Thanks JBird glad to have helped and we were glad to be part of the national/international consciousness if only for a couple of years.
I truly believe that napster will bring down the industry as we know it. Especially when everyone has the capability of transfering any song from computer to cassette tape or CD.
Sorry to report aha, that there are no stores in Toronto that I could find that carried your songs. Did order them tho <smile>
Man, yoiu guys rock. I think music died right after woodstock (the real one) but then that’s just me.
regards
… oh? wha? Oh yeah, this is the pit so… ^&%## Napster… <looks both ways>…
The albums are available at CD-NOW.com. Just do a search for Five Americans.
I’m impressed, you got the 1989 All Music Guide pick for Best of Artist.
I really like Western Union, but it is the catchy music that really made it work. When you say there were 3 writers, do you mean you all shared music and lyric creation duties or were they split? The only real lyrics I remember are “Western Union” and “na-na-na-na na-na-na-na na-na-na-na …”. Exactly how did the creation process for that song go?
well I had the original idea of a guy getting a dear john letter via Western Union instead of by snail mail. I got the idea from seeing a Western Union sign in Seattle on tour. We went to the studio with that in mind. Two of the writers sat down and worked on the lyrics while I worked on the guitar riff and melody. In thirty minutes it was done. Two hours later it was recorded. 37 years later its still playing on the radio. 
Reminds me of George Baker, real name: Hans Bouwens. The guy wrote “Una Paloma Blanca” in 10 minutes, and “Little Green Bag” in 15. And he’s a fucking millionaire because of those two songs!
Wasn’t Western Union recorded in 1967? That would make it 33 years later. Or was in recorded 37 years ago which would make it 1963? I thought I first heard it when I was in Junior High which was 1967-1969.
Right you are Wanderer…bad math on my part. Acutally it was released in April of 1967. Our first hit record I see the light was released in oct of 1965. I was in college in 1963 trying to get laid.
Just ordered a copy of “Western Union/The Best Of”. Eagerly awaiting it’s arrival.
The web address is http://www.sundazed.com/scripts/shopplus.cgi?DN=sundazed.com&CARTID=8093431689&ACTION=action&FILE=/FiveAm.html
wowsa thanks billiehunt I hope you enjoy it! If you want it autographed let me know via email and I will send you my address.
I played WU about a yr ago…glad I could help out.
I often wondered about the paying out royalties. Socan, the Canadian agency, asks for lists quite often.
WU makes about 12k a yr?.. split 3 ways?
not too shabby.
Just puttin’ in my 6 cents worth!
One of the great pleasures of airplay royalties is reading the strange places you get a few cents from.
Ooh, $1.37 from the Russian Federation… 45c from Japanese television etc. Not as good as real money, but it is entertainment.
picmr
Right picmir…my last statement had 24 cents added because of my song had been featured in some brazilian movie…
Graeme: You’re a disc jockey? If so thanks!
Socan has been very kind to me. In fact it makes up a lot of my foriegn royalty statement.
Now this is an instance in which napster got you royalties. After downloading the song, I now plan on buying the CD.
Poogas: Thankee
Anthracite notes that:
This being the Pit, I believe that I am supposed to respond, “screw you, chickie”, or words to that effect. At the risk of being told to take it elsewhere, however, let me note that Anthracite’s assertions are irrelevant.
She says:
Well, well. You bought a large number of rare songs on media that you didn’t have the ability to play because…because why? So that you could boast to your friend (I assume for the sake of discussion that you have one), “I’ve got ‘X’ hundreds of rare singles…of course, I can’t hear them, but they’re encoded on the vinyl”. Because you hoped that someday, somehow, a real live turntable would come along (when my wife wakes up, I’ll discuss with her selling you ours)?
Now, if we’re talking about transferring a song from a medium that is less stable to one that is more stable, I don’t see a problem with that – the more stable medium is often the more easily reproducible, but I do you the honor of supposing that you have the moral fiber and strength of character to resist making bootleg copies for every Tom, Dick, and Harry that asks, no matter how prettily they plead. That is not the intent of Napster, however, nor of the drug-addled trash who think nothing of reproducing a song for five thousand of their close personal friends.
Anthracite also says that:
And if Napster restricts itself to such works, it shuts down about the middle of next week for lack of traffic.
Now, if Napster were to do an end run around the structure of the music publishing industry by announcing (in effect), “We’ll give twice the current royalty to the artists or their estates, which will still be a lot cheaper than paying tribute to the evil suits at the publishing companies”, they’d have a talking point. But they have not, to my knowledge. Napster is, effectively, the stalking horse for brainless slackers and greedy faux dorm-room bull-session anarchocapitalists. Some of its users doubtless do not fall into either of these categories. They ought to give serious thought about whether they wish to continue to associate with them.
aha, it showed up today! Does your autograph offer still stand? The cover has a picture of the five of you coming out of a U.S. flag. Which one are you?
Yep just email that you want it for sure. Then I will email you where to send it. You will need to put it with a self addressed stamped container or envelope so I can just sign it and put it right in there and into the mail box.
I am the one in the foreground with the poka dot tie. 
aha, i just listened to the samples on your site, i like. i’m going to buy the cd today actually, the musics right up my alley. been looking for something new to listen to, and well, i am a big supporter of napster, can’t do much about it though, since there’s at least a dozen other programs out there doing the same thing now, including an upcoming come back version called metallicster that can’t be shut down since there’s no central server, like Gnutella. but it’s napster that gets me to buy the albums i like, and trash the songs from my comp i don’t like, and any songs i can’t buy, i keep on my comp and record later on cd when i have enough to make it worthwhile. if record companies didn’t stop publishing some albums, it might be easier for people like me who like obscure music to buy, but since i can’t napster has given me another chance to get the music i like. i won’t rehash a dead thread, but anyway, just wanted to let you know the samples are great, i’m buying the album. later.
Like I’ve been saying: Napster is the future. Sink or swim, kiddies.