O.C.Smith - 1969 - For Once In My Life @320

For Once In My Life/Melodee/Sounds Of Goodbye/Wichita Lineman


Ocie Lee Smith (June 21, 1932 – November 23, 2001), known as O.C. Smith, was an American musician. His recording of "Little Green Apples" went to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1968 and sold over one million records.


Born in Mansfield, Louisiana, Smith moved with his parents to Little Rock, Arkansas, and then moved with his mother to Los Angeles, California after his parents' divorce.

After completing a psychology degree at Southern University, Smith joined the Air Force, and served throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia. While in the Air Force, Smith began entering talent contests and toured with Horace Heidt. After his discharge in July 1955, Smith went into jazz music to pay the bills.

Smith gained his first break as a singer with Sy Oliver and made an appearance on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. His success on that show led to a recording contract with Cadence Records.

Smith's debut release was a cover of the Little Richard hit "Tutti Frutti" in December 1955. The song was not a hit, but convinced MGM Records to sign Smith to a solo contract, resulting in three more releases, but still no hits.

In 1961, Smith was recruited by Count Basie to be his vocalist, a position he held until 1965. He also continued to record with different labels, but a hit remained elusive. By 1968, Smith's then label, Columbia Records, was ready to release him from his recording contract, when he entered the charts for the first time with "The Son of Hickory Holler's Tramp", which reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart[2] and also broke the Top 40 in the United States. In 1976 Kenny Rogers revived the hit as a country song.

 Smith changed the first part of his name to O.C. and recorded the Bobby Russell-written song "Little Green Apples," which went to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won Russell the 1969 Grammy Award for Song of the Year. It received a gold record from the R.I.A.A. for sales of one million records.

He continued to record, reaching the R&B, Adult Contemporary and pop charts in his home country with the likes of "Daddy's Little Man", "Friend, Lover, Woman, Wife", "Me and You" and "Love To Burn". He also returned to the UK Singles Chart in 1977 with "Together", reaching a Top 30 position.

 After CBS, Smith united with Charles Wallert, who wrote and produced the title track as well as the album for "Dreams Come True" that returned Smith to the national charts. The Whatcha Gonna Do album, resulted in three nationally charted singles for a total of 40 weeks. This album contained "Brenda", "You're My First, My Last My Everything" and "Spark Of Love". Additional hits "The Best Out Of Me" and "After All Is Said And Done" established Smith as a Beach Music star. Nominated for six awards at the third Beach Music Awards, Smith captured five.

Smith became pastor and founder of The City Of Angels Church in Los Angeles, California where he ministered for 16 years. One of his last recordings, "Save The Last Dance For Me" reached the number one position on the Rhythm n' Beach Top 40 chart. On November 23, 2001, Smith died of a heart attack.

Dion - 1968 - Abraham, Martin And John FLAC

Abraham, Martin And John/Purple Haze/He Looks A Lot Like Me/Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever



 "Abraham, Martin and John" is a 1968 song written by Dick Holler and first recorded by Dion. It is a tribute to the memory of four assassinated Americans, all icons of social change: Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, and Robert F. Kennedy. It was written in response to the assassination of King and that of Robert Kennedy in April and June 1968, respectively.

The original version, recorded by Dion, featured a gentle folk rock production from Phil Gernhard and arrangement from John Abbott. The feeling of the song is set with a gentle English horn and violin opening then featuring harp flourishes at multiple points, including the instrumental conclusion. The song also features a flugelhorn, an electric organ, bass, and drums. Dion felt during post production that the song needed more depth and added a track featuring him playing classical guitar notably at the bridge, lead ins, and the close.

 Although it was quite unlike the rock sound that Dion had become famous for in the early 1960s, and even more unlike Holler and Gernhard's previous collaboration in the 1966 novelty smash "Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron", "Abraham, Martin and John" nonetheless was a major American hit single in late 1968. It reached #4 on the U.S. pop singles chart and was awarded an RIAA gold record for selling a million copies. In Canada, it topped the charts, reaching #1 in the RPM 100 on November 25, 1968. In 2001 this recording would be ranked number 248 on the RIAA's Songs of the Century list. The record was also popular with adult listeners, reaching #8 on Billboard's Easy Listening survey. The personnel on the original recording included Vinnie Bell and Ralph Casale on guitar, Nick DeCaro on organ, David Robinson on drums, Gloria Agostini on harp, and George Marge on oboe and English horn.

Ritchie Valens - 1964 - Come On Let's Go FLAC

Come On Let's Go/Donna/La Bamba/Hurry Up



 Richard Steven Valenzuela (May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959), known professionally as Ritchie Valens, was a Mexican American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. A rock & roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens' recording career lasted eight months, as it abruptly ended when he died in a plane crash.

During this time, he had several hits, most notably "La Bamba", which he had adapted from a Mexican folk song. Valens transformed the song into one with a rock rhythm and beat, and it became a hit in 1958, making Valens a pioneer of the Spanish-speaking rock and roll movement.

On February 3, 1959, on what has become known as "the Day the Music Died", Valens died in a plane crash in Iowa, an accident that also claimed the lives of fellow musicians Buddy Holly and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, as well as pilot Roger Peterson. Valens was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.

Aretha Franklin - 1968 - Chain Of Fools WAVE

Chain Of Fools/ Prove It/Satisfaction/Night Life


R.I.P. (March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018)

"Chain of Fools" is a song written by Don Covay. Aretha Franklin first released the song as a single in 1967 and subsequently it appeared on many of her albums.

Asked by Jerry Wexler, producer with Atlantic Records, to create songs for Otis Redding, Covay recorded a demo of "Chain of Fools", a song he had written in his youth while singing gospel with his brothers and sisters. The recording featured Covay singing and playing guitar, overdubbed with himself singing background. Listening to the demo, Wexler chose to place the song with Aretha Franklin rather than Redding.

It reached number one on the U.S. R&B chart, staying there for four weeks, and went to number two on the pop chart in January 1968, It won the Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, and later a Grammy Hall of Fame Award. In 2004, this song was ranked #249 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The trademark tremolo guitar licks at the introduction were played by Joe South. The song was edited for LP & 45; the original long version appeared on the quadrophonic LP The Best of Aretha Franklin in 1973 (later released on a quadrophonic DVD by Rhino in 2010), and on the 1995 Rhino remastering of Lady Soul. Live recordings have appeared on the albums Aretha in Paris (1968) and VH1 Divas Live (1998, with Mariah Carey).

It is musically noteworthy in that it's composed completely in a minor mode (Aeolian), and is one of the few hit songs based on just one (minor) chord.

It is claimed by some that "Chain of Fools" is an unauthorized rewrite of the gospel song "Pains of Life", recorded by Reverend Elijah Fair & The Sensational Gladys Davis Trio (an obscure gospel group from Houston, Texas), but without evidence showing that the gospel song was recorded first, this can only be conjecture.

The Ventures - 1963 - Dance With The Ventures FLAC

Gringo/Moon Dawg/Sunny River/Guitar Twist



The Ventures' origins lie in a Tacoma, Washington group called the Impacts. Around 1959, construction workers and hobby guitarists Bob Bogle and Don Wilson formed the group, gigging around Washington state and Idaho with various rhythm sections as backup. They recorded a demo tape, but after it was rejected by the Liberty Records subsidiary Dolton, the duo founded their own label, Blue Horizon. They released one vocal single ("Cookies and Coke"), then recruited bassist Nokie Edwards and drummer Skip Moore and decided to instead become an instrumental group.

  The Ventures went into the studio in 1959 with an idea for a new single they had first heard on Chet Atkins' Hi Fi in Focus LP. Released on Blue Horizon in 1960, the single "Walk-Don't Run" became a big local hit after being aired as a news lead-in on a Seattle radio station (thanks to a friend with connections). In an ironic twist, Dolton Records came calling and licensed the single for national distribution; by summer 1960, it had risen to number two in the charts, behind only "It's Now or Never" by Elvis Presley. After Howie Johnson replaced Moore on drums, the Ventures began recording their debut album, unsurprisingly titled after their hit single.
 

  Two singles, "Perfidia" and "Ram-Bunk-Shush," hit the Top 40 during 1960-61, but the Ventures soon began capitalizing on what became a trademark: releasing LPs which featured songs very loosely arranged around a theme implied in the title. The group's fourth LP, The Colorful Ventures, included "Yellow Jacket," "Red Top," "Orange Fire" and no less than three tracks featuring the word "blue" in the title. The Ventures put their indelible stamp on each style of '60s music they covered, and they covered many -- twist, country, pop, spy music, psychedelic, swamp, garage, TV themes. (In the '70s, the band moved on to funk, disco, reggae, soft rock and Latin music.) The Ventures' lineup changed slightly during 1962. Howie Johnson left the band, to be replaced by session man Mel Taylor; also, Nokie Edwards took over lead guitar with Bob Bogle switching to bass.

The Ventures Play Telstar, The Lonely Bull One of the few LPs not arranged around a theme became their best-selling; 1963's The Ventures Play Telstar, The Lonely Bull featured a cover of the number one instrumental hit by the British studio band the Tornadoes and produced by Joe Meek. Though their cover of "Telstar" didn't even chart, the album hit the Top Ten and became the group's first of three gold records. A re-write of their signature song -- entitled "Walk-Don't Run '64" -- reached number eight that year. By the mid-'60s however, the Ventures appeared to be losing their touch. Considering the volatility of popular music during the time, it was quite forgivable that the group would lose their heads-up knowledge of current trends in the music industry to forecast which songs should be covered.
 

 The television theme "Hawaii Five-O" hit number four in 1969, but the Ventures slipped off the American charts for good in 1972. Instead, the band began looking abroad for attention and -- in Japan especially -- they found it with gusto. After leaving Dolton/Liberty and founding their own Tridex Records label, the Ventures began recording albums specifically for the Japanese market. The group eventually sold over 40 million records in that country alone, becoming one of the biggest American influences on Japanese pop music ever.
Nokie Edwards left the Ventures in 1968 to pursue his interest in horse racing for a time, and was replaced by Gerry McGee; though he returned by 1972, Mel Taylor left the group that year for a solo career, to be replaced by Joe Barile. (Taylor also returned, in 1979.) By the early '80s, the Ventures' core quartet of Wilson, Bogle, Edwards, and Taylor could boast of playing together for over 20 years. Edwards left the band for good in 1984 (replaced again by Gerry McGee), and the following decades were marked by the deaths of several of the group's earliest members -- Mel Taylor died midway through a Japanese tour in 1996 (replaced by his son Leon), co-founder Bob Bogle died in 2009, and Nokie Edwards himself died in 2018 -- yet latter-day incarnations of the Ventures continued to pack venues around the world.

The Fendermen - 1961 - The Fendermen

Mule Skinner Blues/Torture/Heartbreakin' Special/Can't You Wait


 The Fendermen were an American pop/rockabilly duo, comprising Jim Sundquist and Phil Humphrey, active in the early 1960s.

Jim Sundquist (lead guitarist; born James D. Sundquist, November 26, 1937, Niagara, Wisconsin; later settled in Minnesota) and Phil Humphrey (rhythm guitarist; from Milwaukee, Wisconsin). At this point, Humphrey lived in Stoughton, Wisconsin with his wife and daughter.


Sundquist and Humphrey, both born on November 26, 1937, met as students at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the late 1950s. The duo had one hit single, "Mule Skinner Blues", released in 1960 on the Cuca Records label which was picked up for national distribution by Soma Records. The song hit No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 32 in the UK Singles Chart in September 1960, and No. 2 in Canada.

The duo called themselves "the Fendermen" because they played Fender guitars (a Telecaster and a Stratocaster), and they connected them both to the same amplifier. These guitars were the only instruments used in the recording of "Mule Skinner Blues".

Sundquist died on June 4, 2013, of cancer at his home in Fairfax, Minnesota, at age 75. Humphrey died on March 29, 2016, at a Minnesota hospital, at age 78, due to heart failure.

Jimmy Gilmer - 1964 - Sugar Shack FLAC

Sugar Shack/Pretend/Linda Lu/Red Cadillac And A Black Moustache



The story of Jimmy Gilmer & the Fireballs is somewhat confusing, in that the Gilmer-fronted lineup was identical to the one that played on records simply credited to the Fireballs (see separate entry). The New Mexico band had several instrumental hits in the late '50s and early '60s in a slick Tex-Mex style, with staccato guitar lines that prefigured surf music. Using the same producer as Buddy Holly (Norman Petty), the group also performed controversial overdubs that were added to some of Holly's posthumously released material. Again following the lead of Holly and the Crickets, in the mid-'60s they recorded some singles credited to Jimmy Gilmer & the Fireballs. These were distinguished from most other Fireballs records in that they were vocal numbers, not instrumental, Gilmer (who was second guitarist in the Fireballs) being the lead singer.

Jimmy Gilmer & the Fireballs had a monster number one single in late 1963 with "Sugar Shack," a light pop/rocker dominated by the vibrating sound of a primitive precursor to the synthesizer, the Solovox. The song was singled out for special venom by Greil Marcus in The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll, who called it "the worst excuse for itself rock and roll had yet produced." The public disagreed, sending it to number one; surprisingly, it also topped the R&B charts.

Gilmer and band made the Top 20 one more time with "Daisy Petal Pickin'," a transparent "Sugar Shack" soundalike, right down to the Solovox. They cut various flops for Dot in the mid-'60s, and Gilmer recorded a Buddy Holly tribute album on his own. Signing to Atlantic in 1967, the Fireballs had another Top Ten hit with Tom Paxton's "Bottle of Wine," without giving top billing to Gilmer, although he was still in the band. Gilmer left the Fireballs shortly afterwards, though, and the Fireballs saga petered out after a few other low-charting singles in the late '60s.

Gerry and the Pacemakers - 1964 - You'll Never Walk Alone FLAC

You'll Never Walk Alone/Jambalaya/Chills/A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues



Gerry and the Pacemakers is an English beat group prominent in the 1960s Merseybeat scene. In common with the Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein, and were recorded by George Martin.

They are most remembered for being the first act to reach number one in the UK Singles Chart with their first three single releases: "How Do You Do It?", "I Like It" and "You'll Never Walk Alone". This record was not equalled for 20 years, until the mid-1980s success of fellow Liverpool band Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Consequently, they stand as the second most successful pop group originating in Liverpool. Another of their most famous songs, "Ferry Cross the Mersey", refers to the River Mersey that flows past Liverpool.

 Gerry Marsden formed the group in 1959 with his brother Fred, Les Chadwick, and Arthur McMahon. They rivalled the Beatles early in their career, playing in the same areas of Hamburg, Germany and Liverpool. McMahon (known as Arthur Mack) was replaced on piano by Les Maguire around 1961. They are known to have rehearsed at Cammell Laird shipping yard at Birkenhead. The group's original name was Gerry Marsden and the Mars Bars, but they were forced to change this when the Mars Company, producers of the chocolate Mars Bar, complained.

 The band was the second to sign with Brian Epstein, who later signed them to Columbia Records (a sister label to the Beatles' label Parlophone under EMI). They began recording in early 1963 with "How Do You Do It?", a song written by Mitch Murray. The song was produced by George Martin and became a number one hit in the UK, the first by an Epstein-managed Liverpool group to achieve this on all charts.




 

 Gerry and the Pacemakers' next two singles, Murray's "I Like It" and Rodgers and Hammerstein's "You'll Never Walk Alone", both also reached number one in the UK Singles Chart, the latter recorded instead of the Beatles' "Hello Little Girl". "You'll Never Walk Alone" had been a favourite of Marsden's since seeing Carousel growing up. It quickly became the signature tune of Liverpool Football Club and, later, other sports teams around the world. The song remains a football anthem. The group narrowly missed a fourth consecutive number one when "I'm the One" was kept off the top spot for two weeks in February 1964 by fellow Liverpudlians' The Searchers "Needles and Pins".
 

Despite this early success, Gerry and the Pacemakers never had another number one single in the UK. Marsden began writing most of their songs, including "I'm the One","It's Gonna Be All Right" and "Ferry Cross the Mersey", as well as their first and biggest US hit, "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying", which peaked at No.4.

The band also starred in an early 1965 film, Ferry Cross the Mersey (sometimes referred to as "Gerry and the Pacemakers' version of A Hard Day's Night"), for which Marsden wrote much of the soundtrack. The title song was revived in 1989 as a charity single for an appeal in response to the Hillsborough football crowd disaster, giving Marsden – in association with other Liverpool stars, including Paul McCartney and Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Holly Johnson – another British number one.
 

In the US, their recordings were released by the small New York City record label Laurie in 1963, with whom they issued four singles without success. When the Beatles broke through in January 1964, Laurie's next regular single release of "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" became a big hit and during 1964 Laurie coupled "How Do You Do It?" with "You'll Never Walk Alone"  and "I Like It" with "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)"  with some success.
 

By late 1965, their popularity was rapidly declining on both sides of the Atlantic. They disbanded in October 1966, with much of their latter recorded material never released in the UK. Gerry Marsden became a popular cabaret and children's TV entertainer. He reformed the Pacemakers in 1974 and occasionally tours with the band on the oldies circuit.

Drummer Freddie Marsden died on 9 December 2006 in Southport, age 66.

The Shirelles - 1966 - It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World FLAC

It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World/31 Flavors/Sha-La-La/His Lips Get In The Way



The Shirelles were the first major female vocal group of the rock era, defining the so-called girl group sound with their soft, sweet harmonies and yearning innocence. Their music was a blend of pop/rock and R&B -- especially doo wop and smooth uptown soul -- that appealed to listeners across the board, before Motown ever became a crossover phenomenon with white audiences. Even if the Shirelles were not technically the first of their kind, their success was unprecedented, paving the way for legions of imitators; their inviting musical blueprint had an enduring influence not just on their immediate followers, but on future generations of female pop singers, who often updated the style with a more modern sensibility. What was more, they provided some of the earliest hits for important Brill Building songwriters like Gerry Goffin & Carole King, Burt Bacharach & Hal David, and Van McCoy.
 

The Shirelles were originally formed in 1958 in Passaic, NJ, by four high school friends: Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris, Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston), and Beverly Lee. Christening themselves the Poquellos, the girls wrote a song called "I Met Him on a Sunday" and entered their school talent show with it. A school friend had them audition for her mother, Florence Greenberg, who ran a small record label; she was impressed enough to become the group's manager, and changed their name to the Shirelles by combining frequent lead singer Owens' first name with doo woppers the Chantels. The Shirelles' recording of "I Met Him on a Sunday" was licensed by Decca and climbed into the national Top 50 in 1958. Two more singles flopped, however, and Decca passed on further releases. Greenberg instead signed them to her new label, Scepter Records, and brought in producer Luther Dixon, whose imaginative, sometimes string-heavy arrangements would help shape the group's signature sound.

 "Dedicated to the One I Love" (1959) and "Tonight's the Night" (1960) both failed to make much of an impact on the pop charts, although the latter was a Top 20 R&B hit. However, they broke big time with the Goffin-King composition "Will You Love Me Tomorrow"; released in late 1960, it went all the way to number one pop, making them the first all-female group of the rock era to accomplish that feat; it also peaked at number two R&B. Its success helped send a re-release of "Dedicated to the One I Love" into the Top Five on both the pop and R&B charts in 1961, and "Mama Said" did the same; a more R&B-flavored outing, "Big John," also went to number two that year. 1962 continued their run of success, most notably with "Soldier Boy," a Luther Dixon/Florence Greenberg tune that became their second pop number one; they also had a Top Ten pop and R&B hit with "Baby It's You." Unfortunately, Dixon subsequently left the label; the Shirelles managed to score one more pop/R&B Top Ten with 1963's "Foolish Little Girl," but found it difficult to maintain their previous level of success.

 The group went on to record material for the film It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, headlined the first integrated concert show in Alabama, and helped a young Dionne Warwick get some of her first exposure (subbing for Owens and Coley when each took a leave of absence to get married). A money dispute with Scepter tied up their recording schedule for a while in 1964, and although it was eventually settled, the Shirelles were still bound to a label where their run was essentially over. Of course, this was also because of the British Invasion, whose bands were among the first to cover their songs; not only their hits, but lesser-known items like "Boys" (the Beatles) and "Sha La La" (a hit for Manfred Mann). The Shirelles scraped the lower reaches of the charts a few more times, making their last appearance, ironically, with 1967's "Last Minute Miracle." Doris Kenner left the group the following year to concentrate on raising her family, and the remaining Shirelles continued as a trio, cutting singles for Bell, United Artists, and RCA through 1971. 

 The group continued to tour the oldies circuit, however, and appeared in the 1973 documentary Let the Good Times Roll. Shirley Alston left for a solo career in 1975, upon which point Doris Kenner-Jackson returned. Micki Harris died of a heart attack during a performance in Atlanta on June 10, 1982, upon which point the group went into what turned out to be a temporary retirement; the three remaining charter members recorded together for the last time on a 1983 Dionne Warwick record. Different Shirelles lineups toured the oldies circuit in the '90s, though Beverly Lee eventually secured the official trademark. They were officially inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Doris Kenner-Jackson passed away after a bout with breast cancer in Sacramento on February 4, 2000.

Peter Sarstedt - 1969 - Frozen Orange Juice FLAC

Frozen Orange Juice/You Are My Life/Mary Jane/Aretusa Loser



Peter Eardley Sarstedt (10 December 1941 – 8 January 2017), briefly billed early in his career as Peter Lincoln, was a British singer, instrumentalist and award-winning songwriter. He was the brother of musicians Eden Kane and Clive "Robin" Sarstedt.

Although his music was classified as pop, it generally encompassed ballads derived from traditional folk music rather than traditional rock and roll. He was best known for writing and performing the single "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)?", which topped the UK Singles Chart in 1969. Set to a "faux European waltz tune" and described as "a romantic novel in song", it won an Ivor Novello Award. The record remained Sarstedt's biggest hit, despite his releasing numerous successful albums and singles from the late 1960s onwards. He continued to tour throughout the 1980s, '90s and 2000s, mainly in 1960s revival-type shows, until his retirement in 2010 due to ill health. 

 Sarstedt was born in Delhi, India, in what was then part of the British Raj, as one of six siblings, to Albert and Coral in 1941, where his parents were civil servants in the British administration. Both of his parents had trained as classical musicians. Sarstedt attended Victoria Boys' School, a boarding school in Kurseong in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal, where his parents worked in a tea plantation. His family returned to the UK in 1954,  settling in south London just before the rock 'n' roll boom, and the Sarstedt brothers started out performing skiffle music.

Sarstedt was a younger brother of the 1960s pop star Eden Kane, for whom he briefly played bass, and an elder brother of pop singer Clive Sarstedt.
 
Sarstedt was best known for his 1969 UK number-one single, released on the United Artists label, "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)?", a portrait of a poor-born girl who becomes a member of the European jet set. The song topped the chart in 14 countries. It was also awarded the 1970 Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically. He later cited his first wife Anita as the inspiration for the song.

 His follow-up single, "Frozen Orange Juice", reached No. 10 in the UK in 1969. Other Sarstedt songs include "Beirut", "Take Off Your Clothes" and "I Am a Cathedral".

In the 1980s and 1990s, Sarstedt frequently toured the southern UK as part of the "Solid Silver '60s" package tours, having returned to England after several years residing in Denmark. In the 1990s and 2000s, he continued to release new albums and tour. In 1997 he released the album England's Lane, which featured the follow-up to "Where Do You Go To", entitled "The Last of the Breed" and in 2007 an album of new material called On Song. He sang harmonies on "Don't Think Twice" and "The Last Thing on My Mind" on Canadian singer Peter Thompson's 2007 album, Taking a Dive (Heart First).

New interest was sparked in his music after "Where Do You Go To" was used in the 2007 Wes Anderson films Hotel Chevalier and The Darjeeling Limited. In 2012, a compilation of songs called Highlights – the Demos was released.

Sarstedt's final album, released in 2013, was entitled Restless Heart. It was produced by Ray Singer and the single and accompanying video "Valentine", directed and produced by Lara Singer, was released on Singer Records. A third instalment of "Where Do You Go To", continuing the story of Marie-Clair, to be titled "Farewell Marie-Clair", unfortunately did not materialise. Sarstedt last performed live in 2010.

Brothers Robin on the left Eden sitting and Peter on the right.



He married dentist Anita Atke in 1969, and moved to Denmark. The couple divorced five years later. Sarstedt's second wife was Joanna Meill. From 2013 he lived in a retirement home in Sussex, England. He had progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), diagnosed in 2015, but originally misdiagnosed as dementia in 2013. He died on 8 January 2017 at the age of 75. He is survived by his wife and two adult children.

The Challengers - 1963 - Surfbeat FLAC

Bulldog/Torquay/Movin' & Groovin'/Ramrod



The Challengers were an instrumental surf rock band started in late 1962. They were located in Los Angeles. They represented a growing love for surf music and helped make the genre popular. Their debut album "Surfbeat" was the biggest selling surf album of all time and helped bring surf music from California to the rest of the world.


The band was formed out of the pioneer surf band called The Bel-Airs. The Bel-Airs were still in high school at the time, but scored a hit with an instrumental song titled "Mr. Moto." Their potential was cited by many, but it was an argument about use of the then new Fender reverb unit that led to their breakup. The Bel-Airs were originally formed by two guitarists, Eddie Bertrand and Paul Johnson, both 16 years old at the time they recorded "Mr. Moto". In early 1963, Eddie Bertrand heard Dick Dale using the Fender reverb unit and wanted to start incorporating heavy reverb into The Bel-Airs songs. He felt reverb was the sound that would come to define surf music. Even at 17, Johnson was something of an independent thinker and told Bertrand that The Bel-Airs had done quite well without reverb and he didn't see any reason at all to begin using it. The argument escalated until Bertrand finally left the band which then broke up for good shortly after. Johnson confirmed this story in the liner notes he contributed to The Bel-Airs reunion album released in 1986.

 During their peak years, from late 1960 to Summer 1963, The Bel-Airs had two drummers who played gigs with the band alternately, original Mouseketeer, Dick Dodd (Eddie & the Showmen and The Standells) and a local school friend named Richard Delvy. Delvy saw value in publishing, promoting and recording and began a career of managing and producing surf music. He then ultimately recorded numerous Southern California bands in the latter part of the 1960s. Since the 60's Delvy has produced many different musical artists and has made music management his lifelong passion.

The year before The Bel-Airs breakup, Richard Delvy left The Bel-Airs to form a new band called The Challengers. The only band member he brought from The Bel-Airs was keyboardist Jim Roberts. Delvy then recruited Randy Nauert (bass guitar), Glenn Grey (lead guitar), Don Landis (rhythm guitar) and Nick Hefner (saxophone). They played at many high schools and many local dances and clubs. They eventually earned enough money to rent a recording studio "World Pacific" to start recording. In about three and a half hours, they had an album titled "Surfbeat". Saxophonist Nick Hefner played on only one track.

 Surfbeat was released in January 1963 on Vault Records and quickly went up the charts. Just months earlier, The Beach Boys released a vocal single called "Surfing Safari". Some months before The Challenger's "Surfbeat" release, surf music icon Dick Dale's first album "Surfers Choice" was released. "Surfbeat" contained songs that were early influences on surf rock, including songs first recorded by The Fireballs and Duane Eddy. In the early years Rick Griffin contributed cartoons of the band that appeared on their albums and a fan oriented "Challengers Band Cartoon Book". He later became well known for his work creating psychedelic poster art later in the 60's.

The original group released a second album titled "Lloyd Thaxton Goes Surfing With The Challengers" with the benefit of being associated with the popular teen television show host.
The Challengers moved on and continued to record albums. During the recording of their third album "On The Move", Hefner, Grey, Roberts and Landis all left the band. Richard Delvy and Randy Nauert remained. Art Fisher and Ed Fournier filled two guitar spots and Phil Pruden came in on saxophone. Delvy, Fisher and Fournier also contributed to song compositions for the group.

In 1964, they released their hit album K-39. The title track became a big hit and is one of their best known songs. The group continued their successful career, recording several albums a year, shocking by today's "one album every two years" pattern. They also had their own TV show called "Surf's Up" hosted by Stan Richards in '65-66 and appeared frequently on another dance show called "Hollywood A Go-Go" hosted by Sam Riddle in '65-66. Saxophonist Phil Pruden left the group starting with the release of "California Kicks" in 1966 making The Challengers a four piece guitar driven group for the remainder of their run. During this time the group and surf music popularity overseas in Japan and other countries was exploding. This led to the creation of four more groups with members from The Challengers. The Surfriders, The Good Guys, The Clee-Shays and The De-Fenders all produced albums for these foreign markets.

In addition, The Challengers produced some tracks for the car and hot rod music scene that was gaining popularity in the US on the heels of the surf craze. Delvy could see a music trend coming and capture it at just the right time. Although primarily an instrumental band, the group added vocals to the later albums as all band members could also sing.


In the mid to late 1960s, as music changed, so did The Challengers. They began recording more pop-oriented music, like an instrumental version of "Kicks" by Paul Revere & The Raiders, "Light My Fire" by The Doors, "The Man from U.N.C.L.E" from the TV show and many others. By 1967, they had gone the way of most other surf bands and stopped performing live, but still continued recording and releasing albums. Their album "Billy Strange And The Challengers" brought the collaboration of another fine guitarist from the GNP Crescendo label to work with The Challengers.

A 1970 greatest hits release of the band was fittingly titled "Where Were You In The Summer Of '62?".

Ann-Margret - 1962 - On The Way Up FLAC

Slowly/Heartbreak Hotel/Let Me Go, Lover!/Moon River



Ann-Margret Olsson (born April 28, 1941), known professionally simply as Ann-Margret, is a Swedish-American actress, singer, and dancer.

As an actress, Ann-Margret is best known for her roles in Bye Bye Birdie (1963), Viva Las Vegas (1964), The Cincinnati Kid (1965), Carnal Knowledge (1971), Tommy (1975), Grumpy Old Men (1993), and Grumpier Old Men (1995). She has won five Golden Globe Awards and been nominated for two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and six Emmy Awards.

In 2010, Ann-Margret won her first Emmy Award for her guest appearance on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Her singing and acting careers span five decades, starting in 1961; initially, she was billed as a female version of Elvis Presley. She has a sultry vibrant contralto voice  She had a minor hit in 1961 and a charting album in 1964, and scored a disco hit in 1979. In 2001, she recorded a critically acclaimed gospel album, and an album of Christmas songs from 2004 continues to be available.

Ann-Margret Olsson was born in Valsjöbyn, Jämtland County, the daughter of Anna Regina (née Aronsson) and Carl Gustav Olsson, a native of Örnsköldsvik. She later described Valsjöbyn as a small town of "lumberjacks and farmers high up near the Arctic Circle". Her father worked in the United States during his youth and moved there again in 1942, working with the Johnson Electrical Company, while his wife and daughter stayed behind. Ann-Margret and her mother joined her father in the United States in November 1946, and her father took her to Radio City Music Hall on the day they arrived. They settled in Wilmette, Illinois. She became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1949.

 Ann-Margret took her first dance lessons at the Marjorie Young School of Dance, showing natural ability from the start, easily mimicking all the steps. Her parents were supportive, and her mother handmade all of her costumes. To support the family, Ann-Margret's mother became a funeral parlor receptionist after her husband suffered a severe injury on his job. While a teenager, Ann-Margret appeared on the Morris B. Sachs Amateur Hour, Don McNeill's Breakfast Club, and Ted Mack's Amateur Hour. She attended New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois, and continued to star in theater. In 1959, she enrolled at Northwestern University, where she was a member of the sorority Kappa Alpha Theta, but did not graduate.



As part of a group known as the Suttletones, she performed at the Mist nightclub in Chicago and went to Las Vegas for a promised club date which fell through after the group arrived. They then moved on to Los Angeles, and through agent Georgia Lund, secured club dates in Newport Beach and Reno, Nevada. The group finally arrived at the Dunes in Las Vegas, which also headlined Tony Bennett and Al Hirt at that time. George Burns heard of her performance, and she auditioned for his annual holiday show, in which she and Burns performed a softshoe routine. Variety proclaimed that "George Burns has a gold mine in Ann-Margret ... she has a definite style of her own, which can easily guide her to star status". 

 Ann-Margret began recording for RCA Victor in 1961. Her first RCA Victor recording was "Lost Love" from her debut album And Here She Is: Ann-Margret, produced in Nashville with Chet Atkins on guitar, the Jordanaires (Elvis Presley's backup singers), and the Anita Kerr Singers, with liner notes by mentor George Burns. She had a sexy, throaty contralto singing voice, and RCA Victor attempted to capitalize on the 'female Elvis' comparison by having her record a version of "Heartbreak Hotel" and other songs stylistically similar to Presley's. She scored the minor hit "I Just Don't Understand" (from her second LP), which entered the Billboard Top 40 in the third week of August 1961 and stayed six weeks, peaking at number 17.The song was later covered in live performances by The Beatles and was recorded during a live performance at the BBC. Her only charting album was The Beauty and the Beard (1964), on which she was accompanied by trumpeter Al Hirt. Ann-Margret appeared on The Jack Benny Program in 1961 (season 11, episode 24). She also sang at the Academy Awards presentation in 1962, singing the Oscar-nominated song "Theme from Bachelor in Paradise." Her contract with RCA Victor ended in 1966.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, she had hits on the dance charts, the most successful being 1979's "Love Rush," which peaked at number eight on the disco/dance charts.

In 2001, working with Art Greenhaw, she recorded the album God Is Love: The Gospel Sessions. The album went on to earn a Grammy nomination and a Dove nomination for best album of the year in a gospel category. Her album Ann-Margret's Christmas Carol Collection, also produced and arranged by Greenhaw, was recorded in 2004.

Crosby Stills Nash & Young - 1971 - Live

Love The One You're With/Teach Your Children/Chicago/Chicago



The musical partnership of David Crosby (born August 14, 1941), Stephen Stills (born January 3, 1945), and Graham Nash (born February 2, 1942), with and without Neil Young (born November 12, 1945), was not only one of the most successful touring and recording acts of the late '60s, '70s, and early '80s -- with the colorful, contrasting nature of the members' characters and their connection to the political and cultural upheavals of the time -- it was arguably the only American-based band to approach the overall societal impact of the Beatles. The group was a second marriage for all the participants when it came together in 1968: Crosby had been a member of the Byrds, Nash was in the Hollies, and Stills had been part of Buffalo Springfield. The resulting trio, however, sounded like none of its predecessors and was characterized by a unique vocal blend and a musical approach that ranged from acoustic folk to melodic pop to hard rock. CSN's debut album, released in 1969, was perfectly in tune with the times, and the group was an instant hit. By the time of their first tour (which included the Woodstock festival), they had added Young, also a veteran of Buffalo Springfield, who maintained a solo career.

 The first CSNY album, Déjà Vu, was a chart-topping hit in 1970, but the group split acrimoniously after a summer tour. 4 Way Street, a live double album issued after the breakup, was another number one hit. (When it was finally released on CD in 1992, it was lengthened with more live material.) In 1974, CSNY re-formed for a summer stadium tour without releasing a new record. Nevertheless, the compilation So Far became their third straight number one. Crosby, Stills & Nash re-formed without Young in 1977 for the album CSN, another giant hit. They followed with Daylight Again in 1982, but by then Crosby was in the throes of drug addiction and increasing legal problems. He was in jail in 1985-1986, but cleaned up and returned to action, with the result that CSNY reunited for only their second studio album, American Dream, in 1988. CSN followed with Live It Up in 1990, and though that album was a commercial disappointment, the trio remained a popular live act; it embarked on a 25th anniversary tour in the summer of 1994 and released a new album, After the Storm. The trio again reunited with Young for 1999's Looking Forward, followed in 2000 by their CSNY2K tour.

Stone Poneys - 1968 - Different Drum FLAC

Some Of Shelly's Blues/Hobo/Up To My Neck In High Muddy Water/Different Drum



Kenny Edwards played lead guitar, and sang. Bobby Kimmel played rhythm, and he sang too. The crowning glory was the unique voice of Linda Ronstadt. Such was the combination of  three friends who coalesced in Los Angeles in 1965 as the Stone Poneys. The misspelling of “ponies” was their own, and so was their persuasive folk-rock sound, first heard on disc on their self-titled debut album, released by Capitol in the US on 30 January 1967.

  The group made their name in the clubs of LA, notably the famed Troubadour, but actually temporarily split even before they were signed to their label deal by Capitol’s Nick, aka Nik, Venet. But they came back together and honed their reputation as a more modern-sounding Peter, Paul & Mary, with more than a hint of the Mamas and the Papas about them too.

The Stone Poneys performed material mostly written together by Edwards and Kimmel, bolstered by Ronstadt’s strident vocals and their strong three-part harmonies. They would, nevertheless, enjoy their best success towards the end of 1967 with a cover, of Michael Nesmith’s ‘Different Drum.’ That reached No. 13 on the Hot 100 and helped the Poneys’ sophomore album Evergreen, Vol. 2 to No. 100.

 Prior to that, their eponymous debut didn’t chart, but it was full of pretty and affecting originals such as ‘If I Were You,’ ‘Bicycle Song’ and ‘Back Home,’ and Fred Neil’s reflective composition ‘Just A Little Bit Of Rain.’ The latter, and the closing ‘2:10 Train,’ were particularly fine vehicles for the striking vocals of Ronstadt, still only 20 as the album was released.

 Billboard’s review of the record, seen here, was glowing: “This artistic success could be a commercial giant,” they beamed. In February, as the opening track ‘Sweet Summer Blue and Gold’ became a single, the magazine chose it as a “spotlight,” predicting that it would reach the Hot 100, but it failed to do so. In May, they went further with ‘One On One,’ which would appear on the second LP, saying “West Coast folk-rock group has a winner here” and praising “the delivery of the exceptional girl vocalist,” Sadly, they were proved wrong again.
 After this first LP, the Poneys pursued more of a rock direction for Evergreen, Vol. 2 and, as tensions rose, their third and final release, 1968’s Linda Ronstadt, Stone Poneys and Friends, Vol. III. Ronstadt, as we know, went on to be one of the most popular and recognised voices in American music, and her popularity prompted Capitol to reissue the early album in 1975. This time, inevitably, it was titled The Stone Poneys featuring Linda Ronstadt

Jimi Hendrix - 1967 - Jimi Hendrix Experience FLAC

The Wind Cries Mary/Purple Haze/Hey Joe/51st Anniversary



James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970) was an American rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most influential electric guitarists in the history of popular music, and one of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th century. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame describes him as "arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music".

 Born in Seattle, Washington, Hendrix began playing guitar at the age of 15. In 1961, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and trained as a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division; he was granted an honorable discharge the following year. Soon afterward, he moved to Clarksville, Tennessee, and began playing gigs on the Chitlin' Circuit, earning a place in the Isley Brothers' backing band and later with Little Richard, with whom he continued to work through mid-1965. He then played with Curtis Knight and the Squires before moving to England in late 1966 after being discovered by Linda Keith, who in turn interested bassist Chas Chandler of the Animals in becoming his first manager. 

Within months, Hendrix had earned three UK top ten hits with the Jimi Hendrix Experience: "Hey Joe", "Purple Haze", and "The Wind Cries Mary". He achieved fame in the U.S. after his performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, and in 1968 his third and final studio album, Electric Ladyland, reached number one in the U.S.; it was Hendrix's most commercially successful release and his first and only number one album. The world's highest-paid performer, he headlined the Woodstock Festival in 1969 and the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970, before his accidental death from barbiturate-related asphyxia on September 18, 1970, at the age of 27.



Hendrix was inspired musically by American rock and roll and electric blues. He favored overdriven amplifiers with high volume and gain, and was instrumental in utilizing the previously undesirable sounds caused by guitar amplifier feedback. He helped to popularize the use of a wah-wah pedal in mainstream rock, and was the first artist to use stereophonic phasing effects in music recordings. Holly George-Warren of Rolling Stone commented: "Hendrix pioneered the use of the instrument as an electronic sound source. Players before him had experimented with feedback and distortion, but Hendrix turned those effects and others into a controlled, fluid vocabulary every bit as personal as the blues with which he began."

Hendrix was the recipient of several music awards during his lifetime and posthumously. In 1967, readers of Melody Maker voted him the Pop Musician of the Year, and in 1968, Rolling Stone declared him the Performer of the Year. Disc and Music Echo honored him with the World Top Musician of 1969 and in 1970, Guitar Player named him the Rock Guitarist of the Year. The Jimi Hendrix Experience was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005. Rolling Stone ranked the band's three studio albums, Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold as Love, and Electric Ladyland, among the 100 greatest albums of all time, and they ranked Hendrix as the greatest guitarist and the sixth greatest artist of all time.