There's a good Paul Mauriat CD on Philips called 1965: My First Recordings where he covers Gainsbourg, Francoise Hardy and Adamo.
Here are some stats for Love Is Blue: Music written by Andre Popp. Lyrics by Pierre Cour. Entered in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1967, came in 4th place. Paul Mauriat hit the top of the charts 5 years earlier as a writer under the pseudonym Del Roma. The song? Chariot aka I Will Follow Him. Shockingly, there were no Grammy awards for LIB. Not even a nomination!
Green Tambourine Confession time: I love bubble gum music. It doesn't matter if it was produced in some factory, sung by cartoons or guys in animal suits, or is primarily about children's games as a not-so-subtle double entendre. When a bubble gum track is done well, it is joyful and fun in a way few musical things are. Remember: playing a jam is EASY. Creating great hooks is HARD. I suppose since I've already admitted my affection for Sonny and Cher and the Association, it shouldn't come as a surprise that I like bubble gum music. It's still a little bit difficult to own up to, even though there are things like the Dickies performing the Banana Splits theme, indicating that perhaps it may even be a little hip to like this stuff (or so unhip it's circled around to being hip again). Dickies? I like original recipe Splits better! Whatever, I love it, and in my mind, true Bubble Gum broke into public consciousness with Green Tambourine reaching the top of the charts. The counter culture emerged from the underground round about the time of the Monterey Pop Festival in June of 1967 (you can date it a little earlier, to when the Jefferson Airplane started having hits, if you prefer). By early 1968, the schism had fully developed. Many of the older kids now liked FM radio and albums. The younger kids needed something even less serious than the remaining AM artists. Along came bubble gum! Bubble gum groups seem to come from two camps. On the one hand were the groups who started life doing blues, rock, or psych music, then morphed into bubble gum. The other type were the studio bands that never existed, often featuring guys like Ron Dante over and over again in different "groups". The Pipers (I'm cool, so I abbreviate it. It's better than calling them the Lemons) were the former type, but they were signed to Buddah Records, the central record label of the bubble gum movement, so hence they have instant sugary cred. Buddah steered them into doing the bubble gum sounding stuff that they became most known for, and not long after that, they recorded Green Tambourine. The band were not thrilled with the song but did it anyway, and it became their lasting legacy. Acid rock for the tykes! Unlike some other bands, the Pipers never gave up their desire to be seen as rockers. But when Tambourine became a smash, they continued recording the songs Buddah gave them, including Jelly Jungle and Rice is Nice, which just missed the top 40. Their albums allowed them to record some of their songs, which were much more rocking than their singles. Green Tambourine the album contained five songs by Tambourine writers Shelly Pinz and Paul Leka and two long songs by the Lemon Pipers band members that were quite stylistically different. Their second album featured Goffin/King's Wasn't Born to Follow (also recorded by the Byrds and featured in Easy Rider), an 11:43 long song called Dead End Street, and Jelly Jungle, another Leka/Pinz bubble gum classic. Talk about schizophrenia! It wasn't meant to last; the band collapsed in 1969. I haven't heard their longer stuff, but to be honest, I find it hard to believe they would be as notable at that kind of thing as they were with the short pop gems. Tambourine is a perfect primer for bubble gum: sorta psych with groovy guitars and sitars (or some juvenile approximation), great vocal effects (PLAY PLAY PLAY PLAY), and a surprise ending where the guy does in fact make you listen while he plays his green tambourine into the fade and eternity. All it needed to do was fade up again with the guy saying 'cranberry sauce' and it would have been the perfect kiddie parody of a Beatle psychedelic song. Existential question to ponder: What exactly is a lemon piper? I hear no pipes, and for that matter, no lemons. And why do they play green tambourines and not other colors? (I suppose it's like asking what makes a particular airplane a Jefferson one). Regardless, long may they pipe and play play play play!
Man, I'm tripping just watching this video. The straights really missed the obvious drug imagery in this one!
Mrs. Miller could always sing. It's the rest of the world that never caught up with her. PS - That album: Renaissance of Smut? WTF? Mary Jane? The Roach? What weird wormhole have we dropped into? MRS. MILLER IS HIPPER THAN YOU, END OF STORY. PPS - whatever is on that plate she's offering you, DON'T EAT IT.
Both "Love Is Blue" and "Soul Coaxing" are available on this terrific compilation of pop instrumentals on the Ace label: Hits with Strings and Things in the "Golden Age of American Popular Music" series. Also on this disc are "Moon River", "Stranger on the Shore", "Theme from A Summer Place" and lots more. Highly Recommended!
Love Is Blue This song started life as part of the notorious Eurovision Song Contest. For Americans, the existence of this extremely popular event has always been a bit inexplicable. Perhaps those of you who are European residents can elucidate. Anyway, each year the countries of Europe each pick their poppiest songs and get a singer to present them in this contest, and one is voted the Best in Europe. And there you go, the best. No more questions need be asked, all debates are resolved for that year. Or not. Anyway, in 1967 L'Amour est Bleu already had lyrics and was submitted by Luxembourg of all places. Came in fourth behind Sandie Shaw's UK song Puppet on a String. Perhaps the most famous winners of this thing were Waterloo, the song that broke ABBA internationally, and Celine Dion representing Switzerland in 1988 with Ne Partez pas sans moi. That win helped her become the international nuisance she has been ever since. Back to Paul Mauriat. Always loved this as an instrumental; I agree that the (English) lyrics don't add much. This sort of easy listening sound, popular in the late 1960s, could lead to abysmal tripe; but when done well, like here, it could put you into a beautiful, mellow mood. It is pretty amazing how much the arrangement sounds like the posted song from 1958, though. Instrumentals don't tend to become as popular as this. One I really love from around the same era was produced by Mason Williams, who was a writer on the Smothers Brothers show. It's called Classical Gas, and since there will never be a better excuse to post it, here it is.
I think Mrs. Miller covered every #1 song of the 60s. Every time we post one here, we should post her timely riposte. Can anyone find Love is Blue by Mrs. Miller? Preferably in the original French? Mrs. Miller in go-go boots laying down the law to some cheating man. Nancy, eat you heart out.
My comment is inspired by "Love Is Blue" and also by another instrumental #1 coming up later in 1968 ("Grazing in the Grass"). In addition to these 2 #1s, I have thought for many years that a lot of interesting songs made it to #2 in 1968. For me these include: Classical Gas - Mason Williams The Good The Bad and the Ugly - Hugo Montenegro MacArthur Park - Richard Harris Those Were the Days - Mary Hopkin and there are several others since I am not researching this extensively - this is just off the top of my head. Can you imagine any of these songs charting just a few years before in 1965 (or even 1966)?
Not trying to quibble, but a (possibly) better excuse to post it is around the time when "Hello I Love You" #1 discussion occurs (coming in July 1968, when "Classical Gas" (recorded by Wiliiams) was #2).
I agree. I first made this observation about 1978. At that time, I realized I felt that way about 1968, and to a lesser extent 1972. Also 1974, but I don't feel as strongly about that, because I think some of the songs start to get silly at that point.
Ok, before we get to the end of the year. These are all the #2 peaking songs of 1968. 1. Gladys Knight & The Pips - Heard It Through The Grapevine 2. Aretha Franklin - Chain Of Fools 3. Dionne Warwick - (Theme From) Valley Of The Dolls 4. Garry Puckett & The Union Gap - Young Girl 5. The Box-Tops - Cry Like A Baby 6. Hugo Montenegro - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly 7. Richard Harris - MacArthur Park 8. Cliff Nobles & Co. - The Horse 9. Garry Puckett & The Union Gap - Lady Will Power 10. Mason Williams - Classical Gas 11. Steppenwolf - Born To Be Wild 12. Crazy Wolf of Arthur Brown - Fire 13. O.C Smith - Little Green Apples 14. Mary Hopkins - Those Were The Days 15. Stevie Wonder - For Once In My Life 15 songs had the unfortunate fate of being blocked that year.
Forsooth, 8 of those titles were #1 in Cashbox and/or Record World. --3 in Cashbox --1 in Record World --4 in both Cashbox and Record World But I won't tell ya which till we get to the end of 1968...
1968 saw a resurgence of Soul, Ballads, Bubblegum and Country music in the upper reaches of the charts while Rock took a back seat until the second half of the year. Maybe the growing popularity of FM radio further fractured the audience and rock musicians became more interested in being cool and hip as opposed to mainstream. The '68 Grammys will bear this out as Rock fades even further into the background.
Can you tell me how those charts worked? I heard cashbox was more based on sales than the Hot 100 which factored in more airplay?
I think that's the general idea. Although Billboard also originally included juke box play along with radio play and sales, you can track that by reading the info box on the actual singles charts year by year. Cashbox supposedly eventually added radio play in the late 70s. I've read elsewhere that Cashbox may have included juke box play in earlier days. It seems no one knows the exact formula of either magazine or they won't tell us, but it was some combo of juke box, radio, and sales, and it varied over the years at both magazines. Plus they all got their sales, radio, and juke box info from different stores, stations, and juke boxes in cities all across the country. A bit of the truth lies within each magazine, including Record World. No one of them is completely correct, all should be considered together to get a more complete picture. As one UK chart expert told me, a record's peak should be acknowledged as the highest peak it achieved across all of the major charts, not just one of them...
Side item but relevant - Heard a report on the radio that today (July 29) is the 50th anniversary of "Light My FIre" by the Doors hitting #1. I have a quibble with that. It did first hit #1 for the week ending July 29, 1967. But to me (and also according toe the Billboard Book of #1 hits), that means its "reign" actually began on July 23. However, that's not the point of my post. On that radio report, Ray Manzerek said something along the lines of (paraphrasing since I don't remember the exact words)-- we were listening to the top 10, and when we found out "My Cherie Amour" was #2, we knew we were #1. Now I recognized immediately that was wrong, because "My Cherie Amour" did not appear until 1969. However, when I was telling this to my wife, I began to think of Stevie Wonder songs from 1967, and I immediately thought of "I Was Made To Love Her'. So I looked up the chart for that week, and "I Was Made To Love Her" was #2, so that is what Manzerek really meant. "I Was Made To Love Her" did not get to #1.
Beautiful song. For a long time it was the only Otis Redding song I knew. I always thought the whistled "verse" was a nice touch at the end, having no idea of the story behind it (i.e. that it was just a placeholder until he got around to writing another verse, but he was killed before he got the chance). That of course makes it a great deal more poignant, but it already was nicely so!
