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Post by jk on Oct 4, 2021 3:32:04 GMT -5
I don't believe we’ve touched on Stax-Volt yet. Nineteen sixty-six brought forth two Stax classics from Otis Redding, "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)" and a 34-year-old composition, "Try A Little Tenderness", which took him into the US Top 20 early the following year (there's also a superb live version recorded at Monterey). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otis_Redding
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Post by boogieboarder on Oct 4, 2021 11:00:26 GMT -5
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Post by jk on Oct 5, 2021 6:11:12 GMT -5
Thanks to Will/P.P. in "What are you listening to now?", Cat Stevens now makes an appearance in this topic. His arresting debut single, "I Love My Dog", entered the UK top thirty in the autumn of 1966: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Love_My_Dog
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Post by jk on Oct 6, 2021 6:34:59 GMT -5
How on earth could I have forgotten this one?? In late 1966 I was helping with a stocktake at my local W.H. Smith's and all of a sudden it came blasting out of someone's transistor. I couldn't believe my ears. Later I bought an LP somewhere else and while I was there asked them to play this 45, which I had since discovered was called "Stay With Me", sung by one Lorraine Ellison. Please read the wiki page below for the story behind this recording. Her name should be a household word on the strength of this one song, but no... who remembers her these days? May she rest in peace. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stay_with_Me_(Lorraine_Ellison_song)
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Post by jk on Oct 14, 2021 14:32:39 GMT -5
Heard this the other day in a restaurant during a downpour. Much as I admire Phil Collins (the most unlikely pop star ever), his version of "You Can't Hurry Love" adds very little to the 1966 original by The Supremes. It's nowhere near my favourite Supremes track (what would that be? "Reflections", perhaps?) but it's nice to hear this version for a change! And I'll admit it's grown on me -- of course, musically I was spoilt rotten in '66. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Can%27t_Hurry_Love
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Post by jk on Oct 16, 2021 12:52:16 GMT -5
UK band Small Faces released four singles in 1966, all of which charted in their home country (three were top 5 hits). First up was "Sha-La-La-La-Lee", which reached #3 (a record broken later that year by their only #1 hit, "All Or Nothing"). They made some fabulous 45s in their time, and few better than this. Of the classic lineup, joined here by co-writer Kenny Lynch on backing vocals, only drummer Kenney Jones is still with us. R.I.P. Steve, Ronnie and Ian. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sha-La-La-La-Lee
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Post by lizzielooziani on Oct 16, 2021 17:20:05 GMT -5
You Can’t Hurry Love is my favorite Supremes song from their first couple of years. They got much better later on.
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Post by jk on Oct 17, 2021 9:54:55 GMT -5
I had no idea Simon Dupree and the Big Sound later became the core of the prog rock band Gentle Giant. Back in the mid '70s I was urged to give Gentle Giant a listen ("If you like King Crimson, you'll like them too"). I didn't like them and I still don't. As for Simon Dupree etc, I thought their "I See The Light" was an absolutely spiffing single and still do. (I found out much later that it was originally recorded by The Five Americans.) It failed to chart, unlike the 45 forever associated with them (much to their chagrin), the wimpy "Kites", which reached #8 in the UK the following year. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Dupree_and_the_Big_Sound
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Post by jk on Oct 18, 2021 9:31:09 GMT -5
Lou Christie made some remarkable records in his day, my favourite being the Jack Nitzsche-produced "Wild Life's In Season". Some years ago, I was dropping off during a soporific TV film when all of a sudden, on came this this unfamiliar song sung by a familiar voice. Issuing from a jukebox in a bar, "Trapeze" is the B-side of "Rhapsody In The Rain", a US top twenty hit for Lou in 1966: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Christie
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dogear
Grommet
The Smile You Send Out Returns To You
Posts: 17
Likes: 11
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Post by dogear on Oct 18, 2021 11:41:24 GMT -5
Jon Savage: "1966 - The year the decade exploded" is a fascinating read.
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Post by jk on Oct 18, 2021 12:39:40 GMT -5
Jon Savage: "1966 - The year the decade exploded" is a fascinating read. I'd been recommended a book about 1965, but as much as that year produced some fabulous music, it's not my year. Thanks for the heads up, dogear. Sounds like just the book for me.
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Post by jk on Oct 21, 2021 16:06:23 GMT -5
Back in the mid sixties Tamla-Motown issued a series of LPs called Hitsville U.S.A., comps of hits from that decade. I thought they were great. I bought the first three but stopped once the duplicates began creeping in. Marvin Gaye's US top 30 hit "One More Heartache" was on one of them, I believe Vol. 3. Love that slinky sax solo: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_More_Heartache
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Post by jk on Oct 29, 2021 4:12:29 GMT -5
Confusion reigns as to whether this sinewy 1966 instrumental by Belgian organist André Brasseur is called "The Kid" or "Holiday"! More to the point perhaps, I spent over 40 years trying to identify it. I remembered it from the days of offshore pirate radio where it featured heavily as background music and happened upon it again at the end of 2011: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/André_Brasseur
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Post by jk on Nov 2, 2021 9:58:23 GMT -5
Well we had Cliff Richard a while back, with The Shadows providing him with instrumental and vocal backing. The Shads of course were big in their own right and were regular visitors to the UK top twenty between 1960 and 1980, to say nothing of five chart-toppers. Most of these 45s were instrumentals, although they sang excellent three-part harmony in their day. "A Place In The Sun" was their second top thirty hit in 1966: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shadows
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Post by lizzielooziani on Nov 2, 2021 19:50:37 GMT -5
Don’t know why The Shadows didn’t make much of a dent in the US. I’ve really liked the songs I’ve heard from them so far. I did hear “A Place in the Sun” in 1966. But it was a totally different song from The Shadows. The song by that name that I heard was by 16 year old Stevie Wonder. It was a top 10 hit in late 1966.
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Post by jk on Nov 3, 2021 9:25:58 GMT -5
Don’t know why The Shadows didn’t make much of a dent in the US. I’ve really liked the songs I’ve heard from them so far. I did hear “A Place in the Sun” in 1966. But it was a totally different song from The Shadows. The song by that name that I heard was by 16 year old Stevie Wonder. It was a top 10 hit in late 1966. Hello Lizzie. Well maybe it was because you had Duane Eddy and The Ventures! I don't think it helped that The Shadows' first 45, "Apache", was a hit by someone else in the States. As for your "APITS", if that isn't a cue for me to link it, I don't know what is:
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Post by SMiLE-Holland on Nov 3, 2021 11:23:59 GMT -5
Don’t know why The Shadows didn’t make much of a dent in the US. I’ve really liked the songs I’ve heard from them so far. I did hear “A Place in the Sun” in 1966. But it was a totally different song from The Shadows. The song by that name that I heard was by 16 year old Stevie Wonder. It was a top 10 hit in late 1966. Hello Lizzie. Well maybe it was because you had Duane Eddy and The Ventures! I don't think it helped that The Shadows' first 45, "Apache", was a hit by someone else in the States. As for your "APITS", if that isn't a cue for me to link it, I don't know what is: I couldn't resist adding this one...
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Post by SMiLE-Holland on Nov 3, 2021 11:25:48 GMT -5
I don't believe we’ve touched on Stax-Volt yet. Nineteen sixty-six brought forth two Stax classics from Otis Redding, "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)" and a 34-year-old composition, "Try A Little Tenderness", which took him into the US Top 20 early the following year (there's also a superb live version recorded at Monterey): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otis_Redding
Or for that matter, this one...
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Post by jk on Nov 3, 2021 13:10:39 GMT -5
I couldn't resist adding this one... Of course, S-H. The more links forged between the two sections of this forum the better! Blondie is in fine voice, particularly on "Tenderness". Many cover versions on that LP, I believe only three originals by "Fatear" (they even managed to misspell Ricky's name). Most curious to see "I Was Made To Love Her" on it ( sans middle eight, presumably the BB's influence?).
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Post by SMiLE-Holland on Nov 3, 2021 16:01:37 GMT -5
Pretty much all songs The Flames released on singles and their 4 albums there were covers. Only 2 or 3 were (co-)compositions by (Steve) Fataar.
That I Was Made To Love Her was covered by both of them is just a coincidence. The Flames were mostly into motown and soul on their last SA albums, and Stevie Wonder was hot at the time.
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Post by jk on Nov 3, 2021 17:41:58 GMT -5
Pretty much all songs The Flames released on singles and their 4 albums there were covers. Only 2 or 3 were (co-)compositions by ( Steve) Fataar. That I Was Made To Love Her was covered by both of them is just a coincidence. The Flames were mostly into motown and soul on their last SA albums, and Stevie Wonder was hot at the time. Thanks for clarifying. And thanks for the correction!
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Post by jk on Nov 7, 2021 14:08:28 GMT -5
I won't make a habit of this (famous last words). This is an offshoot of my recent explorations of Dutch pop, for which I beg your indulgence. Looking back on the career of ace guitarist Jan Akkerman, leading back from Focus to Brainbox and beyond, I ran into a song whose title was strangely familiar! In the days when Dutch pop didn't interest me in the slightest, my wife would occasionally sing what sounded to me like "Russian spy die". It was only this week that I discovered where it came from. Jan Akkerman's musical career took off in the 1960s with a band called The Hunters. In mid '66, they reached the Dutch top ten with "Russian Spy And I": en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Akkerman
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Post by jk on Nov 10, 2021 9:31:45 GMT -5
I see the professor has launched * a new thread* in this section of the forum devoted to The Monkees. I hope it won't simply sink from view, which is what often happens to threads in the non-BB section. And there is in fact a BB connection... Anyway, The Monkees kicked off their illustrious career in 1966 with probably my favourite song of theirs, "Last Train To Clarksville": en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Train_to_Clarksville
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Post by boogieboarder on Nov 10, 2021 10:56:47 GMT -5
I see the professor has launched * a new thread* in this section of the forum devoted to The Monkees. I hope it won't simply sink from view, which is what often happens to threads in the non-BB section. And there is in fact a BB connection... Anyway, The Monkees kicked off their illustrious career in 1966 with probably my favourite song of theirs, "Last Train To Clarksville": en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Train_to_ClarksvilleYes, Boyce and Hart with their band pretending to be The Monkees was the perfect embodiment of the 1966 sound. And the Monkees’ lead vocals and antics were perfect to deliver those songs.
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Post by jk on Nov 11, 2021 6:48:37 GMT -5
One third of The Walker Brothers (who weren't brothers) must be familiar to everyone here, namely John Maus. They were much bigger in the UK after moving there in 1965, maybe because the US had The Righteous Brothers -- who knows? I always liked their pre-UK single, "Love Her", overseen by (surprise, surprise) Nick Venet and arranged by Jack Nitzsche. After that I lost interest (they’d deserted to the other side!!) but now I can appreciate the quality of their UK records, which can easily hold their own against the likes of Nitzsche and Spector. Featured soloist Scott Walker (real surname Engel) had three solo hits in the UK in the late 1960s. Gary Walker (real surname Leeds) had two. "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" was the second of the group's two UK #1s (R.I.P. John and Scott): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Walker_Brothers
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