The Red Bird Story [Charly 4-CD]

• Artist: Various Artists
• Release Date: 1991
• Type: Collection (various artists)
• Genre: Rock

Review

Red Bird was a great label in the mid-'60s, releasing some excellent soul/pop hybrids and some of the greatest girl group records of all time, especially those by The Shangri-Las and the Dixie Cups. This 4-CD, 96-track compilation is a frustratingly mixed attempt to enshrine its legacy. There are lots of great sides here: all the Shangri-Las and Dixie Cups hits, many of their rarities, one-shots by The Ad Libs, Jelly Beans, Butterflies, and Tradewinds, and cool rarities by Bessie Banks, Dee Dee Warwick, Evie Sands, Ellie Greenwich, the Soul Brothers, Cathy Saint, Linda Jones, and Andy Kim. But the programming is unnervingly jumpy and haphazard, the liner notes surprisingly fuzzy (no information whatsoever is given about many of the lesser-known artists), and, in the absence of master tapes, some of the cuts were obviously taken from records. And for all its length, it's not even a complete collection of Red Bird's output; some songs that were excluded had even surfaced on previous Charly vinyl anthologies. That said, there's still a lot of great music here, and the flaws in execution may not matter to some fans. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide

Tracks

CD 1

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Bossa Nova Baby	Mike Stoller, Jerry Leiber	Tippie & The Clovers
My Heart Said (The Bossa Nova)	Cynthia Weil, Jerry Leiber, Barry Mann, Mike Stoller	Tippie & The Clovers
Big Bad World	Tony Powers	Cathy Saint
Mr. Heartbreak		Cathy Saint
Everybody Come and Clap Your Hands	Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich	Moody & The Deltas
He Ain't No Angel	Jeff Barry	Leola & The Lovejoys
I Won't Be Me Any More	Jeff Barry	Vic Donna
Go Now	Larry Banks, Milton Bennett	Bessie Banks
It Sounds Like My Baby	Ross A. May	Bessie Banks
The Boy from New York City	George Davis, John Taylor, John T. Taylor	The Ad Libs
Searchin'	Mike Stoller, Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins, Jerry Leiber	Alvin Robinson
Somethin' You Got	Chris Kenner	Alvin Robinson
Chapel of Love (Lyrics)	Jeff Barry, Phil Spector, Ellie Greenwich	Dixie Cups
I Wanna Love Him So Bad	Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry	The Jelly Beans
I Know He Loves Me		Chi Chi McCauley
Top Down Time		Rock Always
Keep It Up	Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller	The Soul Brothers
I Got a Dream	Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller	The Soul Brothers
People Say (Lyrics)	Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich	Dixie Cups
How Can I Get over You	Robert Mosely	Alvin Robinson
I'm Gonna Put Some Hurt on You	Raymond Lewis	Alvin Robinson
Remember (Walking in the Sand)	Shadow Morton	The Shangri-Las
Goodnight Baby	Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry, Steve Venet	Butterflies
Down Home Girl	Artie Butler, Jerry Leiber, Arthur Butler	Alvin Robinson
Let the Good Times Roll	E. King, E. Johnson, Tony Martin, Reese Wilson, Earl Johnson	Alvin Robinson

CD 2

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Bottom of My Soul	Mike Stoller, Jerry Leiber	Alvin Robinson
Fever	John Davenport, Eddie Cooley	Alvin Robinson
The Kind of Boy You Can't Forget	Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich	The Jelly Beans
Baby Be Mine	Jeff Barry, Steve Venet	The Jelly Beans
Ask Anyone (Anybody)	Jeff Barry	The Ad Libs
He Ain't No Angel	Jeff Barry	The Ad Libs
Welcome to My Heart	Robert Bateman, Robert Mosely	Bouquets
Having a Party	Sam Cooke	Ronnie Mitchell
Bad as They Come	Jeff Barry	Sam Hawkins
Hold on Baby		Sam Hawkins
The Dum Dum Ditty	Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart, Steve Venet, Larry Martire	Goodies
Sophisticated Boom Boom	George Morton	Goodies
Standing By	Van McCoy	Dee Dee Warwick
Don't Think My Baby's Coming Back	Van McCoy	Dee Dee Warwick
Leader of the Pack (Lyrics)	Shadow Morton, Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry	The Shangri-Las
What Is Love?	Tony Michaels, George Morton	The Shangri-Las
Take Me for a Little While		Evie Sands
Run Home to Your Mama		Evie Sands
I Know It's Alright		Sam Hawkins
Amy	Cynthia Weil, Barry Mann	Barry Mann
Gee Baby Gee	Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry	Butterflies
I Wonder	Budd Johnson, Ellie Greenwich, Phil Spector, Jeff Barry	Butterflies
Little Bell	Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich	Dixie Cups
Another Boy Like Mine	Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich	Dixie Cups
Give Him a Great Big Kiss (Lyrics)	Shadow Morton, George Morton	The Shangri-Las

CD 3

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Twist and Shout	Bert Russell, Phil Medley	The Shangri-Las
Maybe (Lyrics)	Richie Barrett, George Goldner, Richard Barrett, George Gershwin, A. Barrett	The Shangri-Las
Shout	Ronald Isley, Rudolph Isley, O'Kelly Isley	The Shangri-Las
I Can't Let Go	Al Gorgoni, Chip Taylor	Evie Sands
New York Is a Lonely Town	Peter Andreoli, Vini Poncia	Tradwinds
I'm Just a Down Home Girl	Mike Stoller, Jerry Leiber	The Ad Libs
Iko Iko (Lyrics)	Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry	Dixie Cups
Gee Baby Gee	Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich	Dixie Cups
I Hurt on the Other Side	Jeff Barry	Sidney Barnes
I'm Gonna Get You Yet		Dixie Cups
Out in the Streets (Lyrics)	Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry	The Shangri-Las
Our Love Can Still Be Saved	Jeff Barry	Jeff Barry
I'll Still Love You	Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich	Jeff Barry
Give Us Your Blessings (Lyrics)	Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry	The Shangri-Las
Heaven Only Knows (Lyrics)	Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry	The Shangri-Las
Gee the Moon Is Shining Bright	Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry	Dixie Cups
You Don't Know	Jeff Barry, Richard Finch, Shadow Morton, Ellie Greenwich, Harry Wayne "K.C." Casey	Ellie Greenwich
Baby	Bill Janovitz, Ellie Greenwich, George Morton, Jeff Barry, Kay Butler, Nil Lara, Tom Maginnis, Chris Colbourn	Ellie Greenwich
Right Now and Not Later	Kenneth Hollon, Robert Mosely, Robert Bateman	The Shangri-Las
The Train from Kansas City	Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich	The Shangri-Las
If There's Anything Else You Want (Let Me Know)	Richard Wylie, Mike Lewis	Roddie Joy
Fugitive from Love	George Kerr, Gerald Harris	Linda Jones
You Hit Me Like TNT	George Kerr	Linda Jones
I'm So Glad	Skip James	Sidney Barnes
I Hear You Say (I Love You Baby)		Andy Kim

CD 4

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Hey Little Girl	Professor Longhair, Joy Byers	Jimmie Cross
I Can Never Go Home Anymore (Lyrics)	Shadow Morton, George Morton	The Shangri-Las
Sophisticated Boom Boom	George Morton	The Shangri-Las
Long Live Our Love	Jerome Jackson, Sidney Barnes	The Shangri-Las
He Cried	Ted Daryll, Greg Richards	The Shangri-Las
Dressed in Black (Lyrics)	George Morton, Tony Michaels, Vinny Gormann	The Shangri-Las
It Will Only Make Me Love You More		Ral Donner
He Will Break Your Heart	Artie Butler, Curtis Mayfield, Calvin Carter, Jerry Butler	Kane & Abel
Past, Present, and Future (Lyrics)	Jerry Leiber, Artie Butler, George Morton	The Shangri-Las
Paradise	Harry Nilsson, Perry Botkin, Jr., Phil Spector, Gil Garfield	The Shangri-Las
Love You More Than Yesterday (Lyrics)	Vinny Gormann, Tony Michaels	The Shangri-Las
Mary Weiss Speaks
Let the Music Play	Hal David, Burt Bacharach	Didi Noel
It Was a Lie	Moore	Bob Moore
Dressed in Black	George Morton, Tony Michaels, Martin L. Gore	Shadow Morton
Chapel of Love	Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, Phil Spector	The Jelly Beans
Here She Comes	Jeff Barry	The Jelly Beans
Ain't Love a Funny Thing	Steve Venet	The Jelly Beans
Whisper Sweet Things	Steve Venet, Jeff Barry	The Jelly Beans
Goodnight Baby	Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, Steve Venet	The Jelly Beans
Do Wah Diddy Diddy	Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich	The Jelly Beans

Credits

Jeff Barry (Performer), Adam White (Liner Notes), Robert Bateman (Director), Butterflies (Performer), Evie Sands (Performer), Mick Patrick (Liner Notes), The Soul Brothers (Performer), Barry Mann (Performer), Steve Venet (Producer), The Jelly Beans (Performer), Ronald Moseley (Director), Ellie Greenwich (Performer), Joe Jones (Arranger), Linda Jones (Performer), Jeff Barry (Producer), Shadow Morton (Producer), Jeff Barry (Arranger), Tradwinds (Performer), Wardell Quezergue (Arranger), George Kerr (Producer), Joost Visser (Compilation Producer), Joe Jones (Producer), Shadow Morton (Performer), Roddie Joy (Performer), Tippie & The Clovers (Performer), Sidney Barnes (Performer), Barry Mann (Producer), Sam Hawkins (Performer), Ronnie Mitchell (Performer), Stewart Weiner (Producer), The Shangri-Las (Performer), Dee Dee Warwick (Performer), Alvin Robinson (Performer), Robert Bateman (Arranger), Kane & Abel (Performer), Dixie Cups (Performer), Goodies (Performer), Artie Butler (Arranger), Mike Stoller (Producer), Garry Sherman (Arranger), Ellie Greenwich (Producer), Barry Mann (Arranger), Andy Kim (Performer), Ral Donner (Performer), Mike Lewis (Producer), Bessie Banks (Performer), Ellie Greenwich (Arranger), Robert Banks (Arranger), Mike Stoller (Arranger), The Ad Libs (Performer)