ONE- AND FEW-HIT WONDERS
This section is devoted to some of many artists who, for some reason or other, had only one to a few hits. The artists are listed alphabetically. Of songs marked with an asterisk, I have 1980s or 90s stereo versions, not the originals.
Love Makes A Woman (original version 2:58; 1990s stereo version 3:10) - The tempo is slightly faster than moderate. Instruments include horns. When the narrator and the man used to be together, her "pockets [were] full of money," but now that he is gone, she feels worthless. I like the parts where Barbara sings in a very high voice that love is "what she needs, what she nee-heeds." If love makes a woman, then its departure breaks her.
THE AD-LIBS
The Boy From New York City (2:59) - The male backup singers ask the narrator about her Big-Apple boyfriend. She replies that she and the boy fell in love with each other at first sight. She describes him as rich, with a fancy penthouse, car, and clothes. She suggests they come to New York to see for themselves what he's like. This moderately fast song was later covered by an 80s group, the Manhattan Transfer.
JEWELL AKENS
The Birds And The Bees (2:08) - This song has a moderately slow, swing tempo. That sounds like a rock organ in the foreground during instrumentals. The narrator looks into the girl's eyes and decides it's time to teach her "about the facts of life, starting from A to Z"--all about teenage boys and girls with raging hormones, and the beautiful scenery around them.
THE AMERICAN BREED
Bend Me, Shape Me (2:12) - This song, with a moderate tempo, features horns and hand claps. I like how the guys' voices echo on the last word in each of the first two lines of each verse. The girl has "got the power to turn on the lights" for the narrator, so as long as she loves him, she may bend and shape him in whatever way best fills her needs.
My Boyfriend's Back (2:36) - Long before "sexual harassment" became a household phrase, the behavior was described in this song. Every time she rebuffed his requests for dates, the boy to whom the girl sings would tell lies about her to everyone he saw. This song, an instant #1 hit, has a tempo slightly faster than moderate. Clapping is the featured sound effect. In this version, horns play lead in an instrumental that starts near the 2-minute mark. On the radio, sometimes I hear this version; other times I hear a shorter version that excludes both the instrumental and the lines "Hey, I can see him comin' / Now you'd better start a-runnin'." Either way, the boy to whom the girl sings is in big trouble. Her boyfriend has returned to town, and he's about to let the pest have it all (i.e., punch his lights out)!
Till (2:25) - The man is the narrator's reason for living and she will always love him. The title precedes the following events: the moon disappears from the sky, water leaves all oceans, the sun stops shining in the tropics, and lovers stop dreaming. I also have a version by the Vogues.
Sugar Sugar (2:46) - This moderate-speed song features hand claps, a tambourine, and some low-pitch instrument that plays between lines. The narrator is amazed at the pleasure he gets from kissing and otherwise loving his "candy girl" who always has him wanting her. During the part where the guys sing "Pour your sugar on me, baby (or honey)," I hear a female voice singing "...love so sweet" lyrics.
BARRY AND THE TAMERLANES
I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight (1:50) - This moderate-tempoed song features chimes and hand-clapping. The narrator can't help but wonder what his former girlfriend is up to--whether she's in another man's arms, whether she still thinks of the narrator. He thought he could live without her, but now he realizes that he can't. Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart sang a different song of the same title.
LEN BARRY
1-2-3 (2:25) - The tempo is moderate. Instruments include a tambourine and horns. During the first 4 seconds, someone counts and snaps fingers; then the instruments start playing. Falling in love is as easy as 1-2-3, A-B-C, pie, however you wanna put it. The only hard thing is adjusting to life without love.
Rescue Me (original version 2:56; 1990s stereo version 2:50) - The tempo is moderate. Instruments include horns and a tambourine. The narrator begs the man to rescue her from loneliness, to take her in his arms, to become her boyfriend.
EDWARD BEAR
Last Song (3:06) - The tempo is somewhat faster than moderate. The narrator has left his entry hall light on for 2 years, hoping that the woman he loves will return to him. Now he is ready to give up on her, so he decides to sing one final song to tell her how much he loves her. I like how the words "you are" echo during the first and third lines of the second verse.
THE BEAU BRUMMELS
Laugh Laugh (3:02) - This moderate-tempoed song features a harmonica and a tambourine. The narrator had warned the girl that her new boyfriend would treat her badly and leave her. Now that prediction has come true, and the narrator finds it amusing that she is suffering after having ignored his warning. So he tells her to laugh before he dies.
Just A Little (2:22) - This song is similar in tempo to the previous one and also features a tambourine. The love between the narrator and the girl is "unreal" and "incomplete," so now he must leave her. Yet it was sweet while it lasted and he still loves her, so he'll cry and "die" slightly.
ARCHIE BELL AND THE DRELLS
Tighten Up (original version 3:11; 1990s stereo version 2:47) - This moderately fast song begins with a drum roll. For the first half-minute Archie introduces himself and the group, who hail from Houston; and their dance, which they call the "tighten up." Next, Archie asks the other guys to "tighten up" on instruments one by one--first the drums, then the bass, then the guitar, and finally the organ. Once the organ comes in, he starts singing to the audience to dance left and right. Oh yes, horns are included too.
Chantilly Lace (2:22) - The sound of a telephone ringing opens this fast song. The instruments are a guitar, a piano, drums, and a sax. One thing about the lyrics baffles me: in the chorus, the narrator says his girlfriend makes him spend his money; then in one of the verses, he says he can't afford to take her on a date. But we definitely know what he likes--her!
MARCIE BLAINE
Bobby's Girl (2:23) - This moderately fast song features a guitar, a piano, and male backup singers who sing "You're not a kid anymore." Now that the narrator has come of age, she has only one goal in life--to win the heart of a guy named Bobby who, unfortunately, is currently involved with another woman. But that doesn't stop the narrator from wanting him.
Summertime Blues (3:44) - According to some people, this version of the song was a gateway to heavy-metal music. A moderate-tempoed guitar solo fills the first 12 seconds. In most of the rest of the song, the tempo is slightly faster than moderate, but the slower tempo reappears during the middle instrumental and at the end. In the original version by Eddie Cochran, a bass voice representing an authority figure speaks a line in each verse; in this version, those lines are replaced with brief instrumentals.
THE BLUE JAYS
Lovers Island (2:16) - This slow song describes a paradise where trees scrape the sky, dust becomes gold, and birds sing. The narrator found that heavenly island the day he found a girlfriend.
BLUES IMAGE
Ride Captain Ride (original version 3:42; 1990s stereo version 3:24) - This song, slightly faster than moderate, opens with a piano solo. Then an organ enters, then the drums. A ship sails from the San Francisco Bay to some foreign shore. The captain will be astonished that he has so many friends accompanying him on this trip. This song was based on a true event, the seizing of the USS Pueblo by North Koreans circa 1968.
BLUES MAGOOS
We Ain't Got Nothin' Yet (2:14) - This moderately fast song features awesome guitar licks, an organ, and a tambourine. The narrator and his buddies to whom he is singing apparently are a rock band struggling for fame. His pals feel good one day, sad the next. He assures them that someday they will attain their dream, even though they currently have nothing. As it turned out, the Blues Magoos never did get anything--other than that one hit.
THE BOBBETTES
Mr. Lee (2:13) - The narrator of this very fast song has a crush on the title character, her school principal. She even uses counting to prove her point: "1, 2, 3, look at Mr. Lee / 3, 4, 5, look at him jive." A 9-second sax solo starts at 1:40.
BREWER AND SHIPLEY
One Toke Over The Line (3:19) - The guitar licks give this fast song a rock-country feel. The rhythm is catchy, nor does the use of the phrases "sweet Jesus" and "sweet Mary" bother me much. The narrator, having been on vacation and learned of love's joy and pain through adventures with a few women (and one too many inhalations of grass), now waits at a station for a train to take him home.
THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE
The Worst That Could Happen (3:04) - This song starts slow and gradually speeds up. The narrator has received word that his former girlfriend is about to marry another man. If the other man loves her more than does the narrator, then it's the girl's best fate and the narrator's worst. Now that he has lost her, he resolves never to get married. For most of the song, the key is C; shortly after the 2-minute mark, it rises to D. A horn solo precedes the fading sequence.
Your Husband, My Wife (2:59) - This song, somewhat slower than moderate, features cymbals, an organ, and horns. The narrator and the woman fell in love with each other while each was married to someone else. Now they face a dilemma--whether to break off their affair or to divorce their spouses and marry each other. He realizes that if they do the latter, their spouses will be hurt, and so will his children.
ARTHUR BROWN (THE CRAZY WORLD OF)
Fire (2:50) - The tempo is moderately fast. Featured instruments include an organ and horns. The narrator, claiming to be "the god of Hell fire," tells the girl that for too long she has acted like a child, lived in a make-believe world, and had a haughty attitude; as punishment, he sentences her to death by fire. My favorite part lasts from 1:49 to 2:10, when he shouts gradually louder, "You're gonna burn, burn, burn...!" The song ends with a swishy sound effect that's supposed to represent the burning of a bonfire.
BRUCE AND TERRY
Summer Means Fun (2:12) - This fast song celebrates the beginning of the hot season during which teenagers don't have to worry about books and homework. Instead, the boys and girls don baggies and bikinis respectively and surf during the day; at night they watch drive-in movies and don't go home till 1:30 AM. For every guy, there are two girls.
BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD
For What It's Worth (2:38) - The title is never sung; however, it does signal risk and thus would match the sinister mood of the song. The tempo is slow. One lyric is interesting: "Nobody's right if everybody's wrong." Of course, if everyone was either, neither would be defined anymore. The chorus fades just before the whole song does. Though this was the only top 40 hit this group had, at least two of its members, Neil Young and Stephen Stills, later found success elsewhere--in Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young; then Neil went solo.
EDWARD BYRNES AND CONNIE STEVENS
Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb) (2:05) - This moderate-tempoed, wacky tune opens with horns. A sax dominates the brief middle instrumental. Connie plays the role of a girl who tries to get her boyfriend (played by Edward) to stop rambling and combing his hair, and start kissing her. At the end, he does stop--to say, "Baby, you're the ginchiest!" Hardly a word, but an amusing way to show affection.
THE CAPITOLS
Cool Jerk (2:25) - This fast song opens with a 3-second bass solo; then low piano notes enter, and finally drums, tambourine, and hand claps. As the lead singer declares himself the king of a dance known as the jerk, the other guys ask listeners if they can do the dance. My favorite part comes at 1:36, when the lead singer says, "Mmmm, you're smokin'!" after telling one of the other guys to play "bass with those 88s" (low piano notes).
THE CARAVELLES
You Don't Have To Be A Baby To Cry (1:59) - The tempo is moderate and the vocals are soft and breathy. And how right these two girls are; even grown people cry sometimes. A grown man cries when his girlfriend leaves him for another man, and a grown woman cries when her boyfriend leaves her for another woman. Country singer Ernie Ford had sung this song before, as the B-side to his hit "16 Tons."
MEL CARTER
Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me (2:27) - Instruments include orchestral strings and chimes. The narrator of this slow, 12/8 song tells his girlfriend to embrace him, make him tell her he loves her, and never let go. Other people warned him that she might not be the last love to come his way. But her kisses will tell him that she'll miss him should they ever be torn apart.
THE CASCADES
Rhythm Of The Rain (2:31) - This moderate-tempoed song opens and fades out with the sound effects of thunder and rainfall. Instruments include chimes. The narrator wants the rain to stop falling on him. Now that his girlfriend is gone, so is his heart. He feels bad enough without the rain telling him how foolish he was until she left him. Instead he wants it to fall in her heart so she might come back to him.
THE CASINOS
Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye (3:06) - This slow song features horns, an organ, a piano, and subdued drums. The narrator asks the girl to kiss him every morning and every evening, to love him "for a million years." If in the meantime their relationship doesn't work out, then she can bid him farewell. If she has to go, he will let her; at least they will have tried their best to sustain the relationship.
THE CASTAWAYS
Liar Liar (1:51) - This fast song features an organ. Most (if not all) of the group's members are male, and the song is sung from the perspective of a guy scolding his girlfriend for cheating on him, but the voice singing "Liar liar, pants on fire" sounds female. The narrator loves the girl despite her cheating, but urges her to make some effort toward fidelity.
THE JIMMY CASTOR BUNCH
Troglodyte (Cave Man) (original version 3:37; 1990s stereo version 3:35) - This wacky narrative has a moderately fast tempo. As the group's frontman takes us back to the days of Neanderthals, the instruments first are barely audible, then gradually rise to normal volume. One Neanderthal man dances alone to his stereo until he tires of dancing alone. Then he goes to a lake, pulls a woman out of it, and asks her to "sock it to" him. She agrees, and together they dance.
GENE CHANDLER
Duke Of Earl (2:23) - The tempo is slightly slower than moderate. Normally, "Earl" is a title of nobility, just like "Duke"; but in this case, "Earl" is the name of the land of which the narrator is Duke. And his girlfriend is the Duchess. I like the bass voice that sings, "Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke of Earl." This song earned Gene the nickname "Duke Of Earl."
BRUCE CHANNEL
Hey Baby (2:22) - This song, slightly faster than moderate, features a harmonica. From the moment the narrator first sees the girl he's singing to, he is in love with her. So he asks her whether she'll be his girlfriend. BTW, Bruce's last name is pronounced Shan-NELL.
JIMMY CHARLES
A Million To One (2:29) - Instruments in this moderately slow song include a saxophone. The narrator's parents and those of his girlfriend all believe that chances of the young couple's love breaking up far outnumber chances of it surviving. Even so, the narrator and his girl forgive their parents, for they are "a million to one" in the sense of being unique.
THE CHIFFONS
He's So Fine (1:51) - The tempo is moderately fast. As the narrator describes how fine the boy is and how she wants to make him her boyfriend, the other three girls sing the backing "Doo lang doo lang." Years later, George Harrison, formerly of the Beatles, was sued because his "My Sweet Lord" was an alleged plagiarism of this song.
One Fine Day (2:07) - This fast song features a piano and backing vocals of "Shoo be doo be doo be doo be doo wah." The man may currently be wild and inclined to roam from girl to girl, but the narrator warns him that someday he'll settle down and want her for his girlfriend. SHE wants HIM for a BOYfriend badly enough that she's willing to wait for that day to come. In the late 1990s a movie of the same title was released; it features this song and stars George Clooney and Michelle Pfeiffer.
Sweet Talkin' Guy (2:25) - Of the Chiffons' 3 hits, this is the one I like best. This moderately fast song features a tambourine and an oboe. The narrator, having been betrayed by her boyfriend, warns other girls not to fall for his sweet talk and his "kisses like wine." He sends each girl flowers one day, then runs to another girl the next day.
THE CHORDETTES
Lollipop (2:09) - This fast song opens with a 6-second finger-snap solo. The chorus, consisting of repetition of the title, ends with a popping sound followed by bass scat vocals; the last time, however, it ends with a hard guitar strum. The narrator's boyfriend has "kisses sweeter than an applie pie" and dazzles her "like lightnin' from the sky." Others can have the literal lollipops (huckleberry, cherry, etc.), but the guy is hers.
This group's other hit was Mr. Sandman, of which I've also heard a version by Emmylou Harris.
JIMMY CLANTON
Venus In Blue Jeans (2:17) - Horns and a harp are among the instruments in this moderate-paced song. The narrator sees his girlfriend as the goddess of love incarnate, the eighth wonder of the world.
CLAUDINE CLARK
Party Lights (2:22) - The tempo is somewhat faster than moderate. The narrator announces to her mother that she's about to attend a dance. The girl envisions red, blue, and green lights. She sees her boyfriend, along with friends of hers such as Mary Lou, Tommy, Betty Sue, doing dances such as the twist and the mash-potato.
DEE CLARK
Raindrops (2:49) - The sound effect of a thunderstorm fills the first 9 seconds and reappears during the fading sequence. The tempo is moderate, and instruments include orchestral string instruments. Ever since the narrator's girlfriend left him, something has constantly fallen from his eyes. He denies that it's tears because he believes that "a man ain't supposed to cry." So he convinces himself that it's rain.
CLIMAX
Precious And Few (2:46) - This moderately slow song opens with gentle rolls of a piano. Other instruments, including horns, enter later. The narrator and his girlfriend can be together only once in a while. But they prize the times they do have together. If he could never hold her or come home again, life would be harsh.
COMMANDER CODY AND HIS LOST PLANET AIRMEN
Hot Rod Lincoln (2:42) - This very fast song, featuring sound effects such as tires squealing and sirens blaring, opens and closes with a quote from the narrator's father: "Son, you're gonna drive me to drinkin' if you don't stop drivin' that hot rod Lincoln!" The narrator takes a few buddies for a ride in his Lincoln along a highway near San Pedro, CA. He easily passes many cars until he encounters a Cadillac. He then accelerates to his car's top speed of 110 mph, scraping a guardrail and a truck and spending almost all his fuel in the process of catching up with the Cadillac. The Caddy pulls over to let him pass, but soon police officers pursue him, pull him over and arrest him. Though I love this song, I would never try to race anyone like that. I've found a history of the song here.
ARTHUR CONLEY
Sweet Soul Music (2:16) - Horns are the featured instruments in this fast song. Arthur's favorite songs include Lou Rawls' "Love Is A Hurtin' Thing," Wilson Pickett's "Mustang Sally," and Otis Redding's "Fa Fa Fa Fa."
Do You Love Me (2:55) - This fast song has a slow, spoken intro. The girl turned the narrator down at first because he couldn't dance. So he went out and learned the mashed potato, the twist, and every other popular dance. Now that's learned all those dances, he asks her if she loves him. This song was later remade by the Dave Clark Five.
Chains (2:30) - This moderate-tempoed song, featuring a saxophone and hand-clapping, was later covered by the Beatles.
Don't Say Nothin' Bad About My Baby (2:42) - This song has the same tempo and instrumental arrangment as the previous one. The narrator flatly denies rumors that her boyfriend is a lazy, crazy playboy. He doesn't run around her, nor does he hurt her in any other way. So she tells another girl, "you'd better shut your mouth" (though I used to hear it as "...ship him out").
Lead singer Earl-Jean McCree later went solo and sang (Something Tells Me) I'm Into Something Good--a miss for her, but a hit for Herman's Hermits. (For Earl-Jean's version, replace feminine words with masculine ones.)
THE CORNELIUS BROTHERS AND SISTER ROSE
Too Late To Turn Back Now (original version 3:20; 1990s stereo version 3:11) - The tempo is moderate. Though his mother warned him that love was everywhere and might hurt him, the narrator finds himself in love with a certain girl, who he hopes will love him back. He believes he can't turn back anymore because his feelings for her are too strong. Some people fall in love when they least think they will.
Treat Her Like A Lady (2:42) - This fast song features a guitar and a tambourine. The narrator is very successful with women; he is able to date many of them. His friends wonder what attracts the women to him, so he tells them the secret--treat the women with respect. If a guy respects a woman, she'll give in to him. If he disrespects her, he shouldn't blame her if she runs to the narrator.
JOHNNY CRAWFORD
Cindy's Birthday (2:04) - The tempo is moderate. Orchestral strings are fitting instruments, for the narrator is writing "a symphony and a book of poetry" for his girlfriend Cindy as a birthday present. This project is his top priorty; not only does he refuse to do homework, but even fun things like TV, radio and dancing are out.
CRAZY ELEPHANT
Gimme Gimme Good Lovin' (2:03) - This moderately fast song features an organ. The narrator asks girls from all over America to give him good lovin' every night. I don't condone promiscuity, but this song does have a catchy rhythm!
THE CRESTS
16 Candles (2:50) - This song has a slow, 12/8 tempo. The narrator's girlfriend has just turned 16. She is his queen, the most beautiful girl he ever beheld. The same number of candles as her age will glow in his heart, but their glow is no match for the sparkle of her eyes.
Trouble In Paradise (2:23) - This fast song starts and ends with vocals of "callin' all angels, callin' all angels." The narrator's girlfriend left him after being told that he'd been unfaithful to her. Now stars don't shine, birds don't sing, and he prays to the angels, the moon and the sun that she will return to him.
THE CUFF LINKS
Tracy (2:15) - The tempo is moderately fast. Instruments include an organ, a tambourine, and horns. "Ba ba ba" scat singing fills the beginning and the interlude. The narrator loves Tracy so much that he begs her to hold him close, not to say no, and never to let him go.
JOHNNY CYMBAL
Mr. Bass Man (2:39) - This very fast song features a piano, a sax, and cymbal drums. The narrator asks the bass man to teach him how to sing bass. During the instrumentals, when Johnny sings along with the bass singer, his voice is still not nearly as bass as that of the original bass man. For the disc on which I have this song, the label says it's a newer stereo version, but when I hear the song on the radio it doesn't sound any different; maybe I actually have the original.
UNDER THE PSEUDONYM DEREK: Cinnamon (2:42) - This fast song features a harmonica and a tambourine. Cinnamon is the pet name by which the narrator knows his girlfriend. He is anxious to get some more loving from her, so he knocks on her door and begs her to let him in. From 1:10 to 1:21, the female backup singers play a "One potato, two potato" game with him. The title word is pronounced "cin-a-MIN" to make it rhyme with the line "Let me in."
CYRKLE
Red Rubber Ball (2:18) - The tempo is fast. While drums play in the right speaker, guitars and some woodwind instrument play in the left. During the chorus a tambourine plays in the right speaker. After being left by the girl, the narrator has learned that she's just one of millions of "starfish in the sea" and he can move on without her. She was a prima donna who used him as "an ornament, something for [her] pride" and was never around when he needed her. Just before the third verse, the key rises a step. This song was written by Paul Simon.
How Can I Leave Her (2:33) - The tempo is moderate. The girl the narrator sings about lifted him up when he was down and has always been good to him. So there's no way he's gonna leave her for the girl to whom he's singing.
DALE AND GRACE
I'm Leaving It Up To You (2:10) - This song has a slow 12/8 tempo. Instruments include a guitar and orchestral strings. Dale sings part of the song alone; he and Grace sing the rest in unison. For simplicity, I'll use a male narrator. What he's leaving up to the girl is the choice between accepting his love or ending their relationship.
DANNY AND THE JUNIORS
At The Hop (2:31) - The main instrument in this fast song is a piano. Danny persuades every guy to take his girl to the nearest sock hop so they can dance all night to the stomp, the stroll, and many other dances that are the craze of America.
Rock And Roll Is Here To Stay (original version 2:27; 1990s stereo version 2:32) - This song has the same tempo and is musically similar to the previous song. Some people claim that rock and roll is a fad that will soon fade, but the narrator doesn't mind those derisions. Indeed, after some decades, rock and roll is STILL here to stay. Rock on!
JAMES DARREN
Goodbye Cruel World (2:24) - This moderate-tempoed song, featuring a calliope and the clanging of pans, opens with a drum roll. The narrator, having left (or been left by) a capricious girlfriend, seeks shelter from the outside world by becoming a circus clown. He will perform any trick assigned to him, including being shot from a cannon.
BOBBY DAY
Rockin' Robin (2:36) - This fast song features a flute, which resembles the chirping of a bird. Other instruments include castanets. The robin can sing so well that other birds--swallows, chickadees, owls, crows, everyone--flock to hear him. Backup singers sing "tweet tweet" at the start, during the chorus, and at the end. Later this song was also a hit for the Jackson Five.
Come Go With Me (2:38) - This song has a moderate tempo. The narrator pleads to the girl for a chance to be her boyfriend. In return for her coming into his heart, he promises that he will never leave her. In the bridge, when a bass voice sings, "You never give me a chance," another guy screams. During the middle instrumental I hear a saxophone, handclaps, and boisterous cheers. I also have a version of this song by the Beach Boys.
Whispering Bells (2:23) - This song is very fast. A girlfriend left the narrator some time before; he asks the soft chimes to bring her back to him. Like the previous song, this one has an instrumental containing handclaps and a saxophone. Handclaps also occur during the first 37 seconds, when I also hear scat singing of "dings" and "dongs."
THE DIAMONDS
Little Darlin' (2:06) - One instrument featured in this fast song sounds like teeth chattering. The drum resembles someone striking a pan with a spoon. My favorite part comes shortly after the 1-minute mark, when a bass voice speaks. The man, having been untrue to the girl, now needs her and wants to show her that his love is only for her.
The Stroll (2:29) - This moderately slow song features a sax and a piano. During the fading sequence, one of the guys whistles. The narrator invites his girlfriend to dance the stroll with him across the floor of the dance hall.
MARK DINNING
Teen Angel (2:40) - This slow song is instrumentally simple--only a guitar and soft drums accompany Mark. A few nights before the setting of the song, the narrator's car was stalled on a railroad track. He evacuated himself and his 16-year-old girlfriend, but she ran back to the car, apparently to retrieve his high-school ring; as a result, she died in a train accident. He prays to her, asking her if she's somewhere in heaven and if she still loves him. My mom hates morbid songs like this, but they don't bother me so much; they're just sad.
THE DIXIE CUPS
Chapel Of Love (2:47) - The tempo is slightly faster than moderate. First the girls sing a capella: "Goin' to the chapel and we're / Gonna get married." They sing those lines again, with finger-snapping as backup. Enter the instruments, which include horns and bells. Hand-clapping is also featured. The narrator is excited about getting married on this bright spring day, for she and her man will "never be lonely anymore."
People Say (2:44) - This song, with a similar tempo to the previous one, features horns and bells also. For the first 15 seconds, the girls are backed by finger-snapping and, on the first beat of each measure, a guitar strum. The narrator hears rumors that her relationship with the boy won't last beyond the summer. She begs him to prove those rumors wrong by never leaving her.
Another Dixie Cups song I occasionally hear on the radio is Iko Iko.
LONNIE DONEGAN AND HIS SKIFFLE GROUP
Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor (On The Bedpost Overnight) (2:27) - This group, a major influence on the Beatles, in 1961 remade this popular 1920s tune. Besides a very fast tempo and a wacky title, this tune features a pronunciation of the word "president" with a long "i" sound. I'm sure that gum WOULD lose flavor if it is chewed and then stuck to a bedpost for 8 hours. Swallowing gum may not be good for the throat, but it sure would be a way of rebelling against parents who forbid gum-chewing.
THE DOVELLS
You Can't Sit Down (2:17; 1990s stereo version 2:21) - The original version is hard to find, but I do hear it on the radio every now and then. The newer version, slightly slower than the original, speeds up slightly just after the middle instrumental. A saxophone plays lead during the middle instrumental, and in the newer version backup vocals accompany it. Anyway, the narrator tells the girl the music is so groovy she ought to get up and dance!
JOE DOWELL
Wooden Heart (2:00) - That's what this fast song's narrator lacks. Perhaps he has a glass heart instead. Anyway, he begs his sweetheart never to leave him or otherwise mistreat him; if she did, he would cry, perhaps even die. Some verses are sung in German. I grew up listening to a version of this song by Elvis.
CHARLIE DRAKE
My Boomerang Won't Come Back (3:38) - This fast song opens with a 5-second bass solo. Every now and then I hear bass voices chanting. A young prince of the Aborigine tribe in Australia believes that his people will dishonor him for his poor boomerang skills. He practices waving the weapon for 3 or 4 months, but his efforts are in vain. Then he meets an old man wearing a kangaroo skin, who shows him that the way to make a boomerang return is to throw it.
EDISON LIGHTHOUSE
Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes (original version 2:52; 1990s stereo version 2:31) - The tempo is moderate, and instruments include violins. Rosemary has no money and wears funny clothes and a wild hairstyle, but she casts a spell of love over the narrator. No one knows like he does how love grows where she goes.
THE EDSELS
Rama Lama Ding Dong (2:23) - The tempo is very fast. Rama Lama Ding Dong--what a name for a girl! But that's the name the narrator's girlfriend has. He will never let her go because she's his, all his. After the sax interlude, I hear the clanging of spoons against pans.
It's All In The Game (2:36) - This song has a rolling, moderately slow tempo. This is truly an old song; the music was written in 1912 by Charles G. Dawes, who later served as Vice President under Calvin Coolidge, and the lyrics were written in 1951 by Carl Sigman. The narrator can tell that the girl's boyfriend has hurt her. The narrator tells her that such problems as heartbreaks and teardrops are all in the game called love; he assures her that love also has its positive times--once in a while the boyfriend will come back to kiss her lips and caress her fingertips.
THE ESQUIRES
Get On Up * (2:17) - This moderate-tempoed song features horns and some special percussion sound that sounds like either African drums or a cardboard tube. The narrator asks the girl to stand up so together they can do the jerk, shing-a-ling and other dances throughout the night.
THE ESSEX
Easier Said Than Done (2:08) - The tempo is slightly faster than moderate. A female singer with all-male backing plays the part of a girl who doesn't know how to tell a certain boy about her romantic feelings for him. Her friends tell her to sing, sway, sigh, etc., to him and "tell him he's the one," but she finds herself too shy and afraid to do all that.
The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss) (2:14) - This moderate-tempoed song features a marimba or some similar instrument, and also horns. During the first two lines, Betty plays the part of the girl who asks how to tell whether her boyfriend really loves her. For the rest of the song, the backup singers play that part, and Betty sings the lines of the friend giving the advice. The boy's love is not in his face, nor his eyes, nor his embrace; it's in the way he kisses the girl--hence the parenthetical part of the title. The other part comes from the backing vocals "shoop shoop shoop."
Let It Be Me (with Jerry Butler) (2:48) - This version is slow, but slightly faster than the Everly Brothers' version. Jerry and Betty sing all the verses together. In the bridge, she sings the lines "Each time...I find..." and he sings the lines "Without your...what would..." Those two sound so good together; I like this version even better than the Everlys'.
Although You're No Good didn't hit big for Betty, it would later be a #1 hit for Linda Ronstadt.
EVERY MOTHER'S SON
Come On Down To My Boat (2:33) - The tempo is slightly faster than moderate. Instruments and sound effects include an organ, a tambourine, and hand-clapping. The narrator has fallen in love with a fisherman's daughter. She would be glad to sail with him in his boat, but "she's tied to the dock and she can't get free." I hope she's not tied literally, as with a rope. Perhaps that lyric means that her dad won't allow her to venture any farther from home than the dock.
THE EXCITERS
Tell Him (2:36) - Here's another "advice song" from one girl to another. The tempo is fast. Instruments and sound effects include chimes, a tambourine, and hand-clapping. This narrator advises her pal to tell her boyfriend right away that she'll never leave him and always love him. Sounds like good advice to me.
He's Got The Power (2:22) - Instruments in this fast song include chimes. The narrator's boyfriend "makes [her] do things [she doesn't] wanna do." But she can't break away from him; the power he has is that of love.
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