Oliver's Story: Bowing to popular demand*, I have just added my liner notes for EMI's unreleased Oliver greatest-hits package to my online archives. They were written in 1997, at a time when the label was in transition and shelved several projects just as they were ready to go. Now you can read more information on the late singer of "Good Morning Starshine" and "Jean" than was previously available on the Web—or anywhere else, for that matter. Although Oliver was still alive at the time, I wasn't able to reach him—nobody at EMI had his contact information—but I did get wonderful quotes from his producer, the legendary Bob Crewe.
While Oliver's soaring vocals and Crewe's gorgeous production work make a very pleasant impression on my ears, I'm not really a passionate fan or collector of the singer's work. Thankfully, fellow rock historian Patrick Beckers is, and he helped me so much with my research that I gave him a co-writing credit on the notes. (That last link will take you to Patrick's "About Me" page, which includes links to his extensive Wondermints fan pages.)
*Joke.
3:44 AM
