Kim Fowley (July 21, 1939 – January 15, 2015) was an American record producer, singer and musician. He is best known for his role behind a string of novelty and cult pop rock singles in the 1960s, and for managing the Runaways in the 1970s. He has been described as “one of the most colorful characters in the annals of rock & roll”, as well as “a shadowy cult figure well outside the margins of the mainstream”. (More from Wikipedia)
By the early 1960’s, “girl groups” were becoming more prominent in rock and roll. The Jaynetts achieved an ethereal sound with their 1963 hit “Sally Go ’Round the Roses”. Another one-hit wonder, the Murmaids took “Popsicles and Icicles” to the Top 3 in January 1964; the song was written by David Gates, later of the band Bread, while Kim Fowley worked behind the scenes.
(October 2013)
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The Runaways are the first truly successful all-female rock band and were formed in late 1975 under the auspices of Kim Fowley, a musician, songwriter, record producer, promoter, and self-promoter who has existed on the fringes of the music industry for decades. The way they are telling the story now, rhythm guitarist Joan Jett and drummer Sandy West had separately introduced themselves to Kim Fowley. He then gave Jett’s number to West, and after they connected, he helped them find the other bandmembers.
At this point, the Runaways was signed by Mercury Records and released their first album, The Runaways in 1976. The credits for the bandmembers on the back of the album included their ages (most were 16 or younger as I recall), thus cementing Kim Fowley’s Svengali reputation. Fowley refused to let Jackie Fox play on the debut album, so Blondie bass guitarist Nigel Harrison filled in.
When Cherie Currie had auditioned to join the Runaways, the other bandmembers quickly came up with a song called “Cherry Bomb” – named after a famous firework, and not the John Mellencamp song by the same name, “Cherry Bomb” – that she was asked to sing instead of the Suzi Quatro song that she had picked out. The song features a line in the chorus “Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb!” that was a play on her first name; Joan Jett and Kim Fowley are credited as the songwriters. “Cherry Bomb” became the opening track on their album and the band’s first single; while “Cherry Bomb” only made it to #106 on the Billboard singles charts, the song was named #52 on the list of the greatest hard rock songs of all time by VH1.
After Kim Fowley lost control of the Runaways. the early all-female rock band that he helped found and also managed, he sought to form another band that was counter to the conventions of the day: a male lead singer that was backed by female musicians. Called Venus and the Razorblades, bandmembers were Steven T. (vocals and guitar), Roni Lee (rhythm guitar), Danielle Faye (bass guitar), Nicky Beat and later Kyle Raven (drums), and two more vocalists, Dyan Diamond and Vicki Arnold, aka Vicki Razor Blade. As with the Runaways. the musicians were teenagers; Arnold was 17, and Diamond was only 14.
Kim Fowley eventually put together a retrospective album of the music by Venus and the Razorblades in 1978, Songs from the Sunshine Jungle; Wikipedia says that the album is extremely rare today, and I was delighted to find a copy at Criminal Records in Atlanta a few years ago.
Dyan Diamond released an acclaimed album in 1978 (produced by Kim Fowley), In the Dark that brings rockabilly and roots music to her new wave oeuvre; Allmusic gives the album 4½ stars and called it “a perfect example of an LP that was a creative triumph but a commercial disappointment”.
(December 2013)
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The Under Appreciated Rock Band for this month is the Crawdaddys; while I know of no connection with Kim Fowley, the anachronistic R&B stylings of this San Diego band sound like something that would be right up his alley. The Allmusic article on the Crawdaddys leads off with this (by Matt Carlson): “In a time of trendy discotheques, bombastic arena rock, and sonic punk barbarisms, the Crawdaddys were truly a peculiarity of the late ’70s.”
(January 2015/2)
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The two songs that introduced me to Phil Gammage were on a sampler album entitled The Electric Radio Sampler Music Test (1993). The album is probably intended to be played inside record stores as an inducement to purchase albums on sale by the label who released it, Marilyn Records. It doesn’t look like much, but there is some great music on this little CD.
There is also a Kim Fowley song, “Rockin’ in the Balkans”, and the EP rounds out with “I Pledge Allegiance To Disobedience” by the outrageous GG Allin & the Murder Junkies.
(March 2015)
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