Steve Stanley (born 1970) is an American music historian, reissue producer, graphic artist, musician, and the founder of Now Sounds, a reissue record label established in 2007 and distributed by Cherry Red Records.
Early life
[edit]Raised in Oklahoma in the 1970s, Stanley developed an appreciation for the music of the 1950s and 1960s through his mother’s record collection.[1] According to Brian Greene’s 2012 Shindig! article on Stanley: “The seven-year-old (Stanley) was greatly affected by Elvis Presley’s death and, later in his youth, felt like a musical outsider, preferring the music of Elvis, Buddy Holly, and The Beatles to the then-popular rock and pop acts.”[2] His family later moved to Los Angeles where he played in bands, including The Acitones and Single Bullet Theory.[1] After working as a waiter, he entered the music business at age 24 as a salesman for Navarre Corporation, a music distributor based in Minnesota.[3] By 1997, he was one of the three top salesmen in the company when Bob Keane of Del-Fi Records, the man who signed Sam Cooke and Ritchie Valens, hired Stanley to head up sales for his label.[4]
Reissue Producer
[edit]While at Del-Fi Records, Stanley co-produced releases for the label, including the various-artist compilations Gee Baby Gee: The Del-Fi Girl Groups,[5] and Delphonic Sounds Today!: Del-Fi Does Del-Fi.[6] After leaving Del-Fi, Stanley began producing, designing, and/or annotating reissues for the Rev-Ola imprint of London-based Cherry Red Records. Stanley’s projects focused on lesser-known, cult pop artists of the 1960s whose albums had long been out of print, including titles by The Merry Go Round,[7] Eternity’s Children,[8] Nino & April,[9] Evie Sands,[10] and others.[11] Rev-Ola’s reissue of Nashville arranger Bergen White’s For Women Only album,[12] which Stanley also produced, received five-star reviews in both Mojo[13] and Uncut[14] and made Uncut's Best Reissues of 2004 list.[15]
By the late 2000s, Stanley launched his own Cherry Red Records imprint, Now Sounds.[16] He produced, designed, and/or annotated reissues of albums by The Association, Janis Ian, Paul Revere & The Raiders, The Cowsills, The Mamas & The Papas, The Knack, Dion, Del Shannon, Donna Loren, Roger Nichols, Paul Williams, Tiny Tim,[17] and others. The label also includes mastering engineer Alan Brownstein[18] and writer/editor Sheryl Farber.[19][3] In 2012, music journalist and Saint Etienne member Bob Stanley (no relation to Steve) wrote a feature article on the Now Sounds label and sunshine pop music for The Times of London. He described Now Sounds as “specializing in late Sixties Soft Rock - the orchestrated, harmony-rich sound propagated by The Mamas and The Papas, typified by Pet Sounds, and made a world-beating now sound by Sgt. Pepper.”[20] Also in 2012, Now Sounds was voted one of the Top 5 "Best Record Labels" in Shindig!'s 2012 Writers' Poll.[21]
Graphic Designer
[edit]Also a graphic designer, Stanley has art directed and/or designed boxed set packages and contemporary releases for Rhino Records, ABKCO Records, Warner Records, and Sony/Legacy, including titles by Nilsson, Bee Gees, Bob Seger, The Monkees, Love, Jan & Dean, Devo, Allen Toussaint, and others.[22] The boxed set package of The Beau Brummels’ Bradley’s Barn, which Stanley designed, made Rolling Stone’s Best Reissues list of 2011.[23] Stanley also art directed the various-artist collection Where the Action Is! Los Angeles Nuggets 1965–1968. In 2010 this boxed set was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Historical Album category.[24]
The Now People
[edit]The Los Angeles-based pop quartet The Now People includes Stanley and mastering engineer Alan Brownstein, with Nelson Bragg and Probyn Gregory,[25] members of Brian Wilson’s backing band. The group’s debut album, The Last Great 20th Century Love Affair, was issued in 2006 on Bird Songs Recordings, an imprint of Parasol Records.[26] The album was recorded at Studio Thru Inner Space and Carousel 44, and includes participation by some of the members of the Wondermints.[27] The Now People’s recording of “All The Things You Are,” written by Stanley, was featured in the motion picture Randy and the Mob, starring Ray McKinnon and Burt Reynolds.[28] As a solo vocalist, Steve has also participated in tribute and benefit concerts in Los Angeles, including the Wild Honey Foundation’s 2015 presentation of The Beatles’ White Album.[29]
Other projects
[edit]As a journalist, Stanley has penned articles which have appeared in Mojo magazine, including a 2004 feature on Bobby Jameson after Stanley located the reclusive singer songwriter through a private investigator.[30]
In the mid-2000s, Stanley launched a weekly Internet radio show called 'The Now Sounds'[31] on luxuriamusic.com. He has featured a number of guests on his show including studio drummer Bernard Purdie and Orpheus, a psychedelic Bosstown Sound band that had hits in the 1960s.[32]
As an actor, Stanley appeared as Wrecking Crew member Barney Kessel in The Beach Boys: An American Family, a 2000 television film directed by Jeff Bleckner. The film was nominated for three Emmy Awards.[33] Stanley was also a musician on the 2013 documentary Dear Mom, Love Cher about Cher's mother, Georgia Holt.[34]
He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Sheryl Farber, a three-time Grammy nominee.[35][36]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Interview with Steve Stanley of the Now People (Mar 2006)".
- ^ "Shindig Issue 25 2012 Stanley Article". February 2012.
- ^ a b "The Second Disc Interview #3: What's Happening "Now" with Steve Stanley! - the Second Disc". 26 October 2010.
- ^ "Billboard". 20 December 1997.
- ^ "Del-Fi Girl Groups: Gee Baby Gee - Various Artists | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
- ^ "Delphonic Sounds Today: Del-Fi Does Del-Fi - Various Artists | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
- ^ "The Merry-Go-Round - Listen, Listen". 19 July 2005.
- ^ "Eternity's Children - Eternity's Children | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
- ^ "All Strung Out [Rev-Ola] - April Stevens, Nino Tempo, Nino Tempo & April Stevens | Release Credits". AllMusic.
- ^ "Any Way That You Want Me - Evie Sands | Release Info". AllMusic.
- ^ "Rev-Ola Records Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic.
- ^ "Bergen White Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
- ^ "MOJO June 2004 Bergen White Review". June 2004.
- ^ "UNCUT June 2004 Bergen White Review". June 2004.
- ^ "UNCUT Best Reissues 2004". 2005.
- ^ "Now Sounds Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic.
- ^ "Tiny Tim Special, Part One: Steve Stanley (Now Sounds Records) and Kristian H".
- ^ "Alan Brownstein Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic.
- ^ "Sheryl Farber Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic.
- ^ "The Big Reissue with Bob Stanley: The best of 1960s Sunshine Pop".
- ^ "Shindig Magazine 2012 Writers Poll".
- ^ "Steve Stanley Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic.
- ^ "10 Best Reissues of the Year". Rolling Stone. 9 December 2011.
- ^ "Grammy Awards 2011: Winners and nominees for 53rd Grammy Awards". Los Angeles Times. 12 March 2014.
- ^ "Probyn Gregory «".
- ^ "Bird Song Recordings – Tagged "Now People"– Parasol Mail Order". www.parasol.com. Archived from the original on 2021-04-07.
- ^ "The Last Great 20th Century Love Affair - the Now People | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
- ^ "Randy and the Mob - Original Soundtrack | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
- ^ Wild Honey Orchestra-Honey Pie (featuring Steve Stanley). YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-09.
- ^ "Remembering "Mondo Hollywood"'s Bobby Jameson – Night Flight". nightflight.com. Archived from the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ "Steve Stanley". Luxuriamusic.com. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
- ^ Orpheus on The Now Sounds with Steve Stanley (Radio Interview). YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-09.
- ^ "The Beach Boys: An American Family". Television Academy. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
- ^ "Steve Stanley". IMDb.
- ^ "Sheryl Farber". 19 November 2019.
- ^ "Shindig Issue 25 2012 Stanley Article". February 2012.