“It’s All Too Much”

A George Harrison ode to LSD that was recorded just after the Beatles wrapped up “Sgt. Pepper.” George swore off acid after visiting Haight-Ashbury a few months later; he saw all the lost, aimless, stoned kids and that bummed him out. This was unreleased until combined with other leftovers for the “Yellow Submarine” soundtrack, which the band treated as simply fulfilling a contractual obligation.

The Beatles’ rooftop concert

"I'd like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves, and I hope we've passed the audition."

“Nobody” #116 1/25/1969

The very first single from Three Dog Night, which did absolutely nothing. The band was unique in that there were three lead vocalists, none of whom played any instruments, and relied mainly on outside songwriters. The group, formerly known as Redwood, went on to have 18 consecutive Top 20 hits including three #1’s.

“Fox On The Run” #97 1/25/1969

Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. One of the most famous bluegrass songs ever started out as a rocker by Manfred Mann. It flopped in America but was a Top 5 UK single just before the group split up; they resurfaced in the 70’s as Manfred Mann’s Earth Band. Banjo player Bill Emerson (later with the Country Gentlemen from Washington, DC) turned the song into a bluegrass standard. Tom T. Hall had a country hit with his take in 1976.

“Rainbow Ride” #49 1/25/1969

The latest from Andy Kim, a tad reminiscent of “Last Train To Clarksville.” He would shortly co-write (with Jeff Barry) one of the biggest hits of 1969 for a cartoon band, the Archies. “Sugar, Sugar” would become Record of the Year and also received a surprisingly soulful turn from Wilson Pickett. Andy continued to write a boatload of songs for the Archies project.

“Ready Or Not Here I Come” #35 1/25/1969

More and more frequently, smooth R&B music was emanating from Philadelphia. Here’s one from the Delfonics, produced by Thom Bell and featured in the Grand Theft Auto V video game. Within a couple of years, Randy Cain left the group to help form Blue Magic (“Sideshow”). He was replaced by Major Harris, who himself left and had a huge solo hit with “Love Won’t Let Me Wait.”

“(There’s Gonna Be A) Showdown” #21 1/25/1969

The last Top 40 hit for Archie Bell and the Drells, from the last album they released for six years. The group did have some success on the R&B charts during that time, however. Archie was asked why he mentioned his home town of Houston so often on their records. He said he’d heard a comment after the Kennedy assassination that nothing good ever came out of Texas, so Archie wanted to dispel that notion.

“Going Up The Country” #11 1/25/1969

One that the young whippersnappers may recognize from those insurance ads on TV. Those of us of a certain age remember this Canned Heat tune as the unofficial theme of the Woodstock festival. It was a variation of a 1920’s song by Henry Thomas called “Bull Doze Blues” and was used in the Woodstock movie over a montage of concertgoers. In September 1970, Alan Wilson (lead singer here and “On The Road Again”) committed suicide.

“Hey Bulldog”

According to their studio engineer Geoff Emerick (who was there), this was perhaps the last true harmonious, cooperative group effort from the Beatles. You can tell from this video Lennon and McCartney really enjoyed their interplay at the end of this song. It was recorded in early 1968 along with “Across The Universe” and “Lady Madonna” just prior to departing for India. Once again the track was lying around unused until needed for the “Yellow Submarine” soundtrack. It kinda showed how little effort they put into that project.

“All Together Now”

A fun singalong written by Paul, recorded just after the band wrapped up “Sgt. Pepper.” It was unreleased until songs were needed for the animated “Yellow Submarine” movie. It fit very well except for the “can I take my friend to bed” line, which could be taken as a kid bringing a stuffed animal to bed...or maybe not.

“I Take A Lot Of Pride In What I Am” #3 Country 1/18/1969

Here’s a country Top 5 from this week in ‘69 by Merle Haggard. He had four #1’s in a row just prior to this, and four more #1’s in a row just after. Dean Martin redid this one later in the year and had a Top 20 on the easy listening chart. Merle’s version was played at the funeral of original Lynyrd Skynyrd lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, who was a huge fan of the Hag.

“Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” (Arthur Conley) #51 1/18/1969

We recently featured The Marmalade’s British #1 cover of a Beatles song from the White Album. In the States, Arthur Conley (“Sweet Soul Music”) also covered the tune here with limited success. This is notable, though, for the guitar fills of Muscle Shoals session guitarist Duane Allman, who later in 1969 rejoined his brother Gregg in a band you may have heard of.

“Bella Linda” #28 1/18/1969

The Grass Roots had a previous hit with “Let’s Live For Today,” originally an Italian song called "Piangi con me.” So their producer Steve Barri took the same route with another Italian-language tune, “Balla Linda” (or “Dance, Linda”) retitled “Bella Linda.” A few months later, guitarist Creed Bratton was...ummm, asked to leave the group. He eventually got into acting, achieving TV fame on “The Office.” Creed got a lot of face time in this video clip from the syndicated “Playboy After Dark.”

“Son Of A Preacher Man” #10 1/18/1969

This HAS to be on my desert island playlist. Dusty Springfield’s career was at a crossroads as she started work on a new album, “Dusty In Memphis.” She had just signed with Atlantic Records, label of her idol Aretha Franklin, who was a preacher’s daughter. Lady Soul did this first but it remained unreleased, so Jerry Wexler of Atlantic gave the tune to Ms. Springfield. Dusty was reportedly so intimidated by the talent level of the Memphis musicians that she had to finish her vocals in New York, but the end result is beyond compare. The Sweet Inspirations sang backup. The song later appeared in a key sequence of “Pulp Fiction.” I could listen to this on an endless loop forever. LOVE LOVE LOVE this!

Footnote: Memphis studio picker extraordinaire Reggie Young played the intro here and on sooooo many other records - he passed away Thursday, 1/17/19 at 82. I swear, I had this coming up today, anyway...RIP, dude.

“Soulful Strut” #3 1/18/1969

Another strange story behind a hit record. Barbara Acklin recorded “Am I The Same Girl” but for some reason her vocal was scrubbed and a piano melody substituted. The resulting instrumental was re-titled “Soulful Strut” and credited to Young-Holt Unlimited, but neither drummer Eldee Young or bassist Red Holt actually played on the record. Young and Holt were formerly 2/3 of the Ramsey Lewis Trio (“The ‘In’ Crowd”). Acklin’s original version only got to #79 a few weeks later. The song was remade in 1992 by Swing Out Sister and became a #1 adult contemporary hit.

“My Favorite Things” (Herb Alpert) #45 1/11/1969

Thanks to “The Sound Of Music” and Julie Andrews, this became a Christmas standard. Here’s an interesting arrangement by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. This was their last single to even chart in the upper half of the Top 50. Herb dissolved the group soon afterward to concentrate on running A&M Records. He was the first person to have a #1 vocal (1968’s “This Guy’s In Love With You”) and a #1 instrumental (1979’s “Rise”).

“A Ray Of Hope” #24 1/11/1969

The Rascals’ previous single “People Got To Be Free” reached #1; this, not so much. They were perhaps trying a bit too hard to be album oriented instead of a singles act. Their current double LP “Freedom Suite” had one of the two discs consist of just three instrumentals, one of those taking up a whole side. Definitely not as pop-sounding as their earlier efforts.

“Cinnamon” #11 1/11/1969

One of rock music’s more convoluted stories here. Johnny Cymbal (yes, that’s his real name) had a Top 20 hit in 1963 with “Mr. Bass Man” but after five years, nothing else clicked. Johnny, not wanting DJ’s to make any connection to his lack of success, released this under the name of his half-brother Derek Cymbal, who was in his band. Johnny had other commitments and couldn’t tour to promote what became a hit, so the real Derek did all the gigs by portraying the fake one-named Derek. Got that? Johnny wrote “Mary In The Morning,” made famous by Al Martino (and Elvis) before passing away in 1993.

“Hooked On A Feeling” #5 1/11/1969

Written by Mark James (who also wrote “Suspicious Minds,” huge for Elvis later in the year), this became the first Top 5 hit for B.J. Thomas. Recorded in Memphis, it featured an electrified sitar by Reggie Young, who played a similar part on “Cry Like A Baby” for the Box Tops. Then there was the 70’s cover by Blue Swede, featured in the first “Guardians Of The Galaxy” movie. Ooogah-chagah-ooogah-ooogah! The Swedish band got the chanting idea from a 1971 version by Jonathan King (“Everyone’s Gone To The Moon”).

“Only A Northern Song”

Due to complexities of the Beatles’ music publishing deal with Northern Songs at the time, John and Paul profited far more from a George Harrison composition than George did. So Harrison wrote this partly as sarcasm and partly as a throwaway, since it didn’t much matter. It sat unreleased for about 18 months until the group needed material for a contractually obligated soundtrack to the cartoon feature “Yellow Submarine.” Their hearts weren’t in it, however. The LP was issued on this date in 1969. A few months later in a corporate power play, the Fab Four lost the legal rights to almost all their songs, later acquired by Michael Jackson in 1985 (thanks to Paul, unwittingly) and finally regained by McCartney in 2017. When they recorded “Say, Say, Say” Paul told Michael that music publishing was a gold mine. Jackson said, “I’ll get your songs, then!” Eventually he did...and still went broke.

“Wichita Lineman” #3 1/11/1969

After success with a Jimmy Webb song containing a place name (Phoenix), Glen Campbell asked if Jimmy had another one in him. Webb came up with this idea while driving in the Oklahoma Panhandle, seeing a telephone lineman atop a pole in the middle of nowhere. Glen played the solo in the middle; Carol Kaye of the Wrecking Crew played the iconic five-note intro. The violins get to me every time, representing wind whistling through the wires. Magnificently written, and a former #1 country song, too. An absolute fave of mine.

“I’m Gonna Make You Love Me” #2 1/11/1969

A rarity - a major hit for Motown that wasn’t written in-house. Philly guys Kenny Gamble and Jerry Ross co-wrote the song (some sources also credit Jerry Williams or Leon Huff), first done by Dionne’s sister Dee Dee Warwick in 1967. Another version was by Madeline Bell, with Dusty Springfield singing backup; that one made the Top 40. The song eventually found its way to Motown and was recorded by the Supremes/Temptations combo with Diana Ross and Eddie Kendricks trading lead vocals. Otis Williams of the Temps did the spoken interlude along with Ms. Ross.

“Good Night”

The closing track of the White Album was a lullaby John wrote for his son Julian. Having Ringo sing it with an orchestral backing was a rather interesting call. After the discordant “Revolution 9” this was quite jarring for the listener to absorb. There were so many musical styles included, but that was what made them the Beatles.

“Revolution 9”

Undoubtedly, and justifiably, the most reviled Beatles track ever. Experimental tape loops assembled by John and Yoko. Eight-plus minutes of your life you’ll never get back. Hey, it inspired Charlie Manson. Enough said. Allegedly “number nine” spoken backwards sounds like “Turn me on, dead man” another Paul Is Dead clue.

“My Song” #31 1/4/1969

The B-side of “See Saw” also made the Top 40 and R&B Top 10 for Aretha Franklin. This was a remake of the 1952 Johnny Ace R&B hit. Johnny had once been in B.B. King’s band before succeeding. He was in Houston at a 1954 Christmas Day show when he started waving a gun around backstage. Witnesses said Johnny had been drinking, pointed the .32 pistol at himself and actually said, “See? It’s not loaded...” just before it went off. Geeeeez. His posthumous “Pledging My Love” became a #1 R&B hit for 10 weeks in 1955.

“This Is My Country” #25 1/4/1969

By the late 60’s, the Impressions had solidly gravitated into more socially conscious songs. Curtis Mayfield subtly shifted the meaning of the title phrase to “this is MY country,” giving it a somewhat accusatory tilt as if to say “don’t mess with us!” Mayfield would leave the group to go solo the following year.

“Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag” (Otis Redding) #21 1/4/1969

Record labels seem to come up with all sorts of posthumous releases for their stars, and it was no different with Otis Redding. Atlantic Records inherited (some would say stole) the Stax Records catalog around the time Otis died. Atlantic found enough material for three studio albums and two live LP’s, one of which produced a concert take of this James Brown hit.

“Lo Mucho Que Te Quiero” #14 1/4/1969

Some bilingual Tex-Mex pop from René y René, who hailed from the border town of Laredo, Texas. They had a similarly styled minor hit in 1964 with “Angelito (Little Angel)” René Herrera passed away in 2005, but to my knowledge René Ornelas is still doing gigs around northern Mexico and south Texas.

“Too Weak To Fight” #13 1/4/1969

The followup to “Slip Away” for Clarence Carter also made the R&B Top 5 and did fairly well on the pop charts. Clarence seemed to do a lot of songs about the human mating ritual and all its twists and turns. One from 1970 was titled “Getting The Bills But No Merchandise.” Draw your own conclusions.

“Cloud Nine” #6 1/4/1969

The first Temptations single of the post-David Ruffin era was a marked departure from their previous hits. The lyrics were rather psychedelic in nature; some said they were pro-drug use, though strong denials were issued by all involved. Newest member Dennis Edwards was prominently featured, but all five Temps traded lead vocals here. The wah-wah was by Detroit studio guitarist Dennis Coffey, who would appear on many other Motown hits before his 1971 solo smash “Scorpio.”

“Cry Baby Cry”

One that John considered a throwaway from the White Album. Of course, at times Lennon was his own worst critic. It was based on English nursery rhymes, of all things. The ending was tacked on from an outtake of a portion of Paul’s “I Will” and led into “Revolution 9.” Apparently there was lots of bickering and sniping between everyone involved during this recording. It was enough to cause the departure of their primary studio engineer, Geoff Emerick, who was kind of important behind the scenes to the entire process. He wouldn’t work with the Beatles again for another nine months. Geoff passed away in October 2018.

“Savoy Truffle”

Sometimes the Beatles could be a tad whimsical in their songwriting. George based this White Album song on Eric Clapton’s obsessive love of chocolates and what they could do to his teeth. “Savoy truffle” was from Mackintosh’s, a British candy maker. George asked that the sax parts be distorted on purpose, which irked the hired musicians. Once again, John was uninterested in contributing to a Harrison track.

The “Get Back” Album

Though the Beatles were mentally worn out after the fractured White Album sessions, Paul pushed the idea of immediately making a back-to-basics LP, being filmed along the way and showing development of songs from conception to live performance. Kind of a predecessor to reality TV, if you will. Sites considered for a live gig included an ocean liner in the Atlantic and even the Colosseum in Rome. The others weren’t overly enthused about the concept, which had the working title “Get Back.” They had the mindset, “If we must, we must. Let’s get on with it.” Sessions began on this date and lasted all of January 1969. Hours of film and tape were made at the Twickenham movie studio - usually mindless jamming, snippets of older songs, and even more bickering than the White Album. Things deteriorated to where George Harrison walked out for almost a week. He returned on the condition that rehearsals be moved to the basement of Apple Records. Billy Preston was brought in as a calming force, which mostly succeeded. They all knew Billy from Little Richard’s band when they crossed paths back in the Hamburg days. The culmination was performing some new songs January 30th on the Apple rooftop, which brought central London to a screeching halt until police stopped the show.

Glyn Johns was given the unenviable task of making sense of it all for an album. He assembled a running order twice, before and after “Abbey Road.” Although a cover photo was taken, etc., the band rejected both finished products, so in March 1970 Phil Spector was brought in. When you have to call Phil Spector to clean up the mess, you have a complete mess. He fixed it, but did it his way without knowledge or consent of McCartney or George Martin. Phil’s remixes and additions to “Let It Be” and “The Long And Winding Road” really struck a raw nerve with Paul. Add the discord about McCartney’s solo LP, finances and who was to run their business affairs, and that was the last straw. The album wasn’t released until May 1970, but the world’s greatest rock band disintegrated before our eyes a month earlier.

“Honey Pie”

The Beatles could perform just about any musical style. This was reminiscent of their British music hall-styled “When I’m Sixty-Four,” or what we Yanks called vaudeville. Paul’s dad had been a traditional jazz trumpeter, so McCartney knew how to write that type of old-timey song.

“Revolution 1”

There were actually three versions of “Revolution.” This slower take was the original, and the first song recorded for the White Album. John wanted the slow version to be the A-side of the first single issued by Apple Records. But he was outvoted, and that became a serious bone of contention as the sessions wore on. (“Hey Jude” hadn’t even been written yet.) It originally ran more than ten minutes; the first four minutes were used here. The remainder formed the basis for the infamous “Revolution 9.” The non-album version was faster and appeared on the flip side of “Hey Jude.”

“Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” (The Marmalade) #1 UK 1/1/1969

We begin 1969 with this week’s #1 single in the UK, unreleased in America, by The Marmalade (“The” was later dropped). They covered this Beatles’ White Album tune, even leaving in Paul’s transposition of gender. The Marmalade was the first Scottish group to top the British charts. These guys later had a US Top 10 hit with “Reflections Of My Life” in early 1970.

UPDATE: Lead singer Dean Ford passed away on New Years’ Eve. He was 72. https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/marmalade-singer-dean-ford-dead-13804339