THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,257) Les Sauterelles* — “Montgolfier”
Well, after the Beatles, let’s listen to the “Swiss Beatles” (see #500), led by Toni Vescoli! Bad Cat Records says:
[“Montgolfier” is] a surprisingly engaging slice of classic pop-psych. Full of breezy lysergic touches and waves of shimmering backing vocals (loved the chipmunk sounds), this one just had 1967 dripping out of it’s aural pores. Easy to see why it was tapped as what was to be the band’s final single.
“Je-be-du-ba-je-be-du-ba-je-be-du-ba-je-be-du”!
Richie Unterberger gives some history:
A Swiss ’60s band that have sometimes been mistakenly identified as a British group due to their 1968 single “Dream Machine,” a quite catchy and enjoyable facsimile of British flower pop . . . . The band had actually been recording since 1965, and established themselves as one of Switzerland’s best and most popular groups. . . . . Much of their first LP (1966) was filled with covers of popular rock hits. . . . interpreted . . . with a brash energy that makes the record stand out . . . . “Dream Machine” was a more original effort, and an album from 1968, View to Heaven, also had a more pronounced folk and psychedelic feel than their earliest outings. Les Sauterelles continued recording all the way into the early ’70s . . . .
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/les-sauterelles-mn0000837494
The band’s website relates two transformational moments in the band’s history (courtesy of Google Translate):
For the first time abroad, to Germany, to the beat club “Kaskade” in Cologne. Full of enthusiasm, the Sauterelles drive to what was then the beat mecca in a rented VW bus. After the first set, the club manager takes the band aside and his verdict is devastating: “We don’t need that Shadows rubbish here anymore! What people want to hear are songs by the Stones, the Beatles, etc.” .. .
Hansruedi Jaggi has connections to beat clubs and takes on the job of getting as many gigs as possible for the Sauterelles. Jaggi and the manager are also the ones sitting in the audience and can therefore hear a lot of what people are thinking and gossiping about. You get the feeling that a woman doesn’t fit well into the “modern image of a beat band.” How is Toni supposed to tell his sister this[?]
Bad Cat Records adds that “Showcasing an almost Spinal Tap-like roster of band members (it appears a sizable chunk of the Swiss population passed through the band at one time or another)[, b]y 1968 the band had already gone through nine line-ups with Vescoli being the only remaining member of the original line-up. ” (http://badcatrecords.com/SAUTERELLE.htm)
* Where did the name come from? Well, the band’s website explains:
“How about: LES SAUTERELLES,” says one of the two French-speaking [original band members]. “What does that mean in German?” you want to know. “Hop, grass-hop or something like that!” “Ah, locusts!” Toni specifies. “I think it’s great, it goes well with the chirping, shrill guitar tones.”
https://www-sauterelles-ch.translate.goog/story.php?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc
Pay to Play! The Off the Charts Spotify Playlist! + Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock Merchandise
Please consider helping to support my website/blog by contributing $6 a month for access to the Off the Charts Spotify Playlist. Using a term familiar to denizens of Capitol Hill, you pay to play! (“relating to or denoting an unethical or illicit arrangement in which payment is made by those who want certain privileges or advantages in such arenas as business, politics, sports, and entertainment” — dictionary.com).
The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify — now over 750 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.
All new subscribers will receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock magnet. New subscribers who sign up for a year will also receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock t-shirt or baseball cap. See pictures on the Pay to Play page.
When subscribing, please send me an e-mail (GMFtma1@gmail.com) or a comment on this site letting me know an e-mail address/phone number/Facebook address, etc. to which I can send instructions on accessing the playlist and a physical address to which I can sent a magnet/t-shirt/baseball cap. If choosing a t-shirt, please let me know the gender and size you prefer.
Just click on the first blue block for a month to month subscription or the second blue block for a yearly subscription.
Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! / Off the Charts: 60s Rock Revelations😊 