Brian's Weekly Sleevenotes - 7 February 15

Badge - Cream

Cream

Written by George Harrison and Eric Clapton, this became the group’s final single to make the charts before their split. Harrison, using the pseudonym of L’Angelo Misterioso, can be heard playing rhythm guitar on the track that was recorded for their farewell album, 'Goodbye', that was made up of mainly live recordings with just three studio tracks. Cream recorded this a week after they played their last two shows at The Royal Albert Hall.

I Worship The Ground You Walk On - Walter Rhodes

Walter Rhodes also known as Little Red Walter was born in North Carolina in 1939 and moved to New York in the fifties to pursue a recording career and although an accomplished musician, he achieved a reputation for his passionate vocal delivery that gained him recognition that can be heard at its best on 'I Worship The Ground You Walk On' which is the opening track on a new twenty-seven track CD from the Outta Sight label, 'Deep Soul Moments-Sometime, Someplace, Somewhere'.

Goodness Gracious Me - Peter Sellers & Sophia Loren

Released at the end of 1960 on the back of their hit, 'Goodness Gracious Me' EMI rushed out 'Peter & Sophia' that climbed to number five on the album charts. It was in 1960 that Peter Sellers was cast to play an Indian doctor alongside Sophia Loren in 'The Millionairess', a comedy based on the play by George Bernard Shaw. Record producer George Martin asked composers David Lee and Herbert Kretzmer to write a song for the duo to record in the voices of their screen characters in the hope that the producers would include it on the movie soundtrack but although they declined, the single reached number four on the charts and was track one on side one of the album.

All Or Nothing - The Small Faces

The Small Faces

In 1965, Ian was hired to replace Jimmy Winston in The Small Faces and was paid £30.00 per week by Don Arden during his three month probation period after which his wages dropped to £20.00 in line with the rest of the group. Arden collected all their royalties and it wasn’t until 1997 that they started to receive some of the money due to them. 'All Or Nothing' became the only number one hit for the group that chose their name because of their lack of height with them all being under five and a half foot tall and ‘faces’ was a mod slang term for being cool. Written by Stevie Marriott and Ronnie Lane, they considered it to be their first release that placed them where they wanted to be musically.

One Road - The Love Affair

'One Road' became the least successful of the five top twenty hits achieved by The Love Affair between 1968 and 1969 and was the only one not to make the top ten. Written by Philip Goodhand-Tate who had been responsible for their previous hit, 'A Day Without Love'. For the follow up to 'One Road' they released what lead singer, Steve Ellis has often claimed to have been his favourite single, 'Baby I Know' but it was a complete change of style and a complete flop resulting in them reverting to their familiar sound on their next release and final hit, 'Bringing On Back The Good Times'.

Long Shot Kick De Bucket - The Pioneers

Originally formed in the early sixties, The Pioneers became one of Jamaica’s most successful acts during the latter half of the decade recording a series of hits with producers Leslie Kong and Joe Gibbs, most notable being, 'Long Shot Kick De Bucket', a song written in homage of a well known veteran racehorse whose sudden demise came during the last of his 202 races. Mourned by the racing world, the annual 'Long Shot Trophy' was established in the horse’s memory and the less sensitive tribute came via this single.

Keep Searchin' (We'll Follow The Sun) - Del Shannon

Del Shannon

After a string of big hits, Del’s record sales took a tumble and he was in need of another big record. He had been offered the Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil song, 'I’m Gonna Be Strong', that later became a huge hit for Gene Pitney and although he did record it, he decided against releasing it on the grounds it was too slow. His original version did turn up on his album, '1661 Seconds With Del Shannon' but settled on his own song, 'Keep Searchin’ (We’ll Follow The Sun)' that proved his instincts were right even though it became his last single to make the top twenty both here and in America.

Jet Black Machine - Vince Taylor & The Playboys

Much of the media believed that Vince Taylor could barely sing but with his smart clothes and good looks, he acted out the part of a pop star to the best of his ability and seemed blissfully unaware of his vocal shortcomings and was totally convinced he was going to become a major rock and roll star which he ultimately did but had to relocate to France to do so, signing a lucrative contract with the Barclay label in Paris. Prior to his move, he fronted a number of different line-ups of the legendary Playboys. In 1960 they released 'Jet Black Machine' on the Belgium Palette label and made a brief appearance on the NME top twenty chart giving Vince his only taste of success as a recording artist in the UK.

(Do The) Mashed Potato - The Undertakers

The Undertakers hailed from Wallasey, just over the River Mersey from Liverpool where they gained a big local following and in 1963 were signed to Pye Records but like many groups of that time, failed to capture the same excitement on record as they gained on stage mainly due to the labels dictating what they had to record. Their debut single was 'Everybody Loves A Lover' despite the group’s pleas to put '(Do The) Mashed Potato' out as the ‘A’ side but was relegated to the ‘B.’ Until recently Geoff Nugent continued to make appearances with his band as Geoff Nugent’s Undertakers.

Nothing Comes Easy - Sandie Shaw

This Chris Andrews composition gave Sandie her seventh UK top twenty hit that she also recorded in Spanish as 'Lo Consegui' for release in Spain, Mexico, Argentina and Venezuela. 'Nothing Comes Easy' was also the title of her four CD box set released in 2004 in which Sandie selected all her favourite recordings from her career.

Read Bob Stanley's latest article on the Princess of Pop, here.