THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,568) Ola and the Janglers — “Blow My Blues Away”
Sweden’s Ola and the Janglers (see #196, 323) give us a killer cover of a Mark Leeman song. They were founded in Stockholm in 1962 and are most well known for being the first (though certainly not the last!) Swedes on the US Billboard top 100 chart (reaching #82 with Chris Montez’s “Let’s Dance” in ‘69). But they were much more than that. Swedish Pop History tells us (courtesy of Google Translate) that:
The breakthrough for Ola & The Janglers came in 1965 when their second single “She’s Not There” was released . . . . This cover of the Zombies[‘s] song went up to . . . 10th place . . . . Of the six singles released in 1966, five ended up [in Sweden’s top 10]. . . . [They] were now one of Sweden’s four biggest pop bands together with The Hep Stars [see #929], Shanes and Tages [see #286, 1,282, 1,353, 1,358]. The band’s enormous popularity with thousands of young teenage fans in the audience created almost hysterical events at the pop band’s gigs in the Swedish folk parks. During the years 1966 and 1967, Ola & The Janglers stood at the absolute top. Two LPs and five singles were produced and released in 1967. Despite the England tour and songs played on Radio Luxemburg and not least the hit with “Let’s Dance” in 1969, Ola & The Janglers never broke through abroad.
https://www.svenskpophistoria.se/OLA%20AND%20THE%20JANGLERS/info.html
Richie Unterberger gives the Janglers a mixes write-up:
[L]ike numerous Continental bands, they were pretty derivative of British and American rock trends. Even stacked up against other long-lived Swedish bands of the era, such as Tages, they don’t stand up as among the best, or certainly among the more original. Still, for the most part, they have an enjoyably competent period sound, more influenced by the moody, keyboard-driven sound of the Zombies than many groups were. . . . There are too many non-notable covers of American rock and soul hits, but even some of these have bashing energy that make them a little better than you’d expect . . . .
“Enjoyably competent” — I want that to be my epitaph!
All Music Guide tells us about Mark Leeman:
A popular attraction in London’s clubs, the Mark Leeman Five made their debut in January 1965 with the Manfred Mann-produced ‘Portland Town’. Mark Leeman (b. John Ardrey . . . .vocals/guitar), Alan Roskams (lead guitar), Terry Goldberg (keyboards), David Hyde (bass) and Brian ‘Blinky’ Davison ( . . . drums) showed an impressive, almost ‘progressive’ grasp of R&B. This was confirmed on their next single ‘Blow My Blues Away’, but by the time of its release Leeman had been killed in a car crash.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mark-leeman-five-mn0000832175#biography
Here are the Mark Leeman Five:
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