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Joey Levine | |
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 Joey Levine in concert on May 17, 2008. | |
| Background information | |
| Born | May 29, 1947 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Pop, bubblegum pop, psychedelic pop, psychedelic rock |
| Occupation(s) | Record producer, songwriter, musician |
| Years active | 1966–present |
Joey Levine (born May 29, 1947) [1] is an American singer, [2] songwriter and record producer of pop music, who has been active since 1966.
Levine sang lead vocals on several Top 40 singles including "Run Run Run" by The Third Rail (1966), "Yummy Yummy Yummy" (co-written with Artie Resnick), and three others by The Ohio Express (1968–1969), "Quick Joey Small" by Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus (1968), and the record that best showcased his rapid speech delivery, "Life Is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)" by Reunion (1974). He specialized in bubblegum pop. [3]
Levine produced records for Super K Productions, run by Jerry Kasenetz and Jeffry Katz, who released many singles in the late 1960s by The Ohio Express, The 1910 Fruitgum Company, and The Music Explosion. Levine sang lead for various groups of studio musicians, whose songs were released under the name of actual groups of musicians, or sometimes the groups did not exist at all outside the studio.
Starting in the early 1970s, Levine began working on jingles for television commercials, as well as singing on them, with one of his most well-remembered jingles being "Sometimes You Feel Like A Nut" for Mounds and Almond Joy chocolate bars. [4]
Levine founded Crushing Enterprises in New York City in 1969, and continues to write music for commercials and television. Popular campaigns from the past include: “Pepsi – The Joy of Cola", "Gentlemen Prefer Hanes", "Just For the Taste of It – Diet Coke", "Orange you smart, (for drinking Orange Juice)", "Come See the Softer Side of Sears", "Heartbeat of America – Chevrolet", "Dr Pepper – You Make the World Taste Better", "You Asked For It, You Got It, Toyota," "Who's that Kid With the Oreo Cookie," and "This Bud's For You" for Anheuser-Busch. Most recently he wrote the current Budweiser anthem, "This Is Budweiser, This Is Beer." In addition, Levine has also contributed songs, some of them with his 1960's bubblegum pop sound, to the PBS series Dragon Tales . [5]
Bubblegum is pop music in a catchy and upbeat style that is considered by some critics as disposable, contrived, or marketed for children and adolescents. The term also refers to a rock and pop subgenre, originating in the United States in the late 1960s, that evolved from garage rock, novelty songs, and the Brill Building sound, and which was also defined by its target demographic of preteens and young teenagers. The Archies' 1969 hit "Sugar, Sugar" was a representative example that led to cartoon rock, a short-lived trend of Saturday-morning cartoon series that heavily featured pop rock songs in the bubblegum vein.
The Archies is a fictional American rock band that features in media produced by, and related to, Archie Comics. They are best remembered for their appearance in the animated TV series The Archie Show. In the context of the series, the band was founded by vocalist/guitarist Archie Andrews, vocalist/bassist Reggie Mantle, vocalist/drummer Forsythe "Jughead" Jones, vocalist/keyboardist Veronica Lodge and vocalist/percussionist Betty Cooper. In the cartoons, Veronica is shown playing a large keyboard instrument styled after the X-66, a then-current top-of-the-line organ made by the Hammond Organ Company.
Super K Productions was a 1960s American recording production company under Buddah Records, headed by producers Jerry Kasenetz and Jeffry Katz, whose groups specialized in bubblegum pop. Their biggest successes were The Ohio Express, The 1910 Fruitgum Company, Crazy Elephant and The Music Explosion. Super K also had its own label of the same name in 1969, operated under Buddah Records, but it did not last as the bubblegum genre had already started to decline in popularity.
The Ohio Express is an American bubblegum pop band formed in Mansfield, Ohio, in 1967. Though marketed as a band, it would be more accurate to say that the name "Ohio Express" served as a brand name used by Jerry Kasenetz's and Jeffry Katz's Super K Productions to release the music of a number of different musicians and acts. The best known songs of Ohio Express were actually the work of an assemblage of studio musicians working in New York, including singer/songwriter Joey Levine. Other recorded "Ohio Express" work included material recorded by an early group of Joe Walsh, as well as a later single written and sung by Graham Gouldman.
Buddah Records was an American record label founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's founding. Buddah handled a variety of music genres, including bubblegum pop, folk rock (Melanie), experimental music, and soul.
The Lemon Pipers were a short-lived 1960s American rock band from Oxford, Ohio, United States, known chiefly for their song "Green Tambourine", which reached No. 1 in the United States in 1968. The song has been credited as being the first bubblegum pop chart-topper.
Graham Keith Gouldman is an English singer, songwriter, and musician, best known as the co-lead singer and bassist of the art rock band 10cc. He has been the band's only constant member since its formation in 1972. Before 10cc, Gouldman worked as a freelance songwriter and penned many hits for major rock and pop groups such as the Yardbirds, the Hollies, Herman's Hermits, and Ohio Express, among others.
"Life Is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)" is a 1974 song written by Norman Dolph (lyrics) and Paul DiFranco (music). It was recorded by an ad hoc group of studio musicians called Reunion, with Joey Levine as lead singer. The lyrics are a fast patter of 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s disc jockeys, musicians, songwriters, record labels, song titles and lyrics, broken only by the chorus. Levine had previously been lead singer and co-writer of bubblegum music hits "Yummy Yummy Yummy" and "Chewy Chewy" by the Ohio Express. "Life Is a Rock" peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and reached No. 33 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Yummy Yummy Yummy" is a song by Arthur Resnick and Joey Levine, first recorded by Ohio Express in 1968. Their version reached No. 4 on the U.S. Pop Singles chart in June and No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart. It has since been covered by many artists. Ohio Express was a studio concoction and none of the "official" members appear on the record. Joey Levine sang lead vocals.
Crazy Elephant was an American bubblegum pop band noted for their 1969 hit single, "Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'". Crazy Elephant was a studio concoction, the Marzano-Calvert Studio Band, created by Jerry Kasenetz and Jeffry Katz of Super K Productions, promoted in Cash Box magazine as allegedly being a group of Welsh coal miners:
Kasenetz-Katz discovered their latest hitmaking group, the Crazy Elephant in a Welsh coal mine. As everyone can plainly see by looking at the charts, they rose to overnight fame. 'We come up on the elevator,' said the group's lead singer. Nevile Crisken, London nightclub owner, read an article in The Mining News, the country's leading underground newspaper, about a group of miners who hadn't been in the sun in four years. Working in the lowermost depths of the mine, they spent their spare time playing in a rock and roll band. 'We had lots of rocks down there too,' grins the group's drummer. McSteve hopped the first train to Wales, located the mine and descended 18,372,065 feet beneath the surface of the earth and signed the group to a long-term management pact.
Happy Ever After is rock band The Dogs D'Amour's seventh studio album, it was released in the year 2000 following the band's reformation. Prior to this, the Dogs had not released an album in seven years; it saw Tyla, Bam and Jo Dog reuniting. Also brought in on bass was Bam's wife, Share Ross, formerly Share Pedersen.
The Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus was a bubblegum "supergroup" created by record producers Jerry Kasenetz and Jeffry Katz, consisting of various Super K Production groups.
Jeffry Katz is an American music producer, one of the first exponents of bubblegum pop.
Jerry Kasenetz is an American bubblegum pop producer who worked with Jeffry Katz, the two working together as the Super K Productions company, to manufacture and produce bands such as Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus, The Music Explosion, 1910 Fruitgum Company, Crazy Elephant, and The Ohio Express.
Simon Says is the debut album by the American bubblegum pop group the 1910 Fruitgum Company on the Buddah Records label. Released in 1968, it included two songs that appeared on the Billboard Hot 100—the most from any of the group's albums—although it was not their highest-charting album. It's been debated whether or not the members of the band actually played on the album since the Ohio Express, another band put together by Super K Productions, actually consisted of two groups: one that produced the records and another that toured and promoted the name. This claim is disputed by original drummer Floyd Marcus, who has stated that all five men listed really were behind the instruments.
The Third Rail was an American pop/rock group, briefly popular in the 1960s, made up of studio musicians.
Kenneth Benjamin Laguna is an American songwriter and record producer, best known for his work with Joan Jett.
Arthur Resnick is an American songwriter, record producer and musician. His most successful songs as a writer include "Under the Boardwalk", "Good Lovin'", and "Yummy Yummy Yummy".
Shadows of Knight is the third studio album by American garage rock band The Shadows of Knight, and was released on Super K Productions, SKS 6002, in 1969. Recording for the album came after lead vocalist Jim Sohns revamped the Shadows of Knight's line-up and signed with Super K. Although Shadows of Knight did not chart and was the last album featuring new material by the group until A Knight to Remember, a single taken from the effort, "Shake", became a moderate national success in the United States.
"Moonflight" is a song written and originally recorded by Vik Venus in 1969. It is a 'break-in' song, with popular hits of the day interspersed at humorous points throughout the song in response to spoken-word prompts, in the style of Dickie Goodman, who had many such hits. "Moonflight" became a hit during the summer of '69, reaching #38 U.S. Billboard and #23 Cash Box. It also charted in Canada, where it reached #20. It did best in South Africa, however, where it reached #7.
| Authority control: Artists |
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