Turntable Talk #25 – A Novel Idea For a Song

It’s time once again for another submission of Dave Ruch’s Turntable Talk hosted by A Sound Day. Every month he presents our musical blogging community with a musical topic and I have been lucky enough to have participated in every one of them.

This month’s topic was difficult for me, because there were just SO many songs I could choose from. Our instructions for A Novel Idea for a Song were to “pick a novelty record you like. Or else one you love to hate if you don’t have any favorites. I’ll let you decide what exactly is a “novelty” record but I look forward to seeing your picks and maybe having a laugh or two. And maybe a cringe or two as well!“

I want to say that the first novelty song I remember hearing as a kid was Ahab, the Arab by Ray Stevens. This led to the discovery of an album that had all kinds of silly songs on it. The tracks included Mr. Custer, I’m a Nut, Hello Muddah Hello Faddah, and more. What kid doesn’t love a silly song? I began to search for more silly songs. During my search I was introduced to Stan Freberg and his amazing satires, Weird Al Yankovic and various other novelty song collections.

In the late 1980’s, the Doctor Demento Show aired on a local radio station and he played many novelty songs that were completely new to me. The songs he played were recorded anywhere from the 1920’s to the present. I had no idea that novelty songs were something that went back that far. The Dr. Demento show was where I heard Monty Python for the first time and where I was introduced to another artist – Tom Lehrer.

I read where Tom celebrated his 96th birthday this week (April 9), and that is what led me to my song for Turntable Talk. All in all he only recorded about 50 or so songs, and I could have picked one that may not be so …. controversial, however, of all his songs, it was THE one that stuck out to me. More on that in a minute, but first, here’s a bit about him.

According to Wiki, Tom is “an American musician, singer-songwriter, satirist and mathematician, who later taught mathematics and musical theater. He recorded pithy and humorous songs that became popular in the 1950s and 1960s. His songs often parodied popular musical forms, though they usually had original melodies.” His early stuff featured songs that were kind of dark like “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park” and “I Hold Your Hand In Mine.” His later material was a little more topical.

So what led Tom to record this dark and humorous songs? The story goes that Tom had been playing some of these songs for friends and was convinced to record them. According to Wiki, “he paid $15 (equivalent to $171 in 2023) for some studio time in 1953 to record Songs by Tom Lehrer. The initial pressing was 400 copies. Radio stations would not air his songs because of his controversial subjects, so he sold the album on campus at Harvard for $3 (equivalent to $34 in 2023) while “several stores near the Harvard campus sold it for $3.50, taking only a minimal markup as a kind of community service. Newsstands on campus sold it for the same price.”

This was followed by “More by Tom Lehrer” and a live concert version of those songs on a album called “An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer.

In 1960, he basically retired from touring in the US, but he was employed as the resident songwriter for the U.S. edition of That Was The Week That Was. TWTWTW was a satirical TV show and he was responsible for a song per show.

For the show (and the album of the same name), he wrote songs about political and topical events. There were songs about education (New Math), race relations (National Brotherhood Week), the ecology (Pollution), and the military (Send the Marines). What are the two things people aren’t supposed to talk about – politics and religion, right? Naturally, Tom had a funny take on a religious news event.

The Second Vatican Council took place in the early to mid-1960’s. A spoken introduction describes The Vatican Rag as a response to the “Vatican II” council—which, among other things, broadened the range of music that could be used in services. Tom humorously proposes this “rag” as a more accessible alternative to traditional liturgical music of the mass.

Before I go on, I want to say that I was born and raised Catholic. I am a Christian who no longer practices Catholicism (my choice). I did not pick this particular song as one to offend, but it may very well do so. Humor, they say, is subjective. That being said, while the song mocks some of the Catholic rituals (confession, the rosary, and more), it is the fact that it is a rag that makes it so ridiculous. You can imagine, howeverm that many people of that faith considered it blasphemous at the time.

Lehrer never submitted the song to the show That Was the Week That Was, as he felt they would edit all the satire out of the song. Instead, he debuted the song at a California nightclub called the Hungry I. At one performance, actor Ricardo Montalban was in the audience and it is said that he approached Lehrer and told him “I love my religion. I would die for my religion.” Lehrer reportedly responded, “Hey, no problem, as long as you don’t fight for your religion.”

At this point there are a couple of Tom Lehrer quotes I want to share with you before you listen to the song:

“You can’t be satirical and not be offensive to somebody.”

“The people who came to hear me perform or to buy my records were not the type who would be offended (by the song The Vatican Rag). But I gather that there were other people who were offended.”

About the song, he says, “Well, I wasn’t really attacking the religious beliefs, I was attacking the formality of the rituals of the Catholic church; however, people took it wrongly.”

With all of that being said, I hope this one song I picked doesn’t stop you from checking out some of his other stuff. For example, The Elements is a fantastic song that literally just lists all the elements. It is a fan favorite. Lehrer fan Daniel Ratcliff (Harry Potter) actually sang it on The Graham Norton talk show from memory (this is what led Weird Al Yankovic to pursue Ratcliff to play him in his recent movie).

Tom Lehrer’s fans consider The Vatican Rag to be one of his best compositions. So without any further ado, pull up a pew and give it a listen.

Lehrer has said, jokingly, of his musical career: “If, after hearing my songs, just one human being is inspired to say something nasty to a friend, or perhaps to strike a loved one, it will all have been worth the while.” In October 2020, Lehrer transferred the music and lyrics for all songs he had ever written into the public domain. In November 2022, he formally relinquished the copyright and performing/recording rights on his songs, making all music and lyrics composed by him free for anyone to use, and established a website (https://tomlehrersongs.com) from which all of his recordings and printable copies of all of his songs could be downloaded. His statement releasing all his works into the public domain concludes with this note: “This website will be shut down at some date in the not too distant future, so if you want to download anything, don’t wait too long.”

Thanks again to Dave from A Sound Day for a great Turntable Talk Topic. Hopefully, after my choice, he will invite me back next month. Maybe I should have just went with The Curly Shuffle, instead?

Turntable Talk #24 – This Woman’s Work

For two solid years Dave Ruch from A Sound Day has been hosting a monthly feature called “Turntable Talk.” Each month he provides a topic to me and other musical bloggers to write about. I have been honored to have participated in every one of them. Each of the participants look forward to not only writing our piece, but anxiously await reading the other contributions.

As I stated in a previous blog, this month is International Women’s Month. Dave offered us an easy topic to write about this month. His instructions state “we’re going to turn our tables and sights to the women of music. Pick one you like and write about her. Whoever you want (that might sound creepier than I intended it), singer, songwriter, band member, the lady on the ‘Breakfast in America’ cover, whoever.”

I wrote a blog that teased this topic earlier in the week. In that post, I said, “I really struggled to pick one (female singer). I even posted on Facebook asking my friends to offer up their three favorite singers. I guess I hoped that they would offer up someone that I hadn’t considered (and they did). The results surprised me. The singers that came up the most were (1) Stevie Nicks, (2) Etta James, and (3 – tie) Pink and Karen Carpenter. Etta was the only one that was in my list of considerations. After looking at the list (and the suggestions) I finally chose who I am writing about and NO ONE mentioned her.“

Along with Etta James, I featured a song from my other considerations: Ella Fitzgerald, Alison Krauss, Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday, Dusty Springfield, Sarah Vaughn, Diana Krall, Norah Jones, Linda Ronstandt, Pat Benatar, Peggy Lee, Jewel, and Keely Smith in that blog. So how did I finally come up with my choice?

My friend, Dawn, from high school actually helped me make my decision. She said, “There are so many talented vocalists, I’d have a hard time picking. if you’re going to write an impactful piece, I think you have to go with somebody you admire because they knocked down boundaries or overcame obstacles. That’s how I’d pick my vocalist.” That really struck me. Now, I am not saying that the ladies I mentioned already did not knock down boundaries or overcome obstacles – heck, Jewel was living in her van before she made it big!

My featured female singer is a talented woman named Diane Schuur.

I was introduced to Diane Schuur back in the late 80’s. I was talking about music with a gal I was dating at the time. We started talking about jazz singers and she asked if I had ever heard of Schuur. I hadn’t. If memory serves me correct, she loaned me a cassette (or maybe a CD) with some songs on it and I really enjoyed it.

One of her biographies online says this: “Diane Schuur is as eclectic as she is brilliant.” In my opinion, this statement could not be more true. While many of her songs would fall into the jazz category, she could easily be filed in the blues or pop categories, too. While preparing to write this, I picked a playlist on YouTube and it was fun to hear the different sounds of each of the songs.

My friend Dawn said to pick someone who “overcame obstacles.” Diane certainly has done that! She was born prematurely in 1953. She has been blind since birth because of Retinopathy of Prematurity. This disorder affected premature newborns who received high-oxygen therapy during neonatal intensive care. This was a standard practice until 1954.

She learned to play piano by ear. She would listen to Dinah Washington songs and began to pound out the melodies at age 3. Dinah was a big influence to Diane as she began singing her songs as a toddler and worked on her own vocal style. She once stated, “As far back as I can remember, singing was in my blood. My parents loved music, and I loved to sing. I was scatting at an early age.” She scats right up there with Ella and Mel Torme’! She also has perfect pitch!

Blindness was not her only obstacle. When she was a young adult, she began drinking and struggled with alcoholism. She also battled an eating disorder. Those obstacles were so much that she actually contemplated and attempted suicide. Thankfully, her brother-in-law stopped her from jumping out a third-story window. She got help and has been sober for several decades.

Diane got her big break when she was 22 years old. She auditioned for drummer/bandleader Ed Shaughnessy (of the Tonight Show Band) after he finished a concert with Doc Severinsen. Ed said, “this young blind girl comes in and sits down at the Fender Rhodes keyboard and starts singing the blues. Well, my hair stood on end!”

He hired her to be the vocalist in his orchestra. This led many other musicians to hear her. Those included Dizzy Gillespie and the great Stan Getz. Stan was so impressed that he became an advisor and coach to her. She stated that it was Stan who taught her that “less is more.” This was important because she had many critics that said she often “oversang” when she first started out. Stan once said, “She’s just like Sarah (Vaughn) or Ella (Fitzgerald) to me. She’s taking from the tradition, and what comes out is her own conception and advancement of the tradition.”

In 1985, she met B.B. King at a music festival in Tokyo. The two really hit it off and later made an album together entitled “Heart to Heart.” It was released in 1994 and it entered the Billboard Jazz Charts at number one!

In 1988, Frank Sinatra asked her to sing with him at a benefit concert when Liza Minnelli was unable to perform. She was a guest at Sinatra’s home and also performed at a concert with him and Quincy Jones. Frank gave her an abstract oil painting that he had created for her afterwards. When Frank passed away, Schuur recorded a tribute album for her late friends (Frank and Stan).

Other inspirations to Schuur include George Shearing, Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles who are all blind as well. She has said that one of her fondest memories was performing with Ray Charles in 1998 for a PBS concert (some of which is available on YouTube).

Her career has brought her two Grammy awards – both for Best Jazz Vocal Performance (1986 & 1987). She is still recording and touring today. She says, “For the future I plan to continue my reading of American song, paying respect to celebrated writers and polishing the gems in the jazz tradition.”

I’ve never had the chance to see her in person, but there are some fantastic live albums available.

All About Jazz says, “Ms. Schuur surely is among the very best jazz vocalists, and she exemplifies, if not redefines the “diva” category with her warm, often humorous and relaxed interactions with the audience and the musicians. Her mere presence is enough to make for a memorable evening.” I hope to be able to see her perform one day.

I will include just a couple of my favorite cuts at the end of this blog, but before I do, I want to again thank Dave for hosting this monthly feature. I hope that you enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it. I love that with each topic, I am not only enjoying old favorites, but I am introduced to new songs and singers. Perhaps this blog is your introduction to Diane Schuur?

Here is a classic – Come Rain or Come Shine

Another favorite – All Right, OK, You Win!

I just love her take on Moonlight and Shadows

One more – Her swinging version of I Can’t Believe That You’re in Love With Me

Thanks for reading!

Turntable Talk 22 – Instrumental In Their Success

They say “out with the old and in with the new,” but I’m glad that an old feature continues! I am, of course, talking about Turntable Talk hosted by Dave Ruch from A Sound Day. For 22 months, he has proposed various musical topics for our group of music lovers to write about. Not only do I love writing for it, but I love reading the other submissions.

This month we go “wordless.” Dave says, “…let’s look at INSTRUMENTAL IN THEIR SUCCESS. Share with us all an instrumental tune you like a lot, and a few words about why.”

I write this, knowing that I am one of the last contributors, so I have no idea what has already been featured by other writers. As far as the topic, there was no shortage of songs to choose from. I began a list of instrumentals on a post it note pad. Each song made me think of another. About 20 post it notes later, I knew I had to stop and pick one. The problem was, which one to choose.

I LOVE instrumentals. I have countless CD collections featuring instrumental hits. One of the best was a series from Rhino Records called “Rock Instrumental Classics.” It was a 5 CD series that featured instrumental hits from the 50’s, the 60’s, the 70’s, surf hits, and soul hits.

Time Life Records had a series called “Your Hit Parade,” which featured music from the 1940’s all the way through the early 1960’s. That collection featured many instrumentals, too. There are SO many to pick from. My list included:

Green Onions – Booker T & the MG’s
Bumble Boogie – B. Bumble and the Stingers
One Mint Julep – Ray Charles
Kokomo – Asia Minor
Topsy Part 2 – Cozy Cole
Classical Gas – Mason Williams
Java – Al Hirt
Yakety Sax – Boots Randolph
Popcorn – Hot Butter
Axel F – Harold Faltermeyer
No Matter What Shape Your Stomach’s In – The T-Bones
The Theme From Sanford and Son – Quincy Jones.

That last one led me on a rabbit trail of TV Theme songs. There were plenty that were hits: Peter Gunn, Bonanza, Mission: Impossible, Theme from SWAT, Miami Vice, Route 66, Dragnet, The X-Files, The Rockford Files …. and finally, my pick for this month’s topic.

Hawaii Five-O was a long-running police procedural drama (1968-1980) about detectives Steve McGarrett (played by Jack Lord) and Dan “Danno” Williams (played by James MacArthur) who worked the Hawaiian islands beat. The theme was composed by Morton Stevens, who started out as an arranger/conductor for Sammy Davis Jr. and became director of music for CBS on the West Coast. The theme song won Stevens two Emmy Awards (in 1970 and 1974).

The song was recorded by the Ventures, who were instrumental (pun intended) in popularizing the electric guitar throughout the 1960’s. Their first hit was Walk, Don’t Run in 1960. The quartet charted 14 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart and have sold over 100 million records making them the greatest instrumental band of all time.

The Venture’s version of the song was a Top 5 record, peaking at #4 spending 14 weeks on the chart. There were many session musicians who played along with the group including guitar player Tommy Tedesco of the famous Wrecking Crew.

I read somewhere that the Hawaii Five-O theme is the unofficial fight song for the University of Hawaii. This is one of those songs I wish we had played when I was in band. As a matter of fact, being a former band geek is probably why I love this song so much. I can listen to it 4 or 5 times in a row and focus on different things in the song. There are so many cool musical things in it. Allow me to illustrate with words and then listen to see if my wordy description makes sense.

Right from the get-go that drum crescendo into the tympany grabs me. (In one of my many listens to this song, I actually thought about making a list of great “tympany songs!”). Then you have the guitar and trumpets come in with the main theme doing a call and answer type thing with that flute-y instrument for the first verse. Another drum/horn crescendo to take you to the second verse with more guitar and now the flute answer is more of a counter melody.

A minute in and you get another drum/horn crescendo and a repeat of the melody. This time, you have some horns and trumpets on the answer. At 1:15, you get that fantastic staccato trumpet stings that take you to the final 30 seconds of the song. Now we’re at the big build to the grand finale. Here, you begin to hear what our band director used to call “pyramids.” You have one instrument, then another, and another and another building on each other until that final bit. There is a fast short pyramid from 1:27 to 1:30 between the horns and trumpets. Then at 1:35 the big build happens, followed by another bigger pyramid until the final trumpet stabs and guitar tympani ending. The song is an almost 2 minute masterpiece that always makes me feel good.

Ok, I know my description was a bit much. However, this is the perfect illustration of what I tend to do when listening to music. One listen I focus on the guitar and the next listen I check out the drum part. I tend to pick it apart and then appreciate how it all comes together.

It is interesting to know that there are actually a couple vocal versions of the song! I won’t post links here because we are focused on instrumentals. It should be no surprise that Don Ho did a vocal version. HIs version starts fast and turns into a ballad (“You Can Come With Me”). Then, Sammy Davis Jr, who composer Morton Stevens worked for at one time, did a version called “You Can Count on Me.” Both versions are on YouTube.

Thanks again to Dave for asking me to take part in this feature and for hosting it. I look forward to the next musical topic.

Thanks for reading.

Turntable Talk #18 – The Man (or Woman) Behind the Curtain

It is time once again for another edition of Turntable Talk. This is a feature created by my friend Dave Ruch from the A Sound Day Blog. This is my 18th submission for this feature and it is something I look forward to writing each month.

This time around, Dave took us to the Land of Oz for inspiration. His instructions:

“Pay No Attention to That Man (Or Woman) Behind The Curtain” . Yep the famous phrase about the Wizard of Oz.

We’ve looked at a number of great artists – singers, groups, musicians – and their records. This time we’re switching it up just a little and are going to salute someone “behind the scenes” that was significant to music. All too often people do pay no attention to the people behind the curtain in music that are so important to the albums and groups we love. There are record producers, the record company bosses and talent scouts, the people on radio who used to make the hits happen, even unsung heroes like concert roadies. Pick one you feel is important and maybe a little un-noticed and tell us why!

As a former radio guy, I immediately thought I should write about a well known DJ. There are many of them who played a big part in the music industry. Dick Clark, Casey Kasem, Wolfman Jack and Alan Freed come to mind. However, I decided that I would feature a man who played on some of the biggest hits on the radio, yet until recently was relatively unknown.

40 years ago, James Jamerson passed away at the young age of 47. At the time he passed away, no one really knew who he was, despite being one of the best (if not THE best) bass player of all time! As a matter of fact, he often tops the list of Best Bass Players of all time by numerous publications. It has been said that he single-handedly revolutionized bass playing. I agree. His creative contributions to music certainly makes him a good pick for a “man behind the curtain.”

James Jamerson was born on January 29, 1936 in Charleston, SC. When his parents divorced, his mother moved to Detroit to find work. He would spend time with his aunt, grandmother and cousin. His aunt sung at church while his grandmother and cousin played piano. He spent time listening to gospel, Jazz, and blues music and that influenced his own musical abilities.

In 1954, his mother sent for him and he attended Northwestern High School. In the music room of the high school, he saw a stand up bass lying on the floor. He picked it up and began to play with it. He had “found” his instrument. He began to play at many of the Detroit area blues and jazz clubs.

He began to get noticed and he began playing for dances, weddings, frat parties, and other events. He was quite a local celebrity. It was hard to miss him driving through town with his bass sticking out the window of his car! Because he was still a minor, the good folks at the Detroit Police Dept. gave him a permit so that he could play in clubs that served alcohol. This allowed him to get more work.

Believe it or not, Wayne State University offered him a full ride music scholarship which he turned down! He was playing so often, he figured he was already in the music field, so why would he need to go to college? Instead, after he graduated high school, he joined up with Washboard Willie and the Super Suds of Rhythm (How’s that for a group name?!). It was during this time that he began to drink alcohol (which would eventually lead to his death).

In 1958, someone from the Northern Records label heard him play and asked him to sit in on the session recordings for the label. The unique way he played caught the ear of other labels. He began to work for Fortune, Tri-Phi, Anna Records, and eventually Motown.

He and the Funk Brothers (pianist Earl Van Dyke, drummer Benny Benjamin, and guitarists Robert White and Joe Messina) spent the days recording in the “Snake Pit” (the Basement of Motown Records) and playing at Jazz clubs in the evenings. Jamerson had switched from an upright bass to a brand new creation – the electric Fender Precision Bass.

The switch really made his work stand out. On some songs, he’d play the stand up bass and then double it with the electric. What made his work on the electric so awesome is that he played the electric just like he played the stand up bass – with one finger (which many folks called “the claw”).

While he is known for playing on many of the Motown songs, he also played on Boom Boom by John Lee Hooker, Whispers Getting Louder and Higher and Higher by Jackie Wilson, Agent Double-O-Soul by Edwin Starr, Cool Jerk by the Capitols, Show and Tell by Al Wilson, Boogie Fever by the Sylvers, and so many other hits! What made the Motown stuff so good was he had some free reign to be “James Jamerson.”

Musician magazine interviewed him in 1983 and he stated that the Motown songwriting and productions teams “would give me the chord sheet, but they couldn’t write for me. When they did, it didn’t sound right. When they gave me that chord sheet, I’d look at it, but then start doing what I thought would fit. I’d hear the melody line from the lyrics and build the bass line around that.”

One of the coolest examples of how he listened and did his thing was on two separate recordings of the same song. To help illustrate this, I found some isolated bass lines on YouTube that are fascinating! Jamerson played on Marvin Gaye’s I Heard It Through the Grapevine – a Motown classic! Check out the soulful line here:

Now check out the same song – and a funkier bass line – on the Gladys Knight Version:

I find it amazing that the same man can take the same song and make them so different.

Speaking of Marvin Gaye, the Funk Brothers shared a story about how Marvin wanted Jamerson to play on What’s Going On. James was out drinking and Marvin went out looking for him. When he found him, he brought him back to the studio. Jamerson was so drunk that he couldn’t even stand up! It was no problem for him, though, he just laid on his back on the floor and played on the track!

Trivia Bit: What’s Going On is the first track that Jamerson is credited on a recording.

It is said that James Jamerson played on almost every Motown song between 1963 and 1968. That would include over 60 songs that hit #15 or better on the charts. He also performed on 23 # 1 songs on the pop charts and 56 #1 songs on the R&B charts! Berry Gordy called him an “incredible improvisor” and said “I, like the other producers, would not do a session unless at least two of the Funk Brothers were present, namely Benny Benjamin and James Jamerson.”

Some of the other Motown songs that feature Jamerson:

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough – Diana Ross and the Supremes
Ain’t That Peculiar – Marvin Gaye
Ain’t to Proud to Beg – The Temptations
Baby, I Need Your Loving – The Four Tops
Baby Love – The Supremes
Bernadette _ The Four Tops
Can I Get a Witness – Marvin Gaye
Dancing in the Streets – Martha and the Vandellas
Don’t Mess With Bill – The Marvelettes
Going to a Go Go – Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
Home Cooking – Jr. Walker and the All Stars
It Takes Two – Marvin Gaye and Tammy Terrell
My Cherie Amour – Stevie Wonder
My Girl – The Temptations
Pride and Joy – Marvin Gaye
Reach Out, I’ll Be There – The Four Tops
Shotgun – Jr. Walker and the All Stars
This Old Heart of Mine – The Isley Brothers
Two Lovers – Mary Wells
What Becomes of the Broken Hearted – Jimmy Ruffin

You can also hear him on :

The Theme from S.W.A.T. – Rhythm Heritage
The Theme from Starsky and Hutch
Just Like Romeo and Juliet – The Reflections
Rock the Boat – Hues Corporation

The list of people who were influenced by Jamerson’s playing is almost as long as the list of songs he played on! Saxophone and bass player Wilton Felder called him “The Godfather of the electric bass.”

Suzi Quatro says, “I grew up in Detroit, so I was weaned on James Jamerson and Motown music. It’s in my DNA. He is still the best and I took my style from him. It’s hard to improve on what he did, because you are talking perfection.”

Sir Paul McCartney says, “Jamerson was where I picked up a lot of my bass style. Because bass players normally have to follow: we follow chords, follow the drummer, follow the vocalist, we have a following role. Suddenly the bass had power! We could dictate the direction of the music and add excitement. James Jamerson became just my hero, really.”

James Jamerson Jr. says, “As for his sense of syncopation, that was his God-given gift. I couldn’t even explain that one. I put it like this: My dad liked to dance, so he just danced on the bass. He would occasionally polish his bass, but he’d never touch the gunk that built up on that fingerboard. he told me the ‘dirt keeps the funk’.”

Years of drinking finally caught up with Jamerson. On August 2, 1983, he died of complications from cirrhosis of the liver, heart failure and pneumonia.

He was buried in Detroit’s Woodlawn Cemetery. A few years ago, Jamerson’s cousin saw a picture of his grave site. There was no headstone, only a grass marker. Eventually, the funds were raised and a proper headstone was set in place on August 27, 2021.

In 1989, Jamerson was the subject of a book loaded with great stuff – Standing in the Shadows of Motown. I think you can still get this on Amazon. A documentary of the same name was produced in 2002

He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004, and inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2007. Last month, in South Carolina, he was honored when a street was named for him.

It is a shame that it took so long for Jamerson and the Funk Brothers to get the recognition that they deserve.

As I prepared for this piece I found myself on YouTube listening to track after track of Motown stuff and listening with different ears. I focused on that bass line and really was blown away. These are songs I have heard countless times, yet focusing on that bass made them so fresh! As I said, the isolated tracks are an entirely different thing – it is so awesome to hear Jamerson “feel” and “drive” the tunes. It is no wonder that he is ranked the #1 bass player in the business by so many different sources, including Rolling Stone magazine.

Thanks again to Dave for allowing me to be a part of such a cool feature. I have already been impressed by the other blogger’s submissions. I am sure that they love taking part in this feature as much as I do.

Thanks for reading! Stay funky!

Turntable Talk #16 – Coulda Been A Contender

It is time once again for my contribution to Turntable Talk, a series hosted by my friend Dave Ruch at his blog “A Sound Day.” This is the 16th installment and the topic this time around was an easy one for me. The topic this month is entitled “Coulda Been a Contender.” This is simply a song that we felt should have been a hit but wasn’t.

As a music director (the guy who helped the radio station’s program director choose what songs to play) I heard a lot of songs that wanted a spot on our play list. Many times we added songs that never went anywhere on the charts, but we thought they were good. On the other side of the coin, we played a lot of songs that I felt were crap, that wound up being hits.

When this topic presented itself, one song immediately came to mind. Unlike other topics where I went back and forth between 2-5 songs trying to pick one to write about, this one was the only one I felt really should have been a smash. I have felt that way about this song since hearing it the first time. It is a duet by a legendary artist you will know instantly, and a singer whose name you SHOULD know, because she is just that good!

The song is “Where We Both Say Goodbye” by Catherine Britt and Sir Elton John.

From her website at http://www.catherinebritt.com :

She has lived a life in the world of entertainment most will never experience or dream of. The archetypal Aussie girl from the coal works of Newcastle uprooted herself at 17 years old and moved for six years to Nashville TN (USA) where she gained a deep knowledge of country/roots/folk history as well as touring extensively and releasing top 40 Billboard hits.

How did this happen you may well ask. Not every 17 year old moves from Newcastle to Nashville to pursue their musical dreams. Well, the story is that a certain Elton John (yes, THAT Elton John – not to be mistaken for . . .) heard Catherine during one of his Australian tours in the early 2000s. So impressed with Catherine was Elton that he took her albums back to America with him and helped get a deal with RCA Records.

I can only imagine the feeling she had when she heard that Elton John was a fan AND was helping her get a record deal! There is a very cool video of Elton and Catherine that I will share after I talk about the song.

Music, like humor, is subjective. It has a certain power to it. Perhaps my feelings about the song are a bit swayed because of what was going on in my life in 2005. My mother was dying of breast cancer, my son was going through intense therapy for autism, and my marriage was slowly falling apart.

I connected with the song on a personal level, but I also understood that I wasn’t the only person who was having relationship trouble. This song struck a chord with me and I knew that there were listeners who had to be going through the exact same thing. As years went by, this song took on more and more meaning for me. As my first marriage continued to crumble and my unhappiness grew, I heard this song again on my iPod, and knew it was certainly time to “say goodbye.”

I still cannot understand how this song was NOT a hit. Perhaps it was programmers questioning whether or not to play Elton John on a country station? It could have been some consultant who felt that way, too. But today, we see artists crossing over from genre to genre and no one thinks twice about it. Maybe this song was ahead of its time.

Catherine’s voice is simply beautiful. It is almost sultry. Elton could sing just about anything and it would sound great. These two together? Magical! Their voices blend so well. Their harmonies are stellar and they convey the hurt of the lyrics. Here are two people who are dying inside because they both know – it is probably over.

Let the steel guitar pull at those heart strings …..

Where We Both Say Goodbye

A fire that’s left unattended
Surely will burn out and die
Now that we’re down to nothin’ but ashes
Is this where we both say goodbye

Chorus

Is this where two hearts break down and cry
Is this where we let go and give up the fight
Have we reached the point where it’s too late to try
Is this where we both say goodbye

It’s so hard to go on pretendin’
The truth is we’re livin’ a lie
And it kills me to know our love’s dyin’
Is this where we both say goodbye

(Chorus)

I wanted you to hear the song before you watched the next video. This is a very cool piece with Elton and Catherine talking about how they came to meet and eventually record the song. I love watching behind the scenes stuff like this.

https://youtu.be/85pORTOgkkk

The song itself only reached #38 on the Country Singles Chart. Shame on country radio !!

In 2008, RCA dropped her from the label and she returned home to Australia, where she has had great success and continues to tour.

Her website states:

Over the course of her career Catherine has collected a host of accolades, a legion of fans and a mantel of awards including the country industry’s highest honours, 2009 CMAA Female Artist of the Year Award, 2012 CMAA Single of the Year, 2013 CMAA Female Artist of the Year Award, 2016 Female Artist of the Year, 2017 Vocal Collaboration of The Year for her celebrated single “F U Cancer” as well as APRA Award and CMC Artist of the Year nominations. 6 of Catherine’s albums released to date have been nominated for the ARIA Award for the Best Country Album release, which is a first for any Australian country artist. In 2010, Catherine was also presented with the CMA Global Artist of the Year award.

I tend to feel like Elton John in that I have always thought that she was the “real deal!”

Catherine got a raw deal here in the states. Personally, I believe she could have been as big as Martina McBride or Faith Hill. All too often, station programmers will opt to play crap from an established artists instead of playing a truly great song from a newcomer. Stupid radio/records politics!

She has done quite well for herself in Australia. Her fans love her and support her and she has taken control of her career. Her website says that her latest album, Home Truths, is “Catherine’s first release in over 20 years as a completely independent Australian artist. It’s a decision based on Catherine wanting complete control of her career – and having ownership of her own recording masters and copyrights. That’s something that – now as a parent of two young children – she believes is important – and something to pass on to them.“

“Where We Both Say Goodbye” should have been the song that made America country fans take notice of Catherine Britt. It is a song that proves that she is not only an amazing songwriter, but an amazing singer as well. Her music is deep, heartfelt, and honest. I’m glad that she is enjoying the success she deserves, even if it isn’t here in the US.

My hope is that I have chosen a song that is completely unfamiliar to you. If it makes you want to hear more from Catherine, fantastic. If not, that’s ok too. Music is subjective, right?

Thanks again to Dave for allowing me to take part in this monthly feature. I look forward to reading the rest of the gang’s picks and next month’s topic. Thanks for reading..

Trying to Unblock Writer’s Block

I’ve been struggling to write. I’m sure it is because I have had a lot of things on my mind over the past couple weeks. The things on my mind are not necessarily things I want to write about. It’s hard to be in this place. I’m still struggling to get through it, and pray that everything will be ok. That being said, I decided to sit and write about some happy things from the past few days.

“Raising Gamers?”

I usually only play on the X-box when the kids are asleep. Recently, I was in the middle of a game and Andrew woke up from his nap. I paused the game, went and got him, and spent two minutes finishing the silly car race. He loves the controllers of the game. Another time, Ella was done with her nap and came in to the bedroom where she saw me playing “the car game.”

Now, Andrew will grab a controller and point to the bedroom. He wants to play the game. Ella does, too. So I pulled the batteries out of two controllers and they hold them while I drive around. They, of course, think they are playing! It’s fun to watch them.

Too Many Tonies?

Remember a while back I mentioned the Tonie that the kid’s Aunt Margaret sent? We have ordered a few more to play on it. I guess we didn’t realize how many we had until we lined them up on the mantle.

Many of them have songs, some have stories, and some have both. It has been so nice and has helped keep the TV time down to a minimum. If you have little ones, it is worth every penny!

Too Many Ninis and the Genius of Andrew

From my wife’s Facebook:

Andrew is only suppose to have his pacifiers at bedtime. All of a sudden we were missing a TON of his pacifiers. There was none left in the diaper bag or his crib… yet all day long he would show up with one and we are constantly taking them from him.

Tonight while cleaning I found out that my brilliant child at 1 years old has hidden his pacifiers throughout the house. I have found 6 of his hiding places. I’m not even mad, I am truly impressed!

I swear, he is a genius. He plants them everywhere and knows exactly where to get one when we take one away!

Bunnies!

Our photographer friend, Beth (From Enjoy the View Photography), had Spring “Mini” sessions this week. We booked a session for just the kids. Originally, we were going to have them dress up like in Easter attire. Sam decided that she was going to have Ella in the outfit she was in for her birthday, and match Andrew up with her in some overalls. They looked so cute together!

As a bonus, Beth had real live bunnies for the session. Ella was so excited when she heard about them. We didn’t really know what to expect, but I think we were able to get some good pictures. We’ll know soon. I snapped just one that has a funny story to go with it.

Beth had a bag of carrots to feed the bunnies. The carrot that is in Andrew’s mouth, was just in the bunny’s mouth about two seconds before I snapped this. Well, at least it is a healthy snack!

Fab Four Week

I took part in a feature hosted by Max at the PowerPop Blog about the Beatles. The feature continues for the next few days. His idea was to write about your favorite Beatles song – or anything Beatles related. My write up gives a nod to one of the boys. Which one? Watch for the post in the next day or two.

My Guest Ideas

Last week I mentioned that I was thinking about hosting something similar to what Max is doing and what Dave does with Turntable Talk. I am still trying to think about whether I want to do something music, movie or TV related. Stay tuned…..

Turntable Talk – The First Time’s the Charm!

It is time for another round of Turntable Talk, hosted by Dave at A Sound Day. This is the 12th round that I have participated in and it has quickly become one of my favorite “features” to participate in. There has not been a topic that Dave has presented that has not been interesting for me to explore. This round is no exception. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out his site and read the contributions of other music lovers, too!

For this round, Dave’ says, “This time around I’m calling it “First Time’s The Charm.” Let’s look at an artist whose debut really impressed you. It can be one that just knocked you out first time you heard it when it was brand new, or one you went back & discovered later. As long as it showed a band or singer that hit the ground running.“

In talking with one of the other participants this week, I mentioned that with each topic, one choice always seems to hit me immediately. Then I begin to think about other possibilities, and without fail I always seem to come back to the first choice. This time around, I decided not to consider anything else and go with the first thing that came to mind.

It is 1989. In our living room is the shelving unit that contains my dad’s stereo system. One shelf holds the receiver/amplifier while the cassette deck and Sony Mini-disc players sit on top of each other on the shelf above that. Two speakers sit on top of the unit. A turntable sits on a shelf that slides out on the top left of the unit. Under that, on a shelf all by itself is a Sony CD player.

My dad calls me out to the living room and says, “Keith, you’ve gotta hear this!” My dad has certainly played a major role in sharing great music with me. The above phrase was spoken by him to me more times than I can count. Oh, the music he introduced me to! I would have to say that 9 times out of 10, it has always been something that I have really liked. The CD he popped in the player was the debut album from The Kentucky Headhunters.

The group started back in the late 60’s and called themselves “Itchy Brother.” In 1980, the group was almost signed to a record deal at Swan Song Records, which was a small label founded by the band Led Zeppelin. However, Zeppelin drummer John Bonham died that year and the label folded. Itchy Brother disbanded in 1982. In 1985, there was an attempt to reunite the group. This attempt led to a few new members joining while some original members decided not to be a part of the group. Now missing some of the original members, a new name was chosen for the band – The Headhunters. It didn’t take long to find out that there was another band using that name, so “Kentucky” was added to the name.

The group decided to take out a loan to record a demo. That demo included some original songs and some cover songs. They had hoped to press copies of the demo to sell as merchandise at their live shows. It didn’t take long for that demo to get noticed by folks in Nashville. The group was not really interested in signing a record deal, but their manager suggested that they talk with producer Harold Shedd at Mercury Records. They were signed to their deal in 1989 and the demo was released as their debut album “Pickin’ on Nashville.

I hadn’t intended on listening to the whole album that day, but when my dad hit play, I really liked what I heard. While they certainly had a Southern rock sound, it wasn’t really completely Southern rock, if that even makes sense. It is kind of a mixture of country, Southern rock, a bit of blues, classic rock, a little rockabilly, and maybe even a little bit of metal. It was like nothing I had heard in some time. It was a very unique mix of various styles and types of music.

The first cut on the album was a cover of Bill Monroe’s Walk Softly on This Heart of Mine. Bill’s version has a very bluegrass feel to it. The Headhunters had me from the opening guitar lick. Then I was really digging the harmonies of the group. The guitar solo had a rock/B.B. King feel to it, which I just loved. The debut single reached number 25 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles Chart, the first of 4 Top 40 singles for the band.

The second single from the album is probably their best known song, but not quite their biggest hit. It almost didn’t make the album, though. Dumas Walker is a song that is about a Kentucky hangout. The lyrics tell of hanging out there eating a “slawburger, fries, and a bottle of Ski.” Folks in Kentucky knew that a slawburger was a burger with cole slaw on it, and a bottle of Ski is a soda that is a lot like Mountain Dew. The record company wasn’t too keen on it, though.

Producer Harold Shedd felt that the song was too local. He felt like no one outside of Kentucky would connect with the song. He asked band member Richard Young if they would be willing to leave the song off the record. After much discussion, Young says that he convinced Shedd to keep it on the record. He said that Shedd was missing the point – that every place had their own “Dumas Walker’s and they can relate to that!” He was right. The song was a top 20 hit for the band in 1990.

Another thing that helped get the band recognition was CMT (Country Music Television), which was the country version of MTV. The early headhunter videos are a blast to watch. How could anyone possible turn off a video set in a bar with people playing marbles, the lead singer juggling bowling pins, and the drummer banging on his drum kit with no shirt and a coon skin cap on!? Incidentally, the video was nominated for the CMA video of the year in 1990.

Richard Young says that the group had a “magnetism that people just couldn’t resist” and compared it to watching the old Monkees TV show. He said, “People want to be entertained. If you can’t hold their eyes, they will wander.” Watch a few of their videos and you will certainly be entertained.

The third single from the album was another cover song. This time it was a cover of Don Gibson’s “Oh, Lonesome Me.” Gibson’s version is very typical 1960’s country. The Headhunters version kicks it up a notch with a driving beat and video that really fits the “Monkees” description above. This song peaked at number 8 and would be the band’s only Top 10 hit. The fourth and final single from the album was “Rock and Roll Angel,” which is mostly forgettable.

The band enjoyed great success in 1989/1990 because of their debut album. In 1990, they won the Academy of Country Music’s Top New Vocal Duo or Group Award , The Country Music Associations Vocal Group of the Year, and the CMA Album of the Year. They also won a Grammy for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group that year.

Sadly, their follow up album Electric Barnyard was a major disappointment. It was certified gold, but the singles released to radio didn’t get much airplay. Citing creative differences, Ricky Lee Phelps and Doug Phelps left the group in 1992 to form their own band, Brother Phelps.

The band has continued to tour with a variety of different members and their last album was released in 2021. They never really enjoyed much success after that debut album. That being said, I believe their fresh sound really paved the way for (and had a big influence on) some of the more recent country singers who have a more “rock” sound.

One thing I think is important to mention is that the Kentucky Headhunters hit the scene at a very unique time in country music. In 1989, this new group stood out during a time that also saw country music’s amazing “Class of ’89” hit the scene. They were in the thick of things at the same time that Alan Jackson, Clint Black, Travis Tritt, and a dude by the name of Garth Brooks were getting their debut’s as well. The fact that they made waves amongst those guys is a testament to that first album.

It is hard to say what factored into the decline in popularity. Was it hard to get airplay with all of those other big names taking off? Was the music that followed just not good enough? Did the loss of the Phelps Brothers put the nail in the coffin for the band? Maybe it is a little bit of each of those things. The Kentucky Headhunters recorded 9 studio albums, but you really only need to get their debut, Pickin’ on Nashville. It is as good as it gets.

Turntable Talk – A Really Big Show

It’s time for another edition of Turntable Talk with Dave from A Sound Day. He continues to come up with interesting musical topics for his circle of “melodic” blogger friends. When he emailed each of us, he mentioned reading a book about a cafe’ where you could time travel (with restrictions). That got him to thinking about “how it would be cool to go back and see some historic concerts. So the next topic is … A Really Big Show ! If you could safely go back in time and move about for one day, what one concert or live performance would you choose to go to?“

There are so many great concerts I could choose from. I thought about the Beatles at Shea Stadium, Buddy Holly’s last concert, Elvis’ Aloha From Hawaii, Woodstock, Queen at Live Aid, just to name a few. I decided to go with a concert I have heard, but would have loved to experience it live.

November 26, 1962. Villa Venice, Chicago. Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and Sammy Davis Jr.

A friend of mine knew that I was a Dean Martin fan and worked at a record store. He called me and told me he had an amazing CD set for me. At that time, I had heard plenty of Dean Martin recordings, but never a live one (and certainly not one with Frank and Sammy, too)! I can’t even begin to tell you what a thrill it was to hear the Rat Pack in their prime having a blast on stage together!

The concert itself starts with Dean warbling, “Drink to me only … that’s all I axe ….(correcting himself) ask. And I will drink to you.” The band begins to vamp an intro over and over. My first listen I wondered what was going on. What’s with the vamping? Then Dean says in all seriousness (and in character), “How long I been on?” Hilarious. After his first number (a parody medley of When You’re Smiling and The Lady is a Tramp), he does 5 minutes of comedy and I was belly laughing.

After Dean’s set, Frank comes on and does his set. He comes out swinging and sings a few tunes, then does a brief comedy set and wraps with more songs. Sammy comes out last and while he is on stage Dean and Frank are heckling him from back stage. It was evident just how much they loved hanging out together and how much fun they were having.

At some point in Sammy’s set, Dean and Frank come out and the three of them joke and sing and laugh. I know that for the most part the show is scripted, but as you listen, it sounds completely spontaneous and you are left to wonder what was ad-libbed and what was written.

The show is an absolute joy to listen to! The Chicago Tribune said Frank, Dean and Sammy, “croon, carol, caper and clown to the biggest cabaret audiences this town has seen in years.” I doubt they could get away with some of the stuff said on stage today, but it is a wonderful piece of entertainment history.

What I didn’t know was the circumstances of the show itself. The Villa Venice was an ailing nightclub where mafioso Sam Giancana had a piece of the action. The Villa Venice had been tricked out in a style imported from Las Vegas. Giancana reportedly spent upward of $250,000 to restore it and its canals plied by gondolas. The showroom seated 800, was furnished with satin ceilings, tapestries, and statuesque, lightly clothed showgirls. Nearby was the ultimate accouterment of a Vegas-like operation: a gambling casino in a Quonset hut a few blocks from the Villa. High rollers were whisked between the supper club and the dice and roulette tables in a shuttle.

The Chicago Tribune said, “Shortly before the Sinatra show closed, the casino shut down under belated pressure from law enforcement authorities who told the Tribune that the gambling operation had grossed $200,000 in two weeks. That threw a monkey wrench into Giancana’s business plan, which depended on recouping his investment by attracting gamblers with a parade of big-name acts. But how could he hope to book stars like Sinatra and his buddies into a scarcely known venue in the hinterlands of Chicago? What kind of money did he dangle in front of them? Wondering if there might have been a nonmonetary enticement, the FBI interviewed the Rat Pack during their engagement. Perhaps the feds took a clue from Dean Martin’s rewording of the old standard “The Lady is a Tramp“:

I love Chicago, it’s carefree and gay

I’d even work here without any pay.“

The Rat Pack’s Villa Venice appearances were wildly successful, as the Tribune reported: “It is now estimated that the total Villa loot for the seven-day Sinatra-Martin-Davis run will hit $275,000 to $300,000, a new night club record.”

Apparently, the Villa Venice never again hosted big-name stars after the Rat Pack shows. It continued operating thereafter as a catering hall, with a new management taking over in 1965. Two years later, it was destroyed by a spectacular, and mysterious, fire. The spot is now a Hilton hotel.

I have seen plenty of footage of Dean, Frank, and Sammy performing on various TV shows and in documentaries. I can only imagine just how amazing it would be to see their show live and in person. Each one of them was a talent in their own right and their solo shows would be a must see, but to have them all together on one stage – wow!

The CD’s of the show are available online if you search for them and are worth the money!

Thanks again to Dave for allowing me to take part in this feature. I cannot wait to see what the other participants are going to write about. I’m already looking forward to the next topic!

Bonus Book Recommendation

Yesterday I posted a quick review and recommendation for the latest James Patterson book I read. After I did that, I was reminded of another book I wanted to recommend to you. It is a book that can be read over and over and comes from a guy I write about often.

Every month, I talk about Dave from the blog A Sound Day. In the time we have been following each other and e-mailing each other, I discovered that he not only has a fantastic musical blog, he is also a published author!

Around Thanksgiving I had posted a blog about things that I am thankful for. Dave said that he had written a book that was about the same thing. He sent me an autographed copy of it and it is really fantastic.

As I read this book (which I did in one sitting), I found that Dave and I have a lot more in common than just music. The story behind the book is that Dave began writing a list. Every day he would write down something he was thankful for. He went through his list and pulled out 101 of his favorite things.

On the scribd.com website, a description of the book reads:

“Thank Goodness – 101 Things To Be Grateful For Today” offers readers a chance to reflect on all the good in life and challenges them to not only look for good in their own lives but offers ways to do so. A collection of wonders the author is thankful for is accompanied by questions for the reader to ponder , such as how they last showed compassion for somebody else and how that made them feel , or what the most meaningful holiday on the calendar is to them. Selected sketches and cartoons illustrate some of the points. The book can be read even in a single sitting, or as a daily ritual designed to make each day brighter.

I love that there is a question posed after each thing. You and I know that those questions can be answered differently at any given time, which really makes this a book that can be read over and over again.

A few of my favorites from the book:

Living in the golden age of communication
My love of music
Coffee to greet the new day
Sleep, too often taken for granted
My ability to not only read, but enjoy doing so
Funny commercials making a minor inconvenience fun
Prayer
Anytime I can brighten someone’s day
Being in love with my best friend

After each thing, Dave offers up a personal story that connects him to it. This is where I realized just how similar we are. When talking about music for example, he mentions a plastic turntable, 8 track tapes, and buying vinyl albums. Each one of those things were things I connect to my love of music, too.

Here’s the thing – you can always find something to be grateful for each day (even on the bad days!). These 101 things in Dave’s book are great reminders and thought starters. It is a perfect book for the start of the New Year, but really is good for any time of the year.

You can find it on Scribd here:

https://www.scribd.com/book/326034791/Thank-Goodness-101-Things-To-Be-Grateful-For-Today

or from Barnes and Noble here:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/thank-goodness-101-things-to-be-grateful-for-today-dave-ruch/1124723016

I’m grateful to have connected with Dave through the world of blogging (The Blogiverse? Blogmosphere?) and his book reminding me to always be aware of those things to be grateful for!

Speaking of Dave …

His next round of Turntable Talk will begin on January 10th! I was drawn randomly to be the first one to kick off the topic. Watch for it here and on his website, especially if you like “poetry.”

Turntable Talk #8 – Best Year In Music?

Once again, Dave from A Sound Day has asked some of us music lovers to participate in another round of Turntable Talk. This time around was a bit of a challenge for me. Dave’s e-mail stated:

“Put your thinking caps on and go through your stacks of records (or scroll thru that I-pod) and … come up with what you think the best year for music was. A tough call of course, thankfully there have been more than a few good ones! I’m interested in what you pick and don’t worry if yours duplicates someone else’s , you still have your reasons which might be different.” He goes on to say, “I think I have a guess on a couple of years that might come up more than once, but we’ll wait and see.”

This particular blog will be one of the last ones to be featured and I do not know if my year will be or has been featured. I plan on writing this KNOWING that the year I have chosen very well may be one that comes up in another post. Before I tell you the year I picked, let me tell you that I had a very difficult time narrowing it down.

My first thought was to go with 1956/1957 because those years were always so unique. You had the birth of rock and roll mixing with pop standards. When I worked at Honey Radio, I loved doing the Top 12 at 12 show when those years popped up because there was such a big variety in what was played. You could go from Elvis or Jerry Lee Lewis to Pat Boone or Nelson Riddle. When I looked at the list of songs, however, were they really the BEST? No.

The same thing can be said for some of the years in the 70’s decades. I looked through many lists and while there were many great songs, there were also a lot of really crappy songs! I just couldn’t really come up with the conviction to pick a year in that decade as the BEST.

One year kept coming up every time I started thinking about it – 1964.

I want you to know before I continue that I was dead set AGAINST 1964 when I read Dave’s e-mail. Why? Well, I felt that it would just be too Beatle heavy and loaded with British Invasion stuff. And it is. On the Top 100 Chart, The Fab Four nabbed 9 spots. 18 spots were held by other British Invasion acts. In total 27% of the Top 100 were British acts. When I really looked at the chart, the more and more I felt like this WAS the year.

1964 really was the year of the Beatles, so let’s discuss them first. They were present almost right from the start as their “Introducing The Beatles” album was released in America on January 10th of that year.

This album preceded Capitol Records “Meet the Beatles” by 10 days and there was a lawsuit surrounding that whole issue. Capitol Records won an injunction and Vee-jay Records was not allowed to put out any more Beatles recordings.

In February of 1964, the Beatles arrived in the US and appeared on Ed Sullivan’s show three times (2/9, 2/16, and 2/23). In March of 64, Billboard magazine stated that the Beatles were responsible for 60% of all single record sales! In a feat that has yet to be matched, on April 4, 1964, the Beatles held the Top 5 spots on the Billboard chart!

A week later, the boys held 14 spots on the Hot 100 Chart! That broke the previous record of 9 spots held by Elvis Presley in 1956.

In May, The Beatles Second Album was released and in July, they would release A Hard Day’s Night in theaters. “I Want to Hold Your Hand” wound up being the #1 song for the whole year of 64 (“She Loves You” was #2) To say that they played a small part in the music of 1964 would be a huge understatement.

Among the other artists that came over from “across the pond” in 64 were Manfred Mann (Do Wah Diddy Diddy), Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas (Little Children and Bad to Me), The Dave Clark Five (Glad All Over, Because, Do You Love Me), Peter and Gordon (A World Without Love), The Animals (House of the Rising Son), The Honeycombs (Have I The Right), Dusty Springfield (Wishin’ and Hopin’), Gerry & The Pacemakers (Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying and How Do You Do It), Chad and Jeremy (A Summer Song), The Kinks (You Really Got Me), and the Searchers (Don’t Throw Your Love Away and Needles and Pins). It is interesting to note that the Rolling Stones debut album was released this year, but no songs appear in the Top 100 for the year.

Once you move away from the British artists, the chart has a nice variety of pop, rock, folk, country, soul, and even a few novelty songs. I think that is what made me ultimately choose this particular year.

It was nice to look over the Top 100 and see Motown represented with some classics. The Supremes hold two of the six Motown songs (Where Did Our Love Go and Baby Love), Motown was female heavy as Mary Wells (My Guy) and Martha and the Vandellas (Dancin’ In The Street) grabbed the next two spots, and the male gender was represented by The Four Tops (Baby I Need Your Loving) and The Temptations (The Way You Do The Things You Do).

While they were not “oldies” at the time, there were some classic songs that are still in hot rotation today on the oldies stations across the country. Roy Orbison had a smash with Pretty Woman in 64, and also had a hit with It’s Over. Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons grabbed three of the Top 100 with Rag Doll, Dawn and Ronnie. The Beach Boys only entry in the Top 100 was I Get Around.

1964 brought us classics like The Drifters Under The Boardwalk, Chapel of Love by the Dixie Cups, Suspicion by Terry Stafford, It Hurts to Be In Love from gene Pitney and Come A Little Bit Closer by Jay and the Americans. Johnny Rivers had a hit with Chuck Berry’s Memphis, Bobby Freeman invited us to C’mon and Swim, Detroit’s Reflections offered up Just Like Romeo and Juliet and the Shangri-Las told us the story of the Leader of the Pack.

Car songs were well represented in 64! Ronny and the Daytonas had GTO, while the Rip Chords sang Hey Little Cobra, and the Hondells had Little Honda. Jan and Dean told us the stories of The Little Old Lady from Pasadena and Dead Man’s Curve, while J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers told us the tragic story of a Last Kiss.

Soul music is represented by The Impressions (I’m So Proud and Keep on Pushing), Joe Hinton (Funny How Time Slips Away), The Tams (What Kind of Fool Do You Think I Am), Jimmy Hughes (Steal Away) and Nancy Wilson (How Glad Am I). If you throw Blues into the “Soul” mix, the great Tommy Tucker song “Hi Heel Sneakers” was out in 1964.

Instrumentally, Al Hirt had a monster hit with Java, The Ventures had Walk Don’t Run 1964, The Marketts had The Outer Limits, and Robert Maxwell had the incredibly cheesy lounge version of Shangri-la. While novelty songs included Jumpin’ Gene Simmons (Haunted House), The Trashmen (Surfin’ Bird) and Roger Miller (Chug-a-Lug).

While Rock was dominant in 1964, there were still some pop (and even folk) songs that made the Top 100 – one of them, doing the “impossible.” Two of the biggest pop hits of the year couldn’t be more different from each other. The third biggest hit of the year belonged to Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong and his Dixieland hit “Hello, Dolly!” Barbra Streisand (who won Album of the year at the 1964 Grammy Awards) had the 11th biggest hit of the year with “People.”

Pop/Folk was also represented by Gale Garnett (We’ll Sing in the Sunshine), The Ray Charles Singers (Love Me With All Your Heart), Dionne Warwick (Walk On By), Al Martino (I Love You More and More Every Day), and Andy Williams (A Fool Never Learns). But the biggest surprise came from an artist who hadn’t had a top 40 record since 1958!

Dean Martin didn’t care for Rock and Roll. With the British Invasion in full swing, there was very little chance of him ever having another hit. His kids loved the new artists. His son, Dean Paul, loved the Beatles. Dean told his boy, “I’m gonna knock your pallies off the charts!” On August 15, 1964 – he did just that with a song that became his NEW theme song, “Everybody Loves Somebody.” (It replaced That’s Amore as his theme song)

The song knocked the beloved Beatles A Hard Day’s Night out of the number 1 spot! It went on to stay at #1 on the Pop Standards Singles Chart for 8 weeks. It also became the theme to his weekly television show in 1965.

I picked 1964 for a few reasons. Despite my initial worry about it being British act heavy, it was the year that introduced us to the Beatles (who changed the music scene forever!). It is also the year that one act held the top 5 spots on the charts (a record that remains in place). It is also the year that my favorite singer of all time bumped the biggest group in music out of the top spot.

It is also a year that encompasses such a vast variety of music. While there may be better songs that appeared before and after 1964, it truly represents a unique time in history. America was still recovering from the loss of a beloved president, there were still Civil Rights issues, and a war in Vietnam. The music of 1964 was a welcome escape from so many things.

Was it all good? No, and that is true of every year. However, as I look at the 100 biggest songs of the year, there are a lot of great songs that have gone on to become classics. There are so many songs that are still looked at as pivotal in the music scene. The fact that many of these songs are still getting airplay today is a statement to just how good they are.

Thanks again to Dave at a Sound Day for allowing me to be a part of this feature. I can only hope that my contribution is worthy of an invite to participate in the next round.