The Letter - Box Tops | Andy & Alex FIRST TIME REACTION!
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- Опубліковано 7 вер 2023
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One of my dad’s closest friends, Wayne Carson, wrote this song. Between this song and Always on My Mind, he was set for life. But he had a lot of other great songs as well that he wrote for other artists. Check him out. He was such an interesting guy with so many stories, and we really miss him.
Very cool!
Great memory to carry forward!
❤❤❤
Wow! Small world 🌍.
Very cool indeed!
The Joe Cocker version is one of my fave all-timers!
The Joe Cocker version is probably better known and doesn't have that 60s pop quality. I like that dated 60s pop sound more than I used to but in small doses.
Sorry friend. I don’t get JC. All his “hits” are covers. Especially Beatles
Yes! Love this song!
Absolutely. He knocks it out of the ballpark, as he does with all of his covers.❤
Yeah. That one is fantastic. Half time. Funky.
16 year old Alex Chilton singing this tune...he sounded so much older! I remember hearing this on the radio a LOT in 1967 in Canada...where it went to #1.
Did he record it in an iron lung? How did he get his voice so low and gravelly?
@@antarcticorb9197 Alex Chilton was a good mimic. The producer of the Box Tops, Dan Penn, had (and apparently still has, even at the age of 81) that same sort of whiskey-and-cigs baritone. He personally demonstrated how he wanted it sung, and told Chilton to sing the song just like he did. A 16-year-old kid who is in a recording studio for the first time ever does whatever the producer tells him to do. And so Chilton sang "The Letter" the way Penn told him to sing it -- and once the song hit #1 in the U.S. on the *Billboard* chart it therefore became obvious that Chilton was going to have to sing *all* of the Box Tops songs that way.
After he left the band and joined the group that eventually became Big Star, Chilton reverted to his natural singing voice, which was lighter and higher-pitched and didn't have a tenth as much vocal fry as his Box Tops voice had.
@@gregsager2062 thanks 👍
When I first heard this was Alex Chilton of Big Star I thought for sure my friend was yanking my chain
That and Summer in the City,I was 7 but I liked both,go figure .
Possibly the only song in which anybody's Baby wrote a letter containing good news. ☮💜
Dear John, please come home, I love you! No time for a fast train, get a mf plane!
Definitely better than the letter in Firehouse's song "All She Wrote"
Oh, you are right! Most songs it would have been a "Dear John" type letter!
😂 True that.
that is hilarious!...Lol
This song stands as an absolute "Classic Rock" icon.
You really want to see and hear the video of of this song done by Joe Cocker, on the Mad Dogs and Englishman tour. 1970. Leon Russell tearing it up on piano. Real Banger.
yes yes YES!!!!!
I'm gonna go watch it again right now.
I remember hearing this as a young girls, this was a very popular song in the early 70's. "Cry Like A Baby" is good too! He was only 16 years old when the Boxtop performed this song.
Your timeframe's a little off. This song was a hit in the summer of 1967.
Some of us will be because when young teenagers in the early 70s were still hearing so many songs from the 60s played on the radio. It's one of the reasons I liked American Top 40 so much. Mr Kasem was quite educational. 😎
Got to hear Cry Like a Baby now , loved if too!
Box top member Alex Chilton went on to become a cult band legend in the band...Big Star. Although big star never achieved chart success they were a huge influence on alternative rock. Two of their songs are September gurls and I'm in love with a girl. Big star is worth your time.
And Cheap Trick covered Big Star's "In The Street" for the theme song of That '70s Show.
I've been trying to get them to dive into big star for a year or two now..
Thirteen...
Concur
The Ballad of El Goodo is their masterpiece, IMO.
When this song came out it was on HEAVY rotation on the radio. It was played every hour for weeks
Naturally, since it hit #1 on the *Billboard* chart.
Time Has Come Today by The Chambers Brothers actually got more votes than The Letter, but was divided between more comments. I don’t know what it will take to get these two the react to it (11 minute album version only!), but with 2+ years of trying, I’m at my wit’s end.
I Can't Turn You Loose is the best by the Chambers Brothers.
A&A, you'll love their "Cry Like a Baby" !!! Joe Cocker does a killer version of "The Letter"!!!!
Hard to believe you've only done 1 Joe Cocker song.
You'll love Joe's "You Can Leave Your Hat On", "She Came In Through the Bathroom Window", "You Are So Beautiful" and "Feeling Alright"!!!!
High Time We Went for the win..
Unchain my Heart is his best
There is no way - to help you kids understand - how big (important) letters used to be. This song was a huge hit because of the Vietnam War.
This is easily my favorite Box Tops song. "Cry Like a Baby" and "Soul Deep" are good too, worth checking out at some point, but before hitting either of them,I'd do another Big Star song. If you haven't heard "September Gurls", I'd go with that one next. If you have heard it, then "Ballad of El Goodo" would be a good choice.
"Sweet Cream Ladies, Forward March" and "I Met Her in Church" are also great Box Tops songs. Both were minor hits in 1968.
Cry like a baby. This song brings back a ton of great memories.
I wonder if these two youngsters have ever mailed a letter to a pen pal? Probably not. Sad. They'll never understand that feeling of joy when getting a letter back after two months of waiting.
I haven't don't that and I'm nearly 36!
Feel a touch older now ? 😂 I'll be old soon enough....so I ain't gloating
@@penderyn8794 I did it in Jr High. Each person picked a school somewhere in the US and we wrote a letters to that school's 7th grade. Not only was I only one to get a letter back, I actually got letters from everybody in that class. A big stack of letters.
@@jxchamb I remember some kids magazines also had listings in the back for penpals.
I had several pen pals when I was a tween. I think the only “youngsters” that understand pen pals today are those folk who obsess about relationships with prisoners… not saying there aren’t old folk with this predilection, but it’s a newer type of train to jump.
@@harriotteworthington3147Good point!
From the same era The Soul Survivors, Express Way to Your Heart.
And that has me adding The Left Banke - Walk Away Renee to your shout out
This song goes hand in hand with Take a Letter Maria by R.B. Greaves. Same concept but a different set of circumstance.
Love that song!
Absolutely
This was a huge huge hit. Great music and lyrics, catchy, super radio song for the 60's.
Alex Chilton was 16 years old when he sang that vocal.
It's amazing how the lyrics so simple at first sigh could say so much. Particulary in the 60s this often happened with bands like these. I recommed to you the version of Mad dogs & and Englishmen. Congrats for the new image of the set. Happy weekend, guys! 👋🏻😃
I think this came in under two minutes right? Great song, and those vocals from a 16-year old? Incredible. A rare 60s nugget. And yes, as great as this is, you do need to hear Joe Cocker's cover.
I have a box of letters some from lovers,some friendship a few from my family like my mom who has been gone over 30 years. The intimacy,humor, humanity makes it impossible to get rid of them. The recognizable handwriting can break me. Just so you know to write a actual love letter is incredibly powerful. ☮️
My wife still has the one I sent her in 1983.
Me too. Bittersweet.
Oh yes, a classic staple of the 60s and beyond. Glad you were able to get to it.
I've used this song in teaching because it is so compact and pretty much the perfect pop song.
The live version by Tedeschi Trucks Band is incredible - great vocals, guitar and horns!
Just discovered them on an NPR "Tiny Desk Concert". She looks like a factory worker, but sounds like Bonnie Raitt-- I loved them!
I’ll definitely check it out. They’re a great band.
We see TTB twice a year if possible! Their version of The Letter is outstanding.
yeah, great great tune. 60 years later an still kickin' ass.
Growing up this was regarded as one of the shortest #1 songs of all time. Have a great weekend and L💞ve from Canada!
Shorter than "Travellin' Band"?
Yes by 10 seconds. I do not believe that track by CCR made #1. Quick Google check and Travelin' Band did make #1 in Belgium and the Netherlands. I am an Austin Powers fan so those two "countries' do not matter. 😇 L💞ve from Canada
@@Keepee66 Well, Creedence got "Travellin' Band" down to 1m54s in concert!
'Stay' by Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs is the shortest song to ever hit the top spot in the charts at a whopping 1:38 long.
@@Keepee66 Yep. The irony of Creedence Clearwater Revival's career was that, for about a two-year window, they were as big as any band in the world ... and yet they never had a #1 hit. They had four #2's ("Proud Mary", "Bad Moon Rising", "Green River", and the double-sided "Travelin' Band" / "Who'll Stop the Rain"), four other singles that made the *Billboard* top ten, and a couple of other singles that made the Top 40 -- but never a #1.
When I was in college (this goes back to 1986-87) as part of my group of friends their was a band. Can’t remember what they called themselves. It was made up of people who were in other bands too, but because we were all friends they formed this band of 6 or 7 people. They played the small clubs around the college when they could. One part of every show was introducing and bringing up from the audience one of our other friends to sing The Letter. He happened to have the right voice for the song. He had a stage name just for this introduction. “At this time we’d like to ask Johnny Volcano to come to the stage.” Sometimes he would fake reluctance until the crowd would cheer to get him to go up. It was a whole thing, as though he was some well known singer that happened to be in the crowd that night. He did a good job on the song. To this day, there are still times that some of these people play together and if Johnny Volcano happens to be there, he’s asked to the stage to sing It. He basically created his own legend around The Letter. It was a lot of fun.
Adding to what everyone says about Joe Cocker's live version, at the Fillmore East, with Leon Russell on piano -- IMO it's the definitive version HANDS DOWN.
No.
Love this song, I mean come on the horns? and the singers voice ? Just perfect !
Chilton was a 16 yr old with the voice of a 60 yr old who smoked 3 packs a day for 50 yrs.
🤣
I don’t know where Andy was while this song was playing. The look on his face suggested the music carried him to a completely different time and place. Not until his concluding remarks saying the song “was wholesome AF, dude” did I know he was back in 2023.
In 1967 you were either listening to Motown or Surfer music ...... this was one of those new sounds
Memphis Horns played on this. Vietnam war was raging and and the letter touched everyone thinking of the men and boys away from home.
I love how Alex’s bobblehead kept moving the whole time
The horns start “whomp, whomp”, and the keyboard sets up, and the strings…and, it’s like 2 minutes. 😎
Alex Chilton had such a soulful voice. Songs like "Sweet Cream Ladies" and "Soul Deep" also feature his amazing vocals. He was pretty young when The Boxtops were popular, but he "sang older" as they used to say.
Oh! This takes me back to the 8th grade and my first dance party. Thanks!
A simple tune but an old fav. Thanks!
This is my jam right here🔥
This song reminds me of our cross country trip out to cali, It was my dad, mom, and sister. this song was hot off the charts that summer. Along with riders on the storm, do you know what I mean, ain't no sunshine, and many others. It's a wonder my parents didn't go crazy listening to these songs over and over again, This was before fm. It was all am. But it was a great summer and God bless my parents for putting up with us.
The other big song by The Box Tops is "Cry Like A Baby". Another classic.
I love this song and it really takes me back. I heard it so many times I still know all the words. Thank you for your time and your reactions.
Ditto!
I think this version and Joe Cocker’s version are equally amazing!
Agreed! Both are have different flavor but rocks
The Grass Roots, “ Live forToday” let the song run around your headphones
This band was from Memphis, a city which had an outsized impact on rock and R&B in the 50's and '60's. Hey guys, nobody on the first listen circuit has reviewed "Lovely to See You", one of the songs that is the favorite Moody Blues number of a significant sector of listeners. Very upbeat and classic Moodies sound, a Justin Hayward masterpiece, of only 2-1/2 minutes.
remember listening to this one and their neon rainbow song at night in bed on my little transistor radio back in the late sixties they were a classic band in the style of the beatles believe chilton was the one who sadly dropped dead of cardiac arrest while mowing his lawn which is why I don't do that anymore also joe cocker did great cover of this tune ⚛😀
Another example of how a simple thing can be so amazing...and may not be as simple as we imagine.
Alex Chilton was just 16 years old and still in high school when he recorded that song. The band came to seek him out because they heard he did really well at the school talent show. Pretty crazy! He later hooked up with Chris Bell and sang for Big Star.
“So sixties”
You make that sound like a bad thing.
It all came from the 60’s fellas,inventiveness off the scale and REAL musicians !!
If you want to check out the Box Tops again, there's "Cry Like a Baby," and "Soul Deep."
This is one of those perfect little pop songs. Dude is 16 going on Joe Cocker in this song (which is why I don't actually think Cocker's cover is an improvement), and the production sound is almost Aja-level clear, which is unusual for a 60s record.
To add a bit of context, phone calls existed in the 60s, but calls outside of your area code had a per-minute charge and calls outside of the country had a much larger per-minute charge. That situation got much better in the 80s and 90s.
This is undeniably great but, in my opinion, Joe Cocker's "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" live version is even better! Fantastic energy.
Somehow Joe was one of the few who could take an existing song and lift it to another level 🤘
With Leon
@@jlb6
yes, sir
The best version, from Mad Dogs and Englishmen, with Leon Russell on piano.
Joe could make most songs better, but not this one. It's really hard to top the vibe that the studio version with Alex Chilton's voice. Check out more Big Star songs if you get a chance.
A short, sweet classic. The brilliance of Big Star awaits you.
Aaaahhh…writing letters. The good ‘ol days.
Groovy tune. Love Joe Cocker’s version.
Thanks, guys!
I was born the yr this came out.. Yet my mother played the hell out of this song growing up ❤😂
I'm super proud of you guys. Thanks for doing research. You've really come a long way 🥰
Agree 💯‼️‼️‼️
You wanna know why this song was THE PERFECT '60's record? Look at the running time ...
The original Box tops version and the Cocker cover are both great.
The relationship struggles between veterans and their families. Tough subject matter.
I love this song, it was one of the first 45’s I owned.
My first record! I asked my sister, who was 15, to buy it for me. I was 4 years old, and we shared a room. She not only played AM radio 24/7, in our roo., but when she played her records, they were all Beatles and Motown. Good tunes, but the minute I heard it on the radio, I knew this was more my jam. My brother, who was 17, used to play The Doors , Cream and Stones . So I was really fortunate , they were out of the house by the time I was 8, but the radio and a bunch of their albums stayed. 😅
Andy & Alex, a couple of interesting points about this song. One is that Alex Chilton sang this song (and pretty much the rest of the songs the Box Tops recorded) in that gravelly baritone not because he'd spent years indulging in whiskey and cigarettes (after all, he was only 16 years old at the time), but because the band's producer, southern soul legend Dan Penn, told him to sing it just like he did. Penn sings with that same smoky baritone, and Chilton was a master mimic. After the Box Tops, when Chilton joined what would become one of the all-time great cult bands, Big Star, he reverted to a more comfortable and natural singing style that approximated his speaking voice.
When I started my first year at Miami University this song and Brown Eyed Girl were the 2 songs played everywhere. Good memory for the most part.
What a tight tune with alot of character. its got that short 60s feel but its not all surface. I like it.
Great love 💜 song from the sixties! I have always loved it and it has stayed in my mind from when I was very young I still know all the words. Haha. And to quote Alex, dang dude! Lol
Joe Cocker blew this song away in 1970 on the Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour.
Some serious Memphis music! Finally! There's plenty more from lots of artists and eras.
You guys have no idea. In those days not everyone had a home phone. There were pay phones at all the gas stations and stores, so writing letters was definitely a thing, and the only reliable way to contact someone who lived far away. A kinder and simpler time, and a time when the best cars and greatest music were made!
You forgot to tell them that there were long distance charges on calls as well, and usually local calls were your immediate town and maybe the towns surrounding. Everyone wrote letters, even in the 70’s & 80’s, really didn’t change until the end of long distance calls and the slow death of landline phone companies.
@@betseyr.9081 And AT&T had a monopoly on the LD business for the longest time. They ran ads with the emotional call-to-action, "Reach out and touch someone" to encourage those calls.
Great song from way back in the day. Nice reaction. Lol, what an oxymoron Andy - "wholesome AF."
Alex also co-wrote "In The Street", That 70's Show theme.
My baby wrote me a letter!! Joyous. Well done.
Love the 60`s sound. Joe Cocker did a fantastic job on this tune mostly because of the Leon Russel arrangement. However, to me both versions are equally good & I think that is because of the outstanding songwriting. It`s one of those tunes that would be to mess up no matter who did it. A+ is for a good call.
Wayne Carson was certainly a great songwriter. He also wrote "Soul Deep" and "Always on My Mind". And "The Letter" has been covered dozens of times by various artists, a sure indication of just how good a song it is. Aside from the Box Tops original and the Cocker cover, the versions by the Arbors and by Al Green (both released in 1969) are well worth hearing, too. The Arbors version, in particular, has a totally unique and very cool arrangement. The version by the Reverend Al is (naturally) drenched in soul, and it's a slower and more drawn-out demonstration of soul singing than either the Box Tops or Cocker employed.
Wish there was a band today brave enough to put bop horns in their broody songs.
This is a GREAT one!
Andy, I loved how happy you looked as you listened to this classic. Thanks for finally reacting to the Box Tops. Another great one by them is: I cry like a baby.
Sweet Cream Ladies was a follow up semi-hit to this. It was banned in the South due to suggestive lyrics
This song was mentioned in Almost Famous. Legendary rock journalist Lester Bangs (Phillip Semour Hoffman) is talking music with William, and says, "Do you know "The Letter" by The Box Tops is a minute and fifty-eight seconds long. Means nothing. But it takes them less than two minutes to accomplish what it takes Jethro Tull hours to not accomplish."
Indeed.
You guys should check out Big Star. Alex Chilton was a teenager when he sang this. Big Star is one of the best Power Pop bands ever. 👍
Recorded at Chips Moman's / Dan Penn's American Recording Studios in Memphis. So many great tunes were recorded there...Elvis, Dusty Springfield, Lulu etc.
Golden Earring referenced this in Radar Love where he sings, "Don't need no letter at all".
Two great references in that song -- that one, and the call-out to Brenda Lee's "Comin' On Strong".
The Electric Prunes "I Had Too Much To Dream" (Last Night)
Alex Chilton went on to form Big Star, whose eponymous album, Big Star, was pretty much perfect all the way around.
I saw the Box Tops in concert ‘70 or ‘71. Great Memories!
This song was on my early days of karaoke list and fell off but just got put back on. Mahalo gents!🤙😎
Dudes, heard that song about a million times back in the sixties, but can't remember the last time I heard it. Enjoyed every minute of your reaction, and now I need to add this oldie to my playlist.
What a great song. If I remember right, their other big hit was Cry Like a Baby.
"Soul Deep" was fairly successful as well, reaching #18 on the *Billboard* chart, although it wasn't a Top Ten hit like "The Letter" and "Cry Like a Baby".
I would love to see their reaction to Joe Cokers version of this song!!!
They have to hear Cocker’s version.
Alex Chilton, who wrote this was a legend. Try something from his band Big Star. Short-lived but produced some real gems.
This song is Meaningful for me in two ways. One is that it was my dad's favorite song and he used to sing it in his most fabulous gravelly voice. And the second is that I met Alex Chilton a few times and so it just brings me back.
@gfmiller what wonderful memories those must be!!!
Alex Chilton sure was an interesting cat. I met him as well at one of his solo gigs back in the '80s. He fronted two of my favorite bands -- intriguingly, two bands that played very different styles of music from each other -- and wrote several of my favorite songs, yet as a solo artist he persisted in following his own muse down rabbit holes that didn't always (or even often) appeal to his Box Tops and Big Star fan bases. I give him credit for his integrity, his sense of adventure, and his strength of vision, even when the musical directions he was choosing left me cold. He could be odd and difficult in person, and he seemed to have a tendency to keep people at arm's length, as it appears that his experiences with the Box Tops and Big Star left him jaundiced by the machinations of the music industry. But he was a wonderful talent, and he left us far too young.
Were it only true that children by the millions screamed for Alex Chilton.
@@gregsager2062 Memphian here and yes, Chilton was known to be as you described. What a beautiful soul and immeasurable talent, and truly gone far too soon.
@gregsager2062 yes that is how I met him as well and I am also a huge Big Star fan.
The late Alex Chilton is a Memphis legend, not only for the Box Tops and Big Star but for his solo career, and for producing records by The Cramps and Tav Falco's Panther Burns. I was lucky enough to see him live.
Alex was one of a kind, and a major talent. He is missed.
Love that 60s carnival style merry go round organ. So unpretentious. Wished they used it more often today.
SHE BANGS THE DRUMS - STONE ROSES. They meant so much to so many of us ( DO NOT WATCH THEM LIVE). And Frank Turner live at Wembley.
I had this 45 as a very young guy. Thanks for dreading up some memories
Omg this brings me back to my childhood!
Both Joe Cocker and Lou Rawls did great covers of this song.
I grew up with parents from the 60's and heard all the good stuff, all the time. As a kid this was one of my favorites amid all of the greatness.
Speaking of classics that we can't believe you haven't hit yet,, The Buoys "Timothy"..This song caused so much controversy at the time of it's release,, that many radio stations refused to play it.
I saw them perform this live in 67 at acar shor in ft worth, they were just as good in person.
Lead singer for Smash Mouth just passed away a couple of days ago, R.I.P. Their song "Walking On The Sun" has that 60's vibe, especially with the organ sound. Check it out if you have time!
Just makes me want to go listen to Cockers version