Listening to 80 years of Billboard: Part 3: 1960s

[cnoocy]

“I think it’s so groovy now
That people are finally getting together”

The 1960s

The music gets a lot more familiar in the 60s, which actually meant I tagged less of it. There are three excellent torch songs here: “Breakin’ In A Brand New Broken Heart,” “Break It To Me Gently,” and “Angel Of The Morning.” If you’re familiar with Juice Newton’s cover of “Angel”, pay attention to how much sadder Merilee Rush’s original is. The difference is mostly just changes in intonation, but (to me at least) it feels like these are the same song sung at very different stages of the Sexual Revolution.

“Dang Me” is a Lyle-Lovett-esque song by the man behind “King Of The Road” and contains a rhyme that is so ridiculous my wife called it “healing.”

I only knew the Camper Van Beethoven cover of “Pictures Of Matchstick Men” and was surprised to find the Status Quo original to be so similar.

There's also just a bunch of great musical moments in here, like the organ on "Runaway," the piano on "One Fine Day," and the syncopation on "Red Rubber Ball."

"When Will I Be Loved" by Everly Brothers: #91 in 1960
"Runaway" by Del Shannon: #5 in 1961 *
"Blue Moon" by Marcels: #40 in 1961
"Breakin' In A Brand New Broken Heart" by Connie Francis: #80 in 1961
"Take Five" by Dave Brubeck: #95 in 1961 *
"Break It To Me Gently" by Brenda Lee: #26 in 1962
"One Fine Day" by Chiffons: #98 in 1963 *
"You Don'T Own Me" by Lesley Gore: #36 in 1964 *
"Shoop Shoop Song" by Betty Everett: #44 in 1964
"Dang Me" by Roger Miller: #83 in 1964
"You Were On My Mind" by We Five: #3 in 1965
"You Can't Hurry Love" by Diana Ross & the Supremes: #8 in 1966
"Red Rubber Ball" by Crykle: #38 in 1966
"Angel Of the Morning" by Merrilee Rush: #28 in 1968
"Reach out Of the Darkness" by Friend & Lover: #49 in 1968
"Light My Fire" by Jose Feliciano: #52 in 1968
"Pictures Of Matchstick Men" by Status Quo: #55 in 1968
"The Mighty Quinn" by Manfred Mann: #91 in 1968 *

Comments

[in_parentheses]

"Take Five" was from 1961?! Why did we have to listen to it all the time in the 90s, then?

I had that same reaction to "Play That Funky Music." A 90s song must have sampled that so heavily that they were indistinguishable (by me)?

[cnoocy]

"Take Five" has been long-beloved by people who intellectualize music enough to enjoy a catchy tune in 5/4. The crumhorn section of my Renaissance music group in college really wanted to perform it in concert.

And "Play That Funky Music" was covered in the 90s by none other than Vanilla Ice. Which seems appropriate to the song.

[in_parentheses]

It's such a good point about "Angel of the Morning." I listened to them back to back and I totally hear what you're saying. I went looking on Spotify for more contemporary covers. The Pretenders have a 1995 version with a perhaps predictably more "fuck it!" vibe. Gorgeous version from Nina Simone (!). Bonnie Tyler's has a LOT of drum machine. Paging Taylor Swift for the 21st century update?

And I forgot Girlyman covers it on the live album! <3

[in_parentheses]

...ok, I'm obsessed with this song now. Merrilee Rush re-recorded it in 2017 ("Rockin' 2017 Version"). It does indeed rock marginally harder, but more importantly she has a much older woman's deeper, raspier voice that completely changes the feel of the song.

[cnoocy]

I think that in some ways it's a song that relies on one-night-stands not being normalized. Which makes me want to hear someone do an anachronistic version as if it were being recorded even earlier.

[yomikoma]

I had a great experience regarding Runaway - I was enthusing about the solo at our gaming group, and said it was played on a Musitron. Our friend LN asked what the heck a Musitron was and I knew that the wikipedia page (which he pulled up immediately) helpfully explained that it was a modification of a Clavioline.

[cnoocy]

Heh.