The Gentrys--Keep On Dancing (1965)

     The Gentrys were another one of the many bands who got their start out of high school. Most of the members (with the exception of Larry Butler on keyboards) all come out of Treadwell High School in Memphis. The first lineup consisted of Bruce Bowles and Jimmy Hart on vocals, Bobby Fisher on sax and keyboards, Jimmy Johnson on trumpet, Pat Neal on bass, Larry Raspberry on guitar and lead vocals (he was the lead on 'Keep On Dancing'), Larry Wall on drums, and Butler.
     The boys founded the group in May of 1963 and was soon playing for school parties and local dances. More people began to take notice as the group took third place in the Mid-South Fair Talent Competition in September of 64 and by the end of the year had received a recording contract. The first single did well in the Memphis/Mid-South area, but it was the next song, "Keep On Dancing" which broke through in a big way, reaching number 4 in the fall of 1965.
     The song itself is unusual in the fact the first verse recording is actually repeated on the record. If you listen there is a fake fade, then a drum fill then the exact verse is played again. This was to fill it out to a normal length for radio airplay. The band reached the top 100 again a few more times, but never with the success of this song.
     The group disbanded by the end of 1966, but in 1969 Jimmy Hart reformed the group with himself as lead singer. This version of the group lasted until 1971 and included, Steve Spear (Bass), Davey Beaver (Keyboards), Jimmy Tarbutton (guitar), and Mike Gardner (drums). This version of the band never had a hit, but did reach the top 100 on a couple of occasions, mostly notably with a version of Neil Young's, "Cinnamon Girl' which charted before Young's. There was actually another incarnation of the group with Hart as lead singer in 1972, before the name was hung up for good.
     This however wasn't the end of our story with Jimmy Hart. You see, another alum of Treadwell High School was a wrestler named Jerry "The King" Lawler. Hart was asked to sing back up for Lawler on a song, and although nothing came of it, Hart became hooked on wrestling. He soon became a manager for some well known names in the sport during the early 80's, but it was when he was hired by Vince McMahon and the WWF that his star began to really rise. He became known as, "The Mouth of the South" for carrying a megaphone with him to shout instructions to his men. He never totally gave up music however, as he wrote many of the theme songs for wrestlers throughout his career. In the 80's and early 90's, if there was a music association with the WWF, generally he was behind it. Although he has worked for other wrestling groups, he returned to the WWE in 2011.

    
   
    

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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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The Fortunes--You've Got Your Troubles (1965)/ Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again (1971)

     During the mid-60's there were a host of British bands who took advantage of the walls knocked down by the Beatles' breakthrough in the states in 1964. These bands (and songs) were many times catchy tunes but  they might not have had a proper hearing except for the fact that by 1965 the popular US listeners were clamoring for anything from the UK.
     The Fortunes began their history as the Cliftones in 1963. They were signed to British Decca records that year and released a series of singles over the next two years that went nowhere. The first breakthrough for the group was also their charting song: "You've Got Your Troubles"

    The song reached #2 in the UK and #7 in the states. The two follow-ups "Here It Comes Again" (UK-#4, US #27) and "This Golden Ring" (UK #14, US#82) showed the band not able to continue it's successes, at least here in the state. A label change from Decca to United Artists in 1967 didn't help from the group's downhill slide.
     They spend the next couple of years floundering with different formulas, attempting to recapture past glories. It was a move to Capitol records in the early 70's that began to change things. Although not charting in the UK at all, "Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling" was released in 1971 and reached #15 on the charts making them more than a one hit wonder, although because of the 6 years between hits, many don't realize that both songs are by the same group.
     The group continues to tour although it's lead singer Rod Allen, who was the only remaining original member of the band died in 2008. You can find more on them here:   http://www.thefortunes.co.uk/

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Dino, Desi, & Billy--I'm A Fool (1965)

     Nepotism in the arts has always been a fact of life. The idea being that if Mom or Dad had the talent, then Junior must have some too. Today we have more than a few examples of the family trade being passed along. At least to my ears however, because of the current conditions in the music industry, you still have to have the goods talent-wise, just your good (musical) name won't be enough.
     The first of these didn't come from the rock era, but rather the pop era of an earlier generation. Dean Paul Martin, the son of singer Dean Martin. Desi Arnez Jr. not only had a popular musician/actor father, but his mother was the predominate actress on television. They both went to school with Billy Hinsche, and seeing the Beatles for the first time encouraged them to work together as a group.
      Dean Martin had a recording contract with Reprise which was owned by friend Frank Sinatra, and through that connection an audition was set up with the boys (who were all under 16 at the time). They were signed and their first single was the most popular. "I'm a Fool" came out in the summer of 1965 and reached #17 on the charts. There has been an argument that the boys, while not bad, had been signed and taken energy and money away from the company which would have been better used for other artists.
     The trio wasn't bad, and yes, you can easily argue that most groups wouldn't have got a sit down audition with "The Chairman of the Board" (figuratively and literally). On the other hand, the trio did have two top 40 hits, and opened for the likes of The Beach Boys, The Mamas and Papas, and Paul Revere & the Raiders, so it wasn't a bad gamble for Reprise records either.
     The group stayed together until 1968, as they all began to mature and choose different directions for their lives. Martin wanted to do a lot of things, he was a professional tennis player, was an avid pilot reaching the rank of Captain in the Air National Guard by 1981, and acted on the big and small screen. He died in 1987 in a jet crash in the California mountains. Desi found a spot on his mom's show (Here's Lucy) in 1970 and has spent the rest of his career as an actor and in production. Billy was the only one to remain in music as he became a part of the Beach Boys band in 1974 after graduating from UCLA.

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Gary Lewis & The Playboys: This Diamond Ring (1965)

     The son of actor Jerry Lewis, Gary & The Playboys (he chose not to add 'Lewis' so as not not be an influence in getting a gig) got a spot at Disneyland in 1960 and were there for several years when they were discovered by record producer Snuff Garrett. It was Garrett who added the "Lewis" back into the band's name thinking that it would be a way to sell records. "This Diamond Ring" was the first song out of the box and went to No. 1 in 1965. They had solid success through 1967 when Lewis was drafted into the military. Upon his return the momentum had been lost. They still continue to tour and you can check his website: http://www.garylewisandtheplayboys.com/dates.html.

     Please check out our other posts, and friend us on Facebook. By clicking on the live 365 banner, you can check out the best of the hits of the past and the songs that should have been. Thanks and have a great Thursday.

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The Beau Brummels--Laugh, Laugh (1965)

     The Beau Brummels was a group out of San Francisco who had a couple of hits in 1965. The group should have done better, but a combination of internal strife, the attempt on the part of their management to position them as a Beatles-like group, and some plain back luck (like poor distribution on some singles) kept undermining their potential. As it was the group stayed together until 68, broke up, reformed for a couple of years in the mid-70's then finally called it a day.

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Fontella Bass--Rescue Me (1965)

    Every once in awhile I have nothing to say about a song, but it sounds great and want to share it with you. Fontella Bass is from St. Louis which gives her an advantage in my book (being a St. Louis boy myself), and in the mid-60's this song was all over the airwaves. Bass had a couple of hits in 1965, but soon faded from view and retired in the early 70's to raise her family. She has made a few appearances on PBS specials and the like....have a great Sunday...

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Len Barry--- 1-2-3 (1965)

    Len Barry wanted to be a baseball player after his graduation from high school. Instead, he went into the service for a stint, and found himself singing a little with the Army bands. The response he received encouraged him to do more of it, and then upon discharge chose to pursue music.
     He returned to his home in Philadelphia and became the lead singer of the Dovells. For a three years stretch, they reached the top 40 five times, including top 5 hits, "Bristol Stomp" (it was not his voice on the record, but Barry joined shortly afterward and has been identified with the song) and "You Can't Sit Down". He left in 1965 and after a name change (he had been known by his given name of Len Borisoff) to Len Barry went out on his own as a solo artist. "1-2-3" turned out to be a #2 hit for him, but after a couple more top forty songs in 1966 went into the production side of things, along with crafting his stage show.

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Sunday Morning Vault: Jackie DeShannon--What the World Needs Now Is Love (1965)

     Jackie DeShannon is one of the most underrated songwriters of the 60's, although this song, was written by Bacharach and David. It was originally pitched to Dionne Warwick who eventually recorded it, but initially passed on it. DeShannon had one other hit, (Put a little love in your heart) but who's career was defined by not only the music she wrote in the 60's, but in the re-recording of a lot of her material by artists in the 80's and early 90's.

   

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Jewel Akens--The Birds and the Bees (1965)

     In 1964, Jewell Akens was the lead singer of a group called The Turnarounds and had just been signed by Era Records out of Hollywood. That year produced one single that saw no chart action. The owner of the label, Herb Newman, brought a song to them by a young songwriter by the name of Barry Stewart. (it was the pseudonym of Newman's teenaged son).

     Looking over the song, it was very sing-songy....almost like a nursery rhyme. Akens really liked the song, however the rest of the group did not. Long story short, the group split up over the song and Jewell decided to record it himself. He went through several arraignments before settling on the one that was finally released. It shot up to #3 on the charts in the spring of 1965 and became popular in different versions all over the world.

      It was to be the only big hit of Akens career. A follow up song, "Georgie Porgie" saw some chart action, but never saw the charts again. He has continued recording and have been told there are some really good singles from the early 70's that I need to check out. He released a gospel album not too long ago, but am lacking info about it.

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The Ad-Libs: He Ain't No Angel (1965)

     John T. Taylor had been playing saxophone with different big bands since the 30's. He decided by 1960 that it was time to retire from the road and to teach. During that time, he heard a group calling themselves the Creators. He began writing for them, but the couple of singles flopped on the charts. 

      In 1964 there was a reshuffling of the ranks, and a name change to the Ad-Libs. Hugh Harris, Danny Austin, Dave Watt, Norman Donegan, and female lead, Mary Ann Thomas made up the classic lineup of the reformed group. That next year they hit it big with the Taylor penned, "Boy From New York City", reaching #8 on the Billboard charts.

       This was the only hit they would ever have, although they recorded several strong singles which sank quickly. They had one more song reach the top 100 (in fact it reached #100 in 1965) which you can hear below. The group continued to make the R&B charts until 1969, but recorded and toured right up to into the late 80's.

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Buck Owens--I Got A Tiger By The Tail (1965)

      Buck Owens is known in the last couple of generations as one of the hosts of "Hee Haw" the long running comedy and music show. During the 60's, one could suggest that he was one of the biggest hit makers in the business. Between 1959 and 1968 he had 28 straight county top 20's with 14 of those consecutive #1's. It was no wonder between his success as a performer and his ability to connect with an audience (see video above) that he was chosen to host "Hee Haw" along with Roy Clark. The hits continued (partially because of the extra exposure) until 1979, then had a bit of revival in the late 80's. Much of that was linked to the success of Dwight Yoakam, who was deeply influenced by Owens' music.

     Owens was born in Texas but spent his older childhood and teenaged years in Arizona. As a young adult he took a job as a truck driver, which is where he first drove through the San Joaquin Valley and was impressed enough with it that with his wife, relocated there in 1951. His ability on the guitar got him gigs in Hollywood with rock and rockabilly artists through the 50's. It was that experience along with the music of his childhood, country and Mexican polkas which blended into what was many years later to be known as the "Bakersfield Sound". 

    

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Sunday Morning Vault: The Turtles---It Ain't Me Babe (1965)

     The Turtles have long been under appreciated as sort of light weight. Of course, just listening to oldies radio would give you the impression that they only had one hit, maybe two (Happy Together and I Know She'd Rather Be With Me"). However, from 1965 to 1970, they had a string of top flight singles that showed strong songwriting ability and a wonderfully quirky sense of humor.

      The success of the group revolved around the talents of Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman, but the songwriting also included other members of the band and the arraigning skills of Chip Douglas. The song, It Ain't Me Babe, was written by Bob Dylan in 1964 and was first included on his album, "Another Side of Bob Dylan" and was covered that same year by Johnny Cash. The Turtles released it on their debut album in 1965 and it went to #15

     1967 was to be the big year for The Turtles and did well on the charts through 1969 where pressures on Kaylan and Volman from their record company (which was basically relying on them for all revenues) to change their image AND dump the rest of the band resulted in them just breaking up the group in 1970.

     Kaylan and Volman spent the early 70's working with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention (which is where they got the stage name, 'Flo & Eddie') for a couple of years, then could be found working on many albums as diverse as T. Rex, Alice Cooper and Bruce Springsteen. They have worked on soundtrack albums and are now touring as "The Turtles featuring Flo and Eddie".

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The Byrds: Mr. Tambourine Man (1965)

      The Byrds frontman Roger McGuinn is 69 today....

      Much of what we know as rock music today can be traced back eventually to just a handful of artists. The Byrds, led by Roger McGuinn became a touchstone for what would be folk rock, country rock, psychedelic rock, raga rock, and jangle pop. McGuinn's jangly Rickenbacker guitar became as distinctive a sound as any in rock history.

       His sound derived itself from folk music, but with the coming of the Beatles attempted to bring the two together. The resulting music attracted the attention of Gene Clark, and the two of them formed the early incarnation of the group. Many of rock music's influential artists came through the group. Clark, Chris Hillman, David Crosby, Michael Clarke, and Gram Parsons all spent time as a Byrd.  

      Bob Dylan wrote, "Mr. Tambourine Man" in 1964 and was released on his "Bringing It All Back Home" album in 1965. There has been many attempts to interpret the lyrical content, with Dylan himself saying that at least part of his inspiration came from Federico Felllini's movie "La strada". He has always firmly denied as well that the song had nothing to do with drugs. It took Bob over a year to find the right arraignment that would do it justice. 

      In the meantime, the Byrds had been working on their own version based on an acetate copy of the song that was acquired by their manager. Dylan was brought in after the song had been worked up and his enthusiasm about it's sound spurred them to record it as a single. An interesting note about it's recording. The single was recorded first, and at the time, producer Terry Melcher was not convinced on the rest of the group's ability to play their instruments, so Melcher brought in the famous group of studio musicians, "The Wrecking Crew" to play on the single (and it's B-side, "I Knew I'd Want You") along with McGuinn. By the time they began on the album, he felt they were sufficiently ready, so the rest of the album was recorded with the band.

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The Four Tops--I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)--1965

Levi Stubbs was born this day in 1936...he died in 2008 at the age of 72....

The Four Aims having become The Four Tops in 1956 had been bouncing around the supper club circuit for years. They signed a contract with Chess records in 56 (which precipitated the name change), but had gone nowhere, moves to Red Top and Riverside produced similar results. They were playing the best clubs in the country, but couldn't make that major breakthrough. In 64' they signed with Motown and after a bit of time experimenting on Berry Gordy's experimental label Workshop Jazz, they settled in with the Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team and things began to pop.

"Baby, I Need Your Lovin" was the first charting song for them in 1964, and "I Can't Help Myself" would bring them a #1 hit., they would reach the top twenty 16 more times before the last, "Used to be My Girl" in 1981. During that time Levi would refuse to have his name in top billing like Diana Ross or Smokey Robinson would do, nor would he opt for a solo carrier choosing to remain true to his fellow mates. He would remain their lead singer until a stroke in 2000 put an end to his career.

For those younger, one might also remember Stubbs as the voice of Audrey II in the 1986 movie "Little Shop of Horrors"....

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Ramsey Lewis--The 'In' Crowd (1965)

     Ramsey Lewis turns 76 today....

     Ramsey has been recording since the mid-50's and is, at least chartwise, one of the most successful jazz pianists ever. With 19 songs hitting the charts, 6 in the top 40, three Grammys (one for this song),  and five gold records, he is still recording and performing. "The 'In' Crowd" was his most popular song, but the years of 1965 and 66 were especially good  to him.

      Please check out this and other songs on our 24/7 online radio station...just click to the banner on the right.
     
      Also, be sure to tune in to our new radio show! Monday evenings from 9pm-11pm Central US, will get you the best of rock and pop. You can find us at www.radiofreenashville.org. Happy Friday!

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Ritchie Adams--Every Window In The City (1965)

    Every once in a while I come across a song that really sounds good, but know very little about the artist(s). This is one of those songs...so if you have more information and would like to share, it surly would be appreciated. I do know that Adams was member of The Fireflies, and had a solid songwriting career...and this is a great song...

     If you like oldies, not just the popular ones, but the obscure ones as well...I invite you to click the banner to your right. It will open up in another tab, and you can listen to the best music while reading blog posts....

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The Beatles: Ticket To Ride (1965)

It's Friday, my morning is busy with stuff that isn't linked to me being near the computer...and there is nothing that jumps out me as far as a blog goes this morning. So what to do? You can never go wrong with the Beatles. Will have a fuller blog tomorrow morning....have a great Friday.

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Lesley Gore: Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows (1965)

Am not sure if it's the warm weather here in the Mid-south, but when sitting here at the computer my mind is filled with little pop confections;...so we do one more..(maybe).

Lesley Gore was probably the best known female singer during the mid-60's while she was still a teenager. She made the move to attend college rather than continuing to tour and be in movies, so her popularity was fairly short lived, but left us with several classics of the genre. My favorite by far is the one seen today which was featured in the movie "Ski Party". It was written by Marvin Hamlisch who would be later known on the charts for his rendition of Scott Joplin's, "The Entertainer". A little extra nugget, this song, along with most of her hits were produced by Quincy Jones....enjoy and have a happy Tuesday!!

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