Sleevenotes - 26 December 15

A bit of background on this week's artists, from The Crystals to Ray Stevens...

He's Sure The Boy I Love - The Crystals (1962)
This track has been requested by Jeff Hecker from Bush Hill Park, Enfield in Middlesex who points out that this Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil song was earmarked for The Shirelles but lost out to 'Will You Love Me Tomorrow'. It was then offered to The Crystals but as with several of their recordings featured The Blossoms with lead vocals by Darlene Love.

Silence Is Golden - The Tremeloes (1967)
Although originally a Four Seasons ‘B’ side, this is still the most identified song with The Tremeloes that became an International hit, even reaching number eleven in America. The group felt let down by their lack of exposure in The States, when the record was in the charts they embarked on a three month tour of the country only to find they were booked to play just small ballrooms and clubs up and down the coast. They had no TV exposure and little radio, a major mistake in their career.

You Better Stop - The Farinas (1964)
The Farinas were formed by rock guitarist Richard John Whitney while attending Leicester Art College in 1962. Playing rhythm and blues in local venues the group featured Jim King on saxophone and vocals, Tim Kirchin on bass and drummer Harry Overnall before being signed to Fontana and releasing 'You Better Stop' in 1964. The ‘B’ side was their take on Chris Kenner’s 'I Like It Like That'. Tim was replaced by Ric Grech and Roger Chapman joined as lead vocalist and in 1966 they renamed themselves Family releasing their debut album two years later, 'Music In A Doll’s House'.

Have A Holly Jolly Christmas - Burl Ives (1965)
'Have A Holly Jolly Christmas' was written by Johnny Marks who, although Jewish, specialised in writing Christmas songs, most notably 'Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer' and 'Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree. This song was originally recorded by The Quinto Sisters in 1964, a year before Burl Ives covered it, whose record featured guitarist Harold Ray Bradley the brother of musical director, Owen Bradley.

Mrs Cooper's Pie - Writing On The Wall (1969)
Writing On The Wall hailed from Scotland and were originally named The Jury before changing their name in 1968. Relocating to London, they took up residency at their manager, Brian Waldman’s club, Middle Earth and also recorded a BBC Radio session for John Peel. The following year they cut their first and only album of the sixties, 'The Power Of The Pics' which included 'Mrs Cooper’s Pie'. They attempted to record two further albums in the seventies but towards the end of 1973 their equipment was stolen from their van and they decided to call it a day. Their name would be remembered today as the latest James Bond theme song, 'Writing’s On The Wall' by Sam Smith.

That's What I Want For Christmas - Nancy Wilson (1963)
'That’s What I Want For Christmas' was written by Earl Lawrence and recorded in 1963 by Nancy Wilson who has released over seventy albums and picked up three Grammy awards along with nick-names that include ‘The girl with the honey coated voice’ and ‘fancy Miss Nancy.’

Red River Rock - Johnny & The Hurricanes (1960)
Although released in 1959 and was in the charts that year, it hung around until the beginning of 1960 and in the first week had dropped to number nineteen climbing back to number ten the following week, just making it a contender for SOTS. 'Red River Rock' is based on a traditional folk song written in the late 1800’s and was known under several different titles including 'Red River Valley', 'Bright Little Valley' and 'In The Bright Mohawk Valley' depending on where it was sung.

Santa Claus Is Watching You - Ray Stevens (1962)
The record reached number forty-five in America and features The Merry Melody Singers on backing vocals. Ray Stevens recorded a couple of versions of 'Santa Claus Is Watching You' each time re-introducing an intrepid camel named Clyde who takes the place of 'Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer' who is in hospital afer injuring himself in a ‘twist’ competition. Clyde first appeared in Ray’s first US top ten hit, 'Ahab The Arab' and was named after R&B singer, Clyde McPhatter.

The Three Bells - Brian Poole & The Tremeloes (1964)
The song also known as 'The Jimmy Brown Song' 'Jimmy Brown' or 'Little Jimmy Brown' was recorded by The Browns in 1959 when it topped the American charts for four weeks. The true original version was the French song, 'Les Trois Cloches' released in 1952 by Les Compagnons De La Chanson whose recording made our top thirty and was also a top twenty hit stateside. Rare footage of Brian Poole and The Tremeloes performing the song on Top Of The Pops recently turned up on a couple of internet sites

My Little Girl - Harmony Grass (1969)
The group were formed in Essex from previous members of Tony Rivers and The Castaways, to become Harmony Grass and in 1969 signed to RCA achieving their one and only hit, 'Move In A Little Closer' leading to the company ordering an album to be recorded. Titled 'This Is Us', it’s unclear why it took so long for it to be released and when it finally did appear, received very little promotion. Musically it contained a mixture of previously released material, demos and some new titles. One of the newer songs was Rivers’ composition, 'My Little Girl' that displayed the group’s affection for The Beach Boys and later became a 1971 top forty hit for the group Autumn.

Tomorrow - Sandie Shaw (1966)
This became Sandie’s fifth top ten hit and the fourth to have been composed by Chris Andrews who also wrote her 1968 hit called 'Today' and he himself made the top ten in 1965 with 'Yesterday Man'.

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - The Ronettes
Written by British song writer, Tommie Connor, it was first recorded by thirteen year old Jimmy Boyd in 1952 and was commissioned by New York store Saks on Fifth Avenue to promote their Christmas cards from that year. The Ronettes’ version appeared on the 1963 album, 'A Christmas Gift For You' that featured a dozen Yuletide classics also performed by Darlene Love, The Crystals, Bob B Soxx and The Blue Jeans and has since been re-issued many times of a variety of different labels.