Mar 2012 / STRATAVARIOUS

UNDER-APPRECIATED ROCK BAND OF THE MONTH FOR MARCH 2012:  STRATAVARIOUS

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 I never understood where all of the hostility toward disco music came from.  Yes, the disco craze began in urban gay nightclubs, and hatred of all things homosexual was alive and well in the pre-AIDS 1970’s (thankfully those voices have been muted of late, even in Mississippi); but honestly, I don’t think that many people knew that.  One of the loudest of the “disco sucks” crowd among the friends that I had back then pushed the Knack as what we should all like instead.  All I had ever heard at that point was “My Sharona”, and I was inclined to say with Peggy Lee:  “Is That All There Is?”.  

 

Fact is, disco music was just fulfilling Dick Clark’s immortal description of rock and roll:  “It has a good beat, and you can dance to it.”  Some great music came out of that era, without a doubt.  One of the great voices in soul music, Lou Rawls had his biggest hit song with the disco-flavored “You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine”.  He was hardly the only 1970’s artist to retool their sound to a disco feel:  The Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, Diana Ross, Blondie and even Pink Floyd are examples, but no one made it bigger than the Bee Gees in their Saturday Night Fever heyday. 

 

Several bands from the disco era have managed to retain their popularity to this day, such as the Village People and KC and the Sunshine Band.  And disco has never really gone away either; the newer strains of electronica, dub, house and the other forms of music that have filled dance clubs over the intervening decades are their direct descendants, and to some extent that is true of the entire rap/hip-hop genre. 

 

Long before synthesizers began to dominate rock music in the 1980’s, disco music was making use of this new technology.  Electronic instruments have been around for decades; for example, in 1928, the patent was issued for the eerie-sounding Theremin (which is played remotely by moving around in space).  The 1960’s band  Lothar and the Hand People named their Theremin “Lothar”, and the bandmembers were the “hand people” who operated it.  Electronic music was also encountered in 1950’s science fiction movies like The Day the Earth Stood Still and Forbidden Planet. 

 

In 1965, the first commercial synthesizer was made available by Robert Moog; major rock bands like the Monkees (Micky Dolenz ordered one of the very first Moog Synthesizers), the Rolling Stones and the Doors were quick to incorporate synthesizers into their music.  However, the first truly audacious use of synthesizers was probably the 1968 album by Walter Carlos called Switched-On Bach, the first classical album to sell one million copies.  For many years, using synthesizers to make music was difficult because of the time-consuming programming involved and the rather primitive mixing equipment of that period.  I saw a “live” performance by Carlos on television once, and as I remember, it was mainly shots of a static Moog Synthesizer. 

 

Walter Carlos continued to release synthesizer albums for many years – including the soundtrack for the Stanley Kubrick film A Clockwork Orange – though none had the impact of Switched-On Bach.  I noticed an album several years later that was by Wendy Carlos, and I wondered if that might be Walter’s daughter.  As it turned out, Carlos was a transsexual who had begun living as a woman in May 1968 and had sexual reassignment surgery in 1972; reissues of her work all have Wendy Carlos on them now.  He is not the only transsexual musician that I know of; one of the wildest of the first-wave punk rock stars of the 1970’s, Wayne County was going by the name Jayne County by 1980.  I have a copy of her 1993 album called Goddess of Wet Dreams; and as might be imagined by the album title, it is every bit as extreme as the 1970’s work. 

 

With its emphasis on singles, the music industry itself changed somewhat as a result of disco.  The 45 was still a popular medium for issuing music, but the LP was most familiar to music consumers and certainly to the disc jockeys that spun the platters in the dance clubs.  Thus was born the 12-inch single:  an LP-sized disc that typically had just 2 or 3 songs on it, and often it was 2 or 3 versions of the same song – perhaps the radio or album version and/or an extended version, along with an instrumental version.  For especially popular songs, these versions would be piggy-backed onto one another by DJ’s so that the same song could be played continuously for 20 or 30 minutes. 

 

By the 1990’s, making new versions of songs had become a true art form, with the creators of the remixes becoming as famous as the original artists.  The song “Missing” by Everything but the Girl became an international hit in 1994 after it was remixed by Todd Terry, and numerous other versions of “Missing” followed.  Some years later, I purchased a two-album set that consisted entirely of various remixes of just 2 or 3 different songs by Everything but the Girl. 

 

Suzanne Vega was basically an acoustic artist when she started out, and she scored a major hit in 1987 with “Luka” from her second album Solitude Standing.  In 1990, an anonymous duo called DNA released a bootleg single based on an a capella track from that album called “Tom’s Diner” that was set to an electronic beat; originally released under the name “Oh Suzanne”, they had an unexpected hit song a full 3 years after her album came out (and nearly 10 years after Vega originally wrote the song).  Suzanne Vega allowed the single to be issued legitimately and subsequently released several albums of her own with an edgier sound, as well as Tom’s Album that included several other unsolicited versions of this same song. 

 

With the emphasis on singles though, early disco albums were often weak, and many disco artists were hard-pressed to even come up with a decent second single.  The first disco/dance music album that I liked a lot was Dare by the Human League, which came out in 1981.  That is not true of all of them though, and STRATAVARIOUS is one of the best 1970’s disco albums that I have ever heard.  Released in 1977, the album has lush orchestral movements and beautiful vocals; and as far as I can tell, there isn’t a synthesizer in sight.  The liner notes explain the name in this way:  “strata; various, meaning multi-layered, with several layers and textures running parallel, but mixing at pre-determined points”. 

 

The name of course is adapted from that of the famous violin maker Stradivarius (whose instruments are mostly over 300 years old now, believe it or not).  Cream drummer Ginger Baker had previously released an unrelated solo album in 1972 under the name Stratavarious. 

 

The label for the Stratavarious album is Roulette Records; back when, I loved the orange-and-yellow, roulette-wheel design of their record labels.  One of my favorite songs for a while was on Roulette; it was “Rip Van Winkle” by the Devotions.  It was basically a novelty song retelling the famous legend that also featured a lot of bowling sounds for some reason (I can’t recall ever hearing that on another song!).  I was on a bowling team in those days, so maybe that’s what got me going. 

 

“Rip Van Winkle” wasn’t as good as a later novelty hit that I absolutely loved – “Martian Hop” by the Ran-Dells – and I had a connection there also:  There was a TV show called My Favorite Martian where the Martian (played by Ray Walston) was named “Uncle Martin”.  There weren’t too many Martin’s in the world back then, at least that I knew about.  I even created little antennae (bent from the wire that bound the newspapers together for my paper route) that I wore behind my ears to class; they were supposed to be like the ones that would rise up from Walston’s head from time to time when he was doing his Martian thing. 

 

Anyway, I have since found out that Roulette Records was owned by the notorious music mogul Morris Levy.  Some of the information that I have read about him is praiseworthy, but most people think he was basically a gangster.  Tommy James and the Shondells was one of Roulette’s big artists; they had a lot of records on the charts – including one of the biggest psychedelic hit songs of the 1960’s, “Crimson and Clover” – and their albums are really good as well.  I picked up one not too long ago; at the beginning of the album, there was an older man with a gruff voice who was trying to be hip, saying things like “don’t mind me, you just do your thing”.  In another context, I would have just thought that it was corny; with Roulette though . . . I don’t know if that was Levy or not, but it sounded pretty sinister to me. 

 

Morris Levy and Roulette Records also figure in the story of Milan (also known as the Leather Boy), one of the most mysterious figures in 1960’s garage rock.  The Wikipedia article that I wrote about him some years back – now listed under the name Milan the Leather Boy – is the one that I am proudest of.  His sister (who lives in Boca Raton) contacted me later, and she helped fill in a lot of the blanks.  However, even before that, I managed to put together a pretty coherent story from literally dozens of bits and pieces that I found on the Internet.  A retrospective album of Milan’s work finally came out in 2009 – called Hell Bent for Leather – and when I saw that the album liner notes referenced my Wikipedia article, I could not have been more surprised.  An expanded article that I wrote on Milan is scheduled to appear in the Fall/Winter 2012 issue of Ugly Things magazine. 

 

I guess I am stalling a little because no one seems to know much about Stratavarious, or their lead singer, who goes by the name of Lady.  The band was put together by John R. (Johnny) Usry, Jr., who was the producer and arranger and also the orchestral conductor.  He had previously worked with the Three Degrees, who one time provided the vocals on a new theme song for Soul Train.  (The show’s long-time host, Don Cornelius died just last month).  Public demand led to its release as a single; under the name “TSOP” by MFSB, it was a monster R&B hit in 1974.  (The initials stand for “The Sound of Philadelphia” and “Mother Father Sister Brother”). 

 

As an example of the mystery about the band, on one YouTube video, the band is listed as “Stratavarious a/k/a Johnny Usry”; while a short piece on a blog on the Internet says that it was an all-female disco band.  (The latter gentleman mentioned that their hit was “Lady”, when that was actually the name of the lead singer; though to be fair, there is a track on the album called “Let Me Be Your Lady Tonight”).  One of their releases, “I Got Your Love” was one of the first 12-inch singles to feature two bands; the other was Poison (not the same as the glam-metal band of the 1980’s, Poison). 

 

One other thing.  Stratavarious might fill an annoying hole in the roster of the Under-Appreciated Rock Bands:  Nobody so far has been African-American.  I do know that Johnny Usry is black, as is Poison.  Also, most of the people that Usry has worked with over the years are African-American:  Besides the Three Degrees, they include Teddy Pendergrass, Lou Rawls, and the O’Jays; however, that is not true of Air Supply.  I have no photos so far, and the music itself could go either way, so I am still not sure. 

 

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Flashback:  The Under-Appreciated Rock Band of the Month for March 2010 – BANG 

 

Every so often, I check on Allmusic and Wikipedia and see whether anyone has come along and updated the scant or nonexistent information on the UARB’s that I have written about in the past.  Usually nothing has changed.  However, there is a lot of information on Bang in Allmusic now, and the stub in Wikipedia has been expanded quite a lot as well.  They coulda been contenders as it turned out:  They were being touted as America’s answer to Black Sabbath at one point, but their manager and record company derailed their desire to put out a concept album as their debut album.  It is understandable I think:  The album had the forbidding name Death of a Country, and the eponymous album they did put out instead, Bang was first-rate hard rock.  (Death of a Country apparently remained unreleased until a 4-CD box set came out just last year). 

 

Their lone trip to the charts (the song stalled at #90) was “Questions” – and does it ever kick ass; see for yourself at www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeFhEaaeozg&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PL8CCE24840AAAE281 .  Another track from that first album could be considered a Christian contemporary song; it is called “Lions Christians” and can be heard at www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcrPOI7roVw .  They have tons more songs available on YouTube, including tracks from their later, somewhat tamer albums, though they are still quite enjoyable. 

 

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The Honor Roll of the Under Appreciated Rock Bands and Artists follows, in date order, including a link to the original Facebook posts and the theme of the article.

 

Dec 2009 – BEAST; Lot to Learn

Jan 2010 – WENDY WALDMAN; Los Angeles Singer-Songwriters

Feb 2010 – CYRUS ERIE; Cleveland

Mar 2010 – BANG; Record Collecting I

Apr 2010 – THE BREAKAWAYS; Power Pop

May 2010 – THE NOT QUITE; Katrina Clean-Up

Jun 2010 – WATERLILLIES; Electronica

Jul 2010 – THE EYES; Los Angeles Punk Rock

Aug 2010 – QUEEN ANNE’S LACE; Psychedelic Pop

Sep 2010 – THE STILLROVEN; Minnesota

Oct 2010 – THE PILTDOWN MEN; Record Collecting II

Nov 2010 – SLOVENLY; Slovenly Peter

Dec 2010 – THE POPPEES; New York Punk/New Wave

Jan 2011 – HACIENDA; Latinos in Rock

Feb 2011 – THE WANDERERS; Punk Rock (1970’s/1980’s)

Mar 2011 – INDEX; Psychedelic Rock (1960’s)

Apr 2011 – BOHEMIAN VENDETTA; Punk Rock (1960’s)

May 2011 – THE LONESOME DRIFTER; Rockabilly

Jun 2011 – THE UNKNOWNS; Disabled Musicians

Jul 2011 – THE RIP CHORDS; Surf Rock I

Aug 2011 – ANDY COLQUHOUN; Side Men

Sep 2011 – ULTRA; Texas

Oct 2011 – JIM SULLIVAN; Mystery

Nov 2011 – THE UGLY; Punk Rock (1970’s)

Dec 2011 – THE MAGICIANS; Garage Rock (1960’s)

Jan 2012 – RON FRANKLIN; Why Celebrate Under Appreciated?

Feb 2012 – JA JA JA; German New Wave

Mar 2012 – STRATAVARIOUS; Disco Music

Apr 2012 – LINDA PIERRE KING; Record Collecting III

May 2012 – TINA AND THE TOTAL BABES; One Hit Wonders

Jun 2012 – WILD BLUE; Band Names I

Jul 2012 – DEAD HIPPIE; Band Names II

Aug 2012 – PHIL AND THE FRANTICS; Wikipedia I

Sep 2012 – CODE BLUE; Hidden History

Oct 2012 – TRILLION; Wikipedia II

Nov 2012 – THOMAS ANDERSON; Martin Winfree’s Record Buying Guide

Dec 2012 – THE INVISIBLE EYES; Record Collecting IV

Jan 2013 – THE SKYWALKERS; Garage Rock Revival

Feb 2013 – LINK PROTRUDI AND THE JAYMEN; Link Wray

Mar 2013 – THE GILES BROTHERS; Novelty Songs

Apr 2013 – LES SINNERS; Universal Language

May 2013 – HOLLIS BROWN; Greg Shaw / Bob Dylan

Jun 2013 (I) – FUR (Part One); What Might Have Been I

Jun 2013 (II) – FUR (Part Two); What Might Have Been II

Jul 2013 – THE KLUBS; Record Collecting V

Aug 2013 – SILVERBIRD; Native Americans in Rock

Sep 2013 – BLAIR 1523; Wikipedia III

Oct 2013 – MUSIC EMPORIUM; Women in Rock I

Nov 2013 – CHIMERA; Women in Rock II

Dec 2013 – LES HELL ON HEELS; Women in Rock III

Jan 2014 – BOYSKOUT; (Lesbian) Women in Rock IV

Feb 2014 – LIQUID FAERIES; Women in Rock V

Mar 2014 (I) – THE SONS OF FRED (Part 1); Tribute to Mick Farren

Mar 2014 (II) – THE SONS OF FRED (Part 2); Tribute to Mick Farren

Apr 2014 – HOMER; Creating New Bands out of Old Ones

May 2014 – THE SOUL AGENTS; The Cream Family Tree

Jun 2014 – THE RICHMOND SLUTS and BIG MIDNIGHT; Band Names (Changes) III

Jul 2014 – MIKKI; Rock and Religion I (Early CCM Music)

Aug 2014 – THE HOLY GHOST RECEPTION COMMITTEE #9; Rock and Religion II (Bob Dylan)

Sep 2014 – NICK FREUND; Rock and Religion III (The Beatles)

Oct 2014 – MOTOCHRIST; Rock and Religion IV

Nov 2014 – WENDY BAGWELL AND THE SUNLITERS; Rock and Religion V

Dec 2014 – THE SILENCERS; Surf Rock II

Jan 2015 (I) – THE CRAWDADDYS (Part 1); Tribute to Kim Fowley

Jan 2015 (II) – THE CRAWDADDYS (Part 2); Tribute to Kim Fowley

Feb 2015 – BRIAN OLIVE; Songwriting I (Country Music)

Mar 2015 – PHIL GAMMAGE; Songwriting II (Woody Guthrie/Bob Dylan)

Apr 2015 (I) – BLACK RUSSIAN (Part 1); Songwriting III (Partnerships)

Apr 2015 (II) – BLACK RUSSIAN (Part 2); Songwriting III (Partnerships)

May 2015 – MAL RYDER and THE PRIMITIVES; Songwriting IV (Rolling Stones)

Jun 2015 – HAYMARKET SQUARE; Songwriting V (Beatles)

Jul 2015 – THE HUMAN ZOO; Songwriting VI (Psychedelic Rock)

Aug 2015 – CRYSTAL MANSION; Martin Winfree’s Record Cleaning Guide

Dec 2015 – AMANDA JONES; So Many Rock Bands

Mar 2016 – THE LOVEMASTERS; Fun Rock Music

Jun 2016 – THE GYNECOLOGISTS; Offensive Rock Music Lyrics

Sep 2016 – LIGHTNING STRIKE; Rap and Hip Hop

Dec 2016 – THE IGUANAS; Iggy and the Stooges; Proto-Punk Rock

Mar 2017 – THE LAZY COWGIRLS; Iggy and the Stooges; First Wave Punk Rock

Jun 2017 – THE LOONS; Punk Revival and Other New Bands

Sep 2017 – THE TELL-TALE HEARTS; Bootleg Albums

Dec 2017 – SS-20; The Iguana Chronicles

(Year 10 Review)