Sally Go ‘Round the Roses
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A producer asked me to listen to a song titled “Sally Go ‘Round The Roses” to see if it had any potential. I listened to it and decided that in its present form it did not, but I heard something in my head. He said, “Go into a small demo studio 
and do what you hear,” and he would pay for it. That’s what I did. I recorded the entire record on an old Ampex tape machine at 7 1/2 IPS mono. I played all the instruments except the guitar. First I played the piano. Then I added the drums. When I added the bass, I borrowed the secretary’s lipstick and marked the locations of the notes I needed on the upright bass.. since I did not play bass at all. Then I played the B3 organ and tambourine.
Next I brought in Al Gorgoni and Carl Lynch to play the guitar parts, since I did not play guitar. Al and Carl were two of the busiest and best guitar players in the New York recording scene. After that I added the singers. Each time when I added another element I added a different type of reverb. Each generation seemed to add to the distinct sound of the record. When I finished it and played it for him he hated it. He was really angry. He felt that I wasted his money. I disagreed with him. I played the record for Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. They loved it and offered to buy it and reimburse him for all of his expenses. When I went back to him and told him that Leiber and Stoller loved it, he had second thoughts about it. The record was released as “Sally Go ‘Round The Roses” by the Jaynetts. On side B was just the band track without the Jaynetts.
It shot up the charts. The disc jockeys loved it. They thought the record had a real unique sound. The producer never paid me any money, but he did put “arranged by Artie Butler” on the record. That was my very first arranging credit, so I guess I did get paid in some way. Other producers started calling me to arrange sessions for them and they wanted the same band I used on “Sally Go ‘Round The Roses.” Oh boy … was I in trouble. It was about time that I take a few arranging lessons. The record will of course always hold a special place in my heart. It hangs on my wall where my high school diploma would be hanging …. had I graduated high school.