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While the snowstorm has grounded me for the day, I finally pulled out my copy of John Schlesinger's Day of the Locust (1975), starring Donald Sutherland and the late Karen Black.
Day of the Locust, along with West's Miss Lonelyhearts, were required in an English course I took entitled "Antiheroes in Literature."
I loved West's subtle sense of the bizarre. That quality is ver much evident in Schlesinger's film adaptation.
Sutherland gives a brilliant performance as a dangerously sexually repressed man Burgess Meredith was Oscar nominated in his supporting role, as was Conrad L. Hall for his lush Technicolor cinematography. William Atherton (Hindenburg, Ghost Busters) was a hot property at the time and I always enjoyed him as an actor and as eye candy. Bob Esty's late creative partner, Paul Jabara, performs "Hot Voodoo" in drag during a key sequence.
Still, Ms Black is riveting as the I'll-do-anything-to-be-famous actress. Great flick for a snowy night in NYC! I originally saw this in the theaters, on the upper eastside. I went back twice, wanting more.
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.
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.
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....
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:
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!
"This Girl's Back in Town" is a clever, camp production that has quite the cult following. There's even a Facebook Page dedicated to it. Unfortunately, there are only two posts on that Page since 2010, so I won't bother to link it. Maybe I should just go there & load it up with Bob Esty and Raquel info! I'm certainly going to share this very blog link on that Page, for what it's worth, to any interested parties who wish to visit.
But the song, the song! Let's talk about the song! I adored "This Girl's Back" since its release on a vinyl maxi-single back in 1987! (I was 5 years old.) It was the first time I bought anything at Rebel Rebel on Bleecker Street. (I still shop there!) There was also a single, 7" release available. The sound would have been a huge hit at Studio 54 had the disco not closed in 1981. Even The Mud Club had closed by 1987! I know Ms Welch incorporated this number into her Vegas act. And I definitely recall hearing it at NYC's legendary The Saint, and my friends and I dancing to it amidst the elaborate light show, very into the song!
Bob Esty and Paul Jabara wrote "This Girl's Back in Town" and I understand that Raquel is credited with writing "additional lyrics." (Presumably the ecstatic groans and moans.) Bob produced with Michael ("Let's All Chant") Zager! It was released on the Columbia label, and produced and arranged for Raquel Welch Productions, Inc. Apparently, it was originally written by Esty & Jabara for Donna Summer.
It's arranged beautifully, too, so that, when Raquel hits those high notes and goes flat with great bravada (much like Ann-Margret does), there's an orchestral swirl with back-up girls there to enthrall us. But that only adds to the camp factor and the fun.
By the way, "Precious Jewels by The House of Harry Winston, Necklace by Van Cleef & Arpels" were credited for the album jacket image above. That means Raquel only borrowed them. Can we get any more diva-esque than that? Hollywood royalty, honeys! When Raquel came back to town, it wasn't in a fur bikini or in a wet suit covered in enormous, clinging white blood cells, let me tell you that! But what I'd like to know is who did the sunglasses and the hair?
Too late for the disco heyday, yet ahead of its time? You decide. Here, then, Bob Esty Month on Leave It to Beaverhausen continues with "This Girl's Back in Town." Get your weekend (and your wet suit) on -- Bob Esty style!
This month, we salute the career of the brilliant Bob Esty. He produced this great number that was sung by Paul Jabara from the underrated 1975 film, The Day of the Locust. Based on the Nathaniel West novella, directed by John Schlesinger, starring Karen Black, Donald Sutherland, William Atherton (a hot property at the time), Geraldine Page and Burgess Meredith, it's a macabre and edgy drama set in the Hollywood of the 1930s. I love this film! Gay boys & gals who are too young to remember should absolutely check this out. Thrilling finale!
The Weather Girls were originally known as Two Tons of Fun. Under that name, they began as Sylvester's back-up girls, then went solo with disco hits of their own: "Earth Can Be Just Like Heaven" (1980); "Just Us" (1980 and also made #29 on the US R&B chart); and the Hi-NRG song "I Got the Feeling" in 1981.
The Weather Girls was composed of Martha Wash (whose solo career continues till this day) and the late, great Izora Whitehead.
A holiday follow-up to the phenomenal, "It's Raining Men," "Dear Santa" was also written by Paul Jabara ("Last Dance" by Donna Summer) and Paul Shaffer (who makes a cameo vocal as Santa in this song).
The video for this number was made in 1983 and, obviously, on a shoestring budget. Hence, the hilarious dancers with big, feathered '80s hair. Martha and Izora may have been hard to fit, but their costumes herein look off-the-rack from some bargain store; rather threadbare-looking pantsuits with scarves. Ick!
You may suffer through a brief ad before the video, but it'll be worth it. Also, it's a busy-looking Youtube page, so I recommend enlarging the video window on your screens.
Season's greetings! And roll out the bear-skin rugs by your fireplaces cuz Santa may have a man in his sack for you, too!
