https://exchange.prx.org/p/575139
This week's show starts off on a somewhat familiar note, with a short folk-rock set leading into a longer set of tunes from 1966. From there we get into some rather obscure stuff before going into a set of tunes from some of the most creative songwriters of 1967. For our second hour we dig out several tracks that haven't been played in quite some time, including the album version of In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, drum solo and all.
Artist: Byrds
Title: Turn! Turn! Turn!
Source: Simulated stereo LP: Homer (soundtrack) (originally released as 45 RPM single and included on LP: Turn! Turn! Turn!)
Writer(s): Pete Seeger
Label: Cotillion (original label: Columbia)
Year: 1965
After their success covering Bob Dylan's Mr. Tambourine Man, the Byrds turned to an even more revered songwriter: the legendary Pete Seeger. Turn! Turn! Turn!, with lyrics adapted from the book of Ecclesiastes, was first recorded by Seeger in the early 60s, nearly three years after he wrote the song.
Artist: Simon And Garfunkel
Title: Somewhere They Can't Find Me
Source: LP: Sounds Of Silence
Writer(s): Paul Simon
Label: Columbia
Year: 1966
The first Simon And Garfunkel album, Wednesday Morning 3AM, was a fairly traditional type of folk LP. The album was originally released in late 1964, but due to lackluster sales was soon deleted from the Columbia catalog. In 1965 Paul Simon relocated to London, releasing a solo LP called the Paul Simon Songbook there. Before leaving the country, however, he and Art Garfunkel recorded two new songs in a more upbeat style. One of those two, We've Got A Groovey Thing Goin', was used as the B side for an electrified version of The Sound Of Silence, a tune from Wednesday Morning 3AM that was issued without the knowledge of either Simon or Garfunkel. The other song, Somewhere They Can't Find Me, was, lyrically, a reworking of the title track of Wednesday Morning 3AM, but with entirely new music inspired by a Davey Graham tune called Anji. It remained unreleased until 1966, when the duo reunited in early 1966 and quickly put together a new album, Sounds of Silence, to capitalize on the success of the unauthorized (but happily accepted) single. On the album itself, Somewhere They Can't Find Me is followed by Simon's cover of Anji.
Artist: Jefferson Airplane
Title: Embryonic Journey
Source: LP: Surrealistic Pillow
Writer(s): Jorma Kaukonen
Label: RCA Victor
Year: 1967
Jorma Kaukonen originally considered Embryonic Journey to be little more than a practice exercise. Other members of Jefferson Airplane insisted he record it, however, and it has since come to be identified as a kind of signature song for the guitarist, who played the tune live when the band was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
Artist: Kinks
Title: I'm Not Like Everybody Else
Source: Mono British import CD: Face To Face (originally released as 45 RPM single B side)
Writer(s): Ray Davies
Label: Sanctuary (original US label: Reprise)
Year: 1966
One of the most popular songs in the Kinks' catalog, I'm Not Like Everybody Else was originally written for another British band, the Animals. When that group decided not to record the tune, the Kinks did their own version of the song, issuing it as the B side of the 1966 hit Sunny Afternoon. Although written by Ray Davies, it was sung by his brother Dave, who usually handled the lead vocals on only the songs he himself composed. Initially not available on any LPs, the song has in recent years shown up on various collections and as a bonus track on CD reissues of both the Kink Kontroversy and Face To Face albums. Both Davies brothers continue to perform the song in their live appearances.
Artist: Count Five
Title: Psychotic Reaction
Source: Simulated stereo LP: Nuggets Vol. 1-The Hits (originally released as 45 RPM single)
Writer(s): Ellner/Chaney/Atkinson/Byrne/Michaelski
Label: Rhino (original label: Double Shot)
Year: 1965
San Jose, California, had a vibrant teen music scene in the late 60s, despite the fact that the relatively small (at the time) city was overshadowed by San Francisco at the other end of the bay (both cities were then, as now, considered part of the same metropolitan market). One of the more popular bands in town was Count Five, a group of five individuals who chose to dress up like Bela Lugosi's Dracula, capes and all. Musically, they idolized the Yardbirds (Jeff Beck era), and for slightly more than three minutes managed to sound more like their idols than the Yardbirds themselves (who by then had replaced Beck with Jimmy Page and had shifted musical gears).
Artist: John Mayall with Eric Clapton
Title: Ramblin' On My Mind
Source: Mono LP: Blues Breakers
Writer(s): Robert Johnson
Label: London/Sundazed
Year: 1966
After leaving the Yardbirds, guitarist Eric Clapton joined up with the dean of the British blues scene, John Mayall. Mayall was known for giving the members of his band, the Bluesbreakers, room to strut their stuff, even if they themselves were a bit shy about being in the spotlight. The first Mayall album to feature Clapton did just that: the LP itself was billed as John Mayall with Eric Clapton, and Mayall even convinced a reluctant Clapton to sing on their cover of Robert Johnson's classic Ramblin' On My Mind. Although Clapton had contributed vocally to some Yardbirds recordings, this was his first recorded solo vocal performance.
Artist: Yardbirds
Title: Shapes Of Things
Source: Mono CD: The Best Of 60s Supergroups (originally released as 45 RPM single)
Writer(s): Samwell-Smith/Relf/McCarty
Label: Priority (original label: Epic)
Year: 1966
Unlike earlier Yardbirds hits, 1966's Shapes Of Things was written by members of the band. The song, featuring one of guitarist Jeff Beck's most distinctive solos, just barely missed making it to the top 10 in the US, although it was a top 5 single in the UK.
Artist: Spencer Davis Group
Title: Gimme Some Lovin'
Source: Simulated stereo LP: Progressive Heavies (originally released as 45 RPM single)
Writer(s): Winwood/Winwood/Davis
Label: United Artists
Year: 1966
The movie The Big Chill used Gimme Some Lovin' by the Spencer Davis Group as the backdrop for a touch football game at an informal reunion of former college students from the 60s. From that point on, movie soundtracks became much more than just background music and soundtrack albums started becoming best-sellers. Not entirely coincidentally, 60s-oriented oldies radio stations began to appear on the FM dial in major markets as well. Ironically, most of those stations are now playing 80s oldies.
Artist: Paul Revere And The Raiders
Title: Good Thing
Source: Simulated stereo LP: The Spirit Of '67
Writer(s): Lindsay/Melcher
Label: Columbia
Year: 1966
From 1965 to 1967 Paul Revere And The Raiders were on a roll, with a string of six consecutive top 20 singles, four of which made the top 5. Among these was Good Thing, a tune written by lead vocalist Mark Lindsay and producer Terry Melcher (sometimes referred to as the "fifth Raider"). The song first appeared on the Spirit Of '67 LP in 1966, and was released as a single late that year. The song ended up being the Raiders' second biggest hit, peaking at # 4 in early 1967.
Artist: Blues Magoos
Title: Take My Love
Source: Mono LP: Electric Comic Book
Writer: Gilbert/Scala
Label: Mercury
Year: 1967
The Blues Magoos were one of the most visible bands to wear the label "psychedelic". In fact, much of what they are remembered for was what they wore onstage: electric suits. They were also one of the first bands to use the term "psychedelic" on a record, (their 1966 debut album was called Psychedelic Lollipop). Unlike some of their wilder jams such as Tobacco Road and a six-minute version of Gloria, Take My Love, from the band's sophomore effort Electric Comic Book, is essentially garage rock done in the Blues Magoos style. That style was defined by the combination of Farfisa organ and electric guitar, the latter depending heavily on reverb and vibrato bar to create an effect of notes soaring off into space.
Artist: 1910 Fruitgum Company
Title: Simon Says
Source: LP: Simon Says
Writer: Floyd Marcus
Label: Buddah
Year: 1968
Not many people have heard the stereo mix of Simon Says. The reason for this is, ahem, simple. The first hit single by the bubblegum band 1910 Fruitgum Company, released in December of 1967 went all the way to the #4 spot in the US and the #2 spot in the UK in early 1968. In 1968 nearly every top 40 station in the world was on AM radio, and most of the few FMs to play hit singles had not yet upgraded to stereo broadcasting. The Simon Says album, on the other hand, peaked at #162 on the Billboard 200, which did not give FM stereo stations much incentive to play anything from it, let along a notoriously juvenile hit single. So, in case you missed it along with nearly everyone else, here is the stereo mix of Simon Says. Please don't throw anything at your radio.
Artist: Janis Joplin
Title: Dear Landlord
Source: LP: I Got Dem 'Ol Kozmic Blues Again Mama
Writer(s): Dylan/Joplin
Label: Columbia
Year: 1969
As well as writing her own material, Janis Joplin excelled at interpreting songs by others and making them her own. In fact, when she recorded her own version of Bob Dylan's Hey Landlord, she actually added new lyrics of her own. Not many people had the guts to do something like that, but that's who Janis was. Unfortunately, the song was left off the album she was working on at the time (I personally would have preferred it to Little Girl Blue or To Love Somebody), possibly because messing with a Bob Dylan tune made her producer, Gabriel Mekler, nervous. Regardless, the song finally did appear in 1993 on the Janis box set and is now available as a bonus track on her first solo LP, I Got Dem 'Ol Kozmic Blues Again Mama.
Artist: Electric Flag
Title: Synthesia/A Little Head
Source: LP: The Trip (movie soundtrack)
Writer(s): Michael Bloomfield
Label: Sidewalk
Year: 1967
The first official Electric Flag LP was A Long Time Comin', released on Columbia Records in 1968. The group had actually made their recording debut the previous year on Mike Curb's Sidewalk label with the soundtrack for a movie called The Trip. Produced by Roger Corman and written by Jack Nicholson, the Trip was basically a film about a young man (played by Peter Fonda) taking his first acid trip and might easily be described as the first Hollywood film about sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll, with the latter provided by the Electric Flag. Unlike the Columbia releases, the movie soundtrack was essentially a Mike Bloomfield solo project, with the other members of the band relegated to a purely supporting role. Most of the tracks on side one, in particular, are short instrumental pieces with names that describe what was happening in the film itself, such as Joint Passing, which runs almost exactly one minute. I'm not sure exactly what Synthesia was written to accompany, but the track it segues into seems pretty obvious.
Artist: Pink Floyd
Title: Astronomy Domine
Source: CD: The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn (originally released in UK and Canada)
Writer(s): Syd Barrett
Label: Capitol (original label: EMI Columbia)
Year: 1967
When the US version of the first Pink Floyd LP, The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, was released on the Tower label, it was missing several tracks that had appeared on the original British version of the album. Among the most notable omissions was the original album's opening track, Astronomy Domine, which was replaced by the non-LP single See Emily Play. Astronomy Domine is a Syd Barrett composition that was a popular part of the band's stage repertoire for several years. The piece is considered one of the earliest examples of "space rock", in part because of the spoken intro (by the band's manager Peter Jenner) reciting the names of the planets (and some moons) of the solar system through a megaphone.
Artist: West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band
Title: Transparent Day
Source: Mono CD: Part One (originally released as 45 RPM single B side)
Writer(s): Markley/Harris
Label: Sundazed (original label: Reprise)
Year: 1967
Arguably the most commercial sounding original tune on the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band's first album for Reprise was Transparent Day. For some strange reason, however, when the song was released as a single it was as the B side of the band's cover of the decidedly non-commercial Help I'm A Rock. Of course, the single tanked.
Artist: Immediate Family
Title: Rubiyat
Source: Mono CD: Love Is The Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-70 (originally released on CD: What A Way To Come Down)
Writer(s): Kovacs/Khayyam
Label: Rhino (original label: Big Beat)
Year: Recorded 1967, released 1997
The members of the Immediate Family hailed from the city of Concord, a conservative suburb east of San Francisco bay. They didn't actually make music in their hometown, however. Instead they practiced at the home of organist Kriss Kovacs's mother Judy Davis (the "vocal coach to the stars" who numbered such diverse talents as Grace Slick, Barbra Streisand and even Frank Sinatra among her pupils). The band was able to get the financial backing needed to lay down some tracks at Golden State Recorders (the top studio in the area at the time), but reportedly lost their record deal due to emotional instability on the part of Kovacs. The song Rubiyat is an adaptation of the Rubiyat Of Omar Khayyam. Ambitious to be sure, but done well enough to make one wonder what it could have led to.
Artist: Jimi Hendrix Experience
Title: Wait Until Tomorrow
Source: CD: The Ultimate Experience (originally released on LP: Axis: Bold As Love)
Writer(s): Jimi Hendrix
Label: MCA (original label: Reprise)
Year: 1967
Jimi Hendrix showed a whimsical side with Wait Until Tomorrow, a track from his second Jimi Hendrix Experience LP, Axis: Bold As Love. The song tells a story of a young man standing outside his girlfriend's window trying to convince her to run away from him. He gets continually rebuffed by the girl, who keeps telling him to Wait Until Tomorrow. Ultimately the girl's father resolves the issue by shooting the young man. The entire story is punctuated by outstanding distortion-free guitar work that showcases just how gifted Hendrix was on his chosen instrument. Why this song was never issued as a single is a mystery to me.
Artist: Mothers of Invention
Title: Big Leg Emma
Source: CD: Absolutely Free (originally released as 45 RPM single B side)
Writer: Frank Zappa
Label: Ryko (original label: Verve)
Year: 1967
Sometime during the creation of the second Mothers Of Invention album, Absolutely Free, the band recorded a pair of stand alone tunes that were released as a 45 RPM single. The B side of that record was Big Leg Emma, a song that was written by Frank Zappa in 1962 and would eventually be added to his live show in the late 1970s.
Artist: Bobby Fuller Four
Title: I Fought The Law
Source: CD: I Fought The Law-The Best Of The Bobby Fuller Four (originally released as 45 RPM single)
Writer(s): Sonny Curtis
Label: Rhino (original label: Mustang)
Year: 1965
I Fought The Law is one of the truly iconic songs in rock history. Originally recorded by the Crickets in 1959 after Sonny Curtis, who wrote the song, had joined the band as lead guitarist and taken over lead vocals following the death of Buddy Holly, the song became a national hit when it was covered by the Bobby Fuller Four in late 1965. The song hit the #9 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1966, and has since been recorded by numerous artists from a variety of genres, including the Clash, Hank Williams, Jr., the Dead Kennedys and Bruce Springsteen, who has made it a staple of his live show over the years.
Artist: Turtles
Title: The Last Thing I Remember, The First Thing I Knew
Source: 12" 45 RPM Picture Disc: Turtles 1968
Writer: The Turtles
Label: Rhino
Year: Recorded 1968, released 1978
In 1968 the Turtles rebelled against their record company. They did not attempt to break the contract or go on strike, though. Instead, they simply went into the studio and produced four songs that they themselves wrote and chose to record. The record company, in turn, chose not to issue any of the self-produced recordings (although one, Surfer Dan, did end up on their Battle of the Bands album a few months later). Finally, in the late 1970s a small independent label known for issuing oddball recordings by the likes of Barnes and Barnes (Fish Heads) and professional wrestler Fred Blassie (Pencil-Neck Geek) put out a 12-inch picture disc featuring the four tunes. That label also began reissuing old Turtles albums, starting it on a path that has since become the stock in trade for Rhino Records.
Artist: Spirit
Title: Elijah
Source: CD: Spirit
Writer: John Locke
Label: Ode/Epic/Legacy
Year: 1968
Since the mid-1960s many bands have had one long piece that they play in concert that is specifically designed to allow individual band members to strut their stuff. In a few cases, such as Iron Butterfly's In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida or Lynnard Skynnard's Freebird, it becomes their best-known song. In most cases, though, a studio version of the piece gets put on an early album and never gets heard on the radio. Such is the case with Spirit's show-stopper Elijah, which was reportedly never played the same way twice. Elijah, written by keyboardist John Locke, starts with a hard-rockin' main theme that is followed by a jazzier second theme that showcases one of the lead instruments (guitar, keyboards). The piece then comes to a dead stop while one of the members has a solo section of their own devising. This is followed by the main theme, repeating several times until every member has had their own solo section. The piece ends with a return to the main theme followed by a classic power rock ending.
Artist: Champion Jack Dupree
Title: A Racehorse Called Mae
Source: German import LP: When You Feel The Feeling You Was Feeling
Writer(s): Jack Dupree
Label: Blue Horizon
Year: 1968
Champion Jack Dupree was born in New Orleans in either 1908,1909 or 1910 on either July 4th, July 10th or July 23rd. Orphaned at the age of eight, he found himself in the Colored Waifs Home (whose alumni included one Louis Armstrong, who six years earlier had been arrested for being a "dangerous and suspicious character"), where he taught himself to play the piano. He hit the road in his teens, eventually making his way to Detroit, where he met Joe Louis, who helped him establish himself as a boxer, earning the name Champion Jack after winning several bouts. At age 30 he moved to Chicago and resumed his career as a barrelhouse-style pianist, working with producer Lester Melrose, who took credit for many of Dupree's compositions. He joined the Navy in the early 40s, and ended up spending two years in a Japanese POW camp. Following the war he resumed his musical career, which led to gigs in Europe and the UK. In 1960 he moved to Europe, spending time in several nations before finally settling down in Germany. In London in 1968 he recorded an album called When You Feel The Feeling You Was Feeling. All the songs on side two of the LP, including A Racehorse Called Mae, featured bassist Stuart Brooks, guitarist Paul Kossoff and drummer Simon Kirke, the latter two having only a few days before played their first gig with their newly formed band, Free.
Artist: McCoys
Title: Fever
Source: Canadian import CD: Rock 'N' Roll Hall Of Fame Volume VII (Originally released on 45 RPM vinyl)
Writer: John Davenport
Label: Legacy
Year: 1965
The McCoys were originally from Indiana, but are best remembered as being an Ohio band. In fact their biggest hit, Hang On Sloopy is considered the unofficial state song there. The follow-up single, a cover of the Little Willie John classic Fever was done in much the same style as Hang On Sloopy. In the long run this similarity probably hurt the band more than it helped, as the McCoys are generally considered to be a one-hit wonder, despite eventually becoming the band known as Johnny Winter And.
Artist: Boots
Title: Gaby
Source: CD: Nuggets II-Original Artyfacts From The British Empire And Beyond 1964-1969 (originally released in West Germany as 45 RPM single)
Writer(s): Krabbe/Bresser
Label: Rhino (original label: Telefunken)
Year: 1966
Formed in Berlin in 1965, the Boots were one of the more adventurous bands operating on the European mainland. While most bands in Germany tended to emulate the Beatles, the Boots took a more underground approach, growing their hair out just a bit longer than their contemporaries and appealing to a more Bohemian type of crowd. Lead guitarist Jurg "Jockel" Schulte-Eckle was known for doing strange things to his guitar onstage using screwdrivers, beer bottles and the like to create previously unheard of sounds. On vinyl the band comes off as being just a bit ahead of its time, as can be heard clearly on the original group's final single, Gaby, a song written by singer Werner Krabbe and bassist Bob Bresser. Not long after Gaby's release, Krabbe left the band. Although the Boots continued on with various configurations until 1969, they were never able to recapture the magic generated by the original lineup.
Artist: Who
Title: Doctor Doctor
Source: Simulated stereo LP: Magic Bus-The Who On Tour (originally released as 45 RPM single B side)
Writer(s): John Entwistle
Label: MCA (original label: Decca)
Year: 1967
Keeping an accurate chronology of recordings by the Who in their early years can be a bit difficult, mainly due to the difference in the ways songs were released in the US and the UK. Since the British policy was for songs released on 45 RPM vinyl not to be duplicated on LPs, several early Who songs were nearly impossible to find in the US until being released on compilation albums several years after their original release. One such song is Doctor Doctor, a John Entwhistle tune released as the B side to their 1967 hit Pictures Of Lily. The single was released on both sides of the Atlantic, but only received airplay in the UK, where it made the top 10. In the US the record failed to chart and was out of print almost as soon as it was released. The song was included on the early 70s LP, Magic Bus-The Who On Tour. However, that album has never been issued in the US on CD (although it is available in Canada). Finally, in 1993, Doctor Doctor was included as a bonus track on the CD version of the Who's second album, A Quick One.
Artist: Iron Butterfly
Title: In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida
Source: CD: In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida
Writer(s): Doug Ingle
Label: Atco
Year: 1969
I think there is a law on the books somewhere that says I need to play the full version of Iron Butterfly's In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida at least once a year to retain the show's psychedelic cred. Somehow I ended up missing the last half dozen years, so for the first time since 2018, here it is.
Artist: Sugarloaf
Title: Country Dawg
Source: LP: Spaceship Earth
Writer(s): Robert Yeazel
Label: Liberty
Year: 1971
Although it was considered a major city even in the 1960s, Denver, Colorado did not have the most vibrant of local music scenes. Why this was is a mystery to me, and I lived there until I was 14. The area has produced some successful bands over the years, however, and possibly the most successful of these was Sugarloaf, named for a nearby mountain (and ski resort). The band's second LP, Spaceship Earth, saw the addition of Robert Yeazel on guitar, who wrote several of the songs on the album, including Country Dawg.
Artist: Cream
Title: Badge
Source: CD: Goodbye Cream
Writer(s): Clapton/Harrison
Label: Polydor
Year: 1969
Famously co-written by Eric Clapton and a psuedononomous George Harrison, Badge remains one of the best-loved songs in Clapton's repertoir. Both guitarists are featured prominently on this recording. Felix Pappaliardi (the unofficial 4th member of Cream and co-founder of Mountain) plays the tinkly piano.
Artist: Rolling Stones
Title: Mother's Little Helper
Source: 45 RPM single (stereo reissue)
Writer(s): Jagger/Richards
Label: London
Year: 1966
By 1966 the Rolling Stones had already had a few brushes with the law over their use of illegal drugs. Mother's Little Helper, released in spring of 1966, is a scathing criticism of the parents of the Stones' fans for their habitual abuse of "legal" prescription drugs while simultaneously persecuting those same fans (and the band itself) for smoking pot. Perhaps more than any other song that year, Mother's Little Helper illustrates the increasingly hostile generation gap that had sprung up between the young baby boomers and the previous generation.
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