Although written in 1967, today's blog subject is such a great song, it sounds like it has been around for years. It has truly become a pop standard. Despite Berry Gordy's unequivocal role as the mastermind behind Motown, he actually vetoed the most popular version of the song. Read on.
For Once in My Life was written by Ron Miller and Orlando Murden for Motown Records' Jobete publishing company in 1967. The composition was originally recorded by Jean DuShon, while other artists, such as Tony Bennett and The Temptations, recorded slow-ballad versions of the song.
The most familiar and successful version of For Once in My Life is an uptempo hit version by Stevie Wonder, recorded immediately after DuShon's original. Wonder's version, issued on Motown's Tamla label in 1968, was a top-three hit in the United States in late 1968 and early 1969.
Stevie Wonder's version was recorded at about the same time as The Temptations' in the summer of 1967. However, Berry Gordy did not like Wonder's version, an upbeat rendition produced by Henry Cosby. Gordy vetoed the single's release, and the recording was shelved. Billie Jean Brown, the head of the Motown Quality Control department, finally coerced Gordy into allowing Wonder's version to be released in October 1968.
Contrary to Gordy's instincts, For Once in My Life was a highly successful record, peaking at number-two on both the Billboard Pop Singles and Billboard R&B Singles (it was held off from the number-one spot on each chart by another Motown single Gordy had originally vetoed, Marvin Gaye's I Heard It Through the Grapevine). For Once in My Life, issued by Tamla with Angie Girl as its b-side, was later included as the title track on Wonder's For Once in My Life album.
Wonder's version of the track is often singled out by bassists as the greatest example of James Jamerson's playing style, with no two bars of music played alike during the whole song; a completely improvisational line that is both melodic and complementary to Wonder's vocal.
Watch Stevie Wonder sing the hit.
A trumpet player singing a pop song? Yes. And I'm not talking about Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong. I'm talking about the "A" in A&M records. Mr. South-of-the-Border himself. Herb Alpert. What's more amazing is that his record went to number one on the charts.
This Guy's in Love with You was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David and recorded by Herb Alpert. Although known primarily for his trumpet playing as the leader of the Tijuana Brass, Alpert sang lead vocals on this solo recording, arranged by Bacharach.
Alpert originally sang This Guy's in Love with You on a 1968 television special, The Beat of the Brass. In response to numerous viewer telephone calls, the song was released as a single and reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in June of that year, remaining in the top position for four weeks. It was not only Alpert's first #1 single, but it was also the first #1 single for his A&M record label. The song also spent ten weeks at #1 on the Easy Listening chart. For the single's B-side, Alpert chose A Quiet Tear, an album track from his first album in 1962, The Lonely Bull.
Eleven years later Alpert would become the first (and only) artist to reach the top of the Hot 100 with both a vocal performance and an instrumental performance when Rise went to the top of the charts.
Now, all I have to do is get a record deal....
Watch Herb Alpert sing his hit in a rare video.
Today's song could have been written as (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Man. Not quite the same ring.
(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman is a 1967 single released by American soul singer Aretha Franklin on the Atlantic label. The record was a big hit for Franklin, reaching number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, and became a standard song for her.
Co-written by the celebrated writing-producing team of Carole King and Gerry Goffin, the song was inspired by Atlantic Records co-owner and producer Jerry Wexler. As recounted in his autobiography, Wexler, a student of African-American musical culture, had been mulling over the concept of the "natural man" when he drove by King on the streets of New York. He shouted out to her he wanted a "natural woman" song for Franklin's next album. In thanks, Goffin and King granted Wexler a co-writing credit.
It was recorded by Carole King on her landmark 1971 album Tapestry, and by Mary J. Blige, whose 1995 version, from the soundtrack of New York Undercover, also charted. Rod Stewart covered that version in 1974 for his album Smiler. Bonnie Tyler did a successful version of the song on her album It's A Heartache (outside the U.S., known as Natural Force) in 1978. Céline Dion also recorded this song in 1995 for the Tapestry Revisited album. Franklin gave a live performance of the song alongside King, Dion, Mariah Carey, Gloria Estefan and Shania Twain on the first VH1 Divas special in 1998. Whitney Houston also covered the song during her Bodyguard World Tour, as part of a portion of her show that she specifically dedicated to Aretha Franklin. (The Houston cover was never recorded as part of an official album.)
Watch Aretha sing Natural Woman on The Mike Douglas Show from December 1967.
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| The Turtles |
The subject of today's blog was originally a surf-rock group called the Crossfires from the Planet Mars. Not quite the same ring as the name we know them by: The Turtles.
The band was formed in 1965 in Westchester, California, (a neighborhood in west Los Angeles) by Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman. With the help of a DJ and club owner, they signed to White Whale Records. Adhering to the prevailing musical trend, they re-branded themselves as a folk rock group under the name "the Tyrtles," the intentional misspelling inspired by the Byrds and the Beatles. The trendy spelling did not survive long.
As with the Byrds, the Turtles achieved breakthrough success with a Bob Dylan cover. It Ain't Me Babe reached the Billboard Top Ten in the late summer of 1965, while their third hit, You Baby, charted in the top 20 in early 1966.
After several misses, the band was rescued by a song co-written by Garry Bonner and Alan Gordon. Happy Together had already been rejected by countless performers to the point that the demo recording wore out. The tune became both their biggest hit and their signature song. It replaced the Beatles' Penny Lane at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of 1967. The Turtles' only No. 1 remained there for three weeks.
The following artists also recorded the song:
Petula Clark
Captain and Tennille
The Nylons
Donny Osmond
Frank Zappa
Hugo Montenegro
Red Army Choir and the Leningrad Cowboys
Johnny Panic
Curtis Burch and Friends (featured on Orchestra Kentucky's Burchland CD)
Watch a 1967 music video featuring The Turtles.
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| Frankie Valli |
Two of the songs to be sung at Orchestra Kentucky's Endless Love concert are from a Jersey boy.
Frankie Valli was born Francis Stephen Castelluccio on May 3, 1934 in Newark, New Jersey. Valli, Tommy DeVito, Nick Massi, and Bob Gaudio were the original members of The Four Seasons. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999.
Valli scored 29 Top 40 hits with The Four Seasons, one Top 40 hit under The Four Seasons' alias The Wonder Who?, and nine Top 40 hits as a solo artist. As a member of The Four Seasons, Valli's number one hits included Sherry, Big Girls Don't Cry, Walk Like a Man, Rag Doll and December 1963 (Oh, What A Night). As a solo artist, Valli scored #1 hits with the songs My Eyes Adored You and Grease. Valli's recording of the song Can't Take My Eyes off You reached #2 in 1967.
My Eyes Adored You was originally working titled Blue Eyes in Georgia. It was written by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan and recorded by The Four Seasons in early 1974. After the MoWest label balked at the idea of releasing it, the recording was sold to Valli for $4000. After rejections by Capitol, Atlantic, and other labels, Valli succeeded in getting the recording released on Private Stock Records, but the owner/founder of the label wanted only Valli's name on the label. The single was released in the U.S. in November 1974 and topped the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1975.
The single was Valli's first number one hit as a solo artist, and remained at number one for one week, being knocked out of the top spot by another Crewe/Nolan-penned song, Lady Marmalade. Although it was released as a Valli solo effort, the song is sometimes included on Four Seasons compilation albums. It is from the album Closeup.
The success of My Eyes Adored You triggered a revival of interest in recordings by Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. The group was subsequently signed to Warner Bros. Records as Valli's followup single, Swearin' to God was climbing to the #6 position on the Hot 100. Three months later, The Four Seasons visited the Top Ten for the first time since 1967 with Who Loves You.
Watch Frankie Vallie sing Can't Take My Eyes Off of You.
Now watch Valli sing My Eyes Adored You
The topic of today's blog is a song written by the Brothers Gibb. It will be sung at Orchestra Kentucky's Endless Love concert on February 11 & 12.
To Love Somebody is the second single released by the Bee Gees from their third LP, Bee Gees 1st. As stated many times by Barry Gibb, their manager Robert Stigwood wanted Barry to write a soul song for Otis Redding for him to record. Barry, along with Robin came up with To Love Somebody, a soulful ballad in the style of Sam & Dave or The Rascals.
The song was written on a boat in Monte Carlo the day the Beatles manager, Brian Epstein was found dead (August 1967). The Bee Gees heard the news from Robert Stigwood's assistant.
This unlikely group of artists covered the song:
Janis Joplin (on the 1969 album I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!)
Joe Cocker
Gram Parsons
Lulu (November 1967)
Rod Stewart with Booker T. and the M.G.'s
Billy "Crash" Craddock (from 1989's Back on Track)
Eric Burdon & The Animals (1968)
Roberta Flack (on the 1971 album Quiet Fire)
The Flying Burrito Brothers
Bonnie Tyler (on the 1988 album Hide Your Heart)
Tom Jones
Michael Bolton (Billboard #11 pop, #1 adult contemporary)
Jordin Sparks
Dusty Springfield
Hank Williams, Jr. (on the 1979 album Family Tradition)
Watch the Bee Gees perform their hit in a 1974 Melbourne, Australia concert. Notice the live orchestra in the background!
What started as a made-for-TV rock group, inspired by The Beatles Hard Days Night, resulted in four number-one albums in a one-year span. Hey, hey, they're The Monkees!
The Monkees were assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968. The musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork, and Englishman Davy Jones. The band's music was initially supervised by producer Don Kirshner.
At the time of the group's formation, its producers saw The Monkees as a Beatles-like band. At the start, the band members provided vocals, and were given some performing and production opportunities, but they eventually fought for and earned the right to collectively supervise all musical output under the band's name. The group undertook several concert tours, allowing an opportunity to perform as a live band as well as on the TV series. Although the show was canceled in 1968, the band continued releasing records until 1970. The group reached the height of fame from 1966 to 1968, and influenced many future artists. In 1986, the television show and music experienced a revival, which led to a series of reunion tours, and new records featuring various incarnations of the band's lineup. The group went on to sell 50 million records worldwide.
The Monkees had many international hits which are still heard on pop and oldies stations. These include I'm a Believer, (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone, Daydream Believer, Last Train to Clarksville, and Pleasant Valley Sunday.
Orchestra Kentucky will perform Daydream Believer, one of their number one hits. It was composed by John Stewart shortly before he left the Kingston Trio. The single hit the number one spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in December 1967, remaining there for four weeks, and peaked at number five in the UK Singles Chart. It was The Monkees' last number one hit in the U.S.
Davy Jones wasn't sure of the song's potential at first, and admitted later that he'd recorded the vocal with a hint of annoyance at the ongoing takes. His feelings changed when the song became a hit.
Watch The Monkee's music video of Daydream Believer.
