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Songs People Should Hear - Music Head - 09-01-2010
![[Image: nsl.jpg]](http://sinatrafamily.com/family/images/family_images/nsl.jpg)
YouTube - Something Stupid - Frank & Nancy Sinatra
from wikipedia
"Somethin' Stupid" is a song written by C. Carson Parks and originally recorded in 1966 by Parks and his wife Gaile Foote, as "Carson and Gaile". It is best known in the hit version by Frank Sinatra and his daughter, Nancy Sinatra.
In the early 1960s, Carson Parks was a folk singer in Los Angeles. He was an occasional member of The Easy Riders, and also performed with The Steeltown Three, which included his younger brother Van Dyke Parks. In 1963 he formed the Greenwood County Singers, later known as The Greenwoods, who had two minor hits and included singer Gaile Foote. Before the Greenwoods disbanded, Parks and Foote married and, as Carson and Gaile, recorded an album for Kapp Records, San Antonio Rose, which included the track "Something Stupid". The recording was then brought to the attention of Frank Sinatra.
The most successful and best known version of the song was issued by Frank and Nancy Sinatra on Frank's album The World We Knew. Frank Sinatra played Parks' recording to his daughter Nancy's producer, Lee Hazlewood, who recalled "He asked me, 'Do you like it?' and I said, 'I love it, and if you don't sing it with Nancy, I will.' He said, 'We're gonna do it, book a studio.'" Their rendition was recorded on February 1, 1967. Al Casey played guitar on the recording.
The song spent four weeks at #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and nine weeks atop the adult contemporary chart, becoming Mr. Sinatra's second gold single as certified by the RIAA and Ms. Sinatra's third.[3] It was the first and only instance of a father-daughter number-one song in America. The single also reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart the same year.
This is the only father/daughter chart topper in the US to date. In the UK it was the first instance of a father-daughter #1 song. Another father/daughter duet, "Changes" by Ozzy and Kelly Osbourne, went to #1 in the UK in 2003.
Nancy Sinatra recorded this with her father after Frank Sinatra's ex-army assistant "Sarge" Weiss played him a version by composer Carson Parks. Nancy recalled to The Sun May 2, 2008: "My dad said: 'Great, if Nancy will do it.'"
Lee Hazlewood produced this. He recalled in 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh: "Frank Sinatra called me to his office and told me he had found the song (for his daughter Nancy Sinatra) but Nancy wouldn't work with any producer but me. He played me the demo of 'Somethin' Stupid' and said, 'Do you like it?' I said 'I love it and if you don't do it with Nancy, I will.' He said 'We're gonna do it, book a studio.'"
Songs People Should Hear - Music Head - 10-01-2010
![[Image: 51X5Z9JVE4L._SL500_AA240_.jpg]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51X5Z9JVE4L._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
YouTube - The Toys - Lovers Concerto - HQ
from wikipedia
"A Lover's Concerto" is a pop song written by American songwriters, Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell, and recorded in 1965 by The Toys. Their version of the song was a major hit in both the United States (#2) and the UK (#5) during 1965. It peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number two.
Critic Dave Thompson wrote, "Few records are this perfect. Riding across one of the most deceptively hook-laden melodies ever conceived ... 'A Loverâs Concerto' marks the apogee of the Girl Group sound."[1] The song also had an unusual structure that blurred the differences between its verses and choruses.
The lyrics begin with:
How gentle is the rain
That falls softly on the meadow,
Birds high up in the trees
Serenade the flowers with their melodies
Linzer and Randell based the melody on the familiar "Minuet in G major" (BWV Anh. 114) from J.S. Bach's Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach. One key difference is that the "Minuet in G major" is written in 3/4 time, whereas "A Lover's Concerto" is arranged in 4/4 time. (Although often attributed to Bach himself, the "Minuet in G major" is now believed to have been written by Christian Petzold. The Notebook, a gift from Bach to his second wife Anna, begins with works by Bach but also included many blank pages, onto which members of the family copied works that they liked to play; the famous minuets in G major and G minor are not in Bach's handwriting.)
In subsequent years, "A Lover's Concerto" has been recorded by numerous other artists, including Sarah Brightman, Tight Fit, Cilla Black, The Lennon Sisters, The Delfonics, Sarah Vaughan, The Supremes, Mrs. Miller, Audrey Hall, Terry & Bill and Kelly Chen.
Songs People Should Hear - Music Head - 11-01-2010
![[Image: P14982K7CSY.jpg]](http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/pic200/drP100/P149/P14982K7CSY.jpg)
YouTube - The Mamas & The Papas: California Dreamin'
from wikipedia
"California Dreamin'" is a song by The Mamas & the Papas, first released in 1965. The song is #89 in Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The lyrics of the song are about a man in a cold winter landscape longing for the warmth of California. It reached #4 in the U.S. and #9 in the U.K.
According to John Phillips in a Bravo documentary, and Michelle Phillips in an NPR piece, the song was written in 1963 while they were living in New York. He dreamed about the song and woke her up to help him write it. At the time, the Phillipses were members of the folk group The New Journeymen which evolved into The Mamas & the Papas.
They earned their first record contract after being introduced to Lou Adler, the head of Dunhill Records, by the singer Barry McGuire. In thanks to Adler, they sang the backing vocals to "California Dreamin'" on McGuire's album This Precious Time. The Mamas and the Papas then recorded their own version, using the same instrumental backing track to which they added new vocals and an alto flute solo by Bud Shank. McGuire's original vocal can be briefly heard on the left channel at the beginning of the record, having not been completely wiped. The single was released in late 1965 but it was not an immediate breakthrough. After gaining little attention in Los Angeles upon its release, Michelle Phillips remembers that it took a radio station in Boston to break the song nationwide. By early 1966, the song peaked at #4 and stayed on the charts for 17 weeks.
Some high profile artists who have covered this song include Jose Feliciano (B-side on his 1968 hit single Light My Fire), America, The Beach Boys (two versions), The Carpenters, Four Tops, Bobby Womack, Queen Latifah, Wes Montgomery, George Benson, Eddie Hazel and John Phillips without The Mamas & the Papas. House versions are also covered by Royal Gigolos, Benny Benassi and DJ Sammy. The John Mayer Trio covered California Dreamin' on the June 4, 2009 episode of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. A more up tempo version was recorded by the Japanese punk band Hi-Standard. Their California Dreamin' EP was released on Fat Wreck Chords in 1996.
The Beach Boys recorded a second version of "California Dreamin'" in 1986 for their greatest hits compilation Made in U.S.A.. It was produced by Terry Melcher and featured Roger McGuinn from The Byrds on 12-string guitar and John Phillips on saxophone. Michelle Phillips and McGuinn appear in the video. Denny Doherty was on the East coast and declined; Cass Elliot had died in 1974.
Songs People Should Hear - gryphon - 11-01-2010
I have always loved California Dreaming! However, the article by Music Head answers for me, an age old riddle...................The recording by The Mamas and The Papas is very loose in its production and quality control . If you listen hard to the track, you can hear several missed ques and parts that have been mixed out or in poorly. The answer clearly is that they inherited the backing track and had to put a vocal over it and add a flute. Given that the US only had three track recording technology at the time I can see why , some things had already been laid down and overdubbed and with thee track it is hard to mask this without re-recoding
Songs People Should Hear - Music Head - 12-01-2010
![[Image: P53336SNEJQ.jpg]](http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/pic200/drP500/P533/P53336SNEJQ.jpg)
YouTube - The 4 Seasons - "Let's Hang On" - The Ed Sullivan Show
from wikipedia
"Let's Hang On!" is a song composed by Bob Crewe, Sandy Linzer, and Denny Randell that was popularized by The Four Seasons in 1965. The single reached the #3 position in the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and #4 in the U.K., the group's highest placement since "Rag Doll" hit the top spot in July 1964.
This was the last Four Seasons hit to feature bass singer/bassist Nick Massi. The same month "Let's Hang On!" was released, Massi left the group and was temporarily replaced by the band's arranger Charles Calello before Joe Long came in as Massi's full-time replacement.
The popularity of "Let's Hang On!" has been attributed to the inclusion of several devices into the recording: a two-line introduction (sung by lead singer Frankie Valli), the use of two fuzz guitars (one guitarist playing low notes, another playing high notes on a fuzz bass), a chorus loaded with hooks and sung in falsetto, and backing vocals giving counterpoint with Valli's lead vocal. It re-established the group's presence in the Top Ten (of the Hot 100) as The Four Seasons were in a flurry of activity, recording albums both as The Four Seasons and as supporting musicians for Valli's rekindled "solo" career.
The single's B-side, "On Broadway Tonight", was the theme of a CBS-TV variety series (1964-1965) hosted by Rudy Vallee.
In 1966, Mrs. Elva Miller recorded "Let's Hang On!" on her debut album, Mrs. Miller's Greatest Hits. "Mrs. Miller" had made a dent in the Hot 100 chart with her off-key, off-tempo rendition of "Downtown", complete with whistling and forgotten lyrics. On the album (and the subsequent single), "Let's Hang On!" had all of the same hallmarks â and mumbling.
Bob Crewe's instrumental group, the Bob Crewe Generation, recorded in the song in their hit album "Music To Watch Girls By" of early 1967. This version was played on easy listening stations for decades thereafter.
In 1981 Barry Manilow recorded a version of "Let's Hang On!" for his album If I Should Love Again. The song (as "Let's Hang On") was eventually released as a single the following year, reaching #32 in April 1982.
In 1987, a version was released by Nancy Boyd and the Capellos.
In the early 1990s, PWL boy-duo Shooting Party released the song to poor chart success, despite being played often on the show The Hitman and Her.
Notably, The Manhattan Transfer opens their 1995 album Tonin' with "Let's Hang On", with guest vocalist Frankie Valli himself.
Songs People Should Hear - AddyO - 12-01-2010
Here are two more songs people should definitely hear:
"Poison" - Alice Cooper
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaaMdSapaTA
I first heard this song through my older brother who was the person in my household that bought the most music. He still has some valuable picture discs! Anyway, its another passion filled song, both lyrically and sonically, and the video(at least for its time) was quite sexy as well and completely suited the track. Enjoy
mile:."I Want It All" - Queen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKEgrnOOHso
This is my second offering, and i believe the lesser of the two. Having just got this song again for my phone, it is still a good, typically hard, rock effort, but i am of the opinion that it lost or lacks some class. If u listen to it u will notice it is of a certain standard til it reaches mid point, at which it seems Queen(or maybe Freddie. I'm allowed to call him that
mile
runs out of ideas and messes that section up along with the conclusion to the track! Now i am one for doing htings in music people don't anticipate or expect, but i am more up on quality than anything else. I understand what he or they were trying to do, but i don't think they pulled it off, as i believe it ruins the flow and high standard of the track. Aside from those two errors, the track is one of the best and would easily hold up to any good rock song put out in modern times.When/If u listen to it, u will understand what i am getting at.
Songs People Should Hear - Music Head - 13-01-2010
![[Image: P00270JOX6S.jpg]](http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/pic200/drP000/P002/P00270JOX6S.jpg)
YouTube - Rascals People Got To Be Free
from wikipedia
"People Got to Be Free" is a song released in 1968 by The Rascals. Written by group members Felix Cavaliere and Eddie Brigati and featuring a lead vocal from Cavaliere, it is an upbeat but impassioned plea for tolerance and freedom:
All the world over, so easy to see!
People everywhere, just wanna be free.
Listen, please listen! that's the way it should be â
Peace in the valley, people got to be free.
It became a big hit in the turbulent summer of 1968, spending five weeks atop the Billboard Pop Singles chart, the group's longest such stay. It was also the group's second-most successful single on the Billboard Black Singles chart, reaching number 14 and trailing only the previous year's "Groovin'". "People Got to Be Free" was RIAA-certified as a gold record on August 23, 1968, and eventually sold over 4 million copies. It later was included on the group's March 1969 album Freedom Suite.
The single's picture sleeve photo was previously featured in the inner album cover of the Rascals' Time Peace: The Rascals' Greatest Hits compilation. The B-side, "My World", was a track from the group's Once Upon a Dream album.
While "People Got to Be Free" was perceived by some as related to the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy earlier that year, it was recorded before the latter's death. In fact it was partly a reaction to an ugly encounter wherein the long-haired group was threatened by a group of rednecks after their tour vehicle broke down in Fort Pierce, Florida.
The song is clearly a product of its times; however, two decades later writer Dave Marsh included it as number 237 in his book Heart of Rock and Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles of All Time, saying in reference to, and paraphrase of, the song's lyric, "Ask me my opinion, my opinion will be: Dated, but NEVER out of date."
Since this song came out, the Rascals would only perform at concerts that featured an African American act, however, if those conditions were not met, the Rascals canceled several shows in protest.
The 5th Dimension recorded "People Got to Be Free" in 1970 as part of a medley with another socially relevant song, Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come." The pairing reached number 60 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart.
Songs People Should Hear - Music Head - 14-01-2010
![[Image: 220px-Faron.jpeg]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/28/Faron.jpeg/220px-Faron.jpeg)
YouTube - Faron Young - Hello Walls
not much history on this one.
a country classic
"Hello Walls" is an American country music song recorded by Faron Young. It became a massive hit in 1961, reaching #1 country and #12 pop, and introduced its songwriter â Willie Nelson â to a national audience.
This is about a guy who's love has left and all he can do is sit at home and talk to the walls, windows, and ceiling.
Songs People Should Hear - Music Head - 15-01-2010
![[Image: P14410M32Q6.jpg]](http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/pic200/drP100/P144/P14410M32Q6.jpg)
YouTube - The Lovin' Spoonful - Summer In The City
from wikipedia
"Summer in the City" was a 1966 hit single by The Lovin' Spoonful, written by Mark Sebastian (brother of John Sebastian) and Steve Boone. It came from their album, Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on August 13. The song featured a series of car horns, during the instrumental bridge, starting with a Volkswagen Beetle horn, and ending up with a jackhammer sound, in order to give the impressions of the sounds of the summer in the city. The song is ranked number 393 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
When at Blair Academy, Mark Sebastian submitted the lyrics as a poem for the literary magazine. That poem, entitled "Summer In the City," had the refrain "but at night it's a different world, go out and find a girl, come on, come on and dance all night, despite the heat it'll be alright, and babe don't you know it's a pity, the days can't be like the night, in the summer in the city." His older brother John changed the slower verses to a more upbeat model, keeping the title and the refrain. Mark's part remains as he wrote it, words and music. Bassist Steve Boone added the instrumental coda in the middle.
The song was featured on The Simpsons episode "Papa's Got a Brand New Badge", Only Fools and Horses episode "Miami Twice", in the opening scenes of the Bruce Willis action film Die Hard: With a Vengeance, in a 2006 Gatorade commercial, the 1994 PBS documentary Baseball: A Film by Ken Burns, in the 1989 movie The Karate Kid, Part III, in an advert for the UK retailer Marks & Spencer and in a commercial for Dutch brewer Grolsch. The song was used in the Debenhams advert "Actor". The song was also featured on the television show Family Ties, when Steven Keaton (Michael Gross) sings the first few lyrics while narrating a home movie.
On a VH1 Classic episode of Classic Albums featuring Disraeli Gears by Cream, it was asserted that the predominant guitar riff of the song "Tales of Brave Ulysses" from Disraeli Gears was inspired by the keyboard riff of "Summer in the City."
The song was featured in German art-director Wim Wenders' first film, 1970's Summer in the City. Comedians Horatio Sanz and Fred Armisen sang the song on the 2004 season finale of Saturday Night Live during a sketch that contained different cast members singing songs that had a summer theme. "Summer in the City" was used as background music on American Idol Season 8 during tryouts in Phoenix, Arizona.
Cover versions of the song include BB King in 1972, Quincy Jones in 1973, Tim Curry in 1982, Joe Cocker in 1993, and The Stranglers on their 1997 album Written in Red. In 2000, Joe Jackson released a live album titled Summer in the City: Live in New York, which opens with a cover of the song. The band Eat released a cover of the song in 1989. Country music artist Larry Stewart recorded it on his 1999 album Learning to Breathe. The Butthole Surfers covered the song on "Music for Our Mother Ocean (MOM)" Series No. 3 released in 1999. Styx covered the song on their "Big Bang Theory" released in 2005. It was also sampled by Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip in 2006 for their song "First Time We Met Musik". A modified version of the chorus was used in the third single Thru Ya City from Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump by De La Soul, Feat. D.V. Alias Khrist. In 2008, Barry Hay (The leadsinger of Golden Earring) covered this song together with the Metropole Orchestra.
The Quincy Jones cover of "Summer in the City" has been sampled by Massive Attack in the song "Exchange" from their acclaimed album Mezzanine, Nightmares on Wax in his song "Night's Introlude" on the album Smokers Delight, and also by The Pharcyde on their seminal hit "Passin' Me By" from the album Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde. It has also been sampled by Black Moon on their 1994 song "Reality" and also sampled by Joe on the remix to his 2001 hit "Stutter". Another cover, by the Gutter Brothers appeared on the soundtrack to the Only Fools and Horses film "Miami Twice". The song has also been covered by UK jazz-dance act, Incognito on the 2006 album Bees + Things + Flowers.
Songs People Should Hear - gryphon - 15-01-2010
Excellent choice The Loving Spoonful................John Sabastian was an great influence on the next generation of writers
I must add a few more excellent must hear tracks:
Coconut Grove!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a few and so laid back
Nashville Cats !!!( A tribute to all those guitar pickers )
Rain On The Roof ( A gentle romantic song ................)
Did You Ever Have A Dream Come True.