Farewell to a Songwriter

 

Today, we lost American lyricist Gerry Goffin, known for his successful songwriting career with first wife Carole King. Goffin was born in Brooklyn in 1939. Twenty years later, he married King, whom he'd met while both were attending Queens College, when he was 20 and she was 17. During his career, Goffin co-wrote seven #1 Billboard hits and a total of 59 Top-40 hits, including The Monkees' "Pleasant Valley Sunday," The Everly Brothers' "Crying in the Rain," Bobby Vee's "Take Good Care of My Baby" and James Taylor's "You've Got a Friend."
In 1990, Goffin was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with King. He passed away of natural causes at the age of 75, but leaves quite the musical legacy.

The husband-wife songwriting team found their breakthrough hit with "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow," which was recorded by The Shirelles and went to #1 on the Billboard chart in January 1961.


In 1962, Goffin and King gave a huge hit to Little Eva with 'The Loco-Motion," a song notable for appearing in the American Top-5 three times, each time in a different decade with a different artist: Little Eva (1962, #1), Grand Funk Railroad (1974, #1), and Kylie Minogue (1988, #3). Eva Boyd was initially the babysitter for Goffin children before the couple discovered she had a good voice. There was no dance when the song was originally written and Boyd ended up having to create a dance to go along with it.

Originally recorded by Earl-Jean of The Cookies in 1964, England's Herman's Hermits turned the Goffin/King tune "I'm Into Something Good" into a #1 UK hit and US Top-20 hit that same year.  

Goffin co-wrote rock hits for other British Invasion bands like The Animals, who reached #6 in the  UK with "Don't Bring Me Down" in 1965. Rolling Stone magazine would later write that "Don't Bring Me Down" represented one side of the Goffin-King "boy-girl, loneliness-togetherness" duality

In 1967, powerhouse soul singer Aretha Franklin scored a bit hit and standard for her with Goffin/King's "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman." Carole King also recorded this classic on her landmark 1971 album Tapestry, and has been covered by many other artists.

This isn't even the tip of the musical iceberg that came from this celebrated writing-producing team but demonstrates the great variety of tunes that have touched millions of people over the decades. Farewell, Mr. Goffin!

San Francisco

Flower Power: Part 1
Alright, ready or not, we're taking the next month to explore the many sounds of Flower Power! The slogan "flower power" was used by the American counterculture movement during the late 1960s as a symbol of passive peace and non-violence philosophy. Embracing the symbolism, hippies wore colorful clothing with flowers in their hair and passed out flowers to the public. In later years, Flower Power has become a modern reference to the hippie culture including psychedelic music and art. In the late '60s, the Haight Ashbury district in San Francisco, California, was the iconic center of the Flower Power movement, and was the focal point for psychedelic rock music (Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, and Janis Joplin all lived nearby this famous intersection). So today's post will feature Flower Power songs about the historic city of San Francisco.

During the 1967 Summer of Love, the song that brought literally thousands of young people to San Francisco was "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" by American singer Scott McKenzie. As McKenzie was childhood friends with John Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas, Phillips wrote and co-produced "San Francisco" for McKenzie, and it was released in May of 1967 to promote the Monterey Pop Festival. This psychedelic pop song became an instant hit, reaching #4 on the U.S. charts and #1 throughout most of Europe, selling over 7 million copies worldwide. Here's that infamous San Franciscan song that became an anthem of freedom during this time.

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So up next, we have the British pop group, the Flower Pot Men, who were created as a result of the successful single "Let's Go to San Francisco" in 1967. Written and recorded by songwriters John Carter and Ken Lewis, they had no actual group to promote the song after it became a big hit, and since they had no interest in going on the road themselves, the duo created the group by hand-picking session musicians and vocalists. Sometimes mistaken for The Beach Boys, the group's sound was characterized by their rich, three-part vocal harmony. Their name was partly derived from the BBC children's show also titled Flower Pot Men, and had obvious psychedelic-era puns on Flower Power and, well, "pot." The only Top-10 single for this group, here's the light-hearted, psychedelic pop song "Let's Go to San Francisco."

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Originating in Houston, Texas, Fever Tree was a psychedelic rock band that formed in 1966, and are mainly remembered for their 1968 hit, "San Francisco Girls (Return of the Native)." Written and produced by couple Scott and Vivian Holtzman, this psychedelic rock song was only a minor hit (reaching #91 on the U.S. charts), but it captured the essence of the group's trademark sounds including the searing, fuzz guitar by Michael Knust. Unfortunately, there's no live footage available, but here's a slideshow presentation of Fever Tree's "San Francisco Girls." (Thanks, Uncle Bill, for reminding me about these guys.)

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For the final San Francisco song of the day, we'll conclude with these guys: remember the British Invasion rock band The Animals (with their signature hit here)? Well, after undergoing several personnel changes as well as suffering poor business management, the group disbanded in 1966 and lead singer Eric Burdon formed a new incarnation called Eric Burdon & the Animals (sometimes "the New Animals"). Relocating to San Francisco as a psychedelic band characterized by a heavier, more experimental sound, this new group had its biggest hit with "San Franciscan Nights" released in 1967. Written by Burdon and his bandmates, this tribute to San Francisco reached #1 in Canada, #7 in the UK, and #9 in the U.S., and was a stand against the Vietnam War. Beginning with a brief parody of the Dragnet theme, this psychedelic/progressive rock song seems to pull in as many 1960s themes as possible.

The British Are Still Coming!

British Invasion: Part 2
Unlike our usual weekly themes, I forgot to warn you that the British Invasion at The 60's Beat will be extended to a couple of weeks! We have so many artists lined up, so who says we have to cram it all into a week? Of a list of about 35 significant groups in the Invasion, we're planning on covering at least 30, so buckle up and here we go!

So continuing on with this British Invasion phenomenon, we have the English group, The Animals, whose signature song was featured during folk rock week. With their gritty/bluesy sound led by the deep-voiced Eric Burdon, the group had ten Top-20 hits including "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," released in February of 1965. Originally written for American singer Nina Simone, The Animals turned this jazzy, soulful song into a faster, blues rock version with a memorable organ/guitar riff, becoming a trans-Atlantic hit. Yet another tune found in the list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Interestingly, this group later went through so many personnel changes that in the late '60s, they relocated to California as a psychedelic rock group named Eric Burdon & the Animals (as Eric Burdon was the only original member).

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Also joining in the Invasion was another Merseybeat group (the name for the rock 'n' roll style of music by bands from Liverpool), Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas. Also managed by The Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein, John Lennon and Paul McCartney helped the fellow Liverpudlian Billy J. (backed by the Manchester-based Dakotas) reach stardom by writing a series of songs just for them. Recorded at Abbey Road Studios and released in July 1963 (finding its way to the US in '64), "Bad to Me" was a John Lennon composition that put Billy J. and the guys at the #1 position on the charts, becoming the first Lennon/McCartney song covered by an artist (other than The Beatles) to reach the Top-40.

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Another group with this Merseybeat sound was the British Invasion-era duo Peter and Gordon. Schoolmates Peter Asher and Gordon Waller achieved fame in 1964 with the song "A World Without Love," written by Paul McCartney, who composed several songs for the pair (sometimes even receiving uncredited Beatle tunes since Peter's sister, Jane Asher, was Paul's girlfriend throughout the mid-60's). In late '64, they released Del Shannon's "I Go to Pieces," who gave this song to the duo after they had toured together. Also recorded in Abbey Road Studios, this Merseybeat-style tune ascended to the top of the charts in 1965, contributing to their string of hits. After the two disbanded in 1968, Peter took charge of a department at Apple Records, signing artists like James Taylor, and Gordon even went on to perform the roll of Pharaoh in a production of Joseph. Interesting stuff!
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We'll end today with the British R&B, beat, and pop band Manfred Mann, named after their South African keyboardist, Manfred Mann. Emerging from the British blues scene in London's club (along with The Rolling Stones, The Moody Blues, and The Yardbirds), these guys was the first south-of-England-based group to top the charts during the Invasion. With their distinct sound fueled by Manfred's keyboard and the soulful voice of singer Paul Jones, the group had a huge hit with "Do Wah Diddy Diddy," reaching #1 on both the UK and U.S. charts in the fall of 1964. Written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, and originally a minor hit by The Exciters (an American vocal group), Manfred Mann's cover version continues to remain a well-known favorite for generations. Later in the early 1970's, Manfred went to form the successful progressive rock group Manfred Man's Earth Band (remember "Blinded By the Light"?). Anyway, I have vivid memories of singing this tune at the top of my lungs as a kid.

Folk Rock

Folk Rock Week: Part 1

Being a hybrid of folk music and rock music, folk rock is yet another genre of music that developed in the mid-1960s. An ancestor of this genre came from the American folk music revival, which, interestingly, was influential on the music of The Beatles and other British Invasion bands (their beat music). Also, pre-British Invasion American rock 'n' roll from the late 1950's, like some tunes by Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly, affected the development of folk rock as well. Folk rock is known for its clear vocal harmonies and a generally "clean" (distortion-free) guitar sound, especially influenced by the jangly ringing of Beatle George Harrison's 12 string Rickenbacker guitar.

One of the first big hits of a folk rock song was the revolutionary single from 1964, "The House of the Rising Sun," by the British blues/rock band The Animals. Originally an 18th century American folk song, "The House of the Rising Sun" was actually recorded by folk singer-songwriter Bob Dylan (pictured above) in 1961, however, when he later heard The Animals' version on the radio, he jumped out of his seat since he liked it so much and gracefully withdrew his recording from the singles charts! With the combination of the famous electric guitar arpeggio intro by Hilton Valentine, Eric Burdon's soulful lead vocals, and Alan Price's pulsating organ part, the song was a trans-Atlantic chart-topper and is included on the list of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Recorded in only one take in May of '64, here's the song that helped shape rock 'n' roll history.

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Another group that contributed to the developing folk rock sound was The Beatles with "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" from their 1965 Help! album. Interestingly, The Beatles were fascinated by Bob Dylan, and this song was John Lennon's attempt at sounding like Dylan with a slightly more raspy voice and writing the song in folkish form with mainly acoustic instruments and light percussion. (Side note: while The Beatles were on their first tour in America in '64, they met Bob Dylan who actually introduced them to, you know, cannabis, which eventually had an impact on their future songwriting, ahem.) With the incorporation of the tenor and alto flutes, this was the first Beatles' song to feature an outside musician. This clip comes from The Beatles' hilarious (well, I think so), second film, also titled Help!, and was inspired by the Marx Brothers classic Duck Soup, as well as a parody of James Bond films.

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The first folk rock smash hit that ignited the explosion of the genre in the 1960's was "Mr. Tambourine Man," the debut single in April 1965 by The Byrds. Although it was written and originally recorded by Bob Dylan (who actually endorsed The Byrd's cover), the term "folk rock" was first coined by U.S. music press to describe The Byrd's sound. The band was the first to combine the elements of the rock beat, the 12-string guitar jangle (inspired by The Beatles), and poetic/socially observant lyrics, which became the successful template for folk rock music throughout the 60's and still continues to influence bands (ya know, like Tom Petty and the Heartbreaks and R.E.M.). With Jim McGuinn singing lead vocals, and backed by Gene Clark and David Crosby (yeah, that guy that later formed Crosby, Stills & Nash), McGuinn attempted to modify his singing style to fill in the gap between John Lennon's and Bob Dylan's sound. Another song featured on that 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list, here's a great performance with another audience of too many crazy girls.

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And so who's this Bob Dylan guy I keep talking about? Initially a folk-singer, the American singer-songwriter, Bob Dylan, was extremely influential in the development of folk rock, as well as the direction of rock 'n' roll in the 1960's. Considered the #1 greatest song of all time by Rolling Stone magazine, Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone" from July 1965 was his transition from folk to folk rock with the use of electric instruments. At the 1965 Newport Folk Festival where Dylan "went electric" premiering this song, the crowd even booed him because of his "betrayal" of folk music, however, it was a important turning point in Dylan's career, as well as rock history. Significant in the protest-song/anti-establishment movement, Dylan was a true poet in this "put-down toward a down-and-out society girl" song, with the unique, cynical sound in his voice. Why, oh, why it is so hard to find a live performance of this song on YouTube, I do not know. So, "how does it feel?"

 Check back soon for MANY more folk rock songs to come!