Doubling the Goodbyes

Last month on November 17th, American soul singer Jimmy Ruffin passed away at the age of 78 in Las Vegas, NV. Older brother of David Ruffin of The Temptations, this Motown legend had several hit records between the 1960s and 1980s, the most successful being the Top 10 hits "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" and "Hold On (To My Love)." Remaining one of the most-revived of Motown hits, the "What Becomes..." ballad reached #7 on the Billboard chart and #6 on the R&B chart in 1966. Jimmy Ruffin will be truly missed but his amazing voice will never be forgotten. Love this one.

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This week on December 3rd, keyboardist for the rock bands Small Faces and Faces, Ian "Mac" McLagan, died of a stroke in Austin, Texas. The English musician (in yellow on the left), who also collaborated with The Rolling Stones, was 69 years old. With memorable songs like "Itchychoo Park" and "Tin Soldier," Small Faces' music output from the mid to late sixties remains among the most acclaimed British mod and psychedelic music of that era. Released in December of 1967 and peaking at #9 on the UK chart, here's a live performance of "Tin Soldier" with American singer P. P. Arnold on backing vocals and the iconic sound of Mac's keyboard.

And because it's a great tune, here's their best-known song, "Itchychoo Park," a #3 UK hit in 1967.  

Farewell to these great musicians.

"I Can't Explain"

British Invasion: Part 8
Formed in 1961 in a St. Albans' grammar school, the English rock band that probably sounded the most British among the "Invaders" was The Zombies. After The Beatles, this band's music has some of the most wonderful melodies of the era, using minor-key and jazz-influenced chord progressions with 3-part vocal harmonies. With Colin Blunstone's distinct, breathy lead vocals and the wizardry behind Rod Argent's keyboard skills, it's a shame these guys remain so under-rated. Okay, so maybe I'm a little partial. After winning a beat-group competition sponsored by the London Evening News, The Zombies were signed to the Decca record label and released their first single, "She's Not There," in July 1964. Written by Rod Argent, this song's most distinctive features include Argent's electric piano and the folk-influenced close-harmony style, and of course makes the list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
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Formed in 1962, The Hollies were a English pop and rock group from Manchester that we known for their distinct, bright vocal harmonies and chose their name in honor of Buddy Holly. Although they were one of the leading British groups in the 1960's and 70's, they were also one of the last major groups during the Invasion to have significant chart success in the US. Like The Rolling Stones and The Searchers, they're among the few British bands of the early 60's that never officially broke up and continue performing and recording today. Released in May 1967, "Carrie Anne" was among the group's many Top-Ten hits, written by the band members Graham Nash (who would later go on to form Crosby, Stills, & Nash), Allan Clarke, and Tony Hicks. Recorded in Abbey Road Studios and actually written about Marianne Faithfull (another British Invasion artist), this pop tune is just one of The Hollies' varied sound throughout their long-running music career.
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A band that's appeared a few times around here is the Small Faces, one of the most influential mod groups of the 1960's. Founded in East London in 1965, their music from the mid to late 60's remains among the most acclaimed British psychedelic/mod music of the era. Released in August 1967, the psychedelic pop song "Itchycoo Park" became one of the group's biggest hits. Written by the band's Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane, 'itchycoo' was the nickname of the stinging nettles in the park they would play in as kids, however, a certain line about "getting high" caused a temporary ban by the BBC. This song was also the first to use the super-cool audio effect called flanging, the layering of the recording on itself at different speeds (listen at :49). Definitely another fun one by a creative group.

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Formed in 1964, one of the greatest rock bands of the 1960's (and beyond) was The Who, known for their energetic live performances and even instrument destruction. Initially influenced by American R&B and skiffle styles, the group was mainly fueled by guitarist Pete Townsend's creative force and songwriting, going on to sell over 100 million records and chart 47 Top-Forty singles in the UK and US. Released in December 1964 in the US (and January '65 in the UK), the rock/power pop song "I Can't Explain" was the group's first single and hit under the name The Who, a recording influenced by The Kinks' sound (who also shared the same American producer Shel Talmy) and another included in the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. With Roger Daltrey's powerful voice, John Entwistle's aggressive sound on bass, and Keith Moon's forceful drumming, it's no wonder these guys have had continued success for decades, and this tune continues to be the group's staple at live performances today.

Pleasant Valley SUNDAY

Songs for Every Day of the Week: Day 1
Now, shifting gears from the music genres, this week will consist of daily posts featuring one or two songs with the name of that day in the title. Dozens of songs have been written for each day of the week over the decades, however, we're absolutely sticking with tunes just from the 1960's, of course! And as Sunday is technically the first day of the week, let's see how this goes!

So how could we not start with "Pleasant Valley Sunday" by The Monkees? From their fourth album, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd., this double-sided hit single was released in July of 1967, peaking at #3 on the charts, and remains a classic example of pure 1960's power pop (a featured genre for another week). Written by prolific songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King, it was inspired by a street named Pleasant Valley Way in West Orange, New Jersey, and the lyrics were a social commentary on status symbols and life in suburbia. The Monkees' producer, Chip Douglas (previously bass player for The Turtles), came up with the lead guitar riff based off of the intro from The Beatles' "I Want to Tell You (listen here) which Mike Nesmith then double-tracked to give it that added fullness. Definitely a great tune!

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So this blog first introduced the English beat band, Small Faces, back during Harp Week, and "Lazy Sunday" is another interesting song from their concept album Ogden's Nut Gone Flake from 1968. As this hilarious tune was written by the band's songwriting members, Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane, it's a traditional cockney, East End of London music hall (English vaudville) sound, which Marriott sings with a very exaggerated accent. Inspired by Marriott's feuds with his neighbors (using noticeable vocal changes), this low-budget promotional video for "Lazy Sunday" was filmed at drummer Kenney Jones' parents' home in East London. This psychedelic cockney, knees-up (think "Step in Time" from Mary Poppins) song is definitely one of the more unique songs posted on this blog so far. Is it just me or could these guys maybe use a bath?


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Wow, well I realize this post seems very short compared to the norm around here, but the good news is there will be six more posts still to come this week! See ya Monday!

Harpy Tunes

Harp Week: Part 1
And now for something completely different (as Monty Python would say), it's officially Harp Week. As a professional harpist, I'm currently preparing for a big solo harp recital at the end of this week, and my mind is obviously in "harp mode." Although practicing is definitely a priority over blogging at the moment, I will still leave you this week with a couple of small, yet interesting posts about 1960's pop music that includes the harp!

A beautiful, sad song with thoughtful, observational lyrics, "She's Leaving Home" was the first Beatles song to use a female musician on a recording, harpist Shelia Bromberg. From Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, one of the most important albums in rock music history, this song was written by Paul McCartney, who was inspired by a newspaper article about a missing young girl. This baroque pop piece was also one of a few songs by The Beatles in which none of the members actually played on the recording, just lead vocals by Paul, and John Lennon signing the the parents' view in the chorus (Greek chorus). From June 1967, this is a wonderful piece of music with a lovely harp solo in the introduction.


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Also from 1967 but with a completely different sound, Tommy James & The Shondells' "Mirage" is a pop rock song with a distinctive harp part. Tommy got the idea for this song from a mistake in the studio: their producer accidentally put the tape of their previous hit, "I Think We're Alone Now," on the player backwards. The band liked the sound of the chord progression, and songwriter Ritchie Cordell wrote the lyrics. Hitting #10 on the charts, "Mirage" is a fun, yet very under-played song (on current "oldies" radio) with a noticeable harp accompaniment, including the infamous harp effect, the glissando.



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Coming from the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, this next song is from the psychedelic/rock album Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake by the English rock group, Small Faces. One of the biggest original influences on the Britpop movement in the 1990's, the music of Small Faces is still among the most acclaimed British mod and psychedelic music of the late 1960's. From their two-act concept album in 1968, "Happiness Stan" is a whimsical, psychedelic fairy tale that is through-composed (music term for non-repetitive), and is narrated by old British comedian, Stanley Unwin. And so where does the harp come in all this? Well, only at the very beginning of the piece, of course. So I've posted two different videos of this song: the first is just the "Happiness Stan" portion from the Small Faces' performance of the entire Ogdens' album on the TV show Colour Me Pop (although because of the album's complexities, it was a mimed performance, however, their mics were left on to capture little ad libs, which are quite cute). Although it's a fun video, it actually cuts out almost the entire harp solo introduction (with the exception of one glissando), so I had to include an alternative YouTube post (though no video footage) with the entire harp solo at the beginning (just listen to the first 30 seconds). After all, this is Harp Week!

And for now, I'm going to try to stick with less overwhelming posts like that past few weeks, but please check back later in the week to hear more '60s music with harp!