I don't want Xanga to close this account down.... but please feel free to go over to my other website, listed in the link in the post below, to see what i've been up to lately.

I'm sad to report that the year is ending on a really sad note. Recently we have lost several people who's music I have loved and admired. They include:

Charlie Drake, who had a novelty hit in 1962 with the song "My Boomerang Won't Come Back", died from complications resulting from two strokes on December 24th. He was 81.

Georgia Gibbs, who made a name for herself doing clean versions of racy R&B records (Most notably, her song "Dance With Me Henry" was a remake of the Etta James tune "Roll With Me Henry (The Wallflower)", died on December 9th. She was 87.

Anita O'Day, known as the Jezebel of Jazz (who worked with Stan Kenton, Woody Herman, Gene Krupa and others), died from Pneumonia on November 23rd. She was 87.

Martha Tilton, who was a famous singer during the Big Band era of the 1940s, singing with Paul Weston And His Orchestra among others, died on December 8th. She was 91.

Mariska Veres, lead singer of The Shocking Blue (who had a monster hit with their first release, Venus, and a minor follow up called Mighty Joe), died on December 2nd of cancer. She was 59.

Denis Payton of the Dave Clark Five (hopefully now they will get into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, as they're on the ballot this year), who died on December 17th after battling cancer. He was 63.

Walter Ward of the Olympics (who scored hits with Western Movies, Dance By The Light Of The Moon, Shimmy Like Kate, and singers of the original recording of Good Lovin' which later became an early hit by the Young Rascals) died of cancer on December 11th. He was 66.

Freddy Marsden, drummer for the group Gerry and the Pacemakers (and brother of Gerry Marsden, the lead singer, the group had hits with Ferry Cross The Mersey, Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying, You'll Never Walk Alone, How Do You Do It, and others), died from cancer on December 9th at the age of 66.

Ruth Brown (who had many R&B Hits including Lucky Lips and her all time classic Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean), died after a stroke and a heart attack on November 17th. She was 76.

Ahmet Ertegun, who had co-founded Atlantic Records, which had scored big in the 1950's and 1960's with records by Ruth Brown, Ray Charles, The Clovers, Professor Longhair, Clyde McPhatter, The Drifters, The Coasters, The Bobbettes, Bobby Darin, Percy Sledge, Wilson Pickett, and so many other greats (the service that this man has done for music is immesurable, he is legendary and there will never be another man like him), died on December 14th, six weeks after a fall resulting in a massive head injury (it did not take place at a Rolling Stones concert as originally reported, he had not made it to the concert). He was 83. Up until his death he was still involved with Atlantic Records as their Chairman.

And the one that has me torn up the absolute most out of any of these that I am posting about today:

The man, the legend, the Godfather of Soul himself, James Brown, has passed away (at around 1:45 am eastern time on Christmas morning, the worst day of the year to die, in my opinion) at the age of 73. The initial report is that he died as a result of severe pneumonia.

Out of so many people who have recently passed, I had so many records I could've featured here today. With James Brown's passing, I wanted to select a record by him that has made it onto Greatest Hits compilations but is not one that is really well known anymore, it is not regarded as a monster hit and is never played on the radio these days. That record (credited to James Brown and the Famous Flames) is "I Got The Feelin'" from 1968. Later in the week I may post a rare record James co-wrote and lent his vocals to for another artist, or at least a link to download the mp3 of it. I hope this doesn't put a little damper on your Christmas, although it has mine.

Here is the news article, courtesy of CNN:

ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- James Brown, the dynamic, pompadoured "Godfather of Soul," whose rasping vocals and revolutionary rhythms made him a founder of rap, funk and disco as well, died early Monday, his agent said. He was 73.

Brown was hospitalized with pneumonia at Emory Crawford Long Hospital on Sunday and died around 1:45 a.m. Monday, said his agent, Frank Copsidas of Intrigue Music. Longtime friend Charles Bobbit was by his side, he said.

Copsidas said Brown's family was being notified of his death and that the cause was still uncertain. "We really don't know at this point what he died of," he said.

Along with Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and a handful of others, Brown was one of the major musical influences of the past 50 years. At least one generation idolized him, and sometimes openly copied him. His rapid-footed dancing inspired Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson among others. Songs such as David Bowie's "Fame," Prince's "Kiss," George Clinton's "Atomic Dog" and Sly and the Family Stone's "Sing a Simple Song" were clearly based on Brown's rhythms and vocal style.

If Brown's claim to the invention of soul can be challenged by fans of Ray Charles and Sam Cooke, then his rights to the genres of rap, disco and funk are beyond question. He was to rhythm and dance music what Dylan was to lyrics: the unchallenged popular innovator.

"James presented obviously the best grooves," rapper Chuck D of Public Enemy once told The Associated Press. "To this day, there has been no one near as funky. No one's coming even close."

His hit singles include such classics as "Out of Sight," "(Get Up I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine," "I Got You (I Feel Good)" and "Say It Out Loud -- I'm Black and I'm Proud," a landmark 1968 statement of racial pride.

"I clearly remember we were calling ourselves colored, and after the song, we were calling ourselves black," Brown said in a 2003 Associated Press interview. "The song showed even people to that day that lyrics and music and a song can change society."

He won a Grammy award for lifetime achievement in 1992, as well as Grammys in 1965 for "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" (best R&B recording) and for "Living In America" in 1987 (best R&B vocal performance, male.) He was one of the initial artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, along with Presley, Chuck Berry and other founding fathers.

He triumphed despite an often unhappy personal life. Brown, who lived in Beech Island near the Georgia line, spent more than two years in a South Carolina prison for aggravated assault and failing to stop for a police officer. After his release on in 1991, Brown said he wanted to "try to straighten out" rock music.

From the 1950s, when Brown had his first R&B hit, "Please, Please, Please" in 1956, through the mid-1970s, Brown went on a frenzy of cross-country tours, concerts and new songs. He earned the nickname "The Hardest Working Man in Show Business."

With his tight pants, shimmering feet, eye makeup and outrageous hair, Brown set the stage for younger stars such as Michael Jackson and Prince.

In 1986, he was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And rap stars of recent years overwhelmingly have borrowed his lyrics with a digital technique called sampling.

Brown's work has been replayed by the Fat Boys, Ice-T, Public Enemy and a host of other rappers. "The music out there is only as good as my last record," Brown joked in a 1989 interview with Rolling Stone magazine.

"Disco is James Brown, hip-hop is James Brown, rap is James Brown; you know what I'm saying? You hear all the rappers, 90 percent of their music is me," he told the AP in 2003.

Born in poverty in Barnwell, South Carolina, in 1933, he was abandoned as a 4-year-old to the care of relatives and friends and grew up on the streets of Augusta, Georgia, in an "ill-repute area," as he once called it. There he learned to wheel and deal.

"I wanted to be somebody," Brown said.

By the eighth grade in 1949, Brown had served 31/2 years in Alto Reform School near Toccoa, Ga., for breaking into cars.

While there, he met Bobby Byrd, whose family took Brown into their home. Byrd also took Brown into his group, the Gospel Starlighters. Soon they changed their name to the Famous Flames and their style to hard R&B.

In January 1956, King Records of Cincinnati signed the group, and four months later "Please, Please, Please" was in the R&B Top Ten.

While most of Brown's life was glitz and glitter, he was plagued with charges of abusing drugs and alcohol and of hitting his third wife, Adrienne.

In September 1988, Brown, high on PCP and carrying a shotgun, entered an insurance seminar next to his Augusta office. Police said he asked seminar participants if they were using his private restroom.

Police chased Brown for a half-hour from Augusta into South Carolina and back to Georgia. The chase ended when police shot out the tires of his truck.

Brown received a six-year prison sentence. He spent 15 months in a South Carolina prison and 10 months in a work release program before being paroled in February 1991. In 2003, the South Carolina parole board granted him a pardon for his crimes in that state.

Soon after his release, Brown was on stage again with an audience that included millions of cable television viewers nationwide who watched the three-hour, pay-per-view concert at Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles.

Adrienne Brown died in 1996 in Los Angeles at age 47. She took PCP and several prescription drugs while she had a bad heart and was weak from cosmetic surgery two days earlier, the coroner said.

More recently, he married his fourth wife, Tomi Raye Hynie, one of his backup singers. The couple had a son, James Jr.

Two years later, Brown spent a week in a private Columbia hospital, recovering from what his agent said was dependency on painkillers. Brown's attorney, Albert "Buddy" Dallas, said singer was exhausted from six years of road shows.

On September 8, an obituary for the following person was released in a local newspaper in Florida, and was just an average obituary for an average joe who had passed away, and on September 10th, the same newspaper posted a new obituary for the guy, claiming the information that was later determined false. That second obituary was then picked up by a newspaper in Conneticut (who re-wrote it slightly) and that version was picked up by the Associated Press, sparking a huge controversy. Here is the artical from the Conneticut newspaper, from September 26th:

Paul Van Valkenburgh, 68, who wrote the song and several others as a young man under the name "Paul Vance," died at his Ormond Beach home in Florida on Sept. 6.

Van Valkenburgh grew up in New Milford but later moved back to Florida, where he was born.

Van Valkenburgh has seven living children. Two still live in the area: Daughter Karen Machado lives in New Milford and his son, Paul Van Valkenburgh Jr., lives in Bethel.

His other children are: Kevin, Laura, Michelle, Sherry, and Susan. He was predeceased by a son, Peter Leroux.

The owner of a painting and decorating business in Florida, Van Valkenburgh was a Navy veteran who fought in the Korean Conflict, and who in his early years wrote several songs.

His silly, snappy tune about a girl wearing a very revealing "yellow polka dot bikini'' was a hit when it was released on Aug. 8, 1960, by artist Brian Hyland.

Van Valkenburgh wrote and collaborated on some other songs, including "Hey Now Mary'' and "Magic Melody," but none gained the notoriety of the "bikini'' song.

Today, the song appears in yogurt commercials.

In Van Valkenburgh's obituary, his family wrote that he loved listening to music and spending time with family and friends.

He is survived by his wife of 32 years, Rose Leroux, along with many grandchildren, nieces, nephews and friends.

Family members declined further comment.

Donations in Van Valkenburgh's memory can be made to the Hospice of the Palm Coast in Florida. 149 South Ridgewood Ave., Suite 400, Daytona Beach, Fla. 32114.

As I read the obituary (and a few others that surfaced on the internet, including one that featured part of an old AP interview with Paul Vance from 1960), several things immediately struck me as being very odd.

First of all, Paul Vance was born in November of 1929, making him 76 right now, not 68.

Secondly, Paul was born in New York, not Florida, and he did not grow up in Conneticut. He still maintains a home in New York to this day. Paul, being of Irish descent, also could not have the last name of "Van Valkenburgh".

There was no mention at all of Paul Vance's songwriting partner, Lee Pockriss, who he co-wrote "Bikini" with, among many hundreds of other songs, in a partnership that dates back as early as 1957 (the first hit co-written by Vance and Pockriss was Catch A Falling Star by Perry Como, released in 1958).

After going from publisher to publisher for various songs, Vance and Pockriss aquired the rights to the publishing for their songs and had the tunes published by Emily Music (ASCAP), as well as VanLee Music (ASCAP) and PockVan Music (ASCAP) among other publishing companies bearing their names. They never sold their rights to their songs to anybody, and today Emily Music still administers the rights to the publishing of these songs today, and is run by Lee Pockriss out of Conneticut. Allegedly this deceased person claimed to have sold his rights to the song when he was around 19 years old. That would be 1957, this song was not written until the summer of 1960, when Paul's wife refused to buy a bathing suit.

This obituary also lists Paul Vance as having seven living children. Paul Vance the songwriter had four children, and one of them was named Philip. Philip was featured on a recording in 1972 when he was 8 years old, called Playground In My Mind by Clint Holmes, a song written by Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss. Kind of odd how this obituary doesn't list that song, or that child.

This obituary lists two other songs that "Paul" was involved with, called "Hey! Now, Mary" and "Magic Melody". Doing a little detective work, it is determined that these songs were released paired onto the same 45, around May of 1959. Let's examine both of them.

Side A is written by Paul Vance and published by Kenco Enterprises, Inc. (ASCAP). A quick search of the ASCAP website shows nothing about this song--not under the list of songs written by Paul Vance the "Bikini" writer, or a second Paul Vance who has written songs for ASCAP (real name Paul Vandervoort II). Side B was written by Vance-Hecht and published by the same company. An ASCAP search shows that the other songwriter for this side was Ken Hecht. I think we've discovered where KENco comes from. This side also is not listed under either Paul Vance name listing at ASCAP, though when doing a search for the title, the name Paul Vance did come up, but has no credit link and is likely a third guy with the same name. Since the publisher does not match nor does the co-writer, it is safe to assume that this Paul Vance had nothing to do with the Paul Vance who wrote "Bikini".

If this is in fact the Paul Vance who has passed away (who claimed to have sold his rights to "Bikini" away when he was young, which is now determined to be something he lied about to make him appear to be that song's writer), it is likely he sold his rights to these two Kenco songs away to Ken Hecht. I wonder if Ken can be contacted for a comment about this through contacting people at ASCAP for information on how to reach him...

Lastly, family members decided to comment. Is that because they knew that this guy was not the real Paul Vance, and have no proof that he ever really wrote, co-wrote, or had anything to do with "Bikini" ??

Early yesterday morning (around 1 to 2 am), I emailed my findings to several of my friends from various message boards, and people I know within the music industry, including songwriter Ron Dante (who sang the lead vocals on the song "Tracy" by the Cuff Links in 1970, a song written by Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss), and to the news reporter who first reported Paul Vance's passing. Ron quickly got in touch with members of "Bikini" songwriter Paul Vance's family and let me know that Paul is alive and well.

Then, yesterday in the late morning, a retraction was issued:

Correction: Obit-Vance Story

September 27,2006 | HARTFORD, Conn. --

In a Sept. 26 story about the death of Paul Van Valkenburgh, The Associated Press, relying on information from his wife, erroneously reported that he was co-writer of the 1960 hit song "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" under the name Paul Vance.

The American Society for Composers, Authors and Publishers credits Paul Vance, 76, of Westbury, N.Y., and Lee Pockriss of Bridgewater, Conn., with writing the song.

Van Valkenburgh was 68 and resided in Ormond Beach, Fla.

Then even later in the afternoon yesterday, a full news story was published:

Real `Itsy Bitsy' Songwriter Still Alive
By FRANK ELTMAN
The Associated Press
Wednesday, September 27, 2006; 6:02 PM

The man who co-wrote the song "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" had the unsettling experience this week of reading his own obituary, the result of an impostor who went through life claiming to be the author of the 1960s smash hit.

On Tuesday, The Associated Press reported on the death of a 68-year-old man named Paul Van Valkenburgh of Ormond Beach, Fla., who claimed to have written the song under the name Paul Vance. The story cited the man's wife as the source for that claim.

But the music industry's real Paul Vance, a 76-year-old man from Coral Springs, Fla., is alive and well, and says the other Paul Vance appears to have made the whole thing up.

The Paul Vance who wrote the songs, and provided proof with royalty payments he is still receiving for the hit, said he has been inundated with calls from people who think he died. An owner of racehorses, Vance said two of his horses were scratched from races Wednesday because people thought he had died.

"Do you know what it's like to have grandchildren calling you and say, `Grandpa, you're still alive?'" he said in a telephone interview from Coral Springs. "This is not a game. I am who I am and I'm proud of who I am. But these phones don't stop with people calling thinking I'm dead."

Rose Leroux, the widow of the man who died, said she was surprised by the disclosure, and "kind of devastated." She said she had no reason to doubt that her husband, who apparently had some sort of music career when he was younger, was the writer of the famous tune.

She said her husband told her that he never got any royalties because he sold the rights when he was young, around 19. She said that by the time they met almost 40 years ago, he was making his living as a salesman. He later became a painting contractor.

"If this other man says he did it then my husband's a liar, or he's a liar," Leroux said.

The living Paul Vance estimated he has made several million dollars from the song, which was recorded by 16-year-old teen idol Brian Hyland, surged to No. 1 on the Billboard charts in August 1960 and has been pop culture staple ever since.

The song, about a bashful young woman in a skimpy bathing suit, has been used in such movies as "Sister Act 2" and "Revenge of the Nerds II" and was more recently revived in a yogurt commercial.

"It's a money machine," Vance said.

Vance said his first hit was "Catch a Falling Star," recorded by Perry Como, and he went on to write numerous million-sellers for Como, Johnny Mathis and others.

To prove he is the real songwriter, Vance provided royalty statements showing dozens of payments for the tune sent to his address in Westbury, N.Y., where he lived before moving to Florida. Jim Steinblatt, an official with the American Society for Composers, Authors and Publishers, confirmed that royalty checks for the song were being mailed to Vance in Westbury.

Steinblatt also said he knows Vance personally and had visited him at his Westbury home last year. He said he had never heard of the man who died and took credit for composing the song.

Vance said he has no animosity toward the impostor or his wife.

Vance's songwriting partner, Lee Pockriss, who shares credit on "Itsy Bitsy ...', lives in Bridgewater, Conn., and is recovering from a stroke. His wife, Sonya, said her husband's writing partner is the living Paul Vance, and she had never heard of the Paul Vance from Ormond Beach.

Leroux said she wished the other Paul Vance had never spoken up.

"It's such a long time ago. To have it come out now, I'm kind of devastated," she said. "If this man is getting the royalties why wouldn't he be happy? The more you stir this up the more you'll smell. Paul can't hurt him now, he's dead. And we're not going after him for the royalties."

Now, what absolutely cracks me up is the fact that the late Paul Van V's widow says they're not going after Paul Vance for the royalties to "Bikini", and I say, GOOD! Don't waste your time and money trying to get royalties from a song your husband never wrote!!!

Her husband clearly duped her into believing he wrote that song, simply because he more than likely had recorded one record as Paul Vance, AFTER the real Vance and Pockriss started having hits as songwriters! He should've researched the real Paul Vance's life more closely, but frauds and fakes will always get caught, embarassing the hell out of their families when it happens.

From my personal record collection, here are some label scans of records Paul Vance was involved with:

This record is by Danny Jordan (also a member of The Detergents) and my friend Artie Wayne. Paul Vance co-wrote the B side, but I like the A side better. By the way, Paul Vance is the uncle of Danny Jordan.

The first hit for Vance and Pockriss, from 1957/8. Backed up by the Ray Charles Singers. Not the blind Ray Charles, but the other one who led his own choir of singers. This Ray Charles later was the male vocalist on the theme song for Three's Company. (How's that trivia for you?)

My buddy Artie Wayne co-wrote the A side to this one under his pen name that he still uses to this day.

This one I have featured before as an "Oldie Classic", this 1967 version of "Bikini" was revved up and sounded much like a Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels record. To see bigger pictures of any of the records, right click the picture, go to properties and highlight the url and view it. If you cannot hear the music, you must either be on dialup or are not using Internet Explorer. If you're using IE, give it a minute or two to load up. It's a hilarious song, and in light of learning that Paul Vance was alive, I decided to use it instead of a different song. (Sorry that my last 3 pictures are missing, they were accidentally deleted from my photobucket account).