The Blossoms

Ann Margret

Cinderellas were popping up on all sorts of record labels (Mercury, Escapade, Columbia, Tamara, etc), but the only Cinderellas worth mentioning are the group that recorded the Cynthia Weil and Russ Titelman songs "Baby Baby I Still Love You" and "Please Don't Wake Me" for Dimension. It was recently revealed that this girl group was in fact the Cookies under a pseudonym. If there was ever such a thing as a double A side during the sixties, this should've been it. "Baby Baby I Still Love You" was way ahead of its time - instruments are kept to a minimum while the guitars (to my amazement!) are the most up front in the mix. No wall of sound needed here. Every time she sings, "I think I'm gonna cry...," I get all choked up. I know it sounds cheesy, but all Russ Titelman songs do this to me. Unfortunately this exquisite Dimension release didn't even make it through to the Top 100.

Now that we've covered all the Dimension groups worth mentioning, I say we stick to the Russ Titelman theme because he holds a special place in my heart. His collaboration with Gerry Goffin on the Honeybees' "She Don't Deserve You" is deserving of an honorable mention. The Honeybees were, naturally, the Cookies under a pseudonym. Makes you think that the Cookies/Titelman pairing could do no wrong, eh?

What do you get when you mix the songwriting team of Titelman/Weil with west coast girl group producer David Gates? An obscure tearjerker called "I Wanna Make You Happy" by Margaret Mandolph, a 13-year-old David Gates discovery. This song was Margaret's second release on the tiny Planetary label, a subsidiary of Dot Records. "I Wanna Make You Happy" received little recognition, as its Northern Soulish A-Side, "Something Beautiful," became the side of choice.

David Gates was an extremely gifted songwriter and producer, but like Titelman, he never received much attention in the girl group world. His only major GG hit was the Murmaid's "Popsicles And Icicles," which reached #3 on the charts in late 1963. He managed a semi-hit with the Girlfriends' "My One And Only Jimmy Boy," released on Colpix Records (derived from Columbia Pictures) also in '63. The Girlfriends were Gloria Jones, Nanette Williams and Carolyn Willis, a spin-off of the Blossoms. Gates mastered the Phil Spector "wall of sound" production on this one and also penned the song himself. Next to Brit Girl Adrienne Posta's "Shang A Doo Lang," this is as loud as it gets! It is rumored that the Girlfriends released a subsequent single, but no one has been able to locate it. Hmm...

Though the majority of David Gates' producing/songwriting stints never became successful, all of his songs were spectacular. Take Suzy Wallis for example - another mystery girl of whom little is known. Suzy released three singles on RCA in 1965-1966. "Tell Him," which was both written and produced by Gates, demonstrates Gates production talents at their best. Suzy's first single contains a Russ Titelman/Larry Kolber collaboration (arranged by Gates) called "Little Things Like That" which is enjoyable, but not as storming as the flipside "Be My Man." Maybe if there weren't so many girl groups competing for a place in the charts, Suzy Wallis could have had her chance in the spotlight.

With producing/songwriting credits for such obscurities as Suzy Wallis, Dotty & Kathy, Dorothy Berry, Margaret Mandolph and the Murmaids, it might come as a surprise to learn that Gates also worked with some big Hollywood stars. Film actress Ann-Margret released records all throughout her movie career but mostly stuck to an east listening repertoire. In brief, Ann-Margret was Swedish born, but raised in the United States. She has starred in over 42 films, including Bye Bye Birdie and Viva Las Vegas. David Gates wrote one song for her - the glossy "Hey Little Star" for RCA Records.