by Robert Wilkinson
We continue our musical weekend painting a varied pallet of musical treats, including every band in the title AND Procol Harem, Joe Cocker, Tom Petty, and the Cranberries!
We’ll begin our Saturday morning birthdays with Doris Coley (August 2, 1941 – February 4, 2000) of the first girl group in pop music, The Shirelles. They made ten million boys pledge their love, and ten million girls swooned to the music! This was the first girl group to hit #1!
As I told you in Shirley Alston Reeves’ birthday tribute, this group were true pioneers, and paved the way for Motown and every other girl group in the 60s. While they faded after the British Invasion due to changing tastes and getting married, the Shirelles still opened the doors to a hundred other “girl groups” to make the magic of the early 60s! Their sound was so distinctive, it couldn’t be mistaken even on the archaic museum pieces we call “the transistor radio.” This was the sound millions fell in love to, and with. For your enjoyment of another era, the Shirelles!
Their first attempt in 1958! “I Met Him On A Sunday”
From 1960, a tune written by Shirley and Luther Dixon. It was highly controversial at the time, since it was one of the first tunes written about a woman’s feelings about losing her virginity. In 2010 Rolling Stone listed it as one of the best songs of all time!
“Tonight’s the Night” Here’s Shirley later in her career cranking up another great version of this classic! “Tonight’s The Night”The Shirelles gave us the tune, written by Carole King, which was the first #1 hit by a girl group! Here they are in the early 60s on tv, “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” Here’s the original studio version of “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow”
After that, they hit a string of hits in 1961, beginning with reissuing this earlier effort from 1959, which went to #3 in 1961! “Dedicated to the One I Love”
They followed it with this #4 smash written by Luther Dixon just a few months later! “Mama Said”
Remember this? Went to #8 in late 1961! “Baby It’s You”
Two other bands did covers of that great tune! First, the Beatles’ version as we heard it way back when! “Baby It’s You,” and here’s the version which went to #5 for Smith! Here they are live and belting it out! “Baby It’s You”
This hit # 1 in early 1962 between the Bay of Pigs and before the Cuban Missile Crisis when I was a kid living at ground zero. Stand up, sit down, and salute the flag, believing all is good. “Soldier Boy”
Here’s their studio version of the standard “What’s the Matter Baby”
They also scored on this flip side of "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" with “Boys” and yes, that's King Curtis on wailin' sax at the break! Since that was one of the Beatles’ biggest live tunes, sung by Ringo, here it is! “Boys”
From 1964, a video of a live performance of “Everybody Loves A Lover”
We’ll close with “What Is Love” and a strange video clip of the Shirelles performing “It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World” (Yes, they had a cameo in the 1963 movie.)
If you’re inclined, I found this 10 minute mini-documentary which is a quick take on The Shirelles
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Our second set is short, and celebrates the birthday of William Sievers (Aug 2, 194?), rhythm player for Sopwith Camel, one of the early Bay Area psychedelic folk bands who hit big in 1966-67 and faded fast. (They’re also a band with the least biographical information of any I’ve investigated.)
Here’s the Sopwith Camel, who had one gigantic hit! Here they’re lip synching in one of the more bizarre “music videos” ever made performing their gigantic hit “Hello Hello.” Here’s the entire one hit wonder album! Sopwith Camel First Album.
Here are two from that album that typify the 60s! First, the grunge protopunk of “Cellophane Woman” and the etherial psychedelia of “Maybe in a Dream”
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Our next set is a brief interlude into attitude! Brian Rading (July 31, 1946 - June 8, 2016) was bass player for the legendary Canadian group The Five Man Electrical Band. From his obit:
Rading broke into music at an early age … soon after becoming a founding member of The Staccatos in 1963, who had several hits before changing their name to Five Man Electrical Band, after which they hit international success with the #3 smash hit “Signs.” For you enjoyment, Brian Rading!
From 1971, their huge hit! “Signs”
Back to the beginning as the Staccatos! (This is NOT the South African band with the same name.)
Last year I had their first tune from 1965, very much an early Beatles’ influenced period piece titled “It Isn’t Easy” but there are literally no clips of it this year.
Here was their second tune which cracked the Canadian Top 20! “Small Town Girl”
This one went to #8 in 1967! “Half Past Midnight” and here’s a cut off clip of them doing this: “Half Past Midnight” (Their 1986 reunion performance of this tune is gone.)
From 1968, “Didn’t Know the Time”
Their first hit after changing their name to Five Man Electrical Band was this slow ballad in 1969 which cracked the Top 40 in Canada, “Private Train”
”Signs” was originally released as the b-side of the single “Hello Melinda, Goodbye,” but DJs began to play “Signs” and it shot into the top 5 in three countries where it stayed for weeks.
Live in 1972 performing “Absolutely Right”
We’ll close with a live performance at the 2010 Canada celebration with the FMEB cranking out a great the classic “Signs”
Our encore is a very live stellar performance on The Mike Bullard Show sometime between 1997-2004. “Absolutely Right” and “Signs”
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Our final set celebrates the life and work of legendary producer Denny Cordell (born Dennis Cordell-Lavarack (1 August 1943 – 18 February 1995). Denny worked with some of the greatest of the great, including the original Moody Blues, Procol Harem, the Move, and Joe Cocker, after which he went to LA to work with Leon Russell and the Shelter Records stable of artists. Without further ado, here’s the magnificent work of Denny Cordell!
He produced this gem in 1965 for the original Moody Blues which resulted in the international smash hit “Go Now!” It literally doesn’t sound like the post-Denny Lane Moody Blues who we all know featuring the great Justin Hayward. This was the original sound!
Live at the 1965 NME Festival, here’s a live performance of the haunting “Go Now”
Lip synching to the original studio version, here’s Denny Laine and the original Moody Blues offering up “Go Now”
While Denny didn’t produce this, because the song is iconic and most haven’t heard this version, you get the original! For your enjoyment, produced by Leiber/Stoller and sung by Bessie Banks in early 1964, the smooth soul of “Go Now”
He produced Procol Harem, and this classic first album was released in Sept 1967! Procol Harum (This is the UK version without “Whiter Shade.” Check out the lyrics to “A Christmas Camel” that begins 17 minutes in. And that’s Robin Trower on the lead. This clip has “Whiter Shade” and “Homburg” tacked on at the end, so have fun!)
Of course, the US version of that album has the monster hit “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” which Denny followed with this follow up single, the haunting “Homburg”
Their second album came in 1968, and was even more psychedelic than the first! Shine On Brightly (Check out the first song, “Quite Rightly So,” a great groove set to great lyrics!)
In 1968, he produced the first Joe Cocker album, and in 1969-70 teamed up with Leon Russell to produce the second and third!
Here was the first breakthrough album by Joe Cocker, With A Little Help From My Friends
The second was Joe Cocker and the third was the iconic 2 hour plus live magnificence of Mad Dogs and Englishmen
The hits on the first were “Feelin’ All Right” and “With A Little Help From My Friends”
The hits on the second were “She Came In Through The Bathroom Window” and “Delta Lady”
The hits on Mad Dogs were “The Letter” and “Cry Me A River”
He was instrumental in signing many of the Shelter Records artists in his collaboration with Leon Russell. Here's one of the early efforts, where Denny and Willis co-produced this masterpiece, featuring Leon on keyboards, Jim Keltner and Russ Kunkel on drums, Red Rhodes on pedal steel, Dusty Rhoades on violin, Carl Radle on bass, and a lot of other major players! For your enjoyment, the unique Texas sound of a Texas original! Willis Alan Ramsey
From that album, a couple of classics! This song’s been done by Jerry Jeff, Jimmy Buffet, and at least a half dozen other big names, so I hope you’ll shuffle along to the iconic “Northeast Texas Women”
You might know this as “Muskrat Love,” but this is the original! “Muskrat Candlelight”
While there, he launched the career of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers! We’ll close this set with the albums Denny produced, which took the band to the top!
The first was Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers with its hits “Breakdown” and “American Girl”
Here’s their second studio album You’re Gonna Get It! with the hits “I Need to Know” and “Listen to Her Heart”
For the encore, Denny eventually got back into the industry and while with Island Records, signed this one of a kind band, the remarkable Cranberries. For your enjoyment, their debut album Еvеrybоdy Elsе Is Dоing It, Sо Why Cаn't Wе?
© Copyright 2024 Robert Wilkinson
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