Bobby Darin - If I Were a Carpenter (1966)

As mentioned in our first post regarding today’s featured artist, Bobby Darin was a teen idol who had had pop music hits such as “Splish Splash,” “Beyond the Sea,” and “Dream Lover” in the late 1950s and early ‘60s. But by the mid-1960s with that style of music falling out of popularity with the general public, Darin was forced to reinvent himself. In June 1966, Darin released an album consisting of then-current Broadway musical numbers. Just six short months later in December 1966 he did an about-face and released If I Were a Carpenter, which was an album of folk and folk rock songs.

If I Were a Carpenter featured Darin singing five songs written by Tim Hardin, two songs written by John Sebastian, a song by Buffy Sainte-Marie, and a few others. But far and away without question, the biggest hit was the title track.

Written by Tim Hardin, the song heard below hadn’t even yet been released by Hardin himself when Darin took the song to number eight in the USA (and number nine in the UK). In fact, Hardin wouldn’t release his version of the song until his album Tim Hardin 2, which hit shelves in April 1967. Ultimately, Hardin wasn’t happy with Darin’s release, believing the Darin too closely copied his vocal style of the song (heard on his demos) and the musical arrangements.



Bobby Darin - If I Were a Carpenter (1966)

Loading the ABLYAM player...(Might not work on mobile devices)

Lyrics:

If I were a carpenter
And you were a lady
Would you marry me anyway?
Would you have my baby?

If a tinker were my trade
Would you still find me?
Carrying the pots I made
Following behind me

Save my love through loneliness
Save my love for sorrow
I've given you my only-ness
Come give your tomorrow

If I worked my hands in wood
Would you still love me?
Answer me babe, "Yes, I would
I'll put you above me"

If I were a miller
At a mill-wheel, grinding
Would you miss your color-box?
Your soft shoes shining?

If I were a carpenter
And you were a lady
Would you marry me anyway?
Would you have my baby?

Would you marry anyway?
Would you have my baby?

Barry McGuire - Eve of Destruction (1965)

Barry McGuire was born on October 15, 1935 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, but moved to California at the young age of two years old. In the early 1960s, McGuire performed in a folk duo with Barry Kane, calling themselves Barry & Barry. In 1962, both McGuire and Kane joined a larger folk group known as The New Christy Minstrels. In 1965, McGuire left the Minstrels, wanting to record more political-oriented, serious music. He started off with a bang, as, that summer, he recorded what would be his most well-known song, “Eve of Destruction,” heard below. Its release propelled McGuire into international stardom, but unfortunately the artist would never again break into the Top 40. His lustrous career has spanned more than five decades, resulting in more than twenty-five albums.

Written by P. F. Sloan in 1964, this song was first offered to The Byrds, who were known to record political songs such as this one. However, The Byrds declined and the song was thus first recorded and released by The Turtles, whose version you can hear in one of our previous posts. As it was, the version recorded and released by Barry McGuire in July 1965 garnered the most success. Surprisingly, the version with McGuire was also only a rough draft.

In mid-July 1965, some members of The Wrecking Crew had recorded the music for “Eve of Destruction” for McGuire to use, and McGuire ran through the vocals off of a crumbled piece of paper to get a feel for the song. He only recorded one take, but sometime later that day, his rough cut was leaked to a DJ and the song became an instant hit overnight. Ultimately, the song went to number one in the United States and has since been widely regarded as an iconic anthem encompassing the mood of many during the 1960s.



Barry McGuire - Eve of Destruction (1965)

Loading the ABLYAM player...(Might not work on mobile devices)

Lyrics:

The eastern world- it is explodin'
Violence flarin', bullets loadin'
You're old enough to kill, but not for votin'
You don't believe in war, but what's that gun you're totin'?
And even the Jordan river has bodies floatin'

But ya tell me over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, ya don't believe we're on the eve of destruction

Don'tcha understand what I'm tryin' to say?
And can't you feel the fears that I'm feelin' today?
If the button is pushed, there's no runnin’ away
There'll be no one to save with the world in a grave
Take a look around ya, boy; it's bound to scare ya, boy; and ya

Tell me over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, ya don't believe we're on the eve of destruction

Yeah, my blood's so mad, feels like coagulatin'
I'm sittin' here just contemplatin'
I can't twist the truth, it knows no regulation
Handful of sedatives don't pass legislation
And marches alone can't bring integration
When human respect is disintegratin'
This whole crazy world is just too frustratin'; and ya

Tell me over and over and over again my friend
Ah, ya don't believe we're on the eve of destruction

Think of all the hate there is in Red China
Then take a look around to Selma, Alabama
Ah, you may leave here for four days in space
But when you return, it's the same old place
The poundin' of the drums, the pride and disgrace
You can bury your dead, but don't leave a trace
Hate your next-door neighbor, but don't forget to say grace; and

Tell me over and over and over and over again, my friend
You don't believe we're on the eve of destruction

Mm, no, no, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction

Simon & Garfunkel - America (1968)

In 1964, Paul Simon was living in London, England with his then-girlfriend Kathy Chitty. His debut album with Art Garfunkel, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. had recently been finished recording and was now in the stage of being mixed and having the artwork created/picked out. Simon’s producer, Tom Wilson, informed him that he wanted Paul to come back to the United States to assist with the work. Not wanting to leave his girlfriend behind, Simon suggested he and Kathy go together, where they could spend five days touring the country before he got back to work. The resulting road trip became the inspiration for the song heard below.

It was in 1966 when Simon eventually wrote the song; and, according to a former disc jockey from Saginaw, Michigan, Bob Dyer, Simon wrote the song while he was in town- in Saginaw- to perform in a concert series.

The finished song was first released in 1968 on Simon & Garfunkel’s third album, titled Bookends. That version of the song begins with a segue from the previous track; so the version heard below- the single- was chosen for being featured here instead, as the intro is cleaner. The single version heard below and released in 1972 reached #92 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and #25 in the UK. It features Hal Blaine and Larry Knechtel from The Wrecking Crew on drums and bass, respectively.



Simon & Garfunkel - America (1968)

Loading the ABLYAM player...(Might not work on mobile devices)

Lyrics:

Let us be lovers
We’ll marry our fortunes together
I’ve got some real estate here in my bag

So we bought a pack of cigarettes
And Mrs. Wagner’s Pies
And walked off to look for America

“Kathy,” I said, as we boarded a Greyhound in Pittsburgh
“Michigan seems like a dream to me now”
It took me four days to hitch-hike from Saginaw
I’ve come to look for America”

Laughing on the bus
Playing games with the faces
She said the man in the gabardine suit was a spy
I said, “Be careful, his bowtie is really a camera”

“Toss me a cigarette; I think there’s one in my raincoat”
“We smoked the last one an hour ago”

So I looked at the scenery
She read her magazine
And the moon rose over an open field

“Kathy, I’m lost,” I said, though I knew she was sleeping
“I’m empty and aching and I don’t know why”

Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike
They’ve all come to look for America

All come to look for America
All come to look for America

Longbranch Pennywhistle - Run Boy Run (1969)

Glenn Frey was born November 6, 1948 in Detroit, Michigan. He first had a taste of being a professional musician when he performed background vocals and played an acoustic guitar for Bob Seger’s 1968 Ramblin’ Gamblin’ album. When Frey’s girlfriend, an aspiring singer, wanted to move to Los Angeles, California, Frey went along with her. While there, he met the Texas-born John David Souther and formed this duo in 1969. Calling themselves Longbranch Pennywhistle, the duo often played gigs at the Troubadour in West Hollywood. They were eventually discovered by Amos Records and had enough material to create one, self-titled album. By 1971, Amos Records had gone out of business and the duo decided to dissolve their act. Frey soon continued his career by co-creating the Eagles with Don Henley, whom he had met at the Troubadour the year before. Souther, although would often write and co-write songs for the Eagles, primarily focused on his solo career. He also famously dated Linda Ronstadt and Stevie Nicks.

This song was the second track to the band’s 1969 album, Longbranch Pennywhistle. Although most of the album’s tracks had been penned by Souther, this particular song was written by Frey. The album featured a large number of famous session musicians of the time, including Ry Cooder, Larry Knechtel, James Burton, Jim Gordon, and others. With Glenn Frey’s voice and the country rock melody, you can definitely hear the future sound of the Eagles in this album and song.



Longbranch Pennywhistle - Run Boy Run (1969)

Loading the ABLYAM player...(Might not work on mobile devices)

Lyrics:

Well, it won’t be long until mornin’
And I know I won’t be hard to find
Bloodhound leadin’ all the state police
I gotta make it to the Georgia line

I met a girl in Montgomery
She told me she was twenty-three
(They always do)
Turned out she was in high school
Now her daddy wants to walk me to the hangin’ tree

Run, boy, run
You gotta move
Run, boy, run
You gotta move

Well, an easy goin’ rock ‘n’ roll refugee
Booked trouble on a southbound train
The law books say that I'm a guilty man
And I wouldn’t get time to explain

Dead run, ain’t no stoppin’
‘til I make the borderline
Two more miles on a bottom land run
‘til I find a sanctuary in the Georgia pine

Hey, run, boy, run
You gotta move
Run, boy, run
You gotta move

Hey, run, boy, run
You gotta move
Run, boy, run
You gotta move

On the six oh five
Come on, oh yeah
Oh, oh yeah
Oh, get down

Okay