MORRIS LEVY ![]()
Anyway, I have since found out that Roulette Records was owned by the notorious music mogul Morris Levy. Some of the information that I have read about him is praiseworthy, but most people think he was basically a gangster. Tommy James and the Shondells was one of Roulette’s big artists; they had a lot of records on the charts – including one of the biggest psychedelic hit songs of the 1960’s, “Crimson and Clover” – and their albums are really good as well. I picked up one not too long ago; at the beginning of the album, there was an older man with a gruff voice who was trying to be hip, saying things like “don’t mind me, you just do your thing”. In another context, I would have just thought that it was corny; with Roulette though . . . I don’t know if that was Levy or not, but it sounded pretty sinister to me. Levy and Roulette also figure in the story of Milan (also known as the Leather Boy), one of the most mysterious figures in 1960’s garage rock. (March 2012) * * * |