Peter James was a fine singer. Obviously he was not P.J. Proby. There are some horrible people on You Tube & their evil, spiteful comments deserve to be deleted.Certain people have only themselves to blame! Proby was one of the best singers to emerge from the 60's but his career was ruined by spiteful,crooked people!
@rontenn Pointing out Wes Bryan's distorted recollection of his own star status has nothing to do with evil and good. Few people had ever heard of him till he started bragging on the internet. His claims of hit songs and appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show are easy to disprove. If he's got you and lindgren33 snowed I'm amused.
If PJ Proby denies being Peter James it's his loss. Peter's records show more originality and singing talent than PJ's "covers". Who'd buy a Beach Boys impersonation?
@shugahshak Peter James was a great singer. P.J.Proby is one of the all time greats!! End of debate! Distorted is a word that can be used to describe your comments here on You Tube & are east to ignore!
Who'd buy the Beach Boys?....they impersonated The Four Seasons!!
@rontenn If I say this real slow maybe you can grasp it. The Beach Boys smash hits were their own original songs. They weren't impersonating anybody. PJ Proby recorded Don't Worry Baby as well as other people's hits trying his dead level best to duplicate the voices and music. No originality. He was a singing XEROX machine!
@shugahshak Peter James copied P.J. on some of his recordings. Brian Wilson & the rest of his B.B's tried to reach the high notes like Frankie Valli & copied him but they could never get anywhere near his class! Thankfully Frankie never went strange in the head!! Singers like Valli & Proby are unique!! The B.B's were a bunch of weirdo's who were in constant argument with each other! (& still are!) Bet none of 'em had ever been on a surf board, LOL!
@rontenn Frankie Valli's a talented singer. Brian Wilson's a talented singer, musician and composer who many call a genius. Nobody cared whether he surfed. Did you believe Marty Robbins was a gunslinger?
@rontenn If you're trying to hide your comment by marking it SPAM anybody can still read it. You say Frank Sinatra was a "mafia gangster"? Did you forget posting on another youtube video that he was "pure class". Can't you make up our mind or do you think he was a classy mafia gangster?
@castleontheriver I did not mark this as spam......Nothing to do with me!! I hide nothing! To me spam is cheap meat,used to have it on my sandwiches sometimes as a kid! Sinatra was pure class(as a singer!),he was also connected to the Mafia. Next question!?
@castleontheriver Easy answer to that! Type in the topic on Google & you'll get all the answers you need. Back to this Peter James song.....beautiful number by Goffin/King.Wish P.J. had recorded it. I know he likes the song.
@rontenn I can also find lots of information on Google about PJ Proby fiddling little girls. Does that make it OK to call him a child molester on youtube? He's been charged with benefit fraud recently as well. Maybe everyone should start calling him a benefits cheat on youtube. Or is it only Frank Sinatra who is fair game for whatever mud you want to sling at him?
@castleontheriver You asked a question & I gave an answer. Any info about Sinatra's Mafia connection is there for you to believe or not. Same goes for Proby info. You are a weirdo so you probably believe nothing about Sinatra & the Mafia & everything about P.J. & the mud people sling at him! Hypocrite you!...boring too!
@rontenn Sinatra didn't talk about the mafia. PJ Proby's talked about little girls for decades so you say he's been lying about it? Don't you know it's part of his "wild image"? He thinks if he can out-wild Jerry Lee Lewis people will buy his records and go to his shows. He's the WEIRDO!
@rontenn Amazing what you get with google! I saw where PJ Proby had a relationship with one of the Kray brothers. That must make Mr. Proby a gangster too or something else.
Glad our singer Peter James didn't have any scandals. Guess he was a decent standup guy.
@shugahshak No-one said Proby was Mr. Perfect. The Kray Bros has plenty of pals in show biz. See!! you believe everything you read about the Krays. Ask the people & neighbours who lived in the London area where they operated! As gangsters go they were well liked. Naturally not by rival gangs. By the way how do you know whether Peter James did or did not have any scandals?
@rontenn The Krays were convicted murderers. I don't give a FF what their neighbors think. Since you believe they were just a couple of Robins Hoods it's easy to see why somebody like PJ Proby is your idol. If you've got proof Peter James wasn't a decent guy put up or shut up!!
@shugahshak You are the one who said Peter James did not have any scandals.I merely asked how you knew that! As for the Krays......as gangsters you have to get your retaliation in first!! LOL! Al Capone knew that!!
Been watching a lot of old TV programmes or just bragging about associating with gangsters? Al Capone died from the effects of syphilis. Not the stuff gangster fantasies are made of.
A scandal isn't what somebody does - it's public outrage about what they've done. It's rather hard for Peter James to cause a public outrage when the only person who ever knew him is Wes Bryan.
Whether or not PJ Proby was a huge sixties star in the UK and Europe depends on which discussion you are in. If his supporters are on a "PJ Proby was #1" kick he sold more records than anybody else. If they are in "poor underrated PJ" mode, the press prevented him from achieving real stardom. The truth is his records sold well here for a short time. But outside his small group of devoted followers he is most often remembered as the singer who split his trousers on stage.
FYI - for the benefit of forum watchers, no one thinks that wearing an eye patch is funny. Quite the contrary. But it is very peculiar that only Wes Bryan remembers someone named Peter James wearing one. A few Proby supporters appear convinced that singer-producers with eye patches were commonly seen at L.A. recording studios circa 1960, therefore it's reasonable that only Bryan remembers the one named Peter James. Dream on.
Shugashak, castleontheriver, merrysnotproud; Sherilyn1977 can hear the difference between the voices of Peter James and PJ Proby -which is what this discussion really is about! Perhaps there is something to be learned from this fact?
Are you here to declare the purpose of this discussion? If, as you say, it's about the differences between the voices of Peter James and PJ Proby then it's all pointless when people can't say anything other than they are "different". I suppose those people hear no differences between Proby's Pitney-ish voice and his Elvis voice and his Johnny Cash voice and his James Brown voice and his Tom Jones voice and his Emmanuel Laskey voice and his Jerome Evans voice, ETCETERA.
BTW with a 50 year music career having ones name in Billboard 139 times isn't much. My dad is mentioned 128 times & I doubt you've ever heard of him! Gene Pitney has 416, Tom Jones 589, Jackie Wilson 491, Leon Russell 424, Glen Campbell 480, Lou Rawls 694, Little Richard 547, Gene McDaniels 198, Jackie DeShannon 227, the Pacemakers 260, Tommy Roe 330, Cliff Richard 568, Brook Benton 612, Eddie Cochran 238, Gene Vincent 231, James Brown 706, Johnny Rivers 432. Wes Bryan has 7.
@nawlins4evah I certainly agree that 139 hits isn´t much for a singer like PJ Proby. But us Probyfans are starving for news on the greatest singer ever!
I love the voices of Satchmo,Bessie Smith, Roy Orbison, Meatloaf and Springsteen and many many more. But Proby is No1! And it is a shame the way media has hindered us from listening to him!
The media has hindered you from listening to P.J. Proby? I must have misunderstood then because I thought he was a major star in the UK and Europe in the '60s.
Expecting him to be a big star in U.S. in the mid '60s would not be very realistic. Teenagers here (the buyers of pop/rock records) were playing the Beatles, Stones, The Mamas and the Papas, etc. Male solo singers who were not musicians and weren't writing their own material had a very hard time making it on the pop charts.
We can look back now and say, WOW what a great voice PJ had, why wasn't he a mega-star? But we forget that great voices weren't selling records after 1960. BTW more people than not have been screwed in the music business but most of them haven't made a career of whining about it.
lindgren33, are you telling me I should learn something from sherilyn1977? People who brag on the internet about how many records they've bought but can't name any to back up a statement they've made can't teach me a thing.
Lindgren33, I noticed that you've deleted all the comments on your videos posted by me and others that question the "star" status of Wes Bryan but you've allowed Bryan's response to me to stand. Those deleted comments had been there since before Christmas. Were you pressured to remove them or have you decided the free flow and sharing of information and ideas on the internet only applies to certain people?
sherilyn1977 can tell us there are lots of records by other singers that sound like Peter James but she can't name any??? If I'd gone to the trouble of doing that "very comprehensive comparison of voices" I'd have made some notes!!!
I have thousands of rare records in my collection and they're not all by P.J. Proby, although he is my No. 1 Favourite singer. I do appreciate the talents of many other singers and after making a very comprehensive comparison of voices, I can tell you there many singers who have recorded at least one song that sounded like it could be by Peter James.
Everyone must be so-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o impressed with your record collection. Since you've made a very comprehensive comparison of voices, perhaps you can advise which of those thousands of records sound like Peter James? And you did say that he "sounds a whole lot more like Gene McDaniel's here", so which Gene McDaniels recordings do you feel sound most like the voice in this recording of Stage Door?
I think sherilyn1977's comment that Peter James sounds like Gene McDaniels speaks for itself. On lindgren33's upload of "You Won't Forget Me" she suggests that Peter James sounds like Dick (Lory) Glasser, Tony Christie, and Tom Jones. Therefore she appears to imply that the voices of Jones, Glasser, and Christie are all similar. Considering her wildly varied suggestions, one really wonders whether sherilyn1977 is joking or if she believes her comments are an effective diversionary tactic.
sherilyn1977 may be more interested in posting comments she thinks will please PJ Proby, like a few other Proby fans who consider themselves "the most devout". They seem to live in their own isolated little Proby world, with no clue how absurd some of their comments look to everyone else.
I bet that PJ is really smiling at all the publicity he's getting out of these Peter James songs and especially with the touched up pictures of him looking like other famous people, it's great.
Still, the truth is, Peter James is not PJ Proby. Why can't some people accept that.
Oh and Peter James sounds a whole lot more like Gene McDaniel's here.
You said this sounds like Gene McDaniels, so you must have missed the insider news from PJ Proby's friend Wes Bryan. Bryan's blog says that Peter James was WHITE, thin, about 6 feet tall, and wore an eye patch. He was also a producer, although whatever he produced seems to be a secret that Wes Bryan can't reveal. Maybe Bryan doesn't have time to answer questions because he's too busy posting on youtube about his blog and his celebrity "friends", who are not talking about HIM.
Whitaker said "a local lad called Peter James"? Local to L.A. or local to Whitaker/Oldham? Local as in living there, or as in from there? And why use the word "called" instead of "named"? Called refers to a name someone is going by at the time, not necessarily their actual/usual name. Are we to take the words literally or was Whitaker using sloppy grammar? Or was he being intentionally vague?
Coincidentally, P.J. Proby was in L.A. during late spring and summer of 1965 for Shindig tapings.
Oldham is well known for many things including his sixties drug addictions and bi-polar disorder, both of which contributed to the end of his relationship with the Rolling Stones in 1967. His autobiography may be entertaining but I would prefer a more reliable reference before accepting his vague "Whitaker quote" as a clear indication of anything.
There is no doubt this is PJ Proby. Who else would it be, his twin brother? No wait, it was Elvis who had a twin brother. The argument that Peter James is a mystery singer is so stale. If, as a few Proby followers say, he still denies he was Peter James then the only mystery is his reason. It's out of character for him to admit there was another singer who was obviously his equal.
Here´s what Proby´s PA Manja Dolan wrote on the PJ Proby-forum May 24th this year: "PJ has listened to the six songs of Peter James. They brought back happy memories! PJ says it's not him, but it's certainly someone with a similar voice. The same fast vibrato and even singing in his key!!" So, "who else would it be?"? Yep, thats the mystery!!!
According to globaldog, Liberty US released only 126 45's during 1963, two were by Peter James and one by PJ Proby. Proby was working for Liberty as a songwriter and demo singer and now says he was unaware of another singer recording there who sang like him. It would seem Proby showed little interest in what was going on around him and the music being produced by his employers. Maybe this is one reason Liberty did little to promote Proby's recordings.
Anyone with any knowledge of P.J's voice can say straight away there is nothing in this song to connect the two singers in any way. So to me it's obvious that you have hardly any knowledge about singers & their individual voices.You are certainly not a long standing Proby admirer as they all know every sound & note that he can produce & he's a completely different (& superior) singer to Peter James.Peter is good but cannot match the magic of P.J.
This Peter James guy only sounds like PJ on 1 song to...you wont forget her, Peter and PJ have a different vibrato...and thats just 1 point im stating, this guys a crackin voice and i like most of his songs but folk do need to wake up if they think its PJ. PJ 's whole singing range is much bigger.
theBESTelvis You are spot on with your comments. Listen up any doubters.....theBEST elvis is also a singer so he should know! I think it's time we dropped this silly argument now.....P.J.PROBY IS NOT PETER JAMES! Ron
It's interesting that you mentioned a different vibrato. Several months ago Proby's spokesperson posted on the Official Proby Forum that P.J. Proby said (after listening to six Peter James recordings) that he and Peter James had the "same fast vibrato".
Peter as a BIT of a PJ sound in his vibrato in a few places ...BUT i think this guys vibrato is faster,
Go checkout several PJ songs, Im sure you'll agree with me, Also peter as the same vocal on all the songs posted on youtube. Study PJs lower deep end to his voice , As well as his many many voices. This Peter as just 1and its not PJ's SORRY !!
You and Proby seem to disagree on the vibrato issue :-) Your points are well taken but we have only a few Peter James recordings and hundreds by Proby. We might wonder if some of these Peter James recordings were initially done as demos rather than for release under his own name. If he were doing demos for other artists he would (or should) have stayed within their singing range and style. We do not have the vocal recording dates on any of these records, only the release dates.
lol, your commited to what you think i'll give you that merrynot, checkout PJ singing ..My Prayer here on youtube,Its a perfect vocal and song that would slot into the 12 by Peter. (if you get the drift) compare it to Peter James songs on here then tell me its the same singer ?? I sing with vibrato myself and i like listening to other singers that do to. Peter and PJ aint the same singer.
You're kidding! "My Prayer" doesn't even slot into stuff with Proby's name on it. It's in a class by itself :-) The only valid comparison would be a Peter James recording of "My Prayer". Try comparing "You Make Me Feel Like Someone" to HurtClassic's upload of "You Won't Forget Me". Or "The Other Side of Town" to HurtClassic's upload of "Feelings". The other youtube upload of "Feelings" is faster than the original 45, and the other upload of "You Won't Forget Me" suffers from severe clipping.
If this voice sounds so unlike P.J. Proby surely you can point out specific differences. Exactly what are they? You want everyone to think you are knowledgeable about singing voices so how about a detailed comparison of the two voices. It's meaningless to say they sound "different". Does Proby's voice sound the same in "Somewhere" as it does in "And the Sun Will Shine" and "Delilah" ? Is his voice in "Delilah" superior to this recording?
merrysnotproud You have a valid point so I have to answer. I know the voice of Proby like I know the voice of immediate family & friends.Hard to explain but it's in- built & there are others too who have listened to P.J.'s music for 45 plus years who feel the same.I'm only talking about Proby,no other singer. P.J. does have a whole range of vocal styles on disc but he is always recognisable to the Proby "connoisseur" if that doesn't sound to arrogant. Ron
After all your youtube comments about PJ Proby singing BETTER THAN EVER, you can keep your worthless opinions of my knowledge to yourself. I'm not impressed. If you want anyone to believe you can tell one voice from another, which is doubtful, you'll have to stop spamming youtube with lame attempts to prop up PJ Proby.
When marketing a product (or artiste) insulting people you disagree with is STUPID!
This record is classic PJ and I don't mean Peter James. Possibly it was a demo done much earlier and mixed in 1965 with new orchestral backing for Reprise.
HurtClassic,
From the internet we all know that PJ Proby went to Hollywood in the 1950's to become a movie star. The pictures in your video were obviously done with tongue in cheek but you seem to have made his goal a reality - sort of. That's entertainment!
p.s. The white shirt in one of those pictures looks very familiar.
Grizzlygalore, Stage Door is arranged and conducted by David Whitaker. In Oldhams book "2 Stoned" Whitaker says:
"Andrew wanted me to go to Los Angeles to record a local lad called Peter James for Reprise".
This is a clear indication that James is NOT Proby! 12 songs with Peter James are here on Youtube and in my ears they are all sung by the same (great) singer. Being a fan of Proby since 1964 I must give Proby right about James!
The lyrics in this song seem forced (e.g., chauffeur and loafer) and the arrangement is unnerving. Some members of the orchestra must have decided to quit early and start practicing a different number while the tape was still running. Goffin and King are among my favorite songwriters, but 'Stage Door' isn't on a par with their many hits.
This being said, Peter James did a tremendous job with the material he was given. And P.J. Proby would have been positively stunning as The Sheik.
Peter James was a fine singer. Obviously he was not P.J. Proby. There are some horrible people on You Tube & their evil, spiteful comments deserve to be deleted.Certain people have only themselves to blame! Proby was one of the best singers to emerge from the 60's but his career was ruined by spiteful,crooked people!
rontenn 1 year ago
@rontenn Pointing out Wes Bryan's distorted recollection of his own star status has nothing to do with evil and good. Few people had ever heard of him till he started bragging on the internet. His claims of hit songs and appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show are easy to disprove. If he's got you and lindgren33 snowed I'm amused.
If PJ Proby denies being Peter James it's his loss. Peter's records show more originality and singing talent than PJ's "covers". Who'd buy a Beach Boys impersonation?
shugahshak 1 year ago
@shugahshak Peter James was a great singer. P.J.Proby is one of the all time greats!! End of debate! Distorted is a word that can be used to describe your comments here on You Tube & are east to ignore!
Who'd buy the Beach Boys?....they impersonated The Four Seasons!!
rontenn 1 year ago
@rontenn If I say this real slow maybe you can grasp it. The Beach Boys smash hits were their own original songs. They weren't impersonating anybody. PJ Proby recorded Don't Worry Baby as well as other people's hits trying his dead level best to duplicate the voices and music. No originality. He was a singing XEROX machine!
shugahshak 1 year ago
@shugahshak WHATEVER!! I said that real quick as I haven't got the time to bother with know-nothings like you!
rontenn 1 year ago
@rontenn Sure, run along back to those funny voices in your head. You know, the ones that tell you Brian Wilson sounds just like Frankie Valli. LOL
shugahshak 1 year ago
@shugahshak Peter James copied P.J. on some of his recordings. Brian Wilson & the rest of his B.B's tried to reach the high notes like Frankie Valli & copied him but they could never get anywhere near his class! Thankfully Frankie never went strange in the head!! Singers like Valli & Proby are unique!! The B.B's were a bunch of weirdo's who were in constant argument with each other! (& still are!) Bet none of 'em had ever been on a surf board, LOL!
rontenn 1 year ago
@rontenn Frankie Valli's a talented singer. Brian Wilson's a talented singer, musician and composer who many call a genius. Nobody cared whether he surfed. Did you believe Marty Robbins was a gunslinger?
shugahshak 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@shugahshak Why not? Sinatra was a mafia gangster!! Back to this song! It's great! once again I say that Peter should have made it big time!!
rontenn 1 year ago
@rontenn If you're trying to hide your comment by marking it SPAM anybody can still read it. You say Frank Sinatra was a "mafia gangster"? Did you forget posting on another youtube video that he was "pure class". Can't you make up our mind or do you think he was a classy mafia gangster?
castleontheriver 11 months ago
@castleontheriver I did not mark this as spam......Nothing to do with me!! I hide nothing! To me spam is cheap meat,used to have it on my sandwiches sometimes as a kid! Sinatra was pure class(as a singer!),he was also connected to the Mafia. Next question!?
rontenn 11 months ago
@rontenn In what way was Sinatra "connected" to the mafia?
castleontheriver 11 months ago
@castleontheriver Easy answer to that! Type in the topic on Google & you'll get all the answers you need. Back to this Peter James song.....beautiful number by Goffin/King.Wish P.J. had recorded it. I know he likes the song.
rontenn 11 months ago
@rontenn I can also find lots of information on Google about PJ Proby fiddling little girls. Does that make it OK to call him a child molester on youtube? He's been charged with benefit fraud recently as well. Maybe everyone should start calling him a benefits cheat on youtube. Or is it only Frank Sinatra who is fair game for whatever mud you want to sling at him?
castleontheriver 11 months ago
@castleontheriver You asked a question & I gave an answer. Any info about Sinatra's Mafia connection is there for you to believe or not. Same goes for Proby info. You are a weirdo so you probably believe nothing about Sinatra & the Mafia & everything about P.J. & the mud people sling at him! Hypocrite you!...boring too!
rontenn 11 months ago
@rontenn Sinatra didn't talk about the mafia. PJ Proby's talked about little girls for decades so you say he's been lying about it? Don't you know it's part of his "wild image"? He thinks if he can out-wild Jerry Lee Lewis people will buy his records and go to his shows. He's the WEIRDO!
castleontheriver 11 months ago
@rontenn Amazing what you get with google! I saw where PJ Proby had a relationship with one of the Kray brothers. That must make Mr. Proby a gangster too or something else.
Glad our singer Peter James didn't have any scandals. Guess he was a decent standup guy.
shugahshak 11 months ago
@shugahshak No-one said Proby was Mr. Perfect. The Kray Bros has plenty of pals in show biz. See!! you believe everything you read about the Krays. Ask the people & neighbours who lived in the London area where they operated! As gangsters go they were well liked. Naturally not by rival gangs. By the way how do you know whether Peter James did or did not have any scandals?
rontenn 11 months ago
@rontenn The Krays were convicted murderers. I don't give a FF what their neighbors think. Since you believe they were just a couple of Robins Hoods it's easy to see why somebody like PJ Proby is your idol. If you've got proof Peter James wasn't a decent guy put up or shut up!!
shugahshak 11 months ago
@shugahshak You are the one who said Peter James did not have any scandals.I merely asked how you knew that! As for the Krays......as gangsters you have to get your retaliation in first!! LOL! Al Capone knew that!!
rontenn 11 months ago
@rontenn
Been watching a lot of old TV programmes or just bragging about associating with gangsters? Al Capone died from the effects of syphilis. Not the stuff gangster fantasies are made of.
A scandal isn't what somebody does - it's public outrage about what they've done. It's rather hard for Peter James to cause a public outrage when the only person who ever knew him is Wes Bryan.
castleontheriver 11 months ago
merrysnotproud,
Whether or not PJ Proby was a huge sixties star in the UK and Europe depends on which discussion you are in. If his supporters are on a "PJ Proby was #1" kick he sold more records than anybody else. If they are in "poor underrated PJ" mode, the press prevented him from achieving real stardom. The truth is his records sold well here for a short time. But outside his small group of devoted followers he is most often remembered as the singer who split his trousers on stage.
grizzlygalore 2 years ago
FYI - for the benefit of forum watchers, no one thinks that wearing an eye patch is funny. Quite the contrary. But it is very peculiar that only Wes Bryan remembers someone named Peter James wearing one. A few Proby supporters appear convinced that singer-producers with eye patches were commonly seen at L.A. recording studios circa 1960, therefore it's reasonable that only Bryan remembers the one named Peter James. Dream on.
merrysnotproud 2 years ago
Shugashak, castleontheriver, merrysnotproud; Sherilyn1977 can hear the difference between the voices of Peter James and PJ Proby -which is what this discussion really is about! Perhaps there is something to be learned from this fact?
Lindgren33 2 years ago
Lindgren33,
Are you here to declare the purpose of this discussion? If, as you say, it's about the differences between the voices of Peter James and PJ Proby then it's all pointless when people can't say anything other than they are "different". I suppose those people hear no differences between Proby's Pitney-ish voice and his Elvis voice and his Johnny Cash voice and his James Brown voice and his Tom Jones voice and his Emmanuel Laskey voice and his Jerome Evans voice, ETCETERA.
castleontheriver 2 years ago
lindgren33,
BTW with a 50 year music career having ones name in Billboard 139 times isn't much. My dad is mentioned 128 times & I doubt you've ever heard of him! Gene Pitney has 416, Tom Jones 589, Jackie Wilson 491, Leon Russell 424, Glen Campbell 480, Lou Rawls 694, Little Richard 547, Gene McDaniels 198, Jackie DeShannon 227, the Pacemakers 260, Tommy Roe 330, Cliff Richard 568, Brook Benton 612, Eddie Cochran 238, Gene Vincent 231, James Brown 706, Johnny Rivers 432. Wes Bryan has 7.
nawlins4evah 2 years ago
@nawlins4evah I certainly agree that 139 hits isn´t much for a singer like PJ Proby. But us Probyfans are starving for news on the greatest singer ever!
I love the voices of Satchmo,Bessie Smith, Roy Orbison, Meatloaf and Springsteen and many many more. But Proby is No1! And it is a shame the way media has hindered us from listening to him!
Lindgren33 2 years ago
Lindgren33,
The media has hindered you from listening to P.J. Proby? I must have misunderstood then because I thought he was a major star in the UK and Europe in the '60s.
Expecting him to be a big star in U.S. in the mid '60s would not be very realistic. Teenagers here (the buyers of pop/rock records) were playing the Beatles, Stones, The Mamas and the Papas, etc. Male solo singers who were not musicians and weren't writing their own material had a very hard time making it on the pop charts.
merrysnotproud 2 years ago
lindgren33,
We can look back now and say, WOW what a great voice PJ had, why wasn't he a mega-star? But we forget that great voices weren't selling records after 1960. BTW more people than not have been screwed in the music business but most of them haven't made a career of whining about it.
nawlins4evah 2 years ago
lindgren33, are you telling me I should learn something from sherilyn1977? People who brag on the internet about how many records they've bought but can't name any to back up a statement they've made can't teach me a thing.
shugahshak 2 years ago
Lindgren33, I noticed that you've deleted all the comments on your videos posted by me and others that question the "star" status of Wes Bryan but you've allowed Bryan's response to me to stand. Those deleted comments had been there since before Christmas. Were you pressured to remove them or have you decided the free flow and sharing of information and ideas on the internet only applies to certain people?
shugahshak 2 years ago
sherilyn1977 can tell us there are lots of records by other singers that sound like Peter James but she can't name any??? If I'd gone to the trouble of doing that "very comprehensive comparison of voices" I'd have made some notes!!!
shugahshak 2 years ago
I have thousands of rare records in my collection and they're not all by P.J. Proby, although he is my No. 1 Favourite singer. I do appreciate the talents of many other singers and after making a very comprehensive comparison of voices, I can tell you there many singers who have recorded at least one song that sounded like it could be by Peter James.
sherilyn1977 2 years ago
sherilyn 1977,
Everyone must be so-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o impressed with your record collection. Since you've made a very comprehensive comparison of voices, perhaps you can advise which of those thousands of records sound like Peter James? And you did say that he "sounds a whole lot more like Gene McDaniel's here", so which Gene McDaniels recordings do you feel sound most like the voice in this recording of Stage Door?
castleontheriver 2 years ago
I think sherilyn1977's comment that Peter James sounds like Gene McDaniels speaks for itself. On lindgren33's upload of "You Won't Forget Me" she suggests that Peter James sounds like Dick (Lory) Glasser, Tony Christie, and Tom Jones. Therefore she appears to imply that the voices of Jones, Glasser, and Christie are all similar. Considering her wildly varied suggestions, one really wonders whether sherilyn1977 is joking or if she believes her comments are an effective diversionary tactic.
merrysnotproud 2 years ago
merrysnotproud,
sherilyn1977 may be more interested in posting comments she thinks will please PJ Proby, like a few other Proby fans who consider themselves "the most devout". They seem to live in their own isolated little Proby world, with no clue how absurd some of their comments look to everyone else.
castleontheriver 2 years ago
I bet that PJ is really smiling at all the publicity he's getting out of these Peter James songs and especially with the touched up pictures of him looking like other famous people, it's great.
Still, the truth is, Peter James is not PJ Proby. Why can't some people accept that.
Oh and Peter James sounds a whole lot more like Gene McDaniel's here.
sherilyn1977 2 years ago
sherilyn1977,
You said this sounds like Gene McDaniels, so you must have missed the insider news from PJ Proby's friend Wes Bryan. Bryan's blog says that Peter James was WHITE, thin, about 6 feet tall, and wore an eye patch. He was also a producer, although whatever he produced seems to be a secret that Wes Bryan can't reveal. Maybe Bryan doesn't have time to answer questions because he's too busy posting on youtube about his blog and his celebrity "friends", who are not talking about HIM.
castleontheriver 2 years ago
Whitaker said "a local lad called Peter James"? Local to L.A. or local to Whitaker/Oldham? Local as in living there, or as in from there? And why use the word "called" instead of "named"? Called refers to a name someone is going by at the time, not necessarily their actual/usual name. Are we to take the words literally or was Whitaker using sloppy grammar? Or was he being intentionally vague?
Coincidentally, P.J. Proby was in L.A. during late spring and summer of 1965 for Shindig tapings.
merrysnotproud 2 years ago
Lindgren33,
Oldham is well known for many things including his sixties drug addictions and bi-polar disorder, both of which contributed to the end of his relationship with the Rolling Stones in 1967. His autobiography may be entertaining but I would prefer a more reliable reference before accepting his vague "Whitaker quote" as a clear indication of anything.
grizzlygalore 2 years ago
There is no doubt this is PJ Proby. Who else would it be, his twin brother? No wait, it was Elvis who had a twin brother. The argument that Peter James is a mystery singer is so stale. If, as a few Proby followers say, he still denies he was Peter James then the only mystery is his reason. It's out of character for him to admit there was another singer who was obviously his equal.
grizzlygalore 2 years ago
Here´s what Proby´s PA Manja Dolan wrote on the PJ Proby-forum May 24th this year: "PJ has listened to the six songs of Peter James. They brought back happy memories! PJ says it's not him, but it's certainly someone with a similar voice. The same fast vibrato and even singing in his key!!" So, "who else would it be?"? Yep, thats the mystery!!!
Lindgren33 2 years ago
Lindgren33,
According to globaldog, Liberty US released only 126 45's during 1963, two were by Peter James and one by PJ Proby. Proby was working for Liberty as a songwriter and demo singer and now says he was unaware of another singer recording there who sang like him. It would seem Proby showed little interest in what was going on around him and the music being produced by his employers. Maybe this is one reason Liberty did little to promote Proby's recordings.
grizzlygalore 2 years ago
grizzlygalore
Anyone with any knowledge of P.J's voice can say straight away there is nothing in this song to connect the two singers in any way. So to me it's obvious that you have hardly any knowledge about singers & their individual voices.You are certainly not a long standing Proby admirer as they all know every sound & note that he can produce & he's a completely different (& superior) singer to Peter James.Peter is good but cannot match the magic of P.J.
rontenn 2 years ago
This Peter James guy only sounds like PJ on 1 song to...you wont forget her, Peter and PJ have a different vibrato...and thats just 1 point im stating, this guys a crackin voice and i like most of his songs but folk do need to wake up if they think its PJ. PJ 's whole singing range is much bigger.
theBESTelvis 2 years ago
theBESTelvis You are spot on with your comments. Listen up any doubters.....theBEST elvis is also a singer so he should know! I think it's time we dropped this silly argument now.....P.J.PROBY IS NOT PETER JAMES! Ron
rontenn 2 years ago
theBESTelvis ,
It's interesting that you mentioned a different vibrato. Several months ago Proby's spokesperson posted on the Official Proby Forum that P.J. Proby said (after listening to six Peter James recordings) that he and Peter James had the "same fast vibrato".
merrysnotproud 2 years ago
merrynot,
Peter as a BIT of a PJ sound in his vibrato in a few places ...BUT i think this guys vibrato is faster,
Go checkout several PJ songs, Im sure you'll agree with me, Also peter as the same vocal on all the songs posted on youtube. Study PJs lower deep end to his voice , As well as his many many voices. This Peter as just 1and its not PJ's SORRY !!
Dave,
theBESTelvis 2 years ago
theBESTelvis,
You and Proby seem to disagree on the vibrato issue :-) Your points are well taken but we have only a few Peter James recordings and hundreds by Proby. We might wonder if some of these Peter James recordings were initially done as demos rather than for release under his own name. If he were doing demos for other artists he would (or should) have stayed within their singing range and style. We do not have the vocal recording dates on any of these records, only the release dates.
merrysnotproud 2 years ago
lol, your commited to what you think i'll give you that merrynot, checkout PJ singing ..My Prayer here on youtube,Its a perfect vocal and song that would slot into the 12 by Peter. (if you get the drift) compare it to Peter James songs on here then tell me its the same singer ?? I sing with vibrato myself and i like listening to other singers that do to. Peter and PJ aint the same singer.
theBESTelvis 2 years ago
You're kidding! "My Prayer" doesn't even slot into stuff with Proby's name on it. It's in a class by itself :-) The only valid comparison would be a Peter James recording of "My Prayer". Try comparing "You Make Me Feel Like Someone" to HurtClassic's upload of "You Won't Forget Me". Or "The Other Side of Town" to HurtClassic's upload of "Feelings". The other youtube upload of "Feelings" is faster than the original 45, and the other upload of "You Won't Forget Me" suffers from severe clipping.
merrysnotproud 2 years ago
rontenn,
If this voice sounds so unlike P.J. Proby surely you can point out specific differences. Exactly what are they? You want everyone to think you are knowledgeable about singing voices so how about a detailed comparison of the two voices. It's meaningless to say they sound "different". Does Proby's voice sound the same in "Somewhere" as it does in "And the Sun Will Shine" and "Delilah" ? Is his voice in "Delilah" superior to this recording?
Oh I forgot...you're ignoring me. What a shame.
merrysnotproud 2 years ago
merrysnotproud You have a valid point so I have to answer. I know the voice of Proby like I know the voice of immediate family & friends.Hard to explain but it's in- built & there are others too who have listened to P.J.'s music for 45 plus years who feel the same.I'm only talking about Proby,no other singer. P.J. does have a whole range of vocal styles on disc but he is always recognisable to the Proby "connoisseur" if that doesn't sound to arrogant. Ron
rontenn 2 years ago
rontenn,
After all your youtube comments about PJ Proby singing BETTER THAN EVER, you can keep your worthless opinions of my knowledge to yourself. I'm not impressed. If you want anyone to believe you can tell one voice from another, which is doubtful, you'll have to stop spamming youtube with lame attempts to prop up PJ Proby.
When marketing a product (or artiste) insulting people you disagree with is STUPID!
grizzlygalore 2 years ago
This record is classic PJ and I don't mean Peter James. Possibly it was a demo done much earlier and mixed in 1965 with new orchestral backing for Reprise.
HurtClassic,
From the internet we all know that PJ Proby went to Hollywood in the 1950's to become a movie star. The pictures in your video were obviously done with tongue in cheek but you seem to have made his goal a reality - sort of. That's entertainment!
p.s. The white shirt in one of those pictures looks very familiar.
castleontheriver 2 years ago
Grizzlygalore, Stage Door is arranged and conducted by David Whitaker. In Oldhams book "2 Stoned" Whitaker says:
"Andrew wanted me to go to Los Angeles to record a local lad called Peter James for Reprise".
This is a clear indication that James is NOT Proby! 12 songs with Peter James are here on Youtube and in my ears they are all sung by the same (great) singer. Being a fan of Proby since 1964 I must give Proby right about James!
HurtClassic; great images :-)!
Lindgren33 2 years ago
The lyrics in this song seem forced (e.g., chauffeur and loafer) and the arrangement is unnerving. Some members of the orchestra must have decided to quit early and start practicing a different number while the tape was still running. Goffin and King are among my favorite songwriters, but 'Stage Door' isn't on a par with their many hits.
This being said, Peter James did a tremendous job with the material he was given. And P.J. Proby would have been positively stunning as The Sheik.
merrysnotproud 2 years ago