Hank Medress – The Unsung Hero behind, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”, “He’s So Fine”, And “Tie A Yellow Ribbon”!

l to r Hank Medress, Mitch Margo, Phil Margo, and Jay Siegal
The Tokens are inducted into the Vocal Group Hall Of Fame 2005

Hank Medress, the founder of the Tokens (“The Lion Sleeps Tonight”) and producer of the Chiffons (“He’s So Fine”), Dawn ( “Candida”, “Knock Three Times”) , Tony Orlando and Dawn ( “Tie A Yellow Ribbon ( On The Old Oak Tree “) talks about his career, challenges and aspirations.

In an exclusive interview that amounts to a couple of old friends talking, Hank shares stories and experiences that make you feel like you’re there in the moment with him! He also talks about the organzation that he represents, and the gratification he receives from finding recording artists who don’t even know they are owed money.

Artie Wayne On The Web and Spectropop proudly present The Hank Medress interview http://spectropop.com/HankMedress/index.htm

A Brief Encounter With Paul Simon!

Paul with that “other” Artie

Bobby Darin was one of the first professionals to recognize my talent and offer his help… you could say he discovered me. Although he was certainly a mentor, I never knew how committed he was to folk music until Capitol Records reluctantly released “Earthy” in 1963. The album came out unnoticed between a wave of top ten pop singles. It had some incredible material on it that reflected the spirit of the times and Bobby performed it brilliantly!I was so impressed with the album I learned 3 or 4 songs on my guitar and performed them live with some of my originals and some songs from my friend Paul Simon, who also occasionally backed me up on guitar.

One night, after my first set at the Bitter End in Greenwich Village, a stranger came backstage and asked if he could sit in and play guitar on the next set. Paul looked at me and I looked at the stranger like he was crazy….until he said he was Bobby Darin’s guitarist!

I knew I was “busted,” so I just smiled sheepishly and let Roger McGuinn ( A founding member of the Byrds) sit in with us.

RAY CHARLES R.I.P. ROCK IN PERPETUITY!

RAY CHARLES  8/23/30 – 6/10/04

“Ray Charles has been here for so long it’s hard to remember when he wasn’t around. I’ve always thought of him as an “Uncommon Denominater” in popular music. For 50 years, he exposed the World to the Blues…was the soul of Rock and Roll…and brought an African-American voice to country music.

My own life was soothed, rocked, and sometimes explained by Ray Charles. Isn’t it funny how we don’t appreciate someone fully until they’re gone? Fortunately, Ray knew how much he was loved while he was with us.

I only met him once, on a plane back to L.A.from the Tokyo music festival. I felt more like a fan, than an exec at Warner Bros.Music, and became a little flustered. I introduced myself, and told him that I gave his producer a song he’d recorded,” Go On Home” by Hugh McCracken…Ray smiled and sang a few bars back to me.

I thanked him for his time…for remembering…and went back to my seat. Now I wish I had been a little less overwhelmed….and spent a little more time talking to him.”

 CLICK HERE TO WATCH “GO ON HOME”   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp96CgR_uMs

Copyright 2012 by Artie Wayne

WHILE FIGHTING LARGE CORPORATIONS WHO ARE TRYING TO KEEP ROYALTIES AWAY ME AND THOUSANDS OF OTHER ARTISTS, SONGWRITERS AND PUBLISHERS, MY ONLY SOURCE OF INCOME IS FROM THE SALE OF MY BOOK. ” I DID IT FOR A SONG”, WITH OVER 100 STORIES FROM THE MUSIC BUSINESS OF THE ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s. I HOPE YOU’LL CONSIDER BUYING ONE DIRECTLY FROM ME THROUGH PAYPAL FOR ONLY $9.99 AT  artiewayne@gmail.com OR BY CHECK TO…ARTIE WAYNE  P.O. BOX 1105, DESERT HOT SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA 92240

THANKS AND REGARDS, ARTIE WAYNE https://artiewayne.wordpress.com/2012/04/10/celebrating-two-million-views-today-on-artie-wayne-on-the-web/

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