Author Archives: georgefishman2

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,050) Rare Earth — “Eleanor Rigby” People either love or hate Rare Earth’s (see #869) cover of “Eleanor Rigby”. You get “[o]ne of the best rock versions of this song ever” (60seczmusicvideos86, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1_wwr_Slck&t=344s) and “[h]ow to make the beatles better just add some smoothContinue reading “Rare Earth — “Eleanor Rigby”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 17, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,049) Reparata and the Delrons — “Boys and Girls” I love Reparata and the Delrons (see #258, 389, 578, 740) — and not just because they got together in ‘62 (the year I was born!) at St. Brendan’s Catholic School in Brooklyn (whereContinue reading “Reparata and the Delrons — “Boys and Girls”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 16, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,048) Yellow Bellow Room Boom* (Godley & Creme) — “Easy Life” The B-side of future 10cc’ers Godley & Creme’s first single (‘68) is a “droll” (David Wells, liner notes to Frabjous Days: The Secret World of Godley and Creme 1967-1969) and wonderful song. ”SuchContinue reading “Yellow Bellow Room Boom (Godley & Creme) — “Easy Life”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 15, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,047) Maxine Brown — “Love in Them There Hills” From “one of the most underrated soul and R&B vocalists of the ’60s” (Stephen Thomas Erlewine, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/maxine-brown-mn0000396154#biography) comes the definitive and killer version of this early Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, Roland Chambers rich/poor loveContinue reading “Maxine Brown — “Love in Them There Hills”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 14, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,046) The Tokens — “Animal” This crazy, wild, frisky song belongs in a zoo or on a Kim Fowley (see #89, 449) album. Wait, is there are difference? But an A-side?! I am not surprised that it flopped! Wikipedia tells us that “In 1968, The Tokens (seeContinue reading “The Tokens — “Animal”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 13, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,045) Samantha Jones — “Ford Leads the Way“ Well, after playing Georgie Fame’s “Getaway”, I need to play Samantha Jones’ “Ford Leads the Way”, “a pretty swinging number” (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/album/surrounded-by-a-ray-of-sunshine-the-ua-recordings-mw0000069372) and “Ridiculously Infectious!!” (SuperXavier30, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7p5mCutB20) Georgie’s song originated “as a jingle [heContinue reading “Samantha Jones — “Ford Leads the Way”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 12, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,044) Georgie Fame — “Getaway” WARNING: If you are from the UK, do not read any further as “Getaway” hit #1! However, it only reached #70 in the U.S. It had “[t]he perfect sound for the emerging summer of love with its carefreeContinue reading “Georgie Fame — “Getaway”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 11, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,043) The Kinks — “Lavender Hill” Turn on, tune in, and drop out Kinks-style. DJ Stereo Faith tells us: “Lavender Hill” is a gorgeous, yearning music hall meets psych rarity . . . . Initially recorded during the late ’60s, during the WeContinue reading “The Kinks — “Lavender Hill”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 10, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,042) Samantha Jones — “Today Without You” No, not from Sex and the City! This slinky “hideously rare and hard to find but brilliant” (doowopmike, https://www.45cat.com/record/pen703) and unforgettable Brit Girl classic inexplicably failed to become a megahit in the UK. Well, it didContinue reading “Samantha Jones — “Today Without You”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 9, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,041) The Petards — “Rainbows and Butterflies” Get hoisted by Germany’s own Petards with this ‘68 B-side, a pop psych masterpiece and “psychedelically-propelled opus” (liner notes to the CD comp Electric Sound Show: An Assortment of Antiquities for the Psychedelic Connoisseur). The bandContinue reading “The Petards — “Rainbows and Butterflies”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 8, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,040) Iron Butterfly — “So Lo” Heavy metal founding fathers Iron Butterfly’s first LP is appropriately titled Heavy. Yet it contained this lovely ditty — “CLA-HA-HA-HAS-IC!! one of a kind. unique. dark, happy, spooky, in a psychic tongue-in-cheek and merry way…”. (starcloud49595, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-6cGbHKC934&pp=ygUUSXJvbiBodXR0ZXJmbHQgc28gbG8%3D)Continue reading “Iron Butterfly — “So Lo”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 7, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,039) Módulos — “Nada Me Importa”/”Nothing Matters” Magical ‘69 B-side from Spain’s giants Módulos (see #947). “Fantastic theme. I ‘ll never forget. It was one of the songs that marked me the most during my youth. Thank you, Modules, for creating it.” (raulvelazquezgordillo5308,Continue reading “Módulos — “Nada Me Importa”/”Nothing Matters”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 6, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,038) Washington DCs — “Any Time” A Liverpool band named the Washington DCs? Well, I’m just glad they didn’t burn down the White House as a publicity stunt. If they’d been managed by Andrew Loog Oldham, they probably would have! “Ring me anytime,Continue reading “Washington DCs — “Any Time”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 5, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,037) Andwella — “She Taught Me to Love” This number from Northern Ireland’s Andwella (see #714, 770) starts off with a Paul McCartney/Wings sort of vibe and then blossoms into a grand 70’s-sounding power ballad. How it is not on heavy rotation at everyContinue reading “Andwella — “She Taught Me to Love”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 4, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,036) Donovan — “Celeste” Donovan (see #908) gives us “[o]ne of the most beautiful, poignant and plaintive love songs ever recorded” (Stephen-kl9wu, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=X6VC9zAd6lM&pp=ygUPZG9ub3ZhbiBjZWxlc3Rl), a “majestic” song with “an unforgettable melody” (Stuart Penney, https://andnowitsallthis.blogspot.com/2020/04/donovans-50-greatest-songs-ranked.html?m=1), “one of the most gorgeous Baroque folk-rock tunes by anyone”.Continue reading “Donovan — “Celeste”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 3, 2023″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,035) Copperpenny — “Castles of Sand” Before they hit it big in Canada, Ontario’s Copperpenny gave us this charming baroque pop number off its first LP. It is not Little Stevie Wonder’s “Castles in the Sand” or Jimi Hendrix’s “Castles Made of Sand”!Continue reading “Copperpenny — “Castles of Sand”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 2, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,034) Lea Riders Group — “Dom Kallar Oss Mods”/”They Call Us Mods” From one of “the most powerful rhythm & blues based Swedish 60’s bands” comes this ’68 B-side and title track to the Swedish flick of the same name. It is aContinue reading “Lea Riders Group — “Dom Kallar Oss Mods”/”They Call Us Mods”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 1, 2023″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & the Trinity* define Swinging London for me. “Sadly short-lived, but the combination of Driscoll’s vocals and sex appeal and Auger’s musicanship was stunning for a while.” (Vernon Joynson, The Tapestry of Delights Revisited) “Auger is one of theContinue reading “This Video’s on Fire! Special Edition: Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & the Trinity: “Black Cat”, “Break It Up”, “Season of the Witch” — Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 30, 2023″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,030) Ralph McTell — “Bright and Beautiful Things” Dare I feature a wisp of a song whose lyrics are based on the nursery rhyme “Little Miss Muffett” (at least until they take an unexpected turn)? I do dare, especially since the song isContinue reading “Ralph McTell — “Bright and Beautiful Things”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 29, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,029) Los Vidrios Quebrados — “Una Manera de Vivir”/”A Way of Living” Los Vidrios Quebrados (The Broken Glass) (see #763) are “unanimously considered as the great lost band of Chilean rock and, along with Los Mac’s [see #123, 203] . . . theContinue reading “Los Vidrios Quebrados — “Una Manera de Vivir”/”A Way of Living”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 28, 2023″