The Daily Planet (a.k.a. World’s Fare) – Top: Jeph and Mitch. Bottom: Joey and Marc
My Real Memoir
The year had started with such promise! My band The Daily Planet had finished recording its debut album, and by summer our producer Clarence B. Cash had had seven offers! But real producers at real record labels saw us for the talented-but-raw teenage musicians we were and wanted to re-do the album. Clarence, on the other hand, wanted cash-on-the-barrelhead and the album released as-is.
Meanwhile, our heroes were releasing classics like “Come Together” and “Something” (The Beatles), “Whole Lotta Love” (Led Zeppelin) and “Space Oddity” (David Bowie). And under their influence, we were honing our style, adding edge and subtlety, shedding the last layers of our cutesy-pop skin. But what did it matter?
Even more painfully, I was wilting on an abandoned branch of the affection-vine. That fall marked the one-year anniversary of my first love’s conclusion. Love had been my drug-of-choice since second grade, but another half year would pass before I even had a bona fide date with a person softer and curvier than my band mates.
By the time my sophomore year began, I was a shadow of my former Pollyanna self. Bored and unmotivated, I scored Ds in four classes. I might at least have done well in Oral Interp, but the professor announced first day that he loathed actors and seldom gave them passing grades. So that was a D too (I later repeated the same speeches for a different prof, and got an A).
The only classes I liked were Acting (of course) and A Cappella Choir. Like me, two of our other choir members, a brother and sister act, had recorded an album. Sadly, though, it tanked (I was one of the few who bought it), and I figured my album would do better than that — if it was ever released. But…
Clarence, always on the lookout for a quick musical buck, had recorded a blatant knock-off of the year’s #1 hit, The Archies’ “Sugar Sugar.” Like it’s kiddie-pop namesake, “Sugar Shaker” was actually recorded by studio musicians. Clarence had found a record label, Amaret, that wanted to release it ASAP! So he called and said, “OK, boys, this is your first single—after this, they’ll release your album! Your name is Captain Fab and you’re from Arizona. We ended up being re-re-named World’s Fare and, amazingly, “our” song debuted high in the Billboard Hot 100!
Then DJ’s got complaints about its suggestive lyrics (“Come on, Sugar-shaker, shake your love machine…”) and dropped it like the torrid turd it was. Fine. We hated it anyway. But because our (bogus) single had done so poorly, Amaret decided not to release our (actual) album.
Meanwhile, my choir friends’ label also decided to release a single. It too debuted in the Billboard Hot 100. But it did a smidge better than ours. It climbed. And climbed. And climbed. “Close to You” stayed at #1 for a month, won them their first Grammy…
And made The Carpenters a household name!
My Real Memoir is a series. To read the next one, click here.
Wow! For real? The Carpenters? Even if it’s not, I sure enjoyed this story 🙂
Yes, for real. They were very active in the A Capella Choir. Dick was a few years older than me. He wrote and arranged songs for the choir, even co-wrote a hit Carpenter’s tune “Merry Christmas, Darling” with our choir director Frank Pooler. Karen was my age, and started when I did.
Wow, that’s amazing! What were they like, besides massively musically talented?
Karen was sweet, but intensely shy. Dick was friendly but in his own zone, not really into meeting people.
Well, wow!
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What a well told story with a great punch line!
Why, thank you, Kara!
Wow! Drop the mic moment!
Oh, what could have been, if the stars had aligned…
Some great history there with the Carpenters. I liked your original name better by the way…hey it is cool that you got a song in the top 100…it really is. I wish you would have had more of them though.
Well…there was a song in the top 100 with our names and faces attached, but it wasn’t actually us. And I wish we’d had more too, Max, like maybe one of our own actual recordings. Thanks!
You had me reading and reading and then – The Carpenters? I went back and read your post again. Yep – The Carpenters. Very cool, Mitch. You are always full of light and surprises.
I try. ;>) Thanks, Joanne.
You make me remember my own days as a young performer, the brushes with greatness, the sudden unexplained letdowns. Aren’t we glad now we didn’t go that way?
Yes, I really am, Ana.
What a total circus, right?
That must have been one fabulous choir! Hopefully, you still have the Carpenters’ album that bombed. 🙂
Sadly, no, Nancy. I got rid of my vinyl LPs years ago. I noticed that the going rate for it on eBay is over $300.
Who knew vinyls would be all the rage now?
I think maybe Def Leppard may owe the Daily Planet a thank you for the inspiration. They combined lewd sugar lyrics with peaches and cream, and a worldwide hit, “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” was born. They are still touring and that song has been featured in movies, including, “Coyote Ugly.” I suppose timing is everything. lol
Wow, Mitch, great story. Heart-breaking account of Marty… our first love always carves out a little place in our hearts and never leaves. Bummer about TX bust.
If you haven’t seen it, there’s a great movie (“That thing you do”) about four guys from Erie, PA who are a one-hit wonder and go on a dizzying journey with their manager (Tom Hanks) and the various label execs in LA. A very poignant biopic of life in the 60s and the changing musical landscape.
Thanks, Darryl. And, yes, I’ve seen ‘That Thing You Do’ several times — can’t help but relate.
You threw away your albums? Even the Carpenters’? I still can’t say ‘vinyl’ or ‘LP’. They’re record albums. You had your moment of shine!
Sold them at a swap meet, actually. Who knew, right?
Exactly!
Nice recount, Mitch. The perils of teenage rock musicians. the Carpenters, wow, loved those two. Record companies and sleezy agents, they go hand in hand.
I guess that’s the way the record business was in those days. I think today it’s a little more honest than back then.
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