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Post by jk on Jul 10, 2020 5:16:45 GMT -5
The reputation unfairly accorded this "slack" period in US pop history--between, say, Buddy Holly's death and the arrival of the British Invasion--can never be redressed often enough. Dave Marsh makes a magnificent job of it in his book LOUIE LOUIE ( here). The less rockin' likes of Bobby Rydell, Fabian and Frankie Avalon were themselves given a very rough deal (pretty boys who couldn't sing), as if to confirm that these were indeed "doldrum years". The first record Marsh cites in his list is Lloyd Price's "Stagger Lee", so let's begin with that: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lloyd_Price |
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Post by Al S on Jul 10, 2020 16:57:30 GMT -5
Cliff!!! (I know, 1958, but still...)
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2020 10:46:24 GMT -5
These were not doldrum years for Brian Wilson. He got as much from Bobby Rydell and Earl-Jean, and as he did from Hank Ballard and Doris Day.
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Post by jk on Jul 11, 2020 16:34:49 GMT -5
These were not doldrum years for Brian Wilson. He got as much from Bobby Rydell and Earl-Jean, and as he did from Hank Ballard and Doris Day. Exactly! In many ways it's my favourite era in pop. A fascinating aspect is that The Beatles were huge in the UK throughout 1963 but only broke in the US at the tail end of that year. Personally I found the US 45s a breath of fresh air in '63. The entire UK beat scene triggered by the success of The Beatles could be quite stifling at times! I was one of only two boys in my grammar school class that preferred the American stuff.  The best place to hear all the latest US releases was a pop programme broadcast every weekday on a French station (see link). That's where I first heard The Trashmen's "Surfin' Bird": en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salut_les_copains_(radio_program) |
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Post by Al S on Jul 11, 2020 19:09:35 GMT -5
Man, and we all think Little Honda was revolutionary (10,000 rpm to be precise). Go Little Paul:
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Post by Al S on Jul 11, 2020 19:14:14 GMT -5
Cliff!!! (I know, 1958, but still...) My favourite Cliff song. I'm not really a fan but I have the greatest respect for the man. Sir Cliff is the only singer to have a UK #1 single in five consecutive decades! He's a funny chap and I'm only a passing fan, more due to remembering him and all his earnestness on '70s teevee, and watching his old films on Sunday afternoons when the boring cricket wasn't on - and the films were only interesting because the camp Tommy from It Ain't Half Hot, Mum was part of his onscreen entourage. 80s Cliff and beyond was fairly dire, I believe. |
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Post by Al S on Jul 11, 2020 19:19:47 GMT -5
Great little arrangement on this song! Not sure what happened to these guys tho, I can't find much info about them, other than I think they broke up after an ill advised wander into the Surf-drama genre.
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Post by jk on Jul 12, 2020 5:09:15 GMT -5
Great little arrangement on this song! Not sure what happened to these guys tho, I can't find much info about them, other than I think they broke up after an ill advised wander into the Surf-drama genre. Haha. It was quite a shock hearing that falsetto for the first time towards the end of '62 I can tell you. My brother bought their goofy "Ain't That A Shame" the next year but it was the B-side, "Soon (I'll Be Home Again)", that most caught our fancy. Long live doo wop! And that organ!  |
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Post by jk on Jul 12, 2020 5:12:45 GMT -5
Man, and we all think Little Honda was revolutionary (10,000 rpm to be precise). Go Little Paul: Nice! Judging from Tico's accent (I may be wrong here) I'd say he's from your part of the world, A.  |
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Post by jk on Jul 15, 2020 15:45:09 GMT -5
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Post by jk on Jul 17, 2020 14:43:45 GMT -5
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Post by lonelysummer on Jul 17, 2020 20:57:11 GMT -5
My favourite Cliff song. I'm not really a fan but I have the greatest respect for the man. Sir Cliff is the only singer to have a UK #1 single in five consecutive decades! He's a funny chap and I'm only a passing fan, more due to remembering him and all his earnestness on '70s teevee, and watching his old films on Sunday afternoons when the boring cricket wasn't on - and the films were only interesting because the camp Tommy from It Ain't Half Hot, Mum was part of his onscreen entourage. 80s Cliff and beyond was fairly dire, I believe. My perspective is different, being in the US. Although Cliff had a top 10 hit here in the summer of '76 with Devil Woman, his real breakthrough was at the end of 1979 with We Don't Talk Anymore. He had a string of hits here in the early 80's, without breaking into superstar status. Songs like Carrie, Dreaming, Suddenly with Olivia Newton-John, A Little in Love, Give a Little Bit More, Daddy's Home and The Only Way Out kept him on the radio for a few years; he was appeared frequently on the Midnight Special, the Merv Griffin Show, Solid Gold and other talk/variety shows. He only toured over here once, though, in spring 1981. I don't know what kept him from becoming a household word over here; tv hosts always made a point of telling us what a big star he was in the rest of the world.
IIRC, he took a few years off in the mid 80's, and by the time he came back, it was too late. He couldn't get a major label deal over here, his new stuff just disappeared without a trace.
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Post by Al S on Jul 17, 2020 21:11:49 GMT -5
He's a funny chap and I'm only a passing fan, more due to remembering him and all his earnestness on '70s teevee, and watching his old films on Sunday afternoons when the boring cricket wasn't on - and the films were only interesting because the camp Tommy from It Ain't Half Hot, Mum was part of his onscreen entourage. 80s Cliff and beyond was fairly dire, I believe. My perspective is different, being in the US. Although Cliff had a top 10 hit here in the summer of '76 with Devil Woman, his real breakthrough was at the end of 1979 with We Don't Talk Anymore. He had a string of hits here in the early 80's, without breaking into superstar status. Songs like Carrie, Dreaming, Suddenly with Olivia Newton-John, A Little in Love, Give a Little Bit More, Daddy's Home and The Only Way Out kept him on the radio for a few years; he was appeared frequently on the Midnight Special, the Merv Griffin Show, Solid Gold and other talk/variety shows. He only toured over here once, though, in spring 1981. I don't know what kept him from becoming a household word over here; tv hosts always made a point of telling us what a big star he was in the rest of the world.
IIRC, he took a few years off in the mid 80's, and by the time he came back, it was too late. He couldn't get a major label deal over here, his new stuff just disappeared without a trace.
Hey, you might like this: |
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Post by jk on Jul 18, 2020 9:07:37 GMT -5
Chubby Checker did other good stuff apart from "The Twist". I found a 45 of "The Fly" (1961) a few years later at a local market and played it constantly at full volume (which it should be said was nothing like full volume these days): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chubby_Checker |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2020 10:44:06 GMT -5
Pattie Duke does The Fly during the opening of The Patti Duke Show.
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Post by jk on Jul 18, 2020 14:38:43 GMT -5
Pattie Duke does The Fly during the opening of The Patti Duke Show. Looking for the video, Steve, but I don't see it... |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2020 15:26:52 GMT -5
at :33 
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Post by jk on Jul 18, 2020 16:56:47 GMT -5
at :33
Thanks! Now I understand -- I thought Patty was actually singing the Chubby Checker song. |
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Post by jk on Aug 3, 2020 4:27:12 GMT -5
I think my brother still has the 78 of Wilbert Harrison's "Kansas City" that we found in a junk shop in Kent back in 1963. I'd read about it before then but was blown away when I heard it (so was my bro): For goodness' sake keep this to yourselves but if I were ever asked to sing anything, accompanying myself on the piano (probably with a few drinks inside me), it would be this.  |
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Post by jk on Aug 4, 2020 7:44:36 GMT -5
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Post by jk on Aug 15, 2020 4:26:43 GMT -5
Neil Sedaka scored some wonderful hits during the "doldrum years". 1961's "Calendar Girl", now being dissected to within an inch of its life elsewhere on this forum, was the first I remember hearing at the time of its release:
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Post by jk on Sept 5, 2020 5:26:18 GMT -5
This wasn't the first Everly Brothers song I ever heard (that was "When Will I Be Loved") but it was the first one I heard during my initial listen to Radio Luxembourg, which broadcast from mainland Europe in the evenings.
Although it only played half of each record, Radio Luxembourg was a godsend to a UK otherwise largely at the mercy of big-band versions of hits (the Musicians' Union ruled in those days) on BBC radio. (The off-shore "pirate" stations had yet to be launched.)
"Temptation" (1961), which I first heard in the dark, sounded like music from another planet to my 13-year-old ears:
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Post by Moon Dawg on Sept 27, 2020 9:48:39 GMT -5
Good thread. Ass though he may be, Dave Marsh makes a compelling case for lots of great rock & roll existing between 1959-63 in his 1001 Greatest Singles of All-Time book.
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Post by jk on Oct 4, 2020 7:58:58 GMT -5
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Post by lonelysummer on Oct 26, 2020 1:36:15 GMT -5
This wasn't the first Everly Brothers song I ever heard (that was "When Will I Be Loved") but it was the first one I heard during my initial listen to Radio Luxembourg, which broadcast from mainland Europe in the evenings. Although it only played half of each record, Radio Luxembourg was a godsend to a UK otherwise largely at the mercy of big-band versions of hits (the Musicians' Union ruled in those days) on BBC radio. (The off-shore "pirate" stations had yet to be launched.) "Temptation" (1961), which I first heard in the dark, sounded like music from another planet to my 13-year-old ears: The accepted gospel from the rock critics of the 70s and 80s was that everything the Everlys did at Cadence, 1957-59, was excellent, and most of what they did after that was worthless. So I approached their Warner Bros material with some caution; and beyond the big hits - Cathy's Clown, Walk Right Back, Crying in the Rain, Lucille, So Sad - found many other tracks to love - some which were big hits in the day, but are mostly forgotten now. Temptation was one of them. And reading Don and Phil's comments about what they were trying to achieve on those records made me appreciate them even more. I don't know how many guitars are on Temptation - it's like a rock and roll orchestra. And those female voices in the middle - they sure sound to have been altered electronically. I have heard very few Everly records I don't like. |
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