ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 2126, Garden Grove, CA 92842-2126 USA
E-mail: assistcomm@cs.com, Web Site: www.assistnews.net

Dear Friends:

I have pleasure in including an updated story Walter Santos that I have sent out previously.  Please feel free to use it as it fits your needs.

Correction:

In the recent ASSIST story headlined MISSIONARIES CONQUER ANCIENT FOES WITH CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY, the hyperlinks in the last few paragraphs were erroneous.  They should read as follows:

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God bless! 

Dan Wooding
 

Saturday, June 22, 2002

"STREET CORNER SYMPHONY" -- A LOVE-SONG TO JESUS
Walter Santos produces an album of "Born-again Doo Wop"

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

 GARDEN GROVE, CA  (ANS) -- As a super percussionist, Walter Santos toured nationally in the United States with a who's who of the music business, such as Weather Report and Fandango, sharing tour dates and stages with The Charlie Daniels Band, The Outlaws, Pure Prairie League, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Moby Grape, Judas Priest, and the Marshall Tucker Band.  (Pictured: Santos' group, Sons of Thunder).

But he had a terrible secret that was destroying his life -- he was addicted to drugs, a habit that nearly had him sentenced to life imprisonment. But then a miracle began to happen in his life when former teenage idol Dion, who had such hits as "A Teenager in Love," "Runaround Sue" and "The Wanderer," told him to totally give his life to Jesus Christ. He did and later was completely delivered from his habit at Calvary Ranch in San Diego, California.

Santos learned to play Latin percussion on the streets, with groups on the "stoops," a NYC term for hanging out on the front porch of a house. "I hung out in these strong ethnic neighborhoods," he said. "They took me in as one of their own--I had a name like Santos, but I looked so German! After a while I was asked to play in clubs with a lot of R&B bands in the neighborhood. My first break came when I was asked to play percussion with Charles Earland on the same bill with The Jazz Crusaders at Carnegie Hall. (What a place to start a career!) After that, I became a member of the Charles Earland Sextet and we toured nationally with the likes of George Benson, Les McCann, Jimmy Smith, and Stanley Turrentine. He also did a short stint with Top Jazz ensemble Weather Report back in there early days.

Now Santos has produced a wonderful new album called "Street Corner Symphony" which he describes as a "love song to Jesus." It includes contributions from Little Anthony, Jon Gibson, Little Willy Gee and Leon Patillo as well as many other musicians and vocalists who had specialized in Doo Wop.

Santos said that the title for the album came from his experiences as a young man in New York. "Doo Wop was called 'Street Corner Symphony' because it was like having a symphony at the Lincoln Center, but in the poor neighborhoods in New York when we were growing up, our concert hall was the street corner," Santos explained. "We would stand out there under a street light, with the garbage can burning in the wintertime, and we would sing in harmony. Our whole objective was to impress the neighborhood girls. So we four or five guys would just start singing five-part harmony and we got the guys who were the best singers in the area. We did this album as a symphony, a love song to Jesus.

Santos has taken many old Doo Wop hits as well as three original tracks, co-written with Jimi "JL" Seville, who played as a keyboardist with many of the original Doo Wop groups, who also produced the album.

"They include 'In the Still of the Night,' by the Five Satins which was voted the number one of all time in New York, also a song by Clyde McPhatter, which was a number one song in 1956, called 'The Treasure of Love,' a pristine, beautiful message of where you heart is there will our treasure be," Santos explained. "We also took 'Only You' by the Platters and a Sam Cooke classic called 'Twisting the Night Away,' and we put a little vamp in there in which we said, 'Lets praise the night away.' We also did three that were written with Nicaraguan-born Jimi (JL) Seville and it is called 'Street Corner Symphony,' which talks about my testimony and Jimi was inspired to do this after reading a story you wrote about me last year about the wanderer coming home. So he got the whole gist and he began translating my story into songs."

"BORN-AGAIN DOO WOP"

I asked Santos what was his definition of "Born again Doo Wop" and explained, "We came up with this concept for born-again Doo Wop, as it emerged from a blending of gospel, pop, blues, jazz and swing elements coming together in the 1950s and early sixties. Doo Wop is vocal harmonizing at its best. The musical message of Doo Wop is a romantic and joyous return to a simpler, more innocent time. The born-again Doo Wop sound of 'Street Corner Symphony' is a blending of all that, expressing our real love for Jesus Christ our redeemer.

 Jimi (JL) Seville, who produced the album at Soundbest Studio in Garden Grove, California, was born in Nicaragua. "I've lived in the United States most of my life and I've been in the music business for more than 30 years and have been playing, touring and recording for all of that time," he said. "I was saved 19 years ago at Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa, California and I've been serving the Lord for the past 19 years as a minister of music/music director) and was on staff for some years with Bayless Conley at Cottonwood Christian Center in Los Alamitos CA and with Leon Patillo at the Rock House Church in Long Beach CA for one year and was music director with him. (Pictured: Patrick Duffin, Santos and Jimy (JL) Seville).
"I have been working in Doo Wop music since I was 18 years old. I backed up many of these artists, and it is amazing how God prepared me to do this project with him because I was very versed with this kind of music, having backed up many of the original artists."

The project began recording on June 1st, 2000. "We just had the rhythm and -- we started with drums and bass -- and then keyboards, guitar and sax were added. Then we brought in the background vocals, and he found three African American brothers who were in their fifties and the name of their group is called Seville. God's fingerprints are all over this project. What with the budget, the way it all came out, and it tied in with my testimony, because God is going to get the glory for this and the crowning touch on this is that I had my pastor, Pastor Tom McAloon of Calvary Ranch, do the final goodbye on the CD. What you hear on the CD is the sound of a vinyl record falling down on the turntable and then the needle starts playing a scratching record, which is playing a Doo Wop song and then you hear a scratching sound as the needle is taken from the record, and I say, "Hey, who scratched my record?"

Then Pastor Tom comes on and says, "Hey man, I didn't mean to scratch your record. This is Pastor Tom from Calvary Ranch, and I just wanted to say that if you know somebody on drugs or alcohol, but pick up the phone and call 1-800 404 2258 and it will be the last thing you ever have to do."

He explained that Calvary Ranch is a Christian drug and alcohol recovery program that was started by Tom McAloon and some Navy personnel who had worked with the homeless at rescue missions in San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco and which God used to help him come off, and stay off drugs. Since its inception in 1974, it has helped tens of thousands of people to get their lives on track. He added, "If anyone is interested in the program, they can call (800) 404-2258 or visit the web page at www.calvaryranch.org."

 "Each CD will have a little blurb about the work of Calvary Ranch and testimonies of those that have been helped through this fine ministry," said Santos. "The real purpose of this CD is for it to be used as a ministry tool, because so many families are affected by addictions and we want to break that ice and music is the language of the heart, and so God has put this whole thing together. The kiss from heaven for me was to have Little Anthony sing on it. He was one of the top Doo Wop singers when I was growing up. He had a group called Little Anthony and the Imperials. They had hits like "Tears on my Pillow," and "Hurts so Bad," "I'm on the outside looking in," which we covered on this CD with new lyrics written by Jimi. They were all number ones. He came in and we did a new version of 'I'm on the outside looking in.' It was talking about how I was on the outside, looking in. Wanting to get right with God. He did a great vocal job. He is almost sixty and his voice sounds better than ever. I asked him how he had been able to keep his voice so good and he replied, "The grace of God."

Patrick Duffin is the sound engineer and Santos says that he is "one of the best in the business." He added, "He used to work in one of the finest studios in Southern California, which was I.A.M. studios in Irvine CA, built by Westlake Audio in L.A. It was where the 'Secret Life of Plants' with Stevie Wonder was recorded.

Duffin said, "I've been waiting to do a project like this for many years. When Santos came to me with me with Jimi and asked me if wanted to be involved in the project, I jumped at it. I told him that I would pray about it and then about three seconds later I told him yes. So it was a real blessing to be able to be a part of it. We are going to wrap it up in the next week and get it out on the market so that listeners can enjoy it and be blessed by it."

He added, "We prayed before each session, but I have to say that even though we have had some incredible talent playing and vocalizing on this CD, doesn't compare with our maker and creator, because that's where the talent came from. To see it all come together with these musicians begin to play together and mould as one unit, it really is depictive of the Body of Christ. How some are one part and other people are another part."

Santos concluded by saying, "Jesus said, 'If you lift me up and I will draw all men unto Me,' and that's why I believe that this born-again Doo Wop is doing just that."

UPDATE

As of July, 2002, many addicted, hurting people have reached out and have been helped by this project worldwide. Just recently Santos performed for Police Officers for Christ, NYPD, near ground zero. This August he will be back in NYC with Mike MacIntosh and The Festival of Life As he embarks on recording volume 2 of Street Corner Symphony (which should be out this winter with 13 new songs and some sweet group vocals plus that one of a kind New York doo-wop sound) Santos is so excited of what God will do with more willing hearts. More updates to
follow as they warrant.

To get more information on "Street Corner Symphony," or to just contact Santos phone him (619) 993-1133, or e-mail mashrecovery@aol.com  and via his web site which is www.santosministries.org  a non profit organization.
Dan Wooding is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times). Wooding is also a syndicated columnist, and was for ten years a commentator on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. Wooding is the author of some 40 books, one of which is "Blind Faith" which he co-authored with his 93-year-old mother Anne Wooding, who was a pioneer missionary to the blind of Nigeria in the 1930s. Copies of this book are available from the ASSIST USA office at PO Box 2126, Garden Grove, CA 92842-2126. His writings are on the ASSIST Website at: www.assistnews.net (Pictured: Jim Seville, Dan Wooding, and Santos).
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