The Gypsy Trips - Rock & Roll Gypsies (1965)

The Gypsy Trips were a musical duo composed of the then-romantic couple Terrye Newkirk and Roger Tillison. For performances and marketing, Newkirk used the stage name “Terrye Tillison.” The duo had traveled to Los Angeles from Oklahoma, attempting to make a name for themselves musically. They were signed by Liberty Records and released one single, featuring the A-Side heard below, and the rocking B-Side “Aint’ It Hard,” which would later be covered by a handful of others ‘60s and ‘80s acts.

Perhaps more notably, Roger Tillison co-authored “You Don’t Have to Paint Me a Picture” for Herman’s Hermits, which would become a hit for Gary Lewis and the Playboys. While in Los Angeles, Newkirk and Tillison befriended many famous names, such as Leon Russell, Levon Helm, and J.J. Cale. The Cale friendship led Newkirk and Tillison to be a part of Cale’s brief, pseudo-band, The Leathercoated Minds.

Written by Roger Tillison, the song below was released in December 1965 on the only single released by The Gypsy Trips. The single was released on World-Pacific, a subsidiary of Liberty Records, and was produced and arranged by Leon Russell. Besides influencing a few other acts to cover the song over the years, the single unfortunately did not garner much response.



The Gypsy Trips - Rock & Roll Gypsies (1965)

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Lyrics:

To the faraway faces and friends
Of the people and the places I’ve been
I’ll sing you a song, but I won’t keep you long
For the tambourine’s playing
The carnival’s calling you home

And the rock and roll gypsies are riding tonight
In the carnival light they stay
And the golden earrings laugh at the lies
That life is more than a play
For tomorrow will soon be yesterday

To the motherless children who ride
On the shadowless highways of night
It’s all just a game; it’s all just the same
For the winner takes nothing
The loser gets all that remains

And the rock and roll gypsies are riding tonight
In the carnival light they stay
And the golden earrings laugh at the lies
That life is more than a play
For tomorrow will soon be yesterday

The Kingston Trio - Scotch and Soda (1958)

Somewhere between 1953 and 1955- depending on who is telling the story and how they’re remembering it- Dave Guard and Bob Shane took a drive from Stanford University, where Guard was an undergraduate, to Los Angeles. The occasion was Easter; or, it might have been around Thanksgiving- again, depending on the recollection of the storyteller. But, as the story goes, Dave Guard was in a relationship with a fellow Stanford undergraduate, Katie Seaver, who came from Fresno, California. Since Fresno was on the way from Stanford to L.A., they decided to stop at the Seavers’ home and pay Katie a visit, presuming she was there.

But when the duo arrived at the doorsteps of Katie’s parents’ home, they were informed by her parents that she was not there. Being kind folks, Charles and Betty Seaver invited the boys inside in case she happened to return shortly. While in waiting, Guard and Shane were entertained by Katie’s parents and younger, eleven year old brother, Tom (who was, in fact, the same Tom Terrific who would later find success pitching for the New York Mets).

When the conversation turned to music, the Seaver couple played a song for the boys, heard below, which they had learned on their honeymoon in 1932 (or was it 1934?) in Phoenix, Arizona. They told the story about how while away on their honeymoon, they had grown fond of a particular song they had been hearing in the hotel lobby, being played by a backroom piano player. Considering it was their honeymoon, they asked the piano player to write the lyrics down for them so that they could always remember it as “their song." The piano player obliged, but never included his name, thus having himself remain anonymous to history.

As it were, both Guard and Shane became two-thirds of The Kingston Trio (along with Nick Reynolds) when the group was formed in 1957. The song learned from the Seaver couple was included on their first album, The Kingston Trio, which was released in 1958 and sold millions of copies. As time went on, Guard eventually gave himself credit for the song, much to the chagrin of his bandmates. Eventually, after years of not being able to identify the mystery piano player from Phoenix, the Seaver couple was given partial credit for the song.



The Kingston Trio - Scotch and Soda (1958)

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Lyrics:

Scotch and soda
Mud in your eye
Baby, do I feel high
Oh me, oh my
Do I feel high

Dry martini
Jigger of gin
Oh, what a spell you’ve got me in
Oh my
Do I feel high

People won’t believe me
They’ll think that I’m just braggin’
But I could feel the way I do
And still be on the wagon

All I need is one of your smiles
Sunshine of your eye
Oh me, oh my
Do I feel higher than a kite can fly
Give me lovin’
Baby, I feel high

Oh, people won’t believe me
They’ll think that I’m just braggin’
But I could feel the way I do
And still be on the wagon

All I need is one of your smiles
Sunshine of your eyes
Oh me, oh my
Do I feel higher than a kite can fly
Give me lovin’
Baby, I feel high

Fleetwood Mac - Albatross (1968)

When a band has a history of nearly fifty years- such as this one does- their history can become quite complex and convoluted. Fleetwood Mac is predominately remembered in the United States by the body of work they released from 1975 through the early ‘90s, when the lineup featured their most well-known singer, Stevie Nicks. However, Nicks joined the band on New Year’s Eve in 1974, more than seven years after the band had first come together.

Originally, the band came together in July 1967 when Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood, and (a short while later) John McVie left John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers to form this new group. With the addition of guitarist Jeremy Spencer, the first true lineup had been solidified. The band got their name from a song they had recorded during some studio time while they were still in the Bluesbreakers; and, that song got its name from combining the surnames of Mick Fleetwood and a shortening of John McVie’s surname.

The song below was released as a single in November 1968, after the group had already released two studio albums and added an eighteen year old guitarist by the name of Danny Kirwan. The song was written by Peter Green with the assistance of Kirwan, who had only been in the group for a few months at that time. It was recorded without Jeremy Spencer, as he had a tendency not to work well with Green.

The song has been featured in multiple movies, documentaries, and as the introduction music for a British television program. It’s also regarded for heavily influencing David Gilmour’s (of Pink Floyd) playing style. The song is also noted for inspiring The Beatles’ Abbey Road song, “Sun King.”



Fleetwood Mac - Albatross (1968)

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Lyrics:

(instrumental)

Me and Them Guys - I Loved Her (1966)

According to The Daily Banner newspaper from May 27, 1967, this band came from Greencastle, Indiana, a town about an hour’s ride southwest of Indianapolis, Indiana. Members of the band were Steve Pritchard, Steve Michael, Craig Terry, Rod Kersey and Martin Baker. In that same paper, it's said that the band would be playing Memorial Day for the official summer opening of Indiana Beach on Shafer Lake, two days from then on Monday, May 29th, 1967.

The song below was written by members Steve Michael and Steve Pritchard. It was backed with the B-Side “Something Else” and pressed by Gre-Tle Records (an abbreviation of Greencastle). The record was released in 1966, and some websites claim that only five hundred copies were ever pressed. The song heard below was discovered through the compilation album Back from the Grave, Volume 3, a collection of sixties punk and garage rock.



Me and Them Guys - I Loved Her (1966)

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Lyrics:

I loved her so
I loved her so
I loved the way she walked
The way she talked
The way she held my hand
I loved the way that she sat close to me
And the way she said that I was her man
I loved her so

(I loved her so)
Now, I had a girl, just like you
(I loved her so)
She was fine, she was cool
(I loved her so)
She left me one night all alone
(I loved her so)
I loved her so, but now she’s gone

(I loved her so)
(I loved her so)
Oh, yeah!

(I loved her so)
She’s been gone many a’day
(I loved her so)
I really don’t know just what to say
(I loved her so)
She loved me so; what’s done is done
(I loved her so)
I loved her so; she had her fun

I loved her so
I loved her so
I loved the way she walked
The way she talked
I loved the way she walked
The way she talked
I loved the way she walked
And the way she talked
I loved her so
(I loved her so)
I loved her so
(I loved her so)
I loved her so
(I loved her so)
I said a’bye, bye, bye
Bye, bye, bye, bye
I said a’bye, bye, bye
Bye, bye, bye, bye
I said a’bye, bye, bye
Bye, bye, bye, bye
I said…