#jive five

Happy Black History Month!

I'd like to take this time to shine a spotlight on a particular black musical group that nobody I know has ever heard about, but they mean so much to me regardless....

This picture right here is of the Jive Five, led by Eugene Pitt. They were a doo-wop band who became famous in 1961 for their hit single, "My True Story". That song would place number three on the Hot 100 and even made it to the top of Hot R&B Singles chart for almost a month! That's no easy feat, I'll tell ya that much!

So, why am I focusing on them in particular out of all the bands that were the talk of the town back then? Well, not only did they make a chart-topper, but they also sung my personal theme song! Everybody already knows that little ditty by rote (and I know that includes you, it's okay to admit it!), but they almost never stop to think about the people behind it, and I can't really blame them - I guess we all kinda take this sorta thing for granted.

Still, I believe that these folks deserve to have their feats known, even if they aren't as cool as, say, climbing the tallest mountain in the world. Without them, I never would've been able to find my voice or even be the critter that I am today! I thank them with all my slimy li'l heart. 🧡

With all that said, let's sing it, everybody!

The Nickelodeon Music & Sound Box Set and CDs

The Nickelodeon Music & Sound Library 1996

In June 1984, Fred/Alan booked it’s first major job, the turnaround of Nickelodeon. MTV Networks boss, Bob Pittman, asked Fred and Alan to try and bring their perspective to helping the kids channel climb out of the ratings basement it in which it found itself. 

Aside from the strategic thinking we brought to programmers Gerry Laybourne and Debby Beece, we knew we needed some executional magic. And since we had a counter intuitive philosophy for a visual medium like television –that is, innovative visuals and programming should leap from the sound– we started a brainstorm as to what Nickelodeon should sound like. The amazing pictures would follow when the animators were inspired by the music.

We were fascinated with bringing back the jingle sounds of Top 40 radio. We finally got there in the early 90s on VH1, but at the Nickelodeon moment we were focused on a sound that in our little minds was a spin-off/adaptation of jingles. That is, the a cappella singing of Black Americans. We’d already experimented for The Playboy Channel and Showtime with our new friends Eugene Pitt and The Jive Five. We loved the results and realized Eugene’s group could be the perfect engine for Nickelodeon. (Most of the tracks on The Nick Nick Nick Collection below are the soundtracks of these aninmations.)

With little prompting, Fred will recall the moment that Alan improvised on the opening of The Marcels’ “Blue Moon“ ... “Ni Ni Ni Nick-el-o-de-oooonnn!” What kid could resist it?!

Alan went on to finish the now classic song with our colleague (and my former record company partner) Tom Pomposello and Eugene, and the rest is a small part of television history. (I can’t think of any other TV network that had such wonderful music [or any actual music] as its branding centerpiece.)

A decade later, Fred/Alan had closed, but Tom continued to produce  special work for Nickelodeon, Nick-at-Nite and other cable channels. And Nick’s super smart, super talented worldwide creative director, Scott Webb, commissioned song after sound after song, eventually there was enough that he thought it was time to collect it all for the then global Nickelodeons to use whenever they saw fit.

You can hear it all if you scroll to the bottom of this post, and right below here is the transcript of the essays by Tom and Scott included with the CD booklets included in the box set.

.....

When Geraldine Laybourne inherited the top position at Nickelodeon, the net­work had the unpopular reputation (with kids) of being the "good for you" channel. Parents thought the idea was great - but their kids wanted noth­ing to do with it. Her job was to tum Nickelodeon around and make it a place that really was for kids. For help she turned to one of the most media-savvy companies in the industry - the New York-based Fred/Alan, Inc. Partners Fred Seibert and Alan Goodman headed up a brain trust/consortium that specialized in creating network identities. Their track record was  impecca­ble, having helped launch the wildly  successful MTV (Music Television). At that time, I was a produc­er/creative director and composer associated with the company and the three of us immersed our­selves in our new Nickelodeon challenge.

Creating an identity for a network is almost like inventing a person. You have to decide what they'll look like, what they'll sound like and what they'll say. From the outset, we agreed to place equal emphasis on developing a visual style and an audio sensibility. Both qualities had to be appealing and unique to Nickelodeon.

Much of my work with Fred and Alan revolved around sound design ... and so began a series of great freewheeling conversations about what the sound basis of Nickelodeon would be. We started tossing around ideas and what kept coming up was doo wop music. The more we talked about it, the more sure we felt doo wop would be the ideal sound for a kids' network.

Doo wop developed as street-corner singing. It was a people's music. You didn't need expensive electronic studio equipment you just needed your vocal chords and a desire to make sound: a natural for kids. Anyone could sing along with those doo wop nonsense syllables. And the beauty of using "antique" doo wop harmonies as a signature for a kids' network was that, for kids in 1984, it was a brand new sound! Unlike what their big brothers or sisters were listening to on the radio, this music was just for them.

One of our friends, Marty Pekar, had recently start­ed a record label and was working on a revival of doo wop music. He was nuts about one of the groups he was recording: the Jive Five. We all remembered their hit records from our teen years - "My True Story" and "I'm a Happy Man" (the latter was perhaps the last doo wop record to make the charts, and was a hit in 1965 while the Beatles and the British invasion were in full swing). It wasn't long before I started working with the great gen­tleman of doo wop himself, the leader of the Jive Five, Eugene Pitt. 

Now, Eugene is one of the finest singers who ever emerged from the genre. He can sing baritone or falsetto, but he's as good a lead singer and doo wop balladeer as has ever been. Eugene truly is the unsung (pun intended) hero of the Nick sound and his contribution to Nickelodeon as a singer and lyri­cist can't be overstated. 

One of the best choices we made was to work with this real-life street corner rock 'n' roll group, rather than studio musicians or jingle singers. This was honest-rootsy-gritty-folksy-get-down-and-be-real a cappella singing. Kids intuitively know the difference between real and sanitized. And we committed ourselves to always be authentic in our communication to our audience.

The other coup was the decision to treat "Nickelodeon" as a sound rather than a word. (Who knows what a "nickelodeon" is anyway? To kids, it's just a funny-sounding word.) Entire songs were written in which "Nickelodeon" was the only word. Playing with the word "Nickelodeon" musi­cally turned it into the ultimate audio logo - as distinctive and infectious as a jingle, without any offensive sloganeering attached. Just pure, lively, good-time doo wop. 

Once our doo wop tracks were married with the also-celebrated animated IDs, the ftnishing touch was sound effects. The initial sound effect tone (this time no pun intended) was set by the wild English sound effects maestro, Tom Clack, of Manhattan's Clack Studios. Tom is a veteran of the BBC and has created sound effects for about a million radio com­mercials as well as for TV and film soundtracks and record albums.

It was in Tom's studio that we post-scored many of the 10-second tracks for the original animated Nick network identity spots. Though there aren't many of these tracks represented on these CDs, it was Tom's comic sensibility and wacky perspective that informed the whole evolution of the Nick sound. He knew just how and when to punctuate the tracks with a sonic A-bomb or a sublimely subtte splat. ("Sound effects are funny when they're in sequences of threes," he once told me. "Listen. It's 'boink-­thwap-plink:' If you just go 'boink-thwap,' it feels quite unsatisfying.") The "Doo Wop Meets Sound Effects" music style is mainly reflected on disc one of this collection [The Nick Nick Nick Collection]. Discs two [The Flotsam Collection, The Jetsam Collection] through four [The Original Collection] contain music inspired by those early tracks. 

I saw that a big part of our job was to develop an audio identity for a kids' network that really spoke to kids. Our solution was the marriage of doo wop and wacky sound effects. It was one distinctive, unique way we would communicate the "voice of Nickelodeon." 

Did it work?

I'll never forget the time I was walking down Tenth Avenue in Manhattan. It was the spring of 1985. On the street where these little girls jumping rope and keeping time singing "Nick-Nick-Nick:-Nick-N-Nick­Nick-Nick, Nickelodeon." I thought to myself: "Well, I always dreamed of producing a hit record, but lit­tle did I imagine it would be the theme to Nickelodeon!"

Tom Pomposello Music Director/Producer/Composer

…..

Tom Pomposello talks about successfully solving a problem using doo wop for Nickelodeon, but the real success was recognizing the power of sound. Sound is often over­looked in creating television and it is often more powerful than people think. For example, you can have your head buried in the refrigerator looking for a snack and miss what's on the screen, but you can't avoid the audio as easily. Sound and music also make a deep emotional impression, like the songs you learn as a kid and never forget.

It shoutd also be noted that it took guts for Gerry Laybourne and Debby Beece to approve the use of doo wop and wacky sound effects for the Nick sound. They originally wanted to go with something more traditional and expected. In any creative endeavor, it takes courage to take risks and be unconventional, but the rewards can be spectacular. 

Since the introduction of the Nick doo wop sound in 1984, many talented composers and musicians have built upon and diversified Nick's aural identity. We have always tried to stay away from mercilessly surfing the popular trends in kids' music. Instead, at the heart of our personality there has always been humor, surprise, play, and a love and respect for kids.

The music and sound on these CDs are powerful tools for communicating  Nickelodeon's personality. Consider sound as you go about solving your strategic and creative problems, whether you µse these CDs as tracks, elements or inspiration.

Have Fun!

Scott Webb Creative Director, Nickelodeon Fall 1995 

.....

Co-conceived by Scott Webb and Tom Pomposello  Executive producer, Creator Director: Scott Webb  Produced and Directed by Tom Pomposello 

MUSIC  Production coordination & management: Barbara Powers  Production assistance: Melody Ann Mora  Digitally remastered and processed for CD by Danny Cavacco, This Way Studios, NYC 

DESIGN  Art Director: Laura Hinzman  Designer: Masaka Moribayashi  Illustrator: Sarah Schwartz Project Manager: Wendy Larrabee Production Manager: Nancy Morelli  Mechanical Production: Kevin Gepford 

Pomposello, Inc. wishes to thank Eugene Pitt and the Jive Five, Fred Seibert and Alan Goodman, Tom Clack, Beldeen Fortunado, Marc Chamlin and Geraldine Laybourne  Nickelodeon wishes to thank Robert Farro, Tom Harbeck, Greg Harrell, Lisa Judson, Anne Kreamer, Kim Rosenblum and Dennis Shinners.  

…..

NOTICE TO NICKELODEON PRODUCER/PERSONNEL:  Use this music as much as you wish. And remember, each us requires you to file a music cue sheet or music usage report with MTV Networks, ASCAP & BMI title, timing, type of use, composer(s) & publisher(s). It’s a mandatory requirement of compliance. 

…..

©1996, Viacom International, Inc. All rights reserved.  For promotional use only. Not for sale. 

Fred Seibert

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The Nick Nick Nick Collection

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Fred Seibert

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The Flotsam Collection

Fred Seibert

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The Jetsam Collection

EUGENIE PITT AND THE JIVE FIVE

Dazzle Records

Alpine Entertainment #631-522-6726

[email protected]

(Please support Alpime Entertainment at their Patreon page. Www.patreon.com/beast47x

Jive Five with Joe Rene

The Jive Five: "My True Story" / "What Time is It?" (1961)

"Cry, cry, cry ..."

This haunting, piercing, falsetto plea launched one of the most memorable doo-wop numbers of all time: The Jive Five's "My True Story," which broke through the prevailing rock 'n' roll hits of the '50s with a quintessential "teenage tragedy."

"There is a story, yeah, that I must tell; Of two lovers that I bewail; (*) Her name was Sue, yeah; His name was Earl; His love was Lorraine; She's a wonderful girl; Love will make you happy; And love will make you cry; Love will make the tears fall; When your lover says goodbye; This story ends yeah; It was no lie; Names have been changed, dear; To protect you and I;

But we must cry, cry, cry ... Whoa-uh-oh-oh-oh-oh; Our blues away; (Cry cry cry)"

This 65-year-old smash hit was released two years after The Jive Five's formation in Brooklyn, by Jerome Ramos, Richard Harris, Billy Prophet, Norman Johnson, and Eugene Pitt, whose smooth, soaring lead vocals gave the group their signature trait.

It was also Pitt who co-wrote the track with professional songwriter Oscar Waltzer and A&R man Joe René for release through the Beltone label, and the single quickly rose to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 for three weeks on the R&B chart.

Even by the already high doo-wop standards, The Jive Five stood out for their impeccable vocal blend, and Pitt’s ability to write most of their material was another rarity AND a major advantage in a style where too many artists were at their label's mercy.

Maybe this is one reason why the Five became one of the few doo-wop groups that enjoyed a longer career shelf-life; escaping the genre's notorious one-hit-wonder curse with 1962's "What Time Is It?" (which reached No. 67) and '65's "I'm a Happy Man" (No. 26).

In fact, the former replaced "My True Story's" original B-side, "When I was Single," on this 1969 re-press, but, as you can tell by comparing their chart peaks, not even these subsequent hits came anywhere near to matching "My True Story's" cultural impact.

Amazingly, Pitt and a later line-up of The Jive Five lent their voices to many of the Nickelodeon network's station IDs of the late '80s and early '90s, including the famous "Nick-Nick-Nick-Nick-n-Nick-Nick-Nick… Nickelodeon!" chant.

Eugene Pitt passed away in 2018, at the age of 80, but I'd be willing to bet that there's a touring line-up of The Jive Five out there, somewhere, still keeping these songs alive on the oldies circuit.

* "Bewail"?