Apologies for the delay in getting around to “I Want to Be Wanted.” I suspect three factors: a sudden influx in work due to the real start of a new semester, blowing my wad with the lengthy “Mr. Custer” post and not being particularly inspired by Brenda Lee’s second number one. If this were a [...]
Archive for January, 2009
39) Brenda Lee – “I Want to Be Wanted”
Posted in 07, 1960, tagged brenda lee on January 30, 2009 | 1 Comment »
38) The Drifters – “Save the Last Dance for Me”
Posted in 09, 1960, tagged ben e. king, leiber and stoller, phil spector, the drifters on January 27, 2009 | 1 Comment »
(Apologies for the video – it’s the only one I found on YouTube that used the original recording.) The ascendance of “Save the Last Dance for Me” almost seems to be a bit of overcompensation on the part of the American listening public. After “Mr. Custer,” anything would have been an improvement, but instead we [...]
37) Larry Verne – “Mr. Custer”
Posted in 01, 1960, tagged larry verne, roger ebert on January 26, 2009 | 2 Comments »
The great film critic Roger Ebert has a rule for rating movies: even the really, really bad get half a star. The rare bestowal of zero stars is reserved only for ”movies that are artistically inept and morally repugnant.” I’ve borrowed Ebert’s mindset for my ratings on this blog – no matter how poor it is, it’ll usually manage to scrape up a 2. For [...]
36) Connie Francis – “My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own”
Posted in 05, 1960, tagged connie francis on January 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Unfortunately, most of Connie Francis’s best songs never topped the Hot 100. Sure, “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool” was cute, but I’d much rather write about “Who’s Sorry Now?” or “Stupid Cupid.” “My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own” is a solid chart entry, but there’s not much really memorable about it. It’s a slow, faux-country [...]
35) Chubby Checker – “The Twist”
Posted in 05, 1960, 1962, tagged chubby checker on January 22, 2009 | 1 Comment »
When you’re out on the dance floor, you’re not paying attention to lyrics, you’re not looking for meaning. You just want to move, to set yourself free, maybe catch the eye (or more) of a particularly attractive dancer. When you’re dancing, really dancing to a song, you connect with it in a way that’s difficult to match in [...]
34) Elvis Presley – “It’s Now or Never”
Posted in 07, 1960, tagged elvis presley on January 21, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
”Stuck On You” may have lacked some of the verve of Elvis’s pre-army hits, but he abandoned rock and roll entirely for his next #1, “It’s Now or Never.” Presley had heard Tony Martin’s 1950 hit “There’s No Tomorow,” based on the Neapolitan aria “‘O Sole Mio,” while stationed in Friedberg, Germany and commissioned new lyrics on his [...]
33) Brian Hyland – “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini”
Posted in 03, 1960, tagged brian hyland on January 20, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Here’s a riddle: how did a song by an unknown teenage singer hit #1 on the Hot 100 when it has almost every element guaranteed to irritate listeners? Insipid lyrics, shrill female co-singer, obnoxious backing vocals, corny rock-lite arrangement – all it’s missing are a children’s choir and a rapping opera singer. My guess? The [...]
32) Brenda Lee – “I’m Sorry”
Posted in 07, 1960, tagged brenda lee on January 19, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The lyrics to “I’m Sorry” are as simple as they come: Brenda just apologizes. There’s no hint in the song as to what her misdeed was, who she wronged, why she’s so self-flagellating even when the person to whom she’s apologizing tells her that “mistakes are part of being young.” “”But that don’t right the wrong [...]
31) The Hollywood Argyles – “Alley Oop”
Posted in 07, 1960, tagged gary s. paxton, kim fowley, the hollywood argyles on January 16, 2009 | 4 Comments »
Novelty records have a mostly deserved reputation for being one-joke “wonders” that age poorly. “Alley Oop,” based on an old caveman comic strip I’ve never read, doesn’t seem at first blush to be a likely candidate to break this pattern. Written in 1957 as a country tune by Dallas Frazier (whose “Elvira,” as performed by The [...]
30) Connie Francis – “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool”
Posted in 06, 1960, tagged connie francis on January 12, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The Everlys may moan about being someone’s clown, but along comes Connie to argue “So what? So’s everyone else.” “The tears I cried for you could fill an ocean/ But you don’t care how many tears I’ve cried” paraphrases the “When you see me share a tear” verse of “Cathy’s Clown,” but the bouncy melody makes the lyrics sound like [...]
