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The
GoldeBriars
...and the birth of sunshine
pop
1962 was the birth of Sunshine
Pop as we know and love it. If you've read our sunshine
pop article you would have been introduced to Curt Boettcher
first project, the GoldeBriars.
RSG! spoke to ex-Goldebriar Dotti Holmberg who has recently
written the Goldebriars full story which will appeal to Curt
Boettcher fans and fans of sunshine pop.
How did
you get started in music?
"At 17 years old & right
before graduating from high school in Circle Pines, Minnesota,
I was beginning on a musical journey I had dreamt about since
a little girl...of singing & performing"
"My sister, Sheri (16 months older) and I started singing
with our grandmother plunking away on the piano to 1950s classic
songs (back then melodies & lyrics were equally important).
Sheri and I dearly loved the old Broadway tunes, such as "Third
Man Theme", "Lullabye of Birdland" & "Sisters",
and Sheri being a natural harmonizer helped bring our singing
into a colorful young duet. We sang & tap danced for everyone
(whether they were enthused to watch us or not)....Our love
of music was steadfast and the soul of our young lives".
How did
The GoldeBriars come together?
"It
all started on a cold winter night in 1963, when Sheri &
I ventured into Le Zoo Coffeehouse in Minneapolis, Minnesota
where little did we know we would meet Curt Boettcher (who
was performing there as a single) and this meeting would take
our musical aspirations on a new adventure".
"Teaming
up with Curt & our musical friend, Ron Neilson as lead
guitar & banjo player, we formed a new musical group we
named "The GoldeBriars". This was the era when Coffeehouses
were cultivated by folk singers, such as Curt, and everyone
wanted to get in on the 'folk music bandwagon'".
"Sheri
& I had teamed up previously with our brother Gary, &
Ron Neilson, and had been singing folk songs with lots of
nice harmonies. Often when you take family members who sing
together, the vocal sound has a natural appeal. Since Gary
was already committed to another folk group, Sheri & I
joined up with Curt to begin anew with The GoldeBriars".
What are your best memories of Curt Boettcher?
"Here's
a wonderful memory: Curt's genius talent for vocal arranging
for the GoldeBriars helped give our group a unique trademark
sound that was hard to copy (such as "Railroad Boy"
"Joy, Joy, Joy" "Sweet Potatoes" &
"Mumblin' Word")---(the Mamas & Papas came the
closest). I love the tight knit sound of brilliant harmonies!"
What did
you make of the Millennium and Sagittarius
music at the time?
"After
the group's breakup, I was living at Gale Garnett's Apartment
in Hollywood, California (to have some where to live at the
time while Gale was in Europe) and started looking for a job
to be able to survive in Hollywood. My first job was working
for a movie theatre on Hollywood Blvd. as a candy counter
girl & ticket cashier....One day as I wore my hair in
black long pigtails & was selling the tickets, I overheard
people in the line starting to say: "Hey, it's Sally
Fields collecting tickets!"
"They
thought it was a publicity stunt & in those days other
people thought I was Sally Field even as I crossed the street.
It was some months later when I heard from Curt. He invited
me to do some vocal background for Our Productions artists
(I did vocal background for Tommy Roe, Lee Mallory, Bobby
Jameson, Friar Tuck) & Curt also asked me to be a single
artist with this company he was now producing for".
"Before
my recordings could be placed with a recording label, Our
Productions went "belly-up". Around this time time,
the Millennium/Saggitarius music was being recorded in the
Columbia Studios in Hollywood. I went off on my own, got a
secretarial job, was writing poetry & lots of songs &
recording some of my songs with other people. Even though
my brother-in-law, Keith Olsen, was part of the Millennium
group & my sister Sheri (who was married to Keith) did
a lot of vocal background for the Millennium recordings, I
chose to stay away from these music projects because of the
drug scene....the music being made then was often intermixed
with drug use & I was having a hard enough time growing
up and chose not to be part of that scene".
What
were your favourite tracks from that period?
"There
were so many great melodies & lyrics in the Sixties! I
loved many of the songs!....Here's some of them: "Turn,
Turn, Turn" by the Byrds, "Wishin' Hopin' Dream'"
by Dusty Springfield, "Girl from Ipanema" by Petula
Clark, "I Will Follow Him" by Peggy March, "Crying"
by Roy Orbison, "Different Drum" & "Silver
Threads & Golden Needles" by Linda Ronstadt, "Rag
Doll" by Four Seasons, etc. etc".
Tell us
about the book you've written?
"My
personal on-the-road diary as a member of The GoldeBriars
is now a 199-page virtual scrapbook. The GoldeBriars' Story
"Whatever Happened to Jezebel?" has become available
September 24, 2004 as an eBook at www.goldebriars.com and
includes lots of vintage photos and group memorabilia, a rare
film clip of the 1964 GoldeBriars' performance on the ABC
Hootenanny Show, & much more! And most importantly to
music collectors and historians, you can now read about The
GoldeBriars' influence in the birth of Sunshine Pop".
For further details check the
website or download this press
release.
In the meantime check out Dotti's website @ Goldebriars
*
 
(Above) The Goldebriars collectable first two LPs.
Watch this space!!
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