Country Joe and the Fish - Cetacean (1968)

Together, recorded in 1967 and released in 1968, was the third album released by today’s featured band. Before recording started, Country Joe McDonald had departed from the group, forcing them to use the name “The Fish” for a brief period of time. But by the time recording had begun, Country Joe had reunited with his bandmates and contributed to the recordings.

The song heard below is the tenth track on Together. The title refers to cetaceans, which are marine mammals such as whales, dolphins, or porpoises. The song was written by the band’s original bassist, Bruce Barthol, who made his exit from the band one month after this album’s release. The album itself didn’t sell all that well, with the most common belief attributing the lack of sales to Country Joe’s absent songwriting due to his hiatus.



Country Joe and the Fish - Cetacean (1968)

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

Lyrics:

Open the door and love walks in
Close the door and you’re alone again

Paul Mauriat - Love Is Blue (1967)

Paul Mauriat (1925-2006) was born in Marseille, France. He began playing music at the age of four and, by his twenties, began a dance band that toured throughout Europe during World War II. In the 1950s, Mauriat was the musical director for Charles Aznavour and Maruice Chevalier, whom he toured with, separately. He released his first album in 1957 and would release well over one hundred more in his lifetime. Interestingly, depending on the motif of his most-current album, he would choose a pseudonym to release the album under which he felt most matched the music. Examples of pseudonyms he used include Richard Audrey, Nico Papadopoulos, Eduardo Ruo, and Willy Twist. Using the pseudonym “Del Roma,” Mauriat co-composed the song “Chariot” which would later be adapted to English and taken to number one spot on the charts in 1963 as “I Will Follow Him” by Little Peggy March.

Seeing another artist take one of his songs to the top of the charts wasn’t the only time Mauriat would find himself in the number one spot. In 1967, Mauriat recorded and released a cover of André Popp’s “L'amour est bleu,” heard below. The song spent five weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1968, the first instrumental to achieve the number one spot since The Tornados' “Telstar” in 1962. The only instrumental to hold the top spot of the Hot 100 longer was Percy Faith’s “Theme from a Summer Place.”



Paul Mauriat - Love Is Blue (1967)

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

Lyrics:

(instrumental)

The Denvermen - Surf City Stomp (1963)

This surf was stitched together in Sydney, Australia from the ex-members of two recently broken up groups: Digger Revell and the Lonely Ones and Paul Dever and the Denvermen. The Denvermen featured guitarist Les Green, who provided his old band’s name when the two groups merged together.

They began working on their first major single, “Surfside,” in December 1962, which went to number one in Sydney after its release in January 1963. The song also went to number six on the Melbourne charts, eventually charted in each state around the country, and thus because the first hit Australian surf song. The success of the song resulted in the group recording and releasing more material throughout 1963, as well as touring the neighboring New Zealand. To provide some perspective of their popularity, the band was paid a whopping £8,000 to tour New Zealand, which was exceptionally more than the £2,500 recently paid to The Beatles for their tour of the country.

The song below was released on the band’s 1963 album Let’s Go Surfside on the Australian branch of RCA Records. It was also re-released in 1964 on the four-track Stomp Fever. It’s assumed that the song was written by the ‘50s rock star Johnny Devlin, as most of their surf instrumentals during that period were.



The Denvermen - Surf City Stomp (1963)

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

Lyrics:

(instrumental)

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)

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

Lyrics:

(instrumental)

Benny Goodman - Memories of You (1956)

Benjamin “Benny” Goodman was born in Chicago, Illinois on May 30th, 1909. He was a jazz musician, a swing musician, a clarinetist, and a bandleader. He led a popular, integrated jazz group during the height of segregation. He performed throughout his entire life- which ended in 1986 at the age of seventy seven- despite the ailing health of his later years. His overwhelming success in the music industry earned him the nickname “The King of Swing.”

The song heard below is a 1956 recording by Benny Goodman on his clarinet, and featuring his backing band. When originally written in 1930 by Eubie Blake, the song had accompanying lyrics which were written by Andy Razaf. The song had been made for use in the 1930 Broadway play Lew Leslie’s Blackbirds of 1930. It was in this play that the song was first introduced by singer Minto Cato. Although the version below is instrumental, there is a version which was released by Goodman featuring the lyrics being sung by Rosemary Clooney.



Benny Goodman - Memories of You (1956)

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

Lyrics:

(instrumental)

Hot Tuna - Water Song (1972)

Jack Casady (b. April 13, 1944) and Jorma Kaukonen (b. December 23, 1940) had first met in the city which they were both born, Washington, D.C. in the United States, while growing up. Together as teenagers, the duo formed their first band together called The Triumphs. While Casady remained enrolled in high school, Kaukonen went off to Ohio for college, before abruptly following his family to live overseas. Eventually Kaukonen found his way back to the States and re-enrolled in college in California. In 1965, Kaukonen joined Jefferson Airplane and, within a matter of months, recruited Casady to join the band on bass, replacing Bob Harvey. Although Jack and Jorma wound find great success with the psychedelic sounds created in Jefferson Airplane, it was the blues to which they always remained loyal. In 1969, Jack and Jorma began a side project, this band, which allowed them to perform the blues and record original material of their own. Although Jefferson Airplane would eventually split up, and although Jack and Jorma have each had their own share of solo albums and guest appearances on other records, it is only Hot Tuna which still remains intact today. From 1969 until the present, the band has never broken up, continues to release new material, and continues to put on live shows which can last anywhere from three to six hours.

The first two albums released by Hot Tuna were live albums (Hot Tuna from 1970 and First Pull Up, Then Pull Down from 1971). The album that this song appeared on was the group’s third release, but first studio-recorded album, titled Burgers, and released in February 1972. Written by Jorma Kaukonen, the song featured Kaukonen on guitar, Jack Casady on bass, and Sammy Piazza on drums.



Hot Tuna - Water Song (1972)

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

Lyrics:

(instrumental)

The Lively Ones - Night and Day (1962)

As mentioned in yesterday’s post, the band known as The Surfmen began to deteriorate around the departure of the band’s lead man, Ray Hunt. As subsequent members began to leave the band and get replaced by newer guys, it quickly became the case that the group’s drummer, Tim Fitzpatrick, was the last remaining original member of the band. Having no allegiance to the band’s “Surfmen” name, Fitzpatrick and his bandmates switched their group’s name to The Lively Ones. The group featured Tim Fitzpatrick on the drums, Jim Masoner on lead guitar, Ed Chiaverini on rhythm guitar, Ron Griffith on bass, and Joel Willenbring on drums. They signed with Del-Fi Records and hired a manager, Bob Keane (the famed manager and producer of Ritchie Valens). Although the group never reached much stardom, they most recently had a resurgence of interest when their 1963 song, “Surf Rider,” was used in Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 film, Pulp Fiction.

The song below is one of the many cover songs performed by The Lively Ones. Although they had a few original songs, it was songs such as the one heard below that the band was known for. Originally written and released in 1932 by Cole Porter, this song was introduced to the masses by Fred Astaire in his last Broadway performance, the musical play titled Gay Divorce from 1932. Porter claimed that the song was inspired by his trip to Morocco, where he heard Adhan, or, the Islamic call to worship. The song, which originally had lyrics to go along with it, was so popular and closely associated with Cole Porter that when a movie was made about his life in 1946, the film was titled Night and Day. Besides The Lively Ones surf instrumental cover, the song has been covered by Eartha Kitt, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Dionne Warwick, Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James, U2, and many, many more.



The Lively Ones - Night and Day (1962)

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

Lyrics:

(instrumental)

The Surfmen - Ghost Hop (1962)

California native Ray Hunt and his friends formed a surf rock band in 1960 called The Expressos. After a short period, the band renamed themselves The Surfmen and signed to a local label, Titan Records, which primarily dealt with instrumental and surf rock acts. The band featured Ray Hunt on lead guitar, Nick Drury on rhythm guitar, Randall Anglin on bass, Tim Fitzpatrick on drums, and Armon Frank on saxophone. As “The Surfmen,” the band’s most popular song was probably “Paradise Cove,” released in 1962. The same year of that song’s release saw Ray Hunt part ways with the group, which abruptly had a domino-effect on the remaining members. Hunt was replaced with Jim Masoner; Nick Drury left the band and was replaced with Ed Chiaverini; Randall Anglin was replaced with Ron Griffith; and finally Armon Frank, who left to join Dick Dale & The Del-Tones, was replaced with Joel Willenbring. Since the band’s drummer Tim Fitzpatrick was the only remaining original member of the band, he and his newest bandmates decided to rename themselves to The Lively Ones.

Heard below the featured story is the flip side to The Surfmen’s “Paradise Cove.” Released in the first half of 1962, the record featured the original lineup of The Surfmen: Hunt, Drury, Anglin, Fitzpatrick, and Frank. The song was written by Ray Hunt and released on Titan Records.

---

A Special Edition post with Jerry LaFavor of The Expressos!
Today's exclusive story comes from Jerry LaFavor, the drummer of the surf band The Expressos. Jerry was kind enough to submit a bit of backstory about his band, which would eventually evolve into The Surfmen and The Lively Ones.

A Bit Like You And Me and readers,

Here is how I remember it when I was there. We started with a band called The Emeralds, pictured below on a business card. The musicians in that group and pictured there are: Jerry LaFavor (me), drums; Ray Hunt, lead guitar; Nick Drewry, rhythm guitar; and John Blankenship, keyboard. As an aside, Ray Hunt was the best man at my first wedding.

We added a bass player, Del Ward, later on, changed our name to The Expressos, and released a record called "Teenage Express," which you can still hear if you Google the band/song. Our name was changed by our Manager, Aki Aleong, who arranged to get our song pressed and also got us on TV shows like The Wink Martindale Saturday Night Rock & Roll Party. Below is a picture from the Wink Martindale show we did from the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium. My friend took this picture off his TV the evening we were performing. Frankie Avalon and Della Reese were also on this same show. You can Google Aki Aleong and see his long list of musical/acting credentials.

Jerry LaFavor, drums; Del Ward, base; John Blankenship, piano; Nick Drewry, rythum guitar; and Ray Hunt, lead guitar
Note: Wink is hiding behind the piano thinking he is out of the camera’s view…
I left The Expressos to work with an R&R group named Tommy Winters and The Del Reys. I knew Ray went to The Surfmen, but I [mistakenly] thought he moved on to The Lively Ones (which I thought of only as a name change). I played with Eddie Day Chiaverini in those days and I know he was with The Lively Ones. In fact, I have tried to get a hold of him in recent weeks, but to no avail.

Seen above is our sax player, Lewayne; Jerry LaFavor (me) on drums; Larry Carlton on lead (who, today, October 30, 2013, is one of the top ten jazz guitarists in the world); and Tommy Winters. I did not see or hear from Ray Hunt after this [point in time].

Below is an article from the October 2013 Issue of Vegas Voice about me and my band, Age Restricted. Think about this: I started playing drums in my high school band at fourteen and today, at seventy-four, I am still doing the same thing. And you know, someday I might even get it right.

Click to enlarge.

A big 'thank you' to Jerry for taking the time to share his memories with us. Thank you very much, Jerry!

To listen to Jerry's group, The Expressos, check out this video on YouTube.
To listen to Jerry's current group, Age Restricted, check out Jerry's YouTube page.

And now that you've enjoyed this exclusive story, why not check out what other exclusive stories we've received?

---

The Surfmen - Ghost Hop (1962)

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

Lyrics:

(instrumental)

Mountain - To My Friend (1970)

Before creating this band, Leslie West had been in the Long Island R&B group known as The Vagrants. In 1969, West was approached by ex-Cream collaborator Felix Pappalardi who wanted to help West put out a solo album. With the help of N. D. Smart, West’s album, titled Mountain, came out on July 1969. Soon, West, Pappalardi, and Smart decided to create their own band and named it after the solo album they had all worked on together. One of their first gigs, before having released an album as a band, was playing at Woodstock in late 1969. Unfortunately, there was no video recorded capturing the bands performance, nor was any of their set released on the Woodstock audio albums.

Shortly after their Woodstock performance, N. D. Smart was replaced with Corky Laing, a drummer previously affiliated with the band known as Energy. Filling out their lineup was the keyboardist Steve Knight. Together with West and Pappalardi, the band put out their first album Climbing!, released on March 7, 1970. The song heard below, written by Leslie West, was released as the album’s sixth track. It was entirely overshadowed by the album’s opening track and the band’s most famous hit “Mississippi Queen.”



Mountain - To My Friend (1970)

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

Lyrics:

(instrumental)

The Who - Sparks (1969)

Primarily written by band member Pete Townshend, The Who’s double-sided Tommy album was one of the first rock albums in history to be considered a “rock opera.” The album’s songs systematically tell the story of Tommy, a kid who is psychosomatically deaf, dumb, and blind due to something he witnessed at a young age. The album’s time-frame spans multiple years, from Tommy as a child to his adult life. The album was banned by the BBC and many US radio stations for its subject matter, specifically revolving around a handicapped child who is abused by family members and goes on to become a spiritual leader. Just a few months after its release in 1969, the entire album was played by The Who for the crowd at Woodstock. Almost as if it were on cue, the sun began to rise at Woodstock over the horizon just as Roger Daltrey began to sing, “See Me, Feel Me.” The album has sold more than twenty million copies, been turned into a Broadway musical, an orchestral production, and a feature film. It was the band’s first major album success, to be followed by Who’s Next, Quadrophenia, The Who by Numbers, and Who Are You.

Written by Pete Townshend, this instrumental track was one of the numerous highlights on the Tommy album. The song has a notable appearance in the film Almost Famous from 2000, when the main character first becomes exposed to rock music when listening to this particular track.



The Who - Sparks (1969)

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

Lyrics:

(instrumental)

Zoot Money - Soma (1968)

Born George Bruno Money on July 17, 1942, this vocalist and keyboardist comes from Bournemouth, England where his earliest musical beginnings saw him playing the French horn and singing in a choir. During the mid-1950s, Money was exposed to Jerry Lee Lewis and Ray Charles, took up the keyboard, and never looked back. In the early ‘60s, Money switched from the keyboard to the Hammond organ and started the Big Roll Band in 1961. Interestingly, one of Money’s bandmates in the Big Roll Band was Andy Summers, a future member of the ‘80s band The Police. Around this time, Money began calling himself “Zoot,” after the jazz saxophonist Zoot Sims, who had left an impression on Money after he saw him in concert. In 1967, the Big Roll Band had changed their name to Dantalian’s Chariot and began to get gigs opening for bands such as Pink Floyd, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, and the Soft Machine. Unfortunately by April 1968, the band split up and Money went forward with solo work, television appearances, and film acting.

After the dissolution of Dantalian’s Chariot, Money released a solo album, Transition, in 1968. The album attempted to transition Money from his usual jazz and R&B sound into a more modern psychedelic sound. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out very well. Not having been familiar with chart success anyhow, this album didn’t make much of an impression. The only notable track, I believe, was the song heard below. Written by future Police-member Andy Summers, this instrumental track was inspired by the South Asian Indian themes popular in the ‘60s by featuring a sitar and raga motif.



Zoot Money - Soma (1968)

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

Lyrics:

(instrumental)

The Mystic Moods Orchestra - Maria Elena (1967)

Brad Miller’s passion in life was recording sounds as accurately as possible. In the 1950s, he recorded some of the USA’s last steam locomotives, as well as thunderstorms, crowds of people, and other various sounds he thought were unique or pleasant. In an effort to sell his work, Miller created Mobile Fidelity and experienced a moderate level of success. One night, in the mid-‘60s, a disc-jockey in the San Francisco, California area took one of Miller’s recordings and thought it would be interesting to play it on top of some easy listening music. Listeners loved it. The DJ told Miller about his discovery, and soon, Miller was working with musical arranger and composer Don Ralke to create their own version of the DJ’s idea. What resulted was the first Mystic Moods Orchestra album, One Stormy Night, in 1965. Usually, original music tracks such as the ones on One Stormy Night continued throughout the ‘60s until the orchestra moved to the Warner Bros. label in the ‘70s. Then, rather than original music, the sounds of nature and people were generally put over contemporary pop instrumentals. Around this same time, the albums began to feature erotic pictures of couples on the cover, marketing them to adults as “mood music.” Unfortunately for Miller, the societal switch from vinyl albums to CDs didn’t work out in his favor. Miller himself passed away in 1998 and his business, which had been struggling for years, collapsed the following year.

This track comes from the Mystic Moods Orchestra’s fourth album, titled Mexican Trip. Released in 1967, each song on the album was laid on top of sounds of the ocean, children playing, trains, people cheering, etc. in the usual Mystic Mood fashion. This song in particular appears as the album’s seventh track. The original song was written in 1932 by Lorenzo Barcelata, who dedicated the song to the wife of Mexican President Emilio Portes Gil, María Elena. Although the song had accompanying words available in both Spanish and English, this particular version replaced the words with sounds of the ocean.



The Mystic Moods Orchestra - Maria Elena (1967)

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

Lyrics:

(instrumental)

The Astronauts - Baja (1963)

Bob Demmon and Jon “Storm” Patterson were friends in Boulder, Colorado when they got together with Rich Fifield, Dennis Lindsey, and Jim Gallagher to form The Storm Troopers. When friends and family told the band that that name was a little too harsh sounding, resembling the fascist Third Reich, they turned to their new local hero for inspiration. Scott Carpenter, a Boulder, Colorado astronaut, had brought pride to the city of Boulder by becoming the second American to orbit the Earth and the fourth American ever in space. The band chose the name The Astronauts and cut their first single in 1962, “Come Along Baby.” When they got the attention of an RCA Records executive, the band was quickly signed and they released their most popular song, heard below, in early 1963. The success of their hit led to numerous appearances on television, full-length albums, and numerous surf-movie appearances. When RCA found out that the band was out-selling the biggest surf group of the era, The Beach Boys, in Japan, they quickly arranged for the band to tour there with The Ventures. What resulted were five albums and three singles making Japan’s Top 10, with “Movin’” (renamed to “Over the Sun”) reaching the number one spot. Dennis and Jim were drafted into Vietnam in 1967, being replaced by Rod Jenkins and Mark Bretz. Soon, Bob quit the band and was briefly replaced by Robert McLerian. After a tour of Asia in 1968, original members Storm Patterson and Rich Fifield decided to retire the band.

Not having been known to have stellar vocals, the band usually shined its brightest when performing instrumentals. This song, written by Lee Hazlewood, had been intended by its author to be given to his friend, Al Casey, to record, but it never panned out. Instead, the song was released by this band in early 1963, where it reached number ninety-four on the Billboard Top 100. It was the band’s highest charting song and best-known release in the USA.



The Astronauts - Baja (1963)

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

Lyrics:

(instrumental)

Egg - Fugue in D Minor (1970)

When they were around the age of seventeen in 1967, Dave Stewart, Mont Campbell, Clive Brooks, and Steve Hillage created a band named Uriel in their hometown of London, England. By the end of the summer in 1968, Hillage left the band to go to college and the remaining members carried on as a trio. They were convinced to change their name to the one seen above, fearing that “Uriel” sounded too much like “urinal.” By the summer of 1969, the band had signed with Deram Records, a subsidiary of Decca, and their first album, self-titled Egg, soon followed. Most of the band’s music was influenced by Bach, Stravinsky, or other classical composers; although the band always put a progressive and psychedelic touch of their own in the arrangements. After two albums, the band lost their record deal and was forced into an early retirement in July 1972, left with a full album’s worth of unrecorded songs. Stewart went on to be in a band called Hatfield and the North, where he arranged to get a deal for Egg to record their unrecorded material. Those songs were recorded for the band’s final album, The Civil Surface, released in 1974.

Credited to Johann Sebastian Bach, this song is generally paired with Bach’s other composition, "Toccata." Together, they’re known as "BMV 565," or Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (Bach Works Catalogue) 565. Although credit is given to Bach for the composition, his authorship has been disputed by musical scholars, noting that the oldest copy of the sheet music used a lot of Italian markings, which was odd for the German Bach born in 1685. This particular version of the song, heard below, was rearranged and released by Egg on their debut album, self-titled Egg, on March 13, 1970. I can’t help but be reminded of the opening title music to the video game Gauntlet II for the NES.



Egg - Fugue in D Minor (1970)

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

Lyrics:

(instrumental)

The Fender IV - Mar Gaya (1964)

Formed in Baltimore, Maryland in 1962 by school friends, this surf rock band was the brainchild of Randy Holden (born 1945), a future guitarist in Blue Cheer. Besides Holden on lead guitar and vocals, the band also featured Joe Kooken on guitar, Mike Port on bass, and Bruce Miller on drums. Holden decided to move the band out to Los Angeles, California in 1963 where they were hoping to find an audience more receptive to their surf-styled music. Ironically, shortly after they got there, the surf genre was quickly losing popularity to the rise of the British Invasion; so, the band attempted to create songs that either fit one or both of the surf and Merseybeat genres. After the release of the band’s second single, Holden and the guys gave in to shift with the times and renamed themselves the Sons of Adam, focusing on a harder genre of rock. Their drummer Bruce Miller was the only member not to carry on under their new name.

This song was written by Randy Holden at the band’s beach house in Topanga Canyon in California. According to an interview with Holden in 2002, the title is Swahili for “crocodile.” Featured as the A-Side on the band's first single, it was an instrumental track inspired by the surf music of Dick Dale and other big names in surf of the time. The song was backed with the B-Side “You Better Tell Me Now,” a surf/Merseybeat hybrid that attempted to adjust to the British Invasion without losing their surf essence, as mentioned above.

[Update: Randy Holden of The Fender IV submitted an exclusive story to us. Click here to read it.]



The Fender IV - Mar Gaya (1964)

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

Lyrics:

(instrumental)

The Graham Bond Organisation - Wade in the Water (1965)

Formed in the early ‘60s, this band was originally known as the Graham Bond Quartet. Mixing jazz with elements of rhythm & blues, the group was centered around frontman Graham Bond, a classically trained pianist who “dabbled” with the saxophone (he played it in a very avant-garde way). Not being entirely pleased with a deal they had received to sign with EMI, the band decided to sign with Decca Records in 1964. They opened for Marvin Gaye and toured the UK backing Chuck Berry, but were constantly in turmoil because of the clashing between drummer Ginger Baker and bassist Jack Bruce. Eventually, Graham Bond told Baker that he should ask Bruce to leave the band. When Bruce was asked to leave, he hadn’t been informed it was actually Bond’s request and thought it was merely Baker telling him to leave. Bruce felt he had just as much claim to the band as Baker did, so he kept showing up to perform at their concerts until Baker finally convinced him to quit for good at knifepoint backstage before a show in August 1965. Ironically, it was less than a year later in July 1966 when Ginger Baker quit the band and he and Bruce were reunited in the supergroup Cream with Eric Clapton. In late-1966, Graham Bond attempted to reform his band as a trio consisting of himself, original member Dick Heckstall-Smith, and newcomer Jon Hiseman; but, their commercial success was severely lacking. Although the band officially broke up in 1967, Bond would again unite with his original bandmates when he briefly played in Ginger Baker’s Air Force and toured with Jack Bruce in the 1970s. After years of substance abuse, it was reported that Bond had apparently been clean by this period, but also had a growing obsession with black magic and the occult. On May 8, 1974, Graham Bond died of an apparent suicide after lying down (or falling) in front of a train.

Released on the band’s first album, The Sound of ’65, this song is a traditional track that, for the sake of this band, was arranged by John Group and Paul Getty. Regarding the history of the song, it’s author is unknown, but it was first published in New Jubliee Songs as Sung by the Fisk Jubilee Singers by brothers John Wesley Work, Jr. and Frederick J. Work in 1901. The song, which originally contained lyrics referencing the Bible, was a spiritual song for enslaved African Americans in the United States.



The Graham Bond Organisation - Wade in the Water (1965)

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

Lyrics:

(instrumental)

The Sentinals - Latin'ia (1962)

Halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco in the city of San Luis Obispo, this group (sometimes misspelled as The Sentinels) was formed in 1961. Although not one of the original surfing groups (like Dick Dale & the Del-Tones or The Ventures), this band had one big hit which sent them on a nationwide tour. Although they never managed to achieve a second success, each of the band’s members went on to varying degrees of success in other musical outfits, the biggest of which was drummer Johny Barbata, who would play in The Turtles; Crosby, Stills & Nash; and Jefferson Starship. After they were through recording together for the last time, but before the band officially broke up in 1965, they had picked up keyboard player Michael Olsen. Olsen would later change his name to Lee Michaels and have the 1971 hit song “Do You Know What I Mean.”

Written by band members Tommy Nunes and Mark Hilder, this instrumental surf song was inspired after band members had heard “Walk, Don’t Run” by The Ventures. In those early years of the 1960s, “surf” music had not yet been labeled “surf.” It was referred to by many different names, one of them being “twist music for surfers” by the local Tribune newspaper. The release of this song, pronounced "La•teen•ya," was met with a very positive local feedback, enough of which to take the song to number one locally and lead the band on a nationwide tour with The Coasters and The Righteous Brothers. That tour took the band all the way to Buffalo, New York.



The Sentinals - Latin'ia (1962)

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

Lyrics:

(instrumental)

Jeff Beck - Greensleeves (1968)

Born June 24, 1944 in Surrey, England, Jeff Beck is one of the most influential guitarists in the history of rock music. As a child, he sang in the church choir and was influenced by the blues. As a teenager, he was introduced to Jimmy Page by his sister. His first appearance on a record came in 1964 when he played guitar as a session musician on “I’m Not Running Away”/ “So Sweet” by a group called The Fitz and the Startz. In March 1965, Beck joined The Yardbirds as Eric Clapton’s replacement at the suggestion of Jimmy Page, who had turned down the band’s first offer. After being fired from The Yardbirds for his irritable temper and unreliability some time later, Beck recorded a single song with Keith Moon, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and Nicky Hopkins (heard here) before forming The Jeff Beck Group in early 1967 with Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood. Around the same time, Pink Floyd had lost their front man Syd Barrett and considered asking Beck to join their band. Nobody ever asked Beck, however, as none of them “had the nerve,” according to Pink Floyd’s drummer, Nick Mason. About two years later, just after Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones had passed away, the remaining members of The Rolling Stones talked with Beck about joining their band, but, that too never panned out as they had different interests at the time. Just before the Woodstock festival in August 1969, The Jeff Beck Group folded and had to cancel their scheduled performance at the festival.

While no author is officially known, this traditional English folk song was first registered in September of the year 1580 by “Richard Jones.” Jones registered the song under the title “A Newe Northern Dittye of ye Ladye Greene Sleves,” while six other songs similar to it were being registered by other people throughout the next twelve months. Although an instrumental version is heard below, the song actually contains lyrics which are often disputed amongst historians. It has been covered countless times.

This cover released in August 1968 was put out by Jeff Beck on the side on a solo album while he was still working with The Jeff Beck Group. It was released on his first solo album, Truth. Featured on the album were numerous cover songs written by other musicians as well as multiple tracks credited to “Jeffrey Rod,” a writing credit given to the combined work of Jeff Beck and Rod Stewart. The track heard below was the opening track to the second side of the album.



Jeff Beck - Greensleeves (1968)

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

Lyrics:

(instrumental)

The Cyrkle - Walter's Riff (1967)

This band, previously featured on our site, is primarily remembered for their hit song, “Red Rubber Ball,” released in 1966 and heard previously on A Bit Like You And Me. Being the band’s first single, the song appeared to be what the group needed to start off on a successful career. Their next single release, “Turn Down Day,” although not as popular as their first hit, was still a success. Their next three singles along with their second album, Neon, were unfortunately overlooked by listeners and had the band on the brink of collapse. Wanting to give it one last shot, the band agreed to perform the soundtrack for an upcoming movie, The Minx.

Trying to pass as a “Rated X” movie when the fad to do so was occurring, The Minx movie completely bombed. Although I’ve never seen it, there isn’t a single positive review to be found in my searching. It appears that the biggest highlight of the film was indeed the soundtrack provided by this band. This particular song was recorded, with all the others for the film, in 1967. It sounds as if it could have been recorded for a Spaghetti Western and appeared as the eleventh song on the movie’s soundtrack. Entirely instrumental, the song is only one minute and twelve seconds long. The film, The Minx was released in 1969.



The Cyrkle - Walter's Riff (1967)

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

Lyrics:

(instrumental)

The Fentones - Simla Beat Theme (1971)

In 1970, India’s oldest cigarette company, Simla, decided to host a battle of the bands competition to gain the favor of young people in the country. The contest, which ran annually through 1972, awarded the winner of the contest with a recording session overseen by India’s veteran record producer V. P. Vendraswamiran (VPV, for short), who’s studio was an ex-British Navy minesweeper ship that had been moored in Bombay.

Many of the participants in the competition used flour to give themselves a more Western appearance, as all of them had chosen to sing in English. Many of the bands sang pop songs from the West or traditional Indian songs reinvented with electric guitars and power chords.

This band was one of the participants in the competition that took place in 1971. Their song heard below sounds like a surf song from the early ‘60s, but was apparently recorded in 1971. It was included on a compilation album put out by the cigarette company each year after the conclusion of the show.



The Fentones - Simla Beat Theme (1971)

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

Lyrics:

(instrumental)