Category: Sixties

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Merrilee Rush and The Turnabouts

“Angel Of The Morning”, sold in excess of a million copies and was Merrilee Rush and The Turnabouts’ only major hit. Merrilee, who was born in January of 1944, in Seattle, Washington, was nominated for a Grammy Award, that of Female Vocalist of the Year, in 1968, as a result of her performance on this recording.

The actual recording of “Angel Of The Morning” took place in Memphis, Tennessee. The song had been written by Chip Taylor, the brother of actor, Jon Voight, and the uncle of actress, Angelina Jolie. Chip had already achieved major success, in 1966, when the British group, The Troggs, had taken another song of his, “Wild Thing”, to N0.1.

Despite the progressive advancement in technology, I still much prefer this original version of “Angel Of The Morning” to the revival by Juice Newton, in 1981, although, granted, this single, too, sold more than a million records.

http://youtu.be/cbUNVm1k3nU

Apparently I stand corrected, Evie Sands recorded the original version, in 1967.

The names of my favourite recordings can be found in the suggested playlists. I shall be adding to this list from time to time.

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The Gun

I have selected “Race With The Devil” by The Gun because it is an example of early heavy metal. Written by Adrian Gurvitz, and recorded by this trio from London, in 1968, it reached a peak of No.8 on the British singles’ chart, and No.15 in Australia. The Gun included Adrian and his brother, Paul.

“Race With The Devil” was revived by Girlschool, in 1980. However, its version did not enjoy the success on the charts, as had The Gun’s.

http://youtu.be/bvMETCQAf1w

Adrian Gurvitz, some fourteen years later, wrote and recorded the far more sedate, “Classic”, which reached its zenith in Britain at No.8, and, in Australia, at No.1, in 1982.

The names of more of my favourite recordings can be found in the suggested playlists. I shall be adding to it from time to time.

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Neil Sedaka

Not only did Neil Sedaka write or co-write most of his own songs, he also wrote hits for other artists. Neil wrote his first piece of music, in Brooklyn, New York City, at the age of thirteen, in 1952, in collaboration with his next-door neighbour, Howard Greenfield.

Neil, who was a student of the classical piano, joined the group, The Tokens, but left it long before it benefitted from its large, instantly recognisable hit, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”; a revised version of The Weavers’ hit of 1952, “Wimoweh”. Among the artists who recorded songs written by Neil and Howard were The Clovers, Connie Francis, LaVern Baker, Clyde McPhatter, The 5th Dimension, The Captain and Tennille, and Tony Christie.

http://youtu.be/pCBFHj3mRmU

Neil’s personal recording career was doing well until the British Invasion swept the global charts, ending many artists’ careers. It was to be countries such as Australia that were to support his recordings over this long lean period. In Australia, his release of 1968, “Star-Crossed Lovers” went to No.1; followed, in 1970, by “Wheeling, West Virginia” (No.9) and “Standing On The Inside” (No.10), in 1973. Neil actually recorded “Wheeling, West Virginia” during one of his many visits to the land ‘Down Under’.

http://youtu.be/DULHFltFIdk

It was to be 1974 before Neil Sedaka would again have a No.1 hit in his home country. This came in the form of “Laughter In The Rain”. Nineteen seventy-five was also an excellent year, as The Captain and Tennille took “Love Will Keep Us Together” to No.1 and Neil’s recording of “Bad Blood” did likewise. A slow version of his No.1 from 1962, “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do”, ended the year off nicely for him by also entering the Top 10 in America.

The names of more recordings by Neil Sedaka can be found in the suggested playlists. Whilst there, why not look at the list of my favourite recordings? I shall be adding to it from time to time.

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Wilson Pickett

Wilson Pickett’s voice epitomised soul. A voice honed in travelling gospel groups; a voice that would cultivate what became known as the Scream.

Wilson was born in rural Alabama, in March of 1941. He was the fourth of eleven children whose future was totally dependant upon the crop, cotton.

In 1955, Wilson Pickett moved to Detroit where he lived with his father. It was there that he met the group, The Falcons, which contained Eddie Floyd among its members. Eddie was to write and record “Knock On Wood”, in 1966, the same song that Amii Stewart was to take to the top of the charts, in 1979, at the height of the disco era.

The Falcons modelled itself upon Hank Ballard and The Midnighters. Hank Ballard was to pen and record “The Twist”, in 1959, which, in 1960, Chubby Checker covered, and, in doing so, launched an international dance sensation.

“You’re So Fine” and “I Found A Love” were hits for The Falcons but Wilson was already aiming to become a solo artist. This aim, he thought, would come to fruition when he was signed to Atlantic Records, however, things did not work out, and it was not until 1965 when he moved to Memphis, to record in the Stax studio, that his goal began to take shape. “In The Midnight Hour” and “634-5789 (Soulsville, U.S.A.)” were among the tracks recorded there.

That following year, Wilson began recording in the famed Muscle Shoals studios, in Alabama. “Land Of 1000 Dances” topped the soul charts and rose to No.6 on the pop charts.

http://youtu.be/Kk4Uwge4DzQ

Wilson Pickett became an inductee into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, in 1991. His career received another boost from the film, ‘The Commitments’, in which he was viewed as the personification of soul. The film and its subsequent soundtrack introduced a new generation to songs such as “Mustang Sally”.

http://youtu.be/My2apquxKKQ

Wilson died from cardiac arrest in January of 2006, at the age of sixty-four.

The names of more recordings by Wilson Pickett can be found in the suggested playlists. While there, you may like to peruse the list of my favourite recordings. I shall be adding to it from time to time.

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Bobby Rydell

Robert Louis Ridarelli was born in Philadelphia, in April of 1942. He wanted to be an entertainer from an early age and took to playing the drums, having become a fan of Gene Krupa, a legendary drummer in the era of jazz. In fact, it was an early pioneer of jazz, orchestra leader Paul Whiteman, who first noticed his potential.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09J1iEAWcsg

Nevertheless, it was as a singer, and bearing the new name of Bobby Rydell, that ‘Robert’ was to make his mark. At a time when teenage heart-throbs were selected as much for their looks, as their ability to sing, Bobby began a long series of entries to the charts, in 1959, that was to last until the middle of the 1960s. He would appear quite regularly on Dick Clark’s televised dance show, ‘American Bandstand’, and was to make his debut in a major film when he appeared as Hugo Peabody in ‘Bye Bye Birdie’, the musical which stars Ann-Margret.

Bobby’s last sizeable hit was “Forget Him”, which was written by Briton Tony Hatch. Ironically, it was the British Invasion, led by The Beatles, that was to bring an end to the recording careers of many American artists, and Bobby Rydell’s was no exception.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IKpA__9kTU

When the producers of the overwhelmingly popular musical, ‘Grease’, wanted to pay tribute to the era of the clean-cut teenage idol, they named the high school, in the film, after none other than Bobby Rydell.

The titles of more hits by Bobby Rydell can be located in the suggested playlists. Whilst there, why don’t you peruse the list of my favourite recordings? I shall be adding to it from time to time.

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The Troggs

The Troggs became one of Britain’s most salient and distinctive bands of the mid-to-late 1960s. Unlike much of its material, the group did not write its initial hit, “Wild Thing”, which has been covered many times by artists as diverse as Jimi Hendrix, Tommy Roe, Jeff Beck, The Runaways, The Creatures, Sam Kinison, and Tone Loc. The song was written by New Yorker, Chip Taylor, a brother to actor, Jon Voight. The recording of “Wild Thing” by The Troggs, in 1966, made the song an instant classic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwRrXjWgkaY

The group arose from near the town of Winchester — famous for its cathedral — in southern England, and from 1966 until 1968 consisted of leading vocalist and the band’s principal songwriter, Reg Presley; guitarist, Chris Britton; bassist, Peter Staples and drummer, Ronnie Bond. “With A Girl Like You”, written by Reg, was the quartet’s follow-up to “Wild Thing”, and went to No.1 in Britain, as well as a number of European countries.

Reg Presley’s ability to write songs at either end of the musical spectrum is made no more stark than when one listens to the overtly sexual, “I Can’t Control Myself”, followed by the reflective poignancy of “Love Is All Around”. The latter has been revived by the likes of R.E.M. and the Scottish group, Wet Wet Wet. Unlike so many other artists in the retrospective 1990s, Wet Wet Wet’s cover was highly meritorious and spent fifteen weeks atop the British charts. What a pity so many other revivalists of that musically best-forgotten decade did not follow suit!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut5uC91FcbI

I have always thought that The Troggs’ “Little Girl” deserved to sell better than it did. Its controversial subject matter deals with having a child out of wedlock, and, in 1968, for this reason, was generally shunned by radio stations.

Reg Presley died in February of 2013, at the age of seventy-one.

The names of other tracks by The Troggs are available in the suggested playlists. A list of my favourite recordings can now be located in the suggested playlists.

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Joe Dolan

On Boxing Day in 2007, Joe Dolan passed away from a cerebral haemorrhage, in the Mater Hospital, Dublin, at the age of sixty-eight. The Irish singer and entertainer had been born in County Westmeath, in October of 1939. Joe, the youngest of eight children, had lost his father, when he was eight, and his mother, at fifteen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjaNYmZtMbU

His first single, “The Answer To Everything”, was released in September of 1964. My favourite recording of Joe’s is “Pretty Brown Eyes”, from 1966.

Many singles were to come, with the likes of “Make Me An Island” (1969) and “You’re Such A Good Looking Woman” (1970), doing much to make him a global star.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ordmjxMhORk

The names of other recordings by Joe Dolan can be located in the suggested playlists. A list of my favourite recordings can now be found in the suggested playlists.

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Del Shannon

Charles Weedon Westover was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in December of 1934. In 1954, he was drafted into the army and deployed to serve in Germany. There, in his spare time, he played the guitar in a band.

Once his military service had expired he returned to Michigan, where he worked as a truck driver. In the evenings he played rhythm guitar in a group, of which, in 1958, he was to become its leader and singer, under the name of Charlie Johnson.

Recordings of this group, The Big Little Show Band, were sent to Detroit, and, in 1960, Charles was signed to a contract. Under the name of Del Shannon he was assigned not only to record, but to write songs as well.

Del’s rise was meteoric, as his single, “Runaway”, went to No.1 on Billboard’s chart in April of 1961. “Hats Off To Larry” was to perform almost as well.

His success in America waned after that, however, across the Atlantic the opposite was the case. In Britain, between 1961 and 1965, Del had eight singles enter the Top 10 on the British charts. He became the first American to cover a recording by The Beatles, “From Me To You”. The British duo, Peter and Gordon, recorded “I Go To Pieces”, a song written by Del, in 1964. Although it did not chart in America or Britain, it did in Australia.

Unfortunately, depression and alcoholism punctuated Del’s later life and in February of 1990, at the age of fifty-five, he used a rifle to suicide at his home in Santa Clarita, California.

The names of more tracks by Del Shannon can be found in the suggested playlists.

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The Lovin’ Spoonful

John Sebastian was introduced to Zal Yanovsky, who was from Toronto, by ‘Mama’ Cass Elliott of The Mamas and The Papas. When the pair was joined by drummer, Joe Butler and bass guitarist, Steve Boone, The Lovin’ Spoonful was complete.

John, a native of New York City, presented the band with a number of original songs he had written. He and Zal were devotees of folk music, whereas Joe and Steve had come to the band from playing rock and roll in the bars of Long Island. Consequently, The Lovin’ Spoonful’s creation was to meld folk music with that of rock.

“Do You Believe In Magic”, which sounds as fresh today as it did then, was released in August of 1965. It was to introduce a succession of masterly singles, each considerably different to the one or ones that preceded it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GNg5nyeeD4

During its relatively brief time together, the quartet also released seven albums: ‘Do you Believe In Magic’ (1965), ‘Daydream’ (1966), ‘Hums Of The Lovin’ Spoonful’ (1966), ‘What’s Up Tiger Lily?’ (1966), ‘You’re A Big Boy Now’ (1967), ‘Everything Playing’ (1968) and ‘Revelation: Revolution ’69’.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWXcjYNZais

As a solo artist John Sebastian’s indisputable talents were to provide us with the No.1 hit, “Welcome Back”, in 1976, the theme to the television series, ‘Welcome Back Kotter’, which heralded the rise of a young John Travolta as an actor.

The names of more singles by The Lovin’ Spoonful can be found in the suggested playlists.

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Marcie Blane

American female singer, Marcie Blane — who was born as Marcia Blank, in May of 1944, in New York City — was one of many ‘one-hit wonders’ of the 1960s although the hit she did have, “Bobby’s Girl”, in 1962, was to sell in excess of a million copies.

In the United Kingdom, this hit was covered by Susan Maughan, who successfully deprived Marcie of receiving royalties from there.