Caught between the summer of “Satisfaction” and the Summer of Love, the spirit of ‘66 iis well reflected by the music that came blasting from the radio. Radios in LA, in Chicago, in London, and in Saigon.
The music that is selling is a mixed bag. This is evident in both a classic of indecision, “Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?” the second single from the Lovin’ Spoonful, and the seventh and last Top Ten song from the son of the Nutty Professor, Gary Lewis. His “Green Grass” is probably the last grass song that is not about marijuana.
Five out of the dozen are soul classics that will reappear in movies, TV shows, and commercials for the next half century. The Chiffons’ “Sweet Talking Guy” and Robert Parker’s ‘Barefootin’” will be danced to forever. The Capitols' “Cool Jerk” is a novelty that still packs a surprise. Can you dig it?
And then there is “When a Man Loves a Woman” from Percy Sledge. This was its 10th week on the charts, after spending time at #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the R&B singles. It was the first Number 1 recorded at the famed Muscle Shoals recording studios. Percy knows he’s going to be singing this, his signature song, for the rest of his life. And every time he sings it, he has the depth and the feeling of a man whose heart is overflowing with the wonder of love.
Sidebar. As you may remember, Michael Bolton had a run at this song in 1991. He won a Grammy, and it was the 7th time in history that a cover of a #1 song had reached #1.
James Brown recorded a lot of songs with dope beats, but “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” is in a class of its own. JB co-wrote the song and it wouldn’t be nothing without Betty Jean Newsome. She would later claim sole authorship, as well as a fuzzy memory possessed by the hardest working man in show business when it came to dividing up the royalties.
Rolling Stone called the lyrics “Biblically chauvinistic” because man takes credit for everything from the electric lights to toys for baby boys and girls.
This song is so well known, prepare for the unexpected. It’s a classic, so why not have the Godfather of Soul perform it with the “King of the High C’s,” one third of the Three Tenors, the late great Luciano Pavarotti.
June is busting out in 1966. The hits just keep on coming. The Mamas and the Papas awake from “California Dreamin”’ and it’s a day that can’t be helped: “Monday Monday.” The Mindbenders remind us there’s a British Invasion still going on with “A Groovy Kind of Love.”
Simon and Garfunkel score a summer hit with a song that takes place in a deep and dark December. And Frank SInatra was less than fond of his hit, although he managed to spend the bread. Thel less than politically correct Ol’ Blue Eyes told his friends he believed the song was about a gay hookup.
In the top position after 5 weeks of release, The Rolling Stones unleashed a song of darkness, death, and anger. “Paint It Black” is about a lost love, gone too soon. Released in a year this country would lose 6,000 of the 385,000 military personnel stationed in Vietnam, many took it as more than a rumor of war.
Mick said it had nothing to do with the conflict in Southeast Asia. But when the song was heard in Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket (1987), it was anything but a major malfunction. Soon after it appeared as the theme song for the CBS military drama Tour of Duty (1987-1990), the connection had been cemented.
The upcoming performance video was shot for the variety show Hollywood Palace, featuring Brian Jones perfectly at ease with a sitar in his lap.
It was the summer of 1966. If you saw a red door you wanted it Painted Black.
The educational underground pirate radio Old School podcast with Professor Mikey featuring rarities, stories, and surprises from the last half of the 20th century. A eclectic variety of discovery for newer music lovers, a reconnection for the rest of us, present in a theme format that thinks outside the album cover. Rock, country, blues, and anything else that might have captured the 20th century imagination, updated for a newer audience while remaining a comfort to older rockers.
Professor Mikey spent over 50,000 hours in various broadcast booths in 60-some markets, taking to the air at 16 a couple of months before The Beatles released Revolver. He rocked, informed, and amused his listeners in six different decades. Old School is his attempt to put it all together in a great set. He is confirmed AM-FM Positive.
The educational underground pirate radio Old School podcast with Professor Mikey featuring rarities, stories, and surprises from the last half of the 20th century. A eclectic variety of discovery for newer music lovers, a reconnection for the rest of us, present in a theme format that thinks outside the album cover. Rock, country, blues, and anything else that might have captured the 20th century imagination, updated for a newer audience while remaining a comfort to older rockers.
Professor Mikey spent over 50,000 hours in various broadcast booths in 60-some markets, taking to the air at 16 a couple of months before The Beatles released Revolver. He rocked, informed, and amused his listeners in six different decades. Old School is his attempt to put it all together in a great set. He is confirmed AM-FM Positive.
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