News for March 2014
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #94 – The Crystals: “He’s A Rebel” b/w “He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss)” – Collectables/Philles Records COL 3200
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #94 – The Crystals: “He’s A Rebel” b/w “He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss)” – Collectables/Philles Records COL 3200
They had a string of hits in the early ‘60s written and produced by the best of what The Brill Building had to offer. There was “Uptown,” written by Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil, the ludicrous “He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss) (Carole King and Gerry Goffin), “He’s A Rebel” (Gene Pitney), “Da Doo Ron Ron” and “And Then He Kissed Me” (Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich), to name but a few.
All of the aforementioned classics were produced by Phil Spector utilizing the Wrecking Crew session musicians to employ his over-the-top “Wall Of Sound” production that sounded best when emanating out of a mono car radio speaker (preferably of early ‘60s vintage).
But who were The Crystals…and did they even perform on all of the records that were credited to them?
The original Crystals consisted of school friends Barbara Alston, Mary Thomas, Dolores “Dee Dee” Kenniebrew, Myrna Girard, Patricia “Patsy” Wright and Dolores “Lala” Brooks (who replaced the pregnant Girard after their first few hits). This was the group that was featured on the classic single “Uptown.”
Once The Crystals began to tour in support of their hits, Spector began using whoever was available when he was ready to record, resulting in hit records credited to The Crystals that were actually performed by Darlene Love and The Blossoms.
Lala Brooks shared how she first heard today’s jukebox classic with Songfacts.com: “We’re riding in a car, all of us girls going on a gig, and we hear: ‘He’s a rebel and he’ll never never be any good.’, but we don’t think anything of it. At the end, the DJ said, ‘The Crystals, ‘He’s a Rebel.” We looked at each other like, ‘The Crystals? Where did that come from?’ So we were confused.”
The song went on to top the pop charts in spite of New York DJ, Murray the K who sensationalized the story on WINS radio that the Crystals were not the group on the song. On the road, it was business as usual with The Crystals performing the song as if they actually recorded it.
Crystals member Dee Dee Kenniebrew had this to say about the record: “The Crystals’ first hit in the UK was ‘He’s A Rebel,’ but we didn’t sing it. When we rehearsed it we hadn’t particularly liked it. Also, we’d already had two hit records in the States, plus an album, yet we still hadn’t been paid. Phil Spector probably thought we were giving him too much hassle about money, so he got a studio group to record the song. Unfortunately, our first manager didn’t get us a good contract and Spector was able to use the group’s name.” (as told to the Daily Express Saturday Magazine 8/25/07 via Songfacts.com)
The lead vocal on the original single was sung by Darlene Love of The Blossoms who got paid $5000.00 for her session work along with the promise of a future solo single under her own name which took a long time to materialize. Spector recorded Love as the lead vocalist on the single “He’s Sure The Boy I Love,” but ended up releasing the record as a Crystals record without giving her credit. It wasn’t until 1963 that Love finally got her own singles including “Wait Til’ My Bobby Gets Home,” “(Today I Met) The Boy I’m Gonna Marry,” “A Fine Boy” and her signature recording “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home.)”
Darlene Love: “Between ‘He’s A Rebel’ and the Christmas album two years later, The Crystals didn’t sing on any of their own records, they just went out on tour to promote them.” (Record Collector via Songfacts.com) A slightly different version of the original group was soon back on their records until jealousy began to bear its ugly head between them and Spector’s other main protégé’s The Ronettes.
Things got so bad, that The Crystals finally dissolved and Spector used The Ronettes (billed as The Crystals) on several tracks of the album The Crystals Sing Their Greatest Hits. Such was the music business of the early sixties! No matter who was actually in the studio, I think it’s safe to say that The Crystals made a clutch of world-class classics that have stood the test of time.
Phil Spector used the royalties from “He’s A Rebel” to buy out his partners at Philles Records using profits from the next two Crystals singles as collateral. The first single was the aforementioned “He’s Sure the Boy I Love” (recorded by The Blossoms as The Crystals), and the second single was a five minute tune called “(Let’s Do) The Screw.” The song featured Spector’s lawyer saying “do the screw” over and over again. A total of one copy of the 45 was pressed and given to Spector’s partner Lester Sill. The single made no money and received no airplay.
The flip of today’s single is by far the most embarrassing record to come from the pens of Carole King and Gerry Goffin. The song was written after their babysitter, Little Eva (of “The Locomotion” fame) told King and Goffin that her boyfriend beat her on a regular basis, and it proved to her how much he loved her. (Go figure!)
It was a song that garnered little airplay, and even The Crystals didn’t want to record it. Lala Brooks: “That was weird for us. We were thrown aback by the song. I’m a teenager at the time. Barbara (Alston, fellow Crystal) was a little uneasy doing it. And I was trying to figure out the song and why Phil would record something like this. Barbara was so turned off because she was singing the lyrics and can’t feel anything. So in the studio Phil was telling her, ‘Don’t be so relaxed on it.’” (Mojo via Songfacts.com)
Even during the relatively innocent early sixties, this record is totally cringe-worthy. That said, it does have its kitsch value. Where is Quentin Tarentino when you need him…
“The Jukebox Series” focused on the 80 records that currently inhabit my 1963 Seeburg LPC1 jukebox. I’ve had my jukebox (or as I like to call it “the prehistoric iPod”) for a little over twelve years and in that time I’d like to think that I’ve perfected the mix of 45s within. Over the years, records have come and gone out of the ranks of the juke, but they were all at one time juke-worthy. I’ve decided to expand “The Jukebox Series” to include many of the “juke-worthy” records that are no longer currently in the mix, but at one time inhabited a coveted slot.
Edited: March 31st, 2014
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #93 – Jim Stafford: “Wildwood Weed” b/w “The Last Chant”– MGM M-14737
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #93 – Jim Stafford: “Wildwood Weed” b/w “The Last Chant”– MGM M-14737
Welcome back my friends, to the series that never ends…
Jim Stafford is an accomplished singer, songwriter, hit maker, comedian and all around good-time, good ol’ boy Branson, Missouri entertainer. He got his start playing in a high school band down in Winter Haven, Florida called The Legends that also included future country star Bobby Braddock, Kent LaVoie (who is better known as Lobo) and the late great, Gram Parsons.
However, it was his keen sense of humor that brought him to the world’s attention via songs like “My Girl Bill,” his biggest hit “Spiders And Snakes,” “I Ain’t Sharin’ Sharon,” “16 Little Red Noses And A Horse that Sweats,” “Swamp Witch” and today’s jukebox classic, “Wildwood Weed.” He also wrote songs for the soundtrack to Disney’s The Fox And The Hound and Clint Eastwood’s Any Which Way You Can (in which he also appeared).
Throughout his career he dabbled in TV, comedy and writing, including a stint on his own comedy variety show, The Jim Stafford Show that ran for six weeks during the summer of 1975. It was during the show that Stafford met Bobbie Gentry whom he later married and had a child with. (Several years later they were divorced.)
Today’s smokin’ jukebox classic was written by Don Bowman and Jim Stafford, and was released as a single from his self-titled 1974 debut album, climbing to #7 on the pop charts. The album was a huge success due to the inclusion of four top 40 singles (“Wildwood Weed,” “My Girl Bill,” “Swamp Witch” and “Spiders And Snakes”). The flip is a Stafford-penned rocker called “The Last Chant” that is the polar opposite of the A-side, completely dropping all the good ol’ boy charm in favor of a lowdown and heavy swamp rock vibe.
During the 1980s, Stafford returned to TV as a writer on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Revival Show and he opened The Jim Stafford Theater in Branson, Missouri with his second wife Ann in 1990. Stafford was a big draw in Branson playing over 350 shows a year for 23 successful years until this past December when he closed the theater. Stafford, now retired, currently lives in Florida.
“Take a trip and never leave the farm…indeed!”
“The Jukebox Series” focused on the 80 records that currently inhabit my 1963 Seeburg LPC1 jukebox. I’ve had my jukebox (or as I like to call it “the prehistoric iPod”) for a little over twelve years and in that time I’d like to think that I’ve perfected the mix of 45s within. Over the years, records have come and gone out of the ranks of the juke, but they were all at one time juke-worthy. I’ve decided to expand “The Jukebox Series” to include many of the “juke-worthy” records that are no longer currently in the mix, but at one time inhabited a coveted slot.
Edited: March 26th, 2014
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Waters Of March” by Art Garfunkel
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Waters Of March” by Art Garfunkel
Art Garfunkel certainly missed his calling during his post Simon & Garfunkel solo career. If ever an artist was better suited to cut a Bossa Nova album, it was Art Garfunkel who possesses a gentle, smooth voice and impressive octave range to match. Proof positive is his recording of the Antonio Carlos Jobim classic “Waters Of March” from his second solo record, 1975’s Breakaway.
“Waters Of March” was written by Antonio Carlos Jobim in both English and Portuguese (“Águas de Março”) and appeared on his 1973 album called Jobim. Although, the Bossa Nova craze was in the early 1960s, the song has since become a standard part of the repertoire, covered numerous times by the likes of Sérgio Mendes & Brasil ’77, David Byrne and Marisa Monte, Al Jarreau, John Pizzarelli, Rosemary Clooney, and dozens more.
Breakaway was a high water mark for Garfunkel that generated three top 40 singles: “I Only Have Eyes For You” (US #18, UK #1), “Breakaway” (US #39) and the Simon And Garfunkel reunion duet, “My Little Town,” which peaked at #9. Further driving the popularity of the record was the Simon And Garfunkel reunion that took place on TV’s Saturday Night Live, which at the time was the hip epicenter of the media world.
The Richard Perry produced album was an all-star affair featuring a who’s who of backing talent including appearances by David Crosby, Graham Nash, Andrew Gold, Nicky Hopkins, Jim Keltner, Jim Gordon, Barry Beckett, Larry Knechtel, Russ Kunkel, Joe Osborne, Bill Payne, Klaus Voorman, Toni Tennille, Stephen Bishop and Leland Sklar.
Not only were the hits great, but there were quite a few non-singles that have become central to Garfunkel’s repertoire, including the Bruce Johnston penned “Disney Girls,” “99 Miles From L.A.” with lyrics by Hal David and a terrific cover of Stevie Wonder’s “I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever).”
Word is that Garfunkel’s voice isn’t what it used to be, so I guess a Bossa Nova album coming from him today would be too much to ask…however, with him at least on the road and back in front of audiences, I’ll bet he could still pull it off…
Edited: March 25th, 2014
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #92 – WAR: “The Cicso Kid” b/w “Beetles In The Bog”– United Artist UA-XW163-W
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #92 – WAR: “The Cicso Kid” b/w “Beetles In The Bog”– United Artist UA-XW163-W
Welcome back my friends, to the series that never ends…
When they first began recording, it was Eric Burdon and WAR and WAR was billed as the backing band for Eric Burdon of The Animals. The group was the brainchild of Burdon and Jerry Goldstein who was a member of The Strangeloves and the co-writer of a whole host of classic singles like “I Want Candy,” “My Boyfriend’s Back,” “Come On Down To My Boat,” “Sorrow” and “Hang On Sloopy.”
Goldstein was Sly & The Family Stone’s manager when he saw WAR performing in a bar and signed them to his own Far Out Production company. With Burdon at the helm, WAR scored the smash hit “Spill The Wine” from their 1970 debut album Eric Burdon Declares War. Another album followed, before Burdon went his own way leaving WAR to establish themselves as an entity in their own rite.
With Goldstein’s management of the band, it wasn’t long before WAR began scoring hits on their own like “All Day Music” and “Slippin’ Into Darkness” from their 1971 All Day Music album. WAR’s unique sound was steeped in Latin Jazz, psychedelic Rock and Funk, layering Lee Oskar’s harmonica lines over Charles Miller’s saxophone in unison on extended jams.
The year 1972, saw the release of their breakthrough chart-topping album, The World Is A Ghetto, with its title track hit (#3 R&B, #7 Pop) and AM radio classic “The Cisco Kid” which climbed to #2 Pop and #5 on the R&B charts.
The origins of the character of The Cisco Kid came from the O. Henry story The Caballero’s Way in which the character was a villain. When The Cisco Kid debuted on TV, he became a Mexican hero and the show centered on his adventures in the old west. The show ran from 1950-1956 and starred Duncan Renaldo as The Cisco Kid.
The song was written by the group’s guitarist Howard Scott who wanted to write a song about an ethnic hero. On the day he wrote it, he was visited by drummer Howard Brown.
Drummer, Howard Brown: “Howard has always been a major contributor. He was in Compton, he had this apartment. I came up there and when I got up there he was sitting on his amp. He said, ‘Harold, I got this idea. Cisco kid was a friend of mine.’ That idea came about because there were no ethnic heroes at that time. Mainly, we were seeing people like Hopalong Cassidy, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers. There wasn’t really anybody to relate to except Cisco Kid. He was like the total different kind of person.
We wanted to give kids, people, another alternative besides the ones that were right in our face, obvious heroes. And it worked out really good, because it had the right kind of hook, it was a fun song. People at that time didn’t want to be hearing about no more wars or anything, they just wanted fun music. And the tonality was brilliant.” (Songfacts.com)
Today’s jukebox classic features the group’s classic lineup of Lee Oskar on harmonica, Lonnie Jordan on vocals, organ and percussion, B.B. Dickerson on bass, Papa Dee Allen on percussion, Howard Scott on guitar, Harold Brown on drums and Charles Miller on saxophone. The flip is a tribal funk instrumental that closes out he The World Is A Ghetto album.
WAR continued to score hits throughout the 1970s including “Low Rider,” “Why Can’t We Be Friends,” “Summer,” “Gypsy Man” and many others. Charles Miller was murdered in 1980 and Papa Dee Allen succumbed to a heart attack while performing on stage in 1988.
In the mid-1990s, Far Out Productions/Jerry Goldstein won the use of the name WAR in federal court, and original keyboardist Lonnie Jordan began touring under that name. The other 4 surviving core members toured under the name The Music Band and formed The Lowrider Band in 2007. Meanwhile Burdon got back together with Lonnie Jordan for a one-off reunion, billed as Eric Burdon and WAR, at The Royal Albert Hall in 2008.
“The Jukebox Series” focused on the 80 records that currently inhabit my 1963 Seeburg LPC1 jukebox. I’ve had my jukebox (or as I like to call it “the prehistoric iPod”) for a little over twelve years and in that time I’d like to think that I’ve perfected the mix of 45s within. Over the years, records have come and gone out of the ranks of the juke, but they were all at one time juke-worthy. I’ve decided to expand “The Jukebox Series” to include many of the “juke-worthy” records that are no longer currently in the mix, but at one time inhabited a coveted slot.
Edited: March 24th, 2014
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #91 – Eddie Kendricks: “Keep On Truckin’ Part 1” b/w “Keep On Truckin’ Part 2”– Tamla T-54238F
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #91 – Eddie Kendricks: “Keep On Truckin’ Part 1” b/w “Keep On Truckin’ Part 2”– Tamla T-54238F
Welcome back my friends, to the series that never ends…
Originally a member of The Primes (to the Supremes’ Primettes), Eddie Kendricks possessed one of the most soulful voices in the group that would later be renamed The Temptations. With the group, Kendricks angelic falsetto voice climbed the charts numerous times on such classics as “Just My Imagination,” “My Girl,” “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg,” “Get Ready” and dozens of others too numerous to mention here.
After Kendricks’ acrimonious split from the Tempts in 1971, they went on to score a monster hit with “Papa Was A Rolling Stone” and released a single called “Superstar (Remember How You Got To Where You Are)” which was a slam at Kendricks before the hits began to dry up.
In the meantime, Kendricks would have to wait a few years for one of his records to click with the American public, but when “Keep On Truckin’” did, it sold over a million copies and topped both the R&B and Pop charts, ushering in the Disco era and making him the most successful solo artist from the group.
The song was written by producer Frank Wilson, Anita Poree and Leonard Caston Jr. In the track, Kendricks’ returned the favor by including a reference to his old group in the lyrics: “In old Temptations’ rain, I’m duckin’ / For your love though sleet and snow, I’m truckin’.”
The track was released on Kendricks’ self-titled third album featuring backing by Darrell Clayborn and James Jamerson on bass, Billy Cooper, Dean Parks and Greg Poree on guitar, Ed Greene and Kenny Rice on drums, Gary Coleman and Jack Ashford on percussion, Harold Johnson and Leonard Caston on piano and Kin Errisson on congas. The album version of the song ran over eight minutes for maximum dancefloor pleasure; however it was split into two parts for its 45rpm single release.
Kendricks’ disco success continued with the release of “Boogie Down” the following year, which climbed to the #2 slot on the Pop charts and topped the R&B charts. In the 1980s, he appeared at Live Aid, backed Hall & Oates (with David Ruffin) on their Live At The Apollo album and was inducted into The Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall Of Fame as a Temptation. Kendricks died of lung cancer at the age of 52 on October 5, 1992.
“The Jukebox Series” focused on the 80 records that currently inhabit my 1963 Seeburg LPC1 jukebox. I’ve had my jukebox (or as I like to call it “the prehistoric iPod”) for a little over twelve years and in that time I’d like to think that I’ve perfected the mix of 45s within. Over the years, records have come and gone out of the ranks of the juke, but they were all at one time juke-worthy. I’ve decided to expand “The Jukebox Series” to include many of the “juke-worthy” records that are no longer currently in the mix, but at one time inhabited a coveted slot.
Edited: March 19th, 2014
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #90 – Labelle: “Lady Marmalade” b/w “Space Children”– Epic 8-50048
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #90 – Labelle: “Lady Marmalade” b/w “Space Children”– Epic 8-50048
Welcome back my friends, to the series that never ends…
“Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir?”
With that one line from today’s jukebox classic, American music fans were introduced to a certain creole lady of the night and also got a French lesson. At the same time, America also discovered the wonders of Patti LaBelle, Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash, who collectively went under the moniker of Labelle.
Labelle was not a new entity in the music business. The group formed in the 1960s in Philadelphia under the name The Blue Belles with the same lineup as above, plus Cindy Birdsong (who went on become a member of Diana Ross and The Supremes). They scored several soulful doo wop flavored ballads that highlighted Patti’s huge set of pipes including “Down The Aisle (The Wedding Song),” “You’ll Never Walk Alone” and “Over The Rainbow.”
The group changed their name to Labelle after Birdsong left for The Supremes in 1967 and shared co-billing with Laura Nyro on her Gonna Take A Miracle, album which in my estimation is one of the greatest records ever recorded. (If you’ve never heard this album, stop reading and go to Spotify immediately!) By 1974, the group changed their persona and became an outlandish funk group. The group’s sexually infused personality and freaky party attire made them huge with the Gay community, and to this day, Patti LaBelle is still their main diva.
“Lady Marmalade” was written by Bob Crewe, who also wrote most of the Four Seasons’ biggest hits with Bob Gaudio, and Kenny Nolan, who along with Crewe wrote Frankie Valli’s “My Eyes Adored You” and many others. The track was produced by none other than New Orleans’ favorite son, Allen Toussaint, who wrote numerous hits including “Working In The Coalmine,” “Yes We Can-Can,” “Fortune Teller,” “Southern Nights” and “Mother-In-Law,” to name but a few. He is also heard playing piano on the track.
Labelle was not the first group to take a crack at recording the song. It was originally recorded by Nolan’s group, Eleventh Hour in 1974. It was Toussaint who chose the song for Labelle’s chart-topping album Nightbirds. The song topped the R&B and Pop Singles charts in 1975, knocking out Crewe and Nolan’s composition, “My Eyes Adored You” by Frankie Valli from the top slot.
The song saw a resurgence in popularity in 2001 when it topped the charts again after it was recorded by Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mýa, and Pink. That version was produced by Missy Elliott for the soundtrack to the film Moulin Rouge. It went on to win the 2001 Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals. It is the only song to top the U.S. and UK charts twice. The song was also covered by All Saints (who topped the UK charts with it), Sheila E., the disco group Boogie Knights and Lords Of Acid.
The aforementioned hook of the song, “Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir?” which translates to “Do you want to sleep with me tonight?,” was originally spoken in the play A Streetcar Named Desire by the character Blanche DuBois. When LaBelle performed the song on TV, they were forced to change the famous line to “Voulez-vous danser avec moi, ce soir?” which means “Do you want to dance with me tonight.”
Patti Labelle: “I swear I had no idea for a while what it meant, until I asked Bob Crewe, who recorded it, ‘what’s voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?’ He told me, ‘Oh gosh’, I said, ‘what will my mother think?’” (New Musical Express via Songfacts.com)
By 1977, Labelle’s popularity began to decline and all three members went their separate ways, each scoring hits on their own. Today, Patti LaBelle is still the most visible member of the group and has rightfully held on to her title as Diva.
“The Jukebox Series” focused on the 80 records that currently inhabit my 1963 Seeburg LPC1 jukebox. I’ve had my jukebox (or as I like to call it “the prehistoric iPod”) for a little over twelve years and in that time I’d like to think that I’ve perfected the mix of 45s within. Over the years, records have come and gone out of the ranks of the juke, but they were all at one time juke-worthy. I’ve decided to expand “The Jukebox Series” to include many of the “juke-worthy” records that are no longer currently in the mix, but at one time inhabited a coveted slot.
Edited: March 17th, 2014
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #89 – The Buckinghams: “Susan” b/w “Foreign Policy”– Columbia 4-44378
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #89 – The Buckinghams: “Susan” b/w “Foreign Policy”– Columbia 4-44378
Welcome back my friends, to the series that never ends…
Transistor radios…beaches…the warmth of the sun…crashing waves…Chicago? Yup!
The Buckinghams were the epitome of 1960s sunshine pop with their perfect blend of warm harmonies and sophisticated horn-drenched productions. Their sound was more akin to California than their native Chicago, and they were responsible for a string of perfect pop singles during the late sixties like the number one hit “Kind Of A Drag,” “Lawdy Miss Clawdy,” the sublime “Don’t You Care,” “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy,” “Hey Baby, They’re Playing Our Song” and today’s jukebox classic, “Susan.”
Digging a little bit deeper than the singles also proves rewarding with some great would-have-been, should-have-been hits from their albums like “You Don’t Care,” “Back In Love Again,” “Where Did You Come From,” “It’s A Beautiful Day (For Lovin’)” and “Difference Of Opinion,” that all feature the group’s trademark baroque horn arrangements and layered harmonies.
The group formed in 1966 as The Pulsations with members Carl Giammarese on guitar, Nick Fortuna on bass, Dennis Miccolis on keyboards and John Poulos on drums. After winning a battle of the bands, they found themselves on WGN, a local Chicago TV station, as the house band for the All Time Hits TV show. It was then they adopted The Buckinghams name to fit in with the British Invasion groups who were all the rage on the charts at the time.
Shortly thereafter, they secured a contract with U.S.A. Records, a local Chicago label, where they recorded an album’s worth of material including covers of Lloyd Price’s “Lawdy Miss Clawdy,” James Brown’s “I Go Crazy” and The Beatles’ “I Call Your Name.” But it was their recording of “Kind Of A Drag,” written by a local Chicago songwriter, Jim Holvay that proved to be their ticket to stardom by topping the charts and selling a million copies. (Holvay also co-wrote the hits “Don’t You Care,” “Hey Baby (They’re Playing Our Song),” and today’s Song Of the Day.)
A record contract with Columbia Records (the big time!) followed and a new producer, James William Guercio, who had been the bassist and road manager for Chad & Jeremy. (Fun fact: Guercio was also once a member of The Mothers Of Invention prior to the recording of their first album, Freak Out.) Around this time Miccolis left the band and was replaced by Marty Grebb.
Guercio’s brass-heavy arrangements kept The Buckinghams on the charts, and prepared him for his future success producing similar brass-rock groups Chicago and Blood, Sweat & Tears. Guercio was at the production helm for their 1967 hit singles “Don’t You Care,” “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy,” and “Hey Baby (They’re Playing Our Song),” but the group had a falling out with him over the single, “Susan.”
“Susan” is a pure pop radio gem that suddenly takes a left turn and goes all “A Day In The Life” wonky in the center section, complete with a psychedelic orchestral buildup placed there to remind the public that The Buckinghams really were hip. The group was dead set against it, but Guercio prevailed, causing an irreversible rift between group and producer. The song originally appeared on their third album called Portraits.
The flip of today’s single is a far out Guercio original called “Foreign Policy” that is one of the group’s social statement recordings that features a sample of a JFK speech. It’s certainly of its time and was perfect album track fodder from their second album Time & Changes.
With Guercio out of the picture, the group was unable to repeat any of the chart success they previously had, and they finally called it a day in 1970. Carl Giammarese and Nick Fortuna revived the Buckinghams in 1982 and continue to tour on the oldies set to this day.
“The Jukebox Series” focused on the 80 records that currently inhabit my 1963 Seeburg LPC1 jukebox. I’ve had my jukebox (or as I like to call it “the prehistoric iPod”) for a little over twelve years and in that time I’d like to think that I’ve perfected the mix of 45s within. Over the years, records have come and gone out of the ranks of the juke, but they were all at one time juke-worthy. I’ve decided to expand “The Jukebox Series” to include many of the “juke-worthy” records that are no longer currently in the mix, but at one time inhabited a coveted slot.
Edited: March 16th, 2014
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #88 – Mason Williams: “Classical Gas” b/w “Baroque- A-Nova”– Warner Bros. 7 Arts 7127
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #88 – Mason Williams: “Classical Gas” b/w “Baroque- A-Nova”– Warner Bros. 7 Arts-7127
Welcome back my friends, to the series that never ends…
It’s from an album that starts with an Overture. No, it’s not a Broadway Cast album or film soundtrack to a musical; however, it is an album with lofty levels of conceit and pretension that could only have been recorded in the late ‘60s by Mason Williams. And for The Mason Williams Phonograph Album, it all makes sense since Williams is an artist of high conceit and pretension with a supreme talent level to match. Fortunately (for him and his fans), he was coddled by the most artist friendly record label of the 1960s, Warner Bros. Records, for otherwise, a record like The Mason Williams Phonograph Album would have never been possible.
While he is best known for today’s jukebox classic “Classical Gas,” which topped the charts in 1968, won three Grammy Awards for Best Instrumental Composition, Best Instrumental Performance, and Best Instrumental Orchestra Arrangement (for arranger, Mike Post), Mason Williams is also an Emmy-winning comedy writer, a standup comedian, an author and a poet.
During the early 1960s, Williams was a member of several folk groups including The Wayfarers and The Hootenaires who played shows at the Troubadour and many other west coast folk clubs. The Kingston Trio cut his song “More Poems” for their Nick, Bob & John album, and Glenn Yarbrough (of The Limeliters) cut several of his songs on his Honey And Wine album. It was also during the great folk era that he released several albums of instrumental banjo and six-string guitar music that paved the way for today’s Song Of The Day.
As a stand-up comedian, Williams’ format included reciting poems and telling stories in verse while accompanying himself on guitar. Some of his early stand-up can be heard on the album Them Poems which was released by Vee-Jay Records released in 1964. The record and his book The Mason Williams Reading Matter, were reissued in 1969 to capitalize on the success of “Classical Gas.”
Williams wrote comedy for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, as well as for other name brand television personalities including Andy Williams, Dinah Shore, Roger Miller and Petula Clark. With his musical background and cutting edge wit, he was the perfect choice to write for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, where he introduced the Pat Paulsen For President gags that ran on the show during the 1968 election year. (Paulsen was cast on the show as an editorialist whose deadpan delivery during the faux election campaign made him famous with the counterculture.) Mason Williams won an Emmy for his writing on the show, and he also gave Steve Martin his start as a comedy writer.
Williams premiered and performed today’s jukebox classic several times on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour including an indelible clip of him playing it using a clear Plexiglas guitar filled with water and a few goldfish. He also created an early form of music video when he synched the song to a film by Dan MacLaughlin titled 3000 Years of Art in 3 Minutes and aired it on the show.
The hit single version of “Classical Gas” was arranged by Mike Post who would go on to greater fame for writing the themes to the TV shows Law & Order, NYPD Blue, The Rockford Files, L.A. Law, Quantum Leap, Magnum, P.I. and Hill Street Blues. Williams recorded and released “Classical Gas” several other times, including a solo guitar version on his 1970 Handmade album, and in 1987 with Mannheim Steamroller.
He was also one of the flagship counterculture artists at Warner Bros. Records during the late ‘60s and early ‘70s where he released five albums including the best-selling Mason Williams Phonograph Record, The Mason Williams Ear Show, Music, Handmade and Sharpickers.
The Mason Williams Phonograph Record also garnered acclaim for its album cover featuring a Greyhound bus. The original image is an 11′ x 37′ poster that is on permanent display at New York’s Museum of Modern Art.
The album is chock full of great ‘60s orchestral band arrangements with backup expertly supplied by members of The Wrecking Crew. There are a few throwaway “link” tracks that are only seconds long and act to bridge between songs and ideas. Along with the hit single, the album includes “One More Time” which sounds like it could have come off of a Glen Campbell album, “Sunflower” that provided the soundtrack to a film project Williams worked on of a skywriting airplane painting the sky with a huge flower. The B-side to my jukebox copy of the “Classical Gas” single is “Baroque-a-Nova” which was arranged by the album’s other arranger, Al Capp. The single is a double A-sided reissue.
“Baroque-A-Nova” is a typical late ‘60s instrumental which has a great arrangement featuring wordless vocals and harpsichord, creating a “hip” orchestral vibe.
Williams also wrote the 1968 UK chart-topper “Cinderella Rockefella” with Nancy Ames for Esther and Abi Ofarim, and in 1980, he briefly served as head writer for NBC’s Saturday Night Live, but left after clashing with producer Jean Doumanian.
Throughout the 1970s, Williams performed his Concert For Bluegrass Band And Orchestra with the Oklahoma City, Sacramento, Eugene and Denver symphonies. In 1987, Williams teamed up with Mannheim Steamroller to release a new album titled Classical Gas on the American Gramaphone label. The album featured a re-recorded version of the title track backed by Mannheim Steamroller and Fresh Aire, and sold more than a million copies. He also went on to record several other memorable albums including A Gift Of Song which was an acoustic Christmas album from 1992.
He also wrote comedy for The Smothers Brothers many TV shows and appearances throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s. Today, he still releases music and performs in front of audiences around the world.
“The Jukebox Series” focused on the 80 records that currently inhabit my 1963 Seeburg LPC1 jukebox. I’ve had my jukebox (or as I like to call it “the prehistoric iPod”) for a little over twelve years and in that time I’d like to think that I’ve perfected the mix of 45s within. Over the years, records have come and gone out of the ranks of the juke, but they were all at one time juke-worthy. I’ve decided to expand “The Jukebox Series” to include many of the “juke-worthy” records that are no longer currently in the mix, but at one time inhabited a coveted slot.
The Mason Williams Phonograph Album – Full Album:
Edited: March 13th, 2014
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #87 – Paul Mauriat: “Love Is Blue (L’Amour est Bleu)” b/w “Sunny”– Philips 40495
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #87 – Paul Mauriat: “Love Is Blue (L’Amour est Bleu)” b/w “Sunny”– Philips 40495
Welcome back my friends, to the series that never ends…
We’ve all heard about the British Invasion in rock music that took place in the early 1960s, but what about the late ‘60s French Invasion?
Never heard of it? That’s because it consisted of only one record by one artist. OK, technically you could argue that Petula Clark was also part of the French Invasion, but her single “Downtown” is widely recognized as part of the British Invasion. But let’s not split hairs over facts…
The French Invasion took place in 1968 with an instrumental record called “Love Is Blue” by Paul Mauriat, which until last year with Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” was the only number-one hit by a French artist to top the Billboard Hot 100 in America.
But “Love Is Blue” was not Mauriat’s first American success. In the early 1960s, he co-wrote a hit song under the pseudonym Del Roma called “Chariot,” which became a big hit for the aforementioned Petula Clark. The record was successful all over the world, except in America. In America, the song was given English lyrics by Arthur Altman and Norman Gimbel and became “I Will Follow Him,” a 1963 number one single by Little Peggy March.
During the 1950s, Paul Mauriat was the music director for French singers Charles Aznavour and Maurice Chevalier and toured the world with both of them. In 1965, Mauriat established Le Grand Orchestre de Paul Mauriat and began to release what would add up to hundreds of recording for the Philips record label over the next 28 years. He also arranged 130 recordings for Aznavour between 1967 and 1972.
“L’amour est bleu (Love is Blue)” was written by French composer, André Popp and was originally sung by Greek singer Vicky (aka Vicky Leandros) where it won fourth place in the Eurovision Song Contest for Luxembourg in 1967.
Mauriat’s recording of the song featured a sweeping orchestral arrangement combining harpsichord with a hint of rock guitars and drums thrown in for good measure. The song was released on the Blooming Hits album in 1967 which topped the charts for five weeks, knocking The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour out of the top slot. The album cover featured an attractive naked woman with a butterfly tattoo on her face. But let’s face it; nobody was really looking at that butterfly anyway…
The album was typical easy listening fare for the late ‘60s, featuring covers of current rock hits like The Beatles’ “Penny Lane,” Frank and Nancy Sinatra’s “Somethin’ Stupid,” Sandie Shaw’s “Puppet On A String,” Petula Clark’s “This Is My Song,” Sonny Bono’s “Mama” and Herman’s Hermits “(There’s A) Kind Of Hush.”
The original B-side to today’s single was called “Alone In The World (Seuls Au Monde)” which was replaced in January of 1968 for Mauriat’s cover of Bobby Hebb’s “Sunny” which appeared on the More Mauriat album.
Mauriat would only reach the singles charts two more times after “Love Is Blue,” with his recordings of “Love In Every Room” and the title theme from the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Mauriat died on November 3, 2006 at the age of 81.
“The Jukebox Series” focused on the 80 records that currently inhabit my 1963 Seeburg LPC1 jukebox. I’ve had my jukebox (or as I like to call it “the prehistoric iPod”) for a little over twelve years and in that time I’d like to think that I’ve perfected the mix of 45s within. Over the years, records have come and gone out of the ranks of the juke, but they were all at one time juke-worthy. I’ve decided to expand “The Jukebox Series” to include many of the “juke-worthy” records that are no longer currently in the mix, but at one time inhabited a coveted slot.
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Edited: March 11th, 2014
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #86 – Blue Swede: “Hooked On A Feeling” b/w “Gotta Have Your Love”– Capitol 3627
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #86 – Blue Swede: “Hooked On A Feeling” b/w “Gotta Have Your Love”– Capitol 3627
Welcome back my friends, to the series that never ends…
“ooga chaka chaka chaka, ooga chaka chaka chaka” – It makes no sense at all, but if you’re a certain age, just reading the words instantly brings to mind the intro of today’s jukebox classic single!
While most people know “Hooked On A Feeling” by its signature “ooga chaka” intro as performed by Swedish group Blue Swede, the song actually had already been a big hit in 1968 when it hit the #5 spot on the charts as recorded by B.J. Thomas. The song was written by Mark James who also wrote Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds.” There was nary an “ooga chaka” to be heard in Thomas’ version of the song, instead, his version featured electric sitar which made it stand out alongside the other records on the charts. So, just where did the famed “ooga chaka” intro come from?
In 1971, Jonathan King, who is best remembered in the U.S. by his top twenty hit “Everyone’s Gone To The Moon,” recorded the song and added the “ooga chaka” intro to his version which was based on the Indian chants heard in Johnny Preston’s 1959 chart topper “Running Bear.” King’s cover reached the #23 position on the UK singles charts in 1972.
King’s version of the song was heard by Bengt Palmers who was the head of A&R for EMI Records in Sweden who was working with a group called Bjorn Skiffs and Blablus (loosely translated to Blue Denim). Blaubus began performing the song as part of their shows in Sweden for several months before recording it and changing their name to Blue Swede for the US market.
Blue Swede formed in Sweden in 1973 by Bjorn Skiffs with members Bosse Liljedahl on bass, Anders Berglund on keyboards, Hinke Ekestubbe on saxophone, Jan Guldback on drums, Michael Areklew on guitar and Tommy Berglund on trumpet. When they came to record the song, they jungled up the “ooga chaka” intro, giving it the hook that took it to the top of the U.S. charts in 1974. They were the first Swedish act to top the U.S. singles charts before ABBA.
Blue Swede’s version soundtracked one of the first viral videos (before there was such a thing); the super annoying “Dancing Baby” video that was originally shown on the super annoying Ally McBeal TV show. The song also appeared in Quentin Tarentino’s film Reservoir Dogs, and it was covered by the likes of David Hasselhoff, Vonda Shepard and punk group The Offspring, who sampled the “ooga chaka” refrain for their song “Special Delivery.”
Most of Blue Swede’s hits were somewhat laughable covers of other artist’s songs. Their debut album of the same name featured covers of Lee Dorsey’s “Working In The Coal Mine,” Dionne Warwick’s “(There’s) Always Something There To Remind Me,” Jose Feliciano’s “Destiny,” Kenny Rogers & The First Edition’s “Something’s Burning” and a version of The Association’s “Never My Love” which reached #7 on the U.S. charts in August of 1974. The album also featured another chart hit in “Silly Milly” which reached #81 in February of 1975. They also covered a medley of Deep Purple’s “Hush” and Tommy James & The Shondells’ “I’m Alive” (#61/1974) and Cher’s “Half Breed,” to name a few more.
The flip of today’s single, “Gotta Have Your Love” was also from their debut album. It is a passable soul pastiche featuring lead vocals by Bjorn Skiffs that would not have been out of place on R&B stations during the 1970s.
After Blue Swede broke up, Skiffs partook in the cast recording of Tim Rice’s musical Chess along with Benny Anderson and Bjorn Ulvaeus of ABBA.
“The Jukebox Series” focused on the 80 records that currently inhabit my 1963 Seeburg LPC1 jukebox. I’ve had my jukebox (or as I like to call it “the prehistoric iPod”) for a little over twelve years and in that time I’d like to think that I’ve perfected the mix of 45s within. Over the years, records have come and gone out of the ranks of the juke, but they were all at one time juke-worthy. I’ve decided to expand “The Jukebox Series” to include many of the “juke-worthy” records that are no longer currently in the mix, but at one time inhabited a coveted slot.
Jonathan King Version:
B.J. Thomas Version:
Ally McBeal Dancing Baby:
Edited: March 10th, 2014
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #85 – Focus: “Hocus Pocus” b/w “Hocus Pocus II”– Sire SAA-704
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #85 – Focus: “Hocus Pocus” b/w “Hocus Pocus II”– Sire SAA-704
Welcome back my friends, to the series that never ends…
Ingredients for a hit record:
- Killer guitar riff. Without one, you’re nowhere, and today’s jukebox classic’s got riffage to burn.
- Wild flute and organ interludes.
- Whistling…you’ve got to have maniacal whistling.
- Falsetto scat singing…no lyrics! Lyrics just get in the way when you’ve got plenty of yodeling (see below).
- Yodeling…no hit record is worth its weight in gold and platinum without some. (Just ask Jewel)
Ok, so it was an unlikely hit that emanated from an unlikely place by an unlikely group. But if you were tuned in to the radio back in 1972/1973 and you heard this track pouring forth from the speakers on your stereo, you couldn’t help but take notice.
Focus were a Dutch progressive rock band featuring the guitar frenzy of Jan Akkerman, the flute and keyboard dynamics of Thijs van Leer, the bottomed out bass of Cyril Havermans and the percussive attack of Pierre van der Linden. The group formed in 1969 but didn’t break big in America until 1972 with the release of today’s jukebox classic “Hocus Pocus” as a single.
“Hocus Pocus” is a track that predicted the loud-soft dynamic of grunge, alternating between the ultra-loud crunchy guitar riff of the chorus and the verses that included all of the quirky elements listed above. Yet, it was also very much a piece of the progressive rock movement that was all the rage at the time. It made for an interesting spin and it certainly was one of the most original sounding singles to ever grace the pop charts.
The album version of the song was close to seven minutes long so it was edited and sped up for its single release which climbed to the #9 position on the US charts in 1973. In England, the single was backed with another track called “Janis” from their second album Focus II (known in America under the title Moving Waves). However, in America the record was backed with a second sped up edit of “Hocus Pocus” created from the album master.
This unlikely hit was covered by Iron Maiden, Helloween, guitarist Gary Hoey and Marillion, and has been performed in concert by the likes of Foo Fighters and They Might Be Giants.
During the 1970s, Focus released several albums including Hamburger Concerto, Moving Waves, Focus 3 and Live At The Rainbow that became staples of progressive FM radio playlists; however the band never really reached the upper echelons of the charts in this country again. In the UK, the single “Sylvia” from Focus 3 climbed to #4 on the charts making it their biggest hit in that territory.
“The Jukebox Series” focused on the 80 records that currently inhabit my 1963 Seeburg LPC1 jukebox. I’ve had my jukebox (or as I like to call it “the prehistoric iPod”) for a little over twelve years and in that time I’d like to think that I’ve perfected the mix of 45s within. Over the years, records have come and gone out of the ranks of the juke, but they were all at one time juke-worthy. I’ve decided to expand “The Jukebox Series” to include many of the “juke-worthy” records that are no longer currently in the mix, but at one time inhabited a coveted slot.
Edited: March 2nd, 2014