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Post by jk on Apr 1, 2020 4:47:14 GMT -5
This is a most fertile area of sixties pop. It's called "Mainly Girls" because although most examples will be ladies only (and there are enough of those!) some will feature, say, a bass man (e.g. The Raindrops) or be an all-male group fronted by a lady singer (e.g. The Essex or Ruby and the Romantics). Let's start with what is probably my all-time favourite NYGG song, "He's So Fine" by The Chiffons. Very short but oh so very sweet!  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chiffons |
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Post by jk on Apr 2, 2020 5:13:58 GMT -5
OK, so these are The Raindrops, a "group" with a most interesting provenance (see link). Love the initial nonsense-syllable call and response--I remember singing this bit with a couple of classmates at the time... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Raindrops |
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Post by jk on Apr 3, 2020 4:10:44 GMT -5
Imagine hearing this for the first time, oozing out of your teenage radio. Very spooky! "Sally Go 'Round The Roses" is credited to The Jaynetts but looking at the wiki page it's hard to know who's a Jaynett and who isn't. Produced by Abner (the other) Spector, it gave the group their one and only hit (a US #2 in 1963). Spector's masterstroke was to put the instrumental track on the flip, so that you could "Sing Along without the Jaynetts". If only Procol Harum had done that with "AWSOP"! 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jaynetts |
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Post by jk on Apr 4, 2020 3:57:59 GMT -5
I remember banging out "Easier Said Than Done" on a harmonium in someone's garage in the summer of '63. The Essex were Anita Humes and four (later three) gents, all of whom were actively serving in the U.S. Marines at the time. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Essex |
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Post by jk on Apr 6, 2020 3:58:59 GMT -5
The Shangri-Las almost deserve a thread of their own (almost). I once said on another forum (looking across the void to a "Mount Rushmore of Rock/Pop" topic at PSF) that if it were all four Shangri-Las I'd be on the next plane to the US. The Shangs were responsible for so many classics, including some serious tearjerkers. The upbeat "Give Him A Great Big Kiss" is a great favourite of mine and this heart-warming video really does it proud: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shangri-Las |
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Post by jk on Apr 16, 2020 8:38:32 GMT -5
The Cookies (with Earl-Jean McCrea) are best known to the world at large from two covers: "Chains", as done by the Beatles, and "I'm Into Something Good", first done by Earl-Jean post-Cookies and covered by Herman's Hermits. "Don't Say Nothin' Bad (About My Baby)" is theirs alone. The opening piano figure has something sassy about it that chimes well with deep-voiced Earl-Jean's threat (see wiki page). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_Say_Nothin%27_Bad_(About_My_Baby) |
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Post by jk on Apr 18, 2020 16:28:29 GMT -5
Back in the early '60s, UK record companies often jumped in on the second release by US artists who hit it big in their home country with their first release. This could bomb badly--Lee Dorsey's follow-up to "Ya Ya" was an inferior carbon copy. Thus it was that the first record I heard by The Orlons was "Don't Hang Up" (US #4), a great record as it happens. This was in late 1962. I heard its predecessor, the #2 hit "The Wah-Watusi", for the first time last year (!) in a film--I'm pretty sure it was Absolute Beginners... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Orlons |
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Post by jk on Apr 20, 2020 9:24:06 GMT -5
Here's another female vocal group with a bloke in it. The Exciters did the original version of "Doo-Wah-Diddy", which later became an international hit for Manfred Mann, with an extra Diddy tacked on for good measure. "Tell Him" was The Exciters' first and biggest hit. That intro catches me every time. It feels as if it starts on the off-beat! The song's alternation of minor and major is most effective. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Exciters |
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Post by jk on May 6, 2020 4:06:14 GMT -5
Funny how even just a long weekend away can set one back seriously. And it takes a giant effort to catch up in these mentally crippling times. Anyway, this is one of two 45s I've had in the pipeline for a week or so. Like The Essex and others, The Ad Libs are a bunch of blokes with the all-important female lead singer, name of Mary Ann Thomas. I can only assume that the bass at the start of "The Boy From New York City" inspired Mike's similar burblings in the Boys' "answer" song about Lesley Gore: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ad_Libs |
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Post by jk on Jul 7, 2020 16:33:43 GMT -5
Back in the early '60s, UK record companies often jumped in on the second release by US artists who hit it big in their home country with their first release. This could bomb badly--Lee Dorsey's follow-up to "Ya Ya" was an inferior carbon copy. Thus it was that the first record I heard by The Orlons was "Don't Hang Up" (US #4), a great record as it happens. This was in late 1962. I heard its predecessor, the #2 hit "The Wah-Watusi", for the first time last year (!) in a film--I'm pretty sure it was Absolute Beginners... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Orlons And here's a replacement video, this time featuring their US #4 with some serious low stuff from Stephen Caldwell: |
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Post by jk on Jul 18, 2020 4:16:27 GMT -5
I'd never even heard of The Royalettes until yesterday when that nice Mr Tubey shoved them under my quivering nostrils. Major shades of The Miracles' "Ooo Baby Baby" (to say nothing of the title) but quite pleasant of its kind and in some ways looking ahead to the likes of The Delfonics. This is "It's Gonna Take A Miracle": en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Royalettes |
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Post by Will/P.P. on Jul 18, 2020 12:24:46 GMT -5
I don't have a memory of hearing this original version of "It's Gonna Take a Miracle", but Laura sure did.
Her cover is a near reprint, not reimagining. You should have a listen to it.
And a "did you know?": You can fix videos that have disappeared in Edit.
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Post by Will/P.P. on Jul 18, 2020 12:28:27 GMT -5
John, did you know I was a big fan of the Orlons when I was a kid? I'm sure I've posted some of their videos,
but maybe that was at PSF. Glad to see you are listening.
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Post by jk on Jul 18, 2020 14:28:54 GMT -5
I don't have a memory of hearing this original version of "It's Gonna Take a Miracle", but Laura sure did. Her cover is a near reprint, not reimagining. You should have a listen to it. And a "did you know?": You can fix videos that have disappeared in Edit. Thanks. Will. I'll look out Ms Nyro's version, also the one by Deniece "Let's Hear It For The Boy" Williams. I reckon you can only edit lost videos within 24 hours of the original post, otherwise you get a "Sorry, time's up!" alert. Or am I looking in the wrong place? |
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Post by Will/P.P. on Jul 18, 2020 16:11:27 GMT -5
I don't have a memory of hearing this original version of "It's Gonna Take a Miracle", but Laura sure did. Her cover is a near reprint, not reimagining. You should have a listen to it. And a "did you know?": You can fix videos that have disappeared in Edit. Thanks. Will. I'll look out Ms Nyro's version, also the one by Deniece "Let's Hear It For The Boy" Williams. I reckon you can only edit lost videos within 24 hours of the original post, otherwise you get a "Sorry, time's up!" alert. Or am I looking in the wrong place? I'm a fan of her, as well. Beautiful Angel of a voice. No other female singer comes near my love for Laura Nyro, though. If it's your post, you can edit it. You should be seeing an edit button. |
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Post by jk on Jul 18, 2020 16:53:26 GMT -5
If it's your post, you can edit it. You should be seeing an edit button. I'm seeing an edit button but if I click on it and the post is more than 24 hours old, the button vanishes and I get that alert ("Sorry, time's up!"). See here: endlessharmony.boards.net/post/20311 |
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Post by jk on Jan 17, 2022 13:26:47 GMT -5
Ronnie Spector may have passed away but her voice, and the juggernaut of a vehicle Uncle Phil invariably gave it, will live for ever. "(The Best Part Of) Breakin' Up" has the best false ending of them all. (To say nothing of those "Boyish" falsetto whoops in the background.) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/(The_Best_Part_of)_Breakin%27_Up |
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Post by catchascatchcan on Jan 17, 2022 18:58:11 GMT -5
I like the 1963 Barbara Lewis song she wrote and sang, Hello Stranger. She is backed by The Dells, a male group.
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Post by jk on Jan 18, 2022 15:26:39 GMT -5
I like the 1963 Barbara Lewis song she wrote and sang, Hello Stranger. She is backed by The Dells, a male group. Lovely choice there, cacc. I remember hearing that song at the time (which does tend to give me "old f@rt" status, lol). That record is like being immersed in a warm bath. So that's The Dells -- oooff, they've been around for a while, with pretty well the same lineup. Their "I Can Sing A Rainbow/Love Is Blue" single was a top twenty hit in the UK in '69 and I see went top ten in NL.  The girl lead singer/male backup singers was quite a thing in those days. The Ad Libs, Ruby & the Romantics and The Essex were others to use this format. Good times! |
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Post by jk on Jan 20, 2022 8:38:27 GMT -5
We've had an upbeat song by the Shangri-Las with a heart-warming video. Now it's [or rather was] time for some sob stuff, so have those tablecloths at the ready, folks. According to lead singer Mary Weiss in a 2007 interview (see link), the entirely spoken-word "Past, Present and Future" was not about date rape as has been suggested but simply "about being hurt and angsty and not wanting anyone near you." Rest in peace, Mary Ann and Marge Ganser. nymag.com/arts/popmusic/profiles/28500/ |
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Post by jk on Jan 23, 2024 5:04:00 GMT -5
To celebrate the life of lead Shangri-La Mary Weiss, here's an example of the group's less urgent side. I first came across "Sophisticated Boom Boom" on an EP, possibly but not necessarily the one in the YouTube video. The Shangs made numerous forays into more dance-oriented stuff, particularly in their early days: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Weiss |
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