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December 1964 (side B)
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A Tribute to Jim Reeves, and a tribute to Dennny Laine (Go Now entered the British Charts in December 1964) lead side B (British charts, part two). Brian Epstein and NEMS continue their role, as does Cliff Richard. I Feel Fine, do you? Support this podcast at the $6/month level on patreon to get extra content! Create your podcast today! #madeonzencastr
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Transcript
Introduction and The Beatles' Early Days
00:00:00
Speaker
The Beatles had this chant, John Paul and George, and probably then Stuart and Pete had this chant when things weren't going well, which in their world wasn't very often because mostly it was an upward trajectory. But nonetheless, sometimes you they but have a bad night or the gig didn't work properly or the amps broke or whatever. I say, where are we going, fellas? And they'd go to the top, Johnny.
00:00:23
Speaker
And I say, where's that fellas? And they say, to the topper most of the popper most. And I say, right. And we all sort of cheer up. Now then, boys, where are we going? To the top, bro. Where's that? To the topper most of the popper most.
Show Introduction and December 1964 Records
00:00:47
Speaker
Welcome to Side B, December 1964, here on Toppermost of the Poppermost. I'm Ed Jyn. I'm kiddo tulle. And I'm Martin Quivel. We are back. It's going to be another four-sided month because, well, there are just so many records.
00:01:04
Speaker
So many records, so little time. and Merry Christmas, everybody. yeah Merry Christmas, everybody. And as we will hear, we are going to have Denny Lane's showcase coming up in this episode. We are. Unfortunately, we lost Denny, was it a year ago? Last December. just and December the 5th of 2023, yes. Wow. An amazing artist.
00:01:30
Speaker
So we start with the third week of December, December the 10th to the 16th of 1964.
Cliff Richard's Music Critique
00:01:38
Speaker
I feel fine is at number one. Yay.
00:01:41
Speaker
yeah yeah At number 20, I could easily fall by Cliff Richard, which moves from number 20 to number 9 to number 9. This song sounds like 1959, but in a pretty good way. It's slightly Shaboomish, nicely vocal.
00:02:00
Speaker
The guitar is a bit lesser buddy Holly. It was written by the shadows for the pantomime Aladdin and his wonderful lamp. So the pastiche does make more sense. And we had it mentioned in the blind date feature.
00:02:14
Speaker
Yes, indeed. It's not a particularly memorable pop song. It's interesting that you said that it sounds kind of outdated because I think it reminded me kind of like an Everly Brothers sort of sound.
00:03:11
Speaker
the hand claps, acoustic guitars, harmonies. A little bit more doo-wopish, that's why I kind of went shaboom. Yeah, I was trying to figure it out, because at first I was listening to the melody and all, I'm like, is it till I kissed you? But it wasn't exactly like that. I was trying to figure it out. And it was hard to say, yeah, maybe a shaboom kind of thing. And as I said, Everly Brothers like 50s, in other words.
00:03:35
Speaker
Yeah, late 50s. I mean, as I say, 1959. Exactly. So it's kind of a by the numbers, late 50s pop song. And it's all right. Nothing I would listen to repeatedly. Cliff Richard sounds fine, but nothing that really stays with you. It seems like the non-British invasion bands have just kind of given up in a lot of instances. We're saying that a lot this month, the by the numbers thing. Mm hmm. Exactly. Formulaic.
00:04:03
Speaker
Cliff will hate me saying this, so I apologise if Cliff Richard is listening. I would like to have you as a guest if you're interested. yeah It's okay for what it is, you know, a pantomime song. It's also not ageing very well. It's almost like it's stuck in a specific area that is that era, essentially, of the late 50s, and it needs to be brought up to the times.
00:04:28
Speaker
And Cliff is going to be back out on the road in 2025, believe it or not. Oh, wow. Good for him. Hi, there. I am delighted to announce that I'm going to be on tour again in 2025 to celebrate my 80th... No, that's been done, hasn't it? My 85th birthday. Look, you can't stop me now because I'm going to be on the 1st of November back in Australia and New Zealand. And then, of course, I will never forget you here. 30th of November, I'll be back in the UK touring.
PJ Proby's Entertaining Missteps
00:05:02
Speaker
At number 30, our old buddy PJ Proby with Somewhere, which moves from number 30 to number 14 to number 10. This is a cover of a song from West Side Story. Doesn't hide it. It goes all Broadway in the break. To me, this sounds like AI Elvis.
00:05:21
Speaker
decent backing, although really nothing special. It sounds like this was something recorded for karaoke.
00:05:51
Speaker
Where do I begin? Holy cow. A.I. Elvis does West Side Story. This to me was unintentionally hilarious. Yeah. P.J. Proby was so intent on imitating Elvis. He was mispronouncing words in the lyrics. There were times where I thought, was this a joke? This is a gorgeous song.
00:06:16
Speaker
A beautiful song, and he just destroyed it. He was terrible. Another Betty is a mirror. Betty said, if Elvis were alive, he'd sue him. This was just horrible, as ah my mother is coined the phrase. I was just horrified to say, take it off. I will go beyond that. Destroy this. Just destroy it. I want to wipe this from my brain.
00:06:44
Speaker
Marv? Before we go on, the the term take it off. Perhaps not the best term to use when it comes to PJ considering his trousers problems. yeah Oh, that's true. Okay. Okay. All right, we'll change that to miss. Yeah, it's a not a most.
00:07:02
Speaker
Exaggerated vocal, that's a nice way to put it, with an over-the-top arrangement. It's a club singer who's gone on at the end of the night and has been waiting for the actor before him to finish their one hour or two hour encore and is drunk during the whole time. So he's saying words that in some ways you think, does that word actually exist or is that actually one word split into two words? Because there's that much of a gap in there.
00:07:29
Speaker
so
00:07:36
Speaker
Somewhere.
00:07:42
Speaker
Paging William Shatner. Yeah, this was like a Saturday Night Live skit. It was insane. It is a passably decent Elvis impersonation, though. It's it's not complimentary, but it is a passably decent Elvis. PJ could do that. ah Who's pretending to be me? oh No, this wasn't a song. This was a crime scene. I'm sorry. Paging CSI.
00:08:05
Speaker
I'll put Terry and Twinkle as the worst song than this one. Oh, I don't know. That's really close. This will definitely go on the list of a b songs of 1964. Mm hmm. But thankfully we have a wonderful song, which is going to ah wash the taste of that right out of our mouths at number 35.
The Moody Blues and Denny Lane's Vocal Brilliance
00:08:29
Speaker
Go now by the moody blues, which move from number 35 to number 32 to number 27. We've.
00:09:06
Speaker
The Moody's version is as good as the Bessie Banks record. Yes or no, I will say yes. Yeah, I think this is the superior version. ye I agree with Kip. I think this is superior, but it's slightly above or a little bit above Bessie Banks. I love the Bessie Banks original, but this one's just got some serious rock in there, I think in some days. Yeah, I would put the Bessie Banks version slightly above, but they are neck and neck. Absolutely. The Moody's, of course, would be on NEMS later. This version of the song and really all of the Denny Lane versions of the song. Really nice lead vocal from Denny. Denny could do no wrong when he sang this song. Great harmonies. Brilliant piano. Nice guitar. It's a very good record. I really like the Wings Live versions, all of them from 73 on forward all the way up to the very end. Denny was still seeing this and we'll mention that in a minute here. Billboard would describe this as having a rare beat and interesting gospel-like piano support. Cashbox, so even Cashbox could not write in their overexcited manner about this song. What they say is that the moody blues should be in for a happy run up the sales ladder with his deck. Okay. Deck. That's old school language. It's a romantic heartbreak that moves along in a fascinating rock and roll waltz-like manner. This Alex Murray prod looks like a big winner. Now for the B side, which I think is not quite as good a song, but okay. The undercut is an infectious rockarithmic cha-cha, also chock full of charred ingredients. So at least they're not describing go now that way.
00:10:44
Speaker
Thank God. Hit, hit, hit big hit. Absolutely. This is a classic. First of all, as you mentioned, Denny Wayne's performance on this is just.
00:10:56
Speaker
Flawless. His vocals on this, you what a blue eyed soul singer he was when he sings about crying and so forth. He means it. So his voice just soars on this. He just ah absolutely nails the emotion of the vocals. And then there's that piano, the instrumental section, that piano solo. Wow. I mean, that gospel piano along with Denny's vocal is the key to the song. The drums are good too, but I love the piano. A classic, classic record. Blue-eyed soul at its best. I've always thought that when Mike Pinder left the Moody Blues that they weren't quite the same because Mike Pinder's keyboard work was always from the beginning of the Moody Blues up until they left in the mid to late 70s. It was a big, huge part of their sound.
00:11:51
Speaker
He was always a star player, in my opinion. Always loved this song and the recording of it. It's a great cover of the Bessie Banks original, which itself was only relatively recent, wasn't it? Was it beginning of sixty four the beginning The beginning of 64 was when the Bessie Banks version was released and we covered it in the January episode. We did indeed. Yep. Denny's vocal is on fire, as well as the group backing vocals as well. And his guitar nicely accompanies the great piano by Mike Pinder, as well as the bass and drums by Clint and Graham and Ray Thomas' percussion, fabulous, fantastic song.
00:12:31
Speaker
And we should mention we lost Mike Pinder recently. And we lost Denny Lane a year ago in December of 2023. Hard to believe. But as tribute to Denny and this song, we are going to include a supercut and we're going to have several versions of Denny singing it, most notably the Wings Over America version, but also we're going to have a version from the tour that he was on with our friend and kids rival, Darren Murphy. Go and listen to Darren with us over on the when they was fab side where he tells a marvelous story about Danny actually teaching him how to properly play the guitar part on go now.
00:13:17
Speaker
Some of the versions in this supercut, the Bessie Banks original, the Jaybirds, Cher recorded a version in 1968, David Cassidy recorded one in 1972, the Wings version from Wings Over America, Jeff Harrison, who's not George from 1976, Mary Mason from 1978, Tin Machine in a live version from 1992. Wow.
00:13:44
Speaker
World-class rockers from 1999. Ozzy Osbourne from November of 2005. Wow. Lulu from 2005. Simply read from November of 2008. And Billy Preston recorded a version in December of 1965. So we'll have a little bit of that in there as well as the live version from that version of the It Was 50 Years Ago to Date Tour.
00:14:12
Speaker
you Nice, nice selection. ah Danny, you're going to go over there and play us a little bit of music on that rather nice piano over there following the guitar.
Sandy Shaw's Unexpected Hit
00:17:39
Speaker
At number 38, Girl Don't Come by Sandy Shaw. It's a nicely vocal. The tune, however, does not veer that far from the girl singer songs of the time and almost feels to me like a lesser downtown. This was originally envisioned as a ballad and Sandy Shaw wanted it to be recorded as a ballad, but they insisted that she repeat the tempo of, there's always something there to remind me. Sandy Shaw did not like that and she almost walked off without recording it, but they finally convinced her to do so. Probably, hey, you have a contract. One of the things about Sandy Shaw, which we haven't mentioned when we've spoken of her before, did you know Sandy Shaw liked to perform in her bare feet?
00:18:24
Speaker
I didn't know that, yes. So frequently, if you go and watch the YouTube videos of Sandy Shaw, there she is in her bare feet. What she says is, I am extremely short sighted and it helps me make my way around the stage without falling off the edge. There's a slight John Lennon connection. It's symbolic potency is immense. It feels sexy. Ideally, I would like everyone to join in. So is that what convinced Paul to kick off his shoes on the cover of Abbey Road?
00:18:51
Speaker
hey Hey, there you go. I was like, where is this going? Okay. I'm just kidding. Paul will never give up any opportunity even today to feel sexy. Yes, that's right.
00:19:05
Speaker
but so
00:19:08
Speaker
Yeah, not really a Beatles connection, but I do have to mention it. As you mentioned, Ed, she had to be persuaded to record this. And when it finally came out, she wanted it to be relegated to the B side of another track, a ballad called I'd Be Far Better Off Without You. Chris Andrews, who wrote this, wrote, I'd be far better off without you.
00:19:30
Speaker
per manager much preferred this song Girl Don't Come as the A side but said okay if you'll agree to record this song we'll have it your way so it came out this way but when Sandy Shaw performed both songs on a British TV show Girl Don't Come drew the better reaction and radio airplay so this became the winning single Sandy Shaw, Girl Don't Come
00:20:07
Speaker
You have a date for your best date tonight.
00:20:13
Speaker
Some distant bell starts chiming in. You want to
00:20:31
Speaker
The backing track was decent, although when I read that this was recorded at the same tempo as always something here to remind me, I thought the whole song was a bit of a Bacharach David knockoff, particularly the horns. The backing is almost like knockoff downtown.
00:20:48
Speaker
Yeah, right. It just has that feel to it. I'd say Sandy gave it her best. I would say, though, you could sort of tell she wasn't terribly enthusiastic about recording the song. I agree with Sandy. I think I wouldn't have been happy about the song either. Overall, just very average, mid 60s pop sound. So you're saying that this is more Chakra and shaded. Yes, that's right.
00:21:15
Speaker
ah good vocal on a song that should have been on the B side. Yep, agreed. And we'll leave it there, shall we? Mm-hmm. At number 44, Christmas will be just another lonely day by Brenda Lee, which would move from number 44 to number 38 to number 29.
Brenda Lee's Holiday Music Evaluation
00:21:33
Speaker
This is a nice enough rock Christmas song, but it reveres dangerously close to novelty. I actually would have liked this song better if it weren't a holiday themed song. It's a nice vocal from Brenda and the tune rocks a little bit, but the lyrics just kind of take me out of it.
00:22:26
Speaker
Brenda as usual brings you know that great voice of hers, a little bit of that sass, and I would say her vocals save the song from comp complete mediocrity. but And as you said, the backing rocks a bit, although I didn't like the drums on this. I thought way overdone too high in the mix and threatened to overwhelm it.
00:22:48
Speaker
Definitely not on the level of rockin' around the Christmas tree. That's her best holiday single. I love that. But I do like her lead vocal on this. Maybe it's true that if this had different lyrics, could have been a better song. Has kind of a girl group sound to it. I could kind of imagine the Ronettes doing something like this. Yeah, there's no reason for it to be a Christmas song other than the fact that her people said, you got to put out a Christmas song, Brenda. It works last year. Do it again. Yeah, exactly, but definitely not on the level of Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree. Well, a Christmas song that I've never heard before is okay, but it isn't Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree.
00:23:27
Speaker
There you go. Wow. We're all in agreement. At number 46, a tribute to Jim Rees by Larry Cunningham and the mighty Avons, which would move from 46 to 49 to 49.
Critique of Tribute Songs and Dramatic Styles
00:23:42
Speaker
Yikes. The talky eulogy, which is smashed between passively decent recreations of Jim Rees tracks. Mockish and pointless. Yep. I will forget you.
00:24:16
Speaker
Memories you rekindled.
00:24:44
Speaker
Bless their hearts. Their hearts were in the right place. And clearly, Larry Cunningham from Ireland, good for my Irish brother, he had a real connection to Jim Reeves because he and the band were the supporting act for Jim Reeves during the Irish leg of his European tour in 1963. And just an interesting little story here. When Jim Reeves walked off the stage during a concert,
00:25:10
Speaker
inlyord in Lifford in protest of the poor condition of the supply piano, the Avons, as they later became popularly called, took over and entertained the crowd. And they got a lot of publicity and acclaim for that. So they did have a connection ah to Jim Reeves. So yeah, as you said, this is really overwrought. It's an earnest tribute, but very sappy. And It's kind of weird how all of Reeves' songs sound the same in this medley. I mean, that's not exactly the best tribute. The records don't sound that similar. No! The original records, you know, it's just the way they performed them here because they had to make them go together.
00:25:54
Speaker
Exactly. So I don't think that really does him justice. But again, I think he was very sincere about doing this tribute, but it just doesn't work on really any level. I can understand them doing a tribute because about the Friends, in essence, with Mr Reeves, but it borders on the depressing. I can't really say much more than that about it, really.
00:26:20
Speaker
Okay. Well, at number 48, like a child by Julie Rogers. This is a fine lead vocal. The backing vocals go over dramatic and then maybe a little bit church choir, but actually probably not enough for my tastes. The horn is fine. The rest of the backing just isn't great. The piano is repetitive and doesn't really serve any use to the song. And those drums might work on another record, but they don't really work here.
00:27:13
Speaker
This is the same singer as saying the wedding was not one of our favorite songs. I did not care for this. She sang it fine. This is a little bit R and&B flavored, but very overdramatic with the horns and the strings in the arrangement.
00:27:31
Speaker
But the lyrics really made me cringe. The whole image of making a woman sound very needy, clinging, infantilizing her. Really, i mean when you look at the lyrics, o like a child with a new and shiny toy, like a child I'm so full of love and joy, like a flower with a... ti with with but I don't know if that's a tie or what.
00:27:59
Speaker
Dessert me and I'll die. I'm likening her to this child. It's really cringe-worthy. I did not care for this song at all. And I can see why I don't think it's particularly remembered today.
00:28:16
Speaker
great voice but the song isn't enough to make full use of him. Another one where we all agree. Yep. At number 49, How Sweet It Is by Marvin Gaye, which we covered over on the US side in November. On to the next week, the 17th to the 23rd of December.
Georgie Fame's Catchy Jazz Influences
00:28:34
Speaker
at number 26, Yeah Yeah, by Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames. It's a sax bass trifle, but it's really catchy, fun, and well played. It's a get up and dance song. The extended break is really good. The lyrics are pretty much just standard stuff, but more or less placeholders to keep the vocalist busy and give the crowd a chance to go into that great, I say yeah, chorus. Lovely, lovely pop song.
00:29:02
Speaker
My baby
00:29:33
Speaker
Now we get to a banger. Now we get to a banger. This song ah yeah yeah was originally written as an instrumental by Rogers Grant and Patrick, and it was first recorded by a gentleman we've seen or heard on this show before, Mongo Santa Maria, on his album Watermelon Man in 1963, and the lyrics were written for it shortly thereafter by one of my favorite artists, John Hendricks.
00:30:02
Speaker
of the vocalese group Lambert Hendrix and Bavan, not Ross, apparently Ross joined later, and that version appeared on the LP at Newport 63. I love Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames. They were fun and I really love that Georgie Fame had such a strong jazz background and you can really tell particularly in this song. The reason the lyrics are not really that brainy or anything is that basically What he's doing here is Vocalize. Vocalize is the process of writing lyrics, writing stories, but improvise recordings, and then sing that music as an instrumentals. The word Vocalize was first coined by jazz critic, Lennick Feather, to describe the music of Lambert, Henderson, Ross, and their first recording, Sing a Song with Basie.
00:31:00
Speaker
John Hendricks expanded the concept of vocalists by writing lyrics for the big band arrangements and the solos of bands such as Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Woody Herman, and for other jazz giants such as Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Har Silver, and Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. The first example of vocalists was the song Moody's Move For Love, which came from the song, I'm in the mood for love. John Hendrix was a master of vocalese. Vocalese is really meant to imitate an instrument's original solo. So the lyrics aren't really meant to be anything that was brainy or or makes that much sense. So when I was listening to this, and I've heard this many times when I was paying attention to the lyrics, I thought that sounds like vocalese.
00:31:55
Speaker
He and the sax are singing together. You know, he's basically singing the saxes solo, singing right along with the melody here. I just love it. Love how he's singing right along with the sax and a great sax solo. Love the organ. This is good organ yeah ah that we're hearing here. I think this is. Yeah, the Hammond organ, I believe. And the middle eight is really interesting, too. The band dropping out except for the organ, Georgie fame and the drums.
00:32:24
Speaker
coming in at the very end. Just a great sophistication here. Plenty of jazz thrown in. I love Georgie Fame. He should have had a longer career. So Vocalize is almost similar to what you'd find George Benson doing with his songs when he'd vocalize what he's doing on his guitar solos.
00:32:42
Speaker
It's a bit like that, absolutely. If you want to hear Vocal Ease, two things I'd recommend, Lambert, Hendrickson, Ross, that is absolutely top-notch Vocal Ease. And also, Manhattan Transfer did an album in, I think it was 86, called Vocal Ease, along with John Hendricks. If you want to get a great idea of what Vocal Ease is and and just top-notch, listen to those two albums. I love Vocal Ease. And it's hard to do.
00:33:08
Speaker
This song is groovy. Simple lyrics, perhaps, but it's more about the vibe of the song. The simple lyrics and getting a vibe across, that would sort of paint the way towards the late 60s when you'd have people like Sly and the Family Stone, for instance, where you'd have dance to the music, which are pretty basic lyrics.
00:33:26
Speaker
But with that song and other songs of theirs, that's all about getting a vibe and getting people out onto the floor dancing and getting that vibe, just having a good time, which I think this song is about. Yep, exactly. Now, Georgie Fame would become tied up intimately with The Beatles, particularly in 1967. In January of 1967, Georgie Fame threw a 21st birthday party for his girlfriend Carmen Jimenez, and We see many pictures of that. That's the first fancy dress party that we see the Beatles at a lot. It's the one where Paul is dressed up in as a Civil War general and John is dressed up in a Monks outfit. Okay.
00:34:09
Speaker
So you see any of those and wonder, gee, why are they in costumes? And no, it's not the magical mystery tour party in April. It is Georgie fame and the blue flames that Paul McCartney would go and see. And that Linda Eastman's friends would take her to go and see at the bag of nails. And as both of them say, Georgie fame was playing this song when they really laid eyes on each other. yep that's right i was in london on a photographic assignment down at a club i went to see george fame and the blue flames he's a british group and paul was down there were you not and i picked her up you picked me up just like that simple as that tom
00:34:50
Speaker
very romantic i love very coming down to speak yeah we never look back like many young people meet This song is to a certain extent responsible for Paul and Linda getting together, although the Dirty Weekend probably didn't hurt matters much.
00:35:09
Speaker
The Dirty Weekend, yeah. The Dirty Weekend. ah And Georgie Fame would go on to star in a show called The Price of Fame on BBC2 along with Alan Price of the Animals that was scripted by one Terry Jones of Monty Python's Flying Circus.
00:35:27
Speaker
Oh wow. Geordie fame is quite a figure and one that is crucial to those of us in the Beatles world. At number 35, a starry night by Joy Strings, which would stay at number 35 for one more week. The Joy Strings were a Salvation Army band led by Joy Webb. Webb was actually an officer in the Salvation Army at the time. All I can say is ick. Sickly sweet Christmas Carol.
00:35:56
Speaker
This was the first time that a Salvation Army pop group would achieve chart success with both this song and the tune, It's An Open Secret.
The Joy Strings' Religious Pop Blend
00:36:06
Speaker
I have nothing good to say about this record.
00:36:26
Speaker
The only thing I thought was okay was the bells. I like that they suggested twinkling stars. But other than that, just blah. But apparently they recorded a version of Old Little Town of Bethlehem using the music of The Animal's House of the Rising Sun. Hey. Whoa. The little town of Bethlehem
00:37:18
Speaker
but it's the Salvation Army Band. Yeah, right. I mean, it's not going to be like rock guitars all, but. the
00:37:44
Speaker
It makes a change to them doing there is a green hill far away to the music of that. h Anyone who doesn't know, that's a religious song that uses the same music as well, the House of the Rising Sun music. Yep, I didn't care for this. I thought it went on for far too long and it was just yes too much for my, um ah dare I say, secular taste. Yes. miss More of us
Jerry and the Pacemakers' Liverpool Tribute
00:38:10
Speaker
agreeing. I think our listeners are going to get bored.
00:38:14
Speaker
Yeah, we need a good fight over something. Yeah. But that's not going to happen on the next song. And so next, at number 37, Fairy Cross the Mersey by Jerry and the Pacemakers. We've spoken a little bit of the song when we spoke about the film. We all know this song. We love this song. It's a tribute to the city of Liverpool, a sweet ballad, lovely strings courtesy of George Martin. I love the tapping drums and the guitars. The flute works really well.
00:38:44
Speaker
And in the States, it did best in the city of Chicago, where it reached number one on the WLSAM charts. Hey, Chicago connection. Take that moment.
00:38:56
Speaker
And as opposed to the other Cashbox reviews, they did indeed go there with this. They described this song as a touching, soft, cha-cha best, sentimental opus that Jerry vocals with much sincerity. So there's the cha-cha again. The rest of it is true, but good lord. Well, what can you say? This is a case study of production and arrangement that works.
00:39:25
Speaker
Everything works here from, as you mentioned, at the percussion, that soft percussion, the strings that never overpower. And of course, tip of the hat here to George Martin. And the flute, as you mentioned, I love the descending flute lines, the melody at points.
00:39:44
Speaker
And, of course, the great Jerry Marsden. His voice on this is just incomparable. He tells a story in this song, and the arrangement follows him. This song made me want to go to Liverpool. The story he tells about... People around every corner of They seem to smile and say We don't care what your name is, boy.
00:40:37
Speaker
You want to go to this place. And when I finally got to Liverpool and I saw the Mersey, I was just like, oh, just like the song. It paints you this picture and the music. The arrangement helps do that. This is just perfection. And I know I mentioned this in a previous show, but seeing Jerry Marsden in 2007 at the Chicago Fest for Beatles fans performed this with just himself and the guitar.
00:41:03
Speaker
was such a treat. I think it's still on YouTube. Go look it up and and talking about writing this song. What a treat. One of my all-time top moments at the Festival of Beatle Fans.
00:41:15
Speaker
Before that, even to the story behind one of the most famous anthems from the Mersey Beat era. so The pleasure is to try and do a title song for the film that captured Liverpool, Liverpool people, and the ferries. That was a hard part. Then one night taking my girlfriend Pauline up for dinner, I heard on my head, doo doo doo doo doo.
00:41:43
Speaker
That's the ferries. So I stopped the car, jumped out, ran to the telephone box, running mother, said, ma'am, quick, go and get me a tape machine, and plug, play, and record. You are kidding. And she said, wha? I said, oh, ma'am, come on, I'm going to forget it. I sung it. Down the phone. You're still putting your coins in. Not kidding. I was skimped. I put them in, finished it quickly, ran to the car, and said to my child,
00:42:11
Speaker
Sorry kid, I'm taking you home. I'm just in my head,
00:42:33
Speaker
Hearts torn in air. I think that was most important to me. People around every corner, they seem to smile and say, we don't care what your name is, we'll never turn you away. That's what Liverpool are, that's what they were to me and that's where I put it.
00:42:54
Speaker
we'll never chain you a And then I feel happy telling people that's what we do.
00:43:05
Speaker
The song made it to number eight in the charts in 1965. 24 years later, it reached the number one slot, but in tragic circumstances. The Hillsborough Disaster.
00:43:19
Speaker
Jerry re-released Ferry as a charity single with some famous friends. I wanted to help the people who'd lost those buttons, kids, and they needed money or they needed help. And the only way I could think of doing it was by putting a record out and all the proceeds going through the fund. And thank God Paul McCartney helped me, Holly Johnson, God blessing, and the Christians. For Gary Christian, it was a chance to reinterpret a childhood classic. And is this a song that you've grown up with? Yeah, I mean, it's an iconic Liverpool song, you know. thirty you know the way they The way the kids sing it, you know, it's like... fairy cross ma is this play When I was doing my bit, you know, in the song, I i tried to put a bit of soul into it, you know. It's exactly 50 years since Jerry wrote the song, and along with the ferry, there was a little sign that Eva was going out of fashion.
00:44:18
Speaker
In comes Marv to make some of the people who moan that we don't go into the music too often. A beautiful love letter that Jerry wrote for his home that he loves. The places and people, you can feel them in the lyrics and in the music. I've always loved the verse particularly, the the D major to the A minor pedal, which gives this a D mixolydian feel to get really technical.
00:44:42
Speaker
because what he's doing there is, with the A minor, because it's in D for the whole song, it's in D major, essentially. But in the verse, it's Mixolydian because the A minor gives it a flattened seventh, which he emphasizes in the melody, which is why there's almost an Eastern feel to the melody that he's giving it, an Eastern European or an Arabic feel, which is where the Mixolydian comes from, and the flattened seventh. So you get that rise and big fall that there is in the lyric there, in the melody.
00:45:12
Speaker
But yeah, beautiful song. Fantastic. And the arrangement by George Martin is superb. ye And let me just add one more thing that to be an effective singer, you don't need to indulge in vocal acrobatics. It never does. Ever. No, but throwing that C note into a D major is really clever to give it that extra bit of drama. Even though it's not dramatic, it does what it needs to do. It gives it that almost nostalgic whimsical feel by doing that.
00:45:42
Speaker
Oh, absolutely. But he does it in a very subtle way. This is me and my soapbox. You know, a lot of singers today who just over sing the history on inks. Yeah, exactly. He never does that ever.
00:45:57
Speaker
And we have to mention the charity version from 1989, the Hillsborough disaster, which was, I believe, a football crush of some sort. Was that right, Marv? The tragedy occurred as thousands of Liverpool fans massed outside Hillsborough's Leppings Lane end.
00:46:13
Speaker
The antiquated turnstiles at the ground meant admission was slow. To speed up entry to the ground and alleviate the crush outside, police ordered Gate C opened. This resulted in hundreds of fans rushing into the already full Pens 3 and 4, situated directly behind the goal. The influx of fans caused severe crushing in the two Pens, forcing fans to climb over the fences and up to the upper level to try and escape.
00:46:38
Speaker
the stands gave away and crushed, and a lot of people were killed in that disaster. 95 people were killed at the time, and two more were since killed as a consequence of the accident. Yes, I remember hearing about that. So, the Christians, Holly Johnson, Jerry, and one Paul McCartney would record a charity cover version for the Hillsborough disaster fund. And you can find that it's no replacement for the original. It's very much a, we are the world style, but it is nice to hear Paul singing on this. Although apparently Paul was not in the best mood at the time when he recorded it. There are stories about. Uh-oh.
00:47:15
Speaker
all good scoes yeah nothing terrible but apparently in the studio it said something along along oh that bloody song again o not a dig and obviously it wasn't for the public but it was you know we know jerry we know oh jealousy maybe Yeah, geez. At number 44, Ringo by Lauren Green, which we covered on the US side, but we are mentioning it again because since then I have discovered a parody version by Alan Sherman. Ringo the ballad of Ringo's star.
00:47:51
Speaker
Look it up. Most of it is just an excuse for making silly rhymes, but he does bring up Ringo's tassels at the end of it. So. poor Ringo. He or whoever was writing for him was at least keeping track of what was going on that wasn't that long ago at this point. hu We move on to the final week of the December 1964 and the end of 1964 over on the UK side. I feel fine as here, but in 1965 things are going to change even more dramatically for the Beatles.
Criticism of Other Artists' Songs
00:48:25
Speaker
at number 38 for Mama by Matt Monroe. It's Matt Monroe doing a second rate Dean Martin. If we want to be charitable, it's Tony Bennett on a really bad day. It's an English version of the French song La Mama. It has an Ave Maria reference. Nothing really new or interesting. Just pretty bad. Yet
00:49:12
Speaker
I don't like the song. I think he sings it well. I do like his voice. In fact, Frank Sinatra was a big fan of Matt Monroe. When Matt Monroe died, he mentioned he was one of three singers that he respected. I just wish he'd gotten better material than this. The strings are a little much for me. It's a very melodramatic song. It's interesting he mentioned Dean Martin because this song reminds me.
00:49:40
Speaker
of one of those Italian street songs, and I'm just not a big fan of that style. so It's amazing to me that this is George Martin producing this. Yeah, yeah I mean, it's just not great. Matt Monroe deserved better. Miss for me. I think the orchestra is recorded well. I can't think of a time when I've heard an orchestra recorded badly by George. And I'm surprised about the quality of the song as well, considering that it's written by Charles Asnavour in Don Black.
00:50:08
Speaker
Yeah, that surprised me. Don Black is an incredible songwriter, you know, lyricist in his own right, and Charles Asnivore as well. no Sure. I'd still say that Asnivore's best song is probably She. Matt's voice is great, but the song, there's something about it that's lacking. Yeah, I agree. Are we going to have a disagreement at all this month?
00:50:29
Speaker
Yeah! We might! At number 45, Elizabeth Serenade by Gunter Kalman. A German language song. i I suppose it's pretty. It is a Christmas song. It's more than a little bit reminiscent of Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies to me. ah It's still a mess.
00:51:11
Speaker
Himmein litti lis abre.
00:51:20
Speaker
I was trying to find information on the Gunter-Hellman choir and I found a little description on a site called Space Age Pop. I went to the same place. Really? Mental telepathy again. o So they said that at first they look like a German version of the Ray Conniff singers, all clean cut and smiling as they heartily sing out their phonetically precise English lyrics to international pop hits. And they give an example more
00:51:57
Speaker
Then the grottest laugh I give to Hugh. Then you notice something odd, something annoying, persistent ambient noise, like some leftover from a bad dub. You check the stereo, still there. What the hell is that? It never goes away. It's irritating. So much for this record. As you slip it back into the sleeve, your eye catches some fine print beneath the words, Gunter common chorus.
00:52:25
Speaker
with orchestra and bells. Yes, Gunter Kalman is the bright idea to accompany his cherry singers with a string orchestra and an ensemble of bell ringers. Throughout every number, the bells tinkle away in harmony to the melody. They never go away. It is possibly the most consistently irritating sound in the archives of space age pop.
00:52:49
Speaker
like a mosquito buzzing in your ear. Thousands of listeners in Germany and America must have liked it because Gunter and his gang had several top 10 hits in Germany, most notably Elizabeth Serenade. So apparently the bell ringing which was definitely present in the song, was the key to their sound. I mean, it was pleasant, I guess, as background music, but that was about it. I don't know why this would have been a hit. Maybe the holidays, you said, sounded a little like Dance of the Sugarplum Fairies, because of those bells, but that's about it. It's not Carol of the Bells, that's for sure. No.
00:53:26
Speaker
those bells. The reverb on the bells was annoying. yes It was like you stood at the top of the Alps, and then some people are ringing those hand bells at the bottom of it, and you can hear the echo constantly echoing from one mountain to another to another to another to another.
00:53:46
Speaker
and it's like it never stops at all. It's just a continuous reverb and then the next bells play and you've still got the previous bell from three notes before sounding that's a completely different chord to what's being played. It's annoying. If they'd have taken the reverb off, it would have been a darn sight better.
00:54:07
Speaker
Yep. And may I add just one small bit more from this blog. I love this. The writer wrote, I have little background information on Gunter or his singers and ringers. Gunter is retired and still living in Berlin. Now I'm not sure when this was written, so that may or may not be true. I have, however, submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the Department of Defense to attempt to confirm the rumor that the Army experimented with Gunter's version of Lollipop and Roses as an interrogation tool back in the 1960s. I can think of some other songs that we're going to come up to in the 1980s and 90s, but that it would be very good for that purpose. The Birdie song, for instance, when you get to that, you'll know what I mean.
00:54:53
Speaker
At number 46, March of the Mods by the Jolas Orchestra is back in the charts for another week. At number 47, the Lancastrians with a cover of Will Sing in the Sunshine, a Gail Garnett song. It was produced by Shell Talmy. It's a decent cover. we We all pretty much know the Gail Garnett version. This one doesn't add anything to it and the harmony vocals seem a little bit flat to me. It's not terrible, but I see no reason to listen to this record.
00:55:22
Speaker
Agree with you once again Ed, I like the original version better. I think the lead singer here doesn't emote as much as Gail Garnett did and I like the original arrangement better, particularly with the harmonica. The acoustic guitar has more of a free spirit kind of feel, which is what the song is about, being a free spirit. Yeah, there's really no reason to listen to this version. Three for three.
00:55:46
Speaker
laid-back background. um The vocals are trying to get the song across but really a forgettable performance that's not necessary. when our year has
00:56:15
Speaker
We loved every day We sang in the sunshine Since you went away
00:56:33
Speaker
At number 49, Chalk Ice by The Long and The Short. This is not a great song. Driving Beat, it's decent, but the guitar's not good and the vocal's not good. It's nothing too distinctive. It's a cover of the Lulu version, which is in a film, which we will talk about once we finish talking about this song. The Lulu version is marginally better. This one was really only so-so. We spoke of George reviewing this in his blind date.
00:57:02
Speaker
And if you'll remember, what he said was that it was an awful song. Now, this is kind of ironic because there is more than a little few connections between this and Savory Truffle. Mm hmm. Interesting.
00:57:44
Speaker
This was produced by Mike Weander, only reached this slot, number 49, and they would break up not long after this. You know, I feel like this was their attempt at a dance song. Backing is okay, particularly the dance beat, drums, and rhythm guitar, but that's about it. Other than that, I just found it kind of like what George said. I thought George kind of nailed it, just kind of all over the place, silly, annoying, and nothing distinctive about it.
00:58:17
Speaker
Yep, the only distinctive thing to me is it's similar to Savoy Truffle. Strangely enough, did you know that the band were originally called the Ringo Rhythm 4? Yeah, I think we talked about that. Before the Beatles, that was as well. How weird is that? Probably another Johnny Ringo reference. Then they changed the name to Les Ringos, trying to avoid Link to the Ringo Star of the Beatles. And then eventually became The Long and the Short, so to get my pun in here, that's The Long and the Short of it.
00:58:46
Speaker
Ah, I see what you did. So for those who wonder, a chocolate ice or a chalk ice is what we in the States refer to as a Klondike bar. Is it? Oh, really? Okay. Vanilla ice cream with basically a hard chocolate coating, sort of an Eskimo pie, but not on a stick. Well, that's what a Klondike is. All right. Thank you very much.
00:59:10
Speaker
So we mentioned this back when we covered the Lulu version, but we got to talk about this film again. You know, we've talked about some of these ah pop star films where we're going to throw as many acts as possible in there. This song was by Lulu and the lovers and was the theme to a film called Gonks Go Beat, a 1964 British science fiction musical fantasy film that is loosely based on Romeo and
Review of 'Gonks Go Beat' Film
00:59:40
Speaker
Juliet. but perfect story to make a science fiction film about. I need to watch that. o It features 16 musical numbers performed by artists, including Lulu and the Lovers, the Nashville Teens, the Graham Bond organization, including Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce, and Dick Hextal Smith, and The Long and the Short. The Long and the Short do a different song, but they learned it from Lulu when they were filming.
01:00:08
Speaker
This. and So the film's title highlights the fad for Gonk toys in mid-1960s Britain. The Gonks appear in the opening title credits as Lulu sings Chalk Ice. So what's a Gonk? I guess Gonks are like troll dolls or something. So the plot. At a point in the distant future, the inhabitants of planet Earth have become divided into two factions who despise each other.
01:00:31
Speaker
kind of like the moths and the rockers. yeah In Beatland, we have the hip and trendy people who have long hair, dress in polo jumpers, jeans and sunglasses, and listen to cool beat music. Their counterparts on Ballad Isle keep their hair short and wear tidy button-down shirts and press slacks, floral dresses, or twin sets, and listen exclusively to crooners.
01:00:55
Speaker
A musical competition is staged annually between the two sides, overseen by the neutral and powerful record company executive, Mr. A and&R. who i think mr mccartten has watched this For the rest of the year, they regard each other with suspicion and antipathy, although they are not above sneaking into each other's territory to steal musical ideas. Meanwhile, the overlords of a far-flung galaxy have been observing these squabblings and goings-on on planet Earth with it increasing exasperation. Finally, their patience with the Earthlings is pushed beyond its limits, and they decide to send their bungling representative
01:01:35
Speaker
Wilco Roger to sort the situation out and bring about a reconciliation between the parties with the warning that if he fails he'll be exiled to Planet Gonk, a fearsome and dreaded place where spherical furry soft toys shuffle around all day listening to nothing but Dixieland jazz. So the plot continues from there.
01:01:57
Speaker
On arrival, Wilco Roger makes contact with Mr. A and&R. They're aware of a forbidden romance between a Beatland boy and a Ballad Isle girl and use a combination of Mr. A&R's cunning and Wilco Roger's mystical powers to enable the couple to get together without fear and come up with a musical composition which will be acceptable to both sides. The time for the annual competition comes around and the inhabitants are appalled when the Beatland boy and the Ballad Island girl take the stage together.
01:02:27
Speaker
However, their song takes two to make love. It turns out to be the hit of the night, loved by both sides. And Mr. A&R declares it the unquestioned winner and orders an end to the silliness as it has now been proved that everyone can live together and learn to appreciate all types of music.
01:03:21
Speaker
Peace and love, peace and love, everyone. Yeah, they like all kinds of music, country and western. So, okay. I don't know quite what we can say about this film, but that is why we have the song Chalk Ice. Got it. Indirectly, that is why we have Savoy Truffle. Interesting. o But, you know, Marv and I, we have to talk science fiction and, well, I don't know exactly how much science fiction this is. This is another one that we actually need to review for the Patreon, and I think. Mm-hmm. Okay.
01:03:55
Speaker
That takes us out of the British side for 1964.
Conclusion and Anticipation for 1965
01:04:01
Speaker
1965 is just around the corner on the British side, but we do have the American to finish up with. So two more sides, which will get us through an unquestionably large number of songs on the American side. All right. We'll see you then.
01:04:19
Speaker
Merry Christmas, and for those who don't, celebrate it. Happy Hanukkah. We're simply having a wonderful Christmas time. War is over, for everybody. War is over if you want it. yeah That's right. him Peace and love. Peace and love. Okay. No, not for that. All right. Good enough. Talk to you soon. Take care.
01:04:58
Speaker
There was a piece in the NME, a news piece, that said that Top Rank Records, remember when Top Rank had a record label? and They introduced an LP series next week that will be called Toppermost, and it's coinciding with their current advertising slogan, Toppermost of the Poppermost. Yes, they thought, they got it from somewhere. They saw that, they must have seen that in either the NME or record mirror or disc.
01:05:24
Speaker
record in show mirror as it was then and they've taken it from there they've obviously thought how stupid that is how stupid is it's one of those phrases that someone an older person who doesn't understand teenagers comes up with a slogan that they think is going to be the hip slogan of the month topper most of the popper most