CELEBRITY BLOG featuring THE BEST in INFOTAINMENT! Interviews, Reviews, Editorials & More! From Pop to Cult, Welcome Joan Crawford Fans, Grey Gardeners and DIVA Lovers!
In the summer of 2015, promoter Nick Lion and I were guests of my Facebook friend, music producer Bob Esty, to see Pia Zadora at the Metropolitan Room in Manhattan.
It was here that I became fast friends with club owner Bernie Furshpan. After he read my review of this show, he started giving me press passes to his shows.
The Metropolitan Room is a New York City treasure, where live cabaret is still very much a lively art. It features established and rising stars alike. Pia is in the first category.
I have long admired her from afar. She is a complete professional in every way.
Don't underestimate Pia's talent. She can sing a mean, operatic "O Solo Mio" that will knock your socks off. She is underestimated as a singer.
Pia's career was faltering when she when Frank Sinatra took her under his wing. They're fellow Hoboken, New Jersey people by birth. Hoboken is right across the river from New York City. It's an easy commute there by Path train or ferry. I know; I lived there for a year.
Esty's stage direction was expert and it was so terrific for me to meet my Facebook friend, whom I blogged about and interviewed, at last. It was also a thrill to meet Pia after the show.
Ms Zadora makes a mean cocktail she calls a Piatini. Since Nick and I were seated right up front, she had the staff bring each of us one again.
Pia now lives -- and frequently performs -- in Las Vegas. Viva!
She was married to billionaire Meshulam Riklis but they were divorced. She is currently married to a Vegas police detective, Michael Jeffries. She has three kids.
And, so, my my celebrity blog was essentially born as I saw precisely what I wanted to do after writing up my review of this show.
It was a great pleasure of mine to have met Pia Zadora. She was absolutely Zadorable.
I was already Facebook friends with her stage director for the show, Bob Esty. We finally got to meet that night which was like a dream come true. I believe that's where I first met Metropolitan Room's owners, Bernie and JoAnne Furshpan and immediately struck up a wonderful friendship.
As for Pia, she was just delightful, and I hope she'll return one day.
I went to her sold-out show with my good friend, Nick Lion (more about him to come later in this book. Nick is a promoter and club entrepreneur. He and I bonded and are now like brothers. I love Nick dearly.
The two of us, as Bob Esty's guests, were seated right up front. Pia even ordered us a complimentary Piatini, her own concoction that she sipped onstage.
She really knocked the ball out of the park with her rendition of "Oh Solo Mio." Little did I ever expect her to have such range and versatility.
I hope she'll return to Metropolitan Room. She had a sold-out house. And her beverage isn't half bad.
I believe that what makes a blog successful is its coverage of the "scene,"
The Weather Girls -- Martha Wash and Izora Whitehead -- started as Sylvester's back-up girls known as Two Tons o' Fun. They became The Weather Girls when they recorded "It's Raining Men" for my friend Bob Esty and the late Paul Jabara, who.
Here, they want a man for Christmas. So enjoy, disco around the tree and let it snow!
Oh, and Santa's voice is actually that of Paul Schaffer's, who co-wrote the song.
Sorry Halloween Countdown has been a bit spotty this year, but I'm going through some major life changes -- good ones but demanding of my time and attention. Anyhow, I love pulling out this song at Halloween season: the disco version of "That Old Black Magic." Vocals by the incredible Jeanne Shy, with two of my favorite talents involved: Bob Esty was the producer; disco video mix by Glenn Rivera. Perfect any time of year, really.
2014's Halloween Countdown takes flight (on a broom, of course) with everybody's favorite witch, Barbra Streisand! Enjoy this Halloween-party remix at the link below, and visit Stevers62 on YouTube for some great, original remixes. Dedicated with special Happy Halloween wishes to Bob Esty!
Bob Esty Blabs It to Beaverhausen about Barbra & Cher ~ Part One
It was a true pleasure for me to have the joy of interviewing Bob
Esty again. I love hearing his "backstage" stories because they're
always full of good humor and he's so vivid and forthcoming. The
legendary producer has talked with me beforehttp://blabittobeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2013/09/links-to-parts-1-through-4-of-my.html, but
that four-part interview went on quite long and we had to postpone
focusing on his work with Barbra Streisand and Cher because that would
require further, serious Q&A. Can we talk? Well, now, several months
later we can, and it was worth the wait! The original interview took
place before the holiday season settled in on us. I hope you enjoy
reading this as much as I enjoyed conducting the interview with this
iconic dance-music producer. Bob lives in L.A. and is still very active
as a songwriter/producer/arranger.His birthday is on Easter Sunday this year and we wish him a happy one!
Artwork courtesy of Dj Jandry
Dj Buddy Beaverhausen: Bob, so good to talk to you again. Happy holidays! Bob Esty: Thank you. To you, too!
DBB:
Let's start with a hypothetical question. Barbra and Cher each call you
to produce their next album. Due to conflicting time constraints, you
can only do one and both are offering the same money. Whom would you
work with? BE: I think Barbra. I know her better
because I worked with her at least three or four other times after "Main
Event." And I really haven't seen Cher in years. You know, she's
autographed things for me. [We both laugh.] If she wants to do the type
of music she does, I could be a producer, though Barbra is doing the
types of things I'm producing now. I've been doing non-disco music for
many years. But I love both of them.
DBB: Have you heard Cher's new album? BE:
I haven't yet. I saw her on BBC America's Graham Norton Show. She did a
ballad and, of course, brought the house down. And I've heard her new
dance single, "It's a Woman's World" and I thought it was great. And I
never saw the Barbra Brooklyn concert. Even though people say she doesn't have the same
kind of energy, obviously.... DBB: Who does? BE:
Right. And not the same kind of attitude. I loved Motown growing up,
and I loved Bette Midler more than Barbra at the time. I mean, I liked [Barbra's] singing but I wasn't that into it. DBB: From my point of view, I think Barbra has the better voice by a traditional standard but Bette's gritty; Bette's real. BE: I almost produced her. DBB: Aww, Bob! Aww! BE: Yeah. Ah, well...!
DBB: Have you heard the Donna Summer remix album they recently released? BE: I didn't like what I heard of it. "Last Dance" did not have
the energy of the original production I did for Paul [Jabara]. It was
sort of a Donna Summer watered-down energy. And Universal didn't have
the tapes. They couldn't do anything else! Universal LOST the tapes;
they can't find the tapes! DBB: That is really amazing. BE: Yeah!
DBB: Let me ask you what brought you to produce Barbra Streisand's
"The Main Event" and do you recall your first encounter with her and
what it was like? BE: Yes! Paul Jabara and Bruce Roberts wrote this song, though
Barbra initially was against it because she didn't want to sing a song
in this movie.But Jason [Gould, Barbra's son] liked "Last Dance" and "Take Me Home" and talked her into doing the song with me and Paul. DBB: How old was Jason at the time? BE: Fourteen, I think. But, basically, at first, I didn't
want to do this because I just finished producing disco songs for Andy
Williams and the Beach Boys and I didn't feel "Main Event" lent itself
to a disco arrangement. But I worked with Paul in his apartment and came
up with ideas and the format of the song. I worked on it on piano and
did the chord changes and everything else. And Paul really wanted to
work with Barbra because that was his goal in life! He wrote a Broadway
musical about her: Rachael Lily Rosenblum. That's when Paul and I
met because of Ellen Green, who starred after Bette Midler turned the
part down. I went to the audition with Ellen because we had the same
manager in New York. Robert Stigwood produced the show and ~ oh, God! ~
it was overblown to the nth degree. I felt it would have done better
off-Broadway.... DBB: You're right! Your instincts were right. I think if it was produced off-Broadway, it could have been a smash. BE: So that's where I met Paul who moved to California, where I
was living since January 1975. Anyhow, "The Main Event"! We met Barbra
on the hottest day of August at her Malibu ranch, dripping wet with
sweat. Paul, Bruce Roberts and I in a convertible. So, I was the
Baltimore boy with sunburn while the other guys were tanned. I really
didn't want to go. For another thing, I had worked with Lesley Ann
Warren, who had been married to Jon Peters, and he was going to be there
with Barbra. I was arranging a song for Lesley on The Tonight Show where I saw her shaking, crying and just not being her usual self.Later, in the parking lot, she was scolded by Jon Peters for not wearing the right dress. And now I was meeting him with Barbra.
The first thing I saw when we got to the ranch was Barbra in a schmatta and no make-up. But looking great and so
friendly and gracious! And Jon Peters was there, standing off to the
side and not saying anything. Anyhow, Barbra wanted to show me the art
deco house she had built with art deco motifs. So she took me through
this and it was quite, you know, a display. I loved it but I didn't know
she was so into this. The other thing: I noticed the garden and it was
full of corn. And she said: "I planted that!" And I thought, "With those
nails?!" DBB: Maybe she dug the holes for the seeds with her fingers. BE: [laughs] Well, she served corn later! And I remember the
house was painted yellow. It had a grand piano inside. And Jason was
there, so I met him. And Bruce Roberts sat behind me when I was asked to
play the piano. Paul Jabara was drinking, slouching and leaning on the
piano. Barbra was also standing at the piano as I played the arrangement
[for "Main Event"]. She loved it, except, she said to me, "There's
nothing about 'fight'." "Uh-oh-oh," I thought and Paul looked at me like
"Ooo!" But he reminded me of a song we wrote for The Village People
with sort of a corny hook:"Fight, fight, fight, fight, fight! For what
you want!" DBB: Did that ever get released? BE: No. I figured out the bass line of that unreleased song and I
played and sang it to Barbra. "That's it!" she cried out. But then she
said, "But I'm not doing 'The Main Event.'" I thought Bruce Roberts
would be mad and I talked her into doing it as a medley of "The Main
Event/Fight." Barbra said "I don't like "Main Event' and I don't like
that 'Extra! Extra!' It sounds like a newspaper song." I said, "No, no,
you have to sing it like this [demonstrates what Barbra was later to
record], then she said, "Oh. I'll try that." I sang the guide vocal for
her later and I sang the whole fucking song and she was flabbergasted,
sitting on a couch there, looking at me cross-eyed.
At the recording session, Bruce played piano of my arrangement and I
conducted the strings.
Barbra sang it live and when it came through the headphones, it just
sounded
brilliant and thrilling. But Paul Jabara hated it because the
arrangement was
too simple for him. When we eventually did the vocal session, Barbra
really appreciated being directed. She appreciated whatever I did for
her, really.
DBB: Well, that's a producer's job, right? BE: Yeah, of course. But, Cher, on the other hand, when we did "Take Me Home," didn't want me at the first vocal session.
It was a true pleasure for me to have the joy of interviewing Bob Esty again. I love hearing his "backstage" stories because they're always full of good humor and he's so vivid and forthcoming. The legendary producer has talked with me beforehttp://blabittobeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2013/09/links-to-parts-1-through-4-of-my.html, but that four-part interview went on quite long and we had to postpone focusing on his work with Barbra Streisand and Cher because that would require further, serious Q&A. Can we talk? Well, now, eight months later we can, and it was worth the wait! The original interview took place before the holiday season settled in on us. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed conducting the interview with this iconic dance-music producer. Bob lives in L.A. and is still very active as a songwriter/producer/arranger.
Artwork courtesy of Dj Jandry
Dj Buddy Beaverhausen: Bob, so good to talk to you again. Happy holidays! Bob Esty: Thank you. To you, too!
DBB:
Let's start with a hypothetical question. Barbra and Cher each call you
to produce their next album. Due to conflicting time constraints, you
can only do one and both are offering the same money. Whom would you
work with? BE: I think Barbra. I know her better
because I worked with her at least three or four other times after "Main
Event." And I really haven't seen Cher in years. You know, she's
autographed things for me. [We both laugh.] If she wants to do the type
of music she does, I could be a producer, though Barbra is doing the
types of things I'm producing now. I've been doing non-disco music for
many years. But I love both of them.
DBB: Have you heard Cher's new album? BE:
I haven't yet. I saw her on BBC America's Graham Norton Show. She did a
ballad and, of course, brought the house down. And I've heard her new
dance single, "It's a Woman's World" and I thought it was great. And I
never saw the Barbra Brooklyn concert. Even though people say she doesn't have the same
kind of energy, obviously.... DBB: Who does? BE:
Right. And not the same kind of attitude. I loved Motown growing up,
and I loved Bette Midler more than Barbra at the time. I mean, I liked [Barbra's] singing but I wasn't that into it. DBB: From my point of view, I think Barbra has the better voice by a traditional standard but Bette's gritty; Bette's real. BE: I almost produced her. DBB: Aww, Bob! Aww! BE: Yeah. Ah, well...!
DBB: Have you heard the Donna Summer remix album they recently released? BE: I didn't like what I heard of it. "Last Dance" did not have the energy of the original production I did for Paul [Jabara]. It was sort of a Donna Summer watered-down energy. And Universal didn't have the tapes. They couldn't do anything else! Universal LOST the tapes; they can't find the tapes! DBB: That is really amazing. BE: Yeah!
DBB: Let me ask you what brought you to produce Barbra Streisand's "The Main Event" and do you recall your first encounter with her and what it was like? BE: Yes! Paul Jabara and Bruce Roberts wrote this song, though Barbra initially was against it because she didn't want to sing a song in this movie.But Jason [Gould, Barbra's son] liked "Last Dance" and "Take Me Home" and talked her into doing the song with me and Paul. DBB: How old was Jason at the time? BE: Fourteen, I think. But, basically, at first, I didn't want to do this because I just finished producing disco songs for Andy Williams and the Beach Boys and I didn't feel "Main Event" lent itself to a disco arrangement. But I worked with Paul in his apartment and came up with ideas and the format of the song. I worked on it on piano and did the chord changes and everything else. And Paul really wanted to work with Barbra because that was his goal in life! He wrote a Broadway musical about her: Rachael Lily Rosenblum. That's when Paul and I met because of Ellen Green, who starred after Bette Midler turned the part down. I went to the audition with Ellen because we had the same manager in New York. Robert Stigwood produced the show and ~ oh, God! ~ it was overblown to the nth degree. I felt it would have done better off-Broadway.... DBB: You're right! Your instincts were right. I think if it was produced off-Broadway, it could have been a smash. BE: So that's where I met Paul who moved to California, where I was living since January 1975. Anyhow, "The Main Event"! We met Barbra on the hottest day of August at her Malibu ranch, dripping wet with sweat. Paul, Bruce Roberts and I in a convertible. So, I was the Baltimore boy with sunburn while the other guys were tanned. I really didn't want to go. For another thing, I had worked with Lesley Ann Warren, who had been married to Jon Peters, and he was going to be there with Barbra. I was arranging a song for Lesley on The Tonight Show where I saw her shaking, crying and just not being her usual self.Later, in the parking lot, she was scolded by Jon Peters for not wearing the right dress. And now I was meeting him with Barbra.
The first thing I saw when we got to the ranch was Barbra in a schmatta and no make-up. But looking great and so friendly and gracious! And Jon Peters was there, standing off to the side and not saying anything. Anyhow, Barbra wanted to show me the art deco house she had built with art deco motifs. So she took me through this and it was quite, you know, a display. I loved it but I didn't know she was so into this. The other thing: I noticed the garden and it was full of corn. And she said: "I planted that!" And I thought, "With those nails?!" DBB: Maybe she dug the holes for the seeds with her fingers. BE: [laughs] Well, she served corn later! And I remember the house was painted yellow. It had a grand piano inside. And Jason was there, so I met him. And Bruce Roberts sat behind me when I was asked to play the piano. Paul Jabara was drinking, slouching and leaning on the piano. Barbra was also standing at the piano as I played the arrangement [for "Main Event"]. She loved it, except, she said to me, "There's nothing about 'fight'." "Uh-oh-oh," I thought and Paul looked at me like "Ooo!" But he reminded me of a song we wrote for The Village People with sort of a corny hook:"Fight, fight, fight, fight, fight! For what you want!" DBB: Did that ever get released? BE: No. I figured out the bass line of that unreleased song and I played and sang it to Barbra. "That's it!" she cried out. But then she said, "But I'm not doing 'The Main Event.'" I thought Bruce Roberts would be mad and I talked her into doing it as a medley of "The Main Event/Fight." Barbra said "I don't like "Main Event' and I don't like that 'Extra! Extra!' It sounds like a newspaper song." I said, "No, no, you have to sing it like this [demonstrates what Barbra was later to record], then she said, "Oh. I'll try that." I sang the guide vocal for her later and I sang the whole fucking song and she was flabbergasted, sitting on a couch there, looking at me cross-eyed.
At the recording session, Bruce played piano of my arrangement and I conducted the strings.
Barbra sang it live and when it came through the headphones, it just sounded
brilliant and thrilling. But Paul Jabara hated it because the arrangement was
too simple for him. When we eventually did the vocal session, Barbra really appreciated being directed. She appreciated whatever I did for her, really.
DBB: Well, that's a producer's job, right? BE: Yeah, of course. But, Cher, on the other hand, when we did "Take Me Home," didn't want me at the first vocal session.
In a recent interview with CBS Morning News, Cher allowed as to how "[m]y gay following kept me alive when no one else came to see me." That is, the 67-year-old pop songbird and all-around icon admitted to entering the true "living legend" phase of her career a'la Judy Garland, say, or Bette Davis!
Cher famously crossed over to disco when she released "Take Me Home," produced by Bob Esty and Paul Jabara, in 1979. She returned whole-heartedly to the dance-music genre in 1998 with the smash single, "Believe," from the album of the same name that spawned other hits (and pioneered auto-tuning). This was followed by the Living Proof (of what? Cher's eternal fabulousness, I imagine) album, a club-friendly follow-up from which "A Song for the Lonely" was enormously popular worldwide and, released in the wake of 9/11, became an anthem.
Since then, it's been 12 long years for the diva to return with an album, so to call this "long anticipated" is an understatement. There were also Cher numbers from the Burlesque soundtrack album, including "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me," in 2011. (Another survivor's anthem if there ever was one which charted internationally with an array of amazing remixes for the dancefloors.)
Wikipedia mentions that Cher is "[r]ecognized for having brought the sense of female autonomy and self-actualization into the entertainment industry" and this is surely very evident on her new album, Closer to the Truth. It opens with her already phenomenal dance and radio hit, "Woman's World" and follows that up with the dance track, "Take It Like a Man," another floor-filler at the waiting.
With a very strong publicity machine behind her this time, Cher has been omnipresent as of late, most recently turning up on tv's Dancing with the Stars. Like Joan Crawford and Madonna, her longevity has depended upon her reinventing her image for the public. If this Cher reincarnation is any Closer to the Truth, it's because, despite her disarming honesty and off-the-cuff remarks to the press, it has previously been remote.
The album is available at Amazon.com on cd format or download. Each track has potent potential for radio/club play. "Lovers Forever" and "Dressed to Kill" seem especially ripe for remixes for the clubs. Hello, I mean, "Mary, I am dressed to kill"? Does this diva know her core audience or what? "Lie to Me" is a sweet and haunting power ballad, reuniting La Diva with her rock roots. "Sirens" and "I Hope You Find It" (a cover of the Miley Cyrus song) are both lovely and inspiring non-dance tracks as well.
Closer to the Truth is just a wonderful, expertly produced and balanced album. It currently has a four and 1/2 star rating from the public on Amazon.com (out of 5), so you don't have to just take my word, even though I kindly suggest that you always should.
Cher's unique, unmistakeable throaty contralto rules supreme on this effort. Jake Shears (Scissor Sisters) sings back-up on "Take It Like a Man." Pink is a back-up girl on "I Walk Alone." Babies, Cher sings alone! Let me know if you can even hear anyone else in the mix!
No Halloween party will be complete without this divalicious disco version of "That Old Black Magic," brilliantly produced by Bob Esty in a swirl of strings and funky guitar riffs. Jeanne Shy belts this across in a brilliant vocal performance with jazz flourishes that will make your hair stand on end from the sheer thrill. This is another superb video mix from dj/vj/remixer Glenn Rivera. It's magic! Expect to be spellbound.
A lost disco classic in my opinion! But, thanks to the divine Bob Esty, we can hear it at Soundcloud. The Jeanette MacDonald/Nelson Eddy "Indian Love Call" was slyly reinvented as "When I'm Calling You," a wonderfully remade camp classic during the height of the disco era.
The words "diva" and "icon" are completely apt for the late and legendary Dusty Springfield. The other day, in Barnes & Noble, I was on a mission to find a film on dvd when, from the corner of my eye, I spotted the dvd Dusty Springfield: Once Upon a Time 1964-1969, part of Voyage Digital Media's "British Invasion" series (even though Ms Springfield's success pre-dates the popl British Invasion). I had to have it!
This is an amazing video with 20 complete performances strung together by newly discovered archival interviews, plus talking heads Burt Bacharach, Madeline Bell and Simon Bell. Released in 2010, it contains a bonus of the performances without the interviews but with four songs added. And the dvd and blu-ray come with a 24-page book of liner notes and rare images.
Included on the video are Dusty's performances of classics like "I Only Want to Be With You," "Stay Awhile," "Wishin' and Hopin'," "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself," "The Look of Love," "Son of a Preacher Man" and covers of "Mockingbird" and "Dancing in the Streets," and many others.
Outstanding job of remastering as most of the images are pristine and flawless, as is the sound quality.
"Success! What does it mean/ When you can't find the right Marine?" The Weather Girls' "Success" is one of the most camp, fabulously theatrical, deliciously over-the-top and cleverly tongue-in-cheek disco songs ever recorded. It's the opening number for the classic album of the same name, recently re-mastered and re-released, on cd, on the UK's Cherry Pop label. (They also recently reissued albums by Viola Wills and Divine, among other classic dance-music artists, as well.)
Martha Wash and Izora Armstead were first known as Two Tons o' Fun when they were Sylvester's back-up girls, starting in 1977, prominently featured in "Dance (Disco Heat)". They went on, under that group name, to have their own club hits with "Earth Can Be Just Like Heaven" and "I Got the Feeling."
In 1982, they had a smash international pop and club hit with "It's Raining Men." The success of that single led to the album, Success. Other songs on it included the food = love tune, "Hungry for Love" (Oh, admit it! You've been there!); the gospel-influenced "Hope" (the only song on the album with a straight face, so to speak); the Christmas classic, "Dear Santa (Bring Me a Man for Christmas)" and the cleverly disco-fied "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair" from the Rogers & Hammerstein musical, South Pacific. I wonder what Mary Martin and Mitzi Gaynor thought of that! (Ironically, Dj Buddy B kissed both Martha Wash and Mitzi: http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2010/05/i-kissed-mitzi-gaynor.html http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2012/08/martha-wash-at-bb-kings-nyc.html ).
All other songs on Success written by Bob Esty, Paul Jabara and/or Paul Shaffer.
The Cherry Pop release includes multiple bonus tracks. The 12" Larger Than Life remix of "Success" is too tame in my opinion, stripping the original production of its brassy bravado. 12'" version and instrumental version of "Raining Men," 12" of "Outta My Hair," instrumental of both "Santa" and "Raining Men" and a mix of the last mentioned two songs complete the selection of this collection.
Bob Esty is truly a legend in his own time. A producer, songwriter
and arranger who worked with Casablanca Records from 1977 to 1980, he
has collaborated alongside major divas like Donna Summer, Cher, Barbra
Streisand, Martha Wash, Raquel Welch and many more. It is my sincerest
pleasure to have spoken with Bob over the phone when he generously
consented to give me the following, exclusive interview. I have divided
it into parts for easier reader consumption and digestion because it is
such a delicious treat.
In the 4th and final part of this interview which, again, it was a great privilege for me to conduct, our discussion involves Billy Preston, Whitney Houston, The Weather Girls, Paul Jabara, The Day of the Locusts, Dusty Springfield, Lesley Gore, Cher, Barbra, Michelle Aller, Sally Kellerman, Scott Snapp and more.
Bob Esty: We [Bob and Paul Jabara] wrote a song for The Weather Girls called "Success" about the fact that even though "It's Raining Men" is a success, it's not really. We used every trick in the book when we did this song and I did the track along with "Hope" [for the 1982 album, Success, that also includes the disco classics,
"Dear Santa (Send Me a Man for Christmas)," "I'm Gonna Wash That Man
Right Outta My Hair" and "Hungry for Love"], a song I previously did with Billy Preston.
In 1981, Paul put out"Hope" and "It's Raining Men" by The Weather Girls on the Paul Jabara & Friends album. It also had Whitney Houston's breakthrough track on that album ["Eternal Love"].
Dj Buddy Beaverhausen: And to think, throughout the '80s and '90s, people were declaring Disco was dead!
BE: Ha! Exactly! When Paul's album was being made, I also told him that record stores would put it in a "Compilations" bin and nobody would notice "Hope" was on it.
DJBB: I read that, in 1977, you and writing partner Michelle Aller wrote "I Found Love with You" for Dusty Springfield, and that you opened at The Troubadour for Lesley Gore.
BE: Yes, Michelle and I opened for Lesley and we had a band. I don't know how we got that gig! I never saw Lesley Gore perform live before, but I loved her. I didn't know Dusty Springfield was in the audience. Anyhow, her producer of the It Begins Again album, Roy Thomas Baker, contacted us and said, "Dusty really loved your song. Do you want to record it with her?" I got to arrange and orchestrate the whole thing. And I just loved working with Dusty! And Michelle and I sang in the backgrounds with Dusty. And that was the first time we had one of our original songs recorded.
DJBB: The rumors are that Dusty Springfield was often difficult to work with. Not just rumors but it's been reported by others who have worked with her and was dramatized in the play I saw last year in New York, Forever Dusty.
BE: Dusty? Well, not for me. For me, she was great. Incidentally, Michael Childers did the photography for It Begins Again, and was the lover of [director] John Schlesinger. And that's when I met Schlesinger because I did an arrangement of "Hot Voodoo" for the movie, The Day of the Locusts. And that number was performed by Paul Jabara in drag.
DJBB: I love that moment in the movie! And what a great, underrated movie that is!
BE: Right? Yeah, it was, and I went to the filming of Paul's sequence.
DJBB: And sequins?
[Bob laughs.]
BE: Michael Childers now does a self-tribute photography show in Palm Springs called "One Night Only" with many artists from LA and NYC, and this year it included the music of Michael's friends including Paul Jabara. Unfortunately, I couldn't make it.
DJBB: Bob, when Donna Summer died, was that just as much a shock to you as to the general public? Or did you know she was ill at the time?
BE: No, I had no idea. Patti Brooks knew from the nurses in the hospital Donna was in. But it was a shock. It happened so fast! And she kept it secret from everyone.
DJBB: Cher is our new Pier Dance Diva for NYC Pride. You were the one who set her on her disco path, making her the dance diva she is today once you produced her ultra-successful and legendary "Take Me Home." How did that all come about? Up to that time, she was really not a Disco girl.
BE: I met her in a bungalo with my leg in a cast. I'd just broke my leg at the New York Disco Convention that year. She was just the "regular" Cher; no make-up. But to really talk about Cher, we'd have to do another blog piece.
DJBB: Streisand. What was it like making the disco smash "The Main Event" with her, and was it intimidating to work with her?
BE: Well, that would be something we'd need to devote another blog piece to, also. I can't go into that quickly.
DJBB: Bob, just one more question before we wrap this up: What would we find on Bob Esty's turntable, iPod or cd player today? What are the songs you most recently listen to?
BE: When you produce and do recordings, there's a tendency to not want to listen to anyone else. And now, especially because of Facebook, in order to post things, I have to re-listen to so many things I've done. Glenn Rivera and Jandry: these guys do such a great job of remixing! And I've helped Jandry on some of his medleys. Also love Jandry's artwork and posters.
DJBB: I love what those guys have done, too, all around.
BE: Yeah, amazing! And now I'm working with Sally Kellerman and Scott Snapp. Sally's been performing in L.A. and Palm Springs and has her book out now, Read My Lips. Plus, I'm working on a remastering of Ava Cherry's Streetcar Named Desire album.
DJBB: Bob, all good things must come to an end, and I just want to thank you a lot for your time and participation. Thanks so much for this interview. It meant so much to me to be able to ask you the questions about your career I've always wanted to know. I'm sure it means a lot to the readers of my blog and others on the Internet.
BE: Yes, certainly. Thank you.
DJBB: And thank you for commenting on my blog and Facebook. Most appreciate it.
BE: Sometimes I can't comment on the blog when I want. Don't know why, but....
DJBB: Believe me, they don't make it user-friendly. Bob, thanks ever so much for everything! And have a good night.
BE: Ah, a night off! Thank you, and to you, too.
***
Below, the disco classic disco hit written by Bob and Michelle Aller takes this interview home. But we'll be hearing more about Cher -- and Babs -- soon. Exclusively from Bob Esty!
Bob Esty is truly a legend in his own time. A producer, songwriter
and arranger who worked with Casablanca Records from 1977 to 1980, he
has collaborated alongside major divas like Donna Summer, Cher, Barbra
Streisand, Martha Wash, Raquel Welch and many more. It is my sincerest
pleasure to have spoken with Bob over the phone when he generously
consented to give me the following, exclusive interview. I have divided
it into parts for easier reader consumption and digestion because it is
such a delicious treat.
In Part 3, we talk about eBay, Roberta Kelly, the Sharon Tate murder guest house, his association with The Weather Girls (on Columbia Records) and, especially, the divine, beloved club diva, Miss Martha Wash, as well as Raquel Welch.
* * *
Bob Esty: I moved to Beverly Hills in 1975 in the guest house of the Sharon Tate murder house. It was owned by Rudy Altobelli, my manager at the time. And I discovered eBay, so I could gather some things I'd lost over time. And a friend of mine has a big, famous vinyl store on Hollywood Boulevard, As the Record Turns. And he would give me back some of my own records.
DJ Buddy Beaverhausen: Wow, so hard to imagine you on eBay trying to buy back your own stuff!
BE: Yeah! But I was able to get my recordings back together [that way].
When I returned from Munich, I had the tracks and vocals from Roberta [Kelly]. Still had to orchestrate the tracks and record the gospel choir. Sent it to Giorgio and side one, I guess, he didn't like my mix. He muted some of the orchestration. He put some synthesizers on the first side, which I hated originally but who cares!
DJBB: Now, is it true that "It's Raining Men" was originally written for Donna Summer? And that "Bad Girls" was written for Cher, but she passed on it?
BE: Yes on "Raining Men." I'm not sure on the second song because I wasn't yet acquainted with Cher at that time. But, basically, Paul Jabara wrote every song for Donna. The demo we made of "It's Raining Men" was for Donna Summer. [Bob supplied the guide vocals a'la Donna! ~~ DJBB]
BE: Yes. But Paul didn't come down to the session because he didn't really know The Weather Girls; he wanted Donna. I saw Martha & Izora in San Francisco, performing the previous year, maybe '78.
DJBB: Was that with Sylvester or after?
BE: With Sylvester! Paul Jabara called to say, "Somebody called and wants us to try out Two Tons of Fun for 'It's Raining Men.' But I don't know this group and never saw Sylvester.'" But I said, "Wow! They're perfect!" Paul thought they were so-so, so I had to go to the studio without him. (Obviously, I did a lot of things without him anyway!)
Now, when we were recording "It's Raining Men," Martha Wash happened to stumble on her way out of the studio control room. Izora was cackling! "What you doin', child?" Izora Whitehead yelled out, "We've got a song to do!" And Martha started laughing also.
DJBB: Have you heard Martha Wash's new album, by the way?
BE: No, I've heard just one track.
DJBB: Do you know which one that was?
BE: I don't remember.
DJBB: It's really an exceptional album. I play it constantly now. By the way, I actually got to meet and kiss Ms Wash on the cheek, after her show at BB King's, in New York last year
BE: She is a marvelous woman and terrific singer and very strong and opinionated. She was a little difficult to work with in some ways but she had such a great sense of humor! I know she's gotten easier over time. Did you hear "We're Gonna Win (One World)"?
DJBB: Love that song.
BE: Martha Wash sang that at an event in Northern California and Randy Jackson, who was producing that (and who just produced the musical about Janis Joplin that is fabulous)....
DJBB: I know that show's hot, out on the West Coast, and I hope it comes this way....
BE: Martha sang that song ["One World"] with a choir.
DJBB: I had, maybe, a little insight into what you say about her feisty yet sweet personality when I kissed her after her show at BB King's. My friend was supposed to snap a photo of my kissing her after she signed my cd, on my cell phone. She very generously agreed to this and I explained this was for my blog.
So, my lips were glued to her cheek. And my friend couldn't quite get the phone to take the picture at first. So, she was shouting out, "Werq it!" to him. It was an uncomfortable moment all around! But good humored, really.
[Bob laughs.]
DJBB: He did manage to take our picture right after she said that!
BE: Well, of course! She's Martha Wash after all!
DJBB: Now, the song, "Hot Love," that Cher did for the Foxes soundtrack, sounds like "Hot Stuff" mixed with "Bad Girls"....
BE: Because, I think, it was written by Donna.
And, by the way, going back to Thank God, It's Friday, I would just like to say that I did two tracks with D.C. LaRue, two tracks with Paul [Jabara] and "Last Dance." And I went to that movie's set to see a couple of set-ups. I met Jeff Goldblum, who was not only very nice but can play amazing jazz piano. So, it was very much fun to go to the filming but it was a low-budget disco film and Saturday Night Fever was already out, so the distributor just slapped it out there.
DJBB: Though it's now quite a cult favorite.
Want to talk a little bit about Raquel Welch and "This Girl's Back in Town?"
BE: Ok. Also written for Donna Summer. I have cassettes of her vocals and mine as well as my guide vocals for Raquel.
DJBB: Over the years, Raquel Welch's number has become quite a cult hit internationally.
BE: Well, you have to know this history. Paul Jabara wrote a musical, Rachael Lily Rosenbloom, that was produced in 1973 and starred Ellen Green, though Paul was hoping to get Bette Midler, but she turned it down at the last minute. It was about a Barbra Streisand wannabe from Brooklyn.
DJBB: That's so funny because I recently saw I'll Eat You Last on Broadway, starring Bette, and a lot of that show revolves around Barbra Streisand.
BE: Yes, of course! Everything does! [Laughs.] Paul was involved in the original production of Hair, and Donna was later in the German production, so that's how he knew her.... That's the reason he had more of a personal relationship with her. Now, Barbra and Neil Bogart and Cher and Aaron Russo (who was a monster) were in "the colony". I was living in New York at the time, before moving back out to L.A., which is when I met Paul Jabara. There was an audition for Hair, which Ellen Green was about to star in, and I went because we had the same manager. And I met Paul, and he explained the story of Rachael Lily to me.
Now, the legend of Rachael became Raquel [Welch] for Paul when he met her while co-starring in the movie, with Honky Tonk Freeway [in 1981]. That's how he imagined her. So, I had set up my tracks in Paul's living room, once I'd moved back to L.A. Raquel had her choreographer with her, who was going to work with her in Vegas, but who really didn't want to work with her, obviously. So, he spent the whole time basically battering Raquel verbally during rehearsal, making her cry every day, so she would fire him. Those were the circumstances under which I met Raquel!
She loved what I did on "This Girl's Back in Town," and at the time always wore black granny glasses with a long, black coat. She looked beautiful but tried to hide that, I think. And Paul was there, with the guide vocal we did, acting out the part for her for the video in his mind, pitching the song! And after she saw that, she whispered to me, as I was walking her to her car, "I hope you're producing it; not Paul. I mean, I know Paul and he's wonderful but he's drunk now."
I told her, "I just co-wrote it."
Below, Bob & Raquel, extended mix:
More to come with Part 4, the final chapter of my Bob Esty interview....
June is Pride month and it's busting out all over! Ninety-plus degree weather in NYC, coming out of a chilly, damp spring, and it's time to celebrate. President Obama issued a Proclamation today that began: "The story of America's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT)
community is the story of our fathers and sons, our mothers and
daughters, and our friends and neighbors who continue the task of making
our country a more perfect Union. It is a story about the struggle to
realize the great American promise that all people can live with dignity
and fairness under the law. Each June, we commemorate the courageous
individuals who have fought to achieve this promise for LGBT Americans,
and we rededicate ourselves to the pursuit of equal rights for all,
regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity."
Meanwhile, in Beaverhausen World, my blog has hit an all-time high regarding views for the month of May! 13,338 views, topping my previous monthly high of 12,529 for December. I love the international stats reflecting my audience; you guys (and gals) are fantastic! It's a disco world & we're all united. Dance on, dance for peace, for equality, for love and for a positive future!
For Pride, I highly recommend reading my ongoing Q & A with classic-disco producer Bob Esty, as he talks about Donna Summer, Cher, Giorgio & much more:
And, post-finally, Hildegarde! (Are we sure she and Christine Jorgensen aren't the same person? Have you ever seen them together?) Enjoy this and Happy LGBT Pride to all:
Bob Esty is truly a legend in his own time. A producer, songwriter
and arranger who worked with Casablanca Records from 1977 to 1980, he
has collaborated alongside major divas like Donna Summer, Cher, Barbra
Streisand, Martha Wash, Raquel Welch and many more. It is my sincerest
pleasure to have spoken with Bob over the phone when he generously
consented to give me the following, exclusive interview. I have divided
it into parts for easier reader consumption and digestion because it is
such a delicious treat.
In Part 2, Mr E talks more about Donna Summer, Paul Jabara, Giorgio, Germany, Roberta Kelly, Soul Divas and much more!
Dj Buddy Beaverhausen: Bob, could you tell us more about going to Munich to work with Giorgio?
Bob Esty: Paul Jabara also came to Germany to spend a week in Munich. And we had a good time. Paul took me to a gay bar. It was Oktoberfest and I speak a little German. Paul didn't have a date and I saw a guy who was straight out of a Tom of Finland illustration! That kind of body. Honestly!
DJBB: [Laughs] Oh, wow!
BE: He wore a t-shirt with a rolled up sleeve over a pack of cigarettes. And he didn't speak any English....
DJBB: Even better!
BE: Later, he guided me through Oktoberfest. Paul was beside himself; not very happy.
Now, as far as my work there, in Munich, the orchestrations were done; the only thing left were the back-ups. Donna sang the lead vocal, one side a night in four nights, in Giorgio's Musicland studios in a building called the Arabella House. I had my keyboard there, in my hotel room, so I could write and orchestrate.
At about 2 a.m. on the first night, I stepped into the studio and heard Donna's vocals for Once Upon a Time. Towards the end of the album, Donna sounded like a young girl. [Priceless Bob Esty impersonation of what that sounded like. We both laugh.] I thought: "What happened with her voice?"
I said to Giorgio Moroder, the next day: "I hope this was just a test."Giorgio said he thought the vocal was fine. "Two takes!" is all he said. And she didn't sing everything needed. We had to add more background vocals. By the time we finished the album and I heard the next three sides, Donna sounded like the Donna I knew from "Last Dance."
Donna, Giorgio
DJBB: So, it was really repaired in the mix?
BE: Yeah! Exactly! And Pete Bellotte came in to do a guitar overdub.
DJBB: Cool.
BE: Then Giorgio said to me, in his German/Italian accent, during the middle of Once Upon a Time: "Do you like gospel-disco?" I said, "What is that??" He replied, "Do you know 'Oh, Happy Day'?" I loved that song. I grew up with it! Giorgio said, "Oh, you have to meet Roberta Kelly because she wants to do gospel disco and you can be my co-producer." Roberta was born Catholic in L.A.! So, singing gospel was a stretch for her. I did a guide vocal that Ms Kelly mimicked. I love soul! So, I impersonated Aretha Franklin and all the soul divas I love.
DJBB: Bob, your guide vocals are classic! You could put an album together of those, I swear!
You won a Platinum Award for "Take Me Home," a Gold Award for "The Main
Event", Multi-Platinums for "The Very Best of Cher" and "A Night at
Studio 54," a Clio for "Pumping Up." Where do you keep all your awards?
BE: They were stolen.
DJBB: [Gasps] Oh, no!
BE: A friend of mine produced a show called Sisterella, and it was produced by Michael Jackson and company. It was performed in Pasadena, I think in 1996. They wanted me to be the musical director of the German version. And, because I love Munich and music, I thought, "How can I not go?"
So, I was away for a month and 1/2. I rented out my place in the Valley, with a studio in the back, while I was gone. Ultimately five months in Germany and Austria. Meanwhile, the person in my house was like a bull in a china closet! He had a "guest" over my place who stole everything!
DJBB: Oh my God! How awful!
BE: Yeah, and I came back to being evicted because he hadn't forwarded the rent.
Thank God he left my posters! And that's when I moved down to Key West.
More to come in Part 3 of my interview with Bob Esty. You won't want to miss what he says about Martha Wash, Cher and Dusty Sprigfield!
Below, Roberta Kelly & "Oh, Happy Day" courtesy of Bob:
Bob Esty is truly a legend in his own time. A producer, songwriter and arranger who worked with Casablanca Records from 1977 to 1980, he has collaborated alongside major divas like Donna Summer, Cher, Barbra Streisand, Martha Wash, Raquel Welch and many more. It is my sincerest pleasure to have spoken with Bob over the phone when he generously consented to give me the following, exclusive interview. I have divided it into parts for easier reader consumption and digestion because it is such a delicious treat.
In Part 1, Mr Esty discusses his early days with Casablanca, working with Donna Summer, Paul Jabara, Giorgio Moroder, Neil Bogart and more. Please also check out Bob's Facebook Page: "Disco Citizens -- The Work of Bob Esty!" His guide vocals and the special remixes there are amazing!https://www.facebook.com/pages/Disco-Citizens-The-Work-of-Bob-Esty/428987683811992?fref=ts
Dj Buddy Beaverhausen: Hi, Bob, and thank you so much for taking the time to do this Q&A with me. I am thrilled you're doing this.
Bob Esty: Thank you.
DJBB: I recently saw that someone posted at DiscoMusic.com: "Bob Esty
never seems to get deserved credit." I certainly believe that's true,
and people on that thread seemed to agree as well. I noticed that you
don't have a Wikipedia page, and I couldn't find a Bob Esty web page
either. Is this all by some grand design?
BE: I think it's because most of the people I worked with were [already] very famous. Giorgio Moroder had an exclusive contract with Donna and he may not have been completely happy with the fact that my name is on the 12" of "Last Dance." He went to Neil Bogart [founder of Casablanca Records]'s office and said he wanted my name removed.
Paul Jabara never credited me for co-writing "Last Dance." I did the hook and the bridge. The rest was by Paul. The original version of the song was recorded by Paul, on his piano, in Puerto Rico, with Donna Summer in the bathroom. She was [virtually] trapped, so she said, "Oh, I'll do it!" So Paul went to Neil Bogart. I had to create an arrangement because the original was not very good. I had arrange the hell out of it! And I modeled it on Diana Ross' "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" because I loved what Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson did with that arrangement.
So Casablanca liked what I did. We did a demo with me on piano and Donna singing the whole fucking thing! And at the end of it, she said, "Thank you very much!" Neil Bogart liked what I did but Giorgio didn't like the song. He was not there for the recording. It was recorded in one day. He barred me from the vocal session that night. And ultimately he took my name off the record. So, that was basically the first time I ever "produced" anything.
But, after that, Giorgio did hire me to do Once Upon a Time [the album] in Germany. That was the first time I [officially] produced. It was July 1977. He let me do what ever I wanted. And I do, so much, appreciate Giorgio -- who is an outstanding talent -- for thinking about me and having me aboard to work on Once Upon a Time.
Once Upon a Time's theme was about Cinderella but no one had written the lyrics yet. So I sang a "la la la" melody thing for the whole album for Donna who was then on the road. Giorgio spent just one night each for all four sides. When Donna recorded the first side, she was in her Donna voice, which I love. It was a transitional vocal album for her. "Last Dance" was not released yet.
The summer before I went to Germany, I had produced two more songs for Thank God It's Friday with Paul [Jabara], one of which was featured in the movie. It's called "Trapped in a Stairway," which I wrote with him in August 1977. At the time, Paul told me, "The director of this movie has never done a movie let alone a musical!" Paul had the idea he could do his number coming down the stairway like Fred Astaire. The director had never even heard of Fred Astaire! So that was X'd.
And when "Last Dance" was sung by Donna, they took out the ballad [portion] because they didn't know if the clubs would like it.
DJBB: Ballad openings and bridges in classic disco songs really became a trend during that period. And you spearheaded that at Casablanca. You set that trend!
BE: Yeah. We were hoping it would be successful but nobody knew. It hadn't been played by djs yet. When I first heard the single of "Last Dance," I went to Neil Bogart's office because he picked the wrong ending! The stronger ending, high note and everything else was on our second vocal. Neil said to me, "Oh, it doesn't matter! It's going to be a hit anyway!"
DJBB: While we're talking about Casablanca, have you read Larry Harris' And Party Every Day? [A scandal-filled tell-all about Casablanca Records.]
BE: I never read it. When I signed my contract with Casablanca on December 31, 1977, I'd already done many productions for Casablanca and Larry was their lawyer. I had a list of what I did before signing but Larry said, "Uh, you can't do that. We own everything." Back then, I didn't know jack.
That was a good introduction to my musical career!
More to come in Part 2 of my interview with Bob Esty. You won't want to miss what he says about Cher and so much more!Meanwhile, enjoy the official Casablanca video of "Last Dance" posted below:
Cheers! As our salute to Bob Esty concludes, we wish the awesome and influential producer/ songwriter/ arranger a very happy birthday today -- and hope he has many more!
Bob Esty originally made his mark with disco classics on the Casablanca label in the '70s, including such time-honored productions such as Donna Summers' "Last Dance," Cher's "Take Me Home," and Barbra Streisand's "The Main Event." (Incidentally, Bob told me, "People think I did 'Enough is Enough' too!! I say, 'Enough, already'!!!")
Bob's private "guide vocals" for his artists are truly outstanding works of art in and of themselves, showcasing his singing and chameleon-like ability to mimic each singer, giving a sense of what the finished product might sound like. Cher commented on how uncanny Bob's guide vocals can be. Carol Channing said Bob Esty basically did her job and she needn't actually record the disco version of "Is That All There Is?" (It was recorded but, unfortunately, unreleased, though Bob's uncanny guide might give you an idea of what it would have sounded like.) https://soundcloud.com/bobesty/is-that-all-there-is-guide
In 1985, Bob Esty produced and arranged the King and I medley (along with Paul Jabara) on Barbra Streisand's The Broadway Album. On the vinyl release, the beautifully done, sensitively rendered and romantic medley of Rodgers
and Hammerstein's "I Have Dreamed/We Kiss In A Shadow/Something Wonderful" exquisitely closed side one. Like butter.
"Shall We
Dance" was also set to a disco beat for an exciting extended dance floor mix but ultimately (and unfortunately) not released. A missed opportunity in my humble opinion.
This album has sold over 8 million copies worldwide and was a critical and commercial success upon its release. Bob's King and I medley, in particular, was very well received and spotlighted by the press.
Buddy Beaverhausen's salute to Bob Esty continues this month as his birthday draws near (April 20). We wish him a very happy one and thank him for all the musical joy he's brought to our lives!
