But here's Lou (then doing business as Lewis Reed) in attempted teen idol mode, from 1962, with his self-penned "Merry Go Round." I forget which small label honcho he cut this for, but whoever it was apparently decided that even though it was a bad record, it would fail to sell. (Stole that joke from Nick Tosches, if you must know.)
The track has a certain something, I think, but I'm not quite sure what.
7 comments:
It's got a "Love is Strange" (Mickey & Sylvia) vibe. Shows that Freddie "Boom Boom" Cannon had as much influence on Reed's emerging vocal style as Dion. Not at all bad. Great find.
Man, I love all this cheesy early Lou Reed stuff.
Has it ever been brought together in a coherent collection, either officially or unofficially? 'Cause that's a CD I would play again & again.
Wow, didn't think Lou went that far back doing post Doo-Wop stuff. But frankly, it's not a good record. His vocals never really did emerge even with maybe influences from Freddy Cannon let alone Dion.
First of all, where did you find this? Lou has said he revered Dion, always cites him as an influence. In the period represented by this single he worked for Pickwick or subsidiaries thereof. He might have talked about this when he appeared on Spectacle. Pickwick filled racks at 7-11s, places like that, for those very discerning customers who wanted a knock-off girl-group-clone album with their icey. I know a funny story about Tomato Music Co. and Pickwick, from my days working there. Saving it for when you file a posting on most hilariously corrupt practices in the recording business. (As opposed to the more homicidal practices.) AP
I love the simple labels on the early 45s.
And my word verification is mushongs ... sounds like something an Eskimo would wear.
The 45 label is actually from the reissue on Norton -- came out in the late 90s, I think.
The actual song (and the theoretical flipside "Your Love," which I haven't heard) was never issued back in the day.
No kidding about the label! It has the simple no-nonsense look of the old ones.
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