Jamie Coe 1936-2007

To his family, he was always George Colovas. But to Michigan music lovers, he was Jamie Coe. Mr. Colovas, 71, of Plymouth Michigan, died from a heart attack while driving home from his Garden City nightclub, Jamie’s. According to his brother, Tony Colovas, of Parma, Ohio, George Colovas loved to sing and perform. Born and raised in Highland Park, he was also an outstanding basketball player who played at Wayne State University for two years. Mr. Colovas sang with a few bands in the Detroit area, catching the eye of Bobby Darin in the late 1950s. Darin signed Mr. Colovas to his record label and renamed him Jamie Coe and provided him with a band, the Gigolos. Mr. Colovas appeared a few times on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand and enjoyed strong Regional success in the Great Lakes area. Jamie Coe & the Gigolos were fixtures on Detroit’s budding rock scene in the early 1960s. Performing at area teen clubs and nightspots, Coe and his band played their own regional hits like “The Fool” and “Black & Blue” as well as great cover versions of rock ’n’ roll standards. He released 45’s on many labels including Addison, ABC-Paramount, Big Top, Reprise, Cameo and Enterprise.

Listen for “I’ll Go On Loving You”, “I’m Getting Married”, “The Fool” and “I Was The One” on  TUNEDEX MEMORIES!

The speed limit years…

It strikes me that everything really does come full circle. When I turned 55, I tried to make the best of it. I joked with everyone about getting my “senior citizen” coffee discount, but it was a lot like turning 13 in reverse. Entering your teen years was like visiting this awkward new world. You weren’t old enough to do what the “big kids” were doing, but you took no joy in playing with kids younger than you anymore. At 55, I wanted to have nothing to do with people older than me, but I realized I was the one getting old in my kids eyes. Now, as I’m approaching 60, it’s like being a teenager all over again. Society doesn’t trust me to drive, wonders if I know enough to vote, and hates my music. When I was younger, I couldn’t wait to be on my own… now I wonder if anyone will take care of me. I got through the agony and stress of my teenage years by listening to music. Now, I’m listening to the SAME music to get through the “sunset years” of my life. What do I have to look forward to? Outliving all existing speed limits so I can drool on my great-grandchildren. Ain’t life great?

Gene Pitney • 2002 R&R Hall of Fame Inductee (1941-2006)

Gene Pitney was born in rural Connecticut. He was so drawn to music, he dropped his electrial engineering studies to pursue his dream. He released several singles under assumed names, one called “Classical Rock and Roll,” as part of the duo Jamie and Jane (with Ginny Arnell) , and another under the pseudonym Billy Bryan. Thereafter, Pitney reverted to his real name. His earliest success came as a songwriter. Pitney had his compositions recorded by, Roy Orbison (“Today’s Teardrops,” “22 Days”) and Bobby Vee (“Rubber Ball”). Rick Nelson cut three of Pitney’s songs, including “Hello Mary Lou,” and the Crystals had their biggest hit with Pitney’s “He’s a Rebel,” produced by Phil Spector. Convinced he could not only write hits but sing them as well, Pitney re-launched his career in 1961. He multi-tracked vocals and overdubbed instruments for the pioneering record production of “(I Wanna) Love My Life Away.” Pitney’s brilliant third single, “Every Breath I Take,” was written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King and produced by Phil Spector and is one of the earliest examples of the heralded “Wall of Sound.” Burt Bacharach and Hal David penned a series of hits for Pitney, including “(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance” (#4, 1962), “Only Love Can Break a Heart” (#2, 1962), “True Love Never Runs Smooth” (#21, 1963) and “24 Hours from Tulsa” (#17, 1962). Mick Jagger and Keith Richards whom Pitney had befriended on a 1963 visit to Britain, gave him an early song of theirs (“That Girl Belongs to Yesterday”). Pitney recorded and released it as a single, and it hit #49 in early 1964 – the first Jagger/Richards composition to make the U.S. charts, predating the Stones’ own “Tell Me” by a half year. Pitney crossed over to the country charts by cutting two albums with honky-tonk legend George Jones and one with Melba Montgomery. All the while he toured the world extensively and even recorded entire albums in Italian and Spanish for the lucrative and loyal foreign market. Pitney was actually voted Italy’s top singer in a 1964 poll, and he became enormously popular in Britain. Gene died in his sleep following a concert in London in 2006.

Listen for the following Gene Pitney songs on Tunedex Memories:  (I Wanna) Love My Life Away • I Must Be Seeing Things • If I Didn’t Have A Dime • Mecca • Tower Tall • Town Without Pity • True Love Never Runs Smooth • Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa • Being Together (w/ Melba Montgomery)

How Mike Clifford met Patience & Prudence

Mike’s dad was in a band in the 40’s and his roommate was the bands piano player, Mark McIntyre. Twenty or so years later, Mark, now a producer for Liberty records. records several hits with his 11 and 14 year old daughters. Mark asks his old pal’s son to sing with them. You can find the Liberty duets with Mike on the Best Of Patience & Prudence CD. Mark also had Mike record a demo of a song he wrote, but decided to use Jimmie Rodgers instead. Tucumcari, hit #32 for Jimmie, but Mike remembers fondly he recorded it FIRST.

We were proud to World Premiere cuts from Mike’s new CD with Sandy Zacky read about it at our website.  While you’re there, tune in and listen for Mike’s songs on “the Honor Roll of Hits” 24/7 at TUNEDEX MEMORIES!