Junior Walker & the All Stars — Shotgun
Live on Hullabaloo, 1966
Now THIS is dancing. Really mean move at 1:27…
The Merseys — Sorrow (1966)
Their first big hit after the Merseybeats became the Merseys, ‘Sorrow’ is actually a cover of a track by Indiana rockers The McCoys. Continuing the cover chain, David Bowie recorded the track for his 1973 album Pin Ups (one of my favorite Bowie albums ever, despite the fact it’s all covers)
Look at those mop-tops…
The Willis Brothers — Soft Shoulders, Dangerous Curves
from Goin’ to Town (1966)
Formerly known as the Oklahoma Wranglers, brothers James, Charles and Joe Willis played the Grand Ole Opry and backed Hank Williams. Later they left the Opry and struck out on their own as The Willis Brothers, turning out truckdriving songs like this innuendo-filled gem, laced with savage fuzz guitar.
Now truckers pay heed to what I say
When you see a sign don’t look the other way
Or you’ll end up on the wrong right of way
And leave those girls alone along the way
Gotta watch those soft shoulders and dangerous curves
You see signs on the road constantly
Gotta watch those soft shoulders and dangerous curves
Or you’ll end up wrecked just like me
The Pussycats — Why Have We To Wait
from Mrrr Mrrr Mrrr (1966)
Pop perfection from Norwegian beat group The Pussycats. I love how you can hear the drum pedal squeaking in those opening hits.
Was turned on to these guys by fellow Norwegians Razika, a group of teen skatalites who covered this track in most adorable fashion on their new album Project 91. Great album, that as well.
As a sidenote, I had a hell of a time finding this recording—I got this lo-fi copy by soundflowering a Pussycats best-of comp on Grooveshark. If you have any leads, (or Norway iTunes access) please message me!
Blue Mitchell — Port Rico Rock
from Bring It Home To Me (1966)
Rollicking, rolling drums.
Drummer Billy Higgins let his drums do the talking during his storied career behind the skins, but there are a couple of audible yells from him on record. This infectious, latin-tinged Blue Mitchell cut contains one of them.
Carlos Guzman y Los Fabulosos Cuatro — El Tren
Carlos Guzman and his Fabulous Four came screaming out of the lower Rio Grande Valley in the mid 60s with electric guitars and garage organs blazing—revolutionizing the música tejana of the era by replacing the traditional 12-string bajo sexto and accordion with electrified instruments.
This track is an arrangement of Ray Charles’ 1966 track ‘The Train’ by Fabuloso Cuatro guitarist Ramiro “Snowball” de la Cruz (the nickname “Snowball” came from a fellow bandmade riffing on Cruz’s albinism).
Carlos Guzman y los Fabulosos Cuatro (that’s Ramiro with the sunglasses)
More on Tejano music in the book Tejano Proud and at OndaNet. Music via el fabuloso Supersonido and Los Sonidos del Nopal.
2 Of Clubs — Heart (1966)
2 of Clubs was Linda Parrish and Patti Valentine, two blondes with singing gigs at the Cincinnati nightclub Guys and Dolls. It wasn’t long before they figured out how harmoniously their voices braid together. That should be enough to lure you in. But then the going gets weird, and the Spector turns into spectacle, with a psychedelic frenzy of key changes. This gets a 10 in the unexpected performance category.
pierreism: ‘Heart’ by 2 Of Clubs Starts off as a Spector-ish ode to everyone’s favourite love-pump, then just when you least expect it, ’60s PSYCHEDELIC PARTY FREAKOUT! Amazing. (via Derek’s Daily 45)
Paul Revere and the Raiders — Kicks (1966)
As if performing in Revolutionary War garb and tri-cornered hats weren’t hip enough for the 60s, these bad boys wrote an anti-drug anthem to go along with the getups. Trapped in the wrong times, clearly.
Girl, you thought you found the answer on that magic carpet ride last night
But when you wake up in the mornin’ the world still gets you uptight
Well, there’s nothin’ that you ain’t tried
To fill the emptiness inside
But when you come back down, girl
Still ain’t feelin’ right
Chorus:
(And don’t it seem like)
Kicks just keep gettin’ harder to find
And all your kicks ain’t bringin’ you peace of mind
Before you find out it’s too late, girl
You better get straight
If you watch long enough, you’ll be rewarded with a view of a guy on the sidelines doing a paint-by-number of “Washington Crossing the Delaware.” God knows how I got onto this video…
Sunny & the Sunliners — Smile Now, Cry Later (1966)
from Texas’ Best And Rarest Doo Wop
A while ago I was looking for more about the Texas soul group The Commands and came across this compilation, Texas’ Best and Rarest Doo Wop. Suffice to say that the tune by The Commands turned out to be my favorite on there, but that’s because I like my doo-wop soulful, not all ‘57 Chevy.
But this track by San Antonio’s Sunny & the Sunliners (aka Sunny & the Sungolds) is the other delicious standout. Sunny Ozuna…chicano soul…a favorite in the barrio. Get ready for a slow dance…
The Commands — No Time For You (1966)
Doo-wop soul side from The Commands, a group of guys stationed at the San Antonio Air Force base in the mid-60s. Backed by the Dell Tones.
Doo bee doo bee dooo… love that doo-wop!
Archie Shepp — Theme For Ernie
from Mama Too Tight (1966)
This song lives out there around the edges of where ears like to hang out… in that territory where harmonic leading fools the ears into predicting the wrong next note. But the harmonic relationship between each horn’s part is just tight enough to keep the whole bundle tied together. I think that’s what makes this dissonance so damn good.
via brokenlyres, whom you should follow for some delightfully eclectic picks.
Early in his career, saxophonist Archie Shepp was a member of the jazz vanguard, having played with Cecil Taylor, Don Cherry, John Tchicai, and of course John Coltrane. His albums in the 1960’s contained elements of free jazz mixed with a more standard sort of jazz rooted in blues or in swing; later albums such as Attica Blues incorporated elements of soul and funk in an effort to be as afrocentric as possible.
This track comes from one of my favorites of his, 1966’s Mama Too Tight. Theme For Ernie is a woozy melancholic piece that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Mingus album, until you notice how dissonant the piece is. The piece, like the entire album, is rather elegant, with Shepp’s octet performing exceptionally tightly even as it descends into more free territory. If you enjoy this track, please check out the rest of the album - I particularly recommend the piece “Basheer”.
Luiz Bonfá — Batucada
on the Mike Douglas Show, 1966
You know you’ve mastered guitar when you start playing other band members’ parts on it. In the first track, ‘Batucada,’ Bonfá emulates the cuíca, tamborim and tom tom on his guitar!
Ike & Tina Turner — River Deep, Mountain High
from River Deep, Mountain High (1966)
As mentioned yesterday, Ellie Greenwich penned this tune with Phil Spector and Jeff Barry. This track is the jewel in Phil Spector’s crown, as he considers it to be his best work using the “Wall of Sound” technique.
And this song really does seem to have a life of its own — the sound is huge, overwhelming, powerful.
Tim Rose — Hey Joe
from Tim Rose (1967)
I’ve gotta say this album has one of the most bad-ass covers I’ve ever seen. He looks like a longshoreman who just downed four pints and is looking for a fight! Aside from that, Tim Rose’s version of “Hey Joe” apparently inspired Jimi Hendrix to cover the song, according to Wikipedia:
Folk rock singer Tim Rose’s slower version of the song (recorded in 1966 and claimed to be Rose’s arrangement of a wholly traditional song) inspired the first single by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. The ex-bassist for The Animals, Chas Chandler, who was now focusing on managing other acts, had seen Rose performing the song at the Cafe Wha? in New York City and as a result, was looking for an artist to record a rock version of “Hey Joe”. Chandler discovered Jimi Hendrix, who had also been playing at the Cafe Wha? in 1966 and performing an arrangement of “Hey Joe” inspired by Rose’s rendition. Chandler decided to take Hendrix with him to England in September 1966, where he would subsequently turn the guitarist into a star.
Jeff Beck — Beck’s Bolero
from Truth (1968)
This is a beautiful instrumental from Jeff Beck’s debut album. Originally recorded in 1966, released as a b-side in ‘67. Two theories why it’s my favorite off this album: a.) Rod Stewart isn’t singing, or b.) the session lineup was so damn good: Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck on guitars, John Paul Jones on bass, Keith Moon on drums, session man Nicky Hopkins on piano.
Apparently there’s some contention between Jimmy and Jeff about who actually wrote the tune, but regardless of who wrote it, there’s some gorgeous 12-string work, ghostly slides right out of Dazed & Confused, and what some contend to be the very first heavy metal riff, in the middle.
