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June 1965 (side D)
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Forget Domani? How would that be possible when we are reminded by both Connie Francis and Francis Albert Sinatra? Lots of film songs. Elvis regurgitates his "Pot Luck", Tom Jones talks about pretty, pussy ... cat lips, Lesley Gore talks about Sunshine Lollipops AND Rainbows, and ever more! #madeonzencastr. Support this podcast at the $6/month level on patreon to get extra content! Also, Create your own podcast today! #madeonzencastr
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Transcript
Introduction and Motivation with The Beatles
00:00:00
Speaker
The Beatles had this chant, John Paul and George and probably then Stuart and Pete, had this chant when things weren't going well, which in their world wasn't very often because mostly it was an upward trajectory, but nonetheless, sometimes you they would have a bad night or the gig didn't work properly or the amps broke or whatever.
00:00:19
Speaker
i say, where are we going, fellas? And they go, to the top, Johnny. And I say, where's that, fellas? they say, to the toppermost or the poppermost. And I say right. And we all sort of... Cheer up.
00:00:31
Speaker
I'd say, where are we going, fellas? And they go, to the top, Johnny. I'd say, where's that, fellas? And they say, to the top-a-most, to the pop-a-most. And I'd say, right. And we'd all sort of cheer up.
Setting the Scene: US Charts of June 1965
00:01:06
Speaker
Welcome to Side Toppermost of the Poppermost. I'm Ed Chan. I'm Kid O'Toole. And I'm Martin Quivel. We are here for June of 1965, the U.S. charts.
00:01:20
Speaker
All right, we start this episode with the week of June the
Chart-Toppers and Humorous Interruptions
00:01:26
Speaker
19th. At number one, I can't help myself, Sugar Pie Honey Bunch by the Four Tops. Another number one we got no problem with.
00:01:33
Speaker
Absolutely not. um At number 11 is Ticket to Ride. and problem with that either. but Where are we now? This is BBC One.
00:01:44
Speaker
Our next program is due to start in just under one minute. Vicky, what year have you got on there? 1965? Come on, come on.
00:01:55
Speaker
come and come
00:01:57
Speaker
You've got a television show. I want to watch it. It's the fabulous... Wait for it. It's the fabulous... know the spot come up
00:02:31
Speaker
She's got her tickets to ride At number 70, Such an Easy Question by Elvis Presley and the Jordanaires.
Critiques of Elvis and Tom Jones
00:02:42
Speaker
Easy listening, Elvis from 1962. This is not a good tune despite being written by Otis Blackwell and Winfield Scott. The finger snaps are corny, but they're nicely recorded.
00:02:55
Speaker
the Elvis vocal is nice enough, as is the Jordanaires backing, but it feels like something dashed off to fill out an album.
00:03:06
Speaker
Can you or can you tell
00:03:11
Speaker
me? This is such an easy question. Why can't I?
00:03:39
Speaker
And by the way, what kind of an album title is Potluck?
00:03:46
Speaker
ah Elvis's vocal raises this record to a low, low, meh. This song was recycled because it was the theme song to the Elvis film Tickle Me.
00:03:58
Speaker
Do you remember Tickle Me, Marv? Uh, no. Fortunately. This is one of the cheesiest descriptions. Even for an Elvis movie, it's a cheesy description.
00:04:09
Speaker
Tickle Me is a 1965 American musical comedy Western film directed by Norman Tarrag, starring Elvis Presley as a champion rodeo bull rider and bronc buster.
00:04:22
Speaker
Bronco buster. I do love the Wikipedia note on this. Not to be confused with Tickle Me Elmo. Glad that that was clarified. Yeah. but Do you?
00:04:35
Speaker
So, no. Yeah, it's a no from me, too. It's just an average, mid-tempo, country-ish track. Elvis sings it fine, but somewhat unenthusiastically. I think even he thought, this is not a good song.
00:04:51
Speaker
It's just sleepy. It's lower-tier Elvis, or meh Elvis. Mm-hmm. Yeah, quick run through recording by the sound of it that should have been done a few more times before we got this version, and it should never have been anywhere near a single release.
00:05:08
Speaker
Absolutely. At number 79, a song that I like, but I think I kind of don't want to like it. We've talked about this song before.
00:05:19
Speaker
It's What's New Pussycat from Tom Jones. It's a Burt Bacharach, Hal David song. This is early so Tom Jones, and it's the sound that he would make an entire career out of.
00:05:32
Speaker
Tell me how a Welsh singer would come up with a record that is almost stereotypical Vegas. yeah Big voice, big vocal, a loud waltz, but it works.
00:05:46
Speaker
It's not really a song to listen to, but it is energetic and ridiculously large. It's somewhere between vaudeville and hello, Dolly. And indeed the original version of this record included a 13-second instrumental introduction that ended with the sound of shattering glass.
00:06:06
Speaker
The lyrics are about as subtle as Pussy Galore, and I want to know how exactly did Hal David get away with the the following lyrics. You're delicious, and if my wishes could all come true, I'll soon be kissing your sweet little pussy cat lips.
00:06:26
Speaker
Not those lips. Yeah. Yeah, I would say go and look for one of the versions that Tom Jones did on TV where he is surrounded by girls in what have to be prototype costumes for Catwoman from the Batman series.
00:06:47
Speaker
Because, yeah, he was talking about cats in this song. It's so clear. i run I'll soon be kissing. Well, yeah we know where you're going. You can forget the letter C-A-T in there. Mm-hmm.
00:07:03
Speaker
Yep. It's, yeah on the level of being a fun, campy track, Tom kills it, you know. He puts his all into the song. I mean, he never gives 50%.
00:07:15
Speaker
fifty percent He gives 110%. And he just leans into the track's campiness. All the double entendres, of course he knew what they were. And and Tom just is like, fine, I'm just going to commit 100% of myself to this.
00:07:31
Speaker
i like the arrangement. The loud horns make it even more bawdy, but adding to you know the fun, the sort of rinky-dink piano. It's just a fun record and a Burt Bacharach, Hal David, you know a little bit different for them. This is not meant to be like a Virgo. a serious standard. This is just meant to be a fun, naughty track. And on that level, it works.
00:07:57
Speaker
It's a hit, even though I'm not so sure I really want it to be a hit, but it is. Exactly. You can't resist it. You know, it's Tom's performance. Yep. Theme song to a 1965 film that many people might not realize is You certainly can't say that Tom is phoning his vocal in here because it's the furthest from phoning you can get. The music, his voice, I think it's top
Film Connections: 'What's New Pussycat'
00:08:22
Speaker
tier song. I think it's superb. And um I'm going to leave it there before i sound like somebody who's quite naive.
00:08:28
Speaker
LAUGHTER Let's talk just a little bit about the film because the film does bring in some Beatles connections. So What's New Pussycat was indeed a 1965 screwball comedy directed by Clive Donner and written by Woody Allen.
00:08:45
Speaker
That was his first produced screenplay. Yes. This also featured Woody Allen in his acting debut. Other members of the cast included Peter Sellers, Peter O'Toole,
00:08:59
Speaker
Romy Schneider, Paula Prentice, and Ursula Andress. And since we are being a little bit bawdy, I have to go with the nickname that Ursula Andress got from the yeah coupling series.
00:09:13
Speaker
Oh, you mean Ursula Undress. aha a but She was known for her nudity at the time. Yes, and quite a few of those people would return for the James Bond spoof, the late 60s version of Casino Royale.
00:09:29
Speaker
who The Beatle connection. Well, first off, Woody Allen claims that he has never listened to the Beatles. Sure. So he has said it to several stars, most notably Tracy Ullman, who tried to talk to him about Paul McCartney.
00:09:43
Speaker
He just sort of brushed it off. Okay. Whatever. so Yeah, right, Woody. Yeah. Well, maybe that's a good thing. I mean, you know, Woody Allen is bawdy in the wrong way these days. That's true.
00:09:53
Speaker
And then the other thing, so we mentioned Peter O'Toole. Peter O'Toole was a classmate of Brian Epstein's at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. No way, Uncle Pete?
00:10:04
Speaker
Just kidding, there's no relation. haven't asked, though. Maybe you have an end to the Epstein family now. Yeah, ah there you go. So anyway... There are some Beatles connections to the film, if not the song.
00:10:17
Speaker
Yep. And to those friends of ours in Canada, if you can get me connected with the Quibel mineral water that's made in Canada, I would like a percentage of that. Thank you. At number 81, the flip side of Easy Question, It Feels So Right by Elvis Presley and the Jordanaires.
00:10:37
Speaker
It's 1960 recording. It's a bit better Elvis. There's some life in this record. The guitar and vocal are repetitive, however, and at best there's about one and a half good verses.
00:10:49
Speaker
Still, it had some potential, enough to be a high meh. I thought Elvis's vocals were strong here. Very bluesy, like when he gets into that raspy part of his voice.
00:11:00
Speaker
But it's just not a very memorable song, particularly the lyrics. The usual, it feels so right, how can it be wrong thing. I mean, we've heard this many times. I also didn't like the odd drum patterns in this, particularly at the beginning. The bridge is a little more normal, but the very beginning, I just thought very odd drum intro. So,
00:11:22
Speaker
Definitely better than the previous song we've talked
Diverse Song Critiques: From Elvis to Mary Wells
00:11:25
Speaker
about. i would say meh, maybe because of Elvis's vocal low hit. Low, low, low.
00:11:33
Speaker
Step in these arms Where you belong
00:12:06
Speaker
Better vocal from Elvis that's got nice bit of grit in there. Other than that, like Kit says, there's nice bits, but it could have been better with a bit more work.
00:12:18
Speaker
Yes. Hey, we all agree on an Elvis record. That doesn't happen often. Yeah, that's true. Let's see if we agree on this one. At number 82, Girl Come Running by Four Seasons featuring the sound of Frankie Valli.
00:12:33
Speaker
ah Frankie goes way over the top into Shrill. yeah ah Once the song proper starts, it's a little bit better. the Four Seasons do provide their usual quality backing.
00:12:47
Speaker
the piano is good but sounds like it's from a different song ultimately the tune really just meanders and then that come on baby come on ending and fade doesn't help low man that's being generous
00:13:31
Speaker
This is a little better than some of the recent Four Seasons tracks we've heard. like when Frankie goes into the lower ranges of his voice. so He sounds very different.
00:13:42
Speaker
And I wish he had done more of that in this track instead of the shrill falsetto. Could have been even a little bit more of a slightly soulful record if he had stayed in that lower range.
00:13:54
Speaker
The lyrics are pretty boring, pretty flat. No real hook there and the whole girl come running home. no little sexist. It's the period, I get it, but it's still yuck.
00:14:07
Speaker
I would say mayor Normally Frankie can control his voice enough that it doesn't get to the scaring off mice. Right. Not here. no
00:14:21
Speaker
ah We love you Frankie. Apologies to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons with the sound of Frankie Valli fans. That's right. Yes. Yeah, you got to get that in there.
00:14:33
Speaker
Don't forget Four Seasons featuring the sound of Frankie Valli. There you go Well, you can't mistake Frankie's high vocal there, can you? yeah By the numbers. Low. Meh.
00:14:43
Speaker
And we've got a cash box review. What they tell us is the four seasons really deliver the goods on girl. Come running a certain addition to their vast hit catalog.
00:14:55
Speaker
It's one of the team's most dynamic showings disc, by the way, is getting a special international release treatment from Phillips. Coupler is a softie. So that's all they have to say about the B side.
00:15:07
Speaker
see The coupler is a softie. I think somebody paid for this review. Yeah. Okay. At number 83, I Like It Like That by the Dave Clark Five, Kenner Toussaint, Alan Toussaint song.
00:15:22
Speaker
The Kenner original is by far the better version. As with the DC Five's cover of Reelin' and Rockin', there's really not much reason for this cover to exist.
00:15:33
Speaker
Less soulful. less interesting than the original. And it does a big disservice to Alan Tussain. Meh. Yeah, I was not a big fan of this cover. I think the Chris Kenner version is way, way better.
00:15:46
Speaker
It's a fun, catchy song, but the lead vocal on this is okay. Chris Kenner nailed it much more. And where are those forceful Dave Clark Five drums? You know, if you're going to put your own stamp on it, at least turn those up. and I felt like it was overall kind of a murky, dashed-off sounding recording.
00:16:06
Speaker
Yeah. Let me show you where it's at. The name of the places, I like it like that. They got a little place down the track. The name of the places, I like it like that.
00:16:19
Speaker
You take Sally, I take Sue. I'm
00:16:39
Speaker
Stick with the original. You can skip this. Meh. Yep, skip it and go to the next song that is better. Well, we're not gonna go to the next song just yet because we have to read this cash box review. Marv?
00:16:54
Speaker
Here we go. Another cash box review that's probably been paid for. The Dave Clark Five should quickly duplicate their recent reeling and rocking smash-a-roo with this top-notch updating of the years-back hit.
00:17:09
Speaker
I like it like that. Was it really years before this? um It was about three years, so, you know, it was a 62 record, the original. so It wasn't 10 years or anything like that. book No, no, no, no, no.
00:17:22
Speaker
The crew reads the pulsating teen-angled tepsichorean, again, tepsichorean-themed affair in a contagious, warm-hearted, bluesy style.
00:17:35
Speaker
Tremendous potential here. Hurting inside is a plaintive, medium-paced, low-key tale of remorse. That would be the B-side then, I guess. Yeah. Yes.
00:17:47
Speaker
Hurting inside. you Terpsichorion is back again. And so I saw it a second time. So i was like, gee, I'm going to see how many times cash box used this word.
00:17:58
Speaker
You can do a search on all of the words in cash box from the forties to the time the publication ended. It has showed up 93 times over the course of 50 years. Jeez.
00:18:12
Speaker
This twice a year is not unusual for them. Weird. So I was wrong. It wasn't that somebody bought them a thesaurus. They just cycled back through. Yes. Okay. like yeah It's got nothing to do with Star Trek aliens or anything.
00:18:28
Speaker
Terpsichorians. Okay. All right. At number 90, He's a Lover by Mary Wells. 20th Century Fox finally delivers a good song to Mary Wells.
00:18:40
Speaker
I still would have preferred her going a bit more up-tempo than the slinky old-school pop that she's given here, but it's a great lead vocal.
00:18:58
Speaker
He's a lover. Some people talk about my guy. They say he always acts so shy. But I tell you truthfully when he's all along with me.
00:19:13
Speaker
He's a lover. Yeah. I kind of like the my guy callback, but still, it's not much more than a low to low medium hit for me.
00:19:26
Speaker
Yep. Once again, I agree. This is definitely better than a lot of the 20th Century Fox stuff we've heard from Mary Wells. Nice chord changes here. Very sultry lead vocal from her.
00:19:38
Speaker
Backing vocals are smooth. It's still, though, not nearly as memorable as her Motown recordings. But this one has some charm to it. So it's a low hit for me. Yep, decent song from Mary's Stint at Fox. I like the music, I like her vocal a lot, I like the backing vocals, and we're all in agreement, sort of lower middling hit.
00:19:58
Speaker
At number 92, Sitting in the Park by Billy Stewart.
Highlighting Classics: 'Baby, I'm Yours'
00:20:03
Speaker
Heavy reverb on the backing vocals. The lead is fine, but there's nothing too great in the arrangement or instrumentation.
00:20:11
Speaker
The tune is workmanlike, the lyrics are cliche. Fully meh. Something tells me I'm a fool to let you treat me so cruel. But nevertheless, I say again, you gotta be waiting.
00:20:25
Speaker
Say, say, say.
00:20:37
Speaker
I kind of like this. I don't know what it was. It's not the best soul song we've heard or anything. And I wish had been recorded better. And maybe kind of what you were getting at, Ed, the tempo increased just a little bit.
00:20:51
Speaker
It's a little slow. And yes, too much reverb on his voice. But otherwise, it's really smooth. I like how it features Billy Stewart's piano playing. You know, I like the harmonies on the backing vocalists.
00:21:04
Speaker
I can see why it was released in June because it has almost a summer lazy feel to it. So I would say maybe low hit for me, but it needed some improvement. Record it better, maybe up the tempo a little bit and take off that reverb on the vocals. But don't know, there was just something about this I liked. Yeah.
00:21:26
Speaker
Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames do a version exactly like that, Kit, a year later. No kidding? Yeah. Wow, I'll have to check that out. I like Billy's voice on this. The the backing vocals are okay. The song itself, lower middling hit. The Georgie Fame version is more upbeat and is more interesting if you want to dig out a cool, different version of this.
00:21:51
Speaker
So Kit likes it more than Marv does, and Marv likes it more than do. Yep. Just degrees. We're not too far off. And for a no Beatles reference, nothing to do with walking in the park with Eloise.
00:22:03
Speaker
Definitely not. and considering the former was written well before this song, you know. Yep, that's true. Jim Mack never had it published until Paul published it, so, you know, it was just an unknown song.
00:22:16
Speaker
That's it. Marv's going to come up with some, oh, somebody was going through Liverpool and happened to see Jim Mack's jazz band play Walking Park with Eloise, and that's how this song came about.
00:22:26
Speaker
No, anyway. All I was going to say is that Jim Mack says that he didn't write it, he just made it up. Okay. That is what he says, know, because Paul says, remember that song you wrote? And he said, I didn't write a song. I just made it up.
00:22:43
Speaker
At number 97, Baby, I'm Yours by Barbara Lewis, written by Van McCoy. This is Barbara Lewis's biggest hit. Burt Burns, Van McCoy, the backing vocals of the Sweet Inspirations, including Sissy Houston, and a great song.
00:23:02
Speaker
string section really great lead vocal good backing but i do find it ever so slightly draggy a really good track definitely a hit but i may offend it's just ever so slightly overrated a step below all-time classic but it is very good Yeah, I've always liked this track. I think it's a classic.
00:23:24
Speaker
Van McCoy wrote this song specifically for her. And at first, Barbara Lewis disliked the song because when she was sent the demo, it was Van McCoy's voice. you know, he sang it himself.
00:23:37
Speaker
And he admitted later, i don't really put 100% of my vocals into demos. So at first she almost turned this down because she just didn't like the record.
00:23:48
Speaker
But thankfully she saw the light. Stellar lead here from Barbara. It's this playfully sexy performance here. I think one of Van McCoy's best compositions.
00:23:59
Speaker
He does sing backup on this record, by the way. So smooth, so romantic. Hit for me. And it is believed that Barbara Lewis actually recorded her lead vocal in a Chicago studio. So we'll give you that one.
00:24:13
Speaker
yeah Okay. So that's why it's so good. I gotcha. Yep. i called it upper middling hit. Baby, I'm yours. Baby, I'm yours.
00:24:26
Speaker
And I'll be yours. Yours until the sun blows.
00:24:38
Speaker
Until the end of time
00:24:49
Speaker
I liked her voice. I liked a lot about this song. And yeah, like said, upper-middle in here. Cool. Yeah, we all like it. I just give it a couple points off because i think it does drag just a little bit in places. I think they could have cut it down by about 30 seconds and got it over with a bit sooner.
00:25:06
Speaker
yeah So Peter and Gordon would cover this tune pretty quickly, but Capital did not release it in deference to the Barbara Lewis version. control So that was ah released in the UK, but never actually released in the US as a single.
00:25:23
Speaker
Interesting. So in part because of that, but not completely, we do indeed have a supercut of this song. We do indeed. Yes. Some stars on here for you.
00:25:35
Speaker
Some of the artists who have covered Baby I'm Yours beyond Peter and Gordon include our old friend Stella Black. Stella. Billy Preston did a version of it. Wow.
00:25:46
Speaker
Cher. Cool. Mama Cass Elliot, Casey and the Sunshine Band. oh Harry Nilsson did a version of it. Ooh, nice. Debbie Boone of You Light Up My Life fame did a version of it.
00:26:00
Speaker
Okay, cool. Tanya Tucker did a version of it. And for our novelty, ah not really a professional singer, but doing a decent version of it, Rita Wilson did a cover of this song.
00:26:12
Speaker
Mrs. Tom Hanks. Mrs. Tom Hanks, who we've had in Supercuts before, and I'm sure we'll probably have again. please She's featured on more Supercuts than her husband.
00:26:23
Speaker
That's right. That's true. Not more than Bruce, though. No. No.
00:26:35
Speaker
Baby, I'm yours. And I'll be yours until the stars fall from the sky.
00:27:20
Speaker
You're yours until the poets run out of rhymes And not the words until the end of time
00:27:44
Speaker
Satisfied Nothing in the world can drive me away Cause you and me, babe You'll hear me say
00:29:01
Speaker
Other words until eternity
00:29:26
Speaker
At number 98, probably one of the better-known Leslie Gore songs, Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows by Leslie Gore. A 1963 song, much like the Elvis song, which was released as a single in 1965 to promote the new film Ski Party, or as it says on the label, the American International Motion Pictures Production Ski Party.
00:29:53
Speaker
Wow. Great vocal, catchy tune, but it's pure bubblegum. Brighter than a lucky penny When you're near the rain ghost Disappears dear and back You'll survive just to know that you are mine My life is sunshine, lollipops and rainbows That's how they shriek rain ghosts So come on, join in Everybody sunshine, lollipops and rainbows, everything that's wonderful is sure to come your way when you're in the
00:30:39
Speaker
The backing comes close to being novelty. Lucky Penny? Well, with the exception of one or two people that we know on Facebook, there's a definite anachronism.
00:30:52
Speaker
I actually totally forgot about this song's existence until I heard And I thought, oh, yes, I've heard this. It was written, co-written actually, by Marvin Hamlisch.
00:31:03
Speaker
Wow. Yes, it's pure fluffy pop, but on that level, I think it's effective. Produced, of course, by Quincy Jones. Nice vocal by Leslie. I mean, she leans into the fluffiness of it.
00:31:17
Speaker
It's cute. It's catchy. Nothing brainy, although you can also see where Marvin Hamlisch was refining his skills for the later incredible success he'd have musicals.
00:31:28
Speaker
So I would rate it maybe wo to medium hit. Yeah, I would go as high as medium hit, yes. Yeah. yeah Lively in an almost children's TV show performance type of way.
00:31:40
Speaker
Yeah, I liked this. I liked some of the chords that Marvin got into there as well. yeah It was fun. Cool. Middling hit. and someone didn't pay Cashbox quite enough money because in their rev review, they misspell Leslie's name L-E-S-L-I-E, and they do it repeatedly. Oh, jeez.
00:32:01
Speaker
That's rude. So the Cashbox Review says, that great little chart maker, how condescending is that? Yeah, no kidding. Leslie Gore, as I say, misspelled Leslie, offers an engaging, lovey-dovey, perfect way for teeners to get in the summertime spirit.
00:32:22
Speaker
Leslie, again, still misspelled, can have one of her biggest hit decks with this happy outing, which stems from her second LP, Leslie Sings of Mixed Up Hearts.
00:32:34
Speaker
You Come Back is a very appealing, affectionate, doesn't say affectionate what, from her Girl Talk LP, Bears Eyeing. Why? That's weirdly written.
00:32:46
Speaker
You know, i'm I'm almost wondering now if they didn't actually have somebody come back and give them some AI. Because, you know, some of these read suspiciously like AI reviews. Yeah, and if that was written nowadays, that bears eyeing, I'd imagine some weird emoji at the end.
00:33:05
Speaker
And it's capital B bears eyeing. Weird. The eyes of bears are looking at something? I don't know. I like teeners too. Teeners as well. Yes.
00:33:17
Speaker
At number 100, a song that we want to talk about because it's got a heck of a Beatles connection.
Psychedelic Sounds and Beatles Connections
00:33:22
Speaker
Nobody knows what's going on in my mind, but me by the chiffons. ah As to the record, i actively dislike the first minute of this record.
00:33:33
Speaker
The heavy echo and the cliche, whoa, whoa, whoa's.
00:33:43
Speaker
It gets a little bit better when they start in with that he lets her know. Harp and wild instrumentation into that, and I love him. Hi, man, but any given 15 seconds will run from Torable all the way up to a low hit.
00:34:00
Speaker
I'll tell you, this is one of the most unusual girl group songs I have ever heard. It's like early psychedelia, and we'll reveal in just a moment why it's, shall we say, offbeat.
00:34:13
Speaker
It's strange. The echoes on their voices, the sweeping strings, the instrumental section is trippy in its own way with the continued kind of swirling haror
00:34:47
Speaker
can't imagine that this is the chiffons singing this. It's just the title and the title phrase. Nobody knows what's going on in my mind but me. And even that's a little like early psychedelia of going inside your mind.
00:35:01
Speaker
I don't know how to rate this because in some ways I didn't like it. But in other ways, as sort of an early piece of almost psychedelia combined with this girl group sound, you almost have to listen to it.
00:35:15
Speaker
ah You absolutely have to listen to it, but it is like I say, any random 15 seconds I will either like or intensely dislike that the opening is terrible. yeahp It's definitely the chiffons. I can hear it's their voices.
00:35:27
Speaker
The music is, even for somebody who's a prog fan, progressive fan, it's odd in places, but also interesting and...
00:35:39
Speaker
It's almost as though i'm going to do a call out here. Okay. Ready for this call out? It's almost as though it's like what you get 10 years later in the 70s with something like Papa was a Rolling Stone and that sort of more psychedelic soul, if that makes sense. Yeah.
00:35:58
Speaker
Yeah, like Norman Whitfield stuff. Yeah. Yeah. It's almost like it's arcing to that, but you're not going to get it that good until you get those sort of strong songs in a couple of years, the late 60s.
00:36:11
Speaker
you So the less interesting Beatles connection, this song was published by Bright Tunes Music, who George Harrison would reference in this song as, this song has nothing bright about it.
00:36:23
Speaker
The same organization that published He's So Fine. Mm-hmm. The second and more important Beatles connection. This was written by a gentleman by the name of brute force.
00:36:36
Speaker
You're going to say, where do I know that name from? Steven Friedland was known as brute force and was an American singer and songwriter. Continuing from the Wikipedia entry, Brute Force may best known for a song that barely saw a release.
00:36:53
Speaker
Written by Friedland and produced by the Tokens, The King of Fa is a story about a monarch in the land of Fa referred to repeatedly as the Fa... Wait, wait, wait.
00:37:08
Speaker
King. Put those two together. Okay. Okay. yeah John Lennon loved the record. So did George Harrison, who acquired the track and overdubbed 11 strings of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, arranged by John Barham.
00:37:25
Speaker
Jeez.
00:37:28
Speaker
However, neither EMI nor Capitol Records would distribute the single, so Apple Records pressed and distributed 1,000 copies, catalog number Apple08 in 1969.
00:37:43
Speaker
After the initial Apple pressing and no radio play, Friedland teamed up with Jeff Sheen and issued the tune on his own Brute Force Records label, backed with Tapeworm of Love, a song I haven't heard.
00:37:56
Speaker
Although Kit may have, because apparently Dr. Demento played Tapeworm of Love. Yeah, I don't remember that. I'm going to have to look that up and see if I remember it from my Dr. Demento days.
00:38:08
Speaker
It's interesting. You know the song. I do, yeah. It's interesting, yeah.
00:38:42
Speaker
In 2005, the Revolo label issued both King of Fa and its original B-side, Nobody Knows, as a bonus track on the CD reissue of the BT Puppy Records compilation, Extemporaneous.
00:38:56
Speaker
Finally, in 2010, over four decades after Capital and EMI rejected it, the King of Fa was again released on Apple on the compilation Come and Get It, the best of Apple Records, which I own.
00:39:09
Speaker
I do too. Yep, nobody needs to buy that for you, then. but Paul may have gotten the idea from this record. In 2019, a copy of the original 45 RPM on the Apple label was sold at Sotheby's for £2,250.
00:39:24
Speaker
Wow. wow wow A year or two ago, Womack, our good friend Ken Womack, had him as a guest speaker at Monmouth University because he graduated from there, believe it or not, Fruit Force. Wow.
00:39:38
Speaker
So he found him and had him come and talk about the record. I didn't see it. I wasn't there. But yeah, he's still around. Cool. And significantly on January the 10th, 1969, George Harrison would write about the King of Fa in his diary.
00:39:59
Speaker
Those of you who are well-versed in Beatles lore will know what happened on January 10th, 1969. Barb, know? Was there a bit of a falling out?
00:40:11
Speaker
That is known as the see around the clubs day. Yes. Yes. So George went home and he had lunch and he he does describe his lunch in his diary.
00:40:22
Speaker
And then he mentions that he went in in the evening and worked on the overdubs for the King of Phu. Too funny. So yeah, it's in George's diary and it's on the day during the get back sessions. When George left the Beatles, he spent the evening working on this record.
00:40:41
Speaker
Well, not this record, but the king of the the Brute Force record. And so yeah, going back to the chiffons, Stephen Friedland, AKA Brute Force, actually wrote for a number of high-end artists. So we will be seeing him again, but this is the first instance of us learning about Brute Force.
00:40:59
Speaker
Yep, and when I heard the song and heard the lyrics, then when I found out it was brute force, I thought, oh, that makes sense. We do this track.
00:41:09
Speaker
Tommy has married Joanna. He's working with Circle. Circle opens for Beatles.
00:41:21
Speaker
And their manager was Nat Weiss, the friend of Brian Epstein.
00:41:31
Speaker
close friend, Brian Epstein, manager of the Beatles.
00:41:39
Speaker
I give the track to Tommy, he takes the track to Nat. One day George Harrison is visiting Nat.
00:41:51
Speaker
Nat plays him, he loves it. That is how I got to Apple Records.
00:42:05
Speaker
It's not like i you know gave my telephone number to George Harrison and John Lennon. you and Somehow the magic was there. ah but John Simon must have given it to Nat Weiss, must have given it to George Harrison, and one day they decided to call me.
00:42:21
Speaker
And it was amazing, a phone call. Hello, this is George Harrison. Just want you to know that you have a record on Apple. i I'm so lucky and so grateful that they did.
00:42:36
Speaker
We move on to the final week of June 1965, the week ending June the 26th.
Chart Positions and Cover Comparisons
00:42:45
Speaker
six At number one is Mr. Tambourine Man by the Birds.
00:42:48
Speaker
Again, no no problem there. We'll we'll take that. yeah Ticket to Ride has fallen all the way down to number 20. Yeah, don't worry. I'm sure there's something else coming from the Beatles soon. Real soon, actually.
00:43:01
Speaker
We know that. She would never be free for her.
00:43:10
Speaker
She's got a ticket to ride She's got a ticket to ride She's got a ticket to ride She don't care
00:43:47
Speaker
Thank you, thank you. Well, well. um
00:43:57
Speaker
This... This chanson, this song... They understand. At number 67, theme from a summer place by the Letterman. It's a cover of the theme from the 1959 film.
00:44:10
Speaker
This record clearly connects the Letterman harmony sound with that of the Beach Boys. It's a pretty tune. It's reasonably well recorded, but it only sort of works.
00:44:21
Speaker
A moderate hit. Yeah, I really noticed the Beach Boys' influence here in the harmonies. but I do like Percy Faith's original instrumental better. I just think that that has such a ah lazy, romantic quality to it. And I don't know, somehow having lyrics kind of robs the song of its charm. I don't know what it is.
00:44:43
Speaker
And the instrumental, too, is kind of a snapshot of its time, and it's just a beautiful song. So, yeah, this did not work. that well for me. I found the words almost distracting. So I'd say, you know, high, maybe low hit.
00:44:59
Speaker
Maybe. Wow. Wow. There are no gloomy skies when seen through the eyes of those who are blessed with love and the sweet sea crown.
00:45:24
Speaker
I much prefer the original instrumental version that was, funnily enough, very summery, laid back. You can imagine just sitting down on a really nice sunny evening, having that on in the background and relaxing to just nature going on around you and a nice cold drink at the side of you. I'm picturing it for you.
00:45:57
Speaker
There you go. The voices were just strange to hear. Yes. And actually didn't like the lyrics that much. I thought they were just wishy-washy. I agree.
00:46:07
Speaker
Yeah, the lyrics added nothing to the song. Their vocals are good. It's just that it didn't need it. There you Plain and simple. It didn't need the lyrics. Yep. ah Agreed. So the original theme from A Summer Place remains the longest running number one instrumental in the history of the Billboard Hot 100.
00:46:27
Speaker
Wow. The Faith version would be ranked as the number one song for all of 1960. Wow. wow And our old buddy Casey, one of our inspirations for this show, reported on AT40 from the 25th of September, 1976. Theme from a summer place is the biggest hit on the American charts by a Canadian artist.
00:46:55
Speaker
Hold on a minute. Have you just put a set if you just put a clip in there of Casey? Yeah. Close enough. Unchanny. It is. Bad impressions. That's what I do. Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars. That's right.
00:47:11
Speaker
Yeah. The good old voice of Shaggy from Scooby-Doo. That's right. Ruh-roh. Yep. At number 69, I Want Candy by the Strangelove.
00:47:23
Speaker
I Want Candy was written by Burt Burns, Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein, and Richard Gutter in 1965. We know some of those names. Yes, we do. yeah There are some reports that the song was written after the producers saw dancer Candy Johnson performing at the 1964 World's Fair.
00:47:42
Speaker
I don't want to know what dancer Candy Johnson was performing at the 1964 World's Fair. Again, we can be a little bit bawdy here. Yes. The strange loves were actually three of the songwriters, Feldman, Goldstein, and Gutterer.
00:47:59
Speaker
And in perfect traveling Wilbury style, they came up with their own fake version of who the strange loves were. You read the liner notes and they claim that the Strangelove were actually three Australian brothers and ex-sheep farmers named Giles, Miles, and Niles Strange.
00:48:21
Speaker
Why? Why wouldn't anyone believe that? That sounds so convincing. Not one of them was named Bruce. We got a Giles. We got Giles Martin. Niles, I guess we got to think of the brother from Frasier.
00:48:34
Speaker
Miles Teller. Miles Davis. Yeah, Miles Davis, right? Miles Davis. There you go. So the three songwriters dressed up in shaggy wigs and exotic clothing for publicity photos as the strange love.
00:48:49
Speaker
As to this record, nothing new or unusual. It's not exceedingly well recorded, but the record still works and it would have kicked on AM m radio. Low hit. Yeah, I've always liked this song now, of course.
00:49:02
Speaker
Like many Gen Xers, I first heard the Bow Wow Wow version and that's a banger. I think that's actually better. This one is just Bo Diddley redux. Yep, but I do like that guitar melody.
00:49:16
Speaker
fact, I would have liked it to have been brought up more in this mix. I mean, you can barely hear it, and that's one of the best parts of the record. But it's still very catchy, even though this could have been recorded and produced better. It's an earworm. it's It's so catchy.
00:49:31
Speaker
little bit different for its time. Low to medium hit for me, but the Bow Wow Wow version is it's the better one. Yeah, it's those Burundi drums on the Bow Wow Wow version that do that.
00:49:43
Speaker
Absolutely. Lower hip. I sort of like the drums, the the vocals, the hand claps. It was okay. It's something you have on in the background at a party and and then you go home and you you sort of forget the song until you go to another party and go, oh yeah, it's that song. Yeah, cool.
00:49:58
Speaker
So in addition to the Bow Wow Wow cover, we're not doing a supercut, but there are versions by Brian Poole and the Tremlos. Gee, Brian Poole and the Tremlos copying something which is a hit somewhere else.
00:50:11
Speaker
Surprise, surprise.
00:50:15
Speaker
The safaris? Aaron Carter and sporty spice herself. Melanie C. Oh, wow. We're not going to give you any excerpts of those. You'll have to go look for them yourself. Although I'm sure they are all on YouTube. Yes.
00:50:31
Speaker
At number 77, hold me, thrill me, kiss me by Mel Carter. We were talking about Mel Carter and Sam cook earlier. So this is my suspicion why they re-released the Sam cook record.
00:50:44
Speaker
this is crazy. Currently the best known version of this song. It's not as good as I remembered it, but the lead vocal does carry the record along. I don't really like those backing vocals. so The instrumentation and arrangement is good, and it doesn't go too big.
00:50:59
Speaker
ah kind of like the strings. It's a low to moderate hit for me. Yeah, I mean, this was a big hit of its day. And I remember seeing Mel Carter performing this years later on one of those PBS My Music specials.
00:51:13
Speaker
And he still sounded great. This was probably in the early 2000s or so. He's got a really smooth, emotional voice. It's a pretty big, sweeping ballad, but he can handle it.
00:51:25
Speaker
Be sensible with your new love Don't be fooled thinking this is the last you'll find but they never stood in the dark with you when you take me in your arms and drive me slowly out of my Kiss me, kiss me, kiss me.
00:51:53
Speaker
And when you do, know that you will miss me. Kiss me, miss me. I didn't like In the Middle. I don't know what that was. It almost sounded like a xylophone, but I don't know if it was marimba, but I thought that trivialized the kind of dramatic song.
00:52:12
Speaker
think it could have benefited from a bit more of a pared-down arrangement, but not too much, because I understand this is... a big epic kind of statement but mel carter's voice really carries the song for me i like the original the 1952 version by karen chandler it's slower it's jazzier it's not quite as powerful a performance but it's got much of the emotion in it yep i really like mel's lead vocal on this The music is good, but the backing singers are just too much.
00:52:46
Speaker
yeah the A version that a lot of people born after a certain age would know would be the Gloria Estefan version. Gloria's voice is okay on that.
00:52:56
Speaker
Never, never, never let me go.
00:53:15
Speaker
You feel me?
Critiques of Various Song Performances
00:53:27
Speaker
At number 80, Watermelon Man by Gloria Lynn. We know this song. It's a nice jazzy vocal, but this version isn't the best. I like the horns and drums.
00:53:39
Speaker
The guitar is suitably jazzy, but it's just too laid back. Live, this version might have cooked, but the record only ever gets to a low hit for me. Yep, that's exactly what I said, low hit.
00:53:51
Speaker
She actually co-wrote the lyrics with Herbie Hancock, who you know was the originator of the song. I think I like the instrumental better, but she has a really nice, deep, rich voice.
00:54:10
Speaker
mine Yeah, yeah, yeah
00:54:16
Speaker
I would buy water from you every day Just be sure you always come my way Cause I really dig Watermelon Man Hey Watermelon Man Over there
00:54:41
Speaker
The arrangement is tasteful, but I think it could have had a little more swing to it to make it more interesting. I don't love the lyrics either, and I hate to say because I love Herbie Hancock, but her jazzy vocals save the song.
00:54:56
Speaker
And so I would say low hit for me. Yep. It's okay, the lyrics. is I've got to keep saying it's okay. She's given a nice soulful and sultry lead vocal to it.
00:55:09
Speaker
But I'm going to say the same as I did earlier. Actually, there's a few songs like that this month where they've added lyrics to instrumentals. I will always go back to the instrumental version, particularly the version from 1962, Airby Hancock's original recording of it, right which will always be my favourite version of this. But maybe that's because I'm biased and it's got, you know, Freddie Ubbett on there and Dexter Gordon and all these jazz greats that just knocks this sideways to me.
00:55:37
Speaker
Yep, agreed. At number 81, Take Me Back by Little Anthony and the Imperials, a Teddy Randazzo song. It's good, but maybe not the best Little Anthony vocal.
00:55:50
Speaker
The tune is very much a throwback. Good, but maybe closer to second rate. The backing is not great. Karaoke grade. I would have liked a bit more of the Imperials in there. Hi, man.
00:56:01
Speaker
Yeah, it's definitely not on a par with going out of my head or hurt so bad or anything like that. It sounds like a throwback to something from the 50s to appeal to the easy listening crowd.
00:56:15
Speaker
My jealous eyes have learned To take a look or two They were too blind to see
00:56:32
Speaker
Take me back. I'm begging please. Take me back. I'm on my knees. For you to scold me, hurt me, hold me.
00:56:47
Speaker
Darling, take me back. I like Lil' Anthony's vocals on this. They're smooth, emotional. I just think he's such an underrated vocalist. But the song just doesn't have a memorable hook or or anything else distinctive for him to grab onto.
00:57:03
Speaker
And I agree, the other Imperials' backing vocals could have been used a lot more. So I would say for Anthony's performance alone, i'd maybe give the ballad a low, low, low hit.
00:57:15
Speaker
But definitely not on a par with their best stuff. This is going to be a strange one because I like this slightly more than both of you. There's a gem of something there... but there's no contrast in the song.
00:57:29
Speaker
That's the problem with it, is that you've got a nice one section to it, but it's the same section all the way through, so there's no differentiation between it. That's a minus to it.
00:57:40
Speaker
And also another minus to it is the fact that it's just a Little Anthony and some back and forth between him and the Imperials might have given it a bit more warmth as well. So it's okay. It's like Maybe a lower hit to me, but it could have been better with contrasting sections in it.
00:57:59
Speaker
I'll let Marv read the Cashbox review since he likes the song best. And before he reads it, I will say that DCP is Don Costa Productions, Don Costa Records, Don Costa International.
00:58:13
Speaker
You think Don Costa liked to to use his name in his companies. Are going to tell me that this is a Don Costa arrangement? It's from Don Costa Productions, but that I don't know. The language in this review, Kit's going to love because it has all of her favorite words in it.
00:58:28
Speaker
Oh, this will be good. Here we go. Little Anthony should speedily move up the Hitsville path with this latest DCP entry.
00:58:39
Speaker
The top lid, take me back, is a plaintive, slow-shuffling pop R&B ode about a lovesick fella who regrets that he let his girlfriend go. they didn't say girl.
00:58:55
Speaker
Yeah, I was waiting for Gal. Yeah. Oh, Gal. I'll put it there. He said, did he let his gal go? Our song is an easygoing, heartfelt, bluesy romancer with a nostalgic mid-50s teen sound.
00:59:08
Speaker
Well, they're right about the mid-50s. yep that's for sure at number 87 darling take me back by lenny welch the song wants to be smooth and tasteful but the arrangement just blows it good vocal good vocal and the horns and strings backed by the driving drums lead to a less than impressive backing the vocals leave this a decent record but it's still a miss I give it a mad strictly for Lenny Welch's vocals.
00:59:37
Speaker
Darling Take Me Back was written by Larry Weiss, who also penned one of my least favorite songs, Rhinestone Cowboy. po Yeah.
00:59:49
Speaker
Oh. That was like torture listening to that over and over and over again in the 70s. I love Glen Campbell, but yeah yikes. Anyway. I never expected you to drop that grenade in there. Yeah, how about that?
01:00:01
Speaker
Uh-huh. So Lenny's voice, it's Lenny Welch. She was incredible singer, but it's not on the level of Since I Fell For You. With a more tasteful arrangement, this could have been a better song. I like some of the chord changes.
01:00:16
Speaker
particularly in the chorus, but the strings, horns, and backing singers nearly drown everything out. So I'll give it a meh for its potential and for Lenny's voice, but it needed some work.
01:00:30
Speaker
I had this playing in the background, and that is where it stayed. Nothing jumped out to me about it except for Lenny's voice, and that's it Yep. At number 89.
01:00:41
Speaker
eighty nine Now, I don't understand the title of this record. One Monkey Don't Stop No Show by Jotex. The backing singers are fine, if a little bit unimpressive.
01:00:54
Speaker
It's lots of Jotex doing his preaching thing again. In fact, that's almost the whole record. When he sings, you can really hear the James Brown comparison. One Monkey Don't Stop No Show
01:01:10
Speaker
Just don't stop no show. Yes, I did. Found out that one monkey. Just don't stop no show. Found out that one monkey. Just don't stop no show. And if you believe that. Let me hear you sing it one time for me tonight.
01:01:23
Speaker
I said if, if, if you believe that. Let me hear you sing it one time for me tonight. said if, if, if believe that. Let me hear you sing it one time me tonight. said if, if.
01:01:36
Speaker
Are these lyrics supposed to mean anything? Still, low hit. I can explain the title and the title phrase a bit. Deriving from a common African-American phrase, the general meaning is one setback should not impede your progress.
01:01:51
Speaker
Don't let something ruin everything for you. know When you hear that, you're like, okay, that makes a little more sense. I mean, I looked up that online. That certainly would not have hit with the predominantly white audiences of the time. And it has not aged well with time. Yeah, exactly. like We love Joe Tex here. His gritty vocals are terrific, but he doesn't get to do it enough here. The bluesy stuff is just not prominent enough.
01:02:19
Speaker
The preaching goes on Get on up, get on up. Little James Brown thing there. But mainly it's saying, you know, don't let setbacks get you down. But even understanding what the title means, the story of the lyrics is kind of pointless. I guess it's keep on going no matter if you've lost your woman, job, etc. I just thought overall it didn't work. Missed for me.
01:02:45
Speaker
When he gets to sing, his voice is fabulous. by this The song is too much. It goes on for too long. If it was under a certain amount of time, it'd be okay.
01:02:57
Speaker
But also if the lyrics were better as well. I did not like the lyrics. Even now, after Kit's explained it, I still don't like the lyrics. I still think they're not the best. But it'd be all right if it was shorter and didn't have him doing the pretty thing so much, yes suppose. I give it a little bit more, a little bit higher ranking, and that's entirely based on the singing bits.
01:03:18
Speaker
Right. At number 90, Cast Your Fate to the Wind by Steve Alemo. The whistling is not good.
01:03:34
Speaker
month of nights, a year of days. October's drifting into May's I set my sail when tide comes in And I just cast my fate to the wind La la la, la la la, la la la
01:03:56
Speaker
Steve Olamo's voice is mediocre here. The piano is adequate and the strings just about, but don't quite work. There's no reason to listen to this version again.
01:04:07
Speaker
Miss the sounds orchestral instrumental we had on the British side was better. And I didn't really like that one all that much. he Yep. This is completely unnecessary after Vince Garaldi's version. Vince Garaldi is the one who nailed the song. And of course that's an instrumental.
01:04:25
Speaker
Yeah, the opening and closing whistling, what the hell was that? i mean, it was just so annoying. Didn't add to anything. Yeah, and I agree, Steve's voice is just average.
01:04:35
Speaker
Maybe this would have worked better with, you know, experienced jazz singer, but overall, pretty boring, average piano, as you said. Skip this.
01:04:46
Speaker
Listen to Vince Guaraldi's version. One word, bland. Yep. At number 92, Trains and Boats and Planes by Billy J. Kramer with The Dakotas, the U.S. debut of this single.
01:04:58
Speaker
And if you haven't listened to our feature from last month, we had Billy J. with us. Yes, we did. We did. At number 94, Silver Threads and Golden Needles by Jody Miller.
01:05:11
Speaker
It's a good enough country tune, a nice voice and guitar, a low hit, and there's sort of a Beatles connection, which we'll get to before we move on the next record. Silver Threads and Golden Needles cannot blame this part of mine, and I cannot drown my sorrow in the warm
01:05:35
Speaker
I can't find my love with money, all I've never won.
01:05:47
Speaker
This was arranged and conducted by Billy Strange. I've heard this song before. There are a number of people who've covered this. One of the best covers was by Linda Ronstadt in the 70s. So I encourage you to check that out.
01:06:01
Speaker
The lyrics are catchy. It's a decent arrangement here. I would say low hit. Who thought of throwing in the Yakety Sax solo in the middle there? That's a good question.
01:06:13
Speaker
But you think I should be happy with your money and your name, and hide myself in sorrow while you play your cheating game.
01:06:54
Speaker
me in my tracks when the sax solo came in and I suddenly imagined Benny Hill running around chasing these scantily clad women. I'm guessing the singer wouldn't be of course. She seems to be too clean cut.
01:07:05
Speaker
It's very different to have a saxophone solo in a country song. True. So, yeah, I would go with low hit with that. Agreed on the sax solo, but it should be noted that that only appears on the album version.
01:07:20
Speaker
The single version of this track featured a much better, much more tasteful guitar solo.
01:07:46
Speaker
The Almost Beatles Connection in 1971, Jody Miller would do a cover of He's So Fine. And well, she decided to poke the My Sweet Lord bear a little bit.
01:08:00
Speaker
You'll listen to the version. Well, it's got that layered acoustic guitar very much in imitation of what's on My Sweet Lord. yeah. The Jordanaires are doing the backing singing and Pete Drake is playing almost an exact copy of what's on the, my sweet Lord single.
01:08:21
Speaker
Wow. So Jody Miller, for whatever reason, did not like, or wanted to point out these similarities. And I guess the first time this went to court, the judge had not heard Jody Miller's version of he's so fine.
01:08:37
Speaker
wow.
01:08:40
Speaker
Oh, so sweet, kind of shy Makes me wonder if I Should even give him a try But then again he can't shy He can't shy away forever And I'm gonna make him mine If it takes me forever at number 95 forget domani by connie francis a don costa production domani is italian for tomorrow oh let's forget about domani let's forget about domani let's forget about domani oh domani never comes oh let's forget about domani
01:09:43
Speaker
It's a nice lead vocal. It's a better use of Connie Francis's range than we got in her version of For Mama. However, it's a fairly cliched Italian backing with nothing really making it notable. Still, I'll give it a low hit.
01:09:58
Speaker
I think I'd give it a man out. you know, part of it is, of course, I'm not a big Connie Francis fan. She sang this fine, but another one of the, and I'm sorry, those who enjoy these, but more Italian songs. This one was just very repetitive.
01:10:14
Speaker
Just not my cup of tea. For those people who are looking at the time on the show at the moment and thinking, well Well, at least that's it now for Italian songs this episode.
01:10:26
Speaker
Sorry, you're wrong. We got one more. yeah we got one In fact, we have another version of this same song. We do, and then we're going to have a dukey town. Well, I asked Louise what Damani means, and she told me that it means tomorrow, which is cool.
01:10:41
Speaker
Every day is a school day. I like Connie's voice. The male backing is unnecessary. I thought low hit. I liked that. And I thought that the music that was sort of cheerful matches the idea of living for today. So low hit.
01:10:54
Speaker
So this song came from a film called the yellow Rolls Royce. The version, which is on the soundtrack was recorded by the wife of the composer.
01:11:06
Speaker
Huh. And if you see the yellow Rolls Royce, there is actually a quote live unquote performance of the song as incidental music while they are in a club. Huh.
01:11:19
Speaker
It reminds me a little bit of live and let die where they did the same thing. You have the version on the soundtrack and you have the version that is being used in the record. Right. This is not meant as a pun, you know, the forget-demonely, but I've actually seen the film Yellow Rolls-Royce, and I don't remember a single thing about the film.
01:11:39
Speaker
Really? No. It's one of those, the Yellow Rolls-Royce has had a bunch of owners, and it kind of tells the stories of each of the owners and how they are linked by the Yellow Rolls-Royce.
01:11:51
Speaker
Oh! We have a cash box review, and What it says is the Lark scored last time out with wishing it was you and this excellent version of the oft cut forget Domani from the yellow Rolls Royce flick looms as a potent follow-up.
01:12:10
Speaker
Connie reads the infectious rhythmic romancer in a warm hearted style effectively complimented by a lush orchestral backing. The flip no one ever sends me roses is a tender lament about a gal. There's your gal kit. Oh, great. There's the gal.
01:12:26
Speaker
Who wishes for Mr. Right to come along. ah Wonderful. At number 98, I want you back again by The Zombies. Good organ break.
01:12:37
Speaker
Good lead vocal from Colin Blundstone. Repetitive lyrics in a tune that's only so-so. I do prefer the Tom Petty version, which rocks harder. And if you listen to it, Steve Ferroni, who is a great drummer and, well, who played with Darren Murphy on the last Beatles tour.
01:12:57
Speaker
Anyway, Steve Ferroni almost manages to steal the focus away from Tom Petty. Wow. I liked elements of the song, because, of course, this is the zombies we're talking about.
01:13:21
Speaker
I want
01:13:34
Speaker
Love the lead vocal from Calm Bumstone. Typical Zombies track. Nice, jazzy. Chords, love the organ solo, as you mentioned, also very jazzy.
01:13:46
Speaker
I thought the drumming was a little overdone points. It's just not as strong as the previous songs we've covered by them. you know It's repetitive lyrics, never really takes off.
01:13:58
Speaker
But I greatly appreciate those jazzy chord changes, the organ solo and the lead vocal, so I'll give it a low hit. Yeah, I would agree. But like I say, go listen to the Tom Petty version. yeah It's a much better version of this song.
01:14:12
Speaker
Okay, before I give my reaction to this, I do know from what I've read that this song was one of a few that were sort of being told, oh, you've got to keep writing these hit songs, him and Chris White, the other writer in The Zombies.
01:14:28
Speaker
they were both being told to write songs, so it was almost like they were writing and recording quicker. They were being made to crank songs out. So anyway, Colin, almost going for a lounge-style singing voice on this Rod Argent written song that sees him experimenting with rhythmic changes.
01:14:46
Speaker
The drums that Kit mentioned... Need a tidying up. In some bits, it reminds me of Morello in Dave Brubeck Quartet, some of the fills that he does, which worked with Chris White's bass.
01:14:58
Speaker
Paul Atkinson's guitar is almost not audible. I really like Rod's organ on there that's got this sort of odd organ solo there that you don't expect and goes to different places.
01:15:09
Speaker
want you back again.
01:15:37
Speaker
It's a weird one. Bits of it work and then other bits don't work. it's It's this sort of a disjoint to it in some cases that, as Ed says, with the Tom Petty version, it's almost like Petty took the good that was there and suddenly showed you, if it had been given time, what it could have been.
01:15:58
Speaker
And we have a cash box review of this tune. The steady chart dwellers should renew their lease on bestseller list locations with I Want You Back Again.
01:16:09
Speaker
Powerful presentation of blues in a throbbing drum guitar background. There's a catchy blend of rock and blues waltz on the plug side. Waltz?
01:16:19
Speaker
don't hear that. No, don't hear that. On the plug side, which should blaze up in the footstep blaze up. Blaze up. be This is 1965. I think something was going on in the offices of Cashbox.
01:16:35
Speaker
Which should blaze up in the footsteps of their She's Coming Home hit. The flip side is another lowdown cut with the unusual orking that has come to characterize the crew. Far out.
01:16:46
Speaker
far out That review sounds like 1965. Yes. hu At number 99, I'm a Fool by Dino, Desi, and Billy, who have quickly become some of our favorites for Supercuts.
Spotlight on Young Bands: Dino, Desi, and Billy
01:17:03
Speaker
Dino, Desi, and Billy are two sons of two famous singers, musicians, musicians, Dean Martin, Desi Arnaz, and their friend Billy Hinch.
01:17:15
Speaker
You know, what must it be to go through life as, I'm the friend of Dino and Desi. That's tough. You can see them performing this song on the Ed Sullivan Show, and Ed introduces them, letting the audience know that the sum of the ages of these three young men equals 38.
01:17:35
Speaker
Wow. a wow The record itself, it's inoffensive pop of the sort the early Monkees would soon release. Catchy Bubblegum trying to be Beatles.
01:17:47
Speaker
They are not actually playing on the record. You get professional musicians, including drummer Jim Gordon. soon to be of Derek and the Dominoes. The singing is fine. Now in introducing these three youngsters, may I remind my 39-year-old chum Jack Benny that the ages of these three total 38 years.
01:18:07
Speaker
Guitarist Dino Martin Jr. is 13. Incidentally, tell your dad he's just wonderful in those western pictures with the big John Wayne. Guitarist Billy Henschey is 14 and drummer Desi Arnaz Jr. is 11. The youngsters are going to open with I'm Fooled and I'm... And a big hand. Let's have a fine hand.
01:18:55
Speaker
high man low hit and you will notice that they have indeed purchased a Hoffner base and that's what they're using on their Sullivan show appearance I found an interview with Billy that he did about like 10 years ago. And he talked about that he and Dino met first at Good Shepherd Catholic School. And he said, I didn't even put it together at seven years old, that his father was Dean Martin.
01:19:22
Speaker
And then Desi was two years younger But his sister, Lucy Arnaz, was in their grade at the time, so she kind of introduced them to Desi.
01:19:36
Speaker
And, of course, it didn't hurt that they had the the obvious connection to Frank Sinatra, who was starting his record label, Reprise, or maybe not starting it, but he was...
01:19:48
Speaker
it was going well. And I think he thought, hey, we could form this super group and maybe cash in on Beatlemania, you know, get some teen heartthrob stuff going here.
01:20:00
Speaker
And Billy admitted that he and Dino and Desi went over to Frank Sinatra, auditioned, and he admitted we weren't that great.
01:20:11
Speaker
But Frank was like, okay, we're going to hire you anyway for the commercial possibility. And it doesn't really matter if you can play instruments or not, because you know we're having studio guys do that.
01:20:25
Speaker
So that's a little bit of the background there. Yeah, this song is okay. I mean, to me, the chord changes but at points resemble Hang On Sloopy. Yeah. a couple times where I thought they were going to break into that.
01:20:37
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, did you hear it? Guitar solo is decent. Otherwise, it's it's just a pretty standard pop song of the period. It's sung, you know, capably by the three of them, but nothing I would return to again and again.
01:20:50
Speaker
ye When this started, Louie's wondered if they're actually going to start doing Louie Louie. Oh, and that's another one. Okay, yep. The musicians are doing a good job because, you know, they're all professional musicians.
01:21:01
Speaker
The voices are okay, but I'm not really going to go any further than that because it was just meh. Low meh. Yep. Meh. I like it ever so slightly more than you do, but not that much. Yeah.
01:21:14
Speaker
All right. We close out the month with, as we said, another version of this tune at number 100, old blue eyes himself, Frank Sinatra with his version of forget Domani.
01:21:28
Speaker
Uh, Leave this to
The 'Forget Domani' Debate
01:21:29
Speaker
somebody else, Frank. Your record is too poppy, and while your voice is good, the song doesn't deserve it. A high miss. Why?
01:21:39
Speaker
Why is was this covered again? i just don't understand. Let's take the minutes as they speed away And hope it's true what people say When you're in love, tomorrow never comes
01:21:56
Speaker
Let's forget about tomorrow. Let's forget about tomorrow. Let's forget about tomorrow. For tomorrow never comes.
01:22:07
Speaker
Let's forget about tomorrow. Frank does his best here, but this is just too fluffy for him. Syrupy background singers. The arrangement's okay on the whole, but it's just, again, this isn't my style to start with, and I think Frank tries his best, but he deserves better.
01:22:27
Speaker
Miss. So should I prepare myself for the onslaught of rotten Pomodoro being thrown at me?
01:22:36
Speaker
I like Frank a lot, but I just did not like this version of the song. As much as we have problems with him, I think Dean Martin could have done a better job of this. Or maybe, um might irritate some people, get somebody who's Italian to sing it.
01:22:50
Speaker
Mm-hmm. That would work. Well, Frank is Italian. Well, Italian-American. True. But now for the duking it out, is it this version or is it the Connie Francis version?
01:23:00
Speaker
The Connie Francis version. Yeah, Connie Francis. Get a better arrangement. Yep. All right. So we close out the month with the cash box review of the Frank Sinatra version of forget Domani.
01:23:16
Speaker
What they tell us. There's a delightful, lighthearted number forget Domani in the yellow Rolls Royce flick. And Frank Sinatra has just the right spirit as does his happy orc chorus backing session could be one of the voices biggest sides in recent years.
01:23:34
Speaker
The performer offers a meaningful warble of a wistful item on the flip portion. Yet another way to describe the B-side. And you think the reviewer went into the future when he's talking about Frank being on The Voice? Yeah, right.
01:23:49
Speaker
Yeah, but this is way overrating. we all kind of go with high miss to low mad best. And we all think the Connie Francis version is better, I think. Yeah, yeah never thought I'd say that.
01:24:01
Speaker
ah All right, so as is our new tradition, we are going to pick five songs for our playlist from
Hosts' Favorite Songs from June 1965
01:24:11
Speaker
this month.
01:24:11
Speaker
The winners were easy. On the UK side, we chose I Left My Heart in San Francisco by Tony Bennett. Classic. Cool. From the US side, again, no question, I Can't Get No Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones.
01:24:29
Speaker
Great song. And then we each have a wild card. Believe it or not, I'm going with Seven Son by Johnny Rivers. You know, given all the crap we've given Johnny Rivers through the months, basically since Memphis, I'm glad to give him ah some props here.
01:24:45
Speaker
Mm-hmm. it All right. My pick is, and ah this probably won't come as a surprise to anyone who knows my love of soul, Baby I'm Yours. I just think it's like a standard almost, a beautiful vocal performance.
01:25:01
Speaker
It's just a timeless track, kind of a predecessor to a Philly Soul even. I actually found the wild card decision really difficult, but I'm going to go with Set Me Free by The Kinks.
01:25:13
Speaker
I think it's almost leading up to Psychedelia there, and it works as an experiment. the that Ray and Dave and the guys have come up with. Two others. If you're in a June of 1965 mood, we would certainly recommend any way, any how, anywhere by the who who that was my other option. And, and what Marv a heart full of soul by the yard birds. Yes, absolutely. Yeah. So, all right, we will be back soon with July of 1965. We're just moving right along through the year. Wow. Wow.
01:25:48
Speaker
Wow. Moving fast. See you then. Take care, everybody. All right. Bye.
01:26:11
Speaker
There was a piece in the NME, a news piece, that said the top rank records, remember when top rank had a record label? and They introduced an LP series next week that will be called Toppermost.
01:26:23
Speaker
And it's coinciding with their current advertising slogan, Toppermost of the Poppermost. I thought, they got it from somewhere. They saw that, they must have seen that in either the NME or Record Mirror or Disc.
01:26:37
Speaker
Record and Show Mirror as it was then. And they've taken it from there. They've obviously thought how stupid that is. How stupid is is one of those phrases that someone, an older person who doesn't understand teenagers comes up with a slogan that they think is going to be the hip slogan of the month.
01:26:54
Speaker
Toppermost of the poppermost.