THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
A deliriously good pop soul kiss-off song written and sung by girl group genius Ellie Greenwich on her ’68 solo album Ellie Greenwich Composes, Produces and Sings is transformed into a funky Finnish number by singer Ann-Christine Nyström.
1,513) Ellie Greenwich — “Long Time Comin'”
“Long Time Comin'” is “richly soulful” (Joseph Neff, https://www.thevinyldistrict.com/storefront/graded-on-a-curve-ellie-greenwich-i-want-you-to-be-my-baby-bw-goodnight-goodnight/), a “more serious-minded soul-pop outing that’s moodier than most of her compositions”. (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/album/composes-produces-sings-mw0000556412)
Kreen writes of Composes, Produces and Sings:
It sounds like something out of time, really: in 1967, in an era of psychedelic rock, genius Brill-Building songwriter Ellie Greenwich, with the help of producer extraordinaire Bob Crewe on two numbers, produced a gem of a record. She had it all: talent as a musician and songwriter, good looks and a great voice. And on this LP, she provides rich and sophisticated production on a mix of songs she wrote herself and other great covers that she gives real character to. There’s no filler here; all of the numbers could have been released as singles. This is like Sgt Pepper’s never happened and the girl-group sound persevered into 1968, the year in which this was released.
Well, I’m glad that Sgt Pepper’s happened, but I’m also glad that Composes, Produces and Sings did. It has the best version of “Niki Hoeky” that I’ve ever heard.
Jude Rogers tells us of Ellie Greenwich:
Ellie Greenwich . . . co-wrote some of the decade’s most extraordinary songs –” “Be My Baby” and “Da Doo Ron Ron” for the Ronettes, “Leader of the Pack” for the Shangri-Las, “I Can Hear Music” for the Beach Boys, and “River Deep, Mountain High” for Ike and Tina Turner. . . . Born in 1940 to a Russian father and an American mother . . . . [i]n her late teens, she met her first husband, Jeff Barry; both sharing a love of the pop music that emerged at the end of the 50s. As their relationship blossomed, so did their songwriting. A few years later, they would become one of the Brill Building’s biggest assets alongside Carole King and Gerry Goffin, its more famous husband-and-wife writing team. Back then, the music industry was incredibly male-dominated. Women were largely only background singers or lyricists, but Greenwich’s abilities quickly led her to become a producer. “There were few women who played piano, wrote songs, and could go into a studio, work those controls and produce,” she told Charlotte Greig, in an interview in the late 80s. Music publishers rushed to get her to record new artists, and she became known in the industry as the “Demo Queen”. But Greenwich’s songwriting, as well as her producing, was top-notch, too. Her early classics are tirelessly, hopelessly romantic – full of passionate sentiments straight out of a young girl’s heart. . . . developing the career of a new singer-songwriter she’d chanced upon called Neil Diamond. Greenwich also worked with Dusty Springfield and Frank Sinatra, released her own album Ellie Greenwich Composes, Produces and Sings, and had two chart hits that showed off her raw, fabulous voice.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2009/aug/27/ellie-greenwich
Steve Kurutz writes:
Songwriter Ellie Greenwich helped to shape and popularize the girl group sound of the early ’60s that included such acts as the Ronettes, the Shangri-Las, and the Crystals, becoming, in the process, one of the most respected pop songwriters of the era. Like most of her generation, Greenwich was transfixed with the sounds of rock & roll and, between college classes, hung out at a local record shop . . . . The owner of the shop introduced Greenwich to some label scouts and soon she found herself recording a single for MCA under the name Ellie Gaye. The single flopped, however, but in a moment of fate she met aspiring songwriter Jeff Barry in 1962 at a party and soon the two began writing songs together, eventually becoming husband and wife. After composing for a few short months, the duo made an appointment at the famed Brill Building . . . . Greenwich and Barry were taken into the fold by Leiber and Stoller and began writing and producing for Phil Spector’s short-lived Philles label. It was during this period that Greenwich co-wrote some of her most lasting songs, including “Da Do Ron Ron” and “Be My Baby.” Greenwich and Barry also recorded an album under the name the Raindrops, scoring with “The Kind of Boy You Won’t Forget.” In 1964, Greenwich and her songwriting husband teamed up with Leiber and Stoller to write for their Red Bird imprint. It was with Red Bird that the girl group sound was molded into perfection by Greenwich, Barry, Leiber, Stoller and producer George “Shadow” Morton. . . . Greenwich continued to write hit records with Jeff Barry, including the seminal “River Deep, Mountain High” and the Beach Boys’ 1969 hit “I Can Hear Music,” but, like the team of Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, when their marriage soured so did their writing partnership. Greenwich continued on in the music industry, recording a singer/songwriter album for Verve Records in 1973 and providing background vocals to many of rock’s biggest stars.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ellie-greenwich-mn0000154326#biography
1,514) Ann-Christine Nyström, Ulla Ja Tiina — “Liian Monta Päivää”/”Long Time Comin’”
This was a ’69 B-side from Finland by Ann-Christine Nyström and Ulla Ja Tiina (“[a] Finnish vocal duo that consisted of twins Ulla and Christina Rif” (https://www.discogs.com/artist/1468621-Ulla-Ja-Tiina?srsltid=AfmBOoqd6xA700Uob_LvAEuA-KilDapOBXnqKCq6TO1Zjp2khas8lUvM)), with Finnish lyrics by Kari Tuomisaari.
Jukka Lindfors tells us of Ann-Christine (courtesy of Google Translate):
Ann-Christine Nyström . . . began her career in the early 1960s with upbeat twist songs. Her well-known recordings include “Kun twistataan”, “Lalaika”, “Mennään tansimaan”, and many Beatles covers sung with Johnny Liebkind. With the emergence of soul and blues, Ann-Christine also had the opportunity to interpret more African-American material, including the song See-Saw made famous by Aretha Franklin. Ann-Christine represented Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1966 with the song Playboy.
Wikipedia adds(courtesy of Google Translate):
A family friend of the Nyströms entered Ann-Christine’s record company . . . into a singing competition, which was held at the Helsinki Cultural Centre in 1961. Ann-Christine won the competition with her German-language song “Bei mir bist du schön”. Ann-Christine’s first recording was the single “Lalaika / Kun twistataan”, which was based on a Russian folk tune and was released in 1962. “Lalaika” became a popular song and new recordings were quickly made. Ann-Christine’s second single was “Ciribim-Ciribom”/ “Mennään tanssimaan”. The third single, in turn, included German-language versions of “Lalaika” and Marion’s Eurovision hit “Tipi-Tii”. However, the new singles did not reach the popularity of the first single. In the mid-1960s, Ann-Christine made joint recordings with Johnny (“Eksynyt kuulu oon”) and The Renegades (“Comin’ Home Baby”). She also appeared as a soloist with Tauno Suojanen’s band, Jussi Itkonen’s The Strangers and Danny’s Islanders, among others. In 1966, she represented Finland at the Eurovision Song Contest 1966 . . . with . . . “Playboy” and came in tenth place. . . . [T]he song from becoming a hit in Finland. In the summer of 1966, Ann Christine toured Sweden . . . . [S]he also had a Finnish version of Miriam Makeba’s hit “Pata Pata” on the charts , but her peak popularity was beginning to fade. Ann-Christine continued to record until 1969 and perform until 1973.
Here is the UK’s Bimbi Worrick:
Here are the Chicks from New Zealand:
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 1,000 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😊 