On July 22nd, my college buddy (music major too!) and I enjoyed a groovy night of The Happy Together Concert at a fantastic outdoor venue, Humphrey's-By-The-Bay, in San Diego. Back by popular demand, this year's tour featured regulars like Flo & Eddie of The Turtles and The Grass Roots, as well as The Buckinghams, The Association, Mark Lindsay (former lead singer of Paul Revere & The Raiders), and first-timers, The Cowsills. While I've had the opportunity to see The Turtles and The Grass Roots perform together three years ago, it was a real treat hearing these other great artists as well! The backing band was made up of stellar musicians who helped lock in the sound of the original recordings we all know and love. No doubt the crowd at this sold-out event was really diggin' the perfect weather and classic tunes!
Our view from the back of the relatively intimate venue. Loved the location right next to the harbor in Point Loma (photo during The Association's set).
The first act of the evening was The Buckinghams, and not only did they sound great, they looked pretty good too! Featuring original members Carl Giammarese and Nick Fortuna, I loved hearing all their hits from "Kind of a Drag," "Susan," "Mercy Mercy Mercy," "Don't You Care," and "Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song)." It was a crack-up when lead singer Carl brought out an old, retro jacket he wore in concerts in the '60s; he claimed he had to buy it back on eBay! Did I mention his voice sounded superb?! Love this Sunshine pop from Chicago! Here's The Buckinghams' #1 hit from 1967, "Kind of a Drag."
On their debut year with The Happy Together Tour, the next act featured the wonderful Cowsill siblings,
Susan, Paul and Bob, whose hits include "The Rain, the Park and the Other Things," "Hair," and "Indian Lakes," to name a few. They even performed "Love American Style," which was the theme they recorded for the 1970s show of the same name. The Cowsills proved they can still harmonize beautifully and were fantastic addition to the Tour. Since the other songs mentioned have already been featured on this blog, here's a classic promo video of The Cowsills' "We Can Fly," a #21 hit in 1967.
Before intermission, we rocked out to Mark Dawson and Dusty Hanvey who have returned to carry on the music of the The Grass Roots. As mentioned in my concert recap from three years ago (here), these guys never disappoint and covered all the great ones including "Let's Live For Today," "Temptation Eyes," "Wait a Million Years," and "Midnight Confessions." I love their moving a cappella tribute to Vietnam vets, particularly to the ones who did not return home. Although it's been featured a few times before on this blog, here's rare footage of The Grass Roots performing their #5 hit "Midnight Confessions" from 1968 (Rob and Warren are enjoying themselves way too much, ha). Love this tune!
Kicking off the second half of the show, The Association continued with the talents of Del Ramos (brother of the late Larry Ramos), Jim Yester, and Jules Alexander (although a 4th member joined them this particular night and I can't remember who! Maybe Russ Giguere? Feel free to chime in if you were there too!). Performing their four big hits like "Windy," "Along Comes Mary," "Cherish," and "Never My Love," the whole crowd was singing along, no matter that the vocal group didn't have the tightest of harmonies as they did in the '60s. It was a lot of fun and the guys looked cute in their matching white suits.
Because you've got to check out this clever and classic opening from this live performance, here's The Association playing "Along Comes Mary" at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967.
For the next set, you could feel the crowd's love for Mark Lindsay, original lead singer for Paul Revere & The Raiders. While this guy not only sounds pretty good, he had incredible energy and can still kick higher than a Radio City Rockette. This Raider covered the hits like "Kicks," "Hungry," and "Good Thing," as well as "Arizona" from his solo career in the early '70s. I couldn't
help but laugh at the ecstatic audience when he performed "Indian Reservation." I get this was a #1 hit in 1971, but I have never liked that song for some reason. Sorry, guys! Still a well-done performance for a happy crowd. Considering how much these guys were on TV, it's surprisingly hard to find good quality footage, but here's Mark Lindsay performing the #6 US hit "Hungry" with Paul Revere & The Raiders in 1966.
The night concluded with the entertaining Flo & Eddie (Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan) of The Turtles, who are responsible for keeping this Happy Together Tour together each year. After beginning their set by poking fun at the "lousy" music of today (in this case, Flo wearing a snowman suit and lip-syncing a bit to a certain popular Disney song), the guys jumped into their early folk rock hits like "You Baby" and "It Ain't Me Babe," followed by "Elenore" from the late '60s. They also condensed snippets from their solo show including nods to Frank Zappa and Bruce Springsteen (which I likely would have missed if I hadn't seen their show 3 years ago). Of course, this wouldn't be the Happy Together Tour without their quintessential '60s hit of the same name. Finally, the concert was recapped when each group hopped back onstage and performed a quick segment from one of their top songs, concluding with an all-hands "Happy Together" singalong (The Turtles' #1 hit in 1967). Also a great cover version by Johnny Cash, here's The Turtles performing the Bob Dylan-penned "It Ain't Me Babe" on Shindig! in 1965 (#8 in the US).
What a fun night hearing all the classics! Thanks to Humphrey's for hosting these great groups!
And thanks to my buddy, Jenny, for being a good sport as my concert buddy. :)
On a side night, this night holds the record for the most comments about my white go-go boots. I even had someone ask me if these were my original boots that I had kept all these years. Why, yes, thank you. I do look pretty good for 65!
Sorry for the lack of posts around here. Life has been busy and full of fun but has not allowed much time for the blogosphere. I have many posts planned but most them will have to wait until the new year. By the way, if you've been dying to hear some classic Christmas tunes, be sure to check out last year's Christmas posts here.
So today is my daugher's birthday. Three years ago, Zoe arrived one week before Christmas, what a nice present! She is hilarious and loves music, especially the tunes from the 1960s (although this could have something do with the fact her mother usually plays the '60s station in the car!). In honor of her birthday (and while she's napping), I thought I'd post all of her favorite songs. She regularly requests these songs by name. I have no idea what drew her to this particular set of songs, but I think you'll appreciate them, too. (Since most of these tunes have been previously featured at The '60s Beat, I'll try to find different videos for each song).
Whenever Zoe thinks it's "the all-request hour" in the car, she'll first ask to hear "I Love the Flower Girl," also known as "The Rain, The Park, And Other Things" by The Cowsills. This multi-million selling single was #2 hit in 1967 for the popular family group, and it's no wonder why my kiddo loves this happy tune. This playful footage of the Cowsills family riding the miniature train looks like something my daughter would love to do.
Every time Sonny & Cher's signature song plays on the radio, my daughter excitedly shouts, "It's 'I Got You, Babe!'" Written and produced by Sonny Bono, this tune became one of her first favorites nearly a year ago; I guess the repetitive chorus stood out to her. Back in the 1965, looks like the charts would agree with Zoe, as this song reached #1 in the US and UK. This performance of the husband and wife vocal duo comes from The Beat Club, a German music program.
The Turtles' "Happy Together" is a newer favorite for my daughter, and she can actually sing the chorus pretty well, the descending arpeggio and all ("I can't see me..."). I discovered that she liked this song when I noticed her singing it to her stuffed animals one day. Released on Valentine's Day in 1967, this quintessential '60s song was also a #1 hit, staying at the top of the US chart for 3 weeks. Zoe refers to this one as "Happy Dugeder."
Now this next favorite of Zoe's comes as quite a surprise. With a title like "I Love You," you'd expect this Zombies' song to have a cheery tune, however, it is actually in a minor key, giving it a darker sound. Written by bassist Christ White, this British single was released in 1965 but failed to make the US chart, although it was quite popular in the Philippines. Three years later, the Californian group People! scored a big hit with their cover version of "I Love You," making them a one-hit wonder. It was so random hearing my daughter as a young 2-year-old regularly requesting to hear this one!
I recently let Zoe watch a few episode of The Monkees TV show and she was totally into it! Right now, her favorite Monkees' song is "Tomorrow's Gonna Be Another Day," from the group's debut, #1 hit album in 1966. Like another one of their infamous tunes, the chorus in this song includes a few "hey, hey, hey's," which has my daughter laughing every time; she actually thinks the name of this song is "Hey, Hey, Hey." Here's a typical Monkees romp from the first season of the show; Zoe loves it.
Finally, I'll end today's post with a final #1 hit, "Good Lovin'" by The Young Rascals. The backing vocals shouting "good lovin'" are what caught Zoe's attention, and she repeats the lyrics as "due lub!" Released in 1966, this high-energy tune is also great for dancing; what 3-year-old doesn't like dancing, anyway? Here's a great live performance by the blue-eyed soul group on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Well, my apologizes to anyone whose summer is already over. As there are no school-age children in my house (yet), I'm still making the most of my summer. In fact, a few weeks ago, I got the opportunity to take a little roadtrip to San Francisco and made a stop at Amoeba Records on Haight Street (figured all you audiophiles would appreciate that it). By the way, it turns out many of those hippies that came to the Haight-Asbury district have never left! Anyway, here's the last of those fun summery songs of 1960s.
Finding their greatest success in the early 1970s, the British pop-blues band Mungo Jerry was known for their good-time and jug band songs like "In the Summertime." Written by frontman Ray Dorset (hello sideburns!), this 1970 hit reached #1 in 26 countries worldwide including the UK, and is considered one of the highest selling singles of all time with over 30 million records sold. Celebrating the carefree days of summer, this folk pop number remains the group's most successful and most instantly recognizable song. You can check an excellent live performance here, otherwise, here's a fun music video below (boy, how would you like to manage this group's hair?).
Another popular song of summer is this fun tune by the beloved singing family The Cowsills. After the success of their first single, "The Rain, Park, and Other Things," the band followed up with another million-selling hit in 1968 with the song "Indian Lake," which reached #10 in the US and #2 in Canada. Written by Tony Romeo, the song is about the group's favorite place to visit in the summertime, Indian Lake in Washington County, Rhode Island (where the band was from), but however most Indian Lakers believe it's describing another lake in upstate New York. In case you were wondering who Wes Farrell is that appears in this photo montage, he was a prolific songwriter and record producer at the time that produced "Indian Lake," as well as the made-for-TV family, inspired by The Cowills, The Partridge Family (which is why David Cassidy briefly shows up in a photo too). Complete with a cute, Native American-flavored intro, here's the audio of this summery hit.
Known for styles including folk songs, blues, and revivals of old-time rock 'n' roll songs, Johnny Rivers found success with a summery tune as well. In 1968, he released Realization, a #5-album on the LP chart, which included the #14 pop chart single "Summer Rain." Written by James Hendricks (no, not guitar legend Jimi Hendrix) formerly of The Mugwumps (a short-lived group whose members would later become one-half of The Mamas & The Papas and half of The Lovin' Spoonful), this song has a technically incorrect line: "...and the jukebox kept on playing 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'..." which could not have happened then as jukeboxes of that era only played 45s (singles). None of the songs from Sgt. Pepper were ever released as a single, therefore none of the music from this Beatles album was ever heard on a jukebox! That aside, here's some great summer imagery from Johnny Rivers (footage from a live performance in 1973).
Well, the lyrics in this next tune bring us a depressing thought: "we gotta say 'goodbye' for the summer" (as a kid, I thought the line was saying 'goodbye' to the summer). Originally an unsuccessful single for The Four Voices in 1960, pop artist Brian Hyland found his second biggest hit (after "...Yellow Polka Dot Bikini," featured in the first Summer post) with a cover version of "Sealed with a Kiss." Released in June of 1962, this mellow tune reached #3 on both the American and UK charts, staying on the US pop chart for eleven weeks. Although it would again be covered by many other artists like Gary Lewis & The Playboys (#19 in '68) and Bobby Vinton (#19 in '72), Hyland's version was re-issued as a 1975 single in the UK and became a surprise #7 hit. While this is likely Brian Hyland's American Bandstand performance, the dancing in the background doesn't seem to fit the song so well...
To end on a more upbeat note, here's a classic one by the exciting San Francisco group Sly & the Family Stone, whose 'melting pot' sound incorporated many styles including James Brown-like proto-funk, Motown pop, Stax soul, Broadway showtunes, and psychedelic rock music. In the wake of the band's high-profile performance at Woodstock (which was said to be one of the best shows of the festival), they released "Hot Fun in the Summertime" that August of 1969, written by Sly Stone as a dedication to the fun and games to be had in the summer. This psychedelic soul/funk/pop rock tune reached #2 on the US pop chart and #3 on the US soul chart, and has been ranked among the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" by Rolling Stone. Here's Sly & the Family Stone's live performance of "Hot Fun in the Summertime," followed by "I Want to Take You Higher" (a B-side of another earlier single that later became its own hit in 1970).
Sunshine Pop: Part 1
Lately, we've had our fair share of foggy days out here on the West Coast,
so I thought I'd lighten up the place with some Sunshine Pop.
Originating in the mid-'60s in California, this subgenre of pop music is
naturally upbeat and cheerful, characterized by warm sounds, rich vocal
harmonies, and sophisticated sound productions. It is similar to baroque pop (my first featured series!) in its use of classical elements and instruments, although much less melancholic and dramatic. As this is a retroactive term, it's sometimes hard to pinpoint which songs actually fit this mood, especially since sunshine pop is influenced by easy-listening, has hook-like jingles, and sometimes contains psychedelia (minus the mind-altering aspect), drawing from other genres like folk rock, bubblegum, garage rock, and surf rock as well. Like I said, it's hard to describe, so hopefully the sounds of the next few posts will clarify the mystery of Sunshine Pop.
As an excellent composer and vocal arranger, Papa John Phillips perfected this sound of sunshine pop with the help of producer Lou Adler. While still embracing a hippie-like persona, The Mamas & The Papas brought this sunny yet apolitical sound to the airwaves and enjoyed great success in this genre. Released in June 1966, "I Saw Her Again" hit #5 in US, #1 in Canada, and #11 in the UK. Compared to the ultimate sunshine pop tunes "Monday Monday" and "California Dreamin'" (both previously featured), the lyrics may not be as light-hearted as the mood implies; written by Phillips and lead singer Denny Doherty, it was inspired by Doherty's brief affair with Michelle Phillips, who was then married to John, and it resulted in Michelle's temporary expulsion from the group (until fans complained!). In the recording, Doherty sings the first line of the third chorus a few beats early ("I saw her..."), but since it was left in the final mix, no one's quite sure if it was a mistake or not. Having a little too much fun in a clothing store, here's a cheerful music video that the group made to promote the single.
From 1965 through 1969, The Beach Boys (specifically Brian Wilson) began shifting gears from their usual surfing and hot rod racing tunes to musical experimentation in the recording studio. While their sunny vocal surf pop was a precursor to sunshine pop, it was at this time in the mid-'60s when their sophisticated music, with its warm sounds and prominent vocal harmonies, perfectly embodied this new genre. While predominantly a psychedelic rock/pop and baroque pop album, their '66 Pet Sounds is recognized as one of the most influential records in pop music history and one of the best from 1960s, including songs "God Only Knows" and "Wouldn't It Be Nice." Released as single in July 1966, "Wouldn't It Be Nice" reached #8 in the US and #2 both the UK and Australia, and has become one of the most widely recognized song by The Beach Boys. Written by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Tony Asher, this beautifully-produced tune features a wide variety of instruments including accordions, mandolins, saxophones, trumpet, and ethereal-sounding guitars in the introduction. Here's a cute promo video of this brilliant song.
Although sunshine pop is strongly associated with California, the genre did expand across the nation with groups like Spanky & Our Gang from Illinois. Although this folk rock/sunshine pop group was only together for under 2 years, their memorable vocal harmonies and well-produced music captured the essence of this upbeat genre. From their 1967 debut album, their most popular songs are "Sunday Will Never Be the Same" (featured during the Flower Power series) and "Lazy Day." Referred to as "a giddy joy no matter what" (Allmusic), the purely sunshine pop "Lazy Day" reached #14 on the charts and sold over a million copies. Since their Ed Sullivan Show performance is not available on YouTube, here's a video someone's original 45 recording by Spanky & Our Gang.
This next song is a fascinating one as it seems to combine those angelic harmonies of The Mamas & The Papas with the sophisticated productions of The Beach Boys, while throwing in the sounds of psychedelic pop and classical music. However, Sagittarius was not actually a band but a studio group devised by songwriter/producer Gary Usher (known for co-writing some Beach Boys tunes with Brian Wilson). Using LA studio musicians, Usher drafted friends like guitarist Glen Campbell (before his solo country career), as well as Beach Boy Bruce Johnston and record producer Terry Melcher (who produced The Byrds' biggest hits), and threw in some musique concrète(hey, so I do remember something from college!) in the middle. "My World Fell Down" was presented to Columbia executives under the group name Sagittarius, but when the song managed to reach #70 on the Billboard chart and there was pressure from the record label to tour, it was revealed that there was no group. Usher went on to complete the album with Curt Boettcher (a big influence on Brian Wilson just before Pet Sounds), but it was an expensive flop. With Glen Campbell singing lead vocals, here's the mysterious yet sunshine pop-ish "My World Fell Down" (and you'll know the musique concrete part when you hear it; it's the random noises in the bridge section).
And we'll conclude this first post of Sunshine Pop with the popular family group The Cowsills from Rhode Island. Like The Beach Boys, this family was known for their ability to achieve 4-and 5-part harmonies with impressive accuracy and relative pitch. Although their music ranges from bubblegum to rock and roll, one of their most popular hits, "The Rain, The Park, and Other Things," is a prime example of this sunny genre as it features their warm vocals and a elaborate arrangement. However, since this #2 hit song was already featured last year (here), I'll post their cover version of another quintessential Sunshine Pop song, originally by The Mamas & The Papas. Performing live on The Johnny Cash Show in 1969, here are The Cowsills singing "Monday Monday" (as well as "Children, How Do I Send Thee" with Johnny Cash; very different genre, of course, but cute nonetheless). Little Susan Cowsill sure seems to enjoy groovin' in their performances.
Bubblegum Pop: Part 4
For our final post of this month's Bubblegum Pop Series, we're featuring groups that were made up of family members. While this blog may be "The '60s Beat," we will be venturing into a bit of the '70s with these next groups since the peak of bubblegum definitely carried over into that decade.
Previously featured during Motown Week, The Jackson 5 consisted of five brothers who became one of the biggest pop-music acts of the 1970s, and were one of the very few in recording history to have their first four major label singles reach #1 on the Billboard chart. These early singles mixed the traditional "Motown Sound" with lyrics that appealed to teenagers, thus dubbed "bubblegum soul." Although the Jacksons' could play their own instruments, they were not allowed to play on their recordings and, like many bubblegum groups, studio musicians were used (which obviously led frustration later in their career). After "Jacksonmania" swept America, the group also became a franchise (another aspect of bubblegum), in which Motown sold Jackson 5-related memorabilia, and even authorized a Saturday morning cartoon called The Jackson 5ive. Recorded in late 1969, "ABC" was first heard on American Bandstand in February of 1970, going on to score #1 on the Billboard chart while knocking The Beatles' "Let It Be" out of that position.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From 1968 to 1972, another extremely popular family act was The Cowsills, a singing group including five brothers, their younger sister, and their mother. Known for their tight harmonies and the ability to sing and play instruments at a young age, The Cowsills had excellent pitch accuracy, creating that unique sound common among sibling singing groups (like The Beach Boys and of course, The Jackson 5). Scoring more than a couple million-selling singles, this family was featured on several TV shows and were one of the most favorite groups on the American concert circuit with hundreds of performances during their peak. In 1969, they were approached by Screen Gems to star as themselves on a TV sitcom, but when they were told that their mother would be replaced by actress Shirley Jones, the deal was off. However, I think you know what that show became instead (see next group). Here's a rare YouTube video of The Cowsills performing the very bubbly "What Is Happy," the B-side of their hit "Hair" (unfortunately, the sound is poor quality and out of sync).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So when The Cowsills were a no-go for the tube, Screen Gems went on to hire Shirley Jones' real-life step-son, David Cassidy, to join her and the cast of the TV show that became The Partridge Family. Airing in the fall of '70, this family sitcom was about a widowed mother and her five children who set out on a musical career. During its four-season run, the show was promoted by the eight albums released by the family, however, none of the cast members actually played on the recordings and those good 'ol studio musicians known as the "Wrecking Crew" were used. Cassidy was originally supposed to lip sync with the rest of the cast, however, after proving to the music producer that he really could sing, he joined the studio ensemble as lead singer, with Jones singing background vocals. In addition to an animated spin-off, the show's merchandise took off and Cassidy became a teen idol, successfully touring as a solo act. Released as their first single at the same time as the show's debut, "I Think I Love You" hit #1 in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, selling over 5 millions copies, and made the group the third fictional band to have a #1 hit (after The Chipmunks and The Archies). Radio DJs had difficulty "hitting the post" with this song (the art of talking up to the point when the lyrics begin) because of the unusual, vocal "ba-bah-bah" line in the intro.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ We'll conclude this post with our final, family music group, The Osmonds, whose long and varied career went from singing barbershop quartets as young children in the late 1950s to becoming teen-music idols in the '70s, eventually selling over 102 million records. From Ogden, Utah, the group initially started out with four talented brothers who became regular performers on the Adam Williams' Show from 1962 through 1969, with younger brother Donny joining them in the mid-'60s. Because of their tireless rehearsing and professionalism, they were nicknamed the "one-take Osmonds." Wanting to shed their variety-show image, the five brothers decided to become a performing pop band around 1970, and with their clean-cut look, talent (they played all their own instruments), and energetic pop sound, they had successful US tours, and even a short-lived Saturday morning cartoon series. With a similar "bubblegum soul" sound like The Jackson 5, The Osmonds' first single, "One Bad Apple," reached #1 in early 1971, staying there for five weeks, and even hit #6 on the R&B chart. Originally written for The Jackson's (who chose to record "ABC" instead), this tune features Merrill on lead vocals with little Donny as "co-lead," singing the chorus.
Flower Power: Part 2
First debuting Off-Broadway in 1967, Hair was a controversial yet revolutionary rock musical that tells the story of a "tribe" of politically active, long-haired hippies of the "Age of Aquarius" living in New York City. Many of the songs were big hits on the charts and became anthems of the peace movement of the time. With a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and all music written by Galt MacDermot, here are some of the musical's best-known songs performed by top artists in the late 1960s.
An American pop music vocal group from Los Angeles, The 5th Dimension formed in 1966 and recorded several hit songs in the style of sunshine pop, R&B, soul, and jazz. From the late 1960s through 1975, the original five members helped popularize Flower Power music with both white and black middle-class Americans. One of the most popular songs in 1969 (worldwide) was their single "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In," a medley of two songs from the musical (the first medley to ever top the charts). Remaining at #1 on the U.S. charts for over 5 weeks, this sunshine pop song won both the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Best Vocal Pop Performance by a Group in 1970. Eventually certified platinum in U.S., it is listed at #57 on Billboard's "Greatest Songs of All Time."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- First introduced during Harp Week at The '60s Beat, The Cowsills were a popular American singing group from Newport, Rhode Island, a talented family of siblings joined by their mother Barbara. Initially formed in 1965 by brothers Bill (guitar), Bob, (guitar), Barry (bass), John (drums), and Bob's twin brother Richard as their road manager, the Cowsills extended its family membership by 1967 to include the two youngest siblings, Susan and Paul, thus sibling ages ranging from 8 to 19 years old. Between '68 and '72, they played an average of 200 performances a year and were one of the most popular acts on the American concert circuit. In 1969, they released one of their biggest hits, the title song from Hair, which reached #2 on the charts and sold over a million copies. This footage is poor quality, but here's the group that was the inspiration for the 1970 TV show The Partridge Family.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From North Carolina, American pop singer Oliver was known for his soaring, baritone voice. Having a few hit songs in the late '60s like "Jean," his first big single was actually "Good Morning Starshine" from the second act of Hair. With his clean-cut looks and vocal talent, he was the perfect vehicle for this July 1969 single, which went to #3 on the charts, selling over a million copies and earning him a gold disc by that August. He performed this tune on several TV variety shows and specials, including The Ed Sullivan Show. (The live performance I originally posted has been removed from YouTube, bummer as usual.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Best known for their music from 1968 through 1975, the American rock band, Three Dog Night, earned 13 gold albums and charted the Top-40 Billboard chart 21 times, including three #1 hits. Formed by three lead vocalists, Danny Hutton, Chuck Negron, and Cory Wells, the band's name comes from the story that indigenous Australians would sleep in a hole in the ground with a dingo (wild dog) to keep warn on cold nights, thus a "three dog night" meant the night was freezing (and my husband thought I made this up)! From their second studio album, the group released their soulful version of "Easy to be Hard" from the musical, and it reached #4 on the singles chart in the summer of '69. These guys are great and continue to rock live performances today.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And of course, since this is a "Hair Day," we'll conclude with the final scene from the 1979 film adaptation of the musical. Altered from the original stage production's plot, this version is about Vietnam War-draftee Claude, who, while on his way to the Army induction center in New York City, befriends a tribe of hippies led by Berger. After Claude is inevitably sent off to recruit training, Berger and his prankster friends plan to visit him by sneaking him off the base for a day. Berger cuts his hair and trades places with Claude, but while disguised as a soldier, the troops are told they're being shipped out immediately. That's where this scene begins. Starring actors Treat Williams and John Savage, this final scene tends to give me goosebumps.
Harp Week: Part 2
As Harp Week continues, maybe I should give you a couple of facts about the harp. Although the harp is one of the oldest instruments coming from ancient cultures, the current, modern (pedal) harp was not developed until about 1820 in France. The pedal harp has 47 strings, as well as seven pedals, which use a mechanical action to change the pitches of the strings. The harp actually has over 2,000 moving parts! From symphonic orchestras to disco orchestras, the harp is a wonderful addition to any genre of music with its unique effects and distinct sound.
Alright, so I've got a few more tunes from the 1960's that include the fabulous sound of the harp. I had a great line-up picked out for today when I realized two of the songs with harp were actually from the early 1970's (gasp!), so since I've got to draw the line somewhere (this a 1960's blog, after all), Cher's "Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves" and Elton John's "Your Song" will not be included in this post (though the links will direct you to YouTube).
So besides being that song from the dream sequence in the 1994 movie Dumb And Dumber, "The Rain, The Park, and Other Things" was a big 1967 hit single for the American pop group The Cowsills. Although many refer to this tune as "The Flower Girl" (as the real title is not mentioned anywhere in the song), this sunshine pop/psychedelic-bubblegum song is tied with 1969's "Hair" as the group's biggest hit, both reaching #2 on the charts. The Cowsills were actually a whole family of musical siblings, as well as their mother, and they were known for their 4- and 5-part harmonies. The family was also the inspiration for the 1970's TV show, The Partridge Family. The harp part in this song includes the ever-typical harp technique of the arpeggio and that angelic glissando again.
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Released in November 1968, here we have a fabulous example of a baroque-psychedelic pop song (gotta love all these fusions!) by that under-rated New York group, The Left Banke. "Nice To See You" has some wonderful psychedelic effects, making great use of the harp's specialties, as well as including woodwinds and strings with the typical rock 'n' roll band instrumentation. The Left Banke definitely put a lot of care into their arrangements and productions, which is why it's unfortunate that these creative guys had such a short career as a group. Also singing backing vocals on this song is a pre-Aerosmith Steven Tyler (then known as Steven Tallarico). What a trippy gem of a song! And is that a cool, psychedelic-phasing intro or what?
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For my last "pop" selection today, this is probably one of the more ...interesting... pieces of music you will hear on this blog. Van Dyke Parks is an American composer, musician, producer, singer, author, and actor who is probably more known among fans of The Beach Boys, since he collaborated with Brian Wilson on songs for the impressive, yet ill-fated, album Smile (however it was finally completed by Parks and Wilson together in 2004!). In 1968, Parks released the album Song Cycle, a fascinating work that includes many genres from psychedelic, folk, baroque, to experimental rock and pop, and reflects a wide range of Americana influences including bluegrass, ragtime, and show tunes. From this creative album, the song "Public Domain" begins with a distinct, Latin-influenced harp feature, followed by very "reverby" vocals that fit the South American flavor. Half way through the song, the mood changes completely with a more experimental string ensemble sound (like early works by composer Arnold Schoenberg, for you classical music peeps). One of the most expensive albums produced at that time, this music of Van Dyke Parks was very unique within the exploratory world of 1960's pop music.
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And finally a last minute addition to this post, I realized that "Public Domain" would make a nice transition to this next work for solo harp, a staple on recitals world-wide, and although we're definitely out of pop music territory now, we're still sticking with the 1960's! Written by British composer David Watkins in 1960, "Fire Dance" is a vibrant show-stopper in harp performances that won an American compositional award. In this video, you actually get to see the composer himself playing this exciting piece ("Fire Dance" begins at 1:20 into the clip). Although the harp is generally thought of as a "female" instrument, the founding fathers of harp technique were actually men, and Watkins is one of the impressive few of male harpists still out there today.
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On that note, if you're interested in hearing more music like this and you happen to be in the Orange County area (Southern California) on March 6th, check out that recital I mentioned in my last post. Part of the Laguna Beach Live Sunday Concert Series, I'll playing "Fire Dance" and much more on the harp, starting at 3:00 PM.
