Young Records was an independent record-label started up in 1959, by journalist and radio DJ Miguel Vaccaro Netto in partnership with Enrique Lebendiger, an executive from Fermata do Brasil, a sheet-music publishing house cum record company (Fermata and RGE). Vaccaro acted as a record-producer too, and one could easily say Young was his dream come true.
Miguel Vaccaro had an afternoon rock-show called 'Disque Disco' broadcast daily by Radio Panamericana from 3:00 to 5:00 PM where he not only played records but also presented live music made by local rock bands that were popping up around the many suburbs of Sao Paulo since 1958. He knew he had enough original talent to start up a record label and be successful.
Vaccaro assembled a whole cast of young hopefuls who had already performed for free at 'Disque Disco', recorded them all in a marathon session during the 1959 Easter holiday long-week-end when recording studio-time was cheaper and then he had a whole library he could play at his radio show.
The tunes would come from those US 45 rpms Vaccaro played on his radio-show which had not been released in Brazil yet. Those very 45 rpms from US labels like Ahmet Ertegun's Atlantic & Atco, Philadelphia's Cameo-Parkway & Chancellor, MGM or ABC-Paramount which had signed pressing & distribution deals with Mr Lebendiger's Fermata do Brasil.
Vaccaro was an enthusiast of US rock'n'roll and kept up-to-date with magazines such as Billboard and Cash Box. He played American hits on the radio before they were released in Brazil which sometimes took between 6 months and a year. Vaccaro knew there was a time-gap he could fill in if he recorded those hits with Brazilian acts and released them immediately. It was a chance he'd take.
Young Records was active during 1959 and 1960. Young's biggest handicap was embedded in its own genesis: Brazilian acts who didn't have the proper knack of the English language and a consumer market that did not understand English either.
English-language records will only become popular in non-English-speaking countries if those are melodious tunes. As the record-buying public don't understand the lyrics they have to rely on melody and rhythm. That is what Mr. Vaccaro Netto didn't seem to realize. Maybe if Vaccaro had those tunes translated and adapted to the local market's taste he would've been sucessful in the end.
He recorded Brazilian acts performing songs such as The Coasters' onomatopoeic 'Yakety yak', an almost-spoken tune; Lloyd Price's 'Where were you on our wedding day?' that lost all its drama if the listener doesn't know what's actually goin on; 'Ding dong daddy wants to rock', a rock-a-billy song that would never have played on the radio except in Texas or Tennessee, 'The ten commandments of love', a doo-wop that required a lot of hard work from the singers and a lot of knowledge from the audience to know they were singing about the Mosaic Law transplanted to a teenager-world.
Young Records could not continue on this premise and it folded sooner than later. Even so, the two catalogues recorded by the many acts are very interesting to listen to. Brazilian rock evolved swiflty from that and many of those new acts went on to bigger things elsewhere.
Gato, the guitar virtuoso (and a fairly good singer to boot) that was Vaccaro's right-hand man when it came to music went on to start The Jet Blacks, a seminal Brazilian instrumental rock-band that spawned dozens of similar combos. The Rebels' lead-singer Zezinho went on to become Prini Lorez, the man who took Trini Lopez to task in 1964.
Nenê who was The Rebels' 12-year-old drummer went on to sing and play bass for Os Incriveis in their most popular phase. The Avalons' guitarrist Dudu became seriously involved in jazz. The Beverlys, the first Brazilian Black doo-wop group went on to record for RGE and appear at Jovem Guarda TV show.
Hamilton di Giorgio turned out to be one of the best rock singers Brazilians ever had. Demetrius was the first Young act who actually broke into the charts in 1962 with a cover of Ray Peterson's 'Corinna, Corinna' sung in Portuguese.
Marcos Roberto and Dori Edson, two members of The Cupids, had to wait a few more years to break into the main-stream when Brazilian rock went 'national' with the advent of the so-called Jovem Guarda (Young Guard) in 1965.
THE YOUNG YEARS - musicas gravadas pela Young, sêlo criado pelo JD Miguel Vaccaro Netto em parceria com Enrique Lebendiger, da Fermata do Brasil. Vaccaro aglutinou uma turma de jovens músicos paulistas que gravitavam em torno de seu programa 'Disque Disco' na Radios Panamericana de S.Paulo. São interpretações de sucessos norte-americanos de 1958 e 1959, feitas por jovens estudantes de cursos-de-inglês, comissários-de-bordo, secretarias bi-lingue ou simples aficionados do rock'n'roll surgido no Brasil circa 1957.
As gravações eram feitas em verdadeiras 'maratonas musicais' que duravam até 48 horas, pois o estúdio da Continental, no Largo da Misericórdia, era alugado p'ro final-de-semana e tudo tinha que estar gravado nas fitas magnéticas antes da meia-noite do domingo.
Vaccaro tinha muita fé em seu projeto e dedicou pelo menos 2 anos de sua vida (1959-1960) para que tivesse sucesso. Lançou mais de 20 discos nos formatos 78 rpm e 45 rpm de vinil. Houve acidentes de percurso quando Vaccaro foi demitido sumariamente da Radio Panamericana, perdendo assim uma tribuna importante na divulgação dos discos. Ah, Vaccaro perdeu também sua coluna diária no jornal 'Ultima Hora', que era o melhor jornal brasileiro da época.
A maioria desses discos caiu no esquecimento do publico e o rock brasileiro se desenvolveu por outros caminhos. Isso até o advento da era digital nos anos 1990s. O colecionador e pesquisador carioca Valdir Siqueira compilou toda produção fonográfica da Young em um CD duplo que fez muito sucesso entre colecionadores e entusiastas do rock brasileiro. De-repente os velhos discos 45 e 78 rpm da Young ainda existente, atingiram preços absurdamente altos.
Y-78-101 - To know him is to love him / Fallin' - REGIANE & The Avalons
Y-78-102 - Passing by / The Ten Commandments of love - THE YOUNGS
Y-78-103 - Petite fleur / Les oignons (As cebolinhas) - SIDNEY BECHET
Y-45-104 - Rebel rouser / All the time - THE AVALONS
Y-45-105 - Dream lover / Where were you on our wedding day? - Antonio Claudio & The Jester Tigers
Y-45-106 - Frankie / Tum-ba-lov - REGIANE & The Avalons
Y-45-107 - Hiccups / Since you've been gone - NICK SAVOIA & The Scarletts
Y-45-108 - Little star / There goes my baby - THE BEVERLYS
Y-45-109 - I'm gonna get married / My heart is an open book - Hamilton di Giorgio & The Devils
Y-45-110 - Kiss me honey honey, kiss me / I can't live - LUCY PERRIER & The Cupids
Y-45-111 - Come softly to me / Baby talk - THE AVALONS
Y-45-112 - Here comes the Avalons / Believe me - THE AVALONS
Y-45-113 - Ding dong daddy wants to rock / Baby - THE REBELS
Y-45-114 - Book of love / Mr. Blue - THE TEENAGERS
Y-45-115 - Bad boy / I go ape - NICK SAVOIA & the Rebels
Y-45-116 - My search (Muy cerca de ti) / You were mine - FREDDIE DAVIS
Y-45-117 - I'm yours / Broken-hearted melody - REGIANE
Y-45-118 - Cry - Mack the Knife - NICK SAVOIA
Y-45-119 - Teenage sonata / We got love - HAMILTON DI GIORGIO
Y-45-120 - A boy without a girl / Mediterranean moon - THE TEENAGERS
Y-45-121 - Moon shot / My love is a charm - THE SCARLETTS
Y-45-122 - Yakety-yak / Dance with me - THE BEVERLYS
Y-45-123 - Come to paradise / Torquay - THE YOUNGS
Y-45-124 - Hold me tight / Young and in love - DEMETRIUS & The Devils
Y-45-125 - Danny Boy - DORI ANGIOLELLA / I love you, I do - MARCOS ROBERTO
Y-45-126 - The angels listened in / In my heart - CARLOS DAVID & Beverlys feat. Amelia Loureiro
Y-45-127 - Kissin' time / What'd I say? - GATTO
Y-78-.... - Paris Belfort / Parada da Juventute - GATTO
Here is a list of songs recorded by producer Miguel Vaccaro Netto and the Young Records cast during the 1959 Easter long-weekend and some other subsequent sessions done at the studios of Continental Records on Largo da Misericordia in Sao Paulo. These songs were released both in 78 rpm and 45 rpm formats.
The original songs covered by Brazilian acts are listed here according to the highest position they occupied at Billboard magazine when released by their original artists in the USA:
1. Mack the Knife #1 Bobby Darin 5 Oct 1959 Nick Savoia
2. Cry #1 Johnny Ray 29 Dec 1951 Nick Savoia
3. Little star #1 The Elegants 25 Aug 1958 The Beverlys
4. Yakety yak #1 The Coasters 9 Jun 1958 The Beverlys
5. To know him is to love him #1 Teddy Bears 1st Dec 1958 Regiane & Avalons
6. Come softly to me #1 Fleetwoods 13 Apr 1959 The Avalons
7. Mr. Blue #1 Fleetwoods 16 Nov 1959 The Teenagers
8. There goes my baby #2 The Drifters 17 Aug 1959 The Beverlys
9. Dream lover #2 Bobby Darin 4 May 1959 Antonio Claudio & Jester Tigers
10. My heart is an open book #3 Carl Dobkin Jr. 3 Aug 1959 Hamilton di Giorgio
11. I'm gonna get married #3 Lloyd Price 14 Sept 1959 Hamilton di Giorgio
12. I'm yours #5 Eddie Fisher 5 Jul 1952 Regiane
13. The book of love #5 The Monotones 7 Apr 1958 The Teenagers
14. What'd I say? #6 Ray Charles 17 Aug 1959 Gato
15. Rebel rouser #6 Duane Eddy 7 Jul 1958 The Avalons
16. We got love #6 Bobby Rydell 7 Dec 1959 Hamilton di Giorgio
17. Broken-hearted melody #7 Sarah Vaughn 7 Sep 1959 Regiane
18. Frankie #9 Connie Francis 6 Jul 1959 Regiane
19. O Dio mio #10 Annette Funicello 28 Mar 1960 Regiane
20. Danny boy #10 Conway Twitty 7 Dec 1959 Dori Angiolella
21. A boy without a girl #10 Frankie Avalon 13 Jul 1959 The Teenagers
22. Baby talk #10 Jan & Dean 14 Sep 1959 The Avalons
23. Kissin' time #11 Bobby Rydell 10 Aug 1959 Gato
24. Dance withl me #15 The Drifters 2 Nov 1959 The Beverlys
25. You were mine #21 Fireflies feat. Richie Adams 28 Sep 1959 Freddie Davis
26. The Ten Commandments of Love #22 Harvey & the Moonglows 20 Oct 1958 The Teenagers
27. The angels listened in #22 The Crests 14 Sep 1959 Carlos David
28. Where were you (on our wedding day)? #23 Lloyd Price 30 Mar 1959 Antonio Claudio
29. Believe me #26 Royal Teens 16 Nov 1959 The Avalons
30. Fallin' #30 Connie Francis 17 Nov 1958 Regiane & the Avalons
31. Bad boy #36 Jive Bombers feat. Clarence Palmer 16 Mar 1957 Nick Savoia & the Rebels
32. Since you've been gone #38 Clyde McPhatter 3 Aug 1959 Nick Savoia & the Scarletts
33. Torquay (instrumental) #39 The Fireballs 26 Oct 1959 The Youngs
34. Valentina, my Valentina Lee & Paul The Avalons
35. Hiccups Frank Slay Jr. Nick Savoia
36. Ding dong daddy wants to rock Ronnie DeMarino The Rebels
37. That's all Bobby Darin Nick Savoia
38. Teenage sonata Sam Cooke (written by Jeff Barry) Nick Savoia
39. Mediterranean moon The Rays (19860) The Teenagers
40. I go ape Frankie Tyler (future Frankie Valli) Nick Savoia
41. In my heart Carlos David with Amelia Paula in background vocal
42. My love is a charm The Shirelles The Scarletts
43. Kiss me honey, honey kiss me Shirley Bassey Lucy Perrier & the Cupids
44. Come to paradise The Fascinators The Youngs
45. Passing by The Versatiles The Youngs
46. Moon shot (instrumental) Joe Maphis The Scarletts
47. Tum-ba-lov Linda Powers Regiane & the Avalons
48. My search (Muy cerca de ti) Freddie Davis
49. Willie boy Regiane
50. Young and in love Demetrius & the Devils
51. Hold me so tight (written by Hamilton di Giorgio) Demetrius & the Devils
52. I can't live Lucy Perrier & the Cupids
53. Baby (written and sung by Zezinho aka Galli Jr.) The Rebels
54. All the time (written by Solano Ribeiro) The Avalons
55. I love you, I do Marcos Roberto
56. China rock (instrumental) The Avalons
57. Here comes the Avalons (instrumental) The Avalons
some extra material
58. Paris, Belfort (instrumental) Gato
59. Parada da juventude (instrumental) Gato
Miguel Vaccaro Netto era bom produtor de discos, mas como A&R Man (Artist and Repertoire) deixava a desejar pois muitas de suas escolhas foram terrivelmente infelizes. Musicas 'locais' norte-americanas como 'Yakety yak', dos Coasters, que eram práticamente faladas (ou monótonas) foram impostas aos jovens artistas sem esses poderem dar suas opiniões. 'Yakety yak' em particular é onomatopeica, significando 'blá blá blá', sendo a situação peculiar de um garoto que já não aguenta mais as imposições da sociedade em geral, personificadas na mãe, professora etc. que sempre vem com cobranças - 'blá blá blá'. É uma gravação-comédia ('novelty') que só atinge seu objetivo se o público-alvo entender o texto. Sem entender inglês, a música acaba se tornando enfadonha e chata.
O problema fundamental do projeto Vaccaro-Young é a diferença monumental que existe entre as linguas inglesa e portuguesa. Não só linguas diferentes, mas culturas e religiões muito distintas. Vaccaro achou que poderia ultrapassar a barreira linguística, mas isso é impossivel. A cultura humana não pode ser moldada de acordo aos nossos caprichos. O que o produtor, talvez, quisesse era ter nascido nos Estados Unidos. Como isso não fora possivel, ele achou que fazendo todo mundo cantar-em-inglês, estaria assim concretizando seu sonho.
Na verdade, se Vaccaro tivesse parado para pensar ele teria percebido que não é todo sucesso norte-americano que 'vinga' no Brasil. A musica yankee faz sucesso no mundo inteiro, mas os discos de maior êxito são as faixas mais melodiosas, pois o publico internacional não entende o conteúdo das letras. Esse problema poderia ter sido resolvido se as músicas tivessem sido vertidas ou adaptadas para o português, como a Odeon já tinha provado em 1958, com 'Lacinhos cor-de-rosa', cujo original 'Pink shoe laces' nunca 'pegaria' no mercado brasileiro. 'Pink shoe laces' conta a história de Dooley, um rapaz exótico que gosta de usar colete de bolinhas, chapeu Panamá com uma faixa roxa, sapatos marrons com laços cor-de-rosa. Um cara assim no Brasil seria imediatamente taxado de 'viado' (gay). Então o Fred Jorge vai e 'adapta' a canção para o gosto local, onde os 'laços cor-de-rosa' ficam bem só nos sapatos da mocinha e não do mocinho. Sacou? Essa 'intervenção' fredijorgiana fez a música, cantada magnificamente por Celly Campello ir p'ro primeiro lugar. Fred Jorge era um escritor de novelas e contos populares que conhecia o público brasileiro profundamente. Já, o Vaccaro pensou que gravando uma música 'engraçadinha' em inglês ela iria, como num passe de mágica, ser entendida pelo público dos trópicos. Enfim, o projeto Young já começou com falhas técnicas insuperáveis.
Young Records 1959-1960 catalogue was back in vogue circa 2001 after Valdir Siqueira, a record collector based in Rio de Janeiro managed to assemble a double-CD containing its entire collection.
US recording labels most copied by Young Records were:
1. Atlantic (5)
2. Atco (5)
3. Columbia (3)
4. MGM (3)
5. Cameo-Parkway-Chancellor (3)
6. ABC-Paramount (2)
7. Okeh (2)
8. Decca (2)
9. Dolphin (2)
10. Dorè (2)
the following labels had only one appearance at Young's catalogue:
APT, Buena Vista, Capitol, Carlton, Chess, Epic, Jubilee, Mascot, Mercury, Savoy, Top-Rank, Vogue, XYZ.
Here are the songs collected by Valdir with their original American artists:
CD 1:
1. Valentina, my Valentina - The Avalons do a pretty good job on a song that is not exactly top of the heap. They were originally an instrumental band but Mr. Vaccaro Netto made them add 3 vocalists who do a better-than-average job concerning the singing of English words. One of the three vocalilsts was born in Hong Kong that until 1999 belonged to the British Empire.
2. To know him is to love him - Regiane accompanied by The Avalons. Regiane was undoubtedly Young's biggest star. She had a strong voice and sang pretty well but her English was atrocious and according to what she herself declared later she didn't care much about it. As she didn't understand the words she uttered she thought it didn't actually matter. Unfortunately a record lasts forever and all sorts of people will eventually listen to it one day which is not very flattering to Regiane in the end.
10. Kiss me honey, honey kiss me - Lucy Perrier & The Cupids - we don't know much about Lucy Perrier but the song is sort of weak even though Shirley Bassey's rendition is really good... but then again Ms Bassey is beyond compare. Note: the Philips EP was bought in Rio de Janeiro on 16 October 1959.
11. Come softly to me - a pretty accurate cover The Avalons did of The Fleetwood's #1 Billboard hit.
12. Here comes the Avalons - an instrumental track with nothing really new apart from a grammatical error in its title which should be 'Here COME the Avalons'...
18. Cry - Johnny Ray had recorded it in 1951 with background vocals by The Four Lads. Nick Savoia sings it with heart but unfortunately the words aren't clear. He sort of slurs them when the Prince of Wails was known to be so clear and precise in his renditions. The tempo is a little faster and the addition of a string section shows producer Vaccaro was in a Phil Spector-mood. Tony Campello recorded 'Cry' for his Odeon album 'Baby rock' with a better result.
21. Moon shot - The Scarletts were supposed to cover this difficult piece of hill-billy music by virtuoso guitarrist Joe Maphis. As they wouldn't have a good enough guitar-player to lead the melody they made-do with a trumpet instead.
22. Yakety yak - this was a 'novelty' tune in the USA done superbly by The Coasters when they teamed up with Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller. Vaccaro thought The Beverlys could cover it... I think it's a sin to do that but no matter how hard was the task to cover such a difficult song The Beverlys did a wonderful job. They must have rehearsed it for weeks on end until they had all the lyrics figured out. Congratulation to those fellows (and a girl) from Penha, a Eastern suburb in Sao Paulo.
23. Come to paradise - The Youngs, a vocal group from Rio Claro-SP cover this doo-wop originally recorded by The Fascinators featuring Tony Passalacqua.
24. Hold me tight - Demetrius & The Devils sing a song originally written in English by Hamilton Di Giorgio inspired in the early Elvis Presley hits. One could call it something like: 'Hound dog-revisited'.
25. Danny boy - Dori Angiolella covers Conway Twitty's ditty with a little help from The Beverlys in the backing vocals. As of 1965, he would be known as Dori Edson and record many a-hits for RGE.
26. The angels listened in - Carlos David covers Johnny Maestro & The Crests' second biggest hit. Not much information about David. He sounds all right in the lead while The Beverlys do the backing vocals.
27. What'd I say? - besides being the best guitar-player around Jose Provetti aka Gato was also a good singer. Listen to Gato's 'simplified' version of the Ray Charles' ad-lib composition.
29. That's all - Nick Savoia in one of his best performances; it's pure Tin Pan Alley written by Alan Brandt & Bob Haymes. It was first recorded by Nat King Cole in 1953, achieved some popularity but it was Bobby Darin's version in his 1959 album 'That's all' that introduced the song to a wider audience. Nick Savoia copies Darin's performance verbatim; even the scat singing in the interlude. That's all. The horn section is really groovy.
30. Kissin' time - Gato proves that he means business. He obviously emulates Bobby Rydell's inflections but he comes up on top in a song with so many difficult proper names. Try singing just the first line: 'They're kissing in Cleveland, Kansas City, too; they're wailing in Wildwood, back at Waterloo; they're smooching all over, even in Saint Loo...' Italian rocker Rita Pavone covered 'Kissin' time' on her 1964 US album but her pronunciation is embarrassing. Gato on the other had does an excellent job.
3. The ten commandments of love - The Youngs had a hard time getting their message through. The recording is all muddled up due to the speaking-voice over the singing being too loud. The lead singer had to be more asserting and the voice-over a little lower.
4. All the time - The Avalons rock as well as they can with this up-tempo tune penned by Solano Ribeiro, who sings the lead too.
5. Where were you on our wedding day? - Antonio Claudio was a competent singer. He does a good job emulating great Lloyd Price here. The Beverlys do a great background vocal and the saxophonist is really a pro too! Carlus Maximus wrote: 'A impressão que tive quando assisti o programa comemorativo do Cinquentenário da Young, foi que Vaccaro impôs essa musica ao Antonio Claudio. Quando ouvi Vaccaro pronunciar o título em inglês, percebi que nem o produtor sabe pronunciá-la corretamente.'
6. Tum-ba-lov - Regiane sings as well as she can here and The Avalons do an excellent job rocking as hell. The Avalons could also sing great harmonies in the background. Julie Joy would cover 'Tum-ba-lov' as 'Você não tem razão' in 1960; translated into Portuguese by TV comedian Renato Corte-Real whose brother Roberto worked as A&R man for Columbia Records. Roberto Corte-Real had met Nick Savoia in New York when both were attending a party at Teddy Randazzo's apartment.
7. Since you've been gone - Nick Savoia & The Scarletts try their best to carry this tune written by Neil Sedaka & Howard Greenfield done originally by Clyde McPhatter in his post- Drifters-days.
8. There goes my baby - The Beverlys having Castro singing the lead done by Ben E.King in the original Drifters song. The Beverlys recorded it on 12 November 1959. Watch for the string section played by some members of Sao Paulo Symphonic Orchestra.
9. My heart is an open book - Hamilton Di Giorgio excells covering Carl Dobkins, Jr.'s hit. This was Young's 3rd biggest hit after Regiane's 'I'm yours' and The Avalons' 'China rock'. Tony Campello covered it as 'Livro do coração' translated by Fred Jorge in 'Baby... rock', his 2nd album for Odeon, released in June 1960.
10. I can't live - Lucy Perrier croons a ballad much reminiscent of Paul Anka's 'You are my destiny'; The Cupids do the back-vocals with a vengeance. Miss Perrier desperately needed some English-language tutoring.
11. Baby talk - Two members of the The Avalons' vocal half cover Jan & Dean's dittie. I'd say Solano Ribeiro starts the song to be joined later by Passarinho.
12. Believe me - The Avalons do another original material. The vocal part is probably the most sophisticated they ever done being reminiscent of The Belmonts.
14. Mr. Blue - The Teenagers do a good job with this slow-tempo originally recorded by The Fleetwoods.
17. Broken-hearted melody - Regiane covers Sarah Vaughan's 'Broken-hearted melody' that believe it or not was A-side to 'Misty'. Ms Vaughan said she didn't give a hoot to this simple song and when you see her singing it with a jazz combo you notice they try to improve the melody with no avail. Regiane sings it well... much better than Celly Campello who recorded it in English on 'Broto certinho', her 2nd album for Odeon.
19. We got love - Hamilton Di Giorgio was undoubtedly the best singer with the best English pronunciation of the lot. Di Giorgio was a natural, had swing, could write songs and could have become really popular if he had had a good manager.
20. Mediterranean moon - The Teenagers do a good cover of The Rays' recording. Teenagers were 5 college students: Carlos, Waltinho, Hermes, Toninho & Prandini. Later on, in 1965, Prandini left the group and they changed their name to O Quarteto and used to sing at Elis Regina's 'O Fino da Bossa' on TV Record.
21. My love is a charm - The Scarletts do a cover which comes pretty close to the original.
25. I love you, I do - this ballad starts with a few bars of Franz Liszt's 'Liebestraum', then enters Marcos Roberto professing his undying affection: 'I love you, I do, what more is there to say, dear?'
27. O Dio mio - Regiane covers Annette Funiccello's 2nd hit ('Tall Paul' was the 1st) which went to #10 at Billboard on 7 March 1960. The Avalons play faultlessly with an added string section that gives that extra oomph. Regiane sings better than Annette and she still keeps 'O Dio mio' in her repertoire whenever she performs in the 21st century.
28. Paris, Belfort - Gato plays on his guitar an old French Military March that was used as a rallying cry by Sao Paulo's rebels who fought against the federal government in 1932. The Paulista ruling clique lost the war but not its chauvinism & hubris.
29. Parada da juventude - Gato 'Marcha soldado, cabeça de papel, se não marchar direito...'
Y-78-103 - Petite fleur - Les oignons (As cebolinhas) - Sidney Bechet - It is a mystery why producer Miguel Vaccaro included these tracks recorded abroad by US's Sidney Bechet in the Young collection. Maybe Vaccaro thought it would sell a lot due to 'Petite fleur' being up in the charts world wide. In Brazil it was popular by both Werner Müller (Polydor) and Bob Crosby (RGE).
Brazilian label Fermata distributed records by ATCO, Premier, Hispavox, Seresta, Cameo-Parkway, Fermata itself and Young.
Miguel Vaccaro had an afternoon rock-show called 'Disque Disco' broadcast daily by Radio Panamericana from 3:00 to 5:00 PM where he not only played records but also presented live music made by local rock bands that were popping up around the many suburbs of Sao Paulo since 1958. He knew he had enough original talent to start up a record label and be successful.
Vaccaro assembled a whole cast of young hopefuls who had already performed for free at 'Disque Disco', recorded them all in a marathon session during the 1959 Easter holiday long-week-end when recording studio-time was cheaper and then he had a whole library he could play at his radio show.
The tunes would come from those US 45 rpms Vaccaro played on his radio-show which had not been released in Brazil yet. Those very 45 rpms from US labels like Ahmet Ertegun's Atlantic & Atco, Philadelphia's Cameo-Parkway & Chancellor, MGM or ABC-Paramount which had signed pressing & distribution deals with Mr Lebendiger's Fermata do Brasil.
Vaccaro was an enthusiast of US rock'n'roll and kept up-to-date with magazines such as Billboard and Cash Box. He played American hits on the radio before they were released in Brazil which sometimes took between 6 months and a year. Vaccaro knew there was a time-gap he could fill in if he recorded those hits with Brazilian acts and released them immediately. It was a chance he'd take.
Young Records was active during 1959 and 1960. Young's biggest handicap was embedded in its own genesis: Brazilian acts who didn't have the proper knack of the English language and a consumer market that did not understand English either.
English-language records will only become popular in non-English-speaking countries if those are melodious tunes. As the record-buying public don't understand the lyrics they have to rely on melody and rhythm. That is what Mr. Vaccaro Netto didn't seem to realize. Maybe if Vaccaro had those tunes translated and adapted to the local market's taste he would've been sucessful in the end.
He recorded Brazilian acts performing songs such as The Coasters' onomatopoeic 'Yakety yak', an almost-spoken tune; Lloyd Price's 'Where were you on our wedding day?' that lost all its drama if the listener doesn't know what's actually goin on; 'Ding dong daddy wants to rock', a rock-a-billy song that would never have played on the radio except in Texas or Tennessee, 'The ten commandments of love', a doo-wop that required a lot of hard work from the singers and a lot of knowledge from the audience to know they were singing about the Mosaic Law transplanted to a teenager-world.
Young Records could not continue on this premise and it folded sooner than later. Even so, the two catalogues recorded by the many acts are very interesting to listen to. Brazilian rock evolved swiflty from that and many of those new acts went on to bigger things elsewhere.
Gato, the guitar virtuoso (and a fairly good singer to boot) that was Vaccaro's right-hand man when it came to music went on to start The Jet Blacks, a seminal Brazilian instrumental rock-band that spawned dozens of similar combos. The Rebels' lead-singer Zezinho went on to become Prini Lorez, the man who took Trini Lopez to task in 1964.
Nenê who was The Rebels' 12-year-old drummer went on to sing and play bass for Os Incriveis in their most popular phase. The Avalons' guitarrist Dudu became seriously involved in jazz. The Beverlys, the first Brazilian Black doo-wop group went on to record for RGE and appear at Jovem Guarda TV show.
Hamilton di Giorgio turned out to be one of the best rock singers Brazilians ever had. Demetrius was the first Young act who actually broke into the charts in 1962 with a cover of Ray Peterson's 'Corinna, Corinna' sung in Portuguese.
Marcos Roberto and Dori Edson, two members of The Cupids, had to wait a few more years to break into the main-stream when Brazilian rock went 'national' with the advent of the so-called Jovem Guarda (Young Guard) in 1965.
As gravações eram feitas em verdadeiras 'maratonas musicais' que duravam até 48 horas, pois o estúdio da Continental, no Largo da Misericórdia, era alugado p'ro final-de-semana e tudo tinha que estar gravado nas fitas magnéticas antes da meia-noite do domingo.
Vaccaro tinha muita fé em seu projeto e dedicou pelo menos 2 anos de sua vida (1959-1960) para que tivesse sucesso. Lançou mais de 20 discos nos formatos 78 rpm e 45 rpm de vinil. Houve acidentes de percurso quando Vaccaro foi demitido sumariamente da Radio Panamericana, perdendo assim uma tribuna importante na divulgação dos discos. Ah, Vaccaro perdeu também sua coluna diária no jornal 'Ultima Hora', que era o melhor jornal brasileiro da época.
A maioria desses discos caiu no esquecimento do publico e o rock brasileiro se desenvolveu por outros caminhos. Isso até o advento da era digital nos anos 1990s. O colecionador e pesquisador carioca Valdir Siqueira compilou toda produção fonográfica da Young em um CD duplo que fez muito sucesso entre colecionadores e entusiastas do rock brasileiro. De-repente os velhos discos 45 e 78 rpm da Young ainda existente, atingiram preços absurdamente altos.
I wonder whether any similarity was mere coincidence!
YOUNG RECORDS catalogue - 1st & 2nd supplements
Y-78-102 - Passing by / The Ten Commandments of love - THE YOUNGS
Y-78-103 - Petite fleur / Les oignons (As cebolinhas) - SIDNEY BECHET
Y-45-104 - Rebel rouser / All the time - THE AVALONS
Y-45-105 - Dream lover / Where were you on our wedding day? - Antonio Claudio & The Jester Tigers
Y-45-106 - Frankie / Tum-ba-lov - REGIANE & The Avalons
Y-45-107 - Hiccups / Since you've been gone - NICK SAVOIA & The Scarletts
Y-45-108 - Little star / There goes my baby - THE BEVERLYS
Y-45-109 - I'm gonna get married / My heart is an open book - Hamilton di Giorgio & The Devils
Y-45-110 - Kiss me honey honey, kiss me / I can't live - LUCY PERRIER & The Cupids
Y-45-111 - Come softly to me / Baby talk - THE AVALONS
Y-45-112 - Here comes the Avalons / Believe me - THE AVALONS
Y-45-113 - Ding dong daddy wants to rock / Baby - THE REBELS
Y-45-114 - Book of love / Mr. Blue - THE TEENAGERS
Y-45-115 - Bad boy / I go ape - NICK SAVOIA & the Rebels
Y-45-116 - My search (Muy cerca de ti) / You were mine - FREDDIE DAVIS
Y-45-117 - I'm yours / Broken-hearted melody - REGIANE
Y-45-118 - Cry - Mack the Knife - NICK SAVOIA
Y-45-119 - Teenage sonata / We got love - HAMILTON DI GIORGIO
Y-45-120 - A boy without a girl / Mediterranean moon - THE TEENAGERS
Y-45-121 - Moon shot / My love is a charm - THE SCARLETTS
Y-45-122 - Yakety-yak / Dance with me - THE BEVERLYS
Y-45-123 - Come to paradise / Torquay - THE YOUNGS
Y-45-124 - Hold me tight / Young and in love - DEMETRIUS & The Devils
Y-45-125 - Danny Boy - DORI ANGIOLELLA / I love you, I do - MARCOS ROBERTO
Y-45-126 - The angels listened in / In my heart - CARLOS DAVID & Beverlys feat. Amelia Loureiro
Y-45-127 - Kissin' time / What'd I say? - GATTO
Y-78-.... - Paris Belfort / Parada da Juventute - GATTO
a 78 rpm of 'Baby' by The Rebels.
Here is a list of songs recorded by producer Miguel Vaccaro Netto and the Young Records cast during the 1959 Easter long-weekend and some other subsequent sessions done at the studios of Continental Records on Largo da Misericordia in Sao Paulo. These songs were released both in 78 rpm and 45 rpm formats.
The original songs covered by Brazilian acts are listed here according to the highest position they occupied at Billboard magazine when released by their original artists in the USA:
1. Mack the Knife #1 Bobby Darin 5 Oct 1959 Nick Savoia
2. Cry #1 Johnny Ray 29 Dec 1951 Nick Savoia
3. Little star #1 The Elegants 25 Aug 1958 The Beverlys
4. Yakety yak #1 The Coasters 9 Jun 1958 The Beverlys
5. To know him is to love him #1 Teddy Bears 1st Dec 1958 Regiane & Avalons
6. Come softly to me #1 Fleetwoods 13 Apr 1959 The Avalons
7. Mr. Blue #1 Fleetwoods 16 Nov 1959 The Teenagers
8. There goes my baby #2 The Drifters 17 Aug 1959 The Beverlys
9. Dream lover #2 Bobby Darin 4 May 1959 Antonio Claudio & Jester Tigers
10. My heart is an open book #3 Carl Dobkin Jr. 3 Aug 1959 Hamilton di Giorgio
11. I'm gonna get married #3 Lloyd Price 14 Sept 1959 Hamilton di Giorgio
12. I'm yours #5 Eddie Fisher 5 Jul 1952 Regiane
13. The book of love #5 The Monotones 7 Apr 1958 The Teenagers
14. What'd I say? #6 Ray Charles 17 Aug 1959 Gato
15. Rebel rouser #6 Duane Eddy 7 Jul 1958 The Avalons
16. We got love #6 Bobby Rydell 7 Dec 1959 Hamilton di Giorgio
17. Broken-hearted melody #7 Sarah Vaughn 7 Sep 1959 Regiane
18. Frankie #9 Connie Francis 6 Jul 1959 Regiane
19. O Dio mio #10 Annette Funicello 28 Mar 1960 Regiane
20. Danny boy #10 Conway Twitty 7 Dec 1959 Dori Angiolella
21. A boy without a girl #10 Frankie Avalon 13 Jul 1959 The Teenagers
22. Baby talk #10 Jan & Dean 14 Sep 1959 The Avalons
23. Kissin' time #11 Bobby Rydell 10 Aug 1959 Gato
24. Dance withl me #15 The Drifters 2 Nov 1959 The Beverlys
25. You were mine #21 Fireflies feat. Richie Adams 28 Sep 1959 Freddie Davis
26. The Ten Commandments of Love #22 Harvey & the Moonglows 20 Oct 1958 The Teenagers
27. The angels listened in #22 The Crests 14 Sep 1959 Carlos David
28. Where were you (on our wedding day)? #23 Lloyd Price 30 Mar 1959 Antonio Claudio
29. Believe me #26 Royal Teens 16 Nov 1959 The Avalons
30. Fallin' #30 Connie Francis 17 Nov 1958 Regiane & the Avalons
31. Bad boy #36 Jive Bombers feat. Clarence Palmer 16 Mar 1957 Nick Savoia & the Rebels
32. Since you've been gone #38 Clyde McPhatter 3 Aug 1959 Nick Savoia & the Scarletts
33. Torquay (instrumental) #39 The Fireballs 26 Oct 1959 The Youngs
Songs that did not reach Billboard's Top 40 but had some air-play
34. Valentina, my Valentina Lee & Paul The Avalons
35. Hiccups Frank Slay Jr. Nick Savoia
36. Ding dong daddy wants to rock Ronnie DeMarino The Rebels
37. That's all Bobby Darin Nick Savoia
38. Teenage sonata Sam Cooke (written by Jeff Barry) Nick Savoia
39. Mediterranean moon The Rays (19860) The Teenagers
40. I go ape Frankie Tyler (future Frankie Valli) Nick Savoia
41. In my heart Carlos David with Amelia Paula in background vocal
42. My love is a charm The Shirelles The Scarletts
43. Kiss me honey, honey kiss me Shirley Bassey Lucy Perrier & the Cupids
44. Come to paradise The Fascinators The Youngs
45. Passing by The Versatiles The Youngs
46. Moon shot (instrumental) Joe Maphis The Scarletts
47. Tum-ba-lov Linda Powers Regiane & the Avalons
48. My search (Muy cerca de ti) Freddie Davis
49. Willie boy Regiane
Songs written in English by Brazilian writers
50. Young and in love Demetrius & the Devils
51. Hold me so tight (written by Hamilton di Giorgio) Demetrius & the Devils
52. I can't live Lucy Perrier & the Cupids
53. Baby (written and sung by Zezinho aka Galli Jr.) The Rebels
54. All the time (written by Solano Ribeiro) The Avalons
55. I love you, I do Marcos Roberto
56. China rock (instrumental) The Avalons
57. Here comes the Avalons (instrumental) The Avalons
some extra material
58. Paris, Belfort (instrumental) Gato
59. Parada da juventude (instrumental) Gato
O problema fundamental do projeto Vaccaro-Young é a diferença monumental que existe entre as linguas inglesa e portuguesa. Não só linguas diferentes, mas culturas e religiões muito distintas. Vaccaro achou que poderia ultrapassar a barreira linguística, mas isso é impossivel. A cultura humana não pode ser moldada de acordo aos nossos caprichos. O que o produtor, talvez, quisesse era ter nascido nos Estados Unidos. Como isso não fora possivel, ele achou que fazendo todo mundo cantar-em-inglês, estaria assim concretizando seu sonho.
Na verdade, se Vaccaro tivesse parado para pensar ele teria percebido que não é todo sucesso norte-americano que 'vinga' no Brasil. A musica yankee faz sucesso no mundo inteiro, mas os discos de maior êxito são as faixas mais melodiosas, pois o publico internacional não entende o conteúdo das letras. Esse problema poderia ter sido resolvido se as músicas tivessem sido vertidas ou adaptadas para o português, como a Odeon já tinha provado em 1958, com 'Lacinhos cor-de-rosa', cujo original 'Pink shoe laces' nunca 'pegaria' no mercado brasileiro. 'Pink shoe laces' conta a história de Dooley, um rapaz exótico que gosta de usar colete de bolinhas, chapeu Panamá com uma faixa roxa, sapatos marrons com laços cor-de-rosa. Um cara assim no Brasil seria imediatamente taxado de 'viado' (gay). Então o Fred Jorge vai e 'adapta' a canção para o gosto local, onde os 'laços cor-de-rosa' ficam bem só nos sapatos da mocinha e não do mocinho. Sacou? Essa 'intervenção' fredijorgiana fez a música, cantada magnificamente por Celly Campello ir p'ro primeiro lugar. Fred Jorge era um escritor de novelas e contos populares que conhecia o público brasileiro profundamente. Já, o Vaccaro pensou que gravando uma música 'engraçadinha' em inglês ela iria, como num passe de mágica, ser entendida pelo público dos trópicos. Enfim, o projeto Young já começou com falhas técnicas insuperáveis.
Regiane nee Regina Célia could have been Young's own Celly Campello. Regiane was attractive and could sing well... but maybe recording only in English was a handicap after all.
Regiane (the girl on the extreme-left of the picture) in 1958, at one of Professor Theotônio Pavão's recitals.
Young Records 1959-1960 catalogue was back in vogue circa 2001 after Valdir Siqueira, a record collector based in Rio de Janeiro managed to assemble a double-CD containing its entire collection.
US recording labels most copied by Young Records were:
1. Atlantic (5)
2. Atco (5)
3. Columbia (3)
4. MGM (3)
5. Cameo-Parkway-Chancellor (3)
6. ABC-Paramount (2)
7. Okeh (2)
8. Decca (2)
9. Dolphin (2)
10. Dorè (2)
the following labels had only one appearance at Young's catalogue:
APT, Buena Vista, Capitol, Carlton, Chess, Epic, Jubilee, Mascot, Mercury, Savoy, Top-Rank, Vogue, XYZ.
Here are the songs collected by Valdir with their original American artists:
CD 1:
left: The Teddy Bears were three Jewish kids from Philly: Phil Spector, Annette Kleinbard (she later changed her name to Carol Connors) and Marshall Leib; right: Phil Spector went on to bigger things having produced The Beatles, John Lennon and George Harrison records in the 1970s. Spector had a megalomaniac personality and a not healthy relationship with money and guns (see him holding a wad of greebacks in his teeth?)... which made him commit murder, be tried and sentenced to a life in prison.
3. Passing by - The Youngs were a vocal-group from Rio Claro-SP, located 280 km away from S.Paulo. They covered this doo-wop by The Versatiles, released in the US by Atlantic backed with 'Crying' (note: it's not the Roy Orbison oeuvre) which is better than 'Passing by'.
4. Rebel 'rouser - The Avalons cover this instrumental Duane Eddy recorded in 1958. It was not based on 'When the saints go marching in' as many assumed, but was loosely inspired by 'Who's gonna shoe your pretty feet', an old folk song from a Tennessee Ernie Ford record that Duane listened in the morning he recorded it.
5. Dream lover - Even though Antonio Claudio pronounces the English words well he's just a little wooden in this Bobby Darin vehicle. Tony Campello covered it (in Portuguese) as 'Sonhador' for 'Baby... rock', his 2nd album for Odeon with better results.
6. Frankie - Regiane was a powerful singer and does a good job covering Sedaka's gift to Connie Francis. Actually, Regiane does a better job than Celly Campello in 'Frankie'. Miss Campello should've never recorded in English at all.
7. Hiccups - Nick Savoia & the Scarletts - Savoia's rendition is slower than the original Jimmy Harrison recorded for Atlantic... and it made the record better. Nick himself had some qualms about it when he said: 'No acetato minha voz estava muito boa e o conjunto também. No disco, fiquei com voz de pato molhado e The Scarletts com um som desses de parquinho-de-diversões de bairro'.
8. Little star - The Beverlys were really tuneful group and did a good job covering The Elegants hit. Erasmo Carlos & his Snakes recorded 'Estrelinha', a version in Portuguese a few years later.
9. I'm gonna get married - Hamilton Di Giorgio was undoubtedly the best singer at Young but it's mission impossible to compete with Lloyd Price who was produced by Don Costa to boot.
12. Here comes the Avalons - an instrumental track with nothing really new apart from a grammatical error in its title which should be 'Here COME the Avalons'...
13. Ding dong daddy wants to rock - original written by King Richard Jackson and performed by Ronnie De Marino & the Rockin' Kingsa; covered by The Rebels with Zezinho aka Galli Junior doing the vocal & the rest of the band doing the background vocals.
14. Book of love - vocal group The Teenagers tried their best but the task was too difficult. 'Who wrote the book of love?' is a pretty intricate song; The Monotones must have worked for days before they rounded up the 'end product'. Too damn hard for people who do not speak English.
15. Bad boy - a great song that Nick Savoia accompanied by The Rebels with background vocals by The Beverlys did their best to excell. This is arguably Nick Savoia's best recording for Young. The original was done by The Jive Bombers featuring Clarence Palmer.
16. My search (Muy cerca de ti) - there's not much one knows about Freddie Davis but he's most likely an English-language native-speaker, probably an American citizen. Freddie lived in South America for a time. In 1958, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Freddie recorded a few discs including 'My search' which is a cover of 'Muy cerca de ti', a guarania with lyrics written by Ben Molar aka Moises Smolarch-irk Brenner and music by Florentin Gimenez. Freddie also lived in Sao Paulo, Brazil in ealry 1960 where performed at the Oasis, a posh night-club at Praça da Republica and had a recital at Teatro Record. There is a rumour Freddie Davies was Ava Gardner lover for some time but that remains to be confirmed. Miss Gardner was known to be partial to handsome crooners having been married Frank Sinatra once.
17. I'm yours - this is along with The Avalons 'China Rock' and Nick Savoia's 'Bad boy' the best recording of the both sets. This ballad was originally recorded by Eddie Fisher in 1952 even though Regiane was undoubtedly inspired by Eydie Gormé's recording for ABC-Paramount. Producer Miguel Vaccaro in his best Phil Spector-moment even added strings to give it a luscious sound.
19. Teenage sonata - Hamilton Di Giorgio was definitely the best singer in the Young cast. Besides his pronunciation of the English language was the most proper of the lot.
20. A boy without a girl - vocal group The Teenagers cover a wistful ballad recorded originally by Frankie Avalon.
28. Willie Boy - Regiane does her best Brenda Lee imitation on this track. She comes on really rough as to say: I know what rock'n'roll is all about it and I mean it.
'Teenage sonata' was Hamilton Di Giorgio's second single for Young.
CD 2:
1. China rock - even though it was released by Young as a B-side to 'Valentina, my Valentina', this rocker soon turned the tables over and was one of the most popular of the lot. Virtuoso lead guitarrist Dudu was a gifted instrumentalist who made music and magic. Listen to 'China rock' and it's like you're listening to contemporary music, even reminding me of the opening riff of David Bowie's 'China girl'.
2. Fallin' - The Avalons do a great job accompanying Regiane, in this Neil Sedaka-Howard Greenfield tune. She could rock really hard. Unfortunately, Regiane's pronunciation of the English language is not quite up to scratch. Nick Savoia once told Regiane that she should 'pay more attention to her English pronunciation' but she retorted that was 'good enough for no one understood it, anyway'.
10. I can't live - Lucy Perrier croons a ballad much reminiscent of Paul Anka's 'You are my destiny'; The Cupids do the back-vocals with a vengeance. Miss Perrier desperately needed some English-language tutoring.
12. Believe me - The Avalons do another original material. The vocal part is probably the most sophisticated they ever done being reminiscent of The Belmonts.
13. Baby - The Rebels do their own material here. Zezinho aka Galli Jr. or even Prini Lorez as of 1964. Even though the grammar is not right Zezinho does a good Elvis impersonation.
15. I go ape - Nick Savoia covers a 1958 record sung by Frankie Tyler (see photo above) who was none other than Frankie Valli of Four-Seasons fame. Some people mistake this Bob Crewe tune with the one recorded by Neil Sedaka around the same time. 'I go ape' went virtually unknown for half a century until it was included in the hit Broadway musical 'Jersey Boys' in 2004 that tells the 4 Season's saga. In the musical this song was sung at a club in Lovelock, Nevada when the audience left one by one until no one was left. This maybe explains how bad the song is.
16. You were mine - Freddie Davis - this is the flip-side of 'My search'. Mr Davis worked at night-clubs in Sao Paulo for some time in 1960.
18. Mack the Knife - Nick Savoia does a good impersonation of Bobby Darin in his version of Bertold Brecht & Kurt Weill's 'The Ballad of Mack the Knife', originally 'Die Moritat von Mackie Messer' from the 'Dreigroschenoper' (The Threepenny Opera) that premiered in Berlin in 1928. English words by Marc Blitzstein. Bobby Darin took it to the top of the Billboard charts for a staggering 9 weeks straight which made it not only the best-selling single of 1959 but of the whole 1950 decade. Nick copied the Atco record bit by bit - ipsis litteris.
22. Dance with me - The Beverlys cover another Drifters song having Ben E.King in the lead; this time Vander Loureiro does the leading with a forceful rendition being accompanied by what it seems like a full orchestra.
23. Torquay - The Youngs who were so poor in 'The 10 commandments of love' is now superb in their cover of this instrumental by The Fireballs (long before Jimmy Gilmore joined the band) that were obviously heavily influenced by The Champs' 'Tequila'.
24. Young and in love - Demetrius does another Elvis Presley impersonation. Watch for the instrumental interlude where The Devils prove their worth and the hip saxophone solo that must have been done by Boneca, who played in some of these tracks.
25. I love you, I do - this ballad starts with a few bars of Franz Liszt's 'Liebestraum', then enters Marcos Roberto professing his undying affection: 'I love you, I do, what more is there to say, dear?'
'In my heart' recorded by Scott Garrett at Okeh & Jemmie Lewis & the Volumes at Ivy.
26. In my heart - Carlos David with back-vocal by Amelia de Paula Loureiro from The Beverlys. This is one of the best recordings of the whole lot. Carlos David has a velvety voice almost as good as Di Giorgio's. Amelia's melodious voice is heavenly from beginning to end. Amelia is shown above, with Castro on the right. The original was recorded in 1958, by Scott Garrett for Okeh.
28. Paris, Belfort - Gato plays on his guitar an old French Military March that was used as a rallying cry by Sao Paulo's rebels who fought against the federal government in 1932. The Paulista ruling clique lost the war but not its chauvinism & hubris.
29. Parada da juventude - Gato 'Marcha soldado, cabeça de papel, se não marchar direito...'
