Most “best of” lists that deal in or contain 50s & 60s music (roughly pop/rock’s pre-teen years) will contain works from Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan or Motown. And why not? SPIN magazine even once did a list that was entitled “The Best Albums from the 1960s That Weren’t Recorded by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones or Bob Dylan” – but that was so they could put The Velvet Underground at the top with no fear of backlash (like saying The Velvet Underground and Nico is better than Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band is somehow sacrilegious.)*
Anyway, I have a list of songs from that time that don’t include any of the above acts and still represent it fairly well; they’re in chronological order. And there may be a few ringers. And why not?
- “Jamaica Farewell”, Harry Belafonte (1957) –I’ve always said that the 1980s would have been a much different decade musically if Bob Marley hadn’t died so early on; I truly believe what we call “world music” would have given burgeoning hip-hop a struggle or at the very least another influence. Well, “world music” had been making inroads into pop music since the mid-50s thanks to this guy. Now, most of us born after the Beatles arrived know Belafonte mainly from “Day-O” and “Jump in the Line” thanks to the movies, but this song is actually the best of the three. An impossibly beautiful meditation on a traveler’s lost love in Jamaica, it deepens its theme by multi-tracking his vocals in the chorus, suggesting that it is all men’s fate to be so seduced.
- “Pretend You Don’t See Her”, Jerry Vale (1957) – Most people I know of Italian-American descent grew up with Sinatra in the house. I didn’t, for some reason, though I would eventually learn the deficit and deficiency that comes with THAT. (“Summer Wind” and “It Was a Very Good Year” would, for sure, make it onto any list it qualifies for.) However, my parents listened to Jerry Vale ad infinitum, with a good chunk of Tony Bennett and Jimmy Roselli for good measure. This was purely a political move, as my father disapproved of Sinatra’s. This track epitomizes everything that is wonderful of pre-Beatle pop music – gorgeous production, impassioned vocals and a grand melody.
- “The Good Life”, Tony Bennett (1963) – Sinatra is easily one of the greatest vocalists of the 20th Century; that doesn’t mean that he sings the definitive versions of everything. Just like Streisand, who would place higher than Ol’ Blue Eyes on that list, fails when she sings Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind”, no one can touch Tony on this one. All too briefly, Bennett admonishes a lover, but says he’ll be there for her, while making an airtight case for rejecting the very lifestyle in which Sinatra lived and whose music served as the soundtrack. Deft….subtle….masterpiece.
- “Walk On By”, Dionne Warwick (1964) – the one song on this list that could hold its own even if every act listed in the intro was allowed in, no doubt. An interesting take on an emotional blowout, as Dionne shows strength by accepting her weakness. Plus, that devastating piano chord, which rivals the one sustained at the end of the lads’ “A Day in the Life”. I heard that chord as a little boy, didn’t know what it meant until I got my heart broken the first time and it taught me a lesson I’d hold for the rest of my life.
- “I Got You Babe”, Sonny and Cher (1965) – As a recording, this one beats the living daylights out of most pop songs in any year, from then til 100 years from now. An incredible confection of pure pop magic, the charms of this song only deepen over time. Sonny shows what he learned from working for“Wall of Sound” Phil Spector; he piles on the layers and it never even shows signs of crumbling down. Bonus points for this, too: Cher is easily one the most limited singers in history and Sonny ranks 10 notches higher on the same list, yet they make it work. Cher said of Sonny, after his death that he was the love of her life; she must have been thinking of this song when she said that, because only that kind of affection could have inspired this song.
- “California Dreaming”, The Mamas and the Papas (1966) – Many have written of the enduring charms and influence of The Beach Boys; many cherish their music. And then there’s me. If nothing else, this song puts a sinister twist on Brian Wilson’s con job of West Coast bliss (setting the stage for America’s “Ventura Highway”, a few years later) AND made a monster hit. But the vocals and harmonies would show to be even more influential over time. For an extra treat, check out Jose Feliciano’s (yes) version.
- “Run On”, Elvis Presley (1967) – done right before the ’68 comeback, this is one of the greatest “inspirational” songs ever. Elvis plays the role of a man saved by the good word and lets the rest of the congregation know what’s in store for them if they waver from the path set forth. More rockabilly than gospel, the King was rarely better. What makes the song kill is the questionable moral hierarchy it suggests; trying to sleep with your neighbor’s wife is bad, but him killing you is justified? Funny.
- “I Was Made to Love Her”, Stevie Wonder (1967) – Pure ringer – a Motown from (arguably) THE Motown artist. But this is Stevie Wonder as we’ve forgotten him…this is Little Stevie, the one who had yet to declare (quite deservedly, to be sure) artistic freedom from the Motown “machine”. Where do we start with this song? How about the line “I was made to love her…throw my world all around her”, as he drops his register in the second half; you can SEE him throwing his hands down to defend his love; this is hip-hop boasting 15 years ahead of its time. How about the realization that the song is being sung as an “I told you” as the childhood sweethearts made good on that boast? How about every time I hear this, I want it to be 20 minutes long and hear a succession of ad-libbed vocals on the playout?
- “Witchita Lineman”, Glen Campbell (1968) – Okay, Dad may not have brought the Sinatra (or anything else from the 60s), but he had THIS. Oh, this is amazement. Songwriter Jimmy Webb tells a tale heard over and over in pop music – how to balance love and work. But there are so many touches that elevate it to unique status. A man who basically controls power is unable to be with the woman he adores. Yes, adores. And that’s stronger than love, as evidenced by the line, “And I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time.” That is just one of those lines; putting it in the mouth of an average Joe suggests that the soul of a poet resides in all of us. And that’s what the best pop music is all about – making the personal universal.
- “Elenore”, The Turtles (1968) – This one just makes me grin like an idiot. A little wiki-lore for you all (I’ve tried to avoid it) – this comes from a concept album** called The Turtles Present The Battle of the Bands, in which the group played songs of differing styles, each with their own band name! Clever, really. But what makes this one stand out, not just from the album, but over those 13 years, is the layers it piles on. Basically, it’s a simple pop song, with the “moon-June-spoon” lyrical structure that Dylan and The Beatles killed off, but sung, played and produced in Beatlesque fashion. Dig a little deeper, though, and you see the barbs…”even though your folks hate me”, “you’re my pride and joy, et cetera”…nothing like biting the hands that influenced you. Plus, I’ve never heard a line written to rhyme its first syllable with its last (“Elenore, gee, I think you’re swell”). Brilliant, especially since they wrote the thing to twist on and say “fuck you” to the record company that hounded them for another “Happy Together”. This is the better song, hands down. No wonder Frank Zappa loved these guys.
* We’ll
talk someday about how it is LOGICALLY impossible for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club
Band to be the greatest album of all time.
**We’ll
also talk about concept albums. Remind
me.
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