Monthly Archives: July 2026

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 2,044) Fickle Pickle — “Sam & Sadie” The best I can make out, this ’70 Fickle Pickle (see #568) B-side is about a sailor’s illegitimate son learning that his dad has been lost at sea. Nevertheless, it’s glorious and anthemic late UK popContinue reading “Fickle Pickle — “Sam & Sadie”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 22, 2026”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 2,043) First Friday — “Ballad of John Doe Jr.” New Orleans? No, Notre Dame. Rootsy jazz rock with such a great vibe by some Notre Dame students on an LP with a more bluesy rock feel. Patrick Lundborg writes of First Friday’s firstContinue reading “First Friday — “Ballad of John Doe Jr.”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 21, 2026”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 2,042) Edwards Hand — “If I Thought You’d Ever Change Your Mind” This classic song written by John Cameron was a #20 UK hit for Cilla Black in ’69 and a #11 UK hit in ’04 for Agnetha Fältskog (yes, ABBA’s Agnetha Fältskog),Continue reading “Edwards Hand — “If I Thought You’d Ever Change Your Mind”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 20, 2026”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 2,041) Tony Rivers and the Castaways — “Pantomime” The band-written B-side of Tony Rivers and the Castaways’ (see #905) last single is “one of the closest approximations of the late-1960s Easybeats [see #201, 1,310, 1,359, 1,415, 1,683, 1,777, 1,877] that you’re likely toContinue reading “Tony Rivers and the Castaways — “Pantomime”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 19, 2026”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 2,040) The Red Squares — “You Can Be My Baby” The British are coming . . . to Denmark — via “K-KILLERRRR” (stOOpid68, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEBbxWwPGas) “[d]ynamite pounding mod freakbeat” (happening45, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17KcOjo1g18), “a single worthy of the Who [see #119, 548, 833, 976, 1,912] .Continue reading “The Red Squares — “You Can Be My Baby”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 18, 2026”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 2,03X) Emergency Exit — “Why Girl” Here’s a “[k]iller beat pounder [B-side] from Seattle, Washington!! First released on Ru-Ro in late ’66, and then for national release on Dunhill in early ’67” (Glendoras // DJ Mean Mojo Mathias, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SOYxLHhrPo), it’s “[g]reat pounding fuzzedContinue reading “Emergency Exit — “Why Girl”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 17, 2026”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 2,038) John Martyn — “Fairy Tale Lullaby” The Glasgow raised Scottish/Belgian folk legend John Martyn’s (see #1,400, 1,735) ‘67 debut LP London Conversation includes “the sweetest, most beautiful little song I’ve ever heard” (stevedorchester, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lV3s6_tDTWE&list=RDlV3s6_tDTWE&start_radio=1&pp=ygUeam9obiBtYXJ0eW4gZmFpcnkgdGFsZSBsdWxsYWJ5oAcB&ra=m), “[w]onderful beyond words” (quaich14, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lV3s6_tDTWE&list=RDlV3s6_tDTWE&start_radio=1&pp=ygUeam9obiBtYXJ0eW4gZmFpcnkgdGFsZSBsdWxsYWJ5oAcB&ra=m, with “a gorgeous acoustic refrain”.Continue reading “John Martyn — “Fairy Tale Lullaby”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 16, 2026”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 2,037) Isaac Hayes: “Something” Something in the way Isaac Hayes reinvented George Harrison’s [see #423, 545, 872, 942, 1,437] acclaimed triumph attracts me like no other cover. Hayes gives us “a masterpiece! As soulful and brilliant a cover of a classic song thatContinue reading “Isaac Hayes: “Something”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 15, 2026”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 2,036) Smokey Robinson & the Miracles — “And I Love Her” “It’s as if Macca [see #28, 132, 374, 521, 669, 779-81, 840] wrote the [Beatles’ ‘And I Love Her’] to be sung by the GOAT Smokey Robinson [see #1,313].” (theoloniouscoltrane3778, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=L_Qyd-kSKPQ&list=RDL_Qyd-kSKPQ&start_radio=1&pp=ygU64oCcU21va2V5IFJvYmluc29uICYgdGhlIE1pcmFjbGVzIOKAlCDigJxBbmQgSSBMb3ZlIEhlcuKAnaAHAQ%3D%3D&ra=m) ItContinue reading “Smokey Robinson & the Miracles — “And I Love Her”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 14, 2026”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 2,035) Milt Matthews Inc. — “Hard Day’s Night” A most excellent cover of the Beatles’ [see #28-29, 113, 132, 374, 422-23, 520-22, 545, 669, 779-81, 840, 872, 942, 1,087, 1,256, 1,437, 1,473, 1,910] “A Hard Day’s Night” by the “interracial soul-rock band ledContinue reading “Milt Matthews Inc. — “Hard Day’s Night”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 13, 2026”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 2,034) The Four Tops — “Eleanor Rigby” A soul-stirring cover of the Beatles’ [see #28-29, 113, 132, 374, 422-23, 520-22, 545, 669, 779-81, 840, 872, 942, 1,087, 1,256, 1,437, 1,473, 1,910] “Eleanor Rigby”. Very possibly the greatest ever cover of the song. “LeviContinue reading “The Four Tops — “Eleanor Rigby”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 12, 2026”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 2,033) The Motions — “Everything (that’s Mine)” The Netherlands’ Motions (see #1,224, 1,260) give us a “[s]uperb song, [a] real garagekiller” (Nederbeat, https://rateyourmusic.com/music-review/Nederbeat/the-motions/everything-thats-mine-theres-no-place-to-hide/49130142). It is “scorching . . . a mod masterpiece . . . just as exciting as the early Who [see #119, 548,Continue reading “The Motions — “Everything (that’s Mine)”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 11, 2026”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 2,032) Powder — “Turn Another Page” Before Thomas and Richard Frost had a minor hit and created Visualize, one of the great lost albums of the 1960s (see #209, 211, 247, 385, 595, 775, 967, 1,733, 1,865), these Who-bsessed brothers ignited Powder (see #789,Continue reading “I Shall Be Released: Powder — “Turn Another Page”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 10, 2026”

“McKinley Morgan the Deep Sea Diver” is available here: https://s-the-deep-sea-diver.mp3.pm/. THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 2,031) Focal Point — “McKinley Morgan the Deep Sea Diver” From one of the greatest coulda/shoulda-beens in the annals of British pop psych (see #4, 43, 198, 538, 747, 991, 1,094, 1,549, 1,732) here isContinue reading “I Shall Be Released: Focal Point — “McKinley Morgan the Deep Sea Diver”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 9, 2026”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 2,030) Val McKenna and Lesley Duncan — “Something’s Coming Along” This joyful “funky soulful sweet tune” (Patrick, https://www.gullbuy.com/buy/2005/8_16/dreambabe6sassy.php) by Val McKenna (see #988, 1,181, 1,258) and Leslie Duncan just sweeps me away. Whenever you need a little push in life, just remember “YouContinue reading “I Shall Be Released: Val McKenna and Lesley Duncan — “Something’s Coming Along”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 8, 2026”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 2,029) The Eighth Day — “Building with a Steeple” Sugar, this is a sweet sunshine pop B-side written by the Archies’ Ron Dante (and Gene Allan). Yes, the building is a church. Buckeyebeat tells us about the Eighth Day: The story of theContinue reading “The Eighth Day — “Building with a Steeple”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 7, 2026”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 2,028) Chuck Jackson & Maxine Brown — “We Find Him Guilty” Chuck Jackson (see #405, 1,174) and Maxine Brown (see #1,047, 1,360) team up for one of soul’s great “jury of love” songs, up there with O.V. Wright’s “Eight Men, Four Women” (seeContinue reading “Chuck Jackson & Maxine Brown — “We Find Him Guilty”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 6, 2026”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 2,027) Spirit — “Nature’s Way” Here’s a Spirit (see #1,092) song that wasn’t nicked by Zeppelin, but probably should have been — “lilting”, a “most endearing FM standard” (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/album/twelve-dreams-of-dr-sardonicus-mw0000651040), “driven by a positively gorgeous folk-jazz melody; its bittersweet beauty is easilyContinue reading “Spirit — “Nature’s Way”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 5, 2026”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 2,026) Dr. John — “The Patriotic Flag-Waiver”* Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (see #177) was a true American original, but here he borrowed the “Let It All Hang Out” riff and Dylan’s “Talkin’ John Birch Paranoid Blues” rap and stirred them up into aContinue reading “Dr. John — “The Patriotic Flag-Waiver”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 4, 2026”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 2,025) Buffalo Springfield — “Flying on the Ground Is Wrong” “Flying” is an impossibly gorgeous song written by Neil Young and sung by Richie Furay on Buffalo Springfield’s (see #1,555) first LP. “Although Neil Young has only two lead vocals on the record .Continue reading “Buffalo Springfield — “Flying on the Ground Is Wrong”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 3, 2026”