Brian's Weekly Sleevenotes - 26 March 16

More stories behind the collection of classics tracks and rarities we play...

(I’m A) Road Runner – Jr. Walker & The All Stars (1969)

First released in 1966 when it made the American top twenty but it wasn't until it received a reissue in the UK along with several other Motown tracks in 1969 that it made our charts. Written by Holland, Dozier and Holland, who, when they came to produce the record, discovered that Junior could only play his instrument in two keys so they had the dilemma, should he play in a key in which he couldn't sing or sing in a key he couldn't play? The decision was taken to record the sax then change the speed of the tape to the required pitch, giving the whole recording a unique sound.

What - Judy Street (1968)

Judy was born in Indiana to a concert pianist father and a flute playing mother who both encouraged her to sing. In 1968 she was discovered performing in a bar in Arizona, she was offered the chance to cut a version of a song titled ‘What’, first recorded by Melinda Marx in 1965 and written by H.B. Barnum. Copies found their way to the UK and were picked up by DJ’s at the Wigan Casino becoming one of the most played tracks on the Northern Soul scene at that time. If you want to find out more about this popular genre of music then click here where resident blogger Bob Stanley has much more to tell on the subject.

Exclusively Yours - Mark Wynter (1961)

‘Exclusively Yours’ became Mark’s fourth UK top forty hit and his final one for Decca before moving to Pye where he scored the biggest hit of his career with ‘Venus In Blue Jeans’. This was the closing track on his 1961 album, ‘The Warmth Of Wynter’ that was released after his round the world tour ending up in Australia where he was virtually unknown but five weeks later left to a fanfare of acclamation and two records in their top ten.

Mine Exclusively - The Olympics (1966)

The song was written by Shirlie Mae Matthews who gained quite a reputation in America for singing backing vocals for many leading names including Barbra Streisand, Neil Diamond, Paul McCartney and Elton John. This high energy track was recorded by The Olympics in 1966 and made the American top forty R&B charts but didn’t find a release in the UK until 1969 when it was licensed to the soul label, Action. It was also one of the first records to cause a demand for old soul as it was known at the time, but now we call it Northern Soul Classics and this one would fetch around £80.00.

I’m Into Something Good - Herman’s Hermits (1964)

The debut hit both here and in the States for Herman’s Hermits with a cover of the Carole King and Gerry Goffin song originally recorded by Earl-Jean, a one time member of The Cookies. Unusually, Herman’s cover version became the bigger hit in The States where the original peaked at number thirty-eight. Amazingly, with all the success Goffin and King were having as writers, this was the only song of theirs to have topped the UK charts.

Girlie - The Peddlers (1969)

The Peddlers’ first performance together was at the CIS building in Manchester where Roy Orbison, Wayne Fontana and Herman’s Hermits were also on the bill. By the end of their first song, they managed to clear almost the entire hall. Then in 1967 they were given a one month residency at the Pickwick club in London frequented by big named stars including Frank Sinatra, Richard Harris and Sarah Vaughan who were all forthcoming with advice for the group. Their residency was extended to eighteen months leading to a recording contract with Philips. Three prominent DJ’s at the time, Pete Murray, John Peel and Dave Cash promoted their music on the radio and helped turn them into a much in demand act. By 1969 they’d moved to CBS where they achieved their biggest hit single with ‘Birth’ followed by this release in the same year.

And The Sun Will Shine - Paul Jones (1968)

Written by Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb, ‘And The Sun Will Shine’ was first recorded by The Bee Gees on their 1968 album, ‘Horizontal’ that was released as a single in France. Paul Jones recorded his version later the same year with a great line up of musicians including Jeff Beck on guitar, Nigel Hopkins on Piano and Paul Samwell-Smith on bass with production by Peter Asher who had invited Paul McCartney to the session at Abbey Road studios where he ended up playing drums.

Blackbird Charlie - Bugsy Eastwood (1968)

The name Alan ‘Bugsy’ Eastwood might not immediately spring to mind but he was a north Birmingham boy and became a member of local band The Plazents in 1963 then when promoters began using the term Brumbeat, changed their name to The Brumbeats who supported The Beatles when they came to town and they appeared on ‘Thank Your Lucky Stars’ in 1964 promoting their only Decca release’,Cry Little Girl Cry’. After their breakup in 1965, Alan played in several other bands forming The Exception in 1967 and signing to CBS then President releasing a number of intriguing singles including this solo performance of his song, ‘Blackbird Charlie’.

No Pity (In The Naked City) - Jackie Wilson (1965)

‘There are eight million stories in the naked city, this has been one of them’, declared the narrator at the conclusion of each episode of the classic sixties TV drama, ‘The Naked City’, that inspired this spectacular record by Jackie Wilson, who gave up boxing at the age of eighteen in favour of becoming a singer. He made his recording debut in 1952 as Sonny Wilson with a version of his favourite song, ‘Danny Boy’ that was released on Dizzy Gillespie’s Dee Gee label. Then after four years as lead singer with The Dominoes having replaced Clyde McPhatter, Jackie decided to go it alone making his chart debut in 1957 with ‘Reet Petite’.

The Town I Live In - Jackie Lee (1966)

It has always been thought that ‘Eleanor’ by The Turtles was the only song to contain the word ‘etcetera’ in the lyric. Well, we’ve found another that was released nearly two years earlier by Jackie Lee. In the fifties she was a member of Ronnie Aldrich’s Squadronaires, performing frequently on BBC radio. In 1959 she joined The Raindrops as lead singer and although they became popular within the media, they failed to have any record success. Within a year, Jackie quit the group to go solo signing to EMI’s Columbia label where her third single, released in November 1966. ‘The Town I Live In’– penned by songwriter Geoff Stephens about Milton Keynes was considered one of her finer moments.

Up On The Roof - Kenny Lynch (1963)

Written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin, this was a direct cover of The Drifters’ top five American hit. The song was also covered in the UK by Julie Grant giving her, her first British hit albeit only reaching number thirty-three. Kenny Lynch tried to compensate The Drifters for stealing their hit by writing and arranging a single for them in 1965 called ‘Follow Me’ which just managed to sneak into the American Hot 100.

Follow Me - The Drifters (1965)

Written by Kenny Lynch and Mort Shuman, ‘Follow Me’ featured lead vocals by Johnny Moore and was released as a single in 1965 from their album, ‘I’ll Take You Where The Music’s Playing’. This was released at a time when The Drifters were releasing records in fairly quick succession and although they were still turning out commercial material, they were not being sufficiently well received by the public to turn them into major hits.