Randy Wood, owner of Vee Jay Records and the father of Michele Wood-Marotta, with John Lennon.
"You see the fingerprints on the record he's holding? Those are mine and my brothers," says Michele
Wood-Marotta. (Photo courtesy Michele Wood-Marotta.) (You can see more archival photos
in the slideshow at the bottom.)
Several hours after I wrote my column on the death of Alan Livingston in mid-March, I was reviewing the comments underneath it and one caught my attention. It said, "Very sad," and was signed by "Michele Wood, Vee Jay Records."
I sent her a note thanking her for the comment and asked about her involvement with the label. It turns out her father, Randy Wood, who died in 1980, owned the label during the time the Beatles were on it.
In a phone interview, Michele Wood-Marotta, as she is known now, said that, although she was just a child at the time, she remembers those days well. She helped her dad with tasks for the label.
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She recalls an encounter with the Fab Four. "I met the Beatles at the Cinnamon Cinder after the August concert at the Hollywood Bowl. And I thought they were old because they were in their ‘20s and I was 8. ... And I remember going to school really excited and nobody believed me."
Marotta says the club is still standing today, though "it's now called Platinum Plus," she says.
She also said the Beatles came to her house for a party.
What did she think of the group? "
From what I remember they were very nice. ... I remember telling my dad, 'Wow, they talk funny.' You know, but they were British and that’s how British people talk. And I remember thinking they were old, but then when you’re 8, 15’s old. But they were very nice to me. You know, I was just this kid who was intrigued with the fact that they were there."Through the years, collectors trying to sort through Beatle releases on Vee Jay have had to deal with counterfeit releases. Wood-Marotta admits that Vee Jay, in fact, contributed to those.
"Oh yeah," she says. "We even bootlegged our own records. That I remember doing because I remember being in the Sound Factory doing that. ... You have to remember that (my father) was a very wealthy man at one time. He died in poverty. He died on Medical in a s---ty little apartment in North Hollywood."
Her connection in the entertainment industry led to friendships with a variety of entertainment figures. She says she used to call Frankie Valli of the Four Seasons, who were on Vee Jay Records at the same time as the Beatles, "Uncle Frankie." "Frankie Valli came to our house all the time. In June 1969, he opened at the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles, and dedicated his shows to me," she says.
Another friend was Barry McGuire, ("Eve of Destruction"). "In the '60s, he was a wild man," she says, and tells of a more recent encounter. "I walked up to Barry at this hole-in-the-wall coffee shop and just said, 'You remember me?' And he's like, 'You haven't changed since you were 10,' " she laughs.
She also knew folksinger Tim Hardin. "I was one of the last people to see him alive," she says of Hardin, who died in 1980 from a heroin overdose. "Very talented, but very troubled," she says quietly.
Vee Jay Records, years after the Beatles, still exists. "Vee Jay International is a big company," she says, but she is no longer a part of it.
Why wasn't Vee Jay able to hold onto the Beatles? "
There was a contractual dispute with Capital Records, and basically, Capital won," she says. "They had more money and more lawyers! The Vee Jay masters, printers, stampers, etc were supposed to be destroyed, per court order, in October 1964. However, a lot of them are around."
Was America lucky to meet the Beatles? Do you think, all things considered, that the Beatles could have been completely missed or was their success in America inevitable?
"Their success in America was inevitable!," she says. And "they opened the doors for The Rolling Stones, The Who, etc."
(In the conclusion, to be posted on Tuesday, we'll talk to a man who worked in the law department of Capitol Records.)
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Comments
I lives across the street from Michelle. My father was an infamous talk show host in those days "Tempo" -Stan Bohrman-
It was a hell of a time.
Caren Bohrman
Great piece. Really enjoyed hearing about her. Can't remember if I've read about her in Spizer's books or not. Thanks for this story, Steve.
It has also been reported that Bob Gaudio of the Four Seasons is the person who brought the Fab Four to Vee-Jay's attention. I wish I had one of the albums (bootleg or not) with the Beatles on one side and the Seasons on the other!
Hi Caren - I miss Stan, and bbqing at our respective homes ! The stories we could tell . . .
And Jim - The album you have is worth a lot of money. Its a rare album and wasn't bootlegged !
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