Friend of Colorado
& a Lifetime in Music/Rock and Roll!

We Are Proud to Add “Country” Paul Payton to our Pop Bop Rock Honor Roll!

Country Paul Payton

My friend-in-music and frequent contributor to this site, Paul Payton, has indeed lived and continue to live the life of music. Over the years – via Paul’s official comments to this site, I was often intrigued by his background in the world of Rock and Roll (and Country, and…).

Payton is certainly a welcome member to the Pop Bop Rock Honor Roll – always taking an interest in our State’s musical roots in rock and roll – always providing intriguing insights and sharing wonderful tales!

He has had so many rich experiences along the way from the time he joined up with a Providence, Rhode Island group, “The American Dream” in 1968 as a keyboardist.

Paul was born Paul Harry David Payton in 1946 placing him firmly in the lead class of ‘baby boomers’. Haul attended New Rochelle High School in Westchester County, New York graduating at the age of 16 in 1962.

Along side of Paul’s senior year photo with his listing of activities is this prophetic statement for Paul: “Future: College – Radio Career – Music” – This guy at age 16 had a handle on his direction!

Remember the Bow Ties/Starlighters

Paul relates: “My first band was The Bow Ties (yeah, really). We were awful but should have been better, but we were playing old-fashioned music we didn’t like for adult crowds we didn’t like! So we fired the leader and went on for a few more gigs as The Starlighters (one of no doubt a thousand groups with that name). Our unique feature: the bass was a tuba. He was good but not what we needed. No guitar, either. More “no’s”: no recordings, no photos, only memories of an awful gig at an Elks Club. Then people graduated, and the band mercifully expired. It was a welcome relief.”

Paul Payton on Tubas:

“Interestingly, there is a tuba solo on “That Stranger Used to Be My Girl”! And the tuba shows up again on “Sins of a Family,” legendary disc jockey Murray the K’s surprisingly good take of the PF Sloan song, produced by Trade Martin.”

The Slithy Toves – American Dream – Benefit Street

The original band was named “The Slithy Toves” – extracted from Lewis Carroll reference, but so gave way to “The American Dream. Prior to Paul’s arrival, the band would release a single on the East Coast “Bovi” record label. The group would shuffle their line-up in 1969 becoming “Benefit Street” to separate themselves with another “American Dream” combo out of Philadelphia.

Top to Bottom: Mike Parker – Al Silverman – Rob Carlson – Dave Roberts – Bill Bird (Summer of 1968)

The group was obviously talented, coming very close to being signed by major labels, but it just didn’t quite come to pass. They did perform with many note acts along the way including Janis Joplin, Edgar Winter, Sam & Dave, Deep Purple, Buddy Miles, Rhinoceros, Firesign Theater, The Stooges, the J. Geils Band and Manfred Mann Chapter III to name a few.

The Classic 60’s Look! – American Dream: L-R: Mike Parker – Al Silverman – Rob Carlson – Dave Roberts

Paul Payton would join the American Dream in 1969.

American Dream 1969: L-R: Bill Barnes – Carl Armstrong – Dave Roberts – Al Silverman – Paul Payton

American Dream would evolve into “Benefit Street” with Payton and a new line-up in 1969. Other members included Alan Silverman, Rob Carlson, David Noyes Roberts, Mike Parker, Tim Jackson, Maddie Sifanus, Carl Armstrong and Leo Genereux.

Paul Payton Beyond the 1960’s

Paul would go on to a rich career as a DJ starting off with a broadcasting gig while attending college in New York.

Here is an extract from the group’s biography relating to Paul Payton post 1960’s career: “Paul Payton resumed what became his long radio career as a Music Director and on-air personality in New England and a voice-over talent in New York. Never losing his love for music, he released three singles on Presence in the ‘80s and ‘90s under his own name and with The Fabulous Dudes, a doo-wop group, whose debut album on Presence was released during the winter of 2013. He continues to work with Rob Carlson & The Benefit Street Band, whose second album was released in the fall of 2015 on Presence.”

Paul Payton’s Colorado Connection & Selected from His Musical Adventures Beyond the Mile High State

In 1974, Paul Payton was a DJ in Colorado, first at KBPI and then KFML.

Paul reflects on his Denver stints as DJ: “Those were the days when to get ahead in radio one migrated, usually frequently. My sojourn to Denver in ’74 cured me of that when it didn’t turn out to be long-lasting. But in hindsight, I’m grateful for the experience; there’s nothing like working in a top ten market to give one credibility.”

And further on his Colorado experience:

“During the seven weeks I survived that revolving door of a station (I was the 48th person to either quit or get fired over a two-year period), we had seven different rotation schemes, at least three of which were supposed to be the “permanent” one, using a library of only 800 tracks. Thus, the station’s image was more progressive than its actuality. The PD believed that it was cool to acknowledge certain artists while playing them minimally if at all. The in-house saying was, ”It’s cooler to say John Fahey than to play John Fahey” (the Avant Garde acoustic guitarist for those who don’t remember). So he found one 90-second accessible snippet and rotated it twice a week, once overnight and once during the midday so that one had a reason to say John Fahey.”

“In the summer of 1974, after being spun out of the revolving door that was KBPI, I wound up on KFML as a part timer and did perhaps 15 or 20 shows on the station. The AM was daytime only, and the lower power FM (10kw in a 50kw world) made competition in the market a nightmare, and was about to be sold. I was invited to stay as a part-timer, but shifts on AM would have been far fewer and I was flat broke. By October, my old station, WHCN in Hartford, was offering me the music directorship under its new ownership, so I kissed the mountains goodbye and went home. Gratefully, both the station and I thrived.

Truthfully, working at KBPI carried more national prestige at the time, but my shows at the far hipper KFML were highlights of my five months in Denver. The staff was remarkably innovative and creative, and you know you’re at the right station when it’s the one you want to listen to even when you’re not at work there.”

Paul relates below about meeting John Stewart that year in Colorado:

“I met him in the summer of 1974 during my seven-week stint at KBPI; it was one of a few brushes with fame in Denver.

Payton/Denny/Waits/Ricki Lee

While working at KBPI and the KFML that summer, I got to meet and hang out with a few famous folks, including Fairport Convention (with Sandy Denny – I wish I hadn’t been quite so awestruck and remembered more about it) , Tom Waits (I remember being impressed by his very nice speaking voice, unlike the growl he used on records) and Ricki Lee Jones (whose enunciation, as I recall, was noticeably crisper than on her records).

Payton Mile Acquaintances: Sandy Denny – Tom Waits – Ricki Lee Jones

I recall all being very nice folks. Sadly, the KBPI thing didn’t work out, and I was a part-timer at KFML with a promise of going full-time when the station was sold to new owners; in the meanwhile, my former station in Connecticut (WHCN) was bought by people who appreciated what it had been and wanted it to be again, so I went back to New England.”

More Payton Journeys In Rock Pop and Bop

Payton/The Brill Building/s

(NOTE: Responding to one of my posts on the Brill Building – this is one of my favorites – I wish, oh how I wish that I could have been there!)

“Next time you’re in New York City, stroll over to 51st Street between Broadway and 7th Avenue and go stand in the lobby and imagine all those people waiting for the elevator and talking and laughing with each other in those halcyon days of 1962.

It’s true: You would have seen me, a naive kid who was just named music director of a closed-circuit college station, walking around, knocking on doors, getting DJ copies of new music to play on the station because we had a broad playlist of stuff we liked as well as the huge hits (we have good ears for those, too). 1650 Broadway was THE building; 1619, the Brill Building, did have some serious rock labels like Coed and Bigtop; I recall Bob Crewe’s Genius, Inc.,offices were there, too.

Inside 1619 Broadway with Ellie Greenwich – Jeff Barry and the Dixie Cups

But much of the gutsy stuff, the New York street sound, was going strong at 1650, with one or more well-known to totally obscure labels behind every door: Dimension (Aldon’s amazing stable of artists); Diamond; Bang (later on), Amy/Bell/Mala, Musicor (Sea-Lark Pub.), Scepter-Wand, Double L (Lloyd Price’s shop); Fargo (The Aquatones’ “You” and Ricky & The Vacels’ “Lorraine”); Gametime (“Candy Store Love” by The Valchords, a New York doo-wop classic) and dozens if not hundreds more, both better and lesser known. Lots of excitement at that time, especially to a star-struck kid with a little bit of power; we were closed-circuit at the time, but we actually could sell a few records in the Providence market.

Looking back on it, I am so grateful to have found my way into the edges of that scene, even as a bit player. I may have been a music major at college, but this was the best “course” I never got academic credit for! Thanks to all my “professors,” the original producers, musicians and artists I wish I remembered more about. They taught me well.

Payton/Van Trevor

Van Trevor had a few songs released on Denver’s Band Box label in the 1960’s

PP:

“I have associations of him with Connecticut, both as a rocker and a country artist. When Our Side came out, he was kind enough to do a verse of it as a custom jingle for me when I was working on WHIM in Providence RI. He was a really nice guy.

“He also recorded a custom version of the song (“Our Side) for the (Payton’s) station. Somewhere in my stuff I still have the original tape cartridge we used on the air but it’s trapped in that format and I have no way to play it.”

Payton/Tony Orlando

Tony Orlando (With images) | Tony orlando, Tony, Young old

PP:

“Tony Orlando’s early songs, particularly “Bless You,” were quite nice, although his doo-wop group didn’t rise to the top for good reason (it and some other Five Gents group can be found on YouTube). His Wikipedia bio states that “he became a Christian in 1978, after life struggles.” Sadly, I saw him speak live at a record industry event before his “rebirth”; it wasn’t pretty – nor were his trite records with Dawn, in my opinion. (I spared myself their TV show.)”

Payton/Jimmie Rodgers

(NOTE: Tragically Jimmie Rodgers was the victim of a vicious beating during his time with Roulette Records)

PP:

“I don’t know if the beating was so much about back royalties and Morris Levy’s (Roulette label owner) resentment at Rodgers leaving his label. At least that’s what I had heard in a couple of off-the-record conversations with people I know in the industry, including one who worked for Roulette for a while. But Levy is dead, Jimmie isn’t talking, and so what’s left is built from circumstantial and second-hand evidence. Still, say what we will about Levy and company, but they did put some great music in many genres out on that label and its family of offshoots.”

Payton/Frank Zappa

PP:

“I was the first DJ in Rhode Island and southeast Massachusetts to play Zappa’s Freak Out album on the air, on WBRU in Providence – our signal pounded into there and also nibbled at the southern suburbs of Boston. The initial promotion, by the way, was a six- or seven-piece jigsaw puzzle version of the cover, mailed on that many successive days by MGM to “tease” the LP. I wish I had that stuff now!“

Payton/Don Robertson

PP:

“This hidden gem (What a Day) was the sign-off song on my first college radio show. Never a hit, but I always loved it and still do. As a transitional group from barbershop through Arthur Godfrey, a hint of country flavor and early girl-group rock, the Chordettes are a fascinating study in themselves. But that’s a whole other volume!”

Payton/The Front Porch

Payton/Clyde McPhatter

PP:

“In the late 1950s or early 1960s, Clyde McPhatter lived in New Rochelle, New York, my hometown, and owned a really good record store on North Avenue, which was at the time the color line between the white east side and black west side in that area. He had an incredible selection of rock and roll and R&B records, and I wished I’d had the money to buy more. For some reason, I went to his apartment once under circumstances I don’t remember. I think he was surprised that any fanp had found him there. I vaguely remember that he was not expecting company, especially a young early teenage white kid!”

Payton/Alice Cooper

PP:

“I met and briefly hung out with Alice Cooper in the mid-1970s, by the way. Not only was he a really nice guy (everyone at the radio station liked him, too) but he was also very good looking in person and without the makeup. Very personable, intelligent and accessible; he made a lot of friends that day, even among non-fans.”

Payton/Chuck Berry

PP:

“I met him when he was 45; broke through the ego and had a great time turning him loose in our station’s record library on the air. He played “everything,” diverse genres, and knew his stuff, too. RIP to a man whose name defines a genre he founded.”

Payton/The First 45 RPM Record

PP:

“I have held the Paul Wing 45 (but without sleeve) in my hand (in a glassed-in frame) at the Sarnoff Center in Princeton perhaps 20 years ago. The curator of the on-site museum said it was indeed the first commercial copy of a 45 rpm pressed. Even if it wasn’t, it was close enough!!! Sadly, the Sarnoff Center is closed, and I don’t know anything about the disposition of the museum.”

Payton/The Royal Teens

PP:

“Big Name Button” was for the silly fad promoted by Dick Clark (the “ific” buttons for “flavorific Beech-Nut gum” rode on its back), but the immense backbeat and great sax work on this record make it jump. Lots of talent went through this group. I was lucky to meet and hear Joe Villa sing “Believe Me” at a PBS doo-wop taping maybe a dozen years ago. His voice was even better than originally; great guy, too.”

Payton/Don Rondo – Etc.

“For me, it was Frank’s Music in New Rochelle, NY. Frank was “really old school,” but I got to meet Don Rondo (when “White Silver Sands” was hitting) and Jerry Vale there in my early teens. They had the top 40 on display – parallel lines of the 45 and 78 version of each on racks in the middle of the store. You could take ’em into the listening booth and test-drive what you didn’t know or make sure the record was in new-enough condition! In 1958, they discontinued ordering new 78 releases and doubled the number of 45s on display. They also dumped their 78 inventory, so I picked up a bunch of Gee releases (Frankie Lymon, The Cleftones), The Playboys on Tetra and an Elvis on Sun for a nickel each. Still got ’em, too!”

Payton/The Cowsills

PP:

“The Cowsills used to play fraternity parties at Brown (where Paul attended college) in their pre-hit years when the brothers were 9, 11, 14 and 16. (Yes, 9-year-old John rocked that drum set to the jaw-dropping astonishment of many.) They all played their own instruments and sang very well, and pleased some pretty tough crowds. They had an excellent record on Philips in 1966 called Most of All which was a significant hit in Rhode Island, where they were then from, and which should have broken out nationally.”

Payton/Bruce Bruno

PP:

One more note: Bruce Bruno, who covered “Hey Little One,” was really Bruce Buono, who was a year ahead of me (I think) at New Rochelle High School in Westchester County, New York. It got some airplay in New York, but couldn’t hold a candle to Dorsey Burnette’s impressive original.

NOTE: Bruce Bruno would become a short-time member of “The Hawks” many of who would evolve into “The Band”.

Payton/The Galens

NOTE: Paul received the following from Norman Galen in 2009)

“I’m the Galen from The Galens. I started the group with the friends mentioned. We recorded several singles and 3 albums. All of the music was recorded at Columbia Studios in Nashville. Many memories of the sessions – but too long to get-into here.

The group first changed when Bob was drafted. Saw him after he was released and used him in a new back-up band. Charlene was next. [Left and] married a man from Bermuda. I disbanded that group but continued performing as just Galen. Enlarged to an orchestra and toured playing theaters-in-the-round, supper clubs, etc. Worked for Playboy, Princess Hotels, and for Baron Hilton and his hotels. Recorded 3 more albums under my name and finally retired after spinal surgery.”

Payton/John Hartford

PP:

“I was friends with John Hartford back in the ’60s around the time that the original version of “Gentle On My Mind” came out. As John (whose version I still much prefer over Campbell’s) told me, RCA Victor’s pressing plant went on strike two days after DJ copies of the 45 hit radio stations. Campbell had already recorded a version for an album, and Capitol rush-released it as a single, covered John’s version, and had the hit. At least John got the writing royalties!”

Payton/Santo (& Johnny)

PP:

“Thanks for the shout out to “Tear Drop,” which I love as much or more than “Sleep Walk.” Two perfect slow dances of the ’50s. One of my bigger thrills over the last couple of years was playing in a pickup band that backed Santo Farina at a jam concert; we played “Sleep Walk” just like the record!”

Payton/Bertha Porter

“In the 1960s, WDRC in Hartford was the dominant rock station in the market (an unbelievable 55 share in PM drive at its peak), in part because of the one-two punch of Program Director Charlie Parker (not the sax guy, but an amazing guy) and Music Director Bertha Porter.

Long before I worked at WDRC,I got to meet her in 1968 and asked her what her secret was to picking hits. She said, “If I’m thinking about adding a record, I’ll have the afternoon DJ play it so I can hear it in the car on my ride home. If it sounds good there, it’ll be a hit.” Those were words I lived by ever after. Thanks, Bertha!”

Payton/Don McLean

PP:

“I was in junior high when Holly, Valens and Richardson died; it was like a dagger to the heart. Like many people who know precisely where they were and how they felt when JFK was shot, The Challenger blew up or the World Trade Center went down, I remember “the day the music died” very well without the help of “American Pie,” although Don McLean went to my high school a couple of years later. In my circle of junior high music nerds, it seemed that everything that Holly did starting with Peggy Sue was a hit; the earlier Brunswick album’s delights only became apparent later.”

Payton/Diane Renay

PP:

“I briefly met Diane Renay at an Old Time Radio Convention in NJ several years ago. Nice lady, but she was trying to look like the promo shots for her big hit. It no longer worked. She did have some serious composing and producer fire power behind her career; I recognize Dan L’Hereaux (D. J. Larue) and The Distant Cousins among the composers of the Crewe sides.”

Payton/The Knockouts

PP:

“A wonderful easy roll pervades the two-part doo-wop group where you don’t even miss the rest of the “missing” singers. I saw Bob (D’Andrea) and Gary do it live at a PBS taping a few years back; they sounded as good as the original. Never knew about the other guys or their later forays into pop.”

Payton/Janis Ian

PP:

“I was lucky enough to see and meet Janis Ian at the old Gaslight Cafe in Greenwich Village. She was opening for a Canadian “great folkie hope” named Bruce Murdoch on Richie Havens’ label, Stormy Forest, who turned out to not be a big deal (not bad, just not worth the hype in my opinion). However, this tiny girl owned the stage, at least for my date and I. We spoke afterward and she told me how old she was; both my date and I were amazed at the lyrical insight and vocal control she displayed as well as the daring-for-the-time “Society’s Child.”

Sure enough, a couple of years later, that song hit big, although I remember thinking that her guitar-and-vocal solo version had more impact than the poppish Shadow Morton production on the 45. Years later, when “Stars” and “At 17” hit, we briefly renewed our acquaintance at WHCN in Hartford.As I recall, she vaguely remembered our first encounter. Incidentally, a couple of years ago Janis and I were in an e-mail string of music industry pros and I recall that she was doing well.”

Payton/Times Square Records

Val Shively's R & B Records Photo Gallery I

PP:

“I was there – a lot! The first Times Square Records was basically a crawl space with six-foot ceilings at the subway entrance on the northeast corner of 7th Avenue and 42nd Street. I had four hours between my Saturday classes at Julliard and most weekends I’d hop on the subway and spend the break time at Times Square Records learning all about a very different kind of music! Slim or the guys on his staff would keep the records playing, usually at a pretty significant volume; there was nothing like hearing the opening of The Bosstones’ “Mope-itty Mope” roaring out at you a two db’s below distortion!

Orange Crate Art: A Times Square record store

They also had racks and racks of 45s dumped from many other formats, available for a quarter, a nickel, or when the overstock became too much, a penny! I got a lot of good stuff there that wasn’t in TSR’s purview of sound.”

Payton/The Imaginations

PP:

“Lead singer Frank Mancuso of The Imaginations (much) later joined The Legends of Doo Wop; at my 60th birthday party, my wife surprised me with a surprise appearance by them! They did “Hey You” in the original key, after which Frank commented, “If I knew I’d still be singing this at this age, I’d have written it in a lower key!” (And by the way, they were great!)”

Payton/Carol Connors of the Teddy Bears

“I’ve had rhe pleasure to doing a long interview with Carol via telephone for the late lamented Spectropop encyclopedic website of ’60s pop (I believe it is still up but the site not accepting new controbution, and there is a Spectropop Facebook group as well). As I told her, my favorite performances by her are of the Teddy Bears’ follow-up ballads, gorgeous and haunting melodies by Phil Spector that diametrically oppose his increasingly demonic public image of him.But Carol’s heartfelt performances of “Oh, Why,” “You Said Goodbye,” “I Don’t Need You Anymore” and even the odd and echoey “Wonderful Lovable You” – as well as the big hit, of course – stand among my favorite all-time recordings. I was lucky to meet her at a PBS oldies show taping in Elizabeth, NJ, several years ago; I’m afraid I was a bit of a fan boy – I hope she forgives me! But these songs, even in their early obscurity for some of them, were a major part of the soundtrack of my life; they still are. We remain in occasional e-mail contact and I will always have a warm spot in my heart for her.”

Paul Payton/The Beatles’ Beginnings

“I don’t remember the exact date or exact numbers, but the story is absolutely true. In that summer of 1963, Del Shannon had an excellent cover of “From Me to You” simultaneous with The Beatles’ US release. On New York’s WINS, Murray the K ran a “Record Review Board” on which he’d match two possible pick hits and ask his audience to phone in and vote for their preference. One night (I was listening) he put Del Shannon and The Beatles head to head; Shannon’s version got something like 376 and The Beatles something like 9. At the time it made sense; Shannon’s version was fuller and “more American” sounding, as well as being a very good record. It was as though the song was written for him. Also, the nation hadn’t yet been through the unthinkable trauma of the JFK assassination and the hard search for something to take our minds off the sad aftermath.(We who were there remember the feelings all too well.) Also, all people knew about that British band was what we heard on the record, nothing yet about the people on it, and it sounded, well, different.

“I think The Beatles would have happened anyway – they were an undeniable force – but in the light of the events that befell America, particularly the feeling among us “kids” of hopefulness snuffed out with the loss of our first young president, one who actually spoke to us, The Beatles or something like them was inevitable, and they were perfect for the role: talented, cute, clever, and with a bottomless well of songs and energy. I won’t say they saved America, but they shone a light on a path of emotional recovery and opened the floodgates of new musical possibilities. God save The Beatles; I may not have loved every song they did, but I loved that they did everything they did. Thanks, guys!

I have to check my collection; I know I have at least one Beatles 45 on Vee Jay in there somewhere!”

Paul Payton/Craig’s Barnum Gang Secrets

The added joy of “At The Hop” – finding “Sometimes” on the flip side!

“Get a Job” – I suggest its solid longevity is based on both the performance and the universal truth of the record’s storyline. Still relevant, isn’t it?!?

“Queen of the Hop” – good rocker, yes, but the (for me) breathtakingly beautiful “Lost Love” on the flip side was the first side to be played in New York (on WMGM) abd has been a favorite since my first hearing. I think there’s a stereo version on YouTube! What an early forecast of his folky period, in which he became Tim Hardin’s best interpreter, in my opinion.

Buddy Knox – I always loved the perpetual smile in his voice. I even “forgave” him the teenybop stuff, as I did Bobby Vee, because I knew they were rock-and-rollers at the core. You have good taste, Craig – to heck with the Barnum gang!

“It Might As Well Rain Until September” – a sparkling piece of writing, but may I also include the one-release-earlier mini-hit “He’s a Bad Boy” in my must-have early Carole King grouping. Bonus points for the Pam Dickinson version of the latter song, on Monument – tie-in to The Velvets’ monumental track (pun absolutely intended). Incidentally, in his later years, Virgil Johnson was a deejay on KDAV in Lubbock, Texas, a wonderful oldies station which streamed on-line from their studios on Buddy Holly Avenue. The oldies format went dark in 20154, but it was a great mix of cool music and down-home deejays – kind of what you’d hope a station like that would sound like!

I got to meet and do a bit of pickup jamming with a couple of the Rainbows perhaps 15 years ago. Definitely great guys and solid vocalists. I should have kept up with them.

One personal favorite addition to the Don Grady oeuvre – the “psychedelic” “Impressions with Syvonne” also on Canterbury, Gary Zekley’s label. Yes, it’s “plastic psych,” but Grady/Agrati was a real musician and this track proved it, at least for me.

Thank you for this post, and for allowing me to hitch my coach onto your memory train. (I had no specific “Barnum gang” – it was just “me against the world” until I hit college!)

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