Talkin Music… We just keep on Talkin By Jack Coll

TALKIN MUSIC

WE JUST KEEP-ON TALKIN

CAUSE IT’S FUN

By Jack Coll

6-11-18

     Hey, thanks for the nice comments on my TALKIN MUSIC column a week or so ago, many of you out there seemed to enjoy it so I figured why not run a second version of 1960’s pop tunes with a little trivia and a few neat-nuggets.

     From the time I was ten years old I had a six-volt transistor radio attached to my ear listening to any station that would play the pop tunes of the era. I remember it started with Petula Clark, Dean Martin, Jerry Butler, Chad and Jeremy, Gary U.S. Bonds, Bob B. Soxx and The Blue Jeans, (Darlene Love) Jan and Dean, Peter and Gordon, Buddy Holly and Johnny Horton.  One of the vivid memories I have from the transistor radio attached to my ear was when Patsy Cline died in the spring of 1963 in a plane crash I remember the station (I think it might have been WIP 610 AM) just kept playing the song “Sweet Dreams” over and over again, maybe like four or five times an hour for what seemed like days.  I love the song but it plays very sad to my ears, I remember it like it was yesterday.

     I remember the very first album I bought with my paper-route money.  It was a Bob Dylan album and the following week I bought the Supremes “I Hear A Symphony” album.  Both records were purchased at the Grant’s store once located in the Valley Forge Shopping Center in King of Prussia .

     So just like the last column how about we play a little trivia.

     Let’s stay with the 1960’s for one more week and then we’ll move on to the 1970’s.

How about it! Can you give me the next line in the song, the artist and title of the song, as you might have noticed the trivia part wasn’t meant to be easy.

NUMBER ONE:

Yea my blood’s so mad feels like coagulating

I’m sitting here just contemplatin’

I can’t twist the truth it knows no regulation

Handful of senators don’t pass legislation

And marches alone can’t bring integration

When human respect is disintegratin’

?????????????????????????

NUMBER TWO:

Seems like the other day

My baby went away

He went away ‘cross the sea

It’s been two years or so

Since I saw my baby go

And then this letter came to me

It said that we were through

He found somebody new

Oh, let me think, let me think, What can I do

Oh no, oh no, oh no no no no no

???????????????????????????

A few long forgotten hits of the 1960’s

1960  Running Bear—Johnny Preston

1968  Honey—Bobby Goldsboro

1963  Walk Right IN—The Rooftop Singers

1963  So Much In Love—The Tymes

1965  This Diamond Ring—Gary Lewis & The Playboys

1965  Over and Over—Dave Clark Five

1962  Soldier Boy—The Shirelles

1966  When A Man Loves A woman—Percy Sledge

1961  Runaway—Del Shannon

1960  Mr. Custer—Larry Verne

1964  Hello Dolly—Louis Armstrong

1964  Ringo—Lorne Greene

1966  Winchester Cathedral—The New Vaudeville Band

1967  Ode To Billie Joe—Bobbie Gentry

Answer for Number One:

Yea my blood’s so mad feels like coagulating

I’m sitting here just contemplatin’

I can’t twist the truth it knows no regulation

Handful of senators don’t pass legislation

And marches alone can’t bring integration

When human respect is disintegratin’

This whole crazy world is just too frustratin’

AND YOU TELL ME

OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN MY FRIEND

AH, YOU DON’T BELIEVE

WE’RE ON THE EVE OF DESTRUCTION

Barry McGuire

Eve Of Destruction

     Barry McGuire was a member of the New Christy Minstrels of the early 1960’s.  Along with other Christy members that included Kim Carnes, Gene Clark, later played with the Byrds, Kenny Rodgers who later formed The First Edition and Jerry Yester who later played in The Lovin’ Spoonful among others.

   While Barry McGuire was with The New Christy Minstrels he wrote and sang their biggest hit called “Green Green.”  The song “Eve of Destruction” was written in 1964 by P. F. Sloan and offered to the Byrds who rejected the song.  Barry recorded it in July 1965 and it became an instant hit.  The song was also recorded by The Turtles, Jan & Dean and The Grass Roots.

     The song caused a half dozen or more “Response Songs” including “The Dawn of Correction,” “Day for Decision,” and a few months later the song “Ballad Of The Green Berets,” recorded by SSGT. Barry Sadler who was a Geeen Beret medic.

     Today Barry McGuire is 83 years old and still performs.

ANSWER FOR NUMBER TWO:

Seems like the other day

My baby went away

He went away ‘cross the sea

It’s been two years or so

Since I saw my baby go

And then this letter came to me

It said that we were through

He found somebody new

Oh, let me think, let me think, What can I do

Oh no, oh no, oh no no no no no

REMEMBER, WALKIN’ IN THE SAND

REMEMBER, WALKIN’ IN THE SAND

REMEMBER, WALKIN’ IN THE SAND

The Shangri-las

     The Shangri-las  group consisted of two sets of sisters from Queens, New York City.  Mary and Betty Weiss and identical twin sisters Marge and Maryann Ganser, Mary was the lead singer on most of their hits.  Maryann died of encephalitis in 1971 and Marge died of an overdose of drugs.

     The group name “The Shangri-las was named after a Queens New York Restaurant.

     The Shangri-las performed with the Beatles and performed in the fall of 1964 on the Rolling Stones Tour along with the Drifters and James Brown.  The Shangri-las also toured the UK with Wayne Fontana, The Mindbenders, Del Shannon and The Herman Hermits.

     Other hits of the Shangri-las included “Leader Of The Pack,” “I Can Never Go Home Anymore,” “Maybe,” and “He Cried” among others.

     A young Billy Joel was a session player on “Remember, Walkin’ in The Sand.”

     “Leader Of The Pack” inspired a response song called “Leader Of The Laundromat” recorded by The Detergents.

A Few More Trivia Questions

It’s All About The 60’s

     Once again we’re looking for the next line or two in the song, the title and artist.

NUMBER THREE

Now the time has come

There’s no place to run

I might get burned up by the sun

But I had my fun

I’ve been loved and put aside

I’ve been crushed by the tumbling tide

And my soul has been psychedelicized

??????????????????????

NUMBER FOUR

So hard to find my way

Now that I’m all on my own

I saw you just the other day

My, how you have grown

Cast my memory back there, Lord

Sometime I’m overcome thinking about

Making love in the green grass

Behind the stadium with you,

?????????????????????

NUMBER FIVE

     The next song was a really cool song that charted twice, 1967 and again in 1975.

I’ll tell you what I’ll do (What will you do?)

I’d like to go there now with you

You can miss out school (Won’t that be cool)

Why go to learn the words of fools

(What will we do there?) We’ll get high

(What will we touch there?) We’ll touch the sky

(But why the tears there?) I’ll tell you why

It’s all to Beautiful

It’s all to Beautiful

It’s all to Beautiful

It’s all to Beautiful

I feel inclined to Blow my mind

Get hung up, feed the ducks with a bun

They all come out to grove about

Be nice and have fun in the sun

It’s all to Beautiful

Ok, so this next set of lyrics is a pretty tough one unless you’re a student of music from the 1960’s

If you name the song title and artist that makes you an expert!

NUMBER SIX

(First Verse)

Call out the instigators

Because there’s something in the air

We’ve got to get together sooner or later

Because the revolution’s here, And you know it’s right

And you know it’s right

(Last verse)

Hand out the arms and ammo

We’re going to blast our way through here

We’ve got to get together sooner or later

Because the Revolution’s here, and you know it’s right

And you know it’s right

NUMBER SEVEN

This one should be fairly easy to the music inclined, Title, artist and next line in the song!

Never been a sinner, I never sinned

I got a friend in Jesus

So you know that when I die

He’s gonna set me up with

?????????????????/

If you’re a child of the 1960’s, you should remember all of these songs

1969  Crimson and Clover—Tommy James & The Shondells

1961  Quarter To Three—Gary U.S. Bonds

1961  Hit The Road Jack—Ray Charles

1966  The Sounds of Silence—Simon & Garfunkel

1963  If You Want To Be Happy—Jimmy Soul

1963  Dominique—The Singing Nun

1965  Mrs. Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter—Herman’s Hermit’s

1965  Downtown—Petula Clark

1964  A World Without Love—Peter & Gordon

1968  Green Tambourine—he Lemon Pipers

1966  Poor Side Of Town—Johnny Rivers

1966  Reach Out I’ll Be There—The Four Tops

1966  Wild Thing—The Troggs

1962  Telestar—The Tornadoes

1962  Sherry—The 4 Seasons

1967  Windy—The Association

1969  In The Year 2525—Zager & Evans 

ANSWER TO NUMBER THREE

Now the time has come

There’s no place to run

I might get burned up by the sun

But I had my fun

I’ve been loved and put aside

I’ve been crushed by the tumbling tide

And my soul has been psychedelicized

TIME HAS COME TODAY

     The song “Time Has Come Today” was released by The Chambers Brothers, an American Soul Band in 1968.  The Chambers Brothers were made up of four brothers from Mississippi, George, Lester, Willie and Joe.  The eleven minute hit “Time Has Come Today” was written by Joe and Willie.

ANSWER TO NUMBER FOUR

 So hard to find my way

Now that I’m all on my own

I saw you just the other day

My, how you have grown

Cast my memory back there, Lord

Sometime I’m overcome thinking about

Making love in the green grass

Behind the stadium with you,

MY BROWN EYED GIRL

YOU ARE MY, BROWN EYED GIRL

     Van Morrison is a northern Irishman, singer-songwriter who penned “Brown Eyed Girl” in 1967.  The song went to Number 10 on the pop charts and stayed there for ten weeks.  Van was also the lead singer for a group called “Them.” Van wrote and sang the song “Gloria,” It was their biggest hit.  Van was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

     Originally, the lyrics “making love in the green grass” was considered too racy for radio.  An edited version that played on a lot of radio stations replaced the lyrics with “laughin and a-runnin’ hey hey” from a previous verse.

ANSWER TO NUMBER FIVE

I’ll tell you what I’ll do (What will you do?)

I’d like to go there now with you

You can miss out school ((Won’t that be cool)

Why go to learn the words of fools

(What will we do there?) We’ll get high

(What will we touch there?) We’ll touch the sky

(But why the tears there?) I’ll tell you why

It’s all to Beautiful

It’s all to Beautiful

It’s all to Beautiful

It’s all to Beautiful

I feel inclined to Blow my mind

Get hung up, feed the ducks with a bun

They all come out to grove about

Be nice and have fun in the sun

It’s all to Beautiful

ITCHYCOO PARK BY SMALL FACES

     The band Small Faces was an English band from East London.  Later members included Ronnie Wood and Rod Stewart, former members of the Jeff Beck Group.  The band later became known as just “Faces” and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.

     Itchycoo Park is a psychedelic song written by Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane.  Itchycoo Park hit number 16 in 1967 and charted for a second time in 1975.

ANSWER TO NUMBER SIX

(First Verse)

Call out the instigators

Because there’s something in the air

We’ve got to get together sooner or later

Because the revolution’s here, And You know it’s right

And you know it’s right

(Last verse)

Hand out the arms and ammo

We’re going to blast our way through here

We’ve got to get together sooner or later

Because the Revolution’s here, and you know it’s right

And you know it’s right

SOMETHING IN THE AIR BY THUNDER CLAP NEWMAN

     The song “Something In The Air” was written and sung by Speedy Keen and produced by Pete Townshend of The Who.  Andy “Thunder Clap” Newman played the piano.  The song known for its heavy guitar, hand clapping and spiritual lyrics sold more than two million copies.

     The song “Something In The Air” was covered by more than two dozen groups including The Dixie Chicks, Tom Petty, Eurythmics, Fish and Wilco.

ANSWER TO NUMBER SEVEN

Never been a sinner, I never sinned

I got a friend in Jesus

So you know that when I die

He’s gonna set me up with

THE SPIRIT IN THE SKY

     Norman Greenbaum wrote the heavy guitar, hand clapping spiritual lyrics in 1969 and by the spring of 1970 had sold more than two million copies of the record.  Greenbaum noted that he wrote the lyrics in about fifteen minutes, that fifteen minutes has served him well over the years as the song still makes him about $75,000 a year.  Greenbaum is 75 years old today living in L.A.

OK, last three songs of the sixties, Good Luck!

NUMBER EIGHT

Name the title of the song, artist and the next line in the song

(Hint, this guy wrote many hit songs, but was considered a “One Hit Wonder” for this song)

Oh we make one another cry

Break a heart then we say goodbye

Cross our hearts and we hope to die

That the other was to blame

Neither one will give in

So we gaze at our eight by ten

Thinking ‘bout the things that might have been

It’s a dirty rotten shame

NUMBER NINE

Cool town, evening in the city

Dressed so fine and looking so pretty

Cool Cat, looking for a kitty

Gonna look in every corner of the city

Til I’m wheezing like a bus stop

Running up the stairs,

Gonna meet you on the rooftop

But at night it’s a different world

Go out and find a girl

Com’on cm’on and dance all night

Despite the heat it’ll be alright

NUMBER TEN

Every time I see her she don’t even look my way

Maybe she will notice me but then what would I say

I would say what’s on my mind

But the words are hard to find

But I’m gonna try to tell her anyway

How about one more look at some One-Hit wonders

1955  The Penguins—Earth Angel

1958  The Silhouettes—Get A Job

1958  Lourie London—He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands

1962  Ronnie and the Hi-Lites—I Wish That We Were Married

1967  The Fifth Estate—Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead

1968  The Crazy World of Arthur Brown—Fire

1964  The Murmaids—Popsicles and Icicles

1969  Desmond Dekker and The Aces—Israelites

1969  The Joe Jeffrey Group—My Pledge Of Love

ANSWER TO NUMBER EIGHT

Oh we make one another cry

Break a heart then we say goodbye

Cross our hearts and we hope to die

That the other was to blame

Neither one will give in

So we gaze at our eight by ten

Thinking ‘bout the things that might have been

It’s a dirty rotten shame

Games People Play

By Joe South

     Joe South was a Grammy Award winning writer in 1970 for writing “Rose Garden,” a Number One hit for Lynn Anderson.  Joe played guitar for Tommy Roe on “Sheila,” he also played on Bob Dylan’s “Blond on Blond,” Simon and Garfunkel’s “Sounds of Silence” and “Chain of Fools” by Aretha Franklin.

     So it was no surprise to anyone in the music industry when Joe recorded his top-Ten hit in 1969, “Games People Play.  He had a second hit that he wrote and was covered by Elvis Presley “Walk A Mile In My Shoes,” Joe recorded it in 1970 under Joe South and the Believers.

Other hit songs written by Joe South included:

“I knew You When”

“Yo-Yo”  A song later recorded by The Osmonds

“Hush” Later a hit song for “Deep Purple”

“Don’t It Make You Want To Go Home” A hit for Brook Benton

The list goes on, he also wrote hit songs for Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell, Loretta Lynn, Carol Burnett, Andy Williams, Kitty Wells, Dottie West, Jim Nabors, Waylon Jennings, Dolly Parton, Ike & Tina Turner, Hank Williams Jr. and James Taylor just to name a few.

     Joe South passed away on September 5, 2012, he was 72 years old.

ANSWER TO NUMBER NINE

Cool town, evening in the city

Dressed so fine and looking so pretty

Cool Cat, looking for a kitty

Gonna look in every corner of the city

Til I’m wheezing like a bus stop

Running up the stairs,

Gonna meet you on the rooftop

But at night it’s a different world

Go out and find a girl

Com’on cm’on and dance all night

Despite the heat it’ll be alright

SUMMER IN THE CITY

The Lovin’ Spoonful

     “Summer in the City” was one of more than a dozen hits written and performed by John Sebastian and the Lovin’ Spoonful during the mid 1960’s.  The Lovin’ Spoonful was known as a Jug-Band rock group formed in New York City in 1965 and had an immediate hit with “Do You Believe In Magic.”  The band was short-lived disbanding in 1968.

Other hits by the Spoonful included:

“You Didn’t Have To Be So Nice”

“Daydream”

“Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind”

“Rain On The Roof”

“Nashville Cats”

“Darling Be Home Soon”

(A song used in Francis Ford Coppola’s movie, “You’re a Big Boy Now” starring Peter Kastner)

“Six O’Clock

“She Is Still A Mystery”

     John Sebastian had a hit on his own in 1976, “Welcome Back,” a song he wrote for the television show, “Welcome Back Kotter,” starring Gabe Kaplan.

ANSWER TO NUMBER TEN

Every time I see her she don’t even look my way

Maybe she will notice me but then what would I say

I would say what’s on my mind

But the words are hard to find

But I’m gonna try to tell her anyway

(Don’t you know that she’s)

Just my Style

(Everything about her)

Drives me wild

Just My Style

Gary Lewis and the Playboys

     Gary Lewis and the Playboys was a pop group formed in Los Angeles in 1964.  Gary Lewis was born in 1945, name changed at the age of two and is the son of comedian Jerry Lewis.  Gary Lewis was inducted into the Army on New Year’s Day in 1967 and resumed his career in 1968 after he was discharged.

     The Playboys had a string of hits from 1965 until the time Lewis went into the service, by the time he was discharged in late 1968 the music scene had changed, Pop Bands were on their way out, Janis, Jimi, The Doors, The Stones, Who, and many other psychedelic bands were in.

     The band split-up but not before releasing a string of hits that dominating the charts with hits like:

“This Diamond Ring”

“Count Me IN”

“Save Your Heart For Me”

“Everybody Loves A Clown”

“She’s Just My Style”

“Sure Gonna Miss Her”

“Green Grass”

“Sealed With A Kiss”

And about a half dozen other hits.

     I hope you enjoyed your mini-trip back to the 1960’s as much as I enjoyed writing about it.  I also hope to bring you more Talkin Music in the future, it really is a nice five minute get-a-way from the demanding world we live in today.

Thanks for the Memories.