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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Sunday Morning Valut: Ann-Margret (1961)

When Ann-Margret came on the scene in 1961, her background had been acting, dancing and singing onstage, so signing a 7 year contract by 20th Century Fox in 1961 AND charting her first hit with RCA Victor shouldn't have been a surprise. However it was not long before the singing was confined to stage and screen and the career on the charts was over. "I Just Don't Understand", was her first and only top 20 hits. To me, her voice is an acquired taste, but as long as I can see the pictures, who cares? Have a happy Sunday everyone!

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The Band who formed with the help of a traffic jam: Buffalo Springfield

Just like in any aspect of life, the truth seems odder than any fiction. In the case of Buffalo Springfield, who today marks the 45th anniversary of it's forming, it was a traffic jam that helped solidify their lineup.

The story begins in 1965 when Stephen Stills met Nail Young at a club in Ontario. At the time, Stills was playing with "The Company" which was a spin off of "Au Go Go Singers". At that time Young was playing with The Squires, a group that he had been with for over two years.  The meeting must have been a positive experience for the both of them as they expressed a desire to work together.

Stills went to LA at the beginning of 66' and began to assemble a group, first by inviting Ritchie Furay who was also a former member of the "Au Go Go Singers". Young had been invited by Bruce Palmer to join the group, "The Mynah Birds" and had plans to record an album when singer Ricky James Matthews (known to music fans much later as Rick James) had been arrested by the U.S. Navy for going AWOL. With the plans now in the dump, they decided to head to LA to track down Stills.

According to legend, Stills and Furay were stuck in LA traffic when they spotted Young car headed the other way stuck in traffic as well. The story seems perfectly feasible since being stuck in LA traffic seems to be a normal occurrence, not to mention that Young's vehicle would be easy to spot since it was a black 1953 Pontiac hearse! Furay made an illegal U-turn and the two of them attempted to wave Young down. The result was them meeting again and deciding to work together as a band.

Buffalo Springfield is probably better known for the future success of it's members with other bands, but all three of the albums they recorded are worth seeking out. Our video for the day is their best known song from early 1967, "For What It's Worth" (at the Monterrey Pop Festival)

 

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The hit isn't always the best song: 3 Songs from The Angels

Am not sure if radio programmers are responsible for this, but many times I find the best songs from an artist are the songs that are NOT hits. Am perfectly willing to admit that there might be the "I'm sick and tired of this crap", syndrome. However, in doing some research today, my theory comes back the fore.

The Angels had a half dozen hits in the early/middle 60's, with by far the most popular being, "My Boyfriend's Back" (1963).

They never had a strong follow up from a chart standpoint, but their last hit was called, "Wow Wow Wee (He's The Boy For Me)" (1964).  I found myself loving this song, and just as much fun as anything they had put out before. It reached #41 before fading out.

Three years passed without a recording, although the ladies kept busy singing background vocals on different recordings, probably the best known being, "Lighting Strikes" by Lou Christie....but for my ears...the best was yet to come.

The Angels signed with RCA in 1967 and reappeared with a more sophisticated sound. This didn't equate to any chart action, but one of the last releases just floored me and made me ask the question, "Why didn't this chart?". Here's "Boy With The Green Eyes", from 1968.....

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The real life group that was the inspiration for The Partridge Family.

First of all....Happy 55th Birthday to John Cowsill.....more in him in just a moment.


The Cowsills were made up of Bill and Bob (guitars), Barry (Bass), John (drums), Susan, Paul and their mom Barbara. The group was formed in 1965 with the core of Bill, Bob and Barry, soon afterward John and then Barbara had joined by the release of  "The Cowsills" in 1967. Susan and Paul joined shortly after that.

For the rest of the 60's, the Cowsills were hitting the charts with bits of pop confection stamped with beautiful 4 and 5 part harmonies that could only be produced by siblings.

In 1969 Screen Gems approached them about doing a sitcom about themselves. Negotiations broke down however when it was decided that Barbara would be replaced by Shirley Jones. Later, David Cassidy was hired on the cast and it was renamed, "The Partridge Family" and started it's 4 year run on ABC.

Things would be pretty much over for them by 1972, although they have continued to perform on and off over the years...and that brings us back to the birthday boy.

John has made his mark in a lot of different places. He toured with Jan & Dean and the Dwight Twilley Band (as did his sister Susan). He has acted some on the soap "General Hospital", and the sitcom "Full House". He was with Tommy Tutone long enough to be heard on his huge hit, "867-5309/Jenny", and in 1993 he married Vicki Peterson of The Bangels. He is now the drummer and background vocalist for the Beach Boys touring band. Happy Birthday John!

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Pop Goes the Country: Lynn Anderson (1970) and Bill Anderson (1963)

Country pop in my eyes took on two different sides. First there was the pop song that was given a bit of a country treatment, we see most of them in the 70's. The other was songs that made it so big on the Country charts that it's sales were big enough to show up on the pop charts. We are looking at two different examples of that tonight.

Whisperin' Bill Anderson had a vocal delivery all his own, and used it to great success, especially in the 60's. The most popular of these was "Still" which reached #8 on the pop charts in the spring of 1963. His chart action continued unabated until the late 70's. However, he continued to write songs for others after that and won a Grammy in 2004 for "Whiskey Lullaby" and again in 2006 with "Give It Away"

Lynn Anderson was a rising star in country already when she hit #3 in late 1970. She had four more hits on the charts during the 70's, but became a superstar in country music. She still tours today and still rides horses. As late as 1999 and 2000 she was winning Equestrian tournments.

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