her career and offers a compressed audio file of one whole album. This fellow does the same.
But overall, poor Lotti is so obscure she doesn't even have a Wikipedia entry, and her records never made it to CD.
In 1982, she tried again with a group called Warp 9, purveyors of "new wave funk." You can hear two samples of their stuff here.
If you listen to the clip below, you might see why she never made it big. This song is like five different disparate songs jammed into one.
She did go on to release a couple of albums. This blogger discusses her career and offers a compressed audio file of one whole album. This fellow does the same.
But overall, poor Lotti is so obscure she doesn't even have a Wikipedia entry, and her records never made it to CD.
In 1982, she tried again with a group called Warp 9, purveyors of "new wave funk." You can hear two samples of their stuff here.
If you listen to the clip below, you might see why she never made it big. This song is like five different disparate songs jammed into one.
Comments
She's got all bases covered for sure. Within a few seconds she goes from blues to big band to show tunes to <click here to quit>.
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 03/03/09 at 12:31 PM
Dylan's first album, in my opinion is his best. He's got a way about him that just makes it all seem so easy to do. I play both the harmonica and the guitar and I can tell you his stuff isn't as easy to play as you think. At least not the singing, the playing harmonica and guitar all at the same time. But it is very fun to play.
Posted by Madd Maxx on 03/03/09 at 01:09 PM
Maxx you got some 'splainin' to do. How do you sing and play the harmonica at the same time?
BTW, are you in this photo?
http://www.dasoftvss.com/photos/page05/images/us_trip_016.jpg
BTW, are you in this photo?
http://www.dasoftvss.com/photos/page05/images/us_trip_016.jpg
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 03/03/09 at 01:23 PM
Please tell me the woman with the zydeco isn't naked.
Posted by kingmonkey in Athens, Ontario on 03/03/09 at 01:29 PM
kingmonkey - That's a washboard. Zydeco is a type of music that generally uses a washboard or accordian or both.
Posted by Madd Maxx on 03/03/09 at 01:36 PM
KDP - Don't bogey it either! Pass it around.
Posted by Madd Maxx on 03/03/09 at 02:46 PM
Jason-ross--thanks for the tip!
Posted by Paul on 07/21/09 at 10:37 AM
It's nice to see someone is paying attention to this great nearly-lost album, a time capsule of the psychedelic Sixties, or one part of it. This is one of my all-time favorite albums, obscure as it is, and though it hasn't been released on CD (and may never be), it's great that it's been made available for download so I can hear it again. LPs are available pretty often on ebay, and there's one nut who thinks he can get $500 for this "insanely rare" record - as he puts it.
Anyway, its disjointed sound is most likely the result of the odd couple pairing of singer/songwriter Lotti Golden with pop producer Bob Crewe - most famous for producing most of The Four Season's hits and his own "Music To Watch Girls By." This has always sounded like he took her stream-of-consciousness songs and ran with them ... and ran, and ran, and ran. He hired great session musicians - you'll see their names on tons of records - and came up with some very inventive arrangements. I understand if people feel this is hit or miss - it is, though for me it's mostly hit. Then again, I grew up with this album, and it just sounds natural to me. (Cree Summer - remember her? - said something similar, in that she grew up on a commune and her parents had two records, and this was one of them - read more at http://creefanclub.deviantart.com/) If you ever hear her second album, "Lotti Golden," you'll hear a radically different sound, without the bold production, and I think it suffers by comparison.
So Jasmine, while I agree with you about the material's brilliance, my theory is that the wide-ranging sound is more the producer's doing. I doubt Lotti had much creative control - input, sure, but final approval, probably not so much - but I believe she must have been pretty pleased with the results. For me, although I like the long songs that veer through a few genres, over the years I keep gravitating to the two more compact songs in the middle of side two - "Who Are Your Friends" and "Get Together With Yourself." They're just a bit more cohesive and coherent (apart from that strange minor passage in the first one). I would welcome a CD release, but don't expect it any time soon, due to less than overwhelming demand. What we need is for someone to become immensely famous and mention a few times how much he or she loves this album and wishes it were available on CD. I'm still working on that angle. 😉
And thanks to Paul for starting this, and the tip about Warp 9. Not my cup of tea, mind you, but I hadn't heard that before. I think I read about it during some searching a while back, along with other efforts from her producing career, including Eternal and tracks for Taylor Dayne and others. Glad she was able to keep involved in the business somehow. I would still like to see her get her due. Hopefully "Motor-Cycle" won't be considered too dated to be relevant. I like to believe great music is timeless and eternal. But I'm in the minority, and have non-mainstream tastes in music. :coolsmile:
Anyway, its disjointed sound is most likely the result of the odd couple pairing of singer/songwriter Lotti Golden with pop producer Bob Crewe - most famous for producing most of The Four Season's hits and his own "Music To Watch Girls By." This has always sounded like he took her stream-of-consciousness songs and ran with them ... and ran, and ran, and ran. He hired great session musicians - you'll see their names on tons of records - and came up with some very inventive arrangements. I understand if people feel this is hit or miss - it is, though for me it's mostly hit. Then again, I grew up with this album, and it just sounds natural to me. (Cree Summer - remember her? - said something similar, in that she grew up on a commune and her parents had two records, and this was one of them - read more at http://creefanclub.deviantart.com/) If you ever hear her second album, "Lotti Golden," you'll hear a radically different sound, without the bold production, and I think it suffers by comparison.
So Jasmine, while I agree with you about the material's brilliance, my theory is that the wide-ranging sound is more the producer's doing. I doubt Lotti had much creative control - input, sure, but final approval, probably not so much - but I believe she must have been pretty pleased with the results. For me, although I like the long songs that veer through a few genres, over the years I keep gravitating to the two more compact songs in the middle of side two - "Who Are Your Friends" and "Get Together With Yourself." They're just a bit more cohesive and coherent (apart from that strange minor passage in the first one). I would welcome a CD release, but don't expect it any time soon, due to less than overwhelming demand. What we need is for someone to become immensely famous and mention a few times how much he or she loves this album and wishes it were available on CD. I'm still working on that angle. 😉
And thanks to Paul for starting this, and the tip about Warp 9. Not my cup of tea, mind you, but I hadn't heard that before. I think I read about it during some searching a while back, along with other efforts from her producing career, including Eternal and tracks for Taylor Dayne and others. Glad she was able to keep involved in the business somehow. I would still like to see her get her due. Hopefully "Motor-Cycle" won't be considered too dated to be relevant. I like to believe great music is timeless and eternal. But I'm in the minority, and have non-mainstream tastes in music. :coolsmile:
Posted by journeybear on 02/06/10 at 12:33 AM
Wonderful and insightful comments, Journeybear. Many thanks!
Posted by Paul on 02/06/10 at 11:05 AM
Thanks for the info. A little searching on that compilation turned up a couple of things.
That track was originally released as a single by Atlantic in 1969. That implies it was recorded at the same time as "Motor-Cycle" but was left off the album. I'm going to guess that this track may have been available for use on the compilation, but some contractual difficulty renders "Motor-Cycle" still unavailable. I'd really like to hear it, even if it is a cover: Sock It To Me Baby/It's Your Thing / Annabelle With Bells (Home Made Girl) (7", Single, Promo) Atlantic 1969. I assume that the B side Annabelle With Bells is one of her originals, so that makes the single even more enticing.
This discographical info comes from http://www.discogs.com/artist/Lotti+Golden, an insanely exhaustive compendium of her work (mostly producing).
The compilation may be available for download. Still working on that.
Keep the faith, people. And keep me posted!
That track was originally released as a single by Atlantic in 1969. That implies it was recorded at the same time as "Motor-Cycle" but was left off the album. I'm going to guess that this track may have been available for use on the compilation, but some contractual difficulty renders "Motor-Cycle" still unavailable. I'd really like to hear it, even if it is a cover: Sock It To Me Baby/It's Your Thing / Annabelle With Bells (Home Made Girl) (7", Single, Promo) Atlantic 1969. I assume that the B side Annabelle With Bells is one of her originals, so that makes the single even more enticing.
This discographical info comes from http://www.discogs.com/artist/Lotti+Golden, an insanely exhaustive compendium of her work (mostly producing).
The compilation may be available for download. Still working on that.
Keep the faith, people. And keep me posted!
Posted by journeybear on 06/13/10 at 02:17 AM
csartsong, should I be reading anything into you amahabim, Jasmine Troy and Jason-Ross all posting from the same IP address? 😕
Posted by Dumbfounded on 06/13/10 at 01:04 PM
oops busted. :lol:
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 06/13/10 at 06:17 PM
Boy, as if there weren't already so much that has been written about what the music industry HAS done, think how many books could be written about it COULd have done! Or SHOULD have done. I'm guessing that single was recorded at the same time as "Motor-Cycle" though why neither side was included on the album I can't imagine, especially the original "Annabelle With Bells." I would hope both would be included as bonus tracks though - it is dearly to be wished.
Doing a bit more research I found a single on Philips 40640 - Lotti Golden - Annabelle With Bells (Home Made Girl) / Sock It To Me Baby - 1969 which is probably the same as LOTTI GOLDEN: SOCK IT TO ME BABY / ANNABELLE WITH BELLS ATL 2687. It looks like Atlantic sold it to Philips which released it with the sides flipped. Something seems fishy there, and my guess (that's all I can do right now) is there was a falling out between the artist and the label. Maybe the album didn't sell, maybe the label felt too much money had been spent on production and promotion, maybe the artist complained too much about how the album turneout ... who knows? At any rate, if the masters to the single were sold to Philips as I surmise, the chances of it being included on a CD would then be slim - unless some OTHER label gets involved. Maybe an overseas company - that's happened before.
I found a website that has as its mission a compendium of everything Atlantic ever recorded: http://www.jazzdisco.org/atlantic-records/discography-1969/ brings you to the year 1969. Fascinating reading, if you like this stuff. Here we see the album was released 3/26/69 but this single was released 10/7/69. Could it have sat in the can for half a year? Possible. Also at this site, I see that Loudon Wainwright was recorded as early as 1970 (unreleased) and Led Zeppelin recorded some stuff that was never released - so Jimmy Page lied (or maybe just forgot) when he said there was nothing in the vaults, that they put out everything they had. And this was just from a ten-minute scanning. If you don't hear from me for a while this is where I'll be ! 😉
Meanwhile at http://beemp3.com/ you can download "Motorcycle Michael" and "A Lot Like Lucifer." I downloaded the whole album some time ago and I don't remember where, but it was free.
Several years ago I was a writer and editor for a small music magazine and found out she was still around and in the business, and thought of calling her up to do a "Where Are They Now?" piece. Oh, I wish I had!
Doing a bit more research I found a single on Philips 40640 - Lotti Golden - Annabelle With Bells (Home Made Girl) / Sock It To Me Baby - 1969 which is probably the same as LOTTI GOLDEN: SOCK IT TO ME BABY / ANNABELLE WITH BELLS ATL 2687. It looks like Atlantic sold it to Philips which released it with the sides flipped. Something seems fishy there, and my guess (that's all I can do right now) is there was a falling out between the artist and the label. Maybe the album didn't sell, maybe the label felt too much money had been spent on production and promotion, maybe the artist complained too much about how the album turneout ... who knows? At any rate, if the masters to the single were sold to Philips as I surmise, the chances of it being included on a CD would then be slim - unless some OTHER label gets involved. Maybe an overseas company - that's happened before.
I found a website that has as its mission a compendium of everything Atlantic ever recorded: http://www.jazzdisco.org/atlantic-records/discography-1969/ brings you to the year 1969. Fascinating reading, if you like this stuff. Here we see the album was released 3/26/69 but this single was released 10/7/69. Could it have sat in the can for half a year? Possible. Also at this site, I see that Loudon Wainwright was recorded as early as 1970 (unreleased) and Led Zeppelin recorded some stuff that was never released - so Jimmy Page lied (or maybe just forgot) when he said there was nothing in the vaults, that they put out everything they had. And this was just from a ten-minute scanning. If you don't hear from me for a while this is where I'll be ! 😉
Meanwhile at http://beemp3.com/ you can download "Motorcycle Michael" and "A Lot Like Lucifer." I downloaded the whole album some time ago and I don't remember where, but it was free.
Several years ago I was a writer and editor for a small music magazine and found out she was still around and in the business, and thought of calling her up to do a "Where Are They Now?" piece. Oh, I wish I had!
Posted by journeybear on 06/16/10 at 10:35 PM
I've been doing some searching and came up with a couple of things. First, an interesting factoid. Believe it or not, the single released by Atlantic immediately before Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love was ... Lotti Golden - Sock It To Me Baby/It's Your Thing! I know that's kind of FWIW, but I think it's still pretty cool. Figure out some way to work that into a trivia contest. 😉
Second, and even cooler - I found an internet radio station that played it, and it is available for download. In other words, you can hear it. http://www.galacticfractures.com/?p=105 I think it's out of Boston. http://c0441221.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/GF081008.mp3 is the whole show - as you'll see from the list, it appears about 3/4 of the way through. If you download the mp4 file - all 105 megs of it - you'll see it starts at 1:21 of the 1:50 show. I must warn you - it is not up to the same standard as "Motor-Cycle." I think it was recorded at a later session. Even if it was produced by Bob Crewe, he may not have had the same musicians on it. Also, the vocals aren't on the same level. It really sounds like a rush job. But she does OK with it, and I can't say don't bother. Anyway, the best thing is you can listen to it and judge for yourself. I'm still more interested in the B-side, "Annabelle With Bells," especially now that I have confirmation that she wrote it.
I'll keep you posted if I find out anything more.
Second, and even cooler - I found an internet radio station that played it, and it is available for download. In other words, you can hear it. http://www.galacticfractures.com/?p=105 I think it's out of Boston. http://c0441221.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/GF081008.mp3 is the whole show - as you'll see from the list, it appears about 3/4 of the way through. If you download the mp4 file - all 105 megs of it - you'll see it starts at 1:21 of the 1:50 show. I must warn you - it is not up to the same standard as "Motor-Cycle." I think it was recorded at a later session. Even if it was produced by Bob Crewe, he may not have had the same musicians on it. Also, the vocals aren't on the same level. It really sounds like a rush job. But she does OK with it, and I can't say don't bother. Anyway, the best thing is you can listen to it and judge for yourself. I'm still more interested in the B-side, "Annabelle With Bells," especially now that I have confirmation that she wrote it.
I'll keep you posted if I find out anything more.
Posted by journeybear on 06/19/10 at 01:17 AM
Well, that was fast! Never mind all that - found another site that has the mp3 of the single by itself - so it doesn't fade into the next song: http://www.beattrainsoundsystem.com/pics-mo-vinyl plus you can feast your eyes on a pic of the single. Enjoy!
Posted by journeybear on 06/19/10 at 01:35 AM
All right, this is going to be my last post along these lines because
A) It's a Homer Simpson D'Oh! moment, as in, why didn't I think of that before? That is - youtube!
B) I've pretty much exhausted my search capabilities and nearly ruined my eyesight and spent too much time on this already!
C) I see that amahabim already found these. Thanks for the heads-up! 😛
But that's OK. Discovering them for myself gave me an Aha! moment that was really enjoyable.
Well, check them out. At least they're something different from Lotti Golden, if not as magical as "Motor-Cycle."
Lotti Golden - Suck It To Me Baby It's Your Thing.wmv
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoFfv3kg4XA&feature=related
Thats how it's spelled. This is taken from the Funkin' The Ghetto compilation. If it were from the single there might be hope for a similar video of "Annabelle With Bells." No such luck. No video, just a series of stills.
Lotti G - What's It Worth
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh9E_x5XiUQ&feature=related
This is the single version of a disco song written by Lotti Golden and Richard Scherr, from 1982 or 1983. No video, just a still of the record label. Lotti's voice is a lot mellower a decade later.
Lotti G - What's it worth - Funk 1983
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA5zFCDHe44&feature=related
Extended version. Stills of hot air balloons, for some reason.
Enjoy!
A) It's a Homer Simpson D'Oh! moment, as in, why didn't I think of that before? That is - youtube!
B) I've pretty much exhausted my search capabilities and nearly ruined my eyesight and spent too much time on this already!
C) I see that amahabim already found these. Thanks for the heads-up! 😛
But that's OK. Discovering them for myself gave me an Aha! moment that was really enjoyable.
Well, check them out. At least they're something different from Lotti Golden, if not as magical as "Motor-Cycle."
Lotti Golden - Suck It To Me Baby It's Your Thing.wmv
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoFfv3kg4XA&feature=related
Thats how it's spelled. This is taken from the Funkin' The Ghetto compilation. If it were from the single there might be hope for a similar video of "Annabelle With Bells." No such luck. No video, just a series of stills.
Lotti G - What's It Worth
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh9E_x5XiUQ&feature=related
This is the single version of a disco song written by Lotti Golden and Richard Scherr, from 1982 or 1983. No video, just a still of the record label. Lotti's voice is a lot mellower a decade later.
Lotti G - What's it worth - Funk 1983
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA5zFCDHe44&feature=related
Extended version. Stills of hot air balloons, for some reason.
Enjoy!
Posted by journeybear on 06/19/10 at 01:08 PM
Hey, yeah, I tell you, it's been a learning experience. Sometimes it's amazing what you can find out if you just look - and look, and look, and look! 😊) I'm really grateful to whoever did the REAL hard work - the data entry on the websites I found - because that's some real grunt work, and they did the same thing for tons of artists, Lotti Golden being just one of many, just happening to be the one we're interested in. Me, I'm just curious; they did the heavy lifting.
In the process I found a single of Sock It To Me/Annabelle for sale at a somewhat reasonable rate - not really, but considerably less than what most people had it priced - so in a week or so I'll be able to hear it for myself. Then I'll have to figure out how to make it available for listening on the interweb. Hope it lives up to the anticipation!
In the process I found a single of Sock It To Me/Annabelle for sale at a somewhat reasonable rate - not really, but considerably less than what most people had it priced - so in a week or so I'll be able to hear it for myself. Then I'll have to figure out how to make it available for listening on the interweb. Hope it lives up to the anticipation!
Posted by journeybear on 06/21/10 at 09:00 AM
Only person in the United States - HA!!! How about the known universe? I thought my brother and I were the only ones who knew about her - oh yeah, and Cree Summer. 😉 Can't find the lyrics on the web but I did find a link for a free download of the album, which is even better: http://www.mediafire.com/?zmpt6c9iuyt and if you ask me, you don't need a lyric sheet - the vocals are real clear and mixed out in front.
Posted by journeybear on 07/03/10 at 11:07 PM
All right, then you are as up to speed as anyone else in the US - or the world/solar system/universe - unless you have the LP with the lyric sheet. 😉 I agree - it's nice to read lyrics and see how the words flow and interact. Unfortunately ... I did some websearching last night on snippets of lyrics from various songs, and all I got was that link - which of course I already knew about but couldn't put my finger on, having downloaded the album a year ago, And also, though I think the vocal mix is remarkably clear for its time, there are a good amount of slang expressions and such which may easily cause confusion. I'll keep looking, as I'd like to have them myself, and will pass them along if I have any luck.
Posted by journeybear on 07/04/10 at 08:19 PM
LOTTI GOLDEN LYRICS PROJECT
It's been over 40 years since one of my favorite records was released: Lotti Golden "Motor-Cycle," released 3/26/69. It has never been released in CD format, despite a fair amount of interest in this, and the lyrics (printed on an insert with the original LP) are not available at this time on the interweb.
It is not within my abilities to affect the status of the first (and foremost) situation; but I can do something about the second. Rather than waste any more time searching in cyberspace for the lyrics, convinced no one has uploaded them, I am going to type them up as well as I can determine them from repeated listenings, song by song. I estimate this will be a less time-consuming task, despite its nature as grunt work. Hopefully this will be done in a matter of days.
If any of Lotti's fans want to take the time and work on a song on their own, please post to my myspace page - http://www.myspace.com/mandolinsteve9 or http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&bID=536792070 - or send me a message with them, and I will add them. Try to type the lyrics so as to follow the way they are sung, and watch your spelling! Please feel free to offer corrections - this is not an exact science. I am also going to do the same for "Annabelle With Bells (Home Made Girl)," the B-side of the single "Sock It To Me Baby/ It's Your Thing" released 10/7/69, as it was produced by the same producer, Bob Crewe, and bears other similarities, and for all we know (admittedly, very little) was recorded during the same sessions but left off the album.
Enjoy, keep the faith, and above all, get together with yourself!
GET TOGETHER WITH YOURSELF
From where Fay lives
It's a long walk to Henry Street
To the market
Where they meet
And they talk about the reds
And the robe (talk about the robe)
Where they gonna go, I wanna know
When it gets cold
They in the living room
When we inside
They fix the works, they say
Baby, are you going, are you going outside
You got to get together
With yourself come on boy
Dont be a lie, no no no boy
Dont be a lie
You got to
Get Together With Yourself
Thats the most important thing, you got to
Get Together With Yourself
You got to Get Together
With Yourself, come on boy
Don't be a lie, no no no boy
Don't be a lie
I don't wanna see you go down
You say you're moving on
Well I wonder I wonder when
I see you skagging off, getting off
With the same friends, the same friends
The same old friends
you got to Get Together
With Yourself
Dont be a lie, no no no boy, you cant be a lie
You got to
Get Together With Yourself
You got to
Get Together With Yourself
You got to Get Together
With Yourself
Dont be a lie, no no no boy
Dont be a lie
Good god o' mine you got to go down
down
do it to it
come on
It's been over 40 years since one of my favorite records was released: Lotti Golden "Motor-Cycle," released 3/26/69. It has never been released in CD format, despite a fair amount of interest in this, and the lyrics (printed on an insert with the original LP) are not available at this time on the interweb.
It is not within my abilities to affect the status of the first (and foremost) situation; but I can do something about the second. Rather than waste any more time searching in cyberspace for the lyrics, convinced no one has uploaded them, I am going to type them up as well as I can determine them from repeated listenings, song by song. I estimate this will be a less time-consuming task, despite its nature as grunt work. Hopefully this will be done in a matter of days.
If any of Lotti's fans want to take the time and work on a song on their own, please post to my myspace page - http://www.myspace.com/mandolinsteve9 or http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&bID=536792070 - or send me a message with them, and I will add them. Try to type the lyrics so as to follow the way they are sung, and watch your spelling! Please feel free to offer corrections - this is not an exact science. I am also going to do the same for "Annabelle With Bells (Home Made Girl)," the B-side of the single "Sock It To Me Baby/ It's Your Thing" released 10/7/69, as it was produced by the same producer, Bob Crewe, and bears other similarities, and for all we know (admittedly, very little) was recorded during the same sessions but left off the album.
Enjoy, keep the faith, and above all, get together with yourself!
GET TOGETHER WITH YOURSELF
From where Fay lives
It's a long walk to Henry Street
To the market
Where they meet
And they talk about the reds
And the robe (talk about the robe)
Where they gonna go, I wanna know
When it gets cold
They in the living room
When we inside
They fix the works, they say
Baby, are you going, are you going outside
You got to get together
With yourself come on boy
Dont be a lie, no no no boy
Dont be a lie
You got to
Get Together With Yourself
Thats the most important thing, you got to
Get Together With Yourself
You got to Get Together
With Yourself, come on boy
Don't be a lie, no no no boy
Don't be a lie
I don't wanna see you go down
You say you're moving on
Well I wonder I wonder when
I see you skagging off, getting off
With the same friends, the same friends
The same old friends
you got to Get Together
With Yourself
Dont be a lie, no no no boy, you cant be a lie
You got to
Get Together With Yourself
You got to
Get Together With Yourself
You got to Get Together
With Yourself
Dont be a lie, no no no boy
Dont be a lie
Good god o' mine you got to go down
down
do it to it
come on
Posted by journeybear on 07/06/10 at 09:18 PM
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Category: Music | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s