THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
791) Paul Parrish — “Flowers in the Park”
’68 folk rock stunner with psychedelic touches . . . from Detroit . . . with a little help from the Funk Brothers and a future Motown producer . . . WTF? Man, it works. Parrish recalls that:
I had a nihilistic friend who saw nothing but doom and gloom everywhere. I was thinking of so many of my contemporaries who were filled with doom and gloom. And I was saying “No, it’s not that way. If you look carefully, the flowers in the park are growing.” It was a song of hope. I love that song.
liner notes to the CD reissue of The Forest of My Mind
“Flowers” is from Parrish’s album The Forest of My Mind, which Phil Cho describes as “a wonderful trip through mellow, psychedelic folk . . . . [with p]astoral imagery . . . featured throughout . . , adding to the magical and somewhat haunting quality to Parrish’s voice.” (https://insheepsclothinghifi.com/album/paul-parrish-the-forest-of-my-mind/)
Alex Koump tells us about Parrish and the album:
On a map of the psychedelic landscape, down a ways from the windmills of your mind and not too far from Strawberry Fields, somewhere between Itchycoo and MacArthur Park, you might find the forest of Paul Parrish’s mind. The Michigan native could be best remembered for a couple of singer-songwriter albums on the Reprise and ABC labels in the 1970s, or as one-half of Parrish and Toppano in the 1980s…or perhaps as the lead vocalist of The Brady Bunch theme during the sitcom’s first season! But before all that, Parrish signed with MGM’s short-lived Music Factory label for a 1968 one-off: The Forest of My Mind. . . . [T]he troubadour delivered psychedelia ripe for the flower-power generation, with images of nature, seasons, animals and the elements recurring on almost every track . . . , [a] soft throwback to a time when everything was beautiful – and a little mysterious, too . . . . [I]t may be one of the least Detroit-esque albums to come out of the Motor City as it by and large steered clear of R&B. So it might come as a surprise to some to find that veterans of Motown house band The Funk Brothers, including drummer Uriel Jones and bassist Bob Babbitt, played the exquisite arrangements here. Those charts came courtesy of the team of guitarist Dennis Coffey (a Funk Brother himself) and Mike Theodore . . . . The luscious production on Forest was handled by Clay McMurray . . . [who] tapped into a Donovan-esque delicacy, dappled with sunshine.
Paul Parrish’s debut is a bright, excellently produced LP filled with remarkable sunshine-dipped folk-pop songs along the lines of Donovan. Replete with flute, strings, and slight psychedelic effects, the album gets by on the strength of Parrish’s songs, especially tracks like . . . “Flowers in the Park.” Each track is ripe with rainbow-colored imagery and the requisite amount of forest/meadow scenarios. You’d want to dismiss it as merely kitsch if Parrish’s vocals weren’t so sweet and persuasive — in the end, you’re singing along and holding hands with whoever might be near. . . . a detached yet pleasant, love-struck, and extremely wide-eyed version of psychedelic sunshine pop.
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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
790) O.P.M.C. — “Easter Song”
Richie Unterberger says that this yearning and affecting folk-rocker “sounds like the late-’60s Hollies trying to go a little folkier.” (https://www.allmusic.com/album/amalgamation-mw0001282367) “Hey, come on home for Easter.”
Teun van der Slikke and Scotsman Barrie Webb were the pair behind O.P.M.C., who issued an obscure album in Holland that’s variously dated as having been released in 1970 and 1971 in different discographies.
Though this is usually classified as a Dutch rock album by the few collectors who are aware of it, this early-’70s LP in fact seems like a more natural emulation of British (and sometimes American) folk-rock music than many such productions of the era from Continental Europe. In this case, there’s a good reason for that, as O.P.M.C. featured the talents of a Scotsman (Barrie Webb), along with those of Teun van der Slikke. The LP is fair, though not outstanding, folk and folk-rock with a moody streak and a stylistic unevenness that almost create the impression of being the work of more than one artist. . . . It’s an undoubtedly diverse effort that lacks distinction more due to its average material than its eclectic scope.
Hey, Richie, I think O.P.M.C. is fairly outstanding!
Soundolm adds
O.P.M.C. centered around Barrie Webb and Teun van der Slikke with different line ups during their existence. . . . Even ex-Outsiders’ legends Leendert Busch and Appie Rammers were at once among the O.P.M.C. line up! Amalgamation was their first LP, released in 1970 and featuring a mix of psychedelic folk, drugged-out spacy guitar and haunting melodies that some sources have considered to be vaguely reminiscent of Love’s Forever Changes.
“These two young men could have had the music world at their feet. If you listen the songs on this OPMC album, it will become apparent to you that they both loved the Beatles, yet they still managed to make their own style of music with ‘A little help from their friends'” · Robbie Dale Robinson (Admiral MBF. Retired)**
* Soundolm tells us that O.P.M.C. stands for “Oldest Professional Music Company”, “as they were living in the famous Amsterdam Red Light District in those days”. (https://www.soundohm.com/product/amalgamation-3)
* * “Robbie Robinson . . . better known by the name Robbie Dale and nicknamed The Admiral, was a British radio disc jockey who was the chief DJ of Radio Caroline during the 1960s.”(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbie_Dale)
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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
789)Powder — “Flowers”
Before Thomas and Richard Frost had a minor hit and created one of the great lost albums of the 1960s (see #209, 211, 247, 385, 595, 775), they had ignited Powder (as in gunpowder), the first and greatest U.S. Who-inspired mod band, and gave us another of the great lost albums of the 1960s. Notice a trend here? Anyway, the first Powder song I feature is definitely not power pop but the glorious ballad “Flowers” (that ended up in the ’69 Cher movie Chastity (with the vocals switched after a falling out with management). Got it?
Mark Deming gives us the story:
After the Beatles broke big in America in 1964, plenty of young American rockers began following the lead of their peers in the U.K., and very few did so with greater enthusiasm than Powder, a California-based combo whose explosive style was rooted in their enthusiasm for the Who, the Small Faces, the Creation . . . . [G]uitarist Richard Martin, aka Richard Frost, . . grew up in San Mateo, California, not far from San Francisco. Frost became a rock & roll fan at an early age, and had already played in a handful of local acts with his brother Thomas Martin (aka Tom Frost) when the British Invasion struck in 1964. The Frost Brothers formed a band called the Newcastle Five, whose jangly style was informed by the new British sounds and early folk-rock. The Newcastle Five were playing clubs in San Francisco when they were spotted by Ray Columbus, a rock & roll singer from New Zealand who had come to the United States in hopes of advancing his career. Colombus invited the Newcastle Five to be his backing band, and the new combo took on a new name, the Art Collection. . . . and released [with Columbus] a fine example of fuzztone proto-punk, “Kick Me,” in 1966 . . . Columbus didn’t stay with the group long, and as the first waves of the San Francisco psychedelic sound began to appear, the Frost Brothers relocated to Los Angeles in search of an audience for their louder, wilder sounds. . . . [They] caught a lucky break in 1967 when they were hired to be Sonny & Cher’s backing group for a nationwide tour. In addition to a well-paying road gig, th[is] . . . gave the[m] connections with Sonny Bono, who had launched his own music production concern, Progress Production Company, with producer Denis Pregnolato. . . . Progress signed them to a deal, and the group cut an album . . . with Bono and Pregnolato as producers, that they planned to lease to Atco Records. However, the deal went sour when Progress demanded the publishing rights to the songs, and the album was shelved. Powder soon broke up . . . .
Crescendo follows crescendo, and power chord follows power chord. For The Who, “I Can see for Miles” was the apex of this style. But this is not The Who. Instead, it is a band from California called Powder whose shelved album from 1968 was crammed with thrilling, British-influenced gems. . . . [that] filtered a British sensibility through an American outlook. . . . Martin confirms that “we were Who fanatics and got hold of the My Generation album before it was released in the States. People used to think we were from Britain because of our stage attire.”
And Alec Palao provides a vivid description: “Rich and Tom read the British mags like Rave, dressed in dandified threads brought directly from Carnaby Street . . . dug the latest hip UK sounds on import-only singles and albums . . . . and were forever being asked by fans whether or not they were from England.” (liner notes to the Biff! Bang! Powder CD comp)
Oh, what could have been. Derek Anderson:
Sonny Bono pitched the potential album to the wrong man. Sonny choose to take Powder’s recording to Atlantic Records’ Ahmet Erteugen. However, he was better known for jazz, R&B and soul. Only later, would Atlantic Records become a rock label. . . . So, it’s no wonder . . . Erteugen didn’t show any interest . . . . Following the disappointment of the recording sessions, Sonny and Cher’s management team decided to concentrate on Chastity, a film starring Cher. Powder were meant to contribute some of the music. However, in early 1969, drummer Bill Schoppe quit . . . . decid[ing] to wander down the spiritual path that was proving popular in San Francisco. . . . Powder’s biggest mistake was turning down Mercury Records to sign for Sonny and Cher’s management team. That must have seemed like an opportunity of a lifetime. It proved not to be the case.
All it’s possible to think is “how did a band this great, this melodic and this potent escape attention at the time?” . . . After looking at their contemporary context, it becomes clear why Powder didn’t attract widespread attention. They simply didn’t fit in. . . . Rich Martin (later Frost) declares “we revelled in not conforming to the San Francisco sound – it was a badge of honour and a bit of rebellion against what was popular.” . . . Powder played San Francisco but weren’t part of the ballroom scene. They were suburban and definitely not hippies. . . . Musically, the San Francisco narrative for 1967 was . . . dominated by lengthy songs, jamming and a general looseness. . . . The kinetic, sharp-edged Powder were something else. Their heads were filled with neon visions of a concise mod-pop rather than notions of soundtracking journeys to inner space.
Paleo tells us that “Flowers” was “[n]ot intended for the projected album . . . . [but e]armarked for the soundtrack of Sonny and Cher’s “message” movie Chastity . . . . [When] the album was shelved, ‘Flowers’ appeared on the soundtrack with Pregnolato’s voice dubbed over Rich’s”. (liner notes to the Biff! Bang! Powder CD comp)
Clint Hickman summarizes Chastity:
Go on a cross country adventure with Cher in her first dramatic film, Chastity. Chastity . . . is a lonely young girl who is hitchhiking across the country in hopes of finding someone to love her and make her forget her disturbed past. She does find love with a man whom she calls Andre . . . . Chastity feels that the relationship is getting too serious so she decides to run. She goes to Mexico where she starts working at a whorehouse, there she befriends the strange lesbian owner . . . . Chastity is looking for a mother figure in the woman, but the woman has different feelings for Chastity. She soon realizes that this is not the life for her and decides to return to Andre and try to start a new normal life. Things are good, but not for long as Chastity’s dark disturbed past will never let her feel loved by anyone.
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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
788) The Mystic Astrologic Crystal Band — “Flowers Never Cry”
’67 A-side is L.A. psych/sunshine/baroque pop heaven from the band’s first album The Mystic Astrologic Crystal Band Featuring Steve Hoffman.
Man, people either love or hate this band. In the former category, Albeth Paris writes in the LP’s original liner notes that:
[The band] was wholly conceived in [Steve Hoffman’s] own mind originally . . . and then brought to fruition after many months of auditioning, rehearsing and recording!! . . . Hoffman . . . was discovered by his Manager and Producer, Clancy B. Grass III, in a little known teen-age club in West Covina [California] . . . . [H]e simply walked up to Mr. Grass and said. “I write great songs and you have got to listen to them!” It only took one song to prove that here was a potential “giant” as far as the recording industry was concerned, and from that point on the two of them have worked together to create this album!! . . . [T]he consensus of opinion has been that this group has all the qualifications necessary to become the largest, most successful group ever to come from the U.S.A. In fact, it has been suggested that The MYSTIC, ASTROLOGIC, CRYSTAL BAND could be the “heir apparent” to the throne currently held by The Beatles!!! A very big statement, but listen to STEVE’S songs, hear what he has to say and how the band says it, pay attention to the musicianship of the group and then you too will be saying “Why couldn’t they?”… [C]ontained herein are the greatest sounds ever to be put together by an American group for more than five or six years!!!
Wait, too over the top, was this a prank? No, Albeth was not only a real person, she was a member of the Paris Sisters!
Now, let’s move to the dismissive side. Richie Unterberger, the master of the put-down, writes that:
A third-tier late-’60s L.A. psychedelic outfit, the Mystic Astrologic Crystal Band were not as weird as their name indicated. They were, more to the point, as trendy as their name led one to believe, recording common-denominator psychedelic pop . . . that emulated much of the form, but delivered little in the way of lasting content. Steve Hoffman wrote all of the group’s material, which largely consisted of passable emulations of the Association, the Seeds, and much of the L.A. psychedelic pop that fell between these extremes. Their sound is so anonymous, in fact, that one suspects they were only playing psychedelic music because it was fashionable — if it were 12 years later, they may have opted to wear skinny ties and sound like the Knack instead. Perhaps that’s too harsh an assessment, but there’s not much to put your back against on their albums, despite their status as collector’s items.
Stressing the lighter, sunnier side of the L.A. psychedelic sound (with occasional Seedsish bits), it’s well-produced, and full of the requisite bright harmonies and occasional spacy effects. But there’s so little that grabs your attention that it sometimes sounds like one of those anonymous bands that recorded soundtrack material for late-’60s hippie exploitation films.
Hey, Richie, I love those late-’60s hippie exploitation flick soundtracks!
Edward Dunbar piles on:
Their eagerness to adopt such a myriad of styles is akin to shifting through a record store’s bargain bin — gems are far and few between. . . . Hoffman fails to elevate the music beyond mere imitation while relying too heavily on sounds that were probably already considered cliché back then. Hoffman could write a catchy tune, but the utter lack of originality is increasingly obvious throughout the album’s short run time. . . . this is the sound of a band dreaming of a psychedelic odyssey while facing the reality of their own limited creativity.
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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
787) Mojo — “Flower of Love”
This wonderful ’69 B-side alternates between gentle balladry and jaunty interludes, with “The Entertainer”-style piano on occasion, all about a woman “sad and lonely somewhere . . . waiting for someone to love”.
The Mojo Men were certainly fluid. They were great when they were all men (see #140). They were even better when singer Jan Errico joined from the Vejtables (see #84) (and they eventually dropped the “Men” to become simply “Mojo”). They were best (see #275, 720) on their and Jan’s first and only album — ‘69’s Mojo Magic. Jud Cost’s liner notes to the Mojo Men comp Sit Down . . . It’s The Mojo Men states, the album was “[s]addled with one of the most hideous album covers in music history — colored blossoms layered over a group mug shot [and it] sank without a trace.” The group folded soon after. A shame, because Mojo Magic is one of the most glorious sunshine pop albums ever released.
Richie Unterberger tells us that:
One of the earliest San Francisco rock bands, the Mojo Men had local hits on the Autumn label with “Dance With Me,” “She’s My Baby,” and a cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Off the Hook” in the mid-’60s. Their early sides displayed a raunchy but thin approach taken from the mold of British Invasion groups . . . . In 1966, after female drummer Jan Errico joined from the San Francisco folk-rock group the Vejtables, they moved to Reprise and pursued folky psychedelic pop directions, and had a Top 40 hit with a Baroque arrangement of Buffalo Springfield’s “Sit Down I Think I Love You” in 1967. In their later days, they developed more intricate arrangements and harmonies that reflected the influence of the Mamas & the Papas and Jefferson Airplane . . . .
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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
786)Joyce’s Angels — “Flowers for My Friends”
Where have all the flowers gone? This “Great Hippie Dippie Track about some Cheerful Guy giving Flowers away” (Vintage Vinyl Via Valves, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-tMQ1Z9I-8), “a nice Psych Pop Hippy dancer track about a happy chappy giving flowers away, aaah simple times”( tea biscuit, https://www.45cat.com/record/mm526), solves the mystery!
Clearbluesky writes that “Flowers” “received quite a bit of airplay on Radio Caroline South during August & September ’67 but being on Major Minor* that shouldn’t come as any surprise. Very much of it’s time but still a good record”. (https://www.45cat.com/record/mm526)
Joyce’s Angels “remain somewhat of an enigma to most British psychedelic fans”. (liner notes to the Piccadilly Sunshine: A Compendium of Rare Pop Curios from the British Psychedelic Era: Volumes 1-10 CD comp), but laineycrusoe is able to give us some history:
Joyce’s Angels was an English duo consisting of brothers Chris and Nick White, who got signed . . . after Bill Farley heard some of their demos. This was the only single they released, though they did record a followup single ‘Here Is the Night’, but it was never released as far as I’m aware. Chris White . . . would go on to release the album ‘Mouth Music’ in 1976 and have a top 30 hit the same year with ‘Spanish Wine’.
My brother, Chris was a great musician and prolific songwriter. He sent several demos to London studios and our voices were picked up by . . . Bill Farley. Chris didn’t write this song, or the flipside, but we thought it was a start in the recording world. Unfortunately, we were conned out of any royalties as we didn’t have a contract. (I was 16 and Chris was 18 at the time.). Chris arranged our vocals, which was his forte, but another guy (I wont mention his name here) added a top vocal in the verses – a bit off-key! – so probably had the money.
Major Minor was founded by pirate radio station Radio Caroline’s founder Ronan O’Rahilly in 1966 and its then manager and record producer, Philip Solomon. The label was distributed by Decca Records, with an eclectic roster of artists . . . . Major Minor had its first UK #1 single with “Mony Mony” by Tommy James and the Shondells in 1968. Astute licensing deals of obscure or controversial recordings which ‘captured the moment’ also helped the Major Minor label to gain strong sales, such as the single “Je T’Aime . . . Moi Non Plus” which reached the UK #1 spot in 1969.
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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
785) Alan David — “Flower Power”
Flower power. What is it good for? Absolutely everything! Say it again!
Happening45 calls this British ode to flower power, titled appropriately “Flower Power”, “probably a bandwagon zeitgeist jumping effort, or a pee-take, or a genuine ode to the new aquarian age peace n love movement.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=km6YUqha01I) I’ll let you decide!
Alan David was “an actor and singer . . . who scored a few minor hits with a handful of releases for Decca, Polydor and Page One records in the mid to late 1960’s. This is his last single from 1968 and encapsulates the swinging period in a colourful and fitting fashion.” (liner notes to the Piccadilly Sunshine: A Compendium of Rare Pop Curios from the British Psychedelic Era: Volumes 1-10 CD comp)
IFA Berlin notes that “David appeared, playing himself as a singer in a band, in the film Gonks Go Beat (1965), and co-hosted the BBC2 TV show Gadzooks, It’s The In Crowd in June, 1965 with Lulu.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6oxwh6UHIU
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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
784)John Williams — “Flowers in Your Hair”
Staying with the flower children theme, here is a ’67 A-side from John Williams, no, not that John Williams — I’m talkin’ about the one who hung out with Jimmy Page! (see #402 for the B-side) “Flowers” is “a cheery hippie ditty” (Vernon Joynson, The Tapestry of Delights Revisited) that is “full of peace and love in full-on 1967 hippy mode” (happening45, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PdXBhjKkWw), “[e]phemeral and perfect”. (Aquariumdrunkard, https://aquariumdrunkard.com/2014/02/06/john-williams-flowers-in-your-hair/) David Wells notes that the “lovely” song “was issued as a single . . . to coincide with his marriage”. (liner notes to Let’s Go Down and Blow Our Minds: The British Psychedelic Sounds of 1967 CD comp)
“Flowers” was actually commissioned as a British response to Scott McKenzie’s “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair)”! Williams recalls that:
‘Flowers in your Hair’ was arranged for release to coincide with my marriage to Maureen (Maureeny Wishfull) on the 10th August 1967. I think it was actually released shortly before this. Tony Calder asked me to write a song when he returned from America earlier that year, having heard a demo of Scott McKenzie’s ‘San Francisco’ and he wanted a quick English production on the same theme to mark the “Summer of Love”, which he and Andrew Oldham thought would mark the year and lead to a long-term trend in popular culture. I went away and wrote it and brought it back to Immediate’s offices in Baker Street, and played it to Jimmy Page and Tony Calder. I can’t remember their reaction but for some reason it wasn’t taken up by Immediate (possibly because they were in financial difficulties by then) so I recorded it at the same studio in the Old Kent Road where the “John Williams” album was made. . . . I can add that Maureen and I are still together and our sons and daughter are all musicians . . . .
Brothers John and Berne Williams fronted R&B band The Authentics, cutting an unreleased single with Jimmy Page before the Giorgio Gomelsky-produced “Honey Love” was issued in June 1965 in the name of Brothers William. John was already writing songs for the likes of Julie Driscoll when he signed a publishing deal with Jimmy Page . . . . Page placed his material with such bands as the Mindbenders and The Quik, while Williams also recorded a couple of solo albums and a brace of 1967 singles [including today’s song].
Discogs adds more about Page:
The Authentics . . . . had a residency at the Marquee [in] London supporting The Yardbirds. Indeed, Berne Williams introduced Jimmy Page to the Yardbirds. They recorded one unreleased single with Page as producer and harmonica and guitar. John . . . recorded an album with Jimmy Page and Big Jim Sullivan under the name Maureeny Wishful.
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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
783) The Crazy World of Arthur Brown — “Give Him a Flower”
The Crazy World’s ’67 B-side proves that even the god of hellfire can be won over by flower power and give a flower to the eight stone bully who kicks sand in his face, pours suntan lotion into his lemonade and takes his girl.
David Wells calls “Give Him a Flower” a “fabulous flower power send-up” (Record Collector 100 Greatest Psychedelic Records: High Times and Strange Tales from Rock’s Most Mind-Blowing Era) and notes that the New Music Express’ Charles Shaar Murray described the song as “possibly the only recorded example of British psychedelic stand-up comedy” Hey, what about Peter Cook’s and Dudley Moore’s “The L.S. Bumble Bee” (see #60)?
Brown himself recalls that “Flower” “became the anthem for the hippies — they would all sing the chorus”, and that “the studio version was scaled down from the live show, where ‘it would go on for like twelve, twenty minutes — there would be all these jokes, little skits.’” (liner notes to the Real Life Permanent Dream CD comp)
Arthur Brown, Vernon Joynson writes, “was undoubtedly one of the memorable figures of British psychedelia. . . . [The Crazy World] had become a very popular attraction around London’s underground clubs, like the UFO . . . . They had a flamboyant stage act which often involved Brown appearing in a flaming helmet with bizarre facial make-up. Indeed, their act was so expensive to stage that Brown eventually [went] broke.” (The Tapestry of Delights Revisited)
Mark Deming gives some World history:
Arthur Brown burst out of obscurity in 1968 with “Fire,” an energetic and forceful fusion of blues, jazz, psychedelia, and embryonic hard rock . . . invoking the dangers of the dark side. . . . [I]t was the defining song of his career, but Brown’s oeuvre was impressively diverse. . . . The common thread that ties [it] together is his big, booming voice, over-the-top vocal theatrics, and a willful eccentricity that boosts the power of his music. . . . He was a member of the Ramong Sound [later to become the Foundations of “Build Me Up Buttercup” fame] . . . . [E]ager to launch a project that would match his outsized stage persona, he left the band to form the Crazy World of Arthur Brown . . . . Kit Lambert and Peter Townshend were part of the production team for their self-titled debut album. . . . [and] captured a grandiose sound full of drama and menace . . . . “Fire” . . . became a major hit on both sides of the Atlantic. The[ir] live show, which featured Brown wearing a helmet that spit fire and occasionally taking the stage naked, help spread the word about the group, and Brown became one of the most talked-about characters in British rock. In the wake of the success of their debut, [they] cut a second album, Strangelands. It was originally slated for release in 1969, but executives at Atlantic and Track felt it was too experimental for mainstream listeners, and it was shelved. (It received a belated release in 1988.)
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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
782) The Masked Marauders (John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan)— “I Can’t Get No Nookie”
Before there were the Travelling Wilburys, there were the Masked Marauders. The supergroup included future Wilburys George Harrison and Bob Dylan, plus John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger.
“Only once in a lifetime does an album like this appear. Only once in a millennium does it become possible at all. But like the return of Hegel’s Comet every 738 years or the coming of the fresh leaves in the icy breath of spring, it was inevitable. It had to happen. In a world shrouded in the pitch darkness of war and political strife, The Masked Marauders stand as a luminescent flashbulb of truth exploding before our eyes. . . . [W]hen the gods meet and pool their talents, even if only for a few brief hours, the result is certain to be a monument to creativity itself. . . . Sly critics, of course, will continue to scoff. From their flimsy tin thrones of journalistic cynicism they will continue to exclaim “It’s all a shuck” and “What can you expect from prima donnas who’ve never even rehearsed together?” But truly devout rock listeners will not be swayed by such bitterness. They know a super session when they hear one. . . . Leading experts now estimate that the music business is currently 90% hype and 10% bullshit. The Masked Marauders, bless their hearts, have gone far beyond that. Their music needs no hype. It transcends the very essence of the bullshit for which the public pays millions each year. Do not be fooled by gossip and idle rumors. In a world of sham, The Masked Marauders are truly the genuine article.
Christian also wrote a review in Rolling Stone on October 18, 1969:
[T]he Masked Maurauders’ two-record set may evoke . . . cries of “No, no, it can’t be true” in others. But yes, yes it is—a treasured, oft-xeroxed sheet of credits (which, for obvious contractual reasons, will not be reproduced on the album), and the unmistakable vocals make it clear that this is indeed what it appears to be: John Lennon, Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney and Bob Dylan, backed by George Harrison and a drummer as yet unnamed—the “Masked Maurauders.” Produced by Al Kooper, the album was recorded with impeccable secrecy in a small town near the site of the original Hudson Bay Colony in Canada.
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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
Someone once quipped that many bands could have made their careers off of Lennon and McCartney throwaways. Well, in some cases, they actually did . . . .
779) Paul McCartney — “From a Window”
Besides “Bad to Me” (see #520), written by John Lennon, this song is one the best that Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas ever recorded. As Beatlesbible explains:
‘From A Window’ was mainly written by Paul McCartney for Billy J Kramer, a singer also managed by Brian Epstein and signed to Parlophone.
“That’s Paul’s. That’s his artsy period with Jane Asher. . . .”
John Lennon, 1980, All We Are Saying, David Sheff
Kramer’s first three singles with the Dakotas – “Do You Want to Know a Secret”, “Bad to Me”, and “I’ll Keep You Satisfied” – had also been Lennon-McCartney songs.
“We would just make it up. We would sit down at rehearsal and grab a couple of hours somewhere and just with a pen and a bit of paper, scribble the lyrics down.”
Paul McCartney, Many Years From Now, Barry Miles
‘From A Window’ was Kramer’s fifth UK single. It was recorded at EMI Studios on 29 May 1964, with George Martin producing. Lennon and McCartney were in attendance, and McCartney can be heard singing harmony on the song’s final word. The single was released in the UK on 17 July 1964, and reached number 10 on the singles chart. . . . In the US it fared slightly less well, peaking at number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100, and becoming Kramer’s final US top 40 hit.
The Dakotas were a Manchester-based group which formed back in 1962 [the year I was born!]. It was Brian Epstein who provided them with their big break when he matched them up with Billy Kramer . . . and sent them all off to the Star Club in Hamburg, Germany for a three week slot to smarten up their stage act. Their Epstein connection afforded them the opportunity to record Lennon/McCartney songs . . . .
The Tapestry of Delights Revisited
Adrian Bolton notes that:
Epstein came up with the idea of Lennon & McCartney writing material either specifically for Billy or passing to him any songs not used by the Beatles. John Lennon duly obliged with “Bad to Me” which gave [them] their first No. 1, in August 1963.
liner notes to the CD comp The Very Best of Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas
780)Paul McCartney — “I Don’t Want to See You Again“
One of Peter & Gordon’s loveliest numbers, of course written by Paul.
“I Don’t Want to See You Again” was the third consecutive Peter & Gordon single to bear Lennon and McCartney’s writing credit [after “A World Without Love” and “Nobody I Know”], although, like the others, it was mostly (if not completely) composed by McCartney. (Gordon recalls that the due had some trouble persuading the Beatles to let them have have an exclusive on it.) The distinctive twin oboe solo was Peter’s idea. Inexplicably, the song failed to make England’s Top Fifty, although it reached #14 in the States.
liner notes to the CD comp The Ultimate Peter & Gordon
Richie Unterberger notes that “the production . . . employed a softer, more acoustic feel than the hits by the Beatles and other early British Invasion guitar bands. “I Don’t Want to See You Again” used strings”. (https://www.allmusic.com/artist/peter-gordon-mn0000264860)
Of P&G, Unterberger writes that:
In June 1964, Peter & Gordon became the very first British Invasion act after the Beatles to take the number one spot on the American charts with “A World Without Love.” That hit, and their subsequent successes, were due as much or more to their important connections as to their talent. Peter Asher was the older brother of Jane Asher, Paul McCartney’s girlfriend for much of the ’60s. This no doubt gave Asher and Gordon Walker access to Lennon-McCartney compositions that were unrecorded by the Beatles, such as “A World Without Love” and three of their other biggest hits, “Nobody I Know,” “I Don’t Want to See You Again,” and “Woman” (the last of which was written by McCartney under a pseudonym). But Peter & Gordon were significant talents in their own right, a sort of Everly-Brothers styled duo for the British Invasion that faintly prefigured the folk-rock of the mid-’60s. In fact, when Gene Clark first approached JimMcGuinn in 1964 about working together in a group that would eventually evolve into the Byrds, he suggested that they could form a Peter & Gordon-styled act. Asher and Waller had been singing together since their days at Westminster School for Boys, a private school in London. . . .
781) John Lennon & Paul McCartney — “That Means a Lot”
Beatlesbible:
‘That Means A Lot’ was mainly written by McCartney, who sang lead vocals. With a drum pattern similar to that on ‘Ticket to Ride’, and an arrangement plastered with tape echo and vibrato, on their first attempt The Beatles created a wall of sound arrangement quite unlike anything else they’d previously recorded.
“The song is a ballad which Paul and I wrote for the film [Help!] but we found we just couldn’t sing it. In fact, we made a hash of it, so we thought we’d better give it to someone who could do it well.”
John Lennon, New Music Express, 1965
‘That Means A Lot’ was given to American singer PJ Proby, who had become friends with the group after taking part in the TV special Around The Beatles in April 1964.
Released in September 1965, Proby’s version – slightly slower than The Beatles’, and with a string arrangement written and conducted by George Martin– reached number 30 in the UK singles chart.
“Normally I’d try and bury these songs and not put them out but there was so much pressure from people, they’d say, ‘Have you got anything?’ I’d say, ‘I have, but you really don’t want to see them.’ They’d say, ‘I do! Believe me, I think I can make a good job of it, and your name on it would be a big plus.’ So PJ Proby, a friend of ours that we met during the Jack Good television show that we did, Round The Beatles, wanted to do it, so I gave it to him. He had a minor hit with it.
Paul McCartney, Many Years from Now, Barry Miles
. . . .
[T]he group briefly considered it suitable for the Help! album . . . .
Born and mostly raised in Texas, rock & roller P.J. Proby never really hit it big in his homeland, but his trouser-busting stage antics helped make him a genuine pop star in England at the height of the British Invasion. Proby was born James Marcus Smith in Houston . . . and grew up listening to country and black gospel; later on, he became fascinated by rockabilly, and his stepsister even dated the young Elvis Presley. . . . [H]e moved to Hollywood hoping to make it in the music business. . . . and he soon began recording singles under the name Jett Powers, with little success. . . . [He] changed his alias from Jett Powers to P.J. Proby . . . . [and] cut several singles from 1961-1963 . . . without much luck or promotion. . . . Finally, in late 1963, Proby met British producer Jack Good, who happened to be putting together a TV special on the Beatles that was to feature several other up-and-coming artists. Proby’s demo tape impressed . . . Brian Epstein enough for him to make the cut . . . . After the special aired worldwide, Proby’s first British single, “Hold Me” . . . rocketed into the U.K. Top Five in early 1964. . . .
In early 1965, Proby was booked as part of a package tour, and on one of the London dates in late January, his pants ripped open from the knee all the way up. Proby claimed it was an accident, but when the same thing happened at the next show (much to the audience’s delight), the censors descended and banned Proby from performing on television or in theaters. . . .
Proby continued to release singles . . . scoring another Top Ten hit with another West Side Story cover, “Maria,” in late 1965. (Oddly, the preceding single, “That Means a Lot,” flopped despite being penned by John Lennon and Paul McCartney.) The lack of promotional opportunities began to hurt Proby’s chart placements, though, and he was also beset with financial problems. He attempted to crack the American market in 1967 and actually did land a Top 40 hit with “Niki Hoeky[]” . . . . Proby was forced to declare bankruptcy in 1968; in 1969, he recorded an album, Three Week Hero, that featured studio backing from all four future members of Led Zeppelin. . . .
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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
778) Dave Berry — “You Made a Fool of Me”
Slinky ’66 number by Dave Berry (see #554) about a woman who made a fool out of him. Hope it doesn’t get him into that crying game!
Nostalgia Central gives us a grounding:
In 1961 [Berry, born David Holgate Grundy] assumed his stage surname when invited to front The Cruisers . . . . [They] flogged a predominantly Chicago blues repertoire . . . [including] Dave’s idol (and namesake), Chuck Berry. . . . Berry’s big break came when Mickie Most . . . saw him perform . . . and [then] supervised a demo recording session for submission to Decca . . . . [Berry’s] stage presence was almost unclassifiable, and it was not enough for him to simply stand and sing a song. He made a point of appearing from behind pillars (it may take a full five minutes for him to emerge completely) and staring straight ahead while making strange beckoning arm-movements. These abstract hand-ballets would have seemed sinister were it not for the subtle merriment in his oriental eyes. . . . The Crying Game took Berry into the Top Five in September 1964 . . . . [and a] cover of Bobby Goldsboro’s Little Things restored Dave to the UK Top 10, but – apart from a disinclined 1966 recording of the sentimental Mama – this was his last bite of that particular cherry.
Briefly a big star in Britain in the mid-’60s, Dave Berry faced the same dilemma as several other British teen idols of the era: R&B was obviously nearest and dearest to his heart, but he needed to record blatantly pop material to make the hit parade. It was also obvious that Berry was in fact much more suited toward pop ballads than rough-and-tumble R&B, regardless of his personal preferences. At his peak, his output was divided between hard R&B/rockers and straight pop. Help from ace session players like Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones notwithstanding, his smooth voice was frankly ill-equipped to deliver the goods . . . on the bluesier items. He made a rather good go of it, on the other hand, with romantic pop/rock ballads . . . . [H]e never made the slightest impression on the U.S. market . . . .
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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
777) Maryrené — “Je T’appelais Monsieur“
Bouncy, infectious ’66 yé-yé by a quite obscure artist. What is yé-yé? Matt Collar explains:
Yé-yé pop showcased young, cherubic-voiced female singers framed against dance-ready beats and rock & roll hooks in songs often riddled with thinly veiled sexual innuendo. It was bubblegum pop meets softcore porn and it was massively successful in Europe from the late ’50s through the ’60s.
Lest you snicker at my love of yé-yé (see #36, 39, 206, 328, 364, 456, 504, 533), let me throw at ya Véronique Hyland’s article “Why Yé-Yé Girl Style Was Secretly Feminist”:
The flowering of yé-yé, or female-fronted ‘60s French pop, often gets dismissed as fluffy, likely due to its lyrical reliance on lollipops, bubble gum, and dolls. But it’s a more sophisticated style than you might think. Yé-yé draws on the longstanding tradition of French chanson, while adding a sly, flirtatious element. And while they were far from rebels, the singers’ insouciance was, in its way, revolutionary. Françoise Hardy’s “Je changerais d’avis” (“I changed my opinion”) asserts “life is not only about one boy/one face to love,” while [Brigitte] Bardot . . . sings on the saccharine “Bubble Gum” that love has the lifespan of a pack of — well, you know. . . And in “Baby Pop”, France Gall sang to an imagined young girl, “You’ll have to get married/perhaps even against your will/On your wedding night/It’ll be too late to regret it.” She went on to encourage her to dance and sing while she still had the freedom to. . . . [T]he yé-yé set thumbed their noses at monogamy and commitment. [T]heir free-spirited style — schoolgirl minidresses, slick go-go boots, mod eyeliner — fused elements of childhood with a very adult sensibility. . . . [and their] youthful energy helped create a new, freer female archetype. . . . The yé-yé . . . would epitomize a point in time when social mores were beginning to shift, and when it was clear that women’s roles were long overdue for some shaking up. And if that liberation came with a catchy snare beat, so be it.
[T]he essence of Camp is its love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration. And Camp is esoteric — something of a private code, a badge of identity even, among small urban cliques. . . . Camp taste has an affinity for certain arts rather than others. Clothes, furniture, all the elements of visual décor, for instance, make up a large part of Camp. For Camp art is often decorative art, emphasizing texture, sensuous surface, and style at the expense of content. . . . Sometimes whole art forms become saturated with Camp. Classical ballet, opera, movies have seemed so for a long time. In the last two years, popular music (post rock-‘n’-roll, what the French call yé yé) has been annexed.
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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
776) Emergency Exit — “Maybe Too Late”
Cool ’66/’67 garage B-side from Seattle. Glendoras//DJ Mean Mojo Mathias says:
[The song is an] absolutely fabulous garage jangle rocker on Dunhill!! I got knocked by the great guitar playing when I first heard this, great vocals too! Just excellent!! They were from Seattle, WA, and made this double sided killer in late 1966 on Ru-Ro, and national release on Dunhill in early 1967.
Jopabe64 adds that “[t]his record hit the survey at Seattle’s KJR in December of ’66 and reached #20. Their next one, “It’s Too Late Baby,” (guess they were obsessed with promptness) hit the survey in April ’67 and reached #15.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpF0Eb6BsRI)
Unfortunately, as Psychedelicized says, “[t]here is very little known about The Emergency Exit. The band was active from 1965 until 1967 and featured Paul Goldsmith, later a part of Calliope.” (https://psychedelicized.com/playlist/e/the-emergency-exit/)
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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.
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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[T]he thundering mod sound of the Martins power trio Powder; whose own LP, recorded while the group was based in Los Angeles and employed as Sonny & Cher’s road band, remained frustratingly unissued, and indeed acted as a precursor to the creation of the masterpiece [Visualize]. [A]fter the Powder debacle, the Martins returned to northern California to lick their wounds and demo some more introspective material. . . . [Their] innate . . . pop sensibility lingered in new compositions like “She’s Got Love” [see #211]. It was to be the latter tune that caught the ear of promo man John Antoon, who signed the Martins to his . . . publishing imprint, assumed managerial duties and got the duo signed to Imperial Records under the nom de disque Thomas & Richard Frost. As a single, the simple, catchy “She’s Got Love” was to achieve a modicum of success as a turntable hit, reaching only the lower half of the Billboard Hot 100 in late 1969, but with strong regional airplay across the country, upon the back of which the Frosts were able to tour. Back in LA, Rich and Tom made the scene with their pals Rodney Bingenheimer and Frank Zinn, enjoying a brief but eye-opening spell as bona fide pop stars. Plans were big for the Frosts, with a full, lavishly orchestrated, album release, but it was all to fall apart as the follow-up singles stiffed and parent label Liberty/UA decided to wind down Imperial.
The proceedings are imbued with the Zeitgeist of Los Angeles in its last throes of pop innocence, and the Martins heart-on-their-sleeve Anglophilic sensitivity is less derivative then remarkably refreshing, with superbly recorded arrangements that any late 1960s pop fan will cherish.
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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.
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
’67 B-side by the great Bill Fay (who has had quite a second act!) “is fantastic . . . . like some long lost Bob Dylan “Blonde On Blonde” out-take, Fay sounds just like Zimmy and his lyrics are far out to the max” (Dave Furgess, https://www.headheritage.co.uk/unsung/review/327/) and a “deliciously skewed snapshot[] of a mildly disturbed psyche (sorry Bill) . . . a fascinating study of suburban alienation” (liner notes to the CD comp MOJO Presents: Acid Drops, Spacedust & Flying Saucers: Psychedelic Confectionary from the UK Underground 1965-1969) that “hinted at the darker themes he’d later explore. ” (Vernon Joynson, The Tapestry of Delights Revisited). Whether folk rock or psych, Fay is definitely not fey!
Fay recalls that:
My producer Peter Eden brought with him The Fingers, a band from Southend. There was no rehearsing as such, the songs were recorded at Decca studios spontaneously there and then in the morning, after which I overdubbed organ and Mellotron, and Peter mixed them in the afternoon. I was great to play with the band and was all over too soon.
(liner notes to the CD reissue of Bill Fay)
As to Fay, Grayson Haver Currin notes that:
[He] stumbled into music in the ’60s. As a college student in Wales, he began to forsake his electronics curriculum for writing songs featuring piano and harmonium. His demos found their way to Terry Noon, briefly Van Morrison’s drummer and a budding music impresario, who helped Fay secure a contract with an imprint of Decca Records and assemble a sharp studio band.
Richie Unterberger gives his post-“Screams” and pre-rediscovery history:
British singer/songwriter/pianist Bill Fay cut two albums for Deram during the early ’70s that became bona fide cult classics. His self-titled debut appeared in 1970 and was linked by comparison to recordings by Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, but Fay’s songs were more cosmic in scope lyrically and featured pop-orchestral arrangements. 1971’s Time of the Last Persecution . . . won the lion’s share of media attention because of its rather dire and apocalyptic subject matter. There was even speculation by music journalists about the decaying state of Fay’s mental health that proved to be nonsense. Fay’s records fell into obscurity, and he virtually vanished from music for more than two decades.
Fay issued . . . his lushly orchestrated self-titled debut [album] in 1970. While critical notice was favorable, there was precious little airplay, and the label’s marketing department had virtually no idea how to place his work. Though Bill Fay sold poorly, the label chose to record a follow-up in hopes of building interest. . . . Given its gaunt, haunted-looking cover photo of the artist, as well as the deeply pessimistic spiritual subject matter about the world coming to an end, journalists speculated Fay was a hopeless drug addict and/or mentally ill. Some even claimed he was homeless and raving on the streets. None of it was true. . . . Due to poor sales of both albums, Fay was released from his contract and Deram eventually deleted both recordings. They subsequently became cult classics and were reissued in 1998; they were finally greeted with nearly universal acclaim.
Decca . . . wasn’t too sure what was going on musically — what musical styles might become successful, and therefore rewarding to them, or not. Someone once said that Decca’s policy was to throw many pieces of musical mud at a wall in the hope that some of it would stick. I was one of those pieces that fell off the wall, along with others, but I had a chance before, my contract expired, to make a ingle and two albums that featured a lot of musical contributions from others and a lot of diversity in content. I’m thankful to Decca for that and for the freedom . . . to do it.
(liner notes to the CD reissue of Bill Fay)
You might get a kick out of this homage to Charlton Heston, set to “Screams”:
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. 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
773) O.V. Wright — “A Nickel and a Nail”
Now that I let myself feature songs from ’71 once in a while, I am so excited to play “A Nickel and a Nail”. This ’71 A-side by O.V. Wright (see #71, 274) reached #103 (#19 R&B). Bill Bentley calls it “possibly O.V. Wright’s crowning performance, a song so possessed by love and loss that it still stands as a singular definition of soul music.” (liner notes to the CD comp The Soul of O.V. Wright) I heartily agree. Mark Deming says “the [song’s] blues-shot lament[] . . . [is] as powerful as Southern soul got in the early ’70s.” (https://www.allmusic.com/album/a-nickel-and-a-nail-and-ace-of-spades-mw0000840748) Yup. Jeff Hannusch calls it the “head turner” on Wright’s ’72 album A Nickel and a Nail and Ace of Spades, and says “I’ll say this with a straight face: Memphis soul never got better than this. Not by Johnnie Taylor, not by Al Green, not even by Otis Redding.” (https://www.offbeat.com/music/o-v-wright-a-nickel-and-a-nail-and-ace-of-spades-real-gone-music/) Gutsy statement, but man, O.V. Wright was the real deal. As Al Green producer Willie Mitchell (see #181, 551) proclaimed, “When you gave O.V. Wright a song, the song belonged to him. Nobody would do it that way again. In fact, I think O.V. Wright was the greatest blues artist I’ve ever produced.” (liner notes to the CD comp O.V. Wright: Giant of Southern Soul 1965-1975)
Mark Deming says as to the album that:
The golden era of Southern soul was essentially over by 1971, but thankfully no one told O.V. Wright about this; this album . . . showed that his gifts as a vocalist were near the peak of their strength, and this is Memphis-style R&B in the grand tradition. Willie Mitchell[‘s] . . . Hi Records Rhythm Section and the Memphis Horns providing the backing, and their performances lend the music a smooth, glorious burn like fine brandy, and are not unlike the work they did with Al Green, but reveal a darker and bluesier tone. Great as the band is, Wright headlines this show, and when he sings he dominates these sessions with grace and authority; the longing and hurt in his voice are a wonder to behold, and the burnished gospel influences in his voice meld the secular and the sacred with a powerful common belief . . . .
[H]as a singer ever sounded so desolate, so lost, so obsessed with sadness as [O.V. Wright] always did? . . . [H]is songs were often largely tailored to his unique style of “eloquent desolation” . . . . [Wright] always sounded like a man on the edge in songs like “A Nickel & A Nail” . . . & he could wring pathos from every line he sung. And don’t take “eloquent” as meaning he sounded sophisticated. OV was as “country” sounding as any southern soul singer ever got. The eloquence comes from how he phrased the songs, how he found the potential of inherent sadness in any song. OV always sang like he was staring into a vast, cold void. . . . If you haven’t experienced OV Wright’s music, I suggest that you do so. Just make sure you’ve got some good whiskey handy.
A truly incendiary deep soul performer. O. V. Wright’s melismatic vocals and Willie Mitchell’s vaunted Hi Rhythm Section combined to make classic Memphis soul during the early ’70s. Overton Vertis Wright learned his trade on the gospel circuit with the Sunset Travelers before going secular in 1964 with the passionate ballad “That’s How Strong My Love Is” . . . . Otis Redding liked the song so much that he covered it, killing any chance of Wright’s version hitting. . . . [I]t took Memphis producer . . . Mitchell to wring the best consistently from Wright. Utilizing [his] surging house rhythm section, Wright’s early-’70s Backbeat singles “Ace of Spades,” “A Nickel and a Nail,” and “I Can’t Take It” rank among the very best Southern soul of their era. No disco bandwagon for O. V. Wright — he kept right on pouring out his emotions through the ’70s . . . . [He] died at only 41 years of age in 1980.
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. 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
772) The JuJus — “You Treat Me Bad”
Steve Leggett calls “You Treat Me Bad” a “ragged and raw garage cult classic” (https://www.allmusic.com/album/you-treat-me-bad-1965-1967-mw0002022479). Who knew that “West Michigan was a minor hotspot of garage records, thanks to the Fenton label of Grand Rapids[?]. . . . And the Ju Ju’s . . . were the label’s class act. This driving minor-chord attack . . . captures the Ju Ju’s at their best” (liner notes to Pebbles, Vol 1: Original ’60s Punk & Psych Classics) To Jason, the song “stands out as one of [Fenton’s garage classics]. The vocals are snotty and the tempo is driving; [it] would eventually hit number 2 on local radio.” (http://therisingstorm.net/the-jujus-you-treat-me-bad-1965-1967/)
Jason continues:
Of all the regional garage bands that were never given the opportunity to record an album, the JuJus were amongst the very best. They formed in 1964 and played a mixture of frat rock, British Invasion influenced teenbeat and classic garage rock sounds all around the local clubs of Grand Rapids[, Michigan]. . . . The early tracks have saxophones, sappy lyrics and muddy sound but are good for what they are – great frat rock and teenbeat. In 1965 the group would cut vocalist/guitarist Ray Hummel’s “You Treat Me Bad/Hey Little Girl” for Fenton. . . . a local label . . . . [that] would cut many, many garage classics . . . . The JuJus second 45 . . . , “I’m Really Sorry/Do You Understand Me” [is] superb. . . . Both recordings sound very crude and primitive but hold a special place in many garage fans’ hearts – this was some of the best rock n roll being pumped out of Michigan at the time. The JuJus lineup would change quite a bit from 1964 to 1967. Eventually the group would break up after losing core band members Ray Hummel, drummer Bill Gorski and saxophone player Max Colley. But before throwing in the towel they would cut a few more songs in 1967 for a possible single release. . . . The JuJus were a great group whose music still burns brightly in the memories of Michigan locals.
Arguably the most renowned band to emerge from the West Michigan garage rock scene of the 1960s, the JuJus formed in Grand Rapids in 1963. Originally comprising . . . students at Grand Rapids’ Godwin High School–in 1964 the group recruited singer/guitarist Ray Hummel III, a year later . . . . [I]n 1966 the JuJus–so named in honor of Colley’s younger brother’s inability to correctly pronounce his nickname, “Junior”–signed to the local Fenton label to record their debut single, “You Treated Me Bad.” . . . But in mid-1966 Hammel left the JuJus to get married . . . .
Gary Johnson digs up some nuggets, and a tale of the age-old conflict between life in a band and the desires of a future spouse:
[The] JuJus’ first real professional job [was] playing at the Ionia State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. . . .
Deejay Larry Adderly from station WLAV became fond of “You Treat Me Bad” and promoted the record heavily on his show. The song debuted on the WLAV’s ‘Favorite 40’ in August of 1965 and climbed the chart steadily that fall before finally peaking at # 2, one spot below the Beatles’ # 1 hit, “Yesterday”. The popularity of “You Treat Me Bad” resulted in what could only be called “JuJu-mania” in Southwest Michigan. . . . When the JuJus opened for Chubby Checker at a show in the East Grand Rapids High School gym in late 1965, the kids in the audience were throwing jujube candy and screaming as if the band was the second coming of the Beatles. . . .
When Drummond Records out of Detroit . . . offered the JuJus a recording contract, it seemed that the band was primed to make its move. The company was interested in releasing “You Treat Me Bad” nationally, but wanted a commitment from the band that would involve at least one year of touring to promote the record, a follow-up single, and possibly an album. . . . [But] Ray[ Hummel’s] fiancé [gave] him an ultimatum . . . . If he chose to tour with the band for a year, she declared that she would not wait for him. Ray capitulated, and quit the band to get married. Without their lead singer and songwriter, the Drummond offer was pulled . . . . [The marriage] lasted less than a year.
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. 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
771) Fate — “Sergeant Death”
“Hey boy, do you know who I am? Hey boy, wanna see Vietnam? . . . My friends call me Sergeant Death.” The greatest Doors’ song from Apocalypse Now that wasn’t by the Doors and wasn’t in Apocalypse Now is also one of the greatest anti-Vietnam War songs of the 60’s. Except that it wasn’t widely released until the 90’s!
Patrick Lundborg says of the album (Sgt. Death) and the song that “this piece of zeitgeist plays like a completely finalized album that could, and probably should, have come out back then. . . . T]he sarcastic anti-Vietnam title track is what makes it stand out.” (The Acid Archives, 2nd Ed.). Anastasia Walker describes the song as having “a mildly Doorsy doom vibe befitting its anti-war theme.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nVyMy3yvx0)
Menegon calls the album a “vintage previously unreleased Psychedelic wonder from 1967-1968. . . . [i]nfluenced by Doors and other West coast psychedelic bands . . . . Eerie keyboards led psychedelia with great slashing guitar leads and biting vocals to Yardbirds like rave ups.” (https://venenosdorock.blogspot.com/2010/05/fate-sgt-death-1968-us-rock-psych.html?m=1) Thomas Smith enthuses:
Magnificent, extraordinary band. The closest vocals to The Doors . . . that I’ve ever heard. . . . This is one the greatest lost treasures of American psych. . . . Fate meant for me to hear this absolutely brilliant LP.
Jay Sneider’s first band The Electrons came together in Saco, Maine in 1963. They soon changed their name to The Id and would release two 45s that have become highly prized by collector’s, the second as Euphoria’s Id to differentiate them from several other Ids around at that time. Around 1967 Sneider (now Snyder) and drummer Skip Smith formed Fate. The album was recorded in 1968 . . . . Demos were sent out and the popular DJ Roscoe . . . started playing it. It would be picked up by a couple more NYC stations, yet the only record label to show any interest was Musicor. Still the band’s production company (Elephant 5) chose to pass on the offer, nothing further happened and a disillusioned band went their separate ways.
Such a shame; this is an accomplished opus and so evocative of its time. The mood is reflective, often sombre, but also confrontational (as in the overtly anti-Vietnam title track). Stylistically it varies from baroque-rock with psychy flashes to hard melodic rock, and a strong hint of The Doors on the more introspective cuts. The latter comparison used to irritate Jay Snyder but the setting, key and timbre of Frank Youngblood’s vocals makes this unavoidable.
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. 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
770) Andwella — “The World of Angelique”
A gorgeous, ethereal and diaphanous ballad off of People’s People, the third and final album fromBelfast’s David Lewis and his band Andwella (see #714). Did I mention gossamer?
Andwella’s — then Andwella’s Dream — first album is their most “famous” (among collectors). The “stunning debut LP ‘Love & Poetry’ . . . captures the moment when psychedelia was at the point of splintering into progressive and acid folk.” (https://www.irishrock.org/irodb/bands/andwella.html) Well, Philip Chevron — yes, of the Pogues — says that the People’s People is “even better . . . . By th[is] time . . . [David Lewis] was at the top of his game, with a new maturity to his voice which gave added conviction to the material.” (liner notes to cd reissue of Love and Poetry). I agree!
Of the album, the Numero Group says:
People’s People finds David Lewis and his band of freewheelers stripping their sound down to the essentials. Emerging from the psychedelic haze, the trio find themselves at a crossroads of American southern rock and a pastoral English countryside and deliver an album with booming harmonies and transcendental hooks that could go head-to-head with The Band or The Allman Brothers. The final chapter in the Andwella story has all the makings of a classic LP, and if not for the Reflection label’s own chaotic dissolution around the time of the release, it probably would have been.
[Andwella was] primarily a vehicle for the varied talents of pianist, guitarist, songwriter and singer David Lewis. . . . Something of a child prodigy, Belfast-born Lewis had been writing songs since he was eight yers old . . . by the age of 12 he was performing as a singer on various Northern Ireland TV shows. However, the Andwella’s Dream story really starts when he formed a Cream-style blues group, the Method . . . . [which] built up a bit of a following, and by March 1968 their leader was named alongside the likes of Rory Gallagher . . . in a Top 20 popularity poll of Ireland’s favorite rock and pop musicians. Flushed with such attention, the Method decided to move to London and try their luck . . . . Changing their name to Andwella’s Dream, they began to make the transition from covers to original material . . . .
Record Collector: 100 Greatest Psychedelic Records: High Times and Strange Tales from Rock’s Most Mind-Blowing Era
Philip Chevron adds that:
Irish radio in the 60s . . . took money — in the legitimate enough form of sponsored programming — to play cover version records by Irish showbands, a handful of them sublime, the rest truly awful. The showbands were a genuine phenomenon. In a rural culture which was still hooking itself up the the electrical grid in that era and in which not even television had yet made a major impact, the better showbands could draw three to five thousand people every day of the week, in enormous dancehalls . . . . In this climate, it took guts for a musician not to be in a showband. Van Morrison and Rory Gallagher were the two most celebrated defectors but there were dozens more . . . . Britain and America aspired to an underground a counter-culture, but Irish blues and rock was so involuntarily underground it was positively subterranean. . . . The more significant bands made this transition well. One such was Dave Lewis’s group The Method who . . . came out of the hub of the Maritime Hotel in Belfast . . . .
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. 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.
Just click on the first blue block for a month to month subscription or the second blue block for a yearly subscription.
Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! / Off the Charts: 60s Rock Revelations😊 