Roger Nichols and the Small Circle of Friends--Snow Queen (1967)

     Roger Nichols, Muccay MacLeod and his sister Melinda MacLeod comprised the group, "The Small Circle of Friends". Signed to A&M records, Nichols composed several songs with Tony Asher, fresh off of his working with Brian Wilson on the album, "Pet Sounds". Looking back, the songwriting lineup was impressive with songs by Van Dyke Parks, Lenny Waronker, and Randy Newman. One of the shining songs on an album of strong ones was "Snow Queen" written by Jerry Goffin and Carole King.

     Over 45 years after it's release the sounds so familiar even though none of the songs became hits, and the album sunk not too slowly into the sunset. The reason came because of a decision made by co-owner of A&M, Herb Alpert. There was something about Nichols writing that Alpert thought potentially profitable, so he was hired on to the record company as a songwriter. It was here that Nichols met Paul Williams.

     The pair went on to success with a number of hits for the Carpenters (who's musical sound was very close to Nichols'), including, "We've Only Just Begun", "I Won't Last A Day Without You", and "Rainy Days and Mondays". Thus it's not a stretch that this album from 1967 was one of the templates of California soft rock.

     

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Otis Redding/Aretha Franklin--Respect (1965/1967)

    Musical covers can be a bit of an art form in itself. Just because someone records a song for the first time doesn't make it the definitive version of that song, although because it's first, it often is recognized as such.  The following is a song where the original were amazing, but the cover far surpassed it. Many may not realize that Franklin's version of 'Respect' WAS the cover. It's reaching those heights had as much to do with time and place as it did singer.
      Otis Redding wrote the song for Speedo Sims and his group, the Singing Demons. At this point it was essentially a ballad, but as the group went into the Muscle Shoals studio, they had difficulty creating the vision that Redding had hoped, so he asked for permission from Sims to record the song himself, which Sims did. It was included on his 1965 album, "Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul" and the single went to #4 on the R&B charts, and #35 on the Hot 100.
     On hearing this version of the song, one hears a man who will give anything to his woman. Even if she is unfaithful, it will be fine as long as he gets his 'respect' when he gets home. Of course, 'respect' here is a euphemism, but you get the drift.....

     It was producer Jerry Wexler who brought the song to Aretha Franklin's attention. He thought that it would be a great showcase for her vocal talents. Franklin had just signed with Atlantic Records, and her association with Wexler had already netted the singer her first top 10 hit, "I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)".  What happened with her recording of "Respect" however, is one of those wonderful musical stories that could never have been predicted.
     In Aretha's hands, the lyrics became a strident, declaration of liberation not only as a person of color, but more importantly (at least from a cultural standpoint) as a woman. She has everything that her man could ever want, so she wants 'respect" in the most real sense of the word. The woman's liberation movement was beginning to come out from the shadows, and the song summed up the feeling of many who felt their lives were being directed without permission by their men, and in this context, by society as a whole.  
     The song from a musical standpoint was a tour de force. Franklin sounded as liberated musically as the lyrics demanded she must be socially. What sealed the deal with the addition of a musical bridge provided by King Curtis' tenor sax. It became her first number one, and thrust her into the limelight once and for all, but more importantly the song became the social and cultural touchstone of that decade. For that alone, it deserves "respect" for one of the great songs of the modern musical era.

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John Fred & His Playboy Band--Judy in Disguise (With Glasses) (1967)

     A few days ago we looked at Louisiana's LeRoux (http://www.rockandrollomnibus.blogspot.com/2013/04/sunday-morning-vault-louisianas-leroux.html), a band out of Baton Rouge. One could debate this, but they might not have been the most successful band from that city. Let's consider John Fred & His Playboy Band.
     John Fred Gourrier came from a sports family. His father Fred played baseball for the Detroit Tigers organization from 1931-1935 and John Fred seemingly inherited his father's athleticism, playing college baseball and basketball for Louisiana State University, and Southeastern Louisiana University. His other love however was music, and by the time he was 15 had put together a band. John Fred & the Playboys played around the Baton Rouge area and even cut a record in 1958, with Fats Domino's band. "Shirley" reached #82 on the Hot 100 and gave the now 17 year old a taste of success early.

     During the early 60's, he kept the group going while attending college, but after 1963 put his full time effort into the band. His blue-eyed soul style was a huge hit in the Southern Louisiana area, but several singles recorded went nowhere. After six tries, they recorded, "Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)" which was written as a parody of The Beatles, "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds". It was put out on the small Paula label, and soon it caught fire soaring to #1 that year.

    The flip side to this success however, was the band was perceived as a novelty band, and as they attempted to capitalize on the million selling single by continuing to play their mix of blue eyed soul, R&B, and Swamp Pop, they quickly went back to relative obscurity. Their follow up, "Hey, Hey, Bunny" went to #57 on the charts, which was the last time they would seen there again.
     The song would continue a life of it's own in the eternity that is oldies radio, but folks in the south delta can still remember songs like, "When the Lights Go Out" from the 1968 album, "Agnes English"

       The band continued in various forms until 1976 when John Fred called in a career and became a record producer, coached high school basketball and baseball, and would play in the occasional concert. He was also known for a successful radio show, "The Roots of Rock and Roll".  He passed away from complications after a kidney transplant in 2005 at the age of 63.

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The Fondations--Baby, Now That I Found You (1967)/Build Me Up Buttercup (1968)

     The Foundations had an all too brief run on the charts between 1967 and 69, but their influence went beyond what would be expect of a 60's singles band. Part of this was due to the background of the band. The members were from the West Indies, Britain, and Sri Lanka and the instrumental make up of the group were informed much more by Motown than anything on the UK scene.
     The band came together in early 1967 as they practiced, performed, and lived (for a while) at the Butterfly Club in London. After being signed to a contract, the single, "Baby, Now That I Found You" was released and went nowhere. Fortunately for the band, BBC had just started BBC 1 radio which was to play more modern hits. The station was attempting to avoid playing the same songs that was being played on pirate radio offshore, and would look over station playlists to find records that might have been missed. "Baby, Now That I Found You" was one of those, so with the song going into heavy rotation on the BBC, it pushed the single to the number 1 spot in the UK and number 11 in the US top 40.
     The band released a couple of other hits that did reasonably well in the UK, but in 1968, their lead singer, Clem Curtis left for a solo career. He stuck around long enough to help find his replacement, Colin Young, also from the West Indies. With Young singing lead, the group recorded, "Build Me Up Buttercup" later that year which reach the #2 spot in Britain and became their biggest hit in American, soaring up to #3.
     After "Buttercup", the band had a couple more minor offerings before breaking up in 1970. Curtis returned to the UK in 71 and put together a reformed version of the band up to the end of that decade. Today guitarist Alan Warner has a version of The Foundations which can be found here: http://thefoundationsband.com/ Clem Curtis and his version of the band can be found here:http://www.clemcurtis.com/

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The Five Americans--Western Union (1967)

     The Five Americans were a band out of Oklahoma and was signed by a small label out of Dallas called Abnak/Jetstar and produced several regional hits in the mid-60's. A couple of those songs, "I See the Light" (1966) and "Evol-Not Love" (1966) made it to the charts. It was a riff by guitarist Mike Raybon however, that provided the foundation for their biggest hit. "Western Union" had a instrumental hook (the sound of the guitar aping a telegraph), and a vocal one (the dit-dit-dits that one hears throughout the song).
     The song reached number 5 in the spring/summer of 1967 and it's followup, "Sound Of Love" also reached the top 40, but subsequent songs never got close to the top 40 again and the group disbanded in 1969. Guitarist Mike Raybon had another song in the top 100 with the Tyler, Texas band, Gladstone, then returned to college and is working in education. The keyboard player, John Durrill, was the only one to become a music lifer writing and performing. He is probably best known for writing, "Dark Lady" for Cher in 1974.

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The Fantastic Johnny C--Boogaloo Down Broadway (1967)

        Johnny Corley had not been out of the military for long. The Greenwood, South Carolina native was looking for a place to settle and decided on Norristown, PA which was less than 20 miles outside of Philadelphia. Johnny loved to sing which soon caught the notice of the members of Macedonia Bapitst Church where he had started attending. He was soon in the church choir and many were taking note of his vocal talents. One of those members was studio producer, Jessie James. James talked him in to recording some demos of songs the producer had written. After those turned out well, they decided, with James a manager and writer, to give secular music a try.
     Very early on, James was able to snag Corley (now given the moniker, 'The Fantastic Johnny C") a spot on American Bandstand singing one of the producer's compositions called, "Boogaloo Down Broadway". The performance on AB attracted the attention of record label Phil-LA Soul. The song was released in the fall of 1967 and stormed up the top 100 and the r&b charts. Although he had a couple more songs make chart appearances in 1968, and Corley continued to record into the early 70's, this was the song that brought him attention. You'll hear more than a passing resemblance to Wilson Pickett (at least to my ears).

     

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Every Mother's Son--Come On Down To My Boat (1967)

     Every Mother's Son is centered around the brother duo of Dennis and Lary Larden. They began as in folk music as many in that time period did. That sensibility, along with the desire of their record company to push them as a "non-hippie" alternative (MGM Records), produced a wonderful piece of pop music.
     Written by Wes Farrell and Jerry Goldstein, "Come On Down To My Boat" went to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May of 1967. Within the next year the group reached the charts another three times, although never coming close to the heights of their debut. Dennis went from here to become a guitarist and composer for Rick Nelson and his Stone Canyon Band.

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The Doors--Light My Fire (1967)

     It's probably sacrilege to some of our readers, but the Doors rarely do anything for me. As much potential as Jim Morrison had as a writer, his self destructive indulgence and total disregard for his audience rendered him for the most part an artist who's potential was unfulfilled. That isn't to say that he didn't have talent. On the contrary, his abilities and more importantly his charisma was the key to the success of the group.  As opposed to poetry, where the reader gets to interact with the words as opposed to the writer, rock music is an interactive pursuit where the energy between an artist and audience can make or break a performance. There probably wasn't a group that was more of a roll of the dice in that area than The Doors. When they were "on", the performances were legendary, on the other hand, they could be dull with lead singer Jim Morrison doing little more than slurring through his set, and God knows that beyond Morrison, the music wasn't enough to keep one interested.
     They were a group that could only have been a product of the 60s, where experimentation was the rule of the day. The poetry and lifestyle of the "beat" generation of the late 50's/early 60's suited Morrison to a tee, and it was that esthetic that informed much of the group's output. Looking at it over 45 years later, much of it comes across as self-indulgent yapping (admittedly, that could be said for many groups of the era) but when they were on, it ranks up there with any of the songs of it's era.
     "Light My Fire" was brought to the group through guitarist Robbie Krieger with the real hook being the opening and instrumental passage by Ray Manzarek. It was their first number one hit, and the song that defined the group. It was the song which brought them infamy through the performance on the Ed Sullivan show. On September 17, 1967, they were getting ready to take the stage when told the line, "girl, you couldn't get much higher" had to be changed because of perceived drug references. They told Sullivan officials they would do it. Of course, as the show was being done live, Morrison sang the lyrics just as he had planned without changes.

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Spencer Davis Group--Gimme Some Lovin' (1967)

     The children of privilege in Britain went to the best schools and were groomed for success. The rest had to do the best they could with what they had. For many a schoolboy in the late 50's/early 60's that escape was music, especially the R&B and Soul they heard from the United States.
     It seems quite fitting in a way that much of the British invasion was due to bands taking a genre that was largely discarded  by the US and making it into their own. Welsh guitarist Spencer Davis had this love of the blues which he shared with a set of brothers, Steve and Muff Winwood. Muff, who played bass was only 20 at the time, but it was little brother Steve who at 14 was already gaining a reputation. His abilities on the organ and guitar was good, but his voice showed someone who was far beyond his years.
    The trio began making waves on both sides of the Atlantic with, "Keep On Running" in early 66', which was a hit in the UK, but had slight success here. A couple more hits continued momentum in Britain, but it wasn't until early 1967 that they hit gold here.
    The three men wrote, "Gimmie Some Lovin'" based on a riff borrowed from the Homer Banks song, "(Ain't That) A Lot Of Love". It reached #7 here in the states and became their biggest hit, although they also did very well with the follow up, "I'm A Man" later on that year.
    Later that year, Muff went into the business side of things, later to do very well as a producer. Steve went on to form Traffic and then to a successful solo career. Spencer Davis lives on an island off the coast of California and works from time to time with other sessions musicians as he chooses.
   

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Arthur Conley--Sweet Soul Music (1967)

     Conley had bounced around a bit, being the lead singer in the group, Arthur & the Comets in from 1959 to 1964 before going off on his own. He recorded, "I'm A Lonely Stranger" which caught the attention of Otis Redding. Redding re-recorded the song on his new label, Jotis Records, and did a lot in teaching Conley the finer points of performing and recording. Together they took the Sam Cooke song, "Yeah Man", and rewrote it into, "Sweet Soul Music'.
      It went to number 2 and became Conley's biggest hit. It began a streak of chart hits that lasted for a couple of years, including another top 20, "Funky Street" in 1968. In the mid-70's, he moved to Europe and changed his name to Lee Roberts where he continued to record, perform and dabble in one of his passions, furniture design.

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Davie Allan & The Arrows--Blue's Theme (1967)

     One of the sub-genres of teen movies in the 60's was the biker movie. Low budget,  unintentionally funny (especially now), and a way for actors and actresses get their foot in the door. "The Wild Angels"  was a great example of this. Made in 1966, it starred Peter Fonda, Nancy Sinatra, Bruce Dern, and Diane Ladd and was made by B-movie king, Roger Corman. It was a terrible movie, but entertaining nonetheless (the trailer for it is a hoot), and was the 12th grossing picture in 66.

     Not only did it launch many acting careers, it put an indie band on the map. Davie Allan had been a session musician in California and was tapped to perform the soundtrack to "The Wild Angels". He came up with an album of songs with a guitar so distorted that it had a buzzing sound which made it totally distinctive. Two of the songs reached the Billboard charts, with one, "Blue's Theme" reaching #32. It started a trend not only in biker movies, but in using Allan for the soundtracks as his guitar sound became linked to the genre. Allan with his Angels (who's lineup has constantly changed over the years) still tour and are still very popular at biker gatherings. A guitarist who has never received the respect he deserved....

     For a little extra, not only do we have the featured song, but below is the trailer for "The Wild Angels"....enjoy.

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The Moody Blues--Nights in White Satin (1967/1972)

     "Nights in White Satin" was written by Justin Hayward at the age of 19. The song was developed after a friend gave Hayward a gift of satin sheets. It was on the Moodies second album, "Days of Future Passed) and made the top 20 in Britain in 1967. It was not released as a single in the US until 1972 and reached #2 here. The hit version was heavily edited, but for me the only one to bother with is the album version....which you can hear below.

     The spoken word poem at the end of the song was written by Graeme Edge and read by keyboardist Mike Pinder. The last five lines also appear at the end of "The Day Begins" which is the first track on the "Days" album, which reached top 5 in the states.

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The Bar-Kays: Soul Finger (1967)

     The Bar-Kays were a group of session musicians out of Memphis working with the Stax label. In 1967 they joined Otis Redding as his backing band. Late that year all but two of them died in the plane crash that also took the life of Redding. Trumpet player Ben Cauley who was the only survivor of the crash, and bassist James Alexander who was on another plane, rebuilt the group into more of a dance/funk outfit in the 70's. 

     The kids you hear in this recording had been hanging around outside the studio and were asked to join in the recording by shouting, "soul finger" when asked. They were paid with bottles of coke. The song has been heard in a couple of movies over the years. "Spies Like Us", the 1985 release with Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd, and just recently in 2009 with, "Soul Men" with Samuel L. Jackson, and the late Bernie Mac. 

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Bobby Gentry: Ode to Billy Joe (1967)

      Bobby Gentry was born Roberta Lee Streeter and most notable in music history as the one of the first female country artists to write and produce her own song, much of which was written based on her Mississippi roots. She was raised by her grandparents after her parent's divorce until the age of 13 when she went to live with her mother who had moved to California. After graduation she started at UCLA, then transferred to the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music to develop her songwriting skills. During her time in college she sang in clubs until signed to a contract with Capitol records in 1967.

     "Ode to Billy Joe" is a brilliant work of  Southern Gothic writing. The song itself won 8 Grammys, three for Gentry and one for producer Jimmie Haskell who's understated arraignment fit the song perfectly (the glissando by the strings near the end stick as much in the listener's as well as any lyrical hook). It was actually recorded as a "B" side, but DJ's soon flipped it over. Gentry's herself had no idea what happened to Billie Joe....

     "Those questions are of secondary importance in my mind. The story of Billie Joe has two
more interesting underlying themes. First, the illustration of a group of peoples' reactions to the life and death of Billie Joe, and its subsequent effect on their lives, is made. Second, the obvious gap between the girl and her mother is shown when both women experience a common loss (first Billie Joe, and later, Papa), and yet Mama and the girl are unable to recognize their mutual loss or share their grief."

    It's popularity and endurance led Warner Brothers to commission author Herman Raucher to write a novel and screenplay based on the song. Of course, this not only popularized the song again, but has led many to actually believe it was a true event. She had more success on the charts and on television worldwide (especially in Europe) up through the mid-70's.

                                    

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P.P. Arnold--The First Cut is the Deepest (1967)

      P.P. Arnold toured with Ike and Tina Turner as an Ikette for a few years in the mid-60's. During a gig in London, Mick Jagger was impressed enough with her singing that he suggested to their manager, Andrew Loog Oldham to sign her to his new record label Immediate Records. She quit her gig with the Turners and stayed in London to concentrate on her solo career. Arnold had her major success in Britain during the late 60's and has had what could be considered an on again/off again career, although has always kept busy either performing on the stage, doing solo work, or studio work for others.

      "The First Cut is the Deepest" was written by Cat Stevens (who celebrates his 63rd birthday today), although Arnold was the first to release it in May of 1967. Stevens had made a demo of the song before Arnold, but at the time just wanted to be a songwriter, so it wasn't until September of that year that his actual recording was done. The song has been covered many times, most notably by Rod Stewart in 1977 and Sheryl Crow in 2003....

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The Beatles: Strawberry Fields Forever (1967)

Ok....up against a deadline.....have to be out for business this morning....what's a person to do?? Well....thank God for the Beatles.....be sure to catch up tomorrow for the Sunday Morning Vault.

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Sunday Morning Vault: The Action--Shadows and Reflections (1967)

     Sometimes when you look back in time you hear artists and just wonder what was it that kept them from stardom? The Action from England is one such group....

      They were made up of  Reg King (lead vocals), Alan King (lead guitar vocals), Peter Watson (guitar), Mike Evans (Bass, vocals), Roger Powell (Drums), and were are part of the "mod" subculture of the mid-60's that also brought us "The Who", and the Small Faces".

       Reg was a fine white blues singer, the much of their best work was covers of R&B songs. If you go on You Tube, you can find several of these fine singles. However, all of them sank on the charts. "Shadows and Reflections" I thought was one of the most marketable of the bunch, but still went nowhere.

        During 67', they went into the studio to cut some songs, and had decided to move in a more progressive/psychedelic direction. The result were a collection that rivaled music that was being done by their contemporaries, but the record company didn't like it at all and in fact dropped them from the label. This essentially ended the band. This collection was finally released in 2002 as "Rolled Gold", which showed a group that was on top of their game, and has held up much better than many who were attempting the same kind of music. In fact, this is one of the most fun things about The Action is that almost ALL of the music holds up well. Check this and other songs by The Action.....thanks and have a great Sunday morning....

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Frank and Nancy Sinatra: Somethin' Stupid (1967)

    Deciding the subject for a blog depends on a couple of things. The first would be who's discography I'm studying at any particular moment, and the second is a combination of rock history (what happens on a certain date) and my own gut instinct. The last reason is probably why Nancy Sinatra is the first artist to get a second blog. If you look earlier (Feb. 17th to be exact) you can read about, "These Boots Are Made For Walkin". This time around she is paired with her dad as they sing, "Somethin Stupid". I"ve been waiting for a chance to write about the Chairman of the Board, and can promise you this will not be the last time either. On this day in 1967, they hit big with the only #1 song by a dad/daughter duo....

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Sunday Morning Vault: Ruby Andrews--Casonova (Your Playing Days Are Over) 1967

Ruby Andrews was a Mississippi girl who had some chart success in the late 60's. She charted three songs in total, but the first one Casonova (Your Playing Days Are Over) did the best reaching #51 in the fall of 1967.

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Procol Harum: A Whiter Shade of Pale (1967)

Happy 65th birthday to Matthew Fisher! (He's the second from the left)...

Keyboardist Matthew Fisher was a member of Procol Harum until 1969, but his organ at the beginning of "Whiter Shade of Pale" stands out as one of the most distinctive solos of all time. It is well worth seeking out those first three albums especially for it's melding of classical themes and breathtaking imagery....here's a clip from 67....

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