Agree. Those were all great songs, particularly the Franki Valli solo effort, which was timeless. I'd add Never My Love by The Association to songs that should've hit No. 1.
That's as good as a No. 1. Many great, memorable songs that many THINK had to go No. 1 "only" make it to No. 3. Or No. 4. Or No. 2, like Can't Get My Eyes Off You (#2) or California Girls (#3) or Louie, Louie (#2). Think how boring a radio show highlighting a particular year -- or decade -- would be (1967, anyone? ) if it only played the No. 1's...
Doesn't matter if a group didn't hit No. 1. As long as it was in the Top 40 - Top 20. Discussion of the other songs -- many of which were much better than the ones that hit No. 1 -- is important because of context. Radio didn't play ONLY the No. 1. It played The Cowsills, the timeless Frank Vallie No. 2, etc. Radio would be much more boring if it only played the No. 1's, or even only the Top 10.
This is the last psychedelic flavored song to top the charts until summer. Buddah Records and Katsenetz/Katz certainly rose to prominence this year with The Pipers, 1910 Fruitgum Co., Ohio Express, any others? Oh yeah, Motherlode's When I Die and Brooklyn Bridge's The Worst That Could Happen, though neither of those are bubblegum. The genre was certainly maligned by rock purists but I quite liked some of these tunes as well as hating a bunch more.
That was a perfect summary of what made San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair) the iconic song that it is. It time posts something that came and went in a flash -- something that people who simply see it as dated can't really understand and something that McKenzie seemed able to convey in his performance. I'll always associate it with how fascinating SF seemed to me on the several occasions we went there in the '60s on family vacations. Compared to our rural small town, it really seemed a wonderland.
Thankgodd she never had a Number One, but as a kid I thought her performance here on Mailbu U. was pretty far-out.
Lulu's Bowie produced cover of "The Man Who Sold the World" did well in England in the early 70's IIRC but didn't even register here
I really dig this song! I loved hearing it on the radio. But, the mono single mix is the only way to go! It doesn't exist on CD as far as I know, but I found a relatively clean original 45 and did a needledrop of it. It is my official version of the song and the only one I will listen to.
You're lucky you got to go there back then. I love looking at footage of San Francisco from that era. Here is a clip from the Banana Splits (a kid's show of the time that I used to watch as a wee lad) showing the four Splits scampering around San Fran circa 1969. It's amazing to think they were just a mile or so from Haight-Ashbury. Great song, too -- kids shows of the 60s and early 70s often had fantastic bubble gum tunes.
Green Tambourine brings (Follow Me) The Pied Piper by Crispian St Peters to mind. Was this satirical of the Guru trend?
Talk about a song that takes you back, I've always liked Green Tambourine and I still do. You'd think it would sound dated and terribly out of touch if you heard it today, but it doesn't. It's kind of a flashback to an earlier time when changing the world seemed like a real possibility.
Und now we hear the swinging modern sounds with the Lawrence Welk orchestra... (who says Larry wasn't hip? The Lennon Sisters also covered this one!)
"Green Tambourine"--Fun, "family-friendly" psychedelia. Watching the video of the band makes me wonder, "Where are these guys today?"
I'm pretty sure there were some R&B records doing this kind of thing. Off the top of my head: Pillow Talk by Sylvia had some moaning. Love Won't Let Me Wait by Major Harris, particularly in the long album version features what sounds like a woman climaxing during an instrumental section.[/QUOTE] Those soul songs were all in the 1970s, years later.
On the album cover it looks like she's holding a plate of brownies. Are they, uh, medicated, I wonder?
The song is about street musicians panhandling, which is an interesting musical topic for a change. I like it when lyrics deal with unusual topics. I get tired of songs about love, pain or good times.
Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" got to #4 in early 1970, although that simulated orgasm was perhaps too over the top to take seriously even then.
