Rhythmic. Like a lullaby. Decent, but I can see why they didn't keep it for the Beatles. Kind of a slow week. Another cute little vehicular tune that sounds like the 50s. There we go! The week is saved! I know, but for me personally I don't feel any Thanksgiving connection. So, yes, painfully obvious-- especially since I was on the receiving end of it so often in those days. Good attitude.
50 Years Ago This Week Other performers at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival who are shown in the film included Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, and Little Richard. Several others aren't shown in the film, including The Doors. And The Old Mixer is the size of a jicama. Almost five full decades on this planet, and I have no idea what the hell a jicama is. Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week: Leaving the chart: "Baby, I Love You," Andy Kim (16 weeks) "Choice of Colors," The Impressions (11 weeks) "I'm Free," The Who (8 weeks) "Marrakesh Express," Crosby, Stills & Nash (8 weeks) Re-entering the chart: "Walk On By," Isaac Hayes New on the chart: "Jealous Kind of Fella," Garland Green (#20 US; #5 R&B) "Tracy," The Cuff Links (#9 US; #5 AC; #4 UK) "Suspicious Minds," Elvis Presley (#1 US the week of Nov. 1, 1969; #4 AC; #2 UK; #91 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time) _______ Harsh. This is his last Top 30 single, so you won't have Major Lance to kick around anymore! It even has one of those signature "Yay, the Beatles!" endings. Looks like this will be the last of Kramer's short string of hits on this side of the pond. The most noteworthy thing about these one-hit wonders is that despite their name, they were British. The song was written and originally recorded by John D. Loudermilk, who also wrote "Indian Reservation" among others. Surf/hotrod rock is totally early '60s...especially when written by members of The Beach Boys. In my experience, an oldies radio classic. They had a few other Top 10 hits...one of them predating this one by a couple years...but I'd consider this to be their signature song. By my time, it had been shortened to three letters.
But did people get naked and have babies? Apparently something uniquely comparable to a 32-week fetus. Explains the name, anyway. Not memorable, but nice enough. Now there's an Elvis Classic. Interesting. I like "Indian Reservation" a lot. I know, but it's smooshed in with the 50s in my brain. Yeah, the original had way too many syllables.
I'm making it a point of pride not to look it up. But from the site's illustration, I suspect that they may have foisted another turnip variant upon us. This one has a good sound, but I don't have much to say about it. Memorable to me, but very lightweight and bubblegumish. And a late-'69 heavyweight enters our midst. Had I been born a handful of days earlier, this would have been my birthday #1. Now that I know to listen for it, I can hear the resemblance in the rhythm particularly.
55th Anniversary Album Spotlight Getz/Gilberto Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto feat. Antonio Carlos Jobin Released March 1964 Chart debut: June 6, 1964 Chart peak: #2, August 8, 1964 #454 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time The album opens with its best-known track, the full-length version of "The Girl from Ipanema," featuring Portuguese vocals by João Gilberto not included in the single version: (Single version charted June 6, 1964; #5 US; #1 AC; #29 UK; 1965 Grammy Award for Record of the Year) It's only Portuguese lyrics by Mr. Gilberto for most of the album, including the next song, the more uptempo "Doralice": Likewise for the softer "Para Machucar Meu Coração," which apparently translates as "To squash my heart". The first side closes with "Desafinado," which means "Out of Tune" or "Off Key". This song, which had previously been a hit for Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd in 1962 (#15 US; #4 AC; #11 UK), was aimed at critics of the bossa nova genre: Side two opens with "Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars)," which features English vocals by Astrud followed by João in Portuguese: Next is "Só Danço Samba" (Jazz 'n' Samba), which was reportedly an attempt at writing a dance song by Jobim, who didn't know anything about dancing: "O Grande Amor" (The Great Love) has minimal lyrics and some particularly high notes by Getz in the solos. The album closes with "Vivo Sonhando" ("Dreamer" / "I Live Dreaming"). I'm struggling with this album because I'd like to have more insightful things to say about it, but jazz is a bit out of my ballpark. It's all very pleasant-sounding and atmospheric, but essentially background music to me. Next up: England's Newest Hit Makers, The Rolling Stones _______ Dammit, you made me look it up... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachyrhizus_erosus See? Turnip!
Ah, I love this song. It's very nostalgic for me. It's all lovely, but the other songs don't have the nostalgic element, of course.
You say potato, I say...turnip! Watching that Sweet Toronto film, I think they missed a crossover opportunity on September 13, 1969. After Yoko's performance, the Scooby Gang should have unmasked her to reveal who was trying to scare kids away from the festival.
Great song. It's composer, Antonio Carlos Jobim is, IMO, one of the greatest composers of his generation. The contemporary R&B/Jazz chanteuse, Sade's, vocal style owes a lot to Astrud Gilberto. Although neither has what I would describe as a "great' voice, no vibrato, little power or range, but both have such warmth, sincerity, and outright "cool" that I could listen to them all day long, Mixer, you didn't get into the gossipy stuff. Or maybe it's already mentioned, but apparently there was a George-Patty Boyd-Clapton thing going on between Juao Gilberto, his wife Asturd, and Stan Getz. Astrud eventually ran off with Getz. Something about those bad boy horn players. I'll say this till the day I die, although John Coltrane and Wayne Shorter are my all time favorite tenor and soprano sax players, Stan Getz and Paul Desmond had the best tone in all of jazz. Paul Desmond is the composer of, and the alto horn you hear, on "Take Five." I get that. I got exposed to jazz early in my life by my mother and her friends, and also by the older boys in my neighborhood. But the music didn't really resonate with me until I went off to college in the early 70's. Because of my roommates, I got immersed in jazz to the point that it wasn't until the end of the 70's that I really started to listen to "commercial" music again.
I maybe need to stop sleeping with MeTV on in the background. I had the Barnaby Jones theme stuck in my head today. Can't get into what I don't know. Now that's an unflattering typo! Had to look that up, but it proved to be one of those "Oh, that!" numbers.
I recorded a couple of them, so this past Saturday was the first time I've heard it in decades. It's not bad.
55 Years Ago This Week Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week: Leaving the chart: "Ain't She Sweet," The Beatles (9 weeks) "I'll Cry Instead," The Beatles (7 weeks) "Just Be True," Gene Chandler (10 weeks) "People Say," The Dixie Cups (9 weeks) "Such a Night," Elvis Presley (8 weeks) "Wishin' and Hopin'," Dusty Springfield (13 weeks) Recent and new on the chart: "Mercy, Mercy," Don Covay & The Goodtimers (Sept. 5; #35 US; #1 R&B) "You Must Believe Me," The Impressions (Sept. 5; #15 US; #3 R&B) "Ride the Wild Surf," Jan & Dean (#16 US) "Have I the Right?," The Honeycombs (#5 US; #1 UK) Total Beatles songs on the chart: 5 And new on the boob tube: 12 O'Clock High, "Golden Boy Had 9 Black Sheep" (series premiere) _______
"No, Mr Bond, I expect you to die." I love that. This is not bad. I like the refrain, but the rest of the lyrics are a little weak. It's a Jan & Dean song. Fun. I like this one.
50 Years Ago This Week And The Old Mixer is the size of a pineapple. Mmmm, pineapple… Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week: Leaving the chart: "Crystal Blue Persuasion," Tommy James & The Shondells (15 weeks) "Goo Goo Barabajagal (Love Is Hot)," Donovan w/ The Jeff Beck Group (7 weeks) "In the Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus)," Zager & Evans (13 weeks) New on the chart: "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," Dionne Warwick (#16 US; #10 AC; #13 R&B; originally a #1 for The Righteous Brothers in 1964-65) And new on the boob tube: Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Season 3, episode 1 That Girl, "Mission Improbable" (Part 1) (Season 4 premiere) Ironside, "Alias Mr. Braithwaite" (Season 3 premiere) Adam-12, "Log 15: Exactly One Hundred Yards" (Season 2 premiere) _______ Goldfinger won't be coming to our side of the pond until late December, FWIW. Indeed, I got this one despite its position out of familiarity from the Stones having covered it on one of their early albums. It's got the nice sound that I expect from The Impressions, but the lyrics haven't yet had a chance to make much of a...well, you know. Bleary-eyed early in the morning, I thought that said "Run." It does have an enjoyably distinctive sound. The most noteworthy thing about these British Invasion one-hit wonders is that they're four lads with a female Ringo!
Old Mixer: It's a pine cone! RJD: It's an apple! Wow, I never heard this. Pretty nice. Indeed. Save yourself! Very interesting. And the announcer refers to them as a "mixed group."
55th Anniversary Album Spotlight England's Newest Hit Makers, The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones Released May 30, 1964 Chart debut: June 27, 1964 Chart peak: #11, August 22, 1964 As Stones albums go, I've always had a soft spot for their early, cover-laden ones, which were my first exposure to a lot of the songs thereon. Their first American LP opens with a cover that wasn't on its British counterpart, the Stones' not-too-impressive American single chart debut, a Bo Diddley-flavored cover of Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away": (Charted May 2, 1964; #48 US; #3 UK) The attitude is there, but the inspiration is lacking. This is followed by the British album's opener, their enjoyable rendition of the 1946 classic "Route 66," which was written by Bobby Troup (later Dr. Early on Emergency!) and had previously been recorded by Chuck Berry amongst many others: Next up the Stones delve into their blues roots with "I Just Want to Make Love to You," written by Willie Dixon and originally recorded by Muddy Waters in 1954: I feel like the Stones are a little more in their groove here. This was also the B-side of American single "Tell Me (You're Coming Back)". After that is some slower blues, Jimmy Reed's "Honest I Do". "Now I've Got a Witness" is the first of the two group compositions credited to Nanker Phelge, an instrumental that's apparently based on "Can I Get a Witness," which they cover on the next side. In some versions of the album it bore the subtitle "(Like Uncle Phil and Uncle Gene)," a nod to Phil Spector and Gene Pitney, who both worked on the album. This one always struck me as sounding very generic mid-'60s. The first side closes with "Little by Little," credited to Nanker Phelge and Phil Spector. Containing words and phrases, this gives us our first full taste of an original Stones song...and it's not bad. It's back to the blues for the opening of side two, "I'm a King Bee," written and originally recorded by Slim Harpo (James Moore) in 1957. The Stones' recording has a certain atmosphere/attitude to it, but it lacks the attention-grabbing energy of say... ..."Carol," a Chuck Berry cover also done by the Beatles on the BBC. "Tell Me," the Stones' second single in the States, is the only song on the album with a Jagger/Richards writing credit. As such, its distinct sound shows a certain promise of stronger compositions to come. (Charted July 4, 1964; #24 US) After that it's covers for the remainder of the album...such as the aforementioned "Can I Get a Witness," a Holland/Dozier/Holland composition that had been a hit for Marvin Gaye in 1963. The Stones' version is enjoyable as its own thing, but it has nothing on Marvin's. "You Can Make It If You Try" is a slower number written by Ted Jarrett and recorded by Gene Allison in 1957. I generally prefer fast/hard Stones to slow Stones. The album closes on a more energetic note with the Stones' version of the 1963 Rufus Thomas hit "Walking the Dog". An enjoyable listen overall, but it's easy to hear why the Stones weren't exactly setting the charts on fire yet. Next up: A Hard Day's Night and Something New, The Beatles _______ It's alright, but it's got nothing on the original IMO. It is fitting how, on my reverse-chart-order weekly playlist, Dionne's cover of somebody else's 1964 hit is immediately followed by Isaac Hayes doing "Walk On By".