| "In 1976, I was making the rounds as a singer/songwriter in the NY area. One of my first appointments was at Chappell Music, on 7th Avenue where I met Ritchie Cordell - who was then a publisher/songwriter/record producer at Chappell. I was 16 yrs old and had recently begun writing songs with my teenage boyfriend, who dragged me into the appointment at Chappell Music that day. We played 4 original tunes for Ritchie and he said thanks, but no thanks.
Two years later, after I broke up with my boyfriend, I called Ritchie to play him some new songs. He signed 3 of them to Chappell's catalog and asked me to do some demo work for their various writers. Chappell was one of the few publishers with an in-house studio, and I met many a talented writer during this exciting introductory period to the music industry. Ritchie had quite a few hit songs to his credit ("Mony Mony", "I Think We're Alone Now") so it was an absolute thrill for a very shy me to work so closely with him. He was truly like a big brother to me, and I will never forget his kindness. A few months out of high school, I was busy doing demo sessions when I met the multi-talented Kenny Laguna. Kenny was playing keyboards on my session that day and he and Ritchie asked me about letting them produce and manage me. It was only a short time later that Ritchie played for me August Darnell's demo of a song with a weird and too long title.... "Dario, Can You Get Me Into Studio 54?" In all honesty, I can't say I liked the song - but I certainly recognized it's commercial appeal and was eager to get a record out already, so I agreed to do it. Laguna and Cordell let me sit in on the auditions for the male part (aka Dario) of the record and we all agreed that Gene Butta was the best of the three they considered. Gene was also an aspiring singer (from Brooklyn), and a sweet/handsome kid who I enjoyed working with. I was far from eager to be associated with disco music in general, having wanted to be a more middle of the road pop artist, but the opportunity was there and one which I was truly grateful for - thanks to Ritchie Cordell and Kenny Laguna. "Dario...." was recorded at Media Sound Recording Studios, located at the time on West 57th Street in NYC. Media Sound was a huge studio, and while we were recording in Studio A, the pop group Desmond, Child and Rouge was in Studio B, and Genya Raven in Studio C. The arrangements for the record were written by the one and only Horrace Ott (Village People) and alongside myself and Ritchie on backups and finger snapping, was legendary songwriter Ellie Greenwich & Ringo Starr's producer - Vinnie Poncia. I was in awe of Ellie and her many contributions penned at the Brill Building with husband/cowriter Jeff Barry, I remember her being very kind as I chewed her head off about writing and making records. "Dario...." was made at a time when live orchestras were still laying down the strings and horns. WHAT a wonderful feeling -- to be standing next to the engineer, Godfrey Diamond - while Horrace Ott conducted this magnificent team of violinists, cellists and horn players. This is how records SHOULD be made, and I was fortunate to be a part of the industry during a time when they were still making records the RIGHT way! After "Dario..." was released, - Gene and I were getting ready to start making promotional appearances around the country, -- and then the label put a hold on everything when a key Midsong label exec walked out. Despite the almost immediate dance club interest in the record, Laguna and Cordell were unable to get sufficient promotion for radio to pick it up without proper label support. It was a real disappointment for Bob Reno (President of Midsong) as well as all involved in the record, as everyone was so confident in the commercial appeal the record had. And with Studio 54 still well and alive, the timing couldn't have been better. But it was not meant to be. And "Dario..." died a sad-disco-death. Following the records "funeral" ~~~ I continued to work with Kenny and Ritchie, but due to our creative differences we eventually parted ways. Over the years, I've run into Kenny (who is Joan Jett's producer/manager) on several occasions and despite the professional differences we shared from the past, we've been able to embrace wholeheartedly. Thanks to a friend of Ritchie's who saw my website, and passed along my web info to him, In june 2002 we were able to catch up with one another, after 22 years!!! Goes to show, sometimes you DO get what you ask for!"- Dana Britten-Stein |
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| Dana & Gene |
| EDITOR'S NOTE: In 2002 I purchased an item on Ebay and was astounded to find out that the seller was Dana Britten-Stein. At first it didn't register that Dana was THE DANA of Dana & Gene. The duo had released one of my all-time favorite disco singles, "Dario Can You Get Me Into Studio 54?" After e-mailing back and forth, I followed her link to her homepage and there I found the following account of that legendary single. I can tell you that she is also a huge Carpenters fan and one of the sweetest people I've ever chatted with. She was genuinely amazed and flattered that I remembered her hit single and that I was such a fan of hers. She was also surprised to hear that I owned TWO copies of the 12" single and that at the time of its release I played it in heavy rotation. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to converse with her and am so glad to hear that she is happy & healthy. I wish her the best in the future and thank her in advance for allowing me to reprint portions of her website. THANK YOU DANA! |
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