THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,151)The Sound Barrier — “Groovin’ Slow”
This ’68 B-side is “an interesting slice of [UK] psychedelic pop” that “has a number of tempo changes before culminating in a hazy, disorienting ending”. (Vernon Joynson, The Tapestry of Delights Revisited). The song is a unique combination of freakbeat and pop psych that trails off in a freakout. Favorite line: “Ladies in their dresses watched by old men with a twinkle in their eye.”
I don’t know much of anything about the band. Neither does anyone else! Vernon Joynson writes that the band members were thought to have been studio musicians. (The Tapestry of Delights Revisited). Sids60sSounds says “All I could find out about them was that one member had ‘a moustache to be envious of’!” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiTFnlKK3VY)
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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 750 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
1,150) Sun Dragon— “Far Away Mountain”
This absolutely gorgeous and “achingly beautiful” ’68 UK B-side “is melodic, orchestrated pop of the highest order” (Stefan Granados, liner notes to the CD comp Listen to the Sky: The Others/Sands/Sun Dragon: The Collected Recordings 1964-73) from an album of “attractive summery pop-psych in the vein of the first Bee Gees album”. (Vernon Joynson, The Tapestry of Delights Revisited)
Of the Dragons, Mark Deming writes:
Rob Freeman and Ian McLintock and never quite achieved rock stardom, but it wasn’t for a lack of talent or effort . . . . [They] first worked together in the Others, an R&B combo from Southwest London whose lone single, a cover of Bo Diddley’s “Oh Yeah,” was a well crafted rave-up . . . . [B]y 1966 the Others had split and [they] had formed a new band, the more pop-oriented Sands. There was more than a bit of nascent psychedelia in Sands’ music, especially their cover of the Bee Gees’ “Mrs. Gillespie’s Refrigerator” and “Listen to the Sky[]” [see #1,066] . . . . After [that] single Sands fell apart . . . but Freeman and McLintock . . . but soldiered on with . . . Sun Dragon, which scored an almost-hit with their cover of the Lemon Pipers’ “Green Tambourine” in 1968 . . . . Sun Dragon’s music was more polished and calculatingly commercial . . . . [T]he group’s first and only album . . . is well-crafted U.K. pop . . . .
Sands had imploded due to the death of their manager Brian Epstein and Epstein’s partner Robert Stigwood focussing his time on attempting to assume management control of The Beatles. This had resulted in Sands being unable to work since no live bookings were being secured for them. Freeman and McLintock began a song writing partnership and secured a contract with B Feldman & Sons Music Publishing where they recorded demos for Feldman. The duo christened themselves Sun Dragon and McLintock assumed the name Anthony James (his two middle names and song writing identity) while Freeman simply became Robb. Feldman secured a record deal with MGM Records for Sun Dragon and insisted a cover of The Lemon Pipers’ “Green Tambourine” be recorded as a first release . . . since Feldman owned the UK rights to the song. The Lemon Pipers version had not yet been released in the UK and television and radio exposure helped the single to enter the charts but the EMI pressing plant (who pressed records for MGM) went on strike the week that Sun Dragon’s version hit the chart. The Lemon Pipers’ version . . . was rush released by Pye on their Pye International label and the Lemon Pipers’ single went to number 7 in the UK [while the Sun Dragon’s version reached #50]. . . . [A] second single was released, again a cover of a Lemon Pipers’ song, “Blueberry Blue” . . . . The single received little radio play and had poor sales. . . . [but] an album was proposed for release . . . . [with] Ritchie Blackmore on lead guitar, Ian Paice on drums and Jon Lord on keyboards to back the duo . . . . The album sold few copies . . . . Freeman and McLintock subsequently released singles on CBS as High Noon, on on EMI as The Cruisers . . . and as McLintock before going their separate ways. Rob Freeman rejoined former Sands vocalist Paul Stewart . . . to form Plain Sailing who recorded three singles and an album for Chrysalis.
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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 750 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
1,149)The Enfields— “I’m for Things You Do”
Did this ‘66 B-side, a “wonderful rocker” (On the Flip-Side, https://ontheflip-side.blogspot.com/2012/03/song-of-week-enfields-she-already-has.html) by a Wilmington, Delaware band, inspire Tom Hanks’ “That Thing You Do”? Only Gump knows for sure, but I do know that the Enfields’ number is such sophisticated and classy garage rock that I file it under “three car garage.”
Of “I’m for Things You Do”, Keithgordon620 writes:
[An a]wesome song, one one of the best of it’s type ever made. The melody is perfect, and even the understated harmonies. The lyrics tailor made. Gives me goosebumps, as I drift back in time to the daze of the 60’s.
The single, “‘She Already Has Somebody/I’m For Things You Do’ was a #4 local smash and perhaps the[ Enfields’] finest moment on vinyl. Very similar to the Dovers’ [see #386, 866] material from around the same time”. (Jason, https://therisingstorm.net/the-enfields-friends-of-the-family/)
[The] band[] . . . featured the enterprising handiwork of singer, songwriter and guitarist Ted Munda. Founded late in 1964, the Enfields enjoyed a good deal of regional acclaim until their demise in 1967. Shortly after the band splintered, Ted formed Friends Of The Family. . . . Signed to the Richie label, the Enfields proceeded to lay down four singles for the local operation. Molded of soft, breathy vocals, chiming guitars and tugging breaks, cuts like “She Already Has Somebody” and “I’m For Things You Do” reflect a strong Zombies influence. . . . Not your average garage bands, but armed with a garage band heart and attitude, the Enfields and Friends Of The Family pushed boundaries by adding a touch of maturity and sophistication to their material. . . . with unconventional but catchy melodies, progressive arrangements, and inspired singing and playing . . . .
In 1966, this Wilmington, DE, group released one of the best garage rock singles, “She Already Has Somebody,” a moody, melodic original on par with the best efforts by the Zombies. Led by guitarist, singer, and songwriter Ted Munda, they were popular in their region and totally unknown elsewhere, releasing a few singles on a tiny local label. . . . [T]he group’s output stands considerably above the norm of the hundreds of other comparable American regional garage bands of the time, due primarily to Munda’s fine melodic songwriting, heavily influenced not only by the Zombies but by the Beatles and Beau Brummels. In 1967, Munda formed Friends of the Family, who explored jazzier and more progressive directions, resulting in some interesting material.
We’ll, what about “That Thing You Do”?! Ted Munda commented on YouTube that:
[A n]ote on the Post about doing a Screen play like “That Thing You Do, by Tom Hanks. When I was in LA doing the songs for Smokey Robinson I worked as a songwriter for Producer George Tobin who found Tiffany, Produced Smokey,Natalie Cole, Robert John (Sad Eyses). The other song writers included Gary Goetzman. Gary Goteztman become a Movie Producer and did Silence of the Lambs, and “Philadelphia” with Tom Hanks and produced That Thing You Do. He told me, as we were friends, that he used the Enfields’ history and pictures to show Tom Hanks the idea for “That Thing You Do”, that Hanks supposedly wrote. I was told he did not actually write it. “The Wonders” came from “The Enfields” . . . . That Thing You Do” came directly as a rip off of my song with the Enfields “I’m For Things You Do”. They even had me go in a recording studio and re-record,” I’m For Things You Do”. I received NO credit for any of this, so welcome to Hollywood!
[Our manager] Vince Rago had NOTHING to do with [“She Already Has Somebody”]. He was our crooked Manager. I wrote the entire song and called it” SHE ALREADY HAS”. When the record came out his name was on it and he said it was because he changed the Title to “SHE ALREADY HAS SOMEBODY”( which was already IN the original Lyric). This was the beginning of us not trusting Vince. Another bit: we were offered a Record Deal by LAURIE RECORDS but our parents nixed it at the time because of Vince Rago. The record label’s second choice: “THE ASSOCIATION” . . . . That was the point where The Enfields could have had wide exposure but…fate was not on our side!
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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 750 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
1,148)The Four Tops — “Look Out Your Window”
From the fab Four Tops’ ’69 album Soul Spin comes a song with “a fantastic, brooding, ominous and dark quality that was as far away from anything most would have expected from a Four Tops recording or a Motown recording for that matter”. (Motown Deep Cuts, PAMS Jingles & More with Tomovox, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euub3orKgj4)
“Windows” gives mattforte192 “chills everytime”. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euub3orKgj4) Me too. It is one of the great pop “haves/have nots” songs, an angry song (unlike, say, Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m on Fire”) but not mere agitprop. The words of writers H. Cleveland and Frank Wilson (the albums’s producer) sting:
“I am a man who cleans up your office when you say your last goodbye . . . . [Y]ou don’t want me to live like you live You merely want me to survive Then you’ll look in my face nearly every day Yet you’ll try to pretend I’m not even alive”
Motown Deep Cuts, PAMS Jingles & More with Tomovox writes:
“It’s a rather blunt indictment of a privileged man of the corporate world. The charges aren’t so much for his having wealth, but for the distance and indifference to the everday man that has come from his high position . . . . Just look out your window and take a good look at the people who make the world go around… The Four Tops are amazing messengers of this message and demonstrate that they were truy astounding when it came to versatillity. We’ve known them for the great Motown Sound hits, we’ve also heard them singing the jazz standards they started out with in their early pre-Motown days. Here, The Four Tops tackle some very serious social issues and prove to be equal to the task. Levi Stubbs’ voice was perfect for this sort of hard-charging material and combined with Obie Benson, Duke Fakir and Lawrence Payton, it was certain that none of the message would be lost on the listener.
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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 750 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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From another contender for the greatest lost album of the 1960’s comes this “starkly beautiful” song, one of the ones that “entranced” Giorgio Gomelsky, who “immediately view[ed Kevin Godley and Lol Creme’s (see #968, 1,048)] gentle abstract songs and vocal harmonies as a British corollary to Simon and Garfunkel.” (David Wells, liner notes to Frabjous Days: The Secret World of Godley and Creme 1967-1969) They were “well on their way to perfecting their vocal blend, with ‘Fly Away’ . . . sounding uncannily like what they’d created with 10cc a few years later.” (Mark Deming, https://www.allmusic.com/album/frabjous-days-the-secret-world-of-godley-creme-1967-1969-mw0003721503) The song “appeared on [Gomelsky’s label] Marmalade’s 100% Proof label sampler (where it was mistakenly credited to Godley and [Graham] Gouldman).” (Dave Thompson, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/frabjoy-the-runcible-spoon-mn0001919409)
As to G&C, Dave Thompson tells us that “Kevin Godley, a former member of Graham Gouldman’s Mockingbirds, and Lol Creme, once Godley’s bandmate in the early-’60s group the Sabres. . . . had studied for diplomas in graphic design”. (https://www.allmusic.com/artist/frabjoy-the-runcible-spoon-mn0001919409) They were attending different art schools. But, as David Wells tells us:
Although they were studying in different cities, Kevin and Lol were only about 45 miles apart, and they continued to play together. ”Lol would drive down in a van . . . with a Hammond organ in the back”, says Kevin. ”We would play loud, weird jazz all night and annoy the neighbours![“] . . . [T]hey hung out at weekends, as Kevin explained . . . “When we came back from the weeks at college, we’d sit down and write songs, discuss ideas for art and so on. At first we were keener on artistic things than music, and then gradually the music took over. . . . [They] worked on a project hat resulted in a Top Twenty single. . . . ”Pamela, Pamela” . . . came from an idea we had for a film . . .. We’d done the script for a story and then we’d written some music and we’d done the lyrics . . . . [Graham Gouldman] took the idea and developed it, and the song was a hit for Wayne Fontana. . . . suggesting that a career in music might be a viable option once they’d completed their studies . . . . [They] . . . . signed a management deal with Jim O’Farrell . . . .
liner notes to Frabjous Days: The Secret World of Godley and Creme 1967-1969
O’Farrell produced “Easy Life” and its A-side “Seeing Things Green”, and while the single “failed to make much impact . . . . [it garnered them] a publishing deal.” (David Wells, liner notes to Frabjous Days: The Secret World of Godley and Creme 1967-1969)
Mark Deming continues the story:
In 1970, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme would score their first serious hit with the oddball stomp of Hotlegs’ “Neanderthal Man,” and in 1973 they would become half of 10cc, who would release some of the smartest, wittiest, and best-crafted British pop of the decade. Dial back to 1969, and the two were veterans of the U.K.’s beat music scene who’d evolved into a pop-psychedelic duo called the Yellow Bellow Room Boom. Giorgio Gomelsky, who had previously helped guide the careers of the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds. signed them to his Marmalade Records label and gave them a different (and similarly whimsical but clumsy) stage name, Frabjoy & Runcible Spoon, in hopes of transforming them into a British answer to Simon & Garfunkel. . . . [T]hey released only four poor-selling songs under that banner before Marmalade Records went under, and the album they’d been working on was doomed never to see the light of day.* Thankfully, the tapes survived, and the British reissue label Grapefruit Records has released an approximation of that long-lost LP . . . . [including] seven unreleased tracks that were completed for the aborted . . . album [and] the four rare tunes that did see release . . . . Godley & Creme were showing off the compositional skills that would be the hallmark of their later work . . . . If there’s a difference . . . it’s in the absence of their pointed satiric wit, and a gentler melodic style more beholden to folk and pop-psych and lacking the splendid and shameless hooks that would reinforce the jokes on 10cc’s albums. . . . [T]his is fine and imaginative pop with a psychedelic edge . . . a splendid look at the juvenilia of one of the most fascinating partnerships in British rock.
[B]y the end of 1968, the pair were making demos . . . . Gouldman . . . was working as a session man at Giorgio Gomelsky’s Marmalade label, and one day asked Godley to join him at a session. Gomelsky took one listen to Godley’s ethereal falsetto and promptly offered him and Crème a deal. As Frabjoy and the Runcible Spoon, the duo began work on an album in September 1969. Basic tracks were recorded at Gouldman and Mindbender Eric Stewart’s own Strawberry Studios, with that pair as backing musicians. A single, “I’m Beside Myself,” appeared in early 1969 . . . . Unfortunately, Marmalade folded only shortly after this pair of releases and the Frabjoy album was abandoned. . . . [T]he quartet returned to Strawberry to set in motion the sequence of events which would, three years later, see them emerge as 10cc.
* As Lol Crème put it: “Giorgio ran out of money, and out of people who were prepared to lend him more, and the whole thing fizzled out[.] But we did get the single out of it, and that to us a few radio plays.” (liner notes to Frabjous Days: The Secret World of Godley and Creme 1967-1969).
The Marmalade Sampler version:
Godley and Creme’s pre-10cc Band Hotlegs did release a version in ‘71:
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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 750 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
1,146) 5 Gentlemen — “Dis-nous Dylan”/“Tell Us Dylan”
The 5 Gentlemen (see #724) were “the best French band of the mid-60s” (Fou de Rock, http://www.fouderock.com/rock_fr/five-gentlemen.html) and they give us a song that “satiri[z]es the earnestness of the music of pop-folk artists like Bob Dylan and Donovan, and the youth who hang on their every word, looking for answers in songs”. (French 60s Pop, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV1YAQ1yyrw) Oh là là!
“Dylan” appeared “on their 2nd EP – 1966) . . . with its chiming guitars à la Byrds . . . [and would] have a small success in France, Italy and Germany.”* (Fou de Rock, http://www.fouderock.com/rock_fr/five-gentlemen.html) Oh, by the way, the English band Hedgehoppers Anonymous release a song “Daytime” which adapted the music of “Dylan” and substituted unrelated lyrics (see #523). And the Gentlemen return the favor by covering it!
Fou de Rock tells us about the Gentlemen:*
[They] began under the surname of Ambitieux and released their first EP in 1965 . . . . These 5 Gentlemen (name they adopted in 1966) are of Corsican origin but established in Marseilles from where they will try to conquer the planet. Their models are the English mods for both dress and music. They play regularly in a club in the Old Port of Marseille, Arsenal des Galères, which is always full when they perform there. And this is all the more remarkable as Marseille, unlike Nice or Toulouse, is not a rock city.. . . . [T]he 5 Gentlemen don’t only have good intentions, they also have the technique that goes with it and the combination of their voices with the organ and the fuzz guitar is quite convincing and effective.
[A]t their beginning, it was in the medical, pharmacy and dental faculties of the region that they essentially toured with a repertoire of covers. Indeed, apart from Michel Donnat, fishmonger, they are all children of the local bourgeoisie and for the most part in medicine. Gérard Perrier . . . who will come to lend them a hand for a time, isn’t he the son of the director of Provençal? He introduced them to Claude Olmos who joined the group in 1965. After a competition for young rock talents in Rennes, they went to Paris to record their first 45 for EMI under the name of… Ambitieux. For the occasion, the rhythms are performed by bassist Papillon (future Triangle), guitarist Mick Jones (future Foreigner) [what?!] and drummer Tommy Brown. Only Claude Olmos and Guy Matteoni performing their parts. After a summer scouring the Corsican nightclubs, the group had its first glory with “Tell us Dylan” in 1966, which sold nearly 80,000 copies. The operation will not be repeated with the following EPs.
“Les 5 Gentlemen (IMO the best French 60s band!) perform their hit song ‘Dis-nous Dylan’ live on youth music program ‘Têtes de bois et tendres années’, May 5, 1966.” (French 60s Pop, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV1YAQ1yyrw):
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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 750 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
1,145)Fuchsia — “Me and My Kite”
A whimsical British prog delight, the song, “a favourite amongst fans of the album and group, is a gorgeously twee pop-charmer with a sweet and achingly simple chorus”. (Aussie-Byrd-Brother, https://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=12662) It “could have easily been a Moodys song, a completely unaffected and simple ditty about a guy and his kite just meandering through the day without a care” (ClemofNazareth, https://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=12662), and it is “about actually flying a kite. It doesn’t get better than that as a slice of English whimsy without the smarminess of a Caravan or Stackridge.” (kenethlevine, https://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=12662) bencolemanart writes:
Love [“Kite”], particularly the proggy time signature of the verses and the chunky rhythm section on the chorus. It’s so hard to write a song like this and pull it off without being fey or twee, this one does it playfully and with nonchalance. Fuchsia were a superb band, the album is simply great.
Named after the fictional character of Fuchsia Groan from the Titus Groan novel this short-lived British band was found[ed] by guitarist/singer Tony Durant in early-70’s, while he was a student at Exeter University, along with bassist Michael Day and drummer Michael Gregory. Attracted by the use of string instruments, Durant recruited a three-piece female string section for the first Fuchsia release . . . . The self-titled debut was . . . released in summer 1971 by Pegasus. The same album was released a year later in France by Kingdom label.
Fuchsia were a British progressive-folk group made up of students who delivered a single cherished little album that has since picked up quite a legendary underground status over the last few decades. Comprised of charming and sprightly folk tunes with lush orchestrated instrumentation and keen pop melodies, it almost sounds like a cross between early Pink Floyd and the Syd Barrett solo albums, Electric Light Orchestra and a pinch of Gentle Giant, Caravan and Fruupp, making for a whimsical, energetic and sweet psych-lite folk gem. The group is directed by lead singer and guitarist Tony Durant, who fleshes out Fuchsia’s acoustic/electric sound with a predominantly female band on violin, cello, viola, harmonium and piano.
Sadly, sparse advertising and failed touring opportunities lead to the premature demise of the group soon after, until a compilation of unreleased and related pieces entitled `Fuchsia, Mahogany and Other Gems’ emerged in 2005, and more excitingly a revamped modern line-up assembled by Mr Durant, now based in Australia, delivering a well-received proper follow-up `Fuchsia II: From Psychedelia…To a Distant Place’ in 2013. But for over forty years now, this charming self-titled work has been Fuchsia’s defining musical statement, one that holds an effortlessly melodic crossover quality that would also likely appeal to non-folk fans, and it has retained its infectious and precious charm ever since.
Surprised – an understatement to be sure, when I found that after 35 years the Fuchsia album had not actually disappeared without a trace as I had first thought. It had gone on to make a life of its own. John O’Regan, music journalist for Mojo discovered the 1971 release in a vintage record store in the 80s, and triggered a resurgence when he declared the album “a masterpiece of art rock.”
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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 750 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.
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“There’s plastic in your kisses and there’s money in your mind And when you make your love it is for the favor you will find”
Chris Bishop lets us know that the band was made up of college students at West Virginia Wesleyan who spent the summer of ’66 in the DC suburb of McLean, Virginia and recorded what were to be their only two singles. (https://garagehangover.com/flys/) Proving that they were truly depraved, two went on to become accountants and one a lawyer. (https://garagehangover.com/flys/)
Oh, if you’d like a copy, be prepared to open you wallet. Popsike.com says that one 45 sold for $500 a few years ago.
Pay to Play! The Off the Charts Spotify Playlist! + Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock Merchandise
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 750 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
1,143) Dan Casamajor — “Leaving You Alone”
This song is “[i]nstantly beautiful right from the beginning” (BlueParadoxical, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4lIoRMmBP4) — in fact, it is impossibly beautiful, sending shivers down my spine. It comes from a private press LP of “[v]ibrant 1960s-style folk . . . [with] a few hypnotic minor-key tunes reminiscent of Donovan at his moody best”. (Patrick Lundborg, The Acid Archives (2nd Ed.)) The album is “a hidden treasure . . . . a truly enchanting work” that “captivates with its simplicity and authenticity”. (Philippe Collignon, https://www.facebook.com/groups/hanspokora/posts/10159510099871904/)
“Time for moving on What we had is gone”
Patrick Lundborg:
[T]his [is a] vanity pressing out of small-town California. . . . The vocals have a warm coffeehouse tone, and the 12-string acoustic playing is sharp and rich. . . . . This is pre-‘loner’, non-wristslashing, youthful Village folk, which at times suffers from a lack of depth. However, Casamajor saves the day via a few hypnotic minor-key tunes reminiscent of Donovan at his moody best . . . .
The Acid Archives (2nd Ed.)
Philippe Collignon:
Armed only with his guitar and a remarkable voice, Casamajor delivers a beautiful acoustic work, an intimate journey deep into the soul. . . . Casamajor’s enchanting voice, combined with his subtle guitar playing, creates an atmosphere tinged with melancholy and delicacy. These songs, with their moving lyrics and compelling melodies, establish a deep and lasting connection with the listener. Dan Casamajor’s work is a testament to his time, capturing the essence of a generation in search of identity and meaning. . . . [His] style[] effortlessly blend[s] folk and folk-rock, alternating purely acoustic pieces with tracks enhanced by subtle electric arrangements . . . .
As to Casamajor, Nathan Graves writes in the Orion (“an independent and student-run news source at California State University, Chico”) that:
[O]ne of [Chico’s] greats is longtime folk singer and songwriter Dan Casamajor. Casamajor was born and raised in Chico . . . . By 18, he was playing the guitar and composing his own music. He was influenced by artists . . . such as Paul Simon and Bob Dylan. He played his first open mic in 1967 in a now-closed Chico coffee shop . . . . [H]e began to gain local recognition. He played whatever small gigs he could including talent shows and informal festivals. In 1969, Casamajor recorded and released a full-length album titled “My Family” . . . . “It has actually become a collectible now,” he said. Fascinatingly enough, Casamajor’s young release goes for appreciable prices online today. Much of the demand comes from European and Asian collectors, he said. Casamajor remained a solo artist for 45 years. It was only last year that he began to collaborate with other musicians. . . . Casamajor has always appreciated and utilized songwriting as a vehicle for personal self-expression. “We all have our demons and our secrets,” he said. “Our things we’re afraid of and things we don’t like about the world— you can chronicle your own emotions.” Casamajor has traveled and lived all along the west coast, but found his way back to Chico in 1996. He continues to make a substantial contribution to his hometown by now hosting open mics. . . . He finds satisfaction in watching the growth of new performers and helping them along with constructive assurance, he said. “I like being the venerated elder at these open mics and being a mentor, a patriarch and a medium to get people on stage and encourage them to improve,” he said.
Pay to Play! The Off the Charts Spotify Playlist! + Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock Merchandise
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 750 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
1,142)The Quotations — “Alright Baby”
Exquisite Beatlesque kiss off song is a ’64 A-side by a band out of, yes, Liverpool. (Vernon Joynson, The Tapestry of Delights Revisited)
Cleef tells us that:
This 1964 record is by a Quotations group led by John Goodison, who previously also released a single Acapulco 1922 on Decca as ‘Johnny B. Great’. There’s confusion about the involvement of John Gustafson (ex Big Three, Merseybeats) in the 1964 Quotations, who in fact had two 1968-69 singles on CBS also using the name The Quotations. Most likely Gustafson was not involved in the Quotations record on CBS as he was very busy with The Merseybeats in 1964. Goodison did a restart on The Quotations in 1968-69, with two singles, Cool It and Hello Memories, this time definitely involving Gustafson. Judging by the CBS singles credits, Goodison and Gustafson wrote the material, Goodison produced & arranged, and the actual band Quotations consisted of Gustafson, ex Merseybeat drummer John Banks and amongst others Billy Bremner (later in Rockpile). Author Bruce Welsh acknowledged that he . . . incorrectly linked Gustafson to the Alright Baby 45 in his documentary book on UK beat bands 1962-66 ‘What About Us’.
The Quotations “backed Carl Perkins on his 1964 live tour [in the UK] and regularly supported the Walker Brothers during 1965 and 1966. They also supported Cat Stevens . . . .” (Vernon Joynson, The Tapestry of Delights Revisited) Discogs adds:
[W]hen Gary Leeds aka Gary Walker released his single “You Don’t Love Me’ in 1966 it was The Quotations who were the backing band. Two members of this line-up went on to much bigger things; John Goodison and Johnny Gustafson. Members: Johnny Goodison on keyboards, Pete ‘Greg’ McGregor and Barry Martin on sax, Graham Alexander on bass guitar, Tony Mabbett on trumpet, Graham Dee on guitar and Jimmy Buchard on drums.
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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 750 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 band must have been named after the line from Simon & Garfunkel’s “Homeward Bound”. It doesn’t get nearly the respect it deserves, even from its CD reissue label. The liner notes I got with the reissue of their first CD state:
Poet & the One Man Band try a bunch of approaches vaguely related to late-’60s trends in folk-rock, singer/songwriter-oriented, and psychedelic music on their sole and obscure LP. None of them are embarrassing, but none of them are noteworthy or exciting, either. . . . [S]ome of the stronger tracks are those that get into the moodiest territory . . . . [but it] sure would sound better as sung by Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent of the Zombies, though.
liner notes to the CD reissue of Poet and the One Man Band
What kind of marketing is that?! This is Richie Unterberger talking, though the liner notes are uncredited, since the notes are identical to Unterberger’s discussion of the album on All Music Guide (https://www.allmusic.com/album/poet-the-one-man-band-mw0000843418). Anyway, Unterberger goes on to add that it is “a fairly average psychedelic-era album with some slight resemblance to the late-period Zombies, though there’s some typical, and unmemorable, songs in a more straightforward, harder-rocking late-’60s British style.” (https://www.allmusic.com/artist/poet-the-one-man-band-mn0001060807)
And for some background, Unterberger notes that “Jerry Donahue and Pat Donaldson would soon move on to Fotheringay, the British folk-rock group fronted by Sandy Denny, and play on their sole album; guitarist Albert Lee, Tony Colton, Ray Smith, and Pete Gavin would form Heads, Hands & Feet.” (https://www.allmusic.com/artist/poet-the-one-man-band-mn0001060807)
Derek Watts tells us that:
[The band was] essentially a vehicle for the song-writing talents of Colton and Smith. . . . At that time Poet was merely a recording enterprise: there was no band as such, about which Albert was professionally realistic. “Poet was really their album. We were just session players.”
Derek Watts, Country Boy: A Biography of Albert Lee
Today’s song comes from Poet’s second album, which was recorded in late ’68 but wasn’t released till the 90’s as a “missing” Heads, Hands & Feet album. WTF? Robin Dunn & Chrissie van Varik explain:
After a change in the line-up, Poet & The One Man Band became Heads Hands & Feet in 1971. They were a very hot band set for stardom with lucrative recording contract offers, but despite great recordings and live shows, frictions set in and at the end of 1972, when Albert Lee left, the band had effectively split. . . . [A] full album had been recorded as early as December 1968, and is by many believed to be the original debut album of Heads Hands & Feet. However, as Ray Smith told us, this was really intended to be the second Poet & The One Man Band album. The recording sessions took place between October and December 1968 under extraordinary circumstances and at the time were referred to as the “Pirate Sessions” as much of it was done late at night after official (i.e. paying) recording sessions had finished for the day. Many musicians and singers got involved for little or no money and/or for fun. By April 1969 Tony and Ray had the second album ready. However, the first album had come out in March and six weeks later they were told by Ian Ralfini, musical director of MGM, “Sorry Ray, I’m taking everybody to WEA. You can have the rights to the second album but don’t release it in England for five years.” They weren’t happy about it but did as told. Danny Secunda, their manager, later tried to convince Tony Colton to issue it as the Heads Hands & Feet debut album but by then Pat Donaldson had left and been replaced by Chas Hodges. Tony Colton, altruistically, felt that the first album should reflect the new line-up (with Chas), and consequently the album was kept in the can until it finally saw the light in 1995 as Home From Home (The Missing Album). The reason it was attributed to Heads Hands & Feet and not Poet & The One Man Band, is that Heads Hands & Feet had by then earned a cult status – and thus would sell better. Tony Colton had told Ray Smith: “We won’t call it Poet 2. We’ll call it Heads Hands And Feet: The Missing Album.” (Quotes: Ian Ralfini and Tony Colton from the Albert Lee biography Country Boy by Derek Watts.)
Heads, Hands & Feet operated in that unique post-Sgt Pepper late 60s era when The Beatles had opened doors for bands to pass through and explore a new artistic freedom. This, HH&F’s first album from 1968, mixes any number of American influences – country, funk, soul and more – in carefree fashion. It’s little wonder that singer and mainman Tony Colton ended up in Nashville as a songwriter. They had Albert Lee, still one of our top guitarists, in their ranks, but this album was fated to remain unreleased when the line-up changed and Colton insisted on starting again from scratch – a decision he now regrets. Quality tracks such as the Santana-esque opener Bringing It All On My Own Head and the countrified Friend Of A Friend show it certainly wasn’t shelved through quality considerations.
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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 750 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
1,140) The Guess Who — “Heygoode Hardy”
Here is a wild and infectious good time number from the LP that was the Guess Who’s (see #758) springboard to international success. The song, sung almost at an auctioneer’s pace, is a paean to Hagood Hardy, the one jazz musician brought in for the sessions who was sociable rather than snooty. All to sell Coca-Cola. Forget the Pepsi Generation, rock goes better with Coke!
Russallert:
The song is named after Hagood Hardy, who was well-known in Canada as a pianist, composer and orchestra leader – his hit instrumental The Homecoming was originally a jingle for a tea commercial. When The Guess Who recorded A Wild Pair, they worked alongside a number of studio musicians hired by Jack Richardson, including Hagood Hardy. According to Burton Cummings, most of the studio players were jazzers who looked down on rock & roll and were aloof to The Guess Who, but Hardy was the one guy who was friendly to them, so his name got worked into the lyrics and the title.
Let me quote from a fabulous piece by Guess Who biographer John Einarson (that I recommend everyone interested in band read in full):
Released in the spring of 1968, the Wild Pair album coupled The Staccatos . . . from Ottawa, on Side A with Winnipeg’s favorite sons The Guess Who . . . on Side B. . . . Without it . . . there wouldn’t have been Wheatfield Soul. . . . A Wild Pair’s experimentation with orchestral instrumentation and arrangements coupled with burgeoning songwriting talent was the precursor to the polished professionalism of Wheatfield Soul. And the catalyst for this transformation was . . . Coca-Cola. . . . Did [Canada] have our own legitimate homegrown pop sensations worthy enough to hitch a corporate logo to[?] Canada barely had its own music industry let alone nationally-recognized stars. Toronto-based musician and jingle-writer Jack Richardson believed it was possible. . . . [“]I was with McCann-Erickson, the advertising agency for Coca-Cola[] . . . . We developed this youth radio campaign . . . . using Canadian acts . . . . The Guess Who was one of the acts we approached . . . . Canada’s best-known group having cracked the American charts two years earlier with their hit “Shakin’ All Over”. . . . Jack brought The Guess Who to Toronto[] . . . to cut radio jingles . . . incorporating the soft drink’s signature slogan “Things go better with Coke!” into two of the group’s biggest Canadian hits . . . . [R]ecalls Jack . . . [“]the agency recommended we put together a compilation album from the catalogues of these artists. I suggested it would be better to go with something original. The first one we did . . . was so successful they decided to do it again. . . . Randy [Bachman] and Burton [Cummings] jumped at the opportunity. “This was the first time Burton and I had a serious assignment or goal for songwriting,” Randy enthuses. “Up to then it had been just dabbling with no set goal or usage. . . . [T]he two budding songwriters submitted more than two dozen songs . . . . [of which] five were selected for the album while several others would ultimately appear . . . on Wheatfield Soul and Canned Wheat. . . . Notes band mate Garry Peterson, “The relationship Randy and Burton enjoyed was closer than with the rest of us because they wrote together. Burton learned to write songs with Randy.[“] . . . [N]ow they could take their time and experiment with a variety of instruments and accompaniment, and the results would be mind-blowing. . . . “We got to work with the Toronto A team, “ Randy recalls, “the top players on the scene mostly from the jazz world . . . . [W]e introduced to Hagood Hardy, “ remembers Burton . . . . Chuckles Randy, “Burton and I each wrote a song around his name. Burton’s was better than mine, we both knew it, so we cut it for the album. . . . Heygoode Hardy was really over the top in terms of arrangement with wild trumpets everywhere.” . . . . Coca-Cola began promoting the album in earnest across Canada. Not available in record stores, fans purchased A Wild Pair by mailing in twelve Coca-Cola bottle cap liners and a dollar. Within a matter of months the album had sold over 80,000 copies, a staggering sum for the fledgling Canadian music industry, largely without the benefit of radio support . . . . It “was one of the reasons The Guess Who stayed together,” [Richardson] suggests, “because at that time they were on the verge of breaking up due to severe economic straits.” . . . The unprecedented success of ‘A Wild Pair’ was the first indication that a viable national Canadian music industry could, indeed, exist. . . . “I [Richardson] felt there was a tremendous amount of talent in the group . . . . We approached both the Staccatos and The Guess Who with the idea of coming with us as a production group. The Guess Who agreed . . . . Jack would mortgage his own house to finance sessions in New York later that year for Wheatfield Soul.
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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. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.
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[“Euston Station” was] voted a hit on Juke Box Jury [but that was not to be]. Hit records eluded Barbara in the UK, but she enjoyed chart status in Germany and a high profile on the European song festival scene. Almost all of her releases were self composed and an impressive list of international performers cut her songs [including the Vogues and the Foundations].
liner notes to the CD comp A Little of This: The Barbara Ruskin Songbook
Geoff laments that:
There seemed no obvious reasons why some [British female singers in the 60’s] were successful and others weren’t and every so often you come across a track and wonder why on earth it was never a hit. . . . Barbara Ruskin falls into this group of little-known 60’s women singers . . . reminiscent of Jackie DeShannon. As a woman singer-songwriter she was also a relative rarity in the pop market at that time – artists such as Jackie DeShannon herself or Barbara Acklin notwithstanding. The difficulties artists like her faced seemed obvious with her first release, when her own stronger composition, I Can’t Believe in Miracles, was relegated to the ‘b’ side in favour of a rather pointless cover of the Billy Fury hit, Halfway to Paradise. . . . Euston Station appears to have been inspired by her travelling regularly on the Number 73, the bus that runs from the West End past Euston Station to Stoke Newington and Walthamstow. . . . [S]ongs about British buses are generally as intrinsically comical as songs about English counties. Paul Simon could make a Greyhound bus trip from Pittsburgh to New York into an epic statement on America. Boarding a Number 73 at Euston and counting the cars as you are stuck at the Angel is never going to sound heroic no matter how hard you try. The song came out at a time that seemed to be popular for station songs – Waterloo Sunset and Finchley Central also came out the same year. . . . The station [w]as a symbol of the grey drabness of the 9 to 5 day working for the Big Boss Man at a time when Swinging London was in full swing. Euston Station here is like one of those pictures of a signpost at a crossroads in a children’s story book. Platforms 1-7 This Way: monochrome life, grey suits, commuter train and the office. Platforms 8-11 That Way: Technicolour, Pegasus the flying horse, the giant albatross and Paradise People.
Barbara Rosemary Ruskin[‘s] . . . . father died when she was still young and her mother – who worked for music publisher Lawrence Wright in Denmark Street – encouraged her young daughter to pursue her love of music, buying her first guitar. Barbara taught herself to play it, began composing her own songs and, before long, was spending her spare time performing at weddings and youth clubs. In 1964, she was offered a contract with Piccadilly Records and released her first single, a version of Billy Fury’s Halfway To Paradise, in February 1965. Barbara’s second single was one of her own compositions, You Can’t Blame A Girl For Trying (1965) – which she had written with Sandie Shaw in mind – while her third single – Well, How Does It Feel? (1965) – was recorded in the style of Sonny and Cher. In 1966, Barbara released the stomping single Song Without End but once again, the single failed to chart. Light of Love (1966) was her final single for Piccadilly before Barbara moved to Parlophone. Sun Showers (February 1967) became her first 45 for the new label, followed by Euston Station just two months later. . . . She followed it up with one of her finest singles, Come Into My Arms Again (1967), a song she wrote on the bus on the way to the studio. Barbara was then offered a role co-hosting the radio programme, Cool Britannia, on the BBC’s World Service. Pawnbroker, Pawnbroker [see #1,078] was released in October 1968 . . . . Barbara continued releasing singles throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s . . . .
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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 750 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
1,138) The Zombies — “A Rose for Emily”
Zombies eat “Eleanor Rigby” for breakfast! Here is “a gorgeous telling of the sad story of a woman who lives her long life without ever finding love. . . . Very ‘Eleanor Rigby’, but without aping that earlier song so much as to seem derivative or plagaristic.” (Brutally Honest Rock Album Reviews, https://brutallyhonestrockalbumreviews.wordpress.com/2019/09/27/album-review-the-zombies-odessey-and-oracle/) The song is “[a] real English ballad. Surrounded by an elegant, wistful, classically inspired piano figure, Rod Argent’s take on a lonely spinster is one of the most evocative songs on the Odessey & Oracle album.” (Matthew Greenwald, https://www.allmusic.com/song/a-rose-for-emily-mt0006791716)
OK, but can any song from Odessey and Oracle really be considered obscure? Well, every song on the album was obscure, the album selling so poorly, until “Time of the Seasons” became an improbable hit in America. As Richie Unterberger relates:
By 1967, the group hadn’t had a hit for quite some time, and decided to break up. Their Decca contract expired early in the year, and the Zombies signed with CBS for one last album, knowing before the sessions that it was to be their last. A limited budget precluded the use of many session musicians, which actually worked to the Zombies’ advantage, as they became among the first to utilize the then-novel Mellotron to emulate strings and horns. . . . The album passed virtually unnoticed in Britain, and was only released in the States after some lobbying from Al Kooper. By that time it was 1968, and the group had split for good. The Zombies had been defunct for some time when Odessey track “Time of the Season” was released as a single, almost as an afterthought. It took off in early 1969 to become their biggest hit, but the members resisted temptations to re-form, leading to a couple of bizarre tours in the late ’60s by bogus “Zombies” with no relation to the original group.”
“Rose” . . . stands in a long tradition of tragic songs, in which a sadness, often about love, has been made beautiful. The likes of Augustine and Plato rightly warn us against occupying ourselves with tragic beauty, but it has been employed here in a modest way that ennobles this Emily while still alluding to the more modern and degrading way of understanding her loneliness. I do not mean the allusion to Faulkner, but the one to the Beatles song.
[F]rom the moment the haunting melody started playing, I was captivated. Little did I know at the time that this song was based on a short story by the renowned American author, William Faulkner. The song beautifully captures the essence of Faulkner’s story, depicting a lonely woman named Emily who longs for love and companionship but is left empty-handed. The lyrics recount Emily’s life, as she watches her flowers grow and lovers come and go, without anyone bringing her a rose. In the chorus, the lead vocalist sorrowfully asks, “Emily, can’t you see, there’s nothing you can do? There’s loving everywhere, but none for you.” These lines convey the heartbreaking reality that Emily is trapped in a cycle of unrequited love and loneliness. The imagery created by the lyrics is striking, as the fading roses in Emily’s garden symbolize her fading hopes and dreams. She holds onto her pride as a shield against the pain she feels, but as the years pass, she grows old and eventually dies. The song ends with the tragic revelation that not a single rose is left for Emily’s grave. “A Rose for Emily” is the perfect example of how music can bring literature to life. The Zombies did an exceptional job of capturing the melancholic and somber tone of Faulkner’s story in their song. The haunting melody and poetic lyrics transport listeners into Emily’s world, allowing them to empathize with her plight. Released in 1968 as part of the album “Odessey and Oracle,” this track stands out as one of the band’s most memorable and thought-provoking compositions. With its chamber pop and psychedelic influences, “A Rose for Emily” showcases The Zombies’ versatility and exceptional musicianship. Listening to this song, I couldn’t help but be moved by the story it tells. It reminds us of the universal longing for love and companionship, and the devastating consequences of isolation and neglect. The poignancy of “A Rose for Emily” is a testament to the power of music to capture complex emotions and narratives. In conclusion, “A Rose for Emily” is more than just a song; it is a poignant reflection on the human condition. Combining the genius of William Faulkner’s storytelling with The Zombies’ musical prowess, this track leaves a lasting impact on listeners. . . . “A Rose for Emily” is a masterpiece worth exploring.
Some consider “Rose” far superior to “Rigby”. Carl Scott again:
The Beatles’ narrator has pitying discernment enough to notice poor Eleanor amid the lonely masses and to guess what her story is, but he retains a modish critical edge, analyzing her hoped-for self-presentation as a face that she keeps in a jar by the door. . . . How differently the Zombies’ narrator speaks of Emily’s shortcomings! . . . [H]e speaks of her coping mechanism without contempt: her effort to protect herself from pain, to keep her pride somehow is understandable, even admirable. Her effort to save face is not dismissed as putting on a formaldehyde-preserved standard-issue “face in a jar” mask. It is not described in the language of ironic and sociology-informed modern poetry, but in the language of traditional poetry. She is recognizably human, and the song honors her tragedy, itself becoming, in all its beauty, a Rose for Her. “Eleanor Rigby,” by contrast, shapes its characters into reductive caricatures . . . .
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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,137) The Isley Brothers — “He’s Got Your Love”
This wailing wall of sound, a ‘69 album track and ’71 B-sid, is one of the great “Why did you choose him over me” songs. I hope it wasn’t one of the brothers talking about another! It comes from the Brothers’ first post-Motown album, their declaration of artistic freedom.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine:
“It’s Your Thing[“ is] a wild, loose-limbed groove that functioned as the Isleys’ repudiation of Motown and embrace of Sly and the Family Stone funk. With this 1969 hit, along with the It’s Our Thing album that accompanied it, the Isley Brothers embraced the now of ’60s soul. The album was very much their thing: they threw in everything they had in reviving their indie T-Neck, abandoning the uptown soul without losing sight of a pop audience while also deepening the groove, all giving them their biggest hit to date.
A very important album for the Isley Brothers, 1969’s It’s Our Thing found Ronald, O’Kelly and Rudolph Isley reviving their T-Neck label and marked the beginning of their association with Buddah (where they would remain until moving T-Neck to Epic/CBS in 1973). Creatively, this excellent LP put the siblings in the driver’s seat — they did all of the producing and songwriting themselves — and they enjoyed the type of artistic freedom that they could only dream about when they were with Tamla/Motown from 1965-1968. At Tamla/Motown, Berry Gordy’s team of producers and songwriters called the shots, but at T-Neck/Buddah, the Isleys’ own vision was allowed to flourish. And that creative freedom made It’s Our Thing a commercial triumph as well as an artistic one. The funky title track soared to number two on the R&B charts, and equally invigorating gems like “Give the Women What They Want” and “I Know Who You Been Socking It To” also went down in history as soul classics. Nor are tough, gritty album tracks like “He’s Got Your Love” and “I Must Be Losing My Touch” anything to complain about. It’s Our Thing made it clear that Tamla/Motown’s loss was Buddah’s gain.
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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,136) The Toreros — “Come”
As Diggin’ for Gold opines, “The Dutch goodies keep on coming!!” (liner notes to Diggin’ for Gold: Volume 2: A Collection of Demented 60’s R&B/Punk & Mesmerizing 60’s PoP). This ‘66 A-side from the Netherlands is, per Diggin’, “INCREDIBLE ‘Byrds’ infl. Pop & one of the best in this style from Europe!!” (liner notes to Diggin’ for Gold: Volume 2)
Some claim the song is a Beatles sound-alike, such as Astroturf78: “Boy, those harmonies in the verses to this original track by The Toreros sure sound familiar. If imitation is truly the sincerest form of flattery, John and Paul surely must’ve blushed if they ever actually heard this one.” (https://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/the_toreros/come___daddy_loves_baby/)
Kim Simpson pegs them more with the Hollies:
The Toreros . . . materialized in the early sixties under the spell of the Shadows’ Iberian motifs and echoing guitars. A 1966 single found them at a longhaired crossroads. Hollies or Stones? Side A proposed the former, while side B argued for the latter.
We I think the Hollies is more like it, but only in a general sense. As Astroturf78 admits: “Aside from tickling a Beatle itch, “Come” is a plenty worthy song in its own right – jangly, melodic, and effortlessly charming.” (https://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/the_toreros/come___daddy_loves_baby/) I would add “yearning” and “soaring”.
Who were the Toreros?* LastDoDo.com says:
From Hilversum. Started in 1961 as Peter and The Dynamites. They soon changed their name to The Flying Arrows. They played instrumental rock ‘n roll. It wasn’t until 1966 that they switched to beat. After the sixth single, they dropped the apostrophe from the name.
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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 750 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
1,135) The Horde — “Press Buttons Firmly”
This late to be discovered “GREAT 60s garage gem” (Mitch Useless, http://rockasteria.blogspot.com/2023/11/the-horde-press-buttons-firmly-1966-68.html) comes courtesy of a horde of Duke University students. Truly trance-like courtesy of a continuously repeated guitar and organ figure and the simple admonition “Go away girl, go away, I don’t want you, I don’t need you no more . . . I’m not your toy!”
Streetmouse explains that:
[T]his was not even supposed to be a Horde album, it was supposed to be an Elizabeth Locke album supported by The Horde. Elizabeth was a student at Duke University and it was she who paid for the recording sessions, with any extra session time being given to The Horde for their own use.
The liner notes of the CD reissue of The Horde’s Press Buttons Firmly tell us that:
Undoubtedly the most exciting mid sixties garage album to be recently discovered in the genre, is that by The Horde from North Carolina. . . . It was recorded more or less accidently in early 1967, released in a micro quantity of only 25 copies . . . . It contains a blend of exciting originals and well chosen, inspired covers, played in a raw, crude and frantic style. . . . These five 19-20 year old students from all over the United States did not only blaze a trail for 60s rock in then conservative North Carolina, they also had a general attitude that finds its origins in the young people’s mindset of the mid-sixties that put them outside of the local mainstream and gained them a sort of regional underground popularity. . . . “one of the sharpest local garage punk albums of the Sixties”.
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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 750 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
1,134) David — “Light of Your Mind”
One of the Brit psych’s crowning glories, a “beautifully measured piece of very British harmonies, rippling organ, hypnotic guitar and drums” (liner notes to the CD comp Mojo Presents: Acid Drops, Spacedust & Flying Saucers: Psychedelic Confectionery from the UK Underground 1965-1969), was actually a cover version by a mysterious Welsh band of a song written by two future members of the American soft rock band Bread. WTF? Anthony Brockway explains:
There’s a certain amount of internet speculation about a little-known band called David who released an outstanding single in 1969 on the Philips label called Light of Your Mind. The A-side was written by James Griffin and Rob Royer who would go on to form rock group Bread. Some people have assumed therefore that they were involved in David. They weren’t. David was actually a four-piece from south Wales consisting of: Ian England (organ/vocals) of Cardiff; Phil Edwards (drums) from Newport; Sid Petherick (lead guitar) from Penarth; and Dave Martin (bass/vocals) from Cardiff. In 1969 they were offered a publishing deal with Chappell and soon recorded [the single]. . . . Their only other single (as far as I’m aware) came out in 1970 on the Fontana record label. The A-side I’m Going Back was co-written by Dave Dee who also produced the recording. For a while David were his backing band after he’d parted company with Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich. The B-side, Selppin, is ‘nipples’ backwards.
Jimmy Griffin’s version starts out as if it’s a classical violin/piano sonata. WTF? Talk about freaky! But that’s actually the most endearing thing about his version. Griffin’s voice sort of grates. A Youtube exchange sort of sums up my feelings. “Jimmy Griffin . . . blows this version out of the water. . . .” (annguest1603, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qupIpdrwdw8). Eight years later: “Um . . . no.” (warwickwas, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qupIpdrwdw8) Exactly. My explanation for all this is that Jimmy’s bread must have been dosed with some natural LSD from the ergot fungus! (https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/ethnobotany/Mind_and_Spirit/ergot.shtml)
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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 750 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
1,133)Bob Dylan and the Band — “Santa-Fe”
Well, rock me mama, “Santa-Fe” ranks up there with “Wagon Wheel” as one of Bob Dylan’s (see #126, 823) great unfinished songs. Unfortunately, in this case no one grabbed the opportunity to finish it or adapt it and make (I presume) millions of dollars. Why the hell didn’t the Band do it? They were there! Anyway, from Big Pink or the Red Room or wherever, from the ’67 Basement Tape sessions, and not officially released until The Bootleg Series, Vol. 1-3 in 1991, here is dear, dear, dear, dear, dear Santa-Fe.
Thomas Ward writes that:
“Santa-Fe” was originally recorded during the sessions for The Basement Tapes with the Band and, although only a fragment and poorly recorded, is one of the most successful and joyful songs on the entire Bootleg Series collection. The tune is astonishing in being so primitive yet original and idiosyncratic. Based around three chords, the Band, characteristically, inject the music with bounce and life, especially Rick Danko’s bass part. Dylan sings it as if he is having the time of his life. Rarely has he sung with such expressiveness. The opening lines of the song, “Santa-Fe/dear, dear, dear, dear, dear Santa-Fe/My woman needs it ev’ryday/She promised this a-lad she’d stay,” are some of Dylan’s simplest, yet they fit perfectly to the honky tonk style of the song. One of the finest songs of all The Basement Tapes (which is saying something), it is also one of the great good-time songs in Dylan’s canon although, as with many of the masterpieces from The Basement Tapes era, Dylan has never performed the song live, nor have there been any notable recordings from other artists.
done with a “breadth of feeling” and “unparalleled expressiveness”, “it appears Dylan simply improvised the song on the spot, and the passion within him allows the song to flow forth naturally” (Anthony Varesi, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa-Fe_(Bob_Dylan_song))
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Talk about a soulful strut, this ’67 B-side by the Young Holt Trio/’68 album track by Young Holt Unlimited is “Mod Jazz touched with ‘a little a bit of Soul’ from 1967” (NaturalSoulBrother1, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJZyo2FOkrw), a “[g]reat song! Gosh they are nailing it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” (timturbine6895, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCsRN3VgWfQ) Drummer Isaac “Redd” Holt totally transformed an easy listening instrumental by Si Zentner into a rollicking soul-jazz party with cool lyrics to boot, of course recorded live.
As to Young Holt, Steve Huey tells us that:
Bassist Eldee Young and drummer Isaac “Red[d]” Holt attended the American Conversatory of Music in Chicago together, and played together in a dance orchestra called the Cleffs, where they met pianist Ramsey Lewis and formed a popular jazz trio in 1956. After a decade as Lewis’ rhythm section, Young and Holt split to form their own act in the wake of the trio’s breakout pop hit “The ‘In’ Crowd.” Hiring pianist Hysear Don Walker and christening themselves the Young-Holt Trio, they scored a quick Top 20 R&B hit with the infectious and silly “Wack Wack.” Most of their material, recorded on several LPs for Brunswick, cut an invigorating soul-jazz groove . . . . In 1968, Walker was replaced by Ken Chaney as Young and Holt tightened up their sound, added some funky rhythms, and renamed the group Young-Holt Unlimited. They scored a left-field smash with the instrumental “Soulful Strut,” which was actually the backing track from Brunswick soul singer Barbara Acklin’s “Am I the Same Girl.” Although the actual Young-Holt group was rumored not to have even played on the track, it went all the way to number three in 1969, driven by a bright, indelible horn riff. Attempts to duplicate its success met with indifference, and although Young-Holt Unlimited remained a popular concert attraction on both the R&B and jazz circuits . . . their recording career was on the wane. They . . . disbanded in 1974.
Eldee Devon Young was born in Chicago . . . . [and] learned guitar from a brother at age ten, but he switched to upright bass at 13 and promptly began gigging professionally. He played an after-hours club on Sunday nights from 2:30 AM till dawn, then came home for breakfast and left for school. Isaac “Redd” Holt was born on May 16, 1932, in Rosedale, Mississippi, and raised in the Windy City. He started on the drums while . . . . in high school[, when] he met Holt and pianist Ramsey Lewis . . . . Young . . . . played with Holt and Lewis in hard-gigging, play-the-favorites jazz band the Cleffs until after his graduation in 1953—in fact it was Holt who broke up the group when he joined the army after college in 1955 . . . . He hopped from band to band for years, touring the south with blues artists such as T-Bone Walker and Big Joe Turner, but he eventually tired of the road grind and returned to Chicago to play jazz again. . . . [I]n the fateful year of 1956 [Holt, Young, and Lewis] debuted as the . . . Ramsey Lewis Trio. . . . [who] released more than 20 LPs over the next decade, but . . . [didn’t] have their first smash [until] . . . “The ‘In’ Crowd,” . . . hit[ting] number five . . . . The pressures of fame may have caused internal friction that pushed [Young and Holt] to leave . . . . In 1966 they formed the Young Holt Trio with pianist Hysear Don Walker, though they would only make one LP under that name: Wack Wack . . . . The title track reached number 40 . . . but when Walker left, that ended the trio. . . . [A]fter adding groovy electric organist Ken Chaney, they christened themselves Young-Holt Unlimited. . . . They hit big with . . . the 1968 release Soulful Strut. . . . selling more than a million copies, and climbed to number three . . . . Young-Holt Unlimited couldn’t match that success with their subsequent albums. . . . But in 1973 they dropped an LP that’s since come to be considered a minor classic. Plays Super Fly . . . .
An all-around percussionist, [Redd Holt] frequently made use of tambourines, triangles and even his hands and fingers if that’s what it took to get the sound he wanted. Eldee Young similarly avoided confining himself; starting as a guitarist, then making the bass his main instrument, he later mastered the cello. Throughout the late ’50s and into the next decade, the Lewis Trio gradually gained a loyal following, rising to the top after incorporating established soul tunes into their act, a move many jazz critics found objectionable. . . . [A]fter leaving . . . . Eldee and Red purposely constructed The Young Holt Trio under the same kind of setup they were comfortable with. Hysear Don Walker, an impressive piano man from nearby Evanston, Illinois, was essentially hired to take the Ramsey Lewis role . . . . They were picked up by Brunswick Records and placed in the hands of Carl Davis, the highly successful Chicago producer . . . . The first single, “Wack Wack,” an infectious instrumental with the title squawk repeated several times, hit radio in late 1966 and reached the R&B top 20 and pop top 40 in January ’67. . . . The only thing is, there hadn’t been a hit since they’d “Wack”-ed. Walker left the trio around this time to do his own solo thing . . . . Barbara Acklin . . . was in the process of recording “Am I the Same Girl[.]” Davis felt the completed backing track, a big brass number by the Brunswick session band, could be a hit strictly as an instrumental. Floyd Morris played piano where Barbara’s vocals would go; Young and Holt were nowhere near the studio. The track was titled “Soulful Strut” . . . .
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Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! / Off the Charts: 60s Rock Revelations😊 