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November 1964 (side D)
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We close out the US Charts for November 1964 with friends old and new. Jerry Lee Lewis, The Searchers (with a song recorded "many years ago it seems"), The Four Tops, The Impressions and Rick Nelson. Support this podcast at the $6/month level on patreon to get extra content! Create your podcast today! #madeonzencastr
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Transcript
The Beatles' Rallying Cry
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 know, they'd have a bad night or the gig with, you know, it didn't work properly or the amps broke or whatever. 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 top of most of the papamos. And right. And we'd all sort of cheer up.
00:00:31
Speaker
hey Where are we going fellas? To the top! What top? To the top! Now this Tron and John would say where are we going fellas and the others in an American accent and the others would say to the top Johnny get the exact wording right um where's that fellas to the topper most of the papa most Johnny And that was their rallying call in when times were bad to kind of, yes, you know, we're still here. We're still together. A lot of irony in it as well. It was kind of done in a heavy American accent as a sender.
November 1964 Chart Analysis
00:01:12
Speaker
Welcome to side D of Toppermost of the Poppermost for November, 1964. Certainly much better than November of 1963. I'm Ed Shin. I'm Kid O'Toole.
00:01:23
Speaker
And I'm Martin Quibbell. All right. We move on to the third week of November, 1964, the week of November, the 21st at number one is baby love by the Supremes. Why are they just rolling the charts this month? They still haven't managed to surpass what the Beatles have done on the charts, even though the Beatles are relatively underrepresented.
00:01:47
Speaker
this month but throughout 1964 it's still Beatles number one. Supreme's probably come a close second although the four seasons do also have a pretty good role going on this year of 1964. At number 84 a song we spoke of in the previous show on Side C, Come See About Me by Nella Dodds. It is very close to the Supremes version, and I still don't think Barry Gordy really should have done what he did. I mean, you know I can understand why they would release it as a single, but still. It basically, while not completely killing it dead, it did effectively end the life of this record.
00:02:30
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, obviously, Very Gordy finally saw its hit potential. Rush released the single, the Supremes version, you know, originally just an album track, and that pretty much ended the journey of this version.
Del Shannon's Unique Sound
00:02:44
Speaker
yeah
00:03:15
Speaker
At number 87, keep searching. We'll follow the sun by Del Shannon. Not I'll follow the sun, but we'll follow the sun team player. the guitar and drums are good i really like those heavily echoed hand claps they almost sound like 66 they point a little bit toward the future there's an organ break we'll see what kid has to say about that it's a catchy tune i like it yeah you know this is one of those songs that i totally had forgotten about and as soon as i heard it i thought but i remember this from the dick beyondy days when i was listening to that he's mine and i'm gonna do
00:04:27
Speaker
I really like this. You know, I had some unusual chord changes, ah particularly in the chorus when he'd sing, you know, We'll Follow the Sun. I liked Del Shannon's vocal on this. He really showed his vocal range. He had sort of an eeriness to it, I thought, particularly in the chorus. Even the organ. I like the organ on this. I agree. You know, even like the solo. So yes, good organ on this.
00:04:52
Speaker
You know, I just thought this was an unusual song for its time.
Marvin Gaye and Motown Perspectives
00:04:56
Speaker
I agree at it sounded a little futuristic and in a way for its time. And maybe it was the unusual sound to it. It's in the key of A minor. And also interesting lyrics. Story of a man who is trying to find a place to hide himself and his girlfriend from those who abuse her. And it's just a very unusual sounding song to me, particularly for Del Shannon.
00:05:20
Speaker
Yeah, it's not quite terrain and paperback rider, but it is a step along towards that direction. Yeah, exactly. And so I've always liked this one. So it was good to hear this again. Yeah, what you picked up on there, Kit, I absolutely love that in the chorus. The Will Follow The Sun, that there where he has the descending bass note on the guitar that he just goes down chromatically in there. That just sounds so beautiful in there and works really well.
00:05:49
Speaker
which is a trick that the Beatles would use and a lot of people like the Kinks and all these groups would use as well at some point you you know in the future. I've always loved this song, I think it's Delaty's Best, a great guitar by Dell. I'm guessing it's the same organist from Runaway. It's not really 100% the same solo as Runaway but it is a great solo just like Runaway was.
00:06:12
Speaker
Yeah, it's not an exact carbon copy of Runaway. And yeah, I just love that core change. And of course, it's kind of unexpected, which I really like. Yeah, it's very forward thinking for this time. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, we all like the record. I'm not wild about the falsetto, but that's the only points I might take off ah from this disc.
00:06:34
Speaker
Now, while I think we're going to agree, we're going to have a major disagreement with our friends over at Motown Junkies on this one. At number 88, how sweet it is to be loved by you, by Marvin Gaye, a Holland-Dozier Holland song. I find it quite simply brilliant. Amazing production, great playing.
00:06:56
Speaker
I love the lead vocal. It allows Marvin Gaye to keep a foot in what he wanted to do. He actually didn't want to be what he became. He wanted to be more a Nat King Cole version too. And in fact, Marvin Gaye's next album would be Hello Broadway, featuring yet another version of Hello Dolly. Jamie, that's what we're doing with them.
00:07:21
Speaker
oh Fortunately, he was to be convinced that he was better at R and being soul and that would secure his legend. Completely
00:08:04
Speaker
Motown Junkies rated this one like a five out of 10. Yeah. What? um I mean, it's a great blog. And and normally well after we get our reviews through, we'll read yeah some of what they have to say. Yeah. I'm not saying this is my all time favorite.
00:08:20
Speaker
Marvin Gaye song, but it's up there. I just love this track written by Holland. Does your Holland as you mentioned? I think this just has it all. I mean, I think it's catchy. I love Marvin Gaye's vocal on this. I mean, as you said, and it has a bit of that smooth neck and cold kind of quality to it. But then he gets the Marvin growl.
00:08:40
Speaker
in there at times. You can hear a bit of his gospel roots in here. You've got the Andantes just killing it on the backing vocals. I mean that back and forth, you know, the call and response. You've got that piano.
00:08:55
Speaker
The piano, I love the piano on this, right out of the church. But again, still in the pop genre, I mean, the Funk Brothers in general just kill it, but the piano on this, I just love. I mean, it is, along with Marvin and the Andantes, The Star. This is produced by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier. Another example of Holland Dozier Holland.
00:09:19
Speaker
at their best, and Marvin Gaye just showing he could sing anything. You know, and great lyrics. Just so catchy. It's just such a bright pop soul song. Love it. Yep. Great song, of which there are many great versions. In 11 Years Time, we're going to be speaking about a superb version of this by James Taylor.
00:09:41
Speaker
Oh, I love that version too. ah The Motown Junkies absolutely hate the James Taylor version. Wrong. um Wrong. I'm about to say the James Taylor version proves that this is one of those rare songs that's an evergreen. It can work in almost any style whatsoever. And we will have a supercut, but we'll we'll we'll get to that after we read what the junkies have to say.
00:10:08
Speaker
But yeah, ah I'll still say this is my favorite version of the song. I love everything about it. I love Marvin's lead vocals. I love the Andante's backing vocals, the Funk Brothers musical accompaniment. I really like this song. Yeah. Okay. So what Motown Junkies has to say about it after going through a paragraph or so savagery, the James Taylor version, they then say the worst moment in this or any other version of the song is when the lead singer goes,
00:10:37
Speaker
I want to stop and the backing vocalists all pile in on the word stop and then there's a sudden dead air stop just for a fleeting instant in Marvin's version compared to whole bars and others but that's a part that's highlighted in the movie the movie that it appears in and it makes the whole thing sound as though it's being performed by a high school jazz choir for an audience of bored parents, rather than say some of the greatest singers and musicians in history shooting for posterity. It makes me physically
November 1964 Song Highlights
00:11:10
Speaker
squirm. What? What? We agree. We all love this record. The Motown Junkies, while they don't quite hate the Marvin version, I mean, five is bad, but not quite failing. They do hate the James Taylor version. And I think we all like the James Taylor version as well.
00:11:27
Speaker
Yeah, I did not understand that at all. I mean, you know, yeah, it's different. Of course, James Taylor doesn't sound exactly like Marvin Gaye, but that's a great version, too. And I love the sax on that. I don't get it.
00:11:41
Speaker
As mentioned, we are doing a supercut. Some of the versions in our supercut. Leslie Ugham's. Okay. Long John Baldry. Looking forward to that one. James Taylor. Dinah Shore. Wow. The Oak Ridge Boys. Oh, wow. Kit's girl, Brenda Lee. All right. The captain and to Neil, and I have to admit, I was a big fan of the captain and to Neil as a kid. Yeah, they were big.
00:12:09
Speaker
I bought all their records. They were the first band, well, ACT, who I probably bought their entire discography. And don't forget, Dave Grohl says there's no such thing as a guilty pleasure. There you go. The Isley Brothers. oh Kenny Rogers. I bet that's good. Joan Osborn. And Michael McDonald. So we're getting our super cut through early in this show. All right.
00:15:22
Speaker
That's my soul that I hate living in.
00:16:42
Speaker
I'm Okay, so out of our super cut, at number 91, Jerry Lee Lewis with High Heel Sneakers. You know, an old song. We're all familiar with this song. It was certainly one of the Beatles favorites. This is a live performance of the song.
00:17:01
Speaker
it's nice enough jerry lee organ drums and the banging piano as you might expect there are girl singers there but they are barely audible this version could be slightly more energetic but it mostly works it's a hit however it does not do much to take jerry lee louis out of oldies territory even in 1964 yeah i agree thank you very very much
00:17:56
Speaker
I thought it started out a little slow, but once he got to the piano solo, then the tempo started to speed up and it sounded more like finished Jerry Lee.
00:18:42
Speaker
I wish it had remained that tempo for the duration of the song. I didn't think it was wonderfully recorded or mixed. I can sound incredibly well balanced. And in fact, the producer, Shelby Singleton, decided to record a live album of Jerry Lee that could be released on Smash Records. And so this is a single from The Greatest Live Show on Earth. And it was mainly assembled from shows performed at the municipal auditorium in Birmingham, Alabama, in front of 15,000 fans. And he set up microphones all across the stage. And according to Jerry Lee Lewis, he said it was the first time anyone had set up a live recording like that.
00:19:28
Speaker
and it all had to be captured in one take of course no second chances so I don't know I mean obviously live recording is different now so maybe that's part of the reason why the mix isn't great but as you said and this doesn't really take them out of oldies territory so it's a decent cover but not the best version of High Heel Sneakers I've heard. So the rest of the world got Jerry Lee Lewis live at the Star Club but there were no rights to have that album issued in the United States. So as you mentioned that is why they then went to Birmingham and said well we we'll just record our own live album.
00:20:04
Speaker
And for the record, the only songs in common between those two live records are Whole Lotta Shakin', Long Tall Sally, and Mean Woman Blues. All songs that the Beatles were known to have loved and in many cases covered the Star Club album as a much better live album.
00:20:23
Speaker
Yep, decent live cover version of the song with an excited audience there. The timing goes awry at one point ever so slightly, but then again, it is live. And the more it goes on, the livelier his voice and performance on the piano gets. Exactly. At number 93, here she comes by the times. The opening feels a little bit like a rewrite of I'm Into Something Good to Me.
00:21:13
Speaker
This would be become really well known to the Northern Soul folks, but I find this record kind of all over the place. I do like that she takes my breath away break, but overall, I'm just not a big fan of this disc.
00:21:36
Speaker
I have to disagree. I liked it. I thought it was fun. It was a pop soul duop combination. I thought it was a toe tapper. I enjoyed it for what it is. You know, it's kind of like the impressions. I can see why this is a northern soul classic. I mean, you could slap this on at a party. Very danceable. I can absolutely see this being played in the northern England clubs and people dancing to so You know, I really found myself as I was listening to this suddenly looking down and my my feet were really going. It's just a fun record and catchy. but I really liked it. I'm like, why haven't I heard this before? This is a great record.
00:22:15
Speaker
Yep. I really liked this song as well. Great vocals. I really enjoyed the music, particularly the vibe to it. I thought it had a really cool vibe. Yeah. And as a Northern Soul number, as it enters into that, it's a stone cold classic in the Northern Soul scene. this is I can see why.
00:22:33
Speaker
Yeah, it does get your foot tapping for sure. Yep. Well, we may have a disagreement on the next record as well. At number 96, Amen by the Impressions. It's kind of a Christmas song. It was first recorded by the Wings Over Jordan choir in June of 1948.
00:22:51
Speaker
and released by them in January of 1949. It's a great lead vocal. It's a decent adaptation of the song, but I think we really don't need any of the verses and it kind of goes on a little bit too long.
00:23:35
Speaker
I have to admit I wanted to like this more than I did. Okay. We're in agreement. Yeah. Okay. All right. We are in agreement. Okay. Yeah. Cause I mean, you know, I thought the impressions would be enough to win both of you over. I was surprised. Yeah. I know. And when I saw this was going to be the impressions, amen. I thought this is going to be incredible. I didn't love the marching militaristic kind of drumbeat to this.
00:24:20
Speaker
I don't know why Curtis Mayfield did that. I don't know. I agree. I think it went on too long. You know, harmonies were great. No problem with any of the singing either weed or backing, but it's just, you know, like you say, those verses just don't do anything for me. I did like the sneaking in of keep on pushing.
00:24:48
Speaker
That was great. I liked that. But other than that, yeah, I just didn't like that marching rhythm. I just didn't know if that quite worked for me. I was looking for more of a traditional sort of a gospel duop. I mean, kind of like the impressions roots. I mean, that's what I was looking for a bit more. So I was surprised at that. And otherwise I was expecting a lot more. And as I said, wanted to like this a lot more than I did.
00:25:14
Speaker
Yeah, I felt bad about listening to this because of that exact reason, because I thought, I'm going to really enjoy this because it's like a classic or an older song that would fit into the more gospel-y roots of the group. So I thought, all right, we're going to get to the roots of the impressions.
00:25:32
Speaker
and then I listened to it and I thought it's in an area where it's sort of in between the two. It's in between the roots and where they are at that point with the original material that Curtis is writing. Well, it doesn't work in that in-between field. If they'd have kept it as the original and laid back and not put everything in there other than their vocals and made it shorter as well because it does drag. But yeah, I've really got irritated with it after about a minute and a half
Critique of The Four Tops' Production
00:26:00
Speaker
also.
00:26:00
Speaker
I agree. Okay. So we're all in agreement. We do have a little bit more information on it. The song was in the air at that point in time because it was arranged by Jester Harrison for the Sydney Poitiers film, Lilies of the Field. And if you've seen that, you can see the clip on YouTube. It's a great version. That's a great film as well.
00:26:20
Speaker
Yes, absolutely. So what Curtis Mayfield said was, I'd gone to see Lilies of the Field and this song was in it. It was very inspiring for me, as was the movie. Of course, I decided to do a version of it. We put it together in the studio, starting off with a musical swing low, sweet chariot feel. And then we fell into that particular song with somewhat of a marching rhythm. And as we all said, well, that military march rhythm just doesn't really work.
00:26:48
Speaker
No. Maybe not quite a strikeout, but it's a you know swing and a miss to me. Yeah, agreed. If they were going to go the whole swing low, sweet chariot, I would have preferred them to take away all instrumentation completely and have it a cappella.
00:27:06
Speaker
Oh, that would have been nice. Yes, absolutely. But I mean, you know, that's kind of what's going on in the version in the film. Yeah. Sidney Poitier is just singing with the nuns there. Yeah. At number 97, the 81.
00:27:21
Speaker
by Candy and the Kisses. This is a song co-written by Kenny Gamble. It's a dance song. The opening was stolen from Motown. Good backing, but the lead is not the strongest. Producer Jerry Ross had been in Philadelphia with Kenny Gamble, and while at a record hop, they saw some kids doing a new dance they called The 81 to a Martha Reeves and the Vandalas song, In My Lonely Room. The duo immediately made a sound-alike dance tune called The 81,
00:27:50
Speaker
and had Candy and the Girls record it for release. The single would peak just outside the top 50.
00:28:27
Speaker
Candy and the Kisses consisted of Jeanette Johnson, Beryl, Candy Nelson singing lead and Suzanne Nelson. This was the beginning of Kenny Gamble and in fact the flip side of this single called Two Happy People was written by Leon Huff and Cindy Scott and of course Gamble and Huff would later get together and were the architects of Billy Sull. This was sort of an upbeat shuffle and it didn't end up cracking the top 40. And this was, as you mentioned, a Philadelphia dance. And it definitely has a, shall we say, a Motown feel to it in the drums. But the chord changes are a bit different than a Motown record.
00:29:14
Speaker
Candy and the Kisses give it their all, even though at times I feel like their voices can barely be heard over the production. But what is most important here is that this is an early glimpse of one of the architects of Philly Soul, which obviously would become some huge factor in music in the 70s. If any listeners out there took my Philly Soul class that I taught through Monmouth, we talked about this record.
00:29:39
Speaker
a bit. So this is the first appearance of it. And by the way, this group was not from Philadelphia, and believe it or not, when they hailed from Port Richmond, New York. So they really had nothing to do with Philadelphia. And they started out as the symphonets. Yeah. Kenny Nelson is just not a great lead singer.
00:29:58
Speaker
Exactly. I mean, they didn't really, unfortunately, go much of anywhere after this. They recorded a follow up single after this one, Phil Spector's Soldier, Baby of Mine. But then, as I found out, it said, circumstances beyond the group's control killed the record and its failure meant the end of their deal with Cameo Parkway.
00:30:19
Speaker
and it didn't really say what the situation was, but that was that. So really the importance of the record is early Gamble and then of course the other side being a Leon Huff composition, so early Philly Soul. Well that's what I find interesting about it, Kit, is the fact that you've got a Gamble co-write and production on the A side, and then you've got ah Leon Huff on the B side. Because if you listen to the song on the other side, Two Happy People, it's almost like you can see elements from the two and how the two of them together, Gamble and Huff, would eventually shape, because they're already starting on it here, how they would shape the sound of Philadelphia soul through these two songs. Essentially, you've got elements of both on both sides. And the B side is a fantastic song, by the way, for anyone who wants to listen. I enjoyed the vibe of this song. I thought Candy and the Kisses, the three of them would be better suited to joining the other two as a backing singer and having somebody else as a lead singer, but they do okay with it. It's mostly about the music to me on this song.
00:31:26
Speaker
Agreed. So that takes care of the third week of November, 1964. We're now going to move on to the week of November the 28th. A new song at number one, Leader of the Pack by the Shangri-La's. We've covered it, but we did have a question from one of our listeners about the version in our Halloween supercut from last month. Oh, wow. Oh, okay.
00:31:53
Speaker
Feedback. Hey, they asked who exactly was that version in the middle with what sounded like those old people saying it. And yes, they were indeed old people. Okay. On the Andy Williams show, Andy Williams frequently had the Osmonds as special guests and the Osmonds were young kids at that point in time. yeahp So the other guests Andy had on the show that week included Vic DeMone and Bobby Darin.
00:32:22
Speaker
If you watch the whole clip, Bobby Darin comes out and says, hey, Andy, you know, can you get us say a gig with the Osmonds? And Andy Williams goes, sure, no problem. And he doesn't bring out the Osman kids. He brings out the Osman parents.
00:32:38
Speaker
ah Very clever. So that version of Leader of the Pack includes Vic DeMone, Bobby Darin, Andy Williams, and the Osmond parents. It is available on YouTube. Oh, that's great. Is it a banger? You heard our super cut from last month. You know what it sounds like. Let's just say the rest of the Osmonds did not get their singing talent from their mother. Oh dear.
00:33:08
Speaker
ah Apologies to fans of their mother, who I'm sure. Oh, no, no. Did you know Elvis? Yeah. I know everybody has their story, but, um, I mean, like we have legitimate, mean he called my mom all the time. Loved her. She, she reminded him very much of his mom. And so, you know, she had called and I'd kind of try to hear and she'd shut the door and we'd go to Vegas and there were always a room full of flowers, never for us, always for her. And, but no, he was really,
00:33:36
Speaker
You know, honestly, I think the reason our family is ah more open with ah fans through, you know, we do meet and greets. You came to Vegas, and you're like, come hang out with me. And I said, I have to. She does an 18-hour meet and greet. She never stops talking. But yeah that's because of him, really. yeah He got very lonely ah towards the end. He isolated himself a lot. Elvis. Yeah. yeah Wow. so Let's go to at number 68. Without the one you love, life's not worthwhile by the four tops. There are some nice elements in this song. However, many of them are borrowed from Baby I Need Your Loving, including the repetition of the line Baby I Need Your Loving. The final result is more than a little bit milk toast. The best part it to me is the nicely vocal. Oddly the Funk brothers, the Adantes and the other tops just feel thrown together like so much fraternity trashcan punch. It'll get you that far eventually, but it's more likely to cause you to move on to something a little bit tastier.
00:34:36
Speaker
Wow that was very interesting analogy Ed. I gotta keep up with Marv here. Yeah exactly. Wow I don't have anything that descriptive.
00:35:10
Speaker
In my empty arms I let my life go
00:35:20
Speaker
This is another example. We've talked about this before with Helen Dozier Holland. They're definitely getting much, much better with their composition and writing these banger hits. Emphasis on hit and coming up with catchy lyrics, catchy titles. But they still come up with some titles that are mouthfuls and Not catchy. And here's an example. Without the one you love, life's not worthwhile. Boy, that's a mouthful, isn't it? Come on, guys. Shorter, shorter, catchier. This is not it. Now, this was, of course, the follow up to Baby I Need Your Loving, which was the four tops for single. And Holland does your Holland wanted it to sound similar, similar tempo, similar sound. And indeed, it sure does sound similar, doesn't it?
00:36:09
Speaker
And I think it's also, you know, you were saying that it was just kind of all over the place. And indeed, first beddyism of the show, when I was playing this, she said, way too much going
Solomon Burke's Live Performance Appeal
00:36:24
Speaker
on. It was annoying. And I have to agree, it it did ah get kind of annoying after a while.
00:36:31
Speaker
It was way too busy in the back ring. Backing vocals way too prominent. Did we really need the endantes and the four tops here? The four tops? Such great vocalists. So now why do we need both? And I thought Levi Stubbs has such a great voice. I think at times it got lost. I just thought they threw in everything but the kitchen sink here and just doesn't work.
00:36:53
Speaker
the trash can punch. I mean, that's a good analogy, actually. Yeah, exactly. It doesn't matter how good the brandy is you're throwing in there, it's gonna get washed out by the rest of it. Yeah. I feel like I'm repeating myself again here. It's that game again, telephone. They can't remember how Baby I Need Your Loving went. So they try to rewrite it because they can't remember it. And this is what they've come out with.
00:37:33
Speaker
The four tops, when you can hear them, the vocals are great, you know, the musicians are good, but it's all mish-mash. Yeah, I like that. When you can hear them. When you can hear them, yeah. So, I mean, again, we're we're back more or less all on the same page again. Yep, absolutely. We don't always agree, but we we usually come pretty close. Yeah, absolutely. And before anybody asks, no, we're not going to repeat those long titles from the past of Motown again.
00:38:01
Speaker
I came close, but I thought, nah, we've done that before. But you get the point. At number 76, the price by Solomon Burke. We love Solomon Burke around here, but this is fine. However, it is really just another repurposed gospel riff. Solomon Burke is preaching.
00:38:19
Speaker
Both of the opening and then a little bit less but still throughout the song the backing singers are just all in church choir mode i like the drums in the horns however the guitar is twanging and a little bit on appealing it's not my favorite record.
00:38:33
Speaker
Yeah, this is definitely not top tier, Psalm and Burke to say the least, but I don't know why. I kind of liked it. You know, the F singing, F preaching about how his heart was broken. I just was picturing him performing this live and getting down on his knees. You walk the way you're left standing up like a fool.
00:39:27
Speaker
I would have loved to have seen him perform this live. I bet he just would have put his heart and soul into this.
00:39:59
Speaker
ended way too abruptly. I thought that was kind of strange that it just all of a sudden faded out. And I just thought, wait a minute. Is that it? Yeah, that's it. And I loved the wine to the beginning. you know I stood up and I told the whole wide world that you were good for me, baby. Yes, then you laughed and you called me your personal clown.
00:40:20
Speaker
in front of all your friends. i just Some of the lines I just thought, and the way he delivered them were just, create your personal clown. If anybody else had done this, it would have been totally laughable. But this is Solomon Burke. This is in no way top tier, believe me. No way. So you like it a little bit better than I do. Just a little bit.
00:40:41
Speaker
Exactly. His vocals good. It's okay. The backing musicians are good. That's as much as I'm going to say about this song. I wish they'd have flipped it the other other way round because the B side that Solomon wrote with Jerry Wexler and Tom Dowd, the song More Rocking Soul, I like that a heck of a lot more because that's got some movement in it and that
Andy Williams' 'Dearheart': Over-arranged?
00:41:03
Speaker
is really good. I like that more.
00:41:05
Speaker
So this month seems to be songs from artists that we really like, but maybe not their best work. Right. He seems to be going though. Yeah. Well, okay. At number 78, not an artist that we really like, although we don't dislike him. The next one from Andy Williams, the flip, Dearheart. It's a slightly stronger Andy Williams tune. It's still nothing but sap, those twinkly bells, which come in, make Ringo's good nights sound edgy. Again, it's a nice enough M.O.R lead vocal, horrible strings, horrible backing singers.
00:41:42
Speaker
Yeah, not great. Now, my mother said when she heard this, this was very popular back in the day. She said she remembers hearing this a lot and on the radio and so forth. She didn't say she liked it. She was just saying it was a popular song. Let me specify that.
00:42:32
Speaker
You know, it was kind of pretty and sung well by Andy Williams, but definitely not the most memorable movie theme, although this was nominated for an Oscar. I didn't like that sliding note. You know, he sings on soon. You know, he does that kind of sliding sort of vocal. I wasn't crazy about that. Otherwise, I mean, it's OK. OK. Yeah, yep that sliding note. I didn't particularly like that on his voice. Other than that, I actually thought it was a good vocal performance by Andy. I don't like the production on it. And I think it's over arranged.
00:43:07
Speaker
Yes. Because in some ways I listened to it and it and I thought this sounds like Christmas in a way, musically. yeah Yeah, kind of. It's got that sort of dreamy feel to it that you're getting a lot of timeless Christmas classics. It's another one of those where I'm going to say if they just stripped it back a bit with his voice and had less, I think it would have been a nice maybe lower middle tier festive sort of charting song.
The Searchers and 1964's Musical Style
00:43:34
Speaker
And it was co-written by Henry Mancini. Wow. Yeah, Henry Mancini, Ray Evans, and Jay Livingston. I'm sorry, it's not Moon River. Not at all. Well, we know the Osman parents wouldn't have helped this record, but would Bobby Darin or Vic DeMone have helped it? Hmm. We will leave that as an exercise for the listener. Yes. Do we need AI to give it to Frank Ifield?
00:44:02
Speaker
I wanna do that, actually. Yeah, what? Somebody out there. We need to make a Frank Ifield vocal model. Yes, for sure. At number 79, Walk Away by Matt Monroe, which we've covered on the UK side. At number 81, As Tears Go By by Marion Faithful, which we've covered on the UK side. At number 83, a song which would be a smash in the States. Love Potion number nine by The Searchers. It's their cover of a Leber and Stuller song.
00:44:36
Speaker
And before I get into it, I will mention that the B-side was their cover of High Heel Sneakers. Oh wow. That's a popular one. I actually prefer the searcher's version to the Jerry Lee Lewis version. The searchers do a very Beatles-esque, ever so slightly post-Mersey beat cover of High Heel Sneakers. I still wish that the Beatles would have done High Heel Sneakers. You know you're really gonna knock him dead.
00:45:42
Speaker
Now, as to Love Potion number nine, I really like the song and I like the searcher's version of it. But coming in here at the end of 1964, it feels a little bit old. This is a great cover and it feels a little bit old because, well, it was recorded in 1963 for the Meet the Searchers album and was not released as a single in the UK in 1963.
00:46:08
Speaker
h So it's also interesting because in July of 1963, the searchers were the guests of the Beatles on Pop Go The Beatles. So this song had been part of their set since at least that point. And obviously, since they either had just recorded it or were just going to record it, the arrangement is very similar to the one on record. The live version has some vocal flubs.
00:46:34
Speaker
but it's actually probably a better performance of the song than the one we get here. so
00:47:00
Speaker
with
00:47:16
Speaker
She bent down and turned her eye and gave me a wink She said I'm gonna make it up out here in the sink It's bad luck every time I look back in bed, ain't I held my nose, I closed my eyes I took a drink I didn't know if it was day or night I started kissing everything in sight When I kissed a cop down a dirty burglar line He broke my little bottle
00:47:51
Speaker
a a
00:48:32
Speaker
i ocean number
00:48:39
Speaker
I've always liked this version. I've always thought this was a fun track. I like the searcher's version. I love the drumming on this and the bright vocals. I feel like, as the kids say today, the searchers got the assignment.
00:48:52
Speaker
um and It's pop appeal, the humor of Lieber and Stoller's lyrics. I like the guitar solo on this. It's a really solid pop-rock single that gave The Searchers a deserved hit. I like their Mersey side makeover. You know, Mersey beat makeover of this. It's a fun song that the searchers knew how to inject with not only, as I said, the Mersey Beat Sound, but with the humor and the lightness that the song deserved. I've always liked their version. Yeah, I don't dislike the track. I like the track a whole lot, actually. It's just that it's very much a 1963 feel out. I'll read some of the other tracks which were on the Meet the Searchers.
00:49:41
Speaker
album after Marv gives his opinion, but it's just right here, it's kind of like Cry for Shadow or Ain't She Sweet coming out, which they did, but even that was earlier in the year and you know that could be forgiven because, well, that was the throes of Beatlemania.
Betty Everett and Rick Nelson: Production Critiques
00:49:58
Speaker
Okay, I've got a Louise quote here from my other half who says, that's so sixties and not in a bad way. yeah Exactly.
00:50:06
Speaker
I like the song. It's a quick song as well, it doesn't overstay its welcome. It's a good feel, good vocal to it. Although I was wondering if it could do with something else in there, instrumentally. I don't know, like a keyboard of some sort, like an organ or a piano, I'm not really sure.
00:50:21
Speaker
I really liked it we all do really like this record so the meet the searchers tracklist sweet for my sweet alright love potion number nine farmer john remember that one ah oh wow stand by me money to do run run ain't gonna kiss ya, since you broke my heart, tricky dicky, where have all the flowers gone and twist and shout. You know, Love Potion number nine fits in perfectly well amongst that list of songs. It's just put it up against Hard Day's Night. It feels a little old school. I mean, we were talking about the Del Shannon song being forward looking. Here, this is backwards looking because, well, it is a year plus old song. Yeah. I've got to say about that album, it's inspired to have twist and shout as the last song.
00:51:09
Speaker
Yeah, I had no idea where they might have gotten that idea from. Yeah. know You look at that track list, it it kind of shows why the Beatles were correct to move away from the jokey covers like Chica Verbe just because it wasn't quite so forward-looking and that wasn't quite the place they wanted their music to go. But it doesn't make it a bad song. It just makes it a song of 1963. This is, again, sorry, Ken Michaels. Even by the end of 1964, it was a little bit dated. Maybe, but I love it anyway.
00:51:45
Speaker
I wonder if every time we say apologies to Ken Michaels, he has a nervous twitch. I thought you were going to suggest a drinking game or something. Oh, now there's an idea. There you go, Ken. Every time we say that about you, Ken, just, you know, have a whiskey or something.
00:52:02
Speaker
And Paul would actually comment about this song. ah He said that he was thinking of Love Potion number nine when he wrote Monkberry Moon Delight. It was the idea of an imaginary magical drink that convinced me to move forward with that song. Wow. Which is kind of cool actually.
00:52:21
Speaker
It is cool. I think there was a bit more to the Monkberry moon though. Well, I mean, you know, we know that story. We've heard another version of that fairly recently, actually. ah One of his daughters couldn't say milk and said monk. And so that's where Monkberry moon delight came from. There was another story about one of the McCartney daughters turning the word chocolate into faucet. One day the McCartney's with their daughters had gone shopping and well.
00:52:48
Speaker
Mary or Stella, I won't give away which daughter we're talking about. Ran through the aisles going, fuck it, fuck it, fuck it. One can only imagine what the other shoppers thought of that. And no, I'm not cursing to whoever it was that reviewed Fab and complained about the cursing.
00:53:07
Speaker
but dare at number 85 a woman's love by Carla Thomas ah the horn riff isn't the best it is a beautiful soulful lead vocal but it fights against the backing piano horns drums and then guitar all the elements just don't work together it's a good record that could have been very good if it were recorded better but it's probably not great as it is yeah i agree
00:54:01
Speaker
This had a lot of potential. It was co-written by Carla Thomas and Steve Cropper. And Carla sings the hell out of this song. She means every word. you know and Because she, of course, had such an incredible voice.
00:54:15
Speaker
she's hanging on to her man with all her bite and I mean she means it the way she sings this but once again the piano and horns are too high in the mix practically at times drown her out. Well and that horn riff just isn't good. Yeah I mean it's not great and so I think if it had been a different arrangement better recording this could have been a much better song that showcased that and you know amazing voice of hers that bluesy kind of voice much better because I mean as I said she just sings the hell out of them and it's just a shame that it's not showcased as well as it could be.
00:54:55
Speaker
Really well-written song. I really like her vocal a lot on this. um Is Booker T on this, as well as Steve Cropper? I think they both are, yes. Yeah. At number 96, Roger Miller is back with Doo Wacka Doo. It's a nice enough country song. The lyrics are slightly more sensical than Doo Wacka Diddy. Nice guitar. It's got a good, if more than a little bit, corn pong lead vocal.
00:55:22
Speaker
lyrics, girls in the front and girls in the back going into Ray Charles territory here. And it is believed that the expression do wackadoo is probably a modified funny way of saying do like I do.
00:55:36
Speaker
ah Okay. I'll tell you, I think this makes chug-a-lug poetry.
00:56:01
Speaker
I did not care for this. I thought it was just kind of stupid, not funny, just kind of annoying at the end. I think I've heard this before. I was trying to figure out where I've heard it somewhere. I didn't care for this. I just thought, come on, these songs are just getting a little old. I just didn't find this interesting at all. As I said, I'll take chug a lug to this. At least that was mildly, and I mean mildly, funny. But this... I just thought, come on, I think you're draining this well dry. I listened to this. No wacker. No. Thank you. And Louise said about this, doing her best Simon Cowell impression. That's a no from me.
00:56:50
Speaker
There you go. Well, you may have heard this song because Roger Miller did an American Express commercial in 1983 and this song was the soundtrack to it. You can find that on YouTube. Oh, maybe that's where I've heard it.
00:57:24
Speaker
To apply for the card, look for an application and take one. The American Express card. Don't leave home without it. That's been over 40 years, but it might well have stuck in your head. You got Roger Miller as the guy in a box car. This was in the back of my brain somewhere. Like I know, like I've heard this somewhere. That sort of fish, because, you know, 1982, we're just past the period where television adverts were a piece of paper on a film camera with somebody talking over the top of it. So it's a level up from there.
00:58:01
Speaker
At number 98, Gettin' mighty crowded by Betty Everett.
00:58:36
Speaker
A great song, a great lead vocal. I might have gone with something a bit harder than the whispery, you know, it's getting mighty crowded. I also would have pulled up the horns and the drums at the end. You know, some of our usual production problems, but I like the tune a lot. I do too. And my first exposure to this was through Elvis Castello, who does a great version of this. I think it's from Armed Forces.
00:59:35
Speaker
live version is fantastic. You know, and I kind of like his tempo better than this. He does it at a faster tempo. So I would give the slight edge to him for his version. But this is great, too. And yeah, maybe I agree the vocal could have been a little more aggressive, but it's a great song. I think it should have been a bigger hit. And Betty Everett's, you know, terrific vocalist. Clever lyrics. Yeah. Love the lyrics by Van McCoy. Here we go again.
01:00:05
Speaker
Very progressive lyrics. Very progressive lyrics. so I agree. Very clever. ye Love, love, love Betty Everett's voice on this. I love the lyrics on this. They fit Betty Everett's attitude perfectly. It's the sort of thing where there's this lady that's saying to this guy, I'm not taking any of this beep. I'm my own person and I'm going my own way and you can all... or whatever. but It's that sort of attitude. It's got that sass to it and the music fits it perfectly. Maybe the production could have done with a remix and it would have come out better. Yep. but Yeah. Nice. Cool. Yeah. I love the lyrics. Find myself another heart where I can live all by myself. Gonna find myself a heart. I don't have to share with nobody else. You go girl. Yeah. I love it. Power. We close out the month of November with the return of Rick Nelson. The song is a happy guy. Unfortunately, this does not make me a happy guy. Bleh.
01:01:12
Speaker
The backing, the Bow Wow, Happy Guy, Bow Wow backing, it's just distracting. The lead is fine, but probably second rate, even for Rick Nelson. The guitar is simple and uninteresting. I understand the whistling, but I don't like it. It sounds to me like a reject from a knockoff Disney film, not even from one of the lesser Disney films, like the Aristocats or something. like It's from, uh, Wisny as opposed to Disney. Yeah, exactly.
01:02:13
Speaker
Boy, that's funny as you started off. what We did it because one more Betty ism here. She said, after listening to this, I'm not happy. Yeah. The whistling was awful. The bow. Wow. That was awful. But what I was particularly horrified to find out was the co-songwriter on this was one of my favorite artists, jazz and and all of all time, Kenny Rankin.
01:02:39
Speaker
I couldn't believe it. I love Kenny Rankin, saw him in the 80s. He opened for Manhattan Transfer and did one of the most stunning versions of all my guitar gently weeps I had ever heard. You know, a jazz remake of it. Just him and the guitar and I went on to buy so many albums of his, including an album he did with Don Costa, orchestrating it. I mean, he was just a stunning artist, died in, I think, 2009. And so he co-wrote this. This felt like a corny rewrite of Traveling Man. I was like, no! No, no, no! But hey, it was probably early in his career, you know. He got a lot better than this.
01:03:23
Speaker
Yep. In response to the first line of the lyric, I wish I didn't have to work at all, nevermind nine to five. Louise says that she thinks the song has a very country feel to it. It's made better songs. I agree with Louise that it's made better songs and it's forgettable and simplistic. Yep. So that closes out the month of November. We'll be back real soon with December where we've got charts full of Christmas songs for you and more new songs than you might have guessed. I mean, we've been talking about songs leaving the charts a ridiculous number of new songs for December of 1964 on both sides of the Atlantic. That's right. We've got some packed episodes for you. So see you then.
Origins of 'Toppermost of the Poppermost'
01:04:08
Speaker
Take care, everyone.
01:04:26
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. And it's coinciding with their current advertising slogan, Toppermost of the Poppermost. Yes, they thought they got it from somewhere. They saw that. They must have seen that in either the NME or record mirror or disc, record and show mirror as it was then.
01:04:54
Speaker
and they've taken it from there they've obviously thought how stupid that is how stupid is it's 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 top of most of the popper most