Category: 1960s

Rolling Stones – Monkey Man

Yeah, I’m a sack of broken eggs
I always have an unmade bed
Don’t you?

This song is a great album cut. The way I would describe the song?  It is the actual sound of sleaze, and that is a compliment. It was used well in Goodfellas, the 1990 movie, in a scene where the gangsters are trafficking cocaine. One of my favorite Stone songs. I always liked the Stones album cuts more than their hits. This is when they had the perfect producer (Jimmy Miller), the perfect guitar player (Keith Richards), and the perfect sound. This is the Stones I love, their golden period. 

What makes this song is Keith Richards’ riff, and it is menacing and on the prowl, practically alive in this song, stalking you outside your bedroom window. Only Keith could make a riff sound dangerous, and it builds up through the song. Richards laid down the main riff on a late-night jam, a hypnotic riff, with just enough space for Nicky Hopkins to work in his piano. Hopkins’ playing on this is greatness: melodic and sinister all at once. He reportedly improvised much of it, adding those runs that make the song snarl.

This song was on Let It Bleed, and it was recorded after Brian Jones was fired and before Mick Taylor replaced him. On Monkey Man, Keith Richards played electric and slide electric guitar, Bill Wyman played bass, and producer Jimmy Miller assisted drummer Charlie Watts on tambourine. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote “Monkey Man” as a tribute to Italian pop artist Mario Schifano, whom they met on the set of his movie Umano Non Umano! (Human, Not Human!).

This song is the Let It Bleed track I always come back to when I want to feel the Stones at their most human and feral. 

Monkey Man

I’m a fleabit peanut monkey
And all my friends are junkies
That’s not really true

I’m a cold Italian pizza
I could use a lemon squeezer
What you do?

But I’ve been bit and I’ve been tossed around
By every she-rat in this town
Have you babe?

But I am just a monkey man
I’m glad you are a monkey woman too

I was bitten by a boar
I was gouged and I was gored
But I pulled on through

Yeah, I’m a sack of broken eggs
I always have an unmade bed
Don’t you?

Well I hope we’re not too messianic
Or a trifle too satanic
But we love to play the blues

But well I am just a monkey man
I’m glad you are a monkey woman too
Monkey woman too babe

I’m a monkey man
I’m a monkey man
I’m a monkey man
I’m a monkey man
I’m a monkey
I’m a monkey
I’m a monkey
I’m a monkey
Monkey, monkey
Monkey

Monkey
I’m a monkey

Them – Gloria

Please pardon the personal story…but, you should be used to it by now, by the way I go on.  I hope I haven’t told this story before, but if I have…I apologize. This is just one of the songs we played. 

This song belongs right beside Louie Louie and Wild Thing as a staple of garage band rock. Three chords… E D A, and you are off to the races.  A beginner guitar player can emulate this song rather well. When I was in high school, the band I was in… played this song. We would play more challenging songs, of course, but this one always got a good response and participation from the crowd with the call-and-answer lyrics.

When I was a senior, we played in the “fall frolics” (rock bands, singers) in our high school gym, and I had a couple of friends who were curious/envious and wanted to know how it felt to play in front of people. We had been playing at parties and a bar (shhhh yea we were underage) by this time. What I did was show one of them this song on bass…it’s that easy… and the other one we handed a tambourine and told him to participate in the chorus.

For that one song, we called them up and they got to know how it felt. I ran into one of them a few years back, and he thanked me again. He said it was one of the scariest but best moments he ever had in high school.

Sorry for the detour… This song was by “Them,” which featured no other than Van the Man Morrison (who also wrote the song). It peaked at #93 in the Billboard 100 in 1965 and #71 in 1966.

Morrison wrote this song while fronting Them at the Maritime Hotel in Belfast, often using it as their closer, a song that could stretch to ten minutes or more depending on the crowd and Van’s mood. Recorded at Decca Studios in London, it was originally the B-side to Baby, Please Don’t Go. Ironically, this song would outlive its A-side by miles, becoming a rock ’n’ roll rite of passage for any band that could play an A, D, and E chord. Well…their version of Baby, Please Don’t Go is my definite version of the song.  

The song charted higher for The Shadows of Knight in 1966 at #10 on the Billboard 100, but this is the version I listen to. Finding Them at 18 led me to Van Morrison, which I have followed ever since. The first thing I did was order an album from the UK, which I still have with many of their hits. 

At this stage in their career, sometimes, some session musicians played on Them’s records instead of the actual band, although Van Morrison did the real singing. One of these session players was Jimmy Page, who played guitar on this song.

In the video below…is that a donkey they flash to? 

Gloria

Like to tell you ’bout my baby
You know she comes around
Just ’bout five feet-four
A-from her head to the ground
You know she comes around here
At just about midnight
She make me feel so good, Lord
She make me feel all right

And her name is G-L-O-R-I
G-L-O-R-I-A
Gloria!
G-L-O-R-I-A
Gloria!
I’m gonna shout it all night
Gloria!
I’m gonna shout it every day
Gloria!
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

She comes around here
Just about midnight
She make me feel so good, Lord
I want to say she make me feel all right
Comes a-walkin’ down my street
Then she comes up to my house
She knock upon my door
And then she comes to my room
Yeah, and she make me feel all right

G-L-O-R-I-A
Gloria!
G-L-O-R-I-A
Gloria!
I’m gonna shout it all night
Gloria!
I’m gonna shout it every day
Gloria!
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
So good
Gloria!
All right
Feels so good
Gloria!
All right, yeah

Yardbirds – Over, Under, Sideways, Down

The 1966 song begins loudly with a snake-charming-sounding riff by Jeff Beck. It jumps out of the turntable. I had one of the many Yardbirds greatest hits packages in the 1980s and became a fan. 

Jeff also plays the bass on this song. When you talk about the Yardbirds, you almost have to pick which Yardbirds you’re talking about. The Clapton Yardbirds? The Jeff Beck Yardbirds? The Page Yardbirds? They were a band in constant transition, always chasing the next sound (and guitar player). With Jeff Beck holding the guitar reins, they gave us one of their strangest and coolest singles.

From the opening guitar riff, you know you’re not in typical British Invasion territory. The tune was inspired by Middle Eastern scales. The band had been soaking up Indian and Eastern music around the same time the Beatles were dabbling in sitars. Instead of George Harrison’s spiritual leanings, though, the Yardbirds went for having a good time at all costs. 

The song was a group composition, something the Yardbirds often did to keep things fair. Beck’s guitar is the real star, but the whole band had a hand in shaping its feel. It was one of their last sessions with bassist Paul Samwell-Smith, who would leave shortly afterward to focus on production. Chris Dreja, their rhythm guitarist, has said the song captured the manic, party-heavy atmosphere of their lives at the time.

Over, Under, Sideways, Down peaked at #13 in the Billboard 100 and #10 in the UK in 1966. I must say it’s one of my all-time favorite titles.

Jim McCarty: “‘Over Under Sideways Down’ was about the situation of having a good time – a bit of decadence, really – in the ’60s. Cars and girls are easy to come by in this day and age, and laughing, drinking, smoking, whatever, till I’ve spent my wages, having fun.”

Jim McCarty: “On ‘Over Under Sideways Down’ I think we all put in our bit. I put in a tune, somebody else said, ‘How about the state of things at the moment, it’s all over the place, so it’s sort of over, under, Sideways, down.'”

Jim McCarty: “It’s very much up and down. Yeah, it was very much like a microcosm of a life, really. Very extreme, because we’d go from being on top of the charts and going to fantastic places and traveling to places like California that were just our dream after being in a sort of post-war London, which was rather dismal and rather miserable. Suddenly we were going to sunny California where things were happening and things were rich and there were lovely girls and cars and everything. From that to sitting all night in a bus driving to a gig and not being able to stop and feeling absolutely wretched from being so tired. And getting on each other’s nerves and arguing. (laughing) So it’s very much the extreme life.” 

Jeff Beck: “I actually didn’t have a guitar of my own, I was so hard up. The Yardbirds sort of sneaked Eric’s guitar out. He’d finished using the red Tele (Fender Telecaster)
and was using a Les Paul, so he didn’t care about the red Tele. The bands manager, said well, ‘You’d better use Eric’s guitar—we can’t afford to go out and buy one now.’ So I borrowed Eric’s for the first couple of gigs”.

Over, Under, Sideways, Down

(Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!)
Cars and girls are easy come by in this day and age.
Laughing, joking, dreams, weed smoking, till I’ve spent my wage.
When I was young, people spoke of immorality.
All the things they said were wrong are what I want to be.

(Hey!) Over, under, sideways, down,
(Hey!) I bounce a ball that’s square and round.
(Hey!) Over, under, sideways, down,
(Hey!) I bounce a ball that’s square and round.
When will it end? (When will it end?)
When will it end? (When will it end?)

(Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!)
I find comments ’bout my looks irrelativity.
Think I’ll go and have some fun, ’cause it’s all for free.
I’m not searchin’ for a reason to enjoy myself.
Seems it’s better done than argue with somebody else.

(Hey!) Over, under, sideways, down,
(Hey!) I bounce a ball that’s square and round.
(Hey!) Over, under, sideways, down,
(Hey!) I bounce a ball that’s square and round.
When will it end? (When will it end?)
When will it end? (When will it end?)

Jackie Wilson – (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher

There are so many versions of this song out there, and I like many of them… It’s that good a song. But, Jackie Wilson had a way of taking a song and turning it into pure energy, something bigger than rhythm and melody. When he recorded this song in 1967, he gave soul music one of its best anthems of pure joy. I can’t dislike this song. 

Jackie Wilson almost didn’t get this one. The song was originally cut by The Dells, but Brunswick producer Carl Davis didn’t think their version worked. The track sat on the shelf until Davis and arranger Sonny Sanders decided to hand it to Jackie. At the time, Wilson’s career was in a bit of a stall; this song was intended as a shot in the arm. Wilson thought it was a bit light at first, but when he started to sing it, they knew they had something great here. It was written by Raynard Miner, Gary Jackson, and Carl Smith.

Billy Davis secretly recruited members of Motown’s Funk Brothers, James Jamerson on bass, Richard “Pistol” Allen on drums, Robert White on guitar, guys who were technically under contract at Hitsville but were moonlighting for extra cash. Their tight groove gave this song that perfect sound. 

It was released as a single in August 1967, and it immediately reignited Wilson’s career. Critics hailed it as a perfect marriage of “gospel fire and pop.” And you know how some songs wear out with too many plays? This one doesn’t. Whether it’s on a movie soundtrack or my car radio, it still hits home and makes me smile.

The song peaked at #6 on the Billboard 100 in 1967.

(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher

Your love, lifting me higher
Than I’ve ever been lifted before
So keep it it up
Quench my desire
And I’ll be at your side, forever more

You know your love (your love keeps lifting me)
Keep on lifting (love keeps lifting me)
Higher (lifting me)
Higher and higher (higher)
I said your love (your love keeps lifting me)
Keep on (love keeps lifting me)
Lifting me (lifting me)
Higher and higher (higher)
Now listen

Now once, I was down-hearted
Disappointment, was my closest friend
But then you, came and it soon departed
And you know he never
Showed his face again

That’s why your love (your love keeps lifting me)
Keep on lifting (love keeps lifting me)
Higher (lifting me)
Higher and higher (higher)
I said your love (your love keeps lifting me)
Keep on (love keeps lifting me)
Lifting me (lifting me)
Higher and higher (higher)

I’m so glad, I’ve finally found you
Yes that one, in a million girls
And I whip, my loving arms around you
I can stand up, and face the world

Let me tell ya, your love (your love keeps lifting me)
Keep on lifting (love keeps lifting me)
Higher (lifting me)
Higher and higher (higher)
I said your love (your love keeps lifting me)
Keep on (love keeps lifting me)
Lifting me (lifting me)
Higher and higher (higher)

Now sock it to me
Hold me, the other woman
Keep my love going
Higher and higher
I said keep on lifting
Lift me up mama
Keep on lifting me
Higher and higher

Sonics – Psycho

I love classic garage rock music, and this is one of the bands that started that genre. This is why I love it, because it’s raw and unpolished music. Warts and all, it has spirit and drive. 

They formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1960. A  band of teenagers who didn’t care about technique and weren’t interested in following the normal pop/rock rules. They just wanted to be loud and dangerous.

The original lineup, Gerry Roslie, Larry Parypa, Andy Parypa, Rob Lind, and Bob Bennett, came together with one mission: to play harder and wilder than anyone else on the Pacific Northwest scene. The Kingsmen were in this scene as well with their hit Louie, Louie. The Sonics never cracked the national charts, but in the Pacific Northwest, they were very popular. They were on AM radio throughout the area and hit the joints and dance halls. 

Their first album was in 1965 called Here Come The Sonics!!!. The sessions were done at Audio Recording, Inc. in Seattle, a modest studio that had nowhere near the cutting-edge equipment of Abbey Road or other studios. That limitation helped make their sound. Engineer Kearney Barton placed the microphones farther away, letting the room’s natural reverb and bleed create a live sound. Barton sharpened edges rather than smoothing them.  That rough edge is exactly why the song still sounds so alive today. You can put it next to The Stooges, The Ramones, or Nirvana, and it fits right in.

Their debut album, Here Are the Sonics, was released in 1965 and is still a pre-punk landmark. The Sonics reunited in the 2000s with most of the original lineup, playing festivals and recording new material that still carried the old sound. 

Here is a reunited Sonics in 2015

Psycho

Whoa baby, you’re driving me crazyI said baby, you’re driving me crazyOh, well you turn me on, then you shut me downOh well, tell me baby, am I just your clown?PsychoOw, oh wow, baby, you’re driving me crazyI said I’m losing my mind, you treat me so unkindPsychoOw! Whoa!Ow, oh wow, baby, you’re driving me crazyI’m going out of my head, and now I wish I was deadPsychoWhoa baby, whoa you’re driving me crazyI’m going out of my head, now I wish I was deadWhoa, psychoWhoa, psychoWhoa, psychoWhoa, psychoWhoa, whoa

…

Status Quo – Pictures of Matchstick Men

I always had a soft spot for this song. It is a swirl of guitar phasing and a droning riff that seems tailor-made for the late 1960s.

Their manager, John Schroeder, who’d worked with Motown acts in the UK, booked studio time at Pye Records’ Marble Arch facility. The Pye studios were initially designed as a service for Pye Records, but also encouraged recording by outside artists. Schroeder not only produced the track but was also the one who encouraged Francis Rossi to push forward with this strange little song he’d written at home.

One of the fascinating things about Pictures of Matchstick Men is that it represents a “what if” moment in Status Quo’s history. Had they continued down this psychedelic path, you wonder how long it would have lasted. Instead, after a few more singles, they turned into a rocking boogie band. 

Listening today, the song feels like an anomaly. It’s not representative of the band’s long career, but it’s a classic slice of psychedelic pop that holds its own. It was the first taste of chart success, the beginning of a 50-year run, and yet it’s also the sound of a band that almost became something completely different.

This song’s riff will stick with you. Once the riff is up, it washes over you with a psychedelic feel. The song peaked at #12 on the Billboard 100, #8 in Canada, and #7 on the UK Charts in 1968. This was their only hit in America. One quirky detail: the inspiration for the lyric came from wallpaper. Rossi was sitting in the bathroom, staring at the bathroom wall, and saw patterns that reminded him of the artist L.S. Lowry’s “Matchstick Men” paintings.

 

Pictures Of Matchstick Men

When I look up to the skies
I see your eyes a funny kind of yellow
I rush home to bed I soak my head
I see your face underneath my pillow
I wake next morning tired still yawning
See your face come peeking through my window
Pictures of matchstick men and you
Mirages of matchstick men and you
All I ever see is them and you

[guitar intro]

Windows echo your reflection
When I look in their direction gone
When will this haunting stop
Your face it just wont leave me a-lone
Pictures of matchstick men and you
Mirages of matchstick men and you
All I ever see is them and you
You in the sky you with this guy you make men cry you lie
You in the sky you with this guy you make men cry you lie

Pictures of matchstick men, Pictures of matchstick…

Small Faces – You Need Loving

This song exemplifies why I like the Small Faces so much. I’ve been listening to this song for years, and I can’t believe it was made in 1966. It was at least a couple of years before its time. Jimmy Page was listening very closely. Steve Marriott was asked to join Zeppelin later on, but his manager put a stop to it. Robert Plant has said he was heavily influenced by Steve Marriott, and if you want proof, listen to this recording. This song was written by Willie Dixon, and I think Zeppelin listened to this version more than Dixon…because Whole Lotta Love came out of it. 

Looking back, this is more than just an album cut; it’s an early marker of what British rock would become. You can trace a direct line from this track to Zeppelin, Free, and all the blues-rock that followed. I always thought the Small Faces never got the credit they deserved. People in America only heard Lazy Sunday and Itchycoo Park because their manager would never let them tour the US. 

The Small Faces were a band that always played bigger than their small size. If the Small Faces had had a good or even decent manager, they might have had a longer career and be more remembered today. They had a couple of great songwriters, Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane. A superb drummer with Kenney Jones and keyboard player Ian McLagan. They were laying down some of the rawest R&B-inspired rock coming out of Britain. This song, on their debut album Small Faces, is a perfect example.

A YouTube comment on this song was crude and rude, but I endorse: Steve m*thaf*ckin’ Marriott. The ultimate rock & roll voice. 

You Need Loving

Woah you foolin’Come and get coolin’I’m gonna send you right back to school, alrightMake your way down the new side girlYou know how woman, you need lovin’, lovin’, alrightI know you need lovin’ you here, oh yeah, alright

That’s right, well I’ve been yearnin’Hey baby you’ve been burnin’We’ll have a fun time, alrightYou’ll get some lovin’Cause baby we’re gonna excite youDeep in your heart woman, you need lovin’, yeah,oh lovin’, alrightThat’s all you need, lovin’ baby, yeah, alright

Eeny-meeny-miney-moEeny-meeny-miney-moCan’t take it no moreI can’t monkey and I can’t dogCan’t do the monkey, yeahI said you know how to ponyMony-baloney, I took you to the flyerPassed me byOh rock your ponyMashed potatoSaid I want to show youI want to show youIt’s alright, it’s alright…

Woman you need loving, yeah

…

Dwight Yoakam – A Thousand Miles from Nowhere

A great single by Dwight Yoakam. I didn’t listen to much country in the 1990s. This one got my attention. I would say Steve Earle and Dwight Yoakam brought me back to country after hearing 1980s country. Those two artists had something substantial to offer and helped the country return to its roots, at least until Brooks arrived and took country music to hell.

I always liked Yoakam’s voice, a mix of Bakersfield twang and croon, which fits it perfectly. For me, this is Dwight at his peak, the product of the outsider cowboy image he made in the 1980s and 1990s. The album This Time had some great songs released from it. This song, Fast As You, and Ain’t That Lonely Yet. One thing I can say about Yoakam in this song is that he makes desolation sound beautiful.

The song peaked at #2 on the Billboard Country Charts and at #3 in Canada in 1993. The song was written by Yoakam and produced by Pete Anderson. The song was on Dwight’s album This Time. The album peaked at #4 in the Billboard Country Album Charts, #1 in the Canada RPM Album Charts, and #25 in the Billboard Album Charts.

Five singles were released from This Time. Each made the Country Top 40, and they all made the Canada top 5 Country in 1993-94.

The song was featured in two films, Red Rock West and Chasers.

Thousand Miles From Nowhere

I’m a thousand miles from nowhere
Time don’t matter to me
‘Cause I’m a thousand miles from nowhere
And there’s no place I want to be

I got heartaches in my pocket
I got echoes in my head
And all that I keep hearing
Are the cruel, cruel things that you said

I’m a thousand miles from nowhere
Time don’t matter to me
‘Cause I’m a thousand miles from nowhere
And there’s no place I want to be

Oh, I
Oh, I
Oh, I

Oh, I
Oh, I
Oh, I

I’ve got bruises on my memory
I’ve got tear stains on my hands
And in the mirror there’s a vision
Of what used to be a man

I’m a thousand miles from nowhere
Time don’t matter to me
‘Cause I’m a thousand miles from nowhere
And there’s no place I want to be

I’m a thousand miles from nowhere
Time don’t matter to me
‘Cause I’m a thousand miles from nowhere
And there’s no place I want to be

Oh, I

I’m a thousand miles from nowhere

I’m a thousand miles from nowhere

I’m a thousand
I’m a thousand

Beatles – Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except for Me and My Monkey

 I wrote this for Dave’s site for Turntable Talk. He wanted us to write about a song with an animal in the title or lyrics. 

This is the Beatles at their most caffeinated, most chaotic, and most cracked. It’s them turning up the thermostat on rock & roll just to see if the walls start to melt. I liked the chaos and music they put to this song. It’s intense and doesn’t let up throughout the song. It’s like a cousin to Helter Skelter, but hopped up on confusion. That said, the song is very tight musically underneath the chaos. This is yet another reason I love the White Album. You have this on the same album as Blackbird and Rocky Raccoon. The Beatles, more than many bands, could adapt to a style of music and play it well.

Lennon sounds giddy, high on something, probably Yoko, maybe drugs, definitely freedom. The monkey might be Yoko. It might be his own self-made madness. Or maybe it’s a giant middle finger to everyone trying to box him in. What was it about? John said he, Yoko, and Paul thought it was drugs. Whatever it was made an interesting recording that still grabs my ear. 

The Beatles began working on this song, which continued until 3 a.m. The session was not a keeper, and the tape was to be taped over (EMI saving money), but in 2018, while remastering the album, they found an alternative version of this song that was recorded on the first night. Someone didn’t tape over it. Geoff Emerick, the Beatles’ sound engineer, had said that they recorded this song and Helter Skelter at maximum volume in the studio, and it showed in the final recording. 

It has one of my favorite song titles of all time. Chaos reigns in this song, and Paul adds a great short bass run…not to mention a fire bell ringing throughout. Lennon once said it was inspired by something Maharishi Mahesh Yogi would say (Take off your clothes and jump in the water type enlightenment), but by the time it was recorded for the White Album in June ’68, John had already dropped the Maharishi and picked up Yoko Ono. 

The White Album was released in 1968 and peaked at #1 on the Billboard Album Chart, #1 in Canada, #1 in the UK, and #1 about everywhere else…and it would be #1 as well in Max’s heart. 

If you’re looking for one of the most purely energetic cuts in the Beatles’ catalog, something that draws a direct line to punk, garage, and all the future people who liked their rock sweaty and unfiltered, this is your monkey.

John Lennon:  About me and Yoko. Everybody seemed to be paranoid except for us two, who were in the glow of love.

Paul McCartney:  “He was getting into harder drugs than we’d been into and so his songs were taking on more references to heroin.  Until that point we had made rather mild, rather oblique references to pot or LSD.  Now John started to be talking about fixes and monkeys and it was a harder terminology which the rest of us weren’t into.  We were disappointed that he was getting into heroin because we didn’t really see how we could help him.  We just hoped it wouldn’t go too far.  In actual fact, he did end up clean but this was the period when he was on it.  It was a tough period for John, but often that adversity and that craziness can lead to good art, as I think it did in this case.”

Fats Domino covered this song.

Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey

Come on come on come on come on
Come on is such a joy
Come on is such a joy
Come on take it easy
Come on take it easy
Take it easy take it easy
Everybody’s got something to hide except for me and
My monkey.

The deeper you go the higher you fly
The higher you fly the deeper you go
So come on come on
Come on is such a joy
Come on is such a joy
Come on make it easy
Come on make it easy.

Take it easy take it easy
Everybody’s got something to hide except for me and
My monkey.

Your inside is out and your outside is in
Your outside is in and your inside is out
So come on come on
Come on is such a joy
Come on is such a joy
Come on make it easy
Come on make it easy
Make it easy make it easy
Everybody’s got something to hide except for me and
My monkey.

Turtles – You Baby

I was given the single Elenor as a kid, and since then, I’ve always had a soft spot for the Turtles. They never took themselves seriously and always seemed to have fun. Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman (later Flo and Eddie) could harmonize so well together, and those harmonies kept this song a step above garage rock. They were not going to be mistaken as the next pin-up stars in 16 magazine.

It’s almost comically simple, but that was the cool thing about mid-1960s pop music. You didn’t need a great plan; you just needed two and a half minutes adn a catchy tune. And with that soaring chorus, the Turtles sold it well. It’s a sound that would carry them through the next few years, although they would grow into more sophisticated pop music.

The band was formed by Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan in the early sixties. They were saxophone players who did whatever was trendy to make a living as musicians. They were also in the choir together in high school. They started off as an instrumental band, but with the Beatles and the British invasion, they soon switched to a rock and roll band with Howard Kaylan as lead singer. They hit with a Bob Dylan song called It Ain’t Me Babe released in 1965.

They were just getting started here, but they would end up with quite a career. I’m happy to say that I did see them, although in the ’80s with Flo and Eddie. 

This song was released in 1966 on the You Baby album. The song peaked at #20 on the Billboard 100 and #11 in Canada. The song was written by P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri. They would also write songs for the Grass Roots and the Association. 

Every time I post on The Turtles…I recommend watching their documentary… one of the most entertaining docs I’ve ever seen. If you have watched it…what do you think? It’s one of the funniest documentaries I’ve ever seen. 

You Baby

From the time I fall asleep‘Til the morning comes I dream aboutYou, babyAnd I feel all right‘Cause I know tonight I’ll be withYou, babyAnd who makes me feel like smilingWhen the weary day is through?

You baby, no-one but you, baby, nobody but youYou baby, no-one but you, baby, nobody but you

They say candy is sweetBut it just can’t compete withYou, babyYou’ve got everything I needAnd nobody can please likeYou do, baby (nobody but you)And who believes that my wildest dreamsAnd my craziest schemes will come true?

You baby, no-one but you, baby, nobody but youYou baby, no-one but you, baby, nobody but you

A little ray of sunshineA little bit of soulAdd just a touch of magicYou got the greatest thing since rock ‘n’ roll

You baby, no-one but you, baby, nobody but youYou baby, no-one but you, baby, nobody but youYou baby, no-one but you, baby, nobody but you

Impressions – People Get Ready

To my ears, this was always a hymn that doubled as a pop song. As smooth as you can get. After posting the Jerry Butler song this week, I wanted to hear some Impressions. It’s been covered by everyone from Jeff Beck and Rod Stewart to Bob Dylan, but the original remains untouchable.

The producer Johnny Pate understood that this song didn’t need horns blaring or big arrangements. The Impressions’ harmonies, Fred Cash and Sam Gooden’s voices around Curtis’s lead, were the orchestra, and it works perfectly. The roots of the song go back to Curtis’s church upbringing on Chicago’s North Side. He grew up playing guitar in gospel groups and listening to the Five Blind Boys of Alabama and the Soul Stirrers, where Sam Cooke had once stood at the mic.

The song was released just after the 1963 March on Washington and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. often spoke of “the train of freedom,” and Mayfield picked up that imagery and carried it into the studio. The track would be used by King himself at some rallies. It was released in 1965 and peaked at #14 on the Billboard 100 and #3 on the Billboard R&B Charts. 

Curtis Mayfield: “While I had written a few Gospel songs, what would be looked upon as Gospel, I called them more inspirational, such things as ‘People Get Ready, this is a perfect example of what I believe has laid in my subconscious as to the preaching of my grandmother, and most ministers when they reflect from the Bible.”

Curtis Mayfield: “It doesn’t matter what color or faith you have, I’m pleased the lyrics can be of value to anybody.”

Curtis Mayfield doing a live version.

People Get Ready

People get ready, there’s a train a comin’ 
You don’t need no baggage, you just get on board 
All you need is faith, to hear the diesels hummin’
Don’t need no ticket, you just thank the Lord 

So people get ready, for the train to Jordan 
Picking up passengers coast to coast 
Faith is the key, open the doors and board ’em 
There’s hope for all, among those loved the most 

There ain’t no room for the hopeless sinner 
Whom would hurt all mankind, just to save his own, believe me now
Have pity on those whose chances grow thinner 
For there is no hiding place, against the kingdom’s throne 

So people get ready there’s a train a comin’ 
You don’t need no baggage, you just get on board 
All you need is faith, to hear the diesels hummin’ 
Don’t need no ticket, you just thank the Lord

Jerry Butler – He Will Break Your Heart

I could place Jerry Butler on the turntable and drift away in a cloud full of soul. He was nicknamed “The Ice Man” for his cool, smooth delivery. He wasn’t a flashy guy, didn’t move like James Brown or shout like Wilson Pickett, but when he sang, like EF Hutton, everyone listened.

He grew up in Chicago’s Cabrini-Green projects, and like so many soul legends, it began in the church with gospel music. By the late 1950s, he teamed up with a young Curtis Mayfield to form The Impressions. Their 1958 single, For Your Precious Love was a template for modern soul, which he co-wrote with Arthur and Richard Brooks. It had a gospel foundation dressed up as a pop song. Jerry left the group in 1960, but his partnership with Mayfield would remain throughout his career.

His songs would be covered by everyone from Aretha to Otis Redding. He would also eventually become a Chicago politician. Few artists could claim hit records on Vee-Jay, Mercury, Motown, and Philadelphia International, while also serving as a Cook County Commissioner for over 30 years. The man’s career stretched across six decades.

This song was written by Jerry Butler, Calvin Carter, and Curtis Mayfield. Butler’s voice is calm, and he gives it effortlessly.. The song peaked at #7 on the Billboard 100, #1 on the R&B charts, and #9 in Canada in 1960. 

This song didn’t just stop with Butler. The song took on a second life in 1975 when Tony Orlando & Dawn covered it under the longer title “He Don’t Love You (Like I Love You).” That version actually hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Orlando may have had a bigger hit out of it, but Butler had the soul. 

I’m including a bonus song…Ain’t That Lovin’ You Baby, a duet with Betty Everett in 1964. They also had a #5 song together called Let It Be Me. According to Discogs, he released a total of 161 singles and EPs throughout his career, which lasted until 1983. Mr Butler passed away in February of this year at the age of 85 years old. 

He Will Break Your Heart

He don’t love you like I love you
If he did, he wouldn’t break your heart
He don’t love you like I love you
He’s tryin’ to tear us apart

Fare thee well, I know you’re leavin’ (I know you’re leavin’)
For the new love that you’ve found
The handsome guy that you’ve been dating, whoa
I got a feelin’ he’s gonna put you down, ’cause

He don’t love you like I love you
If he did, he wouldn’t break your heart
He don’t love you like I love you
He’s tryin’ to tear us apart

He uses all the great quotations
Says the things I wish I could say
Whoa, but he’s had so many rehearsals
Girl, to him it’s just another play
But wait
When the final act is over
And you’re left standing all alone
When he takes his bow and makes his exit
Girl, I’ll be there to take you home

He don’t love you (and he never will) like I love you
If he did, he wouldn’t break your heart
Oh, he don’t love you, girl, like I love you
He’s tryin’ to tear us apart

Whoa, he don’t love you

…

Louis Armstrong – What a Wonderful World

 I didn’t really listen to it until the 1980s when I saw Good Morning Vietnam. I’ve loved the song ever since. Sometimes a great song is a hit by a good performer. Sometimes a great performer makes a good song a hit. In this case… great meets great, and we have one for the ages. I can’t be a critic with this song…it’s about as perfect as you can get. 

This was completely out of step in 1968; it could have been sung in 1948, but it worked then as it does now. It was written by Bob Thiele (under the pseudonym George Douglas) and George David Weiss. The song was intended as a soothing counterpoint to the racial and political turmoil of the late 1960s. Some say the song was offered to Tony Bennet first, who reportedly turned it down; however, Weiss claims it was written specifically for Louis Armstrong.

Not such a wonderful world all of the time, but a wonderful song every time it is played. Not many songs can match the beauty of this recording. It only peaked at #112 in the Billboard Charts… but charted again in 1988 off the strength of the movie Good Morning Vietnam and peaked at #32 on the Billboard 100.

The song did peak at #1 in the UK in 1968, and Armstrong was the oldest male to ever top it at 66 years old. Eva Cassidy had a posthumous UK chart-topper. #1 UK hit with this song 11 months after she passed. Joey Ramone covered the song, and it was released posthumously. 

No matter how many weddings, graduations, and slow-motion movie montages have borrowed it since, the song never loses its sincerity.

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself what a wonderful world

I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself what a wonderful world

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
They’re really saying I love you

I hear babies crying, I watch them grow
They’ll learn much more than I’ll never know
And I think to myself what a wonderful world
Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world

James Brown – I Got You (I Feel Good)

This is another song I picked up from Good Morning Vietnam. James Brown releases enough energy in this song to light up a huge town. He kicks open the door like he always does. 

Browns band, the Famous Flames, were tight. When I say tight…I mean TIGHT. A band so tight they could lock into a groove like it was second nature. There was a reason for that, though. Brown wasn’t the type to just hit “record” and let it roll. He was a drill sergeant in pointy leather shoes, waving the band into the song.

He had a reputation for being a demanding taskmaster who expected perfection and discipline from his musicians. This extended to their appearance, punctuality, and performance, with fines imposed for any shortcomings. It paid off, though, in some of the best shows ever heard or seen. Brown’s process was obsessive. He’d run the song down once, stop halfway through, and demand another take.

What you hear is a LIVE take, not overdubbing, and you can tell from the excitement in the recording. When he recorded his songs, he was thinking of radio, but he would also think just as much of the stage presentation of it. He had all the bases covered. 

He had hits before, like “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag,” and this was the follow-up, but this one was a game-changer. It peaked at #3 on the Billboard 100, his highest charting song ever on the Billboard 100. It also spent 6 weeks at number 1 on the R&B Charts. 

This live version has Brown doing a medley of Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag and I Got You (I Feel Good)

I Got You (I Feel Good)

I feel goodLike I knew that I would, yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah, ohI feel good, baby, whoo!Like I knew that I would, yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah, ohSo good

I, I feel niceLike sugar and spice, yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah, ohI, I-I-I loveLike sugar and spice, yeahSo nice

I, I feel goodLike I said that I would, yeah-yeahWhoo!Lord, have mercy, good God, get downSo good, I

Get downBring it back

When I hold you in my armsI know I can’t do no wrongWhen I hold you in my armsI know I can’t do no wrongWhen I hold you, baby, in my armsYou know I can’t do no wrongAnd that my love won’t do you no harm

Hit meI feel goodHit me, baby, hit me, loveLike I know that I would, yeahSo good

Yeah, I feel niceLike sugar and spice, yeah-yeah-yeah-yeahI feel nice, yeah-yeah-yeah-yeahLike sugar and spiceSo nice

Da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da-daDa-da-da, goo-ga

Hit me, I feel goodLike I knew that I would, yeah-yeah-yeah-yeahI, I-I, whoo!Hit meSo good, hey-heyWhoo-ah!

…

Babe Ruth and The Beatles

This very well could be one of those posts that sounded good in thought but not as good in action. 

Strange title, huh? Two of my biggest interests growing up were Babe Ruth and The Beatles. An unlikely pair, but they caught my attention and started me down the path of researching and, most importantly, reading. I can be very obsessive about subjects. I probably would be diagnosed with something.  When I find out about someone or some event, it’s not enough to know the event, but I want to know why, where, and how. Maybe that is the reason I started to blog. On the blogs, if Dave mentions a music festival that has been long forgotten, I want to know. If Lisa shows a painting on her site, I want to know who did it and what inspired them. When Halffastcyclingclub mentions a little-known artist or song, I want to know more about them. 

I always pay attention to the comment section. That is why I blog. When all of you start commenting, I look up the bands you mention. CB, obbverse, M.Y.,  Warren, Jim, Randy, Matt, Christian, Clive, Phil, Nancy, and Colin (apologies to everyone I left off!) have supplied me with artists that I listen to on a normal basis. Just because I don’t post on them doesn’t mean I don’t listen to that band or artist. It might be months, but they will usually always pop up. Anyway, enough of this boring stuff…on to this other boring stuff. I guess I felt I had to set this up. 

When I was a kid, George Herman Ruth was one of my heroes. I’m not a Yankee fan (always have been a Dodger fan); in fact, I usually root against them (especially last November). Those  Red Sox and Yankee teams he was on are great to look back on from 1914 through 1935. His stats are unbelievable, and his personality was as big as his home runs. The man would not leave a kid behind waiting for an autograph. He did have bad habits; you could ask any brothel about him if they were still alive. 

I parallel my interest in Babe Ruth with my interest in the Beatles. It’s not just the stats of Babe’s career or the popularity of the Beatles. It was never about popularity. No, because I didn’t know how great they were until I started to read about them. It’s an incredible story they both have. To start with little hope of making it in life, hardly at all…much less gaining popularity worldwide… and end up owning the world. Babe came from a poorer background, but the Beatles’  meeting at the right place and time defied the odds. So many things could have happened, but both worked out.

Both were bigger than life. People would travel from miles around to see The Babe hit one out or strike out, and the Beatles drew their share of people as well. They both defined a generation and are still talked about decades and in Babe’s case, a century later. Both are known around the world. You could go almost anywhere in the 20s – 50s and mention Babe Ruth, and they would know exactly who you were talking about. Even now, his name is alive, and the average person has heard of him, and it’s the same with The Beatles. 

Maybe that is the reason I’m drawn to Big Star, The Replacements, and other lesser-known artists, and I like to spotlight them. Why did some get so big and others with a lot of talent didn’t? There are similarities between sports and music. Yes, you can be a one-hit wonder in both. The Kingsmen with Louie Louie and Mark Fidrych with one huge season. Both professions can make you a star or a goat. You could get on Bubblegum cards with both as well. 

There is one difference between music and baseball/sports. In baseball, if you produce, you WILL get noticed or remembered. You might not be a Hall of Fame player, but you will get remembered by people. In music, you can produce the greatest album or song, but if the record company doesn’t promote you…it doesn’t matter because people won’t hear you. You are judged by the charts, and as we have all seen, sometimes the charts are not always the best. Want proof of that? Look up Chuck Berry’s only number 1 song. 

If I had a time machine…I would go back to 1922 and watch Babe Ruth play, and 1961 to see The Beatles play. I would have loved to have sat in the smoky Hamburg club and to go to the Polo Grounds to grab a beer and a dog and watch the Babe.