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#704524 - 03/11/10 05:25 PM
Pop & Crime History: Morris Levy, Tommy James
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slider
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Registered: 08/26/04
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Tommy James, of the 60's pop group Tommy James and the Shondells, has been making the media rounds flogging his book. He tells the tale of being signed to Roulette Records, headed by Morris Levy. Levy was hooked up with the Genovese crime family. He became a publishing magnate, got authorship rights to songs he didn't write, and had legal wranglings with John Lennon.
This is ancient history, well known to most music industry veterans, and covered in the book 'Hit Men'. Just thought I'd start a thread on it because younger Ropers may not know this story from the time when recordings were made on wax, and payola and other shady practices were the standard. Morris Levy would make an excellent subject for a biopic- he was there at the birth of bebop, amassed a multi-million dollar fortune, got convicted of extortion but never served serious time.
(Production side note: Tommy James talked about 'Crimson and Clover' in an interview, and said the tremolo effect on his voice was achieved by singing through a guitar amp. To my ear, it sounds like the tremolo is consistently synced to the beat, meaning James remembered it wrong, and the effect was achieved through outboard equipment.)
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#704543 - 03/11/10 06:12 PM
Re: Pop & Crime History: Morris Levy, Tommy James
[Re: slider]
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GoodGod
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Book's a good read, btw.
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#704552 - 03/11/10 06:48 PM
Re: Pop & Crime History: Morris Levy, Tommy James
[Re: GoodGod]
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Guymandude
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At one point his life my dad was signed to Roulette records. He worked well with Levy, and got paid too. For whatever reason Levy and my pops got on well. It was a mutual respect thing.
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#704554 - 03/11/10 06:52 PM
Re: Pop & Crime History: Morris Levy, Tommy James
[Re: Guymandude]
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teverett
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Jimmie Rodgers told me about the time he went to Morris and asked for some royalty money.
To paraphrase from memory:
Morris: "You doing OK on the road?"
Rodgers: "Yes."
Morris: "You got your own television show"
Rodgers: "Yes"
Morris: "Then what the hell are your complaining about?"
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#704557 - 03/11/10 06:56 PM
Re: Pop & Crime History: Morris Levy, Tommy James
[Re: teverett]
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Guymandude
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My dad did say that he was the only artist who ever got paid on Roulette! Levy also loved his music too.
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#704558 - 03/11/10 07:01 PM
Re: Pop & Crime History: Morris Levy, Tommy James
[Re: Guymandude]
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jimi lalumia
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I got the book, thumbing through, found the token reference to Tommy going to Max's Kansas City when they hit NY round about 66,67, I'm diving in as soon as I finish the Dave Thompson"Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell" Bowie/Iggy/Lou Reed book, which I'm loving to death..
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fablalumia
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#704560 - 03/11/10 07:10 PM
Re: Pop & Crime History: Morris Levy, Tommy James
[Re: jimi lalumia]
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Guymandude
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Gotta get it!
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#704568 - 03/11/10 07:22 PM
Re: Pop & Crime History: Morris Levy, Tommy James
[Re: Guymandude]
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MichaelG
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Late 70's I booked a band on a series of Tommy James shows in Canada. They returned broke because Tommy had fleeced them playing poker.
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#704572 - 03/11/10 07:31 PM
Re: Pop & Crime History: Morris Levy, Tommy James
[Re: MichaelG]
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mslindac
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Levy was presented in a pretty bad light in the film "Why Do Fools Fall in Love." Of course, he probably really did take credit for a song he never wrote and fleece Frankie Lymon, his group members and his several wives.
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"If you just go and listen to his stuff, man, a George Jones record should come with a six-pack and a hand gun."
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#704573 - 03/11/10 07:33 PM
Re: Pop & Crime History: Morris Levy, Tommy James
[Re: mslindac]
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jimi lalumia
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probably????
welcome to the record biz, my dearest dahling......
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