I was in the middle of putting a completely different post together the other day, but it was quite a dark one, and after a rough couple of days, I decided to put that one on the back burner.
Instead I am focusing on something more upbeat. I was in the supermarket the other day and they were playing some cracking tunes from the 1960s. So, I decided that I would throw ten absolute corkers from that decade into a playlist - nothing too obscure, and hopefully something for everyone.
Some of these tunes have probably featured in these pages before, but that's okay - these are all classics....
1. The Beatles: She Loves You
There is always a lot of focus on the albums and singles from the Fab Four, once they had discovered LSD and experimentation; 1967 and Sergeant Pepper and beyond. There is obviously some great stuff amongst all that, but it does overlook the fact that between 1962 and 1966, they wrote some of the greatest straight up pop tunes of all time. The song was largely written in a Newcastle hotel room, while on tour with Roy Orbison and Gerry & The Pacemakers - it went on to be the biggest selling single in the UK in all of the 1960s, at around 1.93 million sales. In fact, that record wasn't surpassed until 1977, by none other than Paul McCartney and Wings, with Mull Of Kintyre.
2. Johnny Kidd & The Pirates: Shakin' All Over
This 1960 number one, written by Frederick Albert Heath (Kidd's real name), includes one of the greatest (and iconic) guitar riffs of the decade, courtesy of lead guitarist, Joe Moretti. It has been covered many times, including by The Guess Who, Wanda Jackson, Suzi Quatro and even Mae West, on her 1966 rock n roll covers album, Way Out West.
3. Aretha Franklin: I Say A Little Prayer
Franklin seems to have been very good at picking out tunes to sing from other peoples repertoires - putting her own spin on them and often making them even better. She had success with Son Of A Preacher Man, that gave Dusty Springfield her last top 30 hit for almost twenty years. She also took on I Say A Little Prayer, a Hal David and Burt Bacharach song, that had given Dione Warwick a hit in 1967. Franklin's version was originally just going to be an album track and B-Side of The House That Jack Built. But it got radio play and gained a life of her own, eventually giving her a US number ten hit, and also reaching four in the UK (her biggest UK hit). Let's face it - anything with her voice on it is worth listening to!
4. The Monkees: Last Train To Clarksville
What child of the 80s didn't love to spend their summer holiday mornings watching re-runs of The Monkees tv show? A little bit of zany, slapstick comedy, coupled with some of the catchiest tunes of the era. Last Train features another iconic guitar riff, with songwriters Boyce and Hart apparently trying to recreate the classic Beatles sound of tracks like I Feel Fine and Day Tripper. It has drummer Mickey Dolenz on lead vocals, and was included in seven episodes of the tv show (the most of any of their songs).
5. Otis Redding: (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay
What list of great 60s tunes wouldn't have this in it? Written by Redding and Steve Cropper (guitarist with legendary Stax house band, Booker T & The MGs), it is famous for being recorded soon before his death in a plane crash in December 1967, and then released posthumously the following year. Redding himself, thought the song needed more, but obviously never got a chance to finish it. The more restrained vocal was different to his usual style, and some thought it too poppy - but not the public, as it made US #1 and UK #3.
6. Dusty Springfield: I Only Want To Be With You
This towering pop hit from 1963, was inspired by writer Mike Hawker's new bride, Jean Ryder, and gave Dusty Springfield her first solo hit after leaving The Springfields. Ivor Raymonde's arrangement gave it a Spector-esque Wall Of Sound feel, with big horns and soaring strings. When it entered the lower reaches of the Billboard chart, it effectively made Springfield the second member of the so-called British Invasion (after The Beatles).
7. The Rolling Stones: Jumpin' Jack Flash
Sorry mum - but if we had the Beatles, we had to have the Stones! This was a non-album track (although it came from the Beggars Banquet sessions), and was seen as a return to their blues roots, after dabbling with a more psychedelic sound for a few years. It is said to have been inspired by a stay at Keith Richards country house, where he and Mick Jagger were awakened by the noisy gardener, 'Jumpin Jack' Dyer. It has been played on every tour since, and is their most frequently played live track.
8. The Beach Boys: Surfin USA
The Beach Boys 20 Golden Greats was the first album I remember getting, probably when I was around 7 or 8. I pretty much played that record to death. And while it would be cool of me to say that when I was younger, I loved all the older cooler to like songs, like Good Vibrations or God Only Knows - I know that back then, I was drawn to the catchiness of those early surf songs. Yes, it is basically just a re-write of Chuck Berry's Sweet Little Sixteen, but it is a classic nonetheless - oh those harmonies.....
9. The Small Faces: All Or Nothing
I may sound like a scratched record, but I really believe that Steve Marriott is one of the most underrated and underappreciated singers of that, or any, generation. When he let go, his voice easily matched the more renowned contemporaries like Steve Winwood. All Or Nothing is a mod classic and showcases everything that was great about the Small Faces. There is some dispute over the content - Steve's mother believes it to be about his split from fiancée Sue Oliver, while his first wife, Jenny Rylance thought it was about her split from Rod Stewart.
10. The Kinks: Waterloo Sunset
Ray Davies is a genius, of that there can be little doubt. Along with the previous track, this is right up there in contention as being my favourite song from that decade. He is a masterful story teller, and probably only Difford and Tilbrook (Squeeze) have come close since, in terms of writing narrative lyrics. This song paints a most vivid picture, and once you have visited Waterloo Bridge, every time you hear the song, you can see the movie of the song very clearly in your head. Davies had spent time in St Thomas' hospital as a 13 year old (having a tracheotomy), and the nurses would wheel him out onto the balcony to look at the Thames. That, along with a visit to the 1951 Festival of Britain, and taking walks along the river with his first wife, seem to have lodged in his mind whilst writing this. It is just an incredible tune....
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