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May 1965 (side B)
128 Plays6 days ago
Engine Engine Number Nine! Supremes, Roger Miller and Trini eight days a week (no, that's out of the charts), YES IT IS! (yep, that one's here). Support this podcast at the $6/month level on patreon to get extra content! Create your podcast today! #madeonzencastr
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Transcript
The Beatles' Early Resilience
00:00:01
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.
00:00:20
Speaker
i say, where are we going, fellas? And they'd go, to the top, Johnny. And I'd say, where's that, fellas? And they'd say, to the top-a-most, to the pop-a-most. say, right. And we'd all sort of cheer up.
00:00:32
Speaker
Where are we going, Johnny? Straight to the top, boys. Oh, yeah? Where's that? The toppermost of the poppermost.
Introduction to 'Toppermost of the Poppermost for May'
00:01:00
Speaker
Welcome to toppermost of the poppermost for May. This is Side B. We're going into the American charts, the Billboard charts. I'm Ed Chan. I'm Kit O'Toole.
00:01:11
Speaker
And I'm Martin Quibble. We've got quite a selection this month. We'll leave it there until we get into it. Some bangers and not so much. Some odds and quite a few sods.
Chart-Topping Hits of Early May 1965
00:01:26
Speaker
We start with the week which ended May the 1st. At number one is Harmit's Harmit's Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter. Your favorite. Nuff said. Yeah, at least they're not going the way of Shirley Ellis and doing the next song about somebody's father and then the mother and then you know the brother and all these different variations.
00:01:47
Speaker
Exactly. At number 18 is Ticket to Ride by The Beatles. Yay! ya Ticket to Ride.
00:02:07
Speaker
I think I'm gonna be sad, I think it's a day, yeah The girl that's driving me mad is going away She's got a ticket to ride, she's got a ticket to ride At number 66, You Were Made to Me by Freddie and the Dreamers, which we covered on the UK side.
The Supremes and Their Chart Journey
00:02:36
Speaker
At number 68, Back in My Arms Again by The Supremes. There seems to be a lot of different opinions on this song. What do I think? It's not the best Supremes record, but it is entertaining and and and it's a good listen.
00:02:49
Speaker
I like the sax and drums. The piano I like a little bit less so, but it isn't bad or off-putting. There's a lot about this song that's great, although they do seem to be repeating themselves more than a little bit. Maybe some of that Martha Reeves syndrome.
00:03:05
Speaker
Those woos, are those Beatles reference, do you think? It's possible. I didn't really think about that. That's true. I can't think of any other place they might have come from.
00:03:16
Speaker
If they are, it's amazing how long ago that seems relative to where we are. I mean, that was only a year, 18 months ago, and they're referencing something which is just a world away from Ticket to Ride.
00:03:30
Speaker
Wow. I'll call it a moderate hit.
00:03:39
Speaker
I got him back in my arms
00:04:05
Speaker
I've always liked this one. I wouldn't rate it as highly as You Keep Me Hanging On or some of the others. But I like it. I like Diana Ross's vocal on this. It's a little sassier. Cheerful is how I would put it. Except how she calls out Mary and Flo. You told me he was no good for me. or yeah I'm just paraphrasing here.
00:04:25
Speaker
But back in my arms again, I'm satisfied. You know, there's a little bit of, hu I'm not listening to anybody. I do like her vocal in this. The arrangement is really intricate. As I was listening to this again, I thought, boy, you know, I've heard this song a number of times, but you pick out things.
00:04:42
Speaker
You know little parts, whether it's the percussion, whether it's, you know, piano. It's really interestingly arranged song. And I was also thinking Holland Dozier Holland, of course, this is, they wrote and produced this.
00:04:55
Speaker
I think they would borrow from this melody when writing this old heart of mine for the Isley Brothers later on. You can hear it a little bit. But overall, I
Motown's Marketing Strategy for The Supremes
00:05:05
Speaker
like it. It's a great Diana vocal, sophisticated arrangement.
00:05:09
Speaker
Maybe not quite on the level as the top ones that I'll stop name love and that kind of thing, but very good. I had completely forgotten about this song. I don't know why.
00:05:20
Speaker
I thought it was a bit of a cut and paste. One little section reminded me about the previous hit, Come See About Me. It sung really well. Diana's vocal is more...
00:05:31
Speaker
pronounced where before they've used the almost sultry Diana. This time it's the strong Diana and I'm this and I'm that sort of Diana voice. So that's cool about it. The musicians do a good job, but to me it's sort of middle tier Motown.
00:05:47
Speaker
And we have both a cash box review and the review from our friends over at Motown Junkies. What Motown Junkies says is, Motown, mindful of the need to market all three Supremes to a new audience already conditioned by Beatlemania to pick their favorite,
00:06:04
Speaker
And indeed, you look at the picture sleeve to the single, which then became the picture on the album cover. It's very much pictures of each of the three of them and the signatures. And it's like, here are the three Supremes. Know them. Love them.
00:06:19
Speaker
Yep.
00:06:22
Speaker
Holland Dozier Holland have Diana Ross break the fourth wall, mentioning the other two Supremes by name as the friends whose unwanted advice mess things up. Well, they're with her right there in the room.
00:06:34
Speaker
And there's the rub, I suppose. While it's good, I'd find it exceedingly hard to argue against this being the weakest Motown number one we've seen, fingertips being much less of a song, but compensating us with a demented glee that never makes its way into Back in My Arms again.
00:06:50
Speaker
Seven out of ten, they give it. I might go just a notch higher to an eight. Yep, me too. I agree.
Predictions and Reviews of Popular Songs
00:06:57
Speaker
Eight. Okay. Marv? So Cashbox says the Supremes are destined to make it five top tenners in a row.
00:07:05
Speaker
Hey, they're getting the talk out of their top tenners. Different type of tenner, by the way, not the Pavarotti. That's right. is in the number ten. Right. Top tenners, yes, in a row. They're still clicking with Stop In The Name Of Love with this new Motown release.
00:07:22
Speaker
The plug side here, back in my arms again, is a rollicking pop R&B romancer about a lucky lass, lucky lass, oh my lord, who gets back with her boyfriend after quite a hiatus.
00:07:39
Speaker
The flip Whisper You Love Me Boy. Oh, I wish have listened that. don't remember that song, to be honest with you. I don't remember that. No. Mm-mm. But a lucky lass she is. Lucky lass.
00:07:51
Speaker
I'm surprised they didn't reword it slightly and put a lucky lass who gets back with her bow. That would have worked. That's right. That would have worked. hu at number 71, Yes It Is by the Beatles.
00:08:05
Speaker
Five. That's in between the verses instead of going straight on to da-da-da-da-da-da-da. It's true. Yes, it is.
00:08:21
Speaker
You bet she'll be the handsome. At number 84, 3 o'clock in the morning by Burt Camfert and his orchestra. Well... I like the drums. I like the Foxtrot trumpet solo. Fred Mock sure can play.
00:08:35
Speaker
Otherwise, I'm just not into it. Hi, meh. The best part, I thought, was the trumpet instrumental break. And then the drums and bursts of the horns.
00:08:46
Speaker
The second part, it's like, okay, it's swinging a little bit more here, but boy, it was slow to get there. Very slow. Music
00:09:17
Speaker
but a meh for me as well yeah nice melody with that trumpet in that bit good bass and drums everything else is just wrong if all the other instruments were replaced with a big band style instruments then it would probably be a bit better but it isn't so it's not i love it it's just wrong i love that would you even go to meh or is this a miss for you marv a I don't know.
00:09:44
Speaker
It's between a miss and a meh. Okay. A mehs. You'll go with low meh and I might go with medium meh, but maybe even high, but medium is probably about where I feel.
00:09:56
Speaker
her Yeah. Lower than mehs. At number 88, Wishing It Was You by Connie Francis. The church bells and the backing are cliche. Is that intentional? What do you think?
00:10:07
Speaker
It could be, although it seems to be waning by now, the whole going to the chapel stuff. We've had those as late as beginning of 65 here.
00:10:18
Speaker
True. Connie Francis gives a great vocal performance yeah with an appropriate bit of melancholy. But the song, the record falls apart at the organ solo on that talkie bit.
00:10:30
Speaker
Then there's a whole minute afterwards, which just repeats the first minute of the record. Had they excised that, it might have been a low hit. As it is, it's, it's meh to meh be Jaime.
00:10:44
Speaker
yeah Yeah, I would say low to middle meh for me. it's As we just mentioned, a twist on the going to the chapel kind of song, but she's marrying the wrong guy and thinking somebody else.
00:10:58
Speaker
Otherwise, pretty standard ballad. And just remember when I say I do In my heart I'll be wishing it was you
00:11:25
Speaker
And you listened when they said I lie. Yeah, that spoken section in the middle was unfortunate. I did not care for that.
00:11:37
Speaker
Very sappy string arrangement, which at least partially was due to, she was married to her music producer at the time, Bob Johnston, so I'm not sure if he's responsible for those strings.
00:11:49
Speaker
You know, she sings this fine. It's a decent vocal, but it's just not a strong song. That's a meh for me. This is a Bob Johnston production? I think so.
00:12:01
Speaker
The guy that worked with Dylan? Mm-hmm, yep. Okay. Right. Connie's voice is so much mut better than the music that's behind it.
00:12:12
Speaker
And it's made worse by an organ that sounds like it's been pulled straight out of a funeral parlour. True. After the first minute and a half, which is okay if the music had been better, this song drags more than the dog that was stuck at the back of the car in National Lampoon's Vacation.
00:12:36
Speaker
Ooh. Wow.
00:12:40
Speaker
Yikes. Again, we all agree it might have been a better record if they'd cut it off at that talky bit. As is, it's just too long and just not very good.
00:12:50
Speaker
Exactly. Yeah. like Except for the vocal. I think we all like the vocal. I like your vocal a lot, yeah. At number 91, Good Lovin' by The Olympics. Now this is the same Good Lovin' which would go on to become the Rascals hit, which we will see next year. This version, it's a bit more of a soul record than the pop soul that we get from The Rascals.
00:13:12
Speaker
The tempo here is a bit slower. A really nice lead vocal. I love the piano. The horns are good, but they do lean toward that La Bamba thing. Yes. The end is maybe just a bit busy.
00:13:25
Speaker
A low to moderate hit. It's fascinating to hear this version. Now, this isn't the very first version. The first one was in March 1965 by an artist. I love this name. Lemmy B. Good. Yes.
00:13:40
Speaker
Lemmy Snell is the gentleman's real name. Right. And then the following month, there was this version recorded with different lyrics. I definitely like the Rascals version better. It's a good lead vocal, but it doesn't quite have the same energy as the Young Rascals version. I would have preferred for the solo, maybe a guitar solo.
00:14:01
Speaker
Just something a little bluesier, edgier, something. Those horns... in the middle. I agree, it's that La Bamba kind of thing. It's the Latin trend that was big at the time, and I just don't think it added anything to the song. So, it's okay, but I have to go with the Rascals version as my favorite. Low hit or meh?
00:14:23
Speaker
Uh, I'd say maybe, maybe low hit. Okay. Again, we're on the same page. All I need is love and love. Good, good,
00:15:06
Speaker
I actually watched a video of the Olympics performing this, and it's got organ on it instead of piano. That is better. That's interesting. I mean, an organ, that's what was on the Rascals version.
00:15:18
Speaker
Yeah.
00:15:44
Speaker
That organ solo is out of sight. I'll have to listen to that version. So it's better than the record. Like you said, i like it. I love his voice. Well, love their vocals.
00:15:55
Speaker
And boy, do I wish I had their hair. Lower hair? Yeah, sure. So we will mention the original version of this tune, which was written by Rudy Clark.
00:16:06
Speaker
Lemmy Be Good recorded the Rudy Clark version of this tune, which didn't quite satisfy Rudy. So he went off and rewrote the song with Artie Resnick.
00:16:18
Speaker
As you mentioned, some of the lyrics changed. And a bit of the tune changed. The break certainly changed. And so that was the version that the Olympics recorded. They were working on it. And this was a song in transition.
00:16:31
Speaker
The Rascals version would be the end product of that transition. Oh boy, we're going to have some fun with this next one. We're going to have some fun tonight. At number 92, our friend Jewel Aiken from Houston.
00:16:44
Speaker
And I'm the only one who liked his previous hit, The Birds and the Bees. But I don't like this one. It's a song called Georgie Porgy. ah You know things are going wrong because it starts with the exact opening of Birds and the Bees.
00:16:59
Speaker
going have
00:17:18
Speaker
Then the lyrics go dark real quick when you're expecting. He had that nice child-like song, and with a name like Georgie Porgy, oh, it's got to be the Georgie Porgy Porden Pie nursery rhyme.
00:17:32
Speaker
Nope. no He's very much subverting that theme. Very quickly, please put down that gun. Give me one last chance to run.
00:17:43
Speaker
Oh boy. Yeah. It's not a good record, but I do find it kind of interesting. Maybe Jewel is commenting on what he thought about birds and the bees with this record.
00:17:57
Speaker
Shoot the writer.
00:18:01
Speaker
Same writer, but... Yeah, same writer. Yeah, um wow. I know this is a family show, but this is one of those WTF songs. I mean, I was fully expecting Georgie Porgie, Puttin' And as you just said, Ed, wow, it goes in a different direction. When it starts saying, please put down that gun, I just thought, whoa, okay, we're not in that nursery rhyme anymore.
00:18:26
Speaker
It's also just musically a retread of the birds and the bees. I mean, you could sing the lyrics. ah that to this song it's all big old miss for me Right. I'm not going to say the word outright, but I listened to this and I wrote on my notes, good grief, that was grit.
00:18:48
Speaker
And I did not put grit. Gotcha. Bland, cliched, and tolerable. It's not the worst record this month, though.
00:18:58
Speaker
No, but it's close. No. This could be the worst month this year for some clangers that we've had. Yes. Again, i will give it a little bit more. I will go with a medium miss, and you're just putting it at the bottom. Okay.
00:19:13
Speaker
Yep. Yep. At number 93, it's a better song than the last one, but it's not a great song. Gotta Have Your Love by The Sapphires. A bit of Northern Soul, but it's only slightly interesting.
00:19:27
Speaker
Girl group sound, nothing unique there. It's a good beat, but I don't care for the singer. I don't like the lead or the backing. The instrumentation is just mediocre. of Pretty low meh for me. Yeah.
00:19:53
Speaker
Like a man turning my feet to toe
00:20:01
Speaker
It definitely has a Motown-like sound, particularly in the percussion. I liked parts of the track. There were some unusual chord changes there. I agree. I think this could have been better with a stronger lead singer. I apologize to Sapphire's fans out there, but I just think maybe a stronger voice would have helped.
00:20:20
Speaker
Don't love the muddy mix on this as well. And just a meh for me. But interestingly, this song was co-written by Jack Keller, who would go on to write for the monkeys early morning blues and greens.
00:20:35
Speaker
So we went in and, uh, and Donnie said, well, you got to take somebody who's had some experience with you. So the first sessions, uh, he put Jack Keller with us and, uh, the late, great Jack Keller, cause he'd had some, not only written a ton hits, but had some studio experience as a producer.
00:20:51
Speaker
So we did, uh, the first tracks, uh, with Jack and then eventually it was just Boyce and Heart producing the monkey stuff.
00:21:02
Speaker
My steaming coffee warms my face I'm disappointed in the taste You can't begrudge her style you're anti-Griselda She couldn't budge a smile and do it for fun
00:21:24
Speaker
Very different sounding than this. It's not a good mix, for sure. There's a few bits in this that could be really good hooks, but it's wasted in a lot of ways, and it it just needed a really good cleanup and a rewrite, in my opinion.
00:21:40
Speaker
I agree. There were elements of this that I liked, yeah but not enough to make it a hit. but Yeah, it would have taken a lot for it to get to even a low hit for me.
00:21:51
Speaker
Mm-hmm. Me too. Okay, at number 94, Sad Tomorrows by our friend Trini. Trini Lopez. This is a more intense lead vocal from Trini.
00:22:04
Speaker
It's almost like he's trying to imitate Sinatra. The horns are only okay. The strings are syrupy. I give it a low meh. I don't want
00:22:17
Speaker
no sad tomorrows.
00:22:49
Speaker
The last 40 seconds of Please Go Away is just way too much. And Marv, go ahead, give us your pun. What, you want me to say, yes, please go away? Yeah, yeah close enough.
00:23:06
Speaker
Please go away.
00:23:10
Speaker
End it today.
00:23:19
Speaker
Hear what I say.
00:23:23
Speaker
Please go away. Yeah, that repeating, please go away, that was really odd. Odd way to end it. The huge drum sound in the chorus sounds a bit Phil Spector-ish, like they're trying sort of to do a wall of sound here, but overranged with those strings.
00:23:41
Speaker
Holy cow. Overly dramatic. I actually thought that Trini's voice on this It sounded okay. It's not a bad croony kind of lead vocal. But it's very different than what we expect from Trini. He's actually not enunciating every word here.
00:23:57
Speaker
Exactly. And I like that change. He's grown. He's grown, exactly. But it's just not a particularly memorable song. Doesn't have a hook that you're going to be singing after this. So while I like Trini's voice on this, the rest of it's a meh.
00:24:14
Speaker
Trini may have grown as a singer, but unfortunately it's on a song that makes you groan. Please go away. Yes, please. Please away. Please go away and give us another song that's good.
00:24:26
Speaker
So at number 96, Concrete and Clay by Unit 4 Plus 2. This is the U.S. debut. We talked about it on the British side. marv liked it kit and i a little bit less so yeah but we did find out exactly why they used that name the band was unit four then they added two guys and just didn't want to change much about the name of the band so that is why they became unit four plus two oh that's too funny cool At number 97, another song which we covered on the UK side and which we like a lot more. In the meantime, by Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames.
00:25:06
Speaker
At number 98, a second version of Concrete and Clay, this time by Eddie Rambeau. This was recorded for Bob Crew Productions. You can tell.
00:25:18
Speaker
Bob Crew of Four Seasons fame. Bob.
00:25:29
Speaker
The guitar is nice, otherwise this is a less interesting copy of the Unit 4 plus 2 version with a less interesting slightly Frankie Valli-like vocal.
00:25:40
Speaker
Hi miss. guitar is nice otherwise this is a less interesting copy of the unit four plus two version with a less interesting slightly pranky value like vocal hyus I maybe would give this a low meh only because I like the acoustic guitar solo. There's some nice finger picking on there.
00:26:02
Speaker
And I kind of like the Latin feel to it, but it's nothing remarkable. I mean, it's not enough that I would say, oh, this is a hit. But there were just some elements of it that maybe were slightly different than the original.
00:26:16
Speaker
And apparently, Bob Crew brought this song back from visit to the UK and Rambo really liked it and interestingly his cover version came out about a week before the original but yeah I would say this is a decent cover but nothing remarkable so a meh for me yeah I'll just say it's meh from me as well At number 99, Voodoo Woman by Bobby Goldsboro.
00:26:43
Speaker
Good guitar. The drums are just banging and clanging and are just incessant. Mediocre lead vocal from Bobby, although it does improve during the course of the record.
00:26:54
Speaker
I do like the chorus. I like that you're a voodoo woman. Well, I like it more than the rest of the track, which isn't saying that much.
00:27:20
Speaker
It's got a lot of pieces, some of which are pretty good, but together they don't work. It's not a good record. Hi, miss. Yep, I agree. I hate that eight beat drum break practically between every
00:27:42
Speaker
Is that Pete Best playing that? Yeah, right. a o Oh, no. We love you, Pete. Happy retirement, Pete. Happy retirement, exactly.
00:27:53
Speaker
And then that frantically played harmonica comes out of nowhere.
00:28:14
Speaker
They're trying to sound bluesy and gritty, and wow, does that not work. It just sounds so inauthentic. And then the cliched lyrics, you make a weeping willow tree forget to cry.
00:28:28
Speaker
that one really stood out for me. I just thought, oh gosh, that's not a great line. was written by Bobby Goldsboro, so I would give it high miss. Yep. Doesn't blow my socks It's just a song that's a song.
00:28:42
Speaker
Well done.
00:28:45
Speaker
At number 100, He Ain't No Angel by the AdLibs. This is the return of the AdLibs, the boy from New York City band. It's a good track. There's a bit of Sesame Street, not just in the beginning, but throughout the whole melody.
00:29:00
Speaker
A great lead vocal, but the backing vocals don't quite work as well. The horns are okay. I like the piano. For some odd reason, I really like that I love you girl shout out at the fade. It's almost like Michael Jackson or something.
00:29:15
Speaker
Look over to your shoulder.
00:29:46
Speaker
Low hit, but it is a good song. Unlike the Goldsboro track, the pieces all work, and it's really only time and money that stop this from being a great record. Wow, you liked it a little more than I did. i don't think it's nearly as good as Boy From New York City. I would agree with that. But it is performed well by the group. But I didn't love the arrangement of this. But interestingly, now that I say that, it was arranged by Artie Butler, who would go on to arrange and play piano and Joe Cocker's Feeling All Right.
00:30:19
Speaker
That's a banger. Tollbanger. And yeah, I do like the piano on this. Written by Greenwich and Barry. Yeah, I mean, it's okay. It's not Boy From New York City. But there were some elements of this that I liked. You might go high, mare. You may even go a low hit if you're being generous. Yeah. Chord progression, so prominent that you've heard it in maybe few hundred songs before.
00:30:40
Speaker
Low hit, maybe a meh, maybe a meh hiss. I didn't think much to it, really. No, I agree. So we move on to the second week of May 1965, the week ending May the 8th. At number one is still Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter by Herman's Hermits.
00:30:59
Speaker
At number three is Ticket to Ride by The Beatles.
00:31:21
Speaker
At number 57 It Is by
00:31:50
Speaker
At number 73 is Last Chance to Turn Around by Gene Pitney. Well, we know what to expect when we get Gene Pitney. I'm leaving now for parts unknown.
00:32:03
Speaker
I saw it.
00:32:27
Speaker
It's not a great tune, but it is in Gene Pitney's wheelhouse. It's not good enough for anyone else to get something releasable from it, but Gene Pitney did. Well, now we know where Tom Petty got the classic I won't back down idea from.
00:32:43
Speaker
getting out of town. I won't back down. I won't back down.
00:33:01
Speaker
The song is not brilliant. The lyrics are not brilliant. But I do like the rhyme scheme. Last night I caught that girl lying, trying to deceive me. And now all of these tears, she's crying.
00:33:14
Speaker
I'm not buying, but you better believe me. Oh, well, well wait, wait, wait a minute. I'm getting ah sudden news break here. Over to Marv, who's going to tell us ah something about what's going on with Horngate. Tell us, Marv, what's going on.
00:33:37
Speaker
Breaking news. The police are at the doors waiting to be given the the go-ahead to break into the recording studio. And after all these years of being stuck in that recording studio, chained up to do all these records with the mariachi horns, they're going to be set free.
00:33:59
Speaker
Horn gate. After their previous appearance this month, I think they're ready for a good long break. Mm-hmm. Yes. All right. Back to topper most kit. Yeah. I thought particularly with the horns and the tempo, it sounded a bit like Jay, the Americans come a little bit closer to me. Just just a little bit.
00:34:19
Speaker
It's just interesting. These songwriters are picking up on these hits and like, okay, so what makes this a hit? Okay, the horns. Let's put in those Latin horns. Yeah. Or the tempo or whatever it is.
00:34:31
Speaker
So you can tell these songwriters listen to what's on the charts and try to emulate it. But otherwise, i just felt like the song didn't do Gene any favors in terms of showing off his voice.
00:34:43
Speaker
just didn't let him do what he does and really belt. However, interestingly, this song was written by Gary Sherman, who would go on to arrange and play keyboards on Brown Eyed Girl.
00:34:56
Speaker
But this is definitely not on the level of Brown Eyed Girl. i was going to say, you keep mentioning songs that are a lot better kit than the songs that they're being mentioned in.
00:35:06
Speaker
Yes, exactly. It's the return of the Mariachi Orns again. I can barely hear the music for the vocals. The drums are decent when you can hear them.
00:35:18
Speaker
And then towards the end, he talks about the last exit to Brooklyn. Please just take the exit and leave. I did find something interesting out about the meaning of last exit to Brooklyn.
00:35:32
Speaker
Last exit to Brooklyn was a 1964 novel by author Hubert Selby Jr., The novel takes a harsh, uncompromising look at lower-class Brooklyn in the 1950s, and, well, it was a hit at the time, so that is almost certainly what is being referenced.
00:35:50
Speaker
Interesting. The book sounds more interesting than the song. Yes. Was there a movie made of that? Yes. Yeah. 1989 drama film. I thought so. There you go. last Last Exit to Brooklyn was adapted into a drama film in 1985.
00:36:07
Speaker
So and I don't remember that movie, but you do. So I just remember that title. I never saw it at number 76 L O N E L Y spelled out just like that by Bobby Vinton. Shmoo velvet.
00:36:23
Speaker
Do you think he was trying to cash in on Mr. Lonely? Probably. ah That's hilarious. This is going behind the scenes, right? So I use Amazon to listen to songs when I'm at home for this, right?
00:36:38
Speaker
So I said to Amazon to play Lonely, and it played Mr. Lonely instead. And I had to enunciate the L-O-N-E-L-Y for it to play the song that I wanted it to.
00:36:51
Speaker
Oh, that's funny. So as to this track, awful backing vocals. Bobby's lead is just syrup.
00:37:27
Speaker
The lyrics are dreadful and the worst of the lazy songwriting where you just go, letter one is for words starting with letter one. Missed. Yep, it's a sappy ballad, fortunately written by Bobby Vinton.
00:37:42
Speaker
I mean, his voice is fine, but it's just a sappy ballad. To me, it sounded like this was more from 1955 than It just had a dated kind of sound to it.
00:37:55
Speaker
Miss for me. His voice is great, but the song is sad, depressing, and I'm so glad there were no sharp objects around while I was listening to it.
00:38:06
Speaker
If this was a cake on Bake Off, then Paul Hollywood would say that it's been overbaked. Now, Kit, you want to read the Cashbox review for us? Although, before we do, what we're going to learn is that Bobby Vinton's last single was Long Lonely Nights.
00:38:23
Speaker
So this is his third Lonely Song. The man was very lonely. All right. Go ahead and read what is likely a paid-for review. Exactly. Bobby Vinton's outrageously successful money-making ways.
00:38:38
Speaker
He had long lonely nights last time out. should be still further enhanced on this basis of this top drawer epic newy titled L-O-N-E-L-Y.
00:38:51
Speaker
The tune is a lyrical, slow-moving, heartfelt tearjerker, boy, that's a lot of adjectives there, on which the chander plaintively offers six reasons for his unhappiness.
00:39:04
Speaker
Six reasons based on these six letters in the word lonely. ah so cleverver So we had Georgie Porgie earlier. Now at number 78, we have Engine Engine number nine by Roger Miller.
00:39:19
Speaker
Now it's not quite as dark as Georgie Porgie, but Roger Miller is also rewriting a children's nursery rhyme. Engine Engine number nine going down Chicago line. Ding, ding, ding.
00:39:32
Speaker
ah If the train goes off the track, do you want your money back? Not the lyrics of the song, but the lyrics of the nursery rhyme. The tune, it's not bad, but it is fairly ordinary.
00:39:44
Speaker
It could have done with a harmonica and a stronger train rhythm. You know, there's a bit of that there, but not nearly enough. Performed, recorded, and sung sufficiently well, but nothing stands out, and the lyrics are missing both the humor and wordplay we've come to expect from Roger Miller. Meh. You're going to be shocked here because I like this more than I care to admit.
00:40:06
Speaker
right I'm a little embarrassed to say that I kind of liked it. I liked Roger Miller's vocal on this. Nice chord changes. has a music hall kind of appeal. little bit of a sing-along.
00:40:18
Speaker
Nice melody and memorable guitar riff. Not on a level of King of the Road. Let me make that crystal clear. But I found myself tapping my foot to this. Ninja, ninja, number nine.
00:40:40
Speaker
I don't know if we have a lot of hip-hop fans listening, but that line, the engine, engine, number nine, you that was quoted in a famous song by Black Sheep, which I think was late 80s, early 90s, called The Choice is Yours.
00:40:56
Speaker
Remember that? Engine, engine, number nine. Yes. Off the track, pick it up, pick it up, pick it up. See, that's what my rap. That's a hip-hop classic. of Fat. Engine, engine, number nine.
00:41:29
Speaker
I don't know if it's from this, but yeah, it's a classic. so But that's just an aside. I'd say low hit for me. Low to middle. Marv. Novelty country song by Roger Miller. If it was done by the Muppets or similar, then I'd probably like it.
00:41:46
Speaker
More than I do. Low hit. You both like it a little bit more than I do. Kit likes it the most, it sounds like. I mean, I don't dislike it, but I just won't go any higher than a medium to maybe high, meh.
00:41:59
Speaker
It's a little bit of a guilty pleasure for me. I will say if I bought it as a single, i would want my money back. all And we've got a Cashbox review here, Marv.
00:42:11
Speaker
So Cashbox says, Roger Miller's outrageously successful twin market ways is currently coming off King of the Road. Should be further enhanced by his blue ribbon new release tabbed Engine Engine number nine.
00:42:28
Speaker
The side is a rhythmic, medium-paced, country-ish romancer. Is it? Romance? Okay. Which interestingly changes its beat and pace.
00:42:41
Speaker
Watch it skyrocket. Well, hope not because it's supposed to be a train, not not a rocket. But so the last word in lonesome is me. is a tender, slow-moving tale of heartbreak sold with loads of authority and polish by the Chanter.
00:42:59
Speaker
Here's another Chanter. Well, where they use Chanter a lot, and Roger Miller is doing a lonesome song. You think that Bobby Venton's going to sue him?
00:43:11
Speaker
ah Maybe. And I think this is a good time to announce ah a new feature of our show, which is Kit Wraps. And I will be wrapping any samples that I hear in these songs.
00:43:24
Speaker
I know you'll be excited. Yep. I'm looking forward to that. There you go. At number 87, You Can Have Her by The Righteous Brothers.
00:43:35
Speaker
A good vocal from both Medley and Hatfield, but the backing vocals add nothing. The guitar is not great. The song is much better served by going up-tempo.
00:43:46
Speaker
The gospel-like feel of the original by Roy Hamilton is much better. This one is meh. Yeah, I agree. They show off their Blue-Eyed Soul credentials here, for sure, in their vocals, but it's just so overproduced with the backing singers, the overdone drum sections. I like the twangy guitar, but I just think this could have been a lot better with leaner production.
00:44:08
Speaker
Also, maybe some work on the lyrics as well. I thought they were pretty repetitive, but particularly that title phrase. That got on my nerves after a while.
00:44:23
Speaker
Too much repeating of that phrase.
00:44:35
Speaker
too much repeating of that phrase
00:45:05
Speaker
It's okay. I mean, the the Righteous Brothers voice has saved this from... being a mess. Bill and Bobby are in great voice. Do not like the backing vocals on this one bit.
00:45:16
Speaker
yeah The instrumentation is a bit more audible than usual for one of their songs. At the beginning, I thought that the guitar had a almost dirty sound to it. So lower middling hit.
00:45:27
Speaker
The song was a hit single for Roy Hamilton in 1961 and then Sam Neely in 1974 and has been recorded by many other artists, including Jerry Lee Lewis, Charlie Rich, Waylon Jennings, Jim Ed Brown, and Elvis Presley, who performed an impromptu version at his Englewood Forum LA afternoon show on the 11th of May, 1974. And even for Fat Elvis, it's a good performance of the tune.
00:45:56
Speaker
Wow. I'm amazed that that many people covered just didn't think it was that great a song. I mean, that's interesting. At number 88, a special song for us.
00:46:07
Speaker
It is the cover that Paul McCartney has on more than one occasion said is his favorite Beatles cover of all time. Hmm.
00:46:18
Speaker
Now, he has also said that Yesterday by Smokey is his favorite. So there's at least two of them. Yes. But he hasn't said that many. This is And I Love Him by Esther Phillips.
00:46:31
Speaker
It's not quite a reimagining of the tune. but it definitely puts it into a very different context. The Beatles version is a young love song. It's the story of, oh, I'm falling in love with you and our love is going to last forever.
00:46:47
Speaker
The way Esther Phillips' is vocal is here, it almost feels like it's your parents singing it to each other now. It's like, oh, i know this love of mine will never die. And that hits very differently in her voice.
00:47:03
Speaker
The thing is, she was only 29 years old when she sang this song. Wow. Great vocal, nice tasteful backing. And as mentioned, In 2014, Paul McCartney was asked on Twitter which Beatles cover song was his favorite.
00:47:19
Speaker
His reply, i like this lovely 1965 soul cover by Esther Phillips. And later this year, we're going to do a feature on the music of Lennon and McCartney TV special. Esther Phillips appeared on that.
00:47:34
Speaker
John's introduction to Esther. The next person we've got on the show is somebody who's done the best version of our song ever. Well, that's what me and Paul think. Well, and George and Ringo too.
00:47:45
Speaker
And here she is, Miss Esther Phillips. I agree. It's a hit. Yep. This is the very definition of making a song your own. Bright are the stars that shine.
00:47:59
Speaker
Dark is the sky.
00:48:03
Speaker
I know this love of mine will never die. And
00:48:21
Speaker
Esther Phillips has almost a Billie Holiday quality to her voice. Makes it sound even more sophisticated than it already was, you know, in the Beatles version. i like that she kept the Latin flavor of the song, ah but adds that soul flavor as well and does some incredible runs, particularly on the eyes. You know you really feel her emotion when she's singing it.
00:48:48
Speaker
And
00:49:01
Speaker
Tastefully arranged, this is one case where the strings are absolutely right. They never overwhelm her. They're just adding to the overall mood and emotion of love of the song. It's a hit. I can understand why Paul likes this cover so much.
00:49:17
Speaker
Yeah, the instrumental backing stays behind the vocal so that the vocal is allowed to shine there. To me, a vocal was almost like an Arthur Kitts-style vocal.
00:49:28
Speaker
Another bit that I really liked about this is, you know, when she stops singing and then you just get the instrumentation, the backing then is allowed to come up a bit and you get more of that bossing over there with with everything working the way that it does.
00:49:42
Speaker
And then it pulls back again for her to sing again. And I really love the way that that's arranged to do that and nicely comes out just in time for her to shine with her vocal again. The arrangement, as I said, just enhances the mood of the song and cushions her voice.
00:49:58
Speaker
It never overwhelms us. Now, Esther Phillips led a bit of a tragic life. She was born in Galveston, Texas on December 23rd, 1935. If you don't know, Galveston is the port, which is basically about 50 miles outside of Houston.
00:50:15
Speaker
She spent her adolescence between her father in Houston and her mother in Watts, Los Angeles, after the two separated, a little bit like Billy Preston. While in Los Angeles, she was discovered by Johnny Otis, and Otis took her on the road under the name Little Esther.
00:50:36
Speaker
Not a good thing for a teenage girl. By the time she was 19... She was addicted to heroin. Almost like a Billie Holiday thing there. Yeah.
00:50:47
Speaker
So in 1954, to get off the junk, she returned to Houston to live with her father and recuperate. Short on money, she worked in small nightclubs around the South, punctuated by periodic hospital stays in Lexington, Kentucky, to treat her addiction.
00:51:03
Speaker
Oh, boy. In 1962, Kenny Rogers discovered her singing at a Houston nightclub and helped her get a contract with Lennox Records owned by his brother, Leland. Wow. And that would then lead to this record.
00:51:18
Speaker
Interesting. That wasn't a gamble. Ah-da-boom. but At number 89, Lipstick Traces on a Cigarette by the
00:51:36
Speaker
Won't you come back from home? Lipstick Traces.
00:52:02
Speaker
It's a song first recorded by New Orleans singer Benny Spellman in 1962 and written by Alan Toussaint under the pseudonym Naomi Neville. We've talked about that pseudonym before.
00:52:14
Speaker
Benny Spellman, if you are wondering where you've heard that name before, was the man behind the mother-in-law, mother-in-law, bass vocal. ye This tune, a nice bit of soul, a good song.
00:52:28
Speaker
I love the lead, although the OJ's backing is just transcendent. The instrumentation works well. I like the hand claps. The keyboard and horns keep things moving, but do not drive the record.
00:52:41
Speaker
a hit. And I will say, I like Ringo's cover. It's a very good Ringo vocal. The only thing that brings Ringo's version down for me is the girl singers rather than the OJs.
00:52:53
Speaker
ah Absolutely. Definitely check out the original. To me, the OJ's version and the original are running neck and neck for me in terms of which one I like better.
00:53:04
Speaker
I think the OJ's version has little bit of a rock flavor, particularly with the guitar solo, whereas the original has that piano sound, of course.
00:53:15
Speaker
Not surprising, considering who wrote this. And the original version does mimic the melody of Mother-in-Law a bit. You can kind of hear it
00:53:25
Speaker
I'm telling you now like told you before I'm so in love with you, don't leave me no more
00:53:46
Speaker
I would say this is not peak OJ's material. But the backing vocals is. Yes, great backing vocals. Of course, that it is not Eddie LaVert who's singing lead. It was when they had a different lineup, and it was Walter Williams who sang lead. on this It's middle hit, low to middle hit for me. I will go middle to high, you'll go middle to low, but we're both going to say hit. yeah Yes, absolutely.
00:54:12
Speaker
A song that is not available in the UK on Amazon. Really? No. I enjoyed it. I like their voices a lot. It's proof that there were some really good songs by the OJs before they supposedly had their big break in 1972 with Backstabbers.
00:54:30
Speaker
I don't know who the guitarist is. The bass is played by Carole Kay. Oh, wow. The piano is Leon Russell. I knew that, yes. And the drums are Hal Blaine.
00:54:41
Speaker
So it would likely be someone in the record crew playing guitar, yeah. It may even be Glen Campbell. That's what was just thinking, I wonder. So other artists who have covered this song, other than Ringo, include The Amazing Rhythm Aces, Donnell Austin, The Beautiful South, Alex Chilton, Snooks Eaglin, Frankie Ford, and Delbert McClinton.
00:55:03
Speaker
the Now a couple of songs which we don't like quite as much. At number 90, A Walk in the Black Forest by Horst Jankowski. Nice piano, but otherwise a perfectly fine instrumental that is too repetitive and goes on too long.
00:55:21
Speaker
Meh. I agree. I think the electric guitar section is all that really saves it. Otherwise, this is just the epitome of bad easy listening with some maybe slightly better jazz-tinged piano playing.
00:55:34
Speaker
But the strings just kill it for me. Those strings, it turns it into Muzak. And those pizzicato strings are painful too that section. Just corny.
00:55:45
Speaker
Miss. Pizzicato strings for Crying Outland. Oh!
00:56:01
Speaker
Bye.
00:56:25
Speaker
Somebody thinks that they're Hank Marvin on the guitar. There's a wannabe Liberace on the piano, and the orchestra sounds like it's straight out of the 1960s, 1970s best of James Last.
00:56:37
Speaker
They've thrown a few things in here to see what sticks, and none of it really does after a minute and a half. yeah At number 92, It Ain't No Big Thang by The Radiance.
00:56:52
Speaker
No, it's thing. The two leads don't really play off each other particularly well. ah The horns are good. The backing vocals are only okay. I still have the memory of the OJ's backing in my head, and it's like, oh, that's nowhere near as good.
00:57:07
Speaker
The guitar and drums are fine. The repetition of ain't no big thang gets old real quick. The two verses don't say much other than she's gone and made up her mind.
00:57:18
Speaker
Very low hit, maybe a high meh. Yeah, and even though this has some Chicago connections, the guy who wrote it, Gerald Sims, who was not originally from Chicago, but he was active in the Chicago and Illinois soul scene. He had worked for Chess Records, originally playing as a session guitar player, and also played on recordings for other labels, including Muddy Waters. He was a good friend of his.
00:57:45
Speaker
As far as this goes... Some of the chord changes are slightly reminiscent of Curtis Mayfield, although not nearly as good. know, the song just doesn't really go anywhere. It just repeats the title phrase, as you mentioned, over and over.
00:57:58
Speaker
And it kind of establishes a groove, which is great, but you have to do something more than just have a groove. Unless you're James Brown.
00:58:34
Speaker
What's this? Why worry? I like the horns, but otherwise it's just kind of an average soul track. I'd say maybe low hit.
00:58:46
Speaker
The chorus isn't taxing lyrically. Neither of the verses for that matter. ah quite like the horn arrangement. You could dance to it. It's not all that.
00:58:57
Speaker
But I will say that I have done a bit of research. The really good drums on this, because I do like the drums, are played by Maurice White of Earth, Wind & Fire.
00:59:09
Speaker
He was an in-house session drummer for Chess Records during the 60s. That's right, he was. Wow, that's fascinating. I had no idea. Yep, he was an in-house session drummer for Chess Records during the Mm-hmm.
00:59:24
Speaker
My gosh, that's crazy. At number 94, Love is a Five-Letter Word by James Phelps. In case your charm misses, you gotta have cash to take its place.
00:59:38
Speaker
But oh, sweet talk comes easy. Yes, it does. Sometimes it'll get you back.
00:59:55
Speaker
It's simply M-O-N-E-Y. Oh, M-O-N-E-Y. I'm talking about money, honey. I need love, but I need money.
01:00:09
Speaker
Oh, yeah. I need money. Cliche piano and horns. They are well played, though. Nice lead vocal. The lyrics are amazingly cynical. Are these lyrics as cynical as those in Georgie Porgy?
01:00:22
Speaker
No. I don't know. It's pretty cynical. I agree. Love is a five-letter word. Simply M-O-N-E-Y. Again, spelling it out, borrowing from L-O-N-E-L-Y.
01:00:36
Speaker
My first thought, is this an answer record to Can't Buy Me Love? There is a lot to like about this record, but I can't really recommend it. A high meh, although I would rate it a hit with alternate lyrics.
01:00:49
Speaker
Love is a many-splendored thing, but money is more, baby.
01:00:55
Speaker
Preach it. the I like this a bit better than you did. yeah I love the lead vocal on this. James didn't sing this. He sang it. You can really hear the gospel in his voice sounding a bit like a raspier Sam Cooke at times.
01:01:12
Speaker
It's sassy, horn-filled, and love the horns. And the guy who wrote this, rather cynical number, Gene Barge, he's also a Chicagoan, became a staff musician and producer with Chess, and toured with the Rolling Stones at one point. And i think Buddy Guy, I think he also toured with him. So yet another Chicago connection there. But I would give this maybe a low to medium hit.
01:01:39
Speaker
Maybe medium hit. and Yeah, you like it quite a bit more than I do. Yeah. e Yeah, so do I. like it a bit more. I'm not a fan of the lyrics. I think the lyrics are problematic at best.
01:01:51
Speaker
I quite like the music to a degree, but his voice, and this is where I was smiling when Kit was talking then, somewhere in between Sam Cooke and Otis Redding.
01:02:04
Speaker
That is true. Lower hate. Well, next up is one I think we're all going to agree on. At number 95, Shaken All Over by the Guess Who.
01:02:15
Speaker
It's a good version of the tune. Probably better piano and guitar than the original. A great lead vocal from Chad Allen. Quivers down backbone got the shakes in my backbone got the shivers in my knee bone
01:02:37
Speaker
Shaking all over.
01:02:49
Speaker
Burton Cummings would not join the Guess Who until December of 1965. nineteen sixty five And then Chad Allen would leave in January of 1966. We've talked about the original.
01:03:00
Speaker
This is a really good version. I don't know if it's better, but it's at least on a par with the original overall to me. I was pleasantly surprised by this. I love the Guess Who, but it sounded so different than how you picture the Guess Who by 69. It definitely has kind of a garage rock sound, but not in a bad way at all. It has this sort of raw, imperfect quality to it, but that just adds...
01:03:24
Speaker
to the rockin' Yes R&B kind of feel to it. As you said, good lead vocal, and I don't know if like it better than the other version, but it's it's definitely comparable.
01:03:38
Speaker
ye A more raucously forward-looking take on the song that would show us what we've got to come in the late 60s in the world of rock.
01:03:49
Speaker
There you go. Great voice and instrumentation. Yeah, I'd say it's comparable, but not better to the other versions that I've heard, but I do really like it. yeah Yeah, I mean, it sounds like we're all pretty close.
01:04:02
Speaker
You may like it just ever so slightly more than I do, but I mean, I like this tune a lot. Yep, absolutely. And in the Guess Who was one Randy Bachman, and we all know who Randy Bachman is.
01:04:15
Speaker
We met him last year. Kit's good buddy. Yes, my buddy. I have a signed album of his. You're best mate. Buckman Turner Overdrive. That's right. Yes. And so if he's at the fest in August, we definitely need to pin him down and talk to him about some of this. Absolutely.
01:04:31
Speaker
Here is what Randy Bachman said. Even before they were on Ed Sullivan, I was a Beatles fan. I was a follower of Cliff Richards and the shadows. I had a Cliff Richard in the shadows scrapbook.
01:04:43
Speaker
I was one cuckoo 13 year old kid. i had an Elvis scrapbook too. I had Elvis chair hair. Then I changed it to beetle hair. And even as a teenager, I would subscribe to Melody Maker and the New Musical Express. So he's our kind of guy. Cool. Absolutely.
01:05:00
Speaker
So his parents were from England and they had British cousins and it was through them that they got a tape of this song. So we recorded it with three or four other songs that were on the tape and out of nowhere, it became a real special song.
01:05:15
Speaker
The label quality records in Toronto called us and said, what's your name? We said, Chad Allen and the reflections. They said, you can't use reflections. There was a hit just out called just like Romeo and Juliet. I remember that song ahade i remember by the reflections, a band from Baltimore.
01:05:32
Speaker
Then we said, how about the expressions? They said, Nope, there's a band by that name that just signed to Motown. So we said, well, we're just going to send it out with a white label to radio stations and see what they think.
01:05:44
Speaker
We printed up 50 copies with a white label, sent it out with the name Guess Who on the label. ah That's funny. Isn't that great? They were basically saying Guess Who We Are, but that got misinterpreted as being the name of the band.
01:05:59
Speaker
That's cool. So it went to number one in Canada and everyone thought it was a British band. It had echo on it. It was an unknown song in Canada and the States. It was done with one microphone in mono in a TV studio. Okay.
01:06:13
Speaker
Wow. wow So before January 1965, the Guess Who were known as Chad Allen and the Expressions, but the record company, because record companies are stupid and greedy, decided to try and put one over on gullible teenage record buyers by calling the group Guess Who?
01:06:29
Speaker
question mark So following on from their white label, they kept the name, as you said. The advertisement suggested that this was the hottest new thing out of England since Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas Plug, we just had Billy J. Kramer on with us this month. Yes. today Although, let's be fair here, the band themselves were awfully complicit in the whole scheme as Till We Kissed, the flip, is pure Jerry and the Pacemakers.
01:07:04
Speaker
Till We Kissed I never knew the years that I had wasted
01:07:12
Speaker
sounding as English as brown sauce, dad's army, and stagflation. What is stagflation? Yeah, no idea. I'm a Briton. I don't know what stagflation is.
01:07:24
Speaker
Stagflation is an economic situation characterized by high inflation, slow economic growth, and high unemployment occurring simultaneously. Stagnation and inflation. Yeah. Right, okay. Well, economics lesson. Get that thrown in. Thank you, Dr. Ed. Yes.
01:07:40
Speaker
Yes. think Ed's going to tell us about a supercut now. All right. Some of the versions you're going to hear. Johnny Kidd, the original. Yeah. The Searchers.
01:07:51
Speaker
The Swinging Blue Jeans. The Who did a version of this song. Nice. Mae West, because we've got to have one of those in every supercut. Mae West. And the Sweaty Vest.
01:08:02
Speaker
Yeah. Suzy Quatro. Hey. Cliff Richards. Cliff's here paying back the favor. The Smithereens. Ooh. Adamant. Adamant.
01:08:14
Speaker
Oh, wow. Iggy Pop. And Tom Petty. Cool. Wow, that's quite a mix. Is that Tom Petty with the Heartbreakers? That is Tom Petty with the Heartbreakers, yeah. Wow.
01:08:26
Speaker
Our next guest is a true rock and roll pioneer who has come to be known as the queen of rockabilly. Her forthcoming album is entitled, The Party Ain't Over. Please welcome with special guest, Jack White, Wanda Jackson. Ladies and gentlemen.
01:09:37
Speaker
over me Whoever's down the backbone I got the shakes in the knee bone Grabbing my backbone Shaking all alone
01:10:04
Speaker
Not just the way you say goodnight to me I know you're not feeling down inside of me
01:10:20
Speaker
It quivers down by the front I get the taste in my knee bone
01:10:45
Speaker
Bye.
01:11:16
Speaker
The way you say goodnight
01:11:22
Speaker
to me Brings the feeling out of sight of me Pull down my back bone I've got the shakes in my knee bone I've got the tremors in my thigh bone Shake it all over
01:11:47
Speaker
Shaking all over.
01:12:25
Speaker
are
01:12:35
Speaker
At number 96, The Climb by The Kingsman. It's a mediocre dance tune. The lead vocal is rough and annoying. The backing is only so-so.
01:12:47
Speaker
The best part of the record is the sax, which rises to passable. At the end, when they go climb, climb, climb... That's painful.
01:12:59
Speaker
um no I can't hear hear I you. I can't you. can't you.
01:13:09
Speaker
can't hear hear you. can't hear I can't hear hear I can you. can can hear I I you. I can hear
01:13:33
Speaker
I'm gonna tell you, I'm gonna climb.
01:13:39
Speaker
ah Solid miss, but it's not the worst ever. No, definitely not the worst we've heard. Yeah, another attempt at the dance record craze. And as you mentioned, the ripoff of Twist and Shout when they did that staggered harmony. Muddy Mix, the lead vocalist, Lynn Easton, sometimes struggles to be heard over the din. This is a miss for me. Kingsmen are capable of better than this. Were they making this song up on the spot?
01:14:06
Speaker
I'm not sure, but it wouldn't surprise me. It's like nonsensical. It's almost like non-secateurs following each other. Like, well, what can I follow with that? does It doesn't matter if it doesn't mean anything. Just make it up as you go along. And yep, same old repeat the same trick again of sounding off the cuff like they usually do. And yeah, I don't think they go for much longer, do they?
01:14:26
Speaker
I don't think so. This version, I think there were other versions of the Kingsman. Okay. Oh, okay. Made all that money off Louie Louie. That's right. There's still a version of the Kingsman that is active, believe it or not. Wow.
01:14:40
Speaker
Wow. And to answer your question, the Kingsman website is louiloui.org. Of course. Of course it is.
01:14:52
Speaker
So on and off, there have been eight Kingsmen since 1959. Wow. Blimey. At number 98, Keep On Trying by Bobby V. It's a Van McCoy song that was arranged and directed by George Martin.
01:15:08
Speaker
Half country, half doo-wop. Catchier than I expected, but I'm really not a fan of those yeah, yeah, I'm going to keep on trying vocals in the refrain. a low hit mainly just due to the effort and the lead vocal.
01:15:43
Speaker
Martin was the arranger, his former assistant Ron Richards was the recording manager, and the song was selected by Dick James from the CBS-owned April Blackwood catalog. So was Dick James picking a Van McCoy song for Bobby V to sing.
01:15:58
Speaker
interesting. I didn't know the full background on it, but more of a Sesame Street kind of melody. And, you know, I didn't think this is a good representation of George Martin's pristine production.
01:16:10
Speaker
Ron Richards produced it. Oh, Ron Richards produced I'm sorry. Yeah, it's definitely not the same quality as a Beatles record, that's for sure. I found it a very boring song that sounds like a lot of others of this period. Not one of ah Van McCoy's best compositions. and It's a math for me.
01:16:31
Speaker
yeah Is that George Martin on the piano, or is he not playing? That um I don't know. I could not tell you. No. Possible. I like the bass, and George's arrangement did what it could, considering the fact that it's got, to me, it sounds like it's got the same thing chord progression-wise, going throughout. So he's creating different sections with the same chord structure all the way through. So that's clever.
01:17:00
Speaker
But other than that, there's nothing really that shines to me from this. So George Martin arranged it and then Ron Richards produced it? Well, ah so what it says is Martin was the arranger, Ron Richards was the recording manager.
01:17:15
Speaker
Hmm. So I kind of take that to mean that George Martin wasn't actually there in the studio when they recorded it. If you look at the single, it says arranged and directed by George Martin. So I wonder if that means conducted.
01:17:29
Speaker
Yeah. We have a wonderful full page ad on this disc. Okay. A trade ad in Billboard and Cashbox. Arranged, conducted, and recorded here with a circle around England by hit maker George Martin. Okay.
01:17:47
Speaker
Fast becoming a hit here. Same image of the globe. Although for some reason, the representation for fast becoming a hit here is a little bit darker. Yeah, that's true. That's weird.
01:17:59
Speaker
Bobby V's new single, Keep On Trying. Liberty Records, another reason the industry's going Liberty Entertainment in 1965. So the ad does say arranged, conducted, and recorded. You'll notice it does not say produced.
01:18:13
Speaker
Yeah, true. So this is George now as an independent doing something outside of EMI. who I guess he hadn't founded Air yet. It had to have been something that they'd worked out with EMI at that point in time. Okay.
01:18:28
Speaker
ah Ron Richards was certainly not part of Air at that point in time. No. At number 99, Tommy by our friends Reparata and the Delrons. Tommy, can you hear me?
01:18:39
Speaker
No, no, no, no, not that Tommy. Good performance, nice effort, but it's ultimately just one more girl group song. The trappings are thrown on top of a mediocre to poor tune. Miss.
01:18:52
Speaker
This is another one of these, he's mean and cruel, but I love him songs.
01:19:12
Speaker
I mean, how many of these have we heard?
01:19:29
Speaker
but i mean how many of these have we heard It's just kind of a ripoff of the Ronettes and other girl groups of the early 60s. By this time, it almost sounds like a throwback by 1965. I mean, this sounds more like early 60s.
01:19:43
Speaker
And yeah, just cliches galore, the lyrics, and just as you said, just another girl group song. Miss for me. Yep. I listened to this and I just thought, girl group song by numbers, and boy, do I not like those lyrics.
01:19:59
Speaker
I don't like those lyrics at all. Nope. All right, we close out this episode and we'll be back real soon with Side C. Finishing out the month of May, only three sides this month.
01:20:11
Speaker
At number 100, Peanuts. Nothing to do with Charlie Brown. No. La Cacahuata. peanut in Spanish. Cacahuete. Caca-we-te. The H is silent so don't worry about it.
01:20:27
Speaker
Caca-u. That's the U there. And then E is pronounced E. Cacahuete. By the Sunglows. The Sunglows came from Huey P. Moe, a name we've had plenty of times on this show.
01:20:42
Speaker
The single was marked File Under Polka. Polka. Oh, yeah. Weird Al probably heard this in his u
01:21:11
Speaker
The record is in the mode of Yakety Sax. Overly cheerful novelty instrumental that only needs an intermittent shout out of peanuts to go all the way to parody.
01:21:22
Speaker
Miss. I felt like this song would never end. that Enough, enough. I just couldn't believe. ah like that this was written by Luis Guerrero, who was originally from Austin, Texas.
01:21:39
Speaker
He was a composer, producer, and and musician. And at times it even sounded a little Latin.
01:21:55
Speaker
I just did not care for this. As I said, it went on way too long, Miss. Yep, novelty take on the piece that, and I'm going to surprise people now, a better version would come out of this very soon on the Whipped Cream and Other Delights album by Herb Alpert and his Tijuana Brass.
01:22:16
Speaker
Oh, wow. And if you're in the San Francisco Bay Area, go to Amoeba Records and you can pick up your favorite parody cover of Whipped Cream and Other Delights. Yes. A little free plug. They are not paying us, although we should get some sponsorship from them. Yeah, absolutely. Get them send us out.
01:22:34
Speaker
All right, so that closes out the second episode, the first two weeks on the Billboard charts for May of 1965. We'll be back real soon to finish out May. It's a three-sided month for the first time in I don't remember how long.
01:22:50
Speaker
See you then. Take care, everybody.
01:23:23
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.
01:23:34
Speaker
And it's coinciding with their current advertising slogan, Toppermost of the Poppermost. They said thought, they got it from somewhere. They saw that, they must have seen that in either the NME or Record Mirror or Disc, Record and Show Mirror as it was then.
01:23:51
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.
01:24:06
Speaker
Toppermost of the poppermost.