The Smiley Smile Message Board

Having spent much time recently listening to Pet Projects and the American Spring album, I am really quite impressed with Diane Rovell as a singer and even occasional songwriter (not to mention muse for Brian e.g. "My Diane").  Does anyone know what has become of Diane?  Where she lives, what she does?  Is she still close with Marilyn?  Does she have any contact with Brian (the two of them seem to have had quite an intense relationship -- of some kind, anyway -- that lasted a long time in some form in the 60s and 70s)?

That's interesting. I like her lyrics-- she wrote lyrics for Winter Symphony and Go Away Boy, right?

Can you tell which voice is hers and which is Marilyn's? I think AGD posted at some point that Marilyn's was slightly higher and that she sang most of the leads on the Spring album, but I could be remembing wrong.

Here's Diane singing with The Honeys on May 29th in Santa Monica, supporting David Marks at the Lost Beach Boy book launch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UA7wtH5id48

Diane is very much still around and close to Marilyn, we see her at BB's events all the time. She's a sweetie.

A couple Xmases ago, I saw both her and Marilyn, shopping at Target in Sherman Oaks.  They both were wearing little red Santa hats!  Adorable.

I would see each of them around that same Target fairly often after that--more Marilyn than Diane--but I haven't seen either there in the last year.

I saw Marilyn a time or two at the Westfield Shopping Mall in Sherman Oaks also.

Diane looks fa-bulous in that David Marks clip.  She's over 60, isn't she?

Wasn't "My Diane" about Marilyn, but with the names switched? If so, I don't know if Diane counts as muse for that one.

Just a couple o' Valley Girls.

Nope, "My Diane" is about Diane. I'm pretty sure about this because I asked her once, and she said yes.

And Marilyn, sitting next to her, nodded in agreement.  8)

Marilyn's voice has more of an edge to it (e.g. "Tennessee Waltz") while Diane's is more, uh, 'rounded': best example I can think of is "Fallin' In Love".

of the 12 tracks on the original Spring album, Diane sings lead on "Everybody" and shares "Sweet Mountain" - the other 10 are Marilyn.

I consider that unreliable hearsay at best.

(Thanks for the correction.)

Thanks for the responses.  Jon -- love the clip with Diane, she does look fabulous!  I'm glad she and Marilyn are still close.  Do we know if they have much contact with Brian these days? (I'm sure Marilyn has some through Carnie and Wendy, but does Diane?)

Amy -- Diane co-wrote some pretty awesome songs: the Honeys tracks "Pray for Surf" and "Shoot the Curl" (with Saundra Glantz aka Ginger Blake); and the Spring cuts "Shyin' Away" (with Marilyn and David Sandler) and "It's Like Heaven" (with some hack named Brian Wilson).

I would defer to AGD on who sang what for Spring.  However, comparing known Marilyn 70s vocals (i.e., "It's Over Now" and "Let's Put Our Hearts Together") with the Spring album, it had been my impression that Diane was the lead singer for almost the entire album.  On "Sweet Mountain," the call & response verses seem to go Marilyn/Diane; i.e., Marilyn sings "I'm looking up" and Diane replies "What do you see," etc.  I can believe that it is Marilyn on the chorus ("In care of my sweet mountain of love," etc.)  On "It's Like Heaven," you can clearly hear that Marilyn sings the "what's the matter with you, babe" bit, which would make Diane the lead singer on the rest of the song.  To me it sounds like the same singer who does "Everybody" also does "Down Home" (which blows my mind every time I hear it) and most of the other tracks -- and I thought that was Diane.  I would attribute "Good Time" to Marilyn -- her voice has the slightly brassier quality you can hear on lines like "My friend O'Ryan, he's self relyin'".  Diane's voice to me is sweeter.  I assume Diane sang lead on the Honeys' "He's a Doll"; "Swanee River" and "Shoot the Curl" seem 50-50 Diane/Marilyn.  But like I said, I defer to AGD.

What about Ginger Blake, where's she? She had the best voice of the 3, by far. The One You Can't Have!

Note, I said the original Spring album, which "It's Like Heaven" - yes, a Diane vocal - isn't part of (understandably, because it wasn't recorded for another 6 years). My sources for the lead vocals are:

1 - the CD liners...

2 - my ears...

3 - an afternoon with Marilyn, Diane & Ginger talking about everything from The Honeys to bagels, and playing the tracks in question.

I grant that #2 may not be the most reliable source.  8)

AGD -- I have to defer to your conclusions, because I only have my ears to go on (I don't even have the Spring liner notes).  I'm sure your ears are better than mine anyway.  That must have been a fascinating conversation with Marilyn and Diane about Spring and the Honeys -- they cut some awesome stuff.  Have you ever published a summary of that interview?  I'd love to read it.  (Btw -- I have (and love) your book on the BBs.  If you do another edition, maybe you could add a chapter on the Honeys and Spring.  I'd love to read it (and would gladly buy a new edition to get it). :))

Black Tiger -- I don't agree that Saundra/Ginger had the best voice of the Honeys, but you are right on about "The One You Can't Have" -- great vocal, fantastic BW song and production.

Although it's a matter of preference...

Didn't Ginger Blake have a career outside of The Honeys as a session singer?