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ROSIE & THE ORIGINALS
“ANGEL BABY”
(David Ponci)
Highland 1011
No. 5 January 23, 1961
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Pictures on Rosie are a rarity so, most fans don’t know what she looked like. But from the sound of that
high-pitched voice on “Angel Baby,” Rosalie Hamlin was probably as thin as a barber’s pole, with a 16-inch
waist, inch-long eyelashes, and a stiff beehive hairdo up to there. Here was seemingly a sad, bad girl–or
so us teen males hoped–who just needed a boy, a beer, and the submarine races, and everything would be
all right.
In the late ’80s, Rosie resurfaced with a new band, the L.A. Rhythm Section, and a story to tell. She was
born July 21, 1945 in Klamath Falls, Oregon, raised in Alaska till age 11 when her family moved to San
Diego. As a pre-teen she taught herself to play piano and to dash off songs.
In 1960, when 14, Rosie met four older guys with a future to mesh with hers. “They weren’t yet a band
called the Originals,” she told DISCoveries‘ Ed Wittenberg. “They were just guys from the other side of
town who played music with a couple of friends of mine.” There was sax man Alfred Barrett, bassist
Tony Gomez, guitarist David Ponci, lead guitarist Noah Tafolla and drummer Carl von Goodat. Rosie
and the boys rehearsed a few numbers, then approached Highland Records about recording some of
their material.
History happened in an old airplaine hanger converted into a studio of sorts in San Marcos, California.
Rosie had scribbled the words to the unit’s first and penultimate single as a poem in her notebook, then
crafted a melody based on the chord changes to “Heart And Soul.” She sings “Angel Baby” in one of the
skimpiest voices to ever grace the Billboard charts, with the Originals pounding a sparse and primitive
backdrop. At moments, the drummer seems to forget what track he’s playing on, the record is flawed with
flubs, and the sound quality of the recording is poor–but “Angel Baby” is undoubtedly one of rock’n’roll’s
greatest rockaballad moments.
In explanation, Rosie told Wittenberg, “Alfred had to stay home that day to do the yard work for his
parents. So, Tony who was the bass player had to play the sax line.” To make matters, seemingly,
worse, Rosie had a bad cold. “We did it over and over… We must have done 30-some takes; it was an
all day deal.”
Before the now-classic was even issued, the group disbanded; Rosie, in particular, was bothered that
Highland Records had credited Dave Ponci as “Angel Baby”‘s writer. “We were together only a summer,
if even that,” she told Wittenberg.
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A follow-up, “Angel From Above,” was put out by the label; then “We’ll Have A Chance.” Both went
unnoticed by radio programmers and consequentially, the public. Jackie Wilson, however, did take
notice, and introduced Rosie to his manager, Nat Taranapol. Nat got Rosie a recording contract with
one of the big-time labels, his label, Brunswick Records. Aside from boyfriend Noal, the Originals
were not part of the deal, and they apparently vanished from the face of this planet.
In place of the crudities the Originals had supplied were the lush strings and flubless instrumentation
of the Dick Jacobs Orchestra; featuring the sax of legend Plas Johnson and keyboard great ERNIE
FREEMAN. Two of Rosie’s self-penned tunes, engulfed in the finest sounds money could buy, were
issued, as by “Rosie, formerly of Rosie & the Originals”; both failed miserably. An album appeared,
but sales were minor-league.
“The band on that album [Lonely Blue Nights] kind of swallowed me up,” Rosie admitted to Sh –
Boom. “They wanted to duplicate that ‘Angel Baby’ sound, but they were too professional. The saxophonist tried to get that off-key sound, and it sounded terrible–like he was trying to play off-key. Plus, the company didn’t push the album. I think it was a tax write-off or something.”
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Two further solo singles were issued, but record-buyers’ interest was apparently elsewhere. Brunswick set the girl free.
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Rosie and Originals’ guitarist Noah Tafolla were married for three and a half years. Their off-spring,
Debbie and Joey, are full-grown; the latter is a guitar teacher. Rosie has remanded in the music biz
through all the years, with the exception of 1979 to 1983 when she was an art teacher in Colorado.
Kathy Young & the Innocents, of “A Thousand Stars,” and bluesman Charles Brown recorded remakes of
Rosie’s ode. Her favorite rendition, however, is by John Lennon, produced by Phil Spector in the ’70s
and issued posthumously in 1986. On the Menlove album, John’s voice can be heard: “This is one of my
all-time favorite songs… My love to Rosie wherever she may be.”
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Rosie and the Originals never received a penny from “Angel Baby,” nor any of the other Highland
recordings–until September 1994, when a fiancial settlement was reached and the masters of their
recordings were returned to them.
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