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 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 Asylum Choir - Welcome to Hollywood (1968)

In 1967, studio musicians Leon Russell and Marc Benno got together and created this band. They recorded two albums together. The first, Look Inside the Asylum Choir, was released on Smash Records in 1968, and only reached number 201 on the US charts.. Their second and last album, Asylum Choir II, was recorded February through April 1969, but due to contract disputes, didn't get released until November 1971 after the band had already broken up. By the time of that second album’s release, Leon Russell had gone back to being a session musician, making a very strong name for himself working with famous names such as George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Elton John, Eric Clapton, and numerous others. This solo stardom brought an interest in his earlier work when it was finally released and Asylum Choir II reached number 70 on the charts.

When the band’s first album was initially released in 1968, the cover art was a prominent picture of a roll of toilet paper against a tiled bathroom wall. Creating a minor controversy, Smash records decided that they ought to replace the image, and a much more innocuous cover, featuring Russell and Benno against a psychedelic background, replaced it. The song heard below was featured as the opening track of their debut album, mocking the seedier side of Hollwood, California. If you enjoy it, check out the album’s seventh track, which I almost featured instead, titled “Thieves In The Choir”.



The Asylum Choir - Welcome to Hollywood (1968)

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Lyrics:

Drive the golden sunset drip
And the golden sunset children skip
Along the path that’s called The Strip
And they’re looking for a bird to flip
And a hole to hide from the tourists’ eyes watching

Tourist car come into town
And the black policeman’s cars go down
Inspecting all the players’ rounds
The places where the jokers found
And waiting for his chance to be the dealer

(Welcome to Hollywood)
(You Midwest sons and daughters)
Oh, welcome to Hollywood
Say, man, can you spare a quarter?

Vested eyes so calmly heard
Astounded by the city assured
That come so quickly off a herd
The golden sunset children fled
With ways to still be young and not be crying

The network showed its Color War
I watched the shorthead heroes stor’
Red crimson on green army corps
And his last scene is too bizarre
To think that he won’t get a check from AFTRA

(Welcome to Hollywood)
(You Midwest sons and daughters)
Oh, welcome to Hollywood
Say, man, can you spare a quarter?

I’m feelin’ good in Hollywood
I know where in Hollywood
Oh, I’m Hollywood, now, now
Oh, Hollywood
Oh, Hollywood

(Hollywood, yes I’m talkin’ ‘bout Hollywood)
Oh, I’m feelin’ fine
(Hollywood, I’m talkin’ ‘bout Hollywood)
(Hollywood, yes I’m talkin’ ‘bout Hollywood)
(Hollywood, I’m talkin’ ‘bout Hollywood)
(Hollywood, yes I’m talkin’ ‘bout Hollywood)
(Hollywood, I’m talkin’ ‘bout Hollywood)…