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Something a little different today (and a bit off the wall)?
When I was rooting around the HOTH music vault yesterday for another blog post, I came across some song titles that I haven’t heard in quite awhile.
I actually shelled out anywhere between $0.69 to $0.99 to buy these 45 rpm singles in the 1960’s at a number of retailers in either Kitchener-Waterloo or Toronto, Ontario – Heintzman’s Record Department, George Kadwell Records, The Colonial Record Shoppe, A&A and Sam The Record Man.
There’s no real theme, rhyme, nor reason here – just some random (and possibly obscure) records I thought I’d share.
[NOTE]
Due to copyright issues, some audio song files may not play on smartphones, tablets or connected devices. A laptop, desktop PC or Mac may be required for optimal enjoyment.
SUNNY AFTERNOON
The Kinks
[1966]
I was an immediate big fan of the British Invasion band The Kinks and bought all of their singles the day they were released, from You Really Got Me, All Day And All Of The Night and Tired Of Waiting For You – all Top 10 hits – to their second tier records, which included A Well Respected Man (1965 • #13) and this one from 1966 (#14) called Sunny Afternoon.
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THE LETTER
The Arbors
[1969]
The most obscure of this trio of songs is another version of The Box Tops 1967 smash #1 record The Letter (#Post of September 23, 2015) – and later a cover hit (#7) for Joe Cocker.
The Arbors were a group of two sets of brothers from Ann Arbor, Michigan who managed to achieve the third recording of the song to reach the Top 20 of Billboard (#20) in the spring of 1969.
[Note] This song is mostly in stereo, but the ending is in mono, where (starting at 2:49) an audio effect called “phasing” is featured. Phasing is achieved by playing two tapes of the same recording simultaneously – except one is running at a slightly faster/slower speed than the other, to create that spacey swirling sound.
Phasing was also used on the 1968 hit record by The Small Faces called Itchycoo Park.
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THE PIED PIPER
Crispian St. Peters
[1966]
Here’s another forgotten favorite from ‘one-hit-wonder’ UK singer/guitarist Crispian St. Peters, who’s real name was Robin Peter Smith.
The Pied Piper, which hit #4 on Billboard in July of 1966, was a cover of an obscure late 1965 recording by the group The Changin’ Times. (#87)
[Note] The song was co-written by a gentleman named Artie Kornfeld, who later was the co-creator of 1969’s Woodstock Music Festival.
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MORE #RecordsIBoughtAsAKid
GREAT 60’s ‘GARAGE-ROCK’ HITS – Volume One!
MORE GREAT 60’s ‘GARAGE-ROCK’ HITS – Volume Two!
Songs Source: The Music Vault of HouseoftheHits, Inc.
Billboard® Chart Data: Joel Whitburn’s Record Research (eBook Editions)
Record Sleeve & Label Graphics: Courtesy of 45cat
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