While just
about everyone is familiar with the legendary Harlem Globetrotters basketball
team, fewer people are aware that an animated version of the team starred in a
TV cartoon series of the same name in the early 1970s. As it happens, music
producer and manager Don Kirshner was the music supervisor on the show. Since he
and songwriter Jeff Barry had converted the Archies cartoon characters into
musical gold – they had a #1 single with “Sugar Sugar” and their first two
albums spent a combined 57 weeks on Billboard’s sales chart – they thought they
might have similar success with the Globetrotters, so they released a
soundtrack album from the show in 1970.
Their
earlier commercial success did not repeat; the album and its two singles missed
the charts entirely. The album, however, did produce one gem, which was a
doo-wop song that sounded as though it should have come out ten years earlier. “Rainy
Day Bells” was written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield, who were best
known for co-writing Sedaka’s early 1960s hits as a singer (“Breaking Up Is
Hard To Do” being the biggest), although they also wrote some hits for other
performers (including this gem). The actual singing on “Rainy Day Bells” was
done by R&B veterans, although Meadowlark Lemon contributed some of the
background vocals.
Despite the
odd story, the song has justifiably stood the test of time despite its
obscurity. It’s been featured on numerous Carolina Beach Music compilations and
is considered one of the top songs of all time in that genre.
No comments:
Post a Comment