An Alternative History of "Pop" Music

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Lou Rawls - Season of the Witch



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shxNXFkmc40

When Donovan released the jittery Season of the Witch in 1966, it became an instant rock standard. I reckon this slinky beast is one of the best of the many cover versions. Produced by the much-sampled David Axelrod and performed with coiled, jazzy intensity by Rawls, a versatile R&B singer, it's a stone gas. 

Lou Rawls was an American singer, songwriter, actor, voice actor, and record producer. Rawls released more than 60 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably his song You'll Never Find Another Love like Mine. He worked as a film, television, and voice actor. He was also a three-time Grammy-winner, all for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.

David Axelrod was an American composer, arranger, and producer. After starting out as a staff producer for record companies specialising in jazz, Axelrod became known by the mid-1960s in soul and jazz circles for his recording skills. In 1968, Axelrod embarked on a solo career and released several albums during the 1970s that showcased his characteristic sound, which combined heavily microphoned drums and baroque orchestration, and avant garde themes ranging from the environment to heightened mental awareness.

With his early solo projects, Axelrod was one of the first recording artists to fuse elements of jazz, rock, and R&B. One of his most important records, Song of Innocence (1968), featured instrumental interpretations of 18th-century poet William Blake's poetry collection of the same name done in a contemporary musical vein, leading one critic at the time to coin the term "jazz fusion" and numerous hip hop producers to sample the album's music decades later.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

The Seeds - Fallin' off the Edge of My Mind



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7f3ZsgbGeg

A berserk psychedelic hoedown from the Pushin' Too Hard hitmakers.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Shirley Collins - Just as the Tide Was Flowing

https://youtu.be/PnlCe95po0U

My goodness, that's beautiful.

[daf]

Mighty Joe Young - Why Don't You Follow Me



Released in July 1969 - did not chart

Not to confused with the American blues guitarist of the same name, this was the lone single from a Lancashire band - consisting of Derek Jarvis and John Gilbert who went on to sing with blues rockers Cochise in 1970.

[honeychile]

Not sure why that Jimmy Dee Bennet song seems so much less offensive than that horrid Brucie "backing Britain" goose-step - i think it's so openly reactionary i almost admire its ingnorance.

The Exciters - Movin' too slow



Seven years after their 1962 US chart breakthrough with Tell him, and with no sign of repeating that success on the horizon, The Exciters released their 1969 album Caviar and chitlins, with their then line-up of Brenda Reid, Carolyn Johnson, Lillian Walker and Herb Rooney.

Much as The Apollas are best remembered for Mr Creator while a treasure trove of better stuff sits unappreciated, posterity has seen slightly psych-northern soul number Blowin' up my mind emerge as The Exciters most celebrated late 60's tune despite the fact that the very album it's taken from features the utterly intense Movin' too slow, which - like virtually the whole album - Rooney penned alongside Larry Banks.

Intense because of that snapping snare, thrusting trumpet, writhing bass, that totally taking-no-shit lead vocal from Reid. Neither album nor song is much remembered - Movin too slow wasn't even released as a single. However, without anything much more to add about the song, here's a sweet 1964 Beatles-related anecdote from The Exciters' Complete, Bang, Shout and RCA recordings compilation liner notes:

The Beatles first US jaunt was an unprecedented venture that permanently changed the face of rock'n'roll touring. "That was definitely the highlight of our career," Brenda says. "It was a big honour to be asked to do that tour." It was also a far cry from the usual "Caravan of Stars" package shows that had been barnstorming since the early days of rock. "No buses this time," according to Lillian. "We were doing one-nighters, flying on a jet plane. It was us, Jackie DeShannon, the Righteous Brothers, Bill Black's Combo and The Beatles. We used to jam and sing and have a lot of fun on the plane.

[...]

[The Exciters and The Beatles] did bond during the tour, though. According to Brenda, "My mother was on the tour with us, and she would cook for The Beatles. They missed having home-cooked meals, and they loved my mother's cooking. They used to call her Mama, and say 'What are you cooking for us today, Mama?'"

Lillian recalls an idyllic respite in the pandemonium. "We had a two day break in Key West, Florida. They rented out the entire motel and we all hung around poolside, talking about music and singing a cappella. They were crazy about blues and R&B. One night, they got their instruments and we went into the pool house, and they played until about 5am, all kinds of music, not just rock but jazz and blues."

[daf]

He ain't Tanned, but he can Jam! . . .

Vic Waters And The Entertainers - I'm White - I'm Alright



Released in 1969 - did not chart

Vic Waters and the Entertainers were a white showband from Tampa Bay, Florida. They recorded three singles with Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham behind the boards, on Capitol's Crazy Horse subsidiary. 'I'm White – I'm Alright' was inspired by James Brown's  'Say It Loud I'm Black and I'm Proud'.

[Clatty McCutcheon]

Jim Sullivan - U.F.O.

https://youtu.be/gH0l7nIMfw0



Jim Sullivan was a Californian singer-songwriter who released two albums before disappearing without trace in 1975 during a road trip in the New Mexico desert.

His car was later found abandoned at a remote ranch, containing his money, papers, guitar, clothes, and a box of his unsold records.

This is the title track from his 1969 debut album, the title of which has fuelled some of the wilder theories about his disappearance.  It's a full-band effort recorded with several members of LA's famous Wrecking Crew group of session members, bringing a lightness of touch to his atmospheric folk-blues stylings.

[Brundle-Fly]

Extissimo - William Sheller.  Released on CBS in 1969.





This French EP would make a great companion to Ballad Of Ballard Berkeley's 1967 geroovee entry by Pierre Henry. The track comes from the French/Italian comedy film Erotissimo of the same year. A killer fuzz beat!

William Sheller (born William Desboeuff on 9 July 1946) is a French classical composer and singer-songwriter.
A prominent artist of French popular music since the 1970s, William Sheller has the particularity of being one of the few singers of French chanson who has benefited from a solid background in classical music. This has influenced his repertoire with a sophisticated musical style, combining elements of classical music with chanson and symphonic rock.

Mildly NSFW
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=CT7jzbTmVxs&feature=emb_logo

[jamiefairlie]

Sunforest - Be Like Me

https://youtu.be/D39cfgNC2Dw



An English psychedelic folk music trio formed in 1968 by Terry Tucker, Erika Eigen and Freya Hogue. They recorded only one album, Sound of Sunforest on Decca Records. They are perhaps better known for appearing on the soundtrack of A Clockwork Orange.

[daf]

Rainbo - John, You Went Too Far This Time



Released in January 1969 - did not chart

Sissy Spacek initially aspired to a career in singing. In 1968, using the name Rainbo, she recorded a single titled "John You Went Too Far This Time", written by Ron Dulka and John Marshall. The lyrics of which chided John Lennon for getting his bum out on the cover for Two Virgins.



Amazingly, the single failed to shoot to the top of the charts, and she was dropped from her record label. Spacek subsequently switched her focus to acting, enrolling at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute.

[jamiefairlie]

The Strawbs - Or Am I Dreaming?

https://youtu.be/RjPdkgiqAh8




From their debut album. Like Fairport Convention, the band have continued to morph through multiple configurations through the years and a version is still performing and recording.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Ray Barretto - New York Soul



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

New York soul, good gawd! Everything is everything, baby? Same old, same old.

Ray Barretto was an American percussionist and bandleader of Puerto Rican ancestry. Throughout his career as a percussionist, he played a wide variety of Latin music styles, as well as Latin jazz. His first hit, El Watusi, was recorded by his Charanga Moderna in 1962, becoming the most successful pachanga song in the United States. In the late 1960s, Barretto became one of the leading exponents of boogaloo and what would later be known as salsa.

[jamiefairlie]

Fairport Convention - She Moved Through the Fair

https://youtu.be/Hb43-Q70olM



A traditional ballad covered by the band on their second album "What We Did On Our Holidays"

[daf]

Acid Gallery - Dance 'Round the Maypole



Released in October 1969 -  did not chart

Starting out in the mid 1960's under the name The Epics, the band changed their name to The Acid Gallery in 1967. The band featured Vic Elmes (vocals, guitar), Mike Blakely (drums), Ross Allen (bass), and Ian Jansen (guitar, vocals).

 

Their lone single "Dance Around the Maypole" contains the unmistakable thumbrint of pop wizzard Roy Wood, who wrote, produced, and sang backing vocals on the track along with his future bandmate Jeff Lynne.

Steve Elmes : "The co-lead singer with Roy Wood is my brother Vic Elmes who was lead guitarist for The Epics and Christie in the 60's an 70's."

Vic Elmes wrote the guitar parts for the first-season theme of the classic science fiction series Space:1999 in collaboration with composer Barry Gray. He also composed the score for the British sex comedy The Ups and Downs of a Handyman in 1975.

[daf]

Alan David - Oh What A Naughty Man



Released in February 1969 - did not chart

Alan David was born in Bognor Regis, West Sussex, England. In 1964, David appeared, playing himself as a singer in a band, in the film 'Gonks Go Beat', and co-hosted the BBC2 TV show 'Gadzooks! It's All Happening' with Lulu.

'Gadzooks! It's All Happening!' replaced 'The Beat Room' on BBC 2 in 1965. It filled the same half hour spot early each Monday evening in the 6.55 - 7.25 pm time slot and began on 1st February 1965. It was filmed at the BBC TV Theatre in Shepherd's Bush and was co-hosted by Peter Cooke, with Alan David and Christine Holmes (who also co-hosted the children's TV programme 'Crackerjack'). *

Barry Langford, the show's producer, commented in the 8th March 1965 issue of the Radio Times : "I'm not booking far ahead. I'm waiting to hear the releases before I engage the artists. The scene is changing so fast that some of the guest will come as a 'complete surprise'. Davy Jones and The Manish Boys who are appearing tonight, are likely to come into this category."

In fact, a publicity gimmick was devised to publicise Dave Bowie's television debut. His manager Les Conn sent a story to the newspapers stating that the BBC wouldn't allow him onto the show unless he cut his hair - which resulted in national newspaper coverage with photos of Dave in a hairnet!

 

After five months it was replaced by 'Gadzooks! It's The In Crowd' on 31st May, with Lulu co-hosting with Alan David and with Marianne Faithfull also appearing as a guest host. Presenter Alan David left the programme on 5th July 'due to low audience figures' and Roger Whittaker then took over from 12th July, when the show became simply known as 'Gadzooks!'. No recordings from the series are known to have survived.

- - - - - - - - - - - -
* CRACKERJACK!!!

[Brundle-Fly]

That could easily be a lost Deram era Bowie track!

[purlieu]

Barry Gray - The Secret Service

Barry Gray's theme music – a chant with church organ and percussion accompaniment – was his first Century 21 composition since Stingray to include vocals. He developed the initial concept into a three-part fugue in the style of Bach. Originally the vocals were to have been supplied by The Swingle Singers, but their prospective fee was too high for the music budget. Gray therefore hired the Mike Sammes Singers (who had sung the Supercar theme several years earlier) to perform the vocals in an imitation of the Swinges' style. The theme music was recorded in a four-hour studio session on 16 October 1968 and is described by Archer and Hearn as a "glorious piece of choral lunacy".

[Astronaut Omens]

...and speaking of the Swingle Singers, here they are jazzin' the living heck out of Contrapunctus IX from Bach's "The Art of the Fugue"
on Croatian TV.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sN3Vbh5mHbM&feature=emb_logo

[daf]

J Girls - Kiiro No Sekai



Recorded in 1969. Appears on the 1997 compilation 'Further Inflight Entertainment' as 'Yellow World'.

I'm not sure whether this was actually released on disc in 1969 - might have been on a film or something?

[Astronaut Omens]

Alan Douglas, whose work overdubbing and mastering Hendrix's posthumous recordings would be controversial, also fell out with folk and blues singer Richie Havens after he put out the LP "Electric Havens", which overdubbed a band onto Haven's solo recordings. As with his ethically questionable Hendrix LPs like Midnight Lightning, the problem is that the musical result is quite good!

Richie Havens- Oxford Town
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRM8nJHWm28

[Astronaut Omens]

On their second album, Brazilian political dissidents Os Mutantes take the experimentation with collage on their debut that little bit further- by the time of their making this some of their musical mates had already been arrested as subversives:
Os Mutantes- Don Quixote
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylxSfNJx1yI

[Astronaut Omens]

Gal Costa- Meu Nome e Gel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_YYC2N_lxY
Part of the same scene as Os Mutantes, Gal Costa begins this track as smooth-talking pop star before turning into a Yoko-style screecher half-way through

[Brundle-Fly]

The Drifter - Roger Nichols Small Circle Of Friends.  Released on A&M in 1969





Ok, I'm going to fess up. I thought my next choice was from 1969 but it was 1968, so rather than pretending it was from 1969, I'm going to bend the rules. I like 1969's The Drifter single but I much prefer Don't Take Your Time from his eponymously named 1968 debut album. I know groovers here like The Free Design and Burt Bacharach, so just in case you're not aware of Roger & Co, I didn't want this gem of an album slip by youse.

What a pedigree
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Nichols_(songwriter)

The Drifter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVkYbGljOac&feature=emb_logo

Don't Take Your Time  (1968)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=51&v=C0Z8K4vNqyA&feature=emb_logo

[Astronaut Omens]

The elder sister said sneeringly:

"Enough? Yes, if you like to share with the pigs and the calves!
What do you know of elegance or manners! However much your good man
may slave, you will die as you are living: on a dung heap-and your
children the same."

"Well, what of that?" replied the younger. "Of course our work is
rough and coarse. But, on the other hand, it is sure; and we need
not bow to any one. But you, in your towns, are surrounded by
temptations; today all may be right, but tomorrow the Evil One may
tempt your husband with cards, wine, or women, and all will go to
ruin. Don't such things happen often enough?"

from How Much Land Does A Man Need, by Leo Tolstoy,
filmed in 1969 as "Scarabea", from which the following soundtrack selection is taken:

Eugen Thomas- Undergroovin',
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h76wqba2TJk

[Astronaut Omens]

Marlena Shaw- Liberation Conversation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imZY-2Rp7yo

The album this is taken from "The Spice of Life", now maybe most famous for the brilliant track 'California Soul', but I like the way the ad-lib quality to the vocals on this tune- she riffs off the title of one of the other songs on the LP, "Stormy Monday", and messes around with the ging-gigga-ging-ging vocal hook she also used on her "Woman of the Ghetto", which you might recognise from it's sample on Blue Boy's "Remember Me"

[Rizla]

 This is truly the era of cash-in toybox plastic psych and Grisby Dyke's The Adventures of Miss Rosemary Lepage is a fine example.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Bridget St. John - Ask Me No Questions



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLQSsn2TYBs

English pastoral hippie bliss...

Bridget St. John is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for the three albums she recorded between 1969 and 1972 for John Peel's Dandelion record label. Peel - who described her at the time as "the best lady singer-songwriter in the country" - produced her debut album Ask Me No Questions in around nine or ten hours. She also recorded a large number of BBC Radio and Peel sessions and toured regularly on the British college and festival circuit.

St. John appeared at leading folk venues in the UK, along with other folk and pop luminaries of the time such as Nick Drake, Paul Simon, and David Bowie, among others. In 1974 she was voted fifth most popular female singer in that year's Melody Maker readers poll. Blessed with a "rich cello-like" vocal style (she sounds rather like an English Nico), she is also an accomplished guitar player who credits John Martyn and Michael Chapman as her "musical brothers".

[purlieu]

I know being a Bonzos fan is technically on the entry test for joining CaB, so you all know this one, but it's never a bad time to share something great.
Bonzo Dog Band - Dr. Jazz


No comment necessary.

[jamiefairlie]

Bridget St. John - Ask Me No Questions



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLQSsn2TYBs

English pastoral hippie bliss...

Fine choice :-)

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Twinkle - Micky



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC-lAtWV3uw

Lynn Annette Ripley, better known by the stage name Twinkle, was an English singer-songwriter. She had chart successes in the 1960s with her best known songs, Terry and Golden Lights.

Born in Surbiton, Surrey into a well-to-do family, Ripley was known to her family as "Twinkle". She attended Queen's Gate School with Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and was the aunt of actress Fay Ripley. Her self-penned song Terry was a teenage tragedy song about the death of a boyfriend in a motorcycle crash. Big Jim Sullivan, Jimmy Page and Bobby Graham were among the high-profile star session musicians who played on the recording (of course they were).

The theme was a common type for the era, it bore some similarities to the Shangri-Las' slightly earlier Leader of the Pack, but the record caused a furore, with accusations of bad taste leading to a ban from the stuffy old BBC.

After recording six singles for Decca Records she "retired" at the age of eighteen in 1966. However, in 1969 she recorded a self-written single, the Tamla Motown-styled Micky, backed by Darby and Joan, both produced by Manfred Mann's Mike d'Abo (also among the relatively few pop musicians of a privileged background in that era) for the Immediate label. The single vanished, unpublicised.