I was born in 61. By the time we got to the end of the 60s beginning, of the 70s. I was at an age where I started to appreciate music. For me the music from the 60s through the 70s. Really was the best era.
We all hitchiked to wherever we wanted to go in the 60's and 70's. We never had any 'issues'. We hitched coast to coast, hitched to Woodstock....we all hitched. Everything was....Peace..Love and Rock&Roll! Everyone was a 'Flower Child'. Thanks.
back in '69 the fellow who picked us up hitchin' was getting pulled over by the law. He pulls a 45 from under his jacket, chambers a round then puts it back under his jacket, but nothing happened, cop gave him a warning. We got out at the next light. Not so Everyone was a 'Flower Child'. Cheers.
Most folks who picked people up seemed to have some smoke to share… sometimes folks might pick somebody up hopin’ we had some smoke to share. 💨😶🌫️ Share the love ❤️
Wonder what Jay and Amber would say if they listened to Sammy John's song "Chevy Van"? Thats kinda like the ultimate picking up a hitchhiker experience.
Oh my gosh, closing my eyes, I'm a little girl in the backseat of my parents' car and this is playing on the radio as we went for a Sunday drive. Around the same time as this, there was another song by the band Lobo called "Me and You and a Dog Named Boo", and I remember hearing both of them repeatedly as we'd drive around. Amber would probably really like that one, too.
@@jodyjackson5475 Going to be attending my 50 year high school reunion this summer. I am looking forward to it. Class of about 400 and so far only 14 have signed up to attend with two maybes. A little concerned why so few.
Hey Squad, I’m so glad you continue to seek out the musical treasures from the sixties. There is an entire banquet of spectacular songs of that era - I hope you’re hungry! You need to take a ‘bite out of the Grass Roots’, they had several hit songs during this time, you’ll love ‘em! Keep up the great work you do, it it massively appreciated. With love and respect.
They did ‘Let’s Live For Today’… a few months back. I was wishing for HUGE HITS like ‘Midnight Confessions’, ‘Temptation Eyes’ ‘Two Divided By Love’ ‘Sooner Or Later’ The Grassroots were on American Bandstand over 20 times! There’s a video of a young, groovy, hippie Kenny Rogers introducing the Grassroots for a tv appearance. I think it’s Two Divided By Love
@Donna I’ve suggested and commented about the Grassroots a hundred times and have emailed quite a few times. We KNOW that Amber will absolutely love em’! …gotta see em’ in a performance video. Rob and Kenny are such great singers with charisma.
i remember when i was younger dancing to this song with my friends, these songs lately are taking me down memory lane 😊 yes back then it was much safer of a world, people cared about each other and were nice to each other, sad to see those days gone.
Always loved this song. Came out when I was a tiny girl. I was born in 64 and had older siblings. They always played music in the house. Loved hearing their music (now my music) 😊
Hitchhiking was definitely common back then. Remember, that was before the Manson family and in the 70s serial killers became a big thing. Love this song, it definitely harkens back to a more innocent age.
According to the people who study stuff like this every one worries about picking up a pyscho hitchhiker but in reality the bulk of the known crime during hitchhiking was committed against the hitchhiker not the motorist who picked them up. Hitchhiking was pretty common up until the mid seventies and then for a variety of reasons it pretty much died out. You will occasionally still see people hitching but they are seldom by themselves. The last time I picked up a couple and their dog I was able to give them a ride from Joplin Missouri to Grand Island Nebraska. There are a few rules I follow mainly I seldom pick up anyone if I’m alone in the car and I never let anyone ride behind me in the car that I don’t know. I’m truly not sure which is a better position to be in asking for the ride or giving the ride. There are whole shows on tv that talk about serial killers that drive a lot on a daily route that use the opportunity to collect victims that frequently aren’t even missed for months or years. They just leave home, frequently as an underage runaway and are never seen again.I have been in both positions and I can tell you it sucks to have to be asking for a ride. I lived in a small town in Nebraska and the mayor had a heart attack and was told to get more exercise. So he started walking the six blocks from home to work. He said he never realized how many people wanted to kill him cuz even after it was known he was walking by choice there would be two or three people every day try to give him a ride. But that’s the way a small friendly town is.
In 1967, December, I was fresh out of Navy bootcamp assigned to an amphibious personnel carrier. We were supposed to deploy the day before Christmas Eve to the Mediterranean but plans changed and our deployment was moved to January. So, I decided to surprise my family for Christmas and headed home. . I hitch hiked from Norfolk, Virginia to Detroit, Michigan in my sailor suit starting out around mid-night. I made it home by early evening. It took 3 rides. The first leg was with a fellow sailor from our base to Washington D.C.. The second ride came within minutes of leaving the first right. It was with a young family who took me all the way to Toledo, Ohio. When I got to Toledo I decided that since I was hungry I would treat myself to a steak dinner at a cafe I spotted. When I got to the cashier to pay, I was told that some unnamed person had paid from my steak dinner. I didn't take long to get a ride from Toledo to Detroit where I called my step dad to get me the final couple miles home.
From the 1970 album Hitchin' A Ride, this British Band had a big hit with this happy tune making it to the Billboard Hot 100's at Number 5. It sold 1,000,000 records and hit gold record level. You're right Jordan, it is 2 recorders highlighting throughout this song. An electric piano has a great bass line repetition that's made this a popular tune. Hitchhiking was quite common back in the 70's, but the world was a kinder place back then. Great reaction. Buckets of Maple Syrup love from Canada ❤️❤️ 🇨🇦🇨🇦
This song was released in 1969, but reached number 5 on the Hot 100 in the U.S. in 1970. It was a very popular song. And yes, it was very common to hitchhike back in the 60s/70s! I never did it, but my brothers did it a lot! Thanks for this reaction! ✌💙✌
Love the fun songs from the 60's! Brings back my childhood listening to the AM radio all the time! 😆. Hope your day is better now Jay! ❤️. Back in the day hitchhiking was common. I've only picked up one hitchhiker in my life and I knew him. 😂
One reason this song sounds so good is that it is a blues based I-IV-V in C which is always pleasing to the ear. Very common songwriting technique back then and even today.
This song reminded me that hitchhiking was pretty common back in the sixties and seventies. You used to see people doing it all the time. And the band's name sounds similar to the name of the magazine and novel and other historical uses of the phrase, but it's spelled different, the spelling "fare" suggesting that you have to pay a fare - a cost - for vanity.
This song represents the era of 1969-71 which was a unique transitional sound. Jay nailed it- Blues Image’s Ride Captain Ride is an example, as is King Harvest’s Dancing in the Moonlight.
Also "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" by Edison Lighthouse and "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" by Looking Glass, about that same time, too. Good music.
As I listened to this really good memory from yesterday, I noticed the end of this song reminds me of another. The song is VENUS. The group is Shocking Blue. It was cool and features the sharp vocals of Mariska Veres. A vote for Female Friday. Other nominations for Female Friday are, Alicia Bridges - I LOVE THE NIGHTLIFE. Gladys Knight and the Pips from the Midnight Special - NEITHER ONE OF US. And finally, Taylor Dayne - SEND ME A LOVER. Love the ladies. Enjoy
I was stationed in Germany at Fliegerhorst kaserne in 75-76 and these guys showed up and performed in the EM (enlisted men's) club. They put on a great show for us.
Glenn Johnson Loved this record when released in `69 and still have the single.Loved your reaction to the record and your enjoyment to all this music which is infectious.Thanks for making me smile.
Another one of the great English pop/rock group from the 60's. "Hitchin' A Ride" was their biggest hit. They had some other songs such as "I Live For The Sun", "Early In The Morning" etc.
Actually, their biggest UK hit was their previous single, "Early in the Morning" (#8 UK, #12 US), but this was a strong follow-up. (#5 US, #16 UK). And then they fell off of a cliff. Over a dozen singles released in the next decade, only one hit the UK charts ("Better by Far" got to #54) and none charted in the US. No idea what happened.
At one time I had to hitch a ride to work every day because my lift was always late. In the late 1960s, my big sister hitched from England to Turkey and back with a friend.
I was 12 that year! Remember it well! It was a very popular song. We did grow up at the best time for music. What’s amazing to me is that is still just barely touching the surface because there really was so much good music in the 60s and 70s. My very first favorite song at 8 years old was Little Red Ridin’ Hood by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs! Yeah, you saw hitch hikers a lot in those days!
They formed their band in 1966 in England. This song got to No. 5, in the U.S. in 1970. Another of their hit songs was "Early Morning," in early 1970 and reached No. 12 in the U.S. Beautiful song that you might react to, also. Enjoy watching your reactions and seeing your evolution. ;=)
I agree with Amber, I love the music of the 60's and 70's! I was lucky enough to have been around during that time and the music of the time is in my soul.
A huge hit in 1970. Indeed that is the recorder. This would play in my Uncle George’s F-150 truck with an AM only radio- WFIL 560 Philadelphia. Sweet memories of riding to Englishtown, NJ’s auction in 1987. Thank you so much for this review!
Music is a memory index. It's amazing that when you a hear a song again you heard 40 or 50 years ago how it instantly transports you back in vivid detail to what you were doing, who you were with, etc., right?
I believe this was a hit during the summer of 70’! Amber you are correct late 60’s early 70’s a lot of different sounds! So many different kinds of hits!
Those harmonies are fantastic, worthy of comparison to Brian Wilson's efforts setting up the Beach Boys vocals. They sound like four parts for sure, doing jazz chords, really cool. I also like the way the guitar and keyboards blend on the break. The recorder is a great instrumental hook that sticks in your memory. Vanity Fare was a two hit wonder band; they earlier charted with "Early In The Morning." I believe the name was inspired by "Vanity Fair" which was a Thackeray novel I never read. The English Lit majors in your audience will know more about that.
haha this song was my motto. as a stubborn 17 year old girl, I hitchhiked across Canada, and throughout Ontario for a summer the year this came out and I used to sing it outloud whilst waiting with my thumb up on the side of a rural road somewhere in Canada for that ride which would take me away. I'm 70 now and I still can sing every word! lol thanks for reacting to it!
My anthem! When I was 18-20, 1970-72, I hitched all over the US multiple times. My record was: 1 day from Cleveland NY to Cleveland OH. 1 day from Cleveland OH to Chicago. 1.5 days Chicago to SF. Met some wonderful people, who took me and my boyfriend into their homes at end of day and gave rides to the freeway in the morning. Admittedly, some not-so-nice things happened, too. I wouldn't recommend it today, but the world was different then.
Yes hitchhiking was huge even way B4 the 70's. Mostly true hippies hitchhiked in the 60's/70's .. their motto was "make love, not war". Of course there were still crazies out there. By my time in the 70's .. the hitchhiking rule of thumb was never hitchhike alone or pick up a hitchhiker alone. Once my HS sweetheart fiance picked up a hitchhiker. Honestly I was scared to death. He was dressed in a colorful smock type frock & bell bottoms .. which hippies usually wore those type of tops. Once we got to his drop off point .. he gave us $10 for a wedding present. He was definitely a free spirit. Such great times we had. Seemed life was a big adventure every day with awesome music to play each day all day long. Thnx y'all. ☮️❣️🙂
Im always amazed at how many of these one or two hit wonder groups had one or two hits that stood the test of time. I had forgotten all about this and I have it in my archives. LOL
I hitch hiked all over the place back in the '70s. And picked up lot's of hitch hikers. Never had a problem back in the day! Love this song, by the way!
This was on the radio when I first started listening as a kid. From the same era - White Plains - "My Baby Loves Lovin'" and Edison Lighthouse "Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes" are good also
We hitch hiked everywhere back in the day. We also stopped to pick up hitch hikers who would often help drive. In July of 1970, I and a girl I had recently met hitch hiked to the Atlanta Pop Festival. We got to see Jimi Hendrix play Star Spangled Banner on the 4th of July. I never saw her again after that adventure. I consider myself extremely lucky to have seen such times.
Back in the early 70's my best friend and I used to hitch a ride to the skating rink about 20 miles away. Parents would not have approved. We actually got picked up by a priest once. He took us all the way to our destination out of his way. Kids, do NOT do that today!
I got to grow up listening to music from the music from the 50's, maybe a little older. I was born in the early 60's. But I was next to the youngest. So all my other brothers and sisters were 7rs to 20yrs older than me. We had music going all the time! I'm so glad I grew up that way
Brings back such good memories when listened to the radio to hear your favorite song because you didn't have cd's or internet to listen to it if you were luck maybe someone had a 8track player with it such a simpler time as kid you got up during the summer went outside and didn't come home till lunch then out till dinner Amber would have loved it.
Oh, I loved this song when I was in 4th grade. Still love it. FWIW the magazine is named after an 1848 novel by William Makepeace Thackeray. The magazine wasn't founded until 1983, 14 years after this song.
It was a song that told how we all hitch-hiked back in the 1960s-70s. In the summer of 1972, I hitched from Seattle to Wash. D.C., up to Boston, then all the way to Montreal and back again to Seattle. It took two months. I met the most amazing people and had the most interesting experiences. I learned to love America on that trip. Yes, I picked up hitch-hikers. Once I picked up a 14 year girl in the Seattle area and I drove her all the way to Portland. Primarily, because I thought she was too young to be hitching and I wanted to make sure she got to where she was going. It was a 3 hour drive, 6 hours there and back, but I didn't care. People picked me up and took me where I needed to go, and I was just doing the right thing. I'm not sure that we Americans have that attitude anymore. It feels crazy out there and I'm not sure I'd pick up a hitch-hiker. Sad comment.
Before we had cars and being too young to drive, my friend and I would hitch to the beach and back home all summer. I don't remember anyone giving us trouble. People seemed cooler back then. "sure - hop in - I'm going that way anyway'! No phones, just our towel, sunglasses maybe, some change if we wanted to walk to the pinball place or get a drink. That was about it. A friend of mine hitched across country. Probably not a good idea these days to hitch or pickup.
I had to listen for a minute but I remember this song. B4 my time, born in 1969, but I had older siblings who babysat me so I grew up listening to 60s and 70s music. Amazing how much I remember once I hear it.
There were several songs in 1970-71 that fit the mold of this song on A.M. radio: My Baby Loves Lovin' by White Plains, Day After Day by Badfinger, Rings by Cymarron, Out In The Country by Three Dog Night, Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again by the Fortunes; I could go on but if you really liked Hitchin' a Ride then you would like any of these catchy pop tunes as well. I was 13 in 1970 and these are just some of the songs that caught my attention as soon as I heard them for the first time. Check out some or all of them and I am certain you guys will like them too!
Living in So Cal during this era it was common for us to hitch up and down the coast between SF and LA. My VW had a bumper sticker that said Gas, Grass, or A__, nobody rides for free. And it was safe and I met so man cool people doing this.
I forgot all about this song! This came out when I was 4 or 5 years old. It brings back great memories of the late 60's! Thanks so much for playing it!❤
I remember this one from '69, and I don't think many of us from back then can tell you much about the band. This was before FM rock radio had really taken hold in my area, and I remember the AM pop/rock stations playing the heck out of it. I think I definitely appreciate it more now than I did back then, but that might be tainted with a bit of nostalgia.
I love this song! Haven't heard it in forever! I'll be 67 in July, and in the 70's I lived on a ranch for a couple of years when I was 17. Didn't have a car and the nearest store was a five mile walk. I used to hitchhike all the time, and when I got a car I would pick up hitchhikers. It wasn't really safe then, especially for women, but I never had any problems back then. I wouldn't pick up anyone these days. My wife and I did rescue a couple that was stranded in the Valley of Fire (about 30 miles from Las Vegas) in high summer (think 110 in the shade!). Their car had broken down. The son stayed with the car to meet the tow truck and we drove mom and dad back to Vegas to their apartment. They were a very nice older couple from India. It's no longer even a decision these days. Too many times someone will play the stranded act and it's a setup for a carjacking with hidden accomplices.
The Replacements used to cover this when they had a few drinks (which was a lot); I think they recorded it for one of their albums but didnt release it
I was born in 61. By the time we got to the end of the 60s beginning, of the 70s. I was at an age where I started to appreciate music. For me the music from the 60s through the 70s. Really was the best era.
We all hitchiked to wherever we wanted to go in the 60's and 70's. We never had any 'issues'. We hitched coast to coast, hitched to Woodstock....we all hitched. Everything was....Peace..Love and Rock&Roll! Everyone was a 'Flower Child'. Thanks.
back in '69 the fellow who picked us up hitchin' was getting pulled over by the law. He pulls a 45 from under his jacket, chambers a round then puts it back under his jacket, but nothing happened, cop gave him a warning. We got out at the next light. Not so Everyone was a 'Flower Child'. Cheers.
I was a hitchhikin’ fool back in the day! 👍
At that time it was fairly common to hitch across country. Interstate highways were a new thing!
Most folks who picked people up seemed to have some smoke to share… sometimes folks might pick somebody up hopin’ we had some smoke to share. 💨😶🌫️ Share the love ❤️
Wonder what Jay and Amber would say if they listened to Sammy John's song "Chevy Van"? Thats kinda like the ultimate picking up a hitchhiker experience.
Oh my gosh, closing my eyes, I'm a little girl in the backseat of my parents' car and this is playing on the radio as we went for a Sunday drive. Around the same time as this, there was another song by the band Lobo called "Me and You and a Dog Named Boo", and I remember hearing both of them repeatedly as we'd drive around. Amber would probably really like that one, too.
Probably on a mix tape labeled "road tunes"!!! Nothing quite like all your fave tunes blaring out of the car stereo on a road trip!!
I had Totally forgot about Dog named Boo! Gonna see if I can find it online!
I love that song too 🙋🏻♀️
Lobo was a solo artist, I had "I'd Love You to Want Me" song on my very first very own record as a kid, K-Tels Dynamite! Both great songs :)
Lobo(Kent LaVoie) was a great soft rock artist. So many great songs. They definitely need to react to "Me and You and a Dog Named Boo".
I have always loved this song and it's another banger from the early 70's. No better time to a teenager growing up to live everything about the music.
Ops sorry I was one year off. 1969
@@johndalley1288 👍
Makes me think of ‘the Stampeders’ ~ ‘Sweet City Woman’ …Huge Hit! Big Banjo 🪕
@@bigsteve9279 Love Sweet City Woman!!!
@@suegreene7841 Sounds very beatlesque
I was born in 1954 the 60s and 70s was a great time to be a teenager. Pop music like this, Woodstock, The Beatles the list is endless
Cool. I was born in December of 54.
`56 here. We had sooo much freedom. Just be home for dinner.
Feb 54. Was truly the greatest time to grow up ❤
@@jodyjackson5475 Going to be attending my 50 year high school reunion this summer. I am looking forward to it. Class of about 400 and so far only 14 have signed up to attend with two maybes. A little concerned why so few.
Same, 1954...Great music growing up!!
Believe it or not..this was really a popular song in the mid-sixties..and I still like it. Simple, upbeat, dancing down the street...yup.😊😊😊
Mid sixties????? I thought it was done early seventies? Could be wrong!
@@wendyryder2708 thought 1969?
When it was safe to hitch hike
I still have it on 45rpm. I got this song cuz my sisters wouldn't let me buy "Gimme Dat Ding"
They should play some canned heat. Best hippie music Eva
Hey Squad, I’m so glad you continue to seek out the musical treasures from the sixties. There is an entire banquet of spectacular songs of that era - I hope you’re hungry! You need to take a ‘bite out of the Grass Roots’, they had several hit songs during this time, you’ll love ‘em! Keep up the great work you do, it it massively appreciated. With love and respect.
They did ‘Let’s Live For Today’… a few months back.
I was wishing for HUGE HITS like ‘Midnight Confessions’, ‘Temptation Eyes’
‘Two Divided By Love’
‘Sooner Or Later’
The Grassroots were on American Bandstand over 20 times!
There’s a video of a young, groovy, hippie Kenny Rogers introducing the Grassroots for a tv appearance. I think it’s Two Divided By Love
The Grassroots were so popular but is like no one remembers them nowadays. One of my all time favorite bands.
Two Divided by Love and Sooner or Later! My favorites!
@Donna I’ve suggested and commented about the Grassroots a hundred times and have emailed quite a few times.
We KNOW that Amber will absolutely love em’! …gotta see em’ in a performance video. Rob and Kenny are such great singers with charisma.
@@bigsteve9279 Yeah, a great catalog to pick from. I especially love Temptation Eyes.
I love that Amber loves the 60s and 70s music. You're getting there too Jordan! ❤😊
i remember when i was younger dancing to this song with my friends, these songs lately are taking me down memory lane 😊 yes back then it was much safer of a world, people cared about each other and were nice to each other, sad to see those days gone.
This is one of my absolute favorites from my teens.
I’m singing along ❤
Always loved this song. Came out when I was a tiny girl. I was born in 64 and had older siblings. They always played music in the house. Loved hearing their music (now my music) 😊
Hitchhiking was definitely common back then. Remember, that was before
the Manson family and in the 70s serial killers became a big thing. Love this song, it definitely harkens back to a more innocent age.
The Manson family was exactly during this time period.
According to the people who study stuff like this every one worries about picking up a pyscho hitchhiker but in reality the bulk of the known crime during hitchhiking was committed against the hitchhiker not the motorist who picked them up. Hitchhiking was pretty common up until the mid seventies and then for a variety of reasons it pretty much died out. You will occasionally still see people hitching but they are seldom by themselves. The last time I picked up a couple and their dog I was able to give them a ride from Joplin Missouri to Grand Island Nebraska. There are a few rules I follow mainly I seldom pick up anyone if I’m alone in the car and I never let anyone ride behind me in the car that I don’t know. I’m truly not sure which is a better position to be in asking for the ride or giving the ride. There are whole shows on tv that talk about serial killers that drive a lot on a daily route that use the opportunity to collect victims that frequently aren’t even missed for months or years. They just leave home, frequently as an underage runaway and are never seen again.I have been in both positions and I can tell you it sucks to have to be asking for a ride. I lived in a small town in Nebraska and the mayor had a heart attack and was told to get more exercise. So he started walking the six blocks from home to work. He said he never realized how many people wanted to kill him cuz even after it was known he was walking by choice there would be two or three people every day try to give him a ride. But that’s the way a small friendly town is.
In 1967, December, I was fresh out of Navy bootcamp assigned to an amphibious personnel carrier. We were supposed to deploy the day before Christmas Eve to the Mediterranean but plans changed and our deployment was moved to January. So, I decided to surprise my family for Christmas and headed home. . I hitch hiked from Norfolk, Virginia to Detroit, Michigan in my sailor suit starting out around mid-night. I made it home by early evening. It took 3 rides. The first leg was with a fellow sailor from our base to Washington D.C.. The second ride came within minutes of leaving the first right. It was with a young family who took me all the way to Toledo, Ohio. When I got to Toledo I decided that since I was hungry I would treat myself to a steak dinner at a cafe I spotted. When I got to the cashier to pay, I was told that some unnamed person had paid from my steak dinner. I didn't take long to get a ride from Toledo to Detroit where I called my step dad to get me the final couple miles home.
Great story!
From the 1970 album Hitchin' A Ride, this British Band had a big hit with this happy tune making it to the Billboard Hot 100's at Number 5. It sold 1,000,000 records and hit gold record level.
You're right Jordan, it is 2 recorders highlighting throughout this song. An electric piano has a great bass line repetition that's made this a popular tune.
Hitchhiking was quite common back in the 70's, but the world was a kinder place
back then. Great reaction. Buckets of Maple Syrup love from Canada ❤️❤️
🇨🇦🇨🇦
They also had another hit called, Early In The Morning. My sister had the 45 and it was a very nice song.
This song was released in 1969, but reached number 5 on the Hot 100 in the U.S. in 1970. It was a very popular song. And yes, it was very common to hitchhike back in the 60s/70s! I never did it, but my brothers did it a lot! Thanks for this reaction! ✌💙✌
‘Sweet City Woman’ ~ by The Stampeders
Early 70’s Huge Hit! BIG BANJO 🪕
Only song to make reference to macaroons.
Right! 😆😆😆
Another song I'm listened to hundreds of times. It is a mood lifter for me.
Loved this song in 1969 when I was a kid and it was a big radio hit. Still love it today. Always makes me smile.
Sorry you had a day! Music fixes everything! Thanks for keeping great music alive!
This was my favorite song when I was 4-5 years old. I was lucky to have grown up when I did, the music was so awesome!
Great song! Different time with hitch hikers every were. Not today !
This style of music was referred to, as BubbleGum music. It was all about upbeat melodies, simple lyrics, danceable and a sing-along groove.
I remember sitting around the record player listening to all our 45 rpm records and this was one of them...
.
Love the fun songs from the 60's! Brings back my childhood listening to the AM radio all the time! 😆. Hope your day is better now Jay! ❤️. Back in the day hitchhiking was common. I've only picked up one hitchhiker in my life and I knew him. 😂
One reason this song sounds so good is that it is a blues based I-IV-V in C which is always pleasing to the ear. Very common songwriting technique back then and even today.
Also the instruments hitting on the second 8th note of each beat, which is really ear-catching.
A friend and I hitched all across the US in 1973 and we used to sing this song to ourselves. Brings back good memories.
"Early In The Morning" was another Vanity Fare hit.
This song reminded me that hitchhiking was pretty common back in the sixties and seventies. You used to see people doing it all the time.
And the band's name sounds similar to the name of the magazine and novel and other historical uses of the phrase, but it's spelled different, the spelling "fare" suggesting that you have to pay a fare - a cost - for vanity.
This song represents the era of 1969-71 which was a unique transitional sound. Jay nailed it- Blues Image’s Ride Captain Ride is an example, as is King Harvest’s Dancing in the Moonlight.
Also "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" by Edison Lighthouse and "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" by Looking Glass, about that same time, too. Good music.
Ride Captain Ride, one of my favourites
As I listened to this really good memory from yesterday, I noticed the end of this song reminds me of another. The song is VENUS. The group is Shocking Blue. It was cool and features the sharp vocals of Mariska Veres. A vote for Female Friday.
Other nominations for Female Friday are,
Alicia Bridges - I LOVE THE NIGHTLIFE.
Gladys Knight and the Pips from the Midnight Special - NEITHER ONE OF US. And finally, Taylor Dayne - SEND ME A LOVER. Love the ladies. Enjoy
I recently suggested " I Love The Nightlife" to them too.
Definitely tones of Shocking Blue.
I was stationed in Germany at Fliegerhorst kaserne in 75-76 and these guys showed up and performed in the EM (enlisted men's) club. They put on a great show for us.
Glenn Johnson Loved this record when released in `69 and still have the single.Loved your reaction to the record and your enjoyment to all this music which is infectious.Thanks for making me smile.
Thank you for using the video I created for my You Tube channel, guys! Georgy Porgy's favorites. 💜
Oh boy o boy o boy !!! 😊❤🎶🎶 A favorite!! such a feel good song!!
Another one of the great English pop/rock group from the 60's. "Hitchin' A Ride" was their biggest hit. They had some other songs such as "I Live For The Sun", "Early In The Morning" etc.
Actually, their biggest UK hit was their previous single, "Early in the Morning" (#8 UK, #12 US), but this was a strong follow-up. (#5 US, #16 UK).
And then they fell off of a cliff. Over a dozen singles released in the next decade, only one hit the UK charts ("Better by Far" got to #54) and none charted in the US.
No idea what happened.
Early In the Morning was my favourite.
At one time I had to hitch a ride to work every day because my lift was always late. In the late 1960s, my big sister hitched from England to Turkey and back with a friend.
Wow, I remember as a 10 year old sitting in my big sisters room listening to this song! She just passed not long ago, so thanks for the memories.
I was 12 that year! Remember it well! It was a very popular song. We did grow up at the best time for music. What’s amazing to me is that is still just barely touching the surface because there really was so much good music in the 60s and 70s. My very first favorite song at 8 years old was Little Red Ridin’ Hood by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs! Yeah, you saw hitch hikers a lot in those days!
They formed their band in 1966 in England. This song got to No. 5, in the U.S. in 1970. Another of their hit songs was "Early Morning," in early 1970 and reached No. 12 in the U.S. Beautiful song that you might react to, also. Enjoy watching your reactions and seeing your evolution. ;=)
I agree with Amber, I love the music of the 60's and 70's! I was lucky enough to have been around during that time and the music of the time is in my soul.
I hitched from Colorado to Michigan right after high school in '83. Amazing experience. I'll never forget it.
A huge hit in 1970. Indeed that is the recorder. This would play in my Uncle George’s F-150 truck with an AM only radio- WFIL 560 Philadelphia. Sweet memories of riding to Englishtown, NJ’s auction in 1987. Thank you so much for this review!
Music is a memory index. It's amazing that when you a hear a song again you heard 40 or 50 years ago how it instantly transports you back in vivid detail to what you were doing, who you were with, etc., right?
OMG...I haven't heard this tune since a Ktell record in like 1970
Magazine - Vanity Fair; Band - Vanity Fare. Lots of groups did this kind of naming, e.g. The Beatles.
Yo, "cadence" was the perfect and accurate description. Well done! It's a great song.
Only time I hitchhiked was back in 1983 while traveling around Alaska for 3 weeks. Since I was with a friend I never felt unsafe. ✌
I believe this was a hit during the summer of 70’! Amber you are correct late 60’s early 70’s a lot of different sounds! So many different kinds of hits!
Loved this song when I was a kid.
You can tell amber truly loves this i love theses guys and the song too good for the soul .
Still have the single of this tune. Loved it when the radio station would play it during a trip to the beach. Just some trivial memories.
It was common to hitchhike cross country. Interstate highways were just being built so all roads went through small towns.
Great song Jay and Amber. This song was the #37 song for the year 1970 on NYC’s 77 WABC Radio’s Top 100 of 1970.
Those harmonies are fantastic, worthy of comparison to Brian Wilson's efforts setting up the Beach Boys vocals. They sound like four parts for sure, doing jazz chords, really cool. I also like the way the guitar and keyboards blend on the break. The recorder is a great instrumental hook that sticks in your memory. Vanity Fare was a two hit wonder band; they earlier charted with "Early In The Morning." I believe the name was inspired by "Vanity Fair" which was a Thackeray novel I never read. The English Lit majors in your audience will know more about that.
That’s what I thought of too, when Vanity Fair was mentioned, the book, I forgot about the magazine.
Y'all havin a great day All three of today's songs are on my playlist.
It is so cute to see you both bopping to this!!!!
haha this song was my motto. as a stubborn 17 year old girl, I hitchhiked across Canada, and throughout Ontario for a summer the year this came out and I used to sing it outloud whilst waiting with my thumb up on the side of a rural road somewhere in Canada for that ride which would take me away. I'm 70 now and I still can sing every word! lol thanks for reacting to it!
My anthem! When I was 18-20, 1970-72, I hitched all over the US multiple times. My record was: 1 day from Cleveland NY to Cleveland OH. 1 day from Cleveland OH to Chicago. 1.5 days Chicago to SF. Met some wonderful people, who took me and my boyfriend into their homes at end of day and gave rides to the freeway in the morning. Admittedly, some not-so-nice things happened, too. I wouldn't recommend it today, but the world was different then.
Yes hitchhiking was huge even way B4 the 70's. Mostly true hippies hitchhiked in the 60's/70's .. their motto was "make love, not war". Of course there were still crazies out there. By my time in the 70's .. the hitchhiking rule of thumb was never hitchhike alone or pick up a hitchhiker alone. Once my HS sweetheart fiance picked up a hitchhiker. Honestly I was scared to death. He was dressed in a colorful smock type frock & bell bottoms .. which hippies usually wore those type of tops. Once we got to his drop off point .. he gave us $10 for a wedding present. He was definitely a free spirit. Such great times we had. Seemed life was a big adventure every day with awesome music to play each day all day long. Thnx y'all. ☮️❣️🙂
One of the all time best!!! A classic!!!👍
Im always amazed at how many of these one or two hit wonder groups had one or two hits that stood the test of time. I had forgotten all about this and I have it in my archives. LOL
Love the folk/pop music!!! Speaking of folk, it's been a while since we've heard any Mamas and Papas.
I hitch hiked all over the place back in the '70s. And picked up lot's of hitch hikers. Never had a problem back in the day! Love this song, by the way!
This was on the radio when I first started listening as a kid. From the same era - White Plains - "My Baby Loves Lovin'" and Edison Lighthouse "Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes" are good also
We hitch hiked everywhere back in the day. We also stopped to pick up hitch hikers who would often help drive. In July of 1970, I and a girl I had recently met hitch hiked to the Atlanta Pop Festival. We got to see Jimi Hendrix play Star Spangled Banner on the 4th of July. I never saw her again after that adventure. I consider myself extremely lucky to have seen such times.
Another hidden gem from the early 70' was When you say love by Sonny and Cher 👍👍👍
Back in the early 70's my best friend and I used to hitch a ride to the skating rink about 20 miles away. Parents would not have approved. We actually got picked up by a priest once. He took us all the way to our destination out of his way. Kids, do NOT do that today!
I had this 45 record when I was a little kid. Loved it then. Love it now! ✌️❤️They were a one hit wonder.
....still have the single.....
I got to grow up listening to music from the music from the 50's, maybe a little older. I was born in the early 60's. But I was next to the youngest. So all my other brothers and sisters were 7rs to 20yrs older than me. We had music going all the time! I'm so glad I grew up that way
Brings back such good memories when listened to the radio to hear your favorite song because you didn't have cd's or internet to listen to it if you were luck maybe someone had a 8track player with it such a simpler time as kid you got up during the summer went outside and didn't come home till lunch then out till dinner Amber would have loved it.
Oh those first few notes, takes me right back there. Couldn't have said the band's name but I knew the song!
Great tune from back in the day!
Oh, I loved this song when I was in 4th grade. Still love it. FWIW the magazine is named after an 1848 novel by William Makepeace Thackeray. The magazine wasn't founded until 1983, 14 years after this song.
Hiya from Edinburgh Scotland peace n love to yous and family ✌️💖🏴💃
It was a song that told how we all hitch-hiked back in the 1960s-70s. In the summer of 1972, I hitched from Seattle to Wash. D.C., up to Boston, then all the way to Montreal and back again to Seattle. It took two months. I met the most amazing people and had the most interesting experiences. I learned to love America on that trip. Yes, I picked up hitch-hikers. Once I picked up a 14 year girl in the Seattle area and I drove her all the way to Portland. Primarily, because I thought she was too young to be hitching and I wanted to make sure she got to where she was going. It was a 3 hour drive, 6 hours there and back, but I didn't care. People picked me up and took me where I needed to go, and I was just doing the right thing. I'm not sure that we Americans have that attitude anymore. It feels crazy out there and I'm not sure I'd pick up a hitch-hiker. Sad comment.
Good song from back in the day. Hitchhiking was a common and legit way to travel back then. This song got a lot of radio play.
Before we had cars and being too young to drive, my friend and I would hitch to the beach and back home all summer.
I don't remember anyone giving us trouble. People seemed cooler back then.
"sure - hop in - I'm going that way anyway'!
No phones, just our towel, sunglasses maybe, some change if we wanted to walk to the pinball place or get a drink.
That was about it.
A friend of mine hitched across country.
Probably not a good idea these days to hitch or pickup.
This is a good song, simple, with a nice melody. I remember it fondly.
I had to listen for a minute but I remember this song. B4 my time, born in 1969, but I had older siblings who babysat me so I grew up listening to 60s and 70s music. Amazing how much I remember once I hear it.
There were several songs in 1970-71 that fit the mold of this song on A.M. radio: My Baby Loves Lovin' by White Plains, Day After Day by Badfinger, Rings by Cymarron, Out In The Country by Three Dog Night, Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again by the Fortunes; I could go on but if you really liked Hitchin' a Ride then you would like any of these catchy pop tunes as well. I was 13 in 1970 and these are just some of the songs that caught my attention as soon as I heard them for the first time. Check out some or all of them and I am certain you guys will like them too!
My goodness. I haven’t heard this song in probably 40 years
I sang along to this one when I was 5. Loved it.
Very early memory of mine.❤
Hitch hiking was definitely a thing back in the day, but I haven't see anyone doing it for decades now.
Under the board walk and up on the roof! Two great songs
People weren't any braver.just more trusting.mid 60's pop. Reminds me of childhood. No there weren't any dinosaurs, just dianah shore.😊
This brings me back to my youth in the 60's and 70's. I used to hitchhike everywhere. Fun song 🎵 ❤
Always loved this song.
Living in So Cal during this era it was common for us to hitch up and down the coast between SF and LA. My VW had a bumper sticker that said Gas, Grass, or A__, nobody rides for free. And it was safe and I met so man cool people doing this.
keep on spreading smiles.
I forgot all about this song! This came out when I was 4 or 5 years old. It brings back great memories of the late 60's! Thanks so much for playing it!❤
I remember this one from '69, and I don't think many of us from back then can tell you much about the band.
This was before FM rock radio had really taken hold in my area, and I remember the AM pop/rock stations playing the heck out of it.
I think I definitely appreciate it more now than I did back then, but that might be tainted with a bit of nostalgia.
The music you're playing today is the reason why I'm stuck in the 60's and 70's era.
Jay's right. That's a recorder he liked.
Memories ❤
Memories of being 13, and junior high, loved dancing to this...
I used to have this song on a 45 RPM record back in the 70s , it was good then & it's still good now.
The piano break has echoes of the Beatles' Hey Bulldog and Lady Madonna and, of course, 50s rock and roll.
I love this song! Haven't heard it in forever! I'll be 67 in July, and in the 70's I lived on a ranch for a couple of years when I was 17. Didn't have a car and the nearest store was a five mile walk. I used to hitchhike all the time, and when I got a car I would pick up hitchhikers. It wasn't really safe then, especially for women, but I never had any problems back then. I wouldn't pick up anyone these days. My wife and I did rescue a couple that was stranded in the Valley of Fire (about 30 miles from Las Vegas) in high summer (think 110 in the shade!). Their car had broken down. The son stayed with the car to meet the tow truck and we drove mom and dad back to Vegas to their apartment. They were a very nice older couple from India. It's no longer even a decision these days. Too many times someone will play the stranded act and it's a setup for a carjacking with hidden accomplices.
The Replacements used to cover this when they had a few drinks (which was a lot); I think they recorded it for one of their albums but didnt release it