Oh, I'm mad. I clipped out all of the entries I was going to do for this part 2 from my part 1... and then forgot to paste them before I cut something else from another document. But, well--some good with the bad, I remembered Etta James, and a lot of other good acts, because of the mistake. Hopefully I remembered enough great gospel, soul, blues, pop, and other fine acts from
THE 1960s!
That you can
DIG, MAN!
Can you dig it? If not, then do add your own links below, because that's where it's at, and that's what's happening, and that would be really just far out and groovy and gear and fab and The Most. Include your own favorite colloquial synonyms for "Good," too!
NOTE: Yes, I do blur the strict boundaries a bit. A few songs are from the early 70s, a few artists had careers that were identified with one or two or more decades, some early 60s stuff is missing, boo hoo. I don't do strict in these diaries! But please do add your own if your favorite's not here.
Enjoy!
Dusty Springfield, just because she's great.
BLUES, GOSPEL AND SOUL:
Aretha Franklin is well-regarded. Here's my favorite by her, to show you why.
Howlin' Wolf was a bluesman of some note.
Muddy Waters was so badass. No wonder Buddy Guy liked his music enough to cover it with Paul Rodgers, decades later.
Sam & Dave put their heart and soul into it.
The Jackson Five did no better song than this great one right here, and in my opinion, neither did any of the individual Jacksons, before or since. I started playing bass decades ago, and only learned the name of this great bassist a few years ago. "You must love James Jamerson," my guitarist said. "Oh, now who is he?" When he named all the songs he'd done, for the Jacksons, Stevie Wonder, and other great soul artists of the 60s, I realized this was the guy I'd been copying and idolizing all these years, without ever knowing his name. Listen to his great bump-ba-bum bump-ba-bum bump-ba-bum bump-ba-bums here, from 2:07-2:15, as Michael sings "all I want! All I need!" All I need, indeed.
Hey, did you mention Stevie Wonder? Well which songs did James Jamerson play on, then? This one was fantastic.
Do you prefer Diana Ross and the Supremes, or the Temptations? Why choose? And if you want a great white boy's version of that song, don't waste time with the Rare Earth's--it's gotta be the Faces, with Rod Stewart.
Marvin Gaye won't be left out, will he? No, but if he's not, then neither will Tammy Terrell. Taken too soon! And you, too, were All I Need.
Always loved Sally Go 'Round the Roses by the Jaynettes.
Tainted Love--by Soft Cell? No! The good version, the original version, where Gloria Jones hauls off in her church pearls and pumps and teaches it a lesson. Listen!
The Velvelettes, Needle in a Haystack--it's not really THAT bad, is it, ladies?
Gladys Knight could sing, I declare. That song was a few years late for the 60s, but this one was right in there. Best version of that song ever, IMO.
Sorry, this was the only version I could find of Love or Let Me Be Lonelyby the Friends of Distinction. But it HAD to be that song, although they did others that were just wonderful too.
Sly and the Family Stone (Sing a Simple Song--isn't that badass?--Stand)
Little Sister were a band associated with Sly, who did his own version of this song.
The Fifth Dimension did songs written by the great Laura Nyro. But I really, really loved this one best of all. And I'm not ashamed. I love their reading of the line "and the mind's true liberation." I know, the idea that this was all coming because of a zodiacal change won't wash, but it makes me feel good that they're really visualizing a better day.
What was the better day going to be better than? I don't want to pretend that I'm the most sensitive person ever to issues of racism, or to seem holier-than-anythou on the issues. I've tried to be sensitive to people's feelings, but I'm sure people have found me insensitive before. But I just want to say that Billie Holliday sobered me with a vision of history in the song Strange Fruit, about the lynching of African-Americans. That it should ever have been commonplace for someone to express their contempt for a people's right simply to live without being subjugated; that it should ever have been commonplace for people, without the excuse of being clinically insane, to say to a people that they weren't worth thinking about; to enslave a people and deny them the right to direct their own lives, and then to kill them after they were freed; ought to make us wonder. I could post many other Billie Holliday songs, but after this song, I feel like stopping for a moment of silence.
From Billie Holliday to Ella Fitzgerald; when you listen to that kind of soul, can you say we have really replaced greats like these? Thelonious Monk did that one too.
Etta James, well... who doesn't love Etta James work like this? Janis Joplin idolized her and wanted to be her. They were completely different, and that is glorious.
The Four Tops started out in the 60s. But I'm posting this one from 1973, because that's my favorite. Tough!
I mentioned James Jamerson earlier; he was a member of a group called the Funk Brothers, who played on most of the great Motown songs you've ever heard. Just had to come back to him, and acknowledge them. Some of them play on the Stevie Wonder songs above, and that great Gladys Knight track, Heard it through the Grapevine.
I saw BB King play when he was 80 years old. 80 years old!!! And he got up and danced onstage, too. I think that's marvelous. And he's STILL going! I'd say long life to him, and I do say that, but obviously he doesn't need me for that.
Buddy Guy is the Man.
Tina Turner, rock on. Anyone who can do as well or even better or more exciting than Sly Stone on his song has my vote for excellence.
Before Billy Preston did this very cool song, he played for a band you may have heard of. "Wait, but there's no keyboard on that song!" Ah, yes there is--a Hammond organ, tastefully mixed so as not to overpower anything, just adding colour in the background. Oh well, all right then, here's one where he's a bit more in the forefront. Billy did a BEAUTIFUL version of George's song "Isn't it a Pity," taking the vocals and keyboard after Eric Clapton's verse here, at the Concert for George, after George's death. The lyrics say "isn't it a pity... how we break each other's hearts/and cause each other pain," but I felt that he was also saying, "isn't it a pity George is gone." Back to you, Mr. Preston--it's a pity you're gone.
If you think of Donald Duck Dunn, Stax, and the Memphis Horns, you might think of Otis Redding. Or Sam and Dave again.
My sister loved this John Mayall's Bluesbreakers song. Why not? The harmonica is very cool, isn't it? And the tight, percussive, up-tempo band.
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band had some awfully stoned young white Californians in their audience, yes? Good old Cali!
At the movie studio where I worked, this Canned Heat song became a running joke for us, for some reason. It's so... dig it, man!
REGGAE:
Before Toots and the Maytals wrote my favorite Toots and the Maytals song, they coined the term "Reggae." They're still touring and putting on incredible shows today, so I highly recommend them!
LATIN:
The proudest moment of my EXTREMELY modest performing career was having the great Pete Escovedo dance to my band's rendition of Etta James' At Last, at his now defunct but much-missed Pete Escovedo's Latin & Jazz Club in San Jose. If any of you have any Pete Escovedo music, you should post it on Youtube, because they don't have nearly enough of it, and what there is has bad sound quality, for such a great musician. But here's a little something. No wonder Sheila E. is so talented.
And yes, that last track had the great Tito Puente!
The Black Eyed Peas just did this song, but Sergio Mendes is Tha Man.
koNko gets credit for reminding me to add these folks:
Millie Small
and Junior Walker
One thing I forgot to add to the 60s Rock and Roll Diary:
Status Quo's Pictures of Matchstick Men was always a favorite.
Enjoy them! And, if you don't see what you want, you know what to do: post your own!