THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,978) The Fly-Bi-Nights — “Found Love”

Bayard writes that the B-side of the Atlanta band’s only single is “magnificent”, “sublime”, “hard driving garage psych with evocative organ . . . utterly fantastic guitar runs . . . and fine, reflective vocal[s]”. “[T]he intensity never flagging for a single moment.” “As all time killers go, [it] is AN ALL TIME KILLER.” (Bayard, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/the-fly-bi-nites/come-on-up-found-love/) The song achieved belated recognition when it served as the soundtrack to Don Draper’s acid trip on Mad Men.

“How did the Fly Bi Nites record something as magical as [this], stick it on a B-side, then disappear into record-collector cult status?”(https://boringoldwhiteguy.blogspot.com/2017/08/i-thought-i-knew.html) How? I’ll tell you how — because the band members’ parents committed an unforgivable 60’s foul, breaking up the band by making their kids go to college and become lawyers and what not! Lead guitarist Bob Wade recalled that “The band probably broke up because everybody started going off to college.” (https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2023/06/the-fly-bi-nites-interview.html)

Lead singer Greg Presmanes tells us the history of the song in a super cool interview with Klemen Breznikar:

When I was a senior in high school we decided to record a song to sell at our band jobs for a dollar apiece. We recorded “Come On Up”, a cover song by . . . The Young Rascals. On the flipside, we wrote, and recorded our original song, “Found Love”. Although all the band members contributed to writing the song, Bobby Levinson, the rhythm player . . . came up with the essence of the chord progression, and I wrote the melody and most of the lyrics. . . . The preeminent rock ‘n’ roll impresario at the time was Bill Lowery. He sat in on the recording session and wanted to offer us a contract, to be the next big rock ‘n’ roll thing. However, the drummer[ Doug Freedman]’s dad told him that we could not do that because we were going to school. I recall 300 copies . . . being made. We never tried to distribute it . . . . I remember Doug being what I would call the “driving force” of the group. Everybody had a say, of course. Doug’s family connections got us a lot of gigs, Bar Mitzvahs and parties. He even had an uncle that was the manager of a local nightclub that was very popular; the Kitten’s Korner. A lot of big name (nationally known) groups played there and we did an “opening” once. . . . [W]e had managed to scrape up enough money to buy some studio time and got our original music onto a disc. There was a radio station in Atlanta (WQXI) that was “the” station for rock and the Kittens Korner did a lot of advertising with them. Enough people evidently badgered them until [“Found Love”] got played on the air. It was so popular that I remember the station played it all week . . . . I have always thought that one of the major things that made “Found Love” as popular as it is, is the arrangement itself. The band put the arrangement together, but I think it was probably the bass player and back up singer Tommy Dean, and the keyboard player, Steve Sherwood, who had one of the most important arrangement roles.

https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2023/06/the-fly-bi-nites-interview.html

As to the band’s history, Presmanes told Breznikar that:

In high school, in Atlanta . . . [I] played in my first band, The Echoes . . . . The drummer split off and formed his own band, The Fly-Bi-Nites, and I was drafted by The Echoes drummer [Doug Freedman] into The Fly-Bi-Nites, because he had heard me sing back up and lead on a few songs, while playing with The Echoes. I then played with The Fly-Bi-Nites for a few years until I went off to college. I was the lead singer for The Fly-Bi-Nites. We had a great run! We were pretty popular around the area and played lots of gigs, almost every weekend for years. . . . The Fly-Bi-Nites played a night spot, called the Kittens Korner, in Atlanta, a few times, and on one occasion opened for Dion and the Belmonts . . . . We were under aged and had to get notes from our parents allowing us to play in the night club. . . . When I was a sophomore in college, I got a call from the manager for a band, called The Amboy Dukes, which was pretty popular at the time[!!!] . . . . He offered me the job to replace their lead singer. I stayed on the phone with him at the dormitory for about an hour, but my parents had always told me not to rely on music as a career, so I turned him down.

https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2023/06/the-fly-bi-nites-interview.html

Two massive blown opportunities because of . . . parents!

Here it is on Mad Men:

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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,977) David Bowie — “In the Heat of the Morning” (’68 BBC (Top Gear) Version)

David Bowie intended this song to be “top ten rubbish”. While it was the furthest thing from rubbish, it could have and should have made the top ten had not the dunces at Decca decided that it was not single-worthy. It is actually a “lovely, florid” song recorded during his “David the Dandy” period (Stephen Thomas Erlewine, https://www.allmusic.com/album/bowie-at-the-beeb-the-best-of-the-bbc-radio-sessions-68-72-mw0000619751), and in my mind the best version by far is the one Bowie recorded in ’68 for John Peel’s BBC show.

Some people call it their favorite Bowie song. Maybe indeed, it is way up there with me. When I first heard it on Bowie at the BEEB, I thought “This is amazing, how have I not heard it before, how was it not a hit single?!”

Here is what Noel Gallagher had to say:

I don’t know anybody else that knows it, but it’s fucking amazing. The first person ever to play it for me was Steve Jones from the Sex Pistols, years and years ago. I was like, “What’s that?” And he says, “It’s f*ckin’ David Bowie.” . . . This song is very mid-Sixties Brit-pop. Great organ sound, brilliantly produced. . . . I was listening to [it] the other day, and I suddenly realized that I’ve used most of the lyrics in it for bits and bobs over the years! [Q: Which lyrics?] I’m not f*ckin’ telling you!

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/noel-gallagher-on-his-five-favorite-david-bowie-songs-28367/in-the-heat-of-the-morning-59053/

The Bowie Bible tells of the song’s extended birth pangs:

David Bowie recorded “In The Heat Of The Morning” in 1968, again in 2000 for the unreleased Toy album, and also on two occasions for BBC radio. According to his then-manager Ken Pitt, Bowie apparently considered it a throwaway, written at a time when he was frustrated by his lack of chart success.

[Kenneth Pitt:] “One evening David was sitting watching television when suddenly he took his eyes from the screen and said to me ‘I’m going to write some top ten rubbish’. Nothing on television could have prompted this remark so he must quietly have been pondering the problem of his unsold records, the movements on the screen becoming as flickering flames of a coal fire. ‘I don’t think you could ever knowingly write rubbish of any kind,’ I said. He laughed and replied ‘Wanna bet? You’ve seen nothing yet.’ And so he went away and wrote ‘Let Me Sleep Beside You’, which was neither rubbish nor top ten material, but another very good song. He then wrote two other songs which he also indexed under ‘rubbish’, namely ‘Karma Man’ and ‘In The Heat Of The Morning’.” [The Pitt Report]

The first studio version was recorded at Decca in London on 12 March 1968, with Tony Visconti producing. It was completed with overdubs and changes on 29 March, and 10 and 18 April, which were Bowie’s final sessions for the label. . . . Decca had already rejected “When I Live My Dream” for single release, and also turned down “In The Heat Of The Morning”. This disappointment marked the end of his involvement with the label.

[Kenneth Pitt:] “I was already planning promotion for the next single, which we expected to be ‘In The Heat Of The Morning’, and had arranged for David to perform the work on another Top Gear broadcast, when the news came through that the Decca selection panel had found that song and ‘London Bye Ta-Ta’ unsuitable for release. I immediately telephoned Hugh Mendl [Decca’s Artists Manager], whom I found to be sympathetic and now even more embarrassed by the action of his colleagues. He said ‘I cannot blame you if you wish to leave us.'” [The Pitt Report]

[It] remained unreleased until 6 March 1970, when Pitt selected the stereo mix for inclusion on the Decca compilation The World Of David Bowie. . . . A new, slower, version of the song was recorded in 2000 for the aborted Toy album, again produced by Tony Visconti. . . . David Bowie recorded “In The Heat Of The Morning” on two occasions for the BBC Radio 1 show Top Gear . . . . The first was recorded on 18 December 1967, and broadcast on Christmas Eve. Bowie, accompanied by the Arthur Greenslade Orchestra, performed five songs . . . . The second BBC recording was made on 13 May 1968, and broadcast on 26 May. This time Bowie was accompanied by the Tony Visconti Orchestra – fourteen musicians including bass guitarist Herbie Flowers, guitarist John McLaughlin, and drummer Barry Morgan. Again five songs were recorded . . . .

https://www.bowiebible.com/songs/in-the-heat-of-the-morning/

John Peel Wiki adds to the story:

[David Bowie:] “I remember around 1965 I did an audition for the BBC and I failed, and the report said, ‘This vocalist is devoid of personality and sings all the wrong notes.’ So in your [John Peel] inimitable manner and with tremendous enthusiasm you got me back on for another audition, which I passed the second time around, which gave me freewheeling access to a lifetime of singing all the wrong notes.”

In fact, as Peel admitted on the 1993 radio documentary Bowie At The Beeb, it wasn’t until The Man Who Sold the World LP of 1970 that he really became enthusiastic about Bowie’s work and it had been producer Bernie Andrews who was responsible for booking the singer for his early sessions on Top Gear:

“I’d played bits and pieces on the pirate ships and indeed on Top Gear, and he’d done the sessions of course for Top Gear, but by and large they were done because producer Bernie Andrews was keen on his work. I wasn’t so keen but I had no influence on choosing who did sessions. This was during the Anthony Newley period of his career, which I didn’t care for a great deal – still don’t, to be perfectly honest with you.”

https://peel.fandom.com/wiki/David_Bowie

Here is the A-side that wasn’t:

Here is BBC Top Gear (’67):

Here is Bowie’s demo:

Here is Bowie ’00:

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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,976) Turquoise — “Saynia”

A bittersweet, heartbreaking, and unforgettable song of unrequited love from one of the UK’s great unrequited double A-sides of the 60’s. Turquoise’s [see #37, 1,480, 1,616, 1,795] B-side to “Woodstock” (see #37) is “every bit as good — a melancholic psych-based ballad about a lost love” (Vernon Joynson, The Tapestry of Delights Revisited), “a beautiful and wistful complement to the A side”. (neo6666, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/turquoise_f2/woodstock___saynia/) “Anyone who’s ever moved away or ran into an ex somewhere should immediately become a bit misty-eyed at this one, I know I do. . . . This group was really something special.” (neo6666 again) Indeed.

Jeff Peters, who wrote the song along with his bandmate Ewan Stephens, recalls that “I remember clearly writing this song about a girl I had secretly been in love withwhlst I was at school. God forbid she ever knew it was about her so I made a name up.” (liner notes to the CD comp Turquoise: The Further Adventures of Flossie Fillett: The Collected Recordings 1966-1969).

“I know one woman who liked ‘Saynia’ enough to name her daughter after it.” (ZebedyZak, https://www.45cat.com/record/f12842) Maybe she was the subject of the song?

Stephen Thomas Erlewine tells us about Turquoise:

A quick listen to Turquoise with no knowledge of their background will surely bring two names immediately to mind: the Kinks [see #100, 381, 417, 450, 508, 529, 606, 623, 753, 865, 978, 1,043, 1,108, 1,330, 1,451, 1,591, 1,697, 1,784, 1,907] and the Who [see #548, 833, 976, 1,912]. So, it should be no surprise that Turquoise were not only influenced by their British peers but were close associates, friends of Ray and Dave Davies . . . . Turquoise released two singles for Decca in 1968 before disbanding . . . [which] earned them a cult of some size . . . . More than any other band from the late ’60s, Turquoise modeled themselves after mid-period Kinks, circa Something Else and Village Green Preservation Society. . . . [S]inger/songwriter Jeff Peters . . . wrote almost all of the band’s recorded work, usually in collaboration with Ewan Stephens . . . . Like the Kinks, Turquoise were distinctly, defiantly British in subject matter and approach . . . often sounding fey and campy yet managing to stay away from being overtly twee, and even if their melodies could sigh and swirl in psychedelic colors, they never were that trippy: they were grounded by acoustic guitars that jangled like Ray Davies’ on Something Else and they had ragged harmonies and a pop sense reminiscent of the brothers Davies.

https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-further-adventures-of-flossie-fillett-the-complete-recordings-mw0000572891

Steve Leggett adds:

Turquoise was a British pop-psych group who only officially released two singles in their short existence as a band, but the four songs on those two releases became beloved by collectors . . . . The group, who initially called themselves the Brood, was formed in North London’s Muswell Hill area in 1966 by Jeff Peters, Ewan Stephens, and Vic Jansen (a fourth member, Barry Hart, was added later), who were all friends and neighbors of the Kinks’ Ray and Dave Davies. Dave Davies produced a batch of demos for the Brood in 1966, and a second batch was produced by the Who’s Keith Moon and John Entwistle a year later in 1967. Eventually the Brood was signed to Decca Records, and after a name change to Turquoise, released two wonderful double-sided singles, “’53 Summer Street”/”Tales of Flossie Fillett” and “Woodstock”/“Saynia”, but neither release really took off, and the band called it quits in 1969. Peters and Hart went on to form Slowbone, releasing an album, Tales of a Crooked Man, in 1974.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/turquoise-mn0001822755#biography

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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,975) The Syn — “Grounded”

The Syn’s (see #303) “powerful self-penned slice of psychedelic R&B” (Vernon Joynson, The Tapestry of Delights Revisited) “featur[es] some of the finest songwriting of the freakbeat era” (https://dereksdaily45.blogspot.com/2010/08/syn-grounded.html) and is “among the finest obscure ’60s British psychedelic and mod singles” (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/album/original-syn-mw0000530185), a “classic”, “R&B-based rock with clanging guitars, tough vocals, and enough punch to knock out anyone foolish enough to take it on in a street fight”. (Tim Sendra, https://www.allmusic.com/album/flowerman-rare-blooms-from-the-syn-1965-1969-mw0003576345) “Few British records captured the majestic R&B swagger of U.S. garage punk as well . . . a sure-fire classic to match The Chocolate Watch Band [see #160] or The Standells [see #162, 1,401] at their arrogant best.” (John Reed, liner notes to the CD comp Decca Originals: The Freakbeat Scene) It is “a chunky piece of Tamla-inspired pop that found the group shamelessly filching the harmony backing vocals from The Four Tops’ [see #1,148, 1,429, 1,836] “Baby I Need Your Loving”. (David Wells, Record Collector 100 Greatest Psychedelic Records: High Times and Strange Tales from Rock’s Most Min-Blowing Era)

Here is Richie Unterberger on the Syn:

[The Syn was] a band that seemed to have great potential, but only came close to fulfilling it on . . . “14 Hour Technicolor Dream” [see #303] and “Grounded” . . . .

For a band that only made two singles, the Syn are quite well remembered by British rock collectors, principally because two of their members — guitarist Peter Banks and bassist Chris Squire — eventually surfaced in the first lineup of Yes in 1968. Their two singles, both issued in 1967 in the U.K. on Deram, were pretty solid efforts in their own right. These charted their transition from mod to psychedelic guitar rock . . . . Their first single, “Created by Clive,” was a foppish Carnaby Street takeoff that the band disliked; the fine B-side . . . “Grounded[]” . . . was much more indicative of the band’s sensibilities. Their promise really bloomed on their next and last 45, “14 Hour Technicolour Dream,” one of the best obscure British psychedelic singles (indeed one of the best British psychedelic singles by any band). . . . [T]he band broke up in early 1968. Banks and Squire played in another psychedelic band, Mabel Greer’s Toyshop, for a few months before becoming founding members of Yes.

https://www.allmusic.com/album/original-syn-mw0000530185, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-syn-mn0000000311#biography

Vernon Joynson adds that “they set out as a Motown and white soul band, but soon became wrapped in the trappings of flower-power . . . . The group had a Saturday night residency at The Marquee in London and performed their own own pop operas.” (The Tapestry of Delights Revisited) And Derek See writes that “[i]t . . . blows my mind that two members of this band . . . formed progressive rock band Yes only one year after this record was cut; a massive indication of changing tastes in music”. (https://dereksdaily45.blogspot.com/2010/08/syn-grounded.html)

Vintage Vinyl Via Valves offers up a sonically-improved version: “UK 45 mastered with a dodgy cutter stylus so needs a Custom Size stylus to not sound a squishy blurry mess. Grungy Psych Blues belter that doesn’t leave you Seasick now”:

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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,974) Micky Jones & Tommy Brown — “If I Could Be Sure”

You want to know what Micky and Tommy is? Before Spooky Tooth, before Foreigner, there was the State of Micky and Tommy, and Micky was Mick Jones (see #1,753). Micky and Tommy wrote and performed this song for the French flick Tumuc Humac, a stunning ballad, delicate and ethereal. Not a power ballad, just a powerful ballad.

Richie Unterberger tells us of Micky and Tommy:

It’s not well known, but long before he joined Foreigner — and even before he was in Spooky Tooth — Mick Jones made quite a few records with Tommy Brown, the pair working in France for much of the period. . . . encompassing recordings billed to several different monikers, including the State of Micky & Tommy, the Blackburds Nimrod, the J&B, and Thomas F. Browne. It may be that the singles they released as the State of Micky & Tommy, obscure as those 45s are, are the best known of the lot, especially “With Love from One to Five[]” . . . . [Their recordings are] fair, though not exceptional, music that reflects the British mod, pop/rock, and psychedelic trends of the time with occasional hints of French and Continental influences. “With Love from One to Five” is typical if classy 1967 orchestrated psychedelic pop; “Nobody Knows Where You’ve Been” strongly recalls the arrangements on Sgt. Pepper’s cuts like “Within You, Without You”; and “Frisco Bay” is nice dainty, dreamy pop with beatific Summer of Love lyrics and the lightest hints of raga-rock. All of those songs were found on singles credited to the State of Mickey & Tommy; the ones billed to the Blackburds  are more like soul-flavored British mod rock that could serve as incidental film music, while Nimrod’s 1969 single “The Bird” . . . is a fairly strong relic bridging psychedelia with early progressive rock. The best track, however, is the relatively unheralded 1966 single “There She Goes” by the J&B, a quite haunting, dramatic song that’s a bit like a mini-soundtrack to a story of Swinging London heartbreak.

https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-state-of-mickey-tommy-mw0001671650

In Deep Music Archive adds that:

As guns for hire in the French Sixties scene, you couldn’t land a better gig than writing for celebrity superstar couple Sylvie Vartan and Johnny Hallyday. Not only did Micky And Tommy write for these artists but they also played guitar and drums respectively in Johnny Hallyday’s backing band. . . . Somewhere in the distant past, two hip kids went to France and had the time of their lives, one of them went on to be a superstar the other drifted into obscurity. 

https://www.indeepmusicarchive.net/2015/05/23515-state-of-micky-and-tommy-with-love-from-1-to-5-1967/

You can find more details of their career here: https://techwebsound.com/artist/?artist=519.

Tumuc Humac was directed by Jean-Marie Périer, who “was at the heart of the pop explosion of the 1960s, capturing homegrown stars such as Jacques Dutronc and Johnny Hallyday – along with the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and Miles Davis – for the French magazine Salut les Copains. (https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2016/jun/29/jean-marie-perier-pop-photographer-in-pictures) Check out some of his cool photos of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, etc. here: https://www.faheykleingallery.com/artists/jean-marie-perier.

As to Tumuc Humac, Letterboxd tells us the plot:

When Marc, with the help of a juvenile court judge, is old enough to leave the welfare system, he leaves mainland France for French Guiana to try and find the only relative he knows, his grandfather, who was deported to the penal colony of this French overseas territory. During his odyssey, he meets Françoise, a young woman with whom he falls in love, and experiences many adventures.

https://letterboxd.com/film/tumuc-humac/

I’ve never seen it, but it’s not supposed to be particularly good.

Here is Johnny Hallyday:

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The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify — now over 1,300 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.

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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,973) Joe Simon — “Come On and Get It”

This “[f]unky Soul dancer” (Galactic-Ramble, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q14rmz1cD0c) is “[v]ery funky and uptempo for [Joe] Simon [see #95]. I can dig it”. (TyroneDavisBiggDay, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaWiszA87rA) So can I! “[I]t’s just about as funky as it gets . . . the band just cooks – yeah, baby! . . . [J]ust pure soul.” (Red Kelly, https://redkelly.blogspot.com/2006/09/joe-simon-come-on-and-get-it-sound.html)

Bob Wilson tells us about “Come On”:

I am the co-writer of this cut with Joe Simon and Allen Orange. I was an Artist, Session Musician, Arranger and Songwriter for Sound Stage 7 records. I played Organ on this cut. It was recorded at Fame Studios in Florence, Alabama. The track was arranged by myself, Rick Hall and the talented Aaron Varnell. Aaron did the horn arrangement and played tenor sax on the cut. We had to wait to use the studio for them to finish an all-night session for Wilson Pickett. . . . Joe was hot on the vocal, with a funky soul-scream and a pleading: “Come on-Come on, Come on-Come on. . . . Allen Orange and I wanted to cut Joe in a more Funk type sound, but the label wanted to develop him as a more “middle of the road/Pop” artist. . . . [T]his was one of my favorites.

https://redkelly.blogspot.com/2006/09/joe-simon-come-on-and-get-it-sound.html

Bill Dahl tells us about Joe Simon:

His plaintive baritone equally conversant with R&B and country phrasing, Joe Simon married the two genres with startling success during the late ’60s, adapting Nashville material to the soul sound and repeatedly coming up a winner. Simon began recording in the Bay Area, but a switch in recording sites (first to Muscle Shoals for Vee-Jay and then to Nashville after signing with disc jockey John Richbourg’s Sound Stage 7 label in 1966) heightened his national appeal. With easy access to prime country-oriented material, Simon soon found his true calling, scoring major hits with “Nine Pound Steel,” “(You Keep Me) Hangin’ On,” and the [’69] number one R&B smash “The Chokin’ Kind[]” [with today’s featured song the B-side (and also the B-side the prior year to “No Sad Songs”)] . . . . Still dabbling in country covers after switching to the Spring imprint in 1970, Simon was even more successful when assigned to Philadelphia wizards Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, who produced the moody “Drowning in the Sea of Love” the next year. Simon tried his hand at disco in 1975 with the sizzling “Get Down, Get Down (Get on the Floor)” and “Music in My Bones,” two of the most palatable artifacts of the era. Simon eventually retired from active performing to devote his life to the church; in the 1990s, he recorded a gospel album . . . .

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/joe-simon-mn0000805208#biography

Red Kelly adds:

Joe Simon was born in Louisiana, but grew up in Oakland. As a teenager, he sang with The Golden West Gospel Singers, a group that would later change its name to The Golden Tones and record for the west-coast based Hush label in 1959. Joe had a few releases on the label himself in the early sixties, before being picked up by Vee-Jay in 1964. He had some moderate success . . . before [revered DJ] John R [John Richbourg]* met him and suggested to Vee-Jay that they take him down to Muscle Shoals to record. The resulting “Let’s Do it Over” was a smash hit in the Summer of 1965, spending 17 weeks on the charts. When Vee-Jay went bankrupt later that year, John R. wasted no time in signing Simon to Sound Stage 7. Joe’s lush voice was the perfect vehicle for the “country soul” that John R had in mind, and his records charted consistently for the label. . . . “The Chokin’ Kind” . . . covered earlier that year by Waylon Jennings, went straight to #1 R&B and won Simon a Grammy, becoming forever his “signature song”. [It was] the perfect marriage of Country and Soul . . . . Simon, although remaining virtually a stranger to the “pop” charts, would become a huge star in the black community . . . .

https://redkelly.blogspot.com/2006/09/joe-simon-come-on-and-get-it-sound.html

* Red Kelly writes about John Richbourg:

[I]t’s hard to overestimate the influence of Nashville radio station WLAC. . . . By the mid-fifties, the station’s format had become an eclectic mix of Blues, Gospel and Rhythm & Blues that was tailored to their mostly black audience. With over 30 states within . . . range . . . it was estimated that WLAC was listened to by over 65% of the African-American people in this country. Although the dee-jays on the station were white, their laid-back “southern drawl” had many people convinced otherwise. They, of course, did nothing to dispel that notion. The greatest of these dee-jays was one John Richbourg, known on the radio as simply ‘John R’. His late night broadcasts . . . developed an almost fanatical following, as people tuned in to hear what was new and happenin’ on the R&B scene. He “broke” many a new record on his show . . . . James Brown has said that John R. was the man who “started his career” by getting behind the Famous Flames’ “Please, Please, Please” at a time when nobody else would play it. He would go on to do the same for Otis Redding [see #1,333, 1,385], “staying on” “These Arms of Mine” for months until his listeners “got it”. . . . For a whole new generation of white kids . . . John R. was their barometer, their window into the taboo world of “negro music”. . . . Everyone from B.B. King and James Brown to Rufus Thomas [see #1,759] praised him as a giant whose pioneering work in the early days of R&B changed the face of music in this country. . . . [He] ha[s] been described as a “white cat with a black soul”. 

https://redkelly.blogspot.com/2006/09/joe-simon-come-on-and-get-it-sound.html

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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,972) The Trolls — “I Don’t Recall”

“[E]ar splitting garage manic madness!!!” (local_garage_enthusiast, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY7DpbGR9V8) from a Pueblo, Colorado band — “a wild and very catchy song with repetitive tweeting organ notes, great fuzz guitar and bass, wonderful drumming and excellent vocals”. (Chris Bishop, https://garagehangover.com/trolls/) This one really burrows itself into your head and doesn’t let go. If the organ wasn’t actually buried in the mix, it would have literally blown minds. “Little girl you thought you were high and mighty . . .”

Mountainmusic.net writes:

A very “English” band from Pueblo they covered Stones and Kinks songs. They started with [lead vocalist Richard] Gonzales, [drummer Phil] Head, [Farfisa organist Fred] Brescher and one/two additional players in 1964 and made what proved to be a worthless trip to Los Angeles in the winter of that year. They retooled the band with the addition of [lead guitarist Doug] Rymerson and [bassist Monty] Baker from the visiting Radiants from southern Minnesota. . . . This lineup traveled to Amarillo, Texas to record for Ray Ruff and his new Ruff record label, already having regional (KOMA radio) success with the Blue Things. The first single “That’s The Way My Love Is”/“Into My Arms” featured both sides penned by . . . Breschler and while anywhere from four to ten additional tracks may have been recorded.. . . [a]ll masters where lost when Ruff’s facility in Amarillo burned in 1968. . . . The next recording session was in Clovis, New Mexico with Norman Petty in late 1965 or early in 1966. The resulting single “Stupid Girl”/“I Don’t Recall” . . . was released on the Warrior label…. One additional local recording session produced what Richard described as “all cymbals!” and resulting unhappiness with the master scuttled plans to release it as a disc. The departure of Monty Baker in the fall of 1966 was the end of band, he left to join the Colorado Springs band, The New World Blues Dictionary [a major fixture on the area’s live scene]. Richard stopped performing and moved to Orange County in Southern California for a few years, only to join in his drummer brother Leroy in White Lightning in 1968. During 1967 I believe Doug Rymerson and Phil Head worked with bands called The Chosen Few and the Rubber Band.

https://garagehangover.com/trolls/

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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,971) Greenfield & Cook — “A Day Begins”

Not the Dutch Beatles — the Dutch Simon & Garfunkel! Hey, where’s the Afro?! Anyway, simply ravishing pop rock. “Beautiful! . . . I thought it was beautiful back in 1971, as a teenager, and I still do.” (reneebluejay (courtesy of Google Translate), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxJAoj2zkj8)

LastFM tells us of Greenfield & Cook:

Greenfield & Cook was a singer-songwriter duo from The Hague, The Netherlands, active between 1969 and 1974. Because of their vocal harmonies they were referred to by many as “the Dutch Simon & Garfunkel”, but their sound was, in truth, much more inspired by the breezy sound of The Byrds [see #1,430, 1,605, 1,965] and other American west coast groups of the era. Former members of The Hague beat band The Hurricanes, Rink Groenveld and Peter Kok formed their duo in 1967, initially under the moniker Popshop. In 1969 they renamed themselves Greenfield & Cook: half-serious, literal translations of their Dutch family names into English.  Greenfield & Cook had a string of six Top 20 hits in The Netherlands, including “Only Lies” (#4 in 1971), “Don’t Turn Me Loose” (#6 in 1972) and “Easy Boy” (#8 in 1973). They released two full-length LPs: Greenfield & Cook (1972) and Second Album (1973). They enjoyed some minor success abroad, in Germany and Spain primarily (they recorded Spanish-language versions of some of their singles), and wrote film scores for two Italian movies, La Signora è Stata Violentata and Quattro dell’Apocalisse.  Both Groenveld and Kok embarked on solo careers in 1974, holding on to their “English” second names: Rink Greenfield and Peter Cook. Their solo activities marked the end of Greenfield & Cook as a duo.

https://www.last.fm/music/Greenfield+&+Cook/+wiki

Here’s the instrumental version:

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The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify — now over 1,300 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.

All new subscribers will receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock magnet. New subscribers who sign up for a year will also receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock t-shirt or baseball cap. See pictures on the Pay to Play page.

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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,970) Peter Collins — “Girl By the Sea”

How many degrees of separation are there between Rush, Bon Jovi, and Alice Cooper and of this “[h]aunting [UK] folk sike” (happening45, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wzhltfEI6l4&list=RDwzhltfEI6l4&start_radio=1&pp=ygUdUGV0ZXIgY29sbGlucyBnaXJsIGJ5IHRoZSBzZWGgBwE%3D&ra=m), this “infectious folk masterpiece” (liner notes to Piccadilly Sunshine: A Compendium of Rare Pop Curios from the British Psychedelic Era)? Peter Collins was producer for or otherwise involved with these groups, and singer/songwriter of this ’70 gem.

The Times (London) wrote that:

While making his first, and only, album [’70’s First Album] he realised he didn’t have what was required to be an artist and was “more interested in being in the studio and in the process of making a record”. He took a job as an assistant producer at the Decca studios in north London — “in practice that came down to being tea boy” — but crept back after-hours and began recording his own radio and TV jingles.

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/obituaries/article/peter-collins-h8gptqkbx

Collins recalled:

I was a singer-songwriter in the sixties, in my teens, and I had a deal with Decca as an artist. I went in the studio and I realized in the course of making that album I wasn’t really interested in being an artist, I was interested in being in the studio and the actual process of making a record. That’s what totally captivated me. It wasn’t getting behind the microphone and feeding my songs into machines that was particularly of interest to me. It was the atmosphere in the studio, and the whole process of making records thrilled me. In those days, all the producers were very, very powerful people. They all smoked Cuban cigars, everybody held them in great reverence. One of my first jobs in a business was as an assistant to the producers at the Decca studios in West Hampstead. I was able to see how they wielded power in the studio and that’s what I wanted to be.

https://www.arpjournal.com/asarpwp/interview-with-peter-collins/

Ed Hogan talks of Collins’ career:

Born in London . . . Peter Collins started playing guitar in his teens. An uncle manager fanned his interest in the music business. With Collins developing into a singer/songwriter, his uncle got him a deal with Decca Records, where he released one album. Around 1970, Collins’ uncle got him an entry-level job at a recording studio, then at a music publishing firm. Starting his own jingle-writing firm, Collins was mentored by jingle writer/producer Roger Greenaway (Coca Cola’s “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing”). . . . U.K. label Magnet Records hired Collins as their producer after hearing some of his masters. One of the first acts Collins produced for the label was Matchbox (“Rockabilly Rebel”). In 1985, Collins came to the U.S. to produce Rush, which led to him working with Queensryche . . . . Some other hits produced by Collins include Philip Bailey and Phil Collins’ number three R&B/number two pop hit “Easy Lover,” Bon Jovi’s number four pop hit “Always,” the number eight R&B/number ten pop hit “Pass the Dutchie” by Musical Youth, and Tracy Ullman’s number eight pop hit “They Don’t Know” as well as Indigo Girls’ Swamp Ophelia[ and] Alice Cooper’s Hey Stoopid[.]

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/peter-collins-mn0000268491#biography

Wikipedia adds:

Collins moved to Nashville in 1985 for the “excellent studios…and superb musicians.” He produced albums for Rush, who called him “Mister Big” and credited him with giving their sound a commercial edge that broadened their appeal and improved their record sales, first working on Power Windows (1985) and then Hold Your Fire (1987).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Collins_(music_producer)

To hear Collins tell more about his career, check out: https://www.soundonsound.com/people/peter-collins, https://www.arpjournal.com/asarpwp/interview-with-peter-collins/, and https://www.thetimes.com/uk/obituaries/article/peter-collins-h8gptqkbx.

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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,969) The Aquarians — “The Aquarians”

The Beatles weren’t the only ones to shout “Yeah, yeah, yeah”! Here is primo hippie Latin jazz, “Californian hippie sunshine zodiac jazz pop-psych” (L0K3, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHLTBUXcIn0), from an LP of “beautiful bossa/latin jazz . . . with psych pop elements and superb female/male vocal harmonies . . . [with] a groovy hippy vibe with fantastic piano, vibraphone and flute solos, [and] percussion breaks” (Popsike.com, https://www.popsike.com/php/detaildata.php?itemnr=4019883664/) Yeah, yeah, yeah!!!

Dusty Grooves says:

[The LP — Jungle Grass — is] a groovy batch of bouncy, jumpy cuts[,] one of the best groovers to come out of the late 60’s LA studio scene. It’s Latiny, it’s jazzy, and it’s got some nice Now Sound moments, like cool vocal choruses and groovy vibes (played by Bobby Hutcherson). The great Vladmir Vasiliev put this project together.

https://www.dustygroove.com/item/7226/Aquarians:Jungle-Grass

Brian Whitener tells us of the Aquarians:

Part of the strange California zodiac pop funk scene, the Aquarians took astrology rock in several interesting and generally unexplored directions. While primarily the brainchild of composer, arranger, and pianist Vladimir Vassilieff, the Aquarians were actually a supergroup of talented jazz musicians. Featuring Stan Gilbert, a much in-demand bassist at the time, and the incomparable Afro-Cuban percussion of Francisco Aguabella, the Aquarians blended a one love hippie philosophy with smooth, Latin-tinged jazz. Their first, and only, album, Jungle Grass sounds close to related astrology rockers Friends of Distinction (which also featured Stan Gilbert) and the 5th Dimension. While evidencing a nominal interest in astrology, the tracks on Jungle Grass are, at the core, jazz with a heavy Afro-Cuban (evident in the percussion), and possibly a Brazilian Tropicalia (evident in the vocals), influence. On an album packed with talent, there are few solos and no showboating — the performance of each member is subservient to the groove.

https://www.allmusic.com/album/jungle-grass-mw0000854461

Gerard Cerdan (“Mightygroove”) adds:

[The Aquarians were] mastermined by pianist, composer, Latin Music performer Vladimir Vassilieff Born in Belgium to Russian parents, Mr. Vassilieff moved with his family to Canada in 1958 and later came to the United States. Vassilieff appeared with such entertainers as Bob Hope, Steve Allen, Pete Fountain, Ramsey Lewis, Tammy Wynette, Rudy Vallee and Charo. The Aquarians are: Joe Pass (Guitar), Dave MacKay (Vocals), Francisco Aguabella (Conga drums & Percussion), Stanley Gilbert (Bass), Carl Lott (Drums), Joe Roccisano (flute, alto flute & sax (Alto), Vladimir Vassilieff (Piano), The Gemini Twins-(vocal) Vicky Hamilton (voice) Lynn Blessing (vibes); Stan Gilbert, Al Mckibbon (bass), featuring Bobby Hutcherson (vibes).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuKARXJL25g

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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,968) Kate — “Don’t Make a Sound”

Kate is one strange girl (see #240) who gives us a disorienting, phantasmagorical “slice of [‘68 British] pop psych replete with organ, harpsichord and phasing” on the B-side. (Vernon Joynson, The Tapestry of Delights Revisited)

Leonard01* tells us that:

[T]he song Whose lyrics I wrote with Steve Sirkin way back in 1967. I remember Chris Gilbey getting in touch and asking whether his band Kate could record it. There we were, two young guys just out of school and dreaming of being the next Lennon and McCartney! Anyway didn’t quite work out like that. Just pleased that others can now sample the way it was in 1968. Bit dated now obviously, but at least I made it to vinyl while many others didn’t. Also very pleased that Chris made it in the industry. Well done you mate!

https://www.45cat.com/record/cbs3631

Made it in the industry? “Never realized that Kate’s Chris Gilbey is the same guy who worked, promoted, managed or signed bands like AC DC, The Saints and Church!!” (Gian_paolo, https://www.45cat.com/record/cbs3631) What?!

Wikipedia:

Christopher John Gilbey . . . is an English-born Australian entrepreneur and music industry identity. His more recent activities are in the field of materials science and signals processing from graphene-coated materials, a long way from the career he is best known for: shaping the careers of recording artists such as INXS, Tommy Emmanuel, Keith Urban, The Church, The Saints, AC/DC, Wa Wa Nee, Euphoria, Edith Bliss and [the Easybeats’] Stevie Wright. . . . He studied engineering at the University of Cape Town before returning to the UK to pursue a career in the music industry. Chris formed a pop group called Kate, which was signed to CBS Records in the UK. He co-wrote several singles by the band including its first single, “Strange Girl”. [see #240] . . . After Kate disbanded in 1969, Gilbey established a leather fashion business called Woof. He designed a number of Hobbit-inspired clothes, which were sold in Carnaby Street. His suede, hooded capes came to the attention of Twiggy [see #1,789], who modelled them. Despite this, the venture was unsuccessful and Gilbey closed it in 1972. . . . [and] migrated to Australia . . . . [He] joined the Australian music label Albert Productions in 1973, where he began as A&R manager and subsequently became vice-president of A&R. At Alberts, Gilbey was deeply involved in the promotion of AC/DC, including producing or designing the band’s controversial radio advertisements and album covers. . . . After leaving Alberts, Gilbey managed the seminal Australian punk band The Saints, moving with the band to the UK. In 1979, Gilbey returned to Australia to become managing director of ATV Northern Songs. He signed a number of artists in Australia and helped a number of songwriters who had moved overseas including Steve Kipner [see #355, 1,121, 1,496, 1,669]. He established a joint venture with EMI Records reactivating the Parlophone label as the imprint for the records that he produced. Among the artists that he signed during this period was The Church. He produced the band’s first hit single, “The Unguarded Moment”, and debut album . . . . Gibley left ATV Northern Songs . . . . [and] built one of the most successful independent publishing companies in Australia . . . . Subsequent to this, Gilbey became the Senior Executive VP of BMG Records in Australia, and led the development of one of the first transactional music web sites as well as the development of the enhanced CD. . . . He was founding chairman of Export Music Australia. Gilbey received the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in 1992 for his contribution to the music industry and charity.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Gilbey

* Leonard Harbour shares songwriting credits with Steve Sirkin and Chris Gilbey. (https://www.45cat.com/record/cbs3631)

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The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify — now over 1,300 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.

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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,967) The Hobbits — “Sunny Day Girl”

Straight outta the Shire, the Hobbits (see #1,272) give us a “feel good slice of Sunshine Pop” (Stan Twist, https://www.facebook.com/groups/240098362684435/posts/1864427310251524/) that is “pretty bubblegum-tastic” (Johnny Savely, https://www.facebook.com/groups/968112868534089/posts/1128848929127148/), “pure mainstream AM radio sunshine pop, much like The Association [see #1,264] . . . [a]nd of course there is nothing wrong with that.” (Franko, https://whatfrankislisteningto.negstar.com/sunshine-pop-and-baroque/the-hobbits-down-to-middle-earth-decca-196/) Nothing at all! “Girl” would make one lord of a ringtone!

“If the [45] cover back then had read ‘Beatles’ instead of ‘Hobbits,’ it surely would have become a chart hit.” (uwe-musicman (courtesy of Google Translate), https://hitparade.ch/song/The-Hobbits/Sunny-Day-Girl-776225) So true!

Upon release, Cash Box (Nov. 25, 1967) thought the song was gonna be a hit! —

Hobbits are much in fashion these days, and judging from this LP, the Hobbits, a new rock group, should soon be setting musical fashions. The group’s sound is wistful and appealing, as are Hobbits. . . . The disk promises to see lots of sales action.

https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/60s/1967/CB-1967-11-25.pdf

Well, maybe it did in the Shire.

As to the Hobbits, Dusty Groove says:

You gotta love a band who named themselves after one of JRR Tolkein’s greatest creations – especially at a time when Lord Of The Rings was very much an underground text! And this debut marks the New York psych act as definitely different than most – maybe not as sword-and-sorcery as you’d guess from the title, but working in the best pop psych modes of the time – all at a level that’s very much like bigger acts of the period, even though The Hobbits never fully got their due! The tunes are short and catchy – handled with lots of interesting touches in the arrangements by Jerry Vance and Terry Philips – as the warm vocals slide into lots of cool keyboard and guitar parts – definitely on the trippier side of Sunshine Pop!

https://www.dustygroove.com/item/228943/Hobbits:Down-To-Middle-Earth-Japanese-paper-sleeve-edition

And RDTEN1 tells us:

The Hobbits . . . were the brainchild of the late Jimmy Curtiss (aka James Stulberger). Born and raised in Queens, New York, Curtis started his musical career as a member of doo-wop group The Enjays. By the early ’60s he’d embarked on a solo career marketed as a teen idol. Initially signed by United Artists he recorded a series of standard sappy teen ballads with little success. In contrast to many of his contemporaries, Curtiss wrote some of his material and when Warner Brothers dropped him from his contract he shifted gears into writing and advertising. He worked with The Regents helping them record a couple of 1965 singles and resumed his own solo career where he demonstrated the sense to adapt to changing public tastes. As an example, 1965’s “Not for You” found him moving into folk-rock, while 1967’s “Psychedelic Situation” saw him diving headlong into [the psychedelic situation]. . . . [and] proved a hit in West Germany. He’s also enjoyed some success as a songwriter – notably a 1967 top-40 hit when Jimmie Rodgers’ covered “Child of Clay’” It was enough for Decca to offer Curtiss a recording contract. And that’s where The Hobbits kick in. Working with songwriters Terry Philips and Jerry Vance, Curtiss next decided to put together a studio group. In an interesting move he recruited model and former Playboy Bunny Heather Hewitt (she provided backing vocals and tambourine), former Sam Butera and the Witnesses bassist Tony Luizza and singer/guitarist Zok Russo for the project. . . . In spite of the album title, 1967’s Philips produced Down To Middle Earth really wasn’t much of a concept album, rather came off as a likeable collection of folk-rock, sunshine-pop and pop-psych performances. . . . serving pretty much as a Curtiss solo effort. In addition to writing and co-writing much of the album, Curtiss arranged the material and served as lead singer . . . .

https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/the-hobbits/down-to-middle-earth/

Jason Ankeny notes that:

[The] follow-up [LP], Men and Doors: The Hobbirts Communicate, appeared in 1968 — like its predecessor, the record didn’t sell, and Decca terminated the contract. Curtiss then formed his own label and production company . . . . [A]fter rechristening the group the New Hobbits, Curtiss released 1969’s Back From Middle Earth, essentially a solo effort.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-hobbits-mn0001223665#biography

Opinions differ as to Down To Middle Earth. Franko writes:

What separates this album from any number of mid-range sunshine pop albums is that Curtiss’ roots are in doo-wop and vocal groups of the late 50s as well as the teen vocalists of the early 60s. So though the album is laden with the folk pop harmonies popular in sunshine pop there is also quite a bit of emphasis on the vocalist as a soloist. It’s as if Bobby Vee or Bobby Rydell were picked up and dumped into a psych pop band or if Jay and the Americans took acid. And there is nothing wrong with that. 

https://whatfrankislisteningto.negstar.com/sunshine-pop-and-baroque/the-hobbits-down-to-middle-earth-decca-196/

Records As I Buy Them is ambivalent: “It’s an amateurish and occasionally bewildering record, obviously kind of shameless psychedelic bandwagon exploitation, but the most bewildering thing about it is how completely brilliant some of it is somehow.” (https://somerecords.wordpress.com/2008/04/08/the-hobbits-down-to-middle-earth-1967/)

Dave Thompson — not so much:

[The album is] firmly in debt to the Turtles and/or the Hollies. Well-arranged melodies and picture-perfect harmonies do grab the attention in places . . . . [The Hobbits were] a band that sounded psychedelic because that’s what was selling at the time. In otherh words, not every lost psych gem is worth its weight in gold. Some are scarcely worth the vinyl they were pressed on.

https://www.allmusic.com/album/down-to-middle-earth-mw0000926005

Here is the 45 version:

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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,966) Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention — “Trouble Every Day”

One of Frank Zappa’s (see #793) greatest achievements, this “[t]otal masterpiece. . . [has] some of the best lyrics that Zappa ever wrote.” (mikedavies395, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oo4EnABWB4Y) Zappa’s blistering take on the ‘65 Watts riots is “probably the finest song on social/racial problems in the history of rock and roll” (caribman10, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oo4EnABWB4Y), and it garnered him his first record deal.

Françoise Couture writes:

“Trouble Every Day” became the most enduring song from the Mothers of Invention’s first LP, Freak Out. It was written as a straightforward rock song, its message being more important at first than its musical value. Zappa wrote it following racial riots. It is a charge against racism, mob violence, and the way the media treat this type of “news.” . . . It is one of the rare songs on which Zappa assumed lead vocals in the Mothers’ early days. By 1974, the song had undergone a transformation: it had been slowed down and given a slightly bluesy feel. A horn section hook had been added and a few verses eliminated to make way for an extended guitar solo. It appeared in this form on the [live] 1974 LP Roxy & Elsewhere under the title “More Trouble Every Day.” From this point onward, Zappa will use either title[] but will only play this second version. Lyrics were often updated to meet with contemporary events, like in the “Swaggart Version” found on The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life. The Freak Out version . . . was released as a DJ-only single by Verve in 1966 (wrongly titled “Trouble Comin” Every Day”), but it is a fair assumption to say it didn’t receive much (or any) airplay. The piece was performed, in either of its incarnations, throughout Zappa’s career, and was released in five different official recordings (on Freak Out, Roxy & Elsewhere, Does Humor Belong in Music?, The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life, and You Can’t Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 5).

https://www.allmusic.com/song/trouble-every-day-mt0044284068

Wikipedia expresses the received wisdom about the song:

[Zappa] composed the lyrics while watching continuous televised news coverage of the Watts Riots. Originally dubbed “The Watts Riot Song”, the piece reflects Zappa’s anger toward systemic racism, the conditions behind the unrest, and the way mainstream news transformed tragedy into spectacle. . . . The lyrics document Zappa’s response to the Watts riots, confronting poverty, racial injustice, police violence, and the voyeuristic tone of television journalism. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trouble_Every_Day_(song)

OK, that is just plain silly. You can’t pigeonhole Zappa — he was a lot more nuanced and sophisticated than that. Yes, he condemned racism and economic inequality, but he also condemned mob violence. “Watched while everybody on his street would take a turn to stomp n’ smash n’ bash n’ crash n’ slash n’ bust n’ burn” “Watched a mob just turn and bite ’em And they say it served ’em right Because a few of them are white”

“Funny that the Buffalo Springfield [see #1,555] wrote a song about white kids who couldn’t get into a nightclub and everybody thought it was the second coming…but before that, Frank had written probably the finest song on social/racial problems in the history of rock and roll, and most people have never heard it.” (caribman10, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oo4EnABWB4Y) So funny, and so true!

Frank Zappa tells the story:

Tom Wilson, who was producing records for MGM at the time, came to the Whiskey A-Go-Go . . . . He heard us sing “The Watts Riot Song (Trouble Every Day).” He stayed for five minutes, said “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” slapped me on the back, shook my hand and said, “Wonderful. We’re gonna make a record of you. Goodbye.” I didn’t see him again for four months. He thought we were a rhythm and blues band. He probably went back to New York and said, “I signed me another rhythm and blues band from the Coast. They got this song about the riot. It’s a protest song. They’ll do a couple of singles and maybe they’ll die out”. He came back to town just before we were going to do our first recording session. We had a little chat in his room and that was when he first discovered that that wasn’t all that we played. Things started changing. We decided not to make a single, we’d make an album instead. He wouldn’t give me an idea of what the budget would be for the album, but the average rock and roll album costs about $5,000. The start-to-finish cost of FREAK OUT was somewhere around $21,000. . . . Wilson was sticking his neck out. He laid his job on the line by producing the album. MGM felt that they had spent too much money on the album and they were about to let it die, but it started selling all over the place.

https://web.archive.org/web/20071014231444/http://zappa.com/fz/interviews/006_19680600.html (Hit Parader, June 1968)

Here is the single version:

Live ’74:

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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,965) The Byrds — “It Won’t Be Wrong”

Here is the Byrd’s (see #1,430, 1,605) Roger McGuinn’s “fan-frigging-tastic writing debut . . . . [a] Beatles-quality knock off” (ChadFlake, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/the-byrds/turn-turn-turn/reviews/3/) whose “change of tempo midway through highly reminiscent of a trick the Fabs had already used on ‘I Call Your Name’”. (Lejink, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/the-byrds/turn-turn-turn/reviews/3/) Though a B-side, it reached #63.

Matthew Greenwald writes:

Originally titled “Don’t Be Long,” . . . [it] went through several changes [leading to] the strident version that eventually appeared on Turn, Turn, Turn in late 1965. Either way, it’s a great example of the band’s overall exuberance, combining folk chord changes with a powerful rock & roll beat and rhythm. The band [first] used [it] as a B-side (billed as the Beefeaters) for a late-1964 Elektra single . . . captur[ing] the innocence and fury of the young musicians in a great, shining light.

https://www.allmusic.com/song/it-wont-be-wrong-mt0031215592

Wikipedia tells us:

“It Won’t Be Wrong” was composed in 1964 by the Byrds lead guitarist Jim McGuinn and his friend Harvey Gerst, who was an acquaintance from McGuinn’s days as a folk singer at The Troubadour . . . . The song originally appeared with the alternate title of “Don’t Be Long” on the B-side of a single that the Byrds had released on Elektra Records in October 1964, under the pseudonym the Beefeaters. By the time the song was re-recorded in September 1965, during the recording sessions for the Byrds’ second Columbia Records’ album, its title had been changed to “It Won’t Be Wrong”. Both the band and their producer Terry Melcher felt that the 1965 version included on the Turn! Turn! Turn! album was far more accomplished and exciting than the earlier Elektra recording . . . . Lyrically, the song is a relatively simplistic appeal for a lover to submit to the singer’s romantic advances. Musically, however, the guitar riff following each verse foreshadows the raga experimentation of the band’s later songs “Eight Miles High” and “Why”, both of which would be recorded within . . . months . . . . [Johnny] Rogan [wrote] that the “lackluster Beefeaters’ version was replaced by the driving beat of a Byrds rock classic, complete with strident guitars and improved harmonies, that transformed the sentiments of the song from an ineffectual statement to a passionate plea.” . . . Following its appearance on the album, the song was selected as the B-side for the Byrds’ “Set You Free This Time” single in January 1966. However, after initially poor sales of that single, Columbia Records in America began promoting the B-side instead, resulting in “It Won’t Be Wrong” charting at number 63 on the Billboard Hot 100. In the United Kingdom, “Set You Free This Time” was released as a single on February 11, 1966, but after the NME described the B-side as the best track on the single, it was re-released on February 18, 1966, with “It Won’t Be Wrong” as the A-side.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Won%27t_Be_Wrong

Here is the B-side version:

Here are the Beefeaters:

Here are the Byrds on Shivaree:

Here on Shivaree with poor video quality but with the host’s intro:

Here are the Byrds on Hollywood a Go Go:

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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,964) The Caravelles — “You Are Here”

“Smashing stuff” (Telegramsam, https://www.45cat.com/record/tf466), “a lovely pop tune” (Michael Jack Kirby, https://www.waybackattack.com/caravelles.html) from England’s unique duo the Caravelles (see #139, 186) with their “eerie close-harmony”, “breathy vocal style”. (Frank’s Jukebox, https://www.facebook.com/franks.jukebox/posts/the-caravelles-were-two-english-shopgirls-who-sang-in-pixie-dust-harmony-style-a/482176011001022/)

Laurence Purcell tells us that:

[“You Are Here” is] a lovely record, originally done by Robin Ward as “Winter’s Here”. Two words changed and, hey presto, you can sing this song all the year round. The arrangements are quite different: Ward went in for a majestic pseudo-Spector sound whereas the Caravelles’ version is more light and airy. Both are equally splendid. The Ward recording, released in the US a few months before, was not issued as a single in the UK. . . . Covered/ revived a few months later by the Caravelles . . . . [with a] completely different arrangement, but a record of equal charm . . . .

https://www.45cat.com/record/tf466, https://www.45cat.com/record/4516578

Frank’s Jukebox writes that “[t]he change in the lyrics might have ticked off composers Gil Garfield and Perry Botkin, Jr., but it makes the song more intimate and personal, and an elegant arrangement with strings shows that Harry Robinson wasn’t just a novelty-leaning eccentric.” (https://www.facebook.com/franks.jukebox/posts/the-caravelles-were-two-english-shopgirls-who-sang-in-pixie-dust-harmony-style-a/482176011001022/)

I much prefer the Caravelles’ version.

The Caravelles Origin Story Version #1

Andrew Hamilton:

A female duo consisting of Lois Wilkinson and Andrea Simpson from London, England, whose peak recording period was from 1963 to 1968. They were co-workers who entertained at office parties and amateur shows. Encouraged by co-workers to cut a record, they did a demo of “You Don’t Have to Be a Baby to Cry,” a tune they discovered on the back of Tennessee Ernie Ford’s “Sixteen Tons.” They named themselves the Caravelles after the French airliner. A local company, BPR Records, liked the demo and redid the song in a professional studio.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-caravelles-mn0000633144#biography

The Caravelles Origin Story Version #2

Michael Jack Kirby:

Two teenage girls living in the London suburbs of 1963 possessed beautifully harmonious voices: Lois Wilkinson had just turned 19, shy girl Andrea Simpson was two years younger. They met while working in the office of an auto manufacturer, their musical like-mindedness leading them to one another’s homes to practice whenever possible . . . . All four mums and dads approved . . . . Older country and western songs, faves of their elders, had caught the girls’ fancy. “You Don’t Have to Be a Baby to Cry,” written by prolific songwriter Bob Merrill with Terry Shand, had been a minor U.S. country hit for Ernest Tubb in the fall of 1950, becoming more instilled five years later when chosen as the B side of Tennessee Ernie Ford’s unbelievably popular “Sixteen Tons[]” . . . . Lois and Andrea sent a simple one-take demo tape of the song to music biz types; seasoned London record man Bunny Lewis came ’round and suggested The Caravelles as a name, after the jet airliner produced in France . . . . A more polished studio recording arranged by bandleader-composer Harry Robinson . . . Lois and Andrea’s finished take possessed a fanciful innocence no previous version could have conceived. . . .

https://www.waybackattack.com/caravelles.html

The Caravelles Origin Story Version #3

Terry Wilson:

At the time of their greatest fame, press stories told of how a blonde shorthand typist called Lois, and a brunette accounting machine operator called Andrea worked together in the same London company- and came together to play for an office party. However, in reality they were brought together by a man with an ear for talented singers called Curly Clayton- who ran a small recording Studio in Highbury, London. They were both keen to become professional singers and had both approached the studio independently. It was Clayton that suggested they might fare better as a duet. As a result of this encouragement, they learned some numbers to record as demos together- one of which was from the ‘B’-side of Tennessee Ernie Ford’s “Sixteen Tons”- this was “You Don’t Have To Be A Baby To Cry”.

https://www.45-rpm.org.uk/dirc/caravelles.htm

Michael Jack Kirby tells us of the Caravelles’ career:

Their initial approach had been to emulate the style of adolescent late-’50s hitmakers Patience and Prudence . . . . Retro by design, they sounded like they came right out of a dream. They had an image unlike other girl groups, Andrea a bit gangly, Lois always strumming away on a guitar nearly as big as she. Both were implausibly cute and that meant marketable. Lewis intended “You Don’t Have to Be a Baby to Cry” for release on his Ritz label, but the powerful Decca Ltd. provided more of a sure shot at success, so the single hit the streets in July 1963 on the Decca label with a Ritz Records logo to the right. Developing quickly, the song was in the top ten by the end of August; suddenly finding themselves inside the vortex, they toured Europe with the likes of The Rolling Stones, Del Shannon, Gerry and the Pacemakers, The Beatles and another new girl singer, Cilla Black. Then Smash Records picked up the master for American release . . . . [I]t hit the U.S. top ten in December. Two months later they were on the bill of the Beatles’ very first American concert in Washington, D.C. . . . “I Really Don’t Want to Know” (another transformed country-to-pop song) had stiffed at home, so Smash skipped it, opting to promote the third single, “Have You Ever Been Lonely (Have You Ever Been Blue),” a 1932 tune with lineage to Ernest Tubb, who had a C&W hit with it in early ’49. Sounding nearly identical to its predecessor, the song barely lasted the month of February before radio and record buyers abandoned it. . . . “You Are Here” was a lovely pop tune . . . but it stalled on release that spring. Nothing worked, in fact . . . . Smash had given up after four singles and one album. U.K. 45s appeared on Fontana to no avail. Lois and Andrea called it quits in 1966…not from making music, just from each other. Don’t let it distress you…they remained good friends! Andrea kept the group going with another girl, near-Lois-lookalike Lynne Hamilton. “Hey Mama You’ve Been on My Mind” [see #139] went in a folk-rock direction. ’67 and ’68 recordings “I Want to Love You Again” and “The Other Side of Love” had more of a sunshine-pop sound. Wilkinson ventured forth on a solo career with the name Lois Lane . . . . [H]er 1968 cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Punky’s Dilemma” and a strange little tune called “Brontosaurus Named Bert” . . . have undeniable appeal. But as with the post-’63 Caravelles, the records weren’t strong sellers. A shame, since the music is quite good…all of it. . . .

https://www.waybackattack.com/caravelles.html

As to Robin Ward, Jason Ankeny tells us that:

Famed for the 1963 ballad “Wonderful Summer,” pop singer Robin Ward was born Jacqueline McDonnell in Hawaii . . . . Raised primarily in Nebraska, she later became a Los Angeles session vocalist under her married name, Jackie Ward; for “Wonderful Summer,” her solo debut for Dot, she borrowed the name Robin from her daughter, believing it more suitable for the teen audience the record courted. A lushly dramatic classic of the girl group genre, the single reached the number 14 spot a week before the Kennedy assassination; Ward recorded five more singles for Dot but never recaptured her initial success.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/robin-ward-mn0000286184#biography

Here is Robin Ward:

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The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify — now over 1,300 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.

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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,963) Bob Dylan — “Walkin’ Down the Line”

Bob Dylan [see #126, 823, 1,133, 1,162, 1,495, 1,599, 1,711, 1,895] first recorded this delectable “throwaway” in November 1962 for Broadside magazine and then in March 1963 as a publishing demo. This remarkable song has “[s]adness everywhere, but the musician Dylan lays a catchy, cheerfully hopping melody underneath, which gives the lament (unintentionally?) a comical charge.” (Jochen Markhorst, https://bob-dylan.org.uk/archives/10921) It has been covered by a remarkable variety of artists (https://secondhandsongs.com/work/22201/al).

Jochen Markhorst writes of “Walkin’” and its enduring attraction to other artists:

It is one of Dylan’s early railroad songs. . . . Dylan is, as is well known, fond of the symbolic power of train transport and, at the very least, taken with the misty ambiguity that arises when allowing a roaming protagonist to walk down the line. . . . Part of the attraction lies in the stimulating contrast between lyrics and music. The storyteller, who is dragging down the line, is certainly not happy. He has walked all night along the rails, melancholic, with a troubled mind, his girlfriend, who by the way is not too smart, is not feeling well and the money has run out. Sadness everywhere, but the musician Dylan lays a catchy, cheerfully hopping melody underneath, which gives the lament (unintentionally?) a comical charge. The decor cannot be determined unambiguously. But his feet are flying and he is wearing his walkin’ shoes, so it is likely that the poet here tries to evoke the image of a destitute wanderer following a railroad. The poet has not given much love to the lyrics. It is also figuratively a directionless whole, a not too inspired collection of folk and blues clichés, with just one single Dylan-worthy flash: I see the morning light / Well, it’s not because / I’m an early riser / I didn’t go to sleep last night. Dylan considers the song a throw-away, apparently, and treats it that way. To safeguard copyrights, he makes a Witmark recording . . . for Broadside Dylan already recorded it once before, in October ’62, and in May ’64, at colleague Eric Von Schmidt’s home in Florida, it surprisingly pops up again, but it never reaches a stage or an album. . . . It is immediately picked up by colleagues and covered dozens of times in the 60s alone. The narrator’s suffering completely evaporates in all those cheerful, hopping arrangements, but that does not spoil the fun; the melody and the accompaniment have such indestructible, granite power that every adaptation is contagious. The first one is recorded as early as 1963 and is done by the very charming and very talented Jackie DeShannon. It opens her debut album, which she originally wanted to fill with Dylan covers. . . . Other covers from this period all have a similar, dated sound and arrangements . . . . [It] continues to be popular in later decades. . . .

https://bob-dylan.org.uk/archives/10921

Tony Attwood criticizes the many covers:

[M]any people who have recorded the song, and the different versions they have come up with.  But the key thing they have all done is lost that odd chord against the melody contrast which heightens the difference between the lightness of the tune and the sadness of the lyrics. . . . [T]hey keep the jaunty and fun nature of the music, and have little input into the very downtrodden existence expressed in the words.

“Walkin Down the Line” by Bob Dylan. Everyone seems to have recorded their own version

Stephen Thomas Erlewine tells us of Dylan’s publishing demos:

Like any fledgling songwriter, Bob Dylan signed with a publishing company at the outset of his career. Publishers are standard practice for songwriters — it’s where the money comes in, as songs are published, performed, and covered — but in the early ‘60s there was an expectation that publishers would help place songs in the hands of appropriate singers, a practice Dylan effectively ended by popularizing writers singing their own songs, but in 1962, this self-sufficiency was a rarity. Even his 1962 debut contained only three Dylan originals, which in his case reflected his traditional folk roots, but Dylan needed a publisher for those three songs so John Hammond, who signed the singer/songwriter to Columbia, pointed him toward Leeds Music. Dylan cut a demo session for Leeds, between the recording and release of Bob Dylan and when that album wound up stiffing, Leeds let him buy out his contract in the summer of 1962, which then led to him signing with M. Witmark & Sons publishing company. Between 1962 and 1964 . . . Dylan cut several demo sessions for Witmark, usually with the intent of the publisher pitching songs to other singers. Many of his early classics were first essayed here . . . .

https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-bootleg-series-vol-9-the-witmark-demos-1962-1964-mw0002041825

Here is the Broadside version:

Bob with “Eric Von Schmidt on a special version of this classic song featuring some new and mostly improvised verses. The real joy of the recordings from this tape is just hearing everybody have a good time playing music together.” (City of Red Skies, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBLl4bn-GRI):

Here is Arlo Guthrie at Woodstock. His hippie rap at the beginning is sooo dated, and sooo hilarious:

Here is Jackie DeShannon:

Here is Linda Ronstadt’s powerhouse version on Playboy After Dark:

Here is Joan Baez:

Here are Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder/Rising Sons:

Here is Odetta:

Here is Hamilton Camp’s million miles an hour version:

Here is Glen Campbell:

Here are the Dillards in ‘63 making fun of Bob’s voice. Who would end up with the more lasting legacy?!:

Here is Marvin Gardens live:

Here is Marvin Gardens’ demo:

Here is Sierra Ferrell’s adorable contemporary version:

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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,962) Baby Washington — “I’ve Got a Feeling”

Baby Washington wrote her own sly ’62 R&B romp about a woman with a feeling her man has left her, based on such obscure clues such as his changing the locks, changing his phone number, leaving her ring in the mailbox . . . No sh*t, Sherlock! “OK, a classic but what a classic!!! Amazing R’n’B dancer!!!” ( Northernclub / Rockito, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2myDZ8WoHM8)

“Jeanette ‘Baby’ Washington cut her finest songs for Sue [Records] in the early ’60s. Although few made the charts, all were delivered with conviction, sung in an earnest and riveting manner, and produced with minimal gimmicks.” (Ron Wynn, https://www.allmusic.com/album/thats-how-heartaches-are-made-mw0000689873) She “could sound like a hard-edged, no-nonsense wailer one moment and a wounded sparrow the next.” (Ron Wynn, https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-best-of-baby-washington-mw0000689817)

1969SL crushes on Baby Washington and her first LP (including “Feeling”) — 63’s That’s How Heartaches Are Made:

This glorious album came from the early days of R&B when American black artists had limited audience at home but were worshipped in Europe, particularly UK where singles by New York’s Sue Records had cult status. . . . It was Dusty Springfield who championed this particular lady as her all-time favourite singer . . . . Its very interesting that whispery and willowy Springfield was enamoured of sound so drastically removed from hers . . . . I would assume that Springfield owes much more to young Dionne Warwick who at the same time dazzled with the strings of delicate hits but it seems that privately British diva was enchanted with massive voice of this young lady whose sweet face belied impossibly mature, dark voice. Baby Washington might have looked like a doll but hers was the powerful roadhouse voice not unlike that of Darlene Love – instantly recognisable and exceptionally heavy, it was dark, chocolate sound that completely sweeps the unsuspected listener in warm cloak. . . . this particular album seems to represent her moment of glory, with classic early 1960s hit “That’s How Heartaches Are Made” being perhaps the most famous of all. . . .

[She was a] brilliant singer whose sweet, baby face hides powerful gospel voice. . . . [H]er early 1960’s work [included] lots of great singing and some less-great songs on which Washington does her best to uplift their dubious quality. 

https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/baby-washington/thats-how-heartaches-are-made/, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/comp/baby_washington/the_sue_singles/

Here is the UK’s Tawny Reed:

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The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify — now over 1,300 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.

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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,961) Roberto Carlos — “Namoradinha de um Amigo Meu”/”A Friend of Mine’s Girlfriend”

Warning, if you are from Brazil, read no further! This stunning ’66 song by Brazilian legend Roberto Carlos (see #1,506, 1,638), the King of Jovem Guarda, reached #1 (https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namoradinha_de_um_Amigo_Meu). It is “[m]y personal favorite [from the LP] penned by Roberto Carlos himself that further confirms his prowess as both a composer and a performer.” (Dominique Deret, https://www.allmusic.com/album/roberto-carlos-eu-te-darei-o-ceu-mw0000342445)

Everaldo Belada explains (courtesy of Google Translate):

In 1966, at the height of the Jovem Guarda movement, Roberto Carlos exposed an emotional dilemma by revealing that he was “madly in love” with a friend’s girlfriend. . . . a song written solely by Roberto Carlos – became one of his biggest hits . . . . There is speculation in the media that . . . he is referring to his relationship with model Maria Stella Spledore, wife of famous designer Dener Pamplona.

https://www.am570.com.br/post.php?id=2046

Wikipedia adds (courtesy of Google Translate):

Initially, the song was a promise Roberto Carlos made to the Beatniks [see #1,958], the group that accompanied the singer on the Jovem Guarda program, to record on his first single. Despite the delay in fulfilling this promise, Roberto Carlos called the studio where the group was recording and gave the lyrics to the group. However, there was no longer time to include the song on that record, and the band agreed that it would be better to leave the composition for another single. . . . At the end of the year, while Roberto was preparing his new album, he remembered the unused Beatniks theme. As it had been somewhat hastily put together, he made some adjustments to the song, melody and lyrics, and asked Evandro Ribeiro, then producer of his records, for his opinion. He promptly saw potential in the song, deciding to include it on Roberto Carlos’ album.

https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namoradinha_de_um_Amigo_Meu

John Armstrong writes of Roberto Carlos:

By 1994, with over 120 million album sales [around the world], Roberto Carlos had broken the record held by the Beatles. And he was only part way through his career. There have been the inevitable snipes of ‘cheese’ suffered by many a Latin crooner . . . . But the tide of tributes from younger Brazilian artists – Cassia Eller, Chico Science, Barão Vermelho and Skank in particular – and collaborations with other very non-cheesy superstars such as Caetano Veloso, Marisa Monte and Jennifer Lopez, have quietened his detractors. So why is Roberto Carlos so culturally significant to Brazilians? A well-known Brazilian artist once confided to me in an interview: ‘We Brazilians love a sentimental song as much as we love a samba.’ Others say it is the way he sings these songs that sets him apart. The key to Roberto Carlos is that in the 50s he was trained under the magic of bossa nova, in the company of Jorge Ben and João Gilberto, before switching his repertoire to rock and pop in the 60s, becoming Brazil’s first big crossover artist. Soon, the albums were pouring out and selling by the cartload, and Carlos was dubbed the King of Jovem Guarda. This new-found fame gave him the artistic freedom, in time, to record whatever he wanted, from rock to bolero. When the right-wing military dictatorship took power in 1964, the artistic community responded with the Tropicalía movement which, in Gilberto Gil’s words, sought ‘a new perspective away from left-right binomial.” This meant unity amongst musicians and, perhaps surprisingly, the Tropicalistas who were associated with the left, supported the mass-market Roberto Carlos; his voice, his presence, was a beacon throughout the dark days of 1964 to 1989, and so he’s been regarded ever since. Roberto Carlos symbolises unity. There is a simplicity to his voice, a rare ability to synthesise complex arrangements and melodies into a soothing tone that washes over you and is overwhelmingly appealing. This makes Roberto Carlos more relevant today than ever. Never mind the white suit; the experience of thousands of Brazilians in a stadium, forgetting their divisions and coming together in tears of joy, is a very cool thing indeed.

https://www.latinolife.co.uk/articles/roberto-carlos

Alvaro Neder tells Carlos’ story:

[W]ith his partner and co-writer, Erasmo Carlos [no relation], he has penned over three dozen Top Ten charting singles. . . . [H]e initiated a major revolution in Brazilian music during the 1960s thanks to his fusion of Anglo-styled pop and rock and the second wave of Brazilian samba. His initial success coincided with the emergent youth movement in pop . . . that took over the world. Carlos was the leader of the country’s Jovem Guarda. He was the host of the TV show that became a generic denomination of a musical style and what was a definitive change of face to the Brazilian phonographic market and of the very art of marketing itself . . . . His light music, derived from British pop, and his (and Erasmo Carlos’) lyrics (happy, humorous, full of fashionable youth slang, and naïve though unexpectedly sexual) were deeply contrasting to the more serious MPB, with its somber images and protest songs. After all, Brazil was living in a dark period of the military dictatorship . . . . A few years later, in the late ’60s, Carlos (counseled by his advisors) changed his style to become the most successful romantic artist in Brazil[,] writ[ing] (always with Erasmo . . .) some of the most beautiful songs in this style . . . Though the adherence to a worn-out sentimental formula proved to be effective in commercial terms, it ultimately led him to be known, in the ’80s and ’90s, as a cheesy artist by youngsters and a portion of adult listeners. Nevertheless, the mid-’90s witnessed a resurgence of Jovem Guarda talents through tributes by new rockers . . . . At six, he lost one of his legs and began using a prosthesis. At nine, he debuted on his home city’s local radio. In 1955 . . . he started to get into rock . . . Two years later, Carlos performed at TV Tupi, singing “Tutti Frutti.” In that period, he was scheduled to open a Bill Haley show . . . when he became acquainted with Erasmo Carlos . . . . Carlos and Erasmo played together in Erasmo’s quartet the Snakes until Carlos was called . . . to [join] the Os Terríveis band, which played Elvis Presley covers on TV shows and live performances . . . . Carlos left the band to try to become a bossa nova artist. . . . In 1961, during the same year in which Carlos recorded his first LP . . . he accepted the suggestion of the record company CBS and changed his style to youth music, starting to write songs with the composer/lyricist who would become his most important collaborator: Erasmo Carlos. The duo’s first hit was Carlos’ rendition for an Erasmo version of “Splish Splash” . . . . The album was recorded and launched in 1963 . . . accompanied by Renato e Seus Blue Caps [see #1,011, 1,815, 1,959]. . . . In 1964, the LP E Proibido Fumar . . . had hits with the title track . . . and with Erasmo’s version of “Road Hog,” “O Calhambeque.” It . . . was considered high-selling then . . . . Carlos’ nationwide success was ascending, with more and more invitations for TV and radio shows and CBS wanting to take him to Argentina. That year, Carlos recorded the same repertory in Spanish . . . and the album Es Prohibido Fumar was released by the end of 1964 in Argentina. It was planned to also be distributed in Brazil, but as the military government considered anything in Spanish (the language of Fidel Castro and Che Guevara) dangerous . . . the album was simply taken out of the catalog by the recording company. . . . In the same year,  Roberto Carlos Para a Juventude broke all records established by the singe . . . . On September 5[, 1965], Carlos opened the legendary show Jovem Guarda as the main host and also featuring . . . Erasmo Carlos by his side. The show gave the name and directives to the first musical scene produced especially for Brazilian youth . . . . After the show’s debut, Carlos’ popularity reached levels unimagined until then. Scoring hits in Argentina and Brazil, Carlos became the best-seller for CBS. . . . [H]is album Jovem Guarda . . . took only one week to push Help!  out of number one on the Brazilian charts, selling almost 200,000 copies in one year. “Quero Que Vá Tudo Pro Inferno” became a nationwide hit and with the exception of brief periods of time . . . . After performing in Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay . . . Carlos went to Europe in April 1966, singing in Portugal . . . . Returning to Brazil, he soon departed for a tour that started in South America, then Central and North America, where he sang in Los Angeles, Miami, and New York, then Europe (London, Paris, Berlin, and Lisbon). Roberto Carlos [containing “Eu Te Darei O Ceu”] released in December 1966, went right to number one in the second week (remaining there until April 1967), and sold 300,000 copies in less than a year. Also in 1967, Carlos starred the feature film Roberto Carlos em Ritmo de Aventura (whose soundtrack sold 300,000 copies, staying at number one from December 17 until June 1968; the film also broke all box office records until then) . . . . In 1968, Carlos left Jovem Guarda, which due to his absence would soon cease to exist. His departure was a result of a mature decision to migrate from a youth idol profile to that of a romantic singer. . . . As a romantic singer, Carlos had several hits in the 1970s that still had his creative impetus . . . . In the early ’70s, Carlos became the top record-selling Brazilian artist, a position he would keep for many consecutive years. After 1976, his albums were selling over 1,000,000 copies.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/roberto-carlos-mn0000292011#biography

Here is Carlos on TV:

On TV again:

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The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify — now over 1,300 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.

All new subscribers will receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock magnet. New subscribers who sign up for a year will also receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock t-shirt or baseball cap. See pictures on the Pay to Play page.

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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,960)  Os Jovens — “Nunca Mais Quero Amar”/”I Never Want to Love Again”

After love lost comes the question “Mas não sei porque me desprezou”/”But I don’t know why she cast me aside” in a beautiful, wistful pop rock classic written by Genival Cassiano, one of the originators of the Black music scene in Brazil. A classic in any language.

Slipcue.com Guide to Brazilian Music tells us of Os Jovens (The Young People):

These guys get name-checked in relation to Brazil’s tiny garage-rock scene of the late 1960s . . . . Although th[eir sole LP] album is tamer and closer to the mainstream of . . . pop, than their more raucous singles, it still shows a hipness and toughness that a lot of their [Jovem Guarda] JG contemporaries didn’t quite have. Includes covers of Dave Clark Five and P.F. Sloan songs, as well as homegrown Brazilian rock by the likes of Renato Barros and Luiz Ayrao… Worth a spin!

https://www.slipcue.com/music/brazil/aa_styles_jovemguarda/B_01.html

Dicionário Cravo Albin da musica Popular Brasileira/Cravo Albin Dictionary of Brazilian Popular Music adds (courtesy of Google Translate):

A vocal duo comprised of singers and composers Francisco Fraga, known as Puruca, and João José Loureiro. Influenced by rock, they began their career in the first half of the 1960s. Signed to CBS, they released their first record in 1965, a double EP titled Apresentando Os Jovens (Introducing the Young Ones) in which, accompanied by the group Renato and Seu Blue Caps [see #1,011, 1,815, 1,959], they performed . . . rock ballads . . . . The following year, they recorded a single . . . . In 1967, they released a double single . . . . Also in that year, the duo released their only LP . . . . In 1968, Puruca left the duo and was replaced by Paulo Ribeiro, and the two recorded a single . . . . Following this, the duo left CBS, joined Polydor, and in 1969 released a single . . . .

https://dicionariompb.com.br/grupo/os-jovens/

As to Genival Cassiano, Wikipedia writes (courtesy of Google Translate):

Genival Cassiano dos Santos . . . better known simply as  Cassiano, was a Brazilian singer, composer, and guitarist. He is recognized . . . as one of the three great forerunners in establishing a black music scene – influenced by American funk and soul — in Brazilian popular music. . . . He began his musical career in 1964 as a guitarist for Bossa Trio, a group that emerged in the wake of the proliferation of samba jazz ensembles linked to bossa nova, but with a marked influence of jazz and the then incipient soul music of the United States. . . . After this experience, Cassiano, his brother Camarão and his friend Amaro founded Os Diagonais, a group notably influenced by American soul music. Although he only participated in the album Os Diagonais, released in 1969, Cassiano’s musical work in the group caught the attention of other artists on the Brazilian scene. Among them, Tim Maia, who, after a period in the United States, discovered in [him] another enthusiast of the work of Marvin Gaye [see #229, 940, 1,738], Otis Redding [see #1,333, 1,385] and Stevie Wonder. It was then that Tim Maia invited the musician to participate in the singer’s first album [’70] as both guitarist and composer . . . [a] great successes on Brazilian radio. The good commercial reception . . . gave Cassiano the chance to record his first solo album, Imagem e Som, released in 1971 . . . . Although it gained recognition late as a sophisticated mix of bossa nova, samba, soul and funk, the LP did not have a great impact at the time of its release. In 1973, Cassiano recorded his second LP, Apresentamos Nosso Cassiano . . . in which he performed ten compositions of his own . . . . Although some songs had received a more pop veneer compared to the first album, the record still maintained almost psychedelic experimental characteristics and echoed progressive rock in other tracks, which also made the LP, in addition to the absence of a commercial hit, a work that was difficult to assimilate on the country’s radio stations. It was then, in 1975, that Cassiano finally achieved commercial success in Brazil with the singles “A Lua e Eu” and “Coleção” . . . . [B]ut . . . this success did not facilitate Cassiano’s relationship with record labels. In 1978, Discos CBS decided against releasing a fourth Cassiano album . . . . Around the same time, health problems began to hinder the musician’s musical career. Forced to have part of his lung removed, Cassiano was only able to resume his career, at a much more measured pace, in 1984. A new work, which would also be his last studio LP in his lifetime, was released in 1991. . . . [mostly] re-recorded old hits . . . . However, without control over the musical direction of the album, Cassiano was extremely dissatisfied with the final result of this “tribute album” and, from then on, the singer decided never to record another album, remaining reclusive and withdrawn throughout the last three decades of his life . . . .

https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassiano

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Please consider helping to support my website/blog by contributing $6 a month for access to the Off the Charts Spotify Playlist. Using a term familiar to denizens of Capitol Hill, you pay to play! (“relating to or denoting an unethical or illicit arrangement in which payment is made by those who want certain privileges or advantages in such arenas as business, politics, sports, and entertainment” — dictionary.com).

The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify — now over 1,300 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.

All new subscribers will receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock magnet. New subscribers who sign up for a year will also receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock t-shirt or baseball cap. See pictures on the Pay to Play page.

When subscribing, please send me an e-mail (GMFtma1@gmail.com) or a comment on this site letting me know an e-mail address/phone number/Facebook address, etc. to which I can send instructions on accessing the playlist and a physical address to which I can sent a magnet/t-shirt/baseball cap. If choosing a t-shirt, please let me know the gender and size you prefer.

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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,959) Renato E Seus Blue Caps —  “Sim Sou Feliz”/”Yes I Am Happy”

This “wonderful” (Renan Simões (courtesy of Google translate), https://www-pressenza-com.translate.goog/pt-pt/2023/08/14-renato-e-seus-blue-caps-um-embalo-com-renato-e-seus-blue-caps-1966-ranking-dos-meus-107-melhores-discos-da-musica-brasileira-ate-2020/?_x_tr_sl=pt&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc) track is by Renato E Seus Blue Caps (see #1,011, 1,815), a much loved Brazilian “Young Guard” group specializing in Portuguese versions of Beatles songs. This is no Beatles song, though it does sound like an undiscovered British beat gem translated into Portuguese.

Sidney Falcão writes that:

[It] opens with a “dirty” and strident guitar sound with a fuzz pedal effect , characteristic of Renato Barros’ style. Heavily inspired by the Beatles’ sound, especially in the vocal harmonies, [it] deals with reconciliation after a couple goes through difficult times in their relationship.

https://discosessenciais.blogspot.com/2022/03/um-embalo-com-renato-e-seus-blue-caps.html

Slipcue.com tells us that:

Renato e Seus Blue Caps were one of the best, and longest-lived, of the Jovem Guarda* teen-oriented Brazilian rock bands which flourished in the early 1960s. Swiping their band name from Gene Vincent’s original ’50s outfit, Renato Barros and his “Blue Caps” covered everything from surfbeat instrumental to Beatles-y pop, with plenty of cover tunes throughout, but also a notable amount of good original material. Renato and Co. were several notches above the average Brazilian teenybopper band — they were certainly not as wimpy as most, and could hit a blue-eyed soul groove roughly equivalent to that of the Spencer Davis Band.

https://www.slipcue.com/music/brazil/renato.html

Alvaro Neder adds:

One of the most important groups of the Jovem Guarda, Renato e Seus Blue Caps was formed to play in parties of the Piedade borough in Rio de Janeiro. In that period, the market for youth music was just being incepted and they were in the right place at the right time. Soon they were performing at the Rádio Mayrink Veiga. With their increased popularity, the group was invited by Carlos Imperial, who presented the program Os Brotos Comandam at TV Rio. Their first single, “Vera Lúcia” . . . was recorded in 1962 and became their first hit. The first LP came in 1965 . . . and featured another hit, “Menina Linda” ([a] version . . . of “I Should Have Known Better” by Lennon/McCartney). They also performed several times in the Jovem Guarda TV show . . . . Their other hits were “Até o Fim” ([a] version . . . of “You Won’t See Me” by Lennon/McCartney) and “Escândalo” ([a] version . . . of “Shame and Scandal in the Family” by Donaldson/Brown). After the end of the Jovem Guarda, they continued to perform in club dances around Brazil.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/renato-e-seus-blue-caps-mn0000895532#biography

Discogs goes deep:

The “embryo” . . . are the three brothers of the family Barros, Renato, Paulo Cezar and Edson (Ed Wilson). In the late ’50s, influenced by the musical tastes of the family, and the Rock’n Roll Elvis, Little Richard and Bill Haley, the boys began to imagine that they could participate in radio programs, mimicking the song hits, something that was quite common at that time. . . . [They first] adopted the name “Rock Bacaninhas of Mercy,” an allusion to the neighborhood in which they were created, in Rio de Janeiro. . . . After participation in a program Chacrinha on TV Tupi, [they were] hired by the Copacabana, where they released two 78s and two LPs in 1962 (Twist) and 1963 . . . . [In] 62, Ed Wilson left for a solo career, and Erasmo Carlos, then secretary of Carlos Imperial, assumes the [role of] crooner . . . . [They were] known in Rio de Janeiro, due to frequent appearances on TV and radio . . . . In early 1965 . . . [they release a] Portuguese version [of] “I Should [Have K]nown [B]etter”[ by] the Beatles, which was called “Beautiful Girl”. Presented in the program Carlos Imperial, Rio on TV, the music . . . . enters the charts . . . . The year 1965 was a milestone for the band’s career. The success – unexpected – is steadily increasing . . . . [T]he LP “This is Renato and His Blue Caps” achieves excellent selling and give greater impetus to the popularity of the group. The band specializes in versions of Beatles songs and other international artists, but also develops his own style of interpretation and composition. Many versions [by] Renato were more successful here in Brazil than the original English. Also arise tours abroad, and the band reaches the height of its popularity at the end of 66, with the release of the LP “A rocking with Renato and His Blue Caps,” the [band’s] most successful and best-selling . . . . Between 1965 and 1969, [they] released six LPs, all achieving high performance on the radio and selling.

https://www.discogs.com/artist/1568206-Renato-E-Seus-Blue-Caps

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