Toppermost of the Poppermost - UK Number Ones : part 2 - The 1960s

[daf]

The Ken and I, it's . . .

133c. (NME 131.)  Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen - March of the Siamese Children



From :  17 - 23 March 1962
Weeks : 1
Flip side : If I Could Be With You

Kenneth Daniel Ball was born on 22 May 1930 in Ilford, Essex.

At the age of 14 he left school to work as a clerk in an advertising agency, but also started taking trumpet lessons. He began his career as a semi-professional sideman in bands, whilst also working as a salesman and for the advertising agency. He turned professional in 1953 and played the trumpet in bands led by Sid Phillips, Charlie Galbraith, Eric Delaney and Terry Lightfoot before forming his own trad jazz band – Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen – in 1958. His Dixieland band was at the forefront of the early 1960s UK jazz revival.

Released in February 1961, their recording of Cole Porter's "Samantha" became a minor hit, followed by 'I Still Love You All'  which reached #24 in April, and 'Someday (You'll Be Sorry)', which reached #28 in August 1961.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

His big break came with "Midnight in Moscow". Based on a 1955 song originally called "Leningradskie Vechera" ("Leningrad Nights") by composer Vasily Solovyov-Sedoi and poet Mikhail Matusovsky, but at the request of the Soviet Ministry of Culture, they changed the title to "Evenings in the Moscow Suburbs", and Later to "Moscow Nights".

In 1956, it was recorded by Vladimir Troshin, a young actor of the Moscow Art Theatre, for a scene in a documentary about the athletic competition 'Spartakiad' in which the athletes rest in the Moscow suburbs. The film did nothing to promote the song, but thanks to radio broadcasts it gained considerable popularity.

In 1957, quite to the surprise of its creators, the song won both the first prize at the 6th World Festival of Youth and Students held in Moscow and the international song contest. The song spread around the world, achieving particular popularity in mainland China; Van Cliburn's 1958 piano performance of the tune contributed to this international spread - eventually reaching the alert ear-hole of Kenny Ball - who gave it it's moody new title.

"Midnight in Moscow" reached No. 2  on the UK Singles Chart in October 1961, and No. 2 on the US chart in March 1962. The record sold over one million copies, earning gold disc status.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Further hits followed in 1962 including : 'March of the Siamese Children' (#4)  /  'The Green Leaves Of Summer' (#7)  /  'So Do I' (#14)  /  and 'The Pay-Off' (#23), and such was their popularity in the UK that Ball was featured, along with Cliff Richard, Brenda Lee, Joe Brown, Craig Douglas and Frank Ifield, on the cover of the New Musical Express in July 1962, although in the United States they remained a "one-hit wonder".

The success continued in 1963 with : 'Sukiyaki' (#10)  /  'Casablanca' (#21)  /  'Rondo' (#24)  /  and  'Acapulco 1922' (#27)

In January 1963, New Musical Express reported that the biggest trad jazz event to be staged in Britain had taken place at Alexandra Palace. The event included George Melly, Diz Disley, Acker Bilk, Chris Barber, Alex Welsh, Ken Colyer, Monty Sunshine, Bob Wallis, Bruce Turner, Mick Mulligan and Ball. The same year, Ball became the first British jazzman to become an honorary citizen of New Orleans, and appeared in the 1963 film Live It Up!.

His next two singles, 'Washington Square' (Oct 1963) and 'Caterina' (Jan 1964), both missed the charts, but he returned to the Top 30 with 'Hello Dolly' in June 1964. With the rise of the Beat Groups, he struggled to make any impact on the charts for the next couple of years, and his final chart entry was when 'When I'm Sixty-Four' climbed to #43 in July 1967.

In 1968 the band appeared with Louis Armstrong during his last European tour. Ball later appeared on BBC Television's highly rated review of the 1960s music scene Pop Go The Sixties, performing "Midnight in Moscow" with his Jazzmen on the show's broadcast on BBC 1 on 31 December 1969. His continued success was aided by guest appearances on the first six series of the BBC's Morecambe and Wise Show.

The line-up changed greatly over the years, but the following personnel were in situ when the musical ensemble was at its commercial peak:
Kenny Ball (trumpet)  /  John Bennett (trombone)  /  Dave Jones (clarinet)   /  Ron Weatherburn (piano)  /  Paddy Lightfoot (banjo)   /  Ron Bowden (drums)  /  Vic Pitt (bass guitar)

Ball and his band enjoyed one of the longest unbroken spells of success for trad bands and his status rivals contemporaries Acker Bilk and Chris Barber. Their joint album, The Best of Ball, Barber and Bilk, reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart.

Ball continued to tour until shortly before his death, his last scheduled concert being with Acker Bilk and Chris Barber at Manchester's Bridgewater Hall on 21 February 2013. He died on 7 March 2013 at Basildon Hospital, Essex, where he was being treated for pneumonia.

March of the Siamese Children was written by composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960) for their 1951 musical, "The King and I", based on the 1944 Margaret Landon novel 'Anna and the King of Siam'.

"March of the Royal Siamese Children" is played during the parade of the King's children to meet their teacher  - as seen in the 1956 film version, starring Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner.

Kenny Ball's version was released in February 1962, and while it officially reached #4 on the Record Retailer chart, it topped the NME chart for a week in March 1962.

Other Versions include : The Original Cast (1951)  /  Cy Walter (1957)  /  The Gerald Wiggins Trio (1957)  /  Martin Denny (1958)  /  Pee Wee Hunt (1958)  /  Jørgen Ingmann (1961)  /  Richard Ellsasser (1961)  /  Happy Knights Jazz Band (1962)  /  Frank Strozier Quartet (1962)  /  Percy Faith & His Orchestra (1963)  /  Paul Lavalle and The Band of America (1965)  /  Will Fly (2010)  /  Danny McEvoy (2011)  /  Daniel Niles Remix (2012)  /  Larry Beekman (2014)  /  Blaxland Piano Pathways (2017)

[Satchmo Distel]

WTF was Record Retailer playing at? The NME caught the trad jazz trend whereas RR was giving an Elvis film single 4 weeks at #1.

The two charts being published on different days of the week makes me think that RR was lagging behind, hence its #1s hang around longer than their actual sales at this point, i.e. this Elvis single is very unlikely to have been the true #1 all the way to mid-March.

[daf]

Yes, and you ain't seen nothin' yet, in terms of SOLID GOLD that Record Retailer let slip though their fat fingers in the 1970s.

[machotrouts]

Never heard of Kenny Ball OR his Jazzmen. There's an exciting unfamiliarity to these NME-only #1s. Most of the canon #1s are basically unfamiliar to me too, but I've scrolled through the Wikipedia lists of #1 hitmakers enough to at least recognise all the names. Thanks to my deadpooling, I even have files on all the ones who are still alive. I might know more about their last heart surgery than their music but that's recognition of a sort.

This is charming. It's got that merrily-skipping-into-traffic-fuck-the-consequences-it's-a-nice-sunny-day feel that I liked about the Russ Conway songs. I don't know how anyone could march to it, but that's fine. Maybe if the Siamese children are VERY carefree marchers.

Pretty sure I saw 'The King and I' at the theatre when I was a child. Would this have been in it? The only bit I remember is a comedy scene where a child looks at a man and shouts that he's naked, then a woman comes along and goes, oh don't be silly child, he's not naked, he's... [looks at man, face falls in horror]... half-naked. And then the audience laughed. And that bothered me. Obviously there is a substantial difference between naked and half-naked. It doesn't hold up as a joke. That play would have had a very different tone to it if all the men walked around with their cocks and bollocks out, and I think deep down the audience knew that.

[kalowski]

When I hear the name "Kenny Ball" I immediately think of "Pebble Mill".
Am I right to do this?

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

When I hear the name "Kenny Ball" I immediately think of "Pebble Mill".
Am I right to do this?

You are. He was never off the bloody thing. Same goes for George Melly and those comedy acrobats who dressed up as Spider-Man and what have you.

[daf]

Plus Morecambe and Wise - in almost every show in the early 70s - though my attention is usually drawn to the goggle-eyed clarinetist* than Ball : I Wan'na Be Like You

- - - - - -
* (who I'm 99% convinced is some relation to Peter Serafinowicz)

[purlieu]

That Elvis one is definitely one of his better sappy ballads, but I can't say I'd go out of my way to listen to it again.
Chubby Checker, yeah, I can get behind that. That doo-wop chord sequence works really well in fast songs, the step down to the relative minor combined with a jaunty arrangement always has this gorgeous bittersweet vibe to it.
Kenny Ball & His Jazzmen. What to say about that? Utterly bizarre mix of pre-war jazz with a borderline atonal middle 8, somehow charting highly in 1962. Love it.

[kalowski]

You are. He was never off the bloody thing. Same goes for George Melly and those comedy acrobats who dressed up as Spider-Man and what have you.

Jesus! Those guys on the trampoline? Who just kept jumping and jumping and jumping, non stop. Usually ended up in an "hilarious" pile at the end.


I like George Melly.

[Satchmo Distel]

Kenny Ball played at the Cavern and George Harrison claimed to like him

http://www.beatlesinterviews.org/db1963.1101.beatles.html

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Jesus! Those guys on the trampoline? Who just kept jumping and jumping and jumping, non stop. Usually ended up in an "hilarious" pile at the end.

It was one helluva act. What were they called? The Phenomenal Arsehole Dozen? Something like that.

I like George Melly.

Me too, but my abiding memory of Pebble Mill at One is him being all erudite and amusing - in ways I didn't understand as a child, but I could tell he was one those clever sorts - before singing a salacious trad jazz song about hot dogs.*

* He was talking about his penis.

[daf]

Wonderful Twang!, it's . . .

134.  The Shadows - Wonderful Land



From : 18 March – 12 May 1962
Weeks : 8
Flip side : Stars Fell On Stockton

Following the number one, 'Kon Tiki', in October 1961, The Shadows had a Top Ten hit in November 1961 with 'The Savage'  /  'Peace Pipe', and scored another number one backing Cliff Richard on 'The Young Ones'.

Their next single saw them hit their peak when 'Wonderful Land' held the Top Spot for two solid months in the Spring of 1962.

"Wonderful Land" was written by Jerry Lordan recorded and released as a single by the Shadows in 1962. It stayed at No. 1 for eight weeks in the UK Singles Chart.

Born as Jeremiah Patrick Lordan in Paddington, Lordan taught himself to play piano and guitar as a child.

He began song-writing, and in 1958, with the help of contacts made in the advertising business a demo of one of his songs was heard by a record producer. The song, "A House, A Car and a Wedding Ring" was recorded by Mike Preston on Decca Records. It did not sell well, but the song was successfully covered by the American rockabilly star, Dale Hawkins, on the Checker label. A later song, "I've Waited So Long" was recorded by the young Anthony Newley on Decca and got to number 3 in the UK Singles Chart in May 1959. He was signed as a singer to Parlophone and had three charting singles in 1960, the most successful being "Who Could Be Bluer?", produced by George Martin.

He found real fame as a composer with the instrumental, "Apache". It was originally recorded by Bert Weedon, but Lordan did not like the version. Weedon's label, Top Rank, did not release it immediately. On tour with The Shadows, Lordan demonstrated the tune to bass player Jet Harris, reportedly picking out the tune on a ukulele. When the rest of the band heard it, they agreed to record it. It was released in July 1960 and hit number one in August, staying at the top for five weeks. The tune was also recorded by the Danish guitarist Jorgen Ingmann, who took it to number two in the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961.

Lordan gave up singing for full-time writing. He wrote the Shadows' UK number one hit "Wonderful Land" (1962) and their hits "Atlantis" (which reached number two in 1963) and "Mary Anne" (a rare vocal single from the group).

By the end of the 1960s the success was largely over and personal difficulties dogged Lordan through the 1970s. He became involved with the Cornish band The Onyx who under his guidance changed their name to Vineyard and released two singles on Decca and Deram in 1974. Later he made a brief foray in acting, appearing as "Rodney" in the 1977 Mary Millington sex-comedy, Come Play With Me, directed by his neighbour, George Harrison Marks.



"Wonderful Land" was recorded in May 1961 by the Shadows' original line up of Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch, Jet Harris and Tony Meehan. The strings were added later by producer Norrie Paramor.

By the time of the song's release, Tony Meehan had left the group to be replaced by Brian Bennett who co-wrote the B-side "Stars Fell on Stockton". The group was in a period of transition and whilst the song was at No. 1 Jet Harris left to be replaced by Brian Locking.

Brian "Licorice" Locking began playing double bass in several bands, notably with the Lincolnshire based rocker Vince Eager. He switched to bass guitar, later joining The Wildcats, a backing group for the rock and roll singer Marty Wilde. A fellow Wildcat was the drummer and future Shadow, Brian Bennett.

Locking also played several other instruments, including harmonica which he has always featured and clarinet (nicknamed the "licorice stick"), which earned Locking the nickname "Licorice". When Marty Wilde parted company from The Wildcats, they changed their name to "The Krew Kats" and recorded instrumentals with modest success. Bennett then left to join the Shadows.

In April 1962, at Bennett's suggestion, Licorice Locking was himself invited to join The Shadows to replace the departing Jet Harris. Stylistically, Locking had a solid "less is more" approach, compared to Harris's adventurous hard-driving style. The Shadows' sound changed as a result. Locking played on some of their best known tracks, including "Dance On" and "Foot Tapper". He also played the harmonica in live shows and on his signature album track, "Dakota", and appeared in the Cliff Richard film, Summer Holiday.

After being in the Shadows for only eighteen months, Locking left to pursue his activities with the Jehovah's Witnesses. He remained on the music scene at a more compatible pace and was invited to play double bass on Donovan's first recording session. He briefly played with the Shadows again five years later while his successor John Rostill was in hospital.

Mike Oldfield covered "Wonderful Land" on his 1980 Virgin Records album, QE2. The Shadows returned the favour in 1986, by covering one of Oldfield's songs, "Moonlight Shadow".

Other Versions include : Bud Ashton (1962)  /  The Rockets (1962)  /  The Go-Getters (1962)  /  "Lumottu maa" by Irmeli Mäkelä  (1962)  /  Killer Watts (1974)  /  The Golden Guitars (1974)  /  Svein Finjarn (1977)  /  Ricky King (1977)  /  Koto (1990)  /  Vikingarna (1990)  /  Alex Bollard (1990)  /  Hank Marvin & Mark Knopfler (1993)  /  Tony Iommi (1996)  /  Lex Vandyke (1997)  /  The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain (2003)  /  Jake Reichbart (2010)  /  Danny McEvoy (2011)  /  Lasse Johansen (2012)  /  springer16900 (2012)  /  Rubenble & Rolf (2012)  /  Silvia Heider (2013)  /  Steve Reynolds and Dave Monk (2013)  / infusion26 (2014)  /  Christian Denoyelle (2014)  /  Marvin B Naylor (2014)  /  Carsten Gerlitz (2014)  /  Niels Jensen (2016)  /  Rufus D Tonebug (2016)  /  Mason Williams (2017)  /  Guitar1789 (2017)  /  The Ukerists (2018)  / Leon Sibum (2018)  /   The ShellDoves (2018)

On This Day :

18 March : Algerian War ends after 7½ yrs
18 March : 7th Eurovision Song Contest : Isabelle Aubret for France wins singing "Un premier amour" in Luxembourg
19 March : "All American" opens at Winter Garden Theater NYC
22 March : "I Can Get It For You Wholesale" opens at Shubert NYC
23 March : Steve Redgrave, (Olympic rower), born in Marlow, Buckinghamshire
24 March : Mick Jagger & Keith Richards perform as Little Boy Blue & Blue Boys
24 March : Jean Goldkette, Jazz bandleader (Bix Beiderbecke) dies age 69
25 March : "Family Affair" closes at Billy Rose Theater NYC after 65 performances
26 March : Richard Coles, (The Communards), born in Northampton
27 March : Ann Jellicoe's play "The Knack" premieres in London
27 March : Archbishop Rummel ends race segregation in New Orlean Catholic school
30 March : MC Hammer, rapper, born Stanley Kirk Burrell in Oakland, California
31 March : 116th Grand National: Fred Winter aboard 28/1 shot 'Kilmore' wins by 10 lengths from Wyndburgh
1 April :  Phillip Schofield, TV presenter, born in Oldham, Lancashire
2 April : The first official Panda crossing is opened outside Waterloo station, London.
5 April : Herb Gardner's "Thousand Clowns" premieres in NYC
5 April : NASA civilian pilot Neil Armstrong takes X-15 to 54,600 m
6 April : Stan Cullimore, (Housemartins), born Ian Peter Cullimore in Hull
8 April : Izzy Stradlin, (Guns & Roses), born Jeffrey Dean Isbell in Lafayette, Indiana
10 April : Stuart Sutcliffe, dies of brain hemorrhage at 21 in Hamburg, West Germany
26 April : Ranger 4 crash lands on (backside of) Moon
27 April : Arnold Wesker's "Chips with Everything" premieres in London
2 May : Jimmy White, (snooker player), born James Warren White in Tooting, England
5 May : West Side Story soundtrack album goes #1 for 54 straight weeks
8 May : "Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" opens at Alvin Theater NYC
8 May : 1st Atlas Centaur Launch
8 May : London trolley buses go out of service
9 May : The Beatles sign their 1st contract with EMI Parlophone
9 May : Laser beam successfully bounced off Moon for 1st time
9 May : Dave Gahan, (Depeche Mode), born David Callcott in Epping, Essex
9 May : Paul Heaton, (Housemartins), born in Bromborough,  Wirral, Cheshire
10 May : Gary Daley, (China Crisis), born in Liverpool
12 May : US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island

[purlieu]

One of their best singles, really gorgeous track.

I played the intro and outro section in a school concert in year 7.

[Catalogue Trousers]

What were they called? The Phenomenal Arsehole Dozen?

The Acromaniacs, perhaps?



Or perhaps their ancestors, The Dingbats.

[kalowski]

The Acromaniacs, perhaps?



Or perhaps their ancestors, The Dingbats.

Jesus (again). Those are the cunts. Fucking cunts. Hated them.

[machotrouts]

8 weeks at #1? Why, that's 8 times as many as 'Don't Stop (Wiggle Wiggle)'. And only one eighth as evocative of American splendour.

This is nice. Like if Apache wasn't retroactively haunted by the spectre of Missy Elliott. If she'd sampled this then I'd just want to listen to that instead, but she hasn't yet, so it's fine until she does.

I played the intro and outro section in a school concert in year 7.

Where were you in the "Other Versions include :" section? daf sort it

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Jesus (again). Those are the cunts. Fucking cunts. Hated them.

Yep. That's them. Absolute twats to a man.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Wonderful Land is definitely the best record The Shadows ever made, it's the twanging definition of uplifting melancholy. The melody can't decide if it's sad or hopeful, so ends up settling on a deeply satisfying middleground. It sounds like the theme tune from a bittersweet cowboy film set in early '60s Ruislip. It's beautiful.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

A few months ago I was absolutely obsessed with Adriano Celentano's 'Stai lontana da me', particularly this video, where his Italian Elvis - or Shakin' Stefano, if you will - antics straddle the fine line between 'genuinely brilliant and exhilarating' and 'hilariously naff' nicely. Compared to that version the Vaughan recording feels a bit flat, but I do still like it. For a song that's all about a bloke being too weak to stand up for himself, the chorus does sound like a pair of enormous testicles bouncing around.

That's brilliant. He appears to be channeling a young Jerry Lewis, the resemblance is uncanny.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6fS9j8LrmU

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Machotrouts, please allow this funky fucker to instruct you on the finer points of The Twist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETX03Zjtarc

You know this dance. Of course you do. Being born in 2004 or whenever is no excuse. We've all done it, The Twist. 

[Satchmo Distel]

Wonderful Land is definitely the best record The Shadows ever made, it's the twanging definition of uplifting melancholy. The melody can't decide if it's sad or hopeful, so ends up settling on a deeply satisfying middleground. It sounds like the theme tune from a bittersweet cowboy film set in early '60s Ruislip. It's beautiful.

They must have been paying attention to westerns at this time.

The forthcoming 'Telstar' also has that feel, and anticipates Ennio Morricone's take on American expansionist culture I think.

[purlieu]

Wonderful Land is definitely the best record The Shadows ever made, it's the twanging definition of uplifting melancholy. The melody can't decide if it's sad or hopeful, so ends up settling on a deeply satisfying middleground. It sounds like the theme tune from a bittersweet cowboy film set in early '60s Ruislip. It's beautiful.

There are a few I prefer - A Place in the Sun, Maroc 7, The Lost City - but it's definitely the best of their big hits.

[daf]

Rock Nutter, it's . . .

135.  B. Bumble and The Stingers - Nut Rocker



From : 13 – 19 May 1962
Weeks : 1
Bee side : Nautilus

In 1959, Earl Palmer, René Hall and Plas Johnson, all African American musicians from Louisiana, were the house band at Rendezvous Records. According to Palmer, the three friends "always talked about how we could make some money and not leave the studio. One day I said, 'Let's do a rock version of "In the Mood"'. The single, credited to the Ernie Fields Orchestra, became a hit, reaching number 4 on the US pop charts in early 1960.

Hall then came up with the idea for B. Bumble and the Stingers, taking the same approach to a piece of classical music. Prompted by record producer Kim Fowley, he approached pianist Jack Fina, whose 1946 swing arrangement of Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumble Bee" for Freddy Martin and his Orchestra, called "Bumble Boogie", had reached number 7 on the chart and been used in the 1948 Walt Disney animated film Melody Time. Using Fina's arrangement, Fowley recorded pianist Ernie Freeman on two tracks, one using a grand piano for the rhythm part, while the other featured a "tack piano", a modified upright piano with tacks pressed into the hammers to create a tinny "honky tonk" sound. The other musicians on the session, at Gold Star Studios, were Palmer on drums, Red Callender on bass, and future 'Pet Sounds' guitarist, Tommy Tedesco.

"Bumble Boogie" went to number 21 on the Billboard charts in June 1961. Because the session musicians all had other studio commitments, a teen band from Ada, Oklahoma, who had played no part in the recording itself, was recruited to handle promotion and public appearances. Their names were given as Fred Richards, Don Orr, and "B. Bumble", a pseudonym for guitarist R. C. Gamble.

Follow-up records "Boogie Woogie", with Freeman's tack piano double tracked, and "Caravan", were less successful, and Rendezvous seemed to lose interest in B. Bumble and the Stingers. Fowley then secured the copyright to an arrangement of the march from Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker.

Based on the march from Tchaikovsky's ballet 'The Nutcracker', their next single, "Nut Rocker" was released in February 1962, and went to number 23 in the US and number 1 in the UK.

Such was "Nut Rocker"'s popularity in Britain that a touring group, with Hazan and R. C. Gamble, was flown over in October 1962 to promote the follow-up, "Apple Knocker", based on Rossini's William Tell Overture. However, neither that record nor the next release, "Dawn Cracker", based on "Morning Mood" from Peer Gynt by Grieg, was successful, and no more B. Bumble and the Stingers records were issued on Rendezvous after 1963, when that label went out of business.

During the early 1960s, Kim Fowley was involved as co-producer/co-publisher with a string of successful records produced in Los Angeles. With Gary S. Paxton he recorded the novelty song "Alley Oop", which reached # 1 on the charts in 1960 and was credited to the non-existent group the Hollywood Argyles.

In 1961 he co-produced the instrumental "Like, Long Hair", arranged by Paxton, which became a #38 hit for Paul Revere and the Raiders. He arranged "Nut Rocker" for B. Bumble and the Stingers, which became a # 1 hit in the UK in 1962. The following year he produced "Popsicles and Icicles" by The Murmaids, which reached #3 in the charts.

During the mid-1960s, Fowley worked with singer P.J. Proby and relocated for a time to London, England. Fowley wrote the lyrics for the song "Portobello Road", the B-side of Cat Stevens' first single, "I Love My Dog". He produced an early incarnation of Slade known as the N'Betweens.

Fowley worked on occasion as a recording artist in the 1960s, issuing albums such as Love Is Alive and Well. In 1965 he wrote and produced a song about the psychedelic experience, "The Trip". He later was credited for "hypephone" on Frank Zappa's first album Freak Out!

In London around 1967 Fowley collaborated with The Seekers guitarist/arranger Keith Potger. Together they wrote the lyrics to "Emerald City" based on the "Ode To Joy" theme from Beethoven's ninth ("Choral") symphony.

His peak as a recording artist came in 1973 as "Jimmy Jukebox" with the absolutely corking single Motorboat.

He made recordings with Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers in 1973, which were eventually released in 1981 as The Original Modern Lovers. Fowley's tracks were not included on the original versions of the album The Modern Lovers but some were included on later CD reissues.

In 1974, Fowley placed an advertisement in local fanzine Who Put the Bomp looking for female performers. He hoped to form an all-female group that he could produce and would perform his songs, but no one responded to the advert. In 1975, he met the teenage guitarist Joan Jett and drummer Sandy West. A short time later Fowley recruited Lita Ford, Cherie Currie, and Jackie Fox. They eventually became the Runaways. While he did produce some of their albums and contributed lyrics to songs, the band was primarily responsible for creating their own music, and the group severed their ties with Fowley in 1977.

Fowley died of bladder cancer in Hollywood, California on January 15, 2015 at the age of 75.

In 1961, Kim Fowley secured the copyright to an arrangement of the march from Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker, and took this to local entrepreneur and pianist H. B. Barnum, who recorded it under the name "Jack B. Nimble and the Quicks" on the small Del Rio label.

When Rod Pierce of Rendezvous heard it, he convinced Fowley that his label could do a better version with their own band. A new recording was arranged, but on the day, Ernie Freeman, who had played piano on "Bumble Boogie", did not appear, apparently due to heavy partying the night before.

In his place, guitarist and arranger René Hall rushed pianist Al Hazan into the Rendezvous office, which was rigged up as an improvised studio. According to Hazan :
"Rod decided to record the first take while I was still trying to practice the piece with the other musicians. Because I was so rushed to learn 'Nut Rocker', I was not happy at all with my performance on that first take. However, in spite of my asking Rod to let me do it over again, he said he liked it just fine the way it was."

Released as "Nut Rocker" in February 1962, the record went to No. 23 in the US and No. 1 in the UK. At the time of its original release in the UK, the BBC had a policy of banning records which parodied classical music. "Nut Rocker" was put to committee, which decided that "this instrumental piece is quite openly a parody of a Tchaikovsky dance tune, is clearly of an ephemeral nature, and in our opinion will not offend reasonable people.", and was not therefore banned.

It was reissued in the UK, and again made the charts, reaching #20 in July 1972, and featured on Top of The Pops.

It was a live favourite when performed by prog-rockers Emerson, Lake & Palmer, whose single was also released in 1972. The single reached #70 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The main keyboard they used was not a piano but a Clavinet (although Emerson switched it to an Yamaha CP-70 during the 1977/78 live performances).

Other Versions include :  Spike Jones and His City Slickers (1945)  /  Duke Ellington (1960)  /  Parklane (1972)  /  Long Tall Ernie and The Shakers (1973)  /  Led Zeppelin (1977)  /  The Shadows (1981)  /  "Buttcracker Suite" by Bob Rivers (1997)  /  Dropkick Murphys (2004)  / The Wildecats (2007)  /  Trans-Siberian Orchestra (2009)  /  Krüger Rockt! (2009)  /  Danny McEvoy (2011)  /  Barry Holben (2011)  /  Denise Hewitt (2011)  /  Chris Sanzo (2011)  /  Shades (2012)  /  Robert Wells  (2012)  /  Sparrow (2013)  /  Arkivet (2017)  /  Istvan Szimhar and the Istvan Szimhar Band (feat. Istvan Szimhar) (2018)  /  Return to the EGG (2018)

On This Day :

14 May : Ian Astbury, (The Cult), born in Heswall, Merseyside
17 May : Craig Ferguson, comedian, born in Springburn, Glasgow
19 May : "Bravo, Giovanni" opens at Broadhurst Theater NYs

[kalowski]

As an aside, reading that, can I just say how much I love "Alley Oop"
I do like Nut Rocker, too.

[purlieu]

Yeah, that's a lot of fun.

[machotrouts]

The current draft of my 2020 #1 Hits deadpool team includes Plas Johnson, who I somewhat dubiously count as a "member" of B. Bumble & the Stingers for team eligibility purposes. Don't know anything about his health except that he's 89 next year, and I think that's a good default age to debut on my team in lieu of any health information. Scored me a hit with Windsor Davies this year.

He's far better known as the saxophonist on The Pink Panther Theme. (Plas, not Windsor.)

Released as "Nut Rocker" in February 1962, the record went to No. 23 in the US and No. 1 in the UK. At the time of its original release in the UK, the BBC had a policy of banning records which parodied classical music. "Nut Rocker" was put to committee, which decided that "this instrumental piece is quite openly a parody of a Tchaikovsky dance tune, is clearly of an ephemeral nature, and in our opinion will not offend reasonable people.", and was not therefore banned.

I suppose the obvious question to ask here is: why would this ever have been a policy?, but the question preying on my mind more is: why would THIS record be regarded as an exception to that policy? What else could that policy have had in mind if not exactly this?

Wonder what they'd have made of Paradiso Girls - Who's My Bitch.

[machotrouts]

Machotrouts, please allow this funky fucker to instruct you on the finer points of The Twist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETX03Zjtarc

You know this dance. Of course you do. Being born in 2004 or whenever is no excuse. We've all done it, The Twist.

I do not recognise this as a move I or any of my peers have ever undertaken. The only dancing I've done in my life is for the purposes of the videogame EyeToy: Groove.

Edit: forgot I attend a weekly tango dance class. That was my genuine assessment of all the dancing I've done in my life too. Hmm what is all the dancing I've done in my life ever... [danced tango every week for 3 years] ...ah I know. 2003 Cheeky Girls webcam dance videogame

Regardless. Tango zero-Twist zone

[sevendaughters]

absolutely love the shitty business acumen of the nabobs behind B Bumble.

[Satchmo Distel]

I think the Beeb regarded Tchaikovsky as a less heavyweight composer than Bach or Beethoven, or he had less followers who would be offended by parody.

Or their banning policy was somewhat less than consistent. If it will offend your mother, ban it.

[Satchmo Distel]

absolutely love the shitty business acumen of the nabobs behind B Bumble.

Contrast with Chubby Checker's milking of an even narrower brand.