The Monkees were climbing high with a double-sided hit, “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You”, a no. 2 smash (a March 25th entry-my birthday!)/backed by “The Girl I Knew Somewhere”, which peaked at no.
39 (April 15th entry). The group got ANOTHER double-sided hit, “Pleasant Valley Sunday”, a no. 3 smash (July 29th) /backed by “Words”, a no.
11 hit (August 5th). The year was capped off by “Daydream Believer”, a no. 1 smash for four weeks (!
) (Nov. 18th entry). High climbing indeed!
The Buckinghams hailed from Chicago (my home town!) and were all over the charts this year. “Kind Of A Drag” kicked off as a no.
1 smash (Jan. 21st entry). The follow-up, “Don’t You Care” was a no.
6 smash (April 8th entry). “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” gave the group yet another top 10 smash, at no. 5 (July 1st chart entry).
“Hey Baby (They’re Playing Our Song)” was a no. 12 hit (Sept. 30th entry).
And “Susan” capped off a fantastic debut at no. 11 (Dec. 23rd).
Sadly, this would be their last top 40 hit. (These guys were pretty good! What happened?
)
Aretha Franklin was reborn as the ‘Queen Of Soul’ this year; she was originally the featured singer with a family-organized traveling gospel troupe (Her father was the renowned minister Reverend C.L. Franklin.
Growing up, she regularly came into contact with gospel greats such as James Cleveland, Mahalia Jackson, Clara Ward-and Sam Cooke, who would soon leave his gospel success for pop stardom.
Franklin’s own gospel success would lead the legendary talent scout John Hammond Jr. (He discovered Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Bob Dylan, and later, Bruce Springteen, among others) to sign her to Columbia Records.
(Did you know she was almost signed to Motown in the early Sixties?)
The label sought to remake her into a jazz artist (gospel had not yet become “mainstream”). She was hooked up with Bob Mersey, Barbra Streisand’s musical director, given voice lessons by Mitch Miller (!
), who was also an executive with the company then, and was assigned pop material such as “If Ever I Would Leave You”, and “Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody” (which was the singer’s top 40 debut in 1961!).
By 1966, Franklin had found only moderate success and was in debt to Columbia.
Later that year, her contract expired. Enter Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records, who signed the struggling singer. She was then set up with the famous Muscle Shoals musicians to make “soul” music.
And the rest is history.
“I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)” was a no. 9 smash (Mar.
18th entry). You could say this was Franklin’s second “debut”. Her follow-up, “Respect” was a no.
1 smash (This was a remake of the 1965 Otis Redding hit; I believe he also wrote it.) “Baby I Love You” (NOT the Ronettes one) was a no. 4 smash (Aug.
5th). “A Natural Woman (You Make Me Feel Like)” was a no. 8 smash (Oct.
7th). And “Chain Of Fools” ended a great year at no. 2 (Dec.
16th). There was no stopping this woman!
The Young Rascals (as they were called at this time) continued their red-hot streak.
"I've Been Lonely Too Long" was a no. 16 hit (Feb. 25th entry).
Their next, "Groovin'" was an instant classic and one of the all-time best summer songs, in my humble opinion (May 6th entry). "A Girl Like You" was a no. 10 smash (July 22nd entry).
The group ventured into pop-jazz territory with "How Can I Be Sure", a no. 4 smash (Sept. 23rd).
This song always makes me think of a French cafe! "It's Wonderful" was a no. 20 hit (Dec.
23rd).
Did you know that the group refused to play on bills that weren't fully integrated, which was unusual for the time. And despite the label "blue-eyed soul", none of the original members have blue eyes.
(But blue-eyed soul is simply a generic term for any white performer that plays or sounds black. But you already knew that, didn't you? YOU DIDN'T?
Well, you do now.)
"This Is My Song" (a Mar. 18th entry; from the film "A Countess From Hong Kong")was a no.
3 smash for the still hot Petula Clark. "Don't Sleep In The Subway" gave the singer a no. 5 smash as well (June 17th).
"The Cat In The Window (The Bird In The Sky)" placed at no. 26 (I believe this was Clark's attempt at "soft psychedelic"!).
"The Other Man's Grass Is Always Greener" peaked at no. 31 (Dec. 30th).
Did you know that in 1965 Clark was offered a co-starring role with Elvis Presley in "Paradise Hawaiian Style"? She declined.
Peaches and Herb (the duo of Francine Barker and Herb Fame; Barker was the original "Peaches") debuted this year with "Let's Fall In Love", a no.
21 hit (Feb. 25th). "Close Your Eyes" was a no.
8 smash (April 15th). "For Your Love" was a no. 20 hit (July 8th).
"Love Is Strange" capped off a great start at no. 13 (Oct. 14th).
The Mamas and The Papas kicked off their year with "Dedicated To The One I Love" (a remake of the Shirelles hit), a no. 2 smash (Mar. 4th entry).
The autobiographical (and very tuneful!) "Creeque Alley" was a no. 5 smash.
"Twelve Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming To The Canyon)" was a no. 20 hit (Oct. 12th entry).
This should have been a top 10! "Glad To Be Unhappy" was a no. 26 hit, which also should have been top 10 (Nov.
4th entry). Unfortunately, this would be the group's last top 40 hit.
In spite of all the recording success, there was much personal turmoil occurring within the quartet.
There were love affairs galore (Group member Denny was having an affair with Michelle, who was still married to John. And John knew all about it! He even wrote a song about it, "I Saw Her Again"!
Group member Cass loved Denny, but he didn't love her. Sounds like a bad soap opera, doesn't it? Or Fleetwood Mac!
) And there was steady drug use, including LSD. Cass also felt disrepected by the other members (And all this was going on BEFORE they hit it big!)
The results led to the group's demise in 1968 (There was a brief reunion in 1971, I think, with one of their best, "Step Out"-I think that was the title-but it didin't make top 40.
They also did a great version of "Do You Wanna Dance" which I think was in '68).
Did you know that Cass named the band and set up their audition with Lou Adler? You do now.
"Everybody Needs Somebody To Love", which I believe was a remake of the Solomon Burke hit, was a no. 29 hit for Wilson Pickett (Feb. 25th chart entry).
"I Found A Love-Part 1" peaked at no. 32 (April 22nd entry). But the third time was the charm, as "Funky Broadway" became a no.
8 smash (Aug. 26th entry). This was a remake of the original by Dyke and The Blazers-their version didn't make the top 40, however.
"Stag-O-Lee" was a no. 22 hit (Nov. 11th).
"Love Eyes", a bluesy ballad, was a no. 15 hit for Nancy Sinatra (April 8th entry). She continued bolting up the charts with "Lightning's Girl" , a no.
24 hit (Oct. 7th entry). This would be her last top 40 hit as a SOLO ACT.
The lovely duet "Somethin' Stupid", sung with her father, Frank Sinatra, became a no. 1 smash for four weeks! (Mar.
25th entry) They were the only father-daughter combination to hit no. 1 (so far). The two weren't even in the studio together; Nancy's vocal was originally intended only as a background for her father's performance.
It was producer Lee Hazelwood who put it together as a duet.
As a duo with Lee Hazelwood, "Jackson" was a no. 14 hit (July 8th chart entry).
And "Lady Bird" was a no. 20 hit (Nov. 4th entry).
There were no more top 40 hits after that. But Nancy and Lee had another fine ballad, "One Velvet Morning". I have no idea what the words meant, but wasn't it lovely to listen to?
THIS should have been a HUGE hit. I also like "You Only Live Twice" from the James Bond film. One of her best!
I also like a song from '68 she did called "Happy". And while I'm at it, I would like to say that the album "Movin' With Nancy", from her TV special, is an absolute delight! Seriously, check it out.
The Bee Gees made quite a debut this year. "New York Mining Disaster 1941-Have You Seen My Wife, Mr. Jones" was a no.
14 hit (June 10th entry). "To Love Somebody" was a no. 17 hit (July 29th entry).
This was written for Otis Redding, who died before he could record it. "Holiday" placed at no. 16 (Oct.
21st) and "(The Lights Went Out In) Massachusetts" was a no. 11 hit (Nov. 25th).
Barry Gibb and his brothers (all born in England), twins Maurice and Robin, were the children of orchestra leader Hugh Gibb and dance band vocalist Barbara Pass (other siblings included daughter Lesley and youngest brother Andy). With the family now living in Australia, the trio began performing, first in bands like The Rattlesnakes and then Barry and The Twins. By 1963 they were performing as the Bee Gees, short for the Brothers Gibb.
The group scored their first hit in Australia in 1966 with "Spicks and Specks." By 1967 they were also having hits in England (and had returned here) and America as well (Did you know that Robert Stigwood was able to break Cream in the U.S.
by making them a package deal with the Bee Gees?).
Neil Diamond added to his repetoire with "You Got To Me", a no.
18 hit (Feb. 11th). "Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon" was a no.
10 smash (April 29th). "I Thank The Lord For The Night Time" was a no. 13 hit (Aug.
5th). "Kentucky Woman" placed at no. 22 (Oct.
28th).
"There's A Kind Of Hush" was a no. 4 smash for Herman's Hermits (March 4th entry) backed by/ "No Milk Today", which peaked at no.
35 (March 18th). "Don't Go Out Into The Rain (You're Going To Melt)" was a no. 18 hit (July 8th).
"Museum" peaked at no. 39 (Sept, 16th entry).
The Supremes had another great year, at least career-wise.
"Love Is Here And Now You're Gone" was a no. 1 smash (Feb. 4th entry).
"The Happening" from the film of the same name, gave the group another no. 1 smash (April 15th).
By this time, several Motown groups underwent name changes; a few lead singers' names were highlighted, placing them in front.
The next release, "Reflections," showed the new billing as Diana Ross and The Supremes. The single was a no. 2 smash (Aug.
19th entry). "In And Out Of Love" was a no. 9 smash (Nov.
25th entry).
From its first chart entries and through this year, 1967, Motown placed fourteen no. 1 pop singles, twenty no.
1 singles on the R + B charts, forty-six more Top 15 pop singles, and seventy-five top 15 R + B records. In 1966 alone, 75 percent of all Motown releases hit the charts. In this year, 1967, Motown grossed $21 million, selling 70% of its records to whites.
But also by this year, the Motown empire began to decline; a few days before a scheduled Supremes performance at the Hollywood Bowl in April, Berry Gordy fired Florence Ballard (for unprofessional behavior), replacing her with Cindy Birdsong (formerly with Patti LaBelle and The Bluebelles).
"Happy Together" was a no. 1 smash (for three weeks!
) for The Turtles (Mar. 14th chart entry). "She'd Rather Be With Me" was a no.
3 smash (May 27th entry). "You Know What I Mean" was a no. 12 hit (Aug.
26th). And "She's My Girl" was a no. 14 hit (Dec.
2nd entry).
Since the group’s last concert, Brian Epstein tried to find other projects: theater, managing other singers, and promoting other concerts by name acts, such as The Four Tops.
Epstein was also actively seeking a business partner who could take over the whole NEMS operation from him (There was a separate branch Nemperor Artists, formed with lawyer friend Nat Weiss, that represented NEMS acts in America, like The Cyrkle.
)
Enter Robert Stigwood, who already had a roster of new acts-Cream, The Bee Gees, The Moody Blues, and Jimi Hendrix, among others. Stigwood became NEMS’s joint managing director, pending acquisition of a majority shareholding. The merger happened on Jan.
21st; Epstein retained sole control over the Beatles.
But in spite of all this, early in 1967, Epstein made a second suicide attempt. He failed.
With the advent of this year, the Beatles were now in the position of having to out-do rivals that they themselves had created.
Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys was blown away by Rubber Soul and became inspired and challenged to try to out-do the Beatle album.
This equally landmark album was recorded almost exactly by Brian Wilson, while the rest of the group was out on tour.
(Ironically, Paul McCartney was inspired and challenged by “Pet Sounds” to come up with “Sgt.Pepper”. Don’t you just love rock stars?
)
I personally believe the San Franciso Sound and the “Summer Of Love” in Haight-Asbury was also a HUGE influence on every major rock star of the time.
By now, the Beatles had finally left their “teenybopper” image behind and embarked on their psychedelic period.
Even the group’s look changed; all four members now had mustaches (at and sometimes beards), the “mop tops” had grown out longer and shaggier, and the clothes were hippie-oriented (and in George Harrison’s case, also inspired by India).
“Strawberry Fields Forever” was the first song recorded that was intended for an album about nostalgia and childhood when the Beatles convened back into the recording studio on November 24th, 1966. Due to pressure from Capitol Records, Brian Epstein hastily released the first two songs recorded which would have ended up on the Sgt. Pepper album.
“Fields” was released as a double A sided single along with “Penny Lane” on February 13th in the UK and on Feb.17th in the U.S.
(“Penny Lane” was cute, but “Strawberry Fields” was a standout”, recalled Pamela Foster. “It was very ‘cutting edge’ for its day”.)
Did you know that after “Penny Lane” became a hit, the street signs for the actual Penny Lane in Liverpool were disappearing with such regularity that the town reverted to simply painting ‘Penny Lane’ on the buildings, rather than have street signs.
“Strawberry Fields” was named for a real place, Strawberry Field, a children’s home run by the Salvation Army in Liverpool.
And the song is actually TWO versions mixed together by George Martin. One was a half-tone higher and slightly faster.
When slowed down, it somehow fit together with the other version perfectly. The Beatles liked both and couldn’t decide; they asked Martin if he could put them together.
The Beatles also became pioneers of the modern pop music video this year, the first to do them for the songs “Penny Lane” and “Strawberry Fields Forever’.
On January 1st, the group resumed work on Sgt. Pepper; the session ended on April 2nd..
On May 1st, EMI announced that total world sales of Beatle records (LPs, singles, and EPs) had reached 200 million.
On May 15th, Paul McCartney met his future wife, Linda Eastman, at the Bag O’ Nails (a store? restaurant?
).
May 20th-Advance copies of Sgt. Pepper are sent to the B.
B.C. “A Day In The Life” is banned because of drug inducement themes.
On June 1st, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” is released in the UK.
(The total cost to make the album was $100,000.
There were 700 hours of studio time used to record it over a period of four months.)
The album became an international sensation, topping the charts all over the world, holding no. 1 in Britain for 27 weeks, 19 in America.
Sgt. Pepper was acclaimed as a masterpiece (but was also condemmed for some of the “druggie” lyrics and themes). It’s also considered the first “concept album” And it was the first album to print out the song lyrics.
EVERYONE seemed to analyze the contents , or want to. Sgt. Pepper set the standard and raised the gold bar for rock albums then and now, decades later.
(Legend has it that Otis Redding listened to the album over and over on a houseboat in California; this inspired HIM to write “Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay” as a result.)
(Contrary to popular belief, one of the album’s songs, “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” was prompted by 4-year-old Julian Lennon’s description of a painting he brought home from school, not the drug LSD. “Lovely Rita ” was written after Paul got a parking ticket from a female warden in Abbey Road.
“For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite” was inspired by an old circus poster! “A Day In The Life” was inspired by a newspaper article John read about an actual suicide.
“Within You, Without You” came about from a conversation between George Harrison and Klaus Voorman-remember him?)
On June 19th, Paul announced to the media that he’s taken :LSD at least four times (By now, all four members were taking LSD.) “I don’t regret that I’ve spoken out.
I hope my fans will understand…”
On June 21st, Billy Graham slammed McCartney’s druig use: “I am praying for Paul that he finds what he is looking for…he has reached the top of his profession and now he is searching for the true purpose in life. But he will not find it through LSD”.
June 25th-The Beatles become the first rock group to be globally transmitted live (by satellite) on BBC television.
The program was “Our World”, a two-hour special, viewed by five continents, 24 or 31 countries (accounts vary here), and watched by 400-500 million (accounts vary here also). This was the first live international satellite broadcast.
The featured song?
“All You Need Is Love” (The intro is from “La Marseillaise”, the French national anthem).
On July 24th, the Beatles and Brian Epstein signed their names to a full-page advertisement in the Times stating that “the law against marijuana is immoral in principal and unworkable in practice.” The list of names included a variety of authors, painter, and politicians.
July 28th-“The Family Way”, starring Hayley Mills, premieres in New York. The film’s music was by Paul McCartney and arranged by George Martin.
On August 25th, the Beatles left London and arrived at Bangor, North Wales for their first meditation with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (I think Maharishi Mahesh means “great saint”).
It was Patti Harrison who first met him; she decided to bring the group and the guru together.
Then came very sad news. On August 27th, Brian Epstein died from an overdose of sleeping pills.
He was only 32!
There was panic within the band. John Lennon would later lament: “The Beatles were finished when Eppy died.
I knew, deep inside me that, that was it. Without him, we’d had it.”
It turned out that upon his death, Epstein’s actual monetary worth was three quarters of a million pounds (British money).
Epstein had also done heavy borrowing against the company assets. And by October, his five-year contract with the Beatles was set to expire.
Paul McCartney, according to Beatles press agent Tony Barrow, felt that the group might not be together, so Paul quickly planned the “Magical Mystery Tour” project.
October 17th-There was a memorial service for Brian Epstein at the New London Synagogue. All four Beatles attended.
On November 8th, “How I Won The War” premieres in New York.
November 27th-The album, “Magical Mystery Tour”, is released in the U.S. where it hits no.
1. It’s released in the UK eleven days later as an extended play disc.
On December 4th, the “Apple Boutique” opens, selling trendy hippie fashions.
The shop’s managed by former Quarryman Pete Shotton.
Dec. 26th-“Magical Mystery Tour”, the hour-long TV special was broadcast (in black and white!
) in England only. Some 15 million watched; the critics and public didn’t like it. Many reviewers called it “blatant rubbish”, “chaotic”, and “appalling”.
As a result, the American million dollar deal for broadcast rights was pulled (But I believe this WAS eventually shown on American TV.)
“Penny Lane” (March 4th entry) was a no. 1 smash/backed by “Strawberry Fields Forever”, a no.
8 smash (Mar. 11th entry).
Another double-sided hit followed, with “All You Need Is Love”(July 29th entry), another no.
1 smash/backed by “Baby You’re A Rich Man”, which peaked at no. 34 (August 12th entry). “Hello, Goodbye”(Dec.
9th entry) was also a no. 1 smash (for three weeks!)
This one covers 1964-1966.
As before, the answers can be found in the previous chapters or segments of my “mini-epic” (hee, hee!). As before, there’s no questions from the yearly recaps, so you won’t have to look through those.
This time, the answers are below the questions, but try to see if you can get them first.
1. What was so special about mid-60s teen idols?
2. T or F-Dave Clark was the keyboardist and lead singer (of course) of the Dave Clark Five.
3.
From what source did The Rolling Stones get their name?
4. What was Gerry Marsden’s former occupation before becoming a singer?
Bonus: What was Gerry and The Pacemakers’ U.S. top 40 debut?
5. Who was the ‘60s second most successful act?
6.
T or F-Mary Wells knocked The Beatles out of the no.1 spot with “My Guy”.
7.
What was the first rock protest hit, and who sang it?
8. What was unique about the year 1965?
(There’s a HUGE clue in the previous answer.)
9. What was the first prime-time rock show?
Bonus: What channel was it on?
10. T or F-Bob Dylan was responsible for the new genre of folk-rock.
11. The Four Tops’ first no. 1 smash was “______ ______ ______ _____”.
11a. What was the sub-title?
12.
What duo made a monster debut in 1965?
13. What R + B/Pop legend was killed in December 1964?
14. What was the biggest black-owned indie record label before Motown?
15.
T or F-There was a subsidiary of Apple Records called Zapple.
16. Name three cities that had thriving local or regional sounds.
17. What teen magazine set the standard for all others?
Ok, here are the answers below.
No. 1-A. Most were British, long-haired, and came in groups.
No.2-A. F-Mike Smith was lead singer and the drummer.
No. 15-A. True-This was an outlet for spoken word and avant-garde recordings.
No. 16-A. Actually, there’s really no wrong answer here, for any city that had a local or regional, thriving recording industry would fit here.
So you could have said Chicago, New Orleans, Nashville, Akron, Detroit, New York City, Pittsburgh, etc.
No. 18-A.
It’s been widely accepted as having started in 1954 by station owner Todd Storz and one of his engineers, Gordon McLendon
I personally believe that "heavy metal" music, especially in its early stages, had some origins in garage and psychedelic rock. So I'll start from that point.
Garage rock was a raw form of rock and roll that enjoyed its original period of wide success in the U.
S. and Canada from 1963 to 1967 (I would venture to say throughout '67.) Did you know that this was originally known as "punk rock"?
It was renamed to "garage rock" to distinguish it from 1970s punk music.
This genre was typified by very low-budget record production; recordings were often made by mostly teenage males in the garages of their suburban homes.
But other bands consisted of professional musicians in their twenties or older.
Though some song themes concerned high school life and lying/cheating girls (or boys), garage rock bands were actually quite diverse in both musical ability and style.
A larger number of these groups produced only regional hits; the vast majority of these bands were commercial failures.
New styles and genres evolved such as Bubblegum and progressive rock, replacing the garage sound.
But throughout the 1970s and '80s, interest by record collectors and fans revived this music, continuing into the present with current variations.
Garage rock had been evolving regionally since 1958 ("Jenny Lee" by Jan and Arnie-later to be Jan and Dean-, "Dirty Robber" by The Wailers, and Rumble" by Link Wray are generally considered the first "garage" songs. "I Don't Need You No More" by The Rumbles (1962) was another early prototype.
In 1963 the garage sound made the national charts. Such regional favorites as Paul Revere and The Raiders, The Kingsmen, The Trashmen, and The Rivieras.
The British Invasion (1964-1966) DID greatly influence the garage band sound; many local American groups began adopting a British Invasion sound; the Invasion also inspired new, very amateurish bands to form.
Most garage bands were probably more influenced by the British blues-based groups, such as The Kinks, The Animals, The Yardbirds, and The Rolling Stones (The Beatles were actually disdained by some of the more purist garage bands.)
This genre is believed to have peaked in 1966 ("Psychotic Reaction" by The Count 5, "Pushin' Too Hard" by The Seeds, "Lies" and "One Track Mind" by The Knickerbockers, "Gloria" by The Shadows Of Knight, "96 Tears" by ? and The Mysterians, "Talk Talk" by The Music Machine, "Dirty Water" by The Standells, "Little Girl" by Syndicate Of Sound, and "Hey Joe" by The Leaves, among others in this year alone), went into a slow decline in late 1967, a few garage records were released in 1968 and '69, with the sound generally disappearing by '68 (some say 1970).
In its own time, garrage rock was not identified as such; its name was acquired in the early '70s by record collectors and critics.
Psychedelic Rock (also known as "acid rock")was a style of rock music inspired by or attempting to duplicate the "mind-tripping" experiences brought on by drugs, especially LSD. (Electronic, progressive, and heavy metal evolved from this genre.
)
The first musicians to be influenced by drugs were in the jazz (drug references were used in some songs) and folk genres, but the first use of the term "psychedelic" was by the "acid-folk" group, The Holy Modal Rounders in 1964. The first use of the term in ROCK MUSIC is credited to the 13th Floor Elevators; the earliest known appearance of this term IN PRINT is credited to their 1966 album, "The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators."
But The Grateful Dead and Pink Floyd had utilized the psychedelic sound as early as 1965; "Sunshine Superman" by Donovan, was one of this genre's first pop singles (and a no.
1 smash!).
Psychedelic rock came to wideapread public attention in this year, 1967, and was typified by abstract lyrics that often described dreams, visions, or hallucinations, modal melodies, longer songs and lengthy instrumental solos, and distortion, reverb, reversed, delayed, phased sounds, and other "trippy" electronic effects.
It was truly "music to take your drugs by".
As the Holy Modal Rounders were trail-blazing in psychedelia, a similar band from San Francisco called Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions were influenced by the Byrds and the Beatles, switching from acoustic to electric music. Renaming themselves The Warlocks, they fell in with Ken Kesey's LSD-fuelled Merry Pranksters in Nov.
'65. The Warlocks then changed their name to The Grateful Dead the following month. The Dead played to light shows with pulsing images projected over the group, their sound soon becoming known as "acid rock".
Throughout 1966, the San Francisco Sound flourished, making stars of several local bands and bringing fame to the venues they played in. (Ironically, while the Grateful Dead became the leading San Fran band by both local concert-goers and rival bands, gaining a cult following, their records didn't sell as well as those of their peers. The Dead didn't achieve national popularity until around 1969-1970.
)
San Francisco was the main focus of the psychedelic music scene, but other American cities also made significant contributions: From Los Angeles came The Byrds, Love, Spirit, The United States Of America, and The Doors, among others. New York City gave us The Blues Magoos and Blues Project, among others. Detroit begat The Amboy Dukes.
Texas (particularly Austin) gave us Bubble Puppy, Red Krayola, and many others.
Even some well-established groups were influeenced by psychedelic music, such as The Beach Boys (particularly the group's writer/arranger/producer Brian Wilson, who was also influenced by drug use and mental illness. The result was "Pet Sounds", a classic album, "Good Vibrations", and the unfinished "SMiLE", remade by Wilson in 2004.
)
Motown, particularly writer/producer Norman Whitfield and new lead singer Dennis Edwards, gave The Temptations an edgier sound with "Cloud Nine", "Runaway Child Running Wild", "Ball Of Confusion(That's What The World Is Today)", and "Psychedelic Shack". "Reflections" by Diana Ross and The Supremes were another Motown example. The Chambers Brothers had the 11-minute long classic, "Time Has Come Today".
"Jefferson Airplane Takes Off" was the first album tocome out of San Francisco during this time; it sold well. As a result, the record industry became interested in the city's music scene.
Across the ocean, the British group Pink Floyd had been developing psychedelic rock with light shows since '65.
Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience were emerging to the forefront. As in America, several established artisits also joined the psychedelic music scene, including Eric Burden, The Small Faces, some of The Who's work, particularly "I Can See For Miles" and their later album "Tommy". The Rolling Stones' "19th Nervous Breakdown", "Paint It Black", and their album, "Their Satanic Majesties Request" contained many drug references and psychedelic hints.
And then there were The Beatles; some say they had to play "catch up" with the new sound or risk becoming obsolete if they remained as the "four lovable, safe, wholesome, and clean mop tops". Some say they were already ahead of the game. What I DO know is that this group not only kept up, they SURPASSED the San Francisco Sound.
From the landmark Rubber Soul, there was "The Word", "I'm Looking Through You", "Norwegian Wood", and "Girl". Revolver featured "Tomorrow Never Knows", "Yellow Submarine", "Love You To", "She Said, She Said", among others. And in this year, 1967, there was the groundbreaking "Strawberry Fields Forever" and yet another landmark album, "Sgt.
Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (Many consider this the group's masterpiece. I maintain that this is just one of SEVERAL).
Psychedelic music soon became a worldwide sensation (There was even Mexican psychedelic rock.
)
Many of these psychedelic music pioneers gave up the genre by decade's end, however; some returned to basic rock and roll, some evolved into a progressive rock sound (like Yes), while others evolved into a harsher, louder music-heavy metal.
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that became a defined musical style in the 1970s, but its origins are from the late '60s. Rock and blues music are sometimes mixed to create a very heavy drum-and-guitar driven sound, with highly amplified distortion.
The most common line-up consists of a drummer, a bassist, a rhythm guitarist, a lead guitarist, and a singer (who may also play an instrument). Keyboards were popular with the early metal bands, but is less popular today.
But it's all about the guitar, baby!
It's the key element of this genre (Riffs, distortion, amplification, complex solos, more sonic power!)
Most vocals vary in style, ranging from almost operatic to gruff and scratchy to outright growls and howls. Seriously.
And crank up that volume! Extreme loudness is also an integral part of heavy metal. (Many of this genre's artists paid a price for it; Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath) has considerable hearing loss, as does Ted Nugent (The Amboy Dukes)and Pete Towshend (of The Who, the group that once held the distinction of "The World's Loudest Band")among many others.
Visuals and images are an important part of this genre; album covers and stage shows are as much a part of the presentation as the music itself.
In reaction to the "peace and love" theme of the hippie culture, heavy metal themes are darkness, evil, power, depression, war, nuclear wipout, anti- political and anti-religious issues.
Sometimes classical or classical-like music is used in this genre.
The term "heavy metal" has been around for a while: it had already been used for centuries in chemistry and metallurgy. An early use of this term in modern culture was used in 1962 by writer William S. Burroughs in his novel,The Soft Machine (There's a character called "Uranian Willy, the Heavy Metal Kid").
In his next novel, Nova Express (1964), the term's used as a metaphor for addictive drugs.
But the first recorded use of heavy metal in a song was the phrase "heavy metal thunder" from Steppenwolf's "Born To Be Wild" (1968). The British group The Move (from Birmingham, England also the home of Led Zeppelin, and Black Sabbath) have claimed that the sound came from their "heavy" guitar riffs.
Sandy Pearlman, original producer/manager/songwriter for Blue Oyster Cult, claims to be the first to use the term in 1970.
Early heavy metal evolved from the British blues scene. Groups experimented, wrote new arrangments, or often just speeded things up!
The Kinks' "You Really Got Me" has been cited as one of the very first "heavy metal" songs. Blue Cheer's "Summertime Blues" (1968) is considered by some fans and scholars as the first true heavy metal song.
There's The Beatles' "Helter Skelter" and the single "Revolution" (both from '68) which set new standards for this genre (But hey, weren't The Beatles always setting standards?
). Jeff Beck's album "Truth" was widely influential and is considered the first heavy metal album.
The first heavy metal bands, such as King Crimson, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, UFO, and of course, Led Zeppelin, are now considered "hard rock" bands by many fans.
But sometimes these terms and sounds can overlap.
This year, 1967, marked the launch of the second British Invasion of America.
It’s not that the Brit groups and singers ever stopped coming during the decade, but this second time around, there was a different sound.
There was far less emphasis on “cute” and more on mature lyrics, songs that had a message or meaning to them. Many of the groups “crossing over” came from the British Blues scene that started a few years earlier. (There were inklings of the sound before, like “Go Now” by The Moody Blues-that’s classic British Blues, Georgie Fame’s “Yeh Yeh” and “Get Away”-Brit Blues with a touch a jazz, and “House Of The Rising Sun” by The Animals; in fact, a lot of this group’s early material, and also The Rolling Stones’ early work.
I’d also like to include a fantastic cover version of “Since I Lost My Baby” by The Action and two great covers of “Oh No, Not My Baby” by Dusty Springfield, the other, by Georgie Fame (and The Blue Flames).
The Who captured the anger and rebelliousness of England’s Mods (Remember the Mods and the Rockers?).
With their songs mostly written by Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey's defiant screaming, Keith Moon's manic drumming, and John Entwistle's thumping bass, the group became THE symbol of the Mod movement. "My Generation" became their battle cry. The group's rebelling spirit was further enchanced by Townshend's guitar-smashing and Moon's drum destruction ("I Can't Explain" and "Anyhow, Anyway, Anywhere" were also popular early Who efforts.
"My Generation" also got airplay in the States, but the Who didn't break into the top 40 until this year 1967 And not with "My Generation".)
All group members came from working-class backgrounds and several were manual laborers-Daltrey was a sheet metal worker for five years, while Townshend and Entwistle worked at various odd jobs. Moon was a plaster salesman.
Though their music was basically rock, the Who were heavily influenced by R + B. They actually started out as such, playing Chicago blues under another name, then as the High Numbers. They were reshaped into a Mod image by their first manager, Pete Meaden (He was later fired by the group; new managers Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp, continued to reinforce the Mod makeover.
` It worked.)
Another R + B-influenced band, Cream, broke through in America this year. The trio of Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker, often appeared on stage in eye-boggling outfits, but played a very driving, electric blues-based music.
Each member had previous experience in several of England’s best-known blues groups. In June 1966, the three met, and Cream was formed.
Their first album, "Fresh Cream" contained covers of blues songs, but it was their second effort in late '67, "Disreali Gears" (the U.
S. breakthrough), that contained several blues-band originals like "Sunshine Of Your Love". Cream was rising to the top (I couldn't resist!
)
Other blues-influenced, blues-playing artists included ex-Yardbird Jeff Beck (Clapton was an ex-Yardbird also), Alvin Lee and Ten Years After, and The Spencer Davis Group (formed in 1963), who broke through to the U.S. top 40 this year.
(Legend has it that lead singer Steve Winwood, who also played guitar and keyboards, was only 16 when "Gimme Some Lovin' " was recorded. Winwood also left the group to form Traffic this year.
(Now some of you may be thinking, "Well, JEEZ, PAT, are these guys teen idols?
??" I would say yes, to some extent.
All the abovementioned had a large teen AND young adult following. Now there were several San Francisco artists that straddled the line, but I basically don't consider them teen idols.)
Now The Beatles were still popular, but by this time, the group was long past the "cute, cuddly moptop" stage; not only had their music matured (as had many of their fans), but even their image had a makeover: longer, shabbier hair, mustached, and mod-hippie clothing replaced the uniformed "cute" look.
And other established groups such as The Rolling Stones were also going in more mature musical directions. Even The Monkees were going for more "revelant" songs (not a good idea).
The San Francisco Sound was socially revelant AND hot during this time, so many major groups and singers jumped on the bandwagon to keep up (Not only did the Beatles keep up, they SURPASSED the San Fran sound, once again setting the standard.
)
But there was still room for new pop stars, like The Buckinghams, Box Tops, Andy Kim, The Cowsills, The Union Gap (featuring Gary Puckett), The Bee Gees, The Grassroots, Oliver, The First Edition (featuring Kenny Rogers), Creedence Clearwater Revival (featuring John Fogerty), and Bobby Sherman.
And from the world of TV, there were: Dirk and Dack Rambo, twins (One was in the series, "Guns Of Will Sonnet" (1968). I think it was Dack.
David McCallum, of "The Man From U.N.C.
L.E." was VERY popular.
Michael Landon, Paul Peterson, and Don Grady were also popular . William Shantner and Leonard Nimoy of "Star Trek" were considered hot (They were quite handsome then!).
Luke Halpin, (teen star of the "Flipper" movie and TV series) with his "All-American" looks, was regularly featured in 16 magazine. Adam West and Burt Ward ("Batman"), Jay North and Sajid Khan ("Maya") were hot. And "Then Came Bronson" (1969) star Michael Parks became a major hottie during this time.
He even had a top 40 hit, "Going Down That Long Lonesome Highway", the show's theme. Others were: Desi Arnaz Jr., Doug McClure, David Soul and Bobby Sherman ("Here Come The Brides"), Robert Conrad ("The Wild Wild West"), Christopher Jones ("Jesse James"-TV series), Ryan O'Neal and Mia Farrow ("Peyton Place"), Micheal Cole, Clarence Williams III, and Peggy Lipton ("The Mod Squad").
Female idols included Ann-Margret, Patty Duke, and Shelley Fabares. But Twiggy was probably the ONE. And all of the abovementioned also sang.
(Yes, even Twiggy! But she didn't place in the top 40 here.)
The verbal content of many songs by now had turned to rebellion, social protest, sex, and drugs (Or references to these topics).
Many groups such as The Jefferson Airplane and Grateful Dead, tried to recreate the "drug-taking experience" on record-producing long, repetitive, at-times-downright-boring songs with surreal, overly pretentious lyrics. This became known as "acid" or "hard rock".
Along came "bubblegum", a fluffy, very upbeat, "cotton candy" type of pop music designed for the pre-teen set (Laugh all you want, but this was a welcome alternative to the counterculture music.
There's ALWAYS a need for "hey, everybody, let's dance" and fun, fluffy music. You can't be serious ALL the time!) The Lemon Pipers, 1910 Fruitgum Company, The Ohio Express, and even a cartoon group, The Archies, were some of this genre's buggest stars (Actually, several cartoon groups were in this genre, which we'll examine in an upcoming segment.
)
Did you know that bubblegum music had its own distinct categories? There were at least four, sometimes overlapping, but each with a distinct fan base and sound. Of course , there'll be more on this later.
News RSS