In episode 23 we dive into “Back In My Arms” which is a bonus track on the Real Gone Music CD release of “Mothers Pride” and then we rock ‘n’ roll to Nickey’s “Cat Fever” from the “Charity Ball” album. Along the way, drummer Alice de Buhr shares some early stories of Fanny being signed to a contract and life at the band’s home Fanny Hill.
Alice, Kristen, and Byron are joined by Jean and June Millington via pre-recorded interviews. Podcast: Play in new window | Download Subscribe to the Podcast RSS
From UFO Angie Tapp:
“Caaaaaaaaaaaaattt Feeeeeeeeeeeeveeer!!”
Those of us who were lucky enough to have seen Fanny live, back in the day, will remember the excitement when we heard the intro to one of ‘our fave’s’ ! The stompin’ began! In a nutshell: a great song and always a great crowd pleaser, then, and now.
NOTE: These podcasts will be produced once every two weeks.
This episode was quite a Brie for all.
I’m glad the mystery about who discovered Fanny has been solved – Norma Goldstein-Kemper. I wonder if she was married at the time she discovered Fanny. If she wasn’t then it could explain why June remembers her as Norma Goldstein. In any case, I’m glad there’s a Goldstein connection to Fanny. Take it from me. Goldstein isn’t exactly a name you pull out of thin air.
I look forward to the next episode & the next mystery to be solved.
Hi Aaron,
Your puns are always so punderful! Thanks, as always, for listening. And, yes, we love solving mysteries on the podcast.
Cheers,
Kristen
Ah Aaron,
We can always count on a pun from you…..Ha! As I said in the podcast, I knew of Norma Kemper AFTER I left the band and was working at A&M Records, so you can stop wondering. She was a Goldstein in the Fanny days and a Kemper after. I’m just glad there’s a “Norma” connection to Fanny!
Best,
Alice
“Cat Fever” to use a word used recently on the podcast is “rollicking”! A real classic Nickey rocker. The opening lyric: “There’s a new element around the neighborhood And the old ones don’t approve…” Could be interpreted as Fanny on their bid for acceptance and, being the group we know and love, the “establishment” “don’t approve.” Or could it be Nickey writing about herself now she is part of the more established band of June, Jean and Alice? The first verse alludes to conformity. The second verse seems to allude to the superficiality of the music business: “It isn’t whether you can play guitar, believe me It’s whether you make the news”. This feels like annoyance on Fanny’s behalf as all their hard work and genuine ability is forsaken for the “bubblegum” and “hubris” of the pop charts. Does the third verse hint at frustration and possible failure? The desire to be the successful band yet forsaken for others? “ ‘Cause I believe I’m gonna fade away They will be coming for me any day There’s nothing more than I can do or say, believe me I’ve certainly got the blues, oh yes I do” With a song as driving as this, with a brilliant twisty guitar riff, liquid bass lines and pounding tomtoms coming from “Alice’s Engine Room,” you can’t ignore Fanny… they aren’t “gonna fade away”!!!
C’mon… c’mon…
How much do we have to pay to see Alice “air drumming” to “Cat Fever”?
Another fantastic episode guys. I’m loving the added dimension of Fanny history; lovely to hear about Brie’s time at Fanny Hill with the band and our intrepid historian ending the uncertainty about the “nameless Secretary”!
Always a pleasure to hear you all having such a great time (vital in these crazy times), and for June and Jean to be sounding in such vibrant spirits. Keep up the great work!
?❤️?❤️?❤️?
Thank you, Nigel! Yes…giving Norma Goldstein Kemper here props was very important to us. Cheers! ?❤️?❤️?❤️?
Hi Nigel,
As you well know, our resident Dr. Historian won’t let us perpetuate rumors, although the conjectures I/we make of what Nickey might have been thinking are allowed. That can be frustrating as well as fun, but in the end, they’re just our….”I wonder(s)…”
We did have an especially good and fun time with this one. Our friendships are obvious, and something we love to share on the podcast!
Be well,
Alice
Another great podcast!Thanks for sharing the early herstory of Fanny.I would like to hear about recording with Barbra Streisand.
Hi Guy,
Patience, grasshopper…we’ll get there. 😉 So glad to hear you enjoyed the podcast!
Cheers,
Kristen
Love the Kung Fu reference. Pardon me while I have a flashback.
Aaron,
We’ll wait for you.
Alice
Hi Guy,
As Kristen has said, “Patience, grasshopper.” There are still so many Fanny stories to share, it’ll take us a long time before we run out!
I’m so glad you’re enjoying the podcasts!
Alice
I’ve loved “Back In My Arms” since the very first time I heard it on the boxed set!
It just has a looser, more organic vibe to it….I’ve always thought this is maybe the groove a fifth Fanny album produced by Denny Cordell would have sported!
As for “Cat Fever”….my 1971 ears weren’t big fans of Nickey’s vocals ~ for the most part, I found her too affected and over the top ~ but I loved, loved, LOVED this track! Talk about blistering rock and roll!
June & Jean are spot on, Nickey is WAILING on the keys….and that drummer chick?? Well……..nuff said!!!
Another great episode, folks!!
Hi Jef!
We can only wonder what a fifth Fanny album would have sounded like (with the four original members…we know what the fifth LP sounded like after June and I left), but I think it would have been looser and we would have stretched out a bit more. “Cat Fever” was one of my favorites to play, and although I might have thought Nickey affected back in the day, I now appreciate how she took on a “persona” she thought would fit the song.
Alice
Another great show!
Alice had replacement insecurity?? Nickey is a fantastic songwriter, singer and keyboard soloist. Jean is a great writer, walking bass player and singer. June is a great writer, singer and riffing guitarist. What do you need to hold all that together? A drummer that can hammer, finesse and flash some, but mostly maintain pocket and tempo. That everybody in the band likes! I bet it took about 5 minutes for Richard to realize Alice was solid gold. He wouldn’t have traded her for anybody.
I am amazed at how much talent was in this group.
Peace
E
Hi Eric,
Yes, I did have “replacement insecurity,” but I got over it, thank God! And yes, I could hammer. Finesse might have been questionable, and there wasn’t much flash, but I did the job!
Thanks,
Alice
just started reading the Richard Perry book, I love memoirs
did Nickey ever live at Fanny Hill?
I do believe Nickey did not live at Fanny Hill, but I’ll bug Alice to make sure.
Hi Elizabeth,
If I told you, I might have to shoot you…..just kidding. We have the story from Jim Segrave, our head roadie (and Nickey’s husband), but we’re saving it for him to talk about on a future podcast, so you’ll have to wait a bit…….. I know, I know….. “Really?”
Yes, really. Good things come to those who wait!
Best,
Alice
Loving the touring stories. I imagine that a bevy of beautiful badass babes living in an old bus up and down 500+ miles of the West Coast and heaving their own gear in and out of gigs would have freaked some of the music industry suits out in the late 60s! Does anyone have pictures of that bus?
“Back in my Arms Again” is a revelation! Starting like “Let’s Work Together” with a double triplet, it builds into a tight, complex piece of music, complete with cowbell, yay! How many popular song lyrics include the word “whom”? Classy stuff. The Supremes only sang, but Fanny really rocked it up with some wild bottleneck and riffing as well as exultant vocals. For all Nickey’s avowed dislike of Motown songs, she added some right nifty piano to this one. The Millington Bros’ percussion in the corridor had an honourable precedent; on one of Buddy Holly’s tracks (Peggy Sue?) Jerry Allison was playing drums out in the hallway to get the sound Norman Petty wanted.
Am I imagining it, or does the closing riff of Linda Ronstadt’s 1977 “Poor Poor Pitiful Me” have an uncanny resemblance to that of Fanny’s take on”BIMAA”, right down to the clapping and cowbell? You were about 8 years ahead of the pack there….
Thanks, Alice, for your surmise about the meaning of Cat Fever. I’m still trying to work out just what you did on your entrance. Fancy dancy weaving around the rhythm, to say the least. The whole number is what we would call “balls out” back in the day, an exhilarating headlong rush. Nickey’s lyrics are quite cerebral, even turning a Mark Twain quote on its head.
Incidentally,”your arrival on the Tube” means something quite different to anyone who has spent time in London. Visions (memories too) of lurching drenched in sweat off a Northern Line train at Edgware… In fact when I first heard the song I briefly wondered if Nickey was referring to the London Underground, but obviously no, it had to be the TV, lol.
Waiting with bated brain for the next podcast, which never disappoints!
Hi Dave!
Thanks so much for your comments! I love reading your insights. As for pics of the ’47 bus…I believe there are, but I’ll let Alice confirm whether or not that’s the case. I had never thought of Ronstadt’s “Poor, Poor Pitiful Me,” but now that you say it, yes! Also, another podcast listener, Applescruff, said that the intro to Queen’s “Tie Your Mother Down” sounds a lot like “Charity Ball.” Yet again Fanny was ahead of their time, but the time is coming. Finally!
Cheers and peace,
Kristen
Hi Kristen!
Yes, “Charity Ball” and “Tie Your Mother Down” do sound a bit similar. They are in the same key and tempo, and both get me bouncing in my seat and headbanging… Growing old disgracefully here!
I think if only Linda and Fanny could have done a number or two together, wouldn’t that be something to see and hear? Sigh.
Cheers,
Dave.
Hi Dave!
So you got me thinking: What type of number or two would Linda and Fanny have done? First thought that came to my mind: A cover of the Maples Singers’ “Respect Yourself,” with Linda on lead vocals (duh) and Fanny on back up vocals and instrumentation (double duh). However, I’m kinda stuck on an original Fanny tune (unless it was co-written with Linda), because I love all the Fanny vocals as is…. BUT, if hard-pressed: Linda would do a way cool vocal and stylistic take on a re-make of “Bitter Wine.”
Cheers back,
Kristen
Hi Dave,
So many comments! So little time…..as is evident in how long its taken me to get back to responding to posts. Here goes……
I think June has a picture somewhere of the old ’47 GM bus (painted blue on the outside – orange/yellow/pink/paisley inside). If I can find one, I’ll post it. But, we didn’t “live” in it, we just used it for short tours so we didn’t have to spend money on a motel, and we could all travel together.
I like the tom triplets in the beginning of BIMAA, too! It’s kind of like a little warning…..”Here we come!” And, the clapping at the end made me break out into a huge smile as we recorded the podcast; of course, “air drumming” was involved!
After I came in on “Cat Fever,” I used my hi-hat on the off beats and played the fours on the snare. I LOVED using the hi-hat for that little extra somethin’ somethin’ on a lot of Fanny songs. “Balls Out” Oh, you bet. That song DEMANDED balls out!
We rarely took the “Tube” in London, but loved that you called it the “tube” and the “telly.”
Thanks again, for your wonderful comments!
Best,
Alice
Hi Alice,
Thanks for the description of the tour bus – very hippy! I’d love to have seen that.
The Tube lines are, strictly speaking, the deep tunnels of circular cross-section, which have always been electric, but people less in the know tend to call the whole system, including the shallow cut-and-cover lines built for steam trains, the ‘Tube’. Geek alert!
Hi all, another great podcast.
1) Big question: Why was “Back in My Arms Again” not released? Great performance of a great arrangement of a proven hit song–am I missing something?
2) Maybe Brie could’ve added something, but Fanny was a great, self-contained four-piece band. The interplay of the instruments is excellent, and I’ve always been impressed by the vocals–with two or three of you singing in unison, then splitting into harmony. And you were always switching parts. I think Jean was the key to the vocals, because she could blend with either June or Nickey (kinda like Richie Furay in Buffalo Springfield). And Alice was the secret weapon, adding that fourth voice when needed live.
3) “Cat Fever”–a great straight-ahead rocker, and the video shows that Fanny could “do it live!” (actually, the record sounds like it could’ve been recorded “live” in the studio).
4) A little trivia: I read recently that in the early ’60s Richard Perry was in a band with Goldie, aka Genya Ravan who did “BIMAA” in 1978.
Peace and Love.
Hi Perry,
Thank you so much for the kind feedback! So glad you’re enjoying the podcast. Yes, Richard and Goldie Zelkowitz were a couple during his college years and a bit after. They were also in a doo-wop type of band together (he was a musician and performer back then), including singing Motown. Once the band split up, Goldie started Goldie and the Gingerbreads with Ginger Panebianco, and changed her name to Genya Ravan. Also, Fanny was covering “BIMAA” way before they started working with Richard.
Peace and love to you,
Kristen
I wonder if Genya somehow heard Fanny’s version–not that she copied it, but just the idea of rockin’ it?
Perry,
Genya knows Fanny, but I haven’t a clue if she ever copied us or got the idea of rocking a song we’d done that she was going to do…..
Alice
Hi Perry,
Answer #1 – I think “BIMAA” never made it to one of the four albums is lack of space, nothing else.
Answer #2 – I agree with you about the interplay of the instruments and that we really only need the four of us to deliver the “image” and rock & roll that we wanted. As for my vocals, I’m glad I was only used for live performances, where they could kind of bury my voice, but you could still hear/feel the fullness. I was usually (or at least I was accused of it) flat or sharp…..LOL!
Answer #3 – I agree. “Cat Fever” does have a great live feel and sound to it
Answer #4 – We talk about this on the next podcast…..
Stay tuned!
Thanks,
Alice
A paean to a “run-of-the-mill” drummer.
Alice de Buhr was a rock solid drummer – no flash. Her fills were magical and on the meter.
She never indulged in a solo. Sort of like Charlie Watts. But better.
I think the drum part to Blind Alley is one of the best ever–especially on Beat Club. Sort of like Keith Moon. But under control. (Mostly–I love when Alice throws herself at the crash cymbal!) Actually, she’s awesome on the whole Beat Club session: Special Care, Bulldog, . . . Yeah!
Perry,
Throwing myself at my cymbal just felt so damn good!
Alice
Paul,
Thank you! I HATED drum solos, even those I “kind of” got in the groove with when I was listening, but my whole philosophy on the drums place in a band, was “less is more,” and “find that groove and sit on it. Ride it ’til the song is over!”
Thanks for your kind words,
Alice