Artist: Paul VanceLP: Ma Vie - My Life
I picked up this album for $5 in SoHo just before the end of Record Store Day last Saturday. There was no listening station at this particular shop and I didn't know who Paul Vance was, but I figured it would be good since he was lighting a cigarette on the cover and some of the songs are in French. Turns out Mr. Vance co-wrote "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" and a bunch of other neat songs. There were evidently widespread news reports of his death in 2006, but he's actually still alive and resides in Florida. You can read more about him here, and these notes are from the back of the record:Paul Vance didn't sing his way to fame; the first thing he did
was write his way to fame. The behind-the-scenes story of
how this hit songwriter is now singing with marked success
is fit material for a Hollywood scenario writer. Paul and his
partner of a decade, Lee Pockriss, recently penned a
warm and wistful ballad called "Dommage, Dommage."
As he had done on previous occasions, he cut what the
record trade calls a "demo," a recording of a new song
(or artist) that is designed not to go beyond the ears of
music publishers, Artist & Repertoire men or performers.
After Paul sang the final note of "Dommage, Dommage,"
musicians and engineers on the site, normally a jaded lot,
burst into spontaneous applause. The "demo" originally
intended to be heard by Barbra Streisand, among others,
was scrapped in favor of an actual record release by a
suddenly crowned "new" artist, Paul Vance.
Paul's work, both as a singer and collaborator (with Lee
Pockriss), delighted Florence Greenberg, the guiding
light of Scepter Records to whom it was submitted,
and she decided to release it on her label.
Paul's persuasive reading of the lovely song has been
greeted with a great deal of attention, proving once
more that songwriters can be more than frustrated
singers, but as fully capable of doing their own songs
as the performers for whom their creations may be written
for! Paul sees a very practical reason why songwriters often
record "demos" of their songs. "It gives us the opportunity
to perform them in the style that we had in mind when
we first wrote them," he explains.
Paul, as "Dommage, Dommage" and other songs on this
LP demonstrate so well — including "Ma Vie," a poignant
follow-up to his first hit as an artist — can blend meaningful
interpretations of his own works and that of others with
the flair of a total professional. Although his career as
a singer is growing with each spin of his record, he is
quick to emphasize that he will continue to write with
Pockriss. This gives the worlds of singing and song a
double-barreled lift: a singer with "heart" and a writer
who will undoubtedly continue to supply the better
pop material of our time.
-- Irv Lichtman, Cash Box Magazine
was write his way to fame. The behind-the-scenes story of
how this hit songwriter is now singing with marked success
is fit material for a Hollywood scenario writer. Paul and his
partner of a decade, Lee Pockriss, recently penned a
warm and wistful ballad called "Dommage, Dommage."
As he had done on previous occasions, he cut what the
record trade calls a "demo," a recording of a new song
(or artist) that is designed not to go beyond the ears of
music publishers, Artist & Repertoire men or performers.
After Paul sang the final note of "Dommage, Dommage,"
musicians and engineers on the site, normally a jaded lot,
burst into spontaneous applause. The "demo" originally
intended to be heard by Barbra Streisand, among others,
was scrapped in favor of an actual record release by a
suddenly crowned "new" artist, Paul Vance.
Paul's work, both as a singer and collaborator (with Lee
Pockriss), delighted Florence Greenberg, the guiding
light of Scepter Records to whom it was submitted,
and she decided to release it on her label.
Paul's persuasive reading of the lovely song has been
greeted with a great deal of attention, proving once
more that songwriters can be more than frustrated
singers, but as fully capable of doing their own songs
as the performers for whom their creations may be written
for! Paul sees a very practical reason why songwriters often
record "demos" of their songs. "It gives us the opportunity
to perform them in the style that we had in mind when
we first wrote them," he explains.
Paul, as "Dommage, Dommage" and other songs on this
LP demonstrate so well — including "Ma Vie," a poignant
follow-up to his first hit as an artist — can blend meaningful
interpretations of his own works and that of others with
the flair of a total professional. Although his career as
a singer is growing with each spin of his record, he is
quick to emphasize that he will continue to write with
Pockriss. This gives the worlds of singing and song a
double-barreled lift: a singer with "heart" and a writer
who will undoubtedly continue to supply the better
pop material of our time.
-- Irv Lichtman, Cash Box Magazine
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