Expressions of Creative Passion is a study of five musical artists. I have chosen them not for their ‘fame and fortune’. In fact, I have chosen them because at times in their careers, they had to wrestle with challenges to those most sought after goals. Instead, I chose them because, to me, they embody riches far greater than ‘fame and fortune’. I chose them for their extraordinary embodiments of creative passion.
Three are male and two are female. One was born in the 1910’s, one in the 1930’s and three are alive today. In fact, one only started singing within the last decade. One is in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Another is in the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe by Gayle Wald
Expressions of Creative Passion: Part One
PERSEVERANCE
AS EXEMPLIFIED BY
SISTER ROSETTA THARPE
Sister Rosetta has come to be known as the ‘Godmother of Rock ‘n’ Roll. She invented styles of singing and guitar pickin’ that were adopted by later, greater artists who got the credit. She was never inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame despite fervent attempts. She is remembered only by the most erudite of Rock ‘n’ Roll students.
Clarence Collins
Expressions of Creative Passion: Part Two
HEART & SOUL
AS EXEMPLIFIED BY CLARENCE COLLINS AND
ARETHA FRANKLIN
Clarence Collins was the founder and a member of ‘Little Anthony & The Imperials’. The guys met and became famous as teenagers from Boys High School in Brooklyn, NY.
Teddy Randazzo
Expressions of Creative Passion: Part Three
TIMELESSNESS
AS EXEMPLIFIED BY TEDDY RANDAZZO
Teddy Randazzo, like Sister Rosetta Tharpe showed musical prowess as a child. He played the accordion so well that even his ‘hard to please’ father agreed he had talent. His songs were big successes with Little Anthony & The Imperials and sung by cross generational stars.
Keith Galliher Jr. Music
Expressions of Creative Passion: Part Four
SERENDIPITY
AS EXEMPLIFIED BY KEITH GALLIHER JR. MUSIC
Thanks to Keith Galliher, Jr. Teddy’s music is experiencing a long overdue revival and recognition. It is a great joy and will become so for many people.
WHAT IS CREATIVE PASSION? How can one define or describe it? I am writing my fourth blog post attempting to answer these questions. This clearly indicates two things. The first is my fascination with the topic CREATIVE PASSION and the second is the proliferation of information aka creative passion in American Music History between the 1920’s and the 1970’s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-45_qOb8St4
EXPRESSIONS OF CREATIVE PASSION: PART FOUR
SERENDIPITY OR FOLLOWING A SERENDIPITOUS PATH
AS EXEMPLIFIED BY KEITH GALLIHER JR. MUSIC
Keith Galliher Jr. Music
Keith Galliher Jr. has been a Las Vegas based litigation attorney for over forty years. About five years ago, he decided to record an Eric Clapton song, ‘Wonderful Tonight’ as a gift for his lovely wife Linda. He surprised her with it. She was moved to tears when she found out that he was singing it. That is the second element of serendipity in this post. The first serendipitous piece to this path began some years ago when Clarence Collins, founder and former member of Little Anthony & The Imperials became a client of The Galliher Law Firm. So when Keith starting singing, Clarence was the logical person to seek out to help him on his new path.
Clarence Collins
Clarence brought several crucial elements to their musical union. The first was Clarence’s own immense talent and musical history. The second was the relationships and connection he had in the music industry. Important questions had to be asked and answered.
What kind of music would suit Keith’s voice best? What songwriters did he feel passionate about singing? What ideas did Clarence have? The answer to these questions led to the next step on the serendipitous path, making a connection with the right music.
Two Paths, Internet Radio Show
In the midst of this, Keith created a two-part radio show, Two Paths. One week featured some aspect of the legal profession. Alternate weeks featured his music. The show is one of many on the streaming audio network, America Matters Media. One of the owners is Eddie Floyd. He is also a host on Two Paths which can be heard on Fridays at 10am PST. As a correspondent on another show, A.M. News, I heard about Two Paths and started listening to it. I was fascinated by both features. I called in several times and soon became a familiar voice on it as well. I introduced myself to Clarence. As they got to know me, they realized I had a keen eye for research. I became their #AceDetective, commissioned with two Music Mystery Challenges. The second one had to do with the Randazzo family. In solving the mystery, I got to know Teddy Randazzo, Jr. rather well.
Teddy Randazzo
Although Teddy, Sr. had died several years before Keith started singing, Teddy Randazzo was someone Clarence knew well. He was intimately familiar with his music. Teddy had written some of the songs that were ‘Little Anthony & The Imperials’ biggest hits as well as hits for other artists. For example, Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko Ko Bop, Tears on My Pillow, Hurts So Bad, It’s Gonna’ Take a Miracle, I’m on The Outside Looking In, Song Without An End. Keith was a natural for these types of songs and so Imperials Plus Records was born.
By 2015, Keith had completed two full CDs of songs featuring various artists, ‘Love Songs For Linda’ and ‘Two Paths’. Some of them were written by Teddy. Some were not. Anyone who hears Teddy’s music falls in love with it. He wrote over 650 songs, was a singer in his own right and a teen movie idol as well.
Logo for Imperials Plus Records, the company owned by Keith and Clarence
Keith Galliher Jr. wanted to work with the music of this brilliantly talented man. He had started adapting some of Teddy’s music to his style. He has created an entire CD of only Teddy’s music calling it, ‘Teddy’s Songs’. That CD has just been released by Imperials Plus Records, the company belonging to Keith and Clarence. The final song, ‘Destiny’ was recorded with special technology to include Teddy’s voice. The name says it all. It has been and is the destiny of everyone accompanying Keith on this journey to experience the magic, the passion and the ‘evergreen’ or timeless quality that Teddy’s music has. It is truly due to Keith’s passion to follow a serendipitous path.
As mentioned in CREATIVE PASSION: PART ONE, there are many motivating factors that drive the creative passion within an artist. It is a challenge and an honor to have the opportunity to study, discover and identify them. It involves listening a great deal to the work of an artist, in this case, a singer, songwriter, producer and teen idol movie star. It also involves learning as much as possible about the artist from written research. If one is fortunate enough, there are primary research sources, as well. All of these elements exist in the case of our third example.
EXPRESSIONS OF CREATIVE PASSION: PART THREE
TIMELESSNESS EXEMPLIFIED BY TEDDY RANDAZZO
Teddy was an extraordinarily talented young man who started as a teen idol. He starred in four movies including two Alan Freed Rock ‘n Roll movies. Throughout his life, and at various times, he was either primarily a singer, songwriter and/or music producer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3T0CkwS5ks
He began his singing career as backup in a group that combined comedy and song. He quickly moved up to lead singer of ‘The Three Chuckles’. He was electric and romantic at a microphone or in front of a camera. Despite both of those skills, he withdrew into the background focusing on songwriting and producing. He worked with some of the most popular groups in the 1950’s and 1960’s and beyond. He wrote some of the great hits for groups like ‘Little Anthony & The Imperials’. Among them was ‘Hurt So Bad’ that had great success sung by not only Little Anthony but also Linda Ronstadt. His songwriting hits included, ‘It’s Gonna Take A Miracle, ‘Tears on My Pillow’, “Goin’ Out of My Head”, and “Pretty Blue Eyes” in the 1960s. His songs were also sung by great crooners like Frank Sinatra, Steve Lawrence and many other big names in the music industry. He was driven to express his creative passion. Sharing his art with the world was more important to him than, who shared it, who sang it or who became famous because of it. It was not a short lived proposition. It was a labor of love that had timelessness sewn into its very fabric.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlxaKr7IWas
“Teddy Randazzo was never quite as visible as other New York-spawned rock ‘n’ roll talent of the 1950’s — to name a few, Dion was more of a star and for a lot longer, and the various members of Jay & The Americans enjoyed hits right to the outset of the 1970’s. But Randazzo had his day in the sun as a singer, and he also wrote hundreds of songs, and saw many dozens of recordings of the best of his work.”[1]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jq5z_U8z_b4
The above quote from the YouTube comment about Teddy is shortsighted. In my opinion, he was extraordinarily talented as a singer. The fact that he did not experience the short lived singing fame that Dion or Jay and The Americans does not reflect a superior talent on their parts. In fact, I believe Teddy had more talent than all of his contemporaries. His focusing on writing rather than singing was to everyone’s benefit. Who remembers either Dion or Jay and The Americans now? Did they write hundreds of songs that other singers recorded, had and are still having success with singing today? Teddy Randazzo’s songs were sung by some of the greatest pop singers over decades and are sought after today. In fact, the tribute CD sung by Keith Galliher, Jr. has just being released.[2]
“Born in New York City in 1935, he was lucky enough to grow up in a musical family, and by 15 was a good enough accordion player to turn professional, as a member of the group the Three Chuckles, who were in the market for a new keyboardman and singer — the singing took a little time to develop, with help from his decade-older fellow group members Tommy Romano and Russ Gilberto, but when the group started recording, it was the sides that Randazzo sang on that initially hit, and by 1955, at 17, he was the frontman for the group. They had a number one hit with “And The Angels Sing”, which had a rocking beat and brought them to the attention of deejay Alan Freed, who put the group into his first jukebox movie, Rock, Rock, Rock (shot in New York, in the Bronx, actually), but also gave Randazzo a solo spot.
When Teddy finished the movie, Randazzo had decided to go solo. “He continued recording for Vik Records, a unit of RCA Victor, and enjoyed a minor success in 1958 with “Little Serenade”, and made an appearance in Freed’s next movie, Mister Rock And Roll, as well as in the 20th Century-Fox CinemaScope color production The Girl Can’t Help It, among other movies. By 1960, he’d moved to ABC-Paramount, where he had another minor hit with “The Way Of A Clown”, and in 1963 he had another small hit with “Big Wide World” on the Colpix label.”[1]
Teddy Randazzo, Photo credit: Dominique Randazzo
“But it was mostly as a songwriter and producer that Randazzo busied himself and made his real success in the music business; he wrote some 650 songs over the ensuing decades, and saw them recorded by the likes of Frank Sinatra and Dionne Warwick. “Pretty Blue Eyes”, authored with Bob Weinstein, was a number one hit for Steve Lawrence. But it was with Little Anthony & The Imperials that he had his longest success — in addition to producing the group, he authored “Going Out Of My Head”, “I’m On The Outside Looking In”, and “Hurt So Bad” (later covered by Linda Ronstadt), among other hits.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ms7Z0IkT9pM
“Randazzo became less visible as the 1960’s wore on, and in the 1970’s was largely forgotten by all except oldies fans. He remained active as a songwriter and behind-the-scenes, and did the occasional live performance to keep his hand in, but by then he was earning a good income from his annual royalties. He busied himself in local production in both Florida and Hawaii, especially the latter, and reportedly enjoyed a very happy second marriage — his son from his first marriage, Teddy Randazzo Jr., has also had a successful music career. Randazzo died in his sleep in 2003.”[1]
As I listen to the following song written by Teddy and sung by Frank Sinatra, I can’t help but feel that this is his good-bye song.The photos include those he worked with and those he was close to. I feel such sadness and such pain. But he will always be remembered, remembered for his songs. Anytime you hear one, it could have just been written. His songs are evergreen.
WHAT IS CREATIVE PASSION? How can one define or describe it? I am writing this blog post, and others to come, in an attempt to answer these questions. There are many types of expression of creative passion. For the sake of manageability, I am focusing on the art of music in this series. In addition to this discipline, I am narrowing my exploration to American Music History from the 1920’s to the 1970’s.
American Music History from the 1920’s through 1970’s facebook page
You are welcome to visit the above page, American Music History from the 1920’s through the 1970’s. There are obviously many other great periods and countries where creative passion lived within the soul of an artist and blossomed. But this is meant to be an introductory blog post to whet a reader’s appetite. Maybe one day there will be a book composed of chapters of these kinds of artists. But for now, we have a small feast of five. Let’s go to:
Expressions of Creative Passion: Part One
PERSEVERANCE
AS EXEMPLIFIED BY SISTER ROSETTA THARPE
Sister Rosetta Tharpe & The Rosettes
A great example is one of my favorite singers who spanned many of the decades of this study. Her name was Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Click on her name for the link to Wikipedia about her. She is considered the ‘Godmother of Rock ‘n Roll. But if I were to ask most Rock ‘n Roll enthusiasts who she was, they would have no clue. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5Ge7mDZQe8
The above video is of Sister Rosetta singing, ‘Didn’t It Rain’ in her UK appearance as part of the American Folk Blues Festival that took place between 1963-1966. Click on the link for more information about this event. Suffice to say, a collection of the greatest living American musicians came to Europe to tour and introduce European audiences to American music. The European response was the British Invasion which to a great extend ‘copied’ the American music they had been introduced to.
Sister Tharpe is credited with inventing the guitar picking style of Elvis Presley and the music styles of many other musicians. But one can see how obscurely she is mentioned on the poster promoting this several year tour event. A poster for the American Folk-Blues Festival
Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s name is barely legible in the bottom right hand corner of the poster
“Born in Arkansas in 1915, Sister Rosetta Tharpe began performing as a child with her mother. One of the first gospel artists to perform in both churches and secular clubs, she is credited with bringing gospel music into the mainstream in the 1930s and 1940s. She toured until her death in 1973.” Quoted from biography.com. She was recognized by the USPS, with a stamp that was issued in 1988 as part of the ‘Gospel’ series.
The Sister Rosetta Stamp as part of the Gospel Issue in 1988 on her facebook page
It is posted on the facebook page of Sister Rosetta & the Rosettes at the beginning of this post. The page exists primarily in memory to both Sister and the Rosettes. It is maintained by Jacquelyn (Jacki) Harris, the niece of one of the Rosettes, Erma Fitzgerald (later Patterson) who was a very talented singer, igniting the church going community with her passion. I would love to see it get many more ‘LIKES’
Sister Rosetta on American Masters:PBS Special in 2013
Essentially, Rosetta had faded away into obscurity. But the American Masters:PBS Special about her helped to revive interest and awareness. One wonders if she will ever get full, public credit for being the ‘Godmother of Rock ‘n Roll? I don’t think she has ever been inducted into the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame. Was there a glass ceiling in the musical world when she was at her best? In any event, to those who know her music, she is unforgettable and undeniable as a creative genius. Thanks to author and biographer of Sister Rosetta, Gayle Ward, we know as much as we do about the ‘Godmother of Rock ‘n Roll.
The Biography of Sister Rosetta Tharpe by Gayle Wald
Written by Gayle Wald
Unfortunately, she died in poverty without the money for a gravestone. A memorial concert was held to raise the money for this beautiful stone she now has. January 11th has also been declared Rosetta Tharpe Day. That’s okay with me. I will listen to her music and watch her documentaries all day. Creative genius is no guarantee of eternal worldly riches or even a gravestone. But the love and respect for the creative geniuses can.
INTRODUCTION Degrees of Separation is a play on the words of the famous Broadway show that was made into a movie, Six Degrees of Separation. The playwright, John Guare illustrated how it is by six degrees of separation that everyone on the planet is connected. I am not sure that I agree. This blog post will explain why.
FIRST DEGREE: KEVIN
It all started with Kevin. I met Kevin J. Gillard on the Internet. He had developed a comprehensive marketing system using facebook pages and groups to enhance people’s ability to network and improve their businesses. It took me years to master his system. In the meantime, we became good friends. Besides inventing his own system, Kevin was quite good at discovering what other people were doing with social media.
He had found an online, streaming radio station, AmericaMatter.us that broadcast live around the world. He mentioned a particular show to me, A.M. News, unique in that it was correspondent driven. I jumped at the chance to sign on as a local correspondent. That was on February 10, 2015. I have listened to the three-hour, weekday morning show and been on the air almost every show since.
SECOND DEGREE: A.M. NEWS AND AMERICAMATTERS.US
Over time, I started listening to other shows on AmericaMatter.us. One show in particular caught my attention. It starred and is about, Keith Galliher, Jr., a Las Vegas attorney who realized after many years of practicing law that he also had a beautiful singing voice. Dedicated to pursuing both professions, he named his radio show, alternatively featuring law and music segments, Two Paths.
Kevin J. Gillard
America Matter Media
THIRD DEGREE: KEITH AND TWO PATHS
I started listening to Two Paths as often as possible. I got to know a bit about Keith and his unusual story. I also noticed, after a while, that whenever the show was about music, Keith would mention a man named Clarence. Clarence always seemed to be within earshot on the music shows. I became curious about him. Some of his story emerged on Two Paths. He was the founder and part of the very popular, Little Anthony & The Imperials group from the 1950’s and 60’s. But I did not know how he and Keith met. My curiosity was aroused. I could not imagine the catalytic connection.
FOURTH DEGREE: CLARENCE COLLINS
It turned out that Clarence has settled in Las Vegas. Keith’s law practice is in Las Vegas. Clarence Collins needed to consult with an attorney on a musical matter. He sought out the legal services of Keith Galliher. When the time came for Keith to take his step into the music world, who did he turn to for guidance, musical arrangement and production? He sought out none other than the ‘man of music’ himself, Clarence Collins.
Keith Galliher Jr. Music
Clarence Collins, founder of Little Anthony & The Imperials
Once I found out this connecting detail, I wanted to know more. I got permission to speak with Clarence on the phone and had a delightful conversation that lasted about an hour. During that time, I found out many things we had in common. There were the coincidences of both having lived in Brooklyn. He briefly worked for a butcher. My great-great grandfather was a butcher. That was enough connections for one day. But it was only the first of many connecting conversations to come.
FIFTH DEGREE: THE TWO BROTHERS
One Friday afternoon when my husband and I were listening to Keith’s music show, something was mentioned about ‘two brothers’. I only vaguely caught the gist of the conversation until I heard these words. I am paraphrasing. ‘We really have to find these brothers and we just know that Alison Gilbert can do it’. My husband and I turned to each other with our mouths dropped open. Before we could even recover to speak, the challenge was repeated. ‘We have been looking for these brothers for over a year and we just have to find them. We know that Alison Gilbert, our ‘Ace Detective’ can do it if anyone can’.
Somewhat in shock, I picked up the phone to call the radio station. But the show had just ended and they were no longer on the line. Since Keith calls in from his office in Las Vegas to do the show with Clarence, I realized I could call there directly. Keith was on a business call but Clarence was still there and available. So I was able to speak with him. I asked him what kind of challenge I had just been given? I needed a bit more information to live up to my reputation as an ‘Ace Detective’. Somehow that is what they decided I was or would be when I found these missing, mysterious brothers.
My questions ranged from were these ‘birth brothers’ or ‘brothers from the hood’? How did he know about them and what was the reason they needed to be found? The story goes something like this. Clarence knew their father, a man also in the music business. But Clarence could not remember his name or find the demo of the brothers’ songs that their dad had given Clarence. Clarence and Keith has searched high and low throughout music industry organizations including Halls of Fame, etc. But all they had were the names of two songs. ‘Good Times, Good Times’ was one of them. No one was able to direct them to resource archives or provide a clue.
Molfetta Music Productions
The Molfetta Twin Brothers, Jon Paul and Rich
So given the ‘father and two brothers’ challenge, I commenced to my sleuthing. By coincidence, in talking with my musical sister, I learned that the Library of Congress was a great resource for musical archives. So my next step was to call there. I was connected with the Music Dept. and after a few steps that required additional information from Clarence, I was able to locate a page in the Library of Congress musical archive with the name of the song, ‘Good Times, Good Times’. There were several gospel versions that I knew were not what the brothers had composed. But there was one that was copyrighted around the year that fit the brothers’ profile and could be their style of music.
So the next thing I did was click on the year link provided on the records. It brought me to a page. Without having final confirmation yet, I knew I had found all of them, Clarence’s contact, John Paul Fetta, their dad and his twin sons, JP (Jon Paul) and Rich, the two brothers.
CONFIRMATION
I was also able to find a page for one of the brothers on facebook. JP lives in New York, north of NYC. I live in New York south of NYC. His phone number was on his page so I was able to call him, asked him a few questions and quickly confirmed that the year old mystery was indeed solved. I asked JP for his dad’s phone number in Las Vegas and excitedly called Clarence’s number to give him the good news. I left him a message. While I waited for him to call back, I had an initial interview with Jon Paul while he was driving to a business appointment.
Jon Paul Molfetta’s facebook page
SIXTH DEGREE: JOHN PAUL MOLFETTA, SR. AKA JOHN PAUL FETTA
I had secured the father’s phone number for Clarence. They both resided in Las Vegas. When Clarence called back, we were cheering with excitement. It has take me, their ‘Ace Detective’ about two hours to solve the mystery that they had not be able solve in a year. Clarence and the twins’ dad connected. The next thing I knew, two weeks later, Keith Galliher’s music show was dedicated to me and featured the two brothers. We all spoke on air and it was very exciting.
Rich and JP Molfetta have written and sung some extraordinary songs over the years. They had recording contracts with major music labels. But as family became a priority, they both went into the more financially stable business world. They still write and sing. In addition, Keith Galliher and Clarence Collins will be carrying on the Molfetta music legacy.
THE JOURNEY COMES FULL CIRCLE
Clarence Collins became famous at the tender age of 16 with the song, Tears on My Pillow. He had a long history as part of Little Anthony & the Imperials. When it was time to stop, he became part of Imperials Plus, Keith’s recording company. A journey of about 50 years brought Clarence full circle, writing music, recording music, arranging music and discovering talent for more music. Jerome Anthony Gourdine and the Imperials, Keith Galliher Jr. Music and Molfetta Music Productions are all contributors and beneficiaries of their serendipitous journey.
CONCLUSION
Is this journey six degrees of separation or layers of connections? Either way, it doesn’t matter. What is important is that it has happened. But personally, I prefer to think that we are not separated by degrees of a linear path but connected by layers of spontaneous bonds. And if you are on the same layer as someone, you will connect with them. Neither time, space nor circumstances can impede a process that is meant to be. You know it when it happens because you can feel it. That is why I am so strongly in favor of the concept of layers of connection.
Welcome to The ALISON D. GILBERT Blog. This blog serves as both a reflection of past entrepreneurial ventures as well as an exploration and investigation into new ideas, interests and passions. The Alison D. Gilbert Blog post categories focus on the following disciplines:
• The ALISON D. GILBERT BLOG Exploring ART & DESIGN and MUSIC | FOOD & HEALING JOURNEY | SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING | RAISING SOCIAL AWARENESS | THE ECONOMY & THE ENVIRONMENT. (Each title below links directly to the blog post category).
• PASSIONS of ART & DESIGN AND MUSIC
Exploring passions of ART & DESIGN created by me and other 2 and 3 dimensional artist. Passions of American music from the 1930’s to the 1960’s focusing on the multiplicity of indigenous styles of music from those decades.
• FOOD & HEALING JOURNEY
The joy of FOOD and the journey to HEALING are parallel. Discover HEALTH and HEALING technology with traditional nutrition as well as Eastern and Western healing modalities.
• SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
Social Media Marketing has become the new means of marketing communicating for the creation of brand awareness, products and services offerings and stimulation of return business.
• RAISING SOCIAL AWARENESS
Raising social awareness of human conditions means having the consciousness to eliminate hunger, poverty, homelessness and establish a sustainable environment.
• THE ECONOMY & ENVIRONMENT
Man’s use of the earth for material gain impacts both the ecological balance and our survival. Our environment needs to be respected stabilized in order for us to survive.
‘Cholos Try Vegan Food’ is a video that proves an important point. If something tastes good, advertising for it does not have to be in good taste. It can still be great, creative promotional material. This piece is actually part of a new advertising campaign targeting the Latino market.
For those who do not know what a ‘cholo’ is, this is the Urban Dictionary meaning, “A cholo is term implying a Hispanic male that typically dresses in chinos (khahki pants), a wifebeater sleeveless teeshirt or a flannel shirt with only the top buttoned, a hairnet, or with a bandana around the forehead, usually halfway down over the eyes. Cholos often have black ink tattoos, commonly involving Catholic imagery, or calligraphy messages or family names.”
For those who do not know what vegan food is, let me explain briefly.
Cholos Eat Vegan Food
Alison D. Gilbert shared We are mitú 's 'Cholos Try Vegan Food' a video of them trying two of my favorite foods and…
Doo Wop music was popular when I was a young teenager
So the revival of Doo Wop is really special and precious to me. In case you did not know there is a revival of Doo Wop music or even know what Doo Wop music is, this blog post will educate, enlighten and entertain. I promise.
Without going into great depth, this Doo Wop post will focus on three pivotal people and one musical group involved in this revival. To focus on more would become encyclopedic. The four focal points will start with, Little Anthony & The Imperials.Little Anthony & The Imperials
Next is Clarence Collins who has the distinct honor of being not only the founder of this musical group but had a history with another group. When Anthony (nicknamed ‘Little Anthony’) came into the picture, the Imperials were born. Here’s Clarence’s own words about his story as only he can tell it.
Keith Galliher Jr. Singer and King of the Doo Wop Revival Keith Galliher Jr. is, in my opinion, the king of the revival of Doo Wop Music. His radio show, Two Paths, on America Matters Media reintroduced me to Doo Wop and resulted in my falling in love with Doo Wop all over again. He is also responsible for tying all of the above together. Without going into too much detail here, let me just say that Keith is an attorney. At some point in his career, he realized he could sing. He decided to take his talent seriously. He chose one of the most famous Little Anthony and the Imperials songs to record, Shimmy Shimmy Koko Bop.
Keith Galliher Jr. Music, photo from Keith Galliher Jr. Music website
As an attorney, Keith Galliher had met Clarence Collins, singer and founder of Little Anthony & The Imperials. The rest is history. Clarence became Keith’s music producer. They make music magic together. The videos on this blog show samples of original tunes as well as an example of something Keith has recorded with Clarence’s guidance. Many more can be found through a Google search.
Keith Galliher and Clarence Collins, Photo from Keith Galliher Jr. Music website
Below is a video interview made by Doo Wop historian, Tom Meros. Clarence Collins, founder and member of Little Anthony & The Imperials is interviewed about the history of Little Anthony & The Imperials as well as Clarence’s own, very entertaining story starting off in Brooklyn, NY as a butcher!
Tom Meros, Music Historian
Almost nothing is known about Tom Meros except for his copious collection of videos and interviews with musicians from this general time period, referred to as the rock ‘n roll universe. Here is the collection on YouTube. He also has a Google+ page which is also a collection of music videos.
Tom Meros, Music historian, on Facebook
Doo Wop After Note
I had the honor of speaking with Keith Galliher Jr. who informed me that Clarence Collins is not partial to the term ‘Doo Wop’ to describe their music. So in deference to him, I am adding the fact that Clarence prefers the description R&B or rhythm and blues. That sounds good to me.
I hope he will forgive my calling this blog post ‘The Doo Wop Revival’ rather than ‘The R&B Revival’. Therefore, I will end this blog post with a website which will most likely be the topic of a future blog post, The Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.
This blog post, The Very Versatile Vegetable Pear, started as a facebook mystery Q&A. A photograph was held up on her facebook page by a friend, Dawn Leahy, who asked, ‘Could somebody please tell me what this fruit is’? The Very Versatile Vegetable Pear.
The Facebook Conversation
Well that started a facebook conversation about what this green produce item was. Guesses and suggestions came in from all around the globe. Recipes also flooded in. The irony was that they were for both fruit and vegetable dishes. Talk about it being versatile. I thought it might be a papaya. It did have a resemblance.The Golden, Passionate Papaya
The outsides could be deceptive as they do have a resemblance. But once cut open, there is no mistaking one from the other. In addition, the versatility of the vegetable pear surpases the papaya and many other types of produce. The vegetable pear is known as chayote in Latin America, sayote in the Philippines, choko in Australia and chu chu, elsewhere. It is in the gourd family along with melons and squash. It can be eaten raw, steamed, boiled, fried with butter and garlic as well as disguised as apples for apple desserts. These are just a few comments and recipes suggested by facebook and other friends, Myraflor Quinton Sario Atkinson, Marcus Sean Atkinson, Dominique Neuhofer, Nedvon Tree, Allado JaniceLara Nunes and Aaron Aveiro. The Chayote or Vegetable Pear
History and Nutritional Value of The Vegetable Pear
Thanks to Aaron Aveiro, owner of Aladay Organic Farm, a fact sheet from Google and other resources, I learned about the amazing nutritional value of The Very Versatile Vegetable Pear as well as other fascinating facts.”I found out, too, that these Mexican fruits, which the Aztecs called chayotli, are now widely grown in tropical and subtropical areas around the world. They are known as christophine or mirliton to Caribbeans, chocho to Madeirans, pipinella to Italians, and pipinola to Hawaiians. (The plant’s scientific name is Sechium edule, but most North Americans call them “vegetable pears.”)1Nutritional Fact Sheet from Google.
In Conclusion
I would like to end this blog post with what is the most exciting discovery about The Versatile Vegetable Pear. Due to its intrinsically bland flavor, it is the idea substitute for higher carb fruits, like apples and can be ideal for mock apple pie and apple crisp. The vegetable pear will absorb the apple juice and make the most delicious dessert. So used as a vegetable or a fruit, this once mystery item is a fantastic, nutritional discovery. Mock Apple Pie
Over the years, rebranding has been a necessity for me as I have had numerous entrepreneurial projects, some at the same time and others at different times. It has been crucial that each looks not only like what it is but that it is different from another project. Rebranding involves primarily two distinct elements, visual and verbal. In other words, a rebrand will include changes in words, the name of a company, its tagline and mission. Equally important is the visual change, a new logo, a different color scheme and typefaces. These ideally have the feel or spirit of what the company or project itself is about. The sampler of some of my business Google+ pages illustrate these points.
A Google+ Page Sampler
I have rebranded myself as many times as I have changed entrepreneurial projects. That includes more times than I can provide examples, here. Now, as an officially retired person, I still need a new brand. The reason for that is because I have reached the point where I am my brand. I have become something of a media personality. My ‘product’ is me. My brand is myself.
Examples of Rebranding: ALISON D. GILBERT
Facebook pages are a clear way to understand the differences in my brands. This Facebook page has a photo of me as the icon. It clearly shows whose page this is. My last project ART & BYTES has a very different brand, visually and verbally. Take a look at it below.
ART & BYTES Facebook Page
Examples of Rebranding: ART & BYTES
The above Facebook page has a totally different brand. It starts with the color scheme. Light blue rather than yellow is the primary color. The typeface is totally different. The icon is an ‘&’ playing on and emphasizing the name, ART & BYTES. The challenge of creating the ART & BYTES brand was that this project was a combination of all my previous work. It was designed as an archive of all my work in MARKETING BYTES and ALISON*S ART. This my goal was to create a brand that would combine both and yet maintain its own identity.
Examples of Rebranding: MARKETING BYTES
MARKETING BYTES came right before ART & BYTES. Below is a sample of one of its social media headers, the blog post header. Notice there is another icon, a different typeface and a different image of me. There is some similarity to the color scheme of ART & BYTES. But the two brands clearly are different.
MARKETING BYTES Blog Header
Examples of Rebranding: ALISON*S ART, INC.
The last example of one of my brands is from a project of Alison’s Art, Inc. It was Decorative Painting. Below is a facebook page from that enterprise. The icon is quite complex. It has unique colors, shapes, images, type and is totally distinguishable from all the others. In fact the oval pattern was the original Alison*s Art logo that became the foundation for all my art projects. Decorative Painting was one of those projects.
I would like to demonstrate the distinction between several of my brand by exhibiting both photo and logo icons. Clearly each is distinct. But at the same time there may be some similarity having been created by the same hand and a singular design sensibility, mine. At the same time, I think there is enough uniqueness to clearly demonstrates rebranding several of my projects.
ALISON D. GILBERT
The ART & BYTES Icon combining natural and digital design
