So what was 1964? Why is it so worthy of getting its own individual year as opposed to 1963? Well, 1963 would have been fine as well to start, but probably not before that. OK, 1964 had lots of great debuts, lots of great albums that established artists more thoroughly, and other such interestingness.
I'll get the jazz out of the way early because there wasn't much. Just a bunch of Vince Guaraldi. It was very pleasant. Lots of the style he used for the Peanuts cartoons could be found here, so nothing too groundbreaking, just pleasant. Oh, and another very pleasant track was "Moon River" by Louis Armstrong. Wikipedia says his version came out in 1965. I don't know where I got the information to place it in 1964, but there it is.
Can we talk about rock n roll already?
Those 50s artists that influenced all those 60s artists weren't about to slow down (at least the ones still alive). Chuck Berry had an album that included the song "No Particular Place to Go," and while it's basically a rework of School Days, it's a fun song. It just also kind of shows the lack of artistic development that these guys had and why we needed the British invasion and all that. That song came out the same year as (insert below listed album/song here)? That just makes you seem behind the times. However, it is still quite enjoyable and I love that song. There was also some more Little Richard, including a song that was later covered by one of my other favorites (Elvis Costello), the great this song:
"Bama Lama Bama Loo"
But rock & roll's gotta evolve, and I'm just going to go in alphabetical order talking about all this stuff.
The Beach Boys put out one of their "definitive" albums in Shut Down Volume 2. It's got one of their most upbeat hits "Fun Fun Fun," and some great instrumental tracks ("Denny's Drums," "Shut Down, Part II" and some sort-of regrettable silly songs "Pom Pom Playgirl," an awkward sounding "Louie Louie" cover, and a really dumb skit (that is still a good educational tool to teach someone which singer is Mike and which is Brian), but what I really go for are the ballads and this one's got plenty of 'em. "Don't Worry Baby," "Keep An Eye on Summer," and the gorgeous this one:
"The Warmth of the Sun"
Did you ever hear of The Beatles? Two, count 'em two albums in 1964! First was Beatles For Sale, which includes so many great songs but I still consider it "early Beatles." Still, it's got a Buddy Holly cover, a Chuck Berry cover, and "Baby's In Black" which is kind of a grandfather to one of my favorite Magnetic Fields songs (you figure that one out!). The other album, though, is really getting at the genius that was The Beatles. A Hard Day's Night. Completely solid, full of hits, and also some songs toward the end that I'm still not super familiar with, making it quite the exciting listen.
Now a detour. I have this song that is just SO terrible that I have a love/hate relationship with it. It's one of the dumbest songs I ever heard. It's a Beatles parody. I LOVE how terrible it is!
Gene Moss "I Want to Bite Your Hand"
Johnny Cash doesn't really fit here with the new up-and-coming rock n roll kids, but "The Wall" is a great song so here's where I'll mention that.
One of the most exciting moments in this adventure so far was the opening riff to "All Day And All of the Night" by The Kinks. Distortion! Rock and roll is now officially here in all its defiant glory.
The Rolling Stones had what seemed to me like a weak start (considering what they'd go on to accomplish) with England's Newest Hit Makers. It's basically just a covers album. It's good that they wear their early influences so blatantly, but I'm glad they started creating their own sound down the road.
I was surprised to hear the first Simon & Garfunkel I had. "The Sound of Silence" came out in 1964 too? I don't have the album it's from but it's probably a great one.
But you know who just may have been the best rock & roll band of this year? Maybe? I'd like to put out some love for The Zombies. What I have is "The Decca Stereo Anthology" which is a 2-disc collection of all the songs they recorded for Decca records. Somewhere around 50 tracks. A real treasure. Do you know how many records they put out in this period on Decca? One. Which came out in 1965 (so I'll talk about them more next time). Everything else just seemed to not be released? Including 11 great tracks recorded in 1964. GET THIS COLLECTION!
OK, that's good for rock n roll. We must move on to ska! There's a ska cover of the Bonanza song from the compilation discussed last time by Carlos Malcom & The Afro-Caribs. I used to love that song so much and I'm not sure why exactly. There's also some Maytals in the collection but let's talk about Byron Lee & The Dragonaires. This song has been covered in movies by Fishbone, it's been around in many cover versions but here's the original:
"Jamaica Ska"
Speaking of dancing, we've still got plenty more girl group sounds from that collection discussed from the last entry. Highlights included April Young, Betty Everett, Cher, Sandie Shaw, The Shangri-Las (actually have their whole self-titled album including hits like Leader Of The Pack!), Susan Lynne had another cautionary song about the dangers of boys that try to be so cool and tough called "Don't Drag No More." The Pinups seemed like they wanted to be female Beach Boys with their song "Lookin' For Boys." But the ultimate highlight was by someone named Lulu:
"I'll Come Running"
Now that's a segue into soul music if I ever heard one. It was all about Motown these days with great artists like The Adantes, Brenda Holloway, more well-known hits like The Supremes' "Where Did Our Love Go" (probably my favorite Supremes song) and Mary Wells' "My Guy." And we got the debut album by The Temptations (Meet the Temptations). It had their hit "The Way You Do The Things You Do" which is a great introduction to all the voices in the group, but I prefer the b-side to that single:
"Just Let Me Know"
I didn't have much by way of Stax for 1964 (just more Carla Thomas, who was still great) but thanks to the Eccentric Soul series of compilations I was treated to The Deep City Label. Here's Helene Smith:
"You Got To Do Your Share"
I'm sure there will be more from this compilation (and others) in the near future.And Aretha Franklin of course! I only have one song from her from 1964 but it was a good one, still one of the greatest kiss-off performances in popular music.
"I Can't Wait Until I See My Baby's Face"
Which brings us to the great great great Sam Cooke. First to come up was his live album Sam Cooke At the Copa, which is a very strong performance set to some very jazzy backing. Highly recommended. But then I was upset very much when I was looking at what I was expecting still in 1964. I noticed the album title of the compilation is Portrait of a Legend: 1951-1964. It ends here. He died in 1964. I knew he died early, but for some reason I figured it'd be 1967 or so. Just a little more is all I'm asking for. But no, that's the end of the line. So 1964 ended perfectly for me, as my shuffle was kind and saved that compilation for last, meaning it ended on this one-two punch:
"That's Where It's At"
"A Change is Gonna Come"
I hope it's every bit as beautiful as your voice.
Where I stand: 1837 of 36497.
Other Highlights Worth Mentioning:
- This came out of nowhere. I don't remember it from the class that I got the CD from but there was the song. One of the weirdest avant garde things I've heard: Bethany Beardslee "Philomel (Babbitt)"
- The Four Seasons were still pretty great.
- "My Girl" actually came on even though I think that album came out in 65. Must have been when the single was released or something.
- My favorite Rolling Stones song was still a cover but not from that album: "It's All Over Now"
- Jr Walker & The All Stars: still my favorite instrumental soul group?
- But don't forget Jimmy McGriff! Still being awesome & stuff.
- I'm not sure I'm a huge Impressions fan but "Keep on Pushin'" is a good song.
- Gene Pitney: I love his songs but "It Hurts to Be In Love" has some of the most awkward phrasings I've heard in music.
- Ella!
- Dusty Springfield covering "Can I Get A Witness" was wonderful.
- Buddy Holly had an even more far out posthumous release?
- Buck Owens & Patsy Cline...maybe I could've made a small country section to put Johnny Cash into.
In The Next Installment...
More Beatles! Help! and Rubber Soul!!! An actual Bob Dylan album (Highway 61 revisited)! More awesome obscure soul! Johnny Cash's great album Orange Blossom Special! An actual Kinks album! Otis Redding (had to have someone try to fill in Sam Cooke's shoes)! Nico! A taste of The Who! And the aforementioned Zombies album. This will be so rockin'.
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