Transcript
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 you they would have a bad night or the gig didn't work properly or the amps broke or whatever.
Speaker: i say, where are we going, fellas? And they'd go, to the top, Johnny. And I'd say, where's that, fellas? And they'd say, to the toppermost or the poppermost. I'd say, right. And we'd all sort Cheer up.
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. we'd all sort of cheer up.
Speaker: Welcome to Side C of Toppermost of the Poppermost for April of 1965. I'm I'm Kid O'Toole. And I'm Martin Quibble.
Speaker: We actually think we're going to get away with just three sides this month. Wow. Three sides. who Another one of those blank B-side discs. We're going to pick up the Billboard charts with the week of April 17th.
Speaker: At number one, I'm Telling You Now by Freddy and the Dreamers. He's telling you now. That's right. At number 12, Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter by Herman's Hermits.
Speaker: First off, this was written by our old friend Trevor Peacock. Yes, indeed. He's back. Yep, that guy from the Vicar of Dibley. Now, Kit, can you tell me why this record is so big?
Speaker: To me, listening to this record is the ultimate definition of being a nerdy anglophile.
Speaker: How dare you? yeah Yeah, really, watch what you're saying there, Ed.
Speaker: I don't quite get it. It almost feels musical to me. It's very definitely stereotypical Hermits. The guitar might as well be a banjo or banjo-lele.
Speaker: harmonies in the middle feel very British invasion. And i would argue that it may be the very Britishness that carried this record from being just a hit record to a smash in the States.
Speaker: Mm-hmm. Yeah, I think that may be part of it. Tell her that I'm well and feeling fine. Don't let her.
Speaker: Don't say she's broke my heart. I'd go down on my knees, but it's no good to find.
Speaker: Mrs. Brown, you've got a lovely daughter.
Speaker: Interesting that you said that it sounded almost like a banjo. The original version was sung by actor Tom Courtney in The Lads, which was from 1963. It was an ITV television playhouse play and was released as a single.
Speaker: And if you listen to that version, there's definitely a banjo there. And
Speaker: Mrs. Brian, you've got lovely daughter
Speaker: Girls as sharp as her are something rare. It definitely sounds like more of a throwback, like Music Hall. Herman's Hermit's version doesn't deviate too much from that, except the drums are stronger in this version. There's a little bit of modern, for that time, rock to it.
Speaker: It's really just sort of cute. If you see the Herman's Hermit's performance of it on Ed Sullivan, Peter Noon is really playing up his boyish charm and trying to look as cute as possible. That lopsided grin of his. Exactly, yeah And the girls love it.
Speaker: You know, you can hear them screaming. Is this a groundbreaking song? No. But I think it has some charm. It's not my favorite Herman's Hermit hermitt song, but it just has that kind of charm to it. And maybe it is that kind of throwback sound, almost, well, for us Americans, Wadvillian, that makes it you unique.
Speaker: I like it a bit more than you do. It might as well be George Formby, you know? Yeah, it is kind of like that. So that's a nice segue to the ukulele on this makes it more of a novelty than it would be without.
Speaker: e If they didn't have the ukulele on there, I think it might be more popular with foreign audiences. Well, Marv, you can't get much more popular than it is in the States here.
Speaker: All right. It hit number one. earlier one Finish your thought and I will explain further. Okay. Yep. Teenage Peter New gives the song a cute feel to it. Louise liked the melody and she said that the lyrics were sweet.
Speaker: Over to Ed. And so part of my comment about it being a big thing in the States, this was not released as a single in the UK. yeah Wow. don whatson I'm actually shocked.
Speaker: Me too. Now, believe it or not, this is where this song debuted, and it is the third highest debuting single of the 60s. Yeah, I saw that. Anyone want to guess who has the top two higher debuting singles?
Speaker: I know the answer. Okay, I don't know the answer. So it's a game for Marv. The Beatles? Yes. There you go. Yep. One of them you can almost certainly guess. The other one you might not. the Strawberry Fields Forever. Did that get to number one in America?
Speaker: That did not. People are going to get bored waiting for me to come up with the answer. So over to Kit. That would be Hey Jude and Get Back when both of them debuted at number 10.
Speaker: Wow. Yeah. That's a little bit surprising to me. Me too. And we have a cash box review of this single. They called this tune a twangy, rhythmic, low-key tale about a lad whose gal gives him the gate.
Speaker: On the flip, the hermit's offer, I gotta dream on. A gal. Right, lovely. Oh man, I wouldn't call it twangy either.
Speaker: I almost think Cashbox didn't listen to the record. Yeah, I think if they were listening to a country song or something, because none of this sounds like the actual song. No.
Speaker: At number 17, there are those Beatles with eight days a week. He'd been on the charts for longer than eight days, though. Yes! my wasn't sakes perhaps do the first part um you mean thats the scene i'm playing he's an actor because who plays a gangngston and you're the hero and you take me away from and and we heardg and we kissed and we heard and we kissed and and he doesn't like it that's right kiss me and a one a a two
Speaker: At number 80, one of our favorite Beach Boys records. Well, one of mine. I don't know about you guys. Help me, Rhonda. Definitely. I was thinking about it. think this is the first song that really made me fall in love with the Beach Boys.
Speaker: That's interesting because it's also the first single that's got Al Jardine on lead vocal. Yes. This is very definitely a next phase Beach Boys record. It's one of the early ones with all the various instrumentation that shows up here. Absolutely. You can hear previews of pet sounds on this with the elaborate harmonies, some of the unusual instrumentation like jingle bells.
Speaker: and just the polished production and interesting rhythms that they're experimenting with here, but yet so catchy. her out of my...
Speaker: gorgeous harmonies. it's It's one of my all-time favorite Beach Boys records. Yep. All that percussion on here. Al Blaine's not just doing some fantastic drumming on here. He's also playing the timbales, and you've got some other percussion plays on this.
Speaker: And there's claves on here as well. Yes. There are, yes. And you've got Billy Strange playing the ukulele on this. Yes, saw that. That was interesting. I love this song. The bass playing on this is by Ray Polman. Great lead guitar by Bill Pittman.
Speaker: You've got two 12-string guitars, an electric that's played by Carl Wilson, and the acoustic is played by glen Campbell. And one of our favourite people, Leon Russell, playing the piano. The Wrecking Crew.
Speaker: Yep. Written by Brian with some help from Mike. Yeah, that sound of on the ukulele, it just proves your point that Brian knew how to do the wall of sound better than Phil did.
Speaker: yeah I was thinking that. You can definitely hear the Phil Spector influence here, but yeah, I think it's better. There's a clarity to all of the instruments. They're not all mushed up.
Speaker: You can hear everything that's going on on this production. Exactly. And at this point, you can definitely tell that Brian Wilson and the Beatles are more or less on the same wavelength musically.
Speaker: This is a lot like the same sort of things they would shortly be doing on the Help album. Absolutely. They were definitely taking pointers off each other at this point in time, for sure.
Speaker: Paul, in particular, I think really... paid close attention to Brian Wilson's production style, arranging style, these kind of layers that he would create.
Speaker: And of course, once the Beatles really started getting into their studio-only phase, they would take that to a new level. Yeah, I can see inspiration both ways as well, definitely with Paul, with the melodicism that Brian's putting into the music as well.
Speaker: Oh, for sure. And so Brian was able to do this both from a songwriting and a production standpoint because he had stopped touring with the Beach Boys.
Speaker: The quote here is, a couple of days before Christmas 1964, the Beach Boys were on a plane from Los Angeles to Houston when Brian Wilson suffered a panic attack.
Speaker: Almost immediately, Wilson decided that the stress of staying on the road was too much for him. He decided to stay home while the rest of the band was on the road. That's right. The other thing, too, is this became a notorious session because Al Jardine was having a hard time with the vocals on this. And I can understand why. It's pretty rangy. During the recording for the second version of the song,
Speaker: There was a heated confrontation between Brydon Wilson and his father, Murray. Murray had been dismissed as the group's manager for nearly a year, but he would still come to the studio, and he was drunk.
Speaker: We would like to record under an atmosphere of calmness. I love you. My mother loves you. We like to relax a second. First all, you should never have all these people here. Second of all, they're not saying anything. You're the one who's talking. You forget to sing from your hearts.
Speaker: I try to give you tips, and you think because you've had a few hits, you've got it made. And son, remember this. You always have to fight for success because it comes from your heart. Success never comes from phony singing for money. sometimes You have to sing from your Don't you tell Johnny Rivers that, not... I don't care who you tell.
Speaker: And he... would constantly critique and ridicule the group singing throughout each take and you know that certainly didn't help al jardine help me run the bank syncopated
Speaker: brian your voice is thrilling through everybody carl we can't hear carl we can hear dennis but we can't heal mike we can't hear mike and we can hardly hearal or hear hear al Can we hear a chord?
Speaker: Just a chord like we used to. When you used to sing clear records, okay? miracle Let's go. Brian, chuck I'm a genius too. Let's go,
Speaker: But she let another gun. Brian.
Speaker: Fellas, I have 3,000 words to say. Quit screaming start singing from your hearts, huh? And he and Brian got into a fight over it, which even led to a physical altercation. And you can hear the unedited session tape on YouTube, and it's pretty ugly. That story is told in Brian Wilson's autobiography as well.
Speaker: Yeah, I think that was a real turning point for him, to stand up to his father like that. Yeah, because he sent him out and then took over, and then I think Murray was banned then from going to any sessions after that?
Speaker: Yeah, I think you're right. Yeah, I believe that's also in the biopic, the really good Brian Wilson biopic that came out a couple years back. Oh, yeah. Not as good a book, but it's also in Mike Love's autobiography as well.
Speaker: who All right, we have two reviews. We've got a Cashbox and a Record World review. Kit, why don't you read the Cashbox and Marv, you read the Record World. Cashbox says, the Beach Boys are still hitting with Do You Want to Dance? But this new Capitol release, Help Me Rhonda, should not be hindered at all in its advance on the charts. Side is a power-packed, hard-driving, romantic surfin' rocker with an extremely infectious, danceable backbeat.
Speaker: Kiss Me Baby is a tender, slow-moving, moody ballad, which effectively blends in snatches of harmony and counterpoint. That's the B-side with Carl.
Speaker: Record World said it should be a big B.O., although it has less of their surf sound than usual, by the way. A big B.O.?
Speaker: That's a really unfortunate way to put it. Exactly. I suppose they meant box office. Yeah, they don't mean body odor, that's for sure. Yeah.
Speaker: At number 81, Just a Little by the Bo Brummels, written by guitarist Ron Elliott, along with his frequent collaborator Bob Duran, the song was produced by Sylvester Stewart, a.k.a. Sly Stone.
Speaker: This is a bit more poppy, but the coming folk rock era is only a stone's throw from here. Acoustic and electric guitars, particularly the 12-string and close harmony, very much precede the birds. The use of the minor with a faster tempo also works really well.
Speaker: You can clearly see the link from Dylan to Beatles for sale to this record. I can't stay. Yes, I know. You know I hate to go.
Speaker: But goodbye. Love was sweet. I was kind.
Speaker: I really found this a fascinating track. And i realized when the chorus hit that I had heard it before. I didn't recognize it immediately. But really interesting track for the contrast with the acoustic guitar, with the solo.
Speaker: not exactly wah-wah sounding guitar, but definitely an effect on it. To give it a little edge, it definitely sounds edgy for the time. Catchy chorus, and you can kind of tell that Slystone produced this. It is inventive in many ways with, as I mentioned, the guitar contrasts and that kind of thing.
Speaker: I like this track. I liked it a lot. I think it's kind of like what you were saying, Ed, a bit forward-thinking for its time. Not a big, big hit, but a moderate hit, yes. Yeah, I could tell, especially that solo that Kit mentioned, when that was playing, i thought it sounded like something that Sly would end up doing himself on the first Sly and the Family Stone album, which is only two years away. Yeah.
Speaker: It's okay. It's interesting to listen to, to me, more as something that I could hear those elements in more than the actual song itself. I can see that.
Speaker: And so Record World seems to be right up your alley in terms of these reviews, Marv. Okay. What they said about this record is that the group will be laugh laughing all the way to the bank with this slow rocker.
Speaker: Doesn't that sound like one of your puns? It does indeed. Yeah, kind of does. It does indeed. Yes. We're going to get some of my puns coming up soon, by the way.
Speaker: Awesome. At number 82, True Love Ways by Peter and Gordon, which we covered on the UK side. At number 83, Reelin' and Rockin' by the Dave Clark Five, which we covered on the UK side.
Speaker: At number 88, I Got a Woman Part 1 by Ray Charles and his orchestra. This is obviously not the original single. This is the live version that Ray recorded at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California.
Speaker: This is just Ray, his piano, and Orson. Yes, making the joke. The orchestra, Ork is much more prominent ah on the flip remainder of the song. want y'all to know that I got a woman who's gonna tell ya You're good to me Yes I have got a woman
Speaker: Good version. Great piano. It's good enough. There's no patch on the original, but for a live version, it's okay.
Speaker: good version great piano it's good enough there's no patch on the original but for a live version it's okay Yeah, i prefer the original, but you can really hear em Ray Charles' vocals here, all these influences in his voice.
Speaker: You hear gospel, mean, particularly at the beginning of the live version, when he sounds almost like he's ready to preach. You have the blues, right? with that kind of grittiness that he has.
Speaker: And then toward the end, he starts scatting a bit. It's just amazing how many genres that he certainly took from, but it's still Ray Charles. It's still almost like he created a new genre. His voice is so distinctive.
Speaker: And do like the jazz bass line and the sax solo on this version. And toward the end, there's a key change. little more risque, perhaps. Gets a little runchier than on the record.
Speaker: But as I said, I like the studio version better, but this is still classic and you really hear just what a pioneer Ray Charles was.
Speaker: Yeah, I enjoyed this. I think the studio version is great. I think this is really good as well. So I'm going to do the first of many quotes that I got from my other half, Louise.
Speaker: She said, this is a toe tapper that makes you want to get up and dance. Indeed. Kit, you want to read the Cashbox review for us? Okay, the Cashbox review said, the vet blues songster who is currently coming off his cry smash-a-roo destined to score heavily In the coin department, boy, this is so hip, with this top drawer updating of his years back, I Got a Woman Triumph.
Speaker: The side, which is taken from Charles' live and concert LP, treats the happy-go-lucky bluser in an especially infectious fashion. On the flip side, the artist offers the throbbing logical continuation of the top side.
Speaker: Doesn't that sound a little bit dirty to you? Throbbing logical continuations. Yeah, that's an interesting way to put it. Yeah, yeah. The song's six minutes long, let's split it down the middle and have people force themselves to turn the record over.
Speaker: and We also listened to the Elvis Presley version, which is a bit pacey, in my opinion. I don't know if you know that version. No, I haven't heard that one, I don't think.
Speaker: I've heard it. I don't care for it. What Ray does in six minutes, Elvis does in two and a half. oh Interesting. Interesting. But if Elvis had had taken it at this sort of speed, I think it would have worked a lot better for Elvis. But yeah, just saying that as an aside.
Speaker: i could see that.
Speaker: We're.
Speaker: That's it, you know, I just... tapers off to nothing. Well, I... Well, I... Well... Well, I said I got a woman Way across town She's good to me Oh, yeah
Speaker: That's good to me Oh yeah She is my baby Don't you understand now now it's an arm full of a man Baby I've got a woman way over town She's good to me I've got a woman way over town Good to me Oh yeah I've got a woman way over town who's good to meet, just me.
Speaker: She's able-loving, well, in the morning just for me. Whoa, yeah. She's able-loving, well, just for me.
Speaker: Yeah, she loves me, but so tenderly. Well, I've got a woman. Well, town, don't you know she's good to me?
Speaker: Whoa, whoa, yay! He say you love me tenderly, oh, I love him now, tenderly. Yes, I got a man now. Well, town, he's good to me.
Speaker: He's good to me. He's bad to love me both day and night. I never grumble off buses, always treat me right.
Speaker: I never run in the streets. Leaving me all alone. Cause the woman knows the plan. She's right there now in her home. I got a woman. Way over town.
Speaker: She's got to me.
Speaker: way over town She's good to me Oh yeah Well she's my baby Don't you understand? Everybody Her loving man Well I got that woman She's way over town She's good to me I say for me She makes me through When I'm at me wanna tell you that she's my hand
Speaker: I gotta walk where all the time is changing
Speaker: At number 90, the first of two faux Latin singles, Al's Place by Al, He's the King, Hurt.
Speaker: Yep, Al Hurt. There's some nice trumpet over a faux Latin beat, but wake me when it's over. Those backing vocals are not good. Music
Speaker: This is a lesser version of the Fernando's Hideaway theme from SNL.
Speaker: Is it ever? ah Yeah.
Speaker: It's time now for Fernando's Hideaway.
Speaker: that was the last time that I saw Gary Cooper. Saludos, my friends. I'm so happy to be here tonight. My friends, this is the real thing tonight. I'm telling you, you're going to crazy, go nuts. My guests are two sensational people.
Speaker: They are very close and dear friends of mine. We have broken burritos together many times. He is the one with the beard, not Yasser Arafat. I'll tell you that right now. It's so close, it's almost frightening.
Speaker: And she is the one with him. Please welcome my friends, the beautiful and talented actress, Miss Barbara Bach.
Speaker: Hello, darling. Hello. And her husband, an equally good friend of mine, Mr. Ringo. Now help me with that last name. Star. Star, I see now on the bio, you have three friends here. That's fantastic.
Speaker: The bio said star with two R's. yeah And all week I've been going star-ar, and I was not sure how to stop, you know, because the language is still fairly new to me. I have American teeth and a Spanish mouth, if you know what I'm saying to you.
Speaker: It's hopping, as you said, on the Latin trend. And at times it sounds like Al Horton and this man are trying to sound a little more current-dressed. particularly with the drumming style.
Speaker: But otherwise, I just found it basically background music, although it ends on an unresolved chord, which I thought was kind of interesting because at the end, I just was like, oh, it's over?
Speaker: just kind of ends hanging in the air. think the engineer was fed up with it by then.
Speaker: ah think the engineer was fed up with it by and Yeah, maybe that's it. I don't blame him. Those drums are brilliant, what you said. I was listening to that and i heard the drums, and it and it made me think about, do you know those times on The Muppets when they'd have songs playing, an animal wanted it to be a bit more beaty, and he'd suddenly go for it on the drums, and they'd have to slow him down, and it was like that.
Speaker: Yeah, you're right. That's good analogy. Right.
Speaker: Oh, Sonny, what's so true? I love... Faster! Sonny. Sonny! Thank you for the... Let me see. What's going on? Hello, Sonny.
Speaker: Oh, what's going on? Thank you for the...
Speaker: hello That's hilarious. It just made me think of that every time the drums were going. And then he'd have to slow down on the drums and quieten down a bit. And the drummer kept... Oh, dear. We got to make this hip.
Speaker: Animal was always right. That's right. And now we know the drummer who's behind Animal, don't we? Yeah, that's right. i just thought it was really cool. And just between the character of Animal being so hip and funny...
Speaker: and adopting that kind of moniker for a while. And then listening to the drumming behind that and finding out it was a guy named Ronnie Varel, I was definitely influenced by that. So that's short and sweet, the drummer for the day, Animal, or Ronnie Varel. There you go, you see, you come here for your edu-formation.
Speaker: That's right! Producer Chet Atkins is now in the studio where the mariachi horn players are still locked in from the Ring of Fire and being forced against their will to perform yet again, with probably little more than a burrito as a payment.
Speaker: It would be great in the background of a film about Mexico, background music. Well played, sir. What we got next. More Mexican background music.
Speaker: At number 94, Mexican Pearls by Billy Vaughn and his orchestra. a pleasant enough instrumental, but it's not even on par with the Al Hurt record. Syrupy strings, bells, and badly played not quite mariachi horns.
Speaker: I prefer Al Hurt's, and like I say I didn't like Al Hurt's record all that much. Yeah, this is more, and I'm i'm sorry, bad Lawrence Welk level. It just was elevator music, maybe a bit livelier, but that's still elevator music. The vibe solo was an interesting touch, but otherwise it sounds like something that was recorded like a decade earlier.
Speaker: Take it off. The very definition of elevator music. Ah!
Speaker: so
Speaker: It's those Mariachi Orn players yet again. Will someone please save them from being locked away in this studio? Louise asked if this was a trad boring. And she said it was like a burrito with no filling.
Speaker: Very good. There you go. All tortilla. That's right.
Speaker: At number 96, Nothing Can Stop Me by Gene Chandler. ah Curtis Mayfield tune, good backing, great lead vocal. I like the backing singers more when they are all harmonizing together on the solo spots.
Speaker: Well-played drums that I like, but they might be just ever so slightly overplayed. don't know. I think I may have liked this a little better.
Speaker: Nothing can stop me. Though you and I were pretty close. I'm calling it quits, girl.
Speaker: Cause it was you I really loved the most. It's classic Curtis Mayfield. I mean, from the first chords that opened the song, you know this is Curtis Mayfield. Those jazzy sort of chords he uses. It's very melodic. Great lead vocal from Gene Chandler here. Yeah.
Speaker: I just thought it was smooth yet emotional. This is some classic soul. And this could have been and recorded by the Impressions. You could imagine Curtis and the Impressions doing this.
Speaker: But Gene Chandler still made it his own. Love the horns. This is well arranged. You know, it has kind of a summery feel to it. You could picture putting this on like when you're having your barbecue.
Speaker: It just has this summery light kind of feel to it. I really enjoyed it. Yep, I really liked it as well. I like the production by ah Bill Shepard. The arrangement by Riley Ampton I think is good. I think it's a well-written song by Curtis. I love Gene's voice on this.
Speaker: Musically, it's almost like a meeting of Detroit and Chicago soul. Oh, interesting. I could see that. It's almost got a Motown-y feel to it, mixed in with the Chicago as well. To me, personally, it sounds like that.
Speaker: And now to a worse song. Yes! At number 98, Talk About Love by Adam Faith. Adam Faith is doing a bad ripoff of Heat Wave.
Speaker: I do kind of like the harmonica and his voice is good enough, but the backing is terrible. Terrible. This is a Chris Andrews song. We've seen Chris Andrews and Adam Faith together before.
Speaker: Chris Andrews wrote a number of songs for Sandy Shaw that we will be soon getting to on the UK side. here Absolutely. Well,
Speaker: baby, I'm here to talk about love.
Speaker: This sounded like audio chaos to me at times. Sloppily produced and arranged. Adam Faith is fighting to be heard over the harmonica, which I didn't mind the harmonica, but the harmonica, the guitars, it's overwhelming him. He tries to sound bluesy and raspy, and it just didn't really work.
Speaker: The backing singers sound like they're from a different record. He's doing this bluesy, raspy thing, and then there's the harmonica, and then the backing singers come in, and they're kind of, ooh, like out of a pop tune.
Speaker: Really strange, very repetitive lyrics. Enough repeating of talk about love, talk about love. Take it off. Do you agree that it sounds a little bit like Heat Wave? A little. A demented version, maybe. Damn.
Speaker: Adam Faith trying to rock his voice up doesn't really work for me at all and sounds more like an angry old man shouting at his kids to get off the blooming lawn. ah At number 99, I've Got $5 and It's Saturday Night by George and Gene.
Speaker: George and Gene are George Jones and Gene Pitney. An interesting combination, but George Jones is very clearly the winner. It's not a great record. I do like the country feel, the twang to it, and that drives the record.
Speaker: The very opening of the solo slightly play up pitney and that big rock feel but otherwise i think the gene is almost parodying a country accent while george jones is the real deal the backing is the jordanaires oh i didn't know that part wow i completely agree i think if this had been a george jones single alone i think that would have been an improvement however it's an interesting attempt to fuse country and pop slash rock music
Speaker: Let other folks worry what the future may bring, just a sit and worry won't get you a thing. My pants may be ragged, but that's alright, I've got five dollars and it's Saturday night.
Speaker: it It doesn't quite work, but I do like the country aspects of it. I didn't find the lyrics that interesting, not very memorable, which is interesting because they were written by Ted Daffin, who wrote a country classic, I'm a Fool to Care. Wow. So this is definitely not on that level.
Speaker: But i agree as about Gene Pitney. He does. it He sounds like he's trying to imitate a country singer. And he should have stuck with his regular voice to make it a country pop fusion.
Speaker: So, yep, I would say if this had been ah George Jones only single and the lyrics could be revised a bit, could have been a more interesting song. Yeah, what a strange pairing, which lends itself to my opinion that the way that it is with the two of them singing together, it's more like one of those television specials where if George Jones was the main person, you know, like you had the Johnny Cash show and all these shows.
Speaker: If George Jones was the main person and then suddenly Gene comes in through the fake door that they have in these places because of pretending that they're houses. And then joins George Jones to do a song together.
Speaker: It sounds more like one of those where you're too drunk to turn the television off on a Saturday night because you've already had too many beers to turn the television Oh, I'll just listen to this anyway or watch this.
Speaker: And that's about the level that it is to me personally. Oh, that's funny. That's true, though. Marv, why don't you read the Record World review? You'll like this. Oh, will I?
Speaker: Two big sellers have hooked up with each other for an exciting C&W disc. They should do C-dough well. What? what what want They should do C-dough well.
Speaker: Oh, like Dosey Doe. Oh, Dosey Doe. Dosey Doe. Yeah. Okay. How clever. Note the words there. It's D-O dash S-E-E slash D-O-U-G-A. That's why have trouble reading it, you see. It's that darn spelling.
Speaker: Oh, it's oh so clever. Dang it. Finishing up this week at number 100, You Were Only Fooling While I Was Falling in Love by Damone.
Speaker: Well, other than that repeating horn riff, this is almost a listenable record. It's mostly due to the quality of the song, though. Vic Damone's voice is fine, but lacks character, and the backing is more or less nondescript.
Speaker: Compared to the infinitely better Sinatra or Patsy Cline versions of this
Speaker: were only fooling me while I was
Speaker: Frank Sinatra's version is far better. Yeah. And I wasn't, to be honest, crazy about the song overall, but it was a little corny for me, but Vic DuMone, I mean, great singer.
Speaker: Don't get me wrong. mean, you know, Vic DuMone fans out there, he's a, know, was a great singer, but I just thought his vocals sounded bland here. I mean, Sinatra was way better with nuances. and I thought the horns were kind of a corny arrangement.
Speaker: Yeah. I think Frank Sinatra's version is so much better, not only for the lead vocal, but the arrangement. It was a more sophisticated one. I'm not saying it's completely unlistenable, but it was pretty subpar.
Speaker: Except for those horns. Those horns are unlistenable. Yes, that is a corny, corny arrangement. And now for another Louise-ism that says it all.
Speaker: Louise says that this is so syrupy that Val Doonican's rocking chair would probably stick to the floor.
Speaker: We've got to get her on this show. That says it too. She nailed it. All right. So before we go into the final week of April, we want to give you a little bit about our Patreon kit.
Speaker: Yes. Let's take a moment to tell you about our Patreon page. ah For just $6 a month, you can get even more Toppermost of the Poppermost footage. I don't even know what could be higher than the Toppermost.
Speaker: Yeah. Well, if you join our Patreon, like Kevin Lark, for just $6 month, you will find out. Cool. We've just completed an interview with the one and only Billy J. Kramer.
Speaker: An abbreviated version will be our May feature, but if you want to hear our complete conversations with him and other guests, such Shell Talmy, Jim Birkenstadt and others, then subscribe to our Patreon now at patreon.com forward slash toppermost of the poppermost, where you'll get the uppermost.
Speaker: And we should also mention David Modlin, who has subscribed at the $1 level. You'll get a mention, but you don't get to hear the goodies unless you subscribe at the $6 level. yeah But thank you, David. And thank you, Kevin, for all of your support.
Speaker: Thank you, guys. All right, on to the final week of April, April the 24th. Marv, why don't you start us off? Okay, so at number one, we've got The Game of Love by Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders.
Speaker: Number 38, we've got Eight Days a Week by the Beatles.
Speaker: And at 59, we've got Ticket to Ride by the Beatles.
Speaker: I think I'm gonna be sad I think it's today, yeah The girl that's driving me mad Is going away, yeah Oh, she's got a ticket to ride She's got a ticket to ride.
Speaker: Then at number 79, we've got Cryin' in the Chapel by Elvis Presley with the Jordanaires. This was recorded on October the 31st, 1960, Halloween Day.
Speaker: Great lead vocal. I'm the one who is more likely to not like Elvis's vocals around here sometime. Nice Jordanera's backing vocals. Maybe this version is just a touch too sparse.
Speaker: The piano and drums are way back in the mix. If it were me... An acoustic guitar or maybe even a mandolin to pump up the country feel would have been better.
Speaker: In the original version of this song from the Orioles, a steel guitar is used. And this one resembles that a bit. I will declare this a strong hit, which probably could have been stronger.
Speaker: Yeah, I would agree with that. I really liked Elvis's vocals on this. I've searched, I've searched, I've searched, I've searched.
Speaker: He really is exploring his lower range here, which you don't always hear on his stuff. And so I really appreciate that. it's almost romantic sounding. And the Jordanaires, I mean, not surprisingly, do some really tight backing vocals.
Speaker: Those harmonies that they have are just so special. And... Yeah, I mean, it's not a perfect record, but I think for even just Elvis's vocals alone, I would give this pretty strong hit. And by the way, this became Elvis's first million seller since Return to Sender in 1962, and his greatest chart success over a six-year period. so it was a big hit.
Speaker: Wow. Well, that'll be an interesting question in in a moment. I'm not usually a big fan of religious songs, if I'm being honest, but this was nice. As Louise said, she finds it soulful, but then Louise is a big fan of Elvis.
Speaker: Yeah, recorded in 1960, but left unreleased until now because... Apparently, Elvis thought that they could have done a better job of it, ah but the record label, they wanted a new single to put in between soundtrack songs that were coming out at the time, so they pulled this from the archive.
Speaker: i think it's decent. It's better than the other version we had a little while ago. Yes, for sure. What do you think Elvis was a bit off about with this version, Ed?
Speaker: I think his vocal is just fine. i just would have had a little bit more instrumentation. The acapella doesn't quite work. enemy mean, it's not really acapella because like said, there are piano and drums there, but they're just so far in the back.
Speaker: The mix could have been better. I like the country feel, which some of the other ones don't necessarily have as much of. Mm-hmm. Yeah, true. Moving on to number 80, Now That You've Gone by Connie Stevens.
Speaker: It's an English version of a French tune, which was written by Petula Clark. Yes. Yes. Good lead vocal, but... I gotta go with our usual complaint.
Speaker: The strings, the horns, and the drums are just way too big. And then the problem I have with her vocal is that way overdramatic, why have you gone, gone, gone away?
Speaker: You know, it... No!
Speaker: If she had just done it in a whisper, it would be better as you know a small, plaintive whale. Not a great record. I'll give it a meh. Are you accusing her of doing a Gene Pickney?
Speaker: Gene Pitney would have done it better. Yeah. okay Similar sentiments. I do like the chord changes at various points in the song and the verses and and the bridge, but I felt like, kind of nailed it for me, Ed. No offense to Connie Stevens fans out there and all, but I just felt like this song was a bit too sophisticated for her voice. At times, it's almost a little girl kind of voice.
Speaker: And I think with maybe some rewriting of the lyrics, and sorry, Petula Clark fans, I thought there were a lot of cliches in it, like the one you just mentioned, Ed, and love you till I die and you know that kind of thing. I think the little lyric rewriting and a more experienced singer, I think this could have been a decent ballad.
Speaker: So it was definitely low meh for me. As soon as this started, I remembered it. I don't like the big choir crowding Connie's voice. Interesting that, you know, you mentioned Petula Clark, because I actually listened and thought a better arrangement could have been done by somebody like Tony Hatch of production, which leads me to another suggestion, which would have been, wouldn't it have been interesting if Petula had have co-written the lyrics with Jackie Trent?
Speaker: And they might have been a bit better. Oh, that'd be interesting. And I think Jackie Trent could have handled the vocals better, for sure. yep Good point. The B-side is a David Gage-written song called Lost in One Land, which is a nice song, but again, that's got the same problem, an overwrought, sickly-sweet, orchestrated arrangement to it.
Speaker: At number 83, If I Didn't Love You by Chuck Jackson. A really nice soul intro. This is maybe one of the best preachy talky intros we've had. Very good lead vocal, but the instrument choices are a little bit odd.
Speaker: I would have dumped those accents. That that just gets annoying. I guess they're supposed to suggest Stardust or something. It's a good song though. Moderate hit. Yeah.
Speaker: If didn't love you, would I call every day? I didn't love you, would I act this way? So why do you ask?
Speaker: Do I really love you when it's really so near? Do any strangers can't see that I?
Speaker: Love his vocals. They're just soul-drenched. But the lyrics, I thought, were pretty unmemorable, which is amazing because the co-writers were Mark Barkin, who went on to be the music director for the Banana Splits, and then Pam Sawyer, great songwriter, would write for Motown. One of her big hits was for Gladys Knight and the Pips.
Speaker: If I Were Your Woman, she wrote that. She wrote Supreme's Love Child. She wrote Wow. ah Dinah Ross's Love Hangover wrote some great stuff. So I would say the song is saved through Chuck's vocal. And that intro. I really like that preachy intro. Yes, the preachy intro.
Speaker: But after that, lyrics are just not that memorable at all. I quite like this song. It was okay. Louise, my other half, actually liked it more than all of us because she said she asked where this song's been all her life.
Speaker: Wow! That's how much she enjoyed it. She said it's got like an Otis Redding vibe to her. She enjoyed the drums, thought that the orchestration was a bit high in the mix, and she liked the guitar on it.
Speaker: I agree about the orchestration. It was high in the mix. There were times where I was almost fighting with Chuck. And I would have liked it better without that. Is that a zither or what is that Stardust thing? Yeah, I don't know.
Speaker: don't know. It was weird. It's definitely some strange instrument. hu It's not quite percussion. It's not quite, anyway. Yeah. Somebody's been listening to too much of the third man.
Speaker: At number 87, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious by Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, a song written by the Sherman Brothers, who we have spoken of on a number of occasions.
Speaker: This song, I don't really love Julie Andrews' voice on this, but she does sell the little talky bits in there. Dick Van Dyke, his voice is fine. Well, except for that accent. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious If you say it loud enough you'll always sound precocious Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
Speaker: Because I to speak, well I was just a lad. Me father gave me Elsa tweet, told me I was bad. But then one day I learned a word to save me aching nose. It's even sillier without the visuals.
Speaker: Yeah. The tambourine is way too far to the fore. The backing is fine. And I'd forgotten probably the last minute of the song that you can say it backwards bit.
Speaker: I like that. That is kind of cute. know, you can say it backwards, which is docious, alley, expiastic, tragically, rupus, but that's going a bit too far, don't you think? Indubitably. Which is more than you can say for Dick Van Dyke's ending.
Speaker: And now she's my wife. Oh, man. It is so hard for me to be objective about this because I love Mary Poppins. It was one of the first movies I ever saw in a theater. i mean, obviously not in 65, but I love this movie and I love the songs from it.
Speaker: And I will admit, when I was little first saw it, I totally bought Dick Van Dyke as a Brit. Now, it's a little different. yeah I know a little bit more now. But as a kid, I was like, oh, he's British. Great. This is such a fun song. It's catchy.
Speaker: the recording may not be the absolute best quality, but come on. Did they even go into the studio or was this just like recorded on the film set and then they, oh, we'll make a single out of it.
Speaker: I don't know. Because it is exactly what's in the film. Yeah. So it may very well be. I don't know. But I love it. I had the visions of the film playing in my head as I was listening to this. So what can I say? and It's a classic. I love the movie. Love the music. I thought the songs were recorded before they were filmed and that they just mimed.
Speaker: I think that's what they used to do. think it's still what they do now. Yeah, not always. Like the movie Wicked, they sang live. So sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. And Hard Day's Night, they were singing live when they weren't singing two backing tracks. Right.
Speaker: Okay. Hmm. Okay. Dick Van Dyke's attempt at Cockney accent notwithstanding. It's a song that makes you smile, or it makes me smile. My other half Louise does not like supercalifragilisticexpialidocious one bit.
Speaker: No! She finds it irritating. All right, I'm going to have to fly over there and talk some sense. I'm trying.
Speaker: Now, we mentioned Hard Day's Night, and we must remember that Hard Day's Night and Mary Poppins were filming in the same studio at the same time.
Speaker: Oh, wow. Aren't the pictures of them bumping into each other? Well, first off, the picture which we have spoken of previously, when Ed Sullivan came over with Peter, Paul, and Mary, and they're backstage, that's backstage on the set of Hard Day's Night.
Speaker: Wow. Now, yes, there are also photos of Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke with the Hard Day's Night crew. We'll talk about one more because guess what? The next song is also a Mary Poppins song. But the one which I have in front of me is Dick Van Dyke with kind of a S-eating grin on his face.
Speaker: And the back of Julie Andrews and Paul is looking kind of disgusted. whether He doesn't look disgusted at Dick Van Dyke. I think he looks disgusted at the cameraman. ah Jane is next to him and Dick Lester is right there next to Paul.
Speaker: who And so this is probably on a set in between the two because it doesn't look like anything that's in Mary Poppins or in Hard Day's Night. Interesting.
Speaker: So yes, they were together. They were the same place and there are photos of them hanging out. Very cool. That's cool. At number 88, another song by the Charmin Brothers from Mary Poppins, Chim Chimeree.
Speaker: This version is by the New Christy Menstrels. ah This single is not a good version. Barry McGuire should not be singing this song.
Speaker: Despite the complaints we just had about Dick Van Dyke and his accent, it works in the film and the film version of this song. He's got a twinkle in his eye while singing it.
Speaker: There's nothing wrong with the backing from the New Christy Minstrels, but it doesn't really add anything to this song. Their vocals are just bland. Well, gee, vocals from the New Christy Minstrels are bland. What a surprise.
Speaker: Get ready to be shunked. uh-oh, as they are on this record, they just don't really have any energy or any verve to sell the lyrics. And, well, we'll talk about it at the end here, but this song was up for best song at the Academy Awards in 1965, and the New Christy Minstrels sang their version of it on the Academy Awards show. But we'll talk more about that once we get your guys' comments. Yeah.
Speaker: Oh, no. That's really unfortunate because it's so funny. I swear to God I didn't read what you said about the song beforehand, Ed, because I said bland.
Speaker: That's exactly the word I used. Lead vocal really doesn't work. It's just sung straight. doesn't have the energy of the personality of the original. As you said, Dick Van Dyke, yes, we can criticize his accent and all, but I like how you said that. and He had that twinkle in his eye as he sang this. Absolutely. You can't really sing this just straight.
Speaker: No. Twixt pavement and stars is the chimney sweep's world. Pables and rooftops become towers the halls. And blimey, the chimneys are great Chinese walls.
Speaker: The pillars of Hercules loom left and right. The snakes, the acropolis loom. What sign. Chim chimney, chim chimney, chim chim churree.
Speaker: The chimney sweeps lucky as lucky can be. It's a theatrical song. Exactly, and it's totally missing that. in this version. Here's the shock.
Speaker: We were listening to this and my mouth dropped when Louise said that she likes this better than the version from the film. Okay, that's it. I've got to fly over there and we've got to have a talk.
Speaker: I don't. I like the version from the film a lot. Yeah. To me, this version sounds like one of those Christmas television special episode numbers where you can picture them on an obvious street set in a television studio. Mm-hmm.
Speaker: I can see that. Yeah, these Cher specials from the 70s. Yeah. Oh, yes. Holy night. Okay. Anyway. That's a Letterman reference, but we won't go into it because it has nothing to do with what we're talking about here. Maybe in December we'll come back to it. There you go. Don't forget, Ed, if it wasn't for the sheer television specials of the 70s, we wouldn't have her doing the robot dance with the Jacksons.
Speaker: That's true. That is a classic TV moment. Yes. Absolutely. So as mentioned, this was not the new Christy Menstruel's version, but this song was nominated for Best Song in the 1965 Academy Awards for the year 1964.
Speaker: nineteen sixty four And it won. The other nominees, Dear Heart, Hush Hush, Sweet Charlotte, which we're going to talk about real soon here.
Speaker: Robin and the Seven Hoods and Where Love Has Gone. Well, guess what songs didn't even get nominated for best song? I can't imagine.
Speaker: Oh, nothing got nominated for My Hard Day's Night. The title song for My Hard Day's Night didn't get nominated because that's the one that will be nominated for best song.
Speaker: Right. And Goldfinger. ah Didn't get nominated. You're kidding. That was the best theme tune of that year. Absolutely. Boy, that's crazy. So yes, Chim Chimery won for best original song in 1965 for the 1964 year Academy Awards.
Speaker: four year academy awards And as mentioned above, there is another photo, which I do want to mention. it's Brian and Walter Shenson, along with Norm Rossington, Mal Evans, and Dick Van Dyke. Again, Dick Van Dyke has that S-eating grin on his face.
Speaker: I guess it's hanging around with Beatles and Beatles people. Sure. i would too.
Speaker: It's Dick Van Dyke. Exactly. Icon. He is. Absolutely. And he's still with us? And he's, what, 100 years old now? Yeah, I think so.
Speaker: And he still outdance any of us. That's right. This is true. That's very true. Dang it. Dang it. At number 89, Something You Got by Chuck Jackson and Maxine Brown.
Speaker: This is definitely the better of the two Chuck Jackson songs we've had this month. Great use of the horns and the two sets of vocals are just tremendous performances from both of them.
Speaker: Powerhouse, just great stuff. Neither of the two takes the back seat. The only slight mistake in this song might have been that My My O O backing and then I love the way that the horns at the end pick up with a slight New Orleans feel to them big hit for me once again i didn't look at your comments before I wrote it I said wow almost New Orleans jazz sounding horn solo I completely agree I like this a lot music
Speaker: Sweet.
Speaker: Chuck Jackson and Maxine Brown had such chemistry. It just sounded almost sexy in this. True R&B. This is as good as R&B gets. Little Body, and which is great. That's R&B. It was first written and recorded by Chris Kenner in 1961. But yeah, I think this is an outstanding version.
Speaker: Big hit for me. That guitar on this sounds very much like Steve Cropper's style. Mm-hmm. Could be. Another quote from Louise. She was listening to this and she said that the word that sums this song up is sultry and in a good way.
Speaker: Yes. Agreed. Okay. We agree there. Yes. A smooth, cool, soulful groove. Superb. Love it. So we're all in agreement and Louise agrees with Yes. Yes. There you go.
Speaker: Awesome. At number 90, Chains of Love by the Drifters. It's a Bishop Gamble song. So Kenny Gamble is once again in the charts. It reminds me a little bit of the coming of Otis Redding's Day Tripper.
Speaker: This is a good record. Maybe not a great one, but it is interesting in that it definitely shows the growth of Kenny Gamble. He's learning as a songwriter, and this makes for an interesting pairing.
Speaker: The backing doesn't always work, but it isn't bad enough to tank the record. I'm glad to see the Drifters finally breaking out from that under-the-board walk-alike thing they were doing.
Speaker: Yeah, I didn't love the recording. I thought the lead vocal was so far out in front and the rest of the Drifters backing harmonies could barely be heard at times. That kind of irritated me.
Speaker: I just thought drums and guitar were a bit too far up in the mix. I did not like it as well as you did. Yeah, I thought the song was just okay. I thought, eh, Drifters deserve better than this. But I agree that it's nice that we're not hearing Under the Boardwalk Part 59.
Speaker: fifty nine yep Different for the Drifters. The lead vocalist is different to my ears, and he gives it a grittiness to the lead vocal.
Speaker: I agree with that. It's an okay song, maybe upper mid-tier to me. The other Drifters song we've got coming is a classic Drifters song. Yes. Who copied themselves more often, the Drifters or Nino and April?
Speaker: Oh, that's a hard call. I guess I'd vote Nino and April. Yeah, probably. It's awfully close. At number 93, Ain't No Telling by Bobby Blubland.
Speaker: It's a good record. The horns could have been pulled back a little bit. The horns obscure what is a great vocal. It's a fairly standard melody, though, and the production is mediocre.
Speaker: Low hit.
Speaker: He sounds great. i mean, this is Bobby Blubland we're talking about. So, superb R&B singer. But i agree. Bad production. His voice is so strong. He doesn't need an over-the-top arrangement. He doesn't need that much effort.
Speaker: instrumental ornamentation. If this had been stripped down to make it have a true soul slash blues kind of sound, it would have been a lot better. At times, I thought the horns and the sax really clash.
Speaker: And then, of course, you can throw in little sexist lyric. there was I didn't appreciate that lyric about hiring a maid so that his woman would look good when he came home. Yeah. yeah like Like, ugh, that doesn't age well.
Speaker: So, lower hit for me. his vocal works nicely. Musically, it sounds like there's some really good Chicago session musicians playing on this, but...
Speaker: it sounds like they're still working the song and that it's not actually recorded. It almost sounds like a, run through to me. Yeah. I agree with that.
Speaker: At number 98, one of those songs, which was up for the Academy award, hush, hush, sweet Charlotte by Patty page. Hmm. The theme to the 20th Century Fox film, Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte.
Speaker: It's a nice country feel, but it's way too wordy. And then all those lyrics about the roses just made me think of The Bachelor. Nothing special about the backing. Nothing special about any of the vocalists.
Speaker: Even Patti Page. Hi, meh. Yeah, I didn't really care for it. I thought it sounded dated for that period. He
Speaker: Hush, hush, sweet Charlotte. Patti Page sings it fine, but it was just kind of blah. I agree it has a little bit of a country sound to it, a little bit of a Nashville sound, but not nearly as good as a Nashville sound. Now, interestingly, this track did very well on the charts and reached number two on and the easy Listening chart, but the producer on this, Bob Johnston, so impressed Columbia Records with this by scoring Patti Page a big hit,
Speaker: that he was given the assignment of producing Highway 61 Revisited. Yes. and it was this song that did it. What? Mm-hmm.
Speaker: Columbia was so impressed that he was tapped to produce Bob Dylan. I know which one's the better. By a long shot. Yes. Think we all know.
Speaker: Right. Patty Page can sing well, but this song, like you said, it sounds dated. Is this a lullaby about somebody who's died? I think it has something to do with the film, although I'm not completely sure.
Speaker: Yeah. Okay. Because, yeah, I kept listening to the lyrics and then I was imagining it being performed by vocal group that consisted of Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, and Freddy Krueger.
Speaker: That's so funny. was thinking the same thing. I was like, it sounds like the title of a horror film. Look at the poster. Mm-hmm. The film. The stars of this film included Betty Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Joseph Cotton, Mary Astor, and Agnes Moorhead, better known to us from Bewitched. Oh, yes. And Mary Astor, Betty Davis, and Olivia de Havilland do not get on with each other.
Speaker: Or did not. I'm shocked. but So Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte is a 1964 American psychological horror thriller film. Okay, well that makes sense.
Speaker: It follows a middle-aged southern woman suspected in the unsolved murder of her lover from decades before. Wow. There's one for Tom Unyardie to watch.
Speaker: There you go. Continuing from the Wikipedia entry. One night, a drugged Charlotte runs downstairs in the grip of a hallucination, believing that John has returned to her.
Speaker: After Miriam tricks the intoxicated Charlotte into shooting Drew with a gun loaded with blanks, the two dispose of his body in a swamp. They're trying to steal this woman's money and trying to convince her that her dead lover is back to life.
Speaker: Ah, okay. Class. Yeah. The next day, the authorities escort Charlotte from home as a crowd gathers to observe the spectacle. Charlotte receives an envelope from Mr. Willis, which he received from Jewel, who died of a stroke after a hearing... All these people are dying.
Speaker: After hearing of the incident which occurred on the previous night, ostensibly confessing to the murder of her husband, John. As the authorities leave with Charlotte, she looks back longingly at the house.
Speaker: Oh, boy. It sounds to me like one of those bad Columbo episodes, you know?
Speaker: Oh, is there such a thing as a bad Columbo episode? There are a few. Not that many, but there are a few. Okay, it's a psychological thriller, and it's got this as a theme song? Yeah, that's weird.
Speaker: I don't quite get it. Yeah, I don't either. So, Marv, you can now read the Cashbox review for us. Right. Gorgeous Orking. There you go. Up with the times there with the wording.
Speaker: Gorgeous Orking and the lovely voice of Patty Page should draw plenty of airtime for this Oscar-nominated ballad. Storm sails are likely for this attractive version.
Speaker: What? No. No? No. Hard Day's Night or Goldfinger still should have won, but Chim Chimery over this, very definitely. Yes, oh, for sure. o At number 99, come on over to my place by The Drifters.
Speaker: Little girl, you look so lonesome. I see you all feeling blue. Ain't no use in staying at home.
Speaker: I know what you should do.
Speaker: I like the lone lead vocal there at the intro, but it goes a bit wrong when the tempo picks up. The lead backing and instrumentation are mostly mud though. i like the guitar solo, but the hand claps and the poor mix just obscure the playing.
Speaker: It's desperately in need of a remix. Hi, man. I would agree with that. It sounds like Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil were trying to write a Sam Cooke kind of song. And Johnny Moore, the lead singer here, is trying to imitate him.
Speaker: The whole thing sounds like Sam could have recorded it. You know, it's a kind of pleasant dance record, but that's about it. Nothing very distinctive about it. yeah As I was listening to it, I just kept thinking, man, they're trying to sound like Sam Cooke here.
Speaker: I'll give you that. I like the bass and the drums and I really like the guitar solo.
Speaker: The vocals are nice. If this was better mixed, I think this would be upper tier Drifters. At best, I would still give it a mid-hit, even it were mixed well. but it' Yeah, I wasn't crazy about it. Just to make you both giggle, this was actually used and reworded slightly in the 80s for the burger chain Wimpy.
Speaker: Oh, really? Where they sang... Hey you we're having a wimpy. Hey you, we're having wimpy.
Speaker: Come on over tonight.
Speaker: Won't you come on over tonight? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! We close out the month of April with The Mouse by Soupy Sales.
Speaker: Does the mouse have clogs on, Marv? yeah That was a callback. The song is by Denny Rendell and Sandy Linzer. Sandy Linzer is known to us from songs like Working My Way Back to You, Babe, A Song by the Monkees, and Penny Arcade by The Circle. He was one of the writers of this.
Speaker: Do the most, yeah.
Speaker: Come on.
Speaker: Sandy Linzer was the lyricist on this song. The lyrics are nothing to write home about teeth and fingers, cute enough novelty dance, a decent beat, but adequate, if uninspired backing and soupy does any number of appearances with this song, including one on the Ed Sullivan show that we'll talk about before we leave you for this month. Yeah, I mean, this is obviously a parody of dance records. so You know, Soupy was no singer.
Speaker: ah But I found out a bit more about recording the song. Soupy's show was at its peak, and it was in 65. RCA Records decided to put Soupy in the studio to record an album.
Speaker: And the idea was, of course, to have songs that would have to do with the skits and characters that he would perform on the show.
Speaker: They had the concept for the album, but they needed the songs. So since Soupy's show was televised live from NBC's New York studios, the first thing was to hang out with him while he did several of his shows.
Speaker: and get into his world. As I watched him, along with his other routines, do his little mouse dance, it seemed like a natural to write a song for Soupy to go with that dance.
Speaker: Within a couple of weeks, as the project was on the fast track, Soupy was in the studio recording the album, including Hey Do the Mouse and five other Denny Randall songs. All but one of the songs were written for Soupy. The one that wasn't was Mr. Cab Driver.
Speaker: The co-songwriter, Bob Crew, was collaborator on that. It's definitely a novelty record, and I didn't particularly care for it, but there you go.
Speaker: Mr. Cab Driver. Wow. yeah Is that the same one that Lenny Kravitz covered? I'm not sure. That's a good question. I'll have to look that up. Yep, so much cheese that a mouse would likely die from overeating.
Speaker: ah The music is better than the lyrics, the lead vocal and the backing vocals, but I still wouldn't want to listen to this ever again. Take it off. Absolutely. And I just looked it up. No, it is not the same song. Okay.
Speaker: All right. So we got a little bit more on Soupy. Again, he's another one that we probably remember from game shows in the seventies. Yes. Because he was on Hollywood squares and match game and every other game show you can imagine.
Speaker: But in the sixties, he was the well-known host of a children's television program. So he didn't start out in 1965 in very auspicious manner. Yeah.
Speaker: Friday, January the 1st, 1965, they ordered Soupy in to do his show on New Year's Day. He didn't like that very much. Wow.
Speaker: And his show ran a little bit short that day. ah he had oh four or five minutes to kill at the end of the show, and he decided to ad-lib. Not a good idea. Mmm.
Speaker: So Soupy looked right into the camera and delivered a request to his young viewers. Remember, these are children that were his main audience. So kids, go into your parents' bedroom, go into their purses and wallets, and find some of those funny little green pieces of paper and send them to me at this address.
Speaker: Now, sadly, we don't know exactly what he said because there is no tape of this, but we know that Soupy got suspended for a week because of it.
Speaker: yeah Despite that, he was still in a position of being popular enough that, as you note, they sent him into the studio and by a couple months into the year, he was back on top and recording the mouse.
Speaker: Wow. So he was the top cheese. Oh! This song would last for several months because come August, as we know, the Beatles would record their final appearance on the Ed Sullivan show.
Speaker: One of the other guests on that show? Soupy Sales. He got two feature spots. The first was the sort of thing you see on basically any late night talk show, throwing up photos and making fun of Ed's holiday vacation.
Speaker: Because, you know, this was the first show back after the summer. Yep. Ah, hilarious. Yeah. And then the second bit, before the Beatles come back on for the second time, is Soupy running through the studio doing the mouse.
Speaker: Oh dear. What was John Lennon thinking when he saw this? I can only imagine. No pun intended. Brian, we're not doing that show again with idiots like that running around. That takes us out of the month of April for 1965. We've got our usual, our picks of the month.
Speaker: On the UK side, Ticket to Ride, of course. We had a little bit of trouble finding a second one, but ah we decided on the Peter and Gordon version of True Love Ways. yeah The US side, again, an obvious one. yeah Subterranean Homesick Blues by Dylan.
Speaker: And Help Me Rhonda. So both of those are very big songs. And our wild card is the mouse. No, sorry. it is the live Ray Charles version of I got a woman. It's not as good as the record, but it is a very hot record.
Speaker: Runner up for me would have been, she's about a mover. Marv, you got another suggestion? No, I'm, I'm up here with those. Okay. Yeah. Yep. All right. We will be back soon with May of 1965, including our feature with Billy J. Kramer.
Speaker: See you then. Can't wait. See you then. Take care, everybody.
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 introduce an LP series next week that will be called Toppermost and it's coinciding with their current advertising slogan Toppermost of the Poppermost.
Speaker: 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.
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.
Speaker: Toppermost of the poppermost.
