We’re in Wellington with family celebrating Sadie’s birthday and we’re listening to music from 53 years and 3 months before she’s born, so let’s tune back to May, 1967.
Songs of the month
“A Little Bit Me A Little Bit You” – Monkees
[new] “All I Need” – Temptations
“At The Zoo” – Simon And Garfunkel
“Bernadette” – Four Tops
[new] “Casino Royale” – Herb Alpert And The Tijuana Brass
“Close Your Eyes” – Peaches And Herb
[new] “Creeque Alley” – Mamas And Papas
[new] “Dead End Street” – Lou Rawls
“Don’t You Care” – Buckinghams
“Friday On My Mind” – Easybeats
“Get Me To The World On Time” – Electric Prunes
[new] “Girl You’ll Be A Woman Soon” – Neil Diamond
[new] “Groovin'” – Young Rascals
[new] “Happy Jack” – Who
“Happy Together” – Turtles
[new] “Here Comes My Baby” – Tremeloes
[new] “Him Or Me What’s It Gonna Be” – Paul Revere And The Raiders
“I Got Rhythm” – Happenings
“I Never Loved A Man” – Aretha Franklin
“I Think We’re Alone Now” – Tommy James And The Shondells
[new] “I Was Kaiser Bill’s Batman” – Whistling Jack Smith
“I’m A Man” – Spencer Davis Group
“Jimmy Mack” – Martha And The Vandellas
“Love Eyes” – Nancy Sinatra
[new] “Mirage” – Tommy James And The Shondells
[new] “My Girl Josephine” – Jerry Jaye
“On A Carousel” – Hollies
[new] “Release Me” – Engelbert Humperdinck
[new] “Respect” – Aretha Franklin
[new] “Shake A Tail Feather” – James And Bobby Purify
[new] “Somebody To Love” – Jefferson Airplane
“Somethin’ Stupid” – Frank & Nancy Sinatra
[new] “Sunshine Girl” – Parade
“Sweet Soul Music” – Arthur Conley
“The Happening” – Supremes
“This Is My Song” – Petula Clark
[new] “Too Many Fish In The Sea” – Mitch Ryder And The Detroit Wheels
“Western Union” – Five Americans
“When I Was Young” – Eric Burdon And The Animals
[new] “When You’re Young And In Love” – Marvelettes
“With This Ring” – Platters
[new] “Yellow Balloon” – Yellow Balloon
“You Got What It Takes” – Dave Clark Five
[new] = New to the chart this week.
You can listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.
This month in history
On the 18th General Electric announced the recall of 90,000 large screen colour television sets that had been manufactured between June 1966 and February 1967 because they emitted dangerously high levels of x-rays at a level well above U.S. government radiation limits. Which might explain why parents, for decades after, would tell their kids not to sit too close to the TV!
And on the same day, in “wow we’ve come so far, but actually have we?” news – the state of Tennessee repealed its law that made the teaching of evolution a criminal offence, as Governor Buford Ellington signed a bill that had rescinded the Butler Act. On May 16, the state senate had voted, 19–13, in favor of a bill that permitted school teachers to discuss Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution in classrooms… yes, it was a close vote for science.
Then on the 26th The Beatles released their iconic album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, which appeared on the Parlophone label in the United Kingdom that day, and would be released on June 2 in the United States. It would be the number one best selling album in the United Kingdom for 27 weeks, and number one in the United States for 15 weeks
I love the quote from this interview, “we can’t get better [at performing live] if we can’t hear ourselves”.
What’d Sadie think?
A week at the top for “Somethin’ Stupid” for Frank & Nancy Sinatra, then one for “The Happening” by the Supremes before new-to-char “Groovin'” by the Young Rascals takes the last two weeks of the month.
Loved ’em
Plenty of great classics this week. The most enduring has to be Aretha Franklin’s “Respect”. Originally written and recorded by American soul singer Otis Redding it was released in 1965 as a single from his third album. In 1967, Aretha Franklin covered and rearranged “Respect” after playing it live for a couple of years prior, resulting in a bigger hit and her signature song. The music in the two versions is significantly different, while a few changes in the lyrics resulted in, “different narratives around the theme of human dignity that have been interpreted as commentaries on traditional gender roles.”
- “All I Need” – Temptations
- “Dead End Street” – Lou Rawls
- “Girl You’ll Be A Woman Soon” – Neil Diamond
- “Groovin'” – Young Rascals
- “Here Comes My Baby” – Tremeloes
- “Respect” – Aretha Franklin
- “Somebody To Love” – Jefferson Airplane
Liked ’em
- “Creeque Alley” – Mamas And Papas
- “Happy Jack” – Who
- “Him Or Me What’s It Gonna Be” – Paul Revere And The Raiders
- “I Was Kaiser Bill’s Batman” – Whistling Jack Smith
- “My Girl Josephine” – Jerry Jaye
- “Release Me” – Engelbert Humperdinck
- “Shake A Tail Feather” – James And Bobby Purify
- “Sunshine Girl” – Parade
- “Too Many Fish In The Sea” – Mitch Ryder And The Detroit Wheels
- “When You’re Young And In Love” – Marvelettes
- “Yellow Balloon” – Yellow Balloon
Leave ’em
- “Casino Royale” – Herb Alpert And The Tijuana Brass
- “Mirage” – Tommy James And The Shondells
Now go listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.