C@st Member$ - 1971 - Je$u$ Chri$t Super$tar (UK cast)

Murray Head - Superstar/Mike d'Abo - Herod's Song/Murray Head - Too Much Heaven On Their Minds - I Don't Know How To Love HIm



This EP I believe was only released here in Australia and contains 4 excerpts from the parent album 2 tracks fom Murray head "Superstar" and "Too Much Heaven On Their Minds" 1 from Mike d'Abo "Herod's Song" and 1 from Yvonne Elliman "I Don't Know How To Love Him"




 

Murray Seafield Saint-George Head (born 5 March 1946) is an English actor and singer, most recognised for his international hit songs "Superstar" (from the 1970 rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar) and "One Night in Bangkok" (the 1985 single from the musical Chess, which topped the charts in various countries), and for his 1975 album Say It Ain't So. He has been involved in several projects since the 1960s and continues to record music, perform concerts and make appearances on television either as himself or as a character actor.





Michael David "Mike" d'Abo (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the former lead vocalist of Manfred Mann and as the composer of the popular song "Handbags and Gladrags". 

Mike d'Abo's musical career began while he was still at Harrow School. He had minor success with a group of Old Harrovians, A Band of Angels, After leaving A Band of Angels he joined in August 1966 Manfred Mann, as replacement for Paul Jones.

D'Abo's first big hit with Manfred Mann was "Semi-Detached Suburban Mr James". It was nearly recorded with "Mr Jones" in the title before it occurred to the group that it might be interpreted as being an implied reference to Paul Jones. D'Abo first recorded the As Is album (with the attaching single "Just Like a Woman"). All of the UK Fontana and US Mercury releases featured d'Abo.

He composed and produced Chris Farlowe's "Handbags and Gladrags", a hit single (which was also notably recorded by Rod Stewart and Stereophonics and subsequently became the theme music to the BBC television show The Office) and "The Last Goodbye". He also wrote two songs recorded by Rod Stewart on Immediate Records: "Little Miss Understood" and "So Much to Say (So Little Time)." With d'Abo fronting, Manfred Mann enjoyed numerous hits, including "Ragamuffin Man", "Ha Ha Said the Clown," "My Name is Jack" and the Dylan-penned number one hit, "Mighty Quinn." Manfred Mann subsequently disbanded in 1969.

Yvonne Marianne Elliman (born December 29, 1951) is an American singer who performed for four years in the first cast of Jesus Christ Superstar. She scored a number of hits in the 1970s and achieved a US #1 hit with "If I Can't Have You". After a long hiatus in the 1980s and 1990s, during which time she dedicated herself to her family, she made a comeback album as a singer-songwriter in 2004.

She had her first hit single in 1971 with the ballad "I Don't Know How to Love Him", from Jesus Christ Superstar. The song was her first entry on the U.S. charts, peaking at #28 pop in 1971, although a cover version by Helen Reddy was a bigger hit. In the end, Elliman sang Jesus Christ Superstar on the 1970 concept album, in the original Broadway cast (1971), and starred and sang it in the 1973 film. She and Barry Dennen were alone among the cast to have lasted from the original record through the two stage productions to the film, for which her screen performance as Mary Magdalene led to a 1974 Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy.

New link installed 26.11.2018

J@ck!e W!ls0n - 1960 - Then And N0w FLAC

 Reet Petite/It's So Fine/Alone At Last/(You Were Made For) All My Love



Jack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson, Jr. (June 9, 1934 – January 21, 1984) was an American soul singer-songwriter and performer. A tenor with a four octave vocal range, he was nicknamed "Mr. Excitement", and was important in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. He was considered a master showman, and one of the most dynamic and influential singers and performers in R&B and rock 'n' roll history. Gaining fame in his early years as a member of the R&B vocal group Billy Ward and His Dominoes, he went solo in 1957 and recorded over 50 hit singles that spanned R&B, pop, soul, doo-wop and easy listening. This included 16 R&B Top 10 hits, including 6 R&B # 1's. On the Billboard Hot 100, he scored 14 Top 20 Pop hits, 6 of which made it into the Pop Top 10. On September 29, 1975 while headlining a Dick Clark Oldies Concert, he collapsed on stage from what was later determined to be a massive heart attack, and subsequently slipped into a coma slowing awakening over a period of 8 months. He remained semi-comatose for the 9 years preceding his death in 1984, at the age of 49; he was deemed conscious but incapacitated in early June 1976. Wilson was an inspiration to Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen, James Brown and Michael Jackson to name a few. He was one of the most influential artists of his generation.

A two-time Grammy Hall of Fame Inductee, Wilson was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Jackie Wilson #69 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

 New link installed 28.11.2018

Cre@m - 1967 - $tr@nge Brew WAVE

 Strange Brew/N.S.U/I Feel Free/Wrapping Paper



Cream were a 1960s British rock supergroup power trio consisting of bassist/singer Jack Bruce, drummer Ginger Baker, and guitarist/singer Eric Clapton. Their unique sound was characterised by a hybrid of blues rock, hard rock and psychedelic rock, combining psychedelia themes, Clapton's blues guitar playing, Bruce's powerful, versatile vocals and prominent bass playing, Baker's pulsating, jazz-influenced drumming and Pete Brown's poetry-inspired lyrics. The group's third album, Wheels of Fire, was the world's first platinum-selling double album. The band is widely regarded as being the world's first successful supergroup. In their career, they sold more than 15 million albums worldwide. Their music included songs based on traditional blues such as "Crossroads" and "Spoonful", and modern blues such as "Born Under a Bad Sign", as well as more eccentric songs such as "Strange Brew", "Tales of Brave Ulysses" and "Toad".

"Strange Brew" is a 1967 song by British supergroup Cream. Released in late May of that year as the lead single from their album Disraeli Gears, this song features Eric Clapton on lead vocals rather than the usual lead by Jack Bruce. The single peaked at number 17 on the UK charts in July of that same year. The UK single release was the last Cream single to be released by Reaction Records.
The song "Strange Brew"/"N.S.U." first appeared on the UK Singles Chart on 10 June 1967 at #43. It hit its highest position on 15 July at #17, and then left the charts on 5 August at #35 having spent a total of 9 weeks on the chart. The song later appeared on the soundtrack of the 1979 feature film, More American  Graffiti.

I Feel Free" is a song first recorded by the British rock band Cream. The song's lyrics were written by Pete Brown, its music by Jack Bruce. It was the first track on the US issue of their debut album, Fresh Cream (1966), and the band's second hit single (the first being "Wrapping Paper"). As with all tracks on Cream's US debut, producer's credit went to Robert Stigwood. "I Feel Free" showcases the band's musical diversity, effectively combining blues rock with psychedelic pop. "I Feel Free" was recorded in September 1966 at Ryemuse Studios. The track was recorded on an Ampex Reel-to-reel audio tape recording by Robert Stigwood and John Timperley. Stigwood made the decision to omit the song on the British release of Fresh Cream, and instead released it as a single.


 "Wrapping Paper" is a song with music composed by Jack Bruce and lyrics by Pete Brown,[3] performed by Cream and originally released as a single in 1966 with "Cat's Squirrel" as the B side. It is featured on The Very Best of Cream. In contrast with the hard blues of other early Cream songs such "N.S.U." and the pop-style of "I Feel Free," it has a distinctive slow-jazz style.


New link added 28.11.2018

The @cti0n - In My L0nely R00m

In My Lonely Room/You'll Want Me Back/Why You Wanna Make Me Blue/Fine Looking Girl



The band was formed as The Boys in August 1963, in Kentish Town, North West London. After Peter Watson (born 18 October 1941, Romford, Essex) joined them as an additional guitarist in 1965, they changed their name to The Action. The original members were Reg King (lead vocals) (born Reginald King, 5 February 1945, Paddington, West London, died, 8 October 2010, Belvedere, Kent), Alan 'Bam' King (lead guitar, vocals) (born Alan King, 18 September 1945, Muswell Hill, North London), Mike "Ace" Evans (bass guitar, vocals) (born Michael Evans, 10 July 1944, Henley, Berkshire, died 15 January 2010, London) and Roger Powell (drums) (born 4 July 1945, Camden Town, North West London).

Shortly after their formation, they signed to Parlophone with producer George Martin. "Land of a Thousand Dances" b/w "In My Lonely Room" was well received by critics, but sold poorly. None of the Action's singles achieved success in the UK Singles Chart.

After disastrous experiences with the Rikki Farr management, Peter Watson left the band in 1966. They continued as quartet, but were dropped from Parlophone in 1967. In the late 1960s keyboardist Ian Whiteman (born 18 May 1945, Saffron Walden, Essex) and guitarist Martin Stone (born 11 December 1946, Wokingham, Surrey) joined the band and the Action moved toward a mid-tempo psychedelic ballad style, and then into folk rock. Reg King left the band in 1967, and Alan King took over as main lead vocalist. In 1969, when signing to John Curd's Head Records, the band was renamed Mighty Baby.

Bass – Mike Evans
Drums – Roger Powell 
Lead Guitar – Pete Watson 
Rhythm Guitar – Alan King 
Vocals – Reggie King

The L!vely 0nes - 1964 - Surf Drums

Wild Weekend/Tuff Surf/Stoked/Surf Drums



The Lively Ones were an American instrumental surf rock band active in the 1960s. The guys came together in 1963 in Southern California and did well for a while, scoring minor hits with “Surf Rider” and “Rik-A-Tic”, but mostly operating as a cover band doing established songs like “Pipeline” and “Telstar”, along with occasional updated standards.They played live mostly in California and Arizona. They recorded for Del-Fi records with production from Bob Keane. They recorded mostly cover songs, but there were a few originals.

Their 1963 song "Surf Rider" (written by Nokie Edwards from The Ventures) was featured in the final sequence as well as the end credits of Quentin Tarantino's 1994 film Pulp Fiction.






Lead guitar: Jim Masoner
Rhythm guitar: Ed Chiaverini
Bass guitar: Ron Griffith
Saxophone: Joel Willenbring
Drums: Tim Fitzpatrick


New link installed 28.11.2018

D0n0v@n – 1968 - Mell0w Yell0w

Mellow Yellow/Wear Your Love Like Heaven/Jennifer Jupiter/Sunshine Superman



Upon his emergence during the mid-’60s, Donovan was anointed “Britain’s answer to Bob Dylan,” a facile but largely unfounded comparison which compromised the Scottish folk-pop troubadour’s own unique vision. Where the thrust of Dylan’s music remains its bleak introspection and bitter realism, Donovan fully embraced the wide-eyed optimism of the flower power movement, his ethereal, ornate songs radiating a mystical beauty and childlike wonder; for better or worse, his recordings remain quintessential artifacts of the psychedelic era, capturing the peace and love idealism of their time to perfection. Donovan Leitch was born May 10, 1946 in Glasgow and raised outside of London; at 18 he recorded his first demo, and in 1965 was tapped as a regular on the television pop showcase Ready, Steady, Go! He soon issued his debut single “Catch the Wind,” earning the first round of Dylan comparisons with his ramshackle folk sound and ragamuffin look; the single nevertheless reached the U.K. Top Five, with a subsequent meeting between the two singer/songwriters captured in the classic D.A. Pennebaker documentary Don’t Look Back.

 

Donovan’s follow-up single, “Colours,” was also a hit, and after making his American debut at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, he issued Fairytale, his second and last LP for the Hickory label. Signing with Epic in 1966, he released his breakthrough album, Sunshine Superman, which in its exotic arrangements and pointedly psychedelic lyrical outlook heralded a major shift from his previous work; the title track topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic, with the enigmatic “Mellow Yellow” reaching the number two spot a few months later. Donovan remained a chart fixture throughout 1967, generating a series of hits including “Epistle to Dippy,” “There Is a Mountain,” and “Wear Your Love Like Heaven”; that year he traveled to India alongside the Beatles to study with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a journey which inspired him to renounce drug use and encourage his listeners to turn to meditation. The ambitious double album A Gift from a Flower to a Garden followed, and in 1968 Donovan resurfaced with The Hurdy Gurdy Man, scoring a Top Five smash with the hallucinatory title cut; the record also yielded the hit “Jennifer Juniper.”

  arabajagal from 1969 generated Donovan’s final Top 40 hit, “Atlantis”; for the title track, he collaborated with the Jeff Beck Group, with whom he also worked on 1970s Open Road. He then retreated to Ireland, emerging from a period of seclusion by starring in and scoring the 1972 film The Pied Piper; a pair of new LPs, Cosmic Wheels and Essence to Essence, appeared the following year to disappointing reviews and little commercial interest. Following 1974’s 7-Tease, he spent the next years living quietly in California’s Joshua Tree desert, mounting only a small club tour to promote 1976’s Slow Down; a self-titled LP appeared a year later, and in the wake of 1983’s Jerry Wexler-produced Lady of the Stars, he essentially retired from writing and recording altogether. 

 The Donovan revival began in earnest in 1991 when Happy Mondays titled a song in his honor for their groundbreaking Pills ‘n’ Thrills & Bellyaches; he later toured with the group as well. Five years later, Donovan released his comeback LP, Sutras, helmed by producer du jour Rick Rubin. (The album had the misfortune to be released after Rubin’s landmark Johnny Cash record, American Recordings and was virtually ignored or misunderstood by critics.) Donovan toured briefly to support Sutras and then went missing once again, playing out only sporadically. In 2004, however, he reappeared with the intimate and stylish Beat Cafe, a collection of nearly all-original songs produced by keyboardist John Chelew. Donovan also enlisted bassist Danny Thompson and drummer Jim Keltner to round out his quartet. The album featured a pair of covers, a spoken word rendition of poet Dylan Thomas’ “Do Not Go Gentle,” and a startling rendition of the traditional tune “The Cuckoo.”

B0b Dyl@n – 1969 - N@shv!lle Skyl!ne

Lay Lady Lay/I Threw It All Away/Nashville Skyline Rag/Country PieLay Lady Lay/I Threw It All Away/Nashville Skyline Rag/Country Pie



“Lay Lady Lay” was originally written for the soundtrack of the movie Midnight Cowboy, but wasn’t submitted in time to be included in the finished film. Dylan’s recording was released as a single in July 1969 and quickly became one of his top U.S. hits, peaking at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single did even better in the United Kingdom where it reached #5 on the UK Singles Chart. Like many of the tracks on Nashville Skyline, the song is sung by Dylan in a warm, relatively low sounding voice, rather than the more abrasive nasal singing style with which he had become famous. Dylan attributed his “new” voice to having quit smoking before recording the album, but some unreleased bootleg recordings from the early 1960s reveal that, in fact, Dylan had used a similar singing style before.

The W@lker Br0thers - 1967 - The Sun Ain't G0nn@ Shine Anym0re

The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore/Young Man Cried/(Baby) You Don't Have To Tell Me/My Love Is Growing


The Walker Brothers were an American pop group of the 1960s and 1970s, that included Scott Engel (eventually known professionally as Scott Walker), John Walker (born John Maus, but using the name Walker since his teens), and Gary Leeds (eventually known as Gary Walker). After moving to Britain in 1965, they had a number of top ten albums and singles there, including the No. 1 chart hits "Make It Easy on Yourself" and "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)," both of which also made the US top 20. In between the two was the lesser US hit "My Ship is Coming In".

Formed in 1964, they adopted the 'Walker Brothers' name as a show business touch even though the members were all unrelated — "simply because we liked it." They provided a unique counterpoint to the British Invasion by achieving much more success in the United Kingdom than in their home country, a period when the popularity of British bands such as The Beatles dominated the U.S. charts.

The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)" is a song written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio.

It was originally released as a single by Frankie Valli in 1965 on the Smash label, but was more successful when recorded by The Walker Brothers in 1966.

In 1966, The Walker Brothers released their remake as a single. Retitled "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore", this version met with much greater success than Valli's. It topped the UK Singles Chart, and also became their highest rating song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the U.S., where it peaked at #13. The single also hit the top 10 in the Netherlands

The $upremes - 1966 - I He@r A Symph0ny

Stop! In The Name Of Love/I'm In Love Again/Back In My Arms Again/I Hear A Symphony




The Supremes were an American female singing group and the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and are, to date, America's most successful vocal group with 12 number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100. Most of these hits were written and produced by Motown's main songwriting and production team, Holland–Dozier–Holland. At their peak in the mid-1960s, the Supremes rivaled the Beatles in worldwide popularity, and their success made it possible for future African American R&B and soul musicians to find mainstream success.

  Founding members Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, Diana Ross, and Betty McGlown, all from the Brewster-Douglass public housing project in Detroit, formed the Primettes as the sister act to the Primes (with Paul Williams and Eddie Kendricks, who went on to form the Temptations). Barbara Martin replaced McGlown in 1960, and the group signed with Motown the following year as the Supremes. Martin left the act in early 1962, and Ross, Ballard, and Wilson carried on as a trio.


During the mid-1960s, the Supremes achieved mainstream success with Ross as lead singer. In 1967, Motown president Berry Gordy renamed the group Diana Ross & the Supremes, and replaced Ballard with Cindy Birdsong. Ross left to pursue a solo career in 1970 and was replaced by Jean Terrell, at which point the group's name reverted to the Supremes. After 1972, the lineup changed more frequently; Lynda Laurence, Scherrie Payne, and Susaye Greene all became members of the group during the mid-1970s. The Supremes disbanded in 1977 after 18 years.


"Stop! In the Name of Love" is a 1965 song recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label.
Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, "Stop! In the Name of Love"/"I'm In Love Again" held the number one position on the Billboard pop singles chart in the United States from March 27, 1965 through April 3, 1965, and reached the number-two position on the soul chart.

"I Hear a Symphony" is a 1965 song recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label.
Written and produced by Motown's main production team, Holland–Dozier–Holland, the song became their sixth number-one pop hit on Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart in the United States for two weeks from November 14, 1965 through November 27, 1965. On the UK pop chart, the single peaked at number 
thirty-nine.


"Back in My Arms Again" is a 1965 song recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label.
Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, "Back in My Arms Again" was the fifth consecutive and overall number-one song for the group on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart in the United States from June 6, 1965 through June 12, 1965, also topping the soul chart for a week.

M@nfred M@nn - 1966 - M@chines

Machines/She Needs Company/Tennessee Waltz/When Will I Be Loved


Manfred Mann were an English beat, rhythm and blues and pop band (with a strong jazz foundation) of the 1960s, named after their keyboardist, Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. Manfred Mann were chart regulars in the 1960s, and the first south-of-England-based group to top the US Billboard Hot 100 during the British invasion. Three of the band's most successful singles, "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", "Pretty Flamingo" and "Mighty Quinn", topped the UK Singles Chart.


Machines is an EP by Manfred Mann, released in 1966. The EP is a 7-inch vinyl record and released in mono with the catalogue number His Master's Voice-EMI 7EG 8942. The record was the number 1 EP in the UK number-one EP for 1 week, starting May 28, 1966.

For this EP, Manfred Mann's third and last number 1 EP, they chose several non R & B songs to cover including Tennessee Waltz, the best-known version being by Patti Page and the Everly Brothers When Will I be Loved.

The record reached the Number 1 spot on the UK's EP charts on May 28, 1966.

Gen0 W@shington And The R@m J@m B@nd - 1967 - Hi!

Always/Hi, Hi Hazel/Water/If You Knew




Geno Washington & the Ram Jam Band were an English-based soul band, active from 1965 to 1968.


The Ram Jam Band were formed around 1964 by Pete Gage and Geoff Pullum. Before taking on Geno Washington, whom Pete knew from performing the Bentwaters USAF Base, they had Jamaican Blue Beat singer by the name of Errol Dixon front the band as they embarked on the London club circuit. Pete approached Geno to finance his demobbing to the States and to return to front the band as it seemed essential to have an American to perform US soul rather than the West Indian alternatives in London at that time.

Geno Washington was a US airman stationed in East Anglia who became well known for his impromptu performances in London nightclubs. In 1965, guitarist Pete Gage needed a singer to front his new band and replace the previous singer Errol Dixon, and asked Washington to join. When Washington was discharged from the US Airforce, he became the band's frontman. Their first single featuring Geno, "Shake, Shake, Senora" / "Akinla" released on Columbia had sunk without a trace.

They released two live albums. Hand Clappin, Foot Stompin, Funky-Butt ... Live! was released in 1966, reached no.5 on the UK albums chart, and remained in the charts for 38 weeks. It was followed up by Hipster Flipsters Finger Poppin' Daddies in 1967, which reached no.8 on the chart.[1] They also had some moderate hit singles released by the Pye label: "Water", "Hi Hi Hazel", "Que Sera Sera" and "Michael (The Lover)".

They managed to build up a strong following with the crowds and due to their touring and engergetic performances. Like their Pye label mates and rivals, Jimmy James and the Vagabonds, they became popular with the mod scene.

The band broke up in the autumn of 1969 and the band members went their own ways while Geno Washington continued as a solo artist before returning to the United States. Keyboard player Geoffrey K. Pullum became an academic linguist, and is today a professor at the University of Edinburgh and a linguistics blogger at the Language Log and Lingua Franca websites.

Washington temporarily reformed the band between February and June 1971 with new band members Dave Watts (organ), Mo Foster (bass), Mike Jopp (guitar) and Grant Serpell (drums)

The band's name came from the Ram Jam Inn, an old coaching inn on the A1 (Great North Road) at Stretton, near Oakham, Rutland.

Since 2005, Geno Washington and The Ram Jam Band have been constantly playing shows. The current version of the band is: Geno Washington (Lead Vocals); Geoff Hemsley (Drums); Steve Bingham (Bass and Backing Vocals); Stuart Dixon (Guitar and Backing Vocals); Alan Whetton (Tenor Sax); and Allesandro Carnevali (Tenor Sax)

New link installed 28.11.2018

L>d Zeppel!n – Wh0le L0tt@ L0ve

Whole Lotta Love/Black Mountain Side/Good Times Bad Times/Communication BreakdownFront 



Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. The band’s heavy, guitar-driven sound, rooted in blues and psychedelia on their early albums, has earned them recognition as one of the progenitors of heavy metal, though their unique style drew from a wide variety of influences, including folk music.

After changing their name from the New Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin signed a deal with Atlantic Records that afforded them considerable artistic freedom. Although the group was initially unpopular with critics, they achieved significant commercial success with albums such as Led Zeppelin (1969), Led Zeppelin II (1969), Led Zeppelin III (1970), Led Zeppelin IV (1971), Houses of the Holy (1973), and Physical Graffiti (1975). Their fourth album, which features the track “Stairway to Heaven”, is among the most popular and influential works in rock music, and it helped to secure the group’s popularity.

Idle R@ce – In The Summert!me

In The Summer Time/Told You Twice/Neanderthal Man/Circumstance



Birmingham was hardly the hub of the music industry, but by the mid-60s, rival Brit-beat-cum-psychedelic groups, The Moody Blues and The Move, had stamped their authority by way of massive-selling hit singles. In competition to these “Brummie” combos were second division contenders, The Idle Race, members with whom had stemmed from Mike Sheridan & The Nightriders, who’d featured in their ranks, a young pre-Move, Roy Wood; a friend of the latter, Jeff Lynne, was indeed the main man in The Idle Race, so the ancestral connection to The Electric Light Orchestra was in place.
 When the aforesaid Mike Sheridan turned his back on The Nightriders (rhythm guitarist/vocalist Dave Pritchard, bassist Greg Masters and drummer Roger Spencer), the trio enlisted the help of ex-Carl Wayne & The Vikings guitarist Johnny Mann to fill the void. This however was short-lived, when in the summer of ’66, lead guitarist Jeff Lynne came to the band’s rescue. His diverse and multi-faceted talent was spot on, although the group’s contractual debut 45, `It’s Only The Dog’, failed to capture valuable airwave space.

 In need of a re-vamp after Polydor Records let them go, The Idle Race – the moniker chosen from the poetical “Idyll Race” title – found the necessary patronage from old mucker, Roy Wood. He convinced messrs Eddie Offord (future Yes producer), Gerald Chevin and, in turn, Liberty Records, to give them a shout, although a cover of the Move man’s `Here We Go Round The Lemon Tree’ was shelved when it turned up on the B-side of near chart-topper, `Flowers In The Rain’. Instead, the freakishly psychedelic `Imposters Of Life’s Magazine’ (bridging the gap between The Move and Pink Floyd) flopped unceremoniously. On the back of post-Beatles capers were the order of the day, one-that-got-away was surely The Idle Race’s mischievous follow-up, `The Skeleton And The Roundabout’. Records didn’t have to make “A Whiter Shade Of Pale” sense in these trippy halcyon days.

 `End Of The Road’ and the quirky (but withdrawn) `I Like My Toys’ preceded the quartet’s debut LP, The Birthday Party (1968) {*6}; but it seemed that their blend of cheeky, Who/Small Faces-like psychedelics (example `(Don’t Put Your Boys In The Army) Mrs. Ward’) had missed a beat in the day’s fickle industry.
 Content with sticking with the psych-beat, `Days Of Broken Arrows’ and `Come With Me’ (the latter previewing sophomore set, Idle Race (1969) {*5}), the group were going nowhere fast. Sounding at times Seekers-esque folky (`Reminds Me Of You’, `Girl At The Window’ and `Sea Of Dreams’) or novelty-led (`Big Chief Woolley Bosher’), main contributor Jeff Lynne was becoming increasingly frustrated at their lack of success. He duly found fame in both The Move and the Electric Light Orchestra.

 Having stiffed as quasi-psychedelia evolved into prog-rock, the remaining alumni of the Idle Race added Mike Hopkins (guitar/vocals) and Dave Walker (vocals/harmonica); a version of Mungo Jerry’s `In The Summertime’ subsequently hit Top 10 in Argentina, while their follow-up was a cover of Hotlegs’ (future 10CC), `Neanderthal Man’. Needless to say, there was no room in the British market for such blatant rip-off antics.
 Idle Race continued as an acoustic-folk act. Released on Regal Zonophone, 1971’s Time Is {*4} was never going to fly off the shelves, but it at least housed a couple of renditions of Gordon Lightfoot’s `Bitter Green’ and Jesse Lee Kincaid’s `She Sang Hymns Out Of Tune’. When they split early ‘72, mostly all of them joined the teething Steve Gibbons Band, having earlier backed King Biscuit Boy; Walker joined Savoy Brown then Chicken Shack before being given a free transfer to Fleetwood Mac; Roger became Ollie Spencer and worked as a comedian; Pritchard went on to Willy & The Poor Boys (with Bill Wyman), and much later Hopkins joined Quartz.

The Gue$$ Wh0 – 1973 – The Gue$$ Wh0

American Woman/Albert Flasher/Heartbroken Bopper/Rain Dance


The Guess Who are a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Initially gaining recognition in Canada, the group also found international success from the late 1960s through the mid-1970s with numerous hit singles, including “No Time”, “American Woman”, “These Eyes” and “Share the Land”. Several former members of The Guess Who, notably Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman (of Bachman–Turner Overdrive), have found considerable success outside the band. Formed as a garage rock/rhythm and blues group during the rise of British beat, their musical style primarily consisted of pop rock, blues rock, psychedelic rock and hard rock.

The band was inducted into The Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1987.[6] In 2002, Randy Bachman, Burton Cummings, Garry Peterson, Donnie McDougall and Bill Wallace received the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement, Canada’s highest honour in the performing arts, for The Guess Who’s contribution to popular music in Canada.

C0unt F!ve – Psych0tic Re@cti0n

Psychotic Reaction//Double Decker Bus/Pretty Big Mouth/World



Count Five was an American 1960s garage rock band from San Jose, California, best known for their Top 10 single “Psychotic Reaction”.

The band was founded in 1964 by John “Mouse” Michalski (born 1948, Cleveland, Ohio) playing lead guitar and Roy Chaney (born 1948, Indianapolis, Indiana) playing bass guitar. The two were high school friends who had previously played in several short-lived bands, most notably a surf rock group named The Citations. As the British Invasion’s influence took effect, the band changed in musical direction. After going by the name The Squires for a short time, along with several line-up changes, the Count Five was born. John “Sean” Byrne (1947-2008, born Dublin, Ireland) played rhythm guitar and performed lead vocals, Kenn Ellner played tambourine and harmonica, while sharing lead vocals, and Craig “Butch” Atkinson (1947-1998, born San Jose, California) played drums. The Count Five were recognizable for their habit of wearing Count Dracula-style capes when playing live.

“Psychotic Reaction”, an acknowledged cornerstone of garage rock, was initially devised by Byrne, with the group refining it and turning it into the highlight of their live sets. The song was influenced by the style of contemporary musicians such as The Standells and The Yardbirds. The band was rejected by several record labels before they got signed to the Los Angeles-based Double Shot Records. “Psychotic Reaction” was released as a single, peaking at number five in the U.S. charts in late 1966. The band enjoyed limited success for a short time, dropping out of view altogether when their only hit had fallen from public memory. Another setback to a potential career in the music business was the decision of the five members (who were between the ages of 17 and 19) to pursue college degrees

@rthur C0nley - 1968 - Pe0ple $ure Act Funny

Funky Street/Put Our Love Together/People Sure Act Funny/Burning Fire


Arthur Lee Conley (January 4, 1946 – November 17, 2003) was a U.S. soul singer, best known for the 1967 hit "Sweet Soul Music".

Conley was born in McIntosh County, Georgia, U.S., and grew up in Atlanta. He first recorded in 1959 as the lead singer of Arthur & the Corvets. With this group, he released three singles in 1963 and 1964—"Poor Girl", "I Believe", and "Flossie Mae"—on the Atlanta-based record label, National Recording Company.

In 1964, he moved to a new label (Baltimore's Ru-Jac Records) and released "I'm a Lonely Stranger". When Otis Redding heard this, he asked Conley to record a new version, which was released on Redding's own fledgling label Jotis Records, as only its second release. Conley met Redding in 1967. Together they rewrote the Sam Cooke song "Yeah Man" into "Sweet Soul Music", which, at Redding's insistence, was released on the Atco-distributed label Fame Records, and was recorded at FAME studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. It proved to be a massive hit, going to the number two position on the U.S. charts and the Top Ten across much of Europe. "Sweet Soul Music" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.

After several years of hits singles in the early 1970s, he relocated to England in 1975, and spent several years in Belgium, settling in Amsterdam (Netherlands) in spring 1977. At the beginning of 1980 he had some major performances as Lee Roberts and the Sweaters in the Ganzenhoef, Paradiso, De Melkweg and the Concertgebouw, and was highly successful. At the end of 1980 he moved to the Dutch town of Ruurlo legally changing his name to Lee Roberts—his middle name and his mother's maiden name. He promoted new music via his Art-Con Productions company. Amongst the bands he promoted was the heavy metal band Shockwave from The Hague. A live performance on January 8, 1980, featuring Lee Roberts & the Sweaters, was released as an album entitled Soulin' in 1988.

Conley was gay, and several music writers have said that his homosexuality was a bar to greater success in the United States and one of the reasons behind his move to Europe and his eventual name change. In 2014, rock historian Ed Ward wrote, "[Conley] headed to Amsterdam and changed his name to Lee Roberts. Nobody knew 'Lee Roberts,' and at last Conley was able to live in peace with a secret he had hidden--or thought he had--for entire career: he was gay. But nobody in Holland cared."

Conley died from intestinal cancer in Ruurlo, Netherlands aged 57 in November 2003. He was buried in Vorden.

New link installed 29.11.2018

@retha Fr@nklin - 1968 - Think

Think/You Send Me/People Get Ready/Niki Hoeky



Aretha Louise Franklin (born March 25, 1942) is an American singer and musician. Franklin began her career singing gospel at her father, minister C. L. Franklin's church as a child. In 1960, at the age of 18, Franklin embarked on a secular career, recording for Columbia Records but only achieving modest success. Following her signing to Atlantic Records in 1967, Franklin achieved commercial acclaim and success with songs such as "Respect", "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" and "Think". These hits and more helped her to gain the title The Queen of Soul by the end of the 1960s decade.

Franklin eventually recorded a total of 112 charted singles on Billboard, including 77 Hot 100 entries, 17 top ten pop singles, 100 R&B entries and twenty number-one R&B singles, becoming the most charted female artist in the chart's history. Franklin also recorded acclaimed albums such as I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You, Lady Soul, Young, Gifted & Black and Amazing Grace before experiencing problems with her record company by the mid-1970s. After her father was shot in 1979, Franklin left Atlantic and signed with Arista Records, finding success with her part in the film, The Blues Brothers and with the albums, Jump to It and Who's Zoomin' Who?. In 1998, Franklin won international acclaim for singing the opera aria, "Nessun Dorma", at the Grammys of that year replacing Luciano Pavarotti. Later that same year, she scored her final Top 40 recording with "A Rose Is Still a Rose". Franklin's other popular and well known hits include, "Rock Steady", "Something He Can Feel" (from the soundtrack to the 1976 film Sparkle), "Jump to It", "Freeway of Love", "Who's Zoomin' Who", "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves", "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (with George Michael), "It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" (with Whitney Houston) and a remake of The Rolling Stones song "Jumpin' Jack Flash".

Franklin has won a total of 18 Grammy Awards and is one of the best-selling artists of all time, having sold over 75 million records worldwide. Franklin has been honored throughout her career including a 1987 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in which she became the first female performer to be inducted. She was inducted to the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005. In August 2012, Franklin was inducted into the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame.[2] Franklin is listed in at least two all-time lists on Rolling Stone magazine, including the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, in which she placed number 9, and the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time in which she placed number 1.

"Think" is a song performed by American singer Aretha Franklin. It was released as single in 1968, from her Aretha Now album. The song, a feminist anthem, reached No. 7 on Billboard Hot 100, becoming Franklin's seventh top 10 hit in the United States in Australia it went one better reaching no. 6. The song also reached No. 1 on the magazine's Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles, becoming her sixth single to top the chart. The song was written by Franklin and Ted White. Franklin re-recorded the song in 1989 for the album "Through the Storm". Pitchfork Media placed it at number 15 on its list of "The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s".

Th#m - 1965 - Th#m

Don't Start Cryin' Now/Philosophy/Baby Please Don't Go/One Two Brown Eyes




Them were a formidable, popular group in their own right before singer Van Morrison went on to even greater fame. This Belfast five only produced two LPs and a potful of 7" singles during its ascendance in the molten heat of the British Invasion. But they did manage two Top 40 hits in America in 1965 (the enduring number 24 "Here Comes the Night," later covered glam-style by David Bowie on Pin Ups, and number 33 "Mystic Eyes") and two Top Ten hits that same year in their native Britain ("Here Comes the Night" and a cover of Joe Williams' "Baby Please Don't Go"). And is there a single bar band in America that doesn't play "Gloria," shouting "G-L-O-R-I-A" just like the 19-year-old Morrison in 1964? Moreover, the group's West Coast U.S. tour of arenas like the Fillmore in the spring of 1966 had the Ulster youths commanding bills that included such admiring support groups as the Doors, Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band, the Grass Roots, and the Association. At one of them, Frank Zappa even joined them on-stage. Clearly, Them's tough, heavily American blues captivated, a direct result of the vicious voice of Morrison.

Pr0col H@rum - C0nquist@dor

Conquistador/Something Following Me/Mabel/Cerdes (Outside The Gates Of)


 “Conquistador” is a song by the British psychedelic rock band Procol Harum. Written by Gary Brooker and Keith Reid, it originally appeared on the band’s 1967 self-titled debut album. It was later released as a single from the band’s 1972 live album Procol Harum Live In Concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. It is one of the band’s most famous and popular songs and their third Top 40 hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 (after 1967’s “A Whiter Shade of Pale” and “Homburg”), peaking at number 16.

Conquistador was released in Australia in 1967 and climbed to #30 and as far as I know was an Australian only single it was released again in 1972 of the live album Procol Harum With The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra making #3 this time in Australia.

M@rianne Fa@thfull - 1965 - Summer Nights

As Tears Go By/This Little Bird/Come And Stay With Me/Summer Nights




Marianne Evelyn Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer, songwriter and actress, whose career has spanned six decades.

Her early work in pop and rock music in the 1960s was overshadowed by her struggle with drug abuse in the 1970s. During the first two-thirds of that decade, she produced only two little-noticed studio albums. After a long commercial absence, she returned late in 1979 with the highly acclaimed album Broken English. Faithfull's subsequent solo work, often critically acclaimed, has at times been overshadowed by her personal history.

From 1966 to 1970, she had a highly publicised romantic relationship with the Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger. She co-wrote "Sister Morphine", which is featured on the Rolling Stones' Sticky Fingers album, and had an early hit with the Jagger/Richards composition "As Tears Go By."

H0llies - 1966 - I C@n't Let Go

I Can’t Let Go/Look Through Any Window/I’ve Got a Way of My Own/So Lonely 

The Hollies are an English pop/rock group known for their pioneering and distinctive three part vocal harmony style. The Hollies became one of the leading British groups of the 1960s (231 weeks on the UK singles charts during the 1960s; the 9th highest of any artist of the decade) and into the mid 1970s. It was formed by Allan Clarke and Graham Nash in late 1962 as a Merseybeat type music group in Manchester, although some of the band members came from towns north of there. Graham Nash left the group in 1968 to form the supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash.

They enjoyed considerable popularity in many countries (at least 60 singles or EPs and 26 albums charting somewhere in the world spanning over five decades), although they did not achieve major US chart success until 1966 with “Bus Stop”. The Hollies had over 30 charting singles on the UK Singles Chart, and 22 on the Billboard Hot 100, with major hits on both sides of the Atlantic that included “Just One Look”, “Look Through Any Window”, “Bus Stop”, “I Can’t Let Go”, “On a Carousel”, “Stop Stop Stop”, “Carrie Anne”, “Jennifer Eccles”, and later “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother”, “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress” and “The Air That I Breathe”.

They are one of the few British pop groups of the early 1960s that have never officially broken up and continue to record and perform. In recognition of their achievements, the Hollies were inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.

V@nill@ Fudge - 1968 - Where Is My Mind

Where Is My Mind/The Look Of Love/Ticket To Ride



Vanilla Fudge is an American rock band known predominantly for their extended rock renderings of contemporary hit songs, most notably "You Keep Me Hangin' On" and "Some Velvet Morning". The band's original lineup—vocalist/organist Mark Stein, bassist/vocalist Tim Bogert, lead guitarist/vocalist Vince Martell, and drummer/vocalist Carmine Appice—recorded five albums during the years 1966–69, before disbanding in 1970. The band has reunited in various configurations over the years, and is currently[when?] operating with three of the four original members, Mark Stein, Vince Martell, and Carmine Appice with Pete Bremy on bass for Tim Bogert, who has retired from touring. The band has been cited as "one of the few American links between psychedelia and what soon became heavy metal."

Stein and Bogert played in a local band called Rick Martin & The Showmen. The pair were so impressed by the swinging sound and floods of organ of The Rascals they decided to form their own band with Martell and Rick Martin's drummer, Joey Brennan. Originally calling themselves The Pigeons, they changed the name to Vanilla Fudge in 1966, after the replacement of Brennan by Appice. The group was then "discovered" and managed by reputed Lucchese crime family member Phillip Basile, who operated several popular clubs in New York. Their first three albums (Vanilla Fudge, The Beat Goes On, and Renaissance) were produced by Shadow Morton, whom the band met through The Rascals. When Led Zeppelin first toured the USA in early 1969, they opened for Vanilla Fudge on some shows.

The band's biggest hit was its cover of "You Keep Me Hangin' On," a slowed-down, hard rocking version of a song originally recorded by The Supremes. This version featured Stein's psychedelic-baroque organ intro and Appice's energetic drumming. It was a Top 10 hit in the US and Australia and a Top 20 hit in the UK in 1967.

The members of Vanilla Fudge were great admirers of The Beatles, and covered several of their songs including "Ticket to Ride" and "Eleanor Rigby." The self-titled debut album quotes "Strawberry Fields Forever" at the end, with the line "there's nothing to get hung about."

According to Ritchie Blackmore and Jon Lord, Vanilla Fudge's organ-heavy sound was a large influence on the British band Deep Purple, with Blackmore even stating that his band wanted to be a "Vanilla Fudge clone" in its early years.

On March 14, 1970, Vanilla Fudge played a farewell concert at the Phil Basile's Action House. After that, Bogert & Appice departed to form another group, Cactus. In 1972, they left Cactus and formed Beck, Bogert & Appice with guitarist Jeff Beck. Stein, left on his own, tried to keep the group going with two new players, Sal D'Nofrio (bass) and Jimmy Galluzi (drums) (both of whom had been members of a Poughkeepsie, New York group known as 'The Dirty Elbows'). But when nothing came from this, Stein ended up forming a new group, Boomerang, instead with Galluzi.

Pr0col H@rum - 1969 - A S@lty D0g

A Salty Dog/Juicy John Pink/Too Much Between Us/Wreck of the Hesperus


Procol Harum are an English rock band formed in 1967. They contributed to the development of progressive rock, and by extension, symphonic rock. Their best-known recording is their 1967 hit single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", which is considered a classic of popular music and is one of the few singles to have sold over 10 million copies. Although noted for its baroque and classical influence, Procol Harum's music also embraces the blues, R&B and soul.

"A Salty Dog" is a song by the British progressive rock band Procol Harum. Written by Gary Brooker and Keith Reid, it was released as the lead single off the band's 1969 album A Salty Dog. 

The song's lyrics were written by Keith Reid and its music was written by Gary Brooker, who also sang. It was featured on the band's 1969 album, A Salty Dog. Reid's lyrics describe sailors crossing the unknown seas. The string arrangement recalls Frédéric Chopin. The song is reportedly one of Reid's favourites.

"A Salty Dog" peaked at #44 on the UK Singles Chart The song was generally well received by music critics. Matthew Greenwald of Allmusic praised the narrative as "brilliant" and carried by "an expansive melody and epic performance from the entire band." The string arrangement was "fabulous" and "only adds grandeur to the song and recording, making this one of the group's most fully realized moments." Perhaps the greatest praise came from Melody Maker's Chris Welch, who called it  "their finest hour" and "one of the greatest pop singles to emerge in recent years." He added, "The tune is beautiful, the arrangement brilliant, the performance perfect."

Buckingh@ms - 1967 - Kind 0f A Dr@g

Lawdy Miss Claudy/You Make Me Feel So Good/I Call Your Name/Kind Of A Drag



The Buckinghams are an American Sunshine pop band from Chicago, Illinois, United States. They formed in 1966, and went on to become one of the top selling acts of 1967. The band dissolved in 1970, but re-formed in 1980 and as of 2016 they continue to tour throughout the United States.





In 1965 guitarists Carl Giammarese and Nick Fortuna, along with bassist Curtis Bachman, were invited to join a band called the Centuries. Giammarese and Bachman, plus keyboardist Dennis Miccolis, later became members of another band, the Pulsations, whose members included drummer John Poulos and vocalists George LeGros and Dennis Tufano. After winning a local battle of the bands competition in late 1965, the Pulsations secured a job as the house band on WGN-TV's variety show called All-Time Hits. The show's producers suggested they adopt a name reflective of the British invasion, which was popular at the time, and the band adopted the name The Buckinghams, which was suggested by a security guard named John Opager at the station. The band liked the name because of its similarity to a hometown landmark Buckingham Fountain

In early 1966, LeGros was forced to leave after he was drafted. Right around the same time, bassist Bachman also left and Nick Fortuna (now playing bass and soon briefly going under the surname of Fortune, after it was misspelled on the record jacket) returned after a stint with Jimmy V. & the Entertainers. The band then signed their first record contract with local label USA Records and recorded twelve songs that year. Several were released as singles, including "I'll Go Crazy", a song originally recorded by James Brown & the Famous Flames and the Beatles' "I Call Your Name". However, it was their number one single, "Kind of a Drag", that provided them with national exposure. "Kind of a Drag" was written by Chicago-based songwriter Jim Holvay, who had been performing with a group called the Mob, and spent two weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1967. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. The co-producers of "Kind of a Drag" were the band's first personal manager, Carl Bonafede, and big band leader Dan Belloc, owner of the Holiday Ballroom in Chicago. The horns on the song were arranged by Frank Tesinsky and the engineer at the first recording sessions held at Chess Records in Chicago was Ron Malo. Following this, the band's debut album, also entitled Kind of a Drag, was released on USA Records and featured the band's early recordings.

In late 1966, keyboardist Miccolis was replaced by Larry Nestor, who only stayed in the band a short time and was in turn replaced by Marty Grebb in early 1967. Around this time the band members were introduced to James William Guercio, formerly the bassist and road manager for Chad & Jeremy, who then signed them to a management contract with Ebbins-Guercio Associates. The Buckinghams were courted by several record labels before deciding on promotion specialist Jim Scully, who quickly got them a new contract with Columbia (CBS) Records. Guercio, who became the group's producer, continued the group's "brass-rock" approach, and the band produced four more Top-20 hits in 1967: "Don't You Care" (#6), "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" (#5), "Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song)" (#12) and "Susan" (#11), (three of which were written by Jim Holvay and Gary Beisbier). The same year, The Buckinghams were named by Billboard magazine as "The Most Listened to Band in America." Severe differences occurred between the Buckinghams and their producer. The group opposed the producer's decision to add a psychedelic section to the song "Susan". It included a short portion of Charles Ives' "Central Park in the Dark" and sounded very similar to the Beatles' song "A Day in the Life", with an orchestral crescendo. Many radio stations omitted this section. The producer had the last word, and the Buckinghams could do nothing about the treatment of the song. The group currently does not include the psychedelic portion in their performances.


 By mid-1968, the Buckinghams had parted company with Guercio and Columbia Records assigned staff producer Jim Wisner to work with the group on their third album, In One Ear and Gone Tomorrow. The album featured material written by Grebb, Giammarese and Tufano. Despite the release of a new single, Back in Love Again, they were unable to duplicate their 1967 success without Guercio, who went on to explore the "brass rock" concept further with Blood, Sweat & Tears and Chicago. Also, a "BUCKINGHAMS" DAY", in Chicago, was cancelled when it was learned that some of the band members were arrested for possession of illegal drugs. By late 1968, Marty Grebb and Nick Fortuna had left and were replaced by keyboardist John Turner and original bassist Curtis Bachman, who had gone on to join the band Saturday's Child after leaving The Buckinghams. There were no more hits, though, and band dissolved in early 1970. A compilation record of their old material was released in 1975 by Columbia called "Made in Chicago".

After the break-up, Tufano and Giammarese formed the duo Tufano & Giammarese and recorded three albums for Lou Adler's record label, Ode Records, forming a touring band in time for their second album. Drummer John Poulos, who had secured the Ode Records recording contract for the duo, became a manager of several rock bands, including The Boyzz from Illinoizz. Poulos died of drug-related heart failure on March 26, 1980