On February 4th, we lost English singer-songwriter Reg Presley, best known as the lead singer of The Troggs. An active performer for over 40 years, Presley passed away from lung cancer at the age of 71. From Andover, Hampshire, his British Invasion band had a number of US and UK hits, including "Wild Thing," "Love Is All Around," and "With A Girl Like You" (featured here). The Troggs were a highly influential rock and roll band whose sound was an inspiration for garage rock and punk rock. Presley started out as a bricklayer and kept up with this occupation until "Wild Thing" entered the UK singles chart in 1966. It reached #2 in the UK, #1 in the US, and sold over five million copies. With his distinct growl/lusty vocals and that memorable guitar riff, here's Presley and The Troggs in a promo video for "Wild Thing" (another song ranked among the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time).
Released in October 1967, "Love Is All Around" was composed by Presley, and reached #5 in the UK and #7 in the US later in May of '68. Covered by numerous artists, this version features a string quartet and a "tick tock" sound on percussion. After the first video taking place in a subway (or I mean, the underground), here's another cute video, this time on a train.
Farewell, Reg Presley. You will always remain a legend of rock and roll.
Wrecking Crew Series: Part 1
Well, I think it's high time we look more into the awesomeness known as "The Wrecking Crew." A nickname given by drummer Hal Blaine for a group of L.A. session musicians, The Wrecking Crew played anonymously on dozens of hit records during the 1960s. Backed by numerous popular singers, they are one of the most successful groups of studio musicians in music history. These highly versatile musicians were "first call" players, used for nearly every style recording, including TV theme songs, film scores, commercial jingles, and almost every genre of American pop music. From The Beach Boys to Frank Sinatra, you'll be amazed at the variety of hits this group played on, and over the next several posts, we'll attempt to mention most of those hit albums.
And before we plow forward, I'd like to make a quick plug for the awesome documentary, "The Wrecking Crew," directed by Denny Tedesco, son of Wrecking Crew guitarist Tommy Tedesco. Completed in 2008, this film has been shown at several festivals and screenings, but is still trying to raise money to pay for the numerous song rights. Check out the website here to find out how you can help get this film released onto DVD.
So in no particular order, we begin with a popular girl group from New York City, The Ronettes, and their best-known/most enduring song of the era, "Be My Baby." Utilizing producer Phil Spector's "wall of sound" production technique (a layered and reverberant sound that came across well on AM radio and jukeboxes), this song is recognized as one of the most influential songs of all time, and is described as a "Rosetta stone for studio pioneers such as The Beatles and Brian Wilson [of The Beach Boys]." Using many Wrecking Crew musicians, Spector recorded a large range of instruments including guitars, saxophones, multiple pianos, horns, and a full orchestra with innovative studio mixing and dubbing. Featuring Hal Blaine's highly influential drum opening, as well as guitarists Tommy Tedesco and Bill Pitman, singer Sonny & Cher and Darlene Love were part of the group of guests that provided additional background vocals. This classic tune was also a commercial success, reaching #2 on the Billboard chart and #4 in the UK, selling over two million copies in 1963. It's now ranked #22 on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time."
Speaking of Brian Wilson, he tirelessly worked to recreate that "wall of sound" himself on Beach Boys albums, and didn't do too bad considering, in 1966, the group released one of the most influential records in the history of pop music and one of the best of the 1960s. Including songs like "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and "God Only Knows," Pet Sounds featured the elaborate layers of The Beach Boys' vocal harmonies on top of complicated backing tracks played by members of the Wrecking Crew, like jazz guitarist Barney Kessel and bassist Carol Kaye. Exploring the emerging psychedelic rock style and revolutionary baroque instrumentation, the backing tracks were recorded over a four-month period, using major L.A. studios, with Wilson (like Spector) becoming a pioneer of 'the studio as an instrument' concept. From the album, the single "Sloop John B." was the fastest Beach Boys seller to date, peaking at #3 in the US in May of '66, and even hit #1 in several countries including Germany, Norway, Ireland, South Africa, and New Zealand (to name a few). Originally a West Indies folk song (and introduced to Wilson by Al Jardine), here's another memorable tune from one of the greatest albums of all time (#2 according to Rolling Stone).
The top-notch Wrecking Crew also played on most Simon & Garfunkel songs, with Bridge Over Troubled Water being probably the greatest album credited to the folk rock duo. Featuring critically and commercially acclaimed songs like "The Boxer" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water," this final album topped the charts in over 10 countries and received two Grammy Awards, plus four more for the title song. Recorded in late 1969 and released as a single in January 1970, WC musicians included on this title song were Hal Blaine (who also played the memorable, heavily-reverbed drum on "The Boxer"), Joe Osborn on bass, and Larry Knetchel on piano, who won a Grammy for his "gospel sound" piano arrangement. Part of the song was first heard by a national audience in Nov. '69, when it was included in a one-hour special TV special by Simon & Garfunkel on CBS called"Songs of America." You can hear the studio recording here, however, the footage below is a studio rehearsal cut for that TV special and is a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the guys working their craft. Definitely one of the best duos out there!
Another album amongst the greatest of all time, The Mamas & The Papas' If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears featured the WC rhythm section on every track. Including fantastic folk rock and sunshine pop songs like "California Dreamin'" and "Monday, Monday," the magic of this 1966 debut album was a combination of the group's distinct vocal harmonies, John Phillips' excellent musical arrangements, and the tight backing by the WC, all creating this "genuinely new sound" at the time. Reaching #1 on the album pop charts after its release that March, this album (and the group's subsequent albums in the '60s) used those same 'first call' musicians as Bridge Over Troubled Water, including Larry Knetchel, Joe Osborn, and Hal Blaine (oh yeah, have we mentioned yet that Blaine in particular played on 50 #1 hits? Yeah, this guy is one of the most prolific drummers in history!). Since this album's hit singles were previously featured (see links above), here's another feel-good, classic Mamas & Papas' tune, "Go Where You Wanna Go." And random side note, this original album cover is a collector's item now, since some stores felt the toilet was indecent, and alternate covers were made to cover up that corner of the picture (I own the one with a scroll/box over the toilet listing the hit songs on the album, too funny).
And we'll conclude today's "tip of the iceberg" post with another fantastic vocal group, The 5th Dimension and their Grammy Award-winning Record of the Year. Released in May 1969, The Age of Aquarius was the quintet's fourth album, and as usual for the group, the WC played all the instruments, including the musicians just previously mentioned as well as guitarist Tommy Tedesco (you may remember his fabulous Flamenco guitar-picking in the group's '67 hit "Up, Up And Away"). After the success of the "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" single, a San Diego DJ began playing "Wedding Bell Blues" from the album, and upon the seeing its potential, their record label put it out as a single as well. Featuring the lead vocals of Marilyn McCoo (who would sing parts of the song to group member and fiance' Billy Davis, Jr. during TV performances like this), this Laura Nyro-penned tune soared to #1 on the pop charts and easy listening charts, even becoming a hit in Canada and the UK. Gotta love the pure talent from all these superb singers and musicians in this entire post!
And stay tuned for many more posts featuring the Wrecking Crew!
This past December, the music world lost two more talented (and quite contrasting) performers of the 1960s. The day after Christmas, St. Louis R&B singer Fontella Bass passed away after complications of a heart attack at the age of 72. She was best known for her 1965 hit single, "Rescue Me," which reached #1 on the R&B chart, #4 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #11 in the UK. Although songwriter credit is given to Raynard Miner and Carl William Smith at Chess Studios in Chicago, many sources also credit Bass herself as a co-writer. Recorded in just three takes, the call-and-response sounds of "umm, umm" were unintentional and were in place of forgotten lyrics during the taping. This song also included Maurice White, later of Earth, Wind & Fire, on drums. With her fantastic vocals on this soul/pop tune, here's the late Fontella Bass performing on Shindig! in 1965.
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Earlier in the month on December 11th, the best-known contemporary Indian musician Ravi Shankar passed away at the age of 92. In the mid-'50s and '60s, Shankar toured Europe and America playing classical Indian music on the sitar, and recorded albums with World Pacific Records. The Byrds also recorded at the same studio and heard Shankar's music, which led them to incorporate some of its elements in theirs, introducing the genre to their friend George Harrison of The Beatles.
Harrison became interested in Indian classical music, bought a sitar, and used it to record the song "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)". This led to Indian music being used by other musicians, thus creating the raga rock trend and impacting psychedelic music. In 1966, Harrison went to India for six weeks to study the sitar with Shankar, an association which greatly increased Shankar's popularity, making him "the most famous Indian musician in the world." In 1967, he won a Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance for West Meets East, and performed at the Monterey Pop Festival where he was introduced to new generation of music fans. Here's an excerpt from his four-hour performance (whow!) at the Pop Festival, as captured for the historic D. A. Pennebaker documentary (Shankar appears at about 7:00 into the clip).
Farewell to these talented performers, and thanks for the music!
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.
On December 5th, we lost another fine musician; Dave Brubeck passed away of heart failure just one day before his 92nd birthday. From the San Francisco Bay Area, this American jazz pianist and composer began his career in 1940s, and became one of the foremost exponents of progressive jazz. Brubeck's style ranged from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempt at classical training and his improv skills, using unusual time signatures, contrasting rhythms, meters, and tonalities. After serving in U.S. Army during WWII (where he played piano and was ordered to form a band), he later formed the Dave Brubeck Quartet in 1951 with fellow soldier and saxophonist Paul Desmond, and found great success till the group disbanded in 1967. My husband is a big a Brubeck fan, and even got see him perform live with the San Diego Symphony, a memorable and impressive concert.
As I was currently in the process of writing a post about the instrumental hits of the 1960s, Brubeck's most infamous song, "Take Five," will be featured with those selections, so I'm intentionally leaving it out of this post (check back in a week or two!). Another memorable song composed by Brubeck is "Blue Rondo a' la Turk," a jazz standard from the Time Out album that reached #2 on the Billboard Pop chart in 1961. Written in 9/8 and swing 4/4 time, Brubeck heard this unusual rhythm played by a group of Turkish musicians on the street. Upon asking the musicians where they got the rhythm, one replied, "This rhythm is to us, what blues it to you." Hence he titled it "Blue Rondo a' la Turk." Here's the Dave Brubeck Quartet playing a superb live performance in the mid-60s.
And another unique tune, this time in written in 7/4 time by Brubeck, here's "Unsquare Dance,"which peaked at #73 on the Billboard charts in 1961. It was written during a single trip from home to the recording studio, and was recorded in the same day. No live performances of the Quartet but here's a cute dance routine to it from the '60s.
Farewell, Mr. Brubeck, and thank you for the music! Think I'll go and play your Greatest Hits LP on my turntable right now!
After the heartbreaking news
about the beloved Davy Jones' passing last February, it appeared that the days of ever seeing
the Monkees perform live again were over. However, much to the surprise
of fans across the country, it was announced that the Monkees would in
fact tour again, and even more exciting, Mike Nesmith would be joining
them! This was big news, especially considering that with the exception
of a few random performances, this is the first time that Nesmith has
toured with The Monkees in the US since 1969. Lucky for us, my sister
and I were able to attend the opening night of this quick, 12-date tour
at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido (San Diego County).
If you've read my review
of their 45th Anniversary Concert Tour last year, you'll know these
guys put on an amazing show, and once again, they did not disappoint. Here we are,
quite giddy as we headed out the door to another fabulous concert.
And
boy, were we in for a treat! With a large screen on the back of the stage projecting fun images and video clips of The Monkees in their heyday, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork, and Michael
Nesmith performed a strong, 95-minute concert which included their
classic hits (like "Last Train to Clarksville" and "I'm a Believer") and fan favorites (like "Goin' Down" and "What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round?"), as well as many selections from the 1967
Headquarters and '68 Head albums. Backed by
another stellar, 7-man band (including Dolenz's sister, Coco, and
Nesmith's son, Christian), The Monkees once again proved they can do
more than just play their own instruments, but they rocked, and often
jumped onto different instruments throughout the evening.
As Nesmith
strummed his beautiful, 12-string guitar (modeled after the one he
played in The Monkees TV series), he was such a wonderful
addition to the performance, and his country-flavored voice sounded
fantastic! One hilarious moment of the night was when the group
performed "Daily Nightly" (previously discussed during Psychedelic Week here),
a Nesmith-penned tune in which the studio recording featured one of the first use of a
Moog synthesizer on a rock album. After joking about
failing to find a Moog for the concert, Nesmith instead "sang" the wacky
sounds of the Moog part as Dolenz sang the imagery-filled lyrics, and
this had us crying with laughter. And of course, the audience shed other
tears as well during the poignant video songs and tributes to the
energetic and cheeky Davy Jones, who was missed but definitely not
forgotten. Another touching moment was when it came time to perform
Jones' signature tune "Daydream Believer," Dolenz said to the audience,
"This song is no longer ours; it belongs to you," and randomly chose two
girls to come up onstage and sing it.
Since we were just 6 rows away from the stage (here's my photo during Dolenz's infamous "Randy Scouse Git") and apparently in "family and friends" section, we were able to really enjoy the musicianship onstage from a much better vantage point this time around. The banter was kept pretty light in between songs (something, I'm guessing, will become more polished as the tour continues), and it was pleasant to see Nesmith enjoying himself with his old bandmates, as his laid-back demeanor would suddenly break into a cute, little dance. It was such a fun night and I'm sure the rest of the tour will continue to be a success as the band has still to perform at already sold-out venues.
And since I love posting music, here's one of the video songs featuring Davy Jones that was shown during the Head segment of the concert (which was instrumentally backed by the live band during the performance). Written by Harry Nilsson, "Daddy's Song" was one of the better parts of The Monkees' wild 1968 film, and features Jones dancing with Toni Basil (who later had a hit with "Mickey [You're So Fine]" in 1982). This guy seriously should have been on Dancing with the Stars! (Oh, and the bit at the end with Frank Zappa cracks me up).
While the concert tour concludes with "Listen to the Band" and "Pleasant Valley Sunday," I'll end this post with a favorite Nesmith song that was performed during the Headquarters portion of the evening. During their performance, they made sure to cover the exact instruments that they had played in the album recording with Tork on bass (although generally a guitarist and keyboardist), Micky on drums, and Nesmith on 12-string, just like the video clip from their TV show.
Thank you to The Monkees for another night to remember!
Sorry for the lack of posts (long story) but I just wanted to give a quick (and last-minute!) shout-out to all you Rolling Stones fans out there and let you know about the latest presentation from HBO Documentary Films called Crossfire Hurricane. It airs tonight, folks! When I was personally contacted by social media manager Lisa French, here's what she wrote: "The Rolling Stones, rock ‘n’ roll icons who have defined
creativity, daring and durability, are to be chronicled in a
kaleidoscopic new film that will debut November 15 on HBO. CROSSFIRE
HURRICANEprovides a remarkable new perspective on the Stones’
unparalleled journey from blues-obsessed teenagers in the early ‘60s to
the rock royalty they have become.
Academy
Award Nominated Director Brett Morgen (THE KID STAYS IN THE PICTURE)
says, “CROSSFIRE HURRICANE invites the audience to experience firsthand
the Stones' nearly mythical journey from outsiders to rock and
roll royalty. This is not an academic history lesson. CROSSFIRE
HURRICANE allows the viewer to experience the Stones' journey from a
unique vantage point. It's an aural and visual roller coaster ride.”
CROSSFIRE HURRICANE premieres Thursday, November 15th @ 9pm only on HBO.
Check out the trailer!
And in case you didn't catch that last bit, "crossfire hurricane" is taken out of a lyric in the Stones' 1968 hit "Jumpin' Jack Flash." Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, this return to the group's blues rock roots reached #1 in the UK and #3 in the US, and has become a staple in every Rolling Stone concert since. Here's a classic live performance by The Stones in Hyde Park, London, in the summer of '69.
Apologizes for the late notice, but don't forget to check this film out tonight!
On February 4th, we lost English singer-songwriter Reg Presley, best known as the lead singer of The Troggs. An active performer for over 40 years, Presley passed away from lung cancer at the age of 71. From Andover, Hampshire, his British Invasion band had a number of US and UK hits, including "Wild Thing," "Love Is All Around," and "With A Girl Like You" (featured here).
The Troggs were a highly influential rock and roll band whose sound was an inspiration for garage rock and punk rock. Presley started out as a bricklayer and kept up with this occupation until "Wild Thing" entered the UK singles chart in 1966. It reached #2 in the UK, #1 in the US, and sold over five million copies. With his distinct growl/lusty vocals and that memorable guitar riff, here's Presley and The Troggs in a promo video for "Wild Thing" (another song ranked among the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time).
