The Wrecking Continues

The Wrecking Crew: Part 2

As we continue with more songs backed by the fabulous Wrecking Crew session musicians, this next one was a transatlantic hit and a signature song for singer/actress Nancy Sinatra (yes, daughter of that famous crooner Frankie). Written by Lee Hazelwood (who wrote and produced most of her hits), "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" reached #1 on the US and UK charts after its release in February 1966. Arranger and conductor (also WC guitarist) Billy Strange used two basses together, Carol Kaye on electric bass and Chuck Berghofer on double bass, to provide the notable bass line
(Ms. Kaye, pictured on the right, played on almost all hit records out of L.A. at that time and was the only woman in the Wrecking Crew). The session also included Hal Blaine on drums (as usual), and Al Casey, Tommy Tedesco, and Strange on guitars, along many others. During TV news coverage in '66/'67, this song was aired as soundtrack as a camera focused on US infantrymen on patrol in the Vietnam, and around that same time, Sinatra herself traveled to South Vietnam to perform for the troops. Here's the promo video featuring Nancy Sinatra's trademark look, synonymous with go-go boots. 

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Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass could have been named Herb Alpert & The Wrecking Crew. Yep, trumpeter Alpert needed a team of crack session musicians and used the WC members to record his music, including five #1 hit albums in the 1960s. Released the same year (and equally as popular) as Whipped Cream and Other Delights, their second 1965 album, Going Places, included enduring tunes like "Tijuana Taxi" and "Spanish Flea." Reaching #1 on the US chart, "Spanish Flea" was composed by Alpert's friend and mariachi band leader, Julius Wechter, who also played percussion and marimba with the Wrecking Crew musicians (he also went on to form the Baja Marimba Band, at Alpert's encouragement). Featuring Alpert's trumpeting over a Latin rhythm backing, this instrumental song was used as "The Bachelor's Theme" for the long-running TV show The Dating Game (my dad was on that show in the '70s!). Using his touring band, here's excellent TV footage of Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass performing "Spanish Flea."

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Popular singer, songwriter, and guitarist Johnny Rivers also used the talents of the Wrecking Crew during his peak success in the '60s. Breaking away from his "Go-Go sound," River moved into the pop-soul style with the release of "Poor Side of Town" in 1966. Written by Rivers with L.A producer Lou Adler (Mamas & the Papas), this #1 hit in the US and in Canada uses a soulful melody based on Californian pop with some strong folk elements and a lovely string arrangement. Along with WC session musicians, the backing vocals were provided by The Blossoms (singers for producer Phil Spector) including Darlene Love (more on her in a future WC post). Although Rivers had quite a string of hit songs in the mid- to late-'60s, this tune was his biggest success and only chart-topping record. Aside from Rivers' guitar playing, all WC musicians were used in the original recording heard in this TV footage.

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As a friend and apprentice to producer Phil Spector, Sonny Bono was no stranger to the recording studio, often hanging out and contributing to sessions with the Wrecking Crew. Writing and producing songs for his aspiring duo with 18-year-old backup singer Cher, Bono composed "Baby Don't Go" in 1964, and had to borrow and raise money to cover the cost of the recording session. According to Cher, pianist Leon Russell (yes, the same Leon Russell who later had a solo career), guitarist Barney Kessel, and keyboardist Don Randi participated in the recording at no cost. The single only became a local hit in L.A., but after the success of the duo's 1965 single, "I Got You Babe," "Baby Don't Go" was re-released in September of '65 and peaked at #8 in the US, #11 in the UK, and #1 in Canada. Featuring the Wrecking Crew's handy work of a rolling piano-and-bass line, harmonica-driven riff, and shimmering mandolin part,  here's Sonny & Cher on the TV show Hollywood-A-Go-Go.

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Like many of the popular L.A. groups, The Association also looked to the Wrecking Crew to cover some of the instrumental playing in their recordings. On one of the top-selling records of 1967 in the US, the sunshine pop band elected to use these top session musicians on Insight Out, including Hal Blaine on drums, Joe Osborn on bass, Larry Knechtel on keyboards, Al Casey on guitar, and Mike Deasy on guitar and sitar. Featuring the impressive vocals by The Association, this album produced two iconic US hits "Windy" and "Never My Love," which reached #1 and #2 on the charts respectively.
Since both of these tunes have been previously featured on this blog, I'm going back one year to the group's first hit with "Along Comes Mary" in 1966. Even in a group with talented musicians and multi- instrumentalists, the studio recording of this beat/baroque pop tune included prolific WC drummer Hal Blaine (seriously check out the list of songs he's played on here!). Performing on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, here's "Along Comes Mary" with a creative introduction (with exception of the intro, only the vocals are live in this performance).  

Hot Fun In The Summertime

Summer Music: Part 2

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?).

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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.  

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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).

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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...   

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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).

Hope you all had a fantastic summer!!!

Surfin' the Tube

Surf Music: Part 3
The surf rock craze had an impact on the musical composition of several TV themes and movies in the 1960's, even shows that had nothing to do with the actual sport. Here are a few of these opening credits of classic TV shows influenced by surf music:

First up, it's the popular theme song from the original Hawaii Five-O, a CBS crime drama set in Hawaii that ran for 12 seasons from 1968 to 1980. This theme was written by Morton Stevens, an American film score composer who studied at Julliard Music Conservatory and went on to be an arranger/conductor for members of the Rat Pack. A part of the show's legacy, the theme has also been performed by The Ventures, and is particularly popular with college and high school marching bands, especially at the University of Hawaii where it has become their unofficial fight song.


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Another memorable TV theme comes from The Munsters, an American sitcom about a family of legendary monsters (and their normal niece!), which ran from 1964 to 1966 on CBS. This surf rock theme was written and arranged by American guitarist/conductor/composer Jack Marshall, one of Capitol Records' top producers in the 1950s and '60s. Nominated for a Grammy Award in 1965, this tune is definitely a popular classic.


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And who can forget the infamous "Na na na na na na na, Batman!," the title theme from the 1966 ABC show Batman? Based on crime-fighting heroes, Batman and Robin, the show only lasted for two and a half seasons, however, it aired twice a week, resulting in 120 episodes. Written by American jazz trumpeter/composer/arranger, Neal Hefti (who also wrote the theme to the film and TV series The Odd Couple), the theme song became a hit single in 1966, covered by several other groups including The Marketts, The Ventures, Link Wray, The Kinks, and The Who. A minimal tune based on a simple twelve-bar blues progression (three chords), it combines the sound of spy film scores and surf music, and remains a significant pop-culture tune to this day.


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Speaking of spy music (yep, an actual genre), another classic, surf rock-inspired theme is "Secret Agent Man," written by American songwriters/record producers Steve Barri and P. F. Sloan. The most famous recording of this song was performed by singer Johnny Rivers, which reached #3 on the Billboard charts in 1966. This version was the opening titles for American broadcast of the British spy series Danger Man, which aired in the U.S. as Secret Agent from 1964 to 1966. The memorable guitar riff was written by guitarist Chuck Day, and was inspired by the opening guitar sound of the James Bond films.


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And of course since I mentioned it, we'll finish this post with the main signature theme from those James Bond spy films, first introduced in the opening sequence of Dr. No in 1962. Released during the surf rock craze, this song also uses a surf rock sound with a memorable guitar riff, however, there is much debate over who is the actual composer. Both being film composers, Monty Norman is credited for writing the theme and John Barry was the arranger, however the latter went on to compose the score for a total of eleven Bond films. Lawsuits have even taken place as recent as 2001 to try to determine the official composer, but it appears that Norman will continue to collect the royalties. Although this theme has even briefly shown up in the most recent films, it's generally associated with the Bond era of actor Sean Connery. Here's the theme with film clips that pretty much sum up Dr. No.


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Well, that about wraps up Surf Music Week and its many forms. Thanks for reading, and "Hang Ten!"