Another great video, thanks. Imagine hearing God only Knows for the first time! Possibly the BB’s masterpiece. The summer of’66, in my memory, was a golden era, for pop and myself (I was 8…). Every day seemed to be sunny, every new record released was creative and fresh sounding, I was enjoying my childhood in rural Lancashire, the country was at peace with itself…
He makes one very good observation: Fans often ARE a lot more purist than artists. Some people are so pissed off about Blackmore's Night that they write posts about it on every video. That "Dylan goes electric" mindset goes on (and on). Quite depressing, really. Unlike these records, which sounded pretty upbeat! Thanks for these regular treats.🙂
Good observations by Mr. Berry, glad he dug Dylan's metamorphosis into Electric music and his bringing up Johnny Cash was a bit prophetic seeing that Dylan would collaborate with him shortly after. "Hanky Panky" is a cool song but was actually older than 1966, I think a year or two old by that point but was a hit after being re-released if I am remembering correctly. Never knew the Four Seasons had released singles as 'The Wonder Who', funny.
You know your pop music. Hanky Panky was a Jeff Barry/Ellie Greenwich song that James recorded in 1964. James was unemployed when a Philadelphia DJ started playing it and it suddenly took off in the Northeast and then everywhere.
Going to plug my band for a sec, POETS OF MYDNIGHT, Check us out on UA-cam + we released our first single on the Streaming Platforms a couple of weeks ago ✌️
"I didn't like it at first but it got a lot better" I fell in love with "God Only Knows" the first time I heard it. The fact that it's Paul McCartney's favorite song says enough. The Kinks and The Hollies in the charts 🤘 Thank you for two videos in one week YP, and as ever, cool outro music ❤
My favourite Bob Dylan song is ''I WANT YOU'' 0:54 I'm glad Dave Berry picked up on its greatness at first hearing. Thank you very much, Yesterday's Papers.😀😀😀
Hokey schmokes, Bullwinkle! Just turned 10 years old the week before this. It was a good time to have a transistor radio, but you had to keep begging your parents for money to buy 9-volt batteries, those rectangular little horrors that I still have to stock for the smoke detector.
Horrors is right. Why did they have to have those awful snap-on connectors (which sometimes broke off altogether, making the battery useless, or the lead it was attached to)?
Saw Dave a few years ago in concert . He was standing in for Spencer Davis who could not appear due to health issues. Dave came across as a zany, likeable guy and sang his chart hits. It was disappointing however not to get to see Spencer live ..
Dave Berry has a distinguished taste, very well. Before he said it I thought he would say he liked the Tommy James & the Shondells record, and indeed! In the Top Ten LP's were two outstanding albums, "Aftermath" by the Stones and "Small Faces". Thx!
Artist, which I haven’t known until now, and that’s not usual, when I watch YP. And it’s a good one. Berry had definetely very good titles in his “Blind date”. Blind date from a great period… summer of 66’ was superb!
It was good to see Gene Pitney score a Top 5 hit in Britain. He was pretty much over with in the U.S. but for a final out of left field hit with She's a Heartbreaker in 1968. Also nice to see Twice as Much doing the Rolling Stones Sitting On a Fence - I'd almost forgotten about them.
I always wondered about that song. Gene sings so damn hard on it his voice cracks several times. Maybe he was stepping into a harder rock style? I always loved it, especially the videos of him singing it looking all corporate and buttoned up.
@@Sprenklefish He seemed to be getting into rock with She's a heartbreaker but then followed that with the unique Billy You're My Friend, which had the same rock-like intensity mixed with a big, classical style instrumental bridge. That song was one of his most interesting, but it wasn't a hit.
@@John_Fugazzinever heard it, but just searched it out on YT. Yup, a bit adventurous and totally left of center. Could almost be from a Broadway production! I can see why it didn’t become a hit, but still great and he really hits some high notes! I wonder if he kept that song in his later performances?
The last single "La Mer" by Smith had me confused as I thought it sounded a lot like "Beyond the Sea" by Bobby Darin. Then I discovered it was the same song by its French writer, Charles Trenet, using the French title rather than the Americanized one.
I disagree with Dave’s assessment of Trini Lopez. I loved his brand of folk music with a Latin twist. His album, Trini Lopez at PJ’s (a night club in West Hollywood) was a mainstay in my parents home. I can still see my dad dancing the salsa or, was it the cha-cha? In either case, he’d be dancing and singing along to Trini doing If I Had a Hammer and Lemon Tree. Trini was a very proficient guitar player. He was asked by the Gibson Guitar company to design a couple of guitars for them. They are highly sought collectors items.
Lopez was a mainstay on US AM radio in those days. His music served as a bridge between what teenagers liked, and what adults liked. It's important to remember that all popular music was on AM radio, not FM - which was for 'serious' adult singers, news, and Classical music. They were two different planets that didn't begin merging until sometime in 1967.
Dave Berry was a complete mystery to me, until your last video. Apparently never made it into Boston radio stations. So thanks YP for some musical education!!
Dave was the first to release the hauntingly beautiful “The Crying Game” (written by Geoff Stephens) in 1964. I didn’t know much more about him than that, which is why I find YP’s videos so interesting.
Dave Berry released the Bobby Goldsboro song "Little Things" in 1965 and appeared on Shindig lip-synching to it, but Bobby Goldsborough, who'd written and released it at the end of 1964, had the US hit (US #13, Canada #4) and Berry's cover got to UK #5, and Ireland #9. That one-off Shindig appearance was the last that the US heard of Berry until "The Crying Game" movie (1992) was released 27 years later. I enjoyed your take on "This Strange Effect", YP!
Crikey. What a great selection of records (including the 2nd best single ever) and Berry seems to misfire over many of them. Credit to him for his candid views but not at all incisive or that well informed. I do appreciate hearing his views though.
Nice to see two covered Rolling Stones songs in there. Both great, Sittin' On a Fence is lovely. Funnily enough Chris Farlowe also covered songs by Twice As Much. I prefer the Stones version of Sittin' On a Fence, especially Brian Jones on harpsichord.
Suffice it to say there was alot of chart manipulations going on by the record execs. Give the djs enough coke and they'd make 3 blind mice a smash. You would face palm yourself unconscious seeing the Archie's sugar sugar as record of the year in 69.
I think the Wonder Who also did a version of Dylan's "Don't Think Twice" around this time. And your "Strange Effect" sounded great, like Jack Nietzsche produced it!
If you think that's a long title, then how about (deep, deep breath): The Young Electric Psychedelic Hippy, Flippy, Folk And Funky Philosophic Turned-On Groovy Twelve-String Band?? I forget when exactly it came out - '67 or '68 I think. Don't expect YP to review it, though - just reading out the title would take up most of the clip!! BTW, Barry Mann was the artist.
The first two songs are definitely the pick of the litter there. Was that Beach Boys single considered a double A side? "Wouldn't it Be Nice" was pretty popular. Tommy James spent some time in my state, Wisconsin, growing up, and then Michigan. That being said "Crystal Blue Persuasion" is a much better song than "Hanky Panky".
One of the things I love about your channel is the exposure of all the drek that was put out. Boomers with rose-tinted specs love to imagine that it was wall-to-wall classics. But just as today, the majority of stuff put out was completely forgettable and some of it was downright terrible.
Yes, record companies have always released tons of disposable crap hoping it sticks, I guess the main difference is that listeners back then didn't seem to be as easily fooled as they are nowadays 'cause most of the crappy singles on these Blind Dates never charted while a pretty large percentage of the songs on the charts were great tunes that are stll regarded as classics nowadays.
Interesting to see Excuse Me Baby there at #45. Chicory Tip had a rather unsuccessful go at it too in '71, before striking it big with Son Of My Father. (Two places below it is Younger Girl, originally recorded by the Lovin' Spoonful on one of their albums. That John Sebastian sure burned bright for a couple of years.)
At 38 and 40, two versions of *You Gave Me Somebody To Love* done by either Manfred Mann on EMI's flagship HMV label, the other by the Fortunes on the inferior Decca label. In Australia such a situation as two versions of the same song would occupy the same ranking on the charts with a bracketed e/b next to the title, referring to "equal best. Not a good practice, really. The British have the right idea in splitting the two versions and ranking them on their own merits.
It's funny how he kept guessing the band or solo singer wrong. I think he was jealous of the Beach Boys and their huge popularity with the Brits. I'm sure you know that in 1966 the Beach Boys were more popular in Britain than the Beatles. ICYMI Trini Lopez toured Europe including the UK in the early 60s and the Beatles were a supporting act.
Dave had a bit of a mixed bag to critique but I thought he was fair in his assessment. It was so refreshing to hear Dave’s positive views on Dylan’s switch to electric as I never understood all the negativity over this move. As much as I love Dylan’s early acoustic material, his work with the talented members of The Band gave us some of the best music of his career imo. Fascinating as always YP, thank you.
@@YesterdaysPapers …..yes, I love Dylan’s output throughout the ‘60’s. I saw Bob ‘77 or ‘78 and confess I was a little disappointed. I think I was expecting to hear earlier material but he performed almost all new and therefore, unfamiliar material. I loved The Band, each member was so musically gifted and they could all sing!
@@lindadote I love The Band as well. What an excellent band. I can't think of any other band that had 3 members with such soulful voices. Levon Helm, Richard Manuel and Rick Danko had so much heart and soul when they sang.
@@lindadote They had to keep Robbie's vocal mic turned off though. I saw Dylan and The Band in '74 during the "Before the Flood" tour and it was one of the best concerts I've heard. Dylan even performed a solo set of earlier songs but with a harder edge. And The Band was on fire that concert!
4:46 It took about 15 seconds before I figured out that that was "Somewhere Beyond the Sea"; maybe Bobby Darren picked the new title for the somewhat different translation he recorded. 6:20 I had to look up "The man who took the valise off the floor of Grand Central Station At Noon"; how often do you see a title like that? It sounds like the Dixie Cups covering something from 1900, though I understand Lloyd Price had released a version a few years earlier.
It's great to hear that Dave immediately recognized the greatness of Dylan's "I Want You" and that BB's epic "God Only Knows" was quickly growing on him. One thing I have to admit though... when I started watching the Blind Date videos, I had made an assumption that most of the British artists Melody Maker had asked to do reviews would've generally praised all the Tamla Motown releases and singles by Southern Soul artists, but that's rarely been the case, so far.
At that time, Brian Wilson's arrangements and production on " Pet Sounds " had yet to be admired. Many musicians involved in making the album, ( The Wrecking Crew, " ) called him a genius songwriter. Lennon and McCartney agreed! Barry's remark about fans not liking change in artists was correct. People like to pigeonhole performers. Dylan was booed in July, 1965, when he went electric. Likewise the Beatles when they released Strawberry Fields Forever. Good reviews here.
As we have come to realize "Pet Sounds" was like a bottle of fine wine: It just gets better with age. In 1966 the album was not supported by Capitol Records and it didn't do very well either in sales or chart position. It was eventually certified both gold and platinum in the year 2000 but was actually qualified for gold record status in 1969. At that point Capitol had all but relegated the album to the dust bin. Not only was McCartney enamored with "Pet Sounds" so was George Martin. In fact George paid a visit to Brian Wilson's home to discuss the album. He was that impressed with it.
I enjoy these videos but it would be fun if you actually posted the final position the singles got to in the charts. This would make the reviewers remarks much more interesting!
Just learning about this guy now due to his cover of a Ray Davies song. Apparently he was big in Europe. I don't know what to say about his near-diss of the Beach Boys' masteriece..."Jan&Dean"? Come on!
Cliff's version of "Blue Turns To Grey" was indeed his last good recording. Wonder if he'll reach 100..... The net reveals that Sir Cliff won't divulge any of his scalp secrets, and just like Bowie & Jagger implying he won a genetic lottery that makes one's hair grow thicker and darker with the passing of the years. .....not strange at all...
God Only Knows, I Want You and Ninety-Nine And A Half--that's quite a trifecta out of the box. Can't remember 3 killers like this to start of a YP post. The Pickett track is excellent, all the kids used to sing it. Great to see The Sound Of Music at #1 on the UK album chart. Even the mighty Stones, Beach Boys and the Mamas and Papas have to bow down to the awesome power of Julie Andrews, the nuns and the children. (BTW what's with the apostrophes in the Mamas and Papas?) Love your outro, YP. Really nice!!
It's amazing that The Beatles only had one song on the charts that week. I imagine that must have been a bit of a rarity, although honestly, I don't remember.
I think the period when the Beatles had more than song in the UK charts was in late 63 and 64 when Beatlemania really exploded. But I don't think that happened too often after that.
I remember i think he had quite a menacing , odd stage presence Dave Berry, Crying Game, Little Things, great stuff. He has a good take on these records i think.
Dave Berry was born in 1941. It's amazing what a difference those extra years listening to the old styles made on some people. Most couldn't understand the 1960s at all. I'm afraid Berry was one of them. (He remains alive, and I wish him well. Still cranky, probably, but I hope he's doing fine.)
Dave Berry's take on Dylan is spot on. Musical purists are truly annoying. I used to play with some Bluegrass musicians. We would jokingly call Bluegrass purists, "Bluegrass Nazis."
Beach Boys' and Dylan's best on this show, you're making me wanna scream! What a week, Dave just had no clue what was about to happen when he was presented these records.
1:29 - I'm been amazed with these YP reviews by British artists at how many of them couldn't relate to American soul music at all. Scott Walker, for example, practically threw up at the sound of the great Otis Redding, and begged that the record be taken off the turntable. (That didn't endear him to me.) This is particularly shocking because British pop fans embraced the Motown Sound even before white music fans in America did; there was a Tamla Motown fan club in the UK. The same was true with ska music from Jamaica (e.g., "Israelites"): the UK got it before the US did.
I could be wrong but what I've noticed about some british musicians from that era is that some of them saw soul music as "discotheque music" 'cause that was the music that was played in UK clubs. So they didn't see it as "serious music". They saw rhythm & blues and blues as serious music but not soul. But I think a lot of the bad reviews about Motown records on these Blind Dates come from the fact that they felt they were a bit formulaic and some of them sounded samey. They liked Motown records but didn't like the ones that sounded like they were re-writing previous Motown hits. Just my two cents.
@@YesterdaysPapers Your theory makes a lot of sense. And many Motown records were *deliberately* samey, because if a single became a big hit, Berry Gordy would always demand that the artist record a follow-up record just like it. There's even a theory that the title of "It's the Same Old Song," the follow-up to The Four Top's hit "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)," was poking sly fun at this practice of copying hits... though HDH, the songwriters, had recorded an earlier version of "Same Old Song" with The Supremes, which would tend to disprove the theory. So yes, the songs could sometimes be formulaic, but it's a formula that I, personally, cherish.
Otis and Wilson are not Motown. Atlantic and Stax records were usually recorded in Memphis (with Booker T & the MGs often the session musicians) or Muscle Shoals later (Aretha's classics like 'Respect'). Grittier stuff. Those records were more r $ b/soul than the slick Motown productions (I loved Motown, but it seems like Berry Gordy wanted his acts to go the Las Vegas route). And as as far as Blind Daters disliking soul, it may be a matter of age. Both the Beatles and Stones (and the Hollies for that matter) recorded a lot of covers including Arthur Alexander and Chuck Berry as well as (black) girl groups by the Beatles and blues by the Stones. As the Stones and Beatles started out playing clubs, maybe they liked 'discotheque' music.
@@wyliesmith4244 I never meant to imply that Redding and Pickett were from Motown: of course they were not. My comment ranged over the entire subject of American soul music (including both Stax and Motown) because that's what Dave Berry was talking about. Both The Beatles and The Stones liked and recorded covers of American soul music: I wasn't referring to them. I suppose I assumed that English recording artists shared their enthusiasm about black American music, and am surprised to discover how often this wasn't true.
Geez, YP, we talk about Dave Berry and here he is. 😁😂 Nice calls by Dave, and I agree with them all save for his initial assessment of God Only Knows. Happy to hear the song began to grow on him. He's spot on about Cliff's choice of material. While he's done some great songs, he mirrors Elvis on a long string of stinkers during this period. Dave's call on finding his own material displays a good sense of humility, too. One more reason to admire him. Nice to see Georgie Fame topping the UK charts with the underappreciated Chris Farlowe close behind. As for 'The Wonder Who', egads!, what on earth were they thinking? Tiny Tim did it better.
@@YesterdaysPapers I wonder how Frankie Valli may have felt about being referred to as "some old woman". 😂😂 The Four Seasons made some fantastic records but, like so many older acts in the British Invasion era, continued success became a matter of throwing anything against the wall and hoping something sticks with the record buying public. Del Shannon deserved better for his post-Beatles work, as did Dion for pretty cool covers like his version of Purple Haze.
wow....dave was very much like keith moon in not embracing the change in how the beach boys were making records god only knows is one of the greatest pop songs of the 60s did he actually think Frankie Valli was a girl
Great job as always. But are you sure the charts are right ? I look at the US chart and it's all songs I heard traveling across America on vacation, while the UK charts reflect when I lived in Europe a year or so later. Could there be a delay in releases both ways across the pond ? Plus all the rereleases that happened in Britain are adding to the confusion.
I don't know if there was a delay but I just checked Record Mirror's charts from that same week in 1966 and they were pretty much the same songs. Plus, if you take a look at the UK chart, you can see that some of the songs Dave reviewed here like "I Want You" by Dylan" or "La Mer" by Smith were just entering the Top 50.
@@YesterdaysPapers Thanks for the reply. I recalculated when I was where, and now realize other than the Herman's Hermits being a few months earlier , maybe due to Armed Forces Network vs English radio release dates, everything lines up.
Trini Lopez appeared on an episode of ADAM-12 in the early '70s. Useless fact, I know..... He played a Hispanic preacher, I believe. Further uselessness; I know, I know- lol 🚬😎
Someone please explain to me who is Dave Perry! Is there any album or singel by him in any streaming platform or in UA-cam? Was he a member of some band? I didn't find anything about him in the internet.
As a frequent viewer of these reviews for awhile now, you'd think that Dave Dee, Tweaky, Meth et al was just beneath the Beatles in terms of sales and popularity! Any chance of a small retrospecticus of who they were and what they did and why they seemed to be on almost every chart you post here on UA-cam?
They were huge around 1966/67 in the UK and in many european countries. I once read that in 1967, they sold more singles than the Beatles in the UK. I don't know if that's really true but I wouldn't be surprised if it was.
@@YesterdaysPapers Their record, "Hold Tight", received good airplay in my neck of the US, and I bought the 45, but it didn't "go national". In those days, radio markets in the US were regional, and it was entirely possible for a record to be a hit in Los Angeles, but not in Boston; New York, but not Miami. Billboard and Cashbox magazines reported them as "Regional Hits" - and there were many regions - many different radio markets - in the US. I knew about these things because the guy who owned my local record store let me take his old copies of those mags home when he was done with them (and I'm eternally grateful!). Because of that, I also was able to see all the World charts, and *especially* the British charts, which I would drool over. (I knew about Kinks records - after they'd been banned from performing in the US and received no airplay). After "Hold Tight", "Bend It" was released and it, too, received airplay in my area, but the record disappeared quickly - probably due to parental complaints (remember: ALL pop music was on AM radio, where many different people and age-groups listened to the same stuff - whether they liked it or not). The problem with the US "Bend It" was its lyric: it was completely different than its UK counterpart, and included the lines (from vague memory) "Bend it, baby; see, there's nothing to it / Even tiny kids in school can do it / Just relax, there's stacks of time cuz' honey / When night's ending. we'll be bending. He he he ...". At the time, I was pretty green, and ALL of it went right over my head, but not over the heads of the adults and parents who may have been listening. After it disappeared, that was, pretty much, the end of Tweaky, Meth, and Nigel in the US. I bought the 45 and still have it.
They had a run of hits that was pretty much unbroken from late '65 to well into '69. From early '68 on, they became noted - Dave Dee in particular - for increasingly extravagant stage costumes designed to tie in with the subject-matter of the songs, culminating in a full matador's rig for "Don Juan".
@@sg-yq8pm You obviously did not see the film "A Hard Days Night." George Harrison was shown a picture of a female Model, and he said to the man holding the picture..."So who's this Susan when she's at home?" So your reply is just a joke to wince at.
Another great video, thanks.
Imagine hearing God only Knows for the first time! Possibly the BB’s masterpiece.
The summer of’66, in my memory, was a golden era, for pop and myself (I was 8…).
Every day seemed to be sunny, every new record released was creative and fresh sounding, I was enjoying my childhood in rural Lancashire, the country was at peace with itself…
He makes one very good observation: Fans often ARE a lot more purist than artists. Some people are so pissed off about Blackmore's Night that they write posts about it on every video. That "Dylan goes electric" mindset goes on (and on). Quite depressing, really. Unlike these records, which sounded pretty upbeat! Thanks for these regular treats.🙂
What a solid take by Dave Berry! Spot on, I'd say.
Good observations by Mr. Berry, glad he dug Dylan's metamorphosis into Electric music and his bringing up Johnny Cash was a bit prophetic seeing that Dylan would collaborate with him shortly after. "Hanky Panky" is a cool song but was actually older than 1966, I think a year or two old by that point but was a hit after being re-released if I am remembering correctly. Never knew the Four Seasons had released singles as 'The Wonder Who', funny.
I only knew about one single. "Don't Think Twice (It's Alright)"
You know your pop music. Hanky Panky was a Jeff Barry/Ellie Greenwich song that James recorded in 1964. James was unemployed when a Philadelphia DJ started playing it and it suddenly took off in the Northeast and then everywhere.
@@joelake7986 I thought it was a girl singer on The Wonder Who's version of One The Good Ship Lollipop - possibly Millie Small.
Going to plug my band for a sec, POETS OF MYDNIGHT, Check us out on UA-cam + we released our first single on the Streaming Platforms a couple of weeks ago ✌️
Dave Berry's excellent. Funny to see him so soon after he was featured last video, but it's a pleasure to hear from him again. Great reviews!
"I didn't like it at first but it got a lot better" I fell in love with "God Only Knows" the first time I heard it. The fact that it's Paul McCartney's favorite song says enough.
The Kinks and The Hollies in the charts 🤘 Thank you for two videos in one week YP, and as ever, cool outro music ❤
Thanks, Sophie! Yep, the singles chart is incredible. So many great songs there.
@@YesterdaysPapers 💯❤
Yeah, that’s a big duh. I actually fell in love with it the first time I heard it - and it was Bowie’s version! The song slaps on so many levels.
My favourite Bob Dylan song is ''I WANT YOU'' 0:54
I'm glad Dave Berry picked up on its greatness at first hearing.
Thank you very much, Yesterday's Papers.😀😀😀
Hokey schmokes, Bullwinkle! Just turned 10 years old the week before this. It was a good time to have a transistor radio, but you had to keep begging your parents for money to buy 9-volt batteries, those rectangular little horrors that I still have to stock for the smoke detector.
Yep, those old AM (static static) transistor radios were power hungry by today's standards and batteries were pretty weak.
Horrors is right. Why did they have to have those awful snap-on connectors (which sometimes broke off altogether, making the battery useless, or the lead it was attached to)?
The top singles and albums had some great music that month.
I thought the same thing!
The outro is Strange Affect on Me, the kinks
Saw Dave a few years ago in concert . He was standing in for Spencer Davis who could not appear due to health issues. Dave came across as a zany, likeable guy and sang his chart hits. It was disappointing however not to get to see Spencer live ..
Dave Berry has a distinguished taste, very well. Before he said it I thought he would say he liked the Tommy James & the Shondells record, and indeed! In the Top Ten LP's were two outstanding albums, "Aftermath" by the Stones and "Small Faces". Thx!
Artist, which I haven’t known until now, and that’s not usual, when I watch YP. And it’s a good one. Berry had definetely very good titles in his “Blind date”. Blind date from a great period… summer of 66’ was superb!
Keep these superb presentations coming .xxx
Excellent Dylan single & love that Sunny 🌞 Afternoon was # 2 for The Kinks 😊
Yep, both classic tunes!
loving the instrumental "strange effect" for the outro :)
Thanks! Glad you liked it.
Very good review by Dave Berry. Pretty much on the money with all these tracks.
I like the strange effect on "This strange effect". 👍
It was good to see Gene Pitney score a Top 5 hit in Britain. He was pretty much over with in the U.S. but for a final out of left field hit with She's a Heartbreaker in 1968. Also nice to see Twice as Much doing the Rolling Stones Sitting On a Fence - I'd almost forgotten about them.
I always wondered about that song. Gene sings so damn hard on it his voice cracks several times. Maybe he was stepping into a harder rock style? I always loved it, especially the videos of him singing it looking all corporate and buttoned up.
@@Sprenklefish He seemed to be getting into rock with She's a heartbreaker but then followed that with the unique Billy You're My Friend, which had the same rock-like intensity mixed with a big, classical style instrumental bridge. That song was one of his most interesting, but it wasn't a hit.
@@John_Fugazzinever heard it, but just searched it out on YT. Yup, a bit adventurous and totally left of center. Could almost be from a Broadway production! I can see why it didn’t become a hit, but still great and he really hits some high notes! I wonder if he kept that song in his later performances?
Great to see Petula Clark near the top of the charts, one of my favorite British invasion artists ever
The last single "La Mer" by Smith had me confused as I thought it sounded a lot like "Beyond the Sea" by Bobby Darin. Then I discovered it was the same song by its French writer, Charles Trenet, using the French title rather than the Americanized one.
Yep, I believe this english adaption is closer to the original french lyrics.
I disagree with Dave’s assessment of Trini Lopez. I loved his brand of folk music with a Latin twist. His album, Trini Lopez at PJ’s (a night club in West Hollywood) was a mainstay in my parents home. I can still see my dad
dancing the salsa or, was it the cha-cha? In either case, he’d be dancing and singing along to Trini doing If I Had a Hammer and Lemon Tree. Trini was a very proficient guitar player. He was asked by the Gibson Guitar company to design a couple of guitars for them. They are highly sought collectors items.
Lopez was a mainstay on US AM radio in those days. His music served as a bridge between what teenagers liked, and what adults liked. It's important to remember that all popular music was on AM radio, not FM - which was for 'serious' adult singers, news, and Classical music. They were two different planets that didn't begin merging until sometime in 1967.
Dave Berry was a complete mystery to me, until your last video. Apparently never made it into Boston radio stations. So thanks YP for some musical education!!
Dave was the first to release the hauntingly beautiful “The Crying Game” (written by Geoff Stephens) in 1964. I didn’t know much more about him than that, which is why I find YP’s videos so interesting.
Yeah he was big over there. Never took off in America though. That’s probably why you never heard of him.
Dave Berry released the Bobby Goldsboro song "Little Things" in 1965 and appeared on Shindig lip-synching to it, but Bobby Goldsborough, who'd written and released it at the end of 1964, had the US hit (US #13, Canada #4) and Berry's cover got to UK #5, and Ireland #9. That one-off Shindig appearance was the last that the US heard of Berry until "The Crying Game" movie (1992) was released 27 years later.
I enjoyed your take on "This Strange Effect", YP!
Dave was great 'live'. Saw him a couple of time's. Quite R&Bish. 1065 {LOL, just before the 'Norman' invasion! } maybe it was 1965...
What a great top 10.
Crikey. What a great selection of records (including the 2nd best single ever) and Berry seems to misfire over many of them. Credit to him for his candid views but not at all incisive or that well informed. I do appreciate hearing his views though.
Nice to see two covered Rolling Stones songs in there. Both great, Sittin' On a Fence is lovely. Funnily enough Chris Farlowe also covered songs by Twice As Much. I prefer the Stones version of Sittin' On a Fence, especially Brian Jones on harpsichord.
I love "Sitting on a Fence", very underrated song.
Hanky Panky hitting No:1 in the US charts
I'm laughing and facepalming at the same time! lol
Suffice it to say there was alot of chart manipulations going on by the record execs. Give the djs enough coke and they'd make 3 blind mice a smash. You would face palm yourself unconscious seeing the Archie's sugar sugar as record of the year in 69.
I liked Dave. Saw him a couple of time's.... Mid 60's.... Little thing's had just charted.
omg, your version of "strange effect" is spectacular!🏆
Thank you very much!
The firsts songs...wow,what a great music!
They sure drew some weird caricatures in the Melody Maker.
They made him look like Clutch Cargo in the cartoon.
Wow Dave Berry from the Berry Blokes. Yeah I remember them well.
I think the Wonder Who also did a version of Dylan's "Don't Think Twice" around this time. And your "Strange Effect" sounded great, like Jack Nietzsche produced it!
Thank you very much, John! Glad you liked the "Strange Effect" cover.
When I saw "La Mer" come up I immediately thought--"Debussy in the MM Top 30?"
But the big question is how did they manage to fit the title of that She Trinity track on a 7 inch piece of vinyl?!
If you think that's a long title, then how about (deep, deep breath):
The Young Electric Psychedelic Hippy, Flippy, Folk And Funky Philosophic Turned-On Groovy Twelve-String Band?? I forget when exactly it came out - '67 or '68 I think. Don't expect YP to review it, though - just reading out the title would take up most of the clip!! BTW, Barry Mann was the artist.
Raymound Douglas Davies gennius of the Kinks writter Strange Effect. 🤩🤩🍾🍾👍👍
The first two songs are definitely the pick of the litter there. Was that Beach Boys single considered a double A side? "Wouldn't it Be Nice" was pretty popular.
Tommy James spent some time in my state, Wisconsin, growing up, and then Michigan. That being said "Crystal Blue Persuasion" is a much better song than "Hanky Panky".
One of the things I love about your channel is the exposure of all the drek that was put out. Boomers with rose-tinted specs love to imagine that it was wall-to-wall classics. But just as today, the majority of stuff put out was completely forgettable and some of it was downright terrible.
Yes, record companies have always released tons of disposable crap hoping it sticks, I guess the main difference is that listeners back then didn't seem to be as easily fooled as they are nowadays 'cause most of the crappy singles on these Blind Dates never charted while a pretty large percentage of the songs on the charts were great tunes that are stll regarded as classics nowadays.
I got to hear that #41 song! The list ended before I could finish reading it
Interesting to see Excuse Me Baby there at #45. Chicory Tip had a rather unsuccessful go at it too in '71, before striking it big with Son Of My Father. (Two places below it is Younger Girl, originally recorded by the Lovin' Spoonful on one of their albums. That John Sebastian sure burned bright for a couple of years.)
Is it "Onward, Christian Soldiers" with Jan and Dean from 1958?
LOL ouch!
Play this video to anyone who thinks 1966 was pure gold on the radio and straighten them out.
At 38 and 40, two versions of *You Gave Me Somebody To Love* done by either Manfred Mann on EMI's flagship HMV label, the other by the Fortunes on the inferior Decca label. In Australia such a situation as two versions of the same song would occupy the same ranking on the charts with a bracketed e/b next to the title, referring to "equal best. Not a good practice, really. The British have the right idea in splitting the two versions and ranking them on their own merits.
It's funny how he kept guessing the band or solo singer wrong. I think he was jealous of the Beach Boys and their huge popularity with the Brits. I'm sure you know that in 1966 the Beach Boys were more popular in Britain than the Beatles. ICYMI Trini Lopez toured Europe including the UK in the early 60s and the Beatles were a supporting act.
Dave had a bit of a mixed bag to critique but I thought he was fair in his assessment. It was so refreshing to hear Dave’s positive views on Dylan’s switch to electric as I never understood all the negativity over this move. As much as I love Dylan’s early acoustic material, his work with the talented members of The Band gave us some of the best music of his career imo. Fascinating as always YP, thank you.
Agreed. His "electric" albums from 1965/66 are my favourites by Dylan.
@@YesterdaysPapers …..yes, I love Dylan’s output throughout the ‘60’s. I saw Bob ‘77 or ‘78 and confess I was a little disappointed. I think I was expecting to hear earlier material but he performed almost all new and therefore, unfamiliar material. I loved The Band, each member was so musically gifted and they could all sing!
@@lindadote I love The Band as well. What an excellent band. I can't think of any other band that had 3 members with such soulful voices. Levon Helm, Richard Manuel and Rick Danko had so much heart and soul when they sang.
@@YesterdaysPapers ……agree completely, fantastic band! Richard Manuel had the voice of an Angel.
@@lindadote They had to keep Robbie's vocal mic turned off though. I saw Dylan and The Band in '74 during the "Before the Flood" tour and it was one of the best concerts I've heard. Dylan even performed a solo set of earlier songs but with a harder edge. And The Band was on fire that concert!
I was born in that exact month ... funny imagining my birth soundtrack :-)
Nice video
I wonder if soul singers or the vocal girl groups had Blind Dates
Not many. I can only recall a Blind Date with Levi Stubbs from the Four Tops, which I'll turn into a video sooner or later..
4:46 It took about 15 seconds before I figured out that that was "Somewhere Beyond the Sea"; maybe Bobby Darren picked the new title for the somewhat different translation he recorded.
6:20 I had to look up "The man who took the valise off the floor of Grand Central Station At Noon"; how often do you see a title like that? It sounds like the Dixie Cups covering something from 1900, though I understand Lloyd Price had released a version a few years earlier.
Wow. Pet Sounds and Blonde on Blonde new at the same time
I didn't realize that there was a specific order to choosing which Blind Dates were to be uploaded at any given time until now.
And what is that "specific order"?
@@lonedrone The OP's previous upload was on covers of Kinks songs, with Dave Berry's 'Strange Effect' rendition given particular prominence.
It's great to hear that Dave immediately recognized the greatness of Dylan's "I Want You" and that BB's epic "God Only Knows" was quickly growing on him.
One thing I have to admit though... when I started watching the Blind Date videos, I had made an assumption that most of the British artists Melody Maker had asked to do reviews would've generally praised all the Tamla Motown releases and singles by Southern Soul artists, but that's rarely been the case, so far.
At that time, Brian Wilson's arrangements and production on " Pet Sounds " had yet to be admired. Many musicians involved in making the album, ( The Wrecking Crew, " ) called him a genius songwriter. Lennon and McCartney agreed! Barry's remark about fans not liking change in artists was correct. People like to pigeonhole performers. Dylan was booed in July, 1965, when he went electric. Likewise the Beatles when they released Strawberry Fields Forever. Good reviews here.
As we have come to realize "Pet Sounds" was like a bottle of fine wine: It just gets better with age. In 1966 the album was not supported by Capitol Records and it didn't do very well either in sales or chart position. It was eventually certified both gold and platinum in the year 2000 but was actually qualified for gold record status in 1969. At that point Capitol had all but relegated the album to the dust bin. Not only was McCartney enamored with "Pet Sounds" so was George Martin. In fact George paid a visit to Brian Wilson's home to discuss the album. He was that impressed with it.
I enjoy these videos but it would be fun if you actually posted the final position the singles got to in the charts. This would make the reviewers remarks much more interesting!
Is this Jan & Dean without the surf music? lol
Just learning about this guy now due to his cover of a Ray Davies song. Apparently he was big in Europe. I don't know what to say about his near-diss of the Beach Boys' masteriece..."Jan&Dean"? Come on!
geez that "The Sound of Music" soundtrack was an all-time LP chart topper wasn't it?? How many years did it dominate the Top Ten?
I think it was in the charts for at least 10 years, pretty amazing.
"The Sound Of Music" film soundtrack album sold more copies than any Beatles LP up to that point. Hard to believe but absolutely true.
Cliff's version of "Blue Turns To Grey" was indeed his last good recording. Wonder if he'll reach 100.....
The net reveals that Sir Cliff won't divulge any of his scalp secrets, and just like Bowie & Jagger implying he won a genetic lottery that makes one's hair grow thicker and darker with the passing of the years. .....not strange at all...
God Only Knows, I Want You and Ninety-Nine And A Half--that's quite a trifecta out of the box. Can't remember 3 killers like this to start of a YP post. The Pickett track is excellent, all the kids used to sing it. Great to see The Sound Of Music at #1 on the UK album chart. Even the mighty Stones, Beach Boys and the Mamas and Papas have to bow down to the awesome power of Julie Andrews, the nuns and the children. (BTW what's with the apostrophes in the Mamas and Papas?)
Love your outro, YP. Really nice!!
Thanks, Willie! Everything's alright with the world when "The Sound of Music" is number 1.
@@YesterdaysPapers Yes mate. Warms the cockles of me heart it does.
@@willieluncheonette5843 Hahaha!
Groovy psyche-dirge with the kinks tune…
Looking over the top 50 list for that week, the number of great tunes mixed with so much other fluff shows how some things haven't changed.
Man oh man, how could Dave not dig Wilson Pickett?
Yeah, and that song is a soul classic.
❤
He had a lot of good ones to review, and i think his evaluations were mostly good. I think he was a little harsh on Trini however.
It's amazing that The Beatles only had one song on the charts that week. I imagine that must have been a bit of a rarity, although honestly, I don't remember.
I think the period when the Beatles had more than song in the UK charts was in late 63 and 64 when Beatlemania really exploded. But I don't think that happened too often after that.
@@YesterdaysPapers That makes sense.
@@YesterdaysPapers I imagine they were selling whole albums by then, rather than singles.
"Maybe it'll get into the 30s." Premieres at 29.
On the Good Ship Lollipop? Seriously 4 Seasons?
Shoulda called themselves the Wonder Why not the Wonder Who.
I remember i think he had quite a menacing , odd stage presence Dave Berry, Crying Game, Little Things, great stuff.
He has a good take on these records i think.
He likes the shondells...but not Wilson Picket? Tosser.
Each to their own. I wasn’t keen on either of them.
Dave Berry was born in 1941. It's amazing what a difference those extra years listening to the old styles made on some people. Most couldn't understand the 1960s at all. I'm afraid Berry was one of them. (He remains alive, and I wish him well. Still cranky, probably, but I hope he's doing fine.)
Dave Berry's take on Dylan is spot on. Musical purists are truly annoying. I used to play with some Bluegrass musicians. We would jokingly call Bluegrass purists, "Bluegrass Nazis."
Beach Boys' and Dylan's best on this show, you're making me wanna scream! What a week, Dave just had no clue what was about to happen when he was presented these records.
1:29 - I'm been amazed with these YP reviews by British artists at how many of them couldn't relate to American soul music at all. Scott Walker, for example, practically threw up at the sound of the great Otis Redding, and begged that the record be taken off the turntable. (That didn't endear him to me.) This is particularly shocking because British pop fans embraced the Motown Sound even before white music fans in America did; there was a Tamla Motown fan club in the UK. The same was true with ska music from Jamaica (e.g., "Israelites"): the UK got it before the US did.
I could be wrong but what I've noticed about some british musicians from that era is that some of them saw soul music as "discotheque music" 'cause that was the music that was played in UK clubs. So they didn't see it as "serious music". They saw rhythm & blues and blues as serious music but not soul. But I think a lot of the bad reviews about Motown records on these Blind Dates come from the fact that they felt they were a bit formulaic and some of them sounded samey. They liked Motown records but didn't like the ones that sounded like they were re-writing previous Motown hits. Just my two cents.
@@YesterdaysPapers Your theory makes a lot of sense. And many Motown records were *deliberately* samey, because if a single became a big hit, Berry Gordy would always demand that the artist record a follow-up record just like it. There's even a theory that the title of "It's the Same Old Song," the follow-up to The Four Top's hit "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)," was poking sly fun at this practice of copying hits... though HDH, the songwriters, had recorded an earlier version of "Same Old Song" with The Supremes, which would tend to disprove the theory. So yes, the songs could sometimes be formulaic, but it's a formula that I, personally, cherish.
@@heinrichvon Me too. Love the Motown stuff.
Otis and Wilson are not Motown. Atlantic and Stax records were usually recorded in Memphis (with Booker T & the MGs often the session musicians) or Muscle Shoals later (Aretha's classics like 'Respect'). Grittier stuff. Those records were more r $ b/soul than the slick Motown productions (I loved Motown, but it seems like Berry Gordy wanted his acts to go the Las Vegas route).
And as as far as Blind Daters disliking soul, it may be a matter of age. Both the Beatles and Stones (and the Hollies for that matter) recorded a lot of covers including Arthur Alexander and Chuck Berry as well as (black) girl groups by the Beatles and blues by the Stones. As the Stones and Beatles started out playing clubs, maybe they liked 'discotheque' music.
@@wyliesmith4244 I never meant to imply that Redding and Pickett were from Motown: of course they were not. My comment ranged over the entire subject of American soul music (including both Stax and Motown) because that's what Dave Berry was talking about. Both The Beatles and The Stones liked and recorded covers of American soul music: I wasn't referring to them. I suppose I assumed that English recording artists shared their enthusiasm about black American music, and am surprised to discover how often this wasn't true.
Geez, YP, we talk about Dave Berry and here he is. 😁😂 Nice calls by Dave, and I agree with them all save for his initial assessment of God Only Knows. Happy to hear the song began to grow on him. He's spot on about Cliff's choice of material. While he's done some great songs, he mirrors Elvis on a long string of stinkers during this period. Dave's call on finding his own material displays a good sense of humility, too. One more reason to admire him.
Nice to see Georgie Fame topping the UK charts with the underappreciated Chris Farlowe close behind. As for 'The Wonder Who', egads!, what on earth were they thinking? Tiny Tim did it better.
Yep, that Wonder Who track is truly awful. I like how Dave thought his father had that record at home. "Must be a record by some old woman". Hahaha!
@@YesterdaysPapers I wonder how Frankie Valli may have felt about being referred to as "some old woman". 😂😂
The Four Seasons made some fantastic records but, like so many older acts in the British Invasion era, continued success became a matter of throwing anything against the wall and hoping something sticks with the record buying public. Del Shannon deserved better for his post-Beatles work, as did Dion for pretty cool covers like his version of Purple Haze.
@@Sp33gan Agreed. Their post-Beatles output is criminally underrated.
wow....dave was very much like keith moon in not embracing the change in how the beach boys were making records
god only knows is one of the greatest pop songs of the 60s
did he actually think Frankie Valli was a girl
He said "I didn't like at first but it got a lot better" so he wasn't as negative as Keith Moon, who truly hated the album with a passion.
Great job as always. But are you sure the charts are right ? I look at the US chart and it's all songs I heard traveling across America on vacation, while the UK charts reflect when I lived in Europe a year or so later. Could there be a delay in releases both ways across the pond ? Plus all the rereleases that happened in Britain are adding to the confusion.
I don't know if there was a delay but I just checked Record Mirror's charts from that same week in 1966 and they were pretty much the same songs. Plus, if you take a look at the UK chart, you can see that some of the songs Dave reviewed here like "I Want You" by Dylan" or "La Mer" by Smith were just entering the Top 50.
@@YesterdaysPapers Thanks for the reply. I recalculated when I was where, and now realize other than the Herman's Hermits being a few months earlier , maybe due to Armed Forces Network vs English radio release dates, everything lines up.
Yes there was a delay for numerous reasons.
The Beatles slackin' off again at No 15
❤ ✌
99 1/2 Won't Do. Wilson does a good. On par with CCR'S.
What's the instrumental song at the end of this video?
It's an instrumental cover of "This Strange Effect" by Dave Berry.
Trini Lopez appeared on an episode of ADAM-12 in the early '70s. Useless fact, I know.....
He played a Hispanic preacher, I believe. Further uselessness; I know, I know- lol
🚬😎
He played a dubious stereotype in "The Dirty Dozen." But then so did most of the other actors. But I still liked the movie more than Trini's music.
The outgoing music had a strange effect on me.😂
I have never herd of Dave Berry, and I don't think I have heard any of his songs.
I'm sure you've probably heard "The Crying Game".
Someone please explain to me who is Dave Perry! Is there any album or singel by him in any streaming platform or in UA-cam? Was he a member of some band? I didn't find anything about him in the internet.
Check out his songs "The Crying Game" and "This Strange Effect".
@@YesterdaysPapers Thank you!
Pretty astute opinions for a Teen idol
I think he wasn't handsome enough to be considered a teen idol! hahaha
@@YesterdaysPapers Yes, the sort of dial you could politely call "interesting" or "lived-in".
As a frequent viewer of these reviews for awhile now, you'd think that Dave Dee, Tweaky, Meth et al was just beneath the Beatles in terms of sales and popularity! Any chance of a small retrospecticus of who they were and what they did and why they seemed to be on almost every chart you post here on UA-cam?
They were huge around 1966/67 in the UK and in many european countries. I once read that in 1967, they sold more singles than the Beatles in the UK. I don't know if that's really true but I wouldn't be surprised if it was.
@@YesterdaysPapers Their record, "Hold Tight", received good airplay in my neck of the US, and I bought the 45, but it didn't "go national".
In those days, radio markets in the US were regional, and it was entirely possible for a record to be a hit in Los Angeles, but not in Boston; New York, but not Miami. Billboard and Cashbox magazines reported them as "Regional Hits" - and there were many regions - many different radio markets - in the US.
I knew about these things because the guy who owned my local record store let me take his old copies of those mags home when he was done with them (and I'm eternally grateful!). Because of that, I also was able to see all the World charts, and *especially* the British charts, which I would drool over. (I knew about Kinks records - after they'd been banned from performing in the US and received no airplay).
After "Hold Tight", "Bend It" was released and it, too, received airplay in my area, but the record disappeared quickly - probably due to parental complaints (remember: ALL pop music was on AM radio, where many different people and age-groups listened to the same stuff - whether they liked it or not).
The problem with the US "Bend It" was its lyric: it was completely different than its UK counterpart, and included the lines (from vague memory) "Bend it, baby; see, there's nothing to it / Even tiny kids in school can do it / Just relax, there's stacks of time cuz' honey / When night's ending. we'll be bending. He he he ...".
At the time, I was pretty green, and ALL of it went right over my head, but not over the heads of the adults and parents who may have been listening. After it disappeared, that was, pretty much, the end of Tweaky, Meth, and Nigel in the US.
I bought the 45 and still have it.
They had a run of hits that was pretty much unbroken from late '65 to well into '69. From early '68 on, they became noted - Dave Dee in particular - for increasingly extravagant stage costumes designed to tie in with the subject-matter of the songs, culminating in a full matador's rig for "Don Juan".
Haha to be unaware of one of the greatest hooks ever i.e. God only Knows
Bob Dylan's country and Folk stuff as well as electric rock and roll... a pretty big deal at the time
He's right about Dylan changing being a good thing. Dave probably never got into AC/DC then?
So...who's this Dave Berry when he's at home?
@@sg-yq8pm You obviously did not see the film "A Hard Days Night." George Harrison was shown a picture of a female Model, and he said to the man holding the picture..."So who's this Susan when she's at home?" So your reply is just a joke to wince at.
@@sg-yq8pm Another ancient put down that's makes one wince again. Come on man, come up with some new material.
I dont get Dave Berry at all
Was that Good Ship Lollipop crap for real?…oh god
In a million multiverses that would NEVER sound like The Beatles lol
Of course my least favorite vocal group from the 60s The Four Seasons had a fake alias and put out even worse music lol
0:08 Animated Dave looks Asian.
"The Mama's And Papa's"?! Who edited this nonsense, and to which school did it go? Can we have it shut down?
He was pretty well right on the money here. Good review, Dave..!