How An Obscure ‘White Bread’ Power Pop Single Ended Up on a Punk Label Called Death

In his 2007 book Shake Some Action: The Ultimate Power Pop Guide, John Borack describes Barry Knoedl’s 1978 seven-inch single “Baby Don't Give Up” as a creeper.

“You’d never know it from the cartoonish picture sleeve or the name of the record label, but both sides of New Yorker Barry Knoedl’s obscure self-produced single offer a light sweet pop sound fortified by piano and guitar and Knoedel’s white bread vocals.”

While ‘white bread vocals’ may be a bit harsh, there’s no denying that Knoedl's 'sweet pop' melody would seem out of place on Death, a label whose previous release was Jimi Lalumia & The Psychotic Frogs' "Death to Disco”.

Knoedl recorded “Baby Don't Give Up”, with his long time musical partner Bill Kern in 1977 at Tiki Studio in Glen Cove, New York." Backed with "I Just Want To Make You Happy," the resulting single became the second release on Jim ‘Nipo’ Antonucci's Death Records, home of Cracked Actor's classic KBD single, "Nazi School.”

Though Knoedl and Kern recorded over 150 songs between 1976 and 2005, “Baby Don’t Give Up” was the one that stood out. Borack places it at 14 in his list of 30 great US indie power pop songs and pop fans from Japan to Scandinavia have long tried to track down original copies of the record.

Now, Frodis Records, a vinyl-only reissue/archival label focusing on power pop and punk is set to reissue the album. Listen to the a-side below and read an interview with Barry.

Noisey: How did you hook up with Jim Antonucci? Your music sounds quite different to other stuff released on Death Records.
Barry Knoedl: Nipo (Jim) worked at the record store we hung out at. He was at my friend Bill Kern's house around the time that I got the first mix of “Baby Don’t Give Up”. I played it for him, and he loved it. He said, "I want that song on my label." I was a little surprised, because as you said, I thought he was primarily interested in punk. He claims it was never his intention to feature only one style of music on Death. I think he was using Stiff Records as a model. It may even be where he got the idea to name his label Death.

Do you think many would have bought the record based on the label name and cover art only to bring it home and discover that it had Beatles like melodies?
I know that happened when people began buying records on the Internet. But Nipo did a great job of promoting record at its release. There were a few reviews, including a paragraph in Billboard. It also got some played on some college radio stations. So I think most of the early buyers had either read about it or heard it first. To be honest with you, I didn't realize it had any impact outside of Long Island until sometime in 1999 when a guy from Sweden contacted me asking if I was the Barry Knoedl who made the record and asking permission to reissue the song on a power pop compilation. To put it lightly - I was floored!

Image: Discogs

Was the songs sentiment on not giving up hope based around your own musical aspirations?
No, it was about a girl I knew who was going through a rough patch. I remember trying to encourage her. Later that night, I was sitting at my piano, and that's what came out.

As a Beatles fan what did you think of your label mates Jimi LaLumia And The Psychotic Frogs cover of “Eleanor Rigby”?
I was shocked, but amused. I loved Jimi LaLumia's ostentatious, flashy showmanship. Bill Kern and I worked with (produced) Jimi and the Frogs on an album. We re-recorded both "Eleanor Rigby" and "Death to Disco", both of which a superior to the originals imho.

Were you into punk at all?
I liked it. I didn't embrace it like many of my friends. I enjoyed the raw energy of it. I even played some, but I never wrote punk. Bill Kern did, and we had fun recording those.

Who designed the ‘handjob’ cover?
"Handjob" was done by Gavin Roth, son of Werner Roth who drew the X-Men comics (starting with issue #2 after Jack Kirby)

“Baby Don’t Give Up” is available now through Frodis records.