Category: 1960s

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. 

Sir Douglas Quintet – She’s About a Mover

I’ve known this song since the 1980s, when I heard it many times on oldies channels at work. This Doug Sahm-written song has stuck with me through the decades. I thought about it recently when I ran across an ’80s or ’90s live version that he and keyboard player Augie Myers played. 

This song is a blend of Tex-Mex and garage rock, one of the best examples of 1960s garage rock. It’s bigger than the chart position suggests. It paved the way for the Tex-Mex sound to seep into rock, a little taste inside a pop single. Sixty years on, it still works.

It was 1964, the height of Beatlemania, and producer Huey P. Meaux had an idea. The British Invasion was cleaning up the charts, so why not package a bunch of Texas guys to look like they’d just flown in from England, but still sound like San Antonio? He slapped the name Sir Douglas Quintet on Doug Sahm’s new band, dressed them in matching suits, and let people assume they were another English import.

The band cut this song in Houston’s Gold Star Studios in late ’64. It was a fast, live-in-the-room recording session. Sahm had the riff for a while, but the groove came together when the drummer, Johnny Perez, locked into that hypnotic drum beat, pushing the song forward.

Augie Meyers’ organ was the hook. Huey Meaux knew the song’s repetitive, almost trance-like quality would make it stand out on the radio. The song peaked at #13 on the Billboard 100 and #15 in the UK in 1965. The song was named the number one Texas song by Texas Monthly. 

Doug’s voice has a Ray Charles-like sound, and they ended up with 3 top 40 songs and 4 songs in the Billboard 100.

I usually try to add live versions of the song in the era it came from, but I could not pass this one up…it’s just TOO good.  Doug Sahm and Augie Meyers are doing their thing in Austin, Texas, in 1975. I can’t stop listening to this version. Sahm had a great stage presence. 

She’s About a Mover

She was walking down the street
Looking fine as she could be, hey, hey
She was walking down the street
She’s looking fine as she could be, hey, hey
You know I love you, baby
Oh hear what is say, hey, hey

She walked right up to me
Said, “Hey, big boy, what’s your name?”
She walked right up to me
Said, “Hey, big boy, what’s your name?” Hey, hey
We had love and conversation
Oh yeah, what I say, hey hey

She’s about a mover
She’s about a mover
She’s about a mover
She’s about a mover
Hey, hey

She’s about a mover
She’s about a mover
You know I love you, baby
Oh yeah, what I say, yeah, hey

Now, she walked right up to me, talkin’ about me
She said, “Hey, big boy, what’s your name?”
Well, she walked right up to me
Said, “Hey, big boy, what’s your name?”
We had love and conversation
Oh yeah, what I say, hey hey

She’s about a mover
She’s about a mover
She’s about a mover
She’s about a mover, hey

Count Five – Psychotic Reaction

Another song that I found while listening to an oldies channel in the 1980s. This song reminds me of the Yardbirds in texture and feel. 

This band was a true one-hit wonder in 1966. When the singer-guitarist John Byrne was a freshman in college, his friend told him Psychotic Reaction would be a great name for a song. John had a melody in his head that day and wrote the song, but all of The Count Five contributed.

It was released in the summer of 1966 on the tiny Double Shot label. The single started getting airplay in California and then went national, climbing up the charts. Suddenly, these kids were lip-syncing on American Bandstand and touring with the Beach Boys and The Hollies, off-the-wall stuff for a bunch of guys who had barely been out of San Jose.

As fast as it blew up, it was over. The follow-up singles didn’t chart, the album (also called Psychotic Reaction) was rushed out and padded with covers, and by 1969, the band had quietly dissolved. Byrne went back to civilian life, and the rest scattered into day jobs. You know what, though? Of all the years I played, I would have gladly taken the role of a one-hit wonder. 

It peaked at #5 on the Billboard 100 and #3 in Canada in 1966. It is garage rock, psychedelic with some punk thrown in. The songwriting credits were Kenn Ellner, Roy Chaney, Craig “Butch” Atkinson, John “Sean” Byrne, and John “Mouse” Michalski. 

Psychotic Reaction

I feel depressed, I feel so bad
‘Cause you’re the best girl that I ever had
I can’t get your love, I can’t get a fraction
Uh-oh, little girl, psychotic reaction
(Shouted) And it feels like this!

I feel so lonely night and day
I can’t get your love, I must stay away
I need you girl, by my side
Uh-oh, little girl, would you like to take a ride, now
I can’t get your love, I can’t get satisfaction
Uh-oh, little girl, psychotic reaction

 

Bob Dylan – Positively 4th Street

Yes, I wish that for just one time you could stand inside my shoes, You’d know what a drag it is to see you

This song sent me down the path of being a Dylan fan. The raw, angry, emotional way Dylan spits out the lyrics sounds true. There’s no chorus. No bridge. Just verse after verse of contempt, all wrapped in a breezy organ and guitar.

The song never lets up…Bob just keeps hammering away at someone relentlessly. The song was rumored to be about people rather than one person. We will probably never know because I don’t see Dylan opening up about it. I always thought of this song as the sister song to Like a Rolling Stone. It, in fact, was the follow-up song to Like A Rolling Stone. It was a stand-alone single. 

But where Like A Rolling Stone is grand and sweeping, this song is really petty in the best possible way. This is a man lashing out at a specific circle of coffeehouse artists and Greenwich Village gatekeepers, likely in the folk community that once kissed his feet but now curses his loud amplifiers.

The beauty of this song is that it’s a protest song, but a personal one. It’s about betrayal, the smiling face that masks a knife in the back. It’s a story as old as you can get, and sung by a guy who was about to leave the folk scene in the rearview mirror.

There is a kind of glee to be had in hearing Dylan go full scorched-earth. This isn’t peace-and-love Bob, or even cryptic-poet Bob. This is “I-know-you-and-I-see-right-through-you” Bob. He’s less interested in making sense than in making you squirm. It’s brutal. 

The song peaked at #1 in Canada, #7 on the Billboard 100, and #8 in the UK in 1965.

Positively 4th Street

You’ve got a lotta nerve to say you are my friend
When I was down you just stood there grinnin’
You’ve got a lotta nerve to say you got a helping hand to lend
You just want to be on the side that’s winnin’

You say I let you down, ya know its not like that
If you’re so hurt, why then don’t you show it?
You say you’ve lost your faith, but that’s not where its at
You have no faith to lose, and ya know it

I know the reason, that you talked behind my back
I used to be among the crowd you’re in with
Do you take me for such a fool, to think I’d make contact
With the one who tries to hide what he don’t know to begin with?

You see me on the street, you always act surprised
You say “how are you?”, “good luck”, but ya don’t mean it
When you know as well as me, you’d rather see me paralyzed
Why don’t you just come out once and scream it

No, I do not feel that good when I see the heartbreaks you embrace
If I was a master thief perhaps I’d rob them
And tho I know you’re dissatisfied with your position and your place
Don’t you understand, its not my problem?

I wish that for just one time you could stand inside my shoes
And just for that one moment I could be you
Yes, I wish that for just one time you could stand inside my shoes
You’d know what a drag it is to see you

Shades of Blue – Oh! How Happy

This song brings back memories. It was released in 1966, but I heard it first in 1985 when I graduated and life was great…so it’s a ’60s song that reminds me of 1985. It was prom time, and after we left, with my white tuxedo with tails and a purple cummerbund, this came on the radio.  It will forever be linked to that moment in time for me. 

There’s a certain kind of record that arrives like a grinning stranger at your doorstep, all sunshine and tambourines and no agenda. This was written by the great Edwin Starr. This song is pure pop joy with a Motown sound. When he wrote this song, Starr was working for a Detroit record label that was eventually bought out by Motown. The song peaked at #12 on the Billboard 100 in 1966.

It doesn’t mess around. It goes straight to the chorus, like the song can’t wait to get to the part that matters. The lead vocal is flanked by a chorus of voices that sound like the world’s friendliest pep squad… cheering on a romance that actually worked out for once.

This was the only top ten hit for The Shades of Blue, who were a white Soul band from Detroit. The song came at a time when American Soul music influenced the British music industry, creating a genré called Northern Soul.

The lyrics won’t remind you of Bob Dylan or John Prine, but that doesn’t matter. They’d go on to release more singles, but none stuck like this one. Oh! How Happy is their legacy, and what a legacy to have: a song that never tries to be cool, only kind.

Oh How Happy

Do roo, do roo, do roo, do roo do… 

Oh how happy (you have made me)
Oh how happy (you have made me)
I have kissed your lips
A thousand times
And more times than i can count
I have called you mine
You have stood by me
In my darkest hours
Sing
Oh how happy (you have made me)
Oh how happy (you have made me)
Oh how happy (you have made me)
Oh how happy (you have made me)
In our years together
We’ve got stormy weathers
But our love has been so strong
For some how we carry on
Sing
Oh how happy (you have made me)
Oh how happy (you have made me), ooh, ooh
You brought joy
To my empty life, yeah
And all that was wrong
You made it right
Our love (our love)
Our love (our love)
Our love, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah…
Oh how happy (you have made me)
Oh how happy (you have made me)
Oh how happy (oh how happy)
Oh how happy (oh how happy)
Oh how happy, ooh… You…
You have made me (you have made me)
You have made me (you have made me)
You have made me (you have made me)

Who – Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy … album review

I bought this album right after I had bought Wholigans and Who’s Next. I wanted to know what their sixties output was like besides My Generation and I Can See For Miles. This compilation album was released in 1971; it wasn’t just a sampler of radio singles; it was a brash declaration of how The Who reached the top and what they broke along the way. Most of these songs did not reach the ears of Americans and Canadians in the 1960s. If Who’s Next was their grand gesture, Meaty Beaty was their rowdy scrapbook. The album is exciting!

In Canada and America, most people know the Who’s Next material and after as well. This album is the roots of the band. They stretched the limits of recording, trying new things in the studio, much like The Beatles did, but with a rawer result.

Rock in the mid to late sixties was changing, and what a diverse set of songs that you hear from that period. This is when Pete Townshend was turning teenage anxiety into rock mini-operas and Keith Moon was trying to demolish every drum kit in London. The title, reportedly referring to the four members themselves, Meaty (Roger), Beaty (Keith), Big (John), and Bouncy (Pete), is cheeky and self-mythologizing. And the tracklist? Nearly perfect. These singles are where Moon started to get his wild drumming reputation. He is everywhere in these songs, especially I Can’t Explain, making them different from other bands.

I have said that my favorite kind of band to watch live is the ones that you think will fall apart with any song they play, but they pull it between the lines without going over the cliff. They did that with these songs in the studio.

You’ve got I Can’t Explain, The Kids Are Alright, and Substitute up front, each one a case study in amphetamine, fueled mod rock. These aren’t songs that build; they explode right from the opening riff. Substitute, in particular, grabs your attention with the loud backing, but also the lyrics. Substitute could be The Who’s best single ever. And then I’m a Boy, Happy Jack, Pictures of Lily, you realize Pete was already leaning into story-song territory years before Tommy became a rock opera.

Magic Bus is a Bo Diddley-beat freakout that somehow makes a song about public transportation sound like a spiritual quest, or My Generation, the track that blew the doors off rock ’n’ roll. If that bass solo doesn’t rattle you, check your pulse. There’s a through-line here: Townshend’s fascination with identity, repression, rebellion, and guilt. These songs are electric in the best sense of the word.

Later Who albums might be deeper (Quadrophenia) or grander (Who’s Next), but this one is the sound of the band becoming The Who. Loud, brash, and already mythic. If you want to learn about The Who…this is a great starting point. 

…

Cream – I Feel Free

Bomp, bomp, bomp, bomp, bomp I feel free…Jack Bruce’s voice in this is great and sets the tone of the song. The song peaked in the UK at #11 in 1967. It’s Cream before they were CREAM, before the mountain-top solos and the molten lava blues.

The track kicks off with that cool a cappella intro, a call-and-response chant that suspends it mid-air. Then Jack Bruce’s bass drops in like a swinging anchor, thumping along with a walking groove that practically skips. The whole song feels like it’s walking a line between psychedelia and British pop, and it works. It’s a perfect single from a band that rarely, if ever, cared about making singles.

Cream wasn’t known for a lot of fun songs. White Room, Sunshine of Your Love, and others meant business, but this one is fun and a little pop. They didn’t have many of those, but they did have a few. Wrapping Paper, I’m So Glad, and my personal favorite, the wonderfully bizarre Anyone For Tennis, have a place in my heart. 

British poet Pete Brown helped the band write the lyrics. Brown, who was a beat poet, had worked with Baker and Bruce before. He also wrote lyrics to Sunshine Of Your Love and White Room. Eric Clapton played a borrowed Les Paul guitar on this track, as his Beano album guitar had been stolen during album rehearsals. It was plugged into a new, 100-watt Marshall amp.

Speaking of Clapton, he used what he called his “Woman Tone” on his guitar in this song. It was one of the first times he used it. He got it by turning the amp all the way up, boosting the treble, cutting the bass, and playing a sustained guitar note.

I Feel Free

Bomp, bomp, bomp, bomp, bomp
Bomp, bomp, bomp, bomp, bomp
I feel free
Bomp, bomp, bomp, bomp, bomp
I feel free
Bomp, bomp, bomp, bomp, bomp
I feel free
Bomp, bomp, bomp, bomp, bomp
I feel free
Bomp, bomp, bomp, bomp, bomp
I feel free
Bomp, bomp, bomp, bomp, bomp
I feel free
Bomp, bomp, bomp, bomp, bomp
I feel free
Bomp, bomp, bomp, bomp, bomp
I feel free
Bomp, bomp, bomp, bomp, bomp
I feel free

Feel when I dance with you,
We move like the sea.
You, you’re all I want to know.

I feel free.
I feel free.
I feel free.

I can walk down the street, there’s no one there
Though the pavements are one huge crowd.
I can drive down the road; my eyes don’t see,
Though my mind wants to cry out loud.

I, I, I, I feel free.
I feel free.
I feel free.

I can walk down the street, there’s no one there
Though the pavements are one huge crowd.
I can drive down the road; my eyes don’t see,
Though my mind wants to cry out loud,
Though my mind wants to cry out loud.

Dance floor is like the sea,
Ceiling is the sky.
You’re the sun and as you shine on me,

I feel free.
I feel free.
I feel free.

I, I, I, I

NRBQ – Stomp

The 1969 NRBQ self-titled debut album, released on Columbia Records, is a wonderfully scrappy introduction to a band that never played by the rules, even from the jump. This one caught my ear and never let go. I’m a newbie to the band, but I’ve listened to many of their albums and songs throughout their career in the past few months.

This is the beauty of blogs, everyone. When I first started, my foundation was the holy trinity of rock: the Beatles, the Who, and the Stones. I listened to more than them, of course, but now with all of your help, I’ve picked up on artists that I missed completely in real-time or the ones before I was aware or born. I love expanding my musical knowledge, and this band is part of that. It’s never too late to learn new/old music or movies for that matter. 

I believe that some of NRBQ’s greatest assets, such as eclecticism, unwavering artistic values, and humor, are also the reasons they never sold the millions of records they deserved. They are incredible musicians who have no problem being silly and loose as well.

While other bands at the time were chasing hits, studio trickery, and long jams, NRBQ (short for New Rhythm and Blues Quartet) decided to follow  Sun Records, Spike Jones, and Cecil Taylor, sometimes all in the same song. The album is a pre-punk, pre-power pop, pre-alt-country, pre-everything slab of glorious fun. There’s no single style to pin it down; it’s equal parts rockabilly, jazz, R&B, novelty, garage rock, and pure American musical mischief. One minute they’re playing jazz, the next they’re writing AM-radio pop that could’ve given Big Star a run for their money. In other words, if you want diverse music, NRBQ is the way to go. 

They were formed by pianist Terry Adams, guitarist Steve Ferguson, and drummer Frank Gadler, with the addition of bassist Joey Spampinato (originally Joey Spampanato) and drummer Tom Staley completing the lineup.

The album NRBQ peaked at #162 on the Billboard album charts. Stomp peaked at #122 on the Billboard 100 in 1969. The band has 24 studio albums, 14 live albums, and 15 compilation albums. Terry Adams, who formed the band, is still with them… to this day. 

Stomp

Everybody stomp, play it on the ground
Having lots of fun till the sun goes down
People got to know, miles and miles around
About the hidden secret of the stoppin’ so sound

Everybody stomp, play it on the ground
Having lots of fun till the sun goes down
Go and tell your friends, all about to stomp
They can tell there cousins and there mama and pa

And if you do refuse the rhythm my friend
Then you will have to miss the boat in the end
The biggest generation yet has come
But we got something for the old and young
And if you do refuse a+rhytum my friend
Then you will have to miss the boat in the end
You just might stop and stare and wonder why
But you’re just wasting time so come on try
(make it quick)

And if you do refuse a+rhytum my friend
Then you will have to miss the boat in the end
Everybody stomp, play it on the ground
Having lots of fun till the sun goes down
People got to know, miles and miles around
About the hidden secret of stoppin’ so sound
everybody stomp, everybody stomp
everybody stomp, everybody stomp
everybody stomp, everybody stomp
everybody stomp

…

Animals – House of the Rising Sun

I bought this 1964 single when I was 12 in 1979. On the B side was the wonderful Bring It On Home to Me. I became an Animals fan that day. Let’s talk about a song so soaked in sorrow, so drenched in drama, that it feels like a dark southern gothic fable set to tape.

This is a British band covering an old American folk ballad about a New Orleans house of ill repute, and somehow, they made it definitive. The song had already passed through Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, and Bob Dylan before it landed in the hands of The Animals. But it wasn’t until Eric Burdon opened his mouth that the song finally got its fangs. His voice is more of a howl than singing at times, and gives the song the oomph it needed. 

Historians have not been able to definitively identify The House Of The Rising Sun, but the two instances I have read about are these: 

1) The song is about a brothel in New Orleans. The House Of The Rising Sun was named after its occupant Madame Marianne LeSoleil Levant (which means “Rising Sun” in French), and was open for business from 1862 (occupation by Union troops) until 1874, when it was closed due to complaints by neighbors. It was located at 826-830 St. Louis St.

2) It’s about a woman’s prison in New Orleans called the Orleans Parish women’s prison, which had an entrance gate adorned with rising sun artwork. This would explain the “ball and chain” lyrics in the song.

The song peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, #1 in Canada, and #1 in the UK in 1964. 

More than anything, his song cemented The Animals as the most dangerous-sounding band to crawl out of the British Invasion. It wasn’t the pop of the Hollies or Herman Hermits. This was dark. Gritty. Adult. You believed every damn word.

The original lineup only recorded three albums, yet nevertheless managed to break out eight Top 40 hits between 1964 and 1966. Alan Price left in 1965, and John Steel the following year. Also in 1966, Chandler left to start managing artists, and he discovered Jimi Hendrix in Greenwich Village.

Eric Burdon: “I don’t think that The Animals got a chance to evolve. We were the first to admit that we took blues songs from American artists, but if the Animals had stuck together and worked together instead of worrying about who was getting all the money, we could have evolved more and come out with more music to be proud of.”

The B side on my single

House of The Rising Sun

There is a house in New Orleans
They call the Rising Sun
And it’s been the ruin of many a poor boy
And God I know I’m one

My mother was a tailor
She sewed my new blue jeans
My father was a gamblin’ man
Down in New Orleans

Now the only thing a gambler needs
Is a suitcase and trunk
And the only time he’s satisfied
Is when he’s on a drunk

Oh mother tell your children
Not to do what I have done
Spend your lives in sin and misery
In the House of the Rising Sun

Well, I got one foot on the platform
The other foot on the train
I’m goin’ back to New Orleans
To wear that ball and chain

Well, there is a house in New Orleans
They call the Rising Sun
And it’s been the ruin of many a poor boy
And God I know I’m one

McCoys – Hang On Sloopy

A relative gave me this single when I was around 7 or 8 years old, and I’ve been a fan ever since. It’s mid-sixties garage rock that was fronted by a great guitarist. 

This thing is raw, ragged, and ridiculously catchy. It’s also one of the most unlikely #1 hits of the mid-’60s. A teenage bar band out of Indiana fronted by a 16-year-old Rick Derringer (still using his birth name, Zehringer), drafted into the spotlight by producers looking for someone to finish off a half-assembled track. What they delivered was a rock ‘n’ roll time capsule.

They opened for a band called The Strangegloves, who were a group of producers who formed a band and had a hit called I Want Candy. The Strangegloves, an American band, told everyone they were from Australia and said they were shepherds who got rich by crossbreeding sheep. Yes, it was the sixties. They gave Rick and the Raiders (before they changed their name to the McCoys)a chance to record this song. 

It started life as “My Girl Sloopy,” a minor R&B single by The Vibrations in 1964. But the McCoys stripped it down to its most essential parts and cranked up the amp. By the time it hit the airwaves in 1965, it was an instant anthem for kids who didn’t have a lot of time for nuance.

The song peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100 and #5 in the UK in 1965. The McCoys were not one-hit wonders. They had another top 10 hit named Fever and a top 40 hit named Come On Let’s Go.

The song was written by Bert Berns and Wes Farrell. Bert Berns wrote many songs in the sixties and signed Van Morrison to his first solo contract. The name “Sloopy” most likely originated from Dorothy Sloop, a jazz singer from Steubenville, Ohio. Sloop, who died in 1998 at age 85, performed in the New Orleans area using the name “Sloopy.”

This video was done later than the song in 1975. The Dancer, Lisa Leonard Dalton, was surprised when her video went viral a few years ago. Here is a short bio of her. 

Hang On Sloopy

Hang on Sloopy, Sloopy hang on
Hang on Sloopy, Sloopy hang on

Sloopy lives in a very bad part of town
And everybody there tries to put my Sloopy down
Sloopy I don’t care what your daddy do
‘Cause you know Sloopy girl I’m in love with you
And so I’m singing

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Sloopy let your hair down girl, let it run down on me
Sloopy let your hair down girl, let it run down on me

Come on Sloopy, come on, come on
Come on Sloopy, come on, come on
Well, come on Sloopy, come on, come on
Well, come on Sloopy, come on, come on

Well it feels so good, come on, come on
You know it feels so good, come on, come on

Well shake it, shake it, shake it Sloopy, come on, come on
Well shake it, shake it, shake it yeah
Yeah

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Troggs – Wild Thing

I had an obsession with this band when I was a kid. I wanted to know everything about them, but back then, you could not search Google or find many any books on The Troggs. I did learn about the Trogg Tapes, which were hilarious! A friend of mine had a bootleg cassette of them in the 80s. It’s them in a session and probably breaking the record for the number and variations of f**k in a session. It probably has more than Scarface did with Pacino. It was better than many comedy albums I bought back then. “Put a Little Bit of F***ing Fairy Dust Over the Bastard!” It doesn’t get much rock and roll than that.

Some songs arrive like lightning. This song showed up like a Molotov cocktail tossed into the tea party of mid-’60s pop, three chords, one brain cell, and more raw tension than a teenage first kiss. This is pre-punk, garage rock, and sexual threat, all crammed into 2 minutes and 34 seconds of glorious slop. The opening chord staggers into the room like a drunk on a bender.

If you were in a garage band in the sixties…or now, you probably have played this song. This is the Troggs’ claim to fame in the history of Rock and Roll. They had other good songs, but nothing that had this much influence. The song is as raw as you could get at the time. It’s also a song like ‘Louie Louie’ that every garage band has played or at least tried to play once. 

Reg Presley, one of rock’s unlikeliest frontmen (a former bricklayer with a sneer in his voice), had just enough voice to get him through. They were not stocked with great talent, but they sounded raw, and they had songs that were tailored for them. Instead of excellent musical chops, they had enthusiasm and just enough talent to make it exciting. And it worked. 

The band combined a pop touch with a garage band style, resulting in two top ten songs and four songs in the Billboard 100. This song peaked at #1 on the Billboard 100, #2 in the UK, and #2 in Canada in 1966.

Many people will remember the Jimi Hendrix version at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. Comedian Sam Kinison also did a version in 1989. The first version of this song was by The Wild Ones in 1965. Secondhandsongs shows 153 versions of this song. 

Chip Taylor (whose real name was Chip Voight) was a singer-songwriter who wrote this song. Taylor is the brother of actor Jon Voight and the uncle of Angelina Jolie. He has made a fortune on this song because it’s been in countless movies and TV Shows. He also wrote Angel of the Morning. 

Chip Taylor: “I was on the floor laughing when I was through. Wild Thing’ came out in a matter of minutes. The pauses and the hesitations are a result of not knowing what I was going to do next.”

Reg Presley: “There was a guy there (at DJM) called Dennis Berger, who had a heap of demos on his desk. The first one I picked up was Wild Thing. I took a look at the lyric sheet and read: ‘Wild Thing-you make my heart sing-you make everything groovy.’ It seemed so corny, I thought, Oh my God, what are they doing to us! Then I played Chip Taylor’s demo- just guitar and him- and it was incredible. The other boys all liked it too. Chip Taylor later told us our version was just what he wanted.”

Wild thing

You make my heart sing
You make everything groovy
Wild thing
Wild thing, I think I love you
But I wanna know for sure
Come on and hold me tight
I love you

Wild thing
You make my heart sing
You make everything groovy
Wild thing

Wild thing, I think you move me
But I wanna know for sure
So come on and hold me tight
You move me

Wild thing
You make my heart sing
You make everything groovy
Wild thing
Oh, come on, wild thing
Shake it, shake it, wild thing

Monkees – Pleasant Valley Sunday

I’ve heard so many times, How can you listen to the Monkees? Easy answer: I might not have gotten into rock music as early as I did without them. They inspired me later on to pick up a guitar and join a band. When I was 7, I saw the reruns of the Monkees in the mid-seventies. They made being in a band look fun. Of course, they never told you about the backbiting and the politics. The thing is, they made some good pop singles.

Also, the claim that they didn’t play their instruments, which was true on their first two albums, until their third album on. No, the hits didn’t dry up after they started to play their own instruments. This one they played on. Michael Nesmith was a singer-songwriter and guitarist before joining; Peter Tork was the best musician in the band at the time and played with Stephen Stills, Davy Jones played drums before joining, and Mickey Dolenz was a guitar player. Micky soon learned drums and possessed one of the best pop voices of the sixties. Mickey and Mike did the vocals on this song, singing together. 

This song was written by Goffin and King about suburbia. The Monkees started to play their own instruments on the Headquarters album. Pleasant Valley Sunday was released from that album and peaked at #3 in the Billboard 100, #11 in the UK, and #1 in Canada in 1967. The song had a rebellious streak. It is a dig at suburban life, but a really catchy dig. 

The Monkees were hot in 1967. Their show was on the air from 1966 to 1968. The opening guitar lick of this song was based on The Beatles’ “I Want To Tell You.” They influenced at least a couple of generations of musicians.

Peter Tork: “A notion of mine that I was real pleased with took over at one point, and that was having two guys sing in unison rather than one guy doubling his own voice. So you’ve got Mike, who was really a hard-nosed character, and Micky, who’s a real baby face, and these two voices blended and lent each other qualities. It’s not two separate voices singing together, it’s really a melding of the two voices. Listening to that record later on was a joy.”

One more thing…Jan Wenner of Rolling Stone Magazine can stuff it.  

Here is a demo by Carol King

“Pleasant Valley Sunday”

The local rock group down the street
Is trying hard to learn their song
They serenade the weekend squire
Who just came out to mow his lawn
Another pleasant valley Sunday
Charcoal burning everywhere
Rows of houses that are all the same
And no one seems to care See Mrs. Gray, she’s proud today
Because her roses are in bloom
And Mr. Green, he’s so serene
He’s got a TV in every room
Another pleasant valley Sunday
Here in status symbol land
Mothers complain about how hard life is
And the kids just don’t understand Creature comfort goals, they only numb my soul
And make it hard for me to see
(Ah ah ah) ah thoughts all seem to stray to places far away
I need a change of scenery Ta ta ta ta, ta ta ta ta
Ta ta ta ta, ta ta ta taAnother pleasant valley Sunday
Charcoal burning everywhere
Another pleasant valley Sunday
Here in status symbol land
Another pleasant valley Sunday (a pleasant valley Sunday)
Another pleasant valley Sunday (a pleasant valley Sunday)
Another pleasant valley Sunday (a pleasant valley Sunday)
Another pleasant valley Sunday (a pleasant valley Sunday)
Another pleasant valley Sunday (a pleasant valley Sunday)