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Fireball's Fantastic 500 -- 1960s, Part II

Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2018 5:40 pm
by Pastor Fireball
It's Friday again, so let's wrap up the list of my favorite songs of the 1960s. Expect a couple of surprises in my top ten--especially my #1 song. I'm getting ahead of myself, though.

#10. Love Is Blue, Paul Mauriat (1967)

This familiar instrumental was actually a cover version of "L'amour Est Bleu", Luxembourg's 1967 entry in the Eurovision Song Contest. It placed 4th. Though Brian Blackburn wrote English lyrics for this song, no lyrical version of this song was as successful or as iconic in America as the instrumental, which topped the Hot 100 for five weeks. This is the first of several instrumentals in my Fantastic 500.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjsNNcsUNzE

The next instrumental is coming up... right now!

#9. Yakety Sax, Boots Randolph (1963)

The first TV theme to show up in my list. This fun saxophone song is known worldwide as the closing theme to Britain's long-running sketch comedy series "The Benny Hill Show" and has since been used to depict anything chaotic or disorderly, such as the Drumpf Administration. Believe it or not, Dolly Parton can do a near perfect version of this song on the sax. She did it at the Glastonbury Music Festival in 2014 and has performed it in concert ever since.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnHmskwqCCQ

#8. It's Getting Better, Mama Cass Elliott (1969)

Mama Cass gets the honor of being the first act to appear a second time in my Fantastic 500, and I'm willing to bet that most of you older folk had forgotten about this song before today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNpx7CWLbCk

#7. Something, the Beatles (1969)

This single and its B-side, "Come Together", charted together. "Come Together" is a fun and quirky song that just missed out on my Fantastic 500. But "Something" is just a solid performance by those lads from Liverpool, complete with George Harrison's instantly recognizable guitar riffs. Frank Sinatra would agree with me on this pick, as he called "Something" one of the greatest love songs of the modern era.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UelDrZ1aFeY

#6. Honky Tonk Women, the Rolling Stones (1969)
Boney Hall of Fame: #223


The first of T-Bone's favorite songs to line up with mine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6M77oHD110

The next one on my list will also make T_Bone happy.

#5. My Cherie Amour, Stevie Wonder (1969)
Boney Hall of Fame: #190


You knew that Stevie Wonder had to show up on my list eventually... and this certainly won't be the last time we'll see him in this series.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0Gu-CyE-NQ

#4. Sunshine Superman, Donovan (1966)

This trippy #1 hit could only have been released in the 1960s. Sure, it sounds really dated by 2018's standards--assuming that 2018 even has "standards"--but come on! Jimmy Page on electric guitar, John Paul Jones on bass... how can you miss?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9zxj4RE0O8

#3. Daydream, the Lovin' Spoonful (1966)

Another one of those innocent and optimistic songs recorded to take the public's mind off of Vietnam. Too bad we don't have enough decent modern acts to record anything that can compete with "Daydream" to take the public's mind off of the current political disaster.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7u5SdjDSQQ

#2. The House of the Rising Sun, the Animals (1964)

This haunting version of an old folk song sends chills down my spine every time I listen to it. Just a phenomenal performance. One of the greatest in rock history.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A-4VGfx5lU

And now, for my all-time favorite song of the 1960s...











#1. Black Pearl, Sonny Charles & the Checkmates, Ltd. (1969)

Of the hundreds of songs produced by that mad genius, Phil Spector, this one ranks the highest in my Fantastic 500. The first time I heard this song, I immediately fell in love with it. I didn't think that it would actually come out on top until I looked through the rest of my favorite songs of the 1960s. It was a close call between this and "The House of the Rising Sun", but I wanted to give some exposure to this obscure gem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4nrG0e4Wfg

And so ends our very short journey through the 1960s. Next Friday, we spend the first of many many many weeks looking at the 1970s. Put it this way--we won't get into the 1980s until May. Do the math and you'll have a good estimate on what percentage of my list is made up of 1970s music. Bye!

Re: Fireball's Fantastic 500 -- 1960s, Part II

Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2018 2:42 pm
by T_Bone0806
Pastor Fireball wrote:It's Friday again, so let's wrap up the list of my favorite songs of the 1960s. Expect a couple of surprises in my top ten--especially my #1 song. I'm getting ahead of myself, though.



#9. Yakety Sax, Boots Randolph (1963)
Would never make a list for me but how can you not giggle a little when you hear it, thanks to Mr. Hill :)
#8. It's Getting Better, Mama Cass Elliott (1969)

Mama Cass gets the honor of being the first act to appear a second time in my Fantastic 500, and I'm willing to bet that most of you older folk had forgotten about this song before today.
Not me. I even remember "New World Coming", which is even more lost in the mist..

But "Something" is just a solid performance by those lads from Liverpool, complete with George Harrison's instantly recognizable guitar riffs. Frank Sinatra would agree with me on this pick, as he called "Something" one of the greatest love songs of the modern era.
Unfortunately he also identified Lennon and McCartney as the songwriters. Poor George.

#6. Honky Tonk Women, the Rolling Stones (1969)
Boney Hall of Fame: #223


The first of T-Bone's favorite songs to line up with mine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6M77oHD110

The next one on my list will also make T_Bone happy.

#5. My Cherie Amour, Stevie Wonder (1969)
Boney Hall of Fame: #190


You knew that Stevie Wonder had to show up on my list eventually... and this certainly won't be the last time we'll see him in this series.
:D :D :D

#4. Sunshine Superman, Donovan (1966)

This trippy #1 hit could only have been released in the 1960s. Sure, it sounds really dated by 2018's standards--assuming that 2018 even has "standards"--but come on! Jimmy Page on electric guitar, John Paul Jones on bass... how can you miss?
Page also played lead on Donovan's "Hurdy Gurdy Man". My favorite Donovan track is"Wear Your Love Like Heaven".


#3. Daydream, the Lovin' Spoonful (1966)
Love the Spoonful (no pun intended). "You Didn't Have To Be So Nice" is my favorite of theirs.




#1. Black Pearl, Sonny Charles & the Checkmates, Ltd. (1969)

Of the hundreds of songs produced by that mad genius, Phil Spector, this one ranks the highest in my Fantastic 500. The first time I heard this song, I immediately fell in love with it. I didn't think that it would actually come out on top until I looked through the rest of my favorite songs of the 1960s. It was a close call between this and "The House of the Rising Sun", but I wanted to give some exposure to this obscure gem.
Although this peaked at #13 nationally, I don't recall it ever being played on my local Top 40 stations. The only knowledge I had of it (until finally hearing it years later) was its presence in one of my songbooks I had bought for my guitar lessons. Having never heard it, I had no idea whether or not I was playing it with the proper feeling. Not a tune that's ever really been on my radar. Don't love it, don't hate it.