Voice recording #230, Jan. 1.
On this day, I drove to the Cowboys' practice at Valley Ranch and back home.
Elvis Presley, "In the Ghetto", '68 maybe. 2,000.
Steppenwolf, "Born to Be Wild", '68 or '69. 900.
Bee Gees, "Massachusetts", '67. 1,250.
Mary Wells, "My Guy", '64. I've done this one before. I'd say about 2,100.
Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, "The Game of Love", 1965. Wayne was named in the band at that time. 1,900.
Grass Roots, "Things I Should Have Said", '67. Probably the worst Grass Roots I've heard. 4,800.
Tony Joe White, "Polk Salad Annie", not sure of the year. His greatest hit: "Gators got her granny. Chomp! Chomp!" "Her mama was a-workin' on a chain gang," "Her father was a lazy no-'count." There is a lot of unusual, original stuff in this one. Tony Joe's deep voice, the music, the idea of polk salad, whatever that is. 1,800.
Aretha Franklin, "Natural Woman", I think 1967. This is an anthem for a lot of women. Some good soul music from Aretha. It's very good. 1,850.
The Mamas and the Papas, "Creeque Alley", '67. This is a classic example as one of the anthology type with the etymology of music or provenance of how different rock groups form. Number one on that list is "American Pie", but this is also high on that list. (Roger) McGuinn and (Barry) McGuire kept on getting higher, Mama Cass (Elliot) kept getting fat, (John) Sebastian and Zal (Yanovsky) were getting very tuneful. Good music and good music history. 950.
Beatles, "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite", I believe 1968. It was on the Sgt. Pepper album. Good song. 3,200.
The Hondells, "Little Honda", '64 or '65. This brings back memories of my freshman year in college. My friend Tom Barga had a Honda 50, barely big enough to be classified as a motorbike. We would ride on it probably 3 or 4 miles from the campus to the Delaware Country Club to play golf, with him in the driver's seat, his golf bag behind him, my bag in front of me and me on the back. It was probably a 50- or 55-mph highway, and I'm not sure the bike would go that fast even unladen (a nod to "Monty Python and The Holy Grail"). We rode way over in the right lane, but I imagine there was consternation from the drivers trying to get around us. The song is a semi-classic because of the subject matter. 3,850.
Johnny Rivers, "Baby I Need Your Lovin'" from '67. He could have been a '60s icon, but he didn't really fit into any niche from that decade. He just went on making a lot of hits. Rivers seemed to use a lot of musicians -- backup singers, almost a chorus at times; guitars, drums, maybe some strings. It was solid music. He didn't stretch himself, but he had well written songs performed professionally. 3,500.
The Hollies, "Stop Stop Stop", I think '66. This was a bit progressive for The Hollies. I think there's some sitar, and it's fast-paced. They seemed to be trying to make some kind of transition with their music, but I'm not sure how successful it was. This song was probably not as popular as "Bus Stop". 3,300.
Rolling Stones, "As Tears Go By", '67. This is the sweetest, prettiest Stones song. It was a slow-paced ballad, with some acoustic guitar and a lot of strings that were doing a lot of things. 750.
Three Dog Night, "Eli's Coming", '67 or '66. This is one of Three Dog Night's better songs. I might have had it before, I'm thinking on the high side of 2,000. I'll say 1,900.
Jimmy Ruffin, "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted", again '66 or '67. Jimmy, who died in November, was David Ruffin's older brother. It's a nice song, well done. I was debating which side of 2,500 to put it on when it became repetitive. 2,600.
Jay and the Americans, "Walking in the Rain", 1969. This was a remake of The Ronettes' version from '64. 4,400.
The Yardbirds, "Shapes of Things", '67 or '68. 3,600.
Stone Poneys, "Different Drum", 1967. I also heard this earlier today or yesterday, and I'm thinking it was on the high side of 2,000. This version was one of many remakes of Mike Nesmith's song. This time I heard some harpsichord. That could move it up even more. 1,900.
Simon and Garfunkel, "Scarborough Fair", '66 or '67. One of the many great things about "The Graduate" was the Simon and Garfunkel music that made up much if not all of the soundtrack. This song is an overlaid tapestry of music and lyrics. The music is characterized by the guitar and harpsichord, which adds to the authenticity of this version of a song from medieval times. Simon and Garfunkel are great in setting moods, and this song fit in well with the movie -- which had a lot of ups and downs, funny and sad. This is a classic. 500, possibly higher.
Bobby Fuller Four, "I Fought the Law", maybe '64. I had this one, and think the score would have been 3,300-3,400.
James and Bobby Purify, "I'm Your Puppet", mid-to-late '60s? This one goes beyond other songs in the genre at the time. For one thing, there appears to be a triangle carrying the melody at times. The tempo changes, there are also the horns that are common in soul music. 3,800.
Classics IV, "Spooky", '67. I think I did this one the other night, and it was 3,500-3,700.
The Monkees, "I'm a Believer", year? I reviewed this the other day, and I think my score was between 1,500 and 2,000. I'm feeling better about it now. 1,400.
Deep Purple, "Hush", 1968. 3,600.
Herman's Hermits, "Henry the VIIIth", '66, maybe '68. This is kind of a novelty song, simplistic. I enjoyed hearing Peter Noone talk on Sirius XM Channel 6 about it and about the British invasion. 3,800 because of the novelty and because Herman's Hermits pulled it off well. They were joyful.
Martha and the Vandellas, "Jimmy Mac", '65 to '67? Not their best. 4,200.
Derek, "Cinnamon", '68? It was OK, but hasn't really held up over time. 4,350.
Steppenwolf, "Magic Carpet Ride", '68, maybe '67. I reviewed this before, and I think I gave it between 1,100 and 1,300, more likely on the high end.
The Happenings, "See You in September", 1966. This is a remake of a well known song. The Happenings, The Tokens and some others were like Four Seasons tribute groups while the Four Seasons were still actively spitting out hits. This has a good, bouncy beat; the falsetto; some deep-voiced guys, and it doesn't stick to the song's established script, which probably was an improvement. 3,400.
Next: voice recording #240, Jan. 2.
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