Monocled Alchemist

THE MODELS – ’Bend Me, Shape Me’ / ’In A World Of Pretty Faces’ (MGM K13775) July 1967

The Models | Bend Me, Shape Me | (MGM) 1967 | According to Fuzz, Acid & Flowers this version of ’Bend Me, Shape Me’ by The Models was the first and after it flopped The American Breed covered it and had a massive hit record (released October, 1967). Now that’s a cryin’ shame cos apparently The Models were in fact a group made up of Vogue models.

I would have preferred to see a bunch a pretty long legged cuties lip-synching to this song on YouTube than the totally squaresville American Breed. Oh well, in my EXPO67 world I can dream about those swingin’ 60s chicks and what could have been.

This version of ’Bend Me, Shape Me’ has been psychedelicalized to the max. Producer Tom Wilson has set his controls to the heart of the sun and it’s a groovy freak-out.

The flip ’In A World Of Pretty Faces’ is a gentle psychedelic baroque ballad with harpsichord and strings ’n’ things.

Song writing partnership Scott English and Larry Weiss wrote ’Bend Me, Shape Me’ as well as other memorable songs such as ’Help Me Girl’ recorded by The Animals, ’Sweet Medusa’ by Bead Game, ’Hi-Ho Silver Lining’ by Jeff Beck and ’Pop Corn Double Feature’ by The Searchers.

Beautiful, Successful Models Challenge Field Of Recording

Not content with a successful career as models in New York, two beautiful girls, Susan Schell and Janice Pennington, have launched themselves on a recording career. They even sing about their career in “World Of Pretty Faces,” a ballad on their own MGM single.

The second number, “Bend Me, Shape Me” is more in the hard rock groove and Susan and Janice are now busy planning their first album. At the same time the ambitious girls are keeping busy trying to sell a television series to the networks.

“We’ve got a wonderful idea for a series.” Janice told us. “Naturally, we’d want to star in it.”

Janice who was born in Seattle, became interested in modelling when her family moved to Hollywood. “When I was fourteen i attended modelling school. I also studied drama and worked with drama coach Jay Adler.”

Janice got her first big break when she was selected as a dancer showgirl for the Barry Ashton production at Seattle’s World Fair. She was also chosen as Miss Seattle.

Susan says the formula for a successful model is rather simple. Be a skinny, ugly girl with buck teeth, be taller than all your teachers (in 6th grade!) and be lucky enough to outgrow all your awkwardness.”

Any ugliness or awkwardness that might have existed in Susan has long since disappeared. She is much in demand as a high fashion photographer’s model while Janice concentrates more in the television commercial area.

The Models | Bend Me, Shape Me | (MGM) 1967

The idea for The Models came from Susan. “Through my work I met a lot of models and decided to form a group. We auditioned for a trip to Paris last June and made it as part of a show called ‘Young America’ starring Liza Minelli. Besides being the least professional act, we were by far the worst. But we learned. We had to.

After we came back from Paris the size of the group got cut down to just Janice and me. We called all the recording companies we could think of. Our second appointment was with MGM and they signed us on. I think we’re lucky.”

“Models,” Janice told us, “learn to take disappointments. After all, you get sent out to audition for hundreds of jobs and you only get a very small percentage of them. When I dreamed of becoming a model I never thought the work was so hard. Looking for jobs is the toughest part, but the modelling itself is very demanding.

Janice has had a good deal of show business experience in addition to her modelling. She was in a show, “Chip Off The Old Block,” in Los Angeles which starred sons and daughters of famous persons. She followed than with a Las Vegas show with Eddie Fisher and then Jimmy Durante. In Jerry Lewis’ “The Family Jewels,” she played, naturally, the role of a fashion model.

The Models | Bend Me, Shape Me | (MGM) 1967

“My hopes now,” Janice confided , “are that along with success in the recording field I’ll get some night club engagements and some motion picture offers.”

Susan says, “modelling is a very unsteady business. I hope our television series gets underway. That will be nice and steady for a while.”

In the meantime their first single is out. Both girls are trying to be patient while waiting for results. They won’t sit and wait, however. After the interview Janice ran off to audition for a television commercial and Susan went to a meeting with an agent on their television series. (The Daily Independent, 19/10/67)