Ernie Maresca: "Shout! Shout! (Knock Yourself Out)"

April 9, 1962 (3 weeks)

In the artist-record company dynamic there's one side eager to get signed on and another that isn't always so keen. Millions of aspiring pop groups try to get picked up by a major label (and oftentimes a minor label will do) but only a few manage to get contracts. Fewer still end up cutting more than one record for the companies they've made deals with. Only the slightest number achieve much in the way of chart success — and even some of them don't even manage to have their record deals renewed.

But this was (allegedly) not the case for Ernie Maresca. Already a successful songwriter with credits on several of Dion's biggest hits (including his 1961 CHUM chart topper "Runaround Sue"), it must have seemed like he was destined to life as a staff composer for the Brill Building or, better yet, in a freelance position. Though he had sung in doo-wop groups in his youth, his skills were in a more behind the scenes capacity. Until, that is, a record company came calling to launch a recording career of his own. Maresca (allegedly) protested, claiming he wasn't a strong enough singer but the suits insisted.

Yeah, I don't believe this story either. I realize that A&R men, headhunters and scouts can get things wrong more often than not but it's hard to imagine this sort of conversation ever taking place, in any capacity:

"You know what? I'm very flattered by the offer but I don't think I'm a good enough midfielder to play for Arsenal."

"Well, I've thought it over and I don't think I'm a strong enough actor to be in Dr. Shivago. Do you think you could get me a gig as a key grip instead?"

"No, you're not listening! I am patently unqualified to be CEO of Pepsi Cola! I don't care how much more money you keep offering or the stock options or the twice-yearly use of luxury flats in Hong Kong and St Barts, I'm not interested! Now kindly leave me alone!"

Concerns that his voice wasn't strong enough, however, were well founded since while commanding, his vocal doesn't have much in the way of range. On the other hand, it doesn't matter in the slightest when your sole hit is something like "Shout! Shout! (Knock Yourself Out)": the single is just over two minutes long, the frenetic pace is all that really matters and the backing singers (who may or may not include Dion himself; if he isn't present then Maresca sure found an excellent soundalike) do much of the heavy lifting.

"Shout! Shout!" is a good time pop record all about good time pop records. The magnificent "Runaround Sue" is even name dropped, as though it had come out in irony-soaked 1992 rather than thirty years earlier. It's tempting to try to find other pop songs referenced but they aren't there — unless you count "The Twist" and that's only on a technicality since he's referring to the dance instead of the song. But really it's just about getting down and enjoying a night of dancing.

Weirdly, the material that Maresca either wrote or co-wrote for people like Dion seems much more personal than this enjoyable but ultimately disposable offering. One might assume that he'd give this bit of anthemic nonsense away and maybe keep, say, "The Wanderer" for himself. Maybe he knew that his limited range would get in the way of anything remotely real and thus he had to settle for this raucous party anthem. If so, kudos to Maresca for knowing his limitations and thriving within them.

In the years leading up to the charge of The Beatles and Bob Dylan towards artists being mostly self-sufficient, a number of singers and songwriters faced the prospect of double dipping. Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry did well in both camps while others like the Everlys eventually adapted as well. Elvis Presley may have aspired to songwriting but it was beyond him (and it certainly didn't help that he never had a full time collaborator to work on compositions together). In the other camp, many established songwriters looked to recording careers of their own. Some, like Neil Sedaka, managed to do so relatively quickly while others like Carole King had to be very patient. But then there were those like Barry Mann and Ernie Maresca who had bursts of stardom only to have it rapidly fall off. They had to fall back on songwriting as their main source of income. It was what they did best so why not?

Score: 7