ROCK dance songs of the 1960s not Motown, Stax or Northern Soul

[remicks]

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It was this song :




that made me a devoted Staples Singers fan way back then.

Always loved its upbeat, high energy, positive enthusiasm.


****

With this in mind , it makes it sadly ironic to now learn that this was a remake of a song first recorded by its' co-writer Bobby Bloom :

HEAVY MAKES YOU HAPPY

Bloom suffered from depression towards the end of his life.^[3] Bloom died on February 28, 1974, at the age of 28. He apparently shot himself while cleaning his gun.^[5] Jeff Barry was surprised to find out afterwards that he was the sole beneficiary of Bloom's life insurance policy.<sup>[6]

wiki</sup>

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[remicks]

*****

Bobby Bloom's one hit was




best sound:

Montego Bay
(1970)

U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #8,
UK #3

*****

very percussion based ....

never pictured him as young & white


*****

[discokicks]

With this in mind , it makes it sadly ironic to now learn that this was a remake of a song first recorded by its' co-writer Bobby Bloom :

HEAVY MAKES YOU HAPPY



*****

It certainly is sad to find out that Bobby Bloom lived such a short life...such a sexy, smokin' voice. Depression in artists is common but thankfully, many find solace in expressing their troubled, questioning thoughts in song...and we're granted that gift because of it.

Bloom's "Heavy Makes You Happy" would mix perfectly with Jeff Barry's other hit "Sugar Sugar". It's interesting that he was involved in co-writing songs within the bubblebum era of the late 60s...an appropriate contrast to his own heaviness I imagine and no doubt, very agitating as well. Bobby's collaboration with Tommy James resulted in the massive "Mony Mony" and he also teamed up with Gentry and Cordell on one of my favourites from that era (which I just discovered was covered by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and also the Ramones!)...

[skiddlybop]

That was two great videos, Remicks -- the home-made sync kind that made youtube explode, and, it looks like, original vocalist Ron Dante. Jeff Barry -- FANTASTIC writer-producer, keyman, with ex-wife Ellie Greenwich, in Top 40's greatest generation, inspired crucially by Leiber-Stoller's Latin-Jewish-blues fusion. I was so impressed to hear Jeff say in a radio interview that he'd written "Sugar, Sugar" with Canada's Andy Kim over the phone in fifteen minutes. How could it not be a super-smash when it's up there with "Louie Louie" and "Twist and Shout" in its powerful adaptation of the elemental Latin montuno progression? In danceable rock tracks, there's this one, "Venus" by Shocking Blue, Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix Experience, and "Hang on Sloopy" by the McCoys in the all-time top5, IMHO, plus "1-2-3" by Len Barry and "Bread and Butter" by the Newbeats. Jeff also produced a later gem by Dusty Springfield, the very New York-contemporary 1971 single "Haunted,"another Bloom co-write, and the unique, irresistably syncopated piece of teeny-bop psychedelia, "Lay a Little Lovin' on Me" by Robin Mc Namara. He also wrote, with the great Cynthia Weil, the adult ballad "The Last Time I Made Love," sung so movingly by Jeffrey Osborne and Joyce Kennedy. {genuflecting}.

[remicks]

That was two great videos, Remicks -- the home-made sync kind that made youtube explode, and, it looks like, original vocalist Ron Dante. Jeff Barry -- FANTASTIC writer-producer, keyman, with ex-wife Ellie Greenwich, in Top 40's greatest generation, inspired crucially by Leiber-Stoller's Latin-Jewish-blues fusion. I was so impressed to hear Jeff say in a radio interview that he'd written "Sugar, Sugar" with Canada's Andy Kim over the phone in fifteen minutes. How could it not be a super-smash when it's up there with "Louie Louie" and "Twist and Shout" in its powerful adaptation of the elemental Latin montuno progression? In danceable rock tracks, there's this one, "Venus" by Shocking Blue, Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix Experience, and "Hang on Sloopy" by the McCoys in the all-time top5, IMHO, plus "1-2-3" by Len Barry and "Bread and Butter" by the Newbeats. Jeff also produced a later gem by Dusty Springfield, the very New York-contemporary 1971 single "Haunted,"another Bloom co-write, and the unique, irresistably syncopated piece of teeny-bop psychedelia, "Lay a Little Lovin' on Me" by Robin Mc Namara. He also wrote, with the great Cynthia Weil, the adult ballad "The Last Time I Made Love," sung so movingly by Jeffrey Osborne and Joyce Kennedy. {genuflecting}.

That SUGAR SUGAR video is as unpretentiously alluring as the song itself. Created in pure innocence at an age in our youth when we act things out free of worry of recourse.

What an interesting TOP 5 "danceable rock tracks" Mr Bop, in particular your choice of BREAD & BUTTER which would not have occurred to me , but I do find myself especially drawn to it thanks in large part to this video .



Look at that : music created all in good fun!!! Is that part of what's missing these days???


Now surely this song warrants a mention!! (In your TOP 10 ??)

Steam


Hmm, a review of the greatest 60's rock dance songs .
What a great thread topic !!!! anybody?


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[skiddlybop]

Thanks again, Remicks, for your video research, and several more things do occur to me at the moment: the hammering "Glad All Over" and "Bits and Pieces" by the Dave Clark Five and "Have I the Right" by the Honeycombs. Their **** was vicious. Why isn't drummer Honey Langtree a bonafide drag icon? BTW, Solomon Burke always felt his gospel-style "Everybody needs Somebody To Love, covered by the Rolling Stones and Wilson Pickett, was jacked without credit by the Newbeats. "Run, Baby, Run" reminds me of other pop groups' songs cut in tribute to the hits of the Four Tops -- "Let's Hang On" and "Workin' My Way Back to You by the Four Seasons, "Black is Black" by Los Bravos. Many of these tunes also were inspired by the driving four-four groove of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction."Also, "Keep On Running" and "Gimme Some Loving" by Spencer Davis Group with Steve Winwood on vocal; "Wild Thing" by the Troggs and any of the Steppenwolf hits. "Somebody To Love" by Jefferson Airplane. Get this girl started on a list...

[markydefad]

this post no longer fits here...so deleted

[discokicks]

Thanks again, Remicks, for your video research, and several more things do occur to me at the moment: the hammering "Glad All Over" and "Bits and Pieces" by the Dave Clark Five and "Have I the Right" by the Honeycombs. Their **** was vicious. Why isn't drummer Honey Langtree a bonafide drag icon? BTW, Solomon Burke always felt his gospel-style "Everybody needs Somebody To Love, covered by the Rolling Stones and Wilson Pickett, was jacked without credit by the Newbeats. "Run, Baby, Run" reminds me of other pop groups' songs cut in tribute to the hits of the Four Tops -- "Let's Hang On" and "Workin' My Way Back to You by the Four Seasons, "Black is Black" by Los Bravos. Many of these tunes also were inspired by the driving four-four groove of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction."Also, "Keep On Running" and "Gimme Some Loving" by Spencer Davis Group with Steve Winwood on vocal; "Wild Thing" by the Troggs and any of the Steppenwolf hits. "Somebody To Love" by Jefferson Airplane. Get this girl started on a list...

I love where this topic headed! I was soooooo young then but there was something about that four-four beat in the late '60s that was so seductive...so mesmerizing to me at that young age. It's no wonder that disco became the antidote in the '70s.

Here's one that beat hard...



And even though Mr. Seger would never be caught in a disco, he certainly began his career with a scorchin' heavy-beater....

[markydefad]

remicks, skiddlybop, & discokicks--this discussion about danceable Sixties pop/rock records is terrific...but shouldn't a new thread be started?
Since this thread is about the Staple Singers...let's make it easier for people to contribute ideas about Sixties dance pop/rock in a new thread.
Again, since I didn't start this thread....I hesitate to make the first move. So......

[remicks]

remicks, skiddlybop, & discokicks--this discussion about danceable Sixties pop/rock records is terrific...but shouldn't a new thread be started?
Since this thread is about the Staple Singers...let's make it easier for people to contribute ideas about Sixties dance pop/rock in a new thread.
Again, since I didn't start this thread....I hesitate to make the first move. So......

Oh for goodness sakes .... go ahead already , you're way overdue anyway Mr. D!!!

I can't .....Got to go NOW

but would love to see that as a topic !!! (qualifier: ROCK dance songs of the sixties ... not Motown, Stax , "Northern Soul" etc. )

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[Bernie]

As requested earlier, the later postings have now been spun off to a new thread... Post away!

[discokicks]

In danceable rock tracks, there's this one, "Venus" by Shocking Blue, Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix Experience, and "Hang on Sloopy" by the McCoys in the all-time top5, IMHO, plus "1-2-3" by Len Barry and "Bread and Butter" by the Newbeats.

Speaking of the McCoys, their version of "Fever" notched up the tempo slightly from "Hang On Sloopy" but still kept that four-four thump....

[remicks]

BTW, Solomon Burke always felt his gospel-style "Everybody needs Somebody To Love, covered by the Rolling Stones and Wilson Pickett, was jacked without credit by the Newbeats.

SOLOMON BURKE
OMG yes!!
but in the disco era we would simply say the two were " ideally mixable".

I've been listening a lot to early sixties music of late and it's entertaining to pinpoint who was "borrowing" from who. At times shameless. I'm getting less cynical about it now. I think that 's what's necessary to move on to the "new" .....building off the old and tweaking it. The isolated SHAFT moments were few and far between.

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ok now I'm late

[markydefad]

Thanks Bernie---I wanted all the previous info to move here before the thread moved on and now it has and can.

So Sixties [1960 - 1969] Pop/Rock records that make you wanna dance. And we are talking [mostly] white people as artists here--not Motown, Stax, Northern Soul.

Pure pop from the Archies to Rolling Stones rock. Great examples listed in the posts above .

Try to add a video if possible.

I will add some of my faves:

KEEP ON DANCING - The Gentrys (1965)



MIDNIGHT CONFESSIONS - The Grass Roots (1968)



HONKY TONK WOMEN - Rolling Stones (1969)
[I had to find the studio record version with that sleazy beat and the cowbell; the live concert footage had sped up or slowed down tempos; I wanted this 118 bpm classic in its orignal version]

[markydefad]

A few more I love...

BIRTHDAY - The Beatles (1968)



EXPRESSWAY TO YOUR HEART - Soul Survivors (1967)[white guys with Gamble & Huff writing/producing]

[discokicks]

MIDNIGHT CONFESSIONS - The Grass Roots (1968)

I love the heavy beat on "Midnight Confessions"....did anyone ever do a dance cover of it?

My fascination with these hard-pounding '60s dance tunes started in the early '80s with the Stars On 45 craze. It was then that I realized that a lot of the music from the past that I had grown up around all possessed a driving beats per minute range similar to my beloved disco...landing anywhere between 120 - 140bpm range. From there, I began the task of clocking all of these familiar records.

How hot is this? Just need to re-edit and extend the instrumental on this for something really captivating....

[markydefad]

I love the heavy beat on "Midnight Confessions"....did anyone ever do a dance cover of it?

I can't think of a cover version but that doesn't mean there wasn't one. Sounds like a tune Bill Motley should have recorded with Boystown Gang ---but that's just my imagination running away with me.

I liked that Bob Seger "Ramblin', Gamblin' Man" clip you posted. There are more in that vein---I have to think hard.
when I listened to a few titles on youtube I thought might work for this thread they didn't quite hold up...but there are more.

[skiddlybop]

So many fun, fabulous reminiscences here, and so great to be able to search youtube like you've rifled your 45s and found the one you wanted to play. I would just point out among some of the great records mentioned upthread-- Yoko Ono's primal-rockin' "Midsummer New York" certainly owed something to the tight top 40 blues of "Shakin' All Over." I also flashed on the way only the oldest member of my Boy Scout troop knew how to dance a little jitterbug to "Midnight Confessions" with a Girl Scout whose troop meeting we visited one Friday night for a polite little party with cookies and records. Also, "Keep On Dancing"reminded me of the teen garage-rock "Little Bit of Soul" by Music Explosion, which was adapted with elements of Sylvester/Cowley and a lot of wit and musicianship by Jurgen Korduletsch and Munich Machine in Claudja Barry's "Boogie Woogie Dancin' Shoes." BTW, I am not aware of any R&B or disco adaptation of "Midnight Confessions," but I can mention an absolutely beguiling rock steady cover by Phyllis Dillon, produced by Duke Reid, which went out of print right after charting in Jamaica on 45 and wasn't reissued till 15 years later on a Trojan album compilation.

[markydefad]

Fun info, skiddlybop. Interesting linking of "Little Bit Of Soul" to "Boogie Woogie Dancing Shoes" --I can hear the lifted hook in my head.
Off to search for Phyllis Dillon.

Found a few more ideas... one in the rowdy party vein of Bob Seger's "Ramblin, Gambin' Man"--- this came to mind.

DOUBLE SHOT (Of My Baby's Love) - Swingin' Medallions (1966)



another party record:
TIME WON'T LET ME - The Outsiders (1966) great horns on this one



HERE COMES MY BABY - The Tremeloes (from England/ song written by Cat Stevens)

[markydefad]

These are catchy bubblegum records that bring back good memories.

Give some props to THE TURTLES: SHE'D RATHER BE WITH ME --wait for the cowbell @ 1:48!!!



YOU BABY - THE TURTLES--more low key but I had fun dancing to this at a school dance party

[markydefad]

skiddlybop's reference:

LITTLE BIT OF SOUL - Music Explosion



hook lifted into: BOOGIE WOOGIE DANCING SHOES - Claudja Barry

[markydefad]

skiddlybop mentioned this back on the first page...

and you kidz thought Miss Karen Carpenter was the first girl drummer, didn't ya?

well get a load of Ann "Honey" Lantree pounding those drums!!! This sounds stellar today.

HAVE I THE RIGHT - The Honeycombs (1964)

[discokicks]

skiddlybop mentioned this back on the first page...

and you kidz thought Miss Karen Carpenter was the first girl drummer, didn't ya?

well get a load of Ann "Honey" Lantree pounding those drums!!! This sounds stellar today.

HAVE I THE RIGHT - The Honeycombs (1964)

You're so right Marky....I was listening to the Honeycombs' clip earlier this evening and thought how wonderfully alive it still sounds.

The Equals' "Baby Come Back" works the dancefloors with its driving 125bpm beat.

[needlefingers]

John Fred & his Playboys-Judy In Disguise (With Glasses)

[skiddlybop]

:) Ooops,pardon my duplicate post.