Edwin Hawkins Singers--Oh Happy Day (1969)

      The advent of You Tube has brought an entirely different avenue for people to become music stars. In the early days of rock music especially in the US, artists would become popular in their local area, put a record out, and hope that a national chain would buy the contract so that the artist would get national exposure. This was the way that the Edwin Hawkins Singers would do it as well, the story behind this great song is even more interesting.
     Edwin Hawkins was a prodigy, having taken over as the keyboard player in his family's gospel group in 1950 (at the age of 7!) spending that decade performing and making their first recording in 1957. He continued working as a music minister and artist throughout the 60's when he came up with an idea for a city wide youth choir.
     Based in San Francisco, Edwin and Betty Watson recruited the best soloists in the city to form what was first known as the Northern California State Youth Choir. They recorded an album called "Let Us Go Into The House Of The Lord" in 1968 as a fund raiser for the area churches. There were only 500 copies of it made at the time. It's blend of gospel and R&B was a new sound and several outside of gospel took notice. 
      A few of those people were FM disc jockey's in the bay area. Back in that day very few stations used the FM frequency as many radios only had AM available. So it became a bastion for the new modern rock sound in many cities, with San Francisco being the hub.  Before long, others in San Francisco began to take notice and the song, which had not actually been released as a single yet was becoming a radio hit. It was released as a single for local, then national coverage and it became a world wide hit selling over 7 million copies and winning a Grammy.
      The song, spurred on by the powerhouse vocals of Dorothy Morrison, put the group, now called the Edwin Hawkins Singers in the spotlight and in great demand. A couple of years later they were featured on a hit by folk singer Melanie called, "Lay Down (Candles In the Rain)". Although they never achieved notoriety on that scale, they proceeded to win four more Grammys in the course off the next 15 years. For his part, Hawkins scaled down the touring and recording in the early 80's while organizing, "The Edwin Hawkins Music and Arts Festival" which was conceived in order to promote, encourage, and educate young artists which continues to this day.

   

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Tim Hardin--Simple Song of Freedom (1969)

       As a songwriter, Tim Hardin's career was defined his first two albums in 1966 and 67. Several of his songs, "If I Were A Carpenter", "Reason to Believe" and "Hang On To A Dream" have been a part of the musical lexicon almost from the time they were first recorded. However, what has not been stressed was his abilities as an interpreter of outside material as well. The several albums he released in the early 70's showed someone who's phrasing could take a song and make it his own. His life however was also defined by heroin, which was a constant companion throughout much of his life (most seem to think he developed it during a stint in Vietnam in 1959), and would finally take it in 1980 at the age of 39.
     His only chart success was a cover of Bobby Darin's, "Simple Song of Freedom", which was ironic considering that it was Hardin's, "If I Were a Carpenter" which re-ignited Darin's career in 1967. The song reached #50 in the fall of 1969, perhaps spurred on by Hardin's performance at Woodstock just several weeks before.

 

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R.B. Greaves--Take a Letter Maria (1969)

     Sometimes you find songs that are interesting, and people who sound like they really have a story, but just fall off the face of the earth, with just the musical document left to help decipher the kind of person they were..
     R.B. Greaves (Ronald Bertam) was born on an Air Force base in Georgetown, Guyana in 1943. He was a nephew of Sam Cooke and spent much of his growing up years on a Seminole Indian Reservation in the states. At the age of 20 he traveled to England in hopes to start up a music career. Under the name Sonny Childe with his group the TNT's, they had released records in the UK and in the Caribbean. He wrote the song, "Take a Letter Maria" in 1970, which impressed Atlantic Records president Ahmet Ertgun so much that he insisted that not only should Greaves record the song himself (it had already been covered by several), but that Ertgun would produce the record himself.         
     The result was a Latin flavored vocal which had the lyrical feel of a Bacharach/David song and a musical vibe of early 60's mariachi music thanks to the well placed horns. It soared to number two on the charts in the Winter of 1969, and it's follow up, "Always Something There to Remind Me" also went top ten. After several more charting songs, he fell off the radar in the early 70's. There is a long stretch where I cannot find any information concerning the singer/songwriter until his death last November of cancer at the age of 68.

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The Friends of Distinction--Grazing in The Grass (1969)

     The Friends of Distinction were formed by Harry Elston and Floyd Butler who had been members of Ray Charles' backing band, The Hi-Fi's. When this group disbanded in 1966, the other members, Lamont McLemore and Marilyn McCoo went to form the Fifth Dimension. Elston and Butler recruited Jessica Cleaves and Barbara Jean Love and in 1968 began to hit some of the clubs in Los Angeles. It was there they met Jim Brown.
     Brown had been one of the best players in the National Football League who had decided to retire in 1966 as an acting career had opened up for him. He heard the group and was impressed by their sound and asked if they would be interested in him becoming their manager. With that kind of clout, they soon signed a contract with RCA records.
     The first single was their biggest hit (#6), but they also produced two more top twenty hits, "Going in Circles" (#15--1969) and "Love Or Let Me Be Lonely" (#6--1970). The group began to slip after Cleaves left to later be a part of Earth, Wind, and Fire, and Parliament. They disbanded in 1975, and Floyd Butler later passed away.

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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 Flying Machine--Smile A Little Smile For Me (1969)

     In the late 60's there were two groups called, "The Flying Machine" that became footnotes in the history of rock/pop music. One of them was a group that James Taylor was a member of before going solo, and made mention of in one of his biggest hits, "Fire and Rain" ("sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground"). The second one isn't known either other than it's one and only hit here in the US.
     The group was from Britain, but none of the members were of note before or after this song save for the bass player Stuart Colman who became a session musician and later a BBC Radio DJ. The song itself was written by award winning songwriter Tony Macaulay ("Baby, Now That I Found You", "Build Me Up Buttercup") and reached number 5 here in the states, but didn't even dent the charts in their home country. A follow up single, "Baby, Make It Soon", broke in the top 100, but by 1971 the group had packed it in.

 

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The Flying Machine--Smile A Little Smile For Me (1969)

     In the late 60's there were two groups called, "The Flying Machine" that became footnotes in the history of rock/pop music. One of them was a group that James Taylor was a member of before going solo, and made mention of in one of his biggest hits, "Fire and Rain" ("sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground"). The second one isn't known either other than it's one and only hit here in the US.
     The group was from Britain, but none of the members were of note before or after this song save for the bass player Stuart Colman who became a session musician and later a BBC Radio DJ. The song itself was written by award winning songwriter Tony Macaulay ("Baby, Now That I Found You", "Build Me Up Buttercup") and reached number 5 here in the states, but didn't even dent the charts in their home country. A follow up single, "Baby, Make It Soon", broke in the top 100, but by 1971 the group had packed it in.

 

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The Flaming Ember--Mind, Body, and Soul (1969)

     For many music fans, when you say, "Detroit", the first thing that comes to mind is "Motown", and of course the pop/soul music machine did take front and center on the charts throughout the 60's and 70's. However, the city was a hotbed of many styles and genres. The MC5, Stooges, Frigid Pink, Alice Cooper, Grand Funk Railroad, all called the auto capital of the US it's home. The Bob Seger System represented more of a white soul sound along with this group, The Flaming Ember.

     The group began as The Flaming Embers in 1964 and spent it's first few years recording for local Detroit labels with local success but not much more. It was a move to the Hot Wax label that began a string of singles that reached the charts. Three of the four reached the top forty beginning with, "Mind, Body, and Soul" in the fall of 1969. 1970 became the pinnacle of their success with three songs on the Hot 100. A year later the band had fallen off the charts, and they changed their name to "Mind, Body and Soul", spending the rest of the 70's on the Detroit bar circuit where they began. 

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The PC's LTD--Fast Man (Booty Man) (1969)

Lovers of obscure 45s will certainly want to listen to Fast Man by The PC's LTD at least once- that is if they can find it of course. It's a pretty underground release; Fran Records in Virginia originally published the record, though it seems that Fran also had some operations in Kentucky as well. The company was a division of Viv, and they had the same ear for funk that their parent company did.

Since it was recorded far from the glitter lights provided by the Stax Records company towers in Memphis, Fast Man certainly sounds unpolished. However, Norfolk isn't exactly known as a hotbed for recording studios, and true fans will appreciate the homemade sound. Even if it was a local release, the group stayed away from minimalism and experimentation. This was pure funk.

Trying to find information on The PC's LTD. is pretty difficult and even the exact date when the record was recorded is pretty elusive. It was probably cut sometime around 1969. Even if it's early, though, the track is hard hitting. Lovers of funk will appreciate the back beat syncopation and the remarkably smooth groves. It's easy to imagine that many top disc jockeys jumped at the chance to lay down this rare piece of wax when funk was at its height in the 1970s. It's a shame that The PC's LTD. don't seem to have cut any more records.

The A-Side: Fast Man (Booty Man)

While the track really is pretty funky, it's hard to figure out just what direction the combine wanted to take. It starts off with some raucous cheers that pick up again and again throughout the piece. After a minute or so, some smooth lyrics take over and mix with an accompaniment provided by a brass section that would have done Miles Davis proud. It's almost as if the band were a group of college students messing around with instruments. Then again, that's what makes the record so cool. It's still has its underground touch after all these years.

The B-Side: Stick Man

The B-side track is actually a bit more polished. Soulful vocals abound on Stick Man, though purists will probably say that the song starts off a bit clumsy. Once it reaches the first sorrowful guitar solo, though, fans are sure to fall in love with the track. Some might question whether or not this group actually started out playing the blues, since the guitar riffs seem to be pulled straight out of a twelve-bar lament. Then again, people can speculate whatever they want since so little information is available on the group.

Jason Kane is an avid vinyl collector with a passion for older music. Jason writes about every vinyl, from LPs and Singles to equipment like speakers and Music Hall Turntables. 

 

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The Fifth Dimension--Wedding Bell Blues (1969)

     By 1969, the Fifth Dimension was riding high. Having had 8 straight top 40 hits, they had also made a major songwriting star our of Laura Nyro. In making the album, "The Age of Aquarius", they returned to Nyro once more on a song that could have written about their two lead singers....
     The roots of what became The Fifth Dimension started back in 1963, when singers Lamonte McLemore and Marlyn McCoo hooked up with friends Harry Elston and Floyd Butler to form the Hi-Fi's. They sang at local clubs and even opened for Ray Charles on tour in 1964. However, tensions within the group caused a break-up a year later, with Elston and Butler leaving to form the group, the Friends of Distinction who was to have a big hit with "Grazin in the Grass" in 1969.
    McLemore brought in Florence LaRue and an old friend from St. Louis, Ron Townson, who suggested his cousin, Billy Davis Jr. to round out the group sound. Beginning as The Versatiles in 1966, they soon changed their name to The Fifth Dimension and auditioned for Marc Gordon who  was heading up Motown in LA. Although the demo tape was turned down for the Soul label, Gordon was impressed enough to become their manager, and brought them to the attention of Johnny Rivers who was starting up a new label, Soul City Records.
     The groups first hit was a cover of The Mamas and Papas' song, "Go Where You Want to Go" in late 1966 and not too long after, they hit number 1 with the Jimmy Webb song, "Up, Up and Away". This began a string of ten top forty hits which extended to the end of the decade. Perhaps the biggest beneficiary from this was the young songwriter Laura Nyro. Three of those ten hits belonged to her, "Stoned Soul Picnic", "Sweet Blindness", and "Wedding Bell Blues"
    During the making of "The Age of Aquarius" (recorded and released in 69), it was joked that the Nyro song, "Wedding Bell Blues" would fit for Marlyn and Billy. The two were engaged to be married, but it had not taken place yet. Nyro wrote the song from the perspective of a lover who was impatient for her man (Bill) to hurry up and ask her to marry. McCoo and Davis did tie the knot later in 69 and stayed with the group until leaving for a career as a duo in 1975.
     The song became their second number one hit and because of the circumstances became tied to Marlyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr., who after 43 years are still married and still singing together....

   

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Joe South (1940--2012)

     Joe South, who passed away on September 5th had not been heard from very much since his heyday in the late 60's/early 70's. His style of songwriting and guitar playing which was filled with a  distinctly southern feel which still holds up very well today.
      Born Joseph Alfred Souter in Atlanta Georgia, he started songwriting during the late 50's, penning the novelty song, "The Purple People Eater Meets the Witch Doctor" in 1958, and a couple of songs for Gene Vincent. His first big hit as a songwriter was in 1962 when a local group, The Tams hit #12 with, "Untie Me".
     He spent much of the mid-60's as a top rate studio guitarist with the National Recording Company which also included producer/keyboardist Ray Stevens and guitarist Jerry Reed. South's guitar work could be heard on the electric version of Simon & Garfunkel's, "Sound of Silence" Bob Dylan's, "Blonde on Blonde" album, and the amazing guitar work the propelled Aretha Franklin's, "Chain of Fools".
     His next big hit as a songwriter was in 1965's, "Down in the Boondocks" by Billy Joe Royal in 1965. His list of hits for others include:

    "Hush" (Deep Purple 1968)
   "Yo-Yo" (The Osmonds 1971)
    "Birds of a Feather (The Raiders 1971)
    "(You Never Promised Me a) Rose Garden (Lynn Anderson 1971)
    "Don't It Make You Want to Go Home" (Brook Benton 1972)

     He is best remembered for the song, "Games People Play" which was his biggest hit and garnered him two Grammys (he also received a Grammy for, "Rose Garden"). His other top 20 hit was, "Walk a Mile in My Shoes" which Elvis made a staple in his live performances.
     In 1971, his brother and the drummer in his band, Tommy, committed suicide. This threw Joe into a depression which, along with a drug problem, drove him into a self imposed exile in Hawaii for years until he cleaned up his life. His reclusiveness assured that any kind of "comeback" was not in the cards. He eventually moved back to Buford Georgia.

   

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Neil Diamond--Sweet Caroline (1969)

     Neil Diamond is one of the few songwriters left (along with Carole King) who's musical heritage flows directly through the Brill Building which is the 60's equivalent of Tin Pan Alley. He began as a pure pop singer who crafted some of the best songs of the late 60's/early 70's. His desire to become a more "serious" songwriter took him to some strange places musically and didn't always work, but his attempts were fascinating, and  often took flight as successful hits.
     Neil was born in Brooklyn in 1941 to parents of Russian and Polish ancestry. He had taken an interest in music early on, but began to sing and play the guitar during his teen years. He was known in high school as a fine fencer, and in fact was given a scholarship to New York University in fencing and would eventually be on the US Men's championship team.  He originally intended to study medicine, but during his senior year, switched to the NYU's School of Commerce and retained his student status until 1965, but from that time on his focus was on being a songwriter/singer. It was in 1965 that one of his compositions, "Sunday and Me" was recorded by Jay & The Americans and hit the top twenty, the first of his songs to become a hit.
     He had his first charting song as a solo artist in 1966, "Solitary Man" reached about the midway point of the hot 100. It's follow up, "Cherry Cherry" reached the top ten and his career as singer/songwriter was on it's way.  A string of top 20 hits for him and others (most notably The Monkees) continued through 66' and 67'. As the next year opened however, artists were beginning to do more "serious" work musically and Diamond was showing discontent of writing just pure pop songs. This disagreement with his record label, "Bang Records", let him to leave the label and sign an contract with Uni. This was to lead him to some of his more enduring records.
     Before 1969 was over he had scored first with, "Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show" then with his biggest hit up to that time, "Sweet Caroline". In an interview on Dec. of 2011, Diamond attributed the name Caroline to Caroline Kennedy. He said that a magazine cover photo of her as a young child on a horse with her parents in the background created an image in his mind, and that the rest of the song came together about five years after seeing the picture.
     The song reached number 4 in late 1969 and set in motion a very prosperous five year period for the singer. He had bigger hits, "Cracklin' Rosie" (#1 1970),  "Song, Sung Blue" (#1 1974), "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" (#1 1978), "Love On The Rocks (#2 1980), but none has stayed in the public imagination more than this one.

   

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Jackie DeShannon--Put a Little Love In Your Heart (1969)

     Over a sixteen year span, (1963-1980) Jackie DeShannon had 16 charting songs. Only two of them reached the top ten. "What The World Needs Now" was written by Bacharach/David in 1965, and "Put a Little Love In Your Heart", written in 1968 by DeShannon, her brother Randy Myers and Jimmy Holiday. Both songs make nice bookends on the Adult Contemporary side of the peace movement. 
     "Love in your Heart" reached #4 on the pop charts in 1969, and was covered in 1988 by Annie Lennox and Al Green as a part of the 1988 movie, "Scrooged" starring Bill Murray, where it made it to #9. DeShannon has written for many artists, but it was her song, "Bette Davis Eyes", covered by Kim Carnes which was the massive hit.
     She continues to write and perform, although much of her energies are now focused on different causes.

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The Cuff Links--Tracy (1969)

     Am not sure what it was about 1969/70 and studio musicians, but some of pop's more enduring hits came as studio "creations" rather than from artists who made it by what would be considered normal means. I wrote a blog last year about Tony Burrows and his contributions to a host of singles during this period. Another musician who had success under other names was Ron Dante.
     Ron had success as a writer of jingles for television and radio as well as a session singer. He was approached with two singles which would change his career. The first was "Sugar Sugar" written by Jeff Barry and Andy Kim for Don Kirshner's fictional group, "The Archies", the other was "Tracey" written by Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss. "Sugar" came out first and was a huge hit, as it started down the charts, "Tracy" began it's ascent, reaching number 9 in the fall of 69. As a group was assembled to take The Cuff Links on the road, Dante chose not to be a part of the group. They had two more songs on the charts, "When Julie Comes Around", and "Run Sally Run" which did not feature Dante, but his replacement on the road version of The Cuff Links, Joe Cord.
     Dante actually made his name in music circles during the 70's, as he produced all of Barry Manilow's albums from 1973 to 1981. He continues to record and tour today. You can find him now at:http://www.rondante.com/.

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Crosby, Stills, and Nash--Suite: Judy Blue Eyes (1969)

     David Crosby had been with The Byrds, Steven Stills from Buffalo Springfield, and Graham Nash from The Hollies. The first two had been known as fairly combustible personalities at their previous stops, but were itching for the next musical project. In fact, Crosby and Stills had been jamming informally.
     Crosby knew Nash since 1966 when The Byrds had toured the UK, and revisited again when The Hollies toured California a couple of years later. So the night that Cass Elliot invited them all to a party at her house, there was renewed friendship. What was unusual about that evening was the sound that was birthed....
     Nash had asked David and Stephen to sing a song that Stills had just written. As the two men began singing, Graham began adding a third part to it. The results were breathtaking to the folks at the party, and to the three men themselves. Nash had been looking for a creative outlet outside of The Hollies, so when it was suggested that they start writing and recording as a group, he was all in.
     Troubles would ensue in short order, but not before recording a glorious album chocked full of those harmonies. "Crosby, Stills, and Nash" was released in May of 1969 to a great reception by fans and critics alike. All three brought distinct styles to the party. Crosby brought a sense of on the edge political activism, Stills brought a folk/country touch and became the mastermind of the studio, Nash had a keep pop sense. Wrapping all of this in those tight harmonies made their first few albums classic. What made this first one a bit different was the freshness and sheer excitement of creating together that was transmitted to the listener.
     They had bigger hits on the singles chart, but if I never remember these guys for anything else, it would be for, "Suite, Judy Blue Eyes". Stills' relationship with Judy Collins was nearing it's end. and in sadness, he wrote a song broken into a four part suite which chronicled it's demise. In the studio it was turned into a musical tour de force which, at least for me might have been equaled by the group, but never surpassed. 

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Creedence Clearwater Revival--Fortunate Son (1969)

     I've read a book or two on CCR, and it always leaves me sad. It also leaves me wondering about the kind of childhood that Tom and John Fogerty had to cause such a rivalry later on.
     For a much too brief time (if you don't count their last album,  'Marti Gras'...which wasn't very good, it was less than three years) Creedence was THE American band. Forty years later, it still defines much of what was good about late 60's/early 70's rock.
     However, most of that time they were on top of the world, there was turmoil. The band originally had Tom as lead vocalist and chief songwriter. As John began singing and writing, the music not only took a different turn creatively, the hits began to pile with with a fury that could only be described as breathtaking. Fourteen hits (several of them two sided) in a 24 month period reached the top 20 from January 1969 to January 1971.
     You would think this would leave the guys happy, but it seemed everything but. Tom was obviously jealous over John's success. This was compounded greatly by John's instance of leaving the others out of the writing process, and never giving them the credit they deserved for creating the "sound" of CCR if not the actual song.
     They always had a chip on their shoulder about being seen as a "serious" band. They guys wanted to be seen on the same plane as the Beatles. Although some music critics at the time saw them as "just" a "singles" band, this was much more than just bubblegum. Besides the fact that no one seemed to mind the Beatles continuing to produce fantastic singles, CCR was crafting songs that could easily be seen as equal to what was being done by ANY group of the era.
      Besides that, when Fogerty wanted to make a statement, he could. Listen back to back to "Fortunate Son" and "Have You Ever Seen The Rain". One would not find a pair of songs that described the war from a average kid's perspective any better than these two. There are many anti-war songs that are more direct in the wording perhaps, but there are few with as much literary (or on the case of 'Fortunate Son', sonic as well) punch. 

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Blood, Sweat, and Tears--Spinning Wheel (1969)

Keyboard player Al Kooper had a dream musically to blend rock, pop, R&B, and Jazz. To those ends, he brought together some of the best musicians in the business to form Blood, Sweat, and Tears in 1967. The intention at the time was to blend rock, pop, R&B and Jazz. However, the arraignment with Kooper at the helm since he left due to creative differences, and Canadian David Clayton Thomas was brought in as lead singer. Their second album was the one that brought about a three or four year stretch where BS&T were at the top of their game. (and the charts)

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Joni Mitchell--Both Sides Now (1969)

     Joni Mitchell had made the rounds as an artist. From her roots in Western Canada, to the streets and clubs of Toronto, Detroit,  New York City, and finally to California, her popularity among other musicians was growing. While in New York, her songwriting had come to the attention of Tom Rush and Buffy Saint-Marie and Judy Collins who made, "Both Sides Now" a hit.

     David Crosby was visiting when after hearing her in a club in Florida, convinced her to travel to Los Angeles with him, where she was introduced to many of Crosby's friends. David produced her first album, "Song to a Seagull" in 1968. She continued to tour regularly and a year later recorded, "Clouds" which included several of her covered hits, with newer ones as well. Although the album would do well on the charts, it wouldn't be until 1973 where she would have a top 20 hit, but by then had established herself as one of the top singer/songwriters of her generation.

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Zager and Evans--In the Year 2525 (1969)

     In the almost 8 full months I've been writing this blog we have covered a lot of different songs and a lot of different types of music. Of course music, along with every art form is a very subjective thing. What is one person's favorite song, will be someone else's pile of poo. Which brings me to this song.

      The danger for any "message" song is that people will tire of the message before it has a chance to actually reach it's audience. Many folk singers have turned messages and/or protest into an art form. Sometimes when the message goes beyond the "now" and takes on a universal tone, it becomes a classic.  "In the Year 2525" is certainly a product of it's era more than a lot of songs, although it uses a sledge hammer to get it's point across rather than a scalpel, nonetheless the song endures to this day.  It came out during the time that Neil Armstrong was walking on the moon....it was also the summer of Woodstock. Both events had many of every generation wondering what was to become of us as a people.I think that had a lot to do with galvanizing of the song in the consciousnesses of that generation.  

      The interesting thing about the song was that it was written in 1964! Denny Zager and Rick Evans met at Nebraska Wesleyan University and formed a musical duo. It was originally released in 1968 on a local label and had received a lot of airplay on local stations in Omaha and Lincoln. It was picked up by RCA and given nationwide release in 1969, with it reaching #1 for six weeks that summer. Evans is still writing and performing, Zager makes custom guitars and although not performing together, are still good friends.

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Sunday Morning Vault: Barbara Acklin--Just Ain't No Love (1969)

      Barbara Acklin was like many in the 60's who tried to make it in the music business, she got a job with a record company. In this case it was Brunswick, where she was a receptionist for producer Carl Davis. She kept asking him for a chance to record something, and his response was to just keep writing. Well, she did that and one day she cornered Wilson Pickett and convinced him to a song she had co-written called, Whispers (Gettin Louder). Pickett liked enough to pass it on to Davis as a song to record. It was and it re-ignited his career. They in turn gave Barbara a chance to record.

      She began with a duet with Gene Chandler and her recording career was off and running. Her greatest chart success on the pop charts was "Love Makes a Woman" in 1968 which reached #15. She had a few more on the top 100, and her songs could be found on the R&B charts up to 1975. She also wrote for others, especially The Chi-Lites who recorded her songs, "Have You Seen Her", and "Oh, Girl".....She died in 1998 of pneumonia in Nebraska

     The song highlighted here was from 1969. It reached #67 on the pop charts and #23 on the R&B. It might not be her best song, but the organ hook at the beginning just doesn't let go.....

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