![]() Son talent réside pourtant dans la composition, pour laquelle il est curieusement méconnu. À la fin des années cinquante sous son propre nom et bien que chanteur médiocre, il s'est spécialisé dans les reprises de morceaux célèbres. KIRK SILSBEE writes about jazz and culture for Marquee.Novembre 1942, à New York. Where: Coffee Gallery Backstage, 2029 N Lake Ave, Altadena “He was an icon,” she says, “and when an icon touches peoples’ lives like he did, it transcends fame and money.” Phil said it more directly.”Ĭarol Schofield released “My Beethoven,” Sloan’s valedictory masterwork. He was like Dylan, but Dylan was very elliptical. His songs were true to the human condition. Nashville songwriter Jon Tiven wrote with Sloan on “Sailover.” He contends: “Phil had a very pointed moral compass. “Phil had a lot of Biblical content in his lyrics,” Tiven believes, “and he was probably at the root of me quoting ‘Be still and know that I am God’ from the Bible’ when I wrote ‘Be Still’ with Brian Wilson for the beach Boys’ ‘Friends’ album.” He was the one guy my age who was writing my thoughts - especially in ‘Let Me Be’ and ‘Eve of Destruction.’” “My favorite writers were Phil Sloan, the Beatles and the Beach Boys,” Kalinich says, from his Beverly Hills home, “in that order. One was lyricist Steve Kalinich, who grew up in Binghamton, N.Y. ![]() While they didn’t sell a lot of units, songwriters devoured Sloan’s recordings. Ninth-inning albums “Sailover” (Hightone ’06) and “My Beethoven” (MsMusic ’14) gave him great satisfaction as well.ĭylan’s success as an idiosyncratic vocalist made possible Sloan’s own early albums like “Songs of Our Times” and “Twelve More Times,” for Dunhill, released in ’65 and ’66 respectively. More importantly, he gained a measure of personal grace, and was presented at the prestigious Ponderosa Stomp festival in New Orleans. As he detailed in his autobiography, “What’s Exactly the Matter With Me?” (Jawbone Press, 2014), he entered into a long period of frustration, depression, drug abuse and even a period of institutionalization.Īfter years of spiritual introspection and searching, Sloan was eventually paid a settlement. Sloan from the Hollywood Renaissance of the ’60s, just as it would to overestimate his importance.įor all of his success, Sloan was a contractual slave and saw very little of the money his songs generated. With his partner Steve Barri, Sloan wrote for and recorded with Jan and Dean on “(They’re Coming) From All Over the World.”Īs the Fantastic Baggys, Sloan and Barri wrote and sang their own “Tell ’Em I’m Surfin’.” It would be impossible to divorce or isolate P.F. ![]() Phil Sloan grew up in Los Angeles, and at 14 recorded his first single for Aladdin Records. ![]() Sung by the gravel-voiced Barry McGuire, the record inspired more comment and controversy than anything released in 1965 - including those under Bob Dylan’s name. To others it was a wake-up call for America to get its moral house in order. As a contract writer for Screen Gems, his successes included “I Found a Girl” for Jan and Dean, “Let Me Be” for the Turtles and “A Must to Avoid” by Herman’s Hermits, “Secret Agent Man” for Johnny Rivers, “Where Were You When I Needed You” for the Grass Roots, and “Another Day, Another Heartache” for the Fifth Dimension.īut it was the 19-year-old Sloan’s harsh critique, “Eve of Destruction,” that made the whole country stop and listen.įor some it was a propaganda anthem that gave aid and comfort to the enemy in the Vietnam War, and was banned by many radio stations. Singer-songwriters Carla Olson, Peter Lewis and John York, journalist Paul Zollo and lyricist Steve Kalinich will toast Sloan in song and story.įew pop writers of the 1960s had the kind of success Sloan enjoyed. In his honor, Altadena’s Coffee Gallery Backstage fittingly presents a tribute concert Thursday night. Though the general music audience has seldom known his name, among singers and tunesmiths he’s held in very high esteem. Sloan died last month, of pancreatic cancer, at age 70. ![]()
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