MUSICAL DECADES - 1960s - Story Songs

Everyone loves a story. 

Today I want to take you back to the 1960s to listen to some story songs.

Domingo "Sam" Samudio (born 6 March 1937, Dallas, Texas), better known by his stage name Sam the Sham, is a retired American rock and roll singer. He was famous for his campy robe and turban and hauling his equipment in a 1952 Packard hearse with maroon velvet curtains. As the front man for the Pharaohs, he sang on several Top 40 hits in the mid-1960s, notably "Wooly Bully" and "Li'l Red Riding Hood".

"Li'l Red Riding Hood" was the group's second top-10 hit, reaching #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1966 and #2 on the Canadian RPM Magazine charts. It was certified gold on August 11, 1966.

The Searchers are an English beat group, which emerged as part of the 1960s British Invasion. The band's hits include a remake of the Drifters' 1961 hit, "Sweets for My Sweet"; remakes of Jackie DeShannon's "Needles and Pins" and "When You Walk In The Room"; an original song written for them, "Sugar and Spice"; a cover of the Orlons' "Don't Throw Your Love Away"; and a cover of the Clovers' "Love Potion No. 9".

"Love Potion No. 9" is a song written in 1959 by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.

Roberta Lee Streeter (born July 27, 1944), professionally known as Bobbie Gentry, is an American singer-songwriter notable as one of the first female country artists to compose and produce her own material. Her songs typically drew on her Mississippi roots to compose vignettes of the Southern United States.

Gentry rose to international fame with her intriguing Southern Gothic narrative "Ode to Billie Joe" in 1967. The track spent four weeks as the #1 pop song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was fourth in the Billboard year-end chart of 1967 and earned her Grammy awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1968. Gentry charted eleven singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and four singles on the United Kingdom Top 40. Her album Fancy brought her a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Allen LaMar "Al" Wilson (June 19, 1939 – April 21, 2008) was an American soul singer known for the million-selling #1 hit, "Show and Tell". He is also remembered for his Northern soul anthem, "The Snake".

"The Snake" is a single released in 1968, and written by Oscar Brown in 1963. The lyrics tell a story inspired by Aesop's fable of The Farmer and the Viper. The success of "The Snake" on the northern soul nightclub circuit has led to it being ranked 4 of 500 top northern soul singles and for it to appear on over 30 pop and northern soul compilation albums.

Lesley Sue Goldstein (May 2, 1946 – February 16, 2015), better known as Lesley Gore, was an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. At the age of 16 (in 1963) she recorded the pop hit "It's My Party", and followed it up with other hits including "Judy's Turn to Cry", "You Don't Own Me", and "California Nights".

In 1963, Gore's “It's My Party” hit #1 on the pop and rhythm and blues charts in the United States. It was the first hit single for producer Quincy Jones.

John R. "Johnny" Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, and author, who was widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century and one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 90 million records worldwide. Although primarily remembered as a country music icon, his songs and sound also embraced rock and roll, rockabilly, blues, folk, and gospel. This crossover appeal won Cash the rare honor of multiple inductions in the Country Music, Rock and Roll, and Gospel Music Halls of Fame.

"A Boy Named Sue" is a song written by Shel Silverstein, the world's best storyteller. A lot of his songs were recorded by Dr. Hook and Shel also wrote many children's books, for example, "The Giving Tree" and "Where the Sidewalk Ends".

Cash was at the height of his success when he recorded the song live at California's San Quentin State Prison at a concert on February 24, 1969. The concert was filmed by Granada Television for later television broadcast; Carl Perkins played guitar on the performance. The audio of the concert was later released on Cash's At San Quentin album. Cash also performed the song (with comical variations on the original performance) in December 1969 at Madison Square Garden. The song became Cash's biggest hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and his only top ten single there, spending three weeks at No. 2 in 1969, held out of the top spot by "Honky Tonk Woman" by The Rolling Stones. The track also topped the Billboard Hot Country Songs and Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks charts that same year and was certified Gold on August 14, 1969.

This ends Musical Decades for this week. Thanks for listening and I hope to see you here next time.

(The information used in this post is from Wikipedia.)

Dominique "Nik" Petersen is an aficionado of "oldies" music and the author of Dr. Hook and Me: A Fan's Journal/ Scrapbook. Read about it and her other books at the website: 

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