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March 1965 (side D)
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Eight Days a Week continues to roll on, while Marvin Gaye, the Miracles, Jay and the Americans, and Lesley Gore show off their new wares. Support this podcast at the $6/month level on patreon to get extra content! Create your podcast today! #madeonzencastr . If you are looking for Beatles summer fun, join our friends at the Magical Mystery Camp!
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Transcript
Introduction to The Beatles' Journey
00:00:01
Speaker
The Beatles had this charm, John, Paul and George and probably then Stuart and Pete, had this charm when things weren't going well, which in their world wasn't very often because mostly it was an upward trajectory, but nonetheless, sometimes they would have a bad night or the gig didn't work properly or the amps broke or whatever.
00:00:20
Speaker
i say, where are we going, fellas? And they'd go, to the top, Johnny. And I'd say, where's that, fellas? they'd say, to the top-a-most, to the pop-a-most. I'd say, right. And we'd all sort cheer up.
00:00:32
Speaker
Where are we going, Johnny? Straight to the top, boys. Oh, yeah? Where's that? The toppermost of the toppermost.
March 1965: Top Songs and Context
00:01:00
Speaker
Welcome to Side D of Toppermost of the Poppermost. I'm Ed Shen. I'm Kiddo O'Toole. And I'm Martin Quibble. All right, so we join in, in progress, the week of March the 20th, 1965. Marv, why don't you lead us off here?
00:01:17
Speaker
Okay, so at number one, we've got Eight Days a Week by the Beatles, hanging on to its number one position. Okay, is it just me and you?
00:01:27
Speaker
One, two, three, four. Boom!
00:02:00
Speaker
I'll try to remember John and if I don't well it's just too bad in one minute hold on one two three one two three
00:02:15
Speaker
You're a tough guy. One, two, three, four. Yay! It stayed there for longer than
The Beatles' Chart Dominance
00:02:25
Speaker
eight days. Yes.
00:02:26
Speaker
At number 39, we've got The Beatles again with I Don't Want to Spore the Party. Yay! Also yay. There's nothing for me here, so I will disappear.
00:02:38
Speaker
If she turns up while I'm gone, please let me know.
00:03:03
Speaker
Number 63, we've got The Game of Love by Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders that we covered in the UK. At number 70, we've got The Beatles again with four by The Beatles.
Shirley Ellis and Novelty Hits
00:03:15
Speaker
All right. Three in the top 70. That's good. little, little honeydome. I'll do you well when you won't.
00:03:27
Speaker
Ah, ah, honeydome.
00:03:39
Speaker
I'm a loser, I'm a loser And I'm not what I appear to be
00:03:52
Speaker
And then at number 75, we've got a new entry for Shirley Ellis with the classic The Clapping Song. It's a fun song. I know it's almost like a kid's song, but this time it's a fun kid's one, I think personally, that doesn't irritate.
00:04:09
Speaker
i remember this song from when I was younger. I didn't know that it was called The Clapping Song, which is a bit stupid considering that they go clap, clap. But yeah, I've always found this song to be fun even though it's a novelty song.
00:04:22
Speaker
And for a novelty song, I think it's fun. It's catchy. Yes, it's trying to replicate the dance craze sound of like the nitty gritty and the instructions, of course, are like the name game, but it's catchy. It's danceable.
00:04:33
Speaker
The band cooks behind her. Yeah. particularly the drummer and the horn. Sure, the lyrics are silly, but that's not what it's about. It's a dance record, and as you said, it doesn't irritate or anything like that. So, yeah, I thought this was fun.
00:04:47
Speaker
So I'm the one who disagrees. I just found it too close to the name game. And those instructions are is so impossibly hard to follow. True.
00:05:24
Speaker
The horns are nice, the backing is nice, but it's also completely unoriginal. And then it fades out too quickly. At best, I would give it a low hit. yeah Yeah. It's just fun for what it is. We'll accept that.
00:05:37
Speaker
So the rules are difficult then, Ed. Did you have trouble when you were younger playing Twister then? Yes, I did, but that's a completely different story. Okay.
00:05:47
Speaker
and We're not going to go there in this. This is not Home Games International or one of those sorts of podcasts.
Marvin Gaye and the Funk Brothers
00:05:53
Speaker
There you go At number 79, we've got Cast Your Fate to the Wind by Sounds Orchestral, which we've covered already.
00:06:01
Speaker
And then at number 80, we've got a banger, even though the lyrics are a bit silly. I'll Be Doggone by Marvin Gaye. This is one of the earliest Motown songs I actually remember hearing and understanding, and that may be because, well, as a ute, as they like to say, it's one that would have attracted me...
00:06:22
Speaker
in the late preteens era as you know silly lyrics but it's a great tune and great performance i love those guitars and bongos in the break my main complaint is just the long gone and doggone that rhyme is just so stupid
00:06:42
Speaker
I've always liked this song. It's one of my favorite Marvin Gaye tracks. I'm not saying it's on a level with some of his later stuff. And yes, the lyrics are sexist.
The Searchers' Post-Tony Jackson Era
00:06:53
Speaker
i'm Well, every woman should try to be whatever her man wants her to be. belong home. Love ain't a man for free. Oh, baby.
00:07:04
Speaker
And I belong home with you. Ain't that loving it is?
00:07:12
Speaker
So know you make me feel like you're nobody good If I ever found out that you're no good Then I wouldn't be gone I'd be wrong with you
00:07:27
Speaker
I kind of take it the other way. They are sexist lyrics, but it's not quite so sexist. It's almost the guy begging and pleading to his woman, won't you please be what i want you to be?
00:07:38
Speaker
Not, you must be what I want you to be. Yeah, that definitely... is a way to interpret it. But Marvin's voice is so good on this. He can sing the phone book as far as I'm concerned.
00:07:51
Speaker
and It would sound terrific. like But this is another one. The Funk Brothers are just cooking in the back. Love the percussion and bass on this. The Andantes are back, nicely backing up Marvin without overwhelming him.
00:08:04
Speaker
It's catchy. It's danceable. I've always liked this track. Yeah, it's weird. i would have remembered this song, but I couldn't remember this song until we heard it this time, and I'm surprised by that.
00:08:15
Speaker
um The lyrics aren't the best lyrics going, but it's got one heck of a good groove and the performance by the Funk Brothers and all the vocalists is just fabulous.
00:08:26
Speaker
So our friends at Motown Junkies, they like the record a lot less than any of us do. What they say is, the lyrics make me angry and ruin what should have been a minor masterpiece in Marvin's canon.
00:08:41
Speaker
Maybe it's my problem as a 21st century British liberal. Maybe I'm just overthinking it. And they give it a five out of 10. Now, you know, it's not going to be eight. It's not going to be nine seven and a half though. I'll give it that.
00:08:55
Speaker
Yeah. I think he is overthinking it. I'm not saying the lyrics are the most enlightened, but you have to think of the time. And they don't bother me so much that I'd never listen to this again.
Mary Wells' Missteps
00:09:08
Speaker
i The rest of the record is just so good.
00:09:10
Speaker
And as I said, Marvin Gaye's voice is just tops here. So yeah, I wouldn't give it a 9 or 10 for sure. but But I'd say 7 or 8. Yeah, I'd go along with that 7 or 8.
00:09:23
Speaker
Again, we're all pretty much in agreement. It's a good tune. And while none of us love the lyrics for perhaps different reasons, they are not great lyrics. No, they're not great lyrics, but it's not a ah deal killer.
00:09:36
Speaker
At number 83, The Return of the Searchers with Bumblebee. This is a slightly odd selection for The Searchers. It's a cover of a Laverne Baker tune.
00:09:47
Speaker
It's a nice tremolo guitar, but the harmonies and the excitement that we saw from The Searchers in Love Potion number nine is just gone.
00:09:59
Speaker
I'm sick and tired of all your lying You know you've hurt my heart again I'm sorry baby, it's the end Shoo-ee, you hurt me like a bee Bumblebee, an evil bumblebee
00:10:29
Speaker
Just one kiss before you go. This is The Searchers Mark too Tony Jackson had left the band. And so this is a much less Beatlesque outfit than we had heard before.
00:10:41
Speaker
Yeah. I like the recording. Nicely mixed. It sounds somewhat modern. and The harmonies and lead vocal are fine, but I just think the lyrics are just so silly. And I hate to say it because it was partially written by Laverne Baker.
00:10:58
Speaker
great artist but whenever they'd sing the evil bumblebee and evil bumblebee that kept making me chuckle and the song just isn't that catchy at least the searcher's version to really linger very much after listening to it yeah musically okay i suppose but it's still a not a most for me there At number 84, Never Never Leave Me by Mary Wells.
00:11:24
Speaker
I find this just an average to poor Broadway alike. It does have a good vocal from Mary Wells, but the record is just more meh, and this was really just a bad choice for her.
Joe Stampley and The Uniques
00:11:37
Speaker
Ironically, she seems to be the one who has chosen this song. There was a comment on YouTube but from a gentleman who interviewed the co-writer of this song,
00:11:47
Speaker
mickey gentile in 2012 and he mentions that the song came about because bert baccarat had asked gentile to come up with a track to fill a void on dion warwick's next album mickey cut the demo with dd warwick on vocals but mary wells happened to be around heard the demo snatched it off the turntable and placed it in her purse oh god I'm begging you.
00:12:15
Speaker
I'm begging you. Please love me and I love you. Cause without you I need a little lost sheep.
00:12:28
Speaker
And I will never leave you. Never, never leave you. Never, never leave you.
00:12:41
Speaker
I can hear being a little bit Bacharach-alike, but it's just not that good. And that's how I thought it was a lesser version of Bacharach and David. buts Certainly imitation in terms of the chord changes, the arrangement, the odd tempo changes.
00:12:56
Speaker
But to me, it's a lesser Bacharach and David. I mean, a knockoff. And the lyrics I found extremely wordy ah with an odd cadence. I thought it sounded extremely awkward.
00:13:09
Speaker
And I also feel like once she moved to 20th Century Fox, they're trying to make her more of a pop singer than a soul singer, trying to take too much of the soul out of this. And the production is not as tight as a Motown production, and playing isn't as tight as the Funk Brothers. So poor Mary Wells.
00:13:28
Speaker
I still find it weird that she's apparently the one that chose this song, although maybe what they were giving her was worse. I know. Maybe. Yeah, a song that needed to be lyrically edited down somewhat to tighten it.
00:13:42
Speaker
But a voice. I mean, whatever Mary Wells sings, I'm going to enjoy something about her voice anyway. But the production, to me, stood out because it was like a really bad attempt at the wall of sound. Mm-hmm.
00:14:00
Speaker
What they got made it even worse than it was because the production is just bad. Nothing else to say about that. We have another What Were They Listening To cashbox review. They call this record a tender, slow, shuffling, feelingful plea for romance, which effectively builds to a dramatic climax.
00:14:20
Speaker
No, no, no to all of that.
00:14:25
Speaker
Feelingful. That's a new word. They really knew how to make up words there. I guess once they got rid of the cha-cha, they had to go somewhere. Yeah, exactly. Should we start an online petition, bring back the cha-cha?
00:14:37
Speaker
Yeah. And then send it back in time, 60 years? Yeah. yep, there you go. Well, you know, maybe we'll have a way to call back into the past before we can actually travel. Yeah, there you go.
00:14:51
Speaker
That'd be cool. At number 90, Comeback Baby by Roddy Joy. and this is another one of those that didn't make much of a splash at the time, but became a Northern Soul.
00:15:04
Speaker
Maybe not classic, but certainly one recognized in Northern Soul.
00:15:16
Speaker
I find it just kind of standard girl group vocal and backing. do like that. Roddy, what are you going to do?
00:15:31
Speaker
find it just kind of a standard girl group vocal and backing i do like that rody what are you going to do
00:15:52
Speaker
This is a nice organ break. It's a nice counterpoint between the lead and the backing at the end. Middling hit. Yeah, I'd say not the most memorable of the Northern Soul material we've heard, but pleasant to listen to for the chord changes in the chorus and also the harmonies.
00:16:09
Speaker
I agree, not bad organ. i didn't mind it as much here, although yeah I still wonder if a guitar, piano, or even sax would have been better But not that big a deal. I mean, the organ still sounds better than, say, Mr. Moonlight. It's a pleasant listen, but it's not one of my favorite of the Northern Soul songs. I think it's got a nice groove, and I could quite easily dance to this. It's all right.
00:16:37
Speaker
She started with Lieber and Stoller on Redbird Records, didn't she? I believe. Yes, she did. And then went over to Parkway, well, Cameo Parkway, ended up actually touring the UK as well, which was interesting, and and Europe in the 70s.
00:16:55
Speaker
Oh, interesting. At number 91, not too long ago by the Uniques, featuring Joe Stampley. Ooh, yeah. Interesting because the Uniques were a Louisiana band and they were first recognized by Chess Records.
00:17:10
Speaker
Yay! Chicago Connection. The top Louisiana distributor from Chess Records heard about this and decided to form his own label, Paula Records.
00:17:21
Speaker
What they say is we recorded not too long ago at the Robin Hood Bryan studio in Tyler, Texas. Tyler, Texas. Our second mention in as many months of Tyler, Texas, because we got a mention of that from John Stone in last month's feature.
00:17:38
Speaker
We did. We Dale Hawkins produced this record and Stan released it on Paula, number 219, the very first Paula record ever released. The B-side was Fast Way of Living.
00:17:50
Speaker
Tillman Franks, who had managed Johnny Horton and David Houston, became manager of the Uniques. Not too long ago would reach number 66 on the Hot 100 and would remain on the charts for six weeks.
00:18:04
Speaker
The song was discovered by country songwriter and DJ Merle Kilgore. Stampley and his band were recorded by ah former blues record executive, Stan Lewis, and produced by Rockabilly's Dale Hawkins.
00:18:16
Speaker
Hawkins remembered the recording session for not too long ago and
Herb Alpert's Iconic Album Cover
00:18:19
Speaker
Tyler. Joe wrote a hot check for $187 to pay for that recording session, he said laughing. A good tune, a pretty good lead vocal and backing.
00:18:28
Speaker
Not great, but good. Low hit. Yeah, I would say that. Not too long ago Now I've got tears in my eyes
00:18:44
Speaker
She said she'd always be my girl. She said her lover would never die. She said she'd always be my girl.
00:18:55
Speaker
Then she left with a hymn, left my heart to cry. Now I'm so lonely, heartbroken and blue. Cause I don't have no one that I can talk to.
00:19:05
Speaker
Cause he came and took her away from me. B-level pop record. I thought it sounded similar in chords to Love Potion No. 9, but it's got that mid-60s pop sound.
00:19:19
Speaker
Don't know if the chorus is super memorable, but other than that, yeah, I would say this is okay. As I said, not a bad record. I should also mention, you mentioned Paul Records. They issued a lot of swamp pop.
00:19:31
Speaker
and Okay, well, there you go. Being a Louisiana label, that would make perfect sense. Exactly, because when I saw the label, I thought, oh, yes. I've seen this, know, when I was doing some of my research on Swamp Hop. Well, now now you know what the very first Paula Records record was.
00:19:47
Speaker
ah Exactly. Very cool. A middling hit that isn't awful. It's okay, but I wouldn't go out of my way to listen to it again. Better than the next song, for sure. Yeah!
00:19:59
Speaker
At number 93, a bad song, but I'm sorry, Marv, this is not as bad as a 10 Little Bottle. 10 Little Bottles is worse. This is not a contender for worst of 65 for me. 007 by The Detergents.
00:20:15
Speaker
The Detergents from Leader of the Laundromat. So they turn Leader of the Laundromat into a James Bond parody. They also quote from downtown.
00:20:26
Speaker
The clap along is a little bit annoying. And those gunshots just go on forever. Is it over yet? Cute ended a long time ago.
00:20:37
Speaker
I do slightly like that. Did you see the girl at the end? Yeah. Yeah. Remember how she used to dress? Yeah. Sloppy sweaters, shades, boots. Uh-huh. Not anymore. Not anymore? does she dress now? You really want to know? Yeah.
00:20:53
Speaker
Wait till the end this bar and I'll tell you. Okay. My baby dresses up each night for 007. Wearing dresses that are much too tight for 007.
00:21:09
Speaker
This parody yeah and some of the others, we've and we're going hear another one soon, are pretty mediocre. Dire? Yeah. Yes. ah Weird callback to downtown, as you mentioned.
00:21:24
Speaker
Every night, where does she go? Downtown. To the picture show. Those hand clapped, I thought they're reminiscent of Where Did Our Love Go? So my kind of a Motown reference there.
00:21:37
Speaker
ah And I love some of these lyrics, and I say that sarcastically, saying things like she is wearing dresses that are much too tight for 007.
00:21:49
Speaker
What? Not funny. Not a good parody. Double no seven. I hated this so much that I have to admit to my the listeners, and I really apologize for this.
00:22:04
Speaker
I turned the dang thing off because I got sick of this within a minute. And we have a cash box review, not a hyperbolic cash box review. So, you know, you know, they didn't love this record.
00:22:17
Speaker
They call it a hard driving Shangri-La's type novelty spoof about a guy who is unhappy because his gal is hung up on flickedums. James Bond, another word they've created, flicked them.
00:22:31
Speaker
Yeah, flicked them. ah Gal. Dang it. It's a flicked them. Yeah. That's right, Tommy. She'll get over it. Hey, but did you see that girl in his last picture?
00:22:43
Speaker
You mean the pilot? Yeah, what was her name? I don't know.
00:22:51
Speaker
Who are you? My name is Pussy Galore.
00:22:58
Speaker
must be dreaming At number 94, I Know a Place by Petula Clark, which we covered over on the UK side. At number 96, Mean Old World by Rick Nelson.
00:23:12
Speaker
It's a slight update to the Rick Nelson formula. A bit bluesier. This was written by Billy Vera and originally intended for Dionne Warwick. Rick Nelson's voice isn't really suited for the material, but it's good enough that it isn't a fail.
00:23:27
Speaker
Yeah, I kind of like this. Nice change from what we've heard from Ricky in the past. It's a very different sounding vocal that he uses here.
00:23:38
Speaker
sit in my room.
00:23:42
Speaker
It's a room filled with glue. I sit and wait by the telephone, but no one cares if I'm all alone.
00:23:52
Speaker
And it's mean world, me tell you it's mean world. liked it. The drummer overdoes it with the fills, but I felt like this song had a bit more maturity it.
00:24:07
Speaker
Just different. You liked the chord changes a lot here. yeah, Billy Vera, how about that, that he wrote this. So I wouldn't say would rate this super highly, but for Ricky Nelson record, liked this.
00:24:22
Speaker
i thought it was nice change. Yeah, I'd say for Ricky Nelson, upper middle level, I enjoyed it. I thought it was decent. Cool. So let's see, that's two records that were stolen from Dionne Warwick, huh?
00:24:36
Speaker
I know. The career that she could have had. a Flipping heck. I bet she's reeling from that. That's right. At number 97, Whipped Cream by Herb Albert's Tijuana Brass Band.
00:25:21
Speaker
It's Herb Albert doing his thing. Nice horn, piano, and drums. Maybe a little bit too show busy for the taste of most people, including me, but it is a fun record.
00:25:33
Speaker
Unfortunately, this too feels like a game show theme, probably because Albert's Spanish Flea was repurposed around this time as the dating game theme. Spanish Flea was used when introducing the Bachelorettes.
00:25:46
Speaker
Oh, boy. we know this title because it would be reused the next year for the album and the picture on the cover of the album.
00:25:57
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. We all know what the cover was. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, you guys are more into that than I am. um ah oh But the song, the song itself.
00:26:10
Speaker
Yeah, it was interesting. It was actually written originally by Ellen Toussaint, which makes sense because parts of this do sound a bit New Orleans-like to me, like the the trumpet and piano.
00:26:22
Speaker
And it's it's catchy. It's upbeat. Yeah. A bit of a departure from his typical pseudo-Latin material and and nicely arranged, which isn't a surprise, of course. We're talking about Herb Alpert here. So I don't love it, but it's sort of a time capsule.
00:26:39
Speaker
Herb Alpert's stuff from the 60s, I mean, it just has that almost Austin Powers kind of sound to it, which is fun. Now I know that the album is worth getting for another reason other than the cover.
00:26:55
Speaker
However, ah will quickly mention to people that like that cover, there is a fact that some people don't know, which is that lady on that cover was actually heavily pregnant at the time of that photograph being taken. Mm-hmm.
00:27:11
Speaker
So... There you go, guys. I'll just remind you of that. Whipped Cream and Other Delights. This album is probably the most famous album cover of the 60s with some minor exceptions. It's right up there with the the biggest of all time. So let's talk a little bit about the lady in the whipped cream.
00:27:27
Speaker
This is Dolores Erickson and she was from Seattle. In 1965, she got a call from photographer Peter Worf. Now, Worf had done several other other album covers and had used her before.
00:27:39
Speaker
And she was called in just like any other cover. And this was the cover that she was called in for. And this was actually shot in Worf's garage, Yetta. studio in his garage and for this cover and this was completely Worf's idea so he just took it upon himself to do something rather sexy and rather revealing so just to let you know this isn't all whipped cream that she's covered in here what they have here is like some like a Christmas tree uh skirt which is like a white fabric they actually use whipped cream but it started to melt under the lights so they brought in shaving cream so from her neck down or i should say from her chest down she's using shaving cream there's actual dessert topping on her head that's whipping cream and she's tasting the whipping cream so it was it didn't take very long to do this shoot but she is wearing a white bikini with the straps down but it gives the impression that she's nude under the cream which she really isn't
00:28:38
Speaker
And one of the interesting things about this is that she was three months pregnant, but she wasn't really showing yet. So with all this stuff on her, I guess it wouldn't have mattered much anyway.
Willie T's New Orleans Influence
00:28:47
Speaker
But um she got paid $1,500 for this shoot and expenses paid to get to the to get to Los Angeles.
00:28:55
Speaker
which would be about $11,000 in today's dollars, which is pretty good work for a half a day or less. But Herb Albert's reaction was that he said, wow, this is way too racy.
00:29:07
Speaker
When he saw Peter Worf's concept and saw the photographs, he thought, this is a little too much. And he didn't feel that this cover... really reflected the music on it.
00:29:19
Speaker
i think it's got something there. It's up okay. It's good. It's not into great territory, but it's fun, like Kit said, in a very Austin Powers way. Yes.
00:29:32
Speaker
And I should mention that Alan Toussaint wrote this song under the pen name of Naomi Neville, who was his mother, and it was originally recorded by the Stokes. Oh, another one is written under that pseudonym. Yeah, he's used that quite a bit.
00:29:47
Speaker
And we have a cash box review. I love this cash box review. So they mentioned exactly what you mentioned, that there were several different cover versions of this out at the same time.
00:29:58
Speaker
What it says is, the latest entry in this year's oft-covered sweepstakes... So they recognize there have been too many versions of Hello Dolly as well. Yep. Appears to be Whipped Cream, which boasts initial recordings by Pete Fountain, Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass, and Vet Orkster Warren Covington.
00:30:20
Speaker
Vet Orkster. Love that. Orkster. I love Orkster. At number 100, Teasing You by Willie T. It's not a great song. It's good playing.
00:30:32
Speaker
It's an okay lead vocal. The tune is very repetitive, but entertaining enough. Don't you know that my baby love me
00:30:46
Speaker
You're nothing but a popcorn
00:30:50
Speaker
Sucker John, they call you the Island Man, cause you think you're raising sand, they call you Doc.
00:31:07
Speaker
Ironically, this would lead to Willie's recognition later in life. Tough City Records would reissue some of Willie T's material. And doesn't Willie T sound like a rap name to you?
00:31:20
Speaker
And it would be sampled by rappers including Sean Diddy Combs, New Orleans Lil Wayne, and Houston's own Ghetto Boys.
00:31:30
Speaker
Yeah. It's interesting because he's really an early architect of the New Orleans funk and soul. In the late 60s, Cannonball Adderley encouraged Willie T to record an instrumental album. Now, it was never released, but the fact that he got the attention of Cannonball Adderley...
00:31:50
Speaker
That's cool. That's pretty cool. Willie T. bursts onto the national scene in the 1960s with the R&B hit Teasing You, which led to a string of hits, but his biggest contribution probably came from being the music mastermind of the Wild Magnolias Mardi Gras Indians. Up to that point, no one had recorded the songs of the Indians.
00:32:12
Speaker
Exactly, they were the first ones to put a band behind Mardi Gras Indians and a lot of people don't realize that. In other words, Willie T is responsible for many of the tunes we hear during Mardi Gras.
Musical Diversity of March 1965
00:32:26
Speaker
Willie also played the first Jazz Fest in 1970 and was a constant present at the Fest for many years.
00:32:33
Speaker
But his daughter Raquel told us what she thought was his greatest skill. I think production was his greatest talent in that, for example, when he and I worked together, when he produced the album on me, I wrote the melodies, that came up with the song, or the concept of the song, and once I would show it to him, he took it to another level from a producer standpoint.
00:32:54
Speaker
Willie T died in 2007, and Raquel noted what was also clear about her father is that he loved his family and made time for them. I loved his voice. You could really hear jazz, soul, and funk in the voice, and along with New Orleans, of course.
00:33:10
Speaker
Like the horns and bass lines, sounded a little like Curtis Mayfield at times, something he might write. Although there were other times where I thought he was going to watch into the way you do the things you do.
00:33:21
Speaker
There were parts of it that sounded a little like that by The Temptations. But other than that, I enjoyed it. Me and Kit seem to be thinking very similarly this month for the US charts.
00:33:35
Speaker
hey Cool grooving soul. I liked his vocal. The horns were great. And there was a nice laid back vibe to this, as opposed to some of the songs we've had this month that aren't as laid back. But this has got a grooving laid back vibe that you could just chill out to.
00:33:52
Speaker
agreed One more thing about Willie T. Willie T. Turbenton, even though he never actually obtained his own success, would contribute to Dr. John's 2004 album, Northern's Dis Dat Enda
Alvin Cash's Chicago Sound
00:34:07
Speaker
Utta.
00:34:07
Speaker
And he also appears in a Blinkin' You Miss Him role in Ray. So he might have run into Ringo because Ringo was hanging out with Dr. John during those sessions. Oh, yeah, that's right.
00:34:18
Speaker
that's true. So, Kit, why don't you take us into the week of March the 27th? Okay, we have it. Number one, Stop in the Name of Love by the Supremes.
00:34:29
Speaker
That's okay. I don't have a problem with that. Number four, Eight Days a Week.
00:34:58
Speaker
Number 44, I Don't Want to Spoil the Party.
00:35:27
Speaker
And number 68, Floor by the Beatles. Mr. Moonlight, Mr. Moonlight, I've been up and free. You're out on my nose, baby, you're the baby.
00:35:51
Speaker
The Beatles were continuing to dominate the charts. And finally, number 79, which we covered in the UK, charts the last time by the Rolling Stones.
00:36:04
Speaker
At number 80, The Barracuda by Alvin Cash and the Crawlers. We've last heard from Alvin Cash and the Crawlers with Twine Time.
00:36:15
Speaker
They follow up that tune with another dance song. It's good in a northern soul fashion, and it does make you want to move, but that's all it is.
Al Martino vs. Benny Goodman
00:36:24
Speaker
a hit, nice Chicago sound, possibly a really good club song, but ah to be honest with you, I would have preferred a version from the Blues Brothers.
00:36:32
Speaker
Mm-hmm.
00:37:05
Speaker
I thought this was not nearly as good as their previous single. and I didn't think it was terribly well recorded or mixed. It sounds distorted and kind of muffled at times.
00:37:16
Speaker
I don't really get what the dance is either. I was trying to figure out precisely how you do it. And spelling out the word ah number of times, Barracuda, doesn't really add to the catchiness.
00:37:30
Speaker
I think if there have been better lyrics and obviously a much better quality recording, it could have improved things.
The Miracles' Vocal Mastery
00:37:37
Speaker
But it's otherwise kind of a throwaway record. I like Twine Time better than this.
00:38:03
Speaker
How come Kit keeps pre-empting things that I've thought about? I thought when they were spelling out the word Barracuda, I was thinking of a sketch or something on Sesame Street where you've got them teaching people how to spell a word.
00:38:20
Speaker
Yes. That's the first thing I thought of when that bit was there. It's okay, sort of lower tier hit, but not much more than that, other than, what the heck is that guitarist doing on this song?
00:38:35
Speaker
What he's doing on there is burning away on the electric guitar, incredibly, but it doesn't match with the rest of the song. Yeah, that's a good point. It really does. It sounds out of place.
00:38:53
Speaker
He needs a good rock song to throw that electric guitar part into. For sure. At number 81, Somebody Else is Taking My Place by Al Martino.
00:39:04
Speaker
ah boy. Well,
00:39:20
Speaker
My heart is breaking for some more.
00:39:35
Speaker
More of Al Martino doing the Dean Martin thing. The guitar is good, but the rest of the record isn't. Poor lead vocal, poor backing vocals that are thankfully not too far to the fore, and the arrangement is awful.
00:39:48
Speaker
Miss. Yep, I agree. This was originally by Benny Goodman, his lead vocalist, Peggy Lee, circa 41. That is a much, much better version, because that one swings.
00:40:02
Speaker
Son.
00:40:32
Speaker
As far as this goes... heart is aching My heart is breaking
00:40:44
Speaker
Once again, i sound like a broken record, but the strings, just too much. An overly dramatic opening. Al Martino's voice is almost drowned out at times, I thought, in this mix.
00:40:58
Speaker
It was slightly country-sounding at times, which is odd. That is not how the original sounded at all. But other than that, kind of doing a Dean Martin, not a great record.
00:41:08
Speaker
Go to the original. Go to Betty Goodman's. It's much better. Dean Martin heard this on the radio and he said, is somebody else trying to take my place? Aired it all before, nothing new, move along.
00:41:24
Speaker
At number 83, Ooh Baby Baby by The Miracles. This is another one of those Motown songs that I remember loving from the time that I was just a youngster doing my very first podcast. No, no, no.
00:41:39
Speaker
Would that be a cassette tape cast?
00:41:43
Speaker
This is not necessarily the hottest playing from the Funk Brothers, although it is good. The song wins because of Smokey's vocals. The harmonies from The Miracles are great, and the percussion really swings.
00:41:56
Speaker
More on this when we read the Motown Junkies review at the end. Yes. Oh my gosh, I love this song. I just love it. I think it's one of Smokey's best vocal performances. I mean, the way you hear him playing with the melody...
00:42:13
Speaker
and the flourishes that he uses. You feel every ounce of emotion from him in this record. i mean, when he's pleading, oh, baby, baby, wow, it is so, ah dare I say, sexy.
00:42:26
Speaker
This is a very sexy record.
00:42:47
Speaker
I know I've made a few, but I'm only mine. Linda Ronstadt, of course, covered it, and she added the sexy to it as well.
00:43:00
Speaker
Gorgeous backing vocals by The Miracles. Good Funk Brothers arrangement. It may not be one of their all-time best performances, but they really just need to be there to showcase Smokey.
00:43:11
Speaker
And boy, do they ever love it. Yep, forward-thinking hit. Vocally, you can see where the stylistics would get their inspiration from. i could see that.
00:43:22
Speaker
And it really works. It's a great, great song. Marv, why don't you read what the Motown Junkies had to say about this song? Okay. The words are elongated, stretched, twisted, smeared together. The boundaries between lines are blurred and sometimes even completely painted over.
00:43:42
Speaker
Without ever sounding as though he's lost control, without ever relaxing his grip, he throws open curtains, lets the light flow through windows we didn't even know were there before.
00:43:54
Speaker
What he's doing here is new, as though he's suddenly discovered some vast hitherto unexplored territory between lead vocal and harmony. between singing the lyrics and singing a scale and the highlights are many and thrilling.
00:44:12
Speaker
They comment that they do not give the song a 10 out of 10 only because they have put an artificial limit on the number of tens that they will give for Motown Records and they put this just outside of that artificial limit of 50 records.
00:44:26
Speaker
Okay. So they give it a nine, but say, if we were going to 51, this would be a 10. Yeah. Okay. All right.
Critiques of Leslie Gore and Others
00:44:34
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, this is a master class in singing.
00:44:37
Speaker
No doubt about it. And it's Smokey finally taking one back for himself. After you giving away all these great songs, it's like, okay, this is ours.
00:44:48
Speaker
Yeah. yeah Oh, by the way, you've reminded me now of the Ronstadt version. that Yeah, that's quite a um Yes, that is a very sexy version of the song..
00:45:30
Speaker
My heart went out to play But in the game I lost you What a price to pay Hey, I'm crying
00:46:16
Speaker
Girl you made me
00:47:41
Speaker
One day I'll hold you near With splash
00:47:55
Speaker
I'm crying, crying, I'm crying
00:48:39
Speaker
Oh
00:48:46
Speaker
At number 84, I'll Never Find Another You by The Seekers, which we covered on the UK side. At number 88, The Entertainer by Tony Clark. No, this is not the Scott Joplin song.
00:48:59
Speaker
No, this is not the Billy Joel song. Organ-based, smooth soul sound. I like it, but I don't love it. And no, this is not the Tony Clark that would be associated with The Beatles.
00:49:13
Speaker
Boy, that was a lot of disclaimers. who the Yeah. The entertainer. The curtain's up. And your audience is waiting out there. Now walk on stage, walking like you don't have care.
00:49:28
Speaker
And don't let them know that you're feeling so low. Since your girl's put you down, you're a sad hearted.
00:49:41
Speaker
This was written by Tony Clark, this Tony Clark. I liked it maybe a little more than you did. I liked the chord changes. i liked the smooth vocals. The guitar solo was nice. Not crazy about the organ. Again, i would have preferred maybe a regular piano solo or maybe trading between that and guitar.
00:50:00
Speaker
But really catchy. I liked the lead vocal on this a lot. Tony was a great soul singer. Yep. I enjoyed this. It's got a good groove, great vocals, and a nice vibe to it.
00:50:10
Speaker
Cool. Upper middle. And we should mention that this Tony Clark, the one with the E, would die young in 1971, but would also see a resurgence of his career when Northern Soul came to the fore.
00:50:25
Speaker
Cool. At number 89, we're going to make it by Lil' Milton. I love it. Not terribly tuneful, but it's a great groove. Hot lead vocal and nice horns with a brilliant solo on there.
00:50:39
Speaker
The guitar is good, but it's basically on a loop. keeping me from rating it even higher. This does remind me a little bit of one of the stories that came out during the Saturday Night Live 50th anniversary.
00:50:52
Speaker
They went around to cast members and asked them if they could hum or sing the Saturday Night Live theme, and none of them could. it's It's got the same sort of feel. It's, oh, okay, someone's just playing a saxophone.
00:51:04
Speaker
So that's what I get. It doesn't take away from it, but it's like, oh, yeah, that's the same thing. hu I agree. I like the song a lot
00:51:16
Speaker
lot. We may not have a cent to pay the rent, but we're going to make it.
00:51:29
Speaker
We may have to eat beans every day But we're gonna make it, I know we will And if a job is hard to find And we have to stand in the welfare line.
00:51:45
Speaker
Love the blasting horns and his gritty voice. of The groove is just irresistible. But what's interesting is the lyrics are much more sobering. You know, saying we're going to make it even though, you know, maybe on welfare and the money's tight and all, but we are going to make it.
00:52:03
Speaker
And... It's just a terrific record. and This actually would be the biggest hit of Little Milton's career. This was his only top 40 single, and it was his highest charting R&B single, and spent three weeks at number one on there. So yeah, this was his biggest hit by far, and I like it.
00:52:24
Speaker
I agree. I think this is a real gem. Yep. We're all in agreement there. Great song. Love his voice on it. Love the horns. They stand out to all three of us. Fun record.
00:52:34
Speaker
I'd say... Ooh. Almost... Top quality hit. Yeah. Just short of that. I mean, if it had a bit more of a tune, then I would rank it a bit higher, but it's very good. Yep.
00:52:47
Speaker
Yep.
Conclusion and New Features
00:52:48
Speaker
Agreed. At number 90, a song that is not very good. Crazy Downtown by Alan Sherman. Alan Sherman, our friend from Hello Mudda, Hello Fata, is parodying downtown.
00:53:01
Speaker
So kids, give your folks a break because you're driving us crazy. We sit here all night and take milk down, swallowing pills so we'll calm down.
00:53:12
Speaker
Counting the hours, you're downtown. You and your frug and your sloppy.
00:53:36
Speaker
While we're lying there, we try to watch the television. Then you call us up and say you've had slight delision. There goes the car. a is it over yet Take it off, quoting some of the lyrics, because when you kids are gone, we get to spend some time alone here.
00:53:57
Speaker
That's our only chance to use the bathtub or the phone here when you're away. Besides, we're stuck where we are. And of course, they're uptown as opposed to the kids being downtown.
00:54:11
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, this to me, the humor is, you crazy kids get off my lawn kind of thing. I mean, it's just all these kids today, they go downtown, they listen to this crazy music and doing the frug. I don't know what he had against the frug.
00:54:31
Speaker
And these crazy dances, and it's a such tired, tired humor. You know, Alan Sherman, he did well with Hello Mudda, Hello Fata, but this, no, not funny.
00:54:43
Speaker
How funny. A rip-off of a song by doing a parody of it. Same schtick, again. Thanks, Alan. Zero out of five. I did almost like the ending where it's like, and we're gonna go downtown, and we're gonna do nice dances like the Foxtrot and the Tango. Wait till I get you kids home.
00:55:03
Speaker
There'll be no more frugging, no swimming, no jerk, no mashed potatoes, no slop. And I'll tell you something else. Tomorrow night, you're going stay home and do your homework. And your mother and I are going downtown. we're going to dance the tango and the waltz and the boxtrot and the funny hop.
00:55:18
Speaker
Those are nice dances. And there'll be no more frugging and no slop.
00:55:27
Speaker
That's the only part that I kind of liked. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. oh At number 92, the return of our friend Leslie Gore with All of My Life.
00:55:41
Speaker
ah Slightly better than the mediocre Leslie Gore material she's been presenting. She sings it well, but there just is no life in the lead vocal.
00:55:51
Speaker
The backing vocals are average to poor. The horns might have perked things up a bit, but even they don't help very much. I hate to say it, but a miss.
00:56:02
Speaker
A high miss, but a miss. Yeah, I agree. All of my life I've been looking for a love like you I can't wait till we say I do Then I'll have all of you all of my life All my life
00:56:37
Speaker
I didn't think this suited Leslie Gore at all. I thought she was trying to be a bit soulful, but I just didn't like her voice on this. It sounded more nasal and high-pitched, which isn't really typical for her.
00:56:50
Speaker
Very repetitive lyrics. That title phrase was repeated, and I lost count how many times. And just irritating. And this was written by Tony Powers.
00:57:01
Speaker
I think we've mentioned him before. you know wrote number of songs, including 98.6, Lazy Day, and We're the Banana Splits. Yes, we have mentioned. we remember the Banana Splits because we were talking about his commercial work.
00:57:18
Speaker
who There were things that I liked about this. I don't mind Leslie's voice to a degree. She could have given it a bit more oomph, perhaps. I hate saying that.
00:57:31
Speaker
you But what I saw in this was where we would see Quincy going with arrangements, because these elements of the backing with the horns and the orchestration, where you can see where would go to when he'd be doing like boss and over and things like that.
00:57:50
Speaker
But those sorts of arrangements, you can almost see that in what's going on in the background, but not quite there. That's what I got out of it anyway. Yep. At number 94, think of all the good times by Jay and the Americans.
00:58:04
Speaker
First off, for the first time I noticed this was considered a Kama Sutra production. I thought that was a little bit racy for a pop record at the time. I mean, who reads labels? Yeah.
00:58:15
Speaker
yeah As to the song itself, it's trying to hit somewhere between the Beach Boys and the Four Seasons. However, the strings are poorly recorded and borderline unlistenable.
00:58:27
Speaker
When was the last time we liked a Jay the Americans tune? Miss. Yeah, Come a Little Bit Closer was definitely their high point. Way back then Can't we let these wonderful memories Bring us together again
00:59:05
Speaker
This is mid-tempo love song that never really takes off. I mean, they try with the harmonies, sort of try and emulate the Beach Boys, but I felt like the song didn't really suit the lead singer particularly. I didn't really like his performance on this. Nothing remarkable, plus it's overproduced, particularly the you know the strings, as you mentioned, Ed, not well recorded.
00:59:28
Speaker
Just boring. I thought it was boring song. No hook to it. Repetitive. Missed. Yep, something you might hear in an elevator somewhere. Yeah, it's got the meh factor from me.
00:59:40
Speaker
At number 98, I Do Love You by Billy Stewart. A nice bit of soul. It feels almost 70s in the execution to me. The harmony backing vocals carry this tune. The lead is okay, but a bit disposable.
00:59:54
Speaker
The lyrics match that. It's another one that works as well as it does only because of the great groove. See the Lil' Milton song at number 89. We're gonna make it. I want you to try to understand.
01:00:32
Speaker
It sounds a bit like a Curtis Mayfield imitation, but not nearly as good. The lyrics need some work. ah Again, repeating the title phrase way too many times. Billy Stewart has a good voice. ah He oversings a bit at times. I feel like he's trying to show off his vocal range and doing some vocal acrobatics for his wife and say, calm down, calm down.
01:00:54
Speaker
The backing is good through the song, except for the opening, which I thought strangely transitioned then into the meat of the track. I mean, it almost sounded like they were trying to shoehorn two songs in together. You know, it doesn't really get going until about a minute in.
01:01:12
Speaker
I do love you I love you so to my love My mama baby, yeah, yeah, yeah. Little darling, I said, I love you so right now.
01:01:27
Speaker
Never, never gonna let, gonna let, gonna let you go. Okay, so I'm making a music video to go with this song.
01:01:38
Speaker
right So the first minute of this song is this couple, they've met at a school reunion where they dance with each other, but neither of them told each other that they liked each other back in the day.
01:01:50
Speaker
And now they're admitting that. And then after that first minute, you get the rest of their life where they've got married, spent the rest of the lives together, had children and had a nice life together.
01:02:02
Speaker
But at the same time, just like any other Hallmark film, the song is just there in the background. Butcher analogy. And I forgot to mention when I said about a Curtis Mayfield imitation, I found out later there's a reason for that because apparently the song is loosely based around the last 30 seconds of the impression song I've been trying, which I think we've covered. There you go. Yep.
01:02:30
Speaker
So it sounds like a faint Curtis Mayfield imitation. At number 99 and closing out the charts for this month, but not our last comment here.
01:02:41
Speaker
i can't explain by the who, which we covered on the UK side. We're going to be starting a new feature inside C or D, depending upon whatever the last side is in any given month.
01:02:52
Speaker
We're going to give you a playlist, two songs from the UK charts, two songs from the US charts, and one wildcard from either. And we do have a Beatles record in here this time, but understand there's always an implied the latest Beatles record is in here, whether we include it or not.
01:03:12
Speaker
Yes. yeah yeah All right, so Marv, you want to let us in on the two songs from the UK side? The UK?
01:03:23
Speaker
Yep. First up, we've got to The Last Time by The Rolling Stones, which we think is a shining example of the way that music is going forward in the UK and how The Rolling Stones are getting better as songwriters and as artists.
01:03:37
Speaker
And the the second one is For Your Love by... the yardbirds it shows the way forward the way that music will go forward and with all the different sections and the arrangements and the instrumentation there that's not ordinary for a chart hit yeah very forward thinking Yeah.
01:03:58
Speaker
Eric Clapton is off in the corner shouting at us right now. Kit, what about the two U.S. songs? Okay, for the two U.S. songs, it's Motown. We chose two Motown songs.
01:04:11
Speaker
First one, I'd Be Doggone by Marvin Gaye, which we talked about. You know, we like it for Marvin's incredible vocals, just the tight, tight Funk Brothers backing. a little divided on the lyrics, but But Marvin's performance softens the blow of some of the lyrics.
01:04:30
Speaker
It's just a great record. And finally, oh Baby Baby by The Miracles, which we talked about a masterclass in singing by Smokey Robinson. Gorgeous harmonies and also a great song lyrically.
01:04:45
Speaker
Sexy. Yep. Now, the wild card, which I will take, is from the American side, and it is at least in part for the record, but as mentioned, we're going to have a Beatles record in here this month.
01:04:59
Speaker
It is the For By The Beatles EP, particularly for the first side with Honey Don't and I'm a Loser. Two great tracks, particularly I'm a Loser. That's a song that should have been a single by itself. Absolutely. Absolutely.
01:05:12
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. The four songs show where the Beatles are at that time, ah where some of the songs harken back to what their inspiration was up to now, but things like I'm a Loser show where the Beatles are going to go to from here.
01:05:26
Speaker
Absolutely. Well put. There are choices for a playlist for the month of March 1965, and we will be doing this at the end of each month moving forward.
01:05:39
Speaker
All right, we will be back. We're already into April. We're already into the fourth month of 1965. Can you believe it? Wow. Another 45 years and we might be able to go on the internet.
01:05:50
Speaker
Or 35 years. so In 1966, the ARPANET program headed by Larry Roberts began work. On October 29, 1969, the first message was sent across the ARPANET from UCLA to Stanford. Spring can't come soon enough.
01:06:07
Speaker
Talk to you then. See you then. Take care.
01:06:41
Speaker
There was a piece in the NME, a news piece that said that Top Rank Records, remember when Top Rank had a record label? and They introduced an LP series next week that will be called Toppermost.
01:06:52
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, Record and Show Mirror as it was then.
01:07:09
Speaker
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.
01:07:24
Speaker
Toppermost of the poppermost.