Based on “Shim Sham Shuffle” by Ricky Lyons (1960).
Hit version by Freddy Cannon (US #13 1965).
From the wiki: “Where the Action Is was created by Dick Clark as a spin-off of American Bandstand. It premiered on the ABC-TV network on June 27, 1965, airing each weekday afternoon. Originally intended as a summer replacement and broadcast at 2 P.M. EDT, the show was successful enough for it to continue throughout the 1965-66 TV season.
“The show’s theme song, ‘Action’, written by Steve Venet and Tommy Boyce (‘I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight’, ‘(Theme from) The Monkees‘, ‘Last Train to Clarksville’), became a hit single for Freddy ‘Boom Boom’ Cannon, peaking on the charts at #13 in September 1965. Venet and Hart based their hit on the previously-released ‘Shim Sham Shuffle’, co-written and recorded by Ricky Lyons.”
Written and first recorded by Harry Nilsson (1967).
Hit album version by Blood, Sweat & Tears (1968).
Also recorded by Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass (1969), Harry Nilsson (remix 1971).
From the wiki: “‘Without Her’ was written by Harry Nilsson (‘Everybody’s Talkin’‘, ‘Without You‘) and appeared on his second album (his first for RCA Victor), Pandemonium Shadow Show, in 1967. The album proved to be the watershed of his career, attracting the attention of publicist Derek Taylor, who ordered a case of albums, sending them out to various industry people he believed would be interested, and The Beatles who invited Nilsson to London. (Nilsson covered ‘You Can’t Do That’ in an arrangement that quoted lyrics from more than 10 other Beatles songs. It became a Top 10 hit in Canada.)
“‘Without Her’ would be revamped for Nilsson’s 1971 ‘best-of’ album Aerial Pandemonium Ballet, one of the first ‘remix’ albums ever produced.
First recorded by The Chambers Brothers (1966).
Hit version by The Chambers Brothers (US #11 1968).
From the wiki: “‘Time Has Come Today’ was first recorded by The Chambers Brothers in 1966 and released as a single with no chart impact. The song was re-recorded in 1967 for the album The Time Has Come. This time, ‘Time Has Come Today’ did have a presence in the Top-40 … and also a significant impact in the counterculture of the time. While the single spent five weeks bubbling under the Top-10 at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the fall of 1968, ‘Time Has Come Today’ is now considered to be one of the landmark Rock songs of the psychedelic era.
First recorded by Chris Clark (1966).
Hit version by Stevie Wonder (recorded 1967 |released US #7/R&B #5/MOR #10/UK #2/CAN #10/IRE #3/GER #15/NZ #10 1969).
From the wiki: “‘Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday’ was written by Ron Miller and Bryan Wells and was first recorded, in 1966, by blue-eyed Soul singer and Motown recording artist Chris Clark. Clark became famous in England as the ‘white Negress’ (a nickname meant as a compliment) because the six-foot platinum blonde toured with fellow Motown artists who were predominantly black.
“America’s answer to Dusty Springfield, Clark managed to have only one chart hit in the US: ‘Love’s Gone Bad’ peaked at #105 on the Billboard’s Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart and #41 R&B in 1966. Much later, Clark would co-wrote the screenplay for the 1972 Diana Ross vehicle Lady Sings the Blues, for which Clark was nominated for an Academy Award. Clark also later became an executive for Motown Productions’ film and television division in Los Angeles.
First recorded by Tommy Roe & The Satins (1960).
Hit version by Tommy Roe (US #1/UK #3/CAN #1/AUS #1 1962).
From the wiki: “‘Sheila’ was written and recorded by Tommy Roe (‘Dizzy’, 1969) with the help of Robert Bosch. Roe originally conceived the song in 1960 as ‘Frita’, based on a girl from Roe’s high school. Roe auditioned the song for Bosch, a record producer from Judd Records, and while hid response was enthusiastic, Bosch suggested that the name be changed. By coincidence, Roe’s Aunt Sheila was visiting, which inspired the final title of ‘Sheila’. The original version of ‘Sheila’ was recorded by Roe with his then-backing group, The Satins, and a female vocal group, the Flamingos. Released by Judd Records, it had no chart impact.
First recorded by Jackie DeShannon (US #84/CAN #1 1963).
Other hit version by The Searchers (US #13/UK #1 1964).
From the wiki: “‘Needles and Pins’ was written by Jack Nitzsche and Sonny Bono. Jackie DeShannon (‘What the World Needs Now’, ‘Bette Davis Eyes‘) recorded the original in 1963 on Liberty Records, but her version stalled at #84 on the Hot 100.
“DeShannon explained (via Songfacts.com) why her recording didn’t hit:
‘There were a lot of issues with the record company, a lot of marketing things I wasn’t happy with. For instance, ‘Needles And Pins’ was Top 5 in Detroit, Top 5 in Chicago, and Top 5 in every city it was played in. However, unless you’re coordinated across the country and the song hits the charts at the same time, you can’t get the big leaps. My record didn’t have [momentum], because it would be going down in Chicago while it was going up in some other city. So that was a problem.’
First recorded (as “Hey There, Lonely Boy”) by Ruby & the Romantics (US #5 1963).
Other hit versions by Eddie Holman (US #2/R&B #4/CAN #1/UK #4 1969), Shaun Cassidy (AUS #5 1977), Robert John (US #31 1980).
From the wiki: “‘Hey There, Lonely Boy’ was written by Leon Carr and Earl Shuman and was first recorded in 1963 by Ruby & The Romantics (‘Our Day Will Come’, ‘Hurting Each Other‘), becoming the group’s second Top-5 single following their #1 hit, ‘Our Day Will Come’. Eddie Holman’s cover was recorded and released in 1969, becoming his highest-charting single.
“Additional charting singles covers were recorded by Shaun Cassidy (1977), and Robert John (1980).”
First recorded by Mel & Tim (1969).
Hit versions by Gene Chandler (US #12/R&B #8 1970).
From the wiki: “‘Groovy Situation’ was written by Russell Lewis and Herman Davis, and first recorded by Mel and Tim (‘Backfield in Motion’) in 1969. It became a hit single when recorded by Gene Chandler (‘Duke of Earl’) in 1970, when it became Chandler’s second-biggest chart hit single.”
First recorded by The Shirelles (1964, released 1994).
Hit versions by Maxine Brown (US #24 1964), Manfred Mann (UK# 11 1964), Merry Clayton (US #71/R&B #30 1972), Rod Stewart (UK #6 1973).
Also recorded by Carole King (1980).
From the wiki: “‘Oh No Not My Baby’ was written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King. The first recorded version of the song was by The Shirelles, with the group’s members alternating leads – an approach that ultimately rendered the song unreleasable because it was a great departure from the Shirelle’s ‘standard’ sound. It would not be released until appearing on the compilation Shirelles: Lost and Found in 1994.
“Maxine Brown recalls, then, that Stan Greenberg, Scepter Records executive, gave her the song with the advisement that she had to ‘find the original melody’ from the recording by The Shirelles: ‘They [had gone] so far off by each [group member] taking their own lead, no one knew any more where the real melody stood.’
Written and first recorded by Solomon Burke (US #58/R&B #4 1964).
Also recorded by The Rolling Stones (1965).
Other hit versions by Wilson Pickett (US #29/R&B #19 1967), The Blues Brothers (1980 |UK #12 1990).
From the wiki: “‘Everybody Needs Somebody to Love’ was written by Solomon Burke but also credited to Bert Berns and Atlantic Records co-owner and producer Jerry Wexler. Many years later, Burke recalled, ‘When I did it for Jerry Wexler and Bert Burns (sic), they told me that song would never make it. I said, ‘Well, I tell ya what—I’ll give you a piece of it.’ They said, ‘That’s the way we’ll get the record played, so we’ll take a piece of it.’ In those days, they took a piece of your songs—a piece of the publishing—but in the end, you didn’t have any pieces left. Even now, I’m still struggling to get the publishing, the royalties, and that’ll never happen.’
“On May 28, 1964, Burke recorded ‘Everybody Needs Somebody to Love’. Released by Atlantic, it peaked at #4 on the R&B chart but missing the US Top 40 – peaking at #58 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“The Rolling Stones almost immediately in January 1965 covered ‘Everybody Needs Somebody to Love’, for their 1965 album The Rolling Stones No. 2. The version on the US The Rolling Stones, Now! album was an earlier version of the song and apparently issued by mistake.
“Wilson Pickett covered the song in 1966, and his recording did make it to #29 on the Top 40 and #19 R&B in early 1967. A re-release of The Blues Brothers’ 1978 recording nudged the UK Top 10 in 1990.
“‘Everybody Needs Somebody to Love’ is ranked #429 on the Rolling Stone magazine’s 2004 list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and ranked #447 in Dave Marsh’s book, In The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made.”
First recorded (as a demo) by John Lennon (1964).
Hit version by The Beatles (US #53 1964).
From the wiki: “John Lennon got a head start on writing new material for the yet untitled first Beatles movie, in early January 1964, when he wrote and recorded the initial home demos for ‘If I Fell’ in his London flat. He later recalled ‘That’s my first attempt to write a ballad proper. That was the precursor to ‘In My Life’. It has the same chord sequence as ‘In My Life’: D and B minor and E minor, those kinds of things. And it’s semi-autobiographical, but not consciously. It shows that I wrote sentimental love ballads, silly love songs, way back when.’
“Brought into the studio for the group to record, ‘If I Fell’ was recorded in 15 takes on 27 February 1964. The song’s acoustic introduction – which is not repeated elsewhere in the song, musically or lyrically – made its first appearance on take 11. However, the home demo recorded by Lennon also contained the passage.
First recorded (as “Mama Socked It to the Harper Valley PTA”) by Margie Singleton (1968).
Also recorded by Billie Jo Spears (1968).
Hit version by Jeannie C. Riley (US #1/C&W #1/CAN #1 1968).
From the wiki: “‘Harper Valley P.T.A.’ was written by Tom T. Hall who reportedly first offered the song to Skeeter Davis (‘End of the World’, 1962), who declined. The story goes that Hall, after driving past a school called Harpeth Valley Elementary School in Bellevue, Tennessee, noted the name and commenced writing ‘Harper Valley P.T.A.’ about a fictional confrontation between a young widow, Stella Johnson, and the local PTA who objected to her manner of dress, social drinking, and general friendliness with town’s men folk.
“On Songfacts.com, however, Hall recalls the song being based on a true event: ‘I was just hanging around downtown when I was about nine years old and heard the story and got to know this lady. I was fascinated by her grit. To see this very insignificant, socially disenfranchised lady – a single mother – who was willing to march down to the local aristocracy and read them the riot act so to speak, was fascinating.’
First recorded (as a demo) by Barry Mann (1961).
First commercial release by Bruce Bruno (1962).
Hit versions by Jimmy Clanton (US #7 1962), Mark Wynter (UK #4 1962).
From the wiki: “‘Venus In Blue Jeans’ was written by Howard Greenfield and Jack Keller (about actress Eileen Berner, whom Keller was dating at the time). Demo’ed by Barry Mann (co-writer ‘Don’t Know Much‘, ‘Never Gonna Let You Go‘) in 1961, the song had its first commercial release in 1962 by New Rochelle, NY, singer Bruce Bruno with no apparent chart impact.
First recorded (as a demo titled “As Time Goes By”) by Mick Jagger & Keith Richards (1964).
Hit versions by Marianne Faithful (US #22/UK #9 1965), The Rolling Stones (US #6/MOR #10 1965).
https://youtu.be/VumR41QADNk
From the wiki: “‘As Tears Go By’ was one of the first original compositions by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Up until that point The Rolling Stones had chiefly been performing Blues standards. A story surrounding the song’s genesis has it that Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham locked Jagger and Richards in a kitchen in order to force them to write a song together, even suggesting what type of song he wanted: ‘I want a song with brick walls all around it, high windows and no sex.’
“The result was initially named ‘As Time Goes By’, the title of the song Dooley Wilson sings in the film Casablanca. It was Oldham who replaced ‘Time’ with ‘Tears’. According to Jagger biographer Philip Norman, the song was mainly created by Jagger, in co-operation with session guitarist Big Jim Sullivan (who plays the 12-string guitar on the demo).
“Oldham subsequently gave the ballad (a format that the Stones were not yet known for) to Marianne Faithfull, then 17, for her to record as a B-side. Without even asking if she could sing, Andrew asked her if she wanted to cut the record. The success of the recording caused the record company, Decca, to switch the song to an A-side, where it became a very popular single on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.”
Written and first recorded by Ian & Sylvia (1964).
Also recorded by The Chad Mitchell Trio (1965), The Vogues (1965).
Hit versions by We Five (US #3 1965), Crispian St. Peters (US #36/UK #2 1966), Barry McGuire (ITA #19 1966).
http://youtu.be/iFp9c_tvZZ8?t=4s
From the wiki: “‘You Were On My Mind’ was written by Sylvia Tyson in 1964, and originally performed and recorded by her and Ian Tyson as the duo Ian & Sylvia. It first appeared on their 1964 album, Northern Journey. The following year, We Five recorded a cover that charted in the Billboard Top 5. Crispian St. Peters (‘The Pied Piper’) scored a sizable UK hit in 1966 with his cover version. A 1966 cover by Barry McGuire (‘Eve of Destruction’, ‘California Dreamin’‘) peaked in the Italian Top 20.”
Written and first recorded (as “Baby, I’ve Been Thinking (Society’s Child)”) by Janis Ian (1966).
Hit version by Janis Ian (US #14 1967).
From the wiki: “‘Society’s Child (Baby I’ve Been Thinking)’ was a song written in 1965 by Janis Ian centering around the then-taboo subject of interracial romance. Ian was 13 years old when she was motivated to write the song and she completed it when she was 14. Ian published it (credited to ‘Blind Girl Grunt’) in Broadside (Issue #67), the underground magazine that had brought attention to folk songs by artists like Bob Dylan (who had made some early recordings, in 1962 and 1963, as ‘Blind Boy Grunt’) and Pete Seeger before they hit the mainstream.
“The song was originally recorded for Atlantic, who declined to release it and returned the master to Ian. It was after meeting producer Shadow Morton that Ian re-entered the studio to record the retitled ‘Society’s Child’ with additional studio musicians. Still, there was resistance to it. Morton took the new recording to 22 record companies before Verve/Folkways, a spin-off of MGM Records, agreed to distribute the single.
Written and first recorded (as “There is a Mountain”) by Donovan (US #11/UK #8 1967).
Also recorded by Dandy Livingstone (1967).
Adapted by The Allman Brothers (1972).
From the wiki: “‘There Is a Mountain’ is a song and single by British singer/songwriter Donovan, released in 1967 and charting in the US and UK. ‘There is a Mountain’ was first covered, in 1967, by Reggae artist Dandy Livingstone (‘A Message to You, Rudy‘).
“‘Mountain Jam’ is the improvised instrumental jam based on the Donovan song. The Allman Brothers were inspired to improvise on it after hearing the Grateful Dead’s jam ‘Alligator’, from the Dead’s Anthem of the Sun album (1968). ‘Mountain Jam’ was recorded at Fillmore East in March 1971 to be included on the mixed live/studio album Eat A Peach, the last Allman Brothers albums to include founding member and lead guitarist Duane Allman before his accidental death in September 1971.
First recorded by The Jazztet (1960).
Hit version by Quincy Jones (US #74/MOR #29/R&B #47 1969).
From the wiki: “‘Killer Joe’ was composed by tenor saxophonist Benny Golson, co-founder (with trumpeter Art Farmer) of the Jazz sextet ‘The Jazztet’. The Jazztet was ‘famous for nicely structured, precise yet soulful pieces and a swinging style,’ and benefited from having a set of strong compositions by Golson including ‘Killer Joe’ (reviewed as being ‘lean and mean, with Farmer’s muted horn in the lead and horns blowing softly over a bridge where the rhythm is suspended’). The Jazztet played at the Newport Jazz Festival in June 1960 and the first Atlantic City jazz festival two days later, and won Down Beat magazine’s ‘International Critics Poll New Star’ award in 1960 for Jazz groups.
“In 1969, Quincy Jones recorded ‘Killer Joe’ for the Walking in Space album. His production featured Ray Brown on bass and Grady Tate on drums. Released as a single, it charted in the lower reaches of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970; also charting #47 on the R&B chart and #29 on the MOR chart.”
First recorded by Bert Weedon (UK #24 1960).
Other hit versions by The Shadows (UK #1 1960), Jørgen Ingmann (US #2/R&B #9 1961), Sonny James (US #86 1961), The Sugarhill Gang (R&B #13 1982).
Also recorded by Incredible Bongo Band (1973), Fat Boy Slim (1998).
From the wiki: “‘Apache’ was written by Jerry Lordan. Bill Weedon was the first to record ‘Apache’ (in May 1960) but it went unreleased for several months. According to Weedon:
‘Francis, Day & Hunter sent me the music early in 1960. I immediately liked the tune and so arranged and recorded it for release later on in the year. In February I was contacted by Jerry Lordan who asked me when I was going to release it, and I explained that I would put it out in September because this was when most people bought records. I told him not to worry, that it was done, and it would be out. A few months later I heard that The Shadows had covered it. Nothing wrong with that of course, they were fully entitled to.’
“As happened, The Shadows were on tour in mid-1960 with Lordan as a supporting act. The band discovered ‘Apache’ when Lordan played it for them on a ukulele. Lordan figured the tune would be a better fit for The Shadows; the band agreed, and so did the buying public. By the time the Weedon recording was hurriedly but belatedly released, The Shadows’ version was quickly vaulting to #1 on the UK Singles chart. However, neither the Shadows nor Weedon had any impact on North America.
“In North America, the tune is identified most with Jørgen Ingmann, a Jazz guitarist from Denmark. His 1961 cover version, credited to ‘Jørgen Ingmann and His Guitar’, made it to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #9 on the US R&B chart. A vocal version was later recorded that year by Sonny James. It peaked at #86 on the Hot 100.
First recorded by The Equals (1966 |IRE #2/BEL #1/NETH #6/NOR #4/AUS #10 1967 |US #32/UK #1 1968).
Also recorded by Eddy Grant (1984).
Other hit version by Pato Banton & UB40 (UK #1/AUS #11/IRE #2/SCOT #1/NZ #1 1994).
From the wiki: “‘Baby, Come Back’ was written by Eddy Grant (‘Police On My Back‘, ‘Electric Avenue’), and originally performed and recorded by him and the rest of his band – The Equals – in 1966. The song was first released in 1966, a year after the band formed, but did not chart. However, after impressive sales in the rest of Europe (where it reached the Top 10 in Belgium and The Netherlands), the single was re-issued in the UK and reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart in July 1968.
Written and first recorded by James Taylor (US #118 1968 |US #67 1970).
Other hit version by George Hamilton IV (C&W #29/CAN #3 1969).
Hit album re-recording by James Taylor (1976).
Also recorded by The Everly Brothers (1969), Melanie (1970).
Performed by Glen Campbell & Linda Ronstadt (1971).
From the wiki: “‘Carolina in My Mind’ was written and first recorded by singer-songwriter James Taylor on his 1968 debut album, James Taylor, released by Apple Records. The original recording of the song was done at London’s Trident Studios during the July to October 1968 period, and was produced by Peter Asher.
“The song’s lyric ‘holy host of others standing around me’ is allegedly a reference to the Beatles, who were recording The Beatles (aka the ‘White Album’) in the same building as Taylor was recording his album. Indeed, the original recording of ‘Carolina in My Mind’ features a credited appearance by Paul McCartney on bass guitar and an uncredited appearance by George Harrison on backing vocals.
Written and first recorded by Peter LaFarge (1962).
Hit version by Johnny Cash (C&W #3 1964).
Also recorded by Bob Dylan (1970, released 1973).
From the wiki: “‘The Ballad of Ira Hayes’ was written by folk singer Peter La Farge (himself a Nargaset Indian, poet, and novelist, and Native American rights advocate), and first recorded by him in 1962. It tells the story of Ira Hayes, one of the five Marines and one Navy Corpsman who became famous for having raised the US flag on Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima of World War II. Hayes was a Pima Native American and a United States Marine corporal who was one of the six flag raisers immortalized in the iconic Iwo Jima photograph.
Co-written and first recorded by Bobby Scott (1960).
First vocal version recorded by Billy Dee Williams (1961).
Also recorded by Lenny Welch (1962), The Beatles (1963).
Hit (instrumental) versions by Martin Denny (US #50 1962), Mr. Acker Bilk (UK #16 1963), Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass (US #7 1965).
From the wiki: “‘A Taste of Honey’ was written by Bobby Scott (‘He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother‘) and Ric Marlow. It was originally an instrumental track (or recurring theme) written for the 1960 Broadway version of the 1958 British play A Taste of Honey. The original recorded versions of the song first appeared on Bobby Scott’s 1960 album, also titled A Taste of Honey. His composition would go onto win Best Instrumental Theme at the Grammy Awards of 1963.
“A vocal version of the song, first recorded by Billy Dee Williams in 1961, became popular when it was covered, first, by Lenny Williams in 1962 and, then, by The Beatles in 1963 on their debut UK Parlaphone album Please Please Me, and debut US album Introducing … The Beatles on VeeJay. (The group had begun to incorporate the song into their live repertoire in Hamburg, Germany, in 1962.)
“Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass recorded the most popular instrumental version of the song with a cover on their 1965 album, Whipped Cream & Other Delights. This recording won four Grammy awards in 1966 including Record of the Year.”
First recorded (as “Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand”) by Hoagy Lands (1964).
Inspired by “Baby Let Me Follow You Down” by Bob Dylan (1962).
Also recorded (as “Baby Let Me Take You Home”) by The Mustangs (1964).
Hit version by The Animals (UK #21 1964).
From the wiki: “‘Baby Let Me Take You Home’ is credited to Bert Russell (a.k.a. Bert Berns) and Wes Farrell, as an arrangement of Eric Von Schmidt’s rendering of ‘Baby, Let Me Follow You Down’, as covered by Bob Dylan on Dylan’s first, self-titled, album. ‘Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand’ was first recorded by Hoagy Lands in 1964. A cover version, re-titled, was recorded in a more Folk-Rock-Blues-style by The Mustangs, also in 1964, using much of the same backing track as Lands’ original which was also produced by co-writer Berns.
“‘Baby Let Me Take You Home” would become The Animals’ debut single release, peaking near the Top 20 in the UK in 1964 but going uncharted in the US.”
