Cilla Black - 1967 - Time For Cilla FLAC

Abyssinian Secret/Trees and Loneliness/There I Go (Se per te c-e soltanto quell-uomo)/Time



Priscilla Maria Veronica White OBE (27 May 1943 – 1 August 2015), better known as Cilla Black, was an English singer, television presenter, actress, and author.

Championed by her friends in the Beatles, Black began her career as a singer in 1963, and her singles "Anyone Who Had a Heart" and "You're My World" both reached number one in the UK in 1964. She had 11 Top Ten hits on the British charts between then and 1971, and an additional eight hits that made the top 40. In May 2010, new research published by BBC Radio 2 showed that her version of "Anyone Who Had a Heart" was the UK's biggest-selling single by a female artist in the 1960s. "You're My World" was also a modest hit in the US, peaking at No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Along with a successful recording career in the 1960s and early 1970s, Black hosted her own variety show, Cilla, for the BBC between 1968 and 1976. After a brief time as a comedy actress in the mid-1970s, she became a prominent television presenter in the 1980s and 1990s, hosting hit entertainment shows such as Blind Date (1985–2003), The Moment of Truth (1998–2001), and Surprise Surprise (1984–2001).

In 2013, Black celebrated 50 years in show business. British television network ITV honoured this milestone with a one-off entertainment special which aired on 16 October 2013. The show, called The One & Only Cilla Black, featured Black herself and was hosted by Paul O'Grady.

Black died on 1 August 2015 after a fall in her villa in Estepona. The day after her funeral, the compilation album The Very Best of Cilla Black went to number one on the UK Albums Chart and the New Zealand Albums Chart; it was her first number one album.

Dusty Sprinfield - 1964 - I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself FLAC

 I Just Don't Know What to do With Myself/You Don't Own Me/Every Day I Have To Cry/He's Got Something



Dusty Springfield recorded "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" in a session at Olympic Studios in Westminster with production credited to Philips Records owner Johnny Franz - although Springfield later stated her solo Philips tracks were self-produced - and arranged by Ivor Raymonde who conducted his orchestra; personnel on the session included Big Jim Sullivan on guitar and Bobby Graham on drums. Springfield, whose first solo recordings had included covers of the Bacharach/David compositions "Anyone Who Had a Heart" and "Wishin' and Hopin' " - had brought back "I Just Don't Know..." from an overnight trip to New York City where she met up with Bacharach in February 1964.

The third UK single release of Springfield's solo career - following the "Brill Building" Sound-alikes "I Only Want to Be With You" and "Stay Awhile" - "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" was Springfield's first UK single release to display her signature vocal style; rising to #3 in the summer of 1964 the track remained Springfield's highest charting UK hit until she reached #1 in 1966 with "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" which would remain Springfield's only UK solo hit to chart higher than "I Just Don't Know...".

A concurrent US release of Springfield's "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" was preempted by the presence of Springfield's "Wishin' and Hopin'" in the US Top Ten over the summer of 1964. Springfield's "I Just Don't Know..." received a belated US release in October 1965 featured on a single with Springfield's current UK hit "Some of Your Lovin'"; that month Springfield made a promotional junket to the US which included performances of both of the single's tracks on the TV shows Hullabaloo and Shindig but neither side reached the Billboard Hot 100.

Jackie Wilson - 1962 - Jackie Wilson's Big Four FLAC

Reet Petite (The Finest Girl You Ever Want To Meet)/To Be Loved/Lonely Teardrops/My Heart Belongs To Only You



 They called him “Mr. Excitement,” and indeed Jackie Wilson was a gifted singer of considerable range and a charismatic showman who commanded a stage like few before or since.

Wilson possessed a natural tenor. He sang with the graceful control of Sam Cooke and moved with the frenzied dynamism of James Brown. With all this flair and finesse at his disposal, Wilson routinely drove audiences to the brink of hysteria. A mainstay of the R&B and pop charts from 1958 to 1968, Wilson amassed two dozen Top Forty singles, all released on the Brunswick label.

On record, he was often saddled with grandiose arrangements and dated material, but he transcended even the most bathetic settings with the tremulous excitement of his vocals. Although he was over-recorded, averaging two albums a year from 1959 to 1974, there are some genuinely noteworthy albums in his catalog, including Lonely Teardrops (1959), Jackie Sings the Blues (1960), Soul Time (1965) and Higher and Higher (1967).

The Detroit-born Wilson turned to R&B after stints as a gospel singer and amateur boxer. (He won the American Amateur Golden Gloves Welterweight boxing title.) Wilson joined Billy Ward and His Dominoes as lead singer in 1953, replacing Clyde McPhatter when the latter left to join the Drifters. Wilson remained with the Dominoes until 1957, singing on such high-charting numbers as “St. Therese of the Roses.”

Wilson launched his solo career in November 1957 with the single “Reet Petite (The Finest Girl You Ever Want To Meet)." The song was written by Berry Gordy, Jr., a struggling songwriter who had yet to found his Motown empire. Another Gordy composition, “Lonely Teardrops,” was Wilson’s breakthrough, topping the R&B chart and becoming a Top Ten hit on the pop side. More R&B chart-toppers followed in quick succession: “You Better Know It,” “Doggin’ Around,” “A Woman, a Lover, a Friend.” He was now being managed by Nat Tarnapol, who aimed him more at the middle-of-the-road white market. A 1962 album, for instance, was recorded live at the Copacabana. (Berry Gordy Jr. similarly groomed the Supremes and the Temptations for upscale rooms and Vegas venues.) Wilson would alternate harder-grooving R&B songs like “Doggin’ Around” (Number One R&B, Number Fifteen pop) with almost operatic balladry such as “Night” (Number Four pop) in an attempt to cover all the bases.

 Wilson’s unabated success and output were astonishing, impacting the R&B charts in every year from 1958 through 1973. Scattered among a surfeit of schmaltzy ballads were such R&B gems as “Baby Workout,” “Think Twice” (a duet with LaVern Baker) and “Chain Gang” (with Count Basie). The exquisitely soulful “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” reached Number Six in 1967.

In total, he amassed forty-seven R&B hits, twenty-four of which crossed over to the pop Top Forty. He was unfailingly versatile, too, handling up-tempo R&B and pop balladry with style and charisma. Jackie Wilson not only was “Mr. Excitement” but also, as some dubbed him, “the black Elvis.”

Wilson tore it up onstage with an act that radiated excitement and sex appeal. His popularity extended overseas, where in 1963 he headlined a British show that had the Beatles as one of his opening acts. As musical tastes shifted in the late Sixties and the hits slowed down, Wilson remained active on the performing front. He was, in fact, performing “Lonely Teardrops” onstage in New Jersey when he suffered a heart attack that plunged him into a four-month coma that left him permanently incapacitated. His was one of the most tragic denouements in rock and roll history. Wilson remained in nursing homes for more than eight years until his death in 1984.

The 5th Dimension - 1967 - Paper Cup FLAC

Paper Cup/California My Way/Go Where You Wanna Go/Never Gonna Be The Same



An extremely important and underrated song and recording in the 5th Dimension's history, "Paper Cup" (which reached the Top 40 in autumn 1967) helped to define the group's dexterity in recording Jimmy Webb's material. Musically, the song is sort of Webb's tribute to the Beatles. Hooks from "It's Getting Better" and "Penny Lane" abound. A stately, uplifting march-time tempo carries the rhythm, and this is a great bed for the syncopated melody, which is one of Webb's finest early creations. Lyrically, the song is about isolation and escapism, and the dichotomy between this and the buoyant music is fascinating. Recording-wise, top marks must go to producer Bones Howe, whose definition in laying down Webb's daunting arrangement is quite a beautiful achievement.

 The Fifth Dimension's unique sound lay somewhere between smooth, elegant soul and straightforward, adult-oriented pop, often with a distinct flower-power vibe. Although they appealed more to mainstream listeners than to a hip, hardcore R&B audience, they had a definite ear for contemporary trends; their selection of material helped kickstart the notable songwriting careers of Jimmy Webb and Laura Nyro, and their biggest hit was a medley from the hippie musical Hair, "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In." The group's soaring, seamless harmonies were given appropriately sweeping, orchestrated period production by Bones Howe, which often placed their records closer to California-style sunshine pop. That's actually part of the reason why the best singles from the Fifth Dimension's heyday of the late '60s and early '70s still evoke their era with uncanny precision.

The Fifth Dimension began life in Los Angeles in 1965 as the Versatiles. Lamonte McLemore, Ron Townson, and Billy Davis, Jr. all grew up in St. Louis, and moved to Los Angeles independently of one another; each was trained in a different area -- jazz, opera, and gospel/R&B, respectively. Marilyn McCoo was the first female singer to join, and she was soon augmented by Florence LaRue; both were ex-beauty pageant winners who'd attended college in the L.A. area. Their demo tape was rejected by Motown, but after a one-off single for Bronco, they caught the attention of singer Johnny Rivers, who'd just set up his own label, Soul City. Rivers signed the group in 1966 on the condition that they update their name and image, and thus the Fifth Dimension was born. Their first Soul City single, "I'll Be Lovin' You Forever," was a flop, but a cover of the Mamas & the Papas' "Go Where You Wanna Go" climbed into the Top 20.

Budding young songwriter Jimmy Webb ("Macarthur Park," "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," etc.) supplied the Fifth Dimension with their breakthrough hit, 1967's "

The Age of AquariusThe Fifth Dimension's success peaked in 1969 when the group caught a Broadway production of Hair, and immediately decided to cut a medley of two songs from the show. "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" was a monster hit and grew to become one of the era's defining pop records; it spent six weeks at number one, sold a whopping three million copies, and won the group its second Record of the Year Grammy. Accompanying LP The Age of Aquarius went gold and nearly hit number one, and their Nyro-penned follow-up single, "Wedding Bell Blues," followed its predecessor to number one as well. The song was something of a mirror of real life; Billy Davis and Marilyn McCoo were married that year, and Florence LaRue also married group manager Marc Gordon.

Johnny Rivers sold Soul City to the Bell label in 1970, and the first Fifth Dimension LP on Bell was that year's Portrait, which spawned several minor hits and the Top Five smash "One Less Bell to Answer," a Burt Bacharach composition. 1970 also brought a controversial performance at the White House; although the group sang "The Declaration," a socially conscious critique, the simple act of appearing before President Nixon further alienated the Fifth Dimension from the black wing of their fan base, at a time when their releases had already begun to peak higher on the pop charts than on the R&B side. Indeed, their Bell recordings moved farther into soft pop and away from R&B and the gently trippy vibes of their late-'60s material. Their album sales began to taper off, and their vocal arrangements now tended to spotlight soloists rather than unified harmonies. McCoo emerged as a focal point, singing lead on the 1972 Top Ten hits "(Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All" and "If I Could Reach You." They proved to be the group's last major successes; another Bacharach tune, 1973's "Living Together, Growing Together," barely made the Top 40, and the following year's Soul & Inspiration LP marked the end of their relationship with producer Bones Howe. 1975's Earthbound was another full-length collaboration with Jimmy Webb, and much like The Magic Garden, its thematic unity failed to produce a significant hit single. It was also the last album by the original lineup; McCoo and Davis left the group to form a duo, and scored a big hit in 1976 with "You Don't Have to Be a Star."
 

 The remaining trio carried on with new members, and nearly had a hit in 1976 with the LaRue-sung "Love Hangover"; unfortunately, Motown issued Diana Ross' own version shortly after the Fifth Dimension's hit the charts, and hers proved far more popular. Strangely enough, the Fifth Dimension signed with Motown not long after, releasing two albums in 1978. Townson briefly left the group to try a solo career, but soon returned, as the group resigned itself to the nostalgia circuit; meanwhile, McCoo served a stint as the host of Solid Gold. Phyllis Battle joined in the mid-'80s, and the original quintet reunited in 1990 for a tour. In 1995, the quintet of LaRue, Townson, McLemore, Battle, and Greg Walker recorded a new album, In the House, for Click Records. In 1998, Willie Williams replaced Townson, who passed away in 2001 due to kidney failure. Battle departed in 2002, to be replaced by Van Jewel.

Up, Up and Away." An ode to the pleasures of flying in a beautiful balloon, the song became the group's first Top Ten hit, peaking at number seven, and went on to sweep the Grammy Awards, taking home five total (including Record of the Year and Song of the Year). Its success pushed the Fifth Dimension's first album, also titled Up, Up and Away, to gold sales status. The group stuck with Webb for its second album, The Magic Garden, which featured only one non-Webb composition; it produced a couple of minor hits in "Paper Cup" and "Carpet Man," but nothing on the level of "Up, Up and Away." Their third LP was thus more diverse, featuring several compositions by another up-and-coming songwriter, Laura Nyro. The title cut, Nyro's "Stoned Soul Picnic," went all the way to number three in the spring of 1968, selling over a million copies and putting Nyro on the map. The Nyro-penned follow-up single, "Sweet Blindness," also reached the Top 20.

R0!!ing $t0nes - 1964 - R0!!ing $t0nes FLAC

Bye Bye Johnny/Money/You Better Move On/Poison Ivy




The Rolling Stones is the debut EP released by The Rolling Stones in January 1964. It was released both to capitalise on their first Top 20 hit "I Wanna Be Your Man" and to test the commercial appeal of the band before their UK label Decca Records would commit to letting them record an album. The Rolling Stones includes four songs recorded at two separate sessions in August and November 1963.

The Rolling Stones features R&B covers of some of the band's favorite artists, and some recent American hits. Impact Sound is officially listed as the EP's producer. Eric Easton is possibly involved, Andrew Loog Oldham produced the opening track "Bye Bye Johnny".  Despite the rawness of the production, the EP reached no. 1 in the UK EP charts in February 1964, having entered the chart the week after its release.

The EP was released in Canada in 1964 by London Records Canada. The release was identical to the UK version lncluding the picture sleeve along with the British label number DFE 8560. The Canadian EP pressing also used British stampers.

Bruce Eder of AllMusic writes: "The real centerpiece was Arthur Alexander's 'You Better Move On,' an American-spawned favorite that the band had been doing in concert — this was their chance to show a softer, more lyrical and soulful sound that was every bit as intense as the blues and hard R&B they'd already done on record..."

"Bye Bye Johnny" and "Money" did not see official US release until 1972's retrospective More Hot Rocks (Big Hits & Fazed Cookies); "You Better Move On" was featured on 1965's December's Children (And Everybody's); and "Poison Ivy" was issued in 2002 on the remastered version of More Hot Rocks.

Unavailable for decades, The Rolling Stones was reissued on Compact Disc in 2004 on the Singles 1963–1965 box set through ABKCO Records.

In November 2010, it was made available as part of a limited edition vinyl box set titled The Rolling Stones 1964-1969, by itself digitally at the same time, and in 2011 as part of the 60's UK EP Collection digital compilation. On November 23, 2012 the EP was reissued on 7-inch vinyl record as a part of Record Store Day Black Friday 2012.

Manfred Mann - 1965 - Come Tomorrow FLAC

Hubble Bubble Toil And Trouble/Sha La La/Come Tomorrow/Oh No, Not My Baby 



Manfred Lubowitz was born into a well-to-do family on October 21st, 1940, in Johannesburg, South Africa. As a child he studied piano and while in his teens his love of music dominated his every thought, and he realised that he wanted to play Jazz and Blues for a living. To do this, he ultimately had to leave South Africa for England, where he invented a new stage name, Manfred Manne (the last name borrowed from Shelly Manne), later dropping the 'e' to just Manfred Mann. He also found a friend and collaborator in one Mike Hugg, a drummer with whom he formed a band they called The Mann-Hugg Blues Brothers. The line-up was completed by Paul Jones on harmonica and vocals, Mike Vickers on flute, guitar and saxophone and Tom McGuinness on bass. As time went on, against Manfred's wishes, the band took the name of its leader and became known as simply Manfred Mann.
After being signed by a talent-hungry HMV Records and following one unsuccessful instrumental record, Manfred Mann made an impression with the non-charting EP, "Cock-A-Hoop". The prominent use of Jones' harmonica gave them a distinct sound and they soon became one of Britain's leading groups. Two of their singles were used as the theme music to the pioneering British television music program, Ready Steady Go!. Another early release called, "5-4-3-2-1" provided their breakthrough Top 10 hit in early 1964. By the Summer, the group registered a number one record on both sides of the Atlantic with the catchy "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", a cover of The Exciters' #78 Hot 100 hit earlier that year. 

Over the next two years they charted regularly in the UK with memorable hits such as "Sha La La", "Come Tomorrow", "Oh No, Not My Baby" and Bob Dylan's "If You Got To Go, Go Now". Their non-single album cuts were mostly Jazz, Soul and R&B covers, not Pop tunes. In May 1966, they returned to the number one spot on the British charts with the sublime "Pretty Flamingo", which topped out at #29 in America. It was to prove the last major hit on which Paul Jones appeared. When Jones left the band in 1966 to pursue a solo career, he was replaced with former Band Of Angels singer Mike D'Abo, who won the final audition over Rod Stewart. Mike Vickers had previously departed for a lucrative career as a television composer, and was replaced by future Cream member, Jack Bruce on bass, allowing Tom McGuinness to move to lead guitar. Later, Henry Lowther (trumpet) and Lyn Dobson (saxophone) were added to the line-up, and Klaus Voorman replaced Jack Bruce on bass. D'Abo's debut with the group was another hit rendering of a Dylan song, "Just Like A Woman", their first for the Fontana label. He fitted in astonishingly well with the group, surprising many critics by maintaining their hit formula despite the departure of the charismatic Jones. Both "Semi-Detached Suburban Mr. Jones" and "Ha! Ha! Said The Clown" were formidable Top 5 hits in Britain, but went largely un-noticed in the US.

Along with the American band, The Byrds, the group were generally regarded as the best interpreters of Bob Dylan's material, a view endorsed by the songwriter himself. This point was punctuated in 1968 when Manfred Mann registered their third number one hit with the striking reading of his "Mighty Quinn", their only US Top 10 single. While the band's follow-ups could barely make the national record charts in the States, they ended the '60s with a flurry of Top 10 hits in England, "My Name Is Jack", "Fox On The Run" and "Raggamuffin Man", before abdicating their Pop crown in favor of a heavier approach. In 1969 Manfred Mann finally disbanded his eponymous group for good. D'Abo went on to appear in US productions of Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita, and later became a session musician, songwriter and BBC radio host.

 "Sha La La" is a song written by Robert Mosley and Robert Taylor and performed by Manfred Mann. It reached #3 on the UK Singles Chart and #12 on both the U.S. pop chart and the Canadian chart in 1965 #52 was the best it could do in Australia. It was featured on their 1965 album The Five Faces of Manfred Mann.

"Oh No Not My Baby" is a song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King and recorded by Manfred Mann in 1965 it reached #11 in the UK and charted low in Australia at #67.

"Hubble Bubble Toil and Trouble Written By Mann, Hugg, Vickers, Jones, and McGuinness was released in1964 and charted at #11 in the UK.

"Come Tomorrow" Written By Elgin, Phillips and Augustus was released in 1965 and hit #4 in the UK charts and #24 in Australia.

Thanks to Mustang

Bobbie Gentry - 1967 - Ode To Billy Joe WAVE

Okolona River Bottom Band/Nicki Hoeky/Louisiana Man/Ode To Billy Joe



Bobbie Lee Gentry (born Roberta Lee Streeter; July 27, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter who was one of the first female artists to compose and produce her own material. Her songs typically drew on her Mississippi roots to compose vignettes of the Southern United States.

Gentry rose to international fame with her intriguing Southern Gothic narrative "Ode to Billie Joe" in 1967. The track spent four weeks as the No. 1 pop song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was fourth in the Billboard year-end chart of 1967 and earned her Grammy awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1968.

Gentry charted eleven singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and four singles on the United Kingdom Top 40. Her album Fancy brought her a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. After her first albums, she had a successful run of variety shows on the Las Vegas Strip. In the late 1970s she lost interest in performing. Since 2010, Gentry has lived in a private gated community outside Memphis, Tennessee.

 "Ode to Billie Joe" is a song written and recorded by Bobbie Gentry, a singer-songwriter from Chickasaw County, Mississippi. The single, released on July 10, 1967, was a number-one hit in the US within three weeks of release and a big international seller. Billboard ranked the record as the No. 3 song of the year. The recording remained on the Billboard chart for 20 weeks and was the Number 1 song for four weeks.

It generated eight Grammy nominations, resulting in three wins for Gentry and one for arranger Jimmie Haskell. "Ode to Billie Joe" has since made Rolling Stone's lists of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" and the "100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time" and Pitchfork's "200 Best Songs of the 1960s".

The song takes the form of a first-person narrative performed over sparse acoustic accompaniment, though with strings in the background. It tells of a rural Mississippi family's reaction to the news of the suicide of Billie Joe McAllister, a local boy to whom the daughter (and narrator) is connected. Hearsay around the "Tallahatchie Bridge" forms the narrative and musical hook. The song concludes with the demise of the father and the lingering, singular effects of the two deaths on the family. According to Gentry, the song is about indifference and unshared grief.

Searchers - 1966 - Take Me For What I'm Worth FLAC

Take Me For What I'm Worth/Too Many Miles/Take It Or Leave It/Don't Hide It Away



  Hailing from Liverpool, England, the Searchers were one of the many bands on the Merseybeat scene that enjoyed international fame in the wake of the Beatles' breakthrough in the early '60s. The group's trademark sound was bright, tuneful pop with ringing 12-string guitars and strong harmony vocals which gave even their covers of American R&B hits a touch of sweetness that made them hard to resist. The Searchers were also one of the most enduring Merseybeat acts, forming in the late '50s and continuing on into the 2010s, with guitarist John McNally a constant presence throughout their history, and bassist Frank Allen by his side from 1964 onward. Early hits such as "Sugar and Spice," "Needles and Pins," "Love Potion Number Nine," "When You Walk In The Room," and "What Have They Done To The Rain" defined the group's approach, and they rarely strayed from it, still sounding fresh on 1972's Second Take and falling in with the power pop bands they influenced on 1979's The Searchers and 1981's Love's Melodies. And while the group's bread and butter from the late '60s onward was live work, the band's professionalism and commitment to their music helped them remain a viable attraction decades after their success on the sales charts had faded.

 Founded in 1957 by John McNally (guitar/vocals), the Searchers were originally one of thousands of skiffle groups formed in the wake of Lonnie Donegan's success with "Rock Island Line." The Searchers' immediate competitors included bands such as the Wreckers and the Confederates, both led by Michael Pender (guitar, vocals), and the Martinis, led by Tony Jackson (guitar/vocals). By 1959, McNally and Pender were working together as a duet; later in the year, Jackson joined as the lead vocalist. After drummer Norman McGarry left the Searchers he was replaced by Chris Crummy, who quickly renamed himself Chris Curtis. Other changes were in the works as Jackson built and learned to play a customized bass guitar. Learning his new job on the four-stringed instrument proved too difficult to permit him to continue singing lead, and McNally and Pender brought in a fifth member, Johnny Sandon (born Billy Beck). Johnny Sandon & the Searchers lasted from 1960 through February of 1962, and were extremely popular on the dance hall and club circuit in Liverpool. Sandon cut out for a career on his own, with another band called the Remo Four in early 1962. 

 Meanwhile, the Searchers, now a quartet with Jackson once again lead singer, became one of the top acts on the Liverpool band scene, playing textured renditions of American R&B, rock & roll, country, soul, and rockabilly. The group was signed to Pye Records in mid-1963 and their first single, a cover of the Drifters' "Sweets for My Sweet," was released in August of 1963, hitting number one on the British charts. While the Beatles quickly outdistanced all comers, the Searchers did, indeed, go to the top of the charts with two of their next three singles, "Needles and Pins" and "Don't Throw Your Love Away." Another record, "Sugar and Spice," written by their producer Tony Hatch under the pseudonym Fred Nightingale, stalled at the number two spot. Over the next nine months, the band staked out a sound that was one of the most distinctive in a rock scene crawling with hundreds of bands. Their music was built around the sound of a crisply played 12-string guitar, coupled with strong lead vocals and carefully, sometimes exquisitely arranged harmonies, so that they could credibly cover American R&B standards like "Love Potion No. 9" or Phil Spector-based girl group pop like "Be My Baby." Their 1964 singles included a venture into folk-rock before the genre had been "invented" in the press, in the form of a cover of Malvina Reynolds' "What Have They Done to the Rain." Interestingly, their 12-string guitar sound would become a key ingredient in the success of the Byrds, who even took the riff from "Needles and Pins" and transformed it into the main riff of "Feel a Whole Lot Better."

 In July of 1964, with the group riding the upper reaches of the British charts, and with their third album in nine months in release, it was announced that Tony Jackson was leaving the Searchers to form his own band, and would be replaced by Frank Allen, who had been playing bass with Cliff Bennett & the Rebel Rousers. The turning point for the band came in 1965, as the British and international fascination with the Liverpool sound faded away. The Searchers began casting their net wider for material to cover, in addition to coming up with one original hit, the Curtis/Pender-authored "He's Got No Love." By the beginning of 1966, the group's string of chart hits seemed to have run out, and Chris Curtis exited in early 1966, claiming to have become exhausted from the group's constant touring. The Searchers, with Johnny Blunt on drums, continued working and had their last hit, "Have You Ever Loved Somebody," which barely cracked the Top 50 in October of 1966. The group continued working, however, playing clubs and cabarets in England and Europe. Blunt exited at the end of the '60s, but was replaced by Billy Adamson, and this lineup of the Searchers continued intact until the mid-'80s, working for 35 weeks a year throughout Europe with an occasional U.S. visit. Although they played as part of Richard Nader's "Rock 'n Roll Revival" shows, they never became an "oldies" act, always adding new material, including originals and covers of work by songwriters such as Neil Young to their sets, and in 1972, the band cut an album for British RCA. 

  At the end of the '70s, their recording fortunes were revived once again as Seymour Stein, the head of Sire Records, signed the Searchers for two albums. Those records, The Searchers and Love's Melodies, were the best work the group ever did, highlighted by achingly beautiful yet vibrant and forceful playing and singing, and an unerring array of memorable hooks and melodies. Those two albums were followed by a series of tracks recorded for their original label, Pye Records, in the early '80s. The group held their audience well into the '80s, playing before crowds as large as 15,000 along one U.S. tour. In 1985, after playing together for 26 years, Pender and McNally split up, with McNally continuing to lead the Searchers (with Adamson and Allen, and with Spencer James added on second guitar and vocals), while Pender formed Mike Pender's Searchers, consisting of Chris Black (guitar, vocals), Barry Cowell (bass, vocals), and Steve Carlyle (drums, vocals). The Searchers under McNally recorded on occasion, releasing their last album, Hungry Hearts, in 1989. The two versions of the Searchers toured extensively into the 2010s, both featuring shifting lineups.

Simon and Garfunkle - 1968 - Mrs. Robinson FLAC

Mrs. Robinson/We’ve Got a Groovey Thing Goin’/Scarborough Fair,Canticle/April Come She Will



Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk-rock duo consisting of singer-songwriter Paul Simon and singer Art Garfunkel. One of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, their biggest hits including "The Sound of Silence" (1965), "Mrs. Robinson" (1968), "The Boxer" (1969), and "Bridge over Troubled Water" (1970) reached number one on singles charts worldwide.

The duo met in elementary school in Queens, New York in 1953 where they learned to harmonize together and began writing original material. By 1957, under the name Tom & Jerry, the teenagers had their first minor success with "Hey Schoolgirl", a song imitating their idols The Everly Brothers. In 1963, aware of a growing public interest in folk music, they regrouped and were signed to Columbia Records as Simon & Garfunkel. Their debut Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. sold poorly, and they once again disbanded; Simon returned to a solo career, this time in England. In June 1965, a new version of "The Sound of Silence" overdubbed with electric guitar and drums became a major U.S. AM radio hit, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100. They reunited to release a second studio album, Sounds of Silence, and tour colleges nationwide. On their third release, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966), the duo assumed more creative control. Their music was featured in the 1967 film The Graduate, giving them further exposure. Bookends (1968), their next album, topped the Billboard 200 chart and included the number-one single "Mrs. Robinson" from the film.

 Their often rocky relationship led to artistic disagreements, which resulted in their breakup in 1970. Their final studio record, Bridge over Troubled Water, released that year, was their most successful, becoming one of the world's best-selling albums. After their breakup, Simon released a number of acclaimed albums, including 1986's Graceland. Garfunkel released some solo hits such as "All I Know" and briefly pursued an acting career, with leading roles in two Mike Nichols films, Catch-22 and Carnal Knowledge, and in Nicolas Roeg's 1980 Bad Timing. The duo have reunited several times, most famously in 1981 for "The Concert in Central Park", which attracted more than 500,000 people, one of the largest concert attendances in history.

Simon & Garfunkel won 10 Grammy Awards and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 Bridge over Troubled Water is ranked at number 51 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Richie Unterberger described them as "the most successful folk-rock duo of the 1960s" and one of the most popular artists from the decade. They are among the best-selling music artists, having sold more than 100 million records.

Billy J. Kramer - 1965 - Billy J. Plays The States FLAC

Sugar Babe/Twilight Time/Waltz/ Irresistible You



One of the most popular Merseybeat singers, Billy J. Kramer (born Billy Ashton) was one of the most mild-mannered rockers of the entire British Invasion. He wasn't that noteworthy a singer, either, and more likely than not would have never been heard outside of northern England if he hadn't been fortunate enough to become a client of Beatles manager Brian Epstein. Even more crucially, he was gifted with several Lennon-McCartney songs in 1963 and 1964, several of which the Beatles never ended up recording. That gave him his entrance into the charts on both sides of the Atlantic, but Kramer couldn't sustain his success after the supply of Lennon-McCartney tunes dried up. Significant? No. Enjoyable? Yes. Even tossing aside the considerable value of hearing otherwise unavailable Lennon-McCartney compositions, his best singles were enjoyably wimpy, melodic pop/rock, offering a guilty pleasure comparable to taking a break from Faulkner and diving into some superhero comics.

 It's been reported that George Martin was reluctant to produce Kramer because of the latter's vocal deficiencies, making sure to hide the cracks in his upper register with loud piano notes in Billy's cover of "Do You Want to Know a Secret." No matter — the song made it to number two in the U.K. in mid-1963, followed by another Lennon-McCartney effort, "Bad to Me." "I'll Keep You Satisfied" and "From a Window" were other gifts from the Beatles camp that gave Kramer solid hits; one Beatles reject, "I'll Be on My Way," was even relegated to a B-side (the Beatles' own BBC version was finally released in 1994). All these tunes, it should be noted, represented Lennon-McCartney at their lightest and most facile, which to a large degree explains why they didn't record the numbers for their own releases, deeming them more suitable for Kramer's fairly bland approach. 

 Billy J. actually landed his biggest hit, the corny pop ballad "Little Children," without assistance from his benefactors; the single also broke him, briefly, as a star in the United States, where it and its flip side ("Bad to Me") both made the Top Ten. He appeared in the legendary 1964 The T.A.M.I. Show rockumentary film, and the Dakotas recorded some instrumental rock on their own, getting a Top 20 British hit with the Ventures-ish "The Cruel Sea." Early British guitar hero Mick Green, formerly with Johnny Kidd & the Pirates, was even a Dakota briefly. But after 1965's cover of Bacharach-David's "Trains and Boats and Planes," the hits ceased, as the Beatles and Epstein's attention was lost. Kramer continued recording throughout the '60s, even briefly venturing into hard psychedelic-tinged rock, without much success, and subsequently toured often on the oldies circuit.

Billy J. Plays The States was recorded at Long Beach and Oakland California during his American tour in 1964.

Mark Lindsay - 1970 - Arizona FLAC

 Arizona/Miss America/Silver Bird/Come Saturday Morning



Mark's musical career began at the age of 15 fronting a local group in Idaho. A year later, he met keyboardist Paul Revere, and they formed The Downbeats, later to be called Paul Revere & the Raiders. In the 1960s, the Raiders chalked up 17 hot 100 hits and two network TV shows, "Where the Action Is" (1965-1967)and "It's Happening"/"Happening '68" (1968-1969). In the early 70s Mark turned to film scoring. He continued to make inroads as a solo artist with "Arizona", and as a group leader with The Raiders. By the end of the decade, Mark Lindsay retired from active performing but worked as an A&R executive for United Artists Records. As of recently, he has returned to solo performing with his "Mighty Band" playing over 100 dates a year. 1996 saw the release of his comeback album "Video Dreams".


"Arizona" is a song written by Kenny Young and recorded in 1969 by Mark Lindsay, a solo effort while still lead singer for Paul Revere and the Raiders. Lindsay was backed by L.A. session musicians from the Wrecking Crew. The single peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on 14 February 1970 and was awarded a RlAA Gold Disc in April 1970. "Arizona" reached #10 in Australia and #2 in New Zealand.

"Silver Bird" is a song written by Kenny Young and recorded by former Paul Revere and the Raiders member Mark Lindsay, with L.A. session musicians from the Wrecking Crew, in 1969. The single reached number 25 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 during the summer of 1970. In Canada, "Silver Bird" peaked at number 10.

 "Miss America" is a song written by James Jerome Kelly III and recorded by Mark Lindsay it reached #44 in May 1970.

"Come Saturday Morning" is a popular song with music by Fred Karlin and lyrics by Dory Previn, published in 1970 and recorded by Mark Lindsay for his 1970 album Silverbird.

Sonny and Cher - 1965 - I Got You Babe

 I Got You Babe/It's Gonna Rain/You've Really Got A Hold On Me/The Letter



"I Got You Babe" is a song written by Sonny Bono. It was the first single taken from the debut studio album Look at Us, of the American pop music duo Sonny & Cher. In August 1965, their single spent three weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States where it sold more than 1 million copies and was certified Gold. It also reached #1 in the United Kingdom and Canada. It reached #3 in Australia and #1 in New Zaland.


Sonny & Cher proved one of the magical musical combinations of the mid-'60s and one of the better rock-influenced MOR acts of the early '70s, their wisecracking repartee providing counterpoint to a series of adoring hit duets. Salvatore "Sonny" Bono (born February 16, 1935) started out at Los Angeles-based Specialty Records as a songwriter in the late '50s, responsible for "Koko Joe" by Don & Dewey and "She Said Yeah" for Larry Williams, which was later covered by the Rolling Stones and the Righteous Brothers. Bono became a protégé of Phil Spector, managing to write a handful of successful songs, most notably "Needles and Pins" in collaboration with his protégé Jack Nitzsche, which became a success for Jackie DeShannon and a huge international hit for the Searchers. In 1964, while working sessions with Phil Spector, he met an 18-year-old would-be singer named Cherilyn Lapierre (born May 20, 1946), and the two were later married. They formed a professional duet, initially as Caesar & Cleo for Vault Records and later Reprise, but it was only after they were signed to Atlantic Records as Sonny & Cher that success came their way. The couple embarked on parallel careers, with Cher later signed to Liberty/Imperial Records as a solo act.

They were a strange duet in the sense that neither had a great voice and, indeed, their voices were so similar that Atlantic's president Ahmet Ertegun was convinced that Sonny had come close to breaking a contract by turning up singing with her on her solo hit "All I Really Want to Do" and her other Imperial hits. The latter song, however, also demonstrated their ability to spot a hit, as well as good material for themselves: they'd heard the Byrds performing the Dylan song at a club in Los Angeles and got Cher's recording out before the Byrds' own was in stores, beating the folk-rock group at its own game of popularizing Dylan songs. She subsequently hit with "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" while Sonny charted with "Laugh at Me" on Atco, but their biggest success was as a duet on Atco, with "I Got You Babe" and "The Beat Goes On."

For a time, from 1965 until 1967, they were rock & roll's hottest couple, so much so that in some conservative communities, they were considered almost morally subversive; parents locked up their kids when Sonny & Cher were passing through for a concert appearance. They were popular enough, and sufficiently well-known that the Rolling Stones impersonated them on the British television music showcase Ready Steady Go, miming to "I Got You Babe" with Brian Jones subbing for Sonny.

And then nothing. The hits stopped coming, and the couple made some daringly creative but unsuccessful commercial missteps, even a movie (Good Times, directed by William Friedkin in his debut) that was, like the Monkees' Head, too far ahead of its time for critics and all but the most advanced fans to appreciate. A further film effort, Chastity, a name shared by their daughter, also bombed, and the sudden confrontation of a $200,000 income tax debt forced the couple to continue working. Further, they were unable to record because of a dispute with Atlantic over Sonny's objections to the way that Cher's solo career was being handled.

They were playing supper clubs and Las Vegas nightclubs, opening for people like Pat Boone, when Johnny Musso, a friend of the couple's, was jumping from an executive position at Atlantic to run Decca Records' Kapp label subsidiary, and brought the duo with him. At around the same time, their stage act -- which had evolved into a kind of "with it" domestic comedy routine nearly as prominent as the music, with the tall, wry-witted Cher cutting up on the seemingly dim-witted Sonny -- was spotted by Fred Silverman, who was then the head of programming for CBS. They ended up with a summer replacement try-out show that did so well that Sonny & Cher were given a regular spot in the CBS lineup in January 1972 with a comedy-variety series.

 The couple's recording career was initially revived by a live album cut in one night at Las Vegas, featuring new versions of their early hits as well as parts of their then-current repertory; the album went gold. The first couple of singles by Cher and Sonny & Cher failed, but then producer Snuff Garrett, who had been at Liberty when Cher was there but had never worked with her, was brought in, and the result was "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves," a career-reviving number one hit. After that, "The Way of Love," "All I Ever Need Is You" (which became the theme for their TV show), "A Cowboy's Work Is Never Done," "Half Breed," and "Dark Lady" kept either Cher or the couple in the Top Ten at various times through 1974. By then, however, their marriage had fallen apart, and with it, the success of their TV show.

By then, it didn't matter. They were pop culture icons, though Bono became the butt of many jokes when Cher eclipsed him with her acting career in movies like Silkwood and Mask. Bono was in the restaurant business when his outrage at the bureaucracy of the government in Palm Springs, California, caused him to declare his candidacy for mayor; he won the election, and was subsequently elected to Congress during the 1994 Republican sweep of the House of Representatives. He continued to represent his ex-wife's business interests, even as his subsequent remarriage (the name Sonny & Cher is trademarked), and was beginning to make a mark as a conservative Republican member of the California House delegation when he died in a skiing accident in 1998. Bono's second wife, Mary, succeeded him to the same House seat in a special election, and in the general election in 1998.

Glen Campbell - 1969 - Galveston FLAC

Universal Soldier/Where's The Playground Susie/True Grit/Galveston



Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, television host, and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting a music and comedy variety show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television, from January 1969 until June 1972. He released over 70 albums in a career that spanned five decades, selling over 45 million records worldwide, including twelve gold albums, four platinum albums, and one double-platinum album.

"Universal Soldier" is a song written and recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie.It was rerecorded by Glen Campbell in 1965 and reached #45 in the US #16 in Australia.

"Where's the Playground Susie" is a song written by Jimmy Webb and recorded by American country music singer Glen Campbell. It was released in April 1969 as the second single from the album Galveston. The song peaked at # 26 on the Hot 100, #28 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, and # 8 on the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart.It made #12 on the Australian charts and #9 in New Zealand.

"True Grit" is a song written by Don Black and Elmer Bernstein, and recorded by American country music artist Glen Campbell. It was released in July 1969 as the first single from his album True Grit. The song peaked at # 9 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. It also reached # 1 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada.

"Galveston" is a song written by Jimmy Webb and popularized by American country music singer Glen Campbell who recorded it with the instrumental backing of members of The Wrecking Crew. In 2003, this song ranked # 8 in CMT's 100 Greatest Songs in Country Music. Campbell's version of the song also went to # 1 on the country music charts. On other charts, "Galveston" went to # 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the "Easy Listening" charts. It was certified gold by the RIAA in October 1969. It made #5 on the Australian charts and #3 in New Zealand.

Peter and Gordon - 1966 - Woman FLAC

To Know You Is To Love You/Baby I'm Yours/There's No Living Without Your Loving/Woman



 Peter Asher and his sister Jane were child actors in the 1950s. They played siblings in a 1955 episode of the television series The Adventures of Robin Hood. Jane Asher dated The Beatles' Paul McCartney between 1963 and 1968, and Peter and Gordon recorded several songs written by McCartney but credited to Lennon–McCartney. Those hits included "A World Without Love" (US & UK #1), "Nobody I Know" (US #12; UK #10), "I Don't Want To See You Again" (US #16, but not a hit in the UK), and "Woman".

With "Woman", McCartney used the pseudonym Bernard Webb to see whether he could have a hit song without his name attached. First pressings of the US Capitol single listed the composer as "A. Smith". The song reached #14 in the US and #28 on the British charts in 1966. Peter and Gordon also recorded the John Lennon-penned Lennon–McCartney song, "If I Fell", which was previously recorded by The Beatles and released on their 1964 album, A Hard Day's Night.

Other hits for the duo included "I Go to Pieces" (US #9), written by Del Shannon and given to Peter and Gordon after the two acts toured together. This was facilitated by Del Shannon's manager Irving Micahnik, of Embee and Bigtop records. Irving Micahnik and Harry Balk discovered Del Shannon and they signed away their rights to "I Go to Pieces" hoping to lure Peter and Gordon to their Detroit label; unfortunately all they did was lose the royalties they would have earned from the song. The duo also recorded remakes of Buddy Holly's "True Love Ways" (US #14 and UK #2 in 1965), and The Teddy Bears' "To Know Him Is To Love Him", retitled "To Know You Is To Love You" (US #24 and UK #5 in 1965).

Peter and Gordon had their last hit in Britain in late 1966 with "Lady Godiva", which reached #16 there (and #6 in the US), whilst their success lasted into 1967 in the US, with "Knight in Rusty Armour" and "Sunday for Tea" both registering in the upper reaches of the Billboard Hot 100 that year.

Jerry Lee Lewis - 1963 - Whole Lotta Shakin' FLAC

 
Lovin' Up A Storm/Teenage Letter/Great Balls of Fire/Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On


Jerry Lee Lewis (born September 29, 1935) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and pianist, often known by his nickname, The Killer. He has been described as "rock & roll's first great wild man."

A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made his first recordings in 1956 at Sun Records in Memphis. "Crazy Arms" sold 300,000 copies in the South, but it was his 1957 hit "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" that shot Lewis to fame worldwide. He followed this with "Great Balls of Fire", "Breathless" and "High School Confidential". However, Lewis's rock and roll career faltered in the wake of his marriage to Myra Gale Brown, his 13-year-old cousin.

He had minimal success in the charts following the scandal, and his popularity quickly eroded. In the early 1960s, he did not have much chart success, with few exceptions, such as a cover of Ray Charles's "What'd I Say". His live performances at this time were increasingly wild and energetic. His 1964 live album Live at the Star Club, Hamburg is regarded by music journalists and fans as one of the wildest and greatest live rock albums ever. In 1968, Lewis made a transition into country music and had hits with songs such as "Another Place, Another Time". This reignited his career, and throughout the late 1960s and 1970s he regularly topped the country-western charts; throughout his seven-decade career, Lewis has had 30 songs reach the top 10 on the "Billboard Country and Western Chart". His No. 1 country hits included "To Make Love Sweeter for You", "There Must Be More to Love Than This", "Would You Take Another Chance on Me", and "Me and Bobby McGee".

Lewis's successes continued throughout the decade and he embraced his rock and roll past with songs such as a cover of the Big Bopper's "Chantilly Lace" and Mack Vickery's "Rockin' My Life Away". In the 21st century Lewis continues to tour around the world and still releases new albums. His album Last Man Standing is his best selling to date, with over a million copies sold worldwide. This was followed by Mean Old Man, which has received some of the best sales of Lewis's career.

Lewis has a dozen gold records in both rock and country. He won several Grammy awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award. Lewis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, and his pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. He was also a member of the inaugural class inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame. In 1989, his life was chronicled in the movie Great Balls of Fire, starring Dennis Quaid. In 2003, Rolling Stone listed his box set All Killer, No Filler: The Anthology number 242 on their list of "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". In 2004, they ranked him number 24 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Lewis is the last surviving member of Sun Records' Million Dollar Quartet and the Class of '55 album, which also included Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison and Elvis Presley.

Music critic Robert Christgau has said of Lewis: "His drive, his timing, his offhand vocal power, his unmistakable boogie-plus piano, and his absolute confidence in the face of the void make Jerry Lee the quintessential rock and roller."

Dusty Springfield - 1966 - You Don't Have to Say You Love Me FLAC

You Don't Have to Say You Love Me/In the Middle of Nowhere/Little by Little/Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)



"You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" (originally a 1965 Italian song by Pino Donaggio and lyricist Vito Pallavicini: '"Io che non vivo (senza te)") is a 1966 hit recorded by English singer Dusty Springfield that proved to be her most successful hit single, reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart and number four on the Billboard Hot 100.

Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien OBE (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), professionally known as Dusty Springfield, was an English pop singer and record producer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s. With her distinctive sensual mezzo-soprano sound, she was an important singer of blue-eyed soul and at her peak was one of the most successful British female performers, with six top 20 singles on the US Billboard Hot 100 and sixteen on the UK Singles Chart from 1963 to 1989. She is a member of the Rock and Roll and UK Music Halls of Fame. International polls have named Springfield among the best female rock artists of all time. Her image, supported by a peroxide blonde bouffant hairstyle, evening gowns, and heavy make-up, as well as her flamboyant performances made her an icon of the Swinging Sixties.

Born in West Hampstead in London to a family that enjoyed music, Springfield learned to sing at home. In 1958 she joined her first professional group, The Lana Sisters, and two years later formed a pop-folk vocal trio, The Springfields, with her brother Tom Springfield and Tim Field. They became the UK's top selling act. Her solo career began in 1963 with the upbeat pop hit, "I Only Want to Be with You". Among the hits that followed were "Wishin' and Hopin' " (1964), "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" (1964), "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" (1966), and "Son of a Preacher Man" (1968).

As a fan of US soul music, she brought many little-known soul singers to the attention of a wider UK record-buying audience by hosting the first national TV performance of many top-selling Motown artists beginning in 1965. Partly owing to these efforts, a year later she eventually became the best-selling female singer in the world and topped a number of popularity polls, including Melody Maker's Best International Vocalist. Although she was never considered a Northern Soul artist in her own right, her efforts contributed a great deal to the formation of the genre as a result. She was the first UK singer to top the New Musical Express readers' poll for Female Singer.

 To boost her credibility as a soul artist, Springfield went to Memphis, Tennessee, to record Dusty in Memphis, an album of pop and soul music with the Atlantic Records main production team. Released in 1969, it has been ranked among the greatest albums of all time by the US magazine Rolling Stone and in polls by VH1 artists, New Musical Express readers, and Channel 4 viewers. The album was also awarded a spot in the Grammy Hall of Fame. Despite its current recognition, the album did not sell well. After its release, she relocated to America where she experienced a career slump for several years. However, in collaboration with Pet Shop Boys, she returned to the Top 10 of the UK and US charts in 1987 with "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" Two years later, she had two other UK hits on her own with "Nothing Has Been Proved" and "In Private." Subsequently, in the mid-1990s, owing to the inclusion of "Son of a Preacher Man" on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack, interest in her early output was revived.

Percy Sledge - 1966 - When A Man Loves A Woman FLAC

When A Man Loves A Woman/Love Me Like You Mean It/Thief In The Night/You Fooled Me



Percy Sledge will forever be associated with "When a Man Loves a Woman," a pleading, soulful ballad he sang with wrenching, convincing anguish and passion. Sledge sang all of his songs that way, delivering them in a powerful rush where he quickly changed from soulful belting to quavering, tearful pleas. It was a voice that made him one of the key figures of deep Southern soul. Sledge recorded at Muscle Shoals studios in Alabama, where he frequently sang songs written by Spooner Oldham and Dan Penn. Not only did he sing deep soul, but Sledge was among the pioneers of country-soul, singing songs by Charlie Rich and Kris Kristofferson in a gritty, passionate style. During the '70s, his commercial success faded away, but Sledge continued to tour and record into the '90s.

While he worked as a hospital nurse in the early '60s, Sledge began his professional music career as a member of the Southern soul vocal group the Esquires Combo. On the advice of local disc jockey Quin Ivy, he went solo in 1966. Ivy fancied himself a record producer and he agreed to help shape Sledge's song "When a Man Loves a Woman" into a full-fledged single, hiring Spooner Oldham to play a distinctive, legato organ phrase. Ivy released the single independently and quickly licensed it to Atlantic Records, who quickly bought out Sledge's contract. "When a Man Loves a Woman" became a huge hit in the summer of 1966, topping both the pop and R&B charts. It was quickly followed that year by two Top Ten R&B hits, "Warm and Tender Love" and "It Tears Me Up," which were both in the vein of his first hit. Although few of his subsequent singles were hits -- only "Take Time to Know Her" reached the R&B Top Ten in 1968 -- many of the songs, which were often written by Dan Penn and/or Oldham, were acknowledged as classics among soul aficionados.

Despite his strong reputation among deep soul fans, Sledge's sales had declined considerably by the early '70s, and he headed out on the club circuit in America and England. In 1974, he left Atlantic for Capricorn Records, where he returned to the R&B Top 20 with "I'll Be Your Everything." Instead of re-igniting his career, the single was a last gasp, as far as chart success was concerned. Over the next two decades he continued to tour, and in the late '80s "When a Man Loves a Woman" experienced a resurgence in popularity, due to its inclusion in movie soundtracks and in television commercials. Following its appearance in a 1987 Levi's commercial in the U.K., the single was re-released and climbed to number two. Two years later, he won the Rhythm and Blues Foundation's Career Achievement Award. Sledge was able to turn this revived popularity into a successful career by touring constantly, playing over 100 shows a year into the '90s. In 1994, he released Blue Night, his first collection of new material in over a decade, to uniformly positive reviews, and after the turn of the millennium he returned with Shining Through the Rain in 2004. The following year, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Percy Sledge died in April 2015 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana at the age of 73.