While focusing on blues and rhythm and blues, Chess Records was also one of the premier gospel labels in the 1950s and 1960s featuring a number of artists that would reach greater fame. The gospel releases spilled over to Chess’ subsidiaries of Checker Records and Cadet Records.
On Checker alone, 82 gospel singles and 57 gospel albums were released between 1953 and 1970. According rock historian Ed Ward, these recordings are difficult to find: “If you want to hear them . . . you'll have to go find the records. Gospel has never sold well, and it was the lowest-priority item for labels when the great reissue boom that the CD started came along.”
One of the premier gospel recording acts that made their mark on several labels, including Checker, were The Soul Stirrers. They may be the longest, continuously operating vocal group, as they formed in 1926 and are still performing today. A group with that length of tenure is also plagued with numerous personnel changes. The Soul Stirrers provided a proving ground for several artists including Sam Cooke and Johnnie Taylor.
When The Soul Stirrers moved to Checker, Johnny Taylor, who had replaced Sam Cooke in 1957 would remain year before embarking on his solo career. “Don’t You Worry,” our Spiritual Sunday release, was the ninth single for The Soul Stirrers recorded for Checker and the lead track for their 1969 album, “The Judgment.”
“Don’t You Worry” was penned by Leonard Caston, Lloyd Webber, and Sonny Thompson. Thompson also provided the arrangement and Ralph Bass produced the single. Bass, who was later inducted into the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 as a non-performer, also composed the single’s flip side, “When the Gates Swing Open.” The Soul Stirrers were inducted into the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 as early influences of rock ‘n roll.
On Saturday, I typically feature songs that didn’t chart in the Top 40, and today is no exception with a rhythm and blues treatment on Checker Records by Koko Taylor. Our “bubbling under” selection is “Good Advice” by Koko Taylor – a song that was composed by bluesman J.B. Lenoir. There is reason to this rhyme, as Willie Dixon discovered Koko Taylor and rediscovered Lenoir about the same time in the early 60s.
Dixon, a Chess producer, A&R man, songwriter, and session musician, knew talent when he heard it. Although “Good Advice” was released twice in 1966 on Checker, neither single produced a hit for Koko Taylor. The original issue as Checker 1140, with “When I Think of My Baby” as a “B” side, failed to attract attention. This version of the record is extremely rare and copies may have only been distributed to radio stations.
Later in September 1966, “Good Advice” returned as a flip side of “Tell Me the Truth” on Checker 1148. Billboard predicted that “Tell Me the Truth” would be a Top 10 R&B hit; it didn’t happen despite Billboard’s assessment that a “Powerful performance makes this disk one to be reckoned
with.” Apparently because of radio’s preference for “Good Advice,” the single was flipped, but it failed to chart in the Hot 100 on its second go-around.
Recorded on December 16, 1965, Taylor is joined by Gene Barge on tenor sax, Dillard Crume on bass, Johnny Twist and Rufus Crume on guitar, and Al Duncan on drums. The Crume brothers may be credited incorrectly, as Rufus was the bassist and Dillard the guitarist of The Soul Stirrers – another Checker act. A piano player is present, but not credited. Willie Dixon, the song’s producer, provides the low vocals.
It’s time for a Friday Flipside, and today’s selection is the “B” side to one of Checker Records’ better known artists: Bo Diddley. “I’m a Man” appeared as the flip of “Bo Diddley,” the eponymous record that shared his name with the artist. There are several competing stories how Ellas McDaniel got the name “Bo Diddley,” so we really can’t be certain.
But we can be certain about “I’m A Man.” This 1955 flip was inspired by Willie Dixon’s composition “I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man” that was recorded for Chess Records during the previous year. One month after Bo Diddley recorded “I’m A Man,” Muddy Waters took it and created “Mannish Boy” as his answer to the tune. Bo Diddley was given writing credit along with Waters and Mel London.
Bo Diddley is joined on “I’m A Man” by Billy Boy Arnold on harmonica, Jerome Green on maracas, Willie Dixon on bass, and Otis Spann on piano. There are conflicting accounts on who played drums on this cut. Some say Clifton James and others credit Frank Kirkland as who handled the backbeat.
Although “I’m a Man” was a flip side, it got into the hands of numerous consumers as “Bo Diddley” was a #1 R&B hit for two weeks. “I’m a Man” was covered by several artists with The Yardbirds recording four versions of the tune. Each of the three recorded live tracks feature one of their famous guitarists: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page. Beck played on the studio version, which by the way, had its basic tracks recorded at the Chess studios at 2120 South Michigan Avenue in Chicago where Bo Diddley cut the original.
On Tuesday, we featured Checker Records’ Little Walter, but today we feature the label’s other little artist: Little Milton. James Milton Campbell, Jr., known throughout his life as Little Milton, had an impressive, but not very successful musical career. In the mid-1950s, he was signed by Ike Turner to Sam Phillips’ Sun Records, but never had a hit with the regional label out of Memphis.
By 1959, while unable to get another record deal, Milton set up his own label in St. Louis: Bobbin Records. During this time, he secured a distribution deal with the Chess Brothers. Within two years, his singles were appearing on the Checker imprint.
Finally, after eight releases on Checker, Milton scored the biggest hit of his career: “We’re Gonna Make It.” This 1965 recording, that echoed sentiments shared with the Civil Rights movement, charted at #1 on the R&B charts, and it was Little Milton’s only single to chart in the Top 40; it peaked at #25.
I teach a class in Media and Society at a small university and today before class, I was getting my computer, projector, and speakers set up for a multimedia presentation. Today, I decided to test the audio with Little Walter’s “Juke.” One of my students asked, “What’s that?” He was no doubt referring to Little Walter’s amplified harmonica. I responded, “That’s Little Walter playing the premier instrument of the blues – the harmonica.” To which he retorted, “I thought the harmonica was the premier instrument around camp fires.” We both laughed.
Yes, Virginia, the harmonica was used quite often for the blues and it’s not your pioneer great-great-grandpa’s instrument anymore. Recorded in 1952 at Universal Recorders on Chicago’s Northside, today’s Bluesday Tuesday hit, Little Walter’s “Juke,” was a number one R&B record for Checker Records. It held that position for eight consecutive weeks.
Billed as “Little Walter and his Night Cats,” the recording featured Muddy Waters and his back-up band. With Little Walter Jacobs on amplified harmonica, Muddy Waters and Jimmy Rogers on guitar, and drummer Elga Edmunds. The song was originally titled “Your Cat Will Play,” but the title was changed to “Juke,” by the time the single was released. Only two takes were recorded with the first being issued as the release.
“Juke” has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame. The song influenced several generations of blues harpists to pick up their harmonica with a handheld microphone and blast the night away.
My Facebook page tells me that five years ago this month, I started the fourth week label feature on Reading Between the Grooves. This month, I going to feature seven sides from Checker Records of Chicago. It’s hard to put a finger on the style of music that Checker featured, as there were so many different styles released by this subsidiary of Chess Records. You could hear blues, rhythm and blues, rock ‘n roll, gospel, zydeco (at least one record), and other styles on the Checker imprint.
Formed in 1952 as a subsidiary of Leonard and Phil Chess’ eponymous primary label, the Checker name played on the chessboard theme. It was hoped that, by having two imprints, it would increase the brothers’ output to receive more airplay. On the early Checker releases, the Chess connection and name were not stated, but it was not difficult to determine that Chess was in control. Many of the songs carried publishing by the Chess publishing arm Arc Music, BMI.
In 1969, the Chess family sold their labels to General Recorded Tape Corporation. By 1971, GRT consolidated the Chess/Checker/Cadet/Argo catalog under the single Chess imprint. The Checker catalog is currently available through Universal Music Group and has been since the 1980s.
Our first selection from Checker is a 1957 recording that was sold to Checker by Jewel/Paula Records in Shreveport, Louisiana: Dale Hawkins’ “Susie Q” – a song that reached greater fame eleven years later by Credence Clearwater Revival. This rockabilly hit was one of several recordings by Dale Hawkins released by Checker. “Susie Q” was recorded at KWKH in Shreveport. James Burton, who would also play with Ricky Nelson and Elvis, played guitar on this recording.
Written by Dale Hawkins and band-mate Robert Chaisson, credit was given to Hawkins, Jewel/Paula Records owner Stan Lewis, and Eleanor Broadwater, the wife of WLAC Nashville radio announcer Gene Nobles. Chaisson never received credit or royalties for his part of the composition. When the master was transferred, the publishing was assigned to Arc Music, an arm of Chess Records.
While the later CCR recording would place at #11 on the Hot 100, the original only charted at #27 on the pop charts. Although not a rhythm and blues recording, Hawkins’ version did much better on Billboard’s R&B charts at #7. What a great song and a great introduction to this seminal label from the past.
About a month ago, I was talking to the president of Alderson Broaddus University, Dr. Tim Barry, about music. Someone had told him that I had seen a number of concerts and had met a fair number of stars during my 20 years in radio. He amazed me about the number of bands he had seen in concert – far more than I have. As he was rattling off numbers of well-known acts, he listed Mason Proffit. I stopped him and said, “I’ve known very few people who knew about Mason Proffit.” Being that he was from Iowa, it was natural for him to have seen this little known band based out of Chicago.
Mason Proffit was a little ahead of their time. Contemporaries with Poco and before the Eagles, they could have been a national treasure, but they had three strikes against them. 1. They were a little too country, too soon. Had they started a couple years later or even in the early 1990s, they may have resonated with an audience who gravitated toward this style. In other words, they were country way before country was cool.
2. Their songs often were about social injustices, had politically charged messages, and had a penchant for peace during the height of the Vietnam War (and sometimes, just sometimes, they also mentioned Jesus – without being preachy). Perhaps, radio was not ready for the content side of their recordings.
3. Mason Proffit were also doomed to small, insignificant record companies during the height of their popularity. Their first two albums, “Wanted” and “Movin’ Toward Happiness,” were released on Happy Tiger – an arm of the Flying Tiger freight company. Their third, “Last Night I had the Strangest Dream,” was their only foray on AMPEX Records.
By the time they had moved to their first major label, Warner Brothers, the band was disintegrating. Their output included two new albums on the label, a repackaging of the Happy Tiger LPs as a double album, and one by the Talbot Brothers to fulfill the band’s contract with their final label. Brothers Terry and John Michael Talbot were the backbone of the band, and this last album on Warners was later licensed to Sparrow Records when the Talbots devoted themselves to contemporary Christian music as solo acts who occasionally performed together.
In any configuration, the Talbots and Mason Proffit are on my list of favorite artists. For our Friday Flipside and our feature on AMPEX Records, I’ve picked “Jewel,” the flip to their only AMPEX single, “Hope.” “Jewel” is one of their social injustice songs about a black woman, whose husband was at war, and who had her small farm taken away by the government.
To care for her children, “Jewel” began to take odd jobs of cleaning and cooking, but was had difficulty in making ends meet; her children were starving. “A child never fed is a child soon to die.” As a last resort, she went back to the plantation to the Master, a man with whom she had a relationship, so that she may ask for money. She begged and asked him to remember their past. She was later found dead near the pond with a sleeping baby in her lifeless arms. The Master, in his white pillared mansion, “dreams of the black girl he loved long time ago.”
There’s just enough ambiguity in the lyrics to not know what happened to “Jewel.” Did the Master kill her? Did he give her the money and someone else robbed and killed her? Did she commit suicide? Did she die of natural causes? The conclusion I jumped to when I first heard the song was the first possibility, but the Master dreaming about her doesn’t seem like he’s the culprit – unless, she threatened to tell others about their previous affair.
In addition, we don’t know how much time elapsed been her visit and her death? She went to his mansion alone, but she has a child with her when she was found dead. Is this the same child as the one she was carrying at the beginning of the song? Was Master the father? There are too many unknowns to this song. Only the songwriters, Terry and John Michael Talbot, really know for sure. Ruminate on this mystery as it isn’t clear what happened.
“Jewel” is one of Mason Proffit’s more county styled numbers and it’s a tear jerker.
Somewhere in the recesses of my “stuff,” that is if my wife didn’t get rid of it, I have a baseball jacket that Jesse Winchester sent me in 1981. I tested his record in light rotation, but we never added it to our playlist – and the jacket didn’t influence me to play the record or not, but it was a nice thank you for trying. Jesse Winchester was not a Top 40 kind of guy, but that didn’t stop Bearsville Records and AMPEX before that from releasing singles and trying.
Today’s cut, “Quiet about It,” was his second single release from his self-titled album on AMPEX – the fourth album release for the label. While Todd Rundgren typically produced many of the early AMPEX recordings, he was the engineer on this project. Robbie Robertson of The Band produced the LP and played guitar on it as well – you can hear his licks on “Quiet about It.” Levon Helm, also from The Band, appears on the album playing drums and mandolin. There were a whole host of lesser known folks who contributed to this record.
“Quiet about It” is Winchester’s spiritual search. Noting that there is a God and that he is lost, he realizes that he is being led home.” Winchester has his doubts, but he’ll be content and be “Quiet about It.”
Singer-songwriter John Hartford recorded one song and only one song for AMPEX Records – not even enough to fill both sides of the single it carried. Written by Bob Dylan, “One Too Many Mornings” was the lead cut on the soundtrack for the motion picture “Jud.”
The movie was about Jud Carney, a Vietnam vet, who returned home at Christmas and did not get the welcome he expected. Needless to say, it was a box office flop. AMPEX Records released the soundtrack to coincide with the movie’s release.
The single featuring Hartford didn’t even list an artist for its flip of “Solitary Sanctuary,” which was actually performed by Alan Brackett, John Merrill, and Barbara Robinson. Another version of the same song was the last cut on the LP and was performed by the American Breed.
Hartford, who was under contract at the time to RCA, recorded this tune as a one-off for the soundtrack. I think it was one of his better early recordings. Unfortunately, like the movie, the song never took off. Too bad.
I have a confession to make. The only AMPEX single that I have in my collection of numerous records of all sizes and speeds is today’s feature: Todd Rundgren’s first single. Issued in October 1970, “We Gotta Get You A Woman” wasn’t even released with his name, but rather the pseudonym “Runt.” Some suggest that the name Runt referred to a band that contained Rundgren and brothers Tony and Hunt Sales. Could be, but I have my doubts.
However, further confusion occurs with the title of Rundgren’s first album – the fifth to be released by AMPEX – listed as Runt. In addition, there were two versions of the Runt album issued in 1970: The intended 10 track version and a 12 track version that has alternate takes that was inadvertently released by AMPEX in November 1970.
Adding to this confusion is the title of the song. The original single and the 12-track album lists the song as “We Gotta Get You A Woman”; however, the official album and the Bearsville oldies single has it as “We Got to Get You A Woman.” When Bearsville Productions left AMPEX with their catalog in 1972, the album was reissued on the Bearsville imprint.The Bearsville oldies single lists Todd as the artist and not Runt.
While Tony Sales played bass and percussion and Hunt Sales was on drums and percussion, all of the other instrumentation and vocals were by Todd Rundgren. In addition, Todd wrote the song and produced it as well. “We Gotta Get You A Woman” peaked at #20 and was AMPEX Records’ biggest hit.
Our second post from AMPEX Records features Fever Tree from Houston, Texas. The group began in 1966 as a folk band, but by 1967 they had adopted psychedelic music as a genre. Fever Tree first recorded several singles with Mainstream Records – the first label for the Amboy Dukes and Big Brother and Holding Company. By 1967, they had moved to UNI Records where they had their greatest success with the single “San Francisco Girls (Return of the Native). This 1968 release only charted at #91.
After two albums on UNI, the band moved to AMPEX in 1970 and recorded several singles and the album “For Sale.” Today’s selection is the first of two singles for AMPEX – a cover of Arthur Lee and Love’s “She Comes in Colors.” Lee wrote this song about a girl he knew that always dressed in flowing colored outfits. It is thought that “She Comes in Colors” inspired the Rolling Stones “She’s a Rainbow.”
Although I like the original better, I think Dennis Keller’s vocals on Fever Tree’s redition are superior to Arthur Lee’s on Love’s version. You decide.
In the late 1960s, the AMPEX corporation known for its production of high quality magnetic tape decks (in a number of configurations) and commercial blank tapes entered the world of recorded music producing prerecorded reel-to-reel, 8-track, and cassette tapes for existing labels – often these were branded as being on the AMPEX label. Anyone who has collected recorded music for any length of time will have a few copies of AMPEX prerecorded tapes.
In 1970, AMPEX decided to venture into the vinyl record business. Working in conjunction with Albert Grossman and Todd Rundgren’s Bearsville Studio in Upstate New York, AMPEX set out to be the next label. AMPEX also distributed Bearsville Records (later under the Warner Brothers umbrella) and Big Tree Records, which later was distributed by Bell Records and then Atlantic Records. AMPEX Records folded in 1973 with the catalog going to Bearsville Records.
The very first AMPEX vinyl album and single was by the Philadelphia area band, The American Dream. It is often cited that this album was Todd Rundgren’s first attempt of producing. The single was popular in the Philadelphia region receiving airplay in nearby markets, but it was not a national hit. Three years ago, I featured the cover by David Uosikkinen's In The Pocket.
The American Dream included Nicky Indeliato on lead vocals and rhythm guitar; Nick Jameson on guitar, keyboards, and vocals; Don Lee Van Winkle on guitar; Mickey Brook on drums and percussion (notably on cowbell on this cut); and Don Ferris on bass and backing vocals. “I Ain’t Searchin’” was written by Jameson, who covered it in 1977.
The tune is indicative of the sound of local bands in the US of this era. You can hear Rundgren’s fingerprints on this cut, and it shows that he was a fairly mature producer with his first attempt. Unfortunately, the vocals on this classic Philly tune could have been a bit stronger – which probably doomed it to being only a regional hit.
We’ve come to the end of the line of our look at Dunhill Records, and typically on Saturdays I like to feature songs that were below the Top 40 line on the Hot 100, an album cut, or were non-charting singles. Today is no different, as we turn to a progressive British jazz/blues/rock band named Colosseum.
While Dunhill didn’t sign Colosseum directly, their American releases were issued on Dunhill through an arrangement with UK’s branch of Fontana Records. Apparently Mercury, Fontana’s US distributor, passed on Colosseum. An outgrowth of the Graham Bond Organization and John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Colosseum was formed by drummer Jon Hiseman and saxophonist Dick Heckstall-Smith who played with both bands. I was just talking to someone last week about Heckstall-Smith’s performance novelty of playing two saxes simultaneously.
In addition to Hiseman and Heckstall-Smith, Colosseum featured James Litherland on guitar and lead vocals, Tony Reeves on bass, and Dave Greenslade on keyboards. You may remember Greenslade’s name as he fronted a band of the same name in the 1970s. Their 1969 debut LP, “Those Who Are About to Die Salute You,” took its name from what gladiators would say to Caesar before entering in a contest to the death.
Written and originally recorded by Graham Bond, “Walking in the Park” was the first single from this LP. The placement of this song on the album was interesting. Fontana led the album with the track and Dunhill placed it at the end of the album. Either way, the single failed to chart in either the UK or the US.
“Walking in the Park” also featured sideman Henry Lowther on trumpet. The song has a killer arrangement with Litherwood’s powerful vocals and lead guitar, Greenslade’s organ, and the horns of Heckstall-Smith and Lowther. Buckle-up, as this one really moves.
Having formed in Los Angeles in 1969, the band Smith had no members who bore the most popular English language surname. Having been discovered in 1969 by Del Shannon, he brought Smith to ABC/Dunhill, a label to which he had been signed earlier in the same year. Although the group released four singles and two albums before they disbanded, a remake of the Shirelles’ classic “Baby it’s You” was their first single and their only hit record.
It has been said that Shannon came up with the new arrangement of the composition penned by Burt Bacharach, Mack David, and Luther Dixon (under the name of Barney Williams). Lyricist Mack David was the older brother of Bacharach’s frequent songwriting partner Hal David. The sha-la-la vocals from the original and The Beatles version were replaced by an organ riff from Larry Moss. With the heavier arrangement, Smith’s version was perfect for 1969 and beyond. Joel Sill and Dunhill staffer Steve Barri produced the recording.
“Baby it’s You” appeared on the album “A Group Called Smith” and peaked as a single in November 1969 at #5 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. “Baby it’s You” showcases the incredible talent of Gayle McCormick and its sad that she never ever was to reprise her career as she had the pipes. Just listening to where she screams “Baby!!!” near the end of the song sends chills up and down my spine. After Smith, McCormick released three solo albums and several singles, but none achieved the acclaim of her first single with Smith. McCormick died earlier this year on March 1 from cancer.
While it wasn’t Three Dog Night’s biggest hit, “Pieces of April” from November 1972 was one of two singles from their “Seven Separate Fools” album and one of my favorite songs of the band. I guess I remember this song, as this was released during my senior year in high school. Of all of the acts on Dunhill Records, Three Dog Night had to be the label’s most popular.
Written by Dave Loggins (remember “Please Come to Boston”), it was originally an album cut on his 1972 album “Personal Belongings”; Vanguard later released it in January 1973 to compete with Three Dog Night’s version. Loggins later re-recorded the tune and released it as a single on Epic in 1979. While neither single charted in the Hot 100, Loggins’ second version peaked at 22 on the adult contemporary charts.
As for Three Dog Night’s rendition of this ballad, it only peaked at #19 on the Hot 100. I would have expected it to have charted higher, but a November release is always a gamble. Chuck Negron was lead vocalist on this cut.
Day four of our look at Dunhill Records brings us a release from September 1968 with the newly reconstituted ABC/Dunhill records imprint. “Magic Carpet Ride” was Steppenwolf’s fifth single release and their second Top 5 record. Like the previous hit, “Born to Be Wild,” “Magic Carpet Ride” was certified as a gold single for one million units sold. It was the only single released on their second LP – which was appropriately titled “The Second.” The single peaked at #3.
Co-written by Steppenwolf’s guitarist/vocalist John Kay and bassist Rushton Moreve. Moreve, an original member of the band, left Steppenwolf after recording “The Second.” He rejoined the band in 1978, but was killed in an automobile accident in 1981 prior to John Kay and Steppenwolf’s recording of the album “Wolftracks” in 1982.
One of my favorite parts of this song is Goldy McJohn’s organ parts. I always thought that he used a Hammond organ, but McJohn stated that his instrument of choice was a Lowrey. Of course, he had this beast connected to a Leslie rotating speaker cabinet that provided a Doppler effect to the organ’s sound. McJohn’s staccato style of playing gave a percussive feel that added to the heaviness of this recording.
The single mix, in my opinion, is much better than the album version. It has a different lead vocal track and the overall instrumental balance is better. Typically, I prefer the album mixes, but there are always exceptions. I provide both versions so you can choose which on you like.
Suggested by Lou Adler, president of Dunhill Records, and put into fruition by P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri in 1965, The Grass Roots became one of the top hit making bands to make their mark with the label. Originally called The Grassroots, it was formed as a studio band with an ever changing lineup until 1967. The name change occurred during the new band’s first year.
Having submitted a demo to Dunhill, a LA based band named the 13th Floor became the permanent version of the group. The band went through three bassists until Rob Grill was enlisted into the incarnation of The Grass Roots that most of us know. He was the band’s primary lead singer in addition to playing bass.
In 1968, the band recorded their biggest hit, “Midnight Confessions.” The band was a four piece during this period and also featured Warren Entner on guitar/keyboards, Creed Bratton on lead guitar, and Rick Coonce on drums. When Bratton left the band in 1969, Dennis Provisor was brought in on guitar and Terry Furlong joined the band on keyboards. By 1971, The Grass Roots enlarged to a six piece combo with Brian Naughton as additional lead guitarist. Other line-up changes occurred in 1972 and 1974.
While the band performed the song in concert, there is no indication that The Grass Roots per se played the instruments on the actual recording. While the band provided the vocals, instrumentation was supplied by The Wrecking Crew. The legendary bass line, which was later played live by Rob Grill, was actually performed by Carole Kaye who contributed to hundreds of recordings.
“Midnight Confessions” charted at #5 during the summer of 1968 and was their only single to be certified gold.
During 1965, Dunhill Records signed one of their biggest acts, The Mama’s and the Papas. This new vocal group was led by John Phillips who, along with his wife Michelle, had been in the folk group The New Journeyman.
Enter Denny Doherty and later Cass Elliot from the Mugwamps and this new group spent several months in the Virgin Islands honing their craft and working out the intricate harmonies that made them successful and became the inspiration for a half a dozen other popular vocal groups.
Brought to Dunhill by their friend Barry McGuire, the band was signed by Lou Adler. Their first single, “Go Where You Want to Go,” was released to radio in November 1965, but there is no evidence that this debut single ever was released commercially. If so, it failed to chart in any trade publications.
While I’m speculating here, it may be that Adler felt that “California Dreamin’” was a better selection for the public as winter was approaching and it was released on the heels of “Go Where You Want to Go” with the same picture sleeve photo. Since they were an unknown act at the time, it took a couple months for radio to gravitate towards the song – plus releasing a new artist before the Christmas holiday was not wisest decision. But it eventually became the first their of several top 10 hits. It also was certified as a gold record.
“California Dreamin’s” follow-up, “Monday, Monday,” is today’s selection. Why? It’s Monday. This was the band’s most popular song. It was their only #1 record, second of two gold singles, and it won the Grammy for best pop vocal by a duo or group.
Having grown up with the mono version on AM radio – the place where we used to hear the hits – I find it difficult to listen to Lou Adler’s stereo mix on this song. I know, this is how many records (ad nauseam) were mixed for stereo – put the back-up vocals on one side, the instruments on the other, and if you’re lucky the lead vocal might be in the middle.
However, a good many records had all the vocals to one side. I think there was an unwritten principle that this practice illustrated the aural width of a recording – let’s get as much separation as possible and it might sound live. I am certainly glad that by the late 60s, this practice began to wane. The instrumentation for this song was provided by The Wrecking Crew, a loose collection of LA studio musicians who played on a bazillion records and who had a fluid line-up. John Phillips sang lead on this number.
Now that we’re back on track with the blog, we can resume with our features. Since it’s the fourth week of the month, we turn to our Fourth Week Label Feature. For this week, I’ve chosen Dunhill Records. The company was conceived in 1964 by Lou Adler and several others as a production house for Johnny Rivers. It did not become an actual label until spring 1965.
While it is commonly cited that the label’s initial release was by Adler's wife Shelley Fabares, this is incorrect. Two singles were issued a month prior to Fabares’ recording: Ray Whitley’s “I’ve Been Hurt” and Ritchie Weems and the Continental Five’s “Natural Born Man.” These two singles were numbered D-201 and D-202 respectively.
With Dunhill’s third release (Fabares’ “My Prayer” cataloged as D-4001), the label began a distribution deal with ABC-Paramount Records – later simply known as ABC Records. Two years later, Adler sold his shares to ABC and this created the subsidiary label: ABC-Dunhill Records. Dunhill would be inextricably linked to ABC throughout its 10-year run.
By 1975, ABC began consolidating its subsidiaries under the ABC Records’ umbrella and Dunhill was no longer an active imprint. Within four years, ABC’s record holdings were purchased by MCA and subsequent releases used its imprint. Geffen Records now controls the Dunhill catalog. This week will look at seven releases from Dunhill and ABC-Dunhill.
Numbered as D-4009, Barry McGuire’s “Eve of Destruction” was actually Dunhill’s twelfth release and not the eleventh as one may surmise. This was because two P.F. Sloan singles that were subsequently issued shared the D-4007 catalog number and the same B-side.
Written in 1964 by P.F. Sloan, “Eve of Destruction” chronicled the unrest in the world during the mid 1960s that dealt with war, suffering, and racism. According to McGuire, he recorded the song on a Thursday and it was on the air the following Monday. McGuire’s recording was Dunhill’s first Top 40 hit and it quickly ascended to the number one slot during the fall of1965. The song hit apparently hit a political nerve at the time.
The double strike on the tom-tom found only in the intro and the first verse provides a subliminal sound effect of artillery fire that accentuates the message decrying war. The lyrics played on the real fears of nuclear annihilation – “if the button is pushed, there’s no runnin’ away. There will be no one to save with the world in a grave.” Sloan’s lyrics also points at hypocrisy found in America with the line “hate your next door neighbor, but don’t forget to say grace.”
McGuire later re-recorded “Eve of Destruction” on his second Contemporary Christian release “Lighten Up.” It was released on Myrrh Records in 1974 - a label that was part of ABC's holdings of Word Records in the 1970s. Being the album’s lead track dispels the rumors that McGuire eschewed the song once becoming a Christian. He still performs “Eve of Destruction,” but often modifies the lyrics to be applicable to the unrest of the present world.
Today is a day of celebration. Six years ago today I began this blog on a rainy Saturday afternoon. It was one of the better decisions I’ve made as I have rekindled friendships and made a number of new ones over the six year period. The last two years (especially last year) with the change in jobs, I’ve not kept up with the blog. In 2015, I’ve had long gaps without new posts. Hopefully, that will change.
Before we get to the stats, our final selection to celebrate the music of Deram Records, we bring you an album cut from Ten Years After fourth album for the label: “Ssssh.” In all, Deram released seven Ten Years After albums – five studio, one live, and a compilation album. “Ssssh” was their second album from 1969 and a number of cuts got some album airplay, no singles were issued from the album to my knowledge.
Until the 1971 hit on Columbia, “I’d Love to Change the World,” singles were just a nuisance that the record company released hoping that mainstream radio would pick up on it. With the exception of “I’d Love to Change the World,” it didn’t work and Deram had no hit records from Ten Years After.
To remedy that, we turned to the final cut on “Ssssh” and an Alvin Lee tune – “I Woke Up this Morning.” It really showcases how great a guitarist Alvin Lee was. Even as great a talent as Lee was, he needed a solid band and Ten Years After fulfilled that need. The band was rounded out by Leo Lyons on bass (always a joy to watch), Chick Churchill on keyboards, and Ric Lee on drums. Great stuff for a Saturday – rainy or otherwise.
RBTG’s Sixth Anniversary Retrospect
Like I had reported with every other anniversary, I took a look backward on how we are doing visitor wise. I began this blog on September 26, 2009, but did not start monitoring the visits until October 16, 2009. Currently, we have 95 declared followers of the blog – the same number as in March 2015 when we had our 1600th post. There are many others who have visited frequently without declaring themselves as followers.
As noted above, we have not been vigilant in maintaining posts, but that hasn’t affected our overall numbers. With over 1600 posts, people have been visiting anyway even without new material that was forthcoming.
The cumulative statistics for the blog are listed below:
Variable
Statistic
Unique Visitors
190,254
Times Visited
213,983
Number of Pages Viewed
298,652
People Visiting 200+ Times
3,188
People Visiting 101-200 Times
1,557
People Visiting 51-100 Times
1,486
People Visiting 26-50 Times
1,418
Number of Visitor Countries Represented
191
The Top Ten Visitor Countries
Since our 1,600th post, three new countries were added to the list: Tajikistan (in Asia), Cuba (in the Caribbean), and Chad in Africa . The Top 10 countries remain the same; however, former tenth position Spain knocked Netherlands out of the ninth position.
Rank
Country
Visits
1
United States
105,359
2
United Kingdom
18,120
3
Canada
11,490
4
Germany
9,847
5
France
7,228
6
Australia
5,213
7
Italy
4,428
8
Brazil
4,224
9
Spain
3,416
10
Netherlands
3,397
As always, I want to take this time to thank all of you for your support of this site and the encouragement to keep going forward. Thanks again for Reading between the Grooves.
Associate Provost and Professor of Mass Communication at Alderson Broaddus University and an adjunct faculty member at Southern New Hampshire University.
Graduate of Marshall University, West Virginia University, Southern New Hampshire University, Kentucky Christian University and Mountain State University.
Dissertation on institutional rebranding (see newriver.net) was the 2009 international winner of the Alice L. Beeman Dissertation Award for Outstanding Research in Communications and Marketing for Higher Education Advancement and was the 2008 Leo and Margaret Goodman-Malamuth Outstanding Dissertation Award for Research in Higher Education Administration.
Placed as a winner in five Active Industry Research Contemporary Hit Radio "Pick the Hits" competitions from 1983 through 1987. Each competition had 31 winners. Placed 2nd (1st among radio participants), 6th, 10th (twice), and 21st in the five competitions.
Awarded 14 gold & platinum records and an international sales award from various record companies. Winner of 30 Public Relations awards.
