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January 1965 (side D)
134 Plays9 days ago
I Want My Baby Back, Baby Back, Baby Back! Beyond that, the best of Roger Miller, more early Aretha, and the latest hit single from Lorne Green. All the hottest tunes, whether at the club or on the road! Support this podcast at the $6/month level on patreon to get extra content! Create your podcast today! #madeonzencastr . If you are looking for Beatles summer fun, join our friends at the Magical Mystery Camp!
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Transcript
The Beatles' Resilience and Humor
00:00:00
Speaker
the Beatles had this charm, John Paul and George and probably then Stuart and Pete, had this charm when things weren't going well, which in their world wasn't very often because mostly it was an upward trajectory, but nonetheless sometimes you they would have a bad night or the gig didn't work properly or the amps broke or whatever.
00:00:19
Speaker
i say, where are we going fellas? And they go, to the top Johnny, And I say, where's that, fellas? And they say, to the toppermost of the poppermost. And say, right. And we all sort cheer up.
Toppermost of the Poppermost: An Uplifting Call
00:00:31
Speaker
Now then, boys, where are we going? To the top, bro. Where's that? To the toppermost of the poppermost.
Introduction of Hosts
00:00:47
Speaker
Welcome to Side D, the final week of January, the week of January the 30th, 1965. I'm Ed Chen. I'm Kid O'Toole. And I'm Martin Cabell, looking forward to going to bed soon.
00:01:01
Speaker
Here we are on toppermost of the popermost. At number one on the Billboard charts, for the week of January 30th is still downtown. Again, we're okay with that. Yep, we're not down about that. Nope.
00:01:13
Speaker
At number 11 is I Feel Fine by The Beatles. Wow.
00:01:36
Speaker
a
00:01:44
Speaker
And she, the woman has fallen to number 37 as fans of Kevin Smith.
Roger Miller's 'King of the Road' Discussion
00:01:54
Speaker
give boys.
00:02:04
Speaker
She is happy. Just to hear me say that I will never leave her. She don't.
00:02:34
Speaker
At number 63, King of the Road by Roger Miller. This is a great song. It's a great record. i love those bass and finger snaps in the opening.
00:02:45
Speaker
The brushes on the drums are marvelous. The piano acting as the... primary rhythm instrument is really just one of my favorite things from any country song. Well, maybe any country song that's not a Buck Owens country song of this era.
00:03:00
Speaker
And in fact, Rolling Stone would name this number 78 in their list of the hundred greatest country songs of all time. Which is fascinating to me considering that this is the follow-up to three successful catchy songs that were all essentially novelty tracks.
00:03:17
Speaker
Dang Me, Chug-a-Lug, and Doo-wack-a-Doo. This is the best song Roger Miller ever did, hands down.
00:03:57
Speaker
Great arrangement, the piano, double bass, drums, those finger snaps. That's a key part. Speaking bass, that's Bob Moore on the stand-up bass. Humorous lyrics.
00:04:08
Speaker
Humorous not like in his previous songs, but still some great wordplay with a laid-back drawl from Roger. Driven great lines like, I'm a man of means by no means.
00:04:21
Speaker
King of the road. Just a classic song. I've always loved this song. I think the bass and finger snaps at the opening is what pulls me in straight away because it's almost jazz tinged, you know, with the use of the upright and the piano being a rhythm instrument, which is added to by the finger snaps.
00:04:39
Speaker
In essence, it's almost like country jazz. That's a good call, and that's also a good call about bringing the listener in right away. That beginning immediately makes your ears stand up.
00:04:51
Speaker
Yeah, the fact that it's a country song that comes in with bass, there's almost a tinge of Motown to it with the fact that it's like the hook, the bass bringing it in. Earlier this month we talked about My Girl. It's almost the same kind of thing.
00:05:04
Speaker
Yep, that's true. but Lyrics are perfect. Not silly, like the stuff so far. These are funny while being humorous for everybody. If you go on YouTube, you will find a tremendous version, some of which we will be including in this supercut, which features basically every country artist you ever might want to hear.
00:05:24
Speaker
recording a version of King of the Road. Amongst them, Dolly Parton, Merle Haggard, Dwight Yoakam, Marty Stewart, Willie Nelson, and, well, just dozens of others.
00:05:38
Speaker
Cool. Chris Christopherson? Chris Christopherson. Oy. Some of the other artists that have done versions of King of the Road. Jerry Lee Lewis. Once again, Alvin Simon and Theodore featuring David Seville.
00:05:53
Speaker
Yes. The Knickerbockers. Gotta love the Knickerbockers. Pat Boone. Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians. Now that's a name of a group. Some friends of ours from the British side.
00:06:06
Speaker
Val Dunican and Tommy Steele. Oh, yeah. Oh, good old Val and Tom.
00:06:14
Speaker
R.E.M. did a cover of King of the Road. I remember that. That's an interesting cover. The Proclaimers. Okay. The Scottish guys. Dean Martin and Kevin Spacey.
00:06:24
Speaker
One you might not expect. She and Him did a really great cover of it. Oh. I can hear that in my head, actually. ah And I will leave off our discussion of this supercut by saying, I want Ringo to do this.
00:06:38
Speaker
He would be great. His voice on this song would be great. I could see that. That could be fun. Ringo, if you're listening, you need to do a cover of this. do another album of country songs, but all classic country cover songs.
00:06:51
Speaker
There you go.
00:07:00
Speaker
brave
00:07:52
Speaker
Ain't got no cigarettes I've got two hours of push and broom By the eight by twelve
00:08:41
Speaker
King of the road. know every engineer on every train. And all of their children and all of their names. And every hand out in every town.
00:08:54
Speaker
And every lock that ain't locked when no one's around to sing. Trailers for sale or rent. Rooms to like 50 cents.
00:10:07
Speaker
to let 50 cents No phone, no pool, no pets I ain't got no
00:10:38
Speaker
Rooms to let fifty cents. No phone, no food, no pet. I ain't got no cigarettes.
00:10:48
Speaker
I'm two hours of pushing room. was eight by twelve for bedroom. I'm man of means by no means.
00:11:46
Speaker
At number 70, another classic song. The flip of, well, Shake, which we had earlier in this month.
Sam Cooke's 'A Change is Gonna Come' and Its Impact
00:11:56
Speaker
A Change is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke.
00:11:59
Speaker
Silky smooth voice. It's just aching with emotion. Cooke handled the orchestration over to his arranger, and it works. The recording, well, maybe it could have been a little bit better, but the instrumentation is not muddy while still not being completely distinct.
00:12:16
Speaker
Each verse is a different movement. The strings are carrying the first, the horns the second, and Timpani carries the bridge.
00:12:44
Speaker
Oh, yes it will. Wow. Hit, hit, hit. Yeah, this is a historic song. and ah Sam Cooke wanted to make a statement.
00:12:55
Speaker
Apparently he was a huge fan of blowing in the wind. And... He wanted to write a song like that. And so this was his statement. He was inspired to write the song by very various events in his life.
00:13:10
Speaker
ah For example, he and his entourage were turned away ah from a whites-only motel in Louisiana. um It was a terrible incident that ah he had called ahead.
00:13:25
Speaker
in route ah to Shreveport, Louisiana on October 8th, 1863 to a holiday inn to make reservations for his wife, Barbara and himself. But when he and his group arrived, the desk clerk took one look at them and said, ah no vacancies.
00:13:41
Speaker
you know And um Sam asked to see the manager and refused to leave until they received an answer. um But they were still turned away.
00:13:51
Speaker
And when um they arrived and to another um motel, the police were waiting for them and arrested them for disturbing the peace. And he was, you know, livid. And then he was also inspired by ah the Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream speech, um and so forth. And so um he wrote this.
00:14:18
Speaker
as a response. um You know, what can you say? I mean, the, the lyrics are just poetry. I mean, it just absolute poetry. um i think it's ah the I think the arrangement is a little bit overdone, just a little bit. I know it's supposed to be kind of cinematic, but um other than bringing that, you know, maybe the strings and horns down a little bit, other than that small quibble, um it's it's a beautiful, you know, song. It's about, I mean, Sam Cooke's vocals on this are just...
00:14:54
Speaker
peerless I mean, you know, he sings with every, you feel every bit of anger, sadness, but ultimately hope that he feels. You know, it's a true anthem.
00:15:06
Speaker
And you also hear his gospel background. You know, as I'm sure everybody knows, he was a member of the Soul Stirrers. before he then changed to secular music. And you hear just from that first line, you know, when he's saying, I was born by the river, you know, just that soaring vocal. That's up right out of the church.
00:15:27
Speaker
And, um you know, it's it's this is just his personal statement about his life and about his hope for the future. Do we know why it was left as an album track for, well, you know, 10 months?
00:15:42
Speaker
Because it actually first came out in February on the Ain't That Good News album. Don't know. Yeah, that I don't know. That's interesting that you said that because I was thinking that in some ways this song also reminds me of Dylan's The Times They Are A-Changing as well, ah which would lead me to wondering – Bob, because we we all know how much of ah of but you know of a radio, of a of record you know collector that Bob is, it makes me wonder if Bob knew that this was based on blowing in the wind and he listened to this and then followed this up with his own, the times they are changing, possibly, because there's similarities.
00:16:24
Speaker
you almost It's almost like a dialogue where So you've got like blowing in the wind And then that leads to Sam Cooke answering that song with this And then Bob answering this with that song Maybe Could be.
00:16:40
Speaker
Because you've also got the same as you have in this, you've got the same in the times they are changing in where it's built in urgency, in a sense, from the beginning to the end where it gets more urgency as the song goes on, which is reflected in this song with the arrangement as well, where it builds and each section is different.
00:17:01
Speaker
ah to emphasize that in essence. And yeah, I can see how it could be seen as being overproduced in a sense or overarranged because of that.
00:17:12
Speaker
It's a very difficult um ah tightrope to to maneuver in essence to try and keep that drama throughout without it becoming too much or going below and not being enough to hit that level.
00:17:27
Speaker
Interesting. But yeah, lyrically and um you know lyrically and ah vocally and melodically beautiful.
00:17:38
Speaker
um But yeah, the the arrangement could possibly have been handled slightly differently, maybe. who This would, of course, become an anthem of the civil rights movement.
00:17:51
Speaker
And Barack Obama would use this tune to carry him to the White House. Very true. Okay, hold on a second. In 2007, this song was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress by the National Recording Registry, having been deemed culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.
00:18:10
Speaker
And in 2021, Rolling Stone placed this at number three on its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. Wow. Now, interestingly enough, even though the song had been around since February, Sam Cooke decided he would not perform it live.
00:18:28
Speaker
He did perform it live once on the Ed Sullivan Show. And sadly, um not I'm sorry, not the Ed Sullivan Show. It was the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.
00:18:40
Speaker
Right. And they didn't save the tape. Oh, wow. Mm-hmm. Yep, they didn't save the tape. I mean, unbelievably.
00:18:52
Speaker
um It was, you know, they said, let's see, let me find it. Yeah, here we go. He performed A Change Is Gonna Come on The Tonight Show. On February 7th, 1964, Cook's new manager, Alan Klein, was um you know infatuated with the song and persuaded ah Cook to do away with promoting his most recent single, Ain't That Good News, and perform um ah Change Is Gonna Come Instead, feeling that that was the statement he needed to make before a national audience.
00:19:25
Speaker
um And he initially objected, noting that the album's release was a month away and he had no time to put together an arrangement within such a short time frame.
00:19:36
Speaker
So Alan Klein arranged for RCA to pay for a full string section, and Cook performed that song on Friday on The Tonight Show after performing Basin Street.
00:19:49
Speaker
um And an NBC timekeeper logged the number as it's a long time coming, but the network didn't save the tape of the performance.
00:20:00
Speaker
Oh. Can you believe it? And if they said Klein felt it would be a milestone moment in Cook's career, but then it was overshadowed by the Beatles' performance and Ed Sullivan just two days later.
00:20:16
Speaker
oh Yeah. Timing. Yep. Timing is everything. Well, I mean, you know, so many those Carson shows just didn't exist. so We got to thank Ed Sullivan. Ed Sullivan knew the...
00:20:30
Speaker
holding on to these tapes would be of some value in the future. and Exactly. That's true. So that was the only time that he ever performed it live ah because of the complexity of the arrangement. And this is interesting. Also, he felt because the ominous nature of the song, um when shown to his protege, Bobby Womack, of course, we all know,
00:20:54
Speaker
His response was that it sounds like death. Cook responded, man, that's kind of how it sounds to me. That's why I'm never going to play it in public. Womack clarified his thoughts that it wasn't deathly, but rather spooky.
00:21:07
Speaker
But Cook never performed the song again. o is sort of spooky. Yeah, I don't think I'd say it sounds like death, but... I can see where they're going, though. and Yeah. I mean, of course, you know, that's and one of those things, time passes, events happen, and meaning gets attributed where it may have just been an offhanded comment.
00:21:28
Speaker
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Do you think it could have been released as a single post-Otus, post-Sam's passing because of, ah you know, and Alan Klein thought, oh, ah we'll get this released as a single now as almost like a tribute to him?
00:21:45
Speaker
maybe Possibly, but but it was the B-side. mean, Shake was the A-side of the single. Which I think is strange that, yeah, I think it should have been the A-side. i mean, Shake is great, don't get me wrong, but unless maybe they were, you know too afraid to release it as they maybe thought would be too controversial.
00:22:03
Speaker
Keep listening to find out how each song fares. And we are indeed going to do a supercut of this song because, well, I mean, you know it is such an important song.
00:22:17
Speaker
ah Some of the versions you will hear, and a lot of these are African-American artists, which, as you expect, but, you know, the Righteous Brothers did a version, which is a little bit odd to me. Hmm.
00:22:28
Speaker
That's interesting. So what you will hear, the Supremes did a cover of it. Otis Redding did a cover of it. <unk> be good Chuck Jackson did a cover of it. oh Aretha did a cover of it in 1967.
00:22:43
Speaker
A version which Marv and I were talking about offline. Judge Dredd featuring Prince Buster in 1967. Yes. Wow. Yep. Wow. yeah wow yeah ah Three Dog Night. Three Dog Night?
00:22:57
Speaker
Did a cover of it in 1969. Interesting. As we mentioned earlier, the Manhattans did a cover of it in 1974. Cool. cool um Bobby Womack, who we also just mentioned, did a cover in 1976. Oh, that sense.
00:23:12
Speaker
oh that makes sense Uh, George Benson did a cover in 1979.
00:23:18
Speaker
Billy Preston did a cover in 1981. Uh, Luther Vandross did a cover in 1987. Wow. Tina Turner's done it several times. Marv, why don't you tell us about the one from 1991 that features some friends of yours?
00:23:33
Speaker
Yeah, the one from 1991, Tina Turner featuring a group who call themselves BEF, a group made of various musicians that include ah Martin Ware and Glenn Gregory, who are friends of mine and they're also from the group Evan17.
00:23:53
Speaker
ah they are the They are the two people who worked with Tina for the fantastic version of Let's Stay Together that she did. Great version.
00:24:04
Speaker
And this is a great version of this song as well. A Change Is Gonna Come that they did as well. In 1995, Terrence Trent Darby did one with Booker T and the MGs. Ooh. Wow.
00:24:15
Speaker
Al Green covered it in 1996. Patti LaBelle in 1998. Aaron Neville in 2003. So, I mean, as you can tell, everybody has covered this song. For sure.
00:24:28
Speaker
So, ah Betty LeVette in 2009. We've got the Osmonds. but We do not have an Osmonds version of it. Bruce Springsteen? No Bruce Springsteen. If we want to include a ah an offbeat comedy version, which I don't think we will, Wayne Brady did a cover of it.
00:24:48
Speaker
Oh, wow. Okay. So, anyway, have have a listen. The Supercut is coming up. Wayne Brady's version would probably be better than Tom Brady's. Yeah.
00:25:00
Speaker
Okay.
00:25:13
Speaker
I was born by a river
00:26:27
Speaker
Oh
00:27:25
Speaker
I say, brother, won't you help me please?
00:27:33
Speaker
Back!
00:27:52
Speaker
There's been times when I thought that wouldn't last for long
00:28:20
Speaker
But I know, but I know
00:28:40
Speaker
At number 72, At the Club by the Drifters. It's a Goffin' and King song, but boy, it doesn't really sound like one. It's more of the Drifters borrowing from themselves.
00:28:53
Speaker
It's not completely a clone of Under the Boardwalk, but more than a few touches are copied into this tune. m And Jay and the Americans want their twist and shout horns back.
00:29:06
Speaker
Low meh from me.
00:29:45
Speaker
Very interesting how a lot of people were copying that sound at this time. In addition to those mariachi horns, wow, cowbell. Lots and lots of cowbell on this one, which normally I love cowbell, but boy, did that get annoying after a while. I did not care for that. but Little cowbell can go a long way.
00:30:07
Speaker
It's okay. It's, you know, danceable, definitely not top-tier drifters. And I thought there was an awkward transition in the bridge when almost all the music drops out for the piano solo, and then all of a sudden that cowbell came back in really loudly. What was that?
00:30:28
Speaker
Like, what? What?
00:30:49
Speaker
just really bizarre capitalizes as I said on the Latin trend and then as far as the lyrics go it's just a typical dancer tears away song and Strange arrangement.
00:31:01
Speaker
Just a shame. The drifters deserve way better than this. More cowbell. and It's got a bit of hang on sloopy in there. A bit of twist and shout.
00:31:12
Speaker
Doesn't quite work. Those poor mariachi horn players are still chained up in the studio and they're not letting them out, are they?
00:31:21
Speaker
ah It's not awful, but it's no better than lower mid-tier. At number 73, What Have They Done to the Rain by The Searchers, which we covered on the UK side.
00:31:32
Speaker
At number 81, The Man by Lauren Green. Lauren Green had to have a follow-up single to Ringo, don't you think? Of course. Another one that doesn't have many words to the title.
00:31:43
Speaker
But he does actually sing a bit in this song. Yes, he does. He tries. Yeah. I don't think I quite get it Early on in the song, we get the line, everybody always turned to the biggest man of all.
00:31:57
Speaker
And all I could think was, is this a joke? As the tune goes on, you definitely get some religious overtones, but I'm still not sure I get it. It's kind of one of those Paul McCartney things where he's going, well, it could be about a deity, but it doesn't have to be.
00:32:15
Speaker
This thoroughly confused me because I looked up information. So the album that this is from is also called The Man. Lorne Green was selected as Canada's Man of the Year in 1965.
00:32:28
Speaker
and nineteen sixty five so Maybe this is going to be something related to I'm the man or something like that. But then, of course, you find out, no, that's not it.
00:32:40
Speaker
So then I thought when he says, you know, you can talk to the man. So I thought, okay, maybe this is God. This is a religious thing. Is this a modern hymn? But then talks about strong shoulders. And a shoulder to cry on, which is very definitely not a religious thing.
00:32:56
Speaker
You sometimes hear songs about God holding you in his arms. so I guess you hear some of that kind of imagery, but shoulders? That's a little odd. Yes, you can talk to the man.
00:33:13
Speaker
He's got time. He'll understand He's got shoulders
00:33:30
Speaker
Tell all your troubles, take your time. I'm kind of at a loss. Now, yeah as you said, he does sing a bit in this and it's okay. I mean, he tries, and but he still talks quite a bit.
00:33:45
Speaker
Probably about 60% talking, 40% singing. And he's okay, but not wonderful. His voice isn't bad. It's not bad. There comes a time in every man's life when his troubles are too big to handle.
00:33:59
Speaker
And no matter where I went, when the load was just too heavy. Everybody always turned to the biggest man of all. This was written by Merle Kilgore, who wrote Ring of Fire.
00:34:15
Speaker
No. Yep. ah What? Exactly my reaction. Really, the same guy who wrote Ring of Fire wrote this. And much like the Ringo tune, this is just a very generic tune.
00:34:27
Speaker
It is. Very. I think you should have thrown this in the ring of fire. Exactly. Marv, can you shed some light on this? What the hell is this song about?
00:34:38
Speaker
Dead silence. ah Dramatic pause there. He's singing. Sometimes. I'm trying to keep this clean and family friendly, but what the heck is this?
00:34:53
Speaker
I don't get it. And once again, it goes on for far too long. Oh, yes, it does. For sure. Three and a half darn minutes. The longest three and a half minutes of your life.
00:35:04
Speaker
who I wouldn't put it quite that far. The crusher is a a little bit longer. And the birds and the bees. yeah I will disagree with you again.
00:35:16
Speaker
Should we go back into the list of this month and come out with some more?
00:35:22
Speaker
And we must say, this is not the song that Paul and Michael did much later. Although some of the lyrics would actually fit. I can imagine Lauren Green just intoning, there's a man who plays the game of life so well.
00:35:40
Speaker
There's such a man. i mean, that would fit perfectly in with the song. But it would extend it by about another four seconds and Marv just couldn't take that. Yeah. yeah What we got next?
00:35:53
Speaker
At number 82, coming on too strong by Wayne Newton, Gary Usher, ah Raul Abeto's song arranged by our old friend Terry Melcher.
00:36:04
Speaker
Gary Usher was the man behind the Hondels. Ah, yes. Those geniuses. This is Wayne Newton doing second or third rate Brian Wilson. It's amazing how they tried to turn everybody into a surf singer.
00:36:19
Speaker
Remember Pat Boone? We were trying to forget. This is a better song than record. The backing is just awfully, terribly recycled from better Beach Boys records.
00:36:32
Speaker
Missed from me. Yep. Well, I don't know about you, but when I think of Wayne Newton, I think of the beach.
00:37:10
Speaker
This is bad Beach Boys copy, terrible organ solo, and the drums during the instrumental break sound recycled from like a Phil Spector Ronets record with that echo.
00:37:26
Speaker
Did not care for this. Why turn Wayne Newton into a Beach Boys co clone? It's ridiculous. You know, I want Brian Wilson to arrange Donkashane.
00:37:37
Speaker
Yeah, right.
00:37:41
Speaker
Bit of Al Blaine on the drums.
00:37:46
Speaker
It's ridiculous. This is not him. It's like when Stevie Wonder recorded the Beach album. It's just silly. Don't force somebody into that mode. Ridiculous.
00:37:56
Speaker
You know what silly is? You mentioned there, Kit. The first thing you imagine, Wayne Newton, is of him on the beach. And I'm thinking, no, I do not want a version of Point Break with Wayne Newton.
00:38:12
Speaker
Thank you very much. Apologies to Wayne Newton fans out there who might want to see that. I don't. Yes, exactly. Apologies. yeah Nothing to write home about. Does nothing. Next.
00:38:26
Speaker
Unfortunately, I don't have much better things to say about the next song. At number 84, Don't Come Running Back to Me by Nancy Wilson. We like Nancy Wilson, but she deserves better than this song. It plays to me like fourth or fifth rate Bacharach and David. It's just not good, and I don't like those horns at all.
00:38:45
Speaker
This is another thing that I think is going to come up quite a bit, is so many people at this time are trying to imitate Bacharach and David. This is a good example. Lyrics are so wordy, very awkward, particularly the title phrase when she's trying to fit that in. She's doing her best, but as you said, Ed deserves way better than this.
00:39:08
Speaker
If she's the one...
00:39:37
Speaker
You come knocking on my door. Just a subpar song. um Does not work. yeah Good vocal. Doesn't show the range that Nancy had because she was a darn good singer.
00:39:48
Speaker
And quite honestly, it's not a good arrangement by Sid Feller either. I agree. At number 85, Can't You Hear My Heartbeat Herman's Hermits.
00:39:59
Speaker
It's a fun track. I like it, but I don't love it. Peter Noon sounds every bit the teenager that he was, which actually isn't a bad thing. The solo, once again, is more than a little bit Spinal Tap, Give Me Some Money.
00:40:53
Speaker
This was the B side of silhouettes in the UK. So I don't know why they decided this would work better in the States, but I guess it did. Yeah, I was going to say the fact that Peter Newton sounds like the teenager he was.
00:41:05
Speaker
In this case, it works for this song. It sounds youthful because this is a youthful song. I think this is a fun slice of sunny 60s pop. Hand claps are infectious.
00:41:17
Speaker
The only thing I really would have liked to have heard is like a real guitar solo in the middle because it's really just sort of a rhythm guitar. Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. Yeah. I would have liked a real guitar solo in the middle. I think that would have been better.
00:41:31
Speaker
But other than that, the lyrics and chorus are ridiculously catchy. Nice harmonies from the rest of the band. It's got that sing-along quality. For what it is, which is nothing earth-shattering or anything, it's a fun track.
00:41:46
Speaker
I think it's very catchy. it was produced by Mickey Most. And for what it is... I like it. It's a great, ridiculously catchy, memorable pop track. And this may actually be one of the ones that they were parodying with Give Me Some Money because the more I think about it, the more similarities I can find.
00:42:02
Speaker
Yeah, it could be. Mm-hmm. Marv? You can't help but smile with this band. The way that Peter is with Ish, yeah, he's got his age, you know, you can hear that, but that way that he sings is better than the way that Freddie sings in Freddie and the Dreamers, because that's more almost scary smiley, whereas this is much more fun, bouncy, not the greatest lyrics, you know, mighty, mighty glad and that sort of thing. But, yeah, it's fun.
00:42:29
Speaker
It fits the song. It does. The lyrics and the voice fit the song. Yeah. I'd love to know who's doing that guitar, though, in the middle that's not got much to it, but I wonder who the musicians are.
00:42:40
Speaker
Don't know. No. I've looked it up. I couldn't find her. Yeah. The best guess would probably be our buddy Jimmy Page. Could be. It's not in his book. Okay, well then maybe not. ah At number 86, Diamond Head by The Ventures.
00:42:57
Speaker
Haven't we heard most of this before? It's really just The Ventures doing their standard shtick. It's not bad, but we've heard the surf guitar with slidey bits and much better in the past.
00:43:08
Speaker
I agree.
00:43:28
Speaker
This was just the typical Venture sound with the, quotes, wet guitar sounds, not as distinctive as Walk Don't Run. Yeah, that's kind of my reaction. is We've heard this before.
00:43:39
Speaker
Irritating, especially with that weird whistle-type thing that keeps coming up in the song and the percussion that's going on in there that sounds like somebody's slapping somebody.
00:43:52
Speaker
If only I could go back in a time machine and slap the person who came up with this song in the first place. Back to the future there, maybe. Yeah, exactly. like yeah Back to the future again.
00:44:04
Speaker
do
00:44:07
Speaker
Seriously, the bits where the annoying whistling and the slapping percussion aren't around. Those I don't mind too much, but those stupid noises, the whistles and the slaps just irritated me. It's silly.
00:44:20
Speaker
me At number 90, That's How Strong My Love Is by Otis Redding, a song written by Roosevelt Jameson that was first recorded in 1964 by O.V. Wright, who is described as a deep soul singer. Kit, can you explain what deep soul is?
00:44:37
Speaker
That's a good question. I guess I would say it's more like soul and country. It's not smooth like Sam Cooke, and it's a bit more of a country Memphis sound.
00:44:52
Speaker
bit like Stax, that kind of sound. Otis Redding is sort of an example of that. That's how it's grown by love. Oh, oh, oh.
00:45:29
Speaker
Wow. What a voice. Now, I don't love the recording. This is absolutely a great vocal. The backing, you may agree with me, you may not. It's pretty standard backing. I agree with you. It's not recorded well. However, that doesn't really elevate or bring the record down to any great degree. It's a shame that it wasn't recorded better, and the instruments, they're a little loud in the mix, dangerously close to overshadowing Otis's voice.
00:45:56
Speaker
But, wow, what incredible voice he had. Sing from the gut. And it's a great song, too. Classic song. It's been covered by lot of soul singers, but I don't think anybody could do it like Otis did.
00:46:11
Speaker
This is just in his wheelhouse, the way he sang. mean, kind of like Try a Little Tenderness or any of those songs where he's just singing from the heart. And great lyrics, too. This is a man pouring his heart out to tell his woman how much he loves her. and Classic song.
00:46:31
Speaker
classic soul vocal. Great vocal. The music would be better if it was produced better. It's not really good mix. I do love what Steve Cropper's doing on the guitar. Those guitar licks are lovely. I like them a lot.
00:46:44
Speaker
Very country-tinged. Steve's guitar is on this, and Booker T's piano I really like on this as well. I quite like the horns, but it's just that Those bits are all good and work, well, to a degree, but it's just the mix doesn't cohesively work as a mix.
00:47:02
Speaker
It's muddy. It's a great song, but needed a better mix. I don't suppose you want to do something else with Mal technology and do a remix of this? Do the original tracks still exist, I wonder?
00:47:12
Speaker
Maybe they don't have to. I don't know. I'd love to do a remix of this personally. There you go. Get Marv the master tapes. I'll go into the local studio and I'll remix this for you.
00:47:23
Speaker
No problem. At number 92, Bring Your Love to Me by The Righteous Brothers. It's not you've lost that love and feeling. The only really good part about this song is their vocals.
00:47:36
Speaker
The drums are way overdone. The backing is busy and the songwriting is lazy. High miss or a low meh if I'm being generous. overproduced and arranged, too busy.
00:47:48
Speaker
The vocals are great, but they get lost at times in that busy arrangement. The song is just okay. It's definitely not You've Lost That Love and Feeling, for sure.
00:47:59
Speaker
And the Righteous Brothers wrote the song. And I felt like overall the production was kind of Phil Spector wannabe conversation. But it just was so overblown that their voices just got lost.
00:48:13
Speaker
It's a shame because we want to hear those incredible voices. Just as a quick aside, Writers Brothers self-writing, do you prefer this or Little Latin Loopy Lou? For sure, a Little Latin Loopy Lou.
00:48:25
Speaker
Hands down! Mm-hmm. ah By the book, songwriting, great voices, and dare I say, it could have actually have done with less wall of sound and probably strip everything back.
00:48:39
Speaker
Yep. one At number 93, Jerk and Twine by Jackie Ross. I like the finger snaps. yeah Kit will love the line in there. The twine is a thing in Chicago town.
00:48:52
Speaker
The jerk is jumping from my heart. The twine is the thing in Chicago town. I noticed that. This is a two-for-one dance track.
00:49:04
Speaker
Earlier in January, we had Twine Time by Alvin Cash. But, you know, this really isn't a good song to jerk to. Yeah. it's a good enough lead vocal, but ultimately it's nothing too interesting.
00:49:18
Speaker
Well, I did like her lead vocal a lot. I mean, she can sing. Wow. Got that gospel influence, particularly in her growl. Nice piano too. Very churchy.
00:49:29
Speaker
It's not a groundbreaking song for sure, but fun to listen to just for her voice. I would have loved to have had Curtis get ahold of her and work with her get some great songs for her she signed with chess records in 1964 and released a song selfish one i don't recall us covering that but it reached number 11 on the billboard hot 100 and number four in the cash box r&b chart Other songs that she released after that, including this one, didn't perform nearly as well. But it's a shame because she has a great, great voice. I think she just needs to be paired with the right producers and songwriters. So I'd say the song is just eh, but worth listening to just to hear that incredible voice.
00:50:16
Speaker
are Did we actually miss Selfish One? Because i like that song. Selfish One Why keep your love to yourself
00:50:35
Speaker
I enjoyed this song. Her vocal is great. It's middle tier soul record from Chess Records. Chicago Connection again. Ding, ding. Ding ding. Well, I mean, again, they mentioned it in the song. Yep.
00:50:46
Speaker
At number 95, our third big WTF of the month. I Want My Baby Back by Jimmy Cross. No, this is not the Chili's song. I want my baby back, baby back, baby back. I wish it was.
00:51:01
Speaker
ah Because even that's better than this. Yes. This record was on Tali Records. We haven't seen many Tali's through our run through the charts here. wonder why. Oh boy. This is a parody of The Splatter Platters. It starts off with a line that forces us to include it.
00:51:19
Speaker
We were cruising home from a Beatles concert.
00:51:48
Speaker
I don't hardly know where to begin. I remember we were cruising home from the Beatles concert. I'd had such a wonderful evening, sitting there watching my baby screaming and tearing her hair out and carrying on.
00:52:02
Speaker
She was so full of life. Then, The singer describes how he enjoyed watching his girl screaming and tearing her hair out and carrying on
00:52:17
Speaker
So, as with all other splatter platters, they swerve to avoid something. And in the middle of the road is a motorcyclist who they identify as the leader of the pack.
00:52:29
Speaker
Ha ha ha. Ha ha ha. Well, we kept driving for about another mile when all of a sudden I see this stalled car right smack in front of me. Well, I wasn't about to slam on the brakes because I didn't have none to start with.
00:52:44
Speaker
So I swerved to the left and what do I see? Some mush on a motorcycle heading right at us.
00:53:09
Speaker
Dang I do like the line. i wasn't about to slam on the brakes because I didn't have none to start with. Really nothing special about this song, other than what we've already highlighted.
00:53:21
Speaker
Clearly, the songwriters Botkin and Garfield, i wonder if Garfield enjoyed lasagna as much as his namesake cat. That's Jim. We're as tired of these splatter platters as we are. It's a good thing that neither of them had probably heard Terry by Twinkle.
00:53:40
Speaker
And, well, we won't give away the end, but there's more than a little bit of monster mash in there. That's a nice way of putting it. Wow. I had totally forgotten about this song. I had never heard this song before. I had, and I realized where I had. This was another one that would show up on Dr. Domeno. Because as I was listening to this, I'm like, where have I heard this? I swear I've heard this before.
00:54:05
Speaker
And then, yep, it was another Dr. Domeno that I listened to on my walk. but Yeah, he would play this. periodically. So I had heard this before. I'd forgotten how dark this is.
00:54:17
Speaker
It is dark. It is unfortunately not funny. Yep, but Dr. Domeno played this for years, and I didn't realize it went back to 1965. I know they refer to the Beatles, but I didn't know it was actually from that time.
00:54:32
Speaker
I'm amazed that it got airplay and all that, because as I said, I won't give it away, because we know you're all going to run out and listen to it after listening to this show. It's pretty dark, and particularly at the end.
00:54:46
Speaker
So thanks, Dr. Nemeno, question mark, introducing me to this record all those years ago. holy cow.
Dark Comedy in Music and Dr. Domeno's Influence
00:54:55
Speaker
I can actually see it influencing Weird Al a little bit, though. Yeah, I could see it, too.
00:54:59
Speaker
But it is crazy. Yeah, and when I looked it up, it said absolutely that it has since become a cult classic as a result of frequent airplay on the Dr. Domeno radio show.
00:55:10
Speaker
Is he actually crying the lyrics in this? Maybe. Because it sounds like he's having a bit of a... Well, when I come to, I look through the And there was the leaden.
00:55:25
Speaker
And there was the pack, and over there was my baby. And over there was my baby, and way over there was my baby.
00:55:40
Speaker
And of course it is a parody of the Splatter Platter records. We're all sick of them, no doubt about it. And I'm sure people were getting burned out at that point, but this takes it to a whole new level.
00:55:51
Speaker
So he's crying the lyrics at the beginning, then he's talking, the music stops, and he talks, and he talks, and he talks. Yes, he does. Oh, no, no, no. okay And then the... PTSD, sorry. And then the music comes in, but not for long enough, because he goes back to talking again for a long time.
00:56:11
Speaker
And then the music comes in, then he talks for a bit, and it's just, what the heck is this? And the twist ending. Yeah. Torrible, as your mom might say. Torrible. Torrible. Exactly. Torrible. Yes.
00:56:26
Speaker
Please go back to the school of twist endings that M. Night Shyamalan went to, please, because it he writes better ones. Yes. Thankfully, we're going to move on to a really good song.
00:56:40
Speaker
At number 96, he was really saying something by the Velvelettes. We've talked about the Velvelettes before. They were underserved by their time on Motown.
00:56:50
Speaker
This is Whitfield-Stevenson-Holland song produced by Whitfield.
00:57:24
Speaker
ah Great lead vocal. The backing vocals are as good as anything else on Motown. The horns drive the song forward. It's a really hot backing and a really nice track.
00:57:35
Speaker
yeah Yeah. I mean, I agree. I think the Velvelettes were really underserved by Motown because they put out some bangers during their time there. Boy, this is a great Whitfield production as well.
00:57:48
Speaker
As you said, terrific lead vocal. As always, phenomenal performance by the Funk Brothers. The beat, the rhythm, the tambourine, and of course, the song itself, it's catchy. was Whitfield, Stevenson, and Holland, so wasn't Holland, Dozier, Holland.
00:58:06
Speaker
What can you say? mean, this is just a great song. Now, Motown Junkies gave this a 10 out of 10. Don't know if I'd agree with that. I don't know if I'd say 10 out of 10. I would say 9. I would too. Where I would put it, yeah.
00:58:19
Speaker
Exactly. I think that's a little bit of too high a rating, but up there. It is very much in line with a lot of the Supremes hits of the time. Possibly my favorite song by the Velvet Lacks.
00:58:30
Speaker
he I'd give it a nine as well. I think it's superb but song, really well written, produced. Whitfield's production on this is fabulous. You can see where he it's going from here after this.
00:58:42
Speaker
But yeah, love the song. It's just close to perfection for me. have you read the Bananarama version from the nineteen eighty s kit? Yes, I had completely forgotten about that. Yeah, not recently, but I have heard it, yes. yeah They did with the Fun Boy 3. Love that song. Fun Boy 3, I mean, great song. Love that version as well.
00:59:01
Speaker
Yeah. So the Motown junkies also give us some background on why exactly the Velvelettes had their issues. The Velvelettes were college girls, smart and sophisticated characters from middle-class family backgrounds hailing from Flint and Kalamazoo, far enough away from Motown to be classed as outsiders to begin with.
00:59:20
Speaker
Their label mates didn't need much encouragement to view them with some suspicion. Hmm. Some of that was their own fault too. Even after their big break, signing to the label just as things went stratospheric, they refused to compromise on their educational commitments and spent most of their time away from Hitsville, traveling to Detroit for recording dates only when absolutely and contractually necessary, and they were unable to join tour package shows.
00:59:47
Speaker
Well, you can see why one of the Velvelettes would leave and join Martha Reeves and the Vandellas in September of 1964. a shame because they were really good. But yes, we would ask that you go and look them up if you're not familiar with them.
01:00:01
Speaker
Absolutely. At number 97, Crying in the Chapel by Adam Wade. This is perhaps a more authentic song, but the Elvis version is way better known.
01:00:12
Speaker
This is a good lead vocal. It's well-recorded backing. It's nothing too interesting, but I'll rate it a low hit. Take your troubles to the chair.
01:01:02
Speaker
You can definitely hear how he was heavily influenced by Johnny Mathis. Maybe a touch of Nat King Cole. It's a decent version, but I thought the strings were really overarranged, particularly that plucking toward the end.
01:01:17
Speaker
I thought that was kind of superfluous. I think it was one of those things where I had to check, was this really 1965? Because I thought this sounded kind of dated.
01:01:28
Speaker
Why release this now? Because I think this dates back from 1953, the song itself. So I'm just kind of amazed that this is released now because I just felt like it sounded like the fifty s But, you know, his voice is very nice.
01:01:44
Speaker
But those strings, I just thought, ugh, pair those back. Yeah, the strings irritated me. I don't mind the Elvis version. Take your troubles to the jam.
01:01:59
Speaker
Get down on your knees and pray. Knees and pray.
01:02:19
Speaker
And you'll surely find the way.
01:02:25
Speaker
My favourite version is the 1953 version by the Orioles, which would be the original, would it?
01:02:55
Speaker
And you'll surely find
01:03:13
Speaker
Daryl Glenn, June 16th, 1953 was the very first version of it. Take your troubles to the chapel.
01:03:36
Speaker
And you'll surely find the way
01:03:47
Speaker
I haven't heard that version. But the Orioles version from the same year, i love that version a lot. Now, Adam Wade went on to be a figure which we would kind of know if you've watched any of the African-American television from the 70s. He showed up a lot in a number of different productions.
Adam Wade: Breaking Barriers on TV
01:04:05
Speaker
He was also the very first African-American game show host. He hosted a show called Musical Chairs, which, granted, is not nearly as fun a game show title as our fictional fancy pants from earlier.
01:04:23
Speaker
fancy but adam wade appeared in episodes of sanford and son what's happening the jeffersons he played dr greg martin in the episode the three faces of florence which is actually one of the jeffersons big episodes if you've ever watched that series Oh, I love the Jeffersons. I don't remember that specific episode.
01:04:43
Speaker
Perhaps. He was also in a couple of episodes of Good Times. Wow. Since he had hosted a game show, he was a face that people knew. Yeah. And now Ed's going to give you a Beatles connection.
01:04:55
Speaker
Well, kind of, sort of, not really. So just after the film, Adam Wade and Della Reese starred in a stage production of Same Time Next Year. The film is notable because it rejected a Paul McCartney theme song.
01:05:09
Speaker
Oh, that's right. Yeah. So at number 98, Goldfinger by Shirley Bassey, which we covered in the UK. Goldfinger. Goldfinger. and he has You can't just say Goldfinger.
01:05:22
Speaker
Exactly. At number 99, Can't You Just See Me by Aretha Franklin. um
01:05:34
Speaker
death are
01:05:56
Speaker
I like this song, particularly the powerhouse vocal from Aretha, but the record label just wasn't sure what to do with her. This is definitely a step in the right direction, though.
01:06:06
Speaker
The arrangement is a little bit all over the place. It doesn't quite know what it wants to be. The horns are slightly overdone. The guitar goes country, and then it doesn't. It's not top-notch, but I would still rank it a medium hit.
01:06:19
Speaker
Yeah, she's getting there. She's getting to become the Aretha we all know. This is still the Columbia years, and they still, as you said, don't quite know what to do with her. This is a bit more of the deeply soulful, powerful vocal that she would then really refine on respect.
01:06:38
Speaker
But she's not quite there yet. She's not quite as... restrained as she was on some previous songs we've heard from her. But the backing isn't Muscle Shoals, which would really turn her loose.
01:06:50
Speaker
But she really wouldn't become the Aretha Franklin we know and love until she moved to Atlantic. This is a little more like Ray Charles, but she's on the right track.
01:07:00
Speaker
This is a good vocal from her. Yeah, it's a good song. ah I liked it. It's just that the music wasn't quite top-notch, but her voice is great. Yeah.
01:07:11
Speaker
Bring on the Atlantic years. who Closing out this month of January 1965, at number 100, Goldfinger by Jack LaForge, his piano and orchestra. Once again, Goldfinger.
01:07:29
Speaker
Any relation?
01:07:32
Speaker
This is a piano-led version with sappy strings. It's even less necessary than the Billy Strange version. And as Marv was referencing, yes, the only reason we included it is it's a fella named LaForge. And even though he's white, he could well be Geordi LaForge's great-great-great-grandfather from Star Trek The Next Generation.
01:07:53
Speaker
um Yeah, this was Lawrence Welk mixed with Liberace. i mean, this was... What a mix! Yeah, that's what it was. I mean, why? Totally overplayed piano, strings out of elevator music.
01:08:10
Speaker
It was just like taking all of the bombast and all out of Goldfinger and turning it into that. Why? Take it off. Take it off. Yep. Yep. This record would actually go to number 20 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart.
01:08:25
Speaker
Well, Easy Listening, I can see that. It would only move up a few spots, and it would only be around for another couple of weeks into February. It would peak at number 96 on the Hot 100. And be forgotten by everybody for the rest of eternity until we have to talk about it.
01:08:42
Speaker
Right. When they make the remake of Star Trek The Next Generation, I think they should have Geordi listening to this record. Yeah.
01:08:52
Speaker
Personal log, Chief Engineer Geordi LaForge, Stardate 44885.5. I am en route to the planet Risa to attend an artificial intelligence seminar. Captain Picard has ordered me to arrive a few days early to have some fun and relax.
01:09:05
Speaker
I intend to follow his orders to the very best of my ability.
01:09:11
Speaker
How about some different music computer? Computer, bring up Goldfinger by my great-great-grandfather.
01:09:54
Speaker
Let's canonize that, shall we?
01:09:58
Speaker
Oh, you guys. All right. We will be back with February real soon and more new Beatles songs. Yay. Yay.
01:10:08
Speaker
And some banging classic songs in February. Yes. Indeed. Talk to you then. See you then. Take care. Bye.
01:10:34
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.
01:10:45
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.
Origin of 'Toppermost of the Poppermost'
01:11:02
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.
01:11:17
Speaker
Topper most of the popper most.