Milan Radenkovich (December 15, 1941 – March 14, 1971), who was always credited

mononym A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. In some cases, a mononym selected by an individual may have originally been from a polynym, a word which refers to one o ...

ously as Milan, was an American

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

and

recording artist A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

on numerous songs made throughout the 1960s, mostly though not exclusively in the

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

genre. He released an LP and numerous singles for seven different national

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

s and other independent labels (a total of more than 30 songs) under a variety of names, including Milan with His Orchestra, Milan, The World of Milan, Milan (The Leather Boy), and The Leather Boy, and also worked under the name Rick Rodell. As a

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

and/or

, Milan oversaw many other releases by a variety of artists ranging from the

pop singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

Lou Christie to the

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

band

the Head Shop ''The Head Shop'' is an American psychedelic rock band from New York that released one eponymous album on Epic in 1969. The album cover features a swirling group of multi-colored (and numbered) boxes that surround a black-and-white image of a ...

Greg Shaw Greg Shaw (January 1949 – October 19, 2004) was an American writer, publisher, magazine editor, music historian and record executive. Biography Shaw was born in San Francisco, California. He began writing about rock and roll music as a ...

placed Milan's song "I'm a Leather Boy" as the opening track on two different albums in the

Pebbles series ''Pebbles'' is an extensive series of compilation albums in both LP and CD formats that have been issued on several record labels, though mostly by AIP. Together with the companion '' Highs in the Mid-Sixties series'', the ''Pebbles series'' ma ...

: the '' Pebbles, Volume 10'' CD and the earlier '' Pebbles, Volume 11'' LP (which was also the first album to be released on his

AIP AIP may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Action International Pictures * Afghan Islamic Press * AIP Records, a record label * American International Pictures, an independent film production/distribution company, now a subsidiary of MGM ...

). He has written of Milan as being "a cryptic artist who made a series of high image records offering himself as some leather-clad,

bike A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bic ...

-riding rebel, but so stylized he might've been imagined by

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

. . . . The only name to be found on these records is Milan, a name that also shows up as

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

on a big pile of records, from the early 60s right thru the end of the decade. . . . But who was he? No further clue has ever emerged. This is one guy whose story really cries out to be told."Liner notes, '' Pebbles, Volume 10'' CD. In the promotional material for the 2009 retrospective album '' Hell Bent for Leather'', Milan was described in this way: "From his earliest incarnation in the record industry as a Xmas twister, the enigmatic Milan has changed his name and re-invented himself several times: a teen idol with a cute hairdo and a preppy look, a garage gonzo savage, an all dressed-in-black biker stud, a psychedelic screamer in love with satellite sounds, and other characters known or waiting to be discovered. One thing is for sure: Few people can claim so many identities in less than a decade."

Identity and background

Milan was born Milan Radenković, anglicized as Milan Radenkovich, though the surname is rarely if ever shown on records attributed to him. However, he changed his name to Richard (Rick) Rodell while he was still in high school in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, and was often known by that name in the recording industry. Milan's father performed as Rasha (or Rascha) Rodell, and was a folk singer and

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

ist who performed in the late 1950s at the Eden Roc Hotel in

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and artificial island, man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the ...

. Milan's older brother,

Petar Radenković Petar Radenković (Serbian Cyrillic: Петар Paдeнкoвић; born 1 October 1934) is a retired Serbian football goalkeeper who also played for the Yugoslavia national team. He also goes by the name Perica. He is mostly known for his spell ...

, is a former

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

with the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

(soccer) team, TSV 1860 München of

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, who won the

German Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footbal ...

title in 1966 and the

German Cup The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...

in 1964.

Album, ''I Am What I Am''

After a couple of early singles, Milan released an LP on

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

in 1964, named '' I Am What I Am'', along with two associated singles, "I Am What I Am" b/w "Over and Over Again" and later "Runnin' Wild" b/w "Angel's Lullaby". The front cover ''(pictured)'' also includes "presenting a bright new star". The album's

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

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). The album is in the style of early 1960s orchestral

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

records, instead of the

and

recordings for which he is better known. However, some of the songs on the album, including "Runnin' Wild" and "Spellbound" have the flavor of his later garage-rock classics.

Later recording career

As far as his persona is concerned, the moniker "Leather Boy" is certainly appropriate, since he is shown in several photographs in a leather jacket. Anticipating his pose on the single "I'm a Leather Boy", he is 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. (This lettering was later incorporated into the design of the cover of the 2009 '' Hell Bent for Leather'' album).

Producer, arranger and songwriting credits

For the most part, the name "Milan" was used in his many appearances on disc as songwriter, arranger or producer; but there are many exceptions. On his first single, the songwriter of "Santa's Doin' the Twist" and "Swing a Little Harder" is given as "Rick Rodell". On his 1964 album, the

is listed as "M. Rodell", and on the first of the two associated singles, the songwriter is "Milan Rodelle" (with the surname misspelled in that case). "M. Rodell" is also listed as the songwriter and arranger on the Licorice Schtik song "The Kissin' Game". He also was the producer for both sides of a 1967 single "Bongo Bongo" b/w "Free as a Bird" on

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

– MGM also released some of his own singles – for an obscure

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...

called The Chanters. He was also listed as the songwriter of "Bongo Bongo". According to the programmer of the

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

s '' Look What I Found, Volume 12'' and '' Look What I Found, Volume 21'' – which each included a re-release of one side of this single – "'Bongo Bongo' sounds like ilan's'On the Go'. . . The Chanters have remained a mystery band as I've never seen this 45 on any compilation." A song by

the Downtown Collection ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

called "Washington Square" was included on Volume 42 of the same series; Milan was the producer on this record. In a foray into yet another style of music, Milan wrote and arranged both sides of a single on Capitol for a

bubblegum pop Bubblegum (also called bubblegum pop) is pop music in a catchy and upbeat style that is considered disposable, contrived, or marketed for children and adolescents. The term also refers to a rock and pop subgenre, originating in the United States i ...

band called Ice Cream that was released in 1968.

Reissues and other sources

In 1983, Milan was re-introduced to the world in '' Pebbles, Volume 11'' of the LPs in the

. This was actually the first album in the series to be officially released by Bomp! and was the initial LP on their

label. This particular

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

track that features actual sounds of

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

s in the background that even Steppenwolf eschewed, while the latter is a passionate romp that has a similar gritty feel. "Shadows" – a thoughtful meditation on the remains of a failed romance – is a marvelous

masterwork that appears on the Pebbles

box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

s called ''

Pebbles Box ''The Pebbles Box'' is a 5-LP box set of mid-1960s garage rock and psychedelic rock recordings, primarily by American bands. Several years later, a similar 5-CD box set was released that was called the ''Trash Box''. The Pebbles Box purports to c ...

'' and ''

Trash Box ''Trash Box'' is a 5-CD box set of mid-1960s garage rock and psychedelic rock recordings, primarily by American bands. This box set is similar to the earlier ''Pebbles Box'' (a 5-LP box set) and includes almost all of the same recordings in tha ...

'' but is not otherwise available in the

on CD. However, "On the Go" appears on the '' Pebbles, Volume 10'' CD (this song also reprises the motorcycle sounds from "I'm a Leather Boy").

expressed hope that an album could be collected of his work some day — which finally occurred in 2009 when '' Hell Bent for Leather'' was released — adding that "what he did with

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter, and record producer. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world mus ...

songs has to be heard to be believed!". The latter is a reference to the Leather Boy

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

of Donovan's song "Jersey Thursday" on one of the rarest of Milan's singles. However, in addition to those in the

, Milan's recordings have been collected on several other garage-rock and psychedelic-rock collections. While not reaching the stratospheric level of artists like the Human Expression and the Outcasts (from Texas), the original Milan 45s sell on a regular basis for elevated prices. For instance, between 2004 and 2006, the "I'm a Leather Boy" single sold at auction on

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...

for $68, £15 and £27.

Death

Milan died on March 14, 1971, aged 29, in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, possibly from brain cancer.

Discography

Singles

As a recording artist

As Milan with His Orchestra: * "Santa's Doin' the Twist" b/w "Swing a Little Longer"; Migon (#1962-A/B) – 1962 As Milan: * "Innocence" b/w "Winter Time"; End (#1123) – 1963 * "I Am What I Am" b/w "Over and Over Again";

(#487) – 1964 * "Runnin' Wild" b/w "Angel's Lullaby"; 20th Century Fox (#552) – 1964 As The World of Milan: * "Cry, Lonely Boy" b/w "Luva-Luva";

ABC-Paramount ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels bef ...

(#10718) – 1965 * "Follow the Sun" b/w "I'm Cryin' in the Rain"; Brunswick (#55292) – 1966 * "One Track Mind" b/w "Shades of Blue"; Brunswick (#55298) – 1966 As Milan (The Leather Boy): * "You Gotta Have Soul" b/w "My Prayer";

Flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

(#100) – 1967 As The Leather Boy: * "I'm a Leather Boy" b/w "Shadows";

(#K-13724) – April 1967 * "On the Go" b/w "Soulin'"; MGM (#K-13790) – August 1967 * "Jersey Thursday" b/w "Black Friday";

Parkway A parkway is a landscaped thoroughfare.''"parkway."''Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster, 2002. http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com (14 Apr. 2007). The term is particularly used for a roadway in a park or ...

(#125) – 1967

As a producer, arranger and/or songwriter

Lou Christie: * "How Many Teardrops" b/w "You and I (Have a Right to Cry)";

Roulette Roulette is a casino game named after the French word meaning ''little wheel'' which was likely developed from the Italian game Biribi''.'' In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various groupings of numbers, the ...

#R-4504 – 1963 The American Beetles: * "Don't Be Unkind" b/w "You Did It To Me"; Roulette (#4550) – 1964 The Chanters: * "Bongo Bongo" b/w "Free as a Bird"; MGM (#K13750) – 1967 The Unclaimed: * "Memories of Green Eyes" b/w/ "Jingle Jangle";

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...

(#30430) – 1967 The Licorice Schtik: * "The Kissin' Game" b/w "Flowers Flowers"; Dot (#17131) – 1968

Albums

Studio albums

=As a recording artist

= * '' I Am What I Am'';

(#TFM 3149/#TFS 4149) — 1964

=As a producer, arranger and/or songwriter

= * ''

The Head Shop ''The Head Shop'' is an American psychedelic rock band from New York that released one eponymous album on Epic in 1969. The album cover features a swirling group of multi-colored (and numbered) boxes that surround a black-and-white image of a ...

'';

Epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film with heroic elements Epic or EPIC may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and medi ...

(#BN 26476) – 1969

Retrospective album

* '' Hell Bent for Leather''; LS (#LS-001LP) – 2009 (vinyl only)

Compilation albums

I'm a Leather Boy # '' Pebbles, Volume 11'' (LP) # '' Pebbles, Volume 10'' (CD) # ''

Pebbles, Volume 3 ''Pebbles, Volume 3'', subtitled The Acid Gallery, is a compilation album featuring American underground psychedelic rock musical artists from the 1960s. It is the third installment of the ''Pebbles'' series and was released on BFD Records in 1 ...

'' (CD – ESD Release) # '' Mayhem and Psychosis, Volume 1'' (LP) # '' Mayhem and Psychosis, Volume 1'' (CD) Shadows # '' Pebbles, Volume 11'' (LP) # ''

'' (LP Box Set) # ''

'' (CD Box Set) You Gotta Have Soul # '' Pebbles, Volume 11'' (LP) On the Go # '' Pebbles, Volume 10'' (CD) # '' A Journey to Tyme, Volume 5'' (LP) # '' Garagelands, Volume 1'' (LP) # '' Garagelands, Volume 1'' (CD) # '' Wavy Gravy series'' Soulin' # '' A Journey to Tyme, Volume 5'' (LP) # '' Garagelands, Volume 1'' (LP) # '' Garagelands, Volume 1'' (CD) One Track Mind # ''

Winning Sides, Volume 2 Winning may refer to: * Victory Film * Winning (film), ''Winning'' (film), a 1969 movie starring Paul Newman * ''Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman'', a 2015 documentary by Adam Carolla and Nate Adams Music * ''Winning'', an album by Ten Fo ...

'' (LP) # '' Quagmires, Volume 3'' (CD)

References

External links

Martin Winfree, "Milan", ''Issuu.com''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Milan 1941 births 1971 deaths Garage rock musicians American male pop singers American rock guitarists American male guitarists American rock singers American rock songwriters American male singer-songwriters American people of Serbian descent Singer-songwriters from New York (state) Psychedelic rock musicians 20th-century American singers 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from New York (state) 20th-century American male singers