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A lot of songs with “summer” in the title this month, as befits the end of that season in September, 1966. Let’s tune our ears back…

Songs of the month

[new] “96 Tears” – Question Mark And The Mysterians
[new] “Almost Persuaded” – David Houston
[new] “Beauty Is Only Skin Deep” – Temptations
[new] “Black Is Black” – Los Bravos
“Blowin’ In The Wind” – Stevie Wonder
“Born A Woman” – Sandy Posey
“Bus Stop” – Hollies
[new] “Cherish” – Association
[new] “Cherry Cherry” – Neil Diamond
[new] “Eleanor Rigby” – Beatles
“Guantanamera” – Sandpipers
[new] “How Sweet It Is” – Junior Walker And The All Stars
“I Couldn’t Live Without Your Love” – Petula Clark
[new] “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” – Four Seasons
“Land Of 1000 Dances” – Wilson Pickett
[new] “Last Train To Clarksville” – Monkees
“Lil Red Riding Hood” – Sam The Sham And The Pharaohs
[new] “Mr. Dieingly Sad” – Critters
“My Heart’s Symphony” – Gary Lewis And The Playboys
[new] “Open The Door To Your Heart” – Darrell Banks
[new] “Psychotic Reaction” – Count Five
[new] “Reach Out I’ll Be There” – Four Tops
“Respectable” – Outsiders
[new] “Say I Am (What I Am)” – Tommy James And The Shondells
“Say I Am” – Tommy James And The Shondells
“See You In September” – Happenings
“Summer In The City” – Lovin’ Spoonful
“Summertime” – Billy Stewart
[new] “Sunny Afternoon” – Kinks
“Sunny” – Bobby Hebb
“Sunshine Superman” – Donovan
[new] “The Dangling Conversation” – Simon And Garfunkel
“The Joker Went Wild” – Brian Hyland
[new] “Turn-Down Day” – Cyrkle
“Wade In The Water” – Ramsey Lewis
“Warm And Tender Love” – Percy Sledge
[new] “What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted” – Jimmy Ruffin
[new] “Wipe Out” – Surfaris
[new] “With A Girl Like You” – Troggs
“Working In The Coal Mine” – Lee Dorsey
“Wouldn’t It Be Nice” – Beach Boys
“Yellow Submarine” – Beatles
“You Can’t Hurry Love” – Supremes

[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 first of the month, while waiting at a bus terminal, Ralph H. Baer, an inventor with Sanders Associates, wrote a four-page document which laid out the basic principles for creating a video game to be played on a television set. As Baer, described it, he had been on New York City’s East Side, waiting to board a bus to Boston, when he noticed an advertisement for TV Guide on the wall.

Contemplating what a viewer could do with a television set if there was nothing worth watching, he remembered an idea that had occurred to him in 1951, the possibility of playing a game on a TV set, and realized that he now had the resources to develop the concept. His idea would become the Magnavox Odyssey home entertainment system, introduced on January 27, 1972. Video from the launch a few years later below:

Then on the 8th, “Star Trek”, the new science fiction television series from NBC, was broadcast for the first time on American television, with its first episode “The Man Trap”.

And on the 12th the first episode of, another childhood favourite, “The Monkees” was broadcast on the NBC network, introducing a rock band that had been assembled as part of the casting of a situation comedy, but whose records would become bestsellers. The group, composed of Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork, went on to have seven gold records, starting with “Last Train to Clarksville”, released on August 16, a month before the show’s debut. It’s in our charts this week.

What’d Sadie think?

It’s a week at the top for Donovan’s “Sunshine Superman” before “You Can’t Hurry Love” by the Supremes has two, followed by Association with “Cherish”.

Loved ’em

• “Beauty Is Only Skin Deep” – Temptations
• “Eleanor Rigby” – Beatles
• “How Sweet It Is” – Junior Walker And The All Stars
• “Last Train To Clarksville” – Monkees
• “Psychotic Reaction” – Count Five
• “Reach Out I’ll Be There” – Four Tops
• “Sunny Afternoon” – Kinks
• “What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted” – Jimmy Ruffin
• “Wipe Out” – Surfaris
• “With A Girl Like You” – Troggs

Plenty of great classics this month. I’ll admit to having been more of a fan of The Monkees, than The Beatles as a child. Simply because the former had a TV show (in repeat in NZ in the ’80s when I was young) one imagines. Interesting to see how blatantly they were designed to play off the latter’s success –

[Song writer of ‘Last Train to Clarksville’] Boyce has said that the song’s opening guitar part was an attempt to emulate the type of memorable and clearly identifiable riff that the Beatles had used in songs such as ‘I Feel Fine,’ ‘Day Tripper’ and ‘Paperback Writer’. The latter Beatles’ song had reached number one on the U.S. charts three months earlier, around the time that ‘Last Train to Clarksville’ was written and recorded.
The lyrics, too, were inspired by ‘Paperback Writer’: Hart misheard the end of that song on the radio and thought Paul McCartney was singing ‘take the last train’; Hart then decided to use the line himself, after he found out that McCartney was actually singing ‘paperback writer.’

Liked ’em

• “96 Tears” – Question Mark And The Mysterians
• “Almost Persuaded” – David Houston
• “Black Is Black” – Los Bravos
• “Cherry Cherry” – Neil Diamond
• “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” – Four Seasons
• “Open The Door To Your Heart” – Darrell Banks
• “Say I Am (What I Am)” – Tommy James And The Shondells
• “The Dangling Conversation” – Simon And Garfunkel
• “Turn-Down Day” – Cyrkle

Leave ’em

• “Cherish” – Association
• “Mr. Dieingly Sad” – Critters

Now go listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.

It’s still 54 years before Sadie will be born in our little trip down musical memory lane, so let’s get into it – we have catching up to do!

Songs of the month

“Ain’t Too Proud To Beg” – Temptations
[new] “Blowin’ In The Wind” – Stevie Wonder
[new] “Born A Woman” – Sandy Posey
[new] “Bus Stop” – Hollies
[new] “Guantanamera” – Sandpipers
“Hanky Panky” – Tommy James And The Shondells
“Hungry” – Paul Revere And The Raiders
“I Couldn’t Live Without Your Love” – Petula Clark
“I Saw Her Again” – Mamas And Papas
“I Want You” – Bob Dylan
[new] “Lady Jane” – Rolling Stones
[new] “Land Of 1000 Dances” – Wilson Pickett
“Lil Red Riding Hood” – Sam The Sham And The Pharaohs
“Love Letters” – Elvis Presley
[new] “Make Me Belong To You” – Barbara Lewis
“Mother’s Little Helper” – Rolling Stones
[new] “My Heart’s Symphony” – Gary Lewis And The Playboys
“Over Under Sideways Down” – Yardbirds
“Paperback Writer” – Beatles
[new] “Pretty Flamingo” – Manfred Mann
“Red Rubber Ball” – Cyrkle
[new] “Respectable” – Outsiders
[new] “Say I Am” – Tommy James And The Shondells
[new] “Searching For Your Love” – Bobby Moore
“See You In September” – Happenings
“Somewhere My Love” – Ray Conniff
“Strangers In The Night” – Frank Sinatra
“Summer In The City” – Lovin’ Spoonful
[new] “Summertime” – Billy Stewart
“Sunny” – Bobby Hebb
[new] “Sunshine Superman” – Donovan
“Sweet Dreams” – Tommy Mclain
“Sweet Pea” – Tommy Roe
[new] “The Joker Went Wild” – Brian Hyland
“The Pied Piper” – Crispian St. Peters
“The Work Song” – Herb Alpert And The Tijuana Brass
“They’re Coming To Take Me Away Ha-Haaa” – Napoleon Xiv
“This Door Swings Both Ways” – Herman’s Hermits
“Trains And Boats And Planes” – Dionne Warwick
[new] “Wade In The Water” – Ramsey Lewis
[new] “Warm And Tender Love” – Percy Sledge
“Where Were You When I Needed You” – Grass Roots
“Wild Thing” – Troggs
[new] “Working In The Coal Mine” – Lee Dorsey
[new] “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” – Beach Boys
[new] “Yellow Submarine” – Beatles
[new] “You Can’t Hurry Love” – Supremes
“You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me” – Dusty Springfield

[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 4th of August the station manager of WAQY-AM radio in Birmingham, Alabama, became the first to urge listeners to boycott record stores and bookstores that sold music and memorabilia of The Beatles, starting an American backlash against the British rock group that was preparing to make a tour of the United States. Manager Tommy Charles told reporters, “We just felt it was so absurd and sacrilegious that something ought to be done to show that they cannot get away with this sort of thing.”

And then…inevitably, on the 11th The Beatles held a press conference in Chicago, during which John Lennon apologized for his “more popular than Jesus” remark made in a magazine interview in March, saying, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry I said it really. I didn’t mean it as a lousy, anti-religious thing. I was sort of deploring the attitude toward Christianity. I wasn’t saying the Beatles are better than God or Jesus.”

On the 26th NASA released the first photograph of the Earth as seen from the Moon, after Lunar Orbiter 1 transmitted a picture taken three days earlier. Ground control had decided to turn the orbiter’s camera toward the Earth, just as the probe was about to travel toward the far side, in order to show both objects in the same photo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tPaYZOZVko

And back to The Beatles who, on the 29th, played their final official concert, “marking the end of a career as international performing artists that lasted just under three years”. A crowd of 25,000 turned out at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, paying between $3.80 and $7.00 to see the Fab Four. Somewhat cheaper than Taylor Swift tickets in 2024…

Crazy to think they were only touring for 3 years, which leads to the question of “why did they stop?”. Apparently a lot of it was technical – with the stadium setups of the time they couldn’t hear themselves over the crowd going crazy, and as their songs became more technical in the studio (overdubs, more than the four instruments the band played) they became harder to reproduce live – so they become a studio band for the remainder of their career.

What’d Sadie think?

Another two weeks at the top for classic “Wild Thing” by the Troggs before two weeks for “Summer In The City” by Lovin’ Spoonful.

Loved ’em

Some real classics on this week’s playlist – a personal favourite has to be “Wouldn’t it be nice” by the Beach Boys, off their classic “Pet Sounds” album that was released this year.

• “Blowin’ In The Wind” – Stevie Wonder
• “Bus Stop” – Hollies
• “Pretty Flamingo” – Manfred Mann
• “Summertime” – Billy Stewart
• “Sunshine Superman” – Donovan
• “Working In The Coal Mine” – Lee Dorsey
• “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” – Beach Boys
• “Yellow Submarine” – Beatles
• “You Can’t Hurry Love” – Supremes
  
  

Liked ’em

• “Born A Woman” – Sandy Posey
• “Guantanamera” – Sandpipers
• “Lady Jane” – Rolling Stones
• “Land Of 1000 Dances” – Wilson Pickett
• “Make Me Belong To You” – Barbara Lewis
• “My Heart’s Symphony” – Gary Lewis And The Playboys
• “Respectable” – Outsiders
• “Say I Am” – Tommy James And The Shondells
• “Searching For Your Love” – Bobby Moore
• “Wade In The Water” – Ramsey Lewis
• “Warm And Tender Love” – Percy Sledge

Leave ’em

• “The Joker Went Wild” – Brian Hyland

Now go listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.

As we head into the shortest day of the year down under in 2024, let’s turn our ears back to July, 1966 to hear some warm sounds of summer…

Songs of the month

“A Groovy Kind Of Love” – Mindbenders
“Ain’t Too Proud To Beg” – Temptations
[new] “Along Comes Mary” – Association
“Barefootin’” – Robert Parker
“Cool Jerk” – Capitols
“Crying” – Jay & The Americans
“Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind” – Lovin’ Spoonful
“Dirty Water” – Standells
“Don’t Bring Me Down” – Animals
“Double Shot” – Swingin’ Medallions
“Girl In Love” – Outsiders
“Green Grass” – Gary Lewis & The Playboys
[new] “Hanky Panky” – Tommy James & The Shondells
[new] “Happy Summer Days” – Ronnie Dove
“He” – Righteous Brothers
“Hold On I’m Comin’” – Sam & Dave
[new] “Hungry” – Paul Revere & The Raiders
“I Am A Rock” – Simon & Garfunkel
[new] “I Couldn’t Live Without Your Love” – Petula Clark
[new] “I Saw Her Again” – Mamas And Papas
[new] “I Want You” – Bob Dylan
[new] “Lil Red Riding Hood” – Sam The Sham And The Pharaohs
“Little Girl” – Syndicate Of Sound
[new] “Love Letters” – Elvis Presley
[new] “Mother’s Little Helper” – Rolling Stones
[new] “Muddy Water” – Johnny Rivers
“Oh How Happy” – Shades Of Blue
“Opus 17” – Four Seasons
[new] “Over Under Sideways Down” – Yardbirds
“Paint It Black” – Rolling Stones
“Paperback Writer” – Beatles
[new] “Please Tell Me Why” – Dave Clark Five
“Popsicle” – Jan & Dean
“Rain” – Beatles
“Red Rubber Ball” – Cyrkle
[new] “See You In September” – Happenings
[new] “Somewhere My Love” – Ray Conniff
“Strangers In The Night” – Frank Sinatra
[new] “Summer In The City” – Lovin’ Spoonful
[new] “Sunny” – Bobby Hebb
[new] “Sweet Dreams” – Tommy Mclain
[new] “Sweet Pea” – Tommy Roe
“Sweet Talking Guy” – Chiffons
[new] “The Land Of Milk And Honey” – Vogues
“The More I See You” – Chris Montez
[new] “The Pied Piper” – Crispian St. Peters
[new] “The Work Song” – Herb Alpert And The Tijuana Brass
[new] “They’re Coming To Take Me Away Ha-Haaa” – Napoleon Xiv
[new] “This Door Swings Both Ways” – Herman’s Hermits
[new] “Trains And Boats And Planes” – Dionne Warwick
“When A Man Loves A Woman” – Percy Sledge
[new] “Where Were You When I Needed You” – Grass Roots
[new] “Wild Thing” – Troggs
[new] “You Better Run” – Young Rascals
“You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me” – Dusty Springfield

[new] = New to the chart this week.

You can listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.

This month in history

On their way back home after their Asian concert tour, The Beatles arrived in India on July 5th for the first time, after having experimented with Indian instruments such as the sitar.

On the 11th “The Newlywed Game”, a TV game show described by one reviewer as “four newlywed couples answering questions which reveal how much or how little they know about each other”, premiered in the USA. TV critic Rick Du Brow of United Press International generally praised the show and its host, Bob Eubanks, as “quite pleasant and unpretentious” but said that the questions asked of the wives and husbands “weren’t exactly life and death matters.” …welcome to modern TV sir!

Then on the 27th, for the first time in 58 years, liquor was legally served in Mississippi, the last of the United States to have repealed its prohibition laws. Quite the dry spell!

What’d Sadie think?

“Strangers In The Night” by Frank Sinatra is the first number one of the month, then we have “Paperback Writer” by the Beatles, “Hanky Panky” – Tommy James & The Shondells for two weeks and finally newcomer, “Wild Thing” by the Troggs.

Loved ’em

• “Hanky Panky” – Tommy James & The Shondells
• “I Want You” – Bob Dylan
• “Love Letters” – Elvis Presley
• “Mother’s Little Helper” – Rolling Stones
• “Summer In The City” – Lovin’ Spoonful
• “Sunny” – Bobby Hebb
• “Wild Thing” – Troggs

Song of the week has to be “Wild Thing” by the Troggs. Which, I did not realise, was a cover. The original was composed for a band called “the Wild Ones”… which is wild? Too wild perhaps as it failed to chart and The Troggs version become the definitive take and hit.

Apparently Chucken, Alden fron the Wild Ones, later said that he regretted not performing the song in the same way as the composer (Chip Taylor’s demo). The solo in the middle of the song was performed by the recording engineer using his hands as a whistle. This sound was subsequently imitated by the Troggs in their version using an ocarina… (A little fact for Nintendo fans.)

Liked ’em

• “Along Comes Mary” – Association
• “Happy Summer Days” – Ronnie Dove
• “Hungry” – Paul Revere & The Raiders
• “I Couldn’t Live Without Your Love” – Petula Clark
• “I Saw Her Again” – Mamas And Papas
• “Over Under Sideways Down” – Yardbirds
• “Please Tell Me Why” – Dave Clark Five
• “See You In September” – Happenings
• “Sweet Dreams” – Tommy Mclain
• “Sweet Pea” – Tommy Roe
• “The Land Of Milk And Honey” – Vogues
• “This Door Swings Both Ways” – Herman’s Hermits
• “Trains And Boats And Planes” – Dionne Warwick
• “Where Were You When I Needed You” – Grass Roots
• “You Better Run” – Young Rascals

Leave ’em

• “Lil Red Riding Hood” – Sam The Sham And The Pharaohs
• “Muddy Water” – Johnny Rivers
• “Popsicle” – Jan And Dean
• “Somewhere My Love” – Ray Conniff Singers
• “The Pied Piper” – Crispian St. Peters
• “The Work Song” – Herb Alpert And The Tijuana Brass
• “They’re Coming To Take Me Away Ha-Haaa” – Napoleon Xiv

Now go listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.

I always like it when the 2024 month and our month in the past coincide- so here we are about to travel 58 years back in time…

Songs of the month

“A Groovy Kind Of Love” – Mindbenders
[new] “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg” – Temptations
“Barefootin’” – Robert Parker
“Come On Let’s Go” – Mccoys
“Cool Jerk” – Capitols
[new] “Crying” – Jay & Americans
“Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind” – Lovin’ Spoonful
[new] “Dirty Water” – Standells
[new] “Don’t Bring Me Down” – Animals
[new] “Double Shot” – Swingin’ Medallions
[new] “Girl In Love” – Outsiders
“Good Lovin’” – Young Rascals
“Green Grass” – Gary Lewis & Playboys
[new] “Hanky Panky” – Tommy James & The Shond
[new] “He” – Righteous Brothers
[new] “Hold On I’m Comin’” – Sam & Dave
“How Does That Grab You Darlin’” – Nancy Sinatra
“I Am A Rock” – Simon & Garfunkel
“It’s A Man’s Man’s World” – James Brown
“Kicks” – Paul Revere & Raiders
[new] “Kicks” – Paul Revere & The Rai
[new] “Little Girl” – Syndicate Of Sound
“Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart” – Supremes
[new] “Mama” – B.J. Thomas
“Message To Michael” – Dionne Warwick
“Monday Monday” – Mamas & Papas
“Oh How Happy” – Shades Of Blue
[new] “Opus 17” – Four Seasons
“Paint It Black” – Rolling Stones
[new] “Paperback Writer” – Beatles
[new] “Popsicle” – Jan & Dean
[new] “Rain” – Beatles
“Rainy Day Women Nos. 12 & 35” – Bob Dylan
[new] “Red Rubber Ball” – Cyrkle
“Road Runner” – Junior Walker & All Stars
“Sloop John B” – Beach Boys
“Strangers In The Night” – Frank Sinatra
“Sweet Talkin’ Guy” – Chiffons
“The More I See You” – Chris Montez
“The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore” – Walker Brothers
“When A Man Loves A Woman” – Percy Sledge
[new] “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me” – Dusty Springfield

[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 21st the film adaptation of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” premiered at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, California, days after Jack Valenti of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) gave its approval in spite of the strictures of the MPAA’s Production Code, a prerequisite for being shown in most American cinemas. The Mike Nichols film could be distributed as long as the theater operator signed a rider to a standard contract “prohibiting anyone under the age of 18 from seeing the picture unless accompanied by an adult”, a forerunner to the “R” Rating that would be implemented as part of the limitations system that would be created in 1968.

On the 29th the first British credit card was introduced, as Barclays Bank introduced the Barclaycard which is an excuse to watch to some ol’ advertising…

Then at month’s end The Beatles performed at Budokan Hall in Tokyo, in the first of five concerts in Japan during a tour of Asia.

What’d Sadie think?

A week at the top for When A Man Loves A Woman” by Percy Sledge then two for “Paint It Black” by the Rolling Stones rounded out by The Beatles with “Paperback Writer”.

Loved ’em

• “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg” – Temptations
• “Hold On I’m Comin’” – Sam & Dave
• “Kicks” – Paul Revere & The Rain
• “Paperback Writer” – Beatles
• “Rain” – Beatles
• “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me” – Dusty Springfield

Liked ’em

• “Crying” – Jay & The Americans
• “Dirty Water” – Standells
• “Don’t Bring Me Down” – Animals
• “Double Shot” – Swingin’ Medallions
• “Girl In Love” – Outsiders
• “He” – Righteous Brothers
• “Little Girl” – Syndicate Of Sound
• “Mama” – B.J. Thomas
• “Opus 17” – Four Seasons
• “Red Rubber Ball” – Cyrkle

Leave ’em

• “Popsicle” – Jan & Dean

Now go listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.

A busy week last week, so we didn’t get to writing the blog post till late, you can find April 1966 here, before tuning into the sounds of May of that year below…

Songs of the month

“A Groovy Kind Of Love” – Mindbenders
“A Sign Of The Times” – Petula Clark
[new] “Backstage” – Gene Pitney
“Bang Bang” – Cher
[new] “Barefootin’” – Robert Parker
[new] “Come On Let’s Go” – Mccoys
[new] “Cool Jerk” – Capitols
“Daydream” – Lovin’ Spoonful
[new] “Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind” – Lovin’ Spoonful
“Eight Miles High” – Byrds
“Frankie And Johnny” – Elvis Presley
“Gloria” – Shadows Of Knight
“Good Lovin’” – Young Rascals
[new] “Green Grass” – Gary Lewis & The Playboys
“How Does That Grab You Darlin’” – Nancy Sinatra
[new] “I Am A Rock” – Simon & Garfunkel
[new] “I’ll Take Good Care Of You” – Garnet Mimms
“I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” – B.J. Thomas
[new] “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World” – James Brown
“Kicks” – Paul Revere & Raiders
“Leaning On The Lamp Post” – Herman’s Hermits
[new] “Let’s Start All Over Again” – Ronnie Dove
[new] “Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart” – Supremes
[new] “Love’s Made A Fool Of You” – Bobby Fuller Four
“Message To Michael” – Dionne Warwick
“Monday Monday” – Mamas & Papas
[new] “Nothing’s Too Good For My Baby” – Stevie Wonder
[new] “Oh How Happy” – Shades Of Blue
[new] “Paint It Black” – Rolling Stones
“Rainy Day Women Nos. 12 & 35” – Bob Dylan
“Rhapsody In The Rain” – Lou Christie
[new] “Road Runner” – Junior Walker & All Stars
“Secret Agent Man” – Johnny Rivers
“Shapes Of Things” – Yardbirds
“Sloop John B” – Beach Boys
“Soul And Inspiration” – Righteous Brothers
[new] “Strangers In The Night” – Frank Sinatra
[new] “Sweet Talkin’ Guy” – Chiffons
[new] “The A Team” – S/Sgt. Barry Sadler
[new] “The More I See You” – Chris Montez
[new] “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore” – Walker Brothers
“This Old Heart Of Mine” – Isley Brothers
“Time Won’t Let Me” – Outsiders
“Together Again” – Ray Charles
“Try Too Hard” – Dave Clark Five
“When A Man Loves A Woman” – Percy Sledge

[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 17th Bob Dylan and the Hawks (later The Band) performed at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester. Dylan was booed by the audience because of his decision to tour with an electric band, the boos culminating in the famous “Judas” shout. Three years earlier, in his protest song “With God on Our Side”, Dylan had sung “Through many a dark hour/I’ve been thinking about this/That Jesus Christ/Was betrayed by a kiss/But I can’t think for you/You’ll have to decide/Whether Judas Iscariot/Had God on his side”.

Brilliant video of some youth of the day decrying the new Dylan sound below. (Fair enough, ‘I like the old Kanye’ too lads…)

And in more hippie-milestones on the 20th, Zal Yanovsky and Steve Boone, of the American folk-rock band the Lovin’ Spoonful, were arrested in San Francisco for possessing marijuana, marking the first time members of a popular music act were busted for possessing illegal drugs.

Then the next day, in Northern Ireland, the Protestant Ulster Volunteer Force issued its “declaration of war” against the Roman Catholic Irish Republican Army, a statement that appeared in Belfast newspapers. “From this day we declare war against the IRA”, UVF Chief of Staff William Johnston wrote. “Known IRA men will be executed mercilessly and without hesitation. We will not tolerate any interference from any source and we solemnly warn the authorities to make no more speeches of appeasement.”

Since starting this project I’ve actually received my Irish Citizenship, and will not this was not the country’s proudest day…

What’d Sadie think?

It’s a good three weeks at the top for the great “Monday Monday” by the Mamas & Papas before Percy Sledge’s “When A Man Loves A Woman” takes the spot.

Loved ’em

Some more classics this month but none more so than “Paint it Black” by the Stones, for many reasons a notable release in the hippie-era, not-least at the first popular song to feature a Sitar.

Then there’s James Browns’ “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World” – which I’ll admit has one more “Man’s” than I realised in the title and which, more importantly, Rolling Stone magazine characterized (fairly!) as “biblically chauvinistic”. I’d like to think the tune has aged well, but the lyrics haven’t… except for how much they seem to echo some of the terrifying rhetoric one sees on X these days. Do better 2024!

• “Green Grass” – Gary Lewis & Playboys
• “I Am A Rock” – Simon & Garfunkel
• “I’ll Take Good Care Of You” – Garnet Mimms
• “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World” – James Brown
• “Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart” – Supremes
• “Paint It Black” – Rolling Stones
• “Road Runner” – Junior Walker & All Stars
• “Strangers In The Night” – Frank Sinatra
• “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore” – Walker Brothers
• “The More I See You” – Chris Montez

Liked ’em

• “Backstage” – Gene Pitney
• “Barefootin’” – Robert Parker
• “Come On Let’s Go” – Mccoys
• “Cool Jerk” – Capitols
• “Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind” – Lovin’ Spoonful
• “Love’s Made A Fool Of You” – Bobby Fuller Four
• “Oh How Happy” – Shades Of Blue
• “Sweet Talkin’ Guy” – Chiffons
• “The A Team” – S/Sgt. Barry Sadler

Leave ’em

• “Let’s Start All Over Again” – Ronnie Dove

Now go listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.

We’re late this week so let’s rush towards the sounds of April, 1966…

Songs of the month

“634-5789” – Wilson Pickett
“19Th Nervous Breakdown” – Rolling Stones
[new] “A Groovy Kind Of Love” – Mindbenders
[new] “A Sign Of The Times” – Petula Clark
“Baby Scratch My Back” – Slim Harpo
“Ballad Of The Green Berets” – S/Sgt. Barry Sadler
“Bang Bang” – Cher
“California Dreamin’” – Mamas & Papas
“Daydream” – Lovin’ Spoonful
[new] “Eight Miles High” – Byrds
“Elusive Butterfly” – Bob Lind
[new] “Frankie And Johnny” – Elvis Presley
[new] “Get Ready” – Temptations
[new] “Gloria” – Shadows Of Knight
[new] “Good Lovin’” – Young Rascals
“Homeward Bound” – Simon & Garfunkel
[new] “How Does That Grab You Darlin’” – Nancy Sinatra
“I Fought The Law” – Bobby Fuller Four
[new] “I Hear Trumpets Blow” – Tokens
“I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” – B.J. Thomas
“It’s Too Late” – Bobby Goldsboro
[new] “Kicks” – Paul Revere & Raiders
[new] “Leaning On The Lamp Post” – Herman’s Hermits
“Listen People” – Herman’s Hermits
[new] “Little Latin Lupe Lu” – Mitch Ryder & Detroit Wheels
“Love Makes The World Go Round” – Deon Jackson
“Magic Town” – Vogues
[new] “Message To Michael” – Dionne Warwick
[new] “Monday Monday” – Mamas & Papas
“Nowhere Man” – Beatles
[new] “Rainy Day Women Nos. 12 & 35” – Bob Dylan
[new] “Rhapsody In The Rain” – Lou Christie
“Secret Agent Man” – Johnny Rivers
“Shake Me Wake Me” – Four Tops
[new] “Shapes Of Things” – Yardbirds
[new] “Sloop John B” – Beach Boys
[new] “Somewhere” – Len Barry
“Soul And Inspiration” – Righteous Brothers
[new] “Spanish Flea” – Herb Alpert & Tijuana Brass
[new] “Sure Gonna Miss Her” – Gary Lewis & Playboys
“These Boots Are Made For Walkin’” – Nancy Sinatra
[new] “Think I’ll Go Somewhere And Cry Myself To Sleep” – Al Martino
“This Old Heart Of Mine” – Isley Brothers
“Time Won’t Let Me” – Outsiders
[new] “Together Again” – Ray Charles
[new] “Try Too Hard” – Dave Clark Five
“Walkin’ My Cat Named Dog” – Norma Tanega
[new] “What Now My Love” – Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass
[new] “When A Man Loves A Woman” – Percy Sledge
“Woman” – Peter & Gordon
“You Baby” – Turtles

[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 “The Cultural Revolution’\ was officially proclaimed in the People’s Republic of China, with the publication of the government announcement that gave the name that would define the era of upheaval. The official People’s Liberation Army daily newspaper published a front-page editorial with the title “Hold High the Great Red Banner of Mao Tse-tung’s Thought, and Actively Participate in the Great Socialist Cultural Revolution”

And on the 21st, the opening of the Parliament of the United Kingdom was televised for the first time. Glorious slice of technicolor pomp n ceremony below…

Then on the 30th regular hovercraft service began over the English Channel, between Ramsgate and Calais, with an SR.N6 transporting 36 passengers. It would be discontinued in 2000. The customers paid two pounds, two shillings (equivalent to $6.30) apiece for the journey. I remember really wanting to go on the hovercraft in 1985, when I first visited the UK, but we had to take the regular ferry as we had my Grandfather’s ashes to scatter overboard apparently.

What’d Sadie think?

It’s a week more at the top for “Ballad Of The Green Berets” by S/Sgt. Barry Sadler before “Soul And Inspiration” by the Righteous Brothers has a couple there, followed by a week for new track “Good Lovin’” by the Young Rascals.

Loved ’em

A big month for big hits! I was “this many years old” when I learnt the actual name of Bob Dylan’s “Everybody must get stoned…” – oops!

• “Gloria” – Shadows Of Knight
• “Message To Michael” – Dionne Warwick
• “Rainy Day Women Nos. 12 & 35” – Bob Dylan
• “Shapes Of Things” – Yardbirds
• “Eight Miles High” – Byrds
• “Get Ready” – Temptations
• “Monday Monday” – Mamas & Papas
• “Sloop John B” – Beach Boys
• “When A Man Loves A Woman” – Percy Sledge

Liked ’em

• “A Groovy Kind Of Love” – Mindbenders
• “Frankie And Johnny” – Elvis Presley
• “Good Lovin’” – Young Rascals
• “How Does That Grab You Darlin’” – Nancy Sinatra
• “I Hear Trumpets Blow” – Tokens
• “Kicks” – Paul Revere & The Raiders
• “Little Latin Lupe Lu” – Mitch Ryder & Detroit Wheels
• “Rhapsody In The Rain” – Lou Christie
• “Spanish Flea” – Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass
• “Sure Gonna Miss Her” – Gary Lewis & Playboys
• “Together Again” – Ray Charles
• “Try Too Hard” – Dave Clark Five
  

Leave ’em

• “Leaning On The Lamp Post” – Herman’s Hermits
• “Somewhere” – Len Barry
• “Think I’ll Go Somewhere And Cry Myself To Sleep” – Al Martino
• “What Now My Love” – Herb Alpert & Tijuana Brass

Now go listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.