Brian's Weekly Sleevenotes - 8 November 14

Emily - Sonny Sinbad

The Who

Business man Leon Rene formed the American class label in 1951, he’d been a successful songwriter with his brother Otis having written standards such as 'Sleepy Time Down South' and 'When The Swallows Come Back To Capistrano'. By 1956 the label was running out of Los Angeles and they’d signed Texas born Robert Byrd better known as Bobby Day who became one of the label’s best selling artists alongside Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson, Bob & Earl and this 1960 release by Sonny Sinbad, all of whom can be heard on a newly released fifty track double CD from One Day Music, 'Gee Whiz-The Class Record Story'.

Real Wild Child - The Bell Notes

The song was originally recorded in 1958 by Australian performer, Johnny O’ Keefe who wrote the song with Johnny Greenan and Dave Owens although many sources report that it was O’Keefe alone who was responsible for the song. Sydney DJ Tony Withers, who later came to the UK to work on pirate Radio London also claimed to have contributed but his name is usually left off any credits. Over the years there have been several cover versions including recordings by Jerry Allison of the Crickets, Jerry Lee Lewis, Jet Harris and the most successful in 1986 by Iggy Pop who re-titled it 'Real Wild Child (Wild One)'. This recording by American rock and roll group The Bell Notes from Long Island in New York appeared in 1961 on the American Madison label.

I Can See For Miles - The Who

This became their biggest American hit and their only single to make the top ten in The States. Pete Townshend has been reported to have considered this the best song he ever wrote and was one of the songs the group rarely performed live due to the fact that the overdubbed guitar sound was almost impossible to recreate on stage. Townshend was inspired to write the song after meeting his future wife, Karen as a reminder that when he was on tour with The Who, he could still keep an eye on her from miles away.

You Don't Love Me - Z. Z. Hill

Georgie Fame

Pronounced Zee Zee Hill, Arzell Hill was born in Texas and influenced by Sam Cooke and B. B. King, from whom he emulated his own stage name, he began singing with gospel group, The Spiritual Five around local clubs performing a mix of his own songs and familiar material. Encouraged by Otis Redding who had seen him perform, he released his first single, 'You Were Wrong' in 1964 that spent one week in the Hot 100 at number 100 after which he was signed to the Kent label where he remained until 1968 and one of his first releases was this his own composition, 'You Don’t Love Me' which is included on a new twenty-three track Ace CD, 'DJ Snowboy Presents The Good Foot', named after the James Brown song and includes music from The Ikettes, Etta James, Aretha Franklin and The Shirelles.

Wait A Minute - The Coasters

Another recently released double CD 'The Very Best Of Coasters' featuring forty tracks by the group has been issued by Not Now Music and mostly consists of material written and produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller between 1957 and 1962. The four piece vocal group were formed in Los Angeles in 1955 and by 1958 had moved to New York after being signed to Atlantic. A string of chart hits followed and in 1987, they became the first group inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. From this collection, this is their 1960 American top forty hit, 'Wait A Minute', written by Bobby Darin and Don Kirshner.

Sweet Thing - Georgie Fame

The third album release by Georgie Fame who on this occasion abandoning the backing of his group The Blue Flames on some of the tracks for the release of a collection that has been considered by many to have been one of the finest British R&B albums of the mid sixties. Produced by the legendary Denny Cordell, it featured less jazz and more soul with covers of material that had been recorded by such names as Stevie Wonder, Sam Cooke, and Don Covay with the opening track, a cover William Stevenson’s 'Sweet Thing', recorded by The Motown Spinners and from which the album title was slightly adapted. The American release with a slightly altered track listing was titled 'Get Away'.

I'll Never Fall In Love Again - Bobbie Gentry

Bobbie Gentry

Written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, the song was nominated for a Grammy the following year and came from their1968 musical, 'Promises Promises'. The song received its own revival in 1990 when it was featured on the 'Four Songs Of Bacharach and David' EP by Deacon Blue that reached number two in the UK. The song was a last minute addition to the show and because there was no time to write a full orchestral arrangement, it was originally performed on stage to just a solitary guitar accompaniment.

Read Bob Stanley’s latest article, which focuses on Burt Bacharach’s career, here.

About The Children - Tom Paxton

Tom Paxton was born in Chicago and at the age of eleven moved with his family to Oklahoma with the dream of becoming an actor. He began learning the trumpet before an aunt gave him his first guitar but it didn’t replace his desire to act which led him to pursue a course in drama during which time he was introduced to folk music and began writing his own material that he performed for friends at which point he decided he’d rather become a folk singer. After a brief stint in the US army, he travelled to New York and visited Greenwich Village where he became part of the growing folk scene where he mingled with the likes of Joan Baez and Bob Dylan as well as performing at some of the small clubs including The Gaslight where he recorded his first album. His songs were being covered by many big names and despite the decline in the popularity of folk music towards the end of the sixties, Paxton’s output remained constant. In 1969 he released his fifth album, 'The Things I Notice Now', from which we’ve picked this track.