Members DRW50 Posted December 12, 2011 Members Share Posted December 12, 2011 Teen Angel has always been a little too quavery and precious for me. How far did that song "Oh where oh where can my baby be...the Lord took her away from me" song chart? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Max Posted December 12, 2011 Author Members Share Posted December 12, 2011 Carl, the song you are referring to above was "Last Kiss," which (as I mentioned earlier) peaked at #2 in 1964. I actually like that song more than "Teen Angel." It was sort of odd that "Last Kiss" was the title of that song, since--to the best of my recollection--that phrase was sung only once during that recording. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alphanguy74 Posted December 12, 2011 Members Share Posted December 12, 2011 Carl, that is the perfect description... quavery and precious. The genre of "Teen Tragedy" has never been one that I've liked very much... although a spoof of those songs from 1965....I think was cute an hilarious.... with none other than Ron Dante on lead: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi5yDBvYUcE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted December 12, 2011 Members Share Posted December 12, 2011 I tend to like a chorus or a melody more than the song itself - for that reason, I like "Last Kiss", "Endless Sleep" (which has a very funky tone, although I guess no one says "funky" now), and even "Patches" (mostly for that part where he sings "PAAATCHES!" in a high wail). Even "Tell Laura I Love Her" is good for a little chuckle, at its overwroughtness. But "Teen Angel" bores/annoys me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Max Posted December 14, 2011 Author Members Share Posted December 14, 2011 "Leader of the Pack" is indeed a teenage death song, though I never before thought of it as belonging to that subgenre. Perhaps that's because all the other songs I previously mentioned were performed by males and concerned dead females (and not the other way around). Nine weeks was the most any song spent at #1 in the 1960s. Two songs achieved this feat, the first one being "Theme from 'A Summer Place'" by Percy Faith & His Orchestra, which held the top spot the weeks ended 2/22/60, 2/29/60, 3/7/60, 3/14/60, 3/21/60, 3/28/60, 4/4/60, 4/11/60, & 4/18/60. (The other record of the decade that was number one for nine weeks was the Beatles' biggest hit, 1968's "Hey Jude.") <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Sjs8gKHQLRk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Percy Faith was an American immigrant born in Toronto. He originally set out to become a pianist, but his hands suffered lasting burn damage after he used them to extinguish a clothes fire that was engulfing his sister. He thus became a conductor instead, and scored two #1 hits before the rock era: "Delicado" (1952) and "The Song from 'Moulin Rouge' (Where Is Your Heart)" (1953). The latter hit spent ten weeks at the peak position and thus even eclipsed the success of "Theme from 'A Summer Place.'" "A Summer Place" was a 1959 film starring Sandra Dee, Troy Donahue, Richard Egan, and soap legend Constance Ford. The extraordinarily beautiful tune performed by Faith was actually not the main theme of the movie (despite the song's title); rather, it was a piece devoted to the romance between the characters portrayed by Dee and Donahue. In addition to the song's massive popularity, it won a Grammy for Record of the Year. Percy's only other top 40 hit of the rock era was "Theme for Young Lovers," which peaked at #35 later in 1960. In 1976, he died of cancer at age 67. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alphanguy74 Posted December 14, 2011 Members Share Posted December 14, 2011 You know, this song never rang my chimes. I guess I feel an instrumental needs to be a bit more interesting. It's pretty an all, perhaps the arrangement needed to be more grand and sweeping... maybe it needs a harp and more brass... I can't quite put my finger on it. I do think the melody isn't all that great... other instrumentals of the 60's had much more beautiful melodies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted December 14, 2011 Members Share Posted December 14, 2011 I think it's a pretty song, sort of soothing, although for some reason I always tend to remember the one that has the vocals, with the breathless females going "It's a summer plaaaace..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Max Posted December 14, 2011 Author Members Share Posted December 14, 2011 Elvis Presley's career was almost as successful in 1960 as it was in 1956 & 57. In each of those two years, the King had four #1 hits that spent a total of 25 weeks at the top, while in 1960, Elvis scored three chart-toppers that spent a collective total of 15 weeks at the peak position. The first Presley recording of the year to top the Hot 100 was "Stuck on You," which was number one for four weeks: the weeks ended 4/25/60, 5/2/60, 5/9/60, & 5/16/60. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/J1w9Xahzv8Y" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Elvis Presley was formally discharged from the Army on March 5, 1960, and--as you can imagine--RCA executives were very anxious to get him into a recording studio ASAP. A two-day session occurred on 3/20/60 & 3/21/60, during which "Stuck on You" and five other tunes were recorded. RCA decided to make the song his first post-Army record, and didn't need to do much in the way of promotion, given that demand among his fans was already so great. (Although fans lacked any idea about the song's theme, tempo, or title, "Stuck on You" received advance orders of almost 1.3 million, setting a new record for the time. While "Stuck on You" is a good song, I don't believe that it lived up to these huge expectations.) Elvis quickly resumed his movie making schedule as well. He soon began shooting scenes for "G.I. Blues" (his fifth movie), which not surprisingly was about a soldier that had a singing career. (It should be noted that neither "Stuck on You" nor any other #1 hit was featured in the film.) Upon its release in the latter half of 1960, "G.I. Blues" was panned by critics for its shallow storytelling. Unfortunately, Presley's movie career would only go further downhill from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted December 15, 2011 Members Share Posted December 15, 2011 Stuck On You was a fun upbeat number. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alphanguy74 Posted December 15, 2011 Members Share Posted December 15, 2011 Stuck On You was another song that did nothing for me... but then again, I've only liked Elvis here and there. This song dominated the charts for quite some time. I wanted to give honorable mention to a number two hit from around this period, and that is Jim Reeves' "He'll Have To Go". Always one of my favorites, it nearly topped the hot 100, but stalled at number 2. It spent an astounding 14 weeks at number one on the country charts, half of February, all of March, all of April, and the first half of May. Not sure which week it peaked on the hot 100, though... but it was in this timeframe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Max Posted December 16, 2011 Author Members Share Posted December 16, 2011 I love "He'll Have to Go," especially the line in the song that goes "put your sweet lips a little closer to the phone." This classic held the #2 position the weeks ended 3/7/60, 3/14/60, & 3/21/60. "He'll Have to Go" was one of five songs that was blocked from #1 by "Theme from 'A Summer Place.'" The other four tunes are listed below: "Handy Man" by Jimmy Jones "Wild One" by Bobby Rydell "Puppy Love" by Paul Anka "Greenfields" by The Brothers Four (which was also kept from the peak position by "Stuck on You") To the best of my knowledge, no #1 hit has kept more than five #2 songs from reaching the top, and aside from "Theme from 'A Summer Place,'" the only other chart-topper to equal this feat was "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" by Bryan Adams (which was #1 for seven weeks in 1991). (As a side note, I was wondering if the 14 weeks that "He'll Have to Go" spent at #1 on the country chart was an all-time record.) After scoring nine top 10 hits on Cadence Records (including two chart-toppers), the Everly Brothers switched labels to Warner Brothers. The first release on their new label--"Cathy's Clown"--was the duo's biggest hit ever, spending five weeks at number one: the weeks ended 5/23/60, 5/30/60, 6/6/60, 6/13/60, & 6/20/60. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/PXvKAWiU_cQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> At the time, it seemed like a good idea for the Everlys to leave Cadence, given that they were upset over royalty payments (they believed were owed to them), and also considering the fact that Warner Brothers made them a very generous offer: a 10-year, $1 million contract. Unfortunately, by leaving their old label, the brothers lost access to the songwriting team of Felice & Boudleaux Bryant (who wrote many of their previous hits). After the huge success of "Cathy's Clown," the Everly Brothers would never again return to the top five. They did, however, have five more top ten hits that are listed below: "So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad)" (#7, 1960) "Walk Right Back" (#7, 1961) "Ebony Eyes" (#8, 1961) "Crying in the Rain" (#6, 1962) "That's Old Fashioned (That's the Way Love Should Be)" (#9, 1962) (Note that out of all their WB songs, my three favorite--in this order--are "Cathy's Clown," "Walk Right Back," and "Crying in the Rain.") After "That's Old Fashioned," the Everly Brothers all but disappeared from the top 40, only reaching its bottom quarter twice more (once in 1964 and again in 1967). Given that the Beatles (for whom the Everlys were a major influence) did not dominate the chart until early 1964, they cannot be blamed for the duo's decline. Aside from the mistake that changing labels turned out to be, the brothers' career also suffered as a result of a stint that the two of them spent in the Marines (which took place in 1962). Regardless of their sagging career fortunes, Don and Phil continued to perform together until 1973. On July 13 of that year (which was a Friday), the duo split up after Phil walked off the stage in the middle of a concert. Apparently, the two of them were not even on speaking terms until they reunited in September 1983. As the Everly Brothers finally made peace between themselves, they became among the first group of inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted December 16, 2011 Members Share Posted December 16, 2011 I think that changing tastes in music had as much to do with their career decline as any label change. Not a huge fan of "Cathy's Clown," I just don't care that much for the arrangement, but it's a decent song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Max Posted December 17, 2011 Author Members Share Posted December 17, 2011 Carl, it certainly is possible that changing tastes in music had more to do with the Everly Brothers' decline in popularity than a label change did. However, I personally believe that the duo's records on Warner Brothers did not sound as "pure" as their songs on Cadence did. Ironically, the most famous Connie Francis songs were arguably "Who's Sorry Now" (#5 in 1958), "Lipstick on Your Collar" (#5 in 1959), and "Where the Boys Are" (#4 in 1961), none of which (obviously) topped the chart. Ms. Francis did, however, have three #1 hits, the first being "Everybody's Somebody's Fool," which spent two weeks at the peak position: the weeks ended 6/27/60 & 7/4/60. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/dRo_j_dxtvQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> New Jersey native Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero was born on December 12, 1938 in Newark. As a young girl, Concetta learned to play the accordion in addition to the experience she gained as a singer. She made an appearance on "Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts," and Mr. Godfrey gave her two pieces of advice: adopt the stage name Connie Francis, and forget about the accordion. Connie faced a lot of rejection before she became a star. First, label after label refused to add her to their roster. (According to Francis, Mitch Miller at Columbia Records once said "Save your money, this girl's got nothing.") She finally got accepted by MGM, but mostly because Connie presented to them a single titled "Freddy" (which happened to be the name of label executive Harry Myerson's son). After her first ten singles all failed to chart, MGM was ready to drop her. However, at her "final" recording session, Francis recorded a rock and roll version of a 1920s tune, "Who's Sorry Now" (which is my favorite song of hers, with "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" ranking second). In between "Who's Sorry Now" and "Everybody's Somebody's Fool," Connie scored the following top ten hits: "My Happiness" (#2, 1959) "Lipstick on Your Collar" (#5, 1959) "Frankie" (#9, 1959) "Among My Souvenirs" (#7, 1959) "Mama" (#8, 1960) Before 1960 ended, Ms. Francis would top the Hot 100 yet again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alphanguy74 Posted December 17, 2011 Members Share Posted December 17, 2011 I just love Connie Francis. I do prefer her ballads, because I think it shows off her voice much better, but I also like most everything she sings. Here she is singing this live on the Ed Sullivan show, and then a lip synch of the German version on some German TV show. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zppsnkvWfSY&feature=related Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members quartermainefan Posted December 17, 2011 Members Share Posted December 17, 2011 I think Connie Francis is one of the alltime greats. She can sing anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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