THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,698) The Majority — “Charlotte Rose”
The Majority’s (see #1,440, 1,624) “particularly impressive” (Stefan Granados, liner notes to the CD comp Majority One: Rainbow Rocking Chair) song is a “fab slice of Pop-sike” (liner notes to the CD comp Fading Yellow Vol. 4: Timeless UK 60’s Popsike & Other Delights), “fantastic well produced late 60’s pop . . . that somehow evaded a UK release” (freakbeatjames, https://www.45cat.com/record/22207), only seeing release in “Holland, Belgium and perhaps a few other territories.” (Stefan Granados again) It was written by George Alexander of Grapefruit (see #894, 1,462).
As to the Majority, Richie Unterberger tells us:
The Majority issued eight U.K. singles on Decca between 1965 and 1968 without reaching the British charts, though they were a reasonably accomplished band, especially in the vocal harmony department. . . . [It] sounded more American than the typical British Invasion band, with harmonies and, usually, material more in line with U.S. pop/rock acts like the Beach Boys and sunshine pop groups than most of their U.K. peers. While it’s fairly enjoyable stuff, it’s easy to hear why they became a sort of “in-between” group, with too much going for them to get dropped from their label, but not enough going for them to score hit records. One reason is that they didn’t establish much of an identity, their arrangements veering from mild British Invasion sounds to quasi-Walker Brothers productions and late-’60s British orchestrated pop with the slightest of psychedelic touches. Another is that none of their material, most of it supplied by outside writers, was particularly great, though it was usually pleasant (if not much more). They did do songs by some outstanding composers, including Chip Taylor, who co-wrote “Wait by the Fire [see #1,624],” and the Bee Gees, whose “All Our Christmases” [see #1,440] was never issued by the Bee Gees themselves. . . .
Of the many British Invasion-era bands that never had a hit . . . the Majority had more staying power than most . . . . They never quite found a consistent stylistic direction or great material, however, before changing their name to Majority One in the late ’60s. Formed in Hull, England, as the Mustangs in the early ’60s, they changed their name to the Majority around the time they moved to London in 1965. . . . [T]hey tried their hand at a variety of material over the next few years, most of it coming from outside songwriters. As a minor coup of sorts, for their second single, 1965’s “A Little Bit of Sunlight,” they managed to gain access to a Ray Davies composition that never found a place on a 1960s Kinks [see #100, 381, 417, 450, 508, 529, 606, 623, 753, 865, 978, 1,043, 1,108, 1,302, 1,330, 1,591, 1,697] record . . . . In search of chart material, the Majority also tried compositions written or co-written by such luminaries as John Carter [see #1,201, 1,304, 1,632], Twice as Much, and Chip Taylor. But they never hit a commercial or artistic gold mine, the production varying from the lush to straightforward mod-ish rock. . . . After some major lineup shuffles and work backing singer Barry Ryan [see #88, 264-66, 317, 671] in concert and in the studio, the Majority relocated to France, where they renamed themselves Majority One in 1969 and continued their recording career with a similar but more sophisticated musical approach.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-decca-years-1965-68-mw0000824899, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-majority-mn0000058153#biography
“Charlotte Rose” was the band’s first single issued by the French label Pink Elephant. Road manager John Turner explains that:
The move to France was a last attempt at making it “big”. The band had done quite a lot of work in Paris, Lyon, etc. and had gone down really well there. The agent who booked them over there wanted to take them on and it was decided they had nothing to lose.
liner notes to Majority One: Rainbow Rocking Chair
Richie Unterberger sticks a serrated spoon into Grapefruit:
Grapefruit were one of the better Beatlesque late-’60s British pop-rock bands. In 1968 they seemed on the way to stardom, with a couple of small hit British singles and, more importantly, some help from the Beatles themselves. Led by George Alexander . . . the group were at the outset cheerful harmony pop/rockers . . . skilled at blending melodic pop with sophisticated arrangements that employed baroque/psychedelic touches of strings, orchestration, and several varieties of keyboards. A disappointing second album, however, helped sink them out of sight, and the Beatles couldn’t be of help as they were preoccupied with their own imminent dissolution. George Alexander . . . [who] wrote most of the[ir] songs . . . was signed to Apple Music Publishing in 1967 by Terry Doran, who had been affiliated with Brian Epstein and the Beatles’ organization for some time. Doran also managed the band . . . . John Lennon named the[m] (after Yoko Ono’s book [Grapefruit]) and went to press receptions introducing the band to the media. Members of the Beatles pitched in ideas for Grapefruit arrangements and recording sessions, and Paul McCartney even directed a promotional video for their single, “Elevator.” . . . [After “Delilah”, a] cover of the Four Seasons’ “C’mon Marianne” just missed the Top Thirty . . . [but] nothing else made the charts. . . . [T]heir second album, 1969’s Deep Water, was [comprised of] routine late ’60s rock . . . . John Lennon did suggest in early 1969 that the band should record the then-unreleased . . . “Two of Us” (which they didn’t). Following some personnel changes, the group broke up around the end of the 1960s . . . .
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/grapefruit-mn0000988692/biography
Oh, and Richard Porter tells us that:
Not long after the formation of the group, Grapefruit were taken to meet Paul McCartney. Paul was supervising the editing of The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour film . . . . [The band’s rhythm guitarist] Pete [Swettenham] remembers that they were led past lines girls who were sitting on the stairs waiting for Paul to emerge. On 24th November 1967, Grapefruit did their first recording session at IBC Studios . . . . Pete remembers: “We’d been recording for about half an hour when, on the stairs leading up to the control room, suddenly in walked John Lennon and Paul McCartney, who had been our heroes for years![“] . . . [Pete’s brother Geoff, the drummer, says] “We’d been drinking scotch and coke and Paul asked for a drink. He took one sip and asked if there was any scotch in it. He then proceeded to fill the glass up with scotch and said ‘Now that’s what I call a scotch and coke’. They remained in the studio for some hours”. According to Geoff, even though they didn’t actively participate in the recording of ‘Dear Delilah’, John and Paul produced a track on Grapefruit’s first album, called ‘Lullaby’.
https://beatlesinlondon.com/a-meeting-with-half-of-grapefruit/
Here is Grapefruit:
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