THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,780) The Californians — “Follow Me”
A great ’66 “catchy folk-rock-pop tune with an interesting counterpoint between the male and female vocals” (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lyme-cybelle-mn0000163784#biography) written and recorded by Lyme & Cybelle — Warren Zevon and Violet Santangelo — and done even better in ’67 by the Californians, a group from Wolverhampton in the UK that loved the American West Coast harmony sound!
Mike Stax writes of Lyme & Cybelle’s original version:
[It] rolls along on a chiming raga-guitar line with female and male vocals droning in hypnotic counterpoint like some kind of psychedelic Sonny & Cher [see #281-83, 1,021]. Somehow the song succeeds in being both hauntingly exotic and commerically plausible — a succesful marriage of pop, folk-rock, and early psychedelia.
liner notes to the CD comp Nuggets (Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era)
John Woodhouse tells us about the Californians:
The Californians, like The Montanas [see #1,245, 1,724], were one of the best known Wolverhampton recording groups during the 1960s. They were very much influenced by American harmony groups such as The Beach Boys [see #667], The Four Seasons [see #1,454], and The Association [see #1,264]. . . . The origins of The Californians can be traced back to the “skiffle” era in Wolverhampton. A group called Black Diamonds had local success in the late 1950s and early 60s to become well known throughout the area. . . . There was little doubt that Sheila Deni was the focal point of The Black Diamonds so her departure to go solo in May of 1966 left the future of the group uncertain. . . . [T]he remaining members had good voices so it was decided to carry on as a four-piece harmony group. A new group name “The Californians” was chosen to reflect the American West Coast harmony sound of groups such as The Beach Boys which they hoped to imitate. . . . The Californians bec[ame] extremely popular locally and they soon gained a large following of fans. . . . The group also did a lot of touring but it was their manager Roger Allen who eventually brought [them] to the notice of CBS Records. Roger had just landed a recording contract for The Montanas and then went to CBS saying he had another talented band – “The Cali’s”. The Californians first single release in early 1967 was certainly adventurous. . . . “Golden Apples” sounded something like “Bonanza” meets “Alladin” with its curious mix of wild-west and middle eastern rhythms along with echoey vocal effects. . . . Chosen for The Californian’s second single was a cover of then-unknown American songwriter Warren Zevon’s “Follow Me” . . . . Unfortunately, even with airplay and promotion, neither of the first two Californians singles released in 1967 made it into the national U.K. record chart despite selling well locally. . . . For the third Californians single release, the record company took no chances so had the group record a cover of the Spanky and Our Gang big U.S. hit “Sunday Will Never Be The Same”. Decca spared no expense in providing a full orchestral backing on the record’s A and B sides and with strong promotion and airplay how could an already proven hit fail? [It] was indeed another big seller in the West Midlands where the group had their fans but unfortunately sold poorly elsewhere. . . . A real gem of a track recorded by The Californians during this time was the radical “Cooks Of Cakes And Kindness”, composed by the Ivy Leagues’ John Carter [see #1,201, 1,304, 1,632]. This record was given a full-blown psychedelic production reminiscent of The Beatles “Magical Mystery Tour” . . . .
Richie Unterberger tells us of Lyme & Cybelle:
The male-female duo Lyme & Cybelle made three singles in 1966 for the White Whale label, the first two of them featuring a young Warren Zevon and Violet Santangelo as the duo partners. For those singles, the pair sang in a good-time pop/rock vein with some folk-rock influence. . . . They’re most known for their first single, “Follow Me[.]” . . . In 1966, it reached number 65 . . . . After the first two Lyme & Cybelle singles, Zevon was replaced by Wayne Erwin, even though Zevon was Santangelo’s songwriting partner as well as her vocal one on the original tunes released on the first pair of 45s. In their new setup, Lyme & Cybelle put out just one single, “Song 7″/”Write If You Get Work[]” . . . and boasting a far poppier sound than the previous two releases.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lyme-cybelle-mn0000163784#biography
Here are Lyme & Cybelle:
Here are Nino Tempo and April Stevens:
Here is the Tony Jackson Group:
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