Manfred Mann was a Serious Jazz Combo. Manfred Mann, however, was also a working band trying to make a living in the music business. With the onset of the British Invasion, former blues, jazz and R&B purists were reaping the benefits of “selling out” with dignity. The Animals had managed to parlay their Geordie bluesmen [...]
Archive for the ‘04’ Category
115) Dean Martin – “Everybody Loves Somebody”
Posted in 04, 1964, tagged dean martin on September 14, 2010 | 3 Comments »
The Hot 100 encompasses two contradictory attitudes toward pop music. The first is the unending quest for the newest sound, one fresh enough to render last week’s model obsolete and fascinating enough to invite repeated listens. The other is the need for musical comfort food, something familiar that requires only a minimal investment in attention [...]
113) The Four Seasons – “Rag Doll”
Posted in 04, 1964, tagged frankie valli, the four seasons on August 6, 2010 | 3 Comments »
Before The Beatles, The Four Seasons were The Beach Boys’ greatest rivals. Both groups, while most famous for their intricate multi-part harmonies, also played their own instruments and wrote their own material – both rarities in the era of Brill Building songwriters and studio musicians. While The Beach Boys were the California kids who sang [...]
103) Bobby Vinton – “There! I’ve Said It Again”
Posted in 04, 1964, tagged bobby vinton on April 14, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
GEORGE: “Quite nice, but I don’t think the public will buy it.” JOHN: “Get an old song and everybody does it again at the same time.” PAUL: “Secretly, teenagers don’t want old songs brought back.” RINGO: “Nice and smooth, ‘specially if you’re sitting in one night – and not alone.” Unanimous miss. -The Beatles rating [...]
90) Jimmy Soul – “If You Wanna Be Happy”
Posted in 04, 1963, tagged jimmy soul on January 24, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Call me humorless, but I never found “If You Wanna Be Happy” all that hilarious. As far as jokes go, it’s as clever as “take my wife – please!” stretched out over two-plus minutes. Plus, I’m never quite sure how women are supposed to take it. Should ugly women feel honored (it’s advising men to [...]
84) The Rooftop Singers – “Walk Right In”
Posted in 04, 1963, tagged the rooftop singers on January 15, 2010 | 4 Comments »
Issues about whether a recording or band is “authentic” are usually beside the point in a blog about pop music. But what happens when musicians, particularly musicians in a genre that fetishizes authenticity, are constantly undercut by their own artifice? Such is the case with The Rooftop Singers and “Walk Right In,” a cover of [...]
73) David Rose – “The Stripper”
Posted in 04, 1962, tagged david rose, instrumentals on October 22, 2009 | 2 Comments »
The David Rose LP featuring “The Stripper” is subtitled “And Other Fun Songs For The Family.” Really. Which is actually quite appropriate, as the instrumental has surely been used as shorthand for “sexy” in children’s cartoons at least as often as it has soundtracked actual stripteases. Probably more so, as there’s very little erotic about [...]
70) The Shirelles – “Soldier Boy”
Posted in 04, 1962, tagged girl groups, the shirelles on September 27, 2009 | 4 Comments »
One of the problems I have writing this blog is that of objectivity. Of course, the question of whether or not a record is any good is oftentimes subjective; I know from reading the statistics on my blog that many people stumble upon this blog via Googling songs that they clearly like a lot more [...]
66) Bruce Channel – “Hey! Baby”
Posted in 04, 1962, tagged bruce channel, delbert mcclinton on August 25, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
When “Hey! Baby” topped the Hot 100, the harmonica was still a novelty. The instrument hadn’t really been heard on popular records until the emergence of Chicago Blues just a few years prior. While the harmonica would become a staple of rock radio, thanks to British blues, garage and Dylan, in 1962 musicians were still [...]
58) Bobby Vee – “Take Good Care of My Baby”
Posted in 04, 1961, tagged bobby vee, goffin and king on June 9, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Gerry Goffin and Carole King are rightly recognized as being one of the best songwriting duos in pop (even the more-celebrated Lennon and McCartney covered “Chains”). But for every “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” which gave voice to the conflict and confusion of being a teenager in love, is another track that doesn’t quite scale [...]
