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September 1965 (side C)
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Several Beatles songs, Fontella Bass and Len Barry's "1-2-3". Even "The Eve of Destruction", it's first cousin "The Dawn of Correction" and a mediocre Patty Duke song can't bring us down! The Magical Mystery Camp (https://www.magicalmysterycamp.com/toppermost/) once again sponsors Toppermost for the 2026 year! #madeonzencastr. Support this podcast at the $6/month level on patreon to get extra content! Also, Create your own podcast today! #madeonzencastr
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Transcript
Magical Mystery Camp Announcement
00:00:00
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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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Join us this June 16th through 19th, 2026 at the breathtaking Full Moon Resort in Big Indian, New York for Magical Mystery Camp, a one-of-a-kind music vacation exploring the music of the Beatles.
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Hosted by the Fab Faux with special guests Martin Sexton, Gail Ann Dorsey, Cindy Cashdoller, and more, this all-inclusive event includes...
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Nightly performances, interactive workshops, jam sessions, and plenty of opportunities for relaxation. Plus, there's special programming in honor of Paul McCartney's 84th birthday.
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Whether you're a musician or simply a fan, join a vibrant community to celebrate the magic of the Beatles' music. Dive into workshops, write songs, stargaze, swim, or just take the breathtaking beauty of the Catskill landscapes.
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This unforgettable experience is crafted to refresh your spirit and ignite your creativity.
Scholarship and Registration Details
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Need a little help from your friends? Music Masters Collective also offers a scholarship program to make this experience accessible to more music lovers.
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Bring your instrument or just your good spirits and prepare for an unforgettable journey. Magical Mystery Camp, where music, fun, and inspiration collide. Register today at www.magicalmysterycamp.com slash toppermost. And now, on to the
Beatles' Resilience: 'To the Top!' Motivation
00:01:48
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U.S. charts. The Beatles had this chant, John Poole and George, and probably then Stuart.
00:01:53
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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'd go, to the top, Danny.
00:02:12
Speaker
And I'd say, where's that fellas? And they'd say, to the top of most of the pop-a-most. And right. And we'd all sort cheer up. Where are we going Danny? Straight to the top, boy.
00:02:23
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Oh yeah? Where's that? The topmost of the Papamose.
00:02:49
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Welcome to Side C of Toppermost of the Poppermost of September 1965. I'm Ed Chan. I'm Kit Ochoel. And I'm Martin Quivel.
00:03:00
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All right. So we start off this week with the third week in September 1965, ending September 18th.
Praise for 'Yesterday' and Chart Success
00:03:09
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And this is a Crash Box month. right At number one, Like a Rolling Stone by Bob Dylan.
00:03:17
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Yeah, we'll accept that. you know We were a little angry about Eve of Destruction, but we'll accept this. Yeah, this is fun. Yes. Help has started its way down.
00:03:41
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But now these days are gone I'm not so insecure Now find I've changed my mind Opened up the door It's sitting at number three, but guess what? We've got a new Beatles single coming in just about 45 seconds to a couple of minutes.
00:04:05
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We have. Yes. It's a banger. Yes, it is. At number 63, just a little bit better by Herman's Hermits, which we've covered on the UK side.
00:04:18
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At number 69, the aforementioned banger, Yesterday. What is there to say? This song deserves every bit of praise that it gets. Paul is at the top of his game. The string quartet is a perfect accompaniment.
00:04:35
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George Martin doing excellent, excellent work.
00:04:43
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Thank you. Thank you very much. We'd like to carry on now with a song from our new album in England, and it'll be out in America shortly.
00:04:54
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And it's a song featuring just Paul, and it's called Yesterday.
00:05:04
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Yesterday, all my troubles seem so far away. Now it looks as though they're here to stay.
00:05:16
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Oh, I believe in yesterday. I do find it interesting that if you go and listen to the anthology version, you can hear just a little tiny echo of Bob Dylan in there. Hmm.
00:05:30
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Interesting because Bob was not a fan of this song, and we'll get into it later. Needless to say, big, big, quite possibly the biggest of hits. This has become a standard.
00:05:42
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you know, it really sent the Beatles toward their next phase, incorporating orchestration, which I'm sure many know Paul at first didn't want that.
00:05:53
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There is a version that they recorded with the band, and George Martin was absolutely right. It didn't work with heavy drums or anything, and that's when he suggested the strings. And what a beautiful arrangement. If you hear the arrangement on its own, it's just stunning.
00:06:11
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George Martin was just a first-class arranger-composer. And speaking of composing the lyrics, it's hard to believe. How old was Paul at this point?
00:06:22
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The lyrics were definitely when he was 24
Paul McCartney's Early Songwriting Talent
00:06:24
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because he didn't write the lyrics until 1965. There is some disagreement as to when he may have dreamed it. Our standard explanation these days is that he dreamed it in late 1963, just after he moved into the Asher's house. But there are some people who think it was as late as 1964, early 1965, which kind of makes more sense to me.
00:06:45
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Yeah, that's true. So around mid-20s, to write poetry like this and to have such insight is just incredible. It's an astounding accomplishment. The lyrics, the arrangement, the production, Paul's vocals, which are just stunningly straightforward and emotional. Big, big, big, big, big hit.
00:07:08
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Yep. Can't really say anything that hasn't already been said. Great, great song. The string section's cool. It's really good. Yeah, I just don't want to keep repeating what didn't care of said. Great song. Absolute classic for a reason. I do find it interesting when the Beatles did do live versions full band-wise. that They were different.
00:07:31
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And of course, you've also got the version that Paul did famously or infamously on Goodbye Regards
George Martin's Contribution to 'Yesterday'
00:07:37
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to Broad Street. Which I like very much. Yep, that's a good version too. Yeah, we've we've got a number of other things to say about yesterday, but I will say my favorite story is not the Paul Dreamed It story. It's the fact that George Martin had written out the original score for the musicians, the string quartet they brought into the studio. And Paul then wrote by Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Martin, and Mozart.
00:08:04
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but So George Martin has the original of that, what George Martin had, and I suppose Giles now has the original of that framed, and it is on display at EMI.com.
00:08:18
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And you can actually purchase replicas of it from Abbey Road Studios in London. That's brilliant. So other things about yesterday, i mentioned Bob Dylan and his thoughts of that song and actually Michelle in 1966, Joan Baez mentioned to Bob that she was going to record covers of both of those tracks and Dylan being Dylan went to the media and said, i don't like either of those songs. I find them a cop-out.
00:08:54
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It's the thing to do to tell all the teeny boppers, I dig the Beatles, and you sing a song like Yesterday and Michelle. But it's such a cop-out, man. Both of those songs.
00:09:05
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Ouch. Yes. Bob continued, if you go into the Library of Congress, you can find a lot of songs that are a lot better than that. There are just millions of songs like Yesterday and Michelle written in Ten Pan Alley.
00:09:21
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Really, Bob? little harsh there, Bob. You think Bob was a little bit jealous? it Could be. Yeah, but his opinion would change, though, wouldn't it, Ed?
Bob Dylan's Views on 'Yesterday' and 'Michelle'
00:09:32
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True. In the famous session where George came over and jammed with Dylan and the band, amongst other things they jammed on, was Yesterday.
00:09:44
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And then, of course, Dylan would go on to record Things We Said Today for The Art of McCartney. Of course, notice he didn't do Yesterday or Michelle. Right.
00:09:55
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And we also have the Cashbox review. Although the Beatles are still holding down the number one chart position with help, either LID or both of this potent follow-up is also capable of reaching the top niche.
00:10:10
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One side, act naturally, Buck Owens' country and western hit, spotlights Ringo's soloing the twangy tale of showbiz success in a feelingful, sincere country style.
00:10:23
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The other end, Yesterday, features Paul reading a plaintive, slow-moving, heartbreaking, romantic lament. There's that word lament again. Yep. With an interesting neoclassical backing.
00:10:36
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I am both. As we will get to shortly, notice that Act Naturally was nominally mentioned by Capital as the A side of the single.
00:10:48
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Wow! Despite that, they didn't push it too hard as such, and they kind of told everybody, you know, play which side you want. and well Not surprisingly, Yesterday was the side which got played more.
00:10:59
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I've now decided that if I go into hip-hop, my hip-hop name will be I Am Both. ah And for the first time, we're doing a Beatles super cut. And I'm not going to tell you who's in there. You'll have to figure it out because, well, there are just too many covers of Yesterday out there. I think it still holds the record as, if
Impact of 'Yesterday' Covers and Notable Absences
00:11:21
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not the most covered song of all time, definitely top 10.
00:11:25
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And here's one that we don't have a Bruce Springsteen cover of. Oh. Really? Bummer. Oh, it's Donny Osmond, don't it? As I say, I'm not telling you, and you'll have to figure out who it is.
00:11:37
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Now as Billie Eilish and Phineas perform in their honor, let us remember their lives and let us remember their legacies.
00:12:00
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Yesterday
00:12:04
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All my troubles seem so
00:12:12
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As though they're here to stay Oh, I believe in yesterday Suddenly I'm not half the man used to be
00:13:14
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Yesterday,
00:13:17
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love was such an easy game to play. Now I need a place to hide away.
00:13:35
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Why she can't.
00:13:42
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She would say, wait a minute now I'm supposed to say something wrong Not long Oh, talking about yesterday Love, love, love It was such an easy, an easy game to play I need a place to hide away
00:14:55
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Hmm. Hmm.
00:15:20
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We will also note that if you can find the McCartney Life in Lyrics podcast where he talks about writing yesterday, it opens with a very cool little supercut that they themselves did of a bunch of different versions of yesterday. Oh, nice.
00:15:40
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Don't forget that Elvis has done it. Well, since you mentioned that, we will bring up our other favorite story regarding yesterday is that far too many people go and change the lyrics that I must have done something wrong rather than I did or I said something wrong. And that just drives Paul up the wall. Yes, see yeah like you're right. He has mentioned that in interviews. Yeah.
00:16:01
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Yeah. That reminds me of Bruce Springsteen moaning about Blinded by the Light by yeah the Manfred Mann's Earth Band. Yep. Well, but nobody sings Deuce correctly. No. I mean, it sounds like a feminine hygiene product, the way that everybody sings it. Yes.
00:16:19
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Yeah. All right. So that was a great song, and now a not-so-great song. Yeah. At number 73, The Dawn of Correction by a band called The Spokesman.
00:16:36
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The co-composers of this song were two gentlemen named White and Medora. You say, why is that significant? Why? They had previously written some really great tracks, notably at the hop for Danny and the juniors, not brainy, but a really catchy, really fun track. You don't own me from Leslie Gore, another track that we love and one, two, three from Len Barry, which is coming up this. Well, not so much.
00:17:08
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Yeah. I was kind of mystified by this and not in a good way. There are buttons to push into mighty nations, but who's crazy enough to risk annihilation?
00:17:21
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The buttons are there to ensure negotiation, so don't be afraid, boy, it's our only salvation.
00:17:31
Speaker
So over and over again, you keep saying it's the end.
00:17:46
Speaker
I guess it's a response track to Eve of Destruction. yeah i don't know if it's an answer record or a parody. it it could be either of them You could absolutely yeah argue either way. Right down to the raspy vocals. Exactly like Barry McGuire. I thought it was weird that in addition to the harmonica they had, I think it was Coleman Paper.
00:18:09
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You missed all the good in your evaluation. Really grated on me, went on far too long.
00:18:22
Speaker
It was a miss. Take it off.
00:18:29
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grated on me went on far too long it was a mess take it off I give it a low meh, just because in isolation, it really isn't that much worse than Eve of Destruction. I guess. And the last thing I will say about this, did the band figure that no one would get the point? Is that why they named themselves the spokesman?
00:18:52
Speaker
yeah Yeah, little heavy-handed. Well, at least you put it a nicer way than I did in my notes, because my notes have got a swear word in about what I thought this was. I think it's a parody, personally.
00:19:05
Speaker
I did not enjoy this one bit. I think the correction needs to be that somebody removes this from the chart history.
00:19:16
Speaker
This was my WTF record of the month. Well, there's another one that could qualify as well. But but yeah, this one, wow. Yes. And if you're wondering, later in the year, the spokesman would cover Michelle.
00:19:31
Speaker
It's equally not good. bet. I need to, I need to, I need to, I need to make you see what you mean to.
00:20:05
Speaker
I want you, I want you, I want you. We move on to number 75, I Knew You Win by Billy Joe Royal. This is Billy Joe Royal's follow-up to Down in the Boondocks, which we covered back in July. I don't love the organ break, and the drums are just mixed way too far to the fore.
00:20:27
Speaker
Tone down those ya yeah, yeah, yeahs in the chorus. No, it's not aping She Loves You, but it's just dreadful. Some of the vocal histrionics are equally bad.
00:20:39
Speaker
Still, despite all of that, it's at least a pretty good record. I'll give it a low hit or a high meh. Yeah, I think Billy Joel Royale's vocals kind of saved this from complete mess.
00:20:57
Speaker
I used to be your only love Before you came up in the world Yes, yes, yes, yes
00:21:37
Speaker
This is nothing like Down in the Boondocks. Down in the Boondocks had that catchiness to it. This does not. I do like his voice on this. He sings it well. It's, again, blue-eyed soul kind of thing. But there's just something about the arrangement and That just leaves me flat. It just was lacking in energy. Yeah, the yeah, yeah, yeah. I said the same thing. Boy, did that get annoying. That could have been cut out. But just on Billy's vocals, I will give this a meh instead of a miss.
00:22:10
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. We're basically exactly the same. You take the lead vocal off of there. It's a big miss. His voice saves it. yeah His vocal is good, but the song just irritated me because it's almost like it was trying musically to be a Gene Pickney song and failed. So, like a meh. Okay. You're still not going miss either.
00:22:30
Speaker
Well, I don't know. I might have smashed the record if someone had given it to me, a bit like on It's a Wonderful Life when they smashed the record on the record de deck there. Wow.
00:22:42
Speaker
At number 78, the flip of yesterday, act naturally by the Beatles. Well, this would to a certain extent become Ringo's signature song. And this is really the Beatles showing their country cred.
00:22:58
Speaker
Great George Harrison guitar. We've talked a lot about how George and Buck Owens were trading lines back and forth. You can hear it here. I love Paul's bass line. And I like the fact that you listen to the Buck Owens version. He's got a slightly corn pone kind of aw shucks thing going on to his vocal. Ringo is doing Ringo.
00:23:22
Speaker
It's slightly sad. He's got a little bit of lamentation in his voice. To me, this is kind of the vocal, which would allow the writers of Yellow Submarine to come up with that great line.
00:23:34
Speaker
Liverpool can be a lonely place on a Saturday night, and this is only Thursday morning. This side is a perfect counterpoint to yesterday. Big hit. What is the story behind the cover you did with the Beatles of Act Naturally, the Buck Owens tune? Were all the Beatles country music fans, or was it just you? This is from Jeff in Florida.
00:23:54
Speaker
Jeff, I love Buck Owens and I love that song and in the Beatle days of course Lennon and McCartney were writing, and George started to write and I hadn't started writing until I would find songs I wanted to do and I just thought that was such a cool song.
00:24:12
Speaker
So nothing deep but really meaningful.
00:24:25
Speaker
They're gonna make a big start out of me We'll make a film about a man that's sad and lonely And all I gotta do is act naturally There's some some fast ones, some slow ones. There's one that Ringo's singing on. We'd be well into the album.
00:24:49
Speaker
And we all knew that I'd be doing a number somewhere. So we'd either to say, we've got a song, you know, we've got this for you. Or we haven't got anything. There's anything you want to do. They understood, the Beatles, how to accommodate Ringo.
00:25:05
Speaker
Finding songs or writing them that fit his personality and his vocals. And this is the perfect example If I do it, it's a Ringo song because it's the way I do it and the way we did it.
00:25:18
Speaker
Do the guys come to you and say, does John say, ah hey, Ringo, this is your song for the album. We hear your voice on this. and No, he said, you're doing that. I love the original, too. Buck Owens version. And I agree, he has kind of an aw shucks vocal, but here it just emphasizes Ringo's, I hate to say, lovable loser. I don't know how else to put it. He's not a loser, but this song just really emphasizes sad Ringo. And I love his voice on this because the lyrics are droll in various parts, and he really nails that.
00:25:51
Speaker
I agree with you, Ed. Bass... on this. Fantastic. Perfect drums. You can definitely hear Buck Owens in George's guitar playing. Always like this track. Always a highlight when you see Ringo live.
00:26:05
Speaker
Big hit. Yep. Yep. Ringo's voice is perfect for this song. Paul's bass line got the country style bass going there with the one and five play and the occasional fills thrown in there as well.
00:26:19
Speaker
Works nicely with George's Incredible picking, really nice country picking on this. Brilliant, great song. Why didn't we have these songs as singles in the UK? It's weird. Ask them. Yesterday they weren't really going to put out because there was still a thought that we're this little R&B combo.
00:26:39
Speaker
You hear Paul say that on any number of occasions. That naturally could have been. Ringo hadn't had a side on a single in the UK yet, had he? No. And we can't leave Act Naturally without mentioning the duet version. It's a really great video, and it's actually a really great version of the song when Buck and Ringo get together and do it.
00:27:01
Speaker
Oh, I love that. They clearly seem to enjoy each other, really blend well together. As we know, Ringo's a big country fan, so you can definitely sense that singing with Buck Owens was a highlight for him.
00:27:14
Speaker
At number 82, Kit's favorite song of the month. He says sarcastically, Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl by the Barbarians?
00:27:25
Speaker
Another one, I'm not sure whether this is meant as a parody or a commentary or what. ah It feels like a serious version of all those hair novelty records we had a year, 18 months ago. Is it a parody of a parody of a parody? You remember that record we talked about, which was not in the charts, but we discussed the boy with the beetle hair from earlier this year. Oh yeah. yeah This is very much the same thing. The lyrics include, you're either a girl or you come from Liverpool.
00:28:00
Speaker
And then later on, you can dance like a female monkey. Mind you, this was before the monkeys. But sink like a stone. Yeah, a rolling stone. I suppose it's an interesting bit of androgyny, but it's mostly just average to only slightly better garage rock.
00:28:19
Speaker
It's got a nice guitar solo, but it fades early before it can really develop. Miss. Yeah, you mentioned the first WTF song of this. Well, this is the second. This is so clumsy.
00:28:50
Speaker
I get what they're trying to say. It's social commentary about these darn hippies and the way they dress and all that. I love the line, yeah, boys wear pants.
00:29:02
Speaker
You're always wearing
00:29:13
Speaker
It's just some weird, weird line. That is wild, weird stuff. As you said, Ed, maybe a little ahead of its time in that it was discussing gender stereotypes, which I don't think that was a common subject for a song, but it just doesn't work. It's repetitive. It's definitely garage rock down to the slightly sloppy recording and lead vocal. Guitar solo's okay. That's probably the best part. But it just fades out all of a sudden. It's weird. It is very awkward. Just an overall miss for me.
00:29:46
Speaker
Yeah, I think the pants line is maybe a commentary on Mary Tyler Moore. Remember, there were a number of news stories in Time and Newsweek about Laura Petri and her capri pants and how that was such a big deal. Yeah, that's right, which is just hilarious. Yeah.
00:30:04
Speaker
m No, it's another seven years until you get David Bowie in a dress. That will get rid of that line altogether because they don't always wear pants. Musically, it's got its good bits. Lyrically, it's... I don't know even if I could say every-handed. It's just it' just irritating. Miss, for me, which the next song most definitely is not.
00:30:28
Speaker
At number 88, Rescue Me by Fontella Bass on our good old friend Checker Records. yes This was a big blues song. I love the bass and great horns. Brilliant lead of the sort that, well, we're going to hear from Aretha Franklin very soon. A great record and a big hit that we will discuss a bit more after the reviews.
00:31:24
Speaker
This is one of my favorite soul songs from the 60s. Fantel Bast, her vocals are just so entrenched in gospel, but yeah also with a pop and soul sensibility, she owns this song. In fact, her voice could have been an up in the mix a little bit more, but very minor quibble. Love the horns, the bass line. It's just pure joy. This song is the definition of joy. I love the back and forth she does with the backing singers. Again, right out of gospel. And what's even more interesting are a couple of people who were on this recording... Minnie Riperton was on backing vocals and the drummer, Maurice White, and Lewis Satterfield on bass, which of course would go on to Earth, Wind & Fire. By the mid-1960s, Maurice White was working as a session drummer at Chess Records. he actually played on some amazing...
00:32:21
Speaker
songs and played with some amazing acts. He was on Fontella Bass' Rescue Me. He played with the likes of Etta James. He played on Summertime. Then in 1969, along with two of his friends, Maurice formed the Salty Peppers, who actually got a record deal with Capitol Records and had a moderate hit in the Midwest with La La Land.
00:32:46
Speaker
Maurice moved to Los Angeles from Chicago and he signed a deal with Warner Brothers starting to put together a new band which became Earth, Wind & Fire. Absolutely, definition of banger hit.
00:32:58
Speaker
Can't say any more than that. Great song, the vocals are fantastic. both lead and backing vocals. Lyrics are 100% The music's great. The melody, everything's just brilliant. The production's absolutely 100% spot on as well. There's nothing wrong with this song at all.
00:33:18
Speaker
One of the greatest soul songs of all time. So some of the things we have learned about this track, this was not a written song originally. This was one where Fontella Bass was just sitting around in a rehearsal studio with the writer-producers Carl Smith and Raynard Minor.
00:33:40
Speaker
you know They were just kind of fooling around, trying to come up with ideas, and arranger Phil Wright walked in and then that jam session resulted in the tune for this song. Wow.
00:33:53
Speaker
We've heard very similar stories in other places. Kit mentioned some of the musicians. Others included Gene Barge on tenor sax, Pete Cozy and Gerald Sims on guitar, Reindard Minor on piano, Sonny Thompson on organ, and Charles Stepney on the vibes. I love those vibes.
00:34:11
Speaker
here You mentioned the moaning at the end, the mm-hmms as well. Those were also not intentional. What Fontala said was, when we were recording the song, I forgot some of the words.
00:34:26
Speaker
Back then, you just didn't stop the tape while it was running. And I remembered from the church, again, going back to what Kit said, if you forget the words, you just sing mm-hmm.
00:34:37
Speaker
And well, that's what I did, and it worked out just fine. Yes. Sure did. We've heard things like that before. Most notably, Land of a Thousand Dances, the whole na-na-na thing came because, well, I don't remember these lyrics. And I'm loving this other fact that you've got about the song.
00:34:54
Speaker
ah Despite the fact that many people think this is Aretha Franklin, we mentioned that this is a very Aretha-sounding vocal. Well, in the late 80s, early 90s, Aretha Franklin did a commercial for Pizza Hut, and they used this tune.
00:35:14
Speaker
Oh, wow. The lyrics are, deliver me instead of rescue me. What would you say if there was a new Pizza Hut Meat Lover's Pizza? Delivery! What if we gave you 25% more meat toppings? Delivery! Tanks of sausage, pepperoni? Delivery! Delivery! It's the new Meat Lover's Pizza packed with 25% more meat toppings than ever before. So try a medium Meat Lover's Pizza for just $8.99 and any other medium's just $4 more. All you have to do is say... Delivery!
00:35:44
Speaker
Call Pizza Hut Delivery now at 648-8888. Outside Kansas City, check the yellow pages. Oh, boy. Now, ah do you think that someone in the C-suite was just sitting there going, yeah, yeah, yeah, remember that song Rescue Me? That would make a great commercial.
00:36:00
Speaker
ah why don't we ah Why don't we get a, who sang it? Aretha Franklin sang it, didn't she? Why don't we get her to do our commercial? Yeah. you know So they called her up with Aretha going, well, you know, that's not my song. They gave her a number. and Oh, yeah, I'd be happy to do that for you. Yeah, bring that wheelbarrow full of greens my way. you know, all that money.
00:36:24
Speaker
That's right. The sad thing there is that Fontella was still alive at that point in time, and she probably would have appreciated the check. Yeah, no kidding. Yes. Miss Franklin, can I order you a burger? Uh-uh.
00:36:37
Speaker
Italian? No. Beef stew? Uh-uh. Chinese? How about Japanese? Polynesian? Egg salad? Waffle? Sweetie, you just need to order in to me, okay? Are we serves on?
00:36:50
Speaker
Oh, deliver me. want you in my hands, deliver me. Coming to another nice cat, deliver me. Come on, pizza, deliver me.
00:37:16
Speaker
Deliver me! Deliver me! Deliver me! Deliver me!
00:37:34
Speaker
At number 89, Funny Little Butterflies by Patty Duke. Yes, it's a Patty Duke song. She was starring in her then current film, Billy.
00:37:48
Speaker
Now, tell me, does every teenage girl who goes into the movies have to do a version of this film? Billy is a 1965 teen comedy starring Patty Duke as a tomboyish high school track star who joins the school's previously all-male track team, creating a stir in town and impacting her father's bid for mayor.
00:38:16
Speaker
The movie is not the only thing that is unnecessary. The record, pointless and whiny. Yeah. Tonight I found it nice just to be a girl and feel a butterfly.
00:38:34
Speaker
Funny little butterfly inside. Funny butterfly.
00:38:47
Speaker
Patty Duke can actually sing. One of the things I found while looking through various clips was Patty Duke singing, I'm Henry the Eighth I Am. So, you know, you should look for that. Not because it's that great, but because, well, she does exactly what we talked about last month. She goes into the bad British accent. But it does show that she can sing.
00:39:11
Speaker
Mabel's syrup causes less tooth decay than this record. Bad vocal, bad strings, terrible backing singers. The guitar, bass, and drums are adequate, which manages to keep this record just above water, so it's not a complete disaster.
00:39:25
Speaker
Still, Miss. Yeah, the comment about sickly sweet. Oh, man, you need insulin after after hearing this. yeah I mean, it's ah it's just so over the top. and As you said, Patty Duke can sing, but here she's trying to sound as young as possible. I mean, she sounds like 12 years old on this.
00:39:48
Speaker
The strings are way over range. as well as the overly dramatic backing singers. I never want to hear this song again. Miss.
00:39:59
Speaker
Yeah, she can sing, but... Not this! She's not a great singer. No. She can sing, but not yet. Yeah, I'm just going to say Miss. Mm-hmm.
00:40:09
Speaker
And believe it or not, we've got a little Beatles reference here. This song, well, Patty Duke must have been taking some lessons from our old friend Rick Nelson. This song found its way into the Patty Duke show.
00:40:25
Speaker
So you can find the clip of her quote singing, unquote, the song and her backing band while she is miming to this record is a group known as the Shin Dogs.
00:40:39
Speaker
Well, the name is stupid, but there's a reason for it. The Shin Dogs were actually the house band on Shindig. Oh, okay. What a band.
00:40:49
Speaker
One of the members of the Shin Dogs won Delaney Bramlett. Wow. Of Delaney and Bonnie, who would become one of George's collaborators and good friends. Yes.
00:41:04
Speaker
Beyond Delaney, the others include James Burton. One of Elvis's favorite guitarists. Glenn D. Harden, Chuck Blackwell, and Joey Cooper. And they're all just standing around half-heartedly miming to this record.
00:41:20
Speaker
The things you do for a check. That's right. You know, they actually probably didn't get paid any more than scale for it. yeah Oh, we got these musicians.
00:41:31
Speaker
They're off for the next couple hours. We got bands we're recording over in the Shendig studio. Why don't you go with Patty over to her own studio? don't think anybody should have been paid scale for this. No.
00:41:42
Speaker
And it's not only from her film. It was on the Patty Duke show. Crazy. At number 91, Universal Soldier by Donovan. Well, this is another Dylan type song done in Dylan style.
00:41:56
Speaker
It's a folk song, powerful, but maybe just a tad dour. I like it, but I don't plan on listening to it again. Low hit. Yeah, I gave a low hit as well.
00:42:08
Speaker
He's the universal soldier and he really is to blame His orders come from far away no more They come from here and there and you and me And brothers, can't you see This is not the way put the end to war
00:42:33
Speaker
Donovan's great fingerpicking, I do like that. But he's still trying to break out of his Dylan wannabe image, and this song does not help. It was written by Buffy St. Marie, and going through different wars and in different eras. She meant this as soldiers that were drafted thinking that they are fighting for peace, but never realizing that they are actually just...
00:43:02
Speaker
part of the problem. It's, as you said, not a happy song, that's for sure. And she actually was happy with Donovan recording it and having success with it. You know, more people got to hear it. But even with all that, I'd say low low hit due to Donovan's performance.
00:43:23
Speaker
Yeah. I like the idea of the song. I think the idea of the song works better than the actual lyrics, There's certain bits where she's written some really nice lyrics there, but it's disjointed. There's bits that don't quite hit and are almost a bit lazy songwriting-wise. She's written better lyrics for sure. Donovan's performance I don't mind at all But then again we will get Donovan in a couple of years Giving us something that isn't him being Dylan But being himself Yeah and I think I agree that the idea behind the song Is an interesting one But the execution Yeah
00:44:05
Speaker
doesn't quite work. I think Jenny Boyd acted as Donovan's muse because really once he started getting with Jenny Boyd, yeah that was when he really changed. Yeah. Wait till we get to Sunshine Superman and things like that.
00:44:18
Speaker
Oh, yeah. So as Kit mentioned, the song was written by Buffy St. Marie and was first released as a single by a group known as the Highwaymen in September of 1963. Now, I'm sure you're saying, the Highwaymen, Willie Nelson did this in 1963. No, not those highway men no There was enough confusion that in 1990, the original highwayman, the folk highwayman, would sue the country highwayman. oh
00:44:52
Speaker
Ah. So they eventually settled out of court, and the agreement involved a non-exclusive, non-transferable license for the country group to use the name, and they had to perform in a reconciliation concert where the two bands would share the stage together.
00:45:09
Speaker
Ah. That's interesting. A bit like the Billy Joel and Elton John thing, is it? I'll do one one of our songs and then you do one of yours and that sort of thing. Now, Buffy St. Marie would move on to a number of other things which are at least familiar to those of us in the Beatle world. She would be an early fan of electronic music.
00:45:32
Speaker
So right around this same time... you know We've heard the story that Paul went to a radiophonic workshop at the BBC to try and get them to do an electronic backing for yesterday. Buffy St. Marie was also going down and speaking with Delia Derbyshire and some of those early electronic music pioneers.
00:45:51
Speaker
yeah Buffy St. Marie would go on to be one of the big backers of American Indian rights, which would become one of John Lennon's pet causes. Mm-hmm.
00:46:02
Speaker
And there is at least one of her tracks, a song called With You Honey from 1969, where you can very clearly hear some of these same ingredients that Yoko Ono would put into her records.
00:46:19
Speaker
Most notably, Approximately Infinite Universe and her plastic Ono band stuff sound very similar to what Buffy St. Marie was doing. Yeah, that's true. Buffy St. Marie was also targeted by the United States government. Although not just Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson also was not a fan of Buffy St. Marie.
00:46:38
Speaker
She is. She's one of those figures. Yep. And believe it or not, Cashbox reviewed this record. Hmm. You want to read it, Marv? Sure.
00:46:49
Speaker
Donovan is a logical choice to duplicate his Smashing Colours success with this mighty impressive cover version of Universal Soldier.
00:46:59
Speaker
The tune is a plaintive, twangy, medium-paced message song which takes a strong anti-war stand. Watch it closely. Do You Hear Me Now is a raunchy, slow-moving, blues-drenched plea for peace.
00:47:16
Speaker
That's the B-side that he's talking about there. Yeah, they have something to say about this B-side. They do? It's raunchy, it's slow-moving, and it's blues-drenched. At number 93, The World Threw a Tear by Neil Sedaka, which we have previously covered. At number 95, Someone is Watching by Solomon Burke. which we have previously covered.
00:47:41
Speaker
At number 96, a second version of the Universal Soldier, this time by former Beach Boy former at this point, Glen Campbell. yeah This is Glen Campbell slightly following the Byrds lead. He's popped it up. It's a bit more British invasion. It's got a good guitar and a nice backbeat.
00:48:02
Speaker
The lyrics, he's the Universal Soldier and he really is to blame. His orders come far away no more. They come from him and you and me. Donovan had changed that to from here and there and you and me. Yeah, yeah, Don. Tell us, you influenced here, and there, and everywhere, didn't you? Well, you know, he did try numerous most times to write songs with Paul.
00:48:27
Speaker
yeah Yes. And brothers, can't you see, this is not the way to put an end to war. Okay. I think I prefer this version to the Donovan version, but it's still too dour for my taste. I might listen to this record again, but not willingly put it on low hit. It's interesting. i would say i like the instrumental backing better on this version, the Glenn Campbell. But I like Donovan's vocals a little better.
00:48:58
Speaker
He's the one who must decide who's to live and who's to die. And he never sees the writing on the wall. But without him, how could a Hitler have contend him at the cow?
00:49:12
Speaker
Without him, Caesar would outstood along. He's the one who gives his body as a weapon of the war And without him all this killing can't go on Yes, he's a universal soldier and he really is I wanted to hear some more emotion, some anger, and Glenn was a little too smooth with this vocal. I would have liked to have heard more passion. A bit workmanlike.
00:49:42
Speaker
Exactly. And I also didn't like those bells in the background. i wasn't sure... what those were, but I thought that got annoying. But other than that, I like the arrangement better. And I will say he's not trying to sound like Dylan, which is good, but put Donovan's vocal over this instrumental and you'd get maybe a low hit. But for me, this is kind of meh version. and I like what you said there, Marv, workmanlike.
00:50:08
Speaker
Nowadays, we could actually do that. We could put Donovan over it. But it's interesting that a non-Dylan folk song, someone's trying to basically do what the birds did to it. hu You know what? yeah I need to have Peter Jackson on the payroll, I think, for these ideas that we have. Yes.
00:50:25
Speaker
Do you know what's really interesting is you know, if you took away the bells and you stripped it back to the basics, it's almost like what you would get from Dylan in two years' time with Nashville Skyline.
00:50:37
Speaker
Interesting. It's an alternative take of the song. I like the music that the Wrecking Crew are doing really well on here. And I like taking it in the country style as well. makes it different and shows you a different way to take it Yeah, I thought Glenn's vocals, and I hate saying this because I think Glenn is a great singer, an incredible singer, but...
00:50:57
Speaker
It's workmanlike singing. It's like just singing it because not putting emotion in there like Donovan does. He's not really thinking about what he's saying. and knows aliing No. yeah It's almost like recording a radio jingle or something.
00:51:11
Speaker
There's no real emotion in there. It's just, I'm doing this for the paycheck. or That almost sounds nasty saying in it, but yeah. No, it's true. Well, I mean, to take it in a slightly different direction, this was an early recording from Glen Campbell as Glen Campbell.
00:51:28
Speaker
This may well have been one of the first times that he was in the studio out front. Yep. So he's learning. Glenn came up with great ideas, and his solos were just super. And then all of a sudden he's a singing star. Well, he always could sing. We used to kid him about, oh, he's standing up and singing now, he's going to be a big star. But he became a big star.
00:51:48
Speaker
Well, it's knowing that your glory is always open and your path is free to walk. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I mixed actually the first record, that record that he made for Capital, I mixed that record. And it was like a really surprise to see him come in and say, I'm singing on this record, I'm going to, you know. And the record was a hit and his vocal career was launched.
00:52:10
Speaker
It's quite possible, you know, that this might be one of the songs that Glenn's talked about or spoke about while he was still with us, but every now and again during sessions. with the wrecking crew, when they'd have breaks, they would jam.
00:52:24
Speaker
And Glenn would just sing, oh, let's have a try at this, as a bit of something to have a breather while they're waiting for the engineers to do things. This could have been one of those.
00:52:36
Speaker
I could see that, yes. Yeah. At number 97, The Girl from Peyton Place by Dickie Lee. Sappy lead vocal, way overdone strings and backing. It's decently sung, but I don't like the song or the record. I also don't get the relationship, if there is any, between the song and Peyton Place, either the book or the TV show.
00:53:01
Speaker
Low meh or high miss. Mm-hmm. Yep. This whole record just made me say, huh? was I guess, is it a parody of the Peyton Place show, Soap? Or is this supposed to be a parody of a Frankie Avalon-type ballad? To me, it sounded a bit like a throwback, arranged by Ray Stevens, which is a surprise. But it just made me scratch my head, so I'd have to give it a miss.
00:53:31
Speaker
Yeah, the lyrics have nothing to do with what you would expect. I mean, Peyton Place was Dallas in 1950s. Sex, as far as they could go, and infidelity, and soap opera. And the lyrics of this song have nothing to do with that. I'd be glad to love her good.
00:54:16
Speaker
Oh, I love the girl from Peyton Place Small Town Talk has branded her She can't break away from the path that goes from Peyton Place But I love her anyway.
00:54:27
Speaker
Okay. I think they've thrown Peyton Place in there just to try and get people to buy the flipping record. I don't think it has anything to do with it. Yeah, that's a good point because it was so hot at that time. yeah So here's my opinion. Boring, sung by numbers, female backing singers doing the same thing that we hear all over the place on numerous records.
00:54:48
Speaker
The song is about as wooden as the sets on the television program.
00:54:56
Speaker
And the lack of success of this record would drive Dickie Lee to country music full time. He would never release another pop record in his career. I think that was a wise decision. Well done, Dickie.
00:55:09
Speaker
Well done. At number 98, For Your Love by Salmon Bill. It's a soul cover of the Ed Townsend tune we're all much more familiar with from the Yardbirds. Unfortunately, Yardbirds version is so much better, it makes this attempt kind of redundant.
00:55:28
Speaker
It's well sung, I like the piano and guitar, but this record is just way too slow. And in places feels slightly like Earth Angel Redux. It also meanders much more than it should. Hi, meh.
00:56:09
Speaker
I did not think this was well recorded, first of all. That plinking of the piano, that was so prominent it really got on my nerves after a while. The members of Sam and Bill were sam Gary and Bill Johnson, who met in New Jersey 1962 and started recording together in about 64 or so. And i just felt like they were not exactly working in tandem like they should have been. One of them is way over singing it. I'm all for gospel. Influence singing. I love it. But you don't want to destroy the song. To me, it was way oversung. Just a sloppy quality to the song and not sloppy in a charming garage rock kind of way. Miss.
00:57:01
Speaker
If they're doing a soul cover of this song, why didn't they take it faster and almost do it in a more, dare I say, Otis Redding style and emphasise that rhythm so you get the... don't do do do do You get that sort of rhythm there and have it at that sort of pace...
00:57:20
Speaker
to make it more of a beat song, a more fast soul song. Whereas doing this pulls all of the joyful emotion inherent in the lyrics away to make it almost dour by making it so slow.
00:57:38
Speaker
So, Miss. At number 99, Me Without You by Mary Wells. Oh, guess what? It's another song where 20th Century Fox doesn't know what to do with Mary Wells. Mary Wells sings it well, but this isn't a great record. It should be noted that one of the co-writers is Northern's sole favorite, and indeed one of the early Motown songwriters, Sidney Barnes. Nothing objectionable, but also nothing great about this disc.
00:58:07
Speaker
Low hit? Yeah, I just thought, once again, as you said, Mary Wells underserved by blast song. Me without you.
00:58:17
Speaker
Me without you. Me without me. Me without you.
00:58:25
Speaker
We vow to always be as one until the end of time. But now that you've left me, it doesn't seem real somehow.
00:58:47
Speaker
What I really didn't like about it was Mary Wells is a great singer. I mean, she's got a lot of emotional range to her voice. She can be flirty. She can be sexy. You don't hear any of that in this. She doesn't have any sultry tones or sass here.
00:59:03
Speaker
It's such a blast song. Nothing distinctive about it. I give it a high meh. Yep, same. I think she's doing the best that she can with what she's got to do. Her voice is really nice, but she's just basically trying to do something decent with a song that isn't. And I'm shocked that Sydney Barnes co-wrote this, to be quite honest.
00:59:24
Speaker
And so kicking the proverbial can down the road, this would more or less end Mary Wells' time at 20th Century Fox, although she would get an album and one more single, probably a contractual obligation. Her final album and her final single for 20th Century Fox, the album was Love Songs to the Beatles.
00:59:49
Speaker
Oh, wow. The single would be I Should Have Known Better backed with Please Please Me. The version of Please Please Me is decent if somewhat uninspiring.
01:00:02
Speaker
It's a pretty good cover of I Should Have Known Better, though. After this, we will see her in the coming years at the low end of the charts on Atko and then at Jubilee, but this was basically the end of her career. It's a sad.
01:00:16
Speaker
It's a shame, really, because like ha if she was still with Motown Those guys would have done a fantastic job with Please Please Me. who And another thing which has been going around on the internet, our good friend Robert Rodriguez posting something which has been around for, oh, about a decade now. We got a receipt from Ringo from 1964, September, when they were here on tour. Of course, the whole reason the Beatles love coming to the States, they got to buy American records.
01:00:46
Speaker
So... At four bucks a pop, Ringo got a number of albums. Included in there was Mary Wells' Motown album and her album with Marvin Gaye.
01:00:59
Speaker
Look for that. You can find the receipt both on Facebook and it's around. Just go searching for Ringo Starr Record Receipt 1964. and you will find it.
01:01:10
Speaker
We have several songs at number 100. The first being Little Miss Sad. Kit will appreciate it. It's another Chicago song that charted. Hey. Ding, ding, ding. The tune was described at the time as having an infectious ascending riff, close British invasion influenced harmonies, and the kind of Trini Lopez influenced rhythm that Neil Diamond would popularize on songs like Cherry Cherry. The songwriters Don and Dick Adriezzi, who would later compose Never My Love by the association. Oh, wow.
01:02:03
Speaker
dance all night Who's so blues in the sound of the drum beat? Work out your cares to the rhythm of dancing beat
01:02:18
Speaker
It's still something that sounds like a band toying around with originals might put together. And then there are those lyrics. Hey, Little Miss Sad, keep dancing the blues away. Just twist and shout.
01:02:31
Speaker
You know it'll be okay. All in all, it's really just an ephemeral wisp of a record. Low, low hit for me. Yeah, and I hate to do it because Chicago, but I just didn't care for this at all. I thought it was another missed opportunity. The vocals are fine, but it's just not distinctive at all.
01:02:54
Speaker
This was a big hit in Chicago. It's just sort of typical mid-60s rock pop with some danceability to it. but definitely nothing remarkable. I give it a meh. I would give it a meh as well. Pretty forgettable and, um'm again, bad lyrics.
01:03:12
Speaker
Yep. And if you're wondering about the clunky name, The Five Impress, well, the record was actually recorded under the name The Five Impressions with an E. Oops.
01:03:24
Speaker
Yeah, well, so before the record could come out, guess who tried to sue them? Yes. Ha ha ha ha. So the impressions with an i got an injunction and they had to change the name. And well, the best they could come up with was the five Empress.
01:03:44
Speaker
e So the second record at number 100 was... One which we have already mentioned this month in the charts. 1-2-3 by Len Berry.
01:03:55
Speaker
It's a good record, but it sounds like a Motown alike for reasons which will be revealed very soon here. Good vocal, good backing, great horns. I really like that beat. It's better than a low hit, but maybe not a banger.
01:04:34
Speaker
I'm a let's all in love. It's easy. It's so easy. Like taking candy. Like taking candy. I'm a baby. I didn't used to like this because this is another song that was played a lot on 80s, oldies radio. But yes, it is very Motown influenced in beat. The rhythm, the tambourine being so prominent, the horns, including...
01:05:01
Speaker
The sax solo and the backing singers, I mean, it's got Motown written all over it. But Len Barry gives a pop sheen to the song with his voice. And the lyrics are memorable, particularly the chorus. As soon as you see the title, you're already singing the lyrics in your head. It's just a catchy, fun pop song hit.
01:05:22
Speaker
Yeah. You can't deny that it sounds like Motown. But it works for that. sort of lower middling hits. thought it was catchy and good beaty soul numbers. It got my foot tapping, which is a good thing.
01:05:38
Speaker
All right. So what we've been dancing around, as mentioned previously, this song was written by John Madara, David White, and Len Berry, two of whom wrote our WTF song from earlier.
01:05:51
Speaker
so And Madara and White were the producers of this recording. The chorus and accompaniment were arranged by Jimmy Wisner. So after the record came out and after it got successful, the writers were sued by Motown. What was claimed was that the song was a reworking of the Holland Dozier Holland composition and Ask Any Girl. If you're wondering, that song can be found not only on YouTube, but on the <unk> of Baby Love.
01:06:25
Speaker
All three songwriters would deny the claim, but after two years of litigation, would agree to give the Motown songwriters, Holland Dozier Holland, 15% of the song's writing and publishing royalties. So nowadays, you go on BMI, and Holland Dozier Holland are also listed as co-authors. And if you listen to Ask Any Girl, there's definite similarity.
01:07:05
Speaker
We pushed aside, set aside like a doll on a shelf just as any girl
01:07:15
Speaker
close out this week we got one more week here in september but we close out with the third record at number 100 you can't take it away by fred hughes it's a good track fred hughes has a nice soul voice nice production good backing but it's really nothing special low hit i agree fred hughes has a great smooth voice
01:07:47
Speaker
and sunny day the clouds can come and take it away a clear view from a window pane can soon end with the drops of rain but this love I have for you, yeah you can't take it away, no
01:08:13
Speaker
Definitely Motown-influenced beat. Sounded a bit like Baby I Need Your Lovin' at times, but not as good of a production as a Motown song. But I would say based on the voice alone, which is you know a little Marvin Gaye reminiscent in its smoothness, I'd rate it a low hit. Yeah, I agree with that. I like Fred's voice a lot. He's one in so many soul singers that time's forgotten because there's so many other soul singers from the time that people think of. He's really good singer.
01:08:45
Speaker
Yeah, the production I wasn't too fond of and I thought the song was quite good. I'd say low hit as well. We're all agreement. We like it. It's it's certainly not a banger, but it's it's good enough, and it's certainly worth seeking out. Yeah. I wouldn't turn it off if it came on the radio. And so we will mention that Fred Hughes, particularly this record and his previous single, Ooh Wee Baby I Love You, which we had back in May, We're just about the only things keeping VJ Records alive at this point in time.
01:09:18
Speaker
Wow. VJ would very soon, within a year, be out of business. All right. We'll be back next week with Side D where we finish out September of 1965. See you then. See you soon. Take care, everybody.
01:10:08
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.
01:10:20
Speaker
And it's coinciding with their current advertising slogan, Toppermost of the Poppermost. I thought, they got it from somewhere. They saw that, they must have seen that in either the NME or Record Mirror or Disc, Record and Show Mirror as it was then.
01:10:37
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.
01:10:51
Speaker
Toppermost of the poppermost.