1960s, Soul

Anna (Go to Him)

June 11, 2013

Written and originally recorded by Arthur Alexander (US #68/R&B #10 1962).
Hit album version by The Beatles (1963).

From the wiki: “‘Anna (Go to Him)’ (or simply ‘Anna’) was written and originally recorded by Arthur Alexander, and is considered to be one of the great early Soul ballads even if its loping groove was closer to a mid-tempo song than a slow ballad.

“‘Anna’ was actually a minor pop hit (but Top-10 R&B) when it first came out in 1962, peaking #68 on the Pop charts. However, it was a personal favorite of John Lennon, and ‘Anna’ had been a part of the Beatles live set since its release in 1962. ‘Anna’ would become more famous for its cover version by the Beatles than when originally released by Alexander.

Maggie May (The Beatles)

June 10, 2013

Originally recorded by The Vipers Skiffle Group (1957).
Also recorded by Judy Garland (1964), and The Beatles (1969).

From the wiki: “Banned by BBC Radio on its release because of the sexual content of the lyrics, ‘Maggie May’ (also known as ‘Maggie Mae’) is a traditional Liverpool folk song about a prostitute who robbed a ‘homeward bounder’: a sailor coming home from a round-trip. The song specifies several real streets in Liverpool, notably Lime Street in the center of the town.

“The Vipers Skiffle Group formed in the spring of 1956 in central London, originally as a trio of singer-guitarists, including future radio and TV personality Wally Whyton. The group became the resident band at the 2i’s Coffee Bar in Soho. After a number of hit records produced by future Beatles producer George Martin, including Whyton’s song ‘Don’t You Rock Me Daddy-O’, the group split up in 1960, and Whyton moved into television work. (Martin would later comment that working with the Vipers gave him important experience in working with an ‘informally trained but enthusiastic group of musicians.’)

Twist and Shout

June 2, 2013

First recorded (as “Shake It Up, Babe”) by The Top Notes (1961).
Hit versions by The Isley Brothers (US #17/R&B #2 1962), The Beatles (US #2/UK #1 1963).

From the wiki: “In 1961, a year after Phil Spector became a staff producer at Atlantic Records, he was asked to produce a single by an up-and-coming Philadelphia vocal group, the Top Notes (sometimes named ‘Topnotes’): ‘Shake It Up, Babe.’ This was before Spector had perfected his ‘Wall of Sound’ technique, and the recording lacked all of the energy the Top Notes exhibited in its live performances. Also, rather ironically, even though ‘twist’ was in the title, Spector chose to arrange the song in a pseudo-Bossa nova style, it being the dance fashion of the day.

“Songwriter Bert Russell felt Spector had ruined the song, and went out to show Spector how the song should be done. When the Isley Brothers decided to record the song in 1962, Russell opted to produce, and thus demonstrate to Spector, what he had intended to be the ‘sound’ of the record.

“The resulting recording captured the verve of an Isley Brothers live performance, and became the trio’s first record to reach a Top 20 position in the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart (peaking at #2 on the R&B chart).

A World Without Love

May 29, 2013

First recorded (as a demo) by Paul McCartney (1963).
Hit version by Peter & Gordon (US #1/UK #1 1964).
Also recorded by Bobby Rydell (US #80 1964), The Supremes (1964).

From the wiki: “Paul McCartney did not think the song was good enough for The Beatles. Prior to giving the song to Peter & Gordon, he offered it to Billy J. Kramer, who rejected it. McCartney wrote the song when he was 16. In 1963, when he moved into the London home of his then-girlfriend Jane Asher, sharing a room with her brother Peter Asher, he offered the song to Asher and Gordon Waller after the pair obtained a recording contract as Peter & Gordon.

Devil in Her Heart

May 21, 2013

Originally recorded (as “Devil in His Heart”) by The Donays (1962).
Hit album version by The Beatles (1963).

From the wiki: “The song was originally released as ‘Devil in His Heart’ in Detroit by The Donays for Correc-tone Records. The song was later picked up by the New York City label Brent and was re-released in August 1962, as ‘(There’s a) Devil in His Heart’. This release also appeared in the United Kingdom on the Oriole label in 1962. The record was not a hit on either side of the Atlantic.

“The Donays recorded only the one single (‘Devil in His Heart’ backed with ‘Bad Boy’) but their lead singer Yvonne Vernee (real name Yvonne Symington) also recorded solo, and later, in the early 1970s, joined The Elgins at Motown.

How Do You Do It

May 4, 2013

First recorded by The Beatles (1962).
Hit version by Gerry & The Pacemakers (US #9/UK #1 1963).

From the wiki: “The song was written by Mitch Murray. Adam Faith had been offered the song but turned it down and The Beatles recorded a version of it, which would not be released until it appeared on the group’s retrospective Anthology 1 album in 1995.

I Wanna Be Your Man

April 2, 2013

Written and first recorded by The Beatles (Sept-Oct 1963).
Hit version first released by The Rolling Stones (UK #12 Nov 1963).

From The Beatles’ Bible: “Accounts of its genesis vary. Paul McCartney recalled that ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’ was written for [Ringo] Starr and later offered to the Stones. McCartney recounted how he and Lennon were passed by a taxi containing [Mick] Jagger and [Keith] Richards while walking down London’s Charing Cross Road. ‘So they shouted from the taxi and we yelled, ‘Hey, hey, give us a lift, give us a lift,’ and we bummed a lift off them. So there were the four of us sitting in a taxi and I think Mick said, ‘Hey, we’re recording. Got any songs?’ And we said, ‘Aaaah, yes, sure, we got one. How about Ringo’s song? You could do it as a single.”

Rock Island Line

January 17, 2013

First recorded at Cumins State Prison farm, Gould, Arkansas, by John Lomax (1934).
Popular versions by Lead Belly (1937), Lonnie Donegan (UK #8 1955).
Also recorded by Bobby Darin & The Jaybirds (1956), The Beatles (1969, released as a bootleg 1994).

From the wiki: “‘Rock Island Line’ is an American Blues/Folk song first recorded by John Lomax in 1934 as sung by inmates in an Arkansas State Prison, and later popularized by Lead Belly. Many versions have been recorded by other artists, most significantly the world-wide hit version in the mid-1950s by Lonnie Donegan. The song is ostensibly about the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad.

“Donegan’s recording, released as a single in late 1955, signaled the start of the UK ‘skiffle’ craze. This recording featured Donegan, Chris Barber on double bass and washboard player (Beryl Bryden), but as it was part of a Chris Barber’s Jazz Band session for Decca Records, Donegan received no royalties from Decca for record sales, beyond his original session fee.

Tagged: Beatles