Tag: 1960s

Booker T. + the M.G.’s | Hang ‘Em High

Booker T. and the M.G.’s arranged songs like mathematicians construct proofs: just enough to get the desired result, and nothing more. As the house band for Stax Records in the 1960s, the group appeared on dozens of hit recordings for acts like Sam and Dave, Rufus Thomas, Carla Thomas, Wilson Picket, and Otis Redding. They also had a number of instrumental hits on their own, including “Green Onions,” “Time is Tight,” a cover of the Rascals’ song “Groovin’,” and “Hang ‘Em High.” Their classic lineup consisted of Booker T. Jones, usually playing the Hammond B-3 and occasionally on piano, drummer Al Jackson, Jr., bassist Donald “Duck” Dunn, and guitarist Steve Cropper.

Perhaps the group’s grandest recorded moment came in 1969, when they released the album McLemore Avenue, their reinterpretation of the Beatles’ Abbey Road.

“Hang ‘Em High” (1968) was composed by Dominic Frontiere for the Western of the same name, a vehicle for Clint Eastwood. The first cover of the soundtrack theme was released by Hugo Montenegro; the Booker T. version came out a bit later. Frontiere was responsible for the music for many television shows from the 1960s through the 1980s, such as The Fugitive and The Flying Nun (!). He also composed soundtracks for a number of movies during that period. Just before “Hang ‘Em High”, he wrote the music for the cult classic goth-horror movie Incubus, whose dialog is entirely in Esperanto, and which starred a pre-Star Trek William Shatner.

There are half-steps up at 1:15. 2:11, and 2:39. The tune stays in that key from there on, including during the spartan-even-for-the-MG’s coda that begins at 3:08.

Classics IV | Traces

“Anyone who doesn’t have a clear image of the Classics IV can be forgiven — they went through so many shifts in personnel and sound … they were little more than a name attached to some excellent (and very good-selling) records of the second half of the 1960s, without a personality or identity to grab onto easily,” (Tivo).

“They’re one of those bands that will never, ever get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” (BestClassicBands), “but we bet you fondly recall their three Top 10 hits—all logged within a period of less than a year and a half—and wouldn’t turn them off if they came on the radio right now … those soft-rock hits with the single-word titles—’Spooky,’ ‘Stormy,’ and ‘Traces’—were true classics of the late ’60s AM radio scene.”

Released in 1969, “Traces” was a single from an album of the same name. The track is full of jazz voicings and a surprisingly broad harmonic vocabulary, carried by gentle instrumentation (oboe, guitar, vibes, strings, an ambling bass line, and muted percussion); the vocal couldn’t be any more prominent in the mix. The track which likely launched 1,000 prom themes was also named part of BMI’s Top 100 Songs of the Century. The single hit #2 on both the US Pop and Easy Listening charts — certainly, one of the last of that category. The intro begins in B minor, but the emphasis flips over to D major for verse 1 (0:19). As the bridge ends at 1:55, there’s a shift upwards to Eb major. The track ends rather jarringly when an instrumental verse (2:31) withers on the vine with a fast fade midway through — likely an attempt to keep the single under three minutes in length.

The Ventures | Theme from “Hawaii 5-0”

Regular contributor JB writes: “This track really ticks all the boxes: A one-hit wonder surf rock band in psychedelic costumes, playing a track with a ladder of ascending mods. All in all, an important historical/cultural artifact. They really should have included this one in the Voyager space probe — it tells alien intelligences all they need to know about life on earth in the ’70s … ” The Ventures’ website proclaims the band “the best selling instrumental rock band in music history.”

The band’s nominal regular rock instrumentation had plenty of orchestral help, including the opening bars’ signature syncopated tympani hits, brass poking out of just about every corner, and a piccolo flourish on the piccardy third D major ending. Starting in C minor, we climb up by half steps, starting at 0:36.

The theme as heard at both the opening and closing of Hawaii 5-0 is somehow even more bombastic. IMDB summarizes the show’s premise: “The investigations of Hawaii Five-0, an elite branch of the Hawaii State Police answerable only to the governor and headed by stalwart Steve McGarrett.” Scoring four Emmy wins out of 23 nominations, the show ran 12 seasons (1968 – 1980). The theme also won TV Land Awards for “TV Theme Song You Want for Your Ringtone” in both 2007 and 2008, and was nominated in 2003 for “Drama Theme Song You Can’t Get Out of Your Head.”

Thunderclap Newman | Something in the Air

In the late 1960s, talk of revolution may have seemed credible. The antiwar movement, the Civil Rights movement, and of course, popular music were changing society in significant ways. The Beatles could sing “Revolution,” even if you could “count them out.” But here we are in 2023, where, as journalist George Monbiot points out, paraphrasing Rousseau, “man is born free, and is everywhere in chain stores.” At least we got some cool tunes out of the era.

One such tune is 1969’s “Something in the Air” by the short-lived English band Thunderclap Newman. The members were drummer “Speedy” Keen, who wrote the song, guitarist Jimmy McCulloch, later of Paul McCartney’s Wings, and the eponymous Andy Newman on piano. The group released one studio album Hollywood Dream, produced by Pete Townsend, who also played bass guitar on the recording. “Something in the Air” was a #1 hit in the UK, and reached a respectable #37 on the US Billboard chart.  It’s been included in the soundtracks for several movies, including The Magic Christian, also released in 1969, and Almost Famous. The lyrics asserted “you know it’s right”, and in those times, you may not have detected any irony.

There’s a whole step modulation from the original key E major to F# major at 1:04; the saloon-style piano bridge starting at 1:58 passes through a few tonalities; lastly, when we land at the final verse at 2:55, we’re in G# major, two steps up from the original key.

Ennio Morricone | Se Telefonando (feat. Mina)

“(Morricone’s) film scores alone spanned jazz, lushly romantic orchestrations, supremely freaked-out psychedelic rock and all points in between; outside of cinema, he worked in everything from 60s Europop to avant-garde modern classical …The most celebrated of Morricone’s diversions into pop music, at least in Italy, ‘Se Telefonando’ is a perfect example of what Anglophone pop audiences missed by snootily ignoring anything not sung in English: a fantastic, epic ballad fit to take on anything that came from Bacharach and David’s pens in the same era, complete with very Morricone-esque idiosyncrasies,” (The Guardian). “Its chorus melody was apparently influenced by the sound of a French police siren, and its bass notes are augmented by the sound of trombones.”

“One of the most beloved and iconic performers in Italian history, vocalist Mina was a fixture on the pop music scene in the ’60s and ’70s … “(AllMusic). “Her lush and powerful voice put a distinctive mark on her music, which frequently jumped genres, from Italian pop and R&B to bossa nova, jazz, and even disco … she was a trailblazing figure who challenged social mores and became a symbol for female empowerment, pushing boundaries with her liberated image and unapologetic lyrics. Into the 21st century, her prolific and genre-shifting output kept her atop the charts with over a dozen number one albums and multiple hit singles.”

“Se Telefonando” (1966) starts in F# major, its verse building gradually. The short chorus is heard for the first time in F# as well, but a common-tone modulation to A# hits at 1:19 for a re-statement of the chorus as the tune climbs to its highest point. At 1:49, the track returns to its original key with another chorus, only to climb back to A# at 2:14 with yet another chorus. We gradually realize there will be no subsequent verse as the tune fades!

Billy Joe Royal | Down in the Boondocks

Great artists steal, they say. And so Billy Joe Royal’s 1965 hit (Billboard #9) “Down in the Boondocks” shamelessly lifted the scratch guitar lick opening from Gene Pitney’s recording of the Bacharach/David song “Twenty-four Hours From Tulsa” from a couple of years before.

The song’s theme, a boy of lower socioeconomic status is troubled by his circumstances, which carry over to his relationship with a girl, was common in popular song of the day. Think of the Four Seasons’ “Dawn” (1963), or Johnny Rivers’ “Poor Side of Town” (1966).

Billy Joe Royal never had as big a hit again, though he came close with “Cherry Hill Park” (Billboard #15) in 1969. He continued recording for many years, with several songs registering on the country charts in the 1980s.

The verse pitches up a half-step at 1:27.

Engelbert Humperdinck | A Man Without Love (Quando M’innamoro)

Written by Italian composers Daniele Pace, Mario Panzer, and Roberto Livraghi, “Quando M’innamoro” was first performed by Italian singer Anna Identici and the American folk rock trio The Sandpipers at the Sanremo Music Festival, an Italian song contest, in 1968.

The British pop singer Engelbert Humperdinck recorded the most popular English version, re-titled “A Man Without Love” with lyrics by Barry Mason.

The bossa-tinged tune begins in D and shifts up to Eb at 0:44. It returns to D for the second verse at 1:36, and modulates back to Eb for the second half of the final chorus at 2:30.

Tommy Boyce + Bobby Hart | Alice Long

“The 1960s has the duo of Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart to thank for some of the biggest pop-rock hits to come out of the decade,” (American Songwriter). “The hit songwriting duo is behind some of The Monkees’ greatest hits including ‘Last Train to Clarksville.’ But they had multiple claims to fame before and after they were topping the charts with The Monkees and were even singers in their own right.

Both born in 1939, Boyce was a native of Charlottesville, Virginia, while Hart was raised in Phoenix, Arizona. Though they were from opposite ends of the country, the two came together through their mutual love of music and desire to make it a career that brought them to Los Angeles. After high school, Hart entered the Army, later moving to LA to pursue a career as a singer where Boyce was living and trying to make it as a songwriter.”

Along the way, the duo collaborated with Fats Domino, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Jay and the Americans, the aforementioned Monkees, etc. “Their success with The Monkees served as a launching pad for their own career as artists. From 1967 to 1969, Boyce and Hart released seven singles off three albums. Their most famous hit was ‘I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight’ in 1967, which reached the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.”

The duo released “Alice Long (You’re Still My Favorite Girlfriend)” in 1968. After starting in G major, the uptempo pop track jumps up chromatically and lands in Bb major at 2:00.

Many thanks to MotD regular Rob Penttinen, who has developed an uncanny ability to find half-forgotten ancient pop tracks on obscure AM radio stations!

Margie Joseph | Show Me

” … Margie Joseph’s legacy has been nearly buried by the inaccessibility of her music,” (PopMatters). “For far too many years, finding her music has been the wont of voracious crate-diggers. Only the most dedicated listener would pony up for pricey import re-issues or seek out the few rare compilations that currently exist.

(Producer) Arif Mardin treated Joseph like a soul queen on her eponymous debut for Atlantic in 1973, earning her inevitable comparisons to label mate Aretha Franklin.” Al Green liked one of Joseph’s tunes so much that he asked her to tour with him; she also received praise from Paul McCartney. Of her collaboration with Mardin, Joseph said “’I would just hear these melodies. Arif was so patient. He’d sit there and listen to me sing a line of a song out of the blue, and he’d create something out of it.’ … The signature Margie Joseph sound … strength and sensitivity intertwined in one powerhouse set of pipes.” Joseph also went on to work with Lamont Dozier and Narada Michael Walden.

Starting in C major, the off-kilter intro/verse 1 junction of 1968’s “Show Me” features an odd meter just before the lead vocal’s entrance, warning us from the get-go not to get too comfortable. 1:26 brings an upward half-step shift, followed by another leading into the fading outro at 2:07. This horn-driven knockout punch weighs in at only just over 2.5 minutes, but is nothing short of a lyrical mic drop throughout.

Far From The Home I Love (from “Fiddler on the Roof”)

“Far From The Home I Love” is from the landmark 1965 musical Fiddler on the Roof, which tells the story of the Russian milkman Tevye trying to maintain his Jewish and cultural traditions in a rapidly changing world.

Sung by Tevye’s daughter Hodel near the end of the show, this song is her plea for Tevye to understand how much it pains her to leave her home and family to be with the man she loves, but that she must do it nonetheless. The music beautifully reflects Hodel’s conflicted feelings by easing between C minor and C major throughout.

Sheldon Harnick, a three-time Tony Award winner who wrote lyrics for the show, passed away last week at age 99.