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Excerpts
From Chapter 6
Disappointments
Are Great!
(Follow
The Money)
"Music
The Center
Piece"
By Troy
Cory-Stubblefield / Josie
Cory
-----As
skilled as Troy is as a creator
of ideas in real-life, he did not
produce or direct all of his
musical performances in the
television series. Most of the
large stage performances were
directed by some of the world's
best.
-----Clearly,
the music in the series was of
paramount importance, not only in
the concert scenes but throughout
every episode. The "hit makers"
that produced Troy's first
musical recordings, include Sonny
Bono, Art Rupe, Rene Hall, Bob
and Dick Sherman, (Mary Poppins),
Bob Roberts, ("Tall Paul",
"Little Pink Toe"), Tip Tobin,
Dorothy Swafford, Nat Goodman,
Lester Sills, BBC: John
Ross-Barnard, John Billingham,
and Mike Harding, Joe Bamberger,
Josie Cory and Sylvester Levy
("Fly Robin
Fly").
-----Troy
says, "my early works have worked
well for various time-line
episodes like, "When the Party's
Over" and "Blue Hawaii", directed
and produced by Martin Green and
Lou Lindstrom. The daily Webcast
of these shows on VRAtv.com and
LookRadio's "Show of the Week",
have created a resurgence of
radio play throughout the world
and help to create sales on
Amazon.com."
-----
The
songs were originally released by
Specialty Records, Mercury
Records, BBC RadioPlay Music,
Cinema Prize and VRA RadioPlay
Music. The RadioPlay music was
"specially" recorded as a
"musical" sales tool -- to reach
out to the English speaking
marketplace within the British
Commonwealth and Hong Kong -- now
the People's Republic of
China.
-----Several
years ago, Troy knew he hadn't
yet discovered the "Troy Cory
Sound", needed to become an
original. Ultimately, he chose to
work with England's brilliant
contemporary composer/arrangers,
Syd Dale and Muff Merfin to
create the pop, disco and country
sounds. His old friend, Ambros
Seelos, the German orchestra
leader and legendary saxophone
player developed Troy's Soca
music and Big Band
sound.
-----The
result are musical sound tracks
that are both happy and hopeful,
with moments of great stage
performances and interludes of
whimsy, as during the river boat
scenes featuring Joey sitting on
the lap of Troy singing
"Summertime is Here At Last".
-----
The
centerpiece of the television
series was video taped in the old
Shanghai Olympic Stadium Concert
Hall. Jiang Zemin was of
particular importance to Troy, as
the producers of the STV Festival
had planned the scene as an
exposition of Troy's true self
emerging as the music man from
America sending a musical message
to China.
-----
For
the China concerts, Troy coached
the Brooke Sisters to be and act
completely differently than they
had up to that point. He stressed
"the all-American wholesome sexy
girl look" with a sort of
un-intimidating laxaday style.
The weary China crews were on
edge as Troy and the 4 dancers
took their position in the center
of the Shanghai stage. It was
near the end of the concerts and
winter was closing in on
Shanghai; the un-heated 20,000
seat stadium was bitterly cold.
-----
Thankfully,
Troy, Joey Adams and the girls
did not disappoint the Communist
producers. They performed at
every venue they were featured
with such passionate abandon,
such complete immersion in the
music. The entire Chinese crew
and audiences were spellbound
before bursting into applause as
each song wrapped, especially
when Troy poured Chinese liqueur
into the shoes of one of the
dancers and drank a few gulps
from the shoes, while singing,
"Power of Positive Drinking".
-----
The
"live" bands in the Ddiaries
series include: the "Ambros
Seelos Orchestra"; "Bonhomie
Baby"; the "West Side Boys"; the
"California GoodTime Band"; and
"the Pheromones". The 1988-90,
Shanghai Concerts were attended
by over 250,000 people. The STV
Festival opening night
performances were viewed by over
300 million television viewers
throughout China.
Links
to other similar stories about
the
life and times of Nathan
Stubblefield
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