Geez, its amazing how many horn bands seemed to have been given a chance to record in the wake of Blood, Sweat and Tears late- 1960s commercial breakthrough. An eight man outfit, Sweet Stavin Chain were one of Philadelphia's contributions to the wave of late- 1960s/early 1970s horn-bands.
Signed by Atlantic's newly formed Cotillion subsidiary, the band's 1970 debut "Sweet Stavin Chain" was recorded in New York. Produced by Shel Kagan the set's professional, but not exactly boldly original. A mix or originals and cover material, tracks such as Take a Minute' (featuring a kind of cool meltdown guitar fade out), 'I Need Love' and 'I'm Tore Down' are more bluesoriented than BS’n’T, Chicago or other horn band contemporaries.
Lead guitarist Danny Starobin kicks in a couple of nice solos (check out the stinging run on 'I Need Love'), but lead singer John Bussell has a tendency to sing flat. It I had to pick a standout track, then it would probably be their 11 minute plus 'cover of T-Bone Walker's 'Stormy Monday Blues (Call It Stormy Monday'. The song also features a sax solo from King Curtis.
Lee Ving (born Lee James Capallero; April 10,1950) is an American musician most known for his role as lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the Los Angeles-based punk rock band Fear, and as an actor. Lee James Capallero was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In the late 1960s, under the name Lee Ving, he joined Sweet Stavin Chain Blues Band in Philadelphia, playing with Michael Brecker and Eugene Busnar; they played shows with B.B. King, Buddy Guy and Cream among others. Later, Ving moved to New York and formed the band Daybreak. In the mid-1970s, he moved to Los Angeles and in 1977 formed Fear.
Ving has also sung for the band MD.45, which also featured Dave Mustaine of Megadeth and Jimmy DeGrasso of Suicidal Tendencies. However, the 2004 re-release/ remastered record replaced his vocals with Dave Mustaine's. Ving has also sung country music in the outlaw country genre with the band Range War. Prior to Fear, Ving played in a six piece blues act named Easy Love.
Ving and his band Fear appeared in the 1981 rotoscope animated film American Pop, directed by Ralph Bakshi, lead singer Ving acted under the name Lee James Jude. Ving played a lead role ("Missoula") in Penelope Spheeris' 1987 film Dudes. As part of Fear he was featured in Spheeris' 1980 documentary on punk The Decline of Western Civilization.
Furthermore, he played the strip club owner in Flashdance (1983), Mr. Boddy in Clue (1985), and a small role in Streets of Fire (1984), among other roles in film and television. In 1983 he selfdeprecatingly played the over-thetop punk singer named 'Piggy' in the rock-and-roll comedy Get Crazy. In the Who's the Boss episode titled "Walk on the Mild Side", he played Jake Maguire. He also appeared in an episode of the short-lived Three's Company spin-off Three's a Crowd as a criminal in a police lineup.
CD Liner notes
Tracks
1. Danny's Rock Song: Intro (Danny Starobin) - 0:47
2. Are You Lonely For Me Baby (Bert Berns) - 4:14
3. Take A Minute (Danny Starobin, John Bussell, Sheldon Ginsburg) - 6:57
4. I Need Love (Lawrence Williams) - 7:12
5. I'm Tore Down (Sonny Thompson) - 3:36
6. Stormy Monday Blues (Call It Stormy Monday) (T-Bone Walker) - 11:10
7. Teddy Bear's Picnic (Jimmy Kennedy, John W. Bratton) - 3:55
8. Danny's Rock Song: Finale (Danny Starobin) - 0:52
The Sweet Stavin Chain
*Mike McCarthy - Bass
*Bobby Blumenthal - Drums
*Greg Scott - Horns
*John Brunner - Horns
*Sheldon Ginsburg - Keyboards, Horns
*Steve Bernstein - Horns
*Dave Maxwell - Keyboards
*Vic Rose - Keyboards
*Danny Starobin - Lead Guitar, Vocals
*John Bussell - Lead Vocals, Guitar
*Steve Sykes - Rhythm Guitar
With
*King Curtis - Tenor Sax
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Something new to me, and I'm so glad for such albums.Thank you so much "MARIOS"...
ReplyDeleteThanks very much...
ReplyDeletethanks a lot, cheers
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Marios.
ReplyDeleteGracias
ReplyDeleteFab, thanks M!!
ReplyDeleteDanny was my brother. He passed in 1990. To say it was a long strange trip is an understatement. I still miss him terribly.
ReplyDeleteI saw them play a hundred times. They opened for the Mothers, chambers brothers, etc. etc. in philly (electric factory, academy of music, outdoors). Antics, dancing, craziness, real musicianship; it was quite a ride.
Danny was essentially a blues guitarist and a very good one.
I don't like the way the album was recorded though. I wish I could get hold of the master.
There are female backup singers on a few songs, not sure who..The sweet inspirations?
Thanks for the post. Great stuff.
Matthew Starobin
Mathew, I don’t know if you will see this but my wife and I knew Danny from Hecates Circle. Lorraine worked there along with Ken, Barney and Michael. Somehow Danny’s version of Stormy Monday Blues made it to my YouTube feed and we started to reminisce about how much fun Danny was to be around. Best and Happy Holidays, Gary and Lorraine.
DeleteI knew Danny and David via Starr recording. I did some work there. I was just thinking about - and listened tob- Teddy Bears Picnic and loved the sound of it, beyond the novelty. I need to listen to the whole album. I'd love to know where it was recorded and who the engineer was.
DeleteHi Matthew , Danny became my guitar teacher when Eric Lugosch couldn’t give me a lesson - we became friends after that and spent a lot of time together. I moved to Upstate NY in 1990 and he called only a little while later to say he was going into the hospital for surgery - for sure his sarcasm and friendship was cherished ⭐️⭐️⭐️
DeleteOn another note ! He also got me in to see David Sites and my song (Angel Child ) got put on the 1988 Fast fold music Mag Album Along with a few others and his - “Teddy Bears picnic ‘ - very grateful- Liz
DeleteThank you Matthew Starobin for everything.
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff .... 🧡❤️🧡
ReplyDeleteFolks on eBay that I do business with, have this on vinyl. I found a few songs on YouTube and knew I had to have this album. Awesome sounds. I will definitely be running a needle across it several times. Amazon has it, as well, but on CD.
ReplyDeleteCarl, don't run your needle across any records; you will scratch them and then they won't play correctly.
ReplyDeleteHey Carl, I concur with Greg on this one.
ReplyDeleteRunning a needle across the record is an old saying meaning I will play it. Not actually run it across the vinyl.
ReplyDeleteHey I noticed that Carl, Greg & Keith all commenting on here. Must be another ELP reunion .
ReplyDelete8o)
And that must be a really old saying. never heard it before.
@Derrick's Pop Well as Keith Emerson and Greg Lake are now dead i think you must be wrong about that.In future you need to check your sources before commenting and spreading factual inaccuracies like that.Its just not on.
ReplyDeleteI, too, was a regular at Hecate's Circle. This brings back memories. Barney Stone is/was a relative. Introduced Ken to his wife, Cindy, I sat in with Sweet Stavin Chain a couple of times, knew Danny & his brother, David (called the best American classical guitarist if the 20th century. Steve Sykes, rhythm guitar, was by far the best guitarist, but Danny owned SSC & the others were his employees, so Danny fronted the band. When Sykes (then known as Zyke) went to Denver in 70 to become a studio guitarist, he invited me out & we played together for 3 years with Phil Bailey, who got hired away from us by Maurice White when he formed Earth, Wind & Fire. Sykes "crossed the glass" a few years later & became one of the best recording engineers in LA. He still owns a studio there, where he records top Jazz & Mexican talent. It was a great time for Philly Folk, blues & underground rock & I treasure this reminder of our salad days. Philly's music community quietly spread its tentacles all through the country. I still play with local groups & reminisce.
ReplyDelete