"Trains And Boats And Planes" #22 8/6/1966

Burt Bacharach and Hal David wrote this song with Gene Pitney in mind. Gene turned it down, saying it wasn't one of their better efforts, and later regretted doing so. Brian Epstein was given the tune and in turn gave it to his clients Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, who took the record to moderate success in the UK. Dionne Warwick's later version is what we have for you here today, one of so many Bacharach/David songs she recorded over the years.

Dionne Warwick - Trains and Boats and Planes

"Li'l Red Riding Hood" #2 8/6/1966

Owwwwoooo! I mean, baaaahh! Baaaahh?? Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs never quite seemed to be able to break out of the rut of doing novelty songs. After the success of "Wooly Bully" for whatever reason their label always gave them nonsensical material to record. Sam did eventually make an album with Duane Allman appearing as a session guitarist. The last I heard, Sam (Domingo Samudio) was a motivational speaker.

Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs - Li'l Red Riding Hood

"Harlem Shuffle" #44 2/8/1964 Bonus

Here's the original version of this one from February '64, done by the second incarnation of this duo. They consisted of Bobby Byrd and Earl Nelson - Mr. Byrd also recorded as Bobby Day, who hit in 1958 with "Rockin' Robin" before going solo full time. Earl then recruited Bobby Reif, and those are the two heard here. Sounds like Bob and Earl may have influenced Sam and Dave a lot, among others. Earl later used the name Jackie Lee, and had a novelty record in '65 called "The Duck." Our song today was redone in 1986 by the Rolling Stones, who stayed pretty true to the original, which was arranged by a 19-year-old Barry White. Yes, THAT Barry White.

Bob and Earl - Harlem Shuffle

"Where Were You When I Needed You" #28 7/30/1966

This gets a tad confusing. P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri were writer/producers at Dunhill Records and composed "Eve Of Destruction" for Barry McGuire. They were the first to record today's song in '65, calling themselves the Grass Roots. However, the label didn't want them to be in an actual road band, so a Bay Area group named the Bedouins was hired to become the Grass Roots. Two of those guys appeared on this remake, but almost the whole band quit when they weren't allowed to record original songs. P.F. and Steve hired yet another group, the LA-based 13th Floor, to then become the Grass Roots. It was that version with Rob Grill on lead vocals that had virtually all the hits. Got that? Good.

Grass Roots - Where Were You When I Needed You

"I Want You" #20 7/30/1966

As mentioned in this space previously, it took a long time for me to come around on Bob Dylan. I was 10 years old when this record came along, and it sounded like a jumbled tangle of words. Only much later did it all began to make sense. The video clip today appears to be some sort of Italian production. Maybe the Italians understood him way sooner than I did. I passed on using another clip that was sort of R-rated.

Bob Dylan - I Want You

"Sweet Pea" #8 7/30/1966

An early example of bubblegum music from Tommy Roe. Yeah, it was kind of lightweight, but the 60's welcomed all sorts of music styles. Tommy was part of the Georgia music scene that also produced Ray Stevens, Billy Joe Royal, Joe South, the Classics IV and later, the Atlanta Rhythm Section. Producer Bill Lowery was involved with just about all those folks. Lots of great music came out of Hot 'Lanta.

Tommy Roe - Sweet Pea

"Hungry" #6 7/30/1966

Like the last hit for Paul Revere and the Raiders ("Kicks") this was written by the husband and wife team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. And just like "Kicks" this garage band classic made the Top 10. Hard to imagine what the 60's would've sounded like without Barry and Cynthia's contributions. Check out their discography at mann-weil.com and see for yourselves. Pretty amazing stuff.

Paul Revere and the Raiders - Hungry