1967-1970
1967 was a huge year - not only for myself but the whole music scene and society in general. The tone was set in the summer when The Beatles released Sargeant Pepper. The release of that album really changed the world perhaps more than any other musical event in history. The kids that had grown up watching the Beatles and their music evolve over the past few years were introduced to a new way of thinking, and social issues suddenly became a huge part of the scene. It wasn't just the "tune-in, turn-on" aspect of the times that was significant - it was the total package that sort of evolved seemingly overnight. Kids were suddenly demanding the right to be themselves - individuals with legitimate rights and opinions of what was happening in the world around them. The key wasn't only social consciousness but inward, spiritual consciousness as well.
Psychedelia sort of became the vehicle for kids to make their messages known to the masses - to tell the "grown-ups" (i.e. politicians, fat cats and the government) that we were people too and that we have a right to say what we mean and to make choices for ourselves. That we want to change the world for the better and try to fix the mess that the older generation had made of it.
No one can really relate what it was like back then unless they were there, and even then it's hard to describe. We all had our own scenes and our own stories of what it was like living during this period. I, for one, was anything but a political advocate or social reformer. Nor was I really quite old enough to be in that position.(I was only a sophomore in high school, after all!) But the vibes of the era were real and had a profound effect on me. It began with the Sgt. Pepper album itself: the cover, the way it folded open and included all of those cool cut-out figures. And it even included all of the song lyrics! And then there was the music itself. Whoa! No one had ever heard anything like it before! The music was unreal, in a word. Awesome, varied, mysterious, melodic, Eastern, and the list of adjectives goes on and on. I've always been a "music/melody" type: one who hears the music before he hears the lyrics. And this LP was simply incredible, musically and lyrically!
At any rate, while all of these world- shaping things and events were going on, I was busy getting my driver's license and my first car (a '60 VW bug convertible.) Cruising around town with Roger and/or Nugie became my main pastime - listening to all the great music on AM radio and checking out the chicks on the boulevard. It was a great time - an excellent time! Dances and live bands were a huge part of the scene and a lot of great local bands were playing all the time. I had dropped out of the band scene and spent my spare time playing my new 12-string Stella accoustic. No real big dreams of stardom back then, just playing to enjoy the sheer fun of it.
1968 through 70 was pretty much the same. The music playing on AM radio was awesome and FM radio as well as 8-track tapes were starting to emerge, big time. When the Beatles broke up in '70, I was in denial. "They'll get back together - you'll see," I told everybody. I was wrong. I didn't have time to get depressed about it though. Before I knew it, Harrison and McCartney had released their solo albums and I loved them both. Music would survive, I happily decided.
In 1970, I got in another band called "Lord Foppington." Roger and I had been writing songs together (he wrote poems/lyrics and I put them to music) and we formed the band along with Joe Babcock (guitar,vocals) and Jeff Slattery (drums). I taught Roger how to play bass and I played guitar and sung. The band was extremely short-lived and never got out of the basement. We did however, record a few original compositions and this became a hugh stepping stone for me as an artist. I found out that I loved writing originals songs and really loved recording them. I got my first reel-to-reel recorder (a really cheap G.E. stereo 2-track) that year and became an absolute recording nut! We started writing songs furiously (both individually and together) so we could get the things on tape. I started learning how to produce and engineer throughout this period. Although the G.E. tape deck didn't have any way to overdub tracks, I experimented with taping things on a separate recorder then recording live tracks in unison to see if I could come up with an efficient way to add some tracks. It sounded like crap, of course, but it familiarized me with the challenges involved with timing and recording levels in the process. It wasn't until '72 when I got my Sony TC-353 with Sound On Sound that I was able to make a halfway decent recording with overdubs. (and a lot of hiss!) The echo capabilities of that deck was unreal but more about that later...
A fairly rare EP that I bought at a Beatles convention in Columbus:
Songs from 1967-70 (chart positions in Billboard):
The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin'
Groovy) - Harpers Bizarre (#13)
7 Rooms of Gloom - Four Tops (#14)
Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
(#19)
Alfie - Dionne Warwick (#15)
All - James Darren (#35)
All I Need - The Temptations (#8)
All You Need Is Love - The Beatles (#1)
Baby, You're a Rich Man - The Beatles (#34)
Back On the Street Again - The Sunshine Company (#36)
A Banda (Ah Bahn-da) - Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass (#35) (instrumental)
The Beat Goes On - Sonny & Cher (#6)
Beautiful People - Bobby Vee & The Strangers (#37)
Beg, Borrow and Steal - Ohio Express (#29)Don't You
Care - The Buckinghams (#6)
Dry Your Eyes - Brenda & The Tabulations (#20)
Epistle to Dippy - Donovan (#19)
Even the Bad Times Are Good - The Tremeloes (#36)
Everlasting Love - Robert Knight (#13)
Everybody Needs Love - Gladys Knight & The Pips (#39)
Everybody Needs Somebody to Love - Wilson Pickett (#29)
Explosion in Your Soul - Soul Survivors (#33)
Expressway To Your Heart - Soul Survivors (#4)
Fakin' It - Simon & Garfunkel (#23)
For What It's Worth (Stop, Hey What's That Sound) - The Buffalo
Springfield (#7)
For Your Love - Peaches & Herb (#20)
For Your Precious Love - Oscar Toney, Jr. (#23)
Friday on My Mind - The Easybeats (#16)
Happy Jack - The Who (#24)
Happy Together - The Turtles (#1)
Hello Goodbye - The Beatles (#1)Penny Lane - The
Beatles (#1)
People Are Strange - The Doors (#12)
Pleasant Valley Sunday - The Monkees (#3)
Please Love Me Forever - Bobby Vinton (#6)
Portrait of My Love - The Tokens (#36)
Pretty Ballerina - The Left Banke (#15)
Pucker Up Buttercup - Jr. Walker & The All-Stars (#31)
The Rain, The Park, and Other Things - The Cowsills (#2)
1968
All Along the Watchtower - The
Jimi Hendrix Experience (#20)Eleanor Rigby - Ray
Charles (#35)
Elenore - The Turtles (#6)
The End of Our Road - Gladys Knight & The Pips (#15)
Everyday People - Sly & The Family Stone (#1)
Everything That Touches You - The Association (#10)
The Eyes Of A New York Woman - B.J. Thomas (#28)
Face It Girl, It's Over - Nancy Wilson (#29)
Fire - The Crazy World of Arthur Brown (#2)
Folsom Prison Blues - Johnny Cash (#32)
Fool for You - The Impressions (#22)
The Fool on the Hill - Sergio Mendes & Brazil '66 (#6)
For Once in My Life - Stevie Wonder (#2)
Forever Came Today - Diana Ross & The Supremes (#28)
The Funky Judge - Bull & The Matadors (#39)
Funky Street - Arthur Conley (#14)
Gentle on My Mind - Glen Campbell (#39)
Hooked On A Feeling - B.J. Thomas (#5)
The Horse - Cliff Nobles & Co. (#2) (instrumental)
The House That Jack Built - Aretha Franklin (#6)
How'd We Ever Get This Way - Andy Kim (#21)
Hurdy Gurdy Man - Donovan (#5)
Hush - Deep Purple (#4)Jennifer Juniper - Donovan
(#26)
Journey to the Center of the Mind - The Amboy Dukes (#16)
Judy in Disguise (with Glasses) - John Fred & His Playboy
Band (#1)
Jumpin' Jack Flash - The Rolling Stones (#3)
Just Dropped In (to See What Condition My Condition Was In) -
Kenny Rogers & The First Edition (#5)
Keep on Lovin' Me, Honey - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell (#24)
Kentucky Woman - Deep Purple (#38)
Kiss Me Goodbye - Petula Clark (#15)
La-La Means I Love You - The Delfonics (#4)
Lady Madonna - The Beatles (#4)
Lady Willpower - Gary Puckett & The Union Gap (#2)
1969
Crossroads - Cream (#28)
Crystal Blue Persuasion - Tommy James & The Shondells (#2)
Cupid - Johnny Nash (#39)
Daddy's Little Man - O.C. Smith (#34)
Daddy Sang Bass - Johnny Cash (#1)
Day Is Done - Peter, Paul & Mary (#21)
The Days of Sand and Shovels - Bobby Vinton (#34)
Did You See Her Eyes - The Illusion (#32)
Dizzy - Tommy Roe (#1)
Do Your Thing - Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band (#11)
Does Anybody Know I'm Here - The Dells (#38)
Doggone Right - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles (#32)
Don't Let Me Down - The Beatles (#35)
Don't Let the Joneses Get You Down - The Temptations (#20)
Don't Touch Me - Bettye Swann (#38)
Down On the Corner - Creedence Clearwater Revival (#3)
Early in the Morning - Vanity Fare (#12)
Easy to Be Hard - Three Dog Night (#4)
Echo Park - Keith Barbour (#40)
Eleanor Rigby - Aretha Franklin (#17)
Eli's Coming - Three Dog Night (#10)
Everybody's Talkin' - Nilsson (#6)
Holly Holy - Neil Diamond (#6)
Honky Tonk Women - The Rolling Stones (#1)
Hot Fun in the Summertime - Sly & The Family Stone (#2)
Hot Smoke and Sassafrass - The Bubble Puppy (#14)
Hurt So Bad - The Lettermen (#12)
I Can Hear Music - The Beach Boys (#24)
I Can Sing a Rainbow / Love Is Blue - The Dells (#22)
I Can't Get Next to You - The Temptations (#1)
I Can't See Myself Leaving You - Aretha Franklin (#28)
I Don't Know Why - Stevie Wonder (#39)
I Don't Want Nobody to Give Me Nothing (Open the Door, I'll -
James Brown (#20)
I Got a Line on You - Spirit (#25)
I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City - Nilsson (#34)
I Started a Joke - Bee Gees (#6)
1970
25 or 6 to 4 - Chicago (#4)
5-10-15-20 (25-30 Years of Love) - The Presidents (#11)
ABC - The Jackson 5 (#1)
After Midnight - Eric Clapton (#18)
Ain't It Funky Now (Part 1) - James Brown (#24) (instrumental)
Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Diana Ross (#1)
Airport Love Theme (Gwen & Vern) - Vincent Bell & Orchestra
(#31) (instrumental)
All I Have To Do Is Dream - Bobbie Gentry & Glen Campbell
(#27)
All Right Now - Free (#4)
Always Something There to Remind Me - R.B. Greaves (#27)
American Woman - The Guess Who (#1)
Amos Moses - Jerry Reed (#8)
Are You Ready? - Pacific Gas & Electric (#14)
As the Years Go By - Mashmakhan (#31)
Baby Hold On - The Grass Roots (#35)
Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today) - The Temptations
(#3)
Evil Ways - Santana (#9)
Evil Woman Don't Play Your Games With Me - Crow (#19)
Express Yourself - Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd St. Rhythm
Band (#12)
Fancy - Bobbie Gentry (#31)
Fire and Rain - James Taylor (#3)
For the Good Times - Ray Price (#11)
For the Love of Him - Bobbi Martin (#13)
For You Blue - The Beatles (#1)
Games - Redeye (#27)
Get Ready - Rare Earth (#4)
Instant Karma (We All Shine On)
- John Ono Lennon (#3)
Isn't It a Pity - George Harrison
It Don't Matter to Me - Bread (#10)
It's a New Day (Parts 1 & 2) - James Brown (#32)
It's a Shame - Spinners (#14)
It's All in the Game - Four Tops (#24)
It's Only Make Believe - Glen Campbell (#10)
Jennifer Tomkins - Street People (#36)
Jingle Jangle - The Archies (#10)
Joanne - Michael Nesmith & The First National Band (#21)
Julie, Do Ya Love Me - Bobby Sherman (#5)
Kentucky Rain - Elvis Presley (#16)
Lay A Little Lovin' On Me - Robin McNamara (#11)
Lay Down (Candles in the Rain) - Melanie with The Edwin Hawkins
Singers
Let A Man Come in and Do the Popcorn (Part 2) - James Brown (#40)
Let It Be - The Beatles (#1)
Let Me Go to Him - Dionne Warwick (#32)
Let's Work Together - Canned Heat (#26)
Let's Work Together (Part 1) - Wilbert Harrison (#32)
The Letter - Joe Cocker with Leon Russell (#7)
Little Green Bag - George Baker Selection (#21)
Lola - The Kinks (#9)
The Long and Winding Road - The Beatles (#1)
