Hey, Little Girl.... Rock, Rhythm and Blues. Bob Gonzalez bob-gonzalez.com Detailed Album Notes Recorded at Hapnin Studios, Los Gatos CA Produced by Bob Gonzalez and Teddy “TJ” Politzer “Bob Gonzalez was born on February 14, 1947, in San Jose, CA. Having studied the alto sax in school, he was asked to join his first rock band called the Pharoahs in 1961, followed by the rhythm and blues band the Nightmen in 1963. Bob’s interest then turned to bass and joined a surf band for a time until he and high school buddy Don Baskin formed another group called Syndicate of Sound in 1964. The band recorded its first single in 1965 as the result of winning the Vox Bay Area Battle of the Bands. The record, "Prepare for Love," went largely unnoticed, but they followed up with another, which was a collaborative effort written by Gonzalez and Baskin called "Little Girl." The song immediately caught on with the San Jose DJs and quickly spread through the airwaves around the rest of the San Francisco Bay Area. Bell Records out of New York got wind of this and purchased the record from Hush Records and offered Syndicate a recording contract. Bell got behind the band promotionally by putting them out on tour with hit acts like, the Young Rascals, the Yardbirds, Jefferson Airplane, and many other greats. "Little Girl" started climbing the charts and eventually peaked at number eight in Billboard Magazine in May of 1966. The Syndicate of Sound’s efforts paid off enormously and made them nationally acclaimed rock stars, but without a follow-up single of the same caliber as "Little Girl," the national appeal would soon die down. In an attempt to sustain their success, the band released three more singles, but none would be charted. The unit finally disbanded in 1970. For the next two decades, Gonzalez took leave from performing steadily, and instead focused on various business ventures. Over the years, other artists have covered "Little Girl" such as England's the Banned, who made it a Top Ten hit again. the Divinyls made a video changing the gender to "Little Boy" which was played heavily on MTV, and Dwight Yoakum featured the song on his La Crox D'Amour album. Classic rock began to catch on, kicking the dust off the hits of the 1960s. "Little Girl," naturally, was among those getting significant airplay spurring on renewed interest in Syndicate. In June 2007, Little Girl reached the milestone of having over 1,000,000 major market plays, spurring on renewed interest in the Syndicate of Sound.“Little Girl” was picked up by Touchstone in the spring of 2002 to featured in it’s movie; “Sorority Boy’s”. And Dick Clark featured “Little Girl” during a few episodes of his NBC series “American Dreams”. In 1990, Gonzalez and Baskin, put the band back together and have been doing occasional concerts ever since. The constant resurgence and ongoing popularity of their hit “Little Girl”; and their cult status as one of the greatest “Garage Bands” ever; will give the Syndicate of Sound their place in Rock and Roll history. In addition to his duties as the Syndicate’s bass player. Bob plays with a number of blues and rock bands in the Bay Area. Bob’s music foundation is the blues and early R&B. So it is only natural that has gone back to his roots for his first solo album. The album features some of his favorite songs and players, and a Texas shuffle re-write of Little Girl.” Recording All of the songs were recorded in the following fashion. We always started with Guitar, Bass, and Drums with a reference vocal track all done at the same time. This method is often referred to as doing a live track. I also like recording this way because I am very comfortable playing in a trio. Players: Bob Gonzalez Vocals- All Tracks Bass- All Tracks Arrangements- All Tracks, Except 5 Teddy “TJ” Politzer Sound Engineer- All Tracks Guitar- Track 9, 11 (Slide, and Acoustic) Piano- Track 8 Background Vocals- 3, 7, 8, 9, 11,12 In addition to being at the control board, he also served a vital role as the guy who could play anything and sing anything. TJ was a founding member of the great San Francisco - Seattle based band, KId Afrika. He also was the leader of the world renowned zydeco band the Sundogs. Dave Gonzales Guitar- Tracks 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 Arrangement- Track 5 Early in his career, Dave did a number of projects with my Syndicate of Sound partner; Don Baskin. He went on to make a name for himself as an outstanding Blues and Rock guitarist, working with the likes of Greg Allman and Inner Circle. Dave now fronts his band; The Humdaddyz. Dave and I have done a number of shows together, he was a natural to do most of the guitar work on this CD. Patrick Hennessy Drums- Tracks 2, 3, 4, 8, 10, 11, 12 Background Vocals- Tracks 3, 10 Patrick was the original drummer with Cornell Hurd and His Mondo Hot Pants Orchestra. After he left that band he also worked with Don Baskin, my Syndicate of Sound partner. Patrick and I, along with his wife Gloria and Jim Sawyers have a classic rock band; the Sultans. Patrick also play drums with Dave and I. Another obvious choice for this project. Hap Scott Background Vocals- 1, 9 A good friend and major supporter of this project. Jim Sawyers Guitar- Tracks 3, 4 (First Solo), 10, 11 (12 String), 12 (First Solo) Background Vocals- Tracks 3, 10 I have been working with Jim since he joined the Syndicate of Sound in January of 66’. We did all those shows all over the US and Canada together. I play with Jim in my classic rock band, the Sultans; and work with him from time to time on other projects. I would have been hard to do this CD with out his friendship and encouragement. Mark Fenichel Harmonica- 3, 5, 10, 12 Mr. Harmonica himself, one of the Bay Areas best. Jerry Miller Guitar- Tracks 4, 12 Jerry played guitar in one of my favorite bands of the 60’s, Moby Grape. It was unbelievable to me that he was able and willing to help out with this project. Truly, one the greatest guitar players ever... John “Fuzzy” Oxendine Drums- Tracks 1, 5, 6, 7, 9 Fuzzy got his start about the same time as I did. He played in a number of notable well know bands of the 60’s. The Sons of Champlin, Moby Grape, and the Rhythm Dukes. He still plays with Jerry Miller when ever Jerry is performing in Northern CA. He and I really “lock in” as a rhythm section. Tony Castro Tenor Sax- Tracks 4, 6 I wanted someone that played in the early 60’s, that understands the New Orleans sax sound. How could I do better than Tony? He played around the East Bay during that period and moved on to Vegas where he met his mentor Sam Butera (Louie Prema). During this recording he played his old Selmer Mark VI with a mouthpiece that Sam gave him...... Gloria Hennessy Background Vocals- 3, 10 Gloria is the vocalist in our band, the Sultans. Song Listing 1) Get Out of My Life, Woman (Alan Toussaint); The Syndicate of Sound began to play this song as soon as we heard Paul Butterfield’s version from his East West album. I have always liked this tune and appreciate it even more now that I know of it’s New Orleans roots. Alan Toussaint originally wrote the song for Lee Dorsey. I added a verse from the original that Paul Butterfied did not include in his recording. 2) I Walk Alone (David Hidalgo, Louis Perez); This song works so well with the classic blues-rock trio that Dave, Patrick, and like to do. We did not add much from the basic track we just kept loud and proud. 3) Get Back (John Lennon, Paul McCartney); As with most Beatles songs, they can be done in a number of ways. I like doing it as I arranged for my Sultan’s band. What you hear is that version done by that band; Jim, Patrick, and Gloria with Mark on Harp. 4) Just a Little Bit (Roscoe Gordon); This might be the song I’ve played the longest. I learned this song in 1962 when I was just 15, as an Alto Sax player in a band called The Nightmen. Don Baskin and I left this band to form the Syndicate of Sound. Jerry Miller always does this song in his live shows and was very prepared to do it with me. Psychotic Reaction (Elner, Chaney, Atkinson, Byrne, Michalski); When most people think of the Syndicate of Sound, they link us with The Count V and their massive hit. I thought it only right to include a version on this CD. I discussed this song with Dave when I asked him to be part of the project. He took the challenge of reinterpreting the song and ran with it. I have to credit him with most of the arrangement. Fuzzy; being a big part of the San Francisco psychedelic music scene in the 60’s was a natural choice as a drummer. 6) Bags’ Groove (Milt Jackson); Another song that I played in with the Nightmen, we so much wanted to be cool like Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Milt Jackson, and Thelonious Monk. At that time bands did more instrumentals. I don’t know if it was bad PA’s, or we were not comfortable singing, or both. 7) You Don’t Love Me (Willie Cobb); I first heard this song as on Al Kooper’s Supper Sessions album. I like going back to the original styling. 8) Trouble Bound (Dave Alvin); I started listening to the Blasters after finding the song Dry River. This is a great song for a live show, I couldn’t pass it up. Listen to Patrick’s classic drum beat. 9) Gloria (Van Morrison); Gloria was a “show closer” for the Syndicate in our early years. A great song that was so overplayed that you do not hear much anymore. I thought if John Lee Hooker could do it, I could include a version on my CD. This is the only song that the basic track was not done live. TJ and I knocked out a rhythm track, with the help of a drum machine, and then brought Dave in for his magic. What glued it together, was Fuzzy’s inspirational drumming. You had to play in the 60’s to really understand. 10) I Ain’t Got You (Calvin Carter); This is the only song I sang lead on with the Syndicate. I still sing it with the Sultans. So, I’m using the Sultans (Jim, Patrick, and Gloria) on the recording along with the most talented Mark Fenichel on Harp. 11) Dry River (Dave Alvin); I had heard James McMurtry’s version of this song a few times. When I was reviewing songs for this project, Dry River just found me. It came up as I was letting my ipod just play. The song spoke to me......my growing up in Santa Clara Valley was a similar experience to Dave Alvin’s in Orange County. The guitar work done by Jim and TJ along with Patricks drumming make this cut a personal favorite of mine. 12) Little Girl (Bob Gonzalez, Don Baskin); I wanted to do a version that I could do on my own that didn’t step on the way Don sang on our original Syndicate of Sound recording. I reconstructing the song in a classic blues structure. And chose to do it in the Texas Shuffle style that works so well live. Jerry Miller’s (Moby Grape) guitar work put the icing on the cake.....