As you can probably guess, I had no idea about Zulema or this song. I love the fact that you discovered it on a school trip to London while rummaging the bargains bin. What an interesting woman and artist. Thanks for telling her story!
Ever since I started this newsletter, I’ve been wanting to tell this story 😃. She’s such a fascinating artist, one of those incredible talents who somehow slipped through the cracks. I always enjoy hitting “publish” on Fridays around noon, but this one feels especially good.
Anyway, thanks as always for reading, sharing, and reacting, Andy. Wishing you a great Sunday!
Very interesting. I'd never heard of her either I'm afraid. Despite the international success of the Philly Sound followed by Disco in the seventies, the majority of black albums on major labels were only allocated a fraction of the marketing budget lavished on rock albums from priority white acts. To save money, a disproportionate number of black artists were often crammed together in joint press ads, sometimes with totally unrelated atists. I found a UK trade ad from Pye in 1979, jointly advertising Donna Summer's Bad Girls album with the Status Quo compilation Just For The Record! To add insult to injury, the Quo half of the ad reproduces the appalling album art which shows a female model being punched in the face by a disembodied male fist. The contrast with the ultimately sympathetic portrayal of female prostitution in the title track of the Summer album couldn't be more stark.
Ouch, that Donna Summer vs. Status Quo series really does sound dreadful, Paul. Then again, not entirely surprising. Still, it’s a bit odd, especially since I’ve been deep in research for the second part of the newsletter (the part to connect the dots).
I actually came across the whole story behind Casablanca’s decision to go with Pye as their UK distributor. They had plenty of suitors, and Pye had to present a pretty compelling plan to land the deal. Hard to believe that ad made it through 😃 I can’t imagine Neil Bogart being too thrilled about it.
In the same dive, I also found more info on Zulema and RCA’s efforts to break her through. It really seems like they gave it a solid shot. In her case, it’s a classic case of “wrong place, wrong time.”
Thanks as always for reading and sharing your thoughts, Paul. Enjoy your Sunday!
The first five albums should be available on every DSP, Vince. I had listened to some of it before, but I’ve been diving into it much more now for research. It’s a great body of work. Thanks for reading and for sharing your thoughts. Wishing you a great weekend ahead!
As you can probably guess, I had no idea about Zulema or this song. I love the fact that you discovered it on a school trip to London while rummaging the bargains bin. What an interesting woman and artist. Thanks for telling her story!
Ever since I started this newsletter, I’ve been wanting to tell this story 😃. She’s such a fascinating artist, one of those incredible talents who somehow slipped through the cracks. I always enjoy hitting “publish” on Fridays around noon, but this one feels especially good.
Anyway, thanks as always for reading, sharing, and reacting, Andy. Wishing you a great Sunday!
I can tell! It's a fascinating story, and I'm so glad it saw the light of day! Have a great Sunday too!
Very interesting. I'd never heard of her either I'm afraid. Despite the international success of the Philly Sound followed by Disco in the seventies, the majority of black albums on major labels were only allocated a fraction of the marketing budget lavished on rock albums from priority white acts. To save money, a disproportionate number of black artists were often crammed together in joint press ads, sometimes with totally unrelated atists. I found a UK trade ad from Pye in 1979, jointly advertising Donna Summer's Bad Girls album with the Status Quo compilation Just For The Record! To add insult to injury, the Quo half of the ad reproduces the appalling album art which shows a female model being punched in the face by a disembodied male fist. The contrast with the ultimately sympathetic portrayal of female prostitution in the title track of the Summer album couldn't be more stark.
Ouch, that Donna Summer vs. Status Quo series really does sound dreadful, Paul. Then again, not entirely surprising. Still, it’s a bit odd, especially since I’ve been deep in research for the second part of the newsletter (the part to connect the dots).
I actually came across the whole story behind Casablanca’s decision to go with Pye as their UK distributor. They had plenty of suitors, and Pye had to present a pretty compelling plan to land the deal. Hard to believe that ad made it through 😃 I can’t imagine Neil Bogart being too thrilled about it.
In the same dive, I also found more info on Zulema and RCA’s efforts to break her through. It really seems like they gave it a solid shot. In her case, it’s a classic case of “wrong place, wrong time.”
Thanks as always for reading and sharing your thoughts, Paul. Enjoy your Sunday!
Zulema, never heard of her. Thanks for sharing. Interesting woman
The first five albums should be available on every DSP, Vince. I had listened to some of it before, but I’ve been diving into it much more now for research. It’s a great body of work. Thanks for reading and for sharing your thoughts. Wishing you a great weekend ahead!