Follow up info for the history enthusiasts

EDIT: I have attached a Word file of an updated version of what appears below. Please feel free to download it to your computer. Cheers, Jeremy

I'm in the process (in between work and studying) of gathering/assimilating the tiny threads of information out there surrounding the Joy years. I must preface this by saying that in no way to I want to step on anyone's toes. Buy Michael's music as before, and support him in the wonderful ways you all do. But given his iconic status (well, at least to me, anyway) as a vocalist and composer, it's only right that this history be as complete as possible for those of us who are fascinated by his musical journey. This is quite long, but I'm pasting it from a Word document for you to browse and contribute to as you will/might/are able. For questions I still have, I have indicated them in italics. For updates and information that is new (at least to me), I've indicated so with "Update" in bold. Enjoy!

The Early EARLY Years: What We Know So Far

1965-66: MB meets Marc Friedland at a party at the home of someone named Jimmy Rozen,
who was apparently a bandmate of Friedland’s in The Sensations in 1965.

1966: Marc Friedland joins a band named The Zyme; had first recording session. Versions of the band included the following members:

Marc Friedland

Bobby Goodman

Gary Barnett

Michael Hillman (aka Jay Michaels, Hilly Michaels; he co-wrote the song "Every Day Of My Life" with Patrick Henderson)
(others included Jeff Coopersmith, Mark Magin)

Band was aka The Outsiders, The Unexpected, The Coconut Conspiracy

Side note: Marc mentioned to me awhile ago that someone else was chosen over MB for lead singer of The Coconut Conspiracy, much to his chagrin!

1968: Friedland joins already-established George’s Boys, which soon became Joy [Question: unclear what year MB actually joined George’s Boys—can anyone help?]. Joy (temporarily) moved to East Oakland, CA, returning to CT by the end of 1968 and renting “Joy House” in Woodbridge, CT. Members (or entourage) who moved to East Oakland:

Marc Friedland
Michael Bolotin

Fred Bova

Bob Brockway
Richard Friedland
Denise (?)
Chip (?)

Update: George's Boys soon became known as The Bram Rigg Set, according to various new sources. The band itself did not morph into Joy. Another local band, The Shags, had Orrin as a roadie, and they took The Bram Rigg Set under their wing around the time that Joy was first rehearsing.

1969: Joy demo session at Syncron Studios in CT, earning a record deal with CBS on Epic Records (Marc Friedland mentions only “Bah Bah Song” and “It’s For You”). Joy rehearses in a loft owned by Bill
Haughwout. Joy plays the Electric Circus in New York, The Exit in New Haven, and various “Yale mixers.” [Question: when/where did Joy record “Going Back to New Haven” and “Cookie Man”? It’s possible that it was at the same session, but this needs to be verified]

Update: I have now learned that “Going Back to New Haven” was written by Tom Pollard. I’m not sure where he fits in, relationship-wise, to
the Joy musicians, but I’ve heard his performance of the song and it’s definitely the same song.

Also, Syncron Studios, by 1969, was already known as Trod Nossel Productions Recording Studio. Syncron, which was originally a microphone testing business, was purchased by Dr. Thomas Cavalier in 1966 and renamed. It still exists today, and has become quite famous on an international level. Its location is 10 George Street in Wallingford, CT. Dr. Cavalier was a dentist who switched careers to manage The Shags.

1970: Joy dropped from CBS.

1971: Marc Friedland moves to Venice, CA and received publishing deal (solo or group?) for Dimension Music (he mentions the
names Michael Gordon and Steven Lewis in conjunction with this, but I have no info on these names). Several New Haven musicians join him. The roster now includes:

Marc Friedland
Michael Bolotin

Michael Hillman (aka Jay Michaels, Hilly Michaels)
Fred Bova

Glenn Selwitz
Orrin Bolotin
Tony Corolla (?)

Group rehearses in their school bus (Oogy Ahhgy) parked at Helen Bolotin’s apartment complex on Coldwater Canyon Blvd (Helen Bolotin lived in CA at some point? I didn’t know that). The circulated colour photo of MB and his bandmates sitting on the ground with the back of their school bus behind them is from this period in CA.

1971-early 1972: Joy records “album” for Pentagram
Records. Marc Friedland phrases it as such: “[1971 & early 1972]: Recorded album for Pentagram Records. Did sound track for the movie ‘November’s Children.’ Plays gigs – ‘Image’ in Van Nuys etc.” Michael Hillman does not mention the film, and specifies the conditions of the contract: “We had an LP deal with Pentagram

Records," he recalls, "and they gave us a $500 advance to do an album. We only got to do four songs though, because the company had to pay us union dues and they couldn't afford to do that and finance the record. We split our dues and the advance seven
ways." [Question: do we know for sure that the songs recorded for Pentagram are the songs on the November[’s] Children soundtrack? Only two songs have been unearthed from the soundtrack: “Running Away from the Nighttime” and “Where Do We Go From Here.” Both features MB’s vocals, and he is credited as sole songwriter of the former song]

Update: I have now learned the following. November Children (no “’s”) is aka Nightmare County and Nightmare of Death, according to copyright document V3054P214-216. The plot synopsis is as follows: “In this 70's drama, the candidate who was supported by a coalition of fruit-pickers finally gets elected in their farming community. But the local law enforcement agency does not like this and begins to terrorize his supporters.” At 75 minutes long in theatrical release in 1971, an 87 minute version was released to video in 1977.

More importantly, for us, is the song information I have finally obtained. There are three songs on the soundtrack performed by Joy: “Running Away From the Nighttime” (words & music Michael Bolotin), “Where Do We Go From Here” (words & music Michael
Gordon, aka Michael Z. Gordon), and “Our Town” (words & music Larry Quinn).

This leads me to an interesting conclusion: we now know the four songs the pre-1971 lineup of Joy recorded: “Bah Bah Bah,” “It’s For You,” “Going Back to New Haven,” and “Cookie Man” (although the last one, to my knowledge, hasn’t been heard). We also know the three songs the 1971 lineup of Joy recorded for the film. What we still don’t know is whether the Pentagram songs are the three November Children songs (plus one more that didn't make it on the soundtrack), or if they are four different songs (in which case songs for which we have no information at all). If it's the first case, what is the name of the fourth song they recorded for Pentagram?

Finally, I now believe the Michael Gordon name Marc Friedland mentions alongside the publishing deal for Dimension Music (see 1971 above) is the Michael (Z.) Gordon who composed material for the film. I’m assuming Steven Lewis was somehow also associated with this film soundtrack project. However, this is even more curious, since a publishing deal implies composition—Friedland isn’t listed as author of any of the songs on the soundtrack, and MB is only listed once. So what exactly was the nature of this "publishing" deal?

1972: Joy (according to Marc Friedland) now consists mainly of Marc Friedland and MB. Marc Friedland and MB open for Leon Russell (3 concerts, one of which is performed in Philadelphia, PA, with an attendance of around 10,000 at each).

1974: Marc Friedland travels to Tulsa, OK with MB to record a four-song demo at Leon Russell’s house (according
to Marc Friedland). [Question: do we know for certain that this occurred in 1974? MB began recording tracks in New York for the “Michael Bolotin” album in late 1974. Stephen Holden mentions hearing MB’s demo of “Dream While You Can” in his office before signing him to RCA. Between the recording in Tulsa, the meeting with Holden that took place with MB and Orrin, who was acting as his manager, and the recording of the album, that’s quite a bit happening in the space of less than a year]

The last little tidbit for now—even though Marc Friedland worked for years with MB before his debut solo album, he doesn’t actually play on it. He
moved back to CA in 1974 after getting married, and wanted to explore other opportunities. Gotta respect that! I also respect that he does not circulate items in his collection relating to MB for obvious reasons: while many folks, myself definitely included, are interested in these items from a musical history perspective, they could very easily fall into the wrong hands. No one

should ever be making money off of these things except copyright owners. Plus, Marc is a stand-up guy by all accounts. So I ask you please not to go pestering any of the people I’ve mentioned for photos/recordings etc. I just felt the need to conclude with that, for now!
Enjoy!

Attachments:

The Early EARLY Years.docx, 18 KB

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by sylvie boisvert on July 12, 2010 at 2:26am

Hi Jennifer, thanks a lot for the Seattle Times article, I hadn't read that one! I remember the softball one, it sounds like it's ripped right out of the "Winning softball" video... Still very cool, thanks for sharing! Hugs, sincerely, Sylvie from Canada

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Permalink Reply by sylvie boisvert on July 12, 2010 at 2:35am

Payten, thank you so much for taking the time to type out these wonderful treasures! I think the Stephen Holden one is a classic one that I've heard references to... I keep thinking these should be put in a book for posterity... Well, they're going in my special folder, that's for sure! Thanks again for your time and generosity Payten, I hope a lot of people can appreciate this! God bless you girl! Take care. Hugs, sincerely, Sylvie from Canada

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Permalink Reply by Payten on July 12, 2010 at 2:38am

Glad you enjoy them as much as I do, Sylvie. And thanks to everyone else on here for all the info :)

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Permalink Reply by Dave Stern on July 12, 2010 at 4:58am

Hey Payten:

Great stuff - especially the Stephen Holden piece. i remember reading that back when....

Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Steadman on July 12, 2010 at 2:18pm

This has got to be the best thread ever.

We must keep this at the top of the thread at all costs. If it looks like its going down the page...we need to add something, anything t okeep it bumped up.

Really lovely articles Payten, I'm going to have alook for a few more later on today after I've been to my weight training session.

Love Jennifer XX

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Permalink Reply by Payten on July 15, 2010 at 4:32am

Bolton provides for Boca
Songwriter exposs his soul in Bounty
By Tom Schmitz
Weekend Edtor
Dec 15, 1989

It was a rare occasion for South County -- a national recording artist with a hit single on the charts playing a local club.

Michael Bolton's visit at The Bounty Lounge on Tuesday proved to be all the SRO crowd could expect.

"We hate him," said one female fan after the show as her friend waited in line to get an autograph. "We work in a place in Fort Lauderdale where they play his songs all the time. We're tired of hearing him day after day." (my note: then why go to the event and wait in line for autograph)

It was an experience that turned visions of the music world upside-down, and back again. This was no ordinary club scene that, a few years down the road, fans will remember and say "I saw him when...."

When is now.

And a few years down the road?

"I'll be too big," says Bolton, who appeared on behalf of Y100 as one of the many radio junkets he takes in appreciation of air time for his songs. "Then we'll bring the radio stations to us."

Confident? Hardly seems to begin to explain it. He does have a track record to back him up.

It begins with his songs. Kenny Rogers, the Pointer Sisters Irene Cara, Joe Cocker and the Starship had all recorded some of them. But it was Laura Branigan in 1983 who put "How Am I Supposed to Lie Without You" on the charts and made his songwriting talent a wanted commodity.

In the meantime, Bolton had cut six albums, some with groups, some solo, until he finally got his break in 1988 with his seenth LP, "Hunger."

Ironically, it was someone else's song that gave him the lift -- his remake of Otis Redding's "Dock of the Bay" cimbed to NO. 11. At the same time, Cher's "I Found Someone," which Bolton co-wrote, was in the Top 10.

This year, Bolton released a new album, "Soul Provider," and is now riding the charts with a surefire hit-- but his own song --"How Am I Supposed To Live Without You." It's currently No. 16 and rising, plus it's No. 2 on the Adult Contmporary charts.

Bolton performed both those hits durig Tuesday's four-song show. His voice radiated with recording quality. He opened, singing to recorded accompaniment, with "Soul Provider," which he introduced as the first track on his new album, and followed with "That's What Loe isAll About," introduced as the first track on "Hunger."

As he picked up an acoustic guitar and started to introduce his third numer, he settled for stating, "You know this one."

Indeed. As he strummed, the crowd took over......"Sittin' in the mrnin sun, I'll be sittn' when the evening comes."

Bolton had to start over or else he would not get a word in edgewise. But somthing seemed clear. "Dock" had a power the other sogs didn't. Even as he closed with "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You," the difference seemed clear.

"They know 'Dock," Bolton said after he show. "But 'How Am I Supposed to Live Without You' will have more meaning to these people then 'Dock."

Bolton figures his current hit will top the showing of his remake of 'Dock --- even reach the Top 5.

He's doing all he can to promote himself to that end. He recently did similar junkets to Waco, Texas and Greenville, N.C.

"you get the diehard fans," he said in an earler iterview. "They get really excited, practically tore my cothes off." :)

You wonder if this affection and fame isn't more of a draw to these junkets then the purpose of "showing my appreciation" to the radio stations.

But he insists the PR is essential. Theses are the '80's and the '80s have not hurt a guy like him.

"Do you now what it tkes to get 100 radio stations to play your song?" He says that's the number playing is current hit, and that he needs radio. And he doesn't mind showing his apprecaition.

"When I don't have time to do that," he said, "then I don't have time to be an artist."

Bolton considers himself an artist first. He still writes songs for others, including Barbra Streisnd and the future singles by Cher and Kiss.

He figures it will help as a performer.

"I like to have that kind of action happening." Bolton said of those sngs. "I hope they're hits. Then I can say in a show, 'Here's a song I wrote for Cher,' or 'Here's a song I wrote for Kiss.'"

He won't say if he's going to be recording any more songs from his past ("That's a secret") but he said he'll be touring come February, after getting a band together early January.

Then he'll play in theaters -- 2,500 seat jobs, "real nice clean rooms where you can hear a pin drop."

Quality and intimacy seem to mean a lot to Bolton. He showed both to the Bounty. Even though it appeared he was leaving after the autograh session, he actally walked across the room and got a Heineken. There he talked with more fans.

He remained till the place closed down.

"Hey, I don't have to do anything until 10 in the morning. I'm not ready to call it a night, so why not?"