Feb. 3: Johnny Cymbal - "Ms Bassman" - was born on this date in 1945...

... he was 48 when he died on March 16, 1993.

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Did you know?

Johnny Cymbal was not his made-up stage name. At a young age, he was adopted by his mother's second husband, Nick Cymbal, who was a Polish national and a member of the Free Polish Forces stationed in Scotland during World War II. John, who always spoke of Nick as his father, took his surname, and became John Hendry Cymbal.

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Johnny Cymbal was born in Ochitree, Scotland and named John Hendry Blair. When Johnny was seven or eight years old, the family moved from Scotland to Goderich, Ontario, Canada, and later to Cleveland, Ohio.

Growing up outside Toronto and then Cleveland, during the genesis of rock and roll, Johnny (who was a fan of, and heavily influenced by, Elvis Presley) became fixated on music and quickly taught himself guitar. He began writing his own songs and singing at the age of 13.

When he was 15, he was discovered by Cleveland music entrepreneur, Sid Lawrence, who brought him to the attention of the well-connected Philadelphia radio personality, Jack Gale. Gale negotiated a recording contract for Cymbal with MGM, and in 1960, at the age of 15, Johnny did his first two sessions, in Nashville, singing his own compositions; "Always Always" and "The Water Was Red." When neither song charted, Johnny's contract option was not picked up by MGM.

At that time, according to Gale, he became both Johnny's manager and legal guardian, and John went to live with Jack Gale and his wife, Lovey, in Philadelphia. John worked in a shoe store as a salesman during this time, while he continued writing songs and Gale sought another recording deal.

Gale was able to get Johnny several one-shot releases on various labels and he soon charted with "Bachelor Man," a demo released in 1963. Kapp gave Johnny an album deal and in December 1962, John recorded his self-penned, "Mr. Bass Man" with Ronnie Bright from The Valentines doing the bass voice.

"Mr. Bass Man," became an instant worldwide smash, going to #16 in the U.S., #1 in Japan and Argentina, Top 5 in England. It was recorded with French lyrics by Henri Salvador and released in France as "Monsieur Boum Boum"; with different french lyrics, it was released as "Monsieur La Basse" by Gilles Brown in Quebec, Canada. "Mr. Bass Man" continues to receive radio airplay and sell records after 40 years.

John was soon signed by The William Morris Agency and began personal appearances throughout the Northeast and then to Europe and Japan after completing his first LP for Kapp. He was 18 years old.

"Dum Dum De Dum," the July 1963 follow-up release to "Mr. Bass Man," did not do well, nor did his next record "Teenage Heaven." The inability to maintain his success was naturally discouraging to Cymbal, who ."..would lock himself in his room for hours."

First and foremost, Johnny Cymbal thought of himself as a songwriter; throughout his life he kept diaries of ideas and notes for future use. By 1966, he devoted his time to songwriting. Although he continued to make records as a singer throughout his career, most of those recordings were released under recording pseudonyms including "Brother John," "Derek," "The Eye-Full Tower," "Dallas" and "The Non-Conformists," among many others.




A prolific composer, Johnny has a catalog of over 200 published songs. in addition to his rock and roll anthem, "Mr. Bass Man," he was responsible for hit records including: "Teenage Heaven," "Cinnamon," "Mary In The Morning," "Rock Me Baby" and "I'm Drinking Canada Dry."

(Press album cover for direct link to the entire Amazon Website):

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During his career he wrote alone and with many partners, including: CMA Hall Of Famer Charlie Black; Austin Roberts of "I.O.U." fame; Mark Sameth; multiple CMA award winner Gene Pistilli; Nashville writer David Malloy; Bill Holmes, and Peggy Clinger.

With Michael Rashkow as his co-writer, he penned smash hit and BMI Million Performance Award Winner, "Mary In The Morning." With that song, John attained a lifetime ambition - to have one of his compositions recorded by Elvis Presley.

Cymbal's songs have been recorded by numerous artists inb addition to Elvis: Glen Campbell, Gene Pitney, Al Martino, The Partridge Family, Spencer Davis Group, Frankie Ford, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Eddy Arnold, Ed Ames, Adam Wade, Aaron Tippen, Mike Curb, Jan and Dean, Trini Lopez and David Cassidy, among others.

In 1983, he placed songs on the movie soundtracks of Tender Mercies  starring Robert Duvall and Tough Enough  starring Dennis Quaid.

He died in his sleep of a heart attack on March 16, 1993 at the age of 48.


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Feb. 3: '60s songstress Melanie, "Lay Down, "Beautiful People, "Brand New Key" - is 64 today.

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Did you know?


When first released, "Brand New Key" was banned by some radio stations because some saw sexual innuendo in the lyrics. What do you think?


I got a brand new pair of roller skates,
You got a brand new key.
I think that we should get together and try them out, to see...
I been looking around awhile,
You got something for me
Oh! I got a brand new pair of roller skates,
You got a brand new key.
I ride my bike, I roller skate, don't drive no car,
Don't go too fast, but I go pretty far.
For somebody who don't drive
I been all around the world
Some people say I've done alright for a girl...

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In the beginning...

Born Melanie Anne Safka-Schekeryk, Melanie grew up in the Astoria section of Queens, New York. Her first public appearance was at age four on the radio show Live Like A Millionaire, performing the song "Gimme a Little Kiss."

Melanie was a student at New York's American Academy of Dramatic Arts when she began singing in the folk clubs of Greenwich Village and signed her first recording contract with Columbia Records, then after releasing two singles, signed with Buddah Records.

She first experienced chart success in Europe with her 1969 song, "Bobo's Party," which reached Number 1 in France. Later that year, Melanie had a hit in the Netherlands with "Beautiful People," before performing at the Woodstock Festival.

The inspiration for her signature song, "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)," apparently arose from the Woodstock audience lighting candles during her set. The recording became a hit in Europe, Australia, Canada, and the U.S. in 1970. Later hits included "Peace Will Come (According To Plan)" and a cover of the Rolling Stones' "Ruby Tuesday."

She left Buddah Records when they insisted that she produce albums on demand. In 1971 Melanie formed her own label, Neighborhood Records, with her producer/husband Peter Schekeryk. Her next hit was "What Have They Done To My Song Ma."

Melanie had her biggest American hit on the Neighborhood label: the novelty-sounding 1972 number one "Brand New Key" (often referred to as "The Roller Skate Song"). "Brand New Key" sold over three million copies worldwide and was featured in the 1997 movie Boogie Nights.

The follow-up single to "Brand New Key" was "Ring the Living Bell." To compete with this release, Melanie's former record company released "The Nickel Song," which she had recorded while still signed to Buddah Records. Both songs were simultaneous Top 40 hits while "Brand New Key" was still on the charts — setting a record for the first female performer to have three Top 40 hits at the same time.

Melanie was awarded Billboard's #1 Top Female Vocalist for 1972. She had another Top 40 hit single in 1973 with "Bitter Bad," a song that marked a slight departure from the hippie sentiments of earlier hits (with lyrics such as "If you do me wrong I'll put your first and last name in my rock n' roll song"). Other chart hits during this period were the self-penned "Together Alone" and a cover of "Will You Love Me Tomorrow."

Melanie has been awarded two gold albums (and a gold single for "Brand New Key") and three of her compositions were hits for The New Seekers. She is also well-known for her musical adaptations of children's songs, including "Alexander Beetle" and "Christopher Robin."

(Continued below video and Amazon portals ...)

(Press album cover for direct link to the entire Amazon Website):

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In 1973, Melanie started to retreat from the spotlight to begin a family. Her daughter Leilah was born that same year. When she became an official UNICEF ambassador in 1972, she agreed to forgo a world tour in favour of raising money for the organization.

In 1989, she won an Emmy Award for writing the lyrics to "The First Time I Loved Forever," the theme song for the TV series Beauty and the Beast.

Melanie's most recent album, Paled By Dimmer Light, was released in 2004. In 2007, Melanie was invited by Jarvis Cocker to perform at the Meltdown Festival at the Royal Festival Hall in London.

Her sold-out performance received critical acclaim with The Independent claiming "it was hard to disagree that Melanie has earned her place alongside Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Joni Mitchell and Marianne Faithfull in the pantheon of iconic female singers. Meltdown was all the better for her presence."


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