Sunday Drive: Reach Out, I'll Be There

Something to take your mind off the troubles of the world for a few minutes:  Studly Levi Stubbs leads the fabulous Four Tops in one of their big hits on the Ed Sullivan show in October, 1966 - 56 years ago.

-----

Beach Mix, 9/2/18

Somewhere . . . a place for us

Labor Day weekend has arrived to mark the end of the summer season in the US of A, and so we come to the end of our beach party here at the Blue Truck. I hope you all have enjoyed listening to my faves from the mid-sixties; there are of course many more great songs from that period that I haven't posted, but I've tried for the most part to feature those that have a good beat that you can dance to, as a good DJ should.

It took a bit of work, but it was a real treat for me to track down all these videos - live performances whenever I could find them in good, or at least bearable, quality. And truth to tell, in many cases it's the first time your Head Trucker has ever seen these singers and bands perform - or even just seen what they looked like. Today's children would be shocked and amazed, no doubt, to learn that once upon a time, still within living memory, one might go for years on end enjoying certain songs, but having no idea what the singers looked like.  And somehow it just wasn't all that important to see the singers - the music, the sound, was the important thing, and that was enough.

I miss transistor radios.  Hell, I miss radio - simple and free, radiating from out the aether to everyone, everywhere, endlessly emanating delightful sounds - a constant comfort and joy.


But I digress. We begin our final Beach Mix by dimming the lights for the sweetheart dance - which goes out to my truckbuddy Frank, because he is one (and that's all you need to know, ragazzi).

Don't Worry Baby, Beach Boys, 1964




The next tune goes out to my faithful truckbuddy Davis, to remind him of those sunny days of innocent youth.

I Can't Help Myself, Four Tops, 1965




And this perfect updating of the Cole Porter classic is an oldie but such an elegant goodie - like my dear old chum Tim, living the beach life year-round on the Costa del Sol, the lucky blighter.

I've Got You Under My Skin, Four Seasons, 1966




And to all my truckbuddies around the world in these troubled times - if you ever need a lift, this song is guaranteed to provide it:

Dancing in the Street, Martha and the Vandellas, 1964




To end the summer with a bonus: Your choice of any stud in the Blue Truck catalog - free! - goes to the reader who can name all the TV shows featured in this brilliantly edited little video. Have fun, y'all.

Keep on Dancing, Gentrys, 1965

Beach Mix, 8/19/18

Let's have a beach party!

Sunday Drive is on summer hiatus while I offer some favorites from the mid-sixties for fun in the sun and tans on the sands.

What memories do these songs bring back for you?


Help Me, Rhonda, Beach Boys, Andy Williams Show, 1965




It's the Same Old Song, Four Tops, 1965




Have I the Right? Honeycombs, 1964




Green Grass, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, 1966




She Loves You, Beatles, A Hard Day's Night 1964

Beach Mix, 7/8/18

Well, fellas, the world's in a helluva shape, and seems there's not much we can do about it just now - but instead of sitting home feeling blue, let's have an old-fashioned beach party!  

Sunday Drive is on summer hiatus while I offer some favorites from the mid-sixties for fun in the sun and tans on the sands.

What memories do these songs bring back for you?

I Get Around, The Beach Boys, The Ed Sullivan Show, 1964:

Cool Jerk, The Capitols, 1966:




Call Me, Chris Montez, 1965:




You're the One, The Vogues, 1965:




Reach Out I'll Be There, The Four Tops, featuring the late, great Levi Stubbs, 1966:

Sunday Drive: Sweet Sounds

Just for fun, a little compilation of sugared songs from my early life. First up is one from 1958 by the McGuire Sisters that was a hit when I was just a tiny fellow, and one of the first songs I remember hearing:




Next, from 1964, the incomparable Julie Andrews singing one of everybody's favorite tunes from Mary Poppins, which was released fifty years ago - can you believe? - on August 27, 1964, to universal acclaim:




The Four Tops, led by the late, great Levi Stubbs, had a number-one hit in 1965 with this next one, which remains my all-time favorite dance tune:




As I remember it, this next song swept to the top of the charts just about the time school was starting in 1969. I remember I'd get up every morning in the early darkness and play this record over and over again on the living room stereo while getting dressed - and my mom walking in from the kitchen and yelling at me: "For God's sake, turn that damn thing down, you'll wake up all the neighbors!" Oh but I just couldn't get enough of this bouncy, catchy number - here's studio singer Ron Dante performing all the parts for his nonexistent group, and very convincingly too:




And the following year, Canadian group The Guess Who cut down on the sweetness with this plaintive number about the absence of sugar, whatever that might mean: