Tag: 1960s

Beach Boys | Keep An Eye On Summer

“Any album (Shut Down, Vol. 2, 1964) that can begin with five minutes of material on par with ‘Fun, Fun, Fun’ and ‘Don’t Worry Baby’ is going to be worth something (JohnMcFerrinMusicReviews) … The second half starts on a pretty high note with the band’s cover of ‘Why Do Fools Fall in Love?’ (which would be a pretty trite choice if the song didn’t fit the band’s vocal talents so well), and ‘Keep an Eye on Summer’ at least sounds like a classic Beach Boys ballad (even if it’s not striking enough to rank as one of the band’s best).

… The best thing that ever happened to the band was for this album to not do especially well on the charts; while it wasn’t exactly a commercial dud, it struggled enough to creep up the charts for the band to realize that they were already on the verge of becoming an anachronism, and it helped make clear that the band needed to change some things.”

“Keep an Eye on Summer” begins in F# major, shifts to Bb major at 1:06, lands back in F# at 1:33, and then powers through an intense a cappella half-step key change up to G for the outro.

Three Dog Night | Easy to Be Hard

“‘Easy To Be Hard’ appeared in the stage musical Hair (1968). It became a smash American Top 40 hit in its own right,” (Last.FM). “It was played frequently by Top 40 radio stations well into the summer of ’69. The track spoke to the milieu of the late ’60s: Social consciousness and social injustice. For that reason, young America embraced it.” From Sleepless Critic’s review: “Before cell phones, the internet, and alternate forms of digital communication invited people to text and talk on a computer screen as an alternative to seeing someone in person, Hair highlights the value of in person camaraderie, especially when things seem to be falling apart. Set in war-torn 1968 and focusing on a tribe of hippies that could possibly be drafted, emotionally and physically holding onto each other helps them cope in a world gone mad.”

The tune was written by Galt MacDermot, James Rado, and Gerome Ragni and was first released by Suzannah Evans, Linda Compton, Paul Jabara and the company of the musical Hair in October 1967 (SecondHandSongs). It was then released as a single by Three Dog Night in July 1969.

Starting with a vamp alternating between a conflicting C major and A major, the tune eventually settles into D major partway through the verse. At 1:33, the chorus begins in G major, shifting to A major at 1:44. The verse returns and the pattern continues from there, until the final chord shifts unexpectedly to B minor.

Stevie Wonder | For Once In My Life

“Stevie Wonder turned 18 years old during 1968. Since the age of 12 he had been producing hits and had become one of the most commercially successful artists for the Motown label,” (Seattle Post Intelligencer). “Motown was known for the control of its artists and their output. Wonder, however, was beginning to establish his own identity and take control of his career. His contract with the label was coming to an end and Motown desperately wanted to sign him to a new one and so began giving him leeway in the producing and recording of his albums.

Wonder co-wrote or wrote eight of the 12 tracks on For Once In My Life, plus took production credit for the first time … It was one of the four compositions credited to other songwriters that became the album’s title track and biggest hit. Ron Miller and Orlando Murden wrote ‘For Once In My Life’ for the label and not specifically for Wonder. His version, however, would become the definitive one. Artists such as The Temptations and Tony Bennett would record the song in a ballad style. Wonder would change it into an exuberant, up-tempo, and soulful classic. It reached #2 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart and #1 on the Rhythm and Blues chart.”

“Wonder and his producer, Hank Cosby … sped it up, gave it a string arrangement, complete with an animated piccolo motif, and turned it into his biggest hit to date, kept from the US #1 spot only by his fellow Motowner, Marvin Gaye,” (Yahoo). “Wonder’s probable lack of enthusiasm at singing someone else’s song is concealed by his exuberant performance.” The grand scale of the tune’s arrangement, coupled with Stevie’s overflowing energy, would never hint at its short run time of only 2:49. But with apparently astounding precision, the tune’s half-step key change is situated at almost exactly the half-way mark (1:25).

Mame (from “Mame”)

“The musical Mame was a hit in the 1960s, originally starring Angela Lansbury … The musical leads us through New York in the Prohibition Era and the Great Depression,” (Mancunion.com). “It follows an orphan boy named Patrick, who is sent to live with his last remaining relative, his bohemian aunt Mame, who declares to him: ‘Life’s a banquet and most poor sons-of-bitches are starving to death.’

.. Although disapproved of by the trustees of Patrick’s late father’s estate, Mame is incredibly loving to her nephew and progressive by our modern standards: in her group of artist friends, we see several same-gender couples; she proclaims sexual liberation for women, and later vows to open a home to support single mothers. Other than some outdated language, Mame translates well into the twenty first century … Mame is a show that features many platonic relationships between women – something that is rare in musicals – and also emphasizes the comedic abilities of actresses.”

Both the music and lyrics of the title theme of the 1966 musical were written by Jerry Herman, also known for Hello Dolly and La Cage Aux Folles. Starting out in Bb major, the iconic tune shifts to B major (1:17), C major (2:24), followed by a frenetic instrumental section featuring several other keys, landing in Ab major at 4:24 and then — finally — A major at 5:20.



Ohio Express | Yummy, Yummy, Yummy

“‘Yummy Yummy Yummy’ (YYY) is a song by Arthur Resnick and Joey Levine, first recorded by Ohio Express in 1968,” (Americana Highways). “Their version reached #4 on the U.S. Pop Singles chart in June and #5 on the UK Singles Chart. It has since been covered by many artists. Ohio Express was a studio concoction and none of the ‘official’ members appear on the record. Joey Levine sang lead vocals. Time Magazine included it in its 2011 list of songs with silly lyrics. It ranked #2 in Dave Barry’s Book of Bad Songs.

… YYY was a terrible song even in 1968, but great enduring music was also created in 1968. Paul Simon’s ‘Mrs Robinson,’ Lennon & McCartney’s ‘Hey Jude’ and others also hit the charts that year and have continued to be played and covered to this day … So ignore what the old folks say about all modern music sucking. A lot of old music sucked as well, especially old pop. There are still a lot of YYYs being released, but there is gold out there too. You just gotta dig a little.” 

The moments without the lead vocal (the intro and the backup vocal features at 0:37 and 2:00) are actually rather promising! The nasality of the lead vocal and the unseriousness of the lyrics really scream “novelty song,” but the tune somehow became a major hit nonetheless! 1:28 brings an unprepared half-step key change. The shift in tonality allows the songwriters to largely recycle material from the first half of the tune — a bit laughable when the track’s diminutive run time of 2:20 is taken into consideration.

Them | I Can Only Give You Everything

“It’s hard for some people to believe that the soulful romantic who wrote and crooned ‘Have I Told You Lately That I Love You’ was the same guy who had salaciously screamed out the letters ‘G-L-O-R-I-A,’ (DJ MJD’s Back Tracks). “Nevertheless, Van Morrison was indeed the singer and harmonica player in Them. The band — which took its name from a science fiction movie about gigantic irradiated ants — was from Belfast in Northern Ireland, but here in the U.S. they got lumped in as part of the “British Invasion.” And, like The Animals and The Rolling Stones, they did cover a lot of American blues and R&B standards. However, they also recorded several songs — including the aforementioned classic, ‘Gloria’ — that were templates for what would come to be known as ‘garage rock.’ 

‘I Can Only Give You Everything’ (1966) succinctly combines youthful exuberance and sarcastic arrogance. It also sounds like a twist on the old jazz/pop standard ‘I Can’t Give You Anything But Love’ … writer Richie Unterberger describes (it) as ‘one of his [Morrison’s] toughest, most snarling vocals ever, and indeed one of the snottiest vocals of the entire British Invasion… an utterly convincing mixture of aggressive and desperate pursuit of affection’ … In the 60’s, it was recorded by numerous bands, most notably The MC5 (it was the group’s first single) … That fuzz tone guitar riff took on a life of its own in 1996, when Beck used it in the song ‘Devil’s Haircut.'”

Starting in G mixolydian, the track features an accompaniment that pretty much amounts to percussion and a bass line which jumps upwards up by fourths (spelling out the first, fourth, and and flatted seventh of each chord). At 1:41, the tune shifts up by a half step to Ab mixolydian.

Connie Francis | Pretty Little Baby

“Connie Francis was one of the reigning queens of the Billboard Hot 100 in its early days,” (Billboard). “The late-’50s and early-’60s pop star scored a whopping 15 top 10 hits on the chart, including three #1s: ‘Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool,’ ‘My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own’ (both 1960) and ‘Don’t Break the Heart That Loves You’ (1962). And over six decades after her commercial peak, Francis is once again having a big pop culture moment – but it’s not with any of those charting singles. 

‘Pretty Little Baby,’ a non-single (written by Don Stirling and Bill Nauman) from Francis’ 1962 album Connie Francis Sings Second Hand Love, has caught fire on TikTok in the past month. Users have been lip synching along to the ‘You can ask the flowers/ I sit for hours/ Telling all the bluebirds/ The bill and coo birds/ Pretty little baby, I’m so in love with you’ verse of the song, often while wearing cute retro outfits and/or singing to actual babies, with over a million videos being created to the song … the song has already begun to cross over from TikTok to streaming in massive numbers … a (recent) gain of over 7,000% … (and) could soon be threatening a Hot 100 debut, a mere 63 years after its initial release.”

At 1:19, a textbook half-step upward key change appears in the midst of the diminutive tune, which features a run time of only 2:22 in total.

EDIT: Connie Francis passed away at the age of 87 on July 16, 2025, one day after we posted this tune.

Herbie Mann | Insensatez

“Herbie Mann played a wide variety of music throughout his career. He became quite popular in the 1960s, but in the ’70s became so immersed in pop and various types of world music that he seemed lost to jazz,” (Qobuz). “However, Mann never lost his ability to improvise creatively as his later recordings attest.
Herbie Mann began on clarinet when he was nine, but was soon also playing flute and tenor. After serving in the Army, he was with Mat Mathews’ Quintet (1953-1954) and then started working and recording as a leader. During 1954-1958 Mann stuck mostly to playing bop, sometimes collaborating with such players as Phil Woods, Buddy Collette, Sam Most, Bobby Jaspar, and Charlie Rouse.

… After spending time playing and writing music for television, Mann formed his Afro-Jazz Sextet, in 1959, a group using several percussionists, vibes (either Johnny Rae, Hagood Hardy, or Dave Pike) and the leader’s flute. He toured Africa (1960) and Brazil (1961), had a hit with “Comin’ Home Baby,” and recorded with Bill Evans. The most popular jazz flutist during the era, Mann explored bossa nova (even recording in Brazil in 1962) … he had among his sidemen such top young musicians as Willie Bobo, Chick Corea, Attila Zoller, and Roy Ayers … As the ’70s advanced, Mann became much more involved in rock, pop, reggae, and even disco. After leaving Atlantic at the end of the ’70s, Mann had his own label for awhile and gradually came back to jazz … He passed away on July 1, 2003.”

Mann’s version of the Brazilian standard by Antonio Carlos Jobim, “Insensatez” (“How Insensitive”), released on 1964’s Latin Fever, is built in a slightly de-tuned C minor overall. The middle chorus, where the melody passes to the trombone while the Mann’s flute provides a harmony line (1:07 – 1:48), is in D minor .

Nat King Cole | L-O-V-E

In the 1950s, “the studios had been trying to get (Cole) from behind the piano and sing more … despite being hailed as one of the key greats,” (PSAudio) ” … As this played out there was an outcry from the diehard jazz community, especially jazz publications like Downbeat and Metronome. (Cole reported): ‘For years we did nothing but play for musicians and other hip people,’ he said.  ‘…we practically starved to death.’

Despite Cole’s disdain for his voice, he was a classic crooner, a beautiful master of a phrase with flawless enunciation and perfect pitch. His recordings during the late 40s and the 50s are some of the most perfect and iconic love songs ever recorded … Nat Cole’s career barely lasted 20 short years, but in that time he collected 28 Gold Record awards and was inducted into every Hall of Fame imaginable, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an Early Influence. Cole was an inspiration as a man and a performer.”

“L-O-V-E,” the title track from a 1965 album of the same name, was released by Cole shortly before his death and became his final release. The tune begins in G major, shifts up to Ab major for an instrumental verse at 0:57, then changes keys again to A major at 1:21, remaining there for the balance of the track. Many thanks to Scott, a new visitor to MotD, for this submission!

Engelbert Humperdinck | A Man Without Love

“In a career spanning over 50 years, Engelbert has generated sales in excess of 140 million records, including 64 gold albums and 35 platinum, four Grammy nominations, a Golden Globe, and stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Las Vegas Walk of Fame, and Leicester Walk of Fame,” (artist website).

“He has performed for the Queen four times, several presidents and many heads of state. He has recorded everything from the most romantic ballads to movie theme songs, disco, rock, and even gospel … Engelbert exploded on to the music scene with The Beatles and the Rolling Stones … He became great friends with Elvis and the two legends often performed each other’s songs.”

1968’s “Man Without Love” by the UK native, the title track of an album of the same name shifts keys several times: up a half-step at 0:34, back down a half step to the original key at 1:26, then back up a half step again at 2:21 for the balance of the tune. The album reached high points of #3 in the UK and #12 that year.