Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
February 1965 (side C)
0 Plays2 seconds ago
Ride on that Orange Blossom Special while listening to Sam Cooke, Otis Redding and of course the Beatles! 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!
Recommended
Transcript
The Beatles' Chant and Show Introduction
00:00:00
Speaker
The Beatles had this chant, John, Paul and George, and probably then Stuart and Pete, had this chant, when things weren't going well, which in their world wasn't very often, because mostly it was an upward trajectory, but nonetheless, sometimes you they would have a bad night, or the gig didn't work properly, or the amps broke, or whatever.
00:00:19
Speaker
i say, where are we going, fellas? And they go, to the top, Johnny. And I say, where's that, fellas? And they say, to the top-most, to the pop-most. And say, right. And we'd all sort of, Cheer up.
00:00:31
Speaker
Where we going, Johnny? Straight to the top, boys. Oh, yeah? Where's that? The top of most of the popper.
American Charts Analysis, February 1965
00:00:58
Speaker
Welcome to Toppermost of the Poppermost, Side C, the American charts for February of 1965. I'm Ed Chen. I'm Kit O'Toole.
00:01:09
Speaker
And I'm Martin Quibel. Let's see, since we're doing a Cashbox Month, we've got a couple of notes which don't involve these charts that Kit wants to tell us about. Yes, some interesting, well, in some cases, I don't know your definition of interesting, but there are actually four, count them, four versions of Hello Dolly.
00:01:33
Speaker
Which has been our favorite, of course. I mean, we've we've been saying there aren't enough versions of Hello Dolly. There have been four new versions in this recent past, one of which is actually by a real performer.
00:01:45
Speaker
That's right. We have four versions, one by Bobby Darin, another by a favorite here on our show, the Ray Charles Singers. Who we are going to see later this month. Yes, we will.
00:01:57
Speaker
Yes, we will. Unfortunately. A rather unusual one by the Buffalo Bills, which was a barbershop quartet. Nothing to do with the football team who just played in the championship game recently. No, nothing whatsoever to do with that. Yes, and not the mass murderer from Silence of the Lambs either.
00:02:17
Speaker
No, no, no. Nothing to do with that either. This is a barbershop quartet. And finally, a group called the Stagehands, which I had never heard of before this, which was kind of a doo-wop version. And I don't know about you, I never thought of Hello Dolly and doo-wop being in the same sentence, but there you go.
00:02:37
Speaker
If you want to imagine what it might be like, think Sha-na-na singing Hello Dolly. Yeah. Interesting. Yeah. And if you want to avoid it, do so. It's ah nightmare inducing.
00:02:50
Speaker
Wow. My goodness. We also have ah another song on the chart by a duo that we've talked about many times on the show, Nino Tempo and April Stevens.
00:03:02
Speaker
Their latest single, their cover of Honeysuckle Rose. Oh, a classic. Which sounds nothing like Stardust, but oh well. Oh wow, I thought they would do another version of Stardust.
00:03:15
Speaker
No sexy whispering in this one. Oh wow, okay. Is it worth listening to then, Ed? Well, maybe.
00:03:25
Speaker
That's a no, people. All right. Apologies, Sunino Tempo and April Stevens fans. Yep. The apologies are starting already. There's none of them. um Okay.
Beatles' EP 'For' and Capitol Records' Stereo Format
00:03:36
Speaker
All right. And then finally, we do have Beatles related item here, which is the pick of the week from Cashbox. where they profiled for by the Beatles, the EP, which contained Honey Don't, I'm a Loser, Mr. Moonlight, and Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby.
00:03:57
Speaker
And as always, we've got the great cash box writing here. Hold on your hats. Here's what they say about it. the english sensations whose current singles giant is the i feel fine she's a woman doubledecker are back on the wax scene with a four buy session that the label markets at a singles price lead off entry on what looks like a forun sales monster is the driving rock-ayythmic bluezr labeled Honey Dote, and it's followed by the heavy, steady beat weeper I'm a Loser, the tantalizing, toe-tapping, romantic Mr. Moonlight, and the all-dance delight Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby.
00:04:42
Speaker
Take your pick. Each one of these rockabilly slanted can come through in a big, big way. Through THRU. Of course. Of course.
00:04:53
Speaker
ah You know, I never would have thought of Mr. Moonlight as being a tantalizing, toe-tapping romantic. No, that's not exactly how I would describe it, but this is Cashbox we're talking about. And we have quite a Cashbox review coming later in this month.
00:05:11
Speaker
Might I add that Mr. Moonlight is one of my favorite studio outtakes by the Beatles. Interesting. You know, when he doesn't quite get the vocal that time, and it's quite funny.
00:05:22
Speaker
That's on anthology, isn't it? I believe so. Yes, I think so. All right, on to the first week of February, the week ending February the 6th. Before we start into the singles, Marv has something to tell us that's new from Capitol Records.
00:05:39
Speaker
Capitol has an ad for Capitol's new improved full-dimensional stereo, which sounds really impressive. Ooh. I want one of those now.
00:05:49
Speaker
Yeah. The format is introduced with 14, count them, 14 albums, including the Beatles Songbook 2. two Not just the Beatles Songbook, but the second one by the Holly Ridge Strings, but no actual Beatles albums.
00:06:08
Speaker
ah okay So it would take them a while, but by the time of Sgt. Pepper, all of the capital versions that people would be buying would be plastered with the new improved full-dimensional stereo, and it remained new improved full-dimensional stereo throughout its life, didn't it?
00:06:25
Speaker
Wow.
00:06:28
Speaker
Wow. and then they They never took the new and improved off. but What we need now is Atmos for the Beatles. That's right. All right. Continue, please.
1965 Chart Hits and Critiques
00:06:39
Speaker
So, week of February the 6th on the US charts, we've got number one, You've Lost That Loving Feeling by The Righteous Brothers. Number 11, Let's Lock the Door by Jay and Americans. Which you want to remind us still has those Twist and Shout horns in it.
00:06:54
Speaker
Yes, it's still just like Twist and Shout and La Bamba and those other songs that have that to it. At number 17, Heart of Stone by The Rolling Stones. And at 25, wow, it's gone down 25, Ed.
00:07:07
Speaker
I Feel Fine by The Beatles. Well, I get the feeling we're going to be seeing another Beatles single real soon here. Yes. That's good news.
00:07:18
Speaker
She's in love with me and I feel fine. She's in love with me and I feel fine. Mm-hmm.
00:07:33
Speaker
We move on down to number 55. My Love Forgive Me Amore Scusame by Robert
00:07:53
Speaker
I didn't mean to have an end like this I didn't mean to have you fall in love
00:08:13
Speaker
Kiss me. Kiss me. Big in baritone. This really sounds like something you'd hear in the soundtrack of a film that wants to emulate the feel of The Godfather, but doesn't have the budget.
00:08:27
Speaker
Oh boy. Miss. ah This was actually a song composed by Gino Muscoli and Vito Pallovicini. I apologize to those who speak Italian out there. I'm sure I just massacred it.
00:08:42
Speaker
The song premiered at a music festival in Italy called Un Disco per with performance by a singer John Foster and and had immediate commercial success on the Italian hit parade and remained in the top five there for five months.
00:09:02
Speaker
mean, that's how big it was there. Obviously, he's singing the English translation here with some Italian lyrics. This, to me, was the epitome of easy listening. Not in a good way. Very sappy arrangement with overdone strings.
00:09:19
Speaker
It's kind of this era where pseudos, in this case Italian street songs, were sort of hot. Robert Goulet is singing with gusto. I mean, he's doing his best here, but I just didn't care for it. It's not my cup of tea. It reminds me of that Dr. Kildare song we had yeah a month or two back.
00:09:37
Speaker
It's kind of like that. This was apparently ah trend of the time, which thankfully was short.
00:09:47
Speaker
If it was 1948, this song would be tipped up. But in 1965, it's not. I'll leave this song behind and I'll take the cannoli. All right, so a little bit about Bob Goulet. Robert Goulet came to prominence as the lead of Camelot in 1960.
00:10:05
Speaker
He won a Grammy Award as the best new artist in 1962. That tells you something about 1962. Yes. yeah He was remembered at the time for singing the wrong lyrics to the Star Spangled Banner before the 1965 Ali Liston rematch.
00:10:22
Speaker
Oh, dear. Yeah. Brilliant. But his reputation really came as one of the kings of Vegas from the mid-60s to the mid-80s.
00:10:33
Speaker
It was so bad that Bob Goulet was apparently one of the reasons why Elvis would shoot out his televisions.
00:10:43
Speaker
Hey, looky, it's Robert Goulet. Maybe this time. Maybe this time. That'll be enough of that.
00:10:56
Speaker
um
00:11:07
Speaker
so be enough
00:11:12
Speaker
ah He'd be sitting there in his room and Bob Goulet would come on and it's like, nope, bang. Oh
00:11:20
Speaker
Kit and I probably remember him from his sitcom and frequent game show appearances. He was a big one on Match Game a lot. Yeah, that's true. He did do that circuit in the 70s.
00:11:31
Speaker
And there is a Beatles connection, which I will mention briefly because it's rather unpleasant and unfortunate. December the 7th, 1980, Lennon's Assassin came across Bob Goulet in an art gallery and took a picture of him with Bob Goulet.
00:11:50
Speaker
According to the perp, he had the snub-nosed revolver with him at the time. Oh my goodness. oh oh At number 56, so She's a Woman has fallen down to 56.
Criticism of Song Arrangements
00:12:06
Speaker
Okay, so tonight we're going to bring you some old songs, some new songs, and some in-between songs.
00:12:15
Speaker
And this next one is definitely not a new one.
00:12:21
Speaker
Before you love, we'll walk away.
00:12:50
Speaker
At number 80, the four tops with Ask the Lonely. It's a Stevenson Hunter song. It's a well-produced, well-performed record. A great Levi Stubbs vocal dripping with emotions.
00:13:03
Speaker
The Adantes provide an excellent backing. However, ultimately, the choices made hurt this disc. It could have been better going a bit more up-tempo, I think. And we love the Funk Brothers, but go with either the Funk Brothers or the strings.
00:13:18
Speaker
Both just muddies the waters. I have to agree.
00:13:57
Speaker
Levi Stubbs sings the hell out of this. He puts his emotions into it. But I agree, those strings really killed it for me. I think if they had just left it with the Funk Brothers, it could have been better. And I felt like it even didn't really get going until the very end when Levi was upping the level of emotion.
00:14:19
Speaker
Because up until then, i just felt this didn't really have ah great, memorable... hook or melody to grab onto it it just didn't go anywhere i wanted to like this a lot more than i did i also thought the andantes weren't needed that much they were kind of superfluous but you know that they're still very good they're good oh absolutely we love the andantes but i just thought for this song don't know too busy i agree was too busy exactly Great lead vocal by Levi. Really nice vocals by the rest of the four tops, of course, because they're great.
00:14:55
Speaker
I like the Andantes vocals, although perhaps they're used too often in the song. If I could go back in time, my suggestion to the producers, if they listened to me, would be to use the Andantes, yes, but a bit more sparingly than they are doing.
00:15:11
Speaker
It's almost like the Andantes are there throughout the entire song alongside the Four Tops, whereas it would be a bit better if they'd have used them to emphasise certain sections instead.
00:15:23
Speaker
Right. The orchestration is too far up in the mix and needed to be pulled down if they're going to have the orchestration there. and have the Funk Brothers themselves further up in the mix rather than buried and meshed in with the orchestration. But other than that, you know, I'd probably give it a 6 out of 10 personally and say it'd be really good B-side.
00:15:46
Speaker
Okay, so I think we all basically agree a low to moderate hit maybe. Motown Junkies disagrees with us. They give it an 8 out of 10. Yeah, it was interesting to read that blog entry because he initially hated the song and then over time changed his mind and wrote a glowing review of it. and as you said, gave it an 8 out of 10. I disagree.
00:16:07
Speaker
I gave it a number of listens. I just did not connect with this at all. There are many other four top songs that I would rank above this one. At number 87, Don't Mess Up a Good Thing by Bobby McClure and Fontella Bass.
00:16:22
Speaker
Ganja Pinot!
00:16:25
Speaker
You're gonna keep on fooling around now, baby You're gonna mess up a good thing You're gonna mess up a good thing
00:16:37
Speaker
Now I might have cheated just a little bit, baby Like all of us do But when I get my paycheck, baby I rush right home to you, don't you be no fool
00:16:53
Speaker
You're gonna keep on foolin' around now, baby You're gonna mess up a good thing You're gonna mess up a good thing
00:17:04
Speaker
A really nice tempo, a great vocal. Fontella sounds a little bit like Aretha Light, but that's not meant as an insult. The lyrics are a bit of a trifle.
00:17:15
Speaker
I don't really love the sax, but it does work well enough to be a moderate hit. I probably like it about as much as I like Ask the Lonely. I like it a bit more than that. I thought this was a fun, soulful record.
00:17:28
Speaker
Fontella Bass can not just sing, she can sang. but I mean, she sounds fantastic on this. Liked their chemistry a lot, she and Bobby McClure.
00:17:42
Speaker
I liked the sax solo. I thought that sounded great. And I liked the lyrics. I kind of liked how they were both warning each other not to cheat. You know, usually in songs of this era, it's a one-sided thing, but I like that it's both of them saying you better not cheat on me and don't mess up a good thing.
00:18:00
Speaker
I like this record. I'm not saying it's up there with some of the best soul records we've ever heard, but I thought this was a lot of fun. And it was written and produced by Oliver Sane, and the backing was by Oliver Sane and Orchestra.
00:18:15
Speaker
and I think he was also Fontal Bass's manager. He was. And Oliver Sane and his orchestra have the B-side of this record, if you're interested. what a shock!
00:18:26
Speaker
Now, we know Oliver Sane because Oliver Sane would go on to be the man behind Billy Preston's You Are So Beautiful.
Johnny Cash's Unique Interpretations
00:18:34
Speaker
Oh, wow! Cool. Okay. Marv? Yep, I've never heard this song before, surprisingly.
00:18:40
Speaker
But I really enjoyed it for saying it's got the same progression as high-heeled sneakers.
00:18:59
Speaker
Put on your high-heeled sneakers Wear your wig hat on your head Put on your wig hat on your head Put your wig out on your head Pretty sure, pretty sure you're gonna knock a
00:19:38
Speaker
Nice music, nice vocals, 7 out of 10. yep And it was recorded at Chess Studios, Chicago. Ding, ding. Ding, ding. You like it a bit more than I do, but I don't dislike it. Moderate hit, so. yeah At number 92, Orange Blossom Special by Johnny Cash.
00:19:56
Speaker
This is an old song. It's a hardcore train song. I like it a lot, but I really do miss the fiddle in all the other versions of it. And in fact, this is known as the Fiddle National Anthem. Yes.
00:20:09
Speaker
This version isn't So what Johnny does is he replaces the fiddle with a saxophone and two harmonicas. The harmonicas end up feeling slightly Dylan to me. We've talked about how Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan had a mutual admiration society.
00:20:26
Speaker
As I say, I miss the fiddles. The harmonicas are nice, but don't quite work as much for me. I'm also not sure about the talky bits. The Florida and New York lyrics are part of the song, though.
00:20:37
Speaker
Even though they feel like an ad lib, they've been there. Yeah. Bringing my baby back.
00:21:02
Speaker
The Bob Dylan thing, he was on a bit of a Bob Dylan kick at the time anyway, because the album of the same title that would come out did feature two Bob Dylan cover versions, including a really good version of It Ain't Me, Babe.
00:21:13
Speaker
Yes. So it was on a Bob Dylan thing at that point anyway. Yep. So, well, that makes sense, because I was thinking that too, that harmonica part. I thought, wow, that is very Dylan-esque.
00:21:24
Speaker
And so that makes sense. Yeah.
00:21:59
Speaker
Yeah, I don't like this as much as the ones with the fiddles. i agree. I do like that a bit better. However, I think this is worth listening to because it just shows how Johnny Cash was really a unique artist.
00:22:13
Speaker
He broke the mold. when it came to being this kind of genre blending kind of country artist. Here is the song. He takes a song usually played much faster than this, the showcase for fiddling.
00:22:26
Speaker
And then, as you mentioned, that replaces the fiddles with the harmonicas and even, you know, the sax solo. And I was surprised to hear that. Love his vocals on this. I like, I don't know how else to put it, just that badass voice he had. i mean, that outlaw. I mean, he's just the persona of the outlaw and he really shows it on this record.
00:22:46
Speaker
So whether it's the best cover of Orange Blossom Special, I'm kind of undecided, but it really shows how he was willing to go against the grain. That's something I really admired about him.
00:22:59
Speaker
And this song is just kind of another example of that that trait that he had. What's amazing is reportedly Johnny Cash played both of those harmonicas himself in the studio.
00:23:11
Speaker
And we know that he could do it because he did a couple of different live versions of it where he plays two different harmonicas. multi-talented so if you want to go looking you can see one version from the johnny cash show and another version from the muppet show which is unfortunately not hugely politically correct these days yeah it features hillbilly muppets and a prominently placed confederate flag yikes oh hello oh gee kermit i don't need thanks of course i could use some cash
00:23:44
Speaker
and Well, of course you could use some cash. Cash is exactly what we all need. So let's just sit back and enjoy the music of the one and only Johnny Cash.
00:23:59
Speaker
um
00:24:04
Speaker
Everybody make like train now.
00:24:15
Speaker
Hey, look yonder coming down that railroad track. Look yonder coming, coming down that railroad track. That's that orange blossom special, bringing my baby back happy. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
00:24:44
Speaker
The
00:24:59
Speaker
Bye.
00:25:16
Speaker
As much as the chatter bits in this song can be seen as irritating, I still find a bit to like in it the classic cash train-chugging style rhythm that's going on there. The two harmonicas, that's interesting.
00:25:29
Speaker
And it grabbed me because of the Dylan-esque approach to it there. And I don't know if it's just me, but sometimes there's almost a tinge of Johnny having tongue firmly in cheek with his delivery to me.
00:25:44
Speaker
I would agree, yeah. Well, I'm going down to Florida and get some sand in my shoes.
00:25:54
Speaker
Or maybe California and get some sand in my shoes. I'll ride that orange blossom special and lose these New York boys.
00:26:10
Speaker
Yeah, you're probably right. Yeah, it's almost like he's having a bit of a laugh. There's a reason he sang the lyrics because normally when this is played, they just play it as an instrumental. Okay. But also, like you said, unusual for the time for a Johnny Cash song, the baritone saxophone was interesting because it was played by Boots Randolph, who people would know, hopefully, from the classic Yakety Sax.
00:26:38
Speaker
wow But for the people in the UK, that is the music that was in the background on the Benny Hill show in the 1970s and the 1980s. Now for us, although, you know, again, we're probably going with a slightly dated reference.
00:26:55
Speaker
The Billy Bass. I think kids know what it is as a meme, but that's the only thing they might know it as. Wacky Sacks was featured in the original Billy Bass.
00:27:08
Speaker
Billy Bass, isn't that the fish that you used to put up on the wall? Correct. Yes. You put it on the wall, you you hit the button, and it would play wacky sax, and the fish would flop around. Right.
00:27:20
Speaker
Brilliant. ah Ah, the good old days. oh Good times.
Billy J. Kramer and Civil Rights Anthems
00:27:27
Speaker
And we've got a cash box review, which Marvel will read to us. But I do want to also mention that our friends, the Spotnicks released a version of this in 1961.
00:27:39
Speaker
Instrumental, heavy reverb, guitar driven version. No fiddles there either, which i like because i can just imagine Jimmy Nickel playing this when he joined the Spotnicks later on.
00:27:52
Speaker
Wow. We're still talking about Orange Blossom Special here, by Correct. So you want to read the Cashbox review for us, Marv? Okay. So Cashbox says about Orange Blossom Special by Johnny Cash, the songster injects all of the required emotion into the rhythmic, hand-clapping, warm-hearted romancer.
00:28:15
Speaker
Is it? Oh, okay.
00:28:18
Speaker
romance there seems to be another one we haven't had an orc this month but this next review which we're going to have with the next song is going to give us exactly what we need isn't it yes I also don't know if I'd call Johnny Cash a songster. I'm not sure whether the next song will give me a song that I enjoy, but that's another thing altogether.
00:28:38
Speaker
But the Cashbox review we certainly enjoyed. Yeah. yeah At number 98, It's Gotta to Last Forever by our old friend Billy J. Kramer. And we should mention that we are endeavoring to actually speak with Billy J. Kramer.
00:28:54
Speaker
Yes, I hope it turns out because it'd be really interesting to talk to him. Well, we can talk to about this song, can't we? Yes, we can. So it's got to last forever.
00:29:04
Speaker
It's a bit less pop. It's definitely more of Billy doing what... He wanted to do being the all around entertainer. It comes off to me somewhere between Herman's Hermits and Jerry and the pacemakers.
00:29:17
Speaker
I like the keyboard break. The drums work well. It's not a great song, but it is well performed and actually manages to keep my interest throughout. Very low hit. yeah Yeah, I'd say okay, pop song. To me, it definitely was very Mersey sounding, although not in a rock kind of sense.
00:29:39
Speaker
Produced by George Martin. Do you think that was him on the piano? I do, actually, probably. That's what I thought. If you think you're falling in love
00:29:57
Speaker
It's gotta last forever Like the sun that shines from above, it's gotta last forever.
00:30:08
Speaker
That sounded like him. Not on a level of his Beatles production. You know, kind of a typical mid-60s, British Invasion, poppy love song. Billy sounds fine on it.
00:30:20
Speaker
I thought the ending chord was kind of a knockoff of the Beatles' unresolved chord endings. I thought, borrowing a bit from that, saw that it was okay.
00:30:32
Speaker
yeah I didn't think it was on a level of some of Billy's other songs, but definitely, as you said, low hit. I mean, it's it's high enough that it's more than a meh, even a high meh, but it's not a high hit. It's definitely a lower end.
00:30:46
Speaker
It's listenable. Yeah. Marv? Interesting. Cut and paste. We've got a little bit of the Ehrman's Hermits. We've got a bit of Jerry and the Pacemakers. And we've got a wannabe Beatles ending. You agree with both what I said and what Kit said. Yeah, we're on the same page.
00:31:02
Speaker
Yeah, standard pop fare. I do really like Billy's vocal on this, though. I think that's yeah nice. But other than that, I'm really sorry. It's like a four out of ten. Yeah, it's not great.
00:31:14
Speaker
I agree. So you like it a little bit less than Kit and I do. I think we're at about maybe a six yeah or seven. Yeah, it's okay. Now, before Kit reads the Cashbox review, which is possibly our favorite Cashbox review yet, we do need to mention that one of the writers of this song is Kenny Lynch.
00:31:32
Speaker
yeah Yeah, that's right. So, all right, tell us what Cashbox had to say about this song, Kit. Okay, so, oh, this is a great one, guys.
00:31:43
Speaker
Billy J. Kramer's next big international hit, released simultaneously the U.S. and Great Britain, is this new Imperial deck. It's a captivating cha-cha beat thumper.
00:31:55
Speaker
Tagged, it's gotta last forever. That Billy and the Dakotas wax in money-in-the-bank fashion. The infectious cha-cha twister they remind me of you can make this a real doubleheader.
00:32:07
Speaker
Producer is George Martin. Cha-cha beat thumper? Two cha-chas in one review. Yay! They really want to push this song, don't they?
00:32:18
Speaker
Do they ever. Well, we will have a little bit about Cashbox and the reviews later on, which isn't going to stop us reading them, but we will have a little bit about them later on in this month. yeah So, Kit, why don't you go into the next week, the week of Valentine's Day, the week ending February the 13th.
00:32:35
Speaker
Okay, well we have it number one still. You've Lost That Love and Feeling by the Righteous Brothers. Falling to 31 is I Feel Fine. Don't worry, the Beatles will be coming up again in just a bit.
00:32:51
Speaker
Baby's good to me, you know she's happy as can be. You know she said I'm in love with her and I feel fine.
00:33:04
Speaker
Number 58, we have Good Night by Roy Orbison, which we previously covered on the UK charts. And at number 77, The Great Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood by The Animals, which we have also previously covered the UK charts.
00:33:19
Speaker
We move on to number 78, Angel. Uh, not good. smile as bright as the sun.
00:33:42
Speaker
Put my arms around you. I would have no place. It feels to me like a seasonal novelty song.
00:33:55
Speaker
Listening to it now, it's almost like you had that box of chocolates that are a month or so beyond the Best Buy date. You still took a bite out of your favorites to see if they were still good.
00:34:07
Speaker
Big miss. Wow, how do I top that? Terrible. yeah I don't know if it's toorable, but it's terrible. It's all those backing singers. You know, the whoos. Oh, my gosh.
00:34:22
Speaker
I mean, this is like really bad Frankie Avalon. i mean, I'm not fanatic. Frankie Avalon fan, but this is just even bad. This is like early 1960s material, really dated. Now, I should mention that this was from a film that I had never heard of called Those Callaways, which was adapted from 1950 children's novel called Swiftwater by Paul Annickster, and it was a Disney film.
00:34:53
Speaker
It had some known actors and actresses here. Brian Keith, Vera Miles, Brandon DeWild, Walter Brennan, Ed Wynn, and Linda Evans.
00:35:04
Speaker
Wow. That's a good cast. Exactly. like Not a bad cast. One of the things I love about going through these charts is I've learned about so many movies and Broadway shows I never knew existed. I know. i had never heard of this.
00:35:18
Speaker
And we have to read the description of the film. Those Calloways, a strong-willed family in a small New England town, struggles against tremendous odds, always struggles against tremendous odds, to realize their dream of establishing a sanctuary for the great flocks of wild geese that migrate overhead. I think Linda Evans played the teenage daughter of the family and she was falling in love. And also I'm assuming this had to do with that. Now, Max Steiner, the writer of the song, at least the one who composed the music. I'm not sure if he was also the lyricist.
00:35:58
Speaker
He wrote some incredible songs, including Silver Bells, The Lemon Drop Kid. So yeah, he wrote this too. Sounds more like 55 to me, or 57.
00:36:12
Speaker
Old dated sound. Sorry, Ken. It's sickly sweet to the degree of cavities again. Yes. Well, as I say, it's a Valentine's Day song which just fails miserably.
00:36:25
Speaker
Yep. I like the stale chocolates metaphor. Yes. The sort that you wouldn't actually open up. You'd just go, no, not having them.
00:36:35
Speaker
And thankfully we have a real banger to wash the taste of that out of our mouths. Oh yes. Yes. At number 80, People Get Ready by The Impressions.
00:36:47
Speaker
What is there to say? Great song, great arrangement, great vocal, great backing. It's all the wonderful feel of a classic spiritual put into a modern record.
00:36:59
Speaker
People Get Ready was awarded a Grammy Hall of Fame award in 1998, its first year of eligibility. Wow. Yeah, I mean, this is Curtis Mayfield at his best as a composer, a singer, and arranger.
00:37:13
Speaker
and what is wonderful about the song, too, is that it has so many meanings. Obviously, spiritual, but also this, of course, was released during the Civil Rights Movement.
00:37:25
Speaker
So you've got that. Beautiful strings, love the melody, the impressions, harmonies. Love the guitar solo too. Just everything about this is just on point and of course it still has great meaning today.
00:37:42
Speaker
What a record. Classic song, beautiful vocals, lush orchestration, an all-round great arrangement. Music
00:38:05
Speaker
Curtis's lead guitar is
00:38:31
Speaker
curtiser's league guitar is Fantastic. I love that on here. And the thing is, when you get a really good classic song, there's little bits where every time you come to a song, there's something that jumps out at you. And I mean, I've heard this bit before, but what really jumped out to me on my most recent listen was that beautiful flourish at the end. that I don't know whether it's a glockenspiel or a vibraphone, but it's absolutely beautiful.
00:38:58
Speaker
Just to add that little flourish and bit of magic dust just to the old arrangement and the whole song itself. Marv, you want to read the Cashbox review? They didn't go hyperbolic here, but they do seem to like it.
00:39:12
Speaker
Okay, so Cashbox said, the tune is a laconic... slow-moving pop blues ode, which states that faith is the answer to all of man's problems.
00:39:26
Speaker
Side boast? Some real funky guitar sound. I've Been Trying is a top-draw traditional-styled R&B weeper about a guy who can't understand his gal's romantic wanderlust.
00:39:43
Speaker
And then we couldn't get by without having a supercut of this song there are 226 versions that we found amongst them the everly brothers cool aretha franklin george benson deon warwick vanilla fudge whoa Glenn Campbell, Petula Clark, Johnny Rivers, Al Green.
00:40:08
Speaker
Al Green. Lady Smith Black Mambazo. Mambazo, yeah. Oh, that's going to be good. Nice. John Denver. Cool. Jeff Beck, who's actually done this with several people, including Rod and Sting.
00:40:23
Speaker
o Wow. And back again, Bruce, who did it with Wow. Wow. and wow wow And one of my favorite acoustic versions, Glenn Hansard, the Irish singer who was in the film once.
00:40:38
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Wow. One of those that you mentioned, Ed, you know, you mentioned Glenn Campbell has done this. Have you noticed there was something about Glenn that you could give Glenn any type of song from any genre, probably because he was a member of the Wrecking Crew whatever.
00:40:54
Speaker
It's like he could get away with doing anything in his shows. Yeah. Yeah,
Music Criticism: Springsteen to The Ronettes
00:40:59
Speaker
that's true. We slightly joke about Bruce, and we do have Bruce in a lot of different super cuts. And while he always sounds like Bruce, he always does the covers he's chosen well, I think.
00:41:10
Speaker
Mm-hmm. True. Yeah.
00:41:22
Speaker
um train T-Bow gathering!
00:42:46
Speaker
For the holy sinner who would hurt all mankind just to save his home.
00:42:57
Speaker
I pity on me when my chances are thinner. There's a law hiding place from this kingdom's throne.
00:43:09
Speaker
So people get ready for the trains are coming.
00:43:17
Speaker
You just thank the Lord No you don't need a ticket You just thank the Lord People get ready
00:43:52
Speaker
Are you ready? Ready! I'm so ready!
00:44:04
Speaker
Ready! People get ready, there's a train coming Don't need no baggage, you're just a game
00:44:17
Speaker
All you need is faith to hear those diesels humming. Don't need no ticket. You just thank the Lord.
00:44:29
Speaker
Thank the Lord. Alright. People get ready. People get ready. People get ready.
00:44:50
Speaker
Oh, yeah.
00:45:36
Speaker
At number 82, Cupid by Johnny Rivers. It's the Sam Cooke song. ah Nobody needs a Johnny Rivers trademark treatment of a great Sam Cooke record. The affectation on the I promise I will love her to eternity is just annoying.
00:45:53
Speaker
Mediocre girl singers miss. Take it off. Sam Cooke is turning over in his grave. I mean, this is just awful. Why would you cover Cupid and arrange it in the exact style as all his other covers? it would Complete with the hand claps, like out of Memphis.
00:46:12
Speaker
Why would you do that? Cupid
00:46:35
Speaker
heart for This is a ballad. It's a delicate song. Exactly. Why would you do that? Why would you change the lyrics? Give me pleasure my cry And let your arrow Straight to that girl's heart for me.
00:46:59
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Why would you do that? You know, when he was singing, go straight to my girl's heart for me. No. No. And the way he sings this, you know, one of the things I've talked about with Tony Bennett, which we will get to in little bit, he considers every lyric, every word, every song he sings.
00:47:22
Speaker
Sam Cooke did the same thing. Johnny is considering zero lyrics and zero words in this song. I mean, he's treating it just like any other pop song. Exactly.
00:47:35
Speaker
He's not thinking about one word this. mean, he's just mouthing the lyrics. Hate it. Yep. Arrangement doesn't work at all with a song. It's much, much, much too busy and it just doesn't work. It's absolutely, I'll say that this one is tolerable.
00:47:51
Speaker
Yeah, i agree. It's a Torable. It's still not quite bad enough to be one of the worst of 65, but it's definitely in the bottom quarter.
00:48:02
Speaker
Yes, yeah absolutely. And another one, which at least to me is probably in the bottom quarter, and I hate to say that, yeah ah at number 83, Born to be Together by the Ronettes.
00:48:15
Speaker
And whispered tenderly, Darling
00:48:44
Speaker
um
00:48:48
Speaker
It's another Spectre Man Wheel song, but Boy, is this The Wall of Sound gone completely wrong. Ronnie's voice is good, and that's the only distinct element of this mix.
00:49:00
Speaker
The rest of the Ronettes are lost. The strings are just pure syrup, and pure syrup with reverb on top of it. It's like syrup on top of cane sugar.
00:49:11
Speaker
Everything else in this record is mud, and... Again, more reverb making things just worse. Meh. Yeah. Probably even a miss. Poor Ronnie Spector. I mean, she's trying to be heard over this mess.
00:49:27
Speaker
She's swimming in the over reverb, everything, drums, strings, everything trying to be heard. And it's almost like they took two songs, two different songs and smashed them together.
00:49:41
Speaker
The beginning sounds kind of atypical of the Ronettes, which is okay. You
00:49:55
Speaker
you know, some kind of different chord changes than you'd expect. And then all of a sudden, that bombastic wall of sound kicks in. And it's so overdone.
00:50:06
Speaker
i mean, it almost made me jump. It was so jarring.
00:50:17
Speaker
And then it kind of goes back and forth at times between those two sounds. As I said, they sounded like two different songs to me. It was just out of control. But Wall of Sound gone absolutely wrong. And I just felt so sorry for Ronnie Spector throughout this whole thing.
00:50:31
Speaker
You and I normally can accept the Wall of Sound. But Marv, who is a well-known Wall of Sound detractor, tell us what you think. Oh, man. a Phil Spector song by numbers.
00:50:44
Speaker
Heard it all before. And this is just dreadful. yeah I do like Ronnie's vocal, but this is dreadful. Please cue that scene of, I don't know which film it's from, but where that woman grabs the record and she smashes it against the record player.
00:51:03
Speaker
Because that's exactly what I wanted to do. Exactly. you know i didn't come here what did you come here for then i don't know you tell me you're supposed to be the one that has all the answers you tell me you go home that's where i'm going i don't know why i came here in the first place good night
00:51:36
Speaker
And you feel sorry for Ronnie because, as you said, she is trying turn in a great vocal, but you can't hear her. now At number 90, Cry by Ray Charles. This was a 1951 song written by Churchill Coleman.
00:51:52
Speaker
And one of the covers is by George Harrison's favorite, Timi Uro. Yeah. That's right. This is another song off the ah Sweet and Sour Tears album, which we have talked about previously.
00:52:05
Speaker
Well, Ray Charles and his piano are true genius. The song is well recorded, but everything else is unnecessary. The strings don't add anything significant to the song.
00:52:16
Speaker
The strings actually seem to be taken from the Jackie Wilson version, except they've added an extra bit of syrup on top of them here. And the backing singers might as well be the other Ray Charles singers.
00:52:31
Speaker
Real Ray and his piano make it a better than medium hit, but it could have been superb. Look for the Tammy Wynette version from 1968 in addition to our good old Timmy.
00:52:42
Speaker
but And the most popular version of this was recorded by Johnny Ray. Of course, Ray Charles sings the heck out of this. I mean, he's Ray Charles. And great piano. He plays some and incredible piano on this. Sunshine can be found.
00:53:20
Speaker
your heartaches seem to have
00:53:35
Speaker
little bit of blues, little bit of jazz. i mean, that distinctive style that he had. And then there are the background singers. As I was listening to this, I thought, please don't bring in those background singers.
00:53:48
Speaker
Please. And of course they did. They come in about halfway through just overdone, sappy background singers. Absolutely unnecessary. I've said it once.
00:53:59
Speaker
I'll say it again. Let Ray be Ray. And as you mentioned, the strings. Tone it down. Listen to Jackie Wilson version. They seem to have taken the strings from there.
00:54:10
Speaker
Wow. Okay. Ray is the star. His voice and piano are all you need. I would love it if they had just had a minimal arrangement and let him be him.
00:54:23
Speaker
The thing is, I listened to this after we've just had the previous two songs. Cupid by Johnny Rivers, bad. Born to be Together by the Runettes, bad.
00:54:34
Speaker
And then we had this, and Ray's voice started, and I thought, oh, that's Ray Charles' voice. You can tell. and I love his vocal on this. love the piano on this. I love what his band is doing alongside him.
00:54:48
Speaker
The backing vocals, oh. are not necessary and everything else isn't necessary. If it had just been, we're going to say it again, if it had just been stripped back to him and his band, this would have been probably up to about eight to eight and a half out of 10. But unfortunately to me, it's closer to a six to a six and a half.
00:55:10
Speaker
Agreed. We say it differently, but I think we're all more or less on the same page here. Yep. Yep. I completely agree. And thankfully we have a great record following
Praise for Redding and Chicago Soul
00:55:19
Speaker
finally. Yes.
00:55:21
Speaker
At number 93, Mr. Pitiful by Otis Redding. Written by Otis Redding and Steve Cropper. A great tune. An amazing lead vocal. I love those drums, horns, and a tremendous use of the Stax house band.
00:55:37
Speaker
It's a great song. It's a great record. The first time I actually got really familiar with the song was the Commitments version back in the day. yeah The Stones also do a really hot live version of it.
00:55:48
Speaker
What can you say? i mean, this is prime Otis right here. They call me man.
00:55:56
Speaker
Cause I'm in love
00:56:33
Speaker
What a great soul workout. This is Southern Soul and its best. You've got those horns, those pounding rhythmic horns, the pulsing bass. And, of course, you've got Otis, that gritty voice.
00:56:47
Speaker
I love how he's... I was preaching at the end. i would have loved to have been able to see him perform live. And i bet he just killed with this live.
00:56:58
Speaker
He must have gotten the audience on their feet and then just sounding incredible. And it was interesting. Apparently, Steve Cropper got the idea for this when the disc jockey, Muha Williams, nicknamed Otis Redding as Mr. Pitiful because of when Otis would sing all his ballads. And we talked about some of them on the show.
00:57:23
Speaker
He said he sounded so pitiful when he was singing these emotional ballads. So Steve Cropper heard this. and had the idea to write a song with that name.
00:57:34
Speaker
Cropper then asked Redding how he felt about the idea, and they recorded this song in 10 minutes.
00:57:43
Speaker
Wow. 10 minutes! Amazing. Great song. Wonderful vocals by Otis. Steve Cropper's guitar is superb. Booker T's piano, Duck Dunn on bass.
00:57:55
Speaker
Al Jackson's drumming is superb. Just an all-round great production. And I'd give this a 10. Yep. At least the nine, you know, maybe nine and a half. Yes. yeah At number 94, Let Her Love Me by Otis Level.
00:58:10
Speaker
Good vocal, nice horns, good beat. The guitar is more of a fill instrument than a main one here, though, but that works in this song. Great backing vocals. It's a really nice example of Chicago's soul. Letter Love Me was written by Billy Butler and produced by Major Lance and features the impressions on backing vocals.
00:58:30
Speaker
It would reach number 31 on the Billboard R&B chart, and we'll talk a little bit more about Otis Level before we move on. As you mentioned, written by Billy Butler, younger brother of Jerry. And you definitely hear Curtis Mayfield's influences all over the place.
00:58:45
Speaker
The backing vocals, you can hear the arrangement is classic impressions. Chord changes even sound Mayfield-esque. Are you there?
00:58:58
Speaker
Oh, I'm out of your breath. In vain. Can't you hear me sing? Dear Lord, let her love me.
00:59:10
Speaker
This is all that I ask of you. Dear Lord, put it in her heart so that she might love me too.
00:59:23
Speaker
It's unfortunately not nearly as good as ah Curtis Mayfield track. It is a bit of a cha-cha. I hate to sound like Cashbox here. and As I said, it's not as good as a Curtis Mayfield song, but it's a pleasant listen. Otis Lovell had nice voice. Nice slice of Chicago soul.
00:59:40
Speaker
To people who love really good soul music, it's going to be... surefire something that we're going to love or enjoy because you've got the cream of the crop there. You've got Billy Butler.
00:59:52
Speaker
Billy was, in my opinion, the second best songwriter on that label after Curtis, produced by Major Lance. he's got Major Lance there. That's another ding. Then, you know, you've got the impressions there with Curtis backing him up.
01:00:04
Speaker
And then you've got the arrangement by Riley Hampton, who's done a really cracking job. I really liked this song a lot and I'm going to give it a score again. I'm going to give this a seven and a half to an eight.
01:00:14
Speaker
Oh, all right. Maybe slightly higher than I would, but yeah, at least seven, seven and a half years. Yeah. Yep. Now, because of this song and because of its placement on the R&B charts, Major Lance actually hired Otis to go out with him on Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars. But this single would cause Clark to actually give level his own slot on the caravan, and he got to go out and sing two songs out front.
01:00:41
Speaker
But his real talent would actually turn out to be as a talent scout. Yeah, and darn good at it because he discovered the Shylights.
01:00:52
Speaker
Tyrone Davis, Bohannon, and Manchild from Indianapolis, Indiana, whose members included the future Kenneth Babyface Edmonds.
01:01:03
Speaker
But he wasn't always right. Because he ended up passing on a young woman named Yvette Stevens and her younger sister Yvonne.
01:01:14
Speaker
Yvette in particular would be a major distraction because in spite of her young age, 16 at the time, the older men really hovered around her. Well, Yvette ended up winning though because she went on to become Shaka Khan. Yeah.
01:01:31
Speaker
And Taka Boom was actually popular. She's not a name you hear much of anymore, but that was her sister. She did have her heyday. So pretty amazing, actually.
01:01:41
Speaker
yeah yeah So from a song that we had a few things to say to a song that we'd rather not say too much about. that's At number 96, Real Live Girl by Steve Alemo. We've talked about Steve Alemo before.
01:01:57
Speaker
ah This song is from the Broadway musical Little Me, which is notable because it was an early musical that featured choreographer Bob Fosse.
01:02:07
Speaker
Mm-hmm. Now, the song in particular, first off, the first time I heard this song, all I could think of are those um um adult women dolls. That's what I thought, too.
01:02:21
Speaker
Yes.
01:02:24
Speaker
Me, too. So it wasn't just me. I'm not just a dirty middle-aged man. No, no. I thought the same thing. I will admit, yeah, I saw the title and I was thinking of Sally by the police. No.
01:02:38
Speaker
Which, for people who don't know, that is exactly what that song is about. Now, as to the song, definitely a WTF. You go to the chorus, and the way they chose to arrange it here, there's a very kiddy-sounding chorus, and that's just creepy.
01:02:54
Speaker
Yep. After I've dreamed of you night after night I can't let go, but I suddenly know that I've found my ID.
01:03:20
Speaker
Nothing can be being swept off your feet by a real life girl.
01:03:35
Speaker
Still, it's a decent vocal. It feels to me like third or fourth rate Paul Anka. Slick and just dreadful. ah It reeks of a lame-ass past as a teen idol.
01:03:47
Speaker
There's actually a listenable version from Sid Caesar on the soundtrack. It's a better record, but still don't love the song. The one line which I just cannot pass up, dreams in your bunk don't compare with a hunk of a real live song.
01:04:05
Speaker
Girl. Yeesh. Yep. Uncomfortable. Yep. I too had that same feeling. Creepy, weird.
01:04:16
Speaker
But as far as the song itself goes, putting aside the weird stuff, yeah, I thought it was pretty corny, croony, again, sounding dated like it's from the 50s in terms of the arrangement and everything.
01:04:29
Speaker
And it surprised me to read that the musical is from 1962 because... As I said, so corny sounding. And Steve Olamo's vocal, his book approach sounded like something out of Muzak, that old style, of smooth crooning, but not interesting in any way.
01:04:48
Speaker
So, yeah, pass. Take it off. um Questionable, creepy, and I just really did not like.
01:05:01
Speaker
the song at all. I don't really want to talk much more about the song. Yeah, okay. Just want to take a shower, Take it off, yeah. um I just need to go and get the shower started after this song.
01:05:12
Speaker
It was uncomfortable. but We don't want to end this episode this
Reflecting on 1965: A Year of Musical Impact
01:05:17
Speaker
way. So let's just talk briefly about, despite some of these questionable songs, it's amazing to me how forward looking we are at this point.
01:05:28
Speaker
You know, we're two months into 1965. And in a lot of ways, the good songs feel like the present day and are still songs which we know and love. Yeah, I mean, definitely something like people get ready has so much meaning still today and sound just as relevant. That indeed is something that still holds meaning. and For all these bad songs that we've mentioned, you know, that have made us feel uncomfortable and dirty, there are some really good songs here that show where music is going away from the dated songs that are giving us this distaste, quite frankly, and showing us where music is going to go to looking forward. Like Kit said, you know, People Get Ready by the Impressions, Mr Pitiful by Otis Redding.
01:06:14
Speaker
And when you tune into episode D, we got a number of much better songs. There's a much better percentage of good to bad in side D for sure. All right. So that is side C, the first two weeks of the cash box chart for February of 1965.
01:06:32
Speaker
We'll be back with side D real soon. See you then. Take care.
01:06:51
Speaker
There was a piece in the NME, a news piece that said the top rank records. Remember when top rank had a record label? and They introduced an LP series next week that will be called Toppermost.
01:07:03
Speaker
And it's coinciding with their current advertising slogan, Toppermost of the Poppermost. I thought they got it from somewhere. They saw that. They must have seen that in either the NME or Record Mirror or Disc.
01:07:17
Speaker
Record and Show Mirror as it was then. And they've taken it from there. They've obviously thought how stupid that is. How stupid is is one of those phrases that someone, an older person who doesn't understand teenagers comes up with a slogan that they think is going to be the hip slogan of the month.
01:07:34
Speaker
Topper most of the popper most.