THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,837) The Merry-Go-Round — “You’re a Very Lovely Woman”
From L.A. wunderkind Emitt Rhodes’ band the Merry-Go-Round (see #50, 156), here is a “sweeping orchestral pop gem” (Tim Sendra, https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-merry-go-round-mw0000862964), a “gorgeous, haunting string ballad” (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-best-of-the-merry-go-round-mw0000856619), “[a]n exciting showcase of Rhodes’ songwriting abilities[ that] will leave one gasping for breath [at the] intense and dark . . . overall sound”. (MOOF, https://moofmag.com/2017/09/18/the-merry-go-round-youre-a-very-lovely-woman-live-1967/) “[It] display[s] a songwriting touch far beyond Emitt’s years . . . . One listen [and] you can’t help but think,’This kid was 17?'” (Farmer John, https://psychedelicscene.com/2025/04/06/vinyl-relics-emitt-rhodes-by-emitt-rhodes/)
Ray McGinnis writes:
“You’re A Very Lovely Woman” is a rather dark song. The singer finds the lovely woman, admittedly, has charms. However, the world she offers ~ one of wine and sin ~ is ugly. After having a fling with this lovely woman, he realizes that there are other things he misses. He recognizes there is another woman “a girl” who loves him. Staying with the “lovely woman” would only ruin his life, he concludes. In addition, the “lovely woman” wants him to forget the things he’s been searching for that he’s spent time and effort trying to find. It seems that he and the “lovely woman” don’t have a lot in common, at least out of bed.
https://vancouversignaturesounds.com/hits/youre-a-very-lovely-woman-by-the-merry-go-round/
When asked by Russ Auwerter in ’71 how “Lovely Woman” began, Rhodes answered “I was playing drums in the Palace Guard when I was exposed td Hollywood in its heyday and I didn’t like it at all.” (https://www.onamrecords.com/artists/merry-go-round)
As to the band and their sole LP (largelyt a compilation of singles), Farmer John writes:
[They] had a unique sound – they weren’t quite folk-rock; they weren’t quite pop or baroque and they weren’t quite garage rock. They somehow managed to pull off sounding West Coast AND British Invasion simultaneously. Unique indeed.
https://psychedelicscene.com/2025/04/06/vinyl-relics-emitt-rhodes-by-emitt-rhodes/
MOOF adds:
From time to time, an artist or band will come along that will absolutely exceed all musical expectations. They will go beyond the stratosphere of excellence, and invade your eardrums with sounds of astonishment. This is what we have here . . . . Emitt Rhodes has a true talent of creating masterful pop tunes. . . . [I]f you are interested in hearing instantly memorable songs that have a strong Beatles [see #422, 1,087, 1,256] influence, this is an album to take a serious listen to. . . . [If it is] a new experience [it] will bring everlasting joy…
https://moofmag.com/2017/09/18/the-merry-go-round-youre-a-very-lovely-woman-live-1967/
Finally, Tim Sendra:
The Merry-Go-Round’s self-titled 1967 album is a breathtaking blend of chiming folk-rock guitars, British Invasion harmony vocals, baroque pop arrangements, and pure pop songcraft . . . . The Beatles are a huge influence, and there is plenty of McCartney [see #28, 132, 374, 521, 669, 779-81, 840] in Emitt Rhodes’ sweet vocals and their vocal harmonies. You can hear the Byrds [see #1,430, 1,605] a bit, some Left Banke (especially on . . . “You’re a Very Lovely Woman”), some L.A. garage on rockers . . . . [T]he overall quality of the songs and the group’s loose and earthy playing, help lift the album above the pack and should lead to it being mentioned in the same breath as Love’s first album or Buffalo Springfield’s [see #1,555] first when talking about classic American debut albums of the ’60s.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-merry-go-round-mw0000862964
Tim Sendra give us some history:
The Merry-Go-Round formed in Los Angeles during the summer of 1966 when Palace Guard drummer Emitt Rhodes left that band and began rehearsing . . . with his high school buddy Gary Kato. . . . [T]he duo hooked up with a couple of L.A. movers in bassist Bill Rinehart [who] had played in the Leaves [see #656] and drummer Joel Larson with the Grass Roots, and both had been in the short-lived Gene Clark Group [see #655] in 1966 and later played on Clark’s classic 1967 album, Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers. Rhodes, Kato, Rinehart, and Larson recorded demos that attracted label attention and led to a deal with A&M. “Live” [see #156] was released as a single in early 1967 and quickly became a huge hit in L.A., eventually reaching number 63 on the Billboard singles chart. The B-side, “Time Will Show the Wiser,” became somewhat well-known, too, as Fairport Convention [see #1,199] cut a version on their 1968 debut album. Their next single, the highly arranged and orchestrated “You’re a Very Lovely Woman,” didn’t fare as well on the charts, hitting only number 90 in late 1967. A&M perhaps sensed that the window of opportunity was closing for the group and hastily released The Merry-Go-Round in November of 1967. The album, excellent though it is, consists of singles, their flipsides, and assorted demos. The record stalled out at number 190 and Rinehart left the band soon after. He was replaced by Rick Dey, who had been with San Francisco band the Vejtables [see #1,005] and also the Wilde Knights . . . . The Merry-Go-Round released two singles in 1968, “Listen, Listen”/”Missing You” [see #50] and “Highway”/”‘Til the Day After,” but neither hit and they soon found that fewer fans were drawn to their shows, and offers to play were drying up. After plans to release a second album dissipated, Rhodes disbanded the Merry-Go-Round in 1969 and began working on solo material. His first album, The American Dream, contained solo tracks cut with session musicians as well as a few studio-sweetened Merry-Go-Round demos. Rhodes went on to release a handful of critically acclaimed solo albums, most notably 1970’s amazing Emitt Rhodes. Gary Kato later formed Bullet and became a member of the group Derek, which had a hit with the bubblegum classic “Cinnamon.” Rick Dey went on to do session work (including a stint working for the Monkees [see #1,718]) and recorded an album in the early ’70s with his brother Tony and Barry Melton (of Country Joe & the Fish fame).
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-merry-go-round-mn0000474208#biography
Here they are with Dick Clark:
Here is Rhodes’ solo version:
Here is Linda Ronstadt’s ’71 B-side:
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