CD - VA - Cadence Story

Tracks
Andy Williams - Butterfly, The Everly Brothers - All I Have To Do Is Dream, Johnny Tillotson - Poetry In Motion, The Chordettes - Lollipop, Eddie Hodges - I'm Gonna Knock On Your Door, Link Wray - Rumble, The Top Hatters - 45 Men In A Telephone Booth, The Metronomes - Dear Don, The Everly Brothers - Bye Bye Love, Andy Williams - I Like Your Kind Of Love, The Chordettes - Born To Be With You, Ocie Smith - Lighthouse, Bill Hayes - Message From James Dean, The Everly Brothers - Wake Up Little Susie, Andy Williams - Baby Doll, The Metronomes - I Love My Girl, Link Wray And His Ray Men - The Swag, Charlie Mccoy - Cherry Berry Wine, Johnny Tillotson - Without You, Eddie Hodges - (Girls, Girls, Girls) Made To Love, Lenny Welch - Since I Fell For You, Johnny Tillotson - It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin' Eddie Hodges - Ain't Gonna Wash For A Week, Lenny Welch - Ebb Tide, Julias Larosa - Eh, Cumpari!, Archie Bleyer - Hernando's Hideaway, The Chordettes - Mr Sandman, Bill Hayes - The Ballad Of Davy Crockett.
With "The Golden Age Of Rock'n'roll" And The Affiliated "Radio Gold" Series Not To Mention Our Controversial - Some Would Say Daring - Dot Records Anthology, "Cover To Cover" Ace Has Been Building Up A Nice Line In Americana. All The Aforementioned Represent The True Sound Of The American Night During The Eisenhower And Kennedy Eras, Rather Than The Mythologised Fantasies Peddled By Film-Makers And Advertisers.Formed By Bandleader Archie Bleyer In 1952, Cadence Records Was Arguably One Of The Most Successful Labels Of All Time, With A Strong Track Record Over Its Twelve Year Existence. Bleyer Was A Patrician Who Eschewed The Shoddy Production Values And Nefarious Proclivities Of Less Scrupulous Operators In The Indie Field And Brought Dignity And Craftsmanship To The Record-Making Process. His Lack Of Compromise In Pursuit Of The Highest Standards Earned Him The Respect And Admiration Of His Peers.His Greatest Disciple Was Phil Spector, Whose Legendary Philles Label Was Founded On The Bleyer Ethos Of Concentration Rather Than Proliferation. Cadence Maintained A Small Roster Of Select Artists And Released Records Only Sparingly, Concentrating On Each One In Order To Increase Its Chances In An Overcrowded Market. Bleyer Would Spend Weeks Sifting Through Material Before Stepping Into A Studio And Even Then Would Frequently Scrap Sessions Which He Felt Hadn't Made The Grade."Bleyer Was A Brilliant A&R Man, One Of The Best I've Ever Worked With" Recalled The Late Boudleaux Bryant Co-Writer Of The Majority Of The Everly's Hits For The Label. "He Was So Exacting, He Never Cut Unless He Felt He Had Everything In Order And His Policy Was To Cut Two Songs Only Per Session Which Was Unique Because Everybody Else Tried To Cut At Least Four Sides On A Standard Union Date."In 1948 Bleyer Became The Md For Cbs Tv's 'Arthur Godfrey And Friends'. A Few Weeks Later, Cbs Launched A Second Godfrey Vehicle, 'Talent Scouts' Making Him The First Performer In The Young Medium's History With Two Weekly Prime-Time Shows On Air Concurrently Cadence Records Was An Off-Shoot Of The Arthur Godfrey Show Insofar That Its Early Roster Was Drawn Almost Entirely From It. In Fact The First Eight Releases On Cadence Were By Julius La Rosa The Baby Faced Star Of Arthur Godfrey And Friends.It Was By Accident Rather Than Design That Cadence Caught A Ride On The Fast-Moving Rock Bandwagon. In The Spring Of 1957, Bleyer Had Flown To Nashville To Liaise With Wesley Rose Of Acuff-Rose Music, One Of The Pivotal Figures On The Local Music Scene. Keen To Tap Into The Burgeoning Country Market, Bleyer Signed Up Gordon Terry, Anita Carter And The Everly Brothers, All Fledgling Country Acts Affiliated To Rose. Bleyer Had Sensed The Untapped Potential Of Nashville As A Recording Centre As Early As 195
5. To Bleyer's Surprise, The Everly's Crossed Over Into The Pop Market With Bye Bye Love And Wake Up Little Susie, Paving The Way For The Signing Of Country-Pop Singer Johnny Tillotson A Year Later. Among The Latter's Many Hits Were Poetry In Motion And It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin'. In 1958, Cadence Issued Link Wray's First Hit Rumble, Though Bleyer Nearly Took A Pass On It Because The Bass Was Out Of Tune!Bleyer Was Always Bemoaning The Scattershot Policies Of His Competitors, And Would Take Out Trade Ads Proclaiming That Cadence Scrapped More Sessions Than It Used In Its Quest For Pop Perfection (Indeed Some Of Cadence's Biggest Hits Such As Poetry In Motion Were Recorded Twice Over Before Bleyer Was Satisfied). In The Summer Of 1962, An Agent For An Unknown Comic Named Vaughn Meader Approached Bleyer With Some Sample Sketches For A Comedy Album Satirising The Kennedy Clan, Commonly Referred To As America's 'First Family'. The Idea Had Already Been Rejected By Many Other Firms But Bleyer Detected The Spark Of Potential. Released In November 1962, 'The First Family' Made Recording History By Selling 4,000,000 Copies In Two Months. Cadence Sales Manager Budd Dollinger Remarked "We Now Know Not Only That An Album Can Sell Four Million But That It Is Also Possible To Produce Four Million And Get Them To The Stores While They're Hot". Prophetic Words Indeed. "The First Family" Was Cadence's Crowning Glory, Liberally Filling Its Coffers And Heralding A Promising Start To 196
3. Three Hits By Johnny Tillotson And One By Lenny Welch (Since I Fell For You) - Half Of Cadence's Entire Singles Output For The Entire Year - Kept The Label Busy On The Singles Chart.But By 1964 Bleyer Had Reached The Point Where He Was Unwilling Or Unable To Adapt To The Rapidly Changing Musical Trends Of The Mid-Sixties, Although His Loss Of Enthusiasm Had Less To Do With Age Than Impeccable Timing. Bleyer Knew He'd Had A Good Run And Could Never Surpass Cadence's Previous Triumphs. Bleyer's Devoted Staff Were Put On Notice And One Friday In July 1964, Bleyer Closed The Doors At Cadence's East 49th Street Offices For The Last Time And Retired At The Age Of 5
5. He Died From Parkinson's Disease At The Age Of 80 In 197
9. Bob Mack, Bleyer's Right Hand Man From 1957 Until Cadence's Closure, Paid Him The Following Tribute : "He Was A Unique Man In The Recording Industry, Always A Gentleman And Always A Super-Perfectionist. In The Studio He Was Literally Impossible - That Is, He Would Want To Hear On Tape Exactly What He Heard In The Studio! Archie Would Always Strive To Make The Perfect Record, Or As Near To It As Possible, And Would Make Everyone Involved Know That He Wanted Their Utmost Plus He Usually Got It. We All Got Frustrated With Him, I Guess, During Recording Sessions Because He Demanded So Much, But We Usually Came Away With Above Average Records." 'The Cadence Story' Packs More Hits Per Centimetre (Including Several That Appear On Cd For The First Time) Than Most Label Histories And We Have Even Included Some Curios Like Bill Hayes' The Death Of James Dean For The More Pernickety Among You.