Author Archives: georgefishman2

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,730) Queen Anne’s Lace — “The Happiest Day of My Life” This “groovy” (liner notes to the CD comp Soft Sounds for Gentle People 2) and stunning sunshine pop number is “[s]oft-rock magic. . . . breathy, light, and perversely sad-sounding” (gregcaz, https://musicaltaste.com/showsong.php?song_id=1081&performer=Queen%20Anne%26%238217%3Bs%20Lace&songtitle=The%20Happiest%20Day%20Of%20My%20Life),Continue reading “Queen Anne’s Lace — “The Happiest Day of My Life”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 24, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD Future superstar Stax songwriter Homer Banks sings an Isaac Hayes/David Porter classic. Incredibly, it wasn’t a hit in the U.S., but became a Northern Soul classic (reaching #55 in the UK) and received superb horn-driven cover treatment by Simon Dupree and the BigContinue reading “60 Minutes of Your Love Special Edition: Homer Banks/Simon Dupree and the Big Sound/Sir Douglas Quintet: Homer Banks — “60 Minutes of Your Love”, Simon Dupree and the Big Sound — “60 Minutes of Your Love”/“A Lot of Love”, Sir Douglas Quintet — “Sixty Minutes of Your Love”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 23, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,726) Rick Price — “Top Ten Record” Birmingham’s Rick Price (see #1,299, 1,606) dropped this hilarious and rocking take on the pursuit of a chart hit, which did not become a top ten record but should have! “Of course, I can always joinContinue reading “Rick Price — “Top Ten Record”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 22, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,725) Pasha/The Searchers — “Pussy Willow Dream”/”Pussy Willow Dragon” This dreamy, ethereal B-side written by Kenny Young (who wrote “Under the Boardwalk” with Art Resnick) is one of the Searchers’ (see #352, 394, 636, 1,278) great songs from the latter half of the 60’s.Continue reading “Pasha/The Searchers — “Pussy Willow Dream”/”Pussy Willow Dragon”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 21, 2025″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,724) The Montanas — “A Step in the Right Direction” This fantastic propulsive beat number, written by Jackie Trent and Tony Hatch, “easily had the potential to be a hit”. (Vernon Joynson, The Tapestry of Delights Revisited) Alas, “[t]here was a big buildupContinue reading “The Montanas — “A Step in the Right Direction”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 20, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,723) Sandy Salisbury — “Spell on Me” Infectious, brass-infused sunshine/bubblegum pop “[f]rom one of the best sunshine pop partnerships of all time”, Sandy and Curt Boettcher. (Scott Homewood, https://therockasteria.blogspot.com/2017/07/sandy-salisbury-do-unto-others-1969-us.html) “When they sing in harmony, it’s a sound that no other act of theContinue reading “I Shall Be Released: Sandy Salisbury — “Spell on Me”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 19, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,722) Maitreya Kali — “Music Box” An “[a]chingly beautiful, haunting acoustic folk song[]” (Forced Exposure, https://b2b.forcedexposure.com/onesheets/MAM202CD_ST.pdf) displaying “a gentle yet spooky mysticism” (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/album/apache-mw0001148319), “delicately rendered psych-folk” (Midnight to Six, https://midnighttosix.wordpress.com/2020/06/03/craig-smith-maitreya-kali-apache-inca-maitreya-apache-music/) from “budding pop wunderkind [Craig Smith, who] travelled down the hippieContinue reading “Maitreya Kali — “Music Box”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 18, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,721) Zoot Money’s Big Roll Band — “Barefootin’” From “quite simply the biggest character on the British rhythm and blues scene since the early 1960s” (see #726, 727, 1,106, 1,269) (http://zootmoney.org/bio/), “a romping cover” (Bournemouthbeatboom, https://bournemouthbeatboom.wordpress.com/zoot-money/) of Robert Parker’s #7 hit (#2 RE&B)Continue reading “Zoot Money’s Big Roll Band — “Barefootin’”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 17, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,720) The Dimensions — “Mary Lou” Here’s a cool garage version of the ’55 R&B blazer co-written and recorded by Young Jessie. Bill Dahl writes that “its unusual minor-key arrangement must have appealed to rockabilly wildman Ronnie Hawkins who hit the pop listsContinue reading “The Dimensions — “Mary Lou”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 16, 2025″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,719) The Bold — “Gotta Get Some” This “[k]iller garage rock mover” (Glendoras//DJ Mean Mojo Mathias, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODtFxtzVgns) is a”[n]oisy, gritty good old mid-60s garage-punk little gem!” (drrayman1435, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAhHhwnPId4), “VERY MUCH like Paul Revere & the Raiders at their toughest, yet lewder than MarkContinue reading “The Bold — “Gotta Get Some”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 15, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,718) The Monkees — “Shades of Gray” This is “one of [the Monkees’] finest album tracks, ever” (Matthew Greenwald, https://www.allmusic.com/song/shades-of-gray-mt0008175824), written by Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, with “a singalong chorus that’s as poignant as it is contagious”. (Ed Masley, https://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/music/2024/01/07/the-monkees-greatest-hits-of-all-time/72079810007/) Off ofContinue reading “The Monkees — “Shades of Gray”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 14, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,716) Jesse Colin Young — “Four in the Morning” This devastating “haunting, all acoustic solo masterwork, [is] so stark and so blue you can almost hear the water dripping in his apartment.” (Mark Rosen, https://www.facebook.com/groups/240098362684435/posts/23878830535051219/) It lead off JCY’s first LP, ’64’s TheContinue reading “Four in the Morning Special Edition: Jesse Colin Young/The Sunshine Company: Jesse Colin Young — “Four in the Morning”, The Sunshine Company — “Four in the Mornin’”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 13, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,715) The Honeybus — “She Said Yes” This “exquisite” (45rpy, https://45rpy.wordpress.com/2018/09/30/honeybus-story-1970/) song is “one of the ultimate ‘Hurrah, I’ve got a girlfriend’ songs” (Rob Morgan, https://agoldfishcalledregret.wordpress.com/tag/honeybus/)! Honeybus is one of my favorite bands (see #6, 52, 207, 434, 562, 605, 764, 1,100, 1,439, 1,582),Continue reading “The Honeybus — “She Said Yes”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 12, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD (song first featured as #113) John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band — “Love” As I do each year on September 11, and also in light of Charlie Kirk’s murder yesterday, I will play John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band‘s “Love” from 1970, oneContinue reading “John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band — “Love”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 11, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,714) Janis Ian — “Insanity Comes Quietly to the Structured Mind” Janice Ian’s follow-up A-side to the #14 “Society’s Child” was a song about suicide?! No wonder it topped out at #109. The song is “explosively poppy” (W.L. Swarts, https://wlswarts.blogspot.com/2012/11/janis-ians-sophomore-album-remains-for.html), “brilliantly conceived” (MichaelContinue reading “Janis Ian — “Insanity Comes Quietly to the Structured Mind”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 10, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,713) The Riot Squad — “I Wanna Talk About My Baby” Here is “a superb piece of smooth blue-eyed soul, closer to Georgie Fame [see #103, 169, 634, 695, 721, 1,044] than to the Animals”. (Bruce Eder, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-riot-squad-mn0001344667#biography) Closer to Georgie Fame? This isContinue reading “The Riot Squad — “I Wanna Talk About My Baby”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 10, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,712) Nirvana — “Illinois” Two expatriates in Swinging London — one from Ireland, one from Greece — as Nirvana (see #287, 391, 475, 1,238, 1,525) give us this pop psych masterpiece (along with all their other pop psych masterpieces), a “remarkable tour-de-force with a quiteContinue reading “Nirvana — “Illinois”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 8, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,711) Bob Dylan — “No More Auction Block” Well, everyone in the world has heard this song — at least the song that was either inspired by or adapted from this song. For the anti-slavery Black spiritual “No More Auction Block” begat “BlowingContinue reading “Bob Dylan — “No More Auction Block”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 7, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,710) The Marvelettes — “You’re the One for Me, Bobby” This “blue-chip” (Adam White, https://www.adampwhite.com/westgrandblog/tough-times) soul “standout” is a marvel that “could have been a hit”. (Bill Buckley, https://www.soulandjazzandfunk.com/reviews/the-marvelettes-forever-more-motownhip-o-select/) “[Writer] Smokey [Robinson] is a genius. And Wanda [Young] always put her own distinctiveContinue reading “The Marvelettes — “You’re the One for Me, Bobby”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 6, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,709) The Blues Project — “No Time Like the Right Time” It only reached #96?! As Richie Unterberger says, this “quite ingenious and catchy song” was the Blues Project’s (see #1,411) “greatest achievement and one of the best ‘great hit singles that neverContinue reading “The Blues Project — “No Time Like the Right Time”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 5, 2025”