Milan (aka The Leather Boy)

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Milan (aka the Leather Boy)
Milan (aka the Leather Boy)

Milan (also known as The Leather Boy) (born c. 1944) is an enigmatic producer, songwriter and recording artist on a variety of recordings released throughout the 1960's, mostly though not exclusively in the psychedelic rock and garage rock genres. By most accounts, Milan's real name is Rick Rodell; he often works with another mysterious figure, Maxim, whose real name is Max Ellen, although Milan's real name is not universally provided. The full name of this alias is further listed by some as Milan Radenovich (or Milan Radenowich), though the full name is rarely if ever shown on records attributed to him. Both Milan and Maxim are evidently music industry professionals working in New York, and some sources claim that Milan is actually a combined alias for both men. This appears unlikely, since they are shown individually on the credits for The Head Shop (where they served as producer and associate producer, respectively, as well as songwriters and backing musicians).

Contents

[edit] Album, I Am What I Am

The first recording attributed to Milan appears to be an LP that was released on 20th Century Fox Records in 1964, called I Am What I Am, along with an associated single, "I Am What I Am" b/w "Over and Over Again". The front cover copy also includes "presenting a bright new star". The album's liner notes describe Milan as "a darkly handsome, six foot, 160 lb. twenty year old" with a "European musical background" and continue: "Milan is popular music . . . he lives it, loves it and understands it and refuses to allow the tendency to copy whatever happens to be in the top ten at the present time to influence his work" (ellipses in the original). He also has a beautiful, melodic voice that is sometimes difficult to appreciate on his later recordings.

Although the authenticity and commitment to his music is apparent even at this point, the album is in the typical style of early 1960's pop music albums, and much of the music bears only passing resemblance to the garage rock and psychedelic rock recordings for which he is mainly known. As a result, this album, though scarce, is typically available for a fraction of the cost of most of the singles that were released in later years. However, some of the songs on the album, including "Runnin' Wild" and "Spellbound" have the flavor of his later garage-rock classics.

[edit] Later Recording Career

Perhaps in response to the slow sales of his early work, Milan moved on more interestingly to a variety of guises and bands, not to mention new record labels. Whether these new names are bands or pseudonyms is unknown for the most part. Some sources identify The Leather Boy as a band that is led by Milan; but on one single, the two names are combined, and the covers on the Leather Boy singles only show Milan, so this is doubtful.

Insofar as his persona is concerned, the moniker "Leather Boy" is certainly appropriate, since he is shown on several singles in a leather jacket, sometimes holding a guitar. Anticipating his pose on the single "I'm a Leather Boy", he is also shown on the back cover of his earlier album holding a guitar and dressed in what appears to be a faux leather smock emblazoned with "Milan" in stylized lettering.

[edit] Producer and Songwriting Credits

Other than his 1964 album — where, as the sole songwriter, he is listed as "M. Rodell" — the name "Milan" was evidently used in all of his many appearances as songwriter or producer. These range from writing a song for Lou Christie called "Too Many Teardrops" for a 1963 release, to producing and songwriting duties on the 1969 psychedelic rock album for The Head Shop. He also oversaw the release of the 1967 single "Bongo Bongo" for an obscure girl group called The Chanters.

[edit] Reissues

Milan was re-introduced to the world in Pebbles, Volume 11 of the LPs in the Pebbles series. This was actually the first album in the series to be released by Bomp! Records and was the initial LP on their AIP Records label. This particular compilation album starts off with both sides of a 1967 single by The Leather Boy, "I'm a Leather Boy" and "Shadows", while "You Gotta Have Soul" closes the album. The former cut is an exuberant garage rock track that features actual sounds of motorcycles in the background that even Steppenwolf eschewed, while the latter is a passionate romp that has a similar gritty feel. "Shadows" is a marvelous psychedelic rock masterwork that appears on the Pebbles box set called Trash Box but is not otherwise available in the Pebbles series on CD, although "On the Go" appears on the Pebbles, Volume 10 CD (this song also reprises the motorcycle sounds from "I'm a Leather Boy").

The liner notes on Pebbles, Volume 11 expressed hope that an LP could be collected of his work some day — which, sadly, has still not taken place — adding that "what he did with Donovan songs has to be heard to be believed!" (a reference to the Leather Boy single, "Jersey Thursday"). However, other tracks have been collected on several other garage-rock and psychedelic-rock collections.

[edit] Bands, Aliases and Other Projects

  • Milan
  • The World of Milan
  • Milan (The Leather Boy)
  • The Leather Boy
  • Lou Christie
  • The Head Shop
  • The Unclaimed
  • The Chanters
  • The Aladdins
  • Licorice Schtik

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

As Milan:

[edit] Singles

As Milan:

As The World of Milan:

  • "Cry, Lonely Boy" b/w "Luva-Luva" — 1965
  • "Follow the Sun" b/w "I'm Cryin' in the Rain" — 1966
  • "One Track Mind" b/w "Shades of Blue"; Brunswick Records (#55298) — 1966

As Milan (The Leather Boy):

  • "You Gotta Have Soul" b/w "My Prayer"; Flower Records (#100) — 1967

As The Leather Boy:

  • "I'm a Leather Boy" b/w "Shadows"; MGM Records (#K-13724) — 1967
  • "On the Go" b/w "Soulin'"; MGM Records (#K-13790) — 1967
  • "Jersey Thursday" b/w "Black Friday"; Parkway Records (#125) — 1967

As The Unclaimed:

  • "Memories of Green Eyes" b/w/ "Jingle Jangle"; Philips Records (#30430) — 1967

[edit] Compilation Albums

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