Aphrodite's Child - Babylon (1972)

This Greek group first came together in 1967 and began as a backing band named “Vangelis and his Orchestra” after their lead member and multi-instrumentalist, Vangelis Papathanassiou. Although it wasn’t a smooth process, the band left their home country of Greece, which was under a newly formed dictatorship, and recorded their first album (End of the World, October 1968) in Paris, France. Their second and third albums were recorded in London, England. It was during the recording of their third album, 666, when the band members began to find new, separate interests and come apart from one another. The band’s lead vocalist, Demis Roussos, for example, had become more interested in pursuing a solo career. Vangelis, on the other hand, had begun recording scores for television documentaries. He, too, would pursue a solo career and became renowned for his electronic music. Vangelis also worked on numerous film scores, most notably winning an Oscar for his score for the film Chariots of Fire. Although you may not recognize the name, you’d probably recognize the main track. By the time of 666’s release in June 1972, the band had already broken up.

The song heard below is the second track on the band’s final album, 666. It was written by Vangelis Papathanassiou and had lyrics contributed by Costas Ferris. Although it sounds live, the crowd noise was layered behind the song. Lyrically, the song introduces the apocalyptic theme found throughout the album. Although not a chart-topper when released, the album is now considered a classic, as well as one of the first concept albums.



Aphrodite's Child - Babylon (1972)

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Lyrics:

Fallen, fallen, fallen
Is Babylon the great
Space is getting bounded
Time is getting late
Getting late

Masters fall and wonder
People rise and wait
Fallen, fallen, fallen
Is Babylon the great

You don't need a coin
I don't have to shine
We don't know the reason

But, I need you madly
And you need me too
And we need each other
Need each other
Need each other

Fallen, fallen, fallen
Is Babylon the great
Space is getting bounded
Time is getting late
Getting late

Masters fall and wonder
People rise and wait
Fallen, fallen, fallen
Is Babylon the great

You don't need a coin
I don't have to shine
We don't know the reason

But, I need you madly
And you need me too
And we need each other
Need each other
Need each other

Little John and The Monks - Black Winds (1965)

The original lead singer of this band, Tom Davis, was born in Scotland, but moved to Klamath Falls, Oregon in 1963. There, he started a band called The Nomads which were soon offered an opportunity to audition with Jerden Records in Eugene, Oregon. Once in Eugene, Davis was solicited by a teenager-attracting nightclub owner to front a new band. Davis accepted the offer and the band he joined became the one featured today, who are not to be confused with the similarly named band of American GIs stationed in Germany.

The song heard below, written and sung by Tom Davis, was recorded in November 1965 but possibly not released until 1967. Information is difficult to find. The track was the A-Side of the only single the band ever put out, and it was backed on the B-Side with a cover of “Needles and Pins.” Although the song was never given the proper push needed to make a dent on the charts, it’s hard to imagine the radio stations of the day would have been comfortable playing its dark lyrics.



Little John and The Monks - Black Winds (1965)

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Lyrics:

Black winds, take this soul of mine
Take me to the dark below
Lord, I want to die
In the night, I killed my love
Black winds, take away my life
Oh, Lord, let me die

Now, there was a girl I loved
Caught her with another man
Killed them both with my knife
Now the black winds blow
Black winds, take away my life
Oh, Lord, let me die

Now, I could hear the same things
That broke my heart
Yes, she did
Things that she said
Only to him

I pulled my knife
And crying her name
I stood before them
And now their blood
Lies on the ground

Black winds, take this soul of mine
Take me to the dark below
Lord, I want to die
In the night, I killed my love
Black winds, take away my life
Oh, Lord, let me die

Oh, Lord, let me die
Let me die

The Beach Boys - Kiss Me, Baby (1965)

By late 1964, Brian Wilson was getting a bit bored with the “sun, cars, and surfing” themes which made up the majority of his group’s songs. Inspired by pop contemporaries like The Beatles and Bob Dylan who were exploring more sophisticated and mature themes of their own, Wilson decided to write something that wasn’t entirely based on “fun in the sun.”

What resulted was the poignant song below, highlighting Wilson’s range as a lyricist, as well as his rapidly developing talents in multi-layering and creating Phil Spector-like sounds. This was an early glimpse into the style and mood which would go on to dominated Pet Sounds roughly one year later.

Released in April 1965, the song’s instrumental backing was recorded in December 1964; and its vocals were recorded the following month in January 1965. Primarily composed and written by Brian Wilson, the song also had some contributions from Mike Love, who wrote the repeated backing vocals (“Kiss a little bit / Fight a little bit…”). The song was released as the B-Side to the group’s “Help Me, Rhonda.”



The Beach Boys - Kiss Me, Baby (1965)

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Lyrics:

Please don’t let me argue anymore
I won’t make you worry like before
Can’t remember what we fought about
Late, late last night we said it was over
But I remember when we thought it out
We both had a broken heart

(Woah, baby)
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Kiss me, baby
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
(Woah, baby)
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Love to hold you
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
(Woah, baby)
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Kiss me, baby
(Woah, baby)
Love to hold you

As I drove away I felt a tear
It hit me I was losing someone dear
Told my folks I would be alright
Tossed and I turned, my head was so heavy
Then I wondered as it got light
Were you still awake like me?

(Woah, baby)
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Kiss me, baby
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
(Woah, baby)
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Love to hold you
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
(Woah, baby)
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Kiss me, baby
(Woah, baby)
Love to hold you tight

(Woah, baby)
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Kiss me, baby
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
(Woah, baby)
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Love to hold you
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
(Woah, baby)
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Kiss me, baby
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
(Woah, baby)
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Love to hold you
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Kiss me, baby
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
(Woah, baby)
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Love to hold you
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Kiss me, baby…

The Searchers - Popcorn, Double Feature (1967)

The Searchers’ drummer since 1960, Chris Curtis, had convinced the band to record a cover of Bobby Darin’s “When I Come Home.” Curtis was the band’s chief songwriter, song selector, a figurehead member, often the band's main public relations representative, and the only member who could sing the high harmonies. Unfortunately for Curtis (and the band), their 1966 release of “When I Come Home” didn’t do as well on the charts as they were used to, and the band indirectly laid the blame on Curtis’s song choice. Consequently, some internal strife came about between Curtis and the other members, ending with Curtis leaving the band in April 1966 after the end of an Australian tour. Notably, Curtis would go on to form the band Roundabout, which eventually evolved into Deep Purple.

With Curtis’s departure, a man by the name of John Blunt became the group’s new drummer. This latest incarnation of the band- which now consisted of Frank Allen (lead vocals, bass), John McNally (guitar, backing vocals), Mike Pender (lead vocals, guitar), and now John Blunt- was responsible for the song heard below.

Don’t forget to check out the exclusive story we received from Frank Allen!

The song heard below was composed by the acclaimed duo of Larry Weiss and Scott English, who would later be individually renowned for writing “Rhinestone Cowboy” for Glen Campbell and “Mandy” for Barry Manilow, respectively. It was first recorded and released by Time Wilde on Tower Records, to very little acclaim. The Searchers’ version of the song was released in January 1967, backed with the B-Side “Lovers,” on the Pye label.



The Searchers - Popcorn, Double Feature (1967)

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Lyrics:

Everybody’s goin’ through changes
Everybody’s got a bag of his own
Everybody’s talkin’ about places
Can only be found in the greater unknown

People are flyin’
And babies are cryin’
Don’t nobody care at all
There’s love and there’s laughter
And good things come after
Just follow the bouncing ball

Popcorn, double feature
Whole world’s a funny farm
Blind man is your teacher
No need to be alarmed

Music’s coming out of the woodwork
Soundin’ so strange and nobody sleeps
Met a little man on the corner
He’s holdin’ a flag and makin’ a speech

Coffee each mornin’
“Don’t Park” is the warnin’
They tow your machine away
There’s so much confusion
That’s built on illusion
What’s making the music play?

Popcorn, double feature
Whole world’s a funny farm
Blind man is your teacher
No need to be alarmed
Not much

Coffee each mornin’
“Don’t Park” is the warnin’
They’ll tow your machine away
There’s so much confusion
That’s built on illusion
What’s making the music play?

Popcorn, double feature
Whole world’s a funny farm
Blind man is your teacher
No need to be alarmed
Not much

Popcorn, double feature
Whole world’s a funny farm
Blind man is your teacher…