Max Picks …songs from 1964

1964

There are so many songs I had to leave off…I could have filled up 50 slots. This is the year music exploded into what developed into modern rock. The British were coming, they came, and they conquered. On February 9, 1964, the world changed. We all know the song that hit first… I Want To Hold Your Hand. If you want to know about that one…here is a link to the good article that halffastcyclingclub wrote for The Beatles week that I had.

I’m going to start off with the B side of that single…one of the best B sides ever. It’s a fairly well-known song also. Let’s start off with the John Lennon and Paul McCartney song I Saw Her Standing There. After this year…the world would never be the same.

The English bands started to come over after the door was kicked in by The Beatles. One of the rawest and roughest was The Animals. They do their take on this classic traditional song and it has become the standard version that most people remember and it’s been covered by artists including Woody Guthrie in the 1940s.

A garage-sounding song and a future look at punk music. The Kinks made themselves known with this raw edgy hit.

The Dave Clark Five knocked the Beatles out of the number one position on the UK charts with Glad All Over. It was written by Dave Clark and Mike Smith.

Let’s end with an American band that had been charting since 1962 but now they were getting huge. The Beach Boys with Don’t Worry Baby. This is a masterpiece of a song. One of my all-time favorites. It’s up there with God Only Knows by them also. Brian Wilson wrote this tremendous song. I bumped another great song for this…I Get Around…but I just had to. Do you agree?

Sam Cooke – Bring It All Home To Me

I started this post out as an Animals post but I had to switch the headliner to Sam Cooke. Cooke could sing the phone book and sound great. The man was unfair… he had everything. He was a terrific singer, writer, and this track shows that his skills as a producer and arranger have been undervalued.

I first heard the song through the Animals. They took the song and made it sparse with Burdon’s voice carrying it. This was the gritty B side to House of the Rising Sun. I bought the single for House of the Rising Sun and I turned it over and loved what I heard. I bought the single sometime in the early eighties.

The Animals version peaked at #32 on the Billboard 100, #7 in Canada, and #7 in the UK in 1965.

Cooke’s version was released as the B-side of “Having A Party,” and both songs became hits. Both tracks featured background vocals by Lou Rawls, who does the call-and-response with Cooke. Both songs were written while Cooke was on tour for Henry Wynn.

This song has a gospel feel to it and I love the call and response parts with Lou Rawls. The song peaked at #13 on the Billboard 100 Charts and #2 in the Billboard R&B Charts in 1962 for Sam Cooke.

In 1964, Cooke was shot and killed by the manager of a motel (Hacienda Motel) in Los Angeles, California. After a police investigation, courts concluded that his death was a justifiable homicide, though Cooke’s family never accepted the conclusion, nor the alleged circumstances around his death.

Bring It On Home To Me

If you ever change your mind
About leaving, leaving me behind
Oh, oh, bring it to me
Bring your sweet loving
Bring it on home to me
Yeah (yeah) yeah (yeah) yeah (yeah)

I know I laughed when you left
But now I know I’ve only hurt myself
Oh, oh, bring it to me
Bring your sweet loving
Bring it on home to me
Yeah (yeah) yeah (yeah) yeah (yeah)

I’ll give you jewelry and money too
That’s not all, all I’ll do for you
Oh, if bring it to me
Bring your sweet loving
Bring it on home to me
Yeah (yeah) yeah (yeah) yeah (yeah)

You know I’ll always be your slave
‘Till I’m buried and buried in my grave
Oh, honey bring it to me
Bring your sweet loving
Bring it on home to me
Yeah (yeah) yeah (yeah) yeah (yeah)

One more thing
I tried to treat you right
But you stayed out, stayed out at night
But I forgive you, bring it to me
Bring your sweet loving
Bring it on home to me
Yeah (yeah) yeah (yeah) yeah (yeah)
Yeah (yeah) yeah (yeah)
Yeah (yeah) yeah (yeah)
Yeah (yeah) yeah (yeah)