Members Max Posted March 8, 2012 Author Members Share Posted March 8, 2012 After hearing "He's So Fine" and "My Sweet Lord" superimposed over each other, they really do sound so much alike. It's amazing that many (myself included) would never otherwise make the connection. I'm really glad that you like those, Carl. I especially love any retro late-50s/early-60s music made during the 80s. Alphanguy previously shared a tune that most definately deserved to go to #1, "Tell Him" by the Exciters. (The record peaked at #4 in January 1963.) I'd now like to share my two favorite songs of 1963, which should also have been chart-toppers. I'll start off with the aforementioned "One Fine Day" by the Chiffons: <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zGBL0yA8od0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> In August came "Denise" by Randy & the Rainbows, a doo-wop record which reached #10: <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/6TPLy8SATLY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Like the Exciters, Randy & the Rainbows were a one-hit wonder from Queens. Though nobody in the group was named Randy, some idiot game them their new, silly name as a replacement for their previous monkier, Junior & the Counts. I should add that in the late-70s, Blondie did a cover of this record, but changed the sex and called it "Denis." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alphanguy74 Posted March 8, 2012 Members Share Posted March 8, 2012 I think "One Fine Day" is far the superior song. That piano intro is just one of the best in music history. another from 1963, that also stopped at number 2 in September is this one.... apparently, it cost 60,000$ to produce, which is STAGGERING for a record at that time: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted March 9, 2012 Members Share Posted March 9, 2012 Denise is a fun song, so fast and catchy. I like the Blondie version too but not as much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members quartermainefan Posted March 9, 2012 Members Share Posted March 9, 2012 Oh before we get too far into the years, I wanted to share a song from 1956 which is now pretty obscure but worth a listen. "Stranded In The Jungle" by The Cadets <iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/LAxPua7IkfY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> I now return this thread to 1963 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Max Posted March 10, 2012 Author Members Share Posted March 10, 2012 I apologize for my rudeness gentlemen, but I don't care for either of those two songs. While I love doo-wop, I am not a fan of the comic doo-wop subgenre (though I find "Stranded in the Jungle" to be far more tolerable than just about any Coasters record). "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" is also not a bad tune, though it is just too unconventional for my tastes. I am pretty sure that the $60,000 production cost cited by Alphanguy was new record; however, I believe that the costs for the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" (1966) exceeded that figure. Throughout this thread, I have been using "The 'Billboard' Book of Number One Hits" by Fred Bronson as a source of data. Bronson's favorite song happens to be the magnificent "I Will Follow Him" by Little Peggy March, which was number one for three weeks: the weeks ended 4/27/63, 5/4/63, & 5/11/63. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/4bkW6VpFKu4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Margaret Battavio was born on March 8, 1948 in Lansdale, PA. (The month of her birth was used as part of her stage name.) After winning a talent contest when she was five, young Peggy amassed a lot of experience singing on radio and television. Though she absolutely hated this (partly because--at four feet, ten inches tall--she was constantly reminded of how short she was to begin with), producers Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore added the word "Little" to her stage moniker. One of March's first releases on RCA Records was "I Will Follow Him," a translation of a French hit for Petula Clark that was titled "Chariot." (Among the song's five writers was "Del Roma," which was really an alias for Paul Mauriat.) When "I Will Follow Him" reached #1, Peggy was only 15 years, 1 month, and 19 days old, which made her the youngest female soloist to ever score a chart-topping single (a record which still stands to this day). Despite her incredibly powerful voice, March only made two more top 40 appearances with "I Wish I Were a Princess" (#32) and "Hello Heartache, Goodbye Love" (#26). She had much more success in Germany than in the United States (and even lived there from 1969-81). Peggy also wrote songs, two of which went to number one in Europe: "Manuel Goodbye" by Audrey Landers and "When the Rain Begins to Fall" by Jermaine Jackson & Pia Zadora. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted March 10, 2012 Members Share Posted March 10, 2012 I never knew she took her name from her birth year. I Will Follow Him is another song which is so suited to the era, when this type of undying love could be sung unironically, or without various regurgitations and echoes and reverb and all the rest. It has a lot of passion (I LOVE HIM, I LOVE HIM, I LOVE HIM) yet is also very innocent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alphanguy74 Posted March 10, 2012 Members Share Posted March 10, 2012 Max... another bit of information you may not have known is that Peggy March wasn't allowed to get any of her money until she as 18, but her manager absconded with all of her money, and left her with only 500 dollars. She tried to pick herself back up, found a new manager... whom she fell in love with and married... and then starting having surprise hits in Germany (which you mentioned). She had 3 top 10 hits in 1969, and her and her husband moved there, and lived for 12 years....where she became a big star through the 70's, starring in her own TV specials, and also having big hits in Japan. Here is one of her German 1972 hits: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted March 10, 2012 Members Share Posted March 10, 2012 That's great. I miss TV specials. I wonder if they still have them in Germany. That song sounds like How Do You Do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alphanguy74 Posted March 11, 2012 Members Share Posted March 11, 2012 Max... the unusual quailty of Sally Go Round The Roses" is what I like about it. It's kind of hypnotic. My favorite Finnish singer, Markku Aro had a minor hit in Finland with a cover of "I Will Follow Him" in 1975. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D44vDEG0DlQ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alphanguy74 Posted March 11, 2012 Members Share Posted March 11, 2012 Carl... there is also a version of "How Do you Do" by a German duo as well. A great deal of German pop from the 70's has that sing along "folksy" kind of feeling to it. Many of them sound like mixtures of American folk music, Polka, and Drinking songs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Max Posted March 12, 2012 Author Members Share Posted March 12, 2012 I did not know about Peggy March's awful financial situation. In the clip that Alphanguy shared, she looked--and sounded--very different than she did in 1963. "I Will Follow Him" was succeeded at #1 by "If You Wanna Be Happy" by Jimmy Soul, which spent two weeks at the peak position: the weeks ended 5/18/63 & 5/25/63. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/I3Oxe9v3VrU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> James McCleese--better known as Jimmy Soul--was born in North Carolina but lived in the Norfolk, VA area by the time he reached adulthood. Though his prior musical experience primarily consisted of singing gospel (as part of the Nightingales), he was signed to producer Frank Guida's S.P.Q.R. label as a rock and roll artist. (For those who recall, Guida also discovered Gary "U.S." Bonds, and one can definately notice that "Quarter to Three" and "If You Wanna Be Happy" sound similar to one another.) Jimmy's first hit was "Twistin' Matilda," which peaked at #22 in 1962. Then came "If You Wanna Be Happy," an adaptation of a calypso song titled "Ugly Woman." Without a doubt, "If You Wanna Be Happy" is the most sexist song to reach number one. However, despite some protests being raised, feminist groups were far less politically powerful in 1963 (than they would become) and were thus unable to make a material dent in the success of the record. A similar situation would arise in 1985, when the Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing" soared to the chart apex despite its use of the word "faggot." Again, because the LGBT community was not nearly as politically visible back then, such homophobic lyrics were tolerated by most in mainstream America. Surprisingly, "If You Wanna Be Happy" marked Soul's final chart appearance. After his career dried up, Jimmy joined the Army. He died of a heart attack on June 25, 1988, at the very young age of 45. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alphanguy74 Posted March 12, 2012 Members Share Posted March 12, 2012 I always wondered why this song became number one... for two weeks, nonetheless! I guess there is a certain snarky fun element to it, I just picture every woman being put off by it. And Max... "Money for Nothing" did get some degree of criticizm, today, the full version is almost never broadcast. I personally think that since it was released during the first wave of AIDS, the gay community had bigger fish to fry, and frankly, the lyrics are not well enunicated, and buried in the production, so it slipped under alot of people's radar, just like the Ohio Express' "Yummy Yummy Yummy", where many people totally missed the fact that it was an ode to oral sex, because it was wrapped in such an innocuous package. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted March 12, 2012 Members Share Posted March 12, 2012 "If You Wanna Be Happy" is a very catchy song, with a lot of energy. I think that sort of masks some of the lyrics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Max Posted March 12, 2012 Author Members Share Posted March 12, 2012 I agree that despite the sexist lyrics, "If You Wanna Be Happy" is very enjoyable to listen to. This is a good explanation as to why the Dire Straits were able to get away with such lyrics. Also, the song's video--featuring lots of cheesy special effects--played a big role in its popularity. I never once suspected this, Alphanguy. Legendary producer Quincy Jones scored many #1 hits. The first of these was the iconic "It's My Party" by Lesley Gore, which spent two weeks atop the Hot 100: the weeks ended 6/1/63 & 6/8/63. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/mIsnIt1p978" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Lesley Gore was born on May 2, 1946 and raised in Tenafly, NJ. When she was a junior in high school she met with Jones, and the two of them listened to over 250 demos. The very first demo of that huge batch was "It's My Party," which Gore recorded but soon forgot about (because it was customary back then for it to take a long time--sometimes years--before a single was made available to the public). However, because the Blossoms (still being billed as the Crystals) also intended to issue their own version of the song, Gore's rendition of "It's My Party" was released very shortly after its 3/30/63 recording date. The huge success of "It's My Party" spawned a sequel tune, "Judy's Turn to Cry," which peaked at #5. Lesley's next two singles would be smash hits as well: "She's a Fool" (#5) and "You Don't Own Me" (#2). (The latter record spent three weeks at the bridesmaid position in early 1964, and would have went to #1 if it was not for Beatlemania.) Once she turned 18, however, Gore decided to attend the prestigious Sarah Lawrence College; this, in turn, caused her to spend less time touring and in the recording studio. Despite the detriment this caused her career, Lesley still managed to appear on the top 40 seven additional times: "That's the Way Boys Are" (#12, 1964) "I Don't Wanna Be a Loser" (#37, 1964) "Maybe I Know" (#14, 1964) [This is a really good tune that deserved a much better chart showing.] "Look of Love" (#27, 1965) "Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows" (#13, 1965) "My Town, My Guy, and Me" (#32, 1965) "California Nights" (#16, 1967) Lesley is not the only musical talent in her family (although sadly, her once gorgeous voice now sounds terrible): her younger brother Michael composed the theme songs for Fame and Generations. In the last ten years, Gore has bravely come out of the closet; perhaps the most surprising thing about her admission was that she herself didn't know she was a lesbian until her mid-20s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted March 12, 2012 Members Share Posted March 12, 2012 I know someone who hates this song and Judy's Turn to Cry, due to the message in them (selfishness, scheming, using a guy and having him get punched out). I enjoy the first song, but not the sequel. Maybe I Know is her best song. I always associate It's My Party with that movie Problem Child, when he ruins the birthday party of some rich girl he hated. Here Lesley is in a winter version of the beach party movies. With the world's oldest teenagers. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2ct6x_lesley-gore-sunshine-lollipops-rain_music Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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