Kiddie-a-Go-Go part deux

Well ladies and gentlemen, it’s been a while. I know anyone keeping up with this blog needs to show some serious patience, so my apologies.

I’ve been waiting for the right moment to continue on this idea I had, which was to post some rockin’ children’s songs from the 60s or other. In fact, I’ve been toying with the idea for several years now of producing a CD comp of garage/60s/punk/new wave children’s songs (as in: sung by children, from the time). The only problem is I wanted this comp to feature kids from around the world, not just focus on the U.S, the UK, France, etc. Quite a hefty mission. As you might guess, it hasn’t gotten me anywhere, but at least I have a few kick ass kiddie records lying around the house that could use a few blog posts. And, like I mentioned in my previous La Pendilla post – don’t let it scare you. It’s not like I’m gonna post René Simard or the Mini Pops. Trust.

Which brings us to post number 2. One could not talk about children recording stars without mentioning one of the most infamous child recording stars in US recording history: Keith Green.

Keith Green is well known today amongst Christian/Gospel music fans and is a posthumous member of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Regardless of what your thoughts or opinions on Christian music are, he was a true artist and a musical prodigy. At the age of 11 in 1965, he was the youngest singer-songwriter to be signed to ASCAP.

From Wikipedia, about his late 70s period: “Green was signed to Contemporary Christian music label Sparrow Records in 1976 and worked on the album Firewind (1976) with Christian artists 2nd Chapter of Acts, Terry Talbot, John Talbot, and Barry McGuire. His first solo project, For Him Who Has Ears to Hear, was released in 1977 and his second solo release, No Compromise, followed in 1978. In 1979, after negotiating a release from his contract with Sparrow, Green initiated a new policy of refusing to charge money for concerts or albums. Keith and Melody mortgaged their home to privately finance Green’s next album, So You Wanna Go Back To Egypt. The album, which featured a guest appearance by Bob Dylan, was offered through mail-order and at concerts for a price determined by the purchaser. As of May 1982, Green had shipped out more than 200,000 units of his album – 61,000 for free. Subsequent albums included The Keith Green Collection (1981) and Songs For The Shepherd (1982).”

However, this is not the era I am interested in, obviously. Let us go back to 1965, when Keith Green was all but 11 years old, with already over 40 songs under his belt. His father, seeing green (geddit?) dollar bill signs in his son’s talent, knocked on DECCA records’ doors, requesting a session with a producer. None other than Gary Usher, producer of the Beach Boys, and co-writer of “In My Room”, among others, was commissioned to produce this shy young man, whom DECCA had high hopes for as their next teen idol star. Story has it that Gary Usher didn’t think much of Keith Green’s songs and that the DECCA big suits forced him into producing Green. Usher easily transformed Keith’s compositions into Beach Boys sounding material, with the help of Chuck Girard on backing vocals and “voilà”, here you have “A Go-Go Getter” and the A-side, “The Way I Used to Be”.

Two more singles were released until Donny Osmond came along and stole every young girl’s heart. Pffft!

Keith Green suffered a severe depression, until marrying and converting to Christianism in the late 70s, and started on a new, impressive recording career. He later died in a plane crash in 1982.

Here’s a fantastic clip of little Keith on “I’ve Got a Secret”. His secret being “I Just Signed a 5-Year Contract as a Rock and Roll Singer”.

Keith Green – A Go-Go Getter/The Way I Used to Be