The Faculty Lounge

Good Lovin'

The Young Rascals (later, just The Rascals) had a number one hit with "Good Lovin'" in 1966, but they were actually the fifth group to record the song, which was written a year earlier by Rudy Clark and Arthur Resnick. The earlier recordings were by Limme Snell (as Lemme B. Good), the Olympics, the Tremeloes (in the UK), and the Who (not released as a single). According to Wikipedia, Felix Cavalieri heard the Olympics' cut on the radio and recorded it with virtually the same arrangement, which almost everyone has used ever since.

A few different arrangements, including Snell's original, are at the bottom of the post.

Goin' Up the Country

Canned Heat had a hit with "Goin' Up the Country" in 1968, which later became known as a "hippie rural anthem." The vocal was by Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson, rather than the group's usual vocalist Bob "The Bear" Hite.  In fact, the song was an adaptation of Henry Thomas's "Bull Doze Blues," released in 1928. Thomas played a unique, home-made wind instrument call the quills, fashioned from hollow reeds, which the Canned Heat cover imitated on flute, played on the recording by non-band member Jim Horn. Hite pretended to play the flute on a lip-synced video. Other covers have played the quills parts on fiddle, mandolin, trumpet, blues harp, or not at all.

The Motown Sound in Performance at the White House

"The Motown Sound in Performance at the White House" was recorded on Feb. 24, 2011, and broadcast on PBS on March 1. Yes, it's pretty much impossible to imagine a similar concert today (or anything good coming out of the White House).

Here are some clips:

When Will I Be Loved

"When Will I Be Loved" was written by Phil Everly and recorded for the Cadence label with his brother Don in 1960, but not immediately released. The Everly Brothers moved to Warner Brothers shortly afterward and rerecorded the number in the softer pop style. Fortunately, Cadence was still able to release the original cut which was the last of the brothers' great rockabilly numbers. Linda Ronstadt, of course, had an even bigger hit with her release in 1975, and most covers since then have been of her version.

Messin' with the Kid

In 1960, "Messin' with the Kid" was written in Chicago by Mel London and Junior Wells and released by London's Chief Records (which probably explains why only London was credited on the label).  As the story goes, London arrived early to pick up Wells for a recording session, and Wells's young daughter accused him of "messin'" with her father, who was nicknamed The Kid. Writing the song was a historic collaboration, eventually becoming a blues standard, although its initial release on the small Chief label, instead of the much larger and nationally distributed Chess label, probably explains why Wells did not achieve the crossover success of his contemporaries such as Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and James Cotton. Blues afficionados, of course, are well aware of Wells and his long-time guitarist and bandmate Buddy Guy, who went on to his own lengthy solo career.

Glad All Over

In 1964, The Dave Clark Five's "Glad All Over" became the first British Invasion hit by a group other than the Beatles. Written by Dave Clark and Mike Smith, it reached number 6 on the U.S. Hot 100. To me, the song is most memorable for the interplay between Smith's vocal and Clark's drum riff: "I'm feelin' -- bam bam -- "glad all over." One reviewer aptly described the track as a "happy-go-lucky pounder."

There were surprisingly few covers, so I included a couple of surprises at the bottom of the post.

Just a Closer Walk with Thee

When a song is described as a "gospel and jazz standard," you can be pretty sure that it comes from New Orleans. "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" -- author unknown and origin uncertain -- can be heard today in churches, clubs, and of course, funerals, in both vocal and instrumental renditions. It most likely dates back to the late the 19th century, sung in some version by African Americans on southern plantations, but its known history begins in 1940, when the composer Kenneth Morris heard a porter singing it on a train from Kansas City to Chicago. He published it with his own revisions that year, and the first recording was released by the Selah Jubilee Singers in 1941 (at the bottom of the post), and in the same year by Sister Rosetta Tharp (who may have started the song's transition to jazz). As is not unusual with gospel music, Bluegrass and country musicians have also picked it up.

I Fall to Pieces

"I Fall to Pieces" was written by the team Hank Cochran and Harlan Howard and first offered to Brenda Lee, who turned it down. It was then offered to Patsy Cline in 1961. She initially had misgivings about it as insufficiently country, but her producer prevailed (with the incentive of backup vocals by the Jordanaires), and it became the beginning of her crossover success. There isn't much variation in the covers, which I guess is understandable.

 

Before Elvis

Before he became a movie idol and Las Vegas headliner, Elvis Presley was heavily influenced by African American blues artists, who are the subjects of a great new book: Before Elvis: The African American Musicians Who Made the King, by Preston Lauterbach. Big Mama Thornton is the most well-known, having recorded "Hound Dog" in 1953, three years before Elvis. It was written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who were teenagers at the time, at the request of Johnny Otis. Here are some tracks (mostly audio) by a few of those classic performers.

 

 

Rescue Me

"Rescue Me" was written in 1965 by Raynard Miner, Carl William Smith, and Fontella Bass (although she did not get credit until much later). Released by Chess Records that same year, it was Bass's biggest hit by far, reaching number 4 on the Hot 100 and number 1 on the R&B chart. Minnie Riperton was one of the backup singers, with drums and bass by members of Earth, Wind & Fire. It was Chess's biggest hit since Chuck Berry's heyday, selling over a million copies. Bass nonetheless left Chess after a couple years, having been under-appreciated and underpaid. She finally obtained a fair share of royalties following extended litigation, but she never achieved similar recording success again.

Hot Sardines

The Hot Sardines were "founded in 2011 by Elizabeth Bougerol and Evan Palazzo over a mutual love of Fats Waller." They got their start at underground parties in Brooklyn, and have since toured worldwide with their brand of "reinvigorated classic jazz." Fats Waller covers are at the bottom of the post.