Blues Magoos - Jingle Bells (1967)

Prior to its current spelling, this band was initially using the band name “Bloos Magoos” in the Greenwich Village area of New York. After being discovered by Art Polhemus in mid-1966, the band released their first album Psychedelic Lollipop. It was one of the first albums to ever have the word “psychedelic” in its title, among albums from the 13th Floor Elevators (The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators) and The Deep (The Psychedelic Moods of The Deep). The album featured their most famous song “(We Ain’t Got) Nothin’ Yet.” The group would go on to release two more albums, Electric Comic Book and Basic Blues Magoos, before splitting up in 1968.

Written in 1850 by James Lord Pierpont (later the uncle of J.P. Morgan), this song was originally intended to be a song for Thanksgiving. Now known worldwide as the epitome of Christmas music, it was originally titled “One Horse Open Sleigh” when first copyrighted on September 16th, 1857. Its title was revised in 1859 to the current one. This particular version of the song was released as a single in 1967, also featuring the band’s psychedelic cover of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”



Blues Magoos - Jingle Bells (1967)

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Lyrics:

Dashing through the snow
In a one horse open sleigh
Over the fields we go
Laughing all the way
Bells on bobtails rings
Making spirits bright
Oh, what fun it is to ride
And sing a sleighing song tonight

Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open-

A day or two ago
I thought I'd take a ride
And soon Miss Fanny Bright
Was seated by my side
The horse was lean and lank
Misfortune seemed his lot
We got into a drifted bank
And then we got upsot

Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open-

Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh

Bloos Magoos - So I'm Wrong And You Are Right (1965)

Formed by Bronx schoolmates in 1964 as The Trenchcoats, this group was one of the first bands creating psychedelic music alongside The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Cream in 1966. They dabbled with the spelling “Bloos Magoos” before eventually settling on the more straight-forward and well-remembered “Blues Magoos.” In 1967, they were the opening act for a tour which featured The Who and headlined Herman’s Hermits. By 1968, after releasing three albums, the group was discouraged with declining sales and split apart. Oddly, both sides of the split continued to record and release music under the Blues Magoos name, until each called it quits again around 1971.

While attempting to capitalize on the success of their late ’66 single, “(We Ain’t Got) Nothin’ Yet,” the group re-released this song, which they had recorded years prior. Although officially released in February 1967 under the “Blues Magoos” name, it was first released in 1965 while the group was still using “Bloos Magoos.” Given that it’s a recording from the group’s earlier years, there’s no farfisa organ or hard psychedelic guitar which the group would be known for by that time. This is Blues Magoos before they discovered their signature sound.



Bloos Magoos - So I'm Wrong And You Are Right (1965)

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Lyrics:

So I'm wrong and you are right
You see no reason to have fright
So I'm wrong and you are right
So what I still can't sleep at night?

I'm tryin’ to do my studies in-between my fear
Of being shipped to Saigon or some town right here
It's hard to read a book with a gun in my hand
I wanna get married but I can't make my plan

So I'm wrong and you are right
You see no reason to have fright
So I'm wrong and you are right
So what I still can't sleep at night?

I ask you for a place where I can hide
In case somebody gets us from a blind side
I ask you with whom I should confide
And all I get is “Information Classified”

So I'm wrong and you are right
You see no reason to have fright
So I'm wrong and you are right
So what I still can't sleep at night?

The U.N. delegation- they just bang and shout
The little people's voices- they’s all drowned out
Crisis, crisis, burnin’ bright
But who is really wrong and who is really right?

So I'm wrong and you are right
You see no reason to have fright
So I'm wrong and you are right
So what I still can't sleep at night?

So I'm wrong and you are right
So I'm wrong and you are right
(Hey!)