Carpenters song "Officer Fraley"?? (at UMG's Iron Mountain tape vault)

[Walkinat9]

Hi all,

I felt like a kid in a candy store when I discovered this tour video the other day, seeing all those endless amounts of boxes of master tapes and session tapes and more. I found myself pausing the video many times, trying to read what was on those boxes.
Every time I spotted the A&M logo, I was just hoping that, well....and then it turned out to be some other artist or band.
Until I got to the 19:17 mark




The other songs on the box we all know very well, but then I could also read the title "Officer Fraley". Has anyone here ever heard of that song title?
I couldn't find anything online, so my guess is that it was an original song. But what kind of style? I have a feeling it would have had Richard's lead vocals on it, but it may have been an instrumental as well? Somehow, it reminded me of a West Side Story song ("Gee, Officer Krupke")

Does anyone of you know more about this? Chris?

Fascinating video otherwise. Wish I could spend a few days a year there

Greg

 

[Mark-T]

My bet is the song is tied to Richard's arrest in Florida when they were young and early in their fame.

 

[newvillefan]

I think we found Mr Guder’s father

And that’s just one box. I reckon there’s a whole load of archive Carpenters material in that vault that we have no idea about, mixed in amongst the tapes of the multitracks that contain material we already know of. And the biggest shame is it will never see the light of day (literally).

Moral question that applies to any artist’s outtakes: if they’re never going to be released, and nobody is ever going to hear them… why keep it stored there? Unless, as in this case, they’re locked in as part of the tapes for sessions that resulted in officially released tracks. I guess that would make sense.

Additional question for Chris May: is there a definitive list of the original album multitracks that still exist and which weren’t burned up in the Universal fire, versus those that now solely exist on digital format only? I’d love to know the answer to this question.

 

[Mark-T]

Yes, @Chris May will know about this one.

 

[newvillefan]

Whatever that title is (and it’s hard to make out, even to my discerning eye), there’s no mention of it in The Musical Legacy book.

 

[Chris May]

Officer Fraley was the cop that arrested Richard in Florida for making an illegal right turn on a red.

We put the story in The Tan Album chapter but Richard asked us to leave the cop’s name out. He and John wrote the song in retaliation but then changed the name to “Druscilla Penny,” which was the name of a girl that John was dating at the time.And as a side note—turns out she wasn’t too thrilled about it when the song was released.

 

[AM Matt]

Iron Mountain, Michigan??

 

[1969]

Screenshots for those who have trouble reading the box label in the video.

 

[Chris May]

Iron Mountain, Michigan??

Pennsylvania.

 

[AM Matt]

OK thanks!!

 

[newvillefan]

Officer Fraley was the cop that arrested Richard in Florida for making an illegal right turn on a red.

We put the story in The Tan Album chapter but Richard asked us to leave the cop’s name out. He and John wrote the song in retaliation but then changed the name to “Druscilla Penny,” which was the name of a girl that John was dating at the time.And as a side note—turns out she wasn’t too thrilled about it when the song was released.

I love trivia like this!

 

[Walkinat9]

Officer Fraley was the cop that arrested Richard in Florida for making an illegal right turn on a red.

We put the story in The Tan Album chapter but Richard asked us to leave the cop’s name out. He and John wrote the song in retaliation but then changed the name to “Druscilla Penny,” which was the name of a girl that John was dating at the time.And as a side note—turns out she wasn’t too thrilled about it when the song was released.

Ouch! Thanx for solving the mystery, Chris!

 

[Mark-T]

Officer Fraley was the cop that arrested Richard in Florida for making an illegal right turn on a red.

We put the story in The Tan Album chapter but Richard asked us to leave the cop’s name out. He and John wrote the song in retaliation but then changed the name to “Druscilla Penny,” which was the name of a girl that John was dating at the time.And as a side note—turns out she wasn’t too thrilled about it when the song was released.

There was a woman about my age names Druscilla at my local Panera. When I said, "You know, you have a Carpenters song named after you", she gave me an icy frown. Oh well!

 

[goodjeans]

Officer Fraley was the cop that arrested Richard in Florida for making an illegal right turn on a red.

We put the story in The Tan Album chapter but Richard asked us to leave the cop’s name out. He and John wrote the song in retaliation but then changed the name to “Druscilla Penny,” which was the name of a girl that John was dating at the time.And as a side note—turns out she wasn’t too thrilled about it when the song was released.

Druscilla Penny, how's your head? And he isn't referring to a hangover, methinks.

 

[A&M Retro]

AMAZING to see Iron Mountain on videotape! What a treasure trove. Beyond priceless! I know Richard has mentioned that 'Thank You For The Music' is in storage at Iron Mountain with the rest of the unreleased stuff. So close and yet so far!

 

[A&M Retro]

My bet is the song is tied to Richard's arrest in Florida when they were young and early in their fame.

What a fantastic guess! : )

 

[Billy Rees]

I wonder what were the lyrics to Officer Fraley would have been..?

 

[Chris May]

I wonder what were the lyrics to Officer Fraley would have been..?

Richard rattled some of it off during one of the interviews. I'll have to go back into the audiotapes.

 

[Mark-T]

And I think Druscila Penny is bad.