Brian's Weekly Sleevenotes - 27 June 15

Discover the stories behind some of the songs in today's playlist...

So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad) - The Everly Brothers

The opening track from ‘It’s Everly Time’ which was the duo’s first album recorded for the Warner Brothers label after their departure from Cadence. The album was rushed out following the success of their number one single, ‘Cathy’s Clown’ which wasn’t included amongst the tracks but track one on side one became the follow up single, Don Everly’s composition, the ballad ‘So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad)’.

I Got Rhythm - The Happenings

Written by George and Ira Gershwin in 1930 for the musical ‘Girl Crazy’ that starred Ginger Rogers and Ethel Merman who sang the song in the show that introduced her to Broadway. The Happenings were formed in 1965 and all hailed from New Jersey consisting of Bob Miranda, David Libert, Tom Giuliano and Ralph DiVito who left in 1968. Their version of ‘I Got Rhythm’ sold in excess of a million copies.

Brace Yourself - Ben E. King

During the late Ben E King’s time as lead singer with The Drifters, his record label Atlantic recorded four songs with him as a solo artist almost nine months before he left the group. All the tracks were held in abeyance until May, 1960 when Otis Blackwell’s song, ‘Brace Yourself’ was selected to test the waters but despite his success with The Drifters and a song by one of the most successful composers of that time, the media all but ignored the record. King needn’t have worried as his next release, the double ‘A’ side, ‘Spanish Harlem’ and ‘First Taste Of Love’ fared much better.

Midnight In Moscow - Kenny Ball & His Jazzmen

Kenny formed the jazzmen in 1958 with trombonist John Bennett who remained with the band until Kenny’s death in 2013. ‘Midnight In Moscow’ also known as ‘Russian Nights’ became their biggest success hitting the same chart position both here and in America. The song was originally created as ‘Leningrad Nights’ in 1955 but at the request of the Soviet Ministry Of Culture, the title was changed.

Your Love - Lewis Reed

Although not his first venture into the recording studio, Lewis Reed had performed as a member of a fairly anonymous trio, The Shades. ‘Your Love’ recorded in 1962 was his first attempt at becoming a solo performer and was proposed to become his first release but after much deliberation, it was decided that the tapes would be placed in the vaults, not to see the light of day again until almost forty years later. In the interim, Lewis joined and helped form The Velvet Underground before launching his proper solo career as Lou Reed.

Over To You Baby - John Lee’s Groundhogs

The group renamed themselves as John Lee’s Groundhogs after they’d backed John Lee Hooker on his 1964 UK tour, their record, ‘Over You Baby’ was released on the short live Planet label that only ever issued twenty-two singles and almost all of their releases are now extremely collectable.

The Weight - The Band

It was the summer of 1965 when an established performer was looking for a backing band for his first American ‘Electric’ tour. Blues singer, John Hammond recommended The Hawks, who had worked for several years with Ronnie Hawkins. At the same time more recommendations led to them being hired to back the singer who was in fact non other than the legendary Bob Dylan.

Take A Look - Irma Thomas

Nicknamed ‘The Soul Queen Of New Orleans’, who by the age of nineteen had been married twice and had four children. Bandleader, Tommy Ridgley discovered her when she was working as a waitress in a bar and helped her achieve her first record contract in 1959. She later moved to the Minit label, working with Allen Toussaint and when the company was acquired by the mighty Imperial label in 1963, a string of successful records in America followed. In 1965, she released this soulful single, ‘Take A Look’.

Swinging In The Rain - Norman Vaughan

Norman was catapulted to fame in 1962 when he took over from Bruce Forsyth as the host to ITV’s top variety show, ‘Sunday Night At The London Palladium’ and managed to get the country using his personal catchphrases, ‘Swinging’ and ‘Dodgy’ in everyday conversations. To the amazement of many, he scored a top forty hit in 1962 with his own adaptation of the Gene Kelly classic, ‘Singing In The Rain’, featuring the Corona School children and astutely making use of his two famous words. Norman remained as host of the Palladium show until 1965, giving way to Jimmy Tarbuck then went on to devise another big TV hit, the game show, ‘Bullseye’. His life was tragically cut short when he died, aged 79, on 17 May 2002, from injuries sustained in a road accident a month earlier at Waterloo Bridge.

Stoned Soul Picnic - Laura Nyro

Laura was born in the Bronx and was only nineteen when she recorded her first album, ‘More Than A New Discovery’ in 1966 for the Verve label. It included the original version of ‘Wedding Bell Blues’, a song that was successfully covered by The Fifth Dimension giving them an American number one. They also covered several of her other songs including ‘Stone Soul Picnic’, and reached number three in The States in 1968. Earlier the same year, Laura also recorded it herself for her album, ‘Eli And The Thirteenth Confession’.