Unlike a 1966 femme fatale, I can't put your book down

[13th Floor Garage]

I'm sure that I'm not alone when hearing a song and thinking... Hmmm, I bet this came out in the year 19___ (or location) and then referencing "Teen Beat Mayhem!"

I can't believe how many songs came out after 1969 that judging by style, I would have sworn were 1966 or '67. I also didn't realize how many groups cut 45's that were from Los Angeles, CA (which leads to a question.) Upon your research, what's your theory behind this? Was it due to being a larger city? Were there more venues that encouraged young and original bands? Parental attitudes and better income that encouraged more teens to form bands?

I also wondered if you kept any journal about your research encounters. I've read that some band members are dismissive or deny their garage roots, others are bitter and upset that they didn't get a fair shake and others that proudly embrace their garage past.

Any comments that you'd like to share would be appreciated.

 

[MopTopMike]

Los Angeles is a large metro area, I believe the largest in land size anywhere in the U.S.A. Population density, in addition to a prime location for the music industry are two reasons for a large percentage of recordings made there, whether or not groups, performers, etc. lived in the area during the time.
I didn't keep a journal. I have notebooks of transcribed interviews done over 30+ years. Not a lot, despite what one may believe. Pre-internet, it took a lot of work to finally find the person whom you sought out. I remember feeling overjoyed in the mid 1990s when I learned that you could purchase a CD-rom set of discs that comprised the entire current U.S. phone directory. It cost $800. I bought it because driving to different public libraries, or taking the train back and forth to New York City to look in their vast collections of current phone directories was tiring, mentally taxing, and costly.
I'd say the percentage of finding people who were happy and more than willing to share their recollections was around 35-40% of everyone I managed to locate. Of the rest, most didn't bother to return calls after an initial contact or provide much information at all, except a basic confirmation. The rest were either bothered, paranoid (" How did YOU find me? Who put you up to this???" ) or just plain rude. A typical example of the "don't Bug me" brigade - I rang up one guy. A lot of work to finally find him, hours and hours of research. No on-line google back then, no instant find, no social media.....I greeted him, told him who I was and why I was calling, and before I could say anything else, he started laughing. I again asked if he was "so & so of the so & so group", but he kept laughing. He finally stopped then said in a stern voice "Don't ever call here. AGAIN. The he slammed the phone down and hung up on me. Said group has never, to my knowledge, been found or had their story documented to this day.

 

[13th Floor Garage]

Thanks for sharing!
I can't begin to imagine all the work that you've put into your research. I'm sure that I speak for all when I say that it is *truly* appreciated. I'm sure that it had to be quite a let down to finally track down an individual, only to find them to be rude and/or dismissive. Thank you again for not giving up and being discouraged. Your book (and the supplement) have remained just a foot away from my nightstand and are constantly viewed, referenced and appreciated.

 

[MopTopMike]

Glad to know there are people out there who still enjoy referencing both books.
In case you are not aware, I've been working on the A to Z listing of U.S.A. teenbeat 45s, revised and updated, for free download to all who might be interested.
It should be completed by mid 2019, at the earliest. This way, new additions, oversights and corrections to existing information can be made with immediacy. All any interested person has to do is delete the old file and download the most recent version.
The content within both books (TBM and Beyond Teenbeat Mayhem) will not be reprinted or made available for on-line viewing or downloads.

 

[AZ54]

Glad to know there are people out there who still enjoy referencing both books.

Mike, I still use them on a daily basis. Looking up the facts behind the music.

 

[gpxo]

Glad to know there are people out there who still enjoy referencing both books.
In case you are not aware, I've been working on the A to Z listing of U.S.A. teenbeat 45s, revised and updated, for free download to all who might be interested.
It should be completed by mid 2019, at the earliest. This way, new additions, oversights and corrections to existing information can be made with immediacy. All any interested person has to do is delete the old file and download the most recent version.
The content within both books (TBM and Beyond Teenbeat Mayhem) will not be reprinted or made available for on-line viewing or downloads.

Hi Mike
what is the status of the online A to Z listing?

 

[gregk25]

Hi Mike
what is the status of the online A to Z listing?

Pretty much a daily question around here. Been wondering for ages if I should start correcting info in TBM to spare myself to cross check with BTBM and data added here at G45, but the book would become a mess. How many of you have done that?

 

[MopTopMike]

I should have posted mid 2020 in my Jan 2019 post.

It is still on target, for the summer or fall. As the update will always be "fluid" - regularly updated as needed - the only huge task still in progress is proofing all entries letter by letter, and adding color to the text. I am putting in all of my free time on the update, not that I currently have much of it with work, health & non-record related day to day tasks that must be done prior to engaging in any fun (TBM related). We are also still undertaking the TBM rating project, tackling previously posted suggested titles along with unlisted/unrated songs from both published books. 17,300+ songs are now archived and rated to date. The original Top 1000 has changed a bit; the biggest climber inside the Top 1000 is the unreleased acetate -now issued on 45- by the Society. You'll see where it ends up when the Top 17,000+ is unveiled.

I also need a complete revamp of my old website - it has been down for quite some time, but I would like to get it up and running once again prior to the unveiling of the update. Anyone here interested and care to donate some time 'n' talent to help design that project? If so, send me a PM, please do not post here in this thread.

Lastly, the update will be a major part of the TBM website, along with some focused commentary (discussions, statistics, rankings, reflections on years of collecting, researching, etc.) and untold group bios that I have researched over these past nearly 40 (gasp!) years. The big project, a TBM streaming radio station featuring every song listed and rated is also in the works but that won't be completed anytime soon.

The TBM update will be a download, in order to retain visual formatting; a webpage design cannot be possible. The download will be cost free, as promised initially. I was thinking of setting up an option for visitor cash donations to help fund the website expenses, but donations will not be mandatory.

 

[mikael]

Yeah, please set up a donation option.

 

[13th Floor Garage]

Yeah, please set up a donation option.

I second this.

I'm not rich, but I'd be also willing to throw some change your way.