Written and first recorded by Laura Nyro (US #103 1966).
Also recorded by Lesley Gore (1969).
Hit version by The 5th Dimension (US #1/R&B #23/UK #16/CAN #3 1969).
From the wiki: “‘Wedding Bell Blues’ was written and first recorded by Laura Nyro in 1966 that would go to become a #1 hit for The 5th Dimension in 1969 and, subsequently, a popular phrase in American culture.
“Nyro wrote ‘Wedding Bell Blues’ at the age of 18 as a ‘mini-suite’, conveying the dual themes of adoring love and frustrated lament, and featuring several dramatic rhythmic changes.
“When Nyro first recorded ‘Wedding Bell Blues’ in 1966, she had arranged it in a spare, almost demo-like form*, intending this version to be a part of what would become her More Than a New Discovery album. However, producer Herb Bernstein would not allow Nyro use the arrangement, which ultimately led her to more or less disown the entire album.
Originally recorded by The Zombies (1965 |JPN #8 1967).
Hit versions by The Carnabeats (JPN #2 1967), People! (US #18/CAN #7/AUS #1/JPN #1 1968).
http://youtu.be/wxstv3_sMWM
From the wiki: “‘I Love You’ was a 1965 song by The Zombies, written by their drummer, Chris White. It was recorded by The Zombies and released as the B-side to ‘Whenever You’re Ready’ but failed to make either the US or UK singles charts and achieved only limited chart success elsewhere. However, the song was translated into Japanese (as ‘Sukisa Sukisa Sukisa’) and recorded in 1967 by Tokyo band The Carnabeats. ‘Sukisa’ would debut locally at #7 before peaking in November 1967 at #2. The success of The Carnabeats’ Japanese version resulted in the original version by The Zombies being re-released in Japan, and it became a best-selling hit and ranked #8 for 1967.
“The production of this song was epic. On the day of the first session, January 19, the song was not yet finished. The group recorded the basic rhythm track in a simple manner (piano, acoustic guitar, bass, drums, bongos and maracas). John’s voice, wrapped up in a heavy echo, was particularly moving. Instead of a traditional countdown, John called out ‘sugarplum fairy, sugarplum fairy.’ The whole team felt emotion. Audio engineer Geoff Emerick remembers shivering as he heard this.
First recorded by Don Ho (1968).
Hit version by Glen Campbell (US #4/C&W #1/UK #14/CAN #2/AUS #5/NZ #3 1969).
https://youtu.be/VxYFBlmTsqQ
From the wiki: “Composer Jimmy Webb (‘Up, Up and Away‘, ‘The Worst That Could Happen‘, ‘By the Time I Get to Phoenix‘) was on a beach in Galveston, Texas, when he wrote the song ‘Galveston’, making up the story about a Spanish-American war soldier and the girl he left behind. ‘Galveston’ was originally recorded by Don Ho, releasing it in 1968 as the B-side of his single ‘Has Anybody Lost A Love?’ with no chart impact.
“Ho recalled he gave Campbell a copy of the single and told him, ‘I didn’t have any luck with this, maybe you will.’ Ho would later appear on Campbell’s TV variety show The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour in Oct. 1969 to perform the song.
First released by The New World Singers (January 1963).
Also released by The Chad Mitchell Trio (March 1963), Bob Dylan (August 1963), Marlene Dietrich (1963).
Hit versions by Peter, Paul & Mary (US #2/UK #13 October 1963), Stan Getz (US #110 1964), Stevie Wonder (US #9/R&B #1 1966).
From The Originals: “The timeline of ‘first’ recordings and releases of ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’ can sure be a more than simply confusing. Some sources date the New World Singers’ recording to September 1963, four months after Dylan’s was released. Other sources say, no, that’s wrong. That the New World Singers’ version appeared on a compilation of ‘topical songs’ called Broadside Ballads Vol. 1 which apparently was released on 1 January 1963 on Broadside Records, the recording arm of the folk magazine (you guessed it) Broadside. (The magazine, founded by Pete Seeger, had printed the lyrics of the then-just published song way back in May 1962.)
“The Chad Mitchell Trio, sometimes credited with at least /recording/ the song before the New World Singers but not before Dylan’s own John Hammond-produced session in July 1962, didn’t release their arrangement until In Action began shipping to stores in March 1963.
First recorded by Keely Smith (1967).
Hit versions by Rosemary Clooney (MOR #28 1968), The 5th Dimension (US #2/MOR #1/R&B #4 1970).
From the wiki: “‘One Less Bell to Answer’ is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David (“The Look of Love“, “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again“, “Alfie“), originally written for and recorded in 1967 by Keely Smith (‘I’m a Gigolo‘, with Louis Prima).
“The song was rediscovered in late 1969 by Bones Howe, the producer for the 5th Dimension, and the song was included on the group’s 1970 debut album for Bell Records, Portrait. Rosemary Clooney had, a year earlier, in 1968, first charted the song on the Billboard Easy Listening chart – one of her two last recordings before leaving show business.”
Written and first recorded by Billy Roberts (1961).
Popular versions by The Leaves (US #31 1966), The Jimi Hendrix Experience (UK #6 1966), Wilson Pickett (US #59/R&B #29/UK #16 1969), Willy DeVille (SPN #1 1992).
Also recorded by Tim Rose (1966), The Golden Cups (1968), Billy Roberts (ca. 1976).
Billy Roberts, “Hey Joe” re-recording (1976?):
From the wiki: “Diverse credits and claims have led to confusion as to the song’s true authorship and genesis. But, the earliest known commercial recording of the song is the late-1965 single by the Los Angeles garage band The Leaves (on Mira 207).
“The Leaves re-recorded the track (for the third time) in 1966, releasing it as a follow-up single (on Mira 222) which became a hit. While claimed by the late Tim Rose to be a traditional Blues song (or often erroneously attributed to the pen of American musician Dino Valenti aka Chet Powers and Jesse Farrow), and who recorded a cover in 1966 that was released in 1967 on Through Rose Colored Glasses, ‘Hey Joe’ was registered for copyright in the U.S. in 1962 by Billy Roberts. Producer Hal Resner has stated there is a live recording of Roberts performing ‘Hey Joe’, dating from around 1961.
Written and first recorded by Laura Nyro (1968).
Also recorded by The Magnificent Men (1969), Brian Auger & the Trinity (1969), Thelma Houston (1970).
Hit version by The 5th Dimension (US #27/MOR #10/CAN #24/AUS #79 1970).
From the wiki: “Laura Nyro wrote ‘Save the Country’ as her reaction to Robert Kennedy’s assassination in June, 1968, and recorded the original version of the song with just a piano accompaniment. It was released as a single in 1968 and did not chart, but would later be included on Nyro’s 1969 album New York Tendaberry, her most commercially-successful album. (‘Time and Love’ from the album would also see commercial release as a single in 1970, by Barbra Streisand.)
First recorded by Wilma Burgess (C&W #4 1966).
Other hit versions by Eddy Arnold (US #57/C&W #3 1967), Joe Simon (US #91/R&B #47 1972), Dorothy Moore (US #3/R&B #2/UK #5/CAN #4/AUS #6 1976).
From the wiki: “Bob Montgomery wrote the song with Brenda Lee in mind. He recalls, ‘I wrote ‘Misty Blue’ in about twenty minutes. It was a gift and it was perfect for Brenda Lee, but she turned it down. Her producer Owen Bradley loved the song [but] as he couldn’t push her to do it, he cut it country-style with Wilma Burgess.’
“Eddy Arnold covered ‘Misty Blue’ in a Chet Atkins-produced session at the RCA Victor Studio, Nashville, in April 1966. Included on his 1966 album The Last Word in Lonesome, Arnold’s ‘Misty Blue’ had a belated single release in May 1967 to introduce The Best of Eddy Arnold compilation album. Besides bettering Burgess’ success on the Country chart with the song, Arnold’s ‘Misty Blue’ became the first version of the song to crossover to the Pop field, reaching #57 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1967.
First released by The Beatles (1966).
First hit version by Cliff Bennett & the Rebel Rousers (UK #6 1966).
Other hit versions by Stitch in Tyme (CAN #9 1967), The Beatles (US #7 1976), Earth Wind & Fire (US #9/R&B #1 1978).
From the wiki: “‘Got to Get You Into My Life’ was written by Paul McCartney (though officially credited to Lennon–McCartney), and first released in 1966 on The Beatles’ album Revolver but was never released then as a promotional single. It was the second song, after ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’, to be recorded for the album. John Lennon is said to have particularly admired the lyrics of ‘Got To Get You Into My Life’, interpreting them as being about LSD. In fact, the song was about marijuana, as McCartney later explained:
“‘Got To Get You Into My Life’ was one I wrote when I had first been introduced to pot. I’d been a rather straight working-class lad but when we started to get into pot it seemed to me to be quite uplifting … I didn’t have a hard time with it and to me it was mind-expanding, literally mind-expanding.
“‘So Got To Get You Into My Life is really a song about that, it’s not to a person, it’s actually about pot. It’s saying, I’m going to do this. This is not a bad idea. So it’s actually an ode to pot, like someone else might write an ode to chocolate or a good claret.'”
“The song took some time to get right in the studio – the Anthology 2 album has a version from the first day’s recording, 7 April, played on a harmonium and sounding quite different to the final arrangement heard on Revolver. The next day The Beatles tried a different arrangement, ending up with the rhythm track they settled on. On 11 April they overdubbed a guitar part, but the song remained untouched again until 18 May. On that day they added the song’s distinctive brass and woodwind parts, plus two lead vocal parts, tambourine and organ.
“In early 1966, Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers was the opening act for The Beatles on their final European tour. Bennett got the opportunity to hear the song during the tour and ask McCartney if his group could record it. McCartney was producer for the session. The Rebel Rousers’ single, backed by Bennett’s own composition, ‘Baby Each Day’, reached #6 on the UK Singles chart.
Written and first recorded by Bob Dylan (1965).
Hit versions by Them (1965 |GER #12 1973), The Byrds (B-side 1969), Graham Bonnet (AUS #3 1977).
Also recorded by Joan Baez (1965), Dion (1965, released 1969), The Byrds (1965, released 1987), The 13th Floor Elevators (1967), (as “Baby Blue”) by The Seldom Scene (1975), The Animals (1977).
From the wiki: “‘It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue’ was written and performed by Bob Dylan and featured on his 1965 Bringing It All Back Home album. The song was originally recorded with Dylan’s acoustic guitar and harmonica and William E. Lee’s bass guitar the only instrumentation. Dylan’s two previous albums, The Times They Are A-Changin’ and Another Side of Bob Dylan both ended with a farewell song, ‘Restless Farewell’ and ‘It Ain’t Me, Babe’ respectively. ‘It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue’ concludes Bringing It All Back Home in consistent fashion.
“Dylan played the song for Donovan in his hotel room during his May 1965 tour of England in a scene shown in the D. A. Pennebaker documentary Don’t Look Back; a version of the song is also included on the soundtrack to Martin Scorsese’s documentary No Direction Home. In a 2005 readers’ poll reported in Mojo, ‘It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue’ was listed as the #10 all-time-best Bob Dylan song.
First recorded (as “Flamingo”) by Gene Pitney (1966).
Hit versions by Tommy Vann & the Echoes (US #125 1966), Manfred Mann (US #29/UK #1/CAN #2/AUS #3/NZ #1/IRE #1 1966).
Also performed by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band (1975).
“‘Pretty Flamingo’ was written by American songwriter and producer Mark Barkan. His first major success as a writer was with ‘The Writing on the Wall’, a 1961 U.S. Top-5 hit for Adam Wade which he co-wrote with Sandy Baron and George Paxton (credited as George Eddy). Barkan had further success with Lesley Gore’s Top-5 hit ‘She’s a Fool’ (co-written with Ben Raleigh). He would later go on to write material for The Monkees, The Archies, and, perhaps most notoriously, The Banana Splits whose theme song — ‘The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana)’ — Barkan co-wrote with Ritchie Adams (‘Tossin’ and Turnin”, ‘After the Lovin”) and with whom he was the music director for the two seasons The Banana Splits Adventure Hour was televised.
“‘Pretty Flamingo’ describes a woman — whom ‘all of the guys call […] ‘Flamingo’, ’cause her hair glows like the sun and her eyes can light the sky’ — for whom the singer has fallen and his plans to win her affection. Barkan’s daughter said that it was based on a girl who lived above a parking lot in his neighborhood: Barkan and his friends used to call out to her.
Written and first recorded by The Beatles (1962).
Hit version by Cilla Black (UK #35 1963).
From The Beatles Bible: “One of Paul McCartney’s earliest musical compositions, ‘Love Of The Loved’ was recorded by Cilla Black and released as a single in 1963. The song was part of The Quarrymen’s repertoire for a time, and the Beatles often played it at the Cavern Club in Liverpool.
“‘Loved of the Loved’ was one of 15 songs performed by the Beatles at their audition for Decca Records on 1 January 1962, but The Beatles’ recording is the only original composition from the audition not to have been made commercially available.
First recorded by Neil Diamond (1966, first released 1967).
Hit versions by The Monkees (US #1/UK #1/CAN #1/AUS #1 1966), Neil Diamond (US #51/MOR #31 1971), Robert Wyatt (UK #29 1974).
Also recorded by The Fifth Estate (1967), Neil Diamond (re-recording 1979).
From the wiki: “‘I’m a Believer’ was composed by Neil Diamond who’d already recorded his own version before it was covered by The Monkees. Diamond’s original recording, produced by the songwriting team of Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, was eventually released on his 1967 album Just for You.
“Diamond’s original recording was also released as a single in 1971, charting in the US and Australia. A revised recording, featuring additional lyrics, appeared on Diamond’s 1979 album September Morn. Diamond had also suggested the song to The Fifth Estate who did record ‘I’m a Believer’ as the 1967 follow-up to their hit single ‘Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead’, but it did not chart.
“‘I’m a Believer’ was the second single release for The Monkees. It hit the #1 spot on Billboard Hot 100 (and elsewhere worldwide) for the week ending December 31, 1966 and remained there for seven weeks, becoming not only the last #1 hit of 1966 but also the biggest-selling record for the whole of the next year, 1967. It is one of the fewer than forty all-time singles to have sold 10 million (or more) physical copies worldwide.
First recorded (as a rehearsal demo) by Ringo Starr with George Harrison (1969).
Hit album version by The Beatles (1969).
https://youtu.be/yqZp327u39c
From the wiki: “The idea for ‘Octopus’s Garden’ came about when Ringo Starr was on a boat in Sardenia belonging to comedian Peter Sellers in 1968. Starr ordered fish and chips for lunch, but instead of fish he got squid (it was the first time he’d eaten squid, and he said, ‘It was OK. A bit rubbery. Tasted like chicken.’) Then, the boat’s captain told Starr about how octopuses travel along the sea bed picking up stones and shiny objects with which to build gardens. The Let It Be film included a scene in which Harrison is shown helping Starr work the song out on piano.
First recorded (as a demo) by Paul McCartney (1969).
First released by Aretha Franklin (1970).
Hit versions by The Beatles (US #1/UK #2/CAN #4/AUS #1/NZ #1/IRE #1/MOR #1/GER #2 1970), Ferry Aid (UK #1 1987).
From the wiki: “‘Let It Be’ was written by Paul McCartney (but credited to Lennon-McCartney), recorded by The Beatles, and released in March 1970 as a single and (in an alternate mix) as the title track of the group’s album Let It Be. But, The Beatles weren’t the first to release this song: Aretha Franklin was. The Queen of Soul recorded it in December, 1969, and it was released on her album This Girl’s In Love With You (but not as a single) in January, 1970, two months before The Beatles released their US and UK single in March 1970.
First recorded (as a demo) by Paul McCartney (1967).
Hit album/EP version by The Beatles (1967).
Also recorded by Sharon Tandy (1968).
Hit single versions by Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66 (US #6/MOR #1/AUS #14 1968), Eddie Fisher (1968), Shirley Bassey (UK #48 1969).
From the wiki: “‘The Fool on the Hill’ was written by Paul McCartney (but credited to Lennon-McCartney) and was his major contribution to the Magical Mystery Tour EP and album, released in late 1967, and to the Magical Mystery Tour TV film broadcast on Boxing Day (December 26), 1967. McCartney recorded a solo demo version of the song in the on 6 September 1967. The recording of the song by the group began in earnest on 25 September and was completed in two days, with flutes added a month later.
Co-written and first recorded (as a demo) by Barry Mann (1965).
Hit versions by The Animals (US #13/UK #2/CAN #13/GER #31 1965), Angels (AUS #7/NZ #13 1987).
Also performed by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band (1976).
From the wiki: “‘We Gotta Get Out of This Place’ was written by the husband-wife songwriting team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, and recorded as a 1965 hit single by The Animals. It has become an iconic song and was immensely popular among United States Armed Forces during the Vietnam War. The song had been intended for The Righteous Brothers, for whom Mann-Weil had already written the #1 hit ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin”, but then Mann gained a recording contract for himself, and his label Redbird Records wanted him to release it instead.
“Meanwhile, record executive Allen Klein had also heard the demo and – without the knowledge of Mann or his producer, Don Kirshner – gave it to Mickie Most, The Animals’ producer. (Most already had a call out to Brill Building songwriters for material for The Animal’s next recording session Two of the group’s hits ‘It’s My Life’ and ‘Don’t Bring Me Down’ resulted from the same call.)
First recorded by J.J. Jackson (1966).
Hit version by The Pretty Things (UK #43/AUS #92 1966).
From the wiki: “J.J. Jackson is an American Soul/R&B singer, songwriter, and arranger who started out as a songwriter and arranger for ‘Brother’ Jack McDuff, Jimmy Witherspoon, and The Shangri-Las, among others. Jackson’s songwriting credits include ‘It’s Easier to Cry’ (The Shangri-Las), released as the B-side to ‘Remember (Walking in the Sand)’ in 1964, and The Pretty Things’ 1966 hit single, ‘Come See Me’. He is perhaps best known for the soul hit ‘But It’s Alright’ which, after its 1966 release, became one of the best known dance music tunes of the decade.
First recorded by Barbara McNair (1966).
Hit version by The Marvelettes (US #44/R&B #14 1967).
From the wiki: “‘Here I Am, Baby’ was written by Smokey Robinson in 1967 for actress and singer Barbara McNair (‘For Once in My Life‘). It was the title track of her album “Here I Am‘. McNair’s big career break had come in the late 1950s with a win on Arthur Godfrey’s TV show Talent Scouts, which led to bookings at The Purple Onion and the Cocoanut Grove. She soon became one of the country’s most popular headliners and a guest on such television variety shows as The Steve Allen Show, Hullabaloo, The Bell Telephone Hour, and The Hollywood Palace, while recording for the Coral, Signature, Motown, and other labels. But, she became best-known as a TV actress guesting on series such as Dr. Kildare, The Eleventh Hour, I Spy, Mission: Impossible, Hogan’s Heroes and McMillan and Wife.
First recorded by The Strangeloves (US #11/CAN #7 1965).
Hit versions by Brian Poole & the Tremeloes (UK #25 1965), Bow Wow Wow (US #62/UK #9/IRE #7/AUS #39 1983), Candy Girls (UK #30 1996), Aaron Carter (UK #31/SWE #10/AUS #37/NETH #37 2000), Melanie C. (UK #7/ITA #9/DEN #12 2007).
Also recorded by Pop ‘n Fresh (2008).
From the wiki: “‘I Want Candy’ was written by Bert Berns, Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein and Richard Gottehrer (‘My Boyfriend’s Back’) in 1965. For this song, the trio took on the moniker of The Strangeloves, and recorded the tune themselves, augmented by studio musicians. Although Feldman, Goldstein and Gottehrer used their real names in the writing and production credits of this single, they claimed The Strangeloves were actually three Australian brothers (and ex-sheep farmers) named Giles, Miles and Niles Strange. Feldman, Goldstein and Gottehrer dressed up in shaggy wigs and exotic clothing for publicity photos as The Strangeloves.
“It was The Strangelove’s second single, becoming a Top 10 hit in Canada and hitting #11 in the US. But, the record failed to chart in the UK — or in The Strangeloves’ so-called ‘native’ country, Australia. (A cover by Brian Poole & the Tremeloes, however, charted in the UK and peaked at #25.)
Originally recorded (as a demo) by Paul McCartney (1968).
Hit versions by The Marmalade (UK #1/NOR #1 1968), The Bedrocks (UK #20 1968), The Spectrum (GER #19 1968), Paul Desmond (MOR #35 1969), Arthur Conley (US #51/R&B #41 1969), The Beatles (AUS #1/JPN #1 1969 |US #49 1976).
From the wiki: “‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’ is a song credited to Lennon–McCartney, but written by Paul McCartney. Released by The Beatles on their 1968 album The Beatles (commonly called The White Album), the song was released as a single that same year in many countries – except not in the United Kingdom, nor in the United States until 1976.
“During May 1968, after their return from India, The Beatles gathered at George Harrison’s Esher home, in Surrey, to record demos for their upcoming project. ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’ was one of the twenty-seven demos recorded there. Paul performed this demo solo, with only an acoustic guitar but double-tracking his vocal.
First recorded (as a demo) by John Lennon (1968).
Hit album version by The Beatles (1968).
Also recorded by Ramsey Lewis (1968), Medeski, Martin & Wood and John Scofield (2006), Mike Patton & Carla Hassett (2009), Sean Lennon (2009)
From the wiki: “‘Julia’ was written by John Lennon (credited to Lennon–McCartney) during The Beatles’ 1968 visit to Rishikesh in northern India, where they were studying under the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It was there where Lennon learned the song’s finger-picking guitar style (known as ‘Travis-picking’) from Scottish musician Donovan. Lennon recorded his demo of ‘Julia’ during the very casual May 1968 new song reviews conducted by the Beatles at Esher, George Harrison’s estate, following the group’s return from India.
First recorded (as a demo) by George Harrison (1968).
Hit album version by The Beatles (1968).
Also recorded by Kenny Rankin (1976), Jeff Healey (1990), Jake Shimabukuro (2004), Tom Petty & Jeff Lynne (2004).
https://youtu.be/wagTIytC5xo
From the wiki: “Inspiration for the song came to Geroge Harrison when reading the I Ching, which, as Harrison put it, ‘seemed to me to be based on the Eastern concept that everything is relative to everything else… opposed to the Western view that things are merely coincidental.’ Taking this idea of relativism to his parents’ home in northern England, Harrison committed to write a song based on the first words he saw upon opening a random book. Those words were ‘gently weeps’, and he immediately began writing the song.
