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An Alternative History of "Pop" Music

Started by jamiefairlie, August 15, 2020, 09:27:00 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

chveik


daf

#121
Wot, no? . . .

Chad And Jeremy - Yesterday's Gone



Reached #37 in the UK in December 1963, and #21 in the US in April 1964.

QuoteChad & Jeremy were an English musical duo consisting of Chad Stuart - born David Stuart Chadwick and Jeremy Clyde -  Michael Thomas Jeremy Clyde , who began working together in 1962 and had their first hit song in the UK with "Yesterday's Gone". That song became a hit in the United States in the following year as part of the British Invasion. Unlike the rock-music sounds of their peers, Chad & Jeremy performed in a soft, folk-inflected style that is characterised by hushed and weedy whispered vocals. 

The duo appeared as themselves in the December 1966 episodes "The Cat's Meow" and "The Bat's Kow Tow" of the television series Batman, in which the guest villain was Julie Newmar as Catwoman. In this two-part storyline, Catwoman's master plan includes "stealing" the voices of Chad & Jeremy. Sadly, Batman managed to get their voices back, and the duo sang "Distant Shores" and "Teenage Failure" - Boo!



Chad Stuart continued to work in the music industry while Jeremy Clyde became an actor - you'll have seen him on TV, usually cast as 'posh bloke in a pinstriped suit'.


chveik


Neomod

A feisty little number from north of the border sisters Jeanette and Sheila, Edinburgh's very own The McKinleys



The McKinleys Sweet and Tender Romance | 1964

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MzmzqZJQjQ

I'm guessing it didn't trouble the charts much but of note is the fuzz solo from little Jimmy Page and Paul 'macca' McCartney sent deepest sympathies when Sheila died in 2012.

jobotic

Quote from: chveik on August 24, 2020, 04:52:42 PM
The Cookies - I Never Dreamed

another gem from Goffin & King

Ooh I had that lined up as well. Only heard it for the first time a couple of months ago. It's lovely.

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

Quote from: Mr Farenheit on August 24, 2020, 03:16:24 PM

Sal Masi's Untouchables - Pat's Steaks

Fantastic post, Mr Farenheit. Sal sounds like Dan Aykroyd doing a Philly accent.



The Crusher by The Novas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvBN3C2wepY

Another bonkers garage novelty record, later covered by Ramones and The Cramps, it's an enthusiastic tribute to one Reginald Lisowski, better known in the wrestling ring as The Crusher. The singer is impersonating Lisowski's raspy voice and the lyrics consist of little more than a list of some of his signature moves and catchphrases; he was fond of dismissing his opponents as turkey necks, apparently.

As you can imagine, I was deeply confused when I read on Wikipedia that The Novas were well-known for their harmonies. Turns out there was another '60s garage band called The Novas. Whatever became of these Novas, I do not know, but I like to think that they disbanded after recording this masterpiece, secure in the knowledge that they went out on top.

As for Lisowski he had a long and successful career in wrestling, which is nice.


Ballad of Ballard Berkley



Ballad of Ballard Berkley

Quote from: jamiefairlie on August 24, 2020, 06:11:27 PM
Benny Hill's looking pumped there.

Looks like he's about to fist the little bald bloke.

Neomod

Kiki Dee Miracles | 1964

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-Zz9no2AMk

Eventually a Northern Soul banger but at time of release in 64 this did nothing chart wise. Quite a surprise as it's a great track and Kiki was rocking her best look. Rosemary's Baby meets The Night Porter[nb]don't mention Reek[/nb].



Now do it in Italian!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjzeWX8uA8E




h4huggy

The Outlaws - Shake With Me - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRhnZjg6cr4

Take half of Chas and Dave , a pre Deep Purple Ritchie Blackmore and the genius of Joe Meek.

The last single by The Outlaws in which they invented Heavy Metal and that guitar solo...................

jobotic

Quote from: jobotic on August 24, 2020, 03:24:45 PM
Wonder if She Lied is the one The Mummies did a version of.

It is

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSkwFhf9Myk

Vince Taylor - Memphis Tennessee (says 63 but Discogs says 64)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kba3MnCWdSk

You probably know Vince - Brand New Cadillac was his hit. Born in Middlesex but famous in France (my dad was at school in Paris at this time and they dug him) - he was wild. Bit too wild, died aged 52.

This is hilarious

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSkwFhf9Myk


Oz Oz Alice

The Honeycombs - Eyes
https://youtu.be/y_ihSpgX4go


On an emotional level my favourite Meek production. Lyrically it's about cruising gay bars pre-legalisation when it carried the significant risk of getting mugged or worse (Joe Meek was variously arrested and beaten up in various gay spots of the time): usually Meek's lyrics weren't much cop but this is very poignant and the vocalist gives a performance of real empathy, interpreted in a way you'd think it was his experience. It's all about that and the proto Marquee Moon solo in the middle. The whole thing drips tension.

I Never Dreamed, up thread is one of my favourite singles and I'm pleased to have been beaten to both that and The Crusher

honeychile

Quote from: Ballad of Ballard Berkley on August 24, 2020, 12:27:28 PMAfter Laughter (Comes Tears) by Wendy Rene. So much intensely choked up pain in this performance. [Michael Caine voice] She was only seventeen years old.

aw did u choose this just 4 me???!!!
<---    <---    <---

I have two other Wendy songs lined up for 1964, but i'll let the ringing of After laughter comes tears and the other excellent choices above gestate for a little longer.

It speaks for the quality of stuff you're all posting that i'm going back and listening to quite a lot of these songs several times. I also think jamiefairlie's insistence on everyone saying something about the track or artist is important. I hate to be a boring grandpa cunt but there are so many potentially interesting threads in Oscillations which just turn into people posting track name, artist and YouTube link. It is a discussion forum.

Meanwhile, the non-Wendy track i was gonna post first for 1964... doesn't seem to be on YouTube! Or anywhere else! What do i win? Actually there's about a minute of it in an uncredited video. I'm currently trying to put that right so hopefully, tomorrow...

Neomod

Quote from: Oz Oz Alice on August 24, 2020, 10:36:57 PM
The Honeycombs - Eyes
On an emotional level my favourite Meek production. Lyrically it's about cruising gay bars pre-legalisation when it carried the significant risk of getting mugged or worse (Joe Meek was variously arrested and beaten up in various gay spots of the time): usually Meek's lyrics weren't much cop but this is very poignant and the vocalist gives a performance of real empathy, interpreted in a way you'd think it was his experience.

A lot less obvious than his dialogue on the Tornadoes Do You Come Here Often

jobotic

Some of these are just ace. The Kiki Dee and McKinleys tracks, yes.

Hard to believe that's not Michael Gerald of Killdozer "singing" The Crusher.

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

Quote from: honeychile on August 24, 2020, 10:51:06 PM
aw did u choose this just 4 me???!!!
<---    <---    <---

For you and all the pop-crazed youngsters!

Quote from: honeychile on August 24, 2020, 10:51:06 PM
I hate to be a boring grandpa cunt but there are so many potentially interesting threads in Oscillations which just turn into people posting track name, artist and YouTube link. It is a discussion forum.

You're not a boring grandpa cunt at all, I love it when people post a wee bit of info about their choices. Doesn't have to be in-depth, just a few comments. Otherwise it's just a list thread, and this thread is so much better than that.

But most of us have been doing that anyway, it's only a minor niggle. Not trying to police it or owt. Do what you wanna do.

Anyway... it's that man again, Anthony Newley! The Joker.

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

Matey boy director could've avoided a lot of fuss/contrived controversy if he'd chosen this instead of Glitter's Rock & Roll Part 2 for that scene where the Joker dances down the steps.

It was written by Newley and Leslie Bricusse for their musical The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd, and was later used as the theme tune for the Australian sitcom Kath & Kim.


daf

Pray silence for the most ludicrous vocal delivery of all time . . .

PJ Proby - Somewhere



Reached #6 in the UK in December 1964.

QuoteP.J. Proby was born James Marcus Smith, in the nude at the age of 0, on 6 November 1938.

After graduation he moved to California to become a film actor and recording artist. Given the stage name Jett Powers by Hollywood agents Gabey, Lutz, Heller, and Loeb, he took acting and singing lessons and played small roles in films. Two singles, "Go, Girl, Go" and "Loud Perfume" appeared on two small independent record labels.

Proby was brought by songwriter Sharon Sheeley to audition at Liberty Records in 1961 - and it was she who suggested the stage name 'P. J. Proby' - named after her old highschool boyfriend.

Proby travelled to London after being introduced to Jack Good by Sheeley. Under Good, Proby had UK top 20 hits in 1964 and 1965 including "Somewhere" and "Maria" -  from the musical West Side Story. He also recorded the Lennon–McCartney composition "That Means a Lot", a song The Beatles attempted to record before giving it away.



Proby's UK career lost momentum after controversial live concert appearances including two trouser-splitting incidents at shows in Croydon and Luton in January 1965 that scandalized the British press and public and led to bans on Proby appearances by the ABC theatre chain, its TV namesake and BBC TV.

notjosh

The Supremes - House of the Rising Sun



One of the only acts in the world who could go toe-to-toe with The Beatles at this point, The Supremes decided to pay tribute to their chart rivals with the album A Bit of Liverpool feauting covers of songs by Liverpool acts including The Beatles, Gerry & The Pacemakers and (ahem) The Animals. (It was released in the UK as With Love (From Us To You) to avoid incurring Geordie ire.)

It was the first of three hastily-produced theme albums following their smash-hit second album Where Did Our Love Go, being followed by The Supremes Sing Country, Western and Pop and We Remember Sam Cooke. They were all very modest successes, with none close to the success of their more conventional pop records.

It's a patchy affair, with a few lacklustre covers of the likes of "How Do You Do It?" and "A Hard Day's Night" and some pretty successful ones like (non-Liverpool-band) Dave Clark Five's "Because" or Motown-via-The-Beatles-via-Motown "You've Really Got a Hold on Me".

For me the moment where it almost achieves greatness is their take on The Animals take on classic American folk song "House of the Rising Sun". As much as I love Diana Ross' voice, it's not really soulful enough to carry the opening verse of this, however when the harmony kicks in with the three of them it works beautifully. And the much-too-short outro sounds like it could come out of an Ennio Morricone score.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxkSVXlP7Kk


Booker T. & The M.G.'s - Soul Dressing



Another M.G.'s classic, which only made #95 on the hot 100. A lovely downbeat feel with great anguished guitar stabs from Steve Cropper.

From Booker T's autobiography, Note By Note:
QuoteThe chords to "Soul Dressing" came to me on the highway while driving back to Memphis from Bloomington. The melody came just as I sat down to the M-3 organ and played the chords. Because Satellite Studios had not yet obtained a Hammond B-3, the tone was very basic and thin. Al played an intriguing but complex and elusive rhythm throughout. "We need a break somewhere, Jones," Al insisted. "Let's just play the song through from the head," I replied. Just before Steve's solo, it became apparent Al was right. A four-bar break introduced Steve's solo. Steve played like his heart had been broken, and sweet "Soul Dressing" became an instrumental blues over jazz changes. When time came for my break, I tried to do the same thing Steve had done. I went for broke—having no idea what I would play or how it would turn out. It was a relief to get through those four bars and arrive at the gentler C section, where the chords were smoother and just skated along. We returned to the original theme to take the song home, and it was quite the emotional roller-coaster ride for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDw7c0OnS34

daf

Square Girls, Cool Girls, Sexy little Schoolgirls . . .

Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman - Kinky Boots



Released in February 1964. Did not chart

Quote"Kinky Boots" was written by Herbert Kretzmer and David Lee, and recorded by Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman, stars of the television series The Avengers.



The music was commissioned by Ned Sherrin for the satirical television series That Was the Week That Was and used in a sequence featuring the briefly fasionable titular footwear. Lyrics were later added for a recording by Macnee and Blackman, released by Decca in February 1964.



In 1977, it was placed at No.22 in the "Bottom 30" of Kenny Everett's World's Worst Wireless Show - the massive idiot!

The song was not initially a hit, but one re-release of 1990 reached #5 of the British Singles Chart in December of that year, after the song was promoted by BBC Radio One DJ Simon Mayo.

Brundle-Fly

K-39 - The Challengers Released May 1964



A great slice of surf beat worthy of any Tarantino opening heist scene. The whole sound you could use in a carpenters workshop to make a boat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=32&v=VGaCHLMGc34&feature=emb_logo

purlieu

The Shadows - Theme for Young Lovers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfjQYpV0tCM

Released at the start of the band's downturn in success, this Bruce Welch composition is probably one of my favourite Shads singles. A glorious chiming theme bookends the tune, while in the second 'verse' Hank uses a gorgeous combination of chorus pedal and palm muting to give a really twinkly sound. Lovely bittersweet piece and, had it been released a year earlier, would probably have been a huge hit.

h4huggy

 The Roulettes ,top of the division 2 beat groups . Forming in 1961 , they were spotted by Adam Faith's manager in 62 and signed as a touring group to enable Adam to perform this new fangled beat music. This was a common deal at the time what with Cliff and the Shads and Billy Fury and The Tornados. I reckon Larry Parnes was lurking around somewhere. They recorded fifteen minute shows with Faith for Radio Luxembourg , but were not used on record for a couple of years. The First Time was a hit and  they recorded a few more with diminishing returns until splitting from Faith in 1965. In parallel they cut some "solo" singles the first "Hully gully slip and slide " proving their desperate need for a vocalist. Enter Russ Ballard on keyboard , lead guitar and vocals , along with a new bassist John "Mod" Rogan replacing Johnny Rogers who was killed in a car crash after drinking six pints and a bottle of wine in May 1963. Russ would go on to Unit 4+2 who hit with concrete and clay , he would also go onto sing "Hold your head up " for Argent .Drummer Bob Henrit would eventually replace Mick Avory in The Kinks , but now ladies and gentlemen , without further ado here is Bad Time by The Roulettes from 1964

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


Ballad of Ballard Berkley

#144
Laisse tomber les filles by France Gall.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWRCJhsz5t4

This is the Serge Gainsbourg-penned Gall hit that isn't the Eurovision winner or the one about blow jobs. It's a bitterly heartbroken groover in which Gall warns her no-good ex to stop hurting every girl he meets, otherwise he'll end up heartbroken and alone himself one day. The cynical lyrics are atypical of the ye-ye genre - Gall describes love as a 'farce' - but that's Gainsbourg for you, he gallic shrugged in the face of convention.

I must admit to only knowing what it's about because I looked it up - I don't speak French - but it's a great record regardless of whether you understand the lyrics or not. Based around a simple, catchy melody, Gall's deadpan vocals, a slinky spy film bassline and some vaguely sleazy brass ejaculations, it conjures images of dispassionate kinky-booted go-go girls frugging on a deep shag-pile carpet. Meanwhile, a chain-smoking Gainsbourg props up the bar and surveys the scene with wry, lecherous amusement.

Also, Belle & Sebastian nicked their entire aesthetic from the video posted above.

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

C'mon and Swim by Bobby Freeman.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6S5v6lLEgs

More music to frug to (hats off to whoever put that fantastically groovy video together), this is a frenetic dance record produced and co-written by a young Sly Stone. I love the way it segues into the Green Onions riff towards the end.

Bobby's instructions are a bit vague, though. He doesn't actually show us how to do the Swim at all, does he?

honeychile

Quote from: Ballad of Ballard Berkley on August 24, 2020, 11:52:13 PMYou're not a boring grandpa cunt at all, I love it when people post a wee bit of info about their choices. Doesn't have to be in-depth, just a few comments. Otherwise it's just a list thread, and this thread is so much better than that.

But most of us have been doing that anyway, it's only a minor niggle. Not trying to police it or owt. Do what you wanna do.

Sorry, just to clarify - i was categorically not even slightly accusing anyone in this thread of doing that. It hasn't been a list thread at all, it's been brilliant - i just wanted to credit the OP for that. It's just a broader observation within Oscillations is all, which i think others have made from time to time.

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

Quote from: honeychile on August 25, 2020, 05:27:46 PM
Sorry, just to clarify - i was categorically not even slightly accusing anyone in this thread of doing that. It hasn't been a list thread at all, it's been brilliant - i just wanted to credit the OP for that. It's just a broader observation within Oscillations is all, which i think others have made from time to time.

Ah, right. Sorry, I misunderstood. As you say, all of the contributions have been great so far. Excellent work from everyone.

badaids

Quote from: Ballad of Ballard Berkley on August 25, 2020, 05:15:08 PM
Laisse tomber les filles by France Gall.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWRCJhsz5t4

This is the Serge Gainsbourg-penned Gall hit that isn't the Eurovision winner or the one about blow jobs. It's a bitterly heartbroken groover in which Gall warns her no-good ex to stop hurting every girl he meets, otherwise he'll end up heartbroken and alone himself one day. The cynical lyrics are atypical of the ye-ye genre - Gall describes love as a 'farce' - but that's Gainsbourg for you, he gallic shrugged in the face of convention.

I must admit to only knowing what it's about because I looked it up - I don't speak French - but it's a great record regardless of whether you understand the lyrics or not. Based around a simple, catchy melody, Gall's deadpan vocals, a slinky spy film bassline and some vaguely sleazy brass ejaculations, it conjures images of dispassionate kinky-booted go-go girls frugging on a deep shag-pile carpet. Meanwhile, a chain-smoking Gainsbourg props up the bar and surveys the scene with wry, lecherous amusement.

Also, Belle & Sebastian nicked their entire aesthetic from the video posted above.

This is one of my favorite ever songs and I must have watched that clip hundreds of times.  All the elements perfectly fit together.  As for the lyrics, it's just a serious of French idioms about 'reaping what you so' and whatnot.  My favorite is 'You'll have no one to console you, you won't have stolen it'.  The timings of the syllables is just wonderful throughout.

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

I wish I could speak French, if only so I could appreciate Gainsbourg's wordplay. I love his music, but I know I'm missing out on a major facet of his genius.