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October 1965 (side C)
151 Plays8 days ago
Three Beatles songs! Cher! Trini! Eddy Arnold! Wayne Newton! Mr. Roses and Rainbows himself, and even a visit from the bird of paradise! All in this episode!
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Transcript
Introduction & Sponsorship Announcement
00:00:00
Speaker
This podcast is being sponsored by the Magical Mystery Camp. Love the Beatles? Ready to kick off your summer right? Music Masters Collective, The Fab Faux, and RPM Music School are delighted to once again bring you Magical Mystery Camp.
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00:01:45
Speaker
topper most. The Beatles had this charm, John Paul and George and probably then Stuart and Pete, had this charm when things weren't going well, which in their world wasn't very often because mostly it was an upward trajectory, but nonetheless, sometimes you they would have a bad night or the gig would you know didn't work properly or the amps broke or whatever. i say, where are we going fellas? And they go, to the top Johnny.
00:02:09
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And I say, where's that, fellas? And we say, to the top of most of the pop of most. And i say, right. And we'd all sort of cheer up.
00:02:19
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Nothing's going to stop us now, lads. We're going straight to the top. The top of most of the pop of most.
Meet the Hosts: Ed, Kit, & Martin
00:02:46
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Welcome to Side C of Toppermost of the Paupermost. We are continuing our look at the Billboard charts for October of 1965. I'm Ed Chan. I'm Kit O'Toole.
00:02:58
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And I'm Martin Quibble. John is now officially 25 years old, and at number one is Yesterday, so he's still happy about that.
00:03:09
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So are we.
00:03:12
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Hand me my guitar, John.
00:03:25
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Yeah, it really is part of the whole thing, I think, of being a musician. This idea of the mystery of it, you don't quite, you know, you have to pinch yourself quite often.
00:03:36
Speaker
um Some of the songs you write, you don't know where they come from. You don't know quite how it happens. And there's no amount of training can really teach you how to do it. You're you're just lucky when they come, you know. And it's it's a very mysterious, magical process, as anyone who's written a song knows. um And the song we're going to do now, to finish this evening, is um a song that came to me in a dream.
00:04:04
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And so I have to believe in the magic. But I was very lucky because i this tune was in my head and i ah woke up and I put some piano chords to it. And I went around for weeks asking my friends, asking seen George Martin, our producer, John and George Harrison, saying, what is this song? You know, it must have come from somewhere. I don't know where it came from. And nobody could place it. So in the end, I had to kind of claim it as my own.
00:04:35
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But you know, I mean, that's pretty magic. You just wake up one morning and there's this tune in your head that, um and then about over 3,000 people go and record it. It's like, you know, the original lyrics to it were ah scrambled eggs, oh my baby, I love your legs.
00:05:00
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But I changed them.
00:05:04
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It goes like this.
00:05:10
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Yesterday
00:05:13
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All my troubles seemed so far away Now it looks as though they're here to stay For I believe in yesterday Suddenly
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There's
00:05:57
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At number 22 is Help. And now my life has changed in all so many ways. My independence seems to vanish in the haze.
00:06:10
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And act Naturally has moved to number 49. Well, I hope you'll come and see me in the movies. Then I'll know that you will plainly see.
00:06:26
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The biggest fool that ever hit the big time. And all I gotta do is act naturally. At number 80, Found a Girl by Jan and Dean.
00:06:41
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At this point, Jan and Dean are really not sure where they want to go. the absence of Brian Wilson um from this record is very definitely felt. This is kind second-rate, surf, and fun.
00:06:53
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The vocals are good, if nowhere near raucous enough. I like the guitar, but the horns sabotage any chance this record has of picking up the tempo and rocking the harmonica at the end is just a mess hi man i found a girl who coincidentally just happens to be
00:07:44
Speaker
I didn't care for this third-rate Beach Boys track, even though, as you said, Brian Wilson is no longer involved here. Lyrics are just cringeworthy. It's like your grandparent's trying to be hip.
00:07:55
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Yikes. I was surprised they had horns as a solo in the middle eight rather than the guitar. I think that would have been an improvement.
00:08:38
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I guess in this they were trying to go kind of surf, but more full-on pop. But as you said, Ed, it's like they're trying to find their new sound. Very repetitive. I give it a meh.
00:08:50
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I've seen that a lot of people online like this song, but I just find it writing by numbers, obvious rhymes that somebody from a nursery could have written. The only good thing you could probably say about it is, it's a positive song, but that's about it.
00:09:05
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We all agree I may just be ever so slightly liking it more than you two, but just very, very, very slightly. Yeah. um Cashbox is back with a review that I could have written. Okay. Jan and Dean should have no difficulty in jumping into the winner's circle with this new outing, I Found a Girl, which has that money in the bank sound plastered all over it. Ding, ding, ding. I called that last episode. Yeah.
00:09:36
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The tune is a lively, fast-moving, warm-hearted romancer about a lucky fella. There's the fella again. Who is delighted because he's finally found the girl of his dreams. I guess fella and girl is the two that they put together, huh? Lucky fella.
00:09:53
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Again? It's a shame to say goodbye is a hauntingly lovely lament about a twosome who are about to go their separate ways. so Okay.
00:10:05
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It's a shame that wasn't the actual A-side because then I could have had a really good pun with that. Uh-oh. It's a shame we had to listen to this. Yeah, right. At number 81, you got to hide your love away by the Silky, which we covered, but we do have a new Cashbox review. Marv, you want to read that? So Cashbox says, the Silky, crew of British newcomers, can quickly establish national reputations with this blue ribbon offering. You've Got to Hide Your Love Away, taken from the Beatles' new help flick.
00:10:41
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The Side, which was A&R'd by John Lennon, is a lyrical, effectively building romancer about shy folk who can't always relate their true romantic feelings. City Winds is a catchy, medium-paced, warm-hearted pop folk ditty.
00:11:03
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Shy folk! Ha!
00:11:07
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Pop At number 82, a song which is very definitely not pop folk. Make the World Go Away by Eddie Arnold. This is old school country.
00:11:19
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It's good enough for what it is. a nice vocal from Eddie Arnold. And I actually kind of like the backing. It encapsulates the Nashville sound and never strays too far from it. It's not tasteful, but the strings are also not overdone. Low hit.
00:11:35
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I like the song. The lyrics are quite memorable. Classic country, although this version, the Eddie Arno version, we're back to this, the typical Nashville sound with the strings, tinkling piano. There's no twang to this. It's much more on the pop side. Chet Atkins produced it, not surprisingly.
00:11:55
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Make the world go home.
00:12:22
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This is a fine version. the Anita Kerr singers are on the backing vocals, but they don't really overdo it. I give this a hit, and I will say also the original version was recorded by Ray Price in 1963, but also Timmy Euro. Remember Timmy Euro? We've seen that name before. Well, and Kit, we're going to have a supercut, so we'll go through some of the other versions in our supercut here. Okay, cool. It's okay. I give it hate. I'm not that huge a fan of country, but it's okay. All right. So, yes, we're going a little... So, we're going back to the country supercuts this time.
00:13:00
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Some of the versions you will hear, you will hear the original version by ray Price. Yep. You will hear a soul version from 1963 by Timi Euro. Now, from this show, we remember her because John Lennon insisted that Timi Euro was Georgia's favorite. Mm-hmm.
00:13:20
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We're going to get a July 1964 Jim Reeves version. Wow. That would probably have been produced by Chet Atkins again. Yeah. Some of the other versions you will hear in this supercut include Vic Dana, Pat Boone.
00:13:37
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Of course. Jimmy Dean. Cool. I wonder if he was having some sausage in the middle of it. oh Well, Chet Atkins, since we were just talking about Chet Atkins. That wasn't the worst joke ever.
00:13:50
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and Marv, for that, you'll have to read the rest of this list. Oh! Then there's Johnny Paycheck. Did he get a paycheck for that? Roy Clark, who we all know. Edie Gourmet. Dinah Shaw. Elvis Presley. a Donnie and Marie Osmond. Got to get Osmond's in if there's one there.
00:14:10
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Jamie Johnson and the incredible Alison Krauss. And then, of course, the legend that is Willie Nelson. Donnie and Marie may have been the first version I heard, believe it or not. Wow. It's mostly country artists, but not entirely.
00:14:33
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Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Step home.
00:14:39
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It's a great idea. This album, this music, our next guest is a talented country singer who's acclaimed a new album. This one right here pays homage to a legendary songwriter. It's entitled Living for a Song, a tribute to Hank Cochran. And please welcome now with special guest, Alison Krauss. Hello, Alison.
00:14:57
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Always a pleasure to have you here. Thank you very much. Jamie Johnson, everyone.
00:15:49
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Do you remember when you loved me? Before the world took you away. Yes.
00:16:01
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Well, if you do, then forgive me.
00:16:09
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And make the world make it go away.
00:16:15
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Make the world go away.
00:16:35
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And make the world
00:16:56
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I do Just say you love me like you used to And make the world away
00:18:20
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At number 83, Where Do You Go by Cher. This is a bit by the numbers, Sonny Bono. Kind of a lesser known Cher track, but it is well sung and well produced.
00:18:33
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At places, it's a little bit too close to the I Got You Babe backing in terms of the instrumental. And it goes on a bit too long I would cut the last verse.
00:18:44
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Still, I like it enough to call it a low hit. However, I do love the name of the album. This tune can be found on the sunny S O N N Y side of Cher.
00:18:57
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That sounds like a title Marv would come up with.
00:19:04
Speaker
You're good at puns. So I'm like, this is right up Marv's alley. Yes. Yeah. Have you also seen that clip of Burt Reynolds? What is that small cute thing? Yeah. What is that small cute thing on... yeah
00:19:22
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Wait!
00:19:25
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Bert, what is that small... Please, audience, what is that small cute thing... On Cher. On Cher, just below her waist. Small cute thing just below Cher's waist. What is it? Sonny Bono.
00:19:48
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sunny
00:19:56
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Good old Burt Reynolds. Good old Burt. That's funny. Well, I said, has an I got you, babe, resemblance, particularly in percussion and in the tambourine, for example.
00:20:22
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Where you go when you're too young?
00:20:35
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Who's going to save your day?
00:20:42
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At times, I found it a bit interesting that it almost sounded like Baroque pop, almost a little bit of a classical arrangement. I don't know if it entirely works, but it's an interesting touch. And it's bowing to folk. I thought at times Cher's ooze, the way she drew them out sounded a little bit like she was trying to imitate Joan Baez in her vocal range. Otherwise, I just didn't find it that interesting either. Doesn't really go anyplace, as you said, a bit long. The drums are right out of a Full Spectre production, which of course makes sense because that's where Sonny learned his production tricks. I give it a high meh. Yeah, I'd probably say the same. Cher's vocal is good most of the time.
00:21:26
Speaker
One thing that i do find interesting is his production is actually pulling away from that wall of sound a little bit. It's a bit less mushy and you can differentiate what's going on there a bit more than you could with the production that he's done on I Got You Babe and the productions before. He's starting to become his own producer at this point.
00:21:48
Speaker
That's a good point, because really it's in the drums that it was like Wallace soundish. But the rest of it, yeah, I agree. He's moving away from it. There's more definition there. Yep. So I would say low hit because of her voice and they're trying something different. And I do like the title of that album.
00:22:07
Speaker
At number 85, Remember When by Wayne Newton. The song Remember When We Made These Memories was written by our friend Bert Campford, Charles Singleton, and Eddie Snyder.
00:22:20
Speaker
This version, the opening, feels a little bit like Return to Sender to me. Otherwise, this is yet another mediocre faux Italian record. Music
00:22:52
Speaker
Go listen to the camp for version. It leans hard into the old school ballroom feel and is better for it. The lyrics are just dreadful. We Yankee doodled all around the lead vocal. Well, it's Wayne Newton singing.
00:23:08
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If you like that kind of thing, more power to you. Not for me. loma Yeah, I agree. it To me, it was kind of a Sinatra wannabe track, trying to swing, but Wayne Newton just doesn't have the vocal chops for that kind of singing. and mean he's a decent singer. I'm not saying that, but he's not Sinatra. I'm sorry. The horns and drums were trying to emulate the Nelson Riddle Orchestra, which they definitely fell short.
00:23:34
Speaker
Wayne is no Sinatra. Whoa, meh. Yeah. Oh, dear. Remember when? I'd rather forget when I heard this. Miss. And what we came up with while we were looking into this record, Wayne Newton and Elvis Presley first met on the set of Bonanza while both were filming on the same lot in the early 1960s. So neither of them were on Bonanza, but they met in the middle on the set of Bonanza.
00:24:04
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That's weird. Wouldn't it be funny if Elvis was filming one of his Western films on the set of Bonanza? Yeah. Elvis and Wayne Newton hanging out. There's just something a little bit weird about that. Yep. Yeah.
00:24:18
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At number 90, May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose by Little Jimmy Dickens. It's a comedy country record.
00:24:28
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The guitar is pretty cool, although Les Paul could have done it without a pedal.
00:24:39
Speaker
It's sung well. It's a bit of a great performance. It's not brilliant, but it is better than the record has any right to be a low hit. And it's kind of, but not exceedingly funny.
00:24:50
Speaker
Yeah, I agree. i actually like the backing track. Love that guitar.
00:25:00
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One fine day as I was walking down the street Spied a beggar man with wrecks upon his feet Took a penny from my pocket In his tin cup I did drop it And I heard him say as I made my retreat
00:25:24
Speaker
It's almost rackabilly, which I like. Some honky-tonk piano in there. Obviously meant to be funny, but I don't know if it quite works. I think there are different anecdotes just saying how cheap the narrator is. I'll give it a low hit. I didn't really find it that funny, to honest.
00:25:42
Speaker
Musically good for what it is. His voice is all out country. I'll give it a low hit, but this makes me think of a song by the people behind Spitting Image, which was a satirical show.
00:25:54
Speaker
and they did something called the chicken song which was about sticking a deck chair up your nose
00:26:24
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The origin of this lyric was actually almost kind of the same thing, because Johnny Carson used to say that in the early days of the Tonight Show.
00:26:35
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Particularly when a joke would bomb. you and Me, the bird of paradise, fly up your nose. I hold in my hand the last envelope.
00:27:01
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May the choreographer of a desert chorus line give your brother one singular sensation.
00:27:11
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Wet sawdust, dirty socks, and oat bran.
00:27:18
Speaker
Name three things that taste like oat bran.
00:27:33
Speaker
Okay, cool. And little Jimmy Dickens also is known not only as a country singer, but he was the longtime master of ceremonies at the Grand Ole Opry. And the guitar, which we all like, is using the Echoplex pedal, which had just been released. oh wow.
00:27:51
Speaker
But as I say, Les Paul could have done it without a pedal. Oh, sure. but I like it. Yeah. At number 91, Roses and Rainbows by Danny Hutton.
00:28:02
Speaker
It's a little bit repetitive, but I kind of like the record. The triangle and ancillary percussion that goes on during the course of it becomes a bit annoying, but I do like Danny Hutton's lead vocal.
00:28:14
Speaker
Low hit. Yeah, I also gave it a low hit. It's pretty average mid-60s pop, but Danny Hutton's vocals are what did it for me. I thought they were strong and definitely some, shall we say, Beatles-inspired harmonies there. When you talked about the percussion, I did not care for, was it a bell? Was it a xylophone? i was trying to figure out what that was. throughout the track, and it just really irritated me.
00:28:41
Speaker
It's generic pop rock, but for his voice, I'll give it a low hit. I actually did listen to this with Louise. It started up, and Louise said, was this recorded on a tram with the bell going off? Yeah, exactly. I'm with Louise.
00:28:56
Speaker
Way up in the sky think I see why The birds do all their singing cry
00:29:44
Speaker
Somebody wants to get off at the next stop, I think. But other than that, the future Three Dog Nightman has given us a great song here. Well produced, good instrumentation and a really good vocal.
00:29:55
Speaker
And we had the previous record from... Danny Hutton, Danny Hutstone from the Flintstones. If you want to go back and find the previous time we've heard from him o at number 94 autumn leaves 1965 by Roger Williams. Why is it autumn leaves 1965? Because Roger Williams had a hit with it in 1955. The original instrumental is actually really pretty cool. which was itself a cover of a 1945 French song. Marv, you want to pronounce that for us? Le Filet Motez. The original lyrics were written in French, and the English lyrics were by Johnny Mercer. Roger Williams did a piano version, and that is very definitely the better version of this song.
00:30:52
Speaker
For this version of the record, The instrumental was revamped with chorus and orchestral backing. The song is really just a simple jazz song. Nothing too special in the chord changes, but what makes it special, particularly the 1955 version, is the piano arpeggios.
00:31:12
Speaker
But here, those arpeggios get kind of buried. The original I'll give a low hit. This one I'll give a high meh to. Oh boy, there are going to be some angry ah Roger Williams fans out there, and I'm sorry. I've always hated his version of this song. This one or the 55 version or both? Both. I hate those arpeggios. It's so overdone. I understand he said he was trying to capture the sound of leaves falling. It's a screams Liberace. It's a beautiful song. Listen to the Nat King Cole version.
00:31:45
Speaker
Yes. That is gorgeous. Beautiful lyrics. It's not overdone. This is like the epitome of overdone for me. It's just elevator music. I hate it.
00:31:56
Speaker
I hate it. hate it. I hate it. I hate it. We're not reviewing the 55 version, so we don't have to disagree on that. This version is very definitely the worst for the re-record. Yep.
00:32:08
Speaker
But I miss you most of all, my darling. And all am is perfect.
00:32:42
Speaker
Sorry, I got a little overexcited, but I just really hate this. Okay, we've done it again. I've got, which floor do I need to get off this elevator for for menswear?
00:32:53
Speaker
The very definition of elevator music. Boring, please open the doors and let me out now. Yeah. Thank you Well, okay, I still like it better than the next song that we've got here. Yes. oh At number 95, Forgive Me by Al Martino.
00:33:15
Speaker
We all make mistakes now and then.
00:33:50
Speaker
This is Pure Sap. The only thing that I like about this record. It's got kind of a cool bass line and maybe halfway interesting guitars. Unfortunately, the lead backing and strings obliterate any chance the good bits have of working.
00:34:07
Speaker
Sorry, Al. Sing like this, and I have no clue how you became sweethearts with that poor girl in the first place, much less again. hi miss. ah Yeah, this was pretty boring.
00:34:21
Speaker
It's almost like at times it's trying to emulate the Nashville sound, particularly the subtle piano, but ah it's Lyrics are so cliched. Forgive me, please forgive me. I didn't mean to make you cry. i love you and I need you. Do anything but don't say goodbye. It's one of those where you can almost predict the next line that's coming.
00:34:43
Speaker
Al Martino sings it fine, but overall, boring adult contemporary track. This is like the worst stereotype of adult contemporary. Meh. Maybe even low meh.
00:34:54
Speaker
Please forgive me for finding this song boring and like a million other songs out there. The arrangement plods and it could have had a lot more going for it, but it hasn't.
00:35:08
Speaker
Please don't send the Corleones after me. I don't want to find a horse's head in the bedroom. Now, what's really weird is how many people have covered this? It originated in 1927 by Nat Shulcret, I hope I'm pronouncing that correctly, and the Victor Orchestra. But then, in 1952, Eddie Fisher covered this. Gary Fisher's dad. Mm-hmm.
00:35:32
Speaker
That's right. My father was a short Jewish singer, and so I married... A short Jewish singer. I did sort of do the... The daddy thing. In the olden days, we'd done Empire Strikes Back and the Royal opening was for Princess Margaret, and we were waiting for her to come down the line, and I sort of mentioned to Alec Guinness and Harrison and Mark that my father had slept with Princess Margaret.
00:36:04
Speaker
Caused a bit of a kerfuffle. And then arrived at the party afterwards, after Harrison had gotten there, and he came up to me said, well, clearly your father will sleep with anybody. So he meant it to be funny, because he was very attractive. But she did think Empire was very loud. The reviews are in. Loud.
00:36:30
Speaker
It doesn't get any better. No, it doesn't. Also in 52, Peggy Lee and Gordon Jenkins and his orchestra. And now this will come as a surprise to no one, Pat Boone covered it in 56. Of course.
00:36:45
Speaker
But Peggy Lee? Wow. Peggy Lee. At number 97, the return of our friend Trini Lopez with... Trini! Sinner Man. Trini! Yes. Trini.
00:36:57
Speaker
you see the name Sinner Man. My thought was, oh, I didn't know someone did that before Nina Simone. That's exactly what I thought. yeah Not the same song. We'll talk about where it came from and how it came to be this record. The song and lyrics do not match.
00:37:16
Speaker
He didn't realize her flashing eyes would hypnotize. Did she surprise him? Could she be the girl who stole the heart of a sinner man?
00:37:31
Speaker
ha! Sinner man has a reputation. Sinner man known throughout the nation. Sinner man, that's his occupation.
00:37:42
Speaker
Yes, he's a sinner man. Trini is laughing and cackling over lyrics about a ladies man who is beguiled, perhaps hypnotized by a young lady. The wedding day is planned. We're happy as can be. The pretty girl was you. The sinner man was Uh...
00:38:00
Speaker
me ah Okay. Yeah. The backing is okay. It's not good. Trini's vocal just does not match. it And you understand why when you see where it came from. It almost makes sense in the film, but as a record, it's a big mess. It's a mess. Yep, Miss for me as well. Trini Lopez was definitely trying to inject some life into the song with the shouts and hand claps. doesn't work. The harmonica was kind of a weird addition to the song. i mean, it didn't sound like it belonged there. As always, though, Trini really knows how to enunciate, and those la-las very well enunciated. I will give him that. And repeated over and over and over again. That's right. and I'll touch on that as well in my notes.
00:38:51
Speaker
yeah And in fact, he even calls out, repeat it for me, everybody. Yeah. And that leads into my next comment that it sounds like they ran out of lyrics at the end. you're Like, let's just put some la-las in there. Well enunciated, but la-las. Silly and non-consequential, bordering on parody-ness. And arranged by Don Costa.
00:39:12
Speaker
Wow Trini doing a song about being a sinner Just doesn't work ah Bland song Considering the title Here we go Run out of lyrics By about a third the way through That's right And oh my lord When do we get to the better song With that title from Nina Simone Yes We all go with a miss on this one Yes Oh absolutely Now, the reason this record exists was Frank Sinatra was throwing some work to his good buddy Trini.
00:39:49
Speaker
Frank did a film called Marriage on the Rocks. And this would, in fact, be the final film until, we mentioned Burt Reynolds earlier, until they would work together with Burt Reynolds a decade later. for Frank and Dean Martin.
00:40:07
Speaker
Yes, that's right. The idea behind this film, the brief plot synopsis, Sinatra plays a workaholic named Dan who doesn't have time for his wife and family.
00:40:22
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So Dan's partner, Ernie, suggests that Dan and Valerie, Valerie being played by Debra Kerr go on a second honeymoon.
00:40:34
Speaker
Well, they go on that second honeymoon, but they decide that they still can't stand each other and get a quickie divorce because, well, they're in Mexico. And, you know, quickie divorces can occur in Mexico. Of course.
00:40:47
Speaker
And so while they're there getting this quickie divorce in Mexico, they end up in a club. And who is at this club? Trini Lopez performing this song.
00:40:59
Speaker
Aha. That then ties all of that in. But the plot of the film gets even better. So they get divorced. Valerie calls up Ernie, Dean Martin, invites him down. And Valerie decides to marry Ernie for some unknown reason.
00:41:17
Speaker
Okay. Hey, you're my now ex-husband's partner. Yeah, yeah, we can do that. However, Sinatra gets to be Sinatra, and Dan doesn't care that he's divorced. He gets to be a bachelor again. He goes on his own little lost weekend, and he runs around cavorting with Ernie's pretty young things. Mm-hmm.
00:41:42
Speaker
Meanwhile, Ernie, who is now married to Valerie, takes over and runs the business because, well, Dan is too busy running around chasing Frank Sinatra. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
00:41:54
Speaker
And so Valerie realizes that, hey, wait a minute, maybe it wasn't so bad with Dan. And, well, in the end, everything is put right. Of course. What? Yeah.
00:42:12
Speaker
How is this a movie? Weird. I want our friend Tom to watch this film and tell us what he thinks. Yeah. The film is Marriage on the Rocks and people have seen it because, as I say, it is the final time until the Cannonball Run movies that Frank and Dean Martin would work together in a film.
00:42:33
Speaker
Yes. So, yep. perfect Paging Tom and Yardy to watch this film. There you go. And from one Sinatra to another Sinatra. We move from Trini to number 98, So Long Babe by Nancy Sinatra.
00:42:49
Speaker
Nancy was in trouble. Nancy was in the Mary Wells position with Motown. She was about to get dropped from her label. So she was teamed up with a new writer. We'll talk about him once we have reviewed the record. And they came up with this slightly country track. It's interesting. It's Nancy showing the same sass we will get next year from These Boots Are Made For Walkin'. She very definitely has a good, if somewhat limited in range, lead vocal. Nice guitar, really good production. Low hit for me.
00:43:24
Speaker
Wow. Okay. We're going to disagree on this one. i mean, of course I was comparing this to These Boots Are Made For Walkin', which was a perfect song for her. And you mentioned her sass. That's really what makes her vocals work. Because as you said, they're not technically perfect and and doesn't have a wide range. But she's got that sass. And I wanted to hear more of that sass in this track.
00:43:48
Speaker
So long, babe.
00:43:52
Speaker
So long, babe.
00:43:57
Speaker
You never made it, babe I wonder what went wrong They never understood your songs Here's what you do Just walk away, leave them Let them come to you There was just something kind of flat about it for me. The lyrics are repetitive and really needed some work.
00:44:29
Speaker
Yeah. It just kind of bored me overall and just cannot compare to Boots, which will be coming up next year. We're less than six months away Boots. Yeah, so far better record. This was a meh for me. Yeah, I'd go between meh and a lower hip. Lyrics that could be better, the chorus is really lazy.
00:44:50
Speaker
Yes. The chorus is just the title of the song repeated a stupid amount of times. Yes. But yeah, it's definitely got a country feel to it. And luckily, the writer of the song, who Ed's going to discuss very soon, Lee Hazelwood, would go on to write The Great, as we've mentioned, These Boots Were Made For Walking,
00:45:11
Speaker
as well as a lot more songs for Nancy over the years. And now Ed's going to tell us how their working relationship came to be. First off, I kind of consider this a prototype of boots. And that's really where I give it the credit, is I can see how this leads directly to these boots are made for walk.
00:45:30
Speaker
Which, agreed, is a much, much better record. So, yeah, we have mentioned Lee Hazelwood. We mentioned his productions way back in 63 when he was producing his wife. He was so disgusted by the British invasion, particularly the Beatles, that he quit the music business for a while. Oh, my goodness. Oh, wow.
00:45:53
Speaker
So Frank was busy throwing work to Trini, and Frank was busy pulling back Lee Hazelwood into the business. Ah. Yes. Earlier in the year, Reprise Records had managed to convince Lee Hazelwood to come back, and one of the first things he did in his return to music was the Dean Martin song, Houston, which we talked about a couple months ago. Oh, yes. Awesome.
00:46:21
Speaker
And then he would also take over as the producer for Dino, Desi, and Billy. ah Ah, all ties together. ah Yes. And so, as I had mentioned earlier, Nancy was on the verge of losing her recording contract. Now, there are a couple different stories. A lot of people believe that Frank, through the Reprise Connection, is the one who got Lee Hazelwood to Nancy Sinatra.
00:46:48
Speaker
Lee Hazelwood says, no, no, I did that all by myself. yeah So the true version is that Reprise Records' head of A&R, Jimmy Bowen, put the two of them together because he wanted to ensure that Nancy had something which would keep him around on the label.
00:47:06
Speaker
you know Maybe there's a Sinatra connection, but it wasn't Sinatra who did it. It was Jimmy Bowen who said, here's the guy you need. And so this would be the first Lee Hazelwood produced single by Nancy Sinatra.
00:47:19
Speaker
And there's a video where the same Jimmy Bowen says that he thinks that this may be the most important single of Nancy's career. Wow.
00:47:30
Speaker
So, you know, over these boots, that which is really interesting. Yeah. Yeah. Don't agree, but you know. hey And so that then takes us to a Beatles connection.
00:47:43
Speaker
We told the story previously about how Apple was interested in Lee Hazelwood's wife. And so he took the trip with her over to England. And now Hazelwood claims that the Beatles asked him to produce artists for them. And he declined what the Beatles version of the story is, is, well, we weren't really interested in him, but we were willing to listen. But, I mean, you know he is a good producer. there's no doubt about that. Now, Lee Hazelwood, beyond Nancy Sinatra, would write a song known as The Fool, which is loved by everybody, almost you know loved universally. The Beatles would perform The Fool during the Get Back sessions Saturday. the 8th of January 1969. And that would remain one of the songs that Paul would go back to time and time again. We have a version from Lim Castle in 1979 with Lawrence and Steve Holly at the castle playing The Fool with Paul. Oh, wow. Cool. And then one of the songs tried out for the unplugged sessions, which we have in the full-length unplugged rehearsals was also The Fool.
00:49:05
Speaker
sure Not only The Beatles, Dylan would say that The Fool was the best song that Elvis never recorded. Wow. These Boots Are Banned for Walkin' and The Fool. They're two songs which are pretty universally regarded as ah one of the better songs of that era, and Lee Hazelwood is responsible for them. Yes, indeed.
00:49:28
Speaker
At number 100, Make It Easy on Yourself by The Walker Brothers, which we covered over on the UK side, but we do have a new Cashbox review. The Songsters are Americans, but they've made it big in England.
00:49:44
Speaker
Make It Easy on Yourself is a current English favorite by the boys, and its drama-laden poignancy is sure to bring the team recognition in their home country. Commanding Cut.
00:49:55
Speaker
Interesting undercut is middle beat, but highly exciting. All right, so we move on to the fourth week in October 1963, the week ending October 23rd. We're almost to Halloween. boy. Ooh.
00:50:13
Speaker
At number one is Yesterday Still.
The Legacy of 'Yesterday' by The Beatles
00:50:26
Speaker
Thank you. Glad carry on with a song from yesterday today.
00:50:36
Speaker
And this one was a single as well. And features Paul singing a very nice song called Yesterday.
00:50:49
Speaker
Yesterday Oh my trouble seems so far away Now it looks as though they're here to stay Oh I believe in yesterday At number 29 is Help.
00:51:12
Speaker
Back to the other side of the day.
00:51:28
Speaker
number twenty nine is help um
00:51:37
Speaker
And it's on the last move of the made, it's on the made two. It's the last enemy in the third spot. And it's going to be the second one. The second one's out there. And that's where I think about that, though. Might have two plays. And it's going to help.
00:52:30
Speaker
At number 47 is act Naturally. Well, I bet you I'm gonna be a big star. I'd win an Oscar, you can never tell.
00:52:54
Speaker
At number 74, My Baby by The Temptations. Good record, but not a great one. I like the work from the Funk Brothers. It's sung well, although the lead and backing are not as smooth as they should be. Odd for The Temptations. The tune itself is fairly standard. The lyrics a step above placeholder, but the performance manages to hold the record together just barely. Low hit.
00:53:22
Speaker
Yeah, I agree. Low hit. Definitely not top tier Temptations. Far from it. I do like David Ruffin's lead vocal on this. It really shows his emotional range from tender to then getting that rasp in his voice, trying to make something out of second-rate Smokey Robinson composition and production. It's just not up to was great standards. It's a similar theme to My Girl, but danceable. As you mentioned, Ed, agree, Funk Brothers Kill It.
00:53:54
Speaker
In the background, particularly the drummer, and the tasteful string arrangement. But overall, it's just not, as you said, the the best the vocals, the harmonies are not among The Temptation's best. But for David Ruffin's vocal, and I'll give it a a low hit,
00:54:09
Speaker
I'm sorry, but that gold thing in the lyrics was just so cheesy. They kept on with it for so long and it just irritated me. I feel really bad because Smokey, he writes some incredible lyrics, but these are not among them. Low Hit, I like David Ruffin's vocal and the Temptations try the best in the background as well. The rest of them, the the Funk Brothers... You give them something, they'll give you something great in return, usually, and this is great performance by them. It's just not great.
00:54:42
Speaker
Low hit. I agree. I mean, you talked about the gold. Another thing, whose hairstyles are out of this world, whether it's straight or bouffant or it's curled? My baby, pretty baby.
00:55:00
Speaker
Whose hairstyles are out of this world, whether it's straight or bouffant or it's curled, my baby, my baby, my baby, my baby, my baby, my baby.
00:55:22
Speaker
Oh, Smokey, come on That's not up to his standards. And Motown Junkies more or less agrees with us. Kit, you want to read this paragraph from the Motown Junkies blog?
00:55:34
Speaker
So Motown Junkies, reading of it, so the whole thing just rolls along like a happy cloud so long as you're prepared to ignore the lukheaded words the vocals themselves are lovely the song may be nonsense but the temptations are clearly having a ball singing said, nonsense and the vocal melody in the verses is one of s smokey's prettier contributions it's not as ta as when i'm gone the whole thing coming uncomfortably close to a juttering halt as the chorus loses its way meandering down a musical dead end, which Smokey can only resolve with something approaching a complete dead air stop. But one more of those doorbell jingles and barreling drum rolls and we're straight away back in business. It's not enough to make me forget the second-rate lyrics or the creatively bankrupt concept that got us here in the first place, but it's nearly enough to make me want to forgive them.
00:56:28
Speaker
Nearly. And they give it a 5 out of 10. Alright, now we're moving to a much better song. Yes. at number 80, Turn, Turn, Turn to Everything There Is A Season by The Birds.
The Byrds' Impact with 'Turn, Turn, Turn'
00:56:43
Speaker
To my mind, other than 8 Miles High, this is the highlight of The Birds as a collective. It's the epitome of Hard Day's Night guitars meet folk lyrics. Brilliant use of the 12-string. The drums are strong, and Michael Clark is channeling Ringo with those really cool fills and how he sits in the pocket.
00:57:06
Speaker
Perfect lead vocal and harmonies. Biggest of hits. A banger and a better record than Mr. Tamarine, man. Yeah, i love this record. To everything turn, turn, turn.
00:57:19
Speaker
There is a season turn, turn, turn. And a time to everything.
00:57:32
Speaker
A time to build up, a time to break down, a time to dance, time to moan, a time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones together.
00:57:51
Speaker
I know the word iconic is overused, but I will definitely say this is an iconic song. You hear this and you automatically are transported back into the mid-60s and the dawn of folk rock and kind of a preview of The Summer of Love. It's a perfect record. Gorgeous. Love that 12-string jangle. ah The impeccable harmonies.
00:58:14
Speaker
And those harmonies are just so tight. The arrangement. Everything works. The drumming. goes to a crescendo, but not overdone in the middle eight. Never overdone. It's not only a major hit, this is an important record.
00:58:31
Speaker
yeahp Absolutely great version of this Pete Seeger written song that is a direct lift from verses one to eight of chapter three from the book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament.
00:58:42
Speaker
The 12 string electric Rickenbacker lead guitar line by McGuinn is superb. That is iconic in itself. It's actual birds themselves playing everything on this song with no session musicians this time.
00:58:55
Speaker
The album that this was taken from, also titled Turn, Turn, Turn, other than a few songs on the follow-up third album, would be the last full complete album to feature Gene Clark in their line-up until the reunion album in 73, which was entitled The Birds.
00:59:13
Speaker
Clark, McGuin and Crosby's vocals together are sublime. Yes. Great song. And Cashbox tells us, the birds potently follow up their last time out smash of All I Really Want to Do with this tip-top version of Pete Seeger's famed adaptation of Turn, Turn, Turn from the Book of Ecclesiastes, we just mentioned. The crew reads the lyrical folk item in an appropriate emotion-packed style.
00:59:42
Speaker
The flip, She Don't Care About Time, is a rollicking, hard-driving, contagious, teen-angled romancer. AKA, we didn't listen to the flip side. Speak for yourself.
00:59:56
Speaker
Well, the cash box guy. It is a bit of a rocker, but that's the only thing that I recognize from that description of She Don't Care About Time. Yeah. At number 88, I Still Love You by The Vegetables. Before I get into my review, stop, guys.
01:00:14
Speaker
It worked for the Beatles. It worked for the Birds. We're tired of you just misspelling a common word and naming your band that.
01:00:26
Speaker
The joke from That Thing You Do, the Oneeders, was a perfect representation of this. The track. ah The Vegetables were a San Francisco band. This is a slightly birdsy record. It's interesting, but not necessarily all that good.
01:00:43
Speaker
i kind of like the lead vocal, but I kind of don't like it. Davy Jones might have been able to do it better. Pieces of the arrangement are good, but... All in all, it never really gels. It's not anything too cohesive.
01:00:56
Speaker
Interesting work from Sly Stone as the producer, but no more than a high meh or a low hit from me. well I gave it a low hit because there were elements of the song I liked.
01:01:07
Speaker
And I knew that very soon there would come the day when I...
01:01:22
Speaker
They told me that this was not the same But all I did was not the same Now you're just jealous of life that love that's true But now I realize that they were only trying to help me
01:01:48
Speaker
This has kind of a Papa's done by garage band kind of appeal. It's not the slickest production. It's not the tightest playing, but it has little bit of a garage band appeal to it. I like the increase in tempo and the prominent bass line in the pre-chorus. There's an unexpected harmonica in the bridge. I didn't see that coming.
01:02:09
Speaker
Everyone told me that this would happen.
01:02:36
Speaker
Jeff and a Beatles influence in the harmonies, the jangling guitar is slightly reminiscent of the birds. And I should say the bass line in the pre-chorus sounds a bit like I saw her standing there. And the oh yeah comes right out of the Beatles.
01:03:20
Speaker
One of the notable things about this band is a female drummer. You certainly don't see that a lot in 65. It's not the best, but I think I'd give it a low, low hit.
01:03:33
Speaker
When I saw the name of the female drummer, you know I suddenly thought, oh, I think we're going to get a story there. And we are. yeahp Upbeat, positive. I'm enjoying discovering these sliced own productions.
01:03:50
Speaker
Yes. thought it was decent-ish. I thought it was interesting. But yeah, cool. Low hit, like he said, though. Yeah. Jan Eriko, the drummer from The Vegetables, was the daughter of Vincent Eriko, who was also an accomplished drummer. So we got a little Abe Laborial Jr. thing going on there. But more importantly to us right now, she is the cousin of Greg Eriko,
01:04:19
Speaker
A name which means something to a lot of people, right, Marv? It does, because he was the original drummer for Sly and the Family Stone, and that's why the name jumped out at me.
01:04:30
Speaker
Aha! So, for a while she was referring to herself as Jan Ashton, and apparently that was because she wanted to sound more British. All right, it's interesting, and this is a record that I can't ever remember having heard before. No, I've never heard this before.
01:04:48
Speaker
At number 89, Inky Dinky Spider, the spider song by The Kids Next Door. Now, this stirred up a fair bit of controversy amongst us. We, Kid, I think you would agree, refer to it as the Itsy Bitsy Spider. Yes.
01:05:07
Speaker
So there are apparently lots of different versions of it. The track itself, it's a decent enough folked up children's tune. Nothing terrible, but also nothing of consequence.
01:05:18
Speaker
Down came the rain and washed the spider out. Out came the sun.
01:05:44
Speaker
I do kind of like that banjo in there. Otherwise, yeah it's a meh. Yeah, I gave it a meh as well. Played competently now, but I mean, I just thought, what a weird song to remake. into a pop rock kind of arrangement. Itsy Bitsy Spider, in this case Inky Dinky Spider. Maybe if I were a kid, I'd enjoy this.
01:06:04
Speaker
But otherwise, I just thought this was a pointless remake. So, meh. Well, remember, we also had on top of spaghetti hitting the charts a year or so ago. so Yeah, I guess nursery rhymes, so we're hot. Nursery rhymes and tongue twisters. Yeah, that's true. Tongue twisters as well. Yep. All right, Marv?
01:06:23
Speaker
Okay, so they've made a hit single out of a children's song that needs a disclaimer for anyone who suffers from arachnophobia. We apologise for any stress this may have caused to any of our listeners. If you do suffer from this debilitating condition, please do not watch the film that stars John Goodman named Arachnophobia or the British children's television series Trap Door, which has a very famous one of these eight-legged creatures. Yikes.
01:06:53
Speaker
Well, what about Boris the Spider? Do you want them to listen to that? I do want them to listen to Boris the Spider by The Who, because I think that is a cool song.
01:07:21
Speaker
Yeah, low hit. It's a kid's song that they've tried to do something with and yep they've tried. So I'll give you credit for that. So here it's Inky Dinky. We use Itsy Bitsy. What is the British version of it? Because you said that was something different as well. So in England, it's Incy Wincy Spider for some reason.
01:07:43
Speaker
There you go. Three different versions of it. Yeah. At number 94, Don't Have to Shop Around by the Mad Lads. This is an odd record for 1965. It's an odd record for Stax.
01:07:57
Speaker
It's more or less pure doo-wop. I don't have to shop around. Shop around. Shop around.
01:08:29
Speaker
She'll never put me down. Put me down. Put me down. Put me down. Anywhere.
01:08:43
Speaker
The backing sounds almost like something off an 8-bit Atari, except for that guitar. Again, that's kind of a departure as Isaac Hayes and Booker T playing the organ, making that 8-bit sound. The Mad Lads was a name suggested by Stacks employee Deanie Parker in response to the group's behavior and in recognition of local radio disc jockey Ruben the Mad Lad, Washington.
01:09:10
Speaker
I don't hate it, but Jaime... It was interesting when I sat down to listen, I thought, oh, is this an obscure Mersey Beat group? That's what you would think, You would think, yeah. And then, of course, the old school Soul Duwak comes in and you're like, okay, not what I expected. As you said, very interesting record to come out of stacks. It doesn't scream stacks. I wish this had been recorded better.
01:09:35
Speaker
Mad Lads had nice tight harmonies, but they're overshadowed. by the arrangement. It's definitely a throwback to late fifty s early 60s, maybe a little bit foreshadowing a Philly soul with strings, but it's not the best of this genre. But I liked it a little better than you did, Ed. I think I'd give a low hit, but not that much better.
01:09:57
Speaker
As soon as this started, I actually shall he thought, oh, I've heard this before, but I've not realised. It's written by Booker T and Johnny Allen and Richard Shan. It's, as well as Booker T and Isaac, you've got the other members of the MGs there. I'd say, Lo here, it was interesting. I like their vocals a lot, but I'm giving it Lo because the production. And as a bit of a tangent to this, this was sampled, obviously, many, many, many years later by Kanye West for the song Beauty and the Beast.
01:10:28
Speaker
Oh, no kidding. Wow. We move on to number 95, Stand By Me by Earl Grant. Yep. That's a cover of Stand By Me.
01:10:51
Speaker
so
01:11:16
Speaker
The piano is a little too simple. It feels like someone has opened up one of those learn-to-play Stand By Me YouTube videos. The organ and sax are fine, but don't take us anywhere interesting or unique.
01:11:30
Speaker
Yep, it's an instrumental version of the tune. Meh. Yeah, pleasant if unnecessary instrumental cover. The saxophone imitates some of Benny King's vocal parts, but it's mainly dominated by piano and organs. I could have done without the organ. I just felt like it didn't add anything.
01:11:48
Speaker
And the piano, i would have liked more church style in there. This is Stand By Me. This is not necessarily a gospel song, but at least would have given this a bit more of life. I will give it a high meh.
01:12:01
Speaker
Club band just warming up before the gig starts by doing this. Bit of OK piano work on there. The organist is just sound checking to see to make sure that his organ's coming through.
01:12:13
Speaker
Bit of saxophone. I mean saxophone in there. It's background. There you go. At number 96, Think by Jimmy McCracklin. It's a jump blues track.
01:12:25
Speaker
Fine vocal guitar and horns. Otherwise, there's nothing hugely new or inventive, but it's a good performance. Low hit. Yeah, this was kind of buried gem. I really like this. I like Jimmy McCracklin's vocals.
01:12:39
Speaker
Just some great blues. What kind of life would we have? Just in case we both were wrong.
01:12:52
Speaker
I like the horn arrangement. It never overpowers his vocals, though. A nice sax solo along with pounding piano. It's a bit Ray Charles-ish, I will admit. It's not breaking any new ground.
01:13:10
Speaker
But overall, I really liked it, so I'll rate it a hit. If you were to give it a score out of 10, Kit, how much would you give it? Out of 10? Maybe 7. Because I've given this a score out of 10. Me and Kit are very similar. A nice soulful groove with great vocals and a really good saxophone solo. 7 out of 10.
01:13:37
Speaker
I go a little bit lower. I go six. We all go with the low to medium hit. Yeah. At number 97, I Believe I'll Love On by Jackie Wilson.
01:13:49
Speaker
I love that scream at the beginning of the record.
01:13:57
Speaker
believe I'll love on.
01:14:01
Speaker
Yeah, see how sweet your love can be. on loving me, baby. Keep on loving me, baby. Keep on loving me, baby.
01:14:14
Speaker
I want to see just how sweet your love can be.
01:14:21
Speaker
A nice groove, brilliant lead vocal. I like those horns and drums. The backing singers are not my favorite, but they don't overly detract. Sugar Pie, I love to kiss your sweet lips. We've heard that before, haven't we? Yes.
01:14:36
Speaker
What's that percussion? Is he playing his cheeks in the middle there? Hold it!
01:14:44
Speaker
What does that quacking, clucking noise? The end is bit of borrow shout. little bit softer now, a little bit louder now. like quacking clucking noise the end is a bit of a borrow from shout little bit softer now a little bit louder now Gotta say yeah, I'll say yeah, gotta say yeah, yeah, gotta say yeah, yeah, gotta say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
01:15:20
Speaker
Still, I'll give it a moderate hit. I love Jackie Wilson, and I really wanted to like this song more than I do. There's just something flat about the arrangement and recording for me. Now, Jackie sounds great.
01:15:32
Speaker
He does his best to inject some energy into this song. And then, yes, it goes into a shout imitation, the little bit louder part. And then, yes, that weird clucking noise during the bridge. i mean, why did they think, yeah, yeah.
01:15:49
Speaker
This is going to add a lot to the song. but This is Can't Hold a Candle, those previous recordings. Other than his vocal, I'd say maybe low hit. and I'm sorry, I love Jackie Wilson.
01:16:01
Speaker
Great vocal. Jackie's trying to get down. But yeah, I'd give it a low hit as well, which is because of his voice and the instruments. Yes, it's okay. i actually thought the production was a bit messy in some ways.
01:16:16
Speaker
Yep. And this was produced and written by Eddie Singleton, who at the time was married Renoma Gordy, who was Barry Gordy's second wife. Again, that's kind of unusual that I like the Jackie Wilson record a little bit more. Again, we're not too far off. No. Either of you. So we'll see about this next one. at number 98, I Need You So by Chuck Jackson and Maxine Brown. This is a gospel flavored record. There are good alternating vocals between the two of them. However, it's better when they harmonize.
01:16:52
Speaker
The record threatens to, but never quite falls all the way into schmaltz. It was perhaps a bit better on the drawing board than it was in execution in the vocal booth. I prefer Elvis' 1957 rocked-up version, and the original 1950 record does the smooth R&B thing much better. Still, low hit. Yeah, I agree. The original, the 1950 version by Ivory Joe Hunter, who also wrote this, is way better. But Chuck Jackson...
01:17:39
Speaker
I need you so
01:17:44
Speaker
And lie and wait Yes, I lie awake, baby Only to hear, only to hear
01:17:58
Speaker
What a voice. He just has an incredible voice, as does Maxine Brown. They elevate the track with their vocals, but other than that, I don't know. There was just something about the arrangement I didn't love. They didn't quite gel together like you thought they would. Harmonies, yes, but the back and forth, it's okay.
01:18:20
Speaker
I would give it low hit, but original is way better. yeah Which is weird because we've heard Chuck and Maxine do duets before that have been better than this, where they've worked better with each other. But that's not to take away from the fact that both of them are superb vocalists. It's okay.
01:18:40
Speaker
Like Ed and Kit have both said, it's a low hit. It's okay. So not only am I pushing Jackie Wilson, I'm pushing Elvis records here. It is October, it is Halloween month, so there you go. It's scary. What happened to the real Ed?
01:18:55
Speaker
At number 99, Misty by the Vibrations.
Review of The Vibrations' 'Misty'
01:19:00
Speaker
Old school pop. It feels a bit like a smooth, smoochy track. The kind you might hear while peering through the smoke, holding your date's hands, just gazing into her eyes. The Johnny Mathis version is better, and this record would have...
01:19:15
Speaker
made more of a splash had it been updated just a little bit.
01:20:07
Speaker
The vibrations were probably trying to get some recognition based on the fact that they were the ones who recorded Hang On Sloopy before the one which is up there towards the top of the charts. Yep, when it was My Girl Sloopy.
01:20:22
Speaker
doo-wop-ish reimagining of the ballad. I didn't love the recording or production on this. The arrangement, very busy. i wanted the harmonies and vocals to stand out more. The strings are a bit much. I didn't like starting with what I want you to do. They use these like you know short notes. Just kind of going, it, it, it, it almost like the Eleanor Rigby strings, those kind. And I just didn't think that worked. I didn't like it. I think this could have been better with a more elevated production. And I hate to say it because it was produced by Carl Davis, who was a record producer, music executive songwriter, Chicago music icon. I'm sorry, Carl. I would say maybe Jaime.
01:21:08
Speaker
Misty. I'm sure a lot of film lovers will know about this song. Instrumental original from 1954 by Errol Garner. Lyrics were added later by Johnny Burke, and the first recorded version of that was the one that Ed mentioned by Johnny Mathis.
01:21:23
Speaker
Much better version than this. This version of it almost tries to take it back to something nostalgic before Johnny Mathis' version, but doesn't work that way.
01:21:36
Speaker
i think it damages what's good about that song. The song Misty itself is famous because of the Clint Eastwood film Play Misty for Me which was Eastwood's director or debut. In the film Eastwood plays Carmel by the Sea Radio disc jockey Dave Garver who is stalked by a female listener who keeps asking for this song to be played.
01:21:56
Speaker
yes Luckily the version of this song that's played in the film is the original by Errol Garner and not this version. At number 100, The Letter by Sonny and Cher.
01:22:40
Speaker
This is the resurrection of an old Sonny and Cher recording. Interesting because you've got the two of them harmonizing rather than doing the alternating vocal thing, which had almost kind of become one of their trademarks.
01:22:53
Speaker
A bit much on the drums. The piano and keyboard don't really work all that well. The horns also run further than is strictly necessary.
01:23:04
Speaker
It's nice and showing the evolution of Sonny and Cher, but on its own, it's really just a high meh. Yeah. Well, then that explains why. i said it almost has like a late 50s, early 60s sound to it. And okay, so this is an earlier song they recorded. I could almost imagine the vibrations singing this group that we just talked about. This was produced by Sonny, but it was a cover of a Don and Dewey song, a letter from 1958. The arrangement by Harold Batiste was pretty over the top.
01:23:39
Speaker
the horns and the piano too far in the front. At times it's struggled to hear Sonny and Cher a bit because of the over-the-top arrangement. It just wasn't quite the right song for them to cover. It's too R&B. It wasn't terrible or anything, but I just thought, yeah, this isn't really the classic Sonny and Cher sound. So I'd give this a meh.
01:24:01
Speaker
I would give this a meh, but if they knew that they were going to release this, I would have given a yay if they'd have just said, if this is going to be the next single, let's re-record it, pull it back a bit and give it to Cher as a solo song with a nice R&B backing and that would have been a lot better.
01:24:22
Speaker
You wonder, how did Sonny and Cher get to record a Don and Dewey song? Well, apparently Sonny worked with them when he was with Specialty Records. Both Sonny and Don and Dewey left for Rush Records. They recorded a few songs together and then split up shortly afterward. Wow, that's fascinating. We'll close out this episode with a quick cash box review.
01:24:49
Speaker
What they told us was, here's an old Sonny and Cher master, which, because of the duo's tremendous popularity, could well jump into the winner's circle. Gee, it sounds like a real person actually wrote this. Wow.
01:25:03
Speaker
The top lid, the letter, is a medium-paced, rhythmic, keen-angled lament. There's that cash box language again. There we go. Yeah. About a fella who is about to jilt his girlfriend.
01:25:16
Speaker
The flip, Spring Fever is a swinging, jazz-tinged instrumental stanza. Autumn distributes the label nationally. They must be writing this out, because if they were speaking this out loud, yeah you'd be getting close to being tongue-tie. Yes.
01:25:35
Speaker
We'll see how AI does when it transcribes what I just read. Yes. Yes. All right, so that's going to close out this episode. We got one more episode this month, so we're going to cover the Halloween week all by itself because, well, we got a lot of Beatles connections coming up.
01:25:55
Speaker
Yes, indeed. It'll be a great show, so see you then. Take care. Bye.
01:26:31
Speaker
There was a piece in the NME, a news piece that said the top rank records, remember when top rank had a record label? and They introduced an LP series next week that will be called Toppermost.
01:26:43
Speaker
And it's coinciding with their current advertising slogan, Toppermost of the Poppermost. Listen, 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.
01:26:59
Speaker
And they've taken it from there. They've obviously thought how stupid that is. How stupid is is one of those phrases that someone, an older person who doesn't understand teenagers comes up with a slogan that they think is going to be the hip slogan of the month.
01:27:14
Speaker
Toppermost of the poppermost.