1960s – Page 78 – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

The Box Tops – Cry Like A Baby

It’s hard to believe this voice was coming out of a teenager… An 18-year-old Alex Chilton was singing this song with the Box Tops. The song peaked at #2 in the Billboard 100, #15 in the UK, and #3 in Canada. The band was successful with 10 songs in the top 100, 2 top ten songs and a number 1 (The Letter). The Box Tops were formed in Memphis in 1967. The most famous member would be future Big Star member Alex Chilton.

A bizarre personal story…a one in a million shot…Back in the 90s, I was trying to call a musician that was recommended but I dialed a wrong number and talked to Gary Talley the guitar player for the Box Tops for a good 45 minutes. He laughed and told me that I at least reached a guitar player but in Nashville, my odds were good getting one with any number. He was really cool and we talked about guitars and his touring etc… He was giving guitar lessons at the time. He told me that other people have called him looking for Garry Tallent the bass player for Bruce Springsteen.

Cry Like a Baby was recorded at American Studios in Memphis, which was run by Chips Moman, who produced the album. Spooner Oldham played keyboards on the track in addition to co-writing it.

The Box Tops still tour with members Gary Talley and Bill Cuningham.

From Songfacts

This was written by Dewey “Spooner” Oldham and Dan Penn, whose other credits together include the hits “I’m Your Puppet” (a hit for James and Bobby Purify), “It Tears Me Up” (a hit for Percy Sledge) and “A Woman Left Lonely.” In our interview with Spooner Oldham, he told the story: “Dan Penn was producing The Box Tops, he had produced a #1 record called ‘The Letter.’ He recorded that in Memphis when he and I were both living there. So he calls me one day and says, ‘Spooner, will you help me try to write a song for Alex (Chilton) and the Box Tops?’ He says, ‘People have sent me some songs, but I don’t think any of them really fit. This record company’s been after me about three weeks for a follow-up single.’ And I said, ‘Sure, I’ll try to help write a song for you.’ We got together in the studio one evening with our little notes of our five or ten best ideas or titles. We each pulled one out and they eventually ended up in the garbage.

The next morning, we were getting tired and decided to call it quits. So we locked the doors, turned out the lights in the studio, turned off the instruments. Went across the street to the little café – name was Porky’s or something like that – and ordered breakfast. I remember I was putting my head on the table. There was nobody in there, I don’t think, but us and the cook. And I tiredly put my head on the table, my arms under my head, just for a few seconds. Then I lifted my head up and looked at Dan, and because I felt sorry that he needed another record and we were no help to each other that evening, I said, ‘Dan, I could just cry like a baby.’ And he says, ‘What did you say?’ And I said it again. He says, ‘I like that.’ So unbeknownst to me, we had a song started. By the time we walked across the street back to the studio, we had the first verse written. When we got in, he turned on the lights and the recorder, and I turned on the Hammond organ. He got his guitar out, and we put on a quarter-inch 90-minute tape, and we finished the song, just recorded a demo.

The next day or two in the morning Alex Chilton came in. I was so tired and weary I didn’t know what we had, if anything. I played the little tape demo to him and he smiled and reached out his hand, shook my hand, so I knew he liked it, anyway. And then we got in the studio and recorded it shortly, I think that day.”

In the tale of this song, a man previously took for granted the love of his caring, faithful girlfriend. He regrets how terribly he had treated her now that she’s left him. He now cries every time he sees her or even thinks of her.

This song is notable for its electric sitar, which was provided by guitarist Reggie Young.

It wasn’t worth crying over, but this song stayed at US #2 for two weeks, kept out of the top spot by Bobby Goldsboro’s “Honey,” which held the top spot for five weeks.

Cry Like A Baby

When I think about the good love you gave me
I cry like a baby
Living without you is driving me crazy
I cry like a baby
Well, I know now, that you’re not a plaything
Not a toy, or a puppet on a string

As I look back on a love so sweet
I cry like a baby
Oh, every road is a lonely street
I cry like a baby
I know now that you’re not a plaything
Not a toy, or a puppet on a string

Today we passed on the street, and you just walked on by
how my heart just fell to my feet
and like a fool I began to cry

Oh when I think about the good love you gave me
I cry like a baby
Living without you is driving me crazy
I cry like a baby
I know now,that you’re not a plaything
I cry like a baby, cry like a baby

Every road is a lonely street
I cry like a baby, cry like a baby
Living without you is driving me crazy
I cry like a baby, cry like a baby
I cry, I cry, I cry

Monkees – (I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone

I’ve been posting some garage band songs lately…the style of this one is close. Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart wrote this but intended it for Paul Revere And The Raiders. Boyce and Hart also wrote The Monkees hits “Last Train To Clarksville” and “Valleri.” The song peaked at #20 in the Billboard 100 in 1967. This was a B side to I’m A Believer.

The Monkees influenced many to pick up an instrument and want to be in a band. I am one of those people…I watched them in syndication and from them, I found The Beatles. They made it look fun and exciting…of course, they didn’t show the egos and the arguments but that is alright. Artists such as Michael Stipe and Andy Partridge have talked about how the Monkees influenced them.

The Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame seems determined to keep them out which I think is wrong considering some of the bands that they have in there. The influence alone should get them in… Not to mention 20 songs in the Billboard 100, 6 top ten hits, and 3 number 1’s.

Here is a post by Blackwing on the subject.

From Songfacts

This is about a girl who walks all over a guy who decides he’s not going to take it any more.

Monkees drummer Micky Dolenz sang lead, and was the only Monkee to perform on the song. In their early years, The Monkees songs were usually recorded by top session musicians. The Monkees had a popular TV show where their songs (including this one) aired, which helped them climb the charts.

In their later years, The Sex Pistols performed this with Sid Vicious singing lead.

British group The Farm had their first hit with a 1990 remake of this called “Stepping Stone.”

Monkees keyboardist/bass guitarist Peter Tork on the song’s relevance: “The songs that we got [in the ’60s] were really songs of some vigor and substance. ‘(I’m Not Your) Stepping Stone’ is not peaches and cream. It comes down hard on the subject, poor girl. And the weight of the song is indicated by the fact that the Sex Pistols covered it. Anybody trying to write ”60s songs’ now thinks that you have to write ’59th St. Bridge.’ [Sings] ‘Feeling groovy!’ Which is an okay song, but has not got a lot of guts. ‘Stepping Stone’ has guts.”

(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone

I-I-I-I-I’m not your steppin’ stone
I-I-I-I-I’m not your steppin’ stone

You’re trying to make your mark in society
You’re using all the tricks that you used on me
You’re reading all them high-fashion magazines
The clothes you’re wearing, girl, they’re causing public scenes

I said, I-I-I-I-I’m not your steppin’ stone
I-I-I-I-I’m not your steppin’ stone

(No!)

Not your steppin’ stone
Not your steppin’ stone

When I first met you, girl, you didn’t have no shoes
But, now you’re walking around like you’re front-page news
You’ve been awful careful ’bout the friends you choose
But, you won’t find my name in your book of “who’s-who?”

I said, I-I-I-I-I’m not your steppin’ stone
(No, girl, not me!)
I-I-I-I-I’m not your steppin’ stone

(No!)

Not your steppin’ stone
I’m not your steppin’ stone

Not your steppin’ stone (step-step-steppin’ stone)
Not your steppin’ stone (step-step-steppin’ stone)
Not your steppin’ stone (step-step-steppin’ stone)
Not your steppin’ stone (step-step-steppin’ stone)

No, girl, I’m not your steppin’ stone
Not your steppin’ stone (step-step-steppin’ stone)
Not your steppin’ stone (step-step-steppin’ stone)

Where The Wild Things Are

I loved this book as a kid. When I see it I feel like I’m 7 again. The book came out in 1963. I did know some kids that the book really scared but I thought it was great. As a kid, it was entertaining and enlightening. The other reason I liked it? The leading character’s first name. When I grew up, “Max” was not a common name. If Max was in trouble…the entire school knew what Max they were talking about since I was the only one. It was nice sharing my name with a little boy who could tame monsters.

An animated film was made in 1975 and a feature-length movie in 2009. My son Bailey and I saw it and we enjoyed it together but he knew the book because he enjoyed it as well.

Where The Wild Things Are was written by Maurice Sendak about a boy named Max who “makes mischief” in his house and is sent to bed without supper all while wearing a wolf suit. His room is then transformed into a magic forest and Max sets off in his very own boat to the Land of the Wild Things.

Once there he tames the monsters by staring into their yellow eyes without blinking. Knowing they have met their master, they acclaim Max King of all Wild Things and celebrate their wildness together. When Max decides to return to where someone loves him best of all, the wild things try all their wiles to persuade him to stay, but he sails back into the warmth of his own room and finds supper waiting.

When the book came out some were not happy. Many psychologists thought that the book would be very traumatizing for young children. Sendak has said that the book was banned by libraries for a couple of years and then it started to be accepted and took off.

The Electric Prunes – I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)

1960’s garage band music with a Psychedelic edge. This group came from Los Angeles first named The Sanctions and in 1966 renamed themselves to the Electric Prunes. The first two hit singles, “I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)” and”Get Me To The World On Time.” were on their first album (The Electric Prunes).

The entire album and those two songs were recorded in late summer and the fall of 1966. They were released before Christmas of 1966 and climbed up the Billboard charts very slowly. The first hit, “Too Much To Dream” peaked in February of ‘1967 at #11 in the Billboard 100.

the song was written by Annette Tucker and Nancie Mantz.

I had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)

Last night your shadow fell upon my lonely room
I touched your golden hair and tasted your perfume
Your eyes were filled with love the way they used to be
Your gentle hand reached out to comfort me
Then came the dawn
And you were gone
You were gone, gone, gone

I had too much to dream last night
Too much to dream
I’m not ready to face the light
I had too much to dream
Last night

The room was empty as I staggered from my bed
I could not bear the image racing through my head
You were so real that I could feel your eagerness
And when you raised your lips for me to kiss

Came the dawn
And you were gone
You were gone, gone, gone

Oh, too much to dream
Oh, too much to dream
Too much to dream last night
Oh, too much to dream

Herman Hermits – I’m Into Something Good

They were not considered the coolest British invasion band but a very popular and successful one. The song peaked at #13 in the Billboard 100 and #1 in the Uk in 1964. They had a total of nineteen songs in the Billboard 100, 11 top ten songs, and two number one hits. Hard to believe that the Who opened up for them in 1967 when the Who came to America.

This was Herman’s Hermits’ only song to reach #1 in the UK, where it remains their best-known song. After it hit, the band went on tour in America with Dick Clark’s Caravan of Stars and made inroads in that country, where they were welcomed as part of the British Invasion. In 1965, they had two Billboard 100 #1 hits: “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter” and “I’m Henry The VIII, I Am.”

This song is a very good pop song.

From Songfacts

The prolific songwriting team of Gerry Goffin and Carole King wrote this bubbly song, which is about meeting someone new and falling into puppy love. Goffin and King wrote popular songs for The Monkees, Aretha Franklin, The Crystals and many others.

This was originally recorded by Earl-Jean (real name Ethel McCrea), who had been the lead singer the R&B vocal group The Cookies. Her version, titled “I’m Into Somethin’ Good,” peaked at #38 in the US in August 1964.

The song became a British Invasion hit when producer Mickie Most heard Carole King’s demo and decided to cover it with a new British group, Herman’s Hermits. The band was fronted by 16-year-old John F. Kennedy lookalike Peter Noone, who had already appeared in the British TV soap Coronation Street. Released as the group’s first single, it went to #13 in America in December 1964, but proved wildly popular on their home turf, reaching #1 in the UK in September.

The youthful exuberance on this track is very real, as the band was very excited to be cutting a single. “On the record you can hear the enthusiasm of this band who believe that they were going to be heard on the radio,” lead singer Peter Noone said in his Songfacts interview. “When the record was on the radio, we thought we’d made it.”

Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, both future members of Led Zeppelin, played on some Herman’s Hermits songs, but not this one. Someone outside the band played the piano on this track, but other than that it was the actual band.

Peter Noone recorded a new version of this song for the 1988 movie The Naked Gun. Herman’s Hermits recorded for Cameo/Parkway Records, which was bought by Allen Klein, who as a result owned the rights to the songs Herman’s Hermits recorded for the label as well as tracks by The Animals, Chubby Checker, Bobby Rydell and many others. Klein rarely allowed the songs he controlled to be used in movies.

Before Allen Klein’s death in 2009, Peter Noone explained to the Forgotten Hits newsletter how this song ended up in The Naked Gun: “They wanted to use the song in the movie. Klein declined because he knew he would have to account to somebody (e.g. Paramount). As he hates to account to anyone, because he can’t cheat and lie, he had to say no. The producers and writers contacted me with their story and I said, ‘I can make a copy exactly like the original and nobody will be able to tell the difference.’ When it was done, we decided you couldn’t tell the difference so we took off the guitar and replaced it with a whahhoo machine so Klein wouldn’t say it was the original. It’s a tragedy that Klein and his witless children stop all the product they control from being in movies so they can steal ALL the money. A question: Have any songs under the Klein families’ control ever been used in movies, commercials, TV shows? Doesn’t anyone ever wonder why? Surely there would be one Herman’s Hermits song, one Animals song. One song from a Cameo / Parkway artist, one Sam Cooke song, just one, that would work in a motion picture?”

The hand claps on this song were done into the same microphone where Peter Noone was recording his vocal. They aren’t always in time to the beat, but that’s part of the appeal of the recording, as it’s unrefined, but jubilant.

Donny Osmond recorded this when he was 13 for his second album To You With Love, Donny in 1971. Other artists to record it include Graham Parker and The Surfaris.

In late 2005, this was used in a commercial for Yogurt Blast Cheerios.

I’m Into Something Good

Woke up this mornin’ feelin’ fine
There’s somethin’ special on my mind
Last night I met a new girl in the neighbourhood, whoa yeah
Somethin’ tells me I’m into something good (Somethin’ tells me I’m into somethin’)

She’s the kind of girl who’s not too shy
And I can tell I’m her kind of guy
She danced close to me like I hoped she would (she danced with me like I hoped she would)
Somethin’ tells me I’m into something good (Somethin’ tells me I’m into somethin’)

We only danced for a minute or two
But then she stuck close to me the whole night through
Can I be fallin’ in love
She’s everthing I’ve been dreamin’ of
She’s everthing I’ve been dreamin’ of

I walked her home and she held my hand
I knew it couldn’t be just a one-night stand
So I asked to see her next week and she told me I could
(I asked to see her and she told me I could)
Somethin’ tells me I’m into something good (somethin’ tells me I’m into somethin’)
Somethin’ tells me I’m into something good (somethin’ tells me I’m into somethin’)
To something good, oh yeah, something good (somethin’ tells me I’m into somethin’)
To something good, something good, something good

Yahtzee History

Saturday night we had some guests over and we all played Yahtzee. It was the first time I’d played it since the 1980s at least. I had a good time and looked up the history of the game.

In 1954 a wealthy anonymous Canadian couple, who called it The Yacht Game invented the game to play aboard their yacht. They would invite friends and teach them. In 1956 they went to toy maker Edwin S. Lowe to make some games for their friends as Christmas gifts. Edwin liked the game so much that he wanted to buy the rights to it. The couple sold the rights for the amount of making them a 1000 games.

When Edwin released it on the market it did not do well in it’s first year. The game could not be explained easily in an ad. It had many nuances and interesting things about it and they can only be understood if the game was actually played.

Finally, Edwin tried a different approach. He started to have Yahtzee parties hoping to spread the news about the game by word of mouth. That started to work and Yahtzee got extremely popular. During Lowe’s ownership alone, over forty million copies of the game were sold in the United States of America as well as around the globe

In 1973 Milton Bradley Company bought the E.S. Lowe Company and in 1984 Hasbro, Inc. acquires the Milton Bradley Company and the game.

The origins of the game came from the Puerto Rican game Generala and the English games of Poker Dice and Cheerio. Another game, Yap, shows close similarities to Yahtzee.

http://www.twoop.com/yahtzee/

Betty Everett – The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s In His Kiss)

Betty really belts out this song. The song peaked at #6 in the Billboard 100 and #34 in the UK in 1964. I have heard this song most of my life but never knew who sang it.

This was written by Rudy Clark, whose credits include “Good Lovin'” and “Got My Mind Set On You.” Like “The Shoop Shoop Song,” the original artist didn’t fare very well on those, but cover versions were very successful “Good Lovin'” was first released by The Olympics in 1965, but it was The Young Rascals 1966 cover that went to #1. “Got My Mind Set On You” was originally by James Ray in 1962, but George Harrison’s 1987 cover was the hit, also going to #1.

Everett was reluctant to record this song at first and was urged by Calvin Carter, her producer to do so. She felt that the song would flop.

From Songfacts

How can you tell if a guy loves you? His eyes can deceive, and you certainly can’t trust what he says, so the only way to for sure is with his kiss, which acts as a kind of truth serum for love, according to this song.

Merry Clayton, a onetime Raelette who can be heard on the Rolling Stones song “Gimme Shelter,” was the first to release this song, issuing it in 1963. Ramona King from the doo-wop group The Fairlanes was the next to release it, but it wasn’t until Everett’s 1964 cover that the song finally hit.

The song has spanned decades with more successful cover versions. In 1975, Linda Lewis reached #107 US; James Taylor’s younger sister, Kate Taylor, hit #49 US in 1977; Cher took it to #33 US in 1991. Her version also hit #1 in the UK.

The song received its name on account of backup vocals that sing, “shoop shoop shoop…” These gibberish words are heard every time the line, “If you wanna know if he loves you so,” is sung.

Everett’s version stood out in large part because of the xylophone solo – something you don’t hear very often in a pop song.

This was Everett’s third single and her first Top 40 hit. Her first failed to chart and her second single (“You’re No Good,” later covered by Linda Ronstadt) climbed only to #51 on the Hot 100. Everett recorded for Vee Jay Records, a Motown competitor.

The backup vocals were provided by a local female group from Chicago called the Opals.

Cher recorded her version for the 1990 film Mermaids, which she starred in along with
Winona Ryder and Christina Ricci. Both Cher’s version and Everett’s version are featured in the film, but Cher’s is the only version featured on the soundtrack. >>

Cher’s version was produced by Peter Asher, a longtime Beatles associate who produced most of James Taylor’s and Linda Ronstadt’s hits. In a Songfacts interview with Asher, he explained: “The song was already chosen. They were going to sing it in the movie anyway and they just wanted a proper record version for the end titles.

That one I cut without Cher’s input entirely. I just did it the way I thought she should do it. I had one conversation with Cher about the key, and that was it. And then she showed up and it was all done. She liked it, luckily.”

Salt-N-Pepa got their shoop on in 1993 for their song “Shoop.” In 1995, Whitney Houston appropriated the Shoop for her song “Exhale (Shoop Shoop),” which was a massive hit from the movie Waiting To Exhale.

Linda Rondstadt sometimes performed this song, and sang it on an episode of The Muppets, with Kermit the Frog the object of her affection.

Betty Everett – The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s In His Kiss)

Does he love me, I want to know
How can I tell if he loves me so

(is it in his eyes) Oh no, you’ll be deceived
(is it in his eyes) Oh no, he’ll make believe
If you want to know if he loves you so
It’s in his kiss (that’s where it is, oh yeah)

(or is it in his face) Oh no, it’s just his charm
(in his one embrace) Oh no, that’s just his arm
If you want to know if he loves you so
It’s in his kiss (that’s where it is)
Oh oh, it’s in his kiss (that’s where it is)

Oh oh oh, kiss him and squeeze him tight
And find out what you want to know
If it’s love, if it really is
It’s there in his kiss

(how ’bout the way he acts) Oh no, that’s not the way
And you’re not listenin’ to all I say
If you want to know if he loves you so
It’s in his kiss (that’s where it is)
Oh yeah, it’s in his kiss (that’s where it is)

Whoa oh oh, kiss him and squeeze him tight
And find out what you want to know
If it’s love, if it really is
It’s there in his kiss

Zombies – Care of Cell 44

This is one of my favorite pop songs of the 1960s. The vocals are reminiscent of the Beach Boys. It’s a sunny and bright song musically about a guy writing to his girl…in prison. The song doesn’t express or explain why she is in prison just that he will be with her when her stay is over.

The song is arranged beautifully. with the vocal only arrangements, You can hear Brian Wilson and Paul McCartney’s influence on this recording. Chris White’s (Zombies bass player) bass playing is phenomenal in this song.

It is on the album Odessey and Oracle, one of the best albums of the sixties. The hit song on the album is Time of the Season but it is full of great songs. It charted a year after it was released at #95 in the Billboard 200 album charts in 1969. The song/album would be on my desert island list.

Rod Argent (Zombies keyboard player) talks about recording the album: We didn’t think, “Oh, we have to do something like Pet Sounds,” but I think it did inspire us. There wasn’t any attempt to copy the elements that were in there so much as the creativity of it and the feeling of pushing pop music forward into different spaces than it had been before. I think Pet Sounds was an indirect influence, as it was on Sgt. Pepper. Since then, Paul McCartney’s said the same thing; they felt they had to do something similar.

Rod Argent wrote the song.

From Songfacts

This uptempo pop symphony is about a guy writing to his girlfriend, who is in prison. The group’s main songwriter Rod Argent recalled in Mojo Magazine February 2008: “It just appealed to me. That twist on a common scenario, I just can’t wait for you to come home to me again.”

This was released as the first single from the Odessey And Oracle album in the UK, but it didn’t make the charts, which surprised vocalist, Colin Blunstone. He said in his Songfacts interview, “It’s a wonderfully crafted song. I think it’s got an incredible lyric, wonderful chord sequence and a great melody – it’s just got everything.”

Blunstone was shocked by the song’s lack of popular appeal, as he thought it was a very commercial track. Soon after it stiffed, the band split up and Blunstone took a job in the Burglary Department of a London insurance office. Bassist Chris White admitted: “We tried to promote ‘Care Of Cell 44,’ but there was no positive reaction. It was downhill from then on.” However the band did have a surprise hit in America a year after their breakup when “Time Of The Season” peaked at #3.

Care of Cell 44

Good morning to you, I hope your feeling better baby
Thinkin of me while you are far away
Counting the days until they set you free again
Writing this letter, hoping your okay
Sent to the room you used to stay in every Sunday
The one that is warmed by sunshine every day
And we’ll get to know each other for a second time
Then you can tell me about your prison stay

Feels so good your coming home soon

Its gonna be good to have you back again with me
Watching the laughter play around your eyes
Come up and getcha, saved up for the train fare money
Kiss and make-up and it will be so nice

Feels so good your coming home soon

Walking the way we used to walk
And it could be so nice
Talkin the way we used to talk
And it could be so nice

Its gonna be nice to have you back again with me
Watching the laughter play around your eyes
Come up and getcha, saved up for the train fare money
Kiss and make-up and it will be so nice

Feels so good your coming home soon

(Ahh ahh ahh ahh ahh ahh
Ahh ahh ahh ahh ahh ahh)

Feels so good your coming home soon

The Knickerbockers – Lies

I had forgotten about this song and band. The Knickerbockers were basically a Beatles knock-off band. This is not a great song by any means but at the time some people passed this off as a rare unheard Beatles track. For me and I’m sure many more, it is not too hard to tell this is not a Beatles track…but it’s a fun song.

The Knickerbockers were found Jerry Fuller in a bar in Albany, New York and he relocated them to Los Angeles and they soon became a popular club attraction.

This was their only top forty recording… it peaked at #20 in the Billboard 100 in 1966.

Lies

Lies, lies, you’re tellin’ me that you’ll be true
Lies, lies
That’s all I ever hear from you
Tears, tears

I shed a million tears for you
Tears, tears
And now you’re lovin’ someone new
Someday I’m gonna be happy

But I don’t know when just now
Lies, lie-ies
A-breakin’ my heart
You think that you’re such a smart girl

And I’ll believe what you say
But who do you think you are, girl
To lead me on this way hey
Lies, lies

I can’t believe a word you say
Lies, lies
Are gonna make you sad someday
Some day you’re gonna be lonely

But you won’t find me around
Lies, lie-ies
A-breakin’ my heart
Someday I’m gonna be happy

But I don’t know when just now
Lies, lie-ies
A-breakin’ my heart
You think that you’re such a smart girl

And I’ll believe what you say
But who do you think you are, girl
To lead me on this way hey
Lies (ah!), lies (yeah baby)

I can’t believe a word you say
Lies, lies
Are gonna make you sad someday
Some day you’re gonna be lonely

But you won’t find me around
Lies, lie-ies
A-breakin’ my heart
I said, baby, now (breakin’ my heart)

Oh, yeah, you’re still breakin’ my heart (breakin’ my heart)

Steppenwolf – Magic Carpet Ride

The dynamic of the intro really works in this song. The wall of distortion and feedback starts and then it snaps into the song. It is incredibly catchy and bouncy for being a harder song. This song was on Steppenwolf’s “Second” album and the song peaked at #3 in the Billboard 100 in 1968. I’ve always liked John Kays voice and he also has a great stage presence.

Steppenwolf had 13 songs in the Billboard 100 and 3 top ten hits. This was the second big hit for Steppenwolf. “Born To Be Wild” was released a few months earlier. They were on different albums, with “Born To Be Wild” on their first and this on their second, although this was released well before their second album came out.

From Songfacts

The group wrote this based on the bass line their bass player, Rushton Moreve, came up with. The only words he had written for it were, “I like my job, I like my baby.” Lead singer John Kay wrote the rest of the lyrics. He got inspired when he put the demo tape in a home stereo system he bought with the royalties from their first album. That’s where he came up with the line, “I like to dream, right between my sound machine.”

John Kay of Steppenwolf teamed up with Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five to do a 1988 rap-rock remake of this song. It was similar to the Run-D.M.C./Aerosmith mash-up of “Walk This Way,” which was released in 1986.

This song first appeared in a 1968 movie called Candy by the French director Christian Marquand. It starred Ewa Aulin, Marlon Brando, Richard Burton, Ringo Starr and Charles Aznavour. It’s an extremely strange movie, definitely of it’s time and kind of gives context to the song, intended or not. The movie was based on a popular counterculture novel.

In 2004, this was used in the “America Revolution” series of Chevy car commercials.

Magic Carpet Ride

I like to dream, yes, yes
Right between the sound machine
On a cloud of sound I drift in the night
Any place it goes is right
Goes far, flies near
To the stars away from here

Well, you don’t know what
We can find
Why don’t you come with me little girl
On a magic carpet ride

Well, you don’t know what
We can see
Why don’t you tell your dreams to me
Fantasy will set you free

Close your eyes now
Look inside now
Let the sound
Take you away

Last night I hold Aladdin’s lamp
So I wished that I could stay
Before the thing could answer me
Well, someone came and took the lamp away

I looked
Around
A lousy candle’s all I found

Well, you don’t know what
We can find
Why don’t you come with me little girl
On a magic carpet ride

Well, you don’t know what
We can see
Why don’t you tell your dreams to me
Fantasy will set you free

Close your eyes now
Look inside now
Let the sound
Take you away

Gentrys – Keep on Dancing

This song was written by Allen A. Jones and Willie David Young. The Gentrys were from Memphis and best known for this 1965 hit which rose to the Top 10 and became a million seller. It’s not a great song but it’s a fun one.

The song is interesting for the fact that it is actually one short recording repeated, to stretch the record out to the length of the typical pop single of its day. The second half of the song, after the false fade, beginning with Wall’s drum fill, is the same as the first. Many modern recordings today more or less use the same trick on songs.

Keep on Dancing peaked at #4 in the Billboard 100 in 1965. The Gentrys did manage an appearance in the 1965 movie It’s a Bikini World and kept releasing singles up to 1971 but they had no other top 40 single and the Gentrys disbanded.

I owned a Gentrys single before…they did a cover of Neil Young’s Cinnamon Girl which I placed below the Keep On Dancing video. It’s odd that its the same group that did Keep On Dancing.

I’m not a wrestling fan at all but this band included Jimmy Hart who would make his name as a bad guy wrestling manager.

Keep On Dancing

I keep on dancin’ (keep on)
Keep on doin’ the jerk right now
Shake it, shake it, baby
Come on & show me how you work

Yellin’ in motion
Keep on doin’ the locomotion, yeah
Don’t worry, little babe
Shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it, yes!

[Chorus:]
Keep on dancin’ & a-prancin’ (ah)
Keep on dancin’ & a-prancin’ (ah)
Keep on dancin’ & a-prancin’ (ah)

[Organ Solo]

I keep on dancin’ (keep on)
Keep on doin’ the jerk
Shake it, shake it, baby
Come on & show me how you work

Yellin’ in motion
Keep on doin’ the locomotion, yeah
Don’t worry, little babe
Shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it, yes!

[Chorus:]
Keep on dancin’ & a-prancin’ (ah)
Keep on dancin’ & a-prancin’ (ah)
Keep on dancin’ & a-prancin’ (ah)

[Organ solo, temporarily fadin]

I keep on dancin’ (keep on)
Keep on doin’ the jerk right now
Shake it, shake it, baby
Come on & show me how you work

[Chorus:]
Keep on dancin’ & a-prancin’ (ah)
Keep on dancin’ & a-prancin’ (ah)
Keep on dancin’ & a-prancin’ (ah)

[Fade]

Beach Boys – God Only Knows

Simply a beautiful song written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher. Carl Wilson sings lead on this song and it is an incredible vocal performance…one of the best in my opinion. The song peaked at #39 in the Billboard 100 and #2 in the UK in 1966. I still have a hard time believing it only made it to #39.

The Beatles’ “Here, There And Everywhere” was inspired by this song. John Lennon and Paul McCartney heard Pet Sounds at a party and went back to Lennon’s house to write it. Paul McCartney once called “God Only Knows” “The greatest song ever written.”

“God Only Knows” was voted 25th in Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time,

From Songfacts

Brian Wilson wrote this song with Tony Asher, who was an advertising copyrighter and lyricist that Wilson worked with on songs for Pet Sounds. This song reflects Wilson’s interest in spirituality, and it was a big departure from previous Beach Boys songs that dealt with girls, cars and surfing. Wilson explained to Goldmine in 2011: “Tony Asher and I tried to write something very spiritually. It’s got a melody similar to the song (recites lyric to ‘The Sound Of Music’), ‘I hear the sound of music…’ (Sings lyrics to ‘God Only Knows’) ‘I may not always love you…’ It was similar to it. Tony came up with the title ‘God Only Knows.’ I was scared they’d ban playing it on the radio because of the title but they didn’t.”

This song is considered a Beach Boys classic, but it only managed to scrape the Top 40 in the United States. That’s because it was released as a B-side, partly because of fear that radio stations would refuse to play a song with “God” in the title. In the liner notes to the reissued Pet Sounds album, Tony Asher explained, “I really thought it was going to be everything it was, and yet we were taking some real chances with it. First of all, the lyric opens by saying, ‘I may not always love you,’ which is a very unusual way to start a love song.”

Carl Wilson handled lead vocals on this track. Not long after the song was released, he said, “At present our influences are of a religious nature. Not any specific religion but an idea based upon that of Universal Consciousness. The concept of spreading goodwill, good thoughts and happiness is nothing new. It is an idea which religious teachers and philosophers have been handing down for centuries, but it is also our hope. The spiritual concept of happiness and doing good to others is extremely important to the lyric of our songs, and the religious element of some of the better church music is also contained within some of our new work.”

The famous French horn on this song was played by Alan Robinson, who appeared on the scores for many films, including The Sound of Music and The Ten Commandments. He got the call for the session because he could play without music written out. Brian Wilson sang him the horn line he had in mind, and Robinson played it by ear using a glissando technique suggested by Wilson.

Brian Wilson would sometimes introduce this as “the first song in the world to have God in the title.” God is common in hymns and standards (“God Bless America,” “Nearer, My God, to Thee”), and was rare in pop songs, but not unprecedented; in 1961 Johnny Burnette made #18 US with “God, Country And My Baby.”

Brian Wilson planned to sing the lead vocal himself, but decided that his brother Carl was better suited for the track. “I was looking for a tenderness and a sweetness which I knew Carl had in himself as well as in his voice,” said Brian.

This was featured at the end of the 2003 romantic comedy Love Actually. It was also used in the films Boogie Nights (P.T. Anderson’s drama about the porn industry) and Saved (a 2004 drama about a Christian high school, where there are two versions, both covers). >>

This was the theme song for the first three seasons of the HBO television series Big Love, which ran 2006-2011.

Asked by The Guardian which Beach Boys song took the least effort to write, Brian Wilson replied: “I wrote ‘God Only Knows’ in 45 minutes. Me and Tony Asher.”

In Al Kooper’s tell-all autobiography Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards, Kooper talks about his evening visiting Brian Wilson only a week before Pet Soundshit the streets: “Brian played a test-pressing of the record, jumping up and stopping cuts in the middle and starting them over to emphasize his points. He was very proud of his accomplishment, maybe even a little show-offish, but I wasn’t about to argue. Do you remember the first time you heard ‘God Only Knows’?”

A cover version of the song was broadcast simultaneously across BBC television and radio channels on October 7, 2014 to launch BBC Music. The new adaptation featured Brian Wilson himself as well as various guest stars including Pharrell Williams, Sir Elton John, Lorde, Chris Martin, Stevie Wonder, One Direction and Dave Grohl.

Brian Wilson first toyed with the idea of titling this “Fred Only Knows” before settling on “God Only Knows.”

John Legend and Cynthia Erivo played this to bookend the “In Memorium” segment at the Grammy Awards in 2017. There were an extraordinary number of musical passings that year, David Bowie, Prince and George Michael among them.

God Only Knows

I may not always love you
But long as there are stars above you
You never need to doubt it
I’ll make you so sure about it
God only knows what I’d be without you

If you should ever leave me
Though life would still go on, believe me
The world could show nothing to me
So what good would livin’ do me
God only knows what I’d be without you

God only knows what I’d be without you

If you should ever leave me
Though life would still go on, believe me
The world could show nothing to me
So what good would livin’ do me
God only knows what I’d be without you

God only knows what I’d be without you

The Foundations – Baby Now That I’ve Found You

I first heard this song on an oldies station in the 80s. This song peaked at #11 in the Billboard 100 and #1 in the UK in 1968. The Foundations were a British Soul band that was active between 1967 to 1970.

When this was first released there appeared to be little enthusiasm for the single until BBC’s newly founded Radio 1 began to play it. The song got onto the station’s playlist mainly because they wanted to avoid any records being played by the pirate radio broadcasters, so they looked back at recent releases that the pirates had missed.

From Songfacts

The song’s co-writer Tony Macaulay recalls in 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh: “I woke up that morning with a stinking headache and when I got to the studio and heard The Foundations, I thought they were pretty terrible. I decided my hangover was to blame, and so I gave them the benefit of the doubt. The only song I could think of was something John McLeod and I had had for some time, ‘Baby Now That I’ve Found You.’ I didn’t have a lot of faith in the song but they recorded it with a lot of energy and I learned a lot from making that record.” It went on to become an international hit.

Clem Curtis, the lead vocalist of The Foundations recalls in the same book “Tony Macaulay gave us 2 songs. One was ‘Let The Heartaches Begin’ and the other was ‘Baby Now That I’ve Found You’ and we chose ‘Baby Now That I’ve Found You.’ Long John Baldry recorded the other one and that knocked us off the top.”

This was used in the 2001 film Shallow Hal.

This was the first song by a multiracial band to top the UK singles chart.

A cover version by Alison Krauss was featured in the 1997 Australian comedy, The Castle.

Baby Now That I’ve Found You

[Chorus]
Baby, now that I’ve found you
I can’t let you go
I’ll build my world around you

I need you so
Baby, even though you don’t need me
You don’t need me.

[Chorus]

Baby, baby, since first we met (doot-doot)
I knew in this heart of mine (I want to tell you, doot-doot)
The love we had could not be bad (doot-doot)
Play it right and bide my time

Spent a lifetime looking for somebody
To give me love like you
Now you’ve told me that you want to leave me
Darling, I just can’t let you.

[Chorus: x2]

Spent a lifetime looking for somebody
To give me love like you
Now you’ve told me that you want to leave me
Darling, I just can’t let you.

[Repeat Chorus]

Young Rascals – Good Lovin’

Great song by the Young Rascals and also covered by a number of artists. The song peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100 in 1966. This song was written by Rudy Clark and Arthur Resnick. It was originally recorded in 1965 by The Olympics, a novelty/doo-wop group who had hits with “Peanut Butter,” “Western Movies” and “Hully Gully.”

Felix Cavaliere of The Young Rascals was listening to a New York Soul station when he heard The Olympics version. The Rascals liked it and played a sped-up version at their live performances. They recorded the song for Atlantic Records, and although the group did not like the outcome, famed producer Tom Dowd loved the rawness of it and that version was released, becoming a huge hit.

From Songfacts

The Young Rascals added the famous half spoken/half sung “One! Two! Three!” count-in, which was by Cavaliere.

According to Rolling Stone magazine, The Young Rascals were surprised by the success of this track. Felix Cavaliere admitted, “We weren’t too pleased with our performance. It was a shock to us when it went to the top of the charts.”

This was The Young Rascals first hit. They went on to achieve seven US Top 30 hits before becoming The Rascals in 1968. They disbanded in 1972 after recording five more American Top 30 songs.

Good Lovin

1-2-3-
(Good lovin’ )
(Good lovin’ )
(Good lovin’ )

I was feelin’ so bad,
I asked my family doctor just what I had,
I said, “Doctor,
(Doctor )
Mr. M.D.,
(Doctor )
Now can you tell me, tell me, tell me,
What’s ailin’ me?”
(Doctor )

He said, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)
Yes, indeed, all you really need
(Is good lovin’)
Gimme that good, good lovin
(Good lovin’)
All I need is lovin’
(Good lovin’)
Good lovin’, baby.

Baby please, squeeze me tight (Squeeze me tight)
Now don’t you want your baby to feel alright? (Feel alright)
I said Baby (Baby) now it’s for sure (it’s for sure)
I got the fever, Baby, Baby, but you’ve got the cure
(You’ve got the cure)

I said, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)
Yes, indeed, all I really need
(Is good lovin’)
Gimme that good, good lovin
(Good lovin’)
All I need is lovin’
(Good lovin’)
Good lovin’, baby.

Beatles – The Night Before

This is a hidden gem that was never released as a single in America. I first heard this on the Rock and Roll Music compilation album. Paul wrote this song (John and Paul both confirmed this) and his voice and melody are strong. He wrote it in the family home of his current girlfriend Jane Asher where Paul was living.

The song was originally on the “Help!” soundtrack and the album showed the growth the band was making. It’s not among the masterpieces of the Beatles but a very good pop/rock song. John Lennon is playing the electric keyboard (Hohner Pianet) on this song. The Beatles performed this on the Salisbury Plain in their second film, Help!. The album was released in 1965.

Lennon said that Paul and George played the same solo together but in different octaves.

The Night Before

We said our goodbyes, ah, the night before.
Love was in your eyes, ah, the night before.
Now today I find you have changed your mind.
Treat me like you did the night before.

Were you telling lies, ah, the night before?
Was I so unwise, ah, the night before?
When I held you near you were so sincere.
Treat me like you did the night before.

Last night is a night I will remember you by.
When I think of things we did it makes me want to cry.

We said our goodbye, ah, the night before.
Love was in your eyes, ah, the night before.
Now today I find you have changed your mind.
Treat me like you did the night before.

When I held you near you were so sincere.
Treat me like you did the night before.

Last night is a night I will remember you by.
When I think of things we did it makes me want to cry.

Were you telling lies, ah, the night before?
Was I so unwise, ah, the night before?
When I held you near you were so sincere.
Treat me like you did the night before,
Like the night before.