Last week’s in-depth interviews on Pure Pop Radio: In Conversation, comprising our festive salute to Harpers Bizarre, one of the great soft-pop groups of all time, are now available for listening and downloading on Pure Pop Radio: In Conversation‘s PodOmatic podcast page.
These interviews present the fascinating history of Harpers Bizarre and the pre-Harpers band, the Tikis. Best known for their top 15 ’60s smash, “59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy),” Harpers Bizarre recorded four wonderful albums of delicious soft pop that featured brilliant originals and early songs from such future songwriting and performing stars as Randy Newman and Van Dyke Parks.
In part one of Alan Haber’s exclusive two-part interview with Harpers Bizarre’s Dick Scoppettone, you’ll hear about the songs that appear on Now Sounds’ new and most welcome CD, Harpers Bizarre: The Complete Singles Collection (1965-1970) . You’ll hear Dick tell wonderful stories about recording with musicians who went on to great careers, including Glen Campbell and members of the Wrecking Crew. In part two of this exclusive interview, Dick talks about the importance of melody in songs and waxes poetic about more great Harpers Bizarre numbers.
In another exclusive interview, you’ll hear Now Sounds’ Steve Stanley speak to Alan about how The Complete Singles Collection was put together. Steve gives his thoughts on Harpers Bizarre, the band that has captured the imaginations of soft-pop fans worldwide for more than 50 years. Plus, he gives pop fans some very cool nuggets about upcoming Now Sounds releases!
As usual, we present these interviews in scoped format. Spotify playlists are provided for the songs played. Enjoy!
Pure Pop Radio: In Conversation, the premiere melodic pop interview program hosted by Alan Haber, airs Tuesday nights at 8 pm ET (5 pm PT) and repeats on Sunday afternoons at 5 pm ET (2 pm PT). Archived, podcast versions of interviews are posted on the In Conversation PodOmatic podcast page; click here to listen to nearly 60 shows previously broadcast on Pure Pop Radio.
Alan Haber’s Pure Pop Radio is the original 24-hour Internet radio station playing the greatest melodic pop music from the ’60s to today. From the Beatles to the Spongetones, the Nines, Kurt Baker, the Connection and the New Trocaderos, we play the hits and a whole lot more. Tune in by clicking on one of the listen links below. (And dig our new, coolness-adorned logo from musician Jamie Grant (McPherson/Grant)!)
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On a personal note, I’ve been listening to and loving the sound of 
Harpers Bizarre since the group’s very first album, Feelin’ Groovy (featuring 59th St. Bridge Song) came out in 1967. That record and the group’s other releases–Anything Goes, The Secret Life of Harpers 
Bizarre, and Harpers Bizarre 4–are as important to me today as they were when they were released. These records bathe me in a warm glow to this day. I simply can’t get enough of them.
And for those of you who can’t get enough of this wonderful group, we’ve got a number of fun featurettes which pair various Harpers Bizarre songs with Dick Scoppettone’s inside stories. These will play throughout Pure Pop Radio’s broadcast days. You won’t want to miss them.
I hope that you will join me and listen to Pure Pop Radio’s three-night-long salute to Harpers Bizarre, one of the greatest, most important soft pop groups ever to make records. Mark your calendars: The group’s Dick Scoppettone is interviewed on Pure Pop Radio: In Conversation next Tuesday and Wednesday nights (March 1 and 2) at 8 pm ET (5 pm PT); Now Sounds’ Steve Stanley joins me on the show on Thursday night, March 3, also at 8 pm ET (5 pm PT).
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