Farewell to a Songwriter

This month on the 11th, we lost 83-year-old Bob Crewe, a New Jersey-born songwriter, dancer, singer, manager, and record producer. He was known for producing, and co-writing with Bob Gaudio, a string of Top 10 singles for The Four Seasons. He was also known for his hit recordings with  Freddy Cannon, Lesley Gore, Oliver, Michael Jackson, Bobby Darin, Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels, and Roberta Flack.

Here are just a few of those hit records Crewe co-wrote and produced. Written with Bob Gaudio (keyboardist/backing vocalists of The Four Seasons), "Big Girls Don't Cry" was the second #1 hit for The Four Seasons in 1962, spending 5 weeks topping the charts, like its predecessor "Sherry." Sung mostly in falsetto by Frankie Valli, this song helped The Four Seasons become the first rock-era act to hit the top spot on the Hot 100 with their first two chart entries.

First made famous by The Rays in 1957, Bob Crewe's "Silhouettes" appeared on the charts again in the mid-'60s with Herman's Hermits. Crewe saw a couple embracing through a window shade as he passed on a train and quickly set about turning the image into a song. From 1965, this Hermits' version reached #5 in the US and #3 in the UK. 

Another Crewe and Gaudio collaboration, "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)" was originally released as a single by Frankie Valli in 1965, however, was more successful when recorded by The Walker Brothers in 1966. A #1 hit in the UK and #13 in the US, this version was an imitation of Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound" style, including a wordless chorus, strings, and echo effect, with the Walker Brothers even sounding like the Righteous Brothers.

"Music to Watch Girls By" was the first Top 40 hit by Bob Crewe using his own name, recorded by his group The Bob Crewe Generation. Crewe first heard the song performed in a "jingle demo" for a Diet Pepsi commercial, composed by Sidney "Sid" Ramin. The big-band, horn-driven recording went to #15 on the pop chart and #2 on the Easy Listening chart. According to Greg Adams, writing for All Music Guide, the song "exemplified the groovy state of instrumental music at that time."




And finally, we'll conclude with a 1967 single by Frankie Valli, the Crewe/Gaudio tune "Can't Take My Eyes Off You." Reaching #2 and becoming one of Valli's biggest solo hits, this song has had a major cultural impact, with hundreds of cover versions, many of which have been on the charts themselves in different countries. The song is a staple of television and film soundtracks, even being featured as part of the plot of some films, such as when the lead characters sing or arrange their own version of the song.

Farewell to the talented Bob Crewe. Your numerous hits will continue to play on.

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!

Novelty Songs: Father's Day Edition

My dad recently suggested doing a post featuring crazy songs from the 1960s. So in honor of Father's Day, here's a wacky post just for my Daddy-O! Enjoy!
(My dad, the guitarist on the left, with his garage band buddies back in 1966!)

Since my dad grew up as a big Dodger's fan, I've got to start off with "The Dodger's Song" by actor/comedian Danny Kaye in 1962, technically titled "The D-O-D-G-E-R-S Song (Oh Really? No, O'Malley)." As a lifelong fan of the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, Kaye gives a detailed yet fictitious account with the San Francisco Giants, which was a big hit during the real-life pennant chase of '62. I even have my dad's old 45 of this classic.

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Adopting their English-sounding name in the wage of the British Invasion, The Royal Guardsmen were a rock band from Ocala, Florida, who scored a #2 hit with the 1966 novelty song "Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron." Based upon the Snoopy character from the Peanuts comic strip, cartoonist Charles Schulz and the United Features Syndicate (UFC) actually sued The Royal Guardsmen for using the Snoopy name without permission. The UFC won the suit and required that all royalties from the song go to them. Remaining in the bestsellers for 12 weeks, this song sold one million records in early 1967 and earned a gold disc.

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Considered the grandfather of the comedy-rock genre, Allan Sherman was an American comedy writer and television producer who became a famous song parodist in the early 1960s. His biggest hit single was "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh," a comic novelty song that reached #2 on the charts in 1963. Set to the tune of the classical tune of Ponchielli's "Dance of the Hours," it was based on letters of complaint Sherman received from his son while attending Camp Champlain in New York. Winning the 1964 Grammy Award for Comedy, this parody is exactly the kind of music that would inspire future comedic musicians like "Weird Al" Yankovic. Pretty sure the first time I heard this was on a replay of the famous Dr. Demento radio show.

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From the clean-cuts Brits of the 60s, Herman's Hermits had a #1 hit in the U.S. in 1965 with "I'm Henry the Eighth, I Am" (sometimes spelled "Henery" because of the Cockney accent used to sing it). Dating back to 1910, this song was originally a British music hall song (similar to vaudeville) made famous by music hall star Harry Champion, and it became the fastest-selling song in history to that point when Herman's Hermits revived it. Although the band didn't care much for this song, they aimed at the U.S. fanbase, with lead singer Peter Noone exaggerating his Mancunian accent, however, they never released it as a single in the UK. Here's another jolly clip from their performance on the Ed Sullivan Show:

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Napoleon XIV was the pseudonym of American singer-songwriter and record producer Jerry Samuels who is known for his 1966 one-hit wonder, "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha -Haaa!." This successful novelty song was probably the wackiest (and maybe most annoying) of the decade, yet it reached #3 on the U.S. charts and #4 in the UK. The lyrics first appear to be a rant by a mentally ill person who just lost his love, yet as the song continues, it seems like it's about the singer's dog instead (the cover also supports this idea with "Napoleon" holding a novelty "invisible dog" leash. What a crazy hit that actually sold a million records!

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Australian singer-songwriter Rolf Harris wrote one of best known and must successful Australian songs in 1957 with "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport." It became a worldwide hit in the early 1960s, even reaching #3 on the Billboard charts after its U.S. release in the 1963. Inspired by Harry Belafonte's calypsos, it's about an Australian stockman (one who cares for livestock) on his deathbed. Harris' recording uses an instrument he designed called "the wobble board," which created a distinctive sound. This song is still popular today as a children's song.

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And for my final song today, I'm actually rewinding back to the late 1950s just for fun with a novelty hit by American actor and singer Sheb Wooley. Reaching #1 on the charts in 1958, "The Purple People Eater" was based off a joke told by the child of a friend of Wooley's, and Wooley finished the song within one hour. About a monster (described as a "one-eyed, one-horned, flying, purple people eater") who really just wants to be in a rock 'n' roll band, you'll notice that the monster isn't necessarily purple but that he eats purple people! Speeding up the recording to create the monster's high-pitch voice (like The Chipmunk Song later that year), this has been a classic silly song for decades. And check out this old footage!

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And of course, the "Surfin' Bird" fits right in with these crazy songs, featured a few months ago during Surf Rock Week. Send me any other wacky suggestions and we'll save them for another post!

Happy Father's Day!

I'm Into Something Good

British Invasion: Part 4
Continuing with this theme for another fun week, a group that was extremely successful during the British Invasion was Herman's Hermits, a beat band from Manchester. Forming in 1963 and fronted by the 15-year old lead singer Peter Noone ("Herman") who was already an experienced actor in a British soap opera, the group actually rivaled The Beatles on the charts and was the top-selling act of 1965. With their clean-cut, non-threatening image, the band had a string of hits including "I'm into Something Good," which reached the #1 position on the UK charts in September 1964. Written by the Gerry Goffin and Carole King (Brill Building songwriters), this song was arranged by Hermit's guitarist Derek Leckenby and was their debut single. Considering that Peter Noone had a certain similarity to a certain US president (JFK), Herman's Hermits aimed several of their songs for the US fan base that never saw release in the UK. What a fun bunch of lads!

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From North London, another beat group that formed in 1963 was The Honeycombs. Unlike any group we're seen so far, this band actually had a female drummer, Honey Lantree, and the group's name was actually a pun on her name and her job as a hairdresser's assistant. The Honeycombs are best known for their debut single, "Have I the Right?," released in June 1964, which went on to sell two million copies worldwide and became their biggest hit. Known for its prominent drum beat, the sound was enhanced by the band's members stomping their feet on wooden chairs in the studio. Although the group was considered a one-hit wonder in the US, with Dennis D'Ell's strong lead vocal and Honey on drums, they remain a distinguished group from the Invasion.

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Also forming in 1963, The Fortunes were an English harmony beat group from Birmingham, who hit their big break in 1965 with a succession of hits that continued into the 1970'. In the summer of '65, the group received international acclaim after their fifth single release with "You've Got Your Troubles," breaking into the Top-1o charts in both the UK and US. Later in the '60s, The Fortunes were also the voices for Coca-Cola advertisements, including a version of the classic "Things Go Better With Coke" and the new "It's the Real Thing" slogan in 1969. This live performance comes from the NME Poll Winners Concert (NME being New Musical Express, a popular music magazine in Britain), which was an awards event that featured artists voted most popular. Lead singer and bassist Rod Allen definitely has a great quality to his voice, though his look is not at all what I pictured (sorry about the poor sound on the video).

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We'll conclude today with Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan, a "regular" around here at The 60's Beat. Coming out of the British folk scene, Donovan came to fame in early 1965 after a series of live performances on the pop TV show Ready Steady Go! in the UK, and with record producer Mickie Most (who also produced Herman's Hermits and The Animals), Donovan had several hit albums and singles throughout the rest of the 60's. Released in October of 1966, "Mellow Yellow" reached #2 on the US charts, selling over a million copies, and has since become his signature song. Although this song is sometimes mistaken for a Beatles song, Donovan was in fact friends with The Beatles (he even taught John Lennon and Paul McCartney his finger-picking guitar style) and Paul was actually one of the "partiers" heard in the recording. Despite the untrue rumor that this song was about smoking dried banana peels, it remains a classic example of 1960's fun.