Another SATURDAY Night

Songs for Each Day of the Week: Day 7
Finally, it's Saturday! I have three 'Saturday' songs for you, however, I'm going to try to keep my writing brief, as I'm sure you have much more exciting things do on the weekend!

First up, it's another British invasion band The Searchers, an English beat group that came out of the 1960's Merseybeat scene along with The Beatles. Originally a skiffle group, the band formed in 1959 with John McNally and Mike Pender, who took the group's name from the John Wayne western The Searchers. With their jangly guitar sound like The Beatles, they were another influential band in the folk rock sound, and were also the second group from Liverpool to have a U.S. hit. From 1964, here are The Searchers playing "Saturday Night Out" in a British film of the same title.

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African-American gospel, R&B, pop singer and songwriter Sam Cooke was one of the founding pioneers of soul music. He has been a huge influence on modern music, and with his amazing singing abilities, he is considered the King of Soul. He was one of the first black musicians/composers to handle the business side of his career, founding a record label and publishing company in addition to singing and composing. Between 1957 and 1964, he had 29 Top 40 hits in the U.S., but in December of 1964, he was shot and killed at the age of 33 in what was considered to be a justifiable homicide. Sad story, but on a more upbeat note, here's Sam Cooke's classic hit single "Another Saturday Night" from February 1963.


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And finally, what do ya know, as I began the week with a Monkees' song, I guess it only makes sense to finish off the week with another tune by The Monkees. Released in September of 1966 (coinciding with the premiere of their TV show that same month), "Saturday's Child" is a popular song from their self-titled debut album and was written by David Gates (later a member of the band Bread). With its "proto-heavy metal guitar riff," Micky Dolenz sings lead vocals, however, it is the songwriting duo, Boyce & Hart, singing the backing vocals and not the other band members. This clip is a classic Monkee romp/musical sequence from their fun TV show, filmed on the beach in Malibu, California.