Joel Katz Article Part 2c

Reprinted with permission from Echoes of the Past, #123 (Spring, 2018)

Throughout the early 1970’s Joel Katz concen-

trated on his career as a technician and recording engi-

neer with the goal of someday running his own recording

studio. In 1970, Joel Katz was working for the educa-

tional publishing company, Silver Burdett, a division of

the General Learning Company. Specifically, Joel

worked under Merrill Staton, a professional singer, con-

ductor and music educator who held a doctorate in music

education from Columbia University. Merrill and his

wife, Barbara Staton were active in the music industry

and Joel Katz began engineering their recordings. Initial-

ly vocal tracks for Silver Burdett were recorded at Mer-

rill’s home studio in Alpine, NJ, while music tracks were

done at RCA Studios on 44

Street in NYC. In 1975,

Silver Burdett contracted with Merrill Staton to handle all

the music and recording while they just issued the re-

cords. Thus, Joel Katz went to work directly for Merrill

Staton. For financial reasons, recording was moved to

Plaza Sound’s studio, above Radio City Music Hall.

There, Joel really learned recording engineering, having

engineered and mixed over a thousand songs. Joel then

built a much larger studio at Merrill’s house in Alpine,

allowing all the recording and mixing to be done there.

Joel still found time to continue singing with the

Connotations and Autumns [see “Joel Katz: Part 1,”

Echoes of the Past #122] and a new group called Autumn

Spectrum.

Joel Katz, Voice of the Dancing Bear

on Captain Kangaroo

In 1976, Joel engineered a double album of gos-

pel songs called “A Treasury Of Best Loved Hymns,” by

the Valley Voices, directed by Merrill Staton. The records

were produced by Paul Wexler of Atlantic Records and

released on the Cape label (#202).

Dr. Staton also directed the children’s chorus,

whose voices were heard on the Captain Kangaroo chil-

dren’s TV for the last several years of its existance. Mer-

rill’s wife, Barbara was writing some of the songs

performed on the show. Joel Katz was engineering the

audio taping. One day, they had the orchestra and chil-

dren’s chorus ready, but the young man singing lead on

the song couldn’t get it right. Joel was sitting in the

control room singing along, so Dr. Staton asked him to

step in and sing lead. Thinking it was just a practice

taping, Joel went out and sang with the kids.

“Doctor Staton came in and said, ‘Joel, why don’t

you go out there and sing the tune. I'll engineer.’ So I was

out there singing ‘Every Little Step’,” recalled Joel, “And

the kids were going, ‘la, la, la, la’. The next time, I was

there with all the musicians and we were ready to record.

Dr. Staton said, ‘No, we’re not going to record right now.

We're going to have coffee and watch television.’ I said,

‘What do you mean?’ and he said, ‘I want you all to sit

down and relax.’ Now remember, those were the musi-

cians that were on the track. So Captain Kangaroo came

“Joel Katz”

“The Voice Of Jersey Doo Wop”

Part 2: The 1970’s and 1980’s

By Charlie Horner

With contributions from Pamela Horner

Joel Katz engineering at Plaza Sound Studios /

Radio City Music Hall, 1975. Courtesy of Joel Katz

on TV and we saw these two bears; the father bear and the

mother bear, along with the kids. All the sudden they

started singing and I heard my voice singing on the TV. I

looked at it and I thought I was seeing ghosts. I said,

‘What's going on here?’ And Dr. Merrill said, ‘Well that's

you.’ To make it long story, short, I started doing more

recordings for Captain Kangaroo.”

Joel Katz became the voice of the dancing bear on

Captain Kangaroo. That led to him singing the same

songs on record. He can be heard on the Volume 1 and 2

of the 1977 LP’s “Songs Heard On Captain Kangaroo”

(Judy #J902002/3). Joel also engineered the CBS label

four album box set, "Merrill Station Children's Voices:

Music 1 2 3" (CBS #P413804) and may be singing on

some of the cuts. Some other children’s records engi-

neered by Joel in this time period were a 7” 33 1/3 record,

“Sammy The Seal” by cartoonist Syd Hoff (Xerox #PV

14721) and the LP, “Merrill Staton Presents A Children’s

Disco Sing Along,” (Kimbo #1220). [Silver Burdett would

release an 11 LP box set compilation some years later with

some sides engineered by Joel Katz – “Silver Burdett

Music Centennial Edition Book 3,” Silver Burdett

#7448300].

Autumn Spectrum

During this time, Joel’s singing career had not

been on hold. In 1970, Eddie Brian had put together a

soft rock group called Autumn Spectrum, a take-off on

the name, the Autumns. Autumn Spectrum was just a

recording group, they didn’t perform live. The group

actually recorded three records, but only one was re-

leased. “High On Life” b/w “Where Is The Autumn” came

out on the Artist Records label (#5004) from Garfield,

NJ. Both sides were written by Eddie Brian. Joel sang

lead on “High On Life”. Eddie and Joel produced the

record together.

Eddie Brian had also written the song, “1950’s

Love Song.” Autumn Spectrum recorded it but it was

never released by them.

“We did a demo of “1950’s Love Song,” by Au-

tumn Spectrum but it never came out because I didn’t

think it was good enough,” said Joel. “Eddie wasn’t hap-

py, but I didn’t think it was good enough.”

Broadway South

Around 1976, Joel Katz opened and began run-

ning his own recording studio called Broadway South, in

Fair Lawn, NJ. While working for Silver Burdett in the

early 1970’s Joel had built a small studio in his house.

Joel kept trading up in recording equipment and eventu-

ally moved his equipment to Broadway South. After Joel

met Ronnie “I” Italiano, Ronnie started using Joel’s stu-

dio to record groups for his Clifton record label. Ronnie

started coming in two or three times a week recording

acappella groups. All told, Ronnie made hundreds of

acappella recordings at Broadway South.

Broadway South finally gave Joel the opportunity

to engineer recording sessions, not only with the groups

he sang with but numerous other artists of all music

genres.

Photo on Left: Autumn Spectrum, ca. 1970.

Joel Katz far right, Eddie Brian far left.

Above: Autumn Spectrum single

with Joel Katz singing lead.

Both courtesy of Joel Katz.

Second Time Around for the Autumns

In 1979, Joel Katz and Eddie Brian resurrected

the Autumns, this time with former Connotations Jackie

Davis and Dickie Harmon. Some friends had written a

song called “Second Time Around” and they recorded it

in Joel’s Broadway South Recording Studio. The song

mixed innovative doo wop harmony with a danceable

disco beat. Joel sang lead. Looking for something to put

on the other side, Joel decided he’d redo “1950’s Love

Song,” this time with the Autumns.

Joel put the record out on his own J&M label

(#122646). The first pressings had dark blue labels and

listed the artist as “The Autumns, featuring Joel”. These

copies are extremely rare today. Joel initially pressed

500 copies but decided he didn’t like the mix and de-

stroyed about 200. The rest had been already sold. Joel

decided he could do a better job mixing the tracks and

remixed both tunes. He released the record again on a

dark blue J&M label (same release number) but this

second time the artist is listed as “Joel & the Autumns.

About a thousand copies were pressed that way.

At that time ,Eddie Brian introduced Joel to Ron-

nie “I” Italiano of Clifton Music who had just started the

United In Group Harmony Association (UGHA).

“Ronnie came to my studio. I’d just met him for

the first time. I told him I didn’t know what I was going

to do with all these copies of “1950’s Love Song” and

Ronnie said he’d help me sell them. We wound up selling

those thousand copies out right away, so we pressed

another thousand copies.”

This third pressing was done on J&M (same re-

lease number) but this time Joel used white labels with

red print. He made only 500 and also pressed a few

copies on red vinyl for himself. “Then I got tired and said

I wanted to do something else. That’s when I moved on

to the Platinums.”

“1950’s Love Song” b/w “Second Time Around”

would find life again a few years later when it was reis-

sued as Jade #110150. For that release, Joel removed the

harpsichord and violin intro.

Meanwhile, Ronnie I was busy issuing 45’s on his

Clifton label, taken from demos that Joel had done in the

early 1970’s. The first was an acappella record by the

Connotations doing “Stormy Weather” b/w “Zoom” (Clif-

ton #33). It had been recorded in 1971 at Merrill Staton’s

Alpine studio but not previously released. The Connota-

tions on these songs were Clinton Jaki Davis, Anthony

Giusto, Henry Richard “Dickie” Harmon, Joel Katz and

Jordan Montenero. Joel sang lead on both sides and

Ronnie I listed the artist as “Joel & the Connotations”

though Joel insisted that was never the group’s name.

They were always just the “Connotations”. Ronnie must

have been trying to capitalize on the success of the Joel &

the Autumns record. This was corrected on the next

release - the Connotations singing “When I Fall In Love”

b/w “When You Wish upon A Star” (Clifton #51). Joel

sang lead on “When I Fall In Love” along with Jaki Davis,

Dickie Harmon, Joe Frank Pascuzzo and Eddie Brian.

Dickie Harmon sang lead on “When You Wish Upon A

Star.” Besides Dickie, on that side were Jaki Davis, An-

thony Giusto, Jordan Montenero, Joel Katz and Joe

Frank Pascuzzo. Both are acappella masterpieces, taken

from early ‘70’s demos recorded at Merrill’s Alpine Studio.

Finally, Ronnie I released a single (Clifton #52)

of the Autumns singing an up-tempo version of “A Lovely

Way To Spend An Evening” with a full band and Joel

singing lead. This was something recorded in 1972 but

not released at the time. Joel recalled the music track

being cut in Washington DC. He added vocals in NYC

with the vocals being done by Joel Katz, Dickie Harmon,

Tony Giusto and possibly Eddie Brian. So technically, the

group should have been listed as the Connotations rather

than the Autumns. The flip side contained three adver-

tisement jingles for the soft drink, Seven-Up. All were

written by Eddie Brian and recorded in the early 1970’s.

Dickie Harmon led all of those.

For the record, Ronnie I also reissued the Au-

tumns’ “Dearest Little Angel” b/w “Maureen” on Clifton

#34 as by “Joel & the Autumns”. Demand for Joel Katz

records was running high and there was suddenly a new

demand for that record on Medieval but no copies to be

found.

The Platinums

Meanwhile, Joel began working with an existing

vocal band called the Platinums. The group then consist-

ed of Joel Katz, Eddie Decker, Bob Roman, Earl Richard-

son and Billy Ford. “The Platinums were the first band I

ever got involved in,” said Joel. “I started doing clubs

with them and I had my studio so I started recording

them. I only had an eight track but besides what were

issued, I recorded about seven cuts that never came out.

I recorded them with music and I fixed the vocals up. We

did “Please say You Want Me” and others that no one has

The true first pressing of “A 1950’s Love Song”

Artist is listed as “AUTUMNS featuring Joel”

From the Classic Urban Harmony Archives

ard.”

“We recorded ‘My True Story,’ which was rough

around the edges, but I put it out and pressed up around

five hundred copies.” “My True Story” came out on J&M

#122647 and was backed by “Life Is But A Dream”. “We

sold those out and I never repressed them,” said Joel. A

few copies of “My True Story” were pressed on blue vinyl.

The second record we did was “Teardrops Follow

Me” and “One Summer Night” (J&M #122648),” said

Joel. “I only pressed five hundred on that one also.”

Again, Joel Katz sang lead on both sides. The prominent

bass voice on both songs belongs to Jackie Davis of the

Connotations, whom Joel added to the session.

The final Platinums record, “Blanche” b/w Walk-

ing In The Rain” (J&M #104) came out in early 1980.

“That one wiped out right away,” Joel recalled. I did

about five hundred, blew it out right away and never

repressed it. I didn’t want to be in the record business. I

didn’t want to own a record label. So I just let the label

run out and never offered it to anybody.”

A number of Platinums recordings remained

unreleased. Eventually, the group’s recording of “Dia-

monds And Pearls” turned up on a Collectables CD, Joel

& the Jersey Groups” (Collectables #5587), released in

1996. “Blanche” was also on that CD.

The Connotations

The group, the Platinums was short-lived. Joel

Katz continued singing and recording with other groups.

In 1980, he put the Connotations back together and re-

corded them at Broadway South for George Greco’s Greco

label. George Greco owned a record store in Patterson,

New Jersey, a short drive from Ronnie I’s Clifton record

store. Greco had already reissued the Autumns’ “Never”

b/w “Exodus” (Greco #611).

The Connotations recorded “Don’t Ask Me To Be

Lonely” at Broadway South on August 6, 1980. Greco

paired it with an older 1974 recording of “Old Mac Don-

ald” and released it as Greco # 613. The record was

issued with a picture sleeve and came out in orange vinyl,

with a few copies pressed in purple vinyl. Both sides

featured Joel Katz on lead and are acappella. The Conno-

tations at the time were Joel Katz, Jordan Montenero,

Dickie Harmon, Anthony Giusto and Jaki Davis.

The last record the Connotations did was “No

More” b/w “Secret Love” (Greco #623). Again, Joel sang

lead on both side, acappella. The record came out in

black vinyl with a few copies pressed on while vinyl.

Back to the Autumns

The Platinums. Joel Katz center.

Courtesy of Joel Katz

At about the same time, Joel was also singing

with the Autumns. Eddie Brian asked Joel and the Au-

tumns to back a female vocalist remembered only as

Maria on a catchy tune he’d written called “Goodbye

Angel Baby” (b/w “Departed” BAB #125). BAB was Eddie

Brian’s label.

The Autumns also had a 1982 single of their own

with Eddie Brian’s BAB label. “Thank You Pretty Lady”

b/w “Dancer” both featured Dickie Harmon on lead.

While most copies are on black vinyl, a few were made on

green. “It was not my production,” said Joel. “I was just

brought in as a singer. We had Dickie Harmon from the

Connotations on that. And we had Jaki Davis and Eddie

Brian and me. Eddie Brian wanted to call it the Autumns

so the Autumns it was. The difference between the Con-

notations and the Autumns was complicated.”

Eddie Brian later included previously unreleased

Autumns demos “Infatuation” and “Dancin’ Dan”on an

album called “The 1980’s Doo Wop Album” (BAB #2001).

The Fifties Come Alive with the Wizards

One of Joel’s most successful ventures was the Wizards.

“I [Charlie Horner] was on WXPN in 1981 when Joel Katz

sent me a copy of a song by the Wizards called “50’s Come

Alive”. It was a great song and I wrote back to Joel, telling

him so. The next thing I knew, I received a tape in the

mail of the Wizards singing a promo to my show, based

on the tune and lyrics of “50’s Come Alive”. I used that

promo for years.”

“The Wizards came about as the result of a bet,”

recalled Joel. “The Wizards were a rock band and they

were clients of mine. One of the Wizards, Tom Lewan-

dowski, came into my studio and said, ‘You know that

song, ’1950’s Love Song’ that you recorded? I’ll bet I can

write a better song!’ So I said, ‘I don’t mind doing anoth-

er 45.’”

“So Tom brought in part of the group, the Wiz-

ards and they were good singers. Tom said, ‘I’ll make a

deal with you. You pay for the studio time and sing the

song and I’ll pay for the musicians and everything else.

I’ll even pay to press the 45 on it.’”

George Greco happened to walk in during the

recording session and said he wanted to put it out on his

label. The song, “50’s Come Alive” b/w “Summer Love”

came out on Greco #624, with a picture sleeve. Most

copies were pressed on black vinyl with just a precious

few made on red vinyl. About a month later, Joel got a

call from someone saying the record was the reviewed

and a Pick Hit Of The Week in Billboard magazine.

“You know people like to joke around a lot,” said

Joel. “I didn’t believe him. I was in the middle of a

recording session and this guy came in with the Decem-

ber 19, 1981 issue of Billboard and I started to read it.

There, under “Recommended,” I saw the Jackson 5, Di-

ana Ross, Melissa Manchester… and the Wizards ‘50’s

Come Alive’. And it said ‘Producer unknown’. I was the

producer but my name had been left of the record.”

“Anyway, I started getting phone calls from dis-

tributors. One call said, ‘We need 20,000 copies.’ I said,

‘Man, that’s a lot of records.’ They said, ‘We need them in

a week.’ Now Greco was a tiny label. I called the pressing

plant and was screaming on the phone, ‘What do you

mean you can’t do that?’ So, I couldn’t deliver and the

record went down the tubes. That was one of my close

calls. I don’t talk about it much because it took a lot out

of me.”

“Then about that time, Tom Lewandowski said,

‘Let’s make an LP.’ He’d split with George Greco and

The third generation of Autumns,

featuring Dickie Harmon.

From the Classic Urban Harmony Archives

The Wizards - “1950’s Love Song”

From the Classic Urban Harmony Archives

wanted to put it out on his own label. So he started the

Round Table label.” The album contained twelve great

cuts. Joel sang lead while other vocalists in the Wizards

were Tom Lewandowski, Jeff See, Rob Brembt and Don

Dougherty. We pressed a thousand copies and the sold

out immediately due to the demand for “50’s Come

Alive”. The album would be reissued a few years later on

the Jade label (#8002), remixed by Joel Katz and Johnny

Maestro. It was released again in 1995 as a CD on the

German label, Eagle (#90406) with a couple extra cuts.

Shortly after the album came out on Round Ta-

ble, Joel had the Wizards release a couple more 45’s.

Both came out on the C&J label. “Street Corner” b/w “A

Happier Time” (C&J #122650) contained two more Le-

wandowski penned tunes. Most copies were pressed in

black vinyl but a few were made on yellow and in red vinyl.

The Wizards never performed live. They were

just a recording group. The final Wizards record backed

a Lewandowski written song, “Guardian Angel” with

“What Brought Us Together” from the album. It came

out as C&J #122651 in black vinyl with a few copies

pressed in yellow vinyl.

Ten Wizards cuts were issued on the CD “Doo

Wop Magic” (Collectables # 8561) in 2006.

Twilight

When the Wizards broke up, Joel formed a new

group called Twilight. The first project was recording a

1985 self-titled album for Jade Records (#8001). Vocals

on most of the album cuts were Joel Katz (lead), Debbie

(first tenor), Joe Cimo (second tenor), Gordon Kent

(bass) and Joel Katz (overdubbing the baritone). Piano

was supplied by Tom Feher, formerly of the popular

group, the Left Bank. Feher also wrote the album liner

notes under the name Tom Fair.

One of the more fascinating aspects of the Twi-

light album was Joel’s use of guest vocalists. David Watt

of the Ad Libs was brought in to sing bass on “Tonight

Could Be The Night” and “You Don’t Love Me Anymore”.

The bass singer on “Step By Step” was Mike Alexander of

the great acappella group, Charm.

Most people don’t realize that Johnny Maestro of

the Crests sang first tenor on Twilight’s recording of

“What A Surprise”.

“I was helping Johnny Maestro build a recording

studio on Long Island,” recalled Joel. “Johnny never

knew I sang. He just thought I was a technician. I never

told Johnny that I was a singer. One day I was cutting the

lead voice to “What A Surprise” in my studio. I forgot that

I’d left the slide door open and Johnny came down the

stairs. I had my eyes closed and was singing away. All of

the sudden he was in front of me. He looked at me and

said, ‘You sing?’ I told him a dabble in it a little bit, and

he said it sounded like more than just dabbled in it.”

“I turned Johnny on to engineering and produc-

ing recordings. He helped out with the vocal arrange-

ments on the Twilight album. When we cut the

background for “What A Surprise,” our first tenor was

having trouble with the part and I was doing second

tenor. So Johnny came over to me and said, ‘Would you

mind if I sang first tenor with you?’” So Johnny Maestro

sang first tenor on ‘What A Surprise’.”

A single was pulled off the Twilight album and

released on the C&J label. “What A Surprise” b/w “I

Found Heaven” (C&J #122652) was pressed on black

vinyl with a few copies on pink, red and powder blue

vinyl. This was followed by two new songs. “Back In The

50’s” b/w “Recess In Heaven” (C&J #122653) was

pressed in black vinyl with a few copies on pale green vinyl.

Meanwhile, Twilight was doing well as a per-

forming group. Besides singing at UGHA and various

gigs that Ronnie I booked, Twilight was kept quite busy

performing at various doo wop concerts, nightclubs, wed-

dings and private parties. One regular gig was at Gabri-

Original Wizards LP on Round Table label.

From the Classic Urban Harmony Archives

el’s Restaurant in Wayne, NJ. Demand for the Twilight

album necessitated a second pressing. Johnny Maestro

voluntarily remixed the entire album with Joel and it was

issued again. Dissatisfied with the look of the jukebox

dark blue cover, Joel issued the album with the now more

familiar white cover.

In 1985, Twilight released their third single,

“Once Upon A Time” b/w “Step By Step” (Jade #110151).

A fourth record, “Remember Then” b/w “”I Don’t Want

To Be Lonely” (Jade #110153) was recorded and pressed

but never officially released.

“That was done with an orchestra,” said Joel.

“There are horns and strings. I called it Twilight but it’s

really not. I brought in all my friends and we had horns

and violins. I had the 24-track machine so I decide to fill

the whole thing up. My friend Tom Feher from the Left

Bank wrote a song for me called “I Don’t Want To Be

Lonely”. I wanted to do something different so I sang it

in falsetto. I wanted to sound like Frankie Valli. Tom

wanted me to use my own voice. It’s a strange record. I

pressed up 500 of them but never sold them. Ronnie I.

never even got one. I kept all the copies.”

[In spite of Joel’s believe that no copies of “I

Don’t Want To Be Lonely” ever got out, we’ve had one in

our Classic Urban Harmony Archives since the 1980’s.

We can’t recall where we got it and Joel has no idea who

leaked it to us!]

Twilight continued singing well into the late

1990’s. Their most recognized lineup included Joel Katz

(lead), Joe Cimo (second tenor, lead guitar), Cindy Young

(first tenor, keyboards), Bob Roman (baritone, bass gui-

tar) and Bob Knechtel (bass vocals and drums).

In 1992, the “Once Upon A Time” album was

released on a CD (Requestline #0564). A second CD, “Till

We Meet Again,” (C&J #001) came out in 1997. Bobby

Jay and Bernard “BJ” Jones supplied guest bass vocals.

Over the years, Twilight has shared the stage

with such luminaries as Johnny Maestro & Brooklyn

Bridge, the Del-Vikings, Larry Chance & the Earls, the

Dubs, the Cadillacs, the Impalas and the Coasters.

Joel & the Ad Libs’ Rarest Record

That brings us to a rare record; the Ad Libs’

northern soul classic, “I Don’t Need No Fortune Teller”.

“Dave Watt was the Ad Libs’ bass and we’d be-

come friends,” said Joel. “I’d filled in on stage with the

Ad Libs once. Dave sang bass on quite a few of the

Twilight album cuts. I wanted to produce an Ad Libs

record. John Taylor, the Ad Libs’ manager had written

two new tunes and suggested we team up. I arranged

studio time at Broadway South and we recorded the two

songs. I brought in the Uptown Horn Section. The Ad

Libs did the vocals. I think they were missing a singer so

my voice was also squeezed in there. They were great

songs but they were each about eight minutes long!”

“So how do you fit eight minutes onto one side of

a 45? John Taylor said, ‘Joel, do what ever you can to

make it fit onto a 45.’ So I literally rebuilt the two songs.

It came out on the Ad Libs’ label, Passion label.”

What happened next has become folklore among

collectors of northern soul records. “I went down to Sun

Plastics where they were pressing the record,” said Joel.

“When I got there I found out they had pressed the record

with the labels on the wrong sides. I was not a happy

camper. Because the disc jockeys would be reversing it

because they wouldn’t know which side was which. I said,

‘Look, I need these repressed!’ They said, ‘Well, you

know, we …” And I said, ‘I’m telling you right now. You

see that bin where you melt your records?’ I personally

took 950 of the 1000 records and threw them into the bin

to melt. That left only 50 copies that I took. All had the

revered labels. I gave about 20 to the group and kept the

rest.”

Shortly after the record was pressed, the Ad Libs

sang live on Bill Swanke’s WRSU-FM radio program in

New Brunswick, NJ. I [Charlie] used to hang out at Bill’s

radio show Thursday evenings and would sometimes fill

in for him when he was away. I was there when the Ad

Libs were guests and they gave me three copies of the

record to play on my radio show. One turned out to be

pressed so far off center it wouldn’t play. I later traded

one away. The third mint copy resides in the Classic

Urban Harmony Archives. “I Don’t Need No Fortune

Teller” b/w “Spring And Summer” now books for about

$500 a copy.

Of course, all this begs the question of why the

pressing plant didn’t just repress the record with labels

done correctly. “They broke the stamper,” lamented Joel.

“I would have had to go back and redo everything. I

heard later that Bobby Jay had made ‘Spring And Sum-

mer’ the ‘Pick Hit Of The Week’ on WWRL. The whole

thing fell flat on its face.”

CONTINUED NEXT ISSUE: The Joel Katz Story – Part 3.

Be sure to visit JoelKatzMusic.squarepins.org.

Catch Joel Katz & the Dynamics along with 8 other acap-

pella acts including Gaynel Hodge, Quiet Storm, Frankie

& the Fashions, Re-MemberThen, Nostalgia 5, 5/3

Woodland and Deborah Charleston at Doo Wop Explo-

sion 3, Monmouth University, W. Long Branch NJ, April

21, 2018. See ClassicUrbanHarmony.net for details.

Collecting Joel Katz Vinyl Singles

Building a complete collection of all Joel’s vinyl 45’s can be a delight or nightmare, depending on how serious a collector

you are. Most were made in quantities of 500 or 1000 in black vinyl. These can still be found if you search hard enough.

In addition, Joel often delighted in pressing 5 - 25 copies in different color vinyl (red, blue, green) to give to friends, dj’s

and group members. These can be impossible to find but do occasionally turn up, in fact some are still available through

KatzablancaProductions.com. We’ll list here all the variations we know of. Still more might exist! Good hunting.

As the Autumns

Medieval 208 Dearest Little Angel 1964

Maureen

[vinyl: black]

Power 871 Never 1966

Exodus

[vinyl: black; blue, red]

Amber 856 Never 1966

Exodus

[vinyl: black; blue, blue/black swirl]

As Joel & the Conchords

Amber 850 Hurry Home 1966

Moonlight In Vermont

[vinyl: black; blue; red]

As Autumn Spectrum

Artist 5004 High On Life 1971

Where Is Autumn

[vinyl: black]

As the Autumns featuring Joel

J&M 122646 1950’s Love Song 1979

Second Time Around

[blue label, vinyl: black]

As the Joel & the Autumns

J&M 122646 1950’s Love Song [remixed] 1979

Second Time Around [remixed]

[blue label - vinyl: black]

As the Joel & the Autumns

J&M 122646 1950’s Love Song [remixed] 1979

Second Time Around [remixed]

[white label, vinyl: black, red]

As Joel & Connotations

Clifton 33 Stormy Weather [Rec. 1971] 1979

Zoom [Rec. 1971]

[vinyl: black; blue; red]

As Joel & Autumns

Clifton 34 Dearest Little Angel [Rec. 1964] 1979

Maureen [Rec. 1964]

[vinyl: black; blue]

As the Platinums

J&M 122647 My True Story 1979

Life Is But A Dream

[vinyl: black; blue]

J&M 122648 One Summer Night 1979

Teardrops Follow Me

[vinyl: black]

J&M 104 Walking In The Rain 1980

Blanche

[vinyl: black; red]

As the Connotations

Clifton 51 When I Fall In Love [Rec. 1973] 1980

When You Wish Upon A Star [rec ‘73]

[vinyl: black]

As the Autumns

Clifton 52 Seven Up Jingles [Rec. 1972] 1980

Lovely Way To Spend An Evening [‘73]

[vinyl: black]

As the Autumns

Greco 611* Never [Rec. 1966] 1980

Exodus [Rec. 1966]

[w/Pix slv, vinyl:black]

As the Connotations

Greco 613 Don’t Ask Me To Be Lonely 1980

Old Mc Donald [Rec. 1974]

[w/Pix slv. vinyl: orange; purple]

Greco 614 No More 1980

Secret Love

[vinyl: black; white, reddish purple]

As Maria & the Autumns

BAB 128 Goodbye Angel Baby 1980

Departed

[vinyl: black]

As the Wizards

Greco 617 50’s Come Alive 1981

Summer Love

[w/ pix slv, vinyl: black; red]

As the Autumns

BAB 128 Thank You Pretty Lady 1982

Dancer

[vinyl: black; green]

As the Wizards

C&J 122650 A Happier Time 1982

Street Corner

[vinyl: black; red; yellow]

C&J 122651 Guardian Angel 1982

What Brought Us Together

[vinyl: black; yellow]

As Twilight

C&J 122652 What A Surprise 1982

I Found Heaven

[vinyl: black; pink; red; powder blue]

C&J 122653 Back In The 50’s 1982

Recess In Heaven

[vinyl: black; green]

Jade 110150 1950’s Love Song [short version] 1984

Second Time Around

[vinyl: black]

Jade 110151 Once Upon A Time 1984

Step By Step

[vinyl: black]

Jade 110152 I Don’t Want To Be Lonely 1984

Remember Then

[vinyl: black; orange; blue; red]]

As Joel & the Dynamics

Classic Artists 130 My Juanita 1991

A Thousand Miles Away

[vinyl: black]

Classic Artists 134 Whispering Bells 1992

Sweetest One

[vinyl: ?Does this one even exist?]

Katzablanca 811 All I Want For Christmas Is You 2014

After New Year’s Eve

[vinyl: green]