THE EXECUTIVES
Sydney 1966-69, 1974-78
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1966-69
Dennis Allgood (bass, vocals)
Ray Burton (guitar, vocals) 1967-69
Rhys Clark (drums)
Gino Cunnico (vocals) 1967-69
Dudley Hood (guitar) 1966-67
Brian King (keyboards)
Carole King (vocals)
Gary King (bass)
Keith Leslie (sax, vocals) 1966-67
Brian Patterson (guitar) 1967-69
1974-78
Brian and Carole King with:
Brian Kirby (drums)
Alan Oloman (bass)
Ron Smith (guitar)
Jonne Sands (vocals)
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History
Like
Allusions, and The Affair,
not enough recognition has been accorded to The Executives. They shared
with those bands a polished, musicianly approach, although they fared
considerably better than most of their contemporaries in the longevity
stakes. They were also quite successful in commercial terms -- they
scored several Top 40 hits, including two consecutive Top 5 singles in
Sydney, and they were widely regarded as being Australia's most
sophisticated pop group. They are also notable as one of the very first
Australian groups to produce their own recordings.
This polished sextet was founded by husband and wife Brian and Carole King
in Sydney in late 1966, quickly gaining 'must-see' status around inner-city venues.
Their musical expertise and versatility was unequalled for the time, and
between them the six members could play thirty-one instruments, ranging
from violin to harpsichord. In January 1967 they released their debut
single, "Wander Boy" backed by a cover of The Addrisi Brothers'
"You're Bad". The moody, wistful a-side was highly rated by Sydney
radio DJs and sold well there.
Around mid-'67 Dudley Hood, co-writer of "You're Bad", left to be
replaced by guitarist Brian Patterson, who hailed originally from the
Laurie Lee Ensemble (1963), then The Bluebeats (1965-66), and
Tony Worsley & The Fabulous Blue Jays (1966).
A second guitarist, Ray Burton (Raymond Doughty) also joined at the
same time, replacing saxophonist Keith Leslie. Ray's antecedents include
The Dave Bridge Quartet (1961-62) and The Telstars (1965). He had brief
stints with Dynasty and The Questions in 1968
before returning to The Execs later that year. The other members of the
Mark 1 line-up were virtual novices to the scene but acquitted themselves
well in the professional Executives setting.
It was the one-two punch of follow-up 45s in mid-'67 that cemented The
Executives' reputation. "My Aim Is To Please You" was a beautifully
arranged and recorded mid-paced ballad, which displayed to excellent effect
the multi-layered twinned lead vocals of Gino Cunnico (formerly lead singer
of The Affair) and Carole King, together with the deft electric piano flourishes of Brian King.
An interesting piece of music 'trivia' about this song is that it
was written by guitarist Kenny Young, who is best known as the
co-author of the R&B classic "Under The Boardwalk". In the mid-'70s
Young formed the band Fox (fronted by expatriate Aussie singer Susan
Traynor aka Noosha Fox), who scored a major international hit with the
song "S-S-S-Single Bed" in 1976.
Many listeners mistook the Execs' new single for an American recording,
perhaps by The 5th Dimension or The Mamas & the Papas (whose styles obviously had a strong
influence on The Execs) before discovering to their considerable surprise
that it was a home-grown product. "Aim" became a sizeable national
hit, peaking at #26 on the Go-Set
chart in September. It paved the way for their biggest seller, the
lush, majestic Steven Stills song "Sit Down I Think I Love You"
(originally recorded by Buffalo Springfield on their debut album). It
was a Top 30 hit on most capital city charts during October 1967 and
was especially successful in Sydney, where it peaked at #4, and it
reached #28 on the Go-Set chart in December.
During 1968 they released a trio of self-produced singles, making
them one of the very first Australian bands to produce their own
recordings. The first was the brisk and catchy "It's A Happening World"
(March) written by Brill Building doyens Barry Mann & Cynthia
Weill, which made the Top 40 in Sydney and Brisbane. The second was an
irresistible slice of pure pop called "Windy Day" (June); originally
recorded by US band The Lewis & Clark Expedition, it was another
big success for The Executive in Sydney, where it reached #7. The third
single was a glistening bauble of psych-pop whimsy, "Summerhill Road"
(December), co-written by Ray Burton and Garry Paige, as was the
single's flipside, "Christopher Robin".
Garry Paige has a very interesting history -- while visiting the U.S.
ca. 1967 he became friends with guitarists Steve Cropper of Booker T. & The MGs
and Erik Braunn of Iron Butterfly. Paige owned a Vox wah-wah pedal and this novel device
caught the attention of Braunn, who was so enamoured with it that he bought it from Paige and used it
extensively on their famous LP In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.
Paige subsequently wrote with Russell Dunlop of
Aesop's Fables and Flake,
and enjoyed a long and successful partnership with Mark Punch, with whom he
co-wrote the Renee Geyer hits "Heading in the Right Direction" and
"Words Are Not Enough". In 1979 he teamed up with Kevin Borich for his
Angel's Hand LP and he has since worked with Anne Kirkpatrick, Kim Hart and
David Briggs of LRB.
All of the above-mentioned Execcs Singles were respectable national sellers.
Around this time The Execs cut a track for a various-artists promo EP for the
Coca-Cola company, which is now extremely rare. The uncredited liner notes,
couched in the hip vernacular of the day, make for amusing reading 30-odd years on:
"They're the top group in New South Wales, and with
"Windy Day" a bullet performer everywhere it's played, they look
like staying that way. Their new jingle for Coca-Cola and their latest
single ("Summerhill Road"), featured on the flip side of this disc
which was written and produced by themselves will really knock you out!"
Shortly after the early-1968 release of their eponymous debut LP, The
Executives made the first of two forays to the USA, where they attracted
encouraging industry scrutiny. They signed to the Buddha label and with
the management team of DiBlasio, Wald & Day whose client list included
Billy Joel, Helen Reddy and Tiny Tim (partner Jeff Wald was the husband of
Helen Reddy). Unfortunately nothing came of the Buddah deal, so they
eventually returned to Australia.
But their absence did little to diminish their popularity in their homeland,
where a further bunch of singles, EPs and another album fared well on the charts,
and they remained a popular live draw. Their second
album, On Bandstand, gathered many of their earlier hits, supported
by a selection of well-chosen covers of contemporary standards, including
several tracks from the hit musical Hair, and the LP confidently
showcased the abundant musical strengths of the band. This collection
has been re-released in various forms subsequently (see
Discography).
A second trip to America in late 1969 saw them absorbing the
prevailing psychedelic-progressive trends; falling" into line with that
maxim, they changed their name to The Inner Sense, adopting a heavier
musical style but still retaining their trademark vocal
polish. The Mark 1 line-up of the group lasted until late 1969.
Unfortunately, new trends in progressive and heavy rock were making the
smooth, breezy pop stylings of The Exectuives a thing of the past, and
they were tagged as a "middle of the road" band in later years.
Most of the group returned to Australia, and during this period Carole
and Brian wrote, performed in and produced
the music for the now-forgotten the stage musical Nuclear,
of which former 60s pop idol Mike Furber was briefly a cast
member, just before his tragic death.
Ray Burton remained in America until 1973, and it was during that time that he co-wrote the international
smash hit "I Am Woman" with Helen Reddy.
On his return he became an in-demand session player and went on to work in
several prominent groups -- Doug Parkinson &
Friends and then McGuire, Kennedy and Burton (both 1973), which
evolved into Ayers Rock later that year. He also
formed a duo with ex-Executive Gino Cunnico that released one album in
1974. Gino later released two obscure solo LPs and Ray released his own.
Ray continues a successful songwriting and production career to this day.
Among his clients are Marcia Hines, Helen Reddy and
Doug Parkinson.
Carole and Brian King formed an aptly-name new group, Transition,
which kept them going until they had found the right personnel with which
to resurrect The Execs in June 1974. The new lineup included
vocalist Jonne Sands, a former Sunshine
label artist who at one stage was touted as a successor to Normie Rowe
and who scored a lone a solo hit with "Mothers And Fathers" in October
1968. He took over Gino Cunnico's original role as co-lead singer with
Carole, and for three more years this line-up enjoyed solid patronage
around Sydney's club and cabaret circuit, and they released three
singles on Polydor. They made regular appearances on TV variety shows
and also wrote and recorded the theme music
for Grundy's hospital soapie The Young Doctors.
After The Executive"s folded for good in 1978, Brian and Carole King
continued to team for studio sessions. Sands resumed a moderately
successful solo career, mainly as a club performer. Bassist-guitarist
Alan Oloman (formerly a member of legendary Lithgow band
The Black Diamonds) continued with session work,
contributing to Nuclear and wrote the music for the 1979 film
Alison's Birthday.
The Executives left behind a body of fine records that are highly
sought after by collectors of quality sixties Aussie pop, although it
has to be said that they have been lamentably overlooked in terms of CD
reissues. Since the closure of Festival Mushroom Records in 2005 and
the sale of its archive to the Warner group there has been little
action on this front, apart from the recent reissues of the Split Enz
catalogue.
Nevertheless, The Executive should be remembered for their sophisticated and inventive
sound, those gorgeous vocal harmonies, their accomplished musicianship
and their mastery of the three-minute pop single idiom.
Original article by Paul Culnane (revised 2007)
Discography
Singles
Jan. 1967
"Wander Boy" / "You're Bad" (Festival FK 1583)
June 1967
"My Aim Is To Please You" / "Bad Reputation" (Festival FK 1776)
#5 Sydney, #33 Melbourne, #3 Brisbane
Aug. 1967
"Sit Down I Think I Love You" / "Don't You Sometimes, Baby" (Festival FK 1934)
#4 Sydney, #13 Brisbane
Mar. 1968
"It's A Happening World / Moving In A Circle "
(Festival FK 2179)
#24, Sydney, #34 Brisbane
June 1968
"Windy Day" / "This Town Ain't The Same Any More" (Festival FK 2395)
Dec. 1968
"Christopher Robin" / "Summerhill Road"(Festival FK 2654)
Aug. 1969
"Parenthesis" / "Got My Woman" (Festival FK 3283)
1969
"Take Care Of Your Smile" (EMI Custom 7X56629)
(promotional record for National Health Week)
Nov. 1969
"Hey Man" / "You're Gonna Love Me" (Festival FK 4036)
July 1974
"On The Road Back" / "Uptown 'n' Down" (Polydor 2079047)
Apr. 1976
"Let The World Go Round" / "Country Lady" (Polydor 2079078)
Oct. 1976
"Tinker Tailor" / "Songs of Love" (Polydor 2079092)
EPs
Executives Break Out (Festival FX 11301)
"My Aim Is To Please You" / "Bad Reputation" // "Wander Boy" / "You're Bad"
It's A Happening World (Festival FX 11487)
"It's A Happening World" / Moving In A Circle // "Dedicated To The One I Love" / "Don't You Sometimes, Baby"
Windy Day (Festival FX 11547)
"Windy Day" / "This Town Ain't the Same" // "Friday's Child" / "Watermelon Man"
Parenthesis (Festival FX 11651)
"Parenthesis" / "Got My Woman" // "Christopher Robin" / "Summerhill Road"
Things Go Better With Coca-Cola (EMI PRS 2028)
Various artists promotional compilation including Executives Coca-Cola advertisement and "Summerhill Road"
Albums
1968
The Executives (Festival FL 32813)
(no track listing available)
1968
The Executives on Bandstand (Festival SFL 933546)
"Aquarius" (Rado-Ragni-MacDermot)
"Christopher Robin" (R. Burton-G. Paige)
"Cinderella Rockefella" (N. Ames-M. Williams)
"Creeque Alley" (John Phillips)
"Dedicated To The One I Love" (Pauling-Bass)
"Dream A Little Dream Of Me" (Kahn)
"Hair" (Rado-Ragni-MacDermot)
"Hey Jude" (Lennon-McCartney)
"It's A Happening World" (Mann-Weill)
"Let The Sunshine In" (Rado-Ragni-MacDermot)
"Monday Monday" (John Phillips)
"Moving In A Circle" (Dudley Hood-Brian King)
"My Aim Is To Please You" (Kenny Young)
"Ob-La Di, Ob La Da" (Lennon-McCartney)
"Requiem: 820 Latham" (Jimmy Webb)
"Sit Down I Think I Love You" (Steven Stills)
"Walking In Space" (Rado-Ragni-MacDermot)
"Wander Boy" (Smith)
"Windy Day" (L. Clarke)
(no date)
The Executives Now (Summit SRA250 007), also released on Universal (U 1019)
(no track listing available)
1989
The Happening World Of The Executives: The Festival File Vol. 12 (Festival L 19011)
Tracklisting similar to On Bandstand and
Now but with these additional tracks:
"Don't You Sometimes Baby" (Gary Shearston)
"Fly Through This Happening World" (Aulton-White)
"Friday's Child" (Lee Hazelwood)
"Watermelon Man" (Herbie Hancock)
"You're Bad" (Addrisi)
References / Links
Brian King official website
http://www.brianking.com.au/
Ray Burton official website
www.rayburtonmusic.com
Gerry Paige webpage
http://www.sturmsoft.com/franklinfriends/paige/garry_paige.htm
Ian McFarlane
Encyclopedia of Australian Rock & Pop (Allen & Unwin, 1999)
http://www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=333
Noel McGrath
Australian Encyclopedia of Rock (Outback Press, 1978)
Chris Spencer, Zbig Nowara & Paul McHenry
Who's Who of Australian Rock (Five Mile Press, 2002)
poparchives.com.au
http://www.poparchives.com.au/
Vernon Joyson
Dreams, Fantasies & Nightmares: Australia (Borderline Books, 1999)
Memorable Music: Australian Rock
http://www.memorabletv.com/musicworld/ozrock/etog.htm