Category Archives: Uncategorized

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 576) John Hurley — “Grandview Baptist Church” This rollicking tune off of Hurley’s debut album (’70) brings a church revival meeting to joyful life. Hurley co-wrote it with Ronnie Wilkins after the two wrote another song called “Son of a Preacher Man” —Continue reading “John Hurley — “Grandview Baptist Church”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 8, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 575) Knights Bridge — “Make Me Some Love” B-side of only single (‘68) by the Odessa, Texas, band — not the Knights Bridge Quintet from Waco, Texas! (http://ontheroadsouth.blogspot.com/2011/06/knights-bridge-quintet.html) This is AP garage rock — these high schoolers should have gotten college credit! BoltContinue reading “Knights Bridge — “Make Me Some Love”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 7, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 574) Barbara Keith — “Fisherman King” From the acclaimed songwriter’s first album (and a ’69 A-side). Barbara weighs the merits of being a fisherman’s wife vs. being a king’s wife. Enchanting rock, enchanting voice, what a siren song. It was immediately covered byContinue reading “Barbara Keith — “Fisherman King”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 6, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 573) Donny Hathaway — “Voices Inside (Everything Is Everything)” “Voices”, the incredible opening track from Donny’s incredible ‘70 debut album Everything is Everything, is not funk, but it is so, so funky! Brandon Ousley writes that: Before releasing his debut album in theContinue reading “Donny Hathaway — “Voices Inside (Everything Is Everything)”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 5, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 572) The Pretty Things — “Talkin’ About the Good Times” You’ve heard of power pop — well, this is power psych. The ’68 A-side by the ugliest pretty things you’ve ever seen is magnificent (see #82, 94, 153, 251). Oh, and listen closelyContinue reading “The Pretty Things — “Talkin’ About the Good Times”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 4, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 571) Buddy Britten & the Regents — “Right Now” Former Buddy Holly impersonator lays down the best version ever of a Herbie Mann/Mel Torme jazz classic, turning it into a swingin’ R&B number that Georgie Fame would have been proud it. Oh, andContinue reading “Buddy Britten & the Regents — “Right Now”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 3, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 570) Barry Gibb — “Peace in my Mind” An utterly gorgeous, utterly perfect pop song by Barry from his solo album that was never to be. “All I ask is peace in my mind” — which Barry Gibb might have longed for duringContinue reading “Barry Gibb — “Peace in my Mind”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 2, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 569) Sons of Adam — “Saturday’s Son” A classic garage B-side from kings of L.A.’s Strip (see #187) about an outcast so screwed he would have given everything to have been born under a bad sign! “Saturday’s Son” is a “killer track, withContinue reading “Sons of Adam — “Saturday’s Son”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 1, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 568) Fickle Pickle — “Saturday” One of those seemingly miraculous Beatlesque songs that seem to have come out of nowhere, “Saturday” from Sinful Skinful is sort of a Saturday in the Park with You. Shindig Magazine says that the album’s “best tracks areContinue reading “Fickle Pickle — “Saturday”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 31, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 566) The Sorrows — “Pink, Purple, Yellow and Red” We’ve heard the Sorrows’ UK hit, “Take a Heart” (see #407), which reached #21 over there in ’65. As Vernon Joynson writes, “[a]fter leaving Britain, because they were not able to repeat the successContinue reading “The Sorrows — “Pink, Purple, Yellow and Red”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 30, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 566) Jack Grunsky — “Figure of the Gothic Age” Lovely, lilting ‘70 folk rock tribute to the gargoyles of the Middle Ages and their makers. I know, I know, not another paean to a gargoyle, but this one is really good and theContinue reading “Jack Grunsky — “Figure of the Gothic Age”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 29, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 565) The Dave Clark Five — “Just a Little Bit Now” I need more than just a little bit of this smoking’ hot DC5 classic right now! Released as a single in the U.S. (’67) — reaching, appropriately, #67 — but not inContinue reading “The Dave Clark Five — “Just a Little Bit Now”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 28, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 564) The Deviants — “Somewhere to Go” Mick Farren and the Deviants rose out of the London underground to blaze the trail for ’70’s punk rock. Ptooff!, their first album, is hailed as an accidental masterpiece. “Somewhere to Go” is not from thatContinue reading “The Deviants — “Somewhere to Go”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 27, 2022”

.”THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 563) The Twilights — “Always” This ’68 A-side is utter perfection. Paul Culnane nails it calling the song “a sumptuous ballad, a rich mix of acoustic guitars, trilling flute embellishments, and . . . haunting lead vocal.” (http://www.milesago.com/artists/twilights.htm) Australia’s greatest live band ofContinue reading “The Twilights — “Always”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 26, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 562) The Honeybus — “Delighted to See You” Another glorious track from the glorious Honeybus (see #6, 52, 207, 434). “Delighted to See You” was the band’s first A-side (’67). Bruce Eder says that “[t]heir debut single . . . sounded more likeContinue reading “The Honeybus — “Delighted to See You”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 25, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 561) Little Johnny Taylor — “Sweet Soul Woman” “And woman, I will try to express my inner feelings and thankfulness for showing me the meaning of success.” NOT “My sweet soul woman. She’s a good looking woman. My kind of woman. Whoa, aContinue reading “Little Johnny Taylor — “Sweet Soul Woman”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 24, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 560) The Hangmen — “Dream Baby” The Hangmen “60s’ize” a romantic Roy Orbison classic, mercilessly marching it up the Gallows Pole and down into the garage. OK, OK, I know Orbison released the song as a single in ’62, and that it reachedContinue reading “The Hangmen — “Dream Baby”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 23, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 559) Solomon Burke — “Home in Your Heart” “Home in Your Heart” is my favorite Solomon Burke song and one of my favorite soul songs of all-time (thanks, Otis Blackwell!) If it doesn’t stir your soul, baby, you ain’t got one! And IContinue reading “Solomon Burke — “Home in Your Heart”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 22, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 558) The Carolyn Hester Coalition — “Half the World” Folkie turns psychedelic. OK, she doesn’t get booed at the Newport Folk Festival, but she does get her share of grief and eye-rolls. “[S]tarry-eyed idealism and girlish, high-pitched vocals” — yes, guilty as charged.Continue reading “The Carolyn Hester Coalition — “Half the World”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 21, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 557) Q’65 — “Cry in the Night” “Cry” is the B-side to Q’65’s explosive ’66 A-side “The Life I Live” (see #108). It is equally as explosive, and some consider it superior. High Times says that the song “is possibly the most powerfulContinue reading “Q’65 — “Cry in the Night”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 20, 2022”