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THE TRADEWINDS
New York's A Lonely Town (2:17) - This song, somewhat faster than moderate, features a tambourine and jingle bells. The latter give a little Christmasy feel to the song, which is appropriate considering that the song is set in New York City in the winter. Anyway, the narrator feels sad now that his family has moved from California. The surfing he is used to seeing doesn't exist in NYC, so his car always sits in the driveway and accumulates snow. A song like this also seems fitting for the year of its release, 1965; by then surf music was going out of style.
THE TRASHMEN
Surfin' Bird (2:22) - This very fast ditty is a merging of The Bird's The Word and Papa Oom Mow Mow, both of which were previously sung by the Rivingtons. These guys picked a fitting name, considering that they sing in distorted voices and make bubbly noises during their transition between songs.
Silence Is Golden (3:06) - The tempo in this version is moderate, faster than in the original by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. A tambourine plays in this version.
Here Comes My Baby (2:42) - This fast song features the clanking of pans and opens with party racket such as whistling and shouting, sounds that sharply contrast with the narrator's mood. His girlfriend has dumped him for another man. No matter how much effort he makes, he can never win her back. During what would otherwise be an instrumental, I hear whistling in the foreground, more party noises in the background.
THE TROGGS
Wild Thing (2:34) - This song has a moderate swing tempo. I like everything in this song--the guitar licks, the drum rolls, and the lyrics! During the middle instrumental, the lead instrument is an ocharina, also called a "sweet potato"; it sounds similar to a flute. The verses feature a capella vocals, with guitar licks between the lines. The narrator believes that he loves the girl and she moves him; he asks her to hold him tight, and when she does, his beliefs are confirmed.
Love Is All Around (2:55) - This song has a smooth, moderate tempo. Featured instruments include tick-tock drums, cymbal drums, and violins. Love surrounds the narrator in the form of the girl to whom he is singing. He sees her face as he lies awake at night, and he thinks about her everywhere he goes. Since her love for him is "written on the wind," he asks her to "come on and let it show."
The group also had a third hit, With A Girl Like You. However, I seldom hear it on the radio.
Just One Look (original version 2:34; 1990s stereo version 2:41) - The tempo is somewhat slower than moderate. "Just one look, that's all it took" for the narrator to fall in love with the man. She will keep planning until he reciprocates her feelings. Later this song would also hit for the Hollies and for Linda Ronstadt.
VANITY FARE
Hitchin' A Ride (original version 2:55; 1990s stereo version 2:51) - The tempo is moderately fast. Hands clap on every second and fourth beat, and a clarinet plays just before each verse. The narrator, having received a long-distance call from his girlfriend, is homesick. He can't afford to take a train home, so he walks in a rainstorm just before 1 AM, hoping that the driver of some car will take him home.
Early In The Morning (2:45) - This fast song features a pipe organ. The narrator doesn't feel good at night, but he wakes up every morning feeling good and optimistic that his girlfriend will come home to him. Had the Carpenters sung this song, I'm sure it would've been a hit for them.
LARRY VERNE
Mr. Custer (3:07) - This song, somewhat slower than moderate, features Indian chanting and calling. Larry plays the role of an American soldier who begs General George Custer to allow him to remain behind while the rest of the 7th Cavalry goes to battle. The song fades out with the sound of arrows fatally wounding the soldier.
LOUDON WAINRIGHT III
Dead Skunk (3:04) - This song, featuring a banjo, is moderately fast. It sure is common for a skunk to cross a highway at night and get run over by a car. The smashed carcasses of cats dogs, frogs, raccoons and rabbits are common on roads also, but the unmistakable stench of a skunk is easy to smell from miles away, whether the car windows are down or up.
The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore (3:01) - This song, slightly slower than moderate, opens with the mournful playing of horns. Other featured instruments include a tambourine, a flute, and bells. The instruments and the backup vocals drown out the lead singer's voice most of the time, but I can discern enough to tell that tears will always cloud the narrator's eyes now that his girlfriend has left him.
Make It Easy On Yourself (3:10) - The group's other hit was a remake of a Jerry Butler song. The tempo is about the same here as in the original version.
JUNIOR WALKER AND THE ALL-STARS
Shotgun (3:05) - This song, slightly faster than moderate, features a tambourine on every second and fourth beat, plus a saxophone. The narrator asks his girlfriend to dress in her red dress and high heels, for they're goin' out to out-dance everyone like a shotgun.
ROBIN WARD
Wonderful Summer (2:26) - This moderately slow song opens and closes with the sound effect of ocean waves crashing. The narrator is sad that her romance couldn't last beyond the summer, yet she thanks the boy that she could could be with him at all. She tells him that the summer she spent with him was her happiest one ever.
WE FIVE
You Were On My Mind (2:33) - The tempo is moderately fast. The lead singer of this group was female, so I'll use a female narrator. When she wakes up one morning, her former boyfriend is on her mind. Because he has left her, she has troubles, worries, and "wounds to bind." She walks to a street corner to try to cope with her grief, but she still has that sad feeling "down in [her] shoes."
WHITE PLAINS
My Baby Loves Lovin' (2:59) - The tempo is somewhat faster than moderate. Instruments include horns, orchestral strings, and a tambourine. When the narrator is with his girlfriend, his worries disappear. She enjoys making love to him; "she's got what it takes and she knows how to use it."
THE WILDWEEDS
No Good To Cry (2:40) - This fast song features a tambourine and an organ. The girl's boyfriend has deserted her. The narrator tells her that love is a game and she has lost. No matter what she does or says, the boyfriend will never come back, so crying won't do her any good.
Stay (1:36) - This is quite a short song. The tempo is moderate. In some parts Maurice sings in a falsetto voice. The narrator asks his girlfriend to remain with him for a while longer, so that they can dance, hug, and kiss some more. I also have a version by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.
AL WILSON
Show And Tell (3:30) - The narrator of this moderately slow song shows and tells the girl the parts of him--his eyes that cried until he met her, his arms that long to enfold her, etc. He asks her to do some showing and telling too--that she feels the same way about him that he does about her.
J. FRANK WILSON AND THE CAVALIERS
Last Kiss (2:25) - This song, somewhat faster than moderate, is another of those morbid songs that my mom hates. En route to a date, the narrator and his girlfriend encountered a stalled car in the middle of the road; he saw it too late to avoid a crash. She died, but not before he could kiss her one last time--hence the title. Now he is very self-conscious about how he behaves in the future because he wants to join her in heaven when he dies.
BRENTON WOOD
Gimme Little Sign (2:15) - My favorite parts of this song are the moderate swing tempo and the chorus: "Just gimme some kind of sign, girl, oh my baby, to show me that you're mine, girl." The narrator tells the girl not to lead him on if she doesn't want him, but if she does, she should give him a clear indication that she does.
SHEB WOOLEY
Purple People Eater (2:13) - This fast song opens with the sound of people wailing. After the second singing of the chorus, the key changes from D to E. The creature with one eye and one horn eats only purple people, so if you're not purple, he won't eat you. In fact, he came to earth not to eat anyone, but to join a rock band. A chipmunk-like voice represents the creature; that voice saying "Tequila!" closes the song.
Get Together (4:36) - This song is somewhat slower than moderate. The narrator tells everyone to "get together, try to love one another right now." In the third verse (omitted in a later version by the Dave Clark Five), he tells us that we all hold one key that unlocks both love and fear.
ZAGER AND EVANS
In The Year 2525 (3:18) - Most of the time the tempo is moderate. But during the first 22 seconds and from 2:30 to 2:55 it is slow. The lyrics speculate on what might happen in the future up to the year 9595. People might no longer move by themselves, but rather have pills and machines move them. Marriage might be obsolete and children might be made via test tubes. By 9595 Mother Earth might die, taking humanity with her. Actually, many people have already shunned marriage and divorced sex from procreation, but predictions that far into time can be scary. After the slow part beginning "Now it's been 10,000 years..." the song starts over, then fades out during the second verse.
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