Lords Of London - 1968 - Introducing The Lords Of London @320

 Cornflakes And Ice Cream/Time Waits For No One/21000 Dreams/The Popcorn Man

 

 

The Lords of London were Canada's #1 teen chart toppers in 1967. As their only hit "Cornflakes And Icecream", a commerial teeny bopper record was played in regular rotation across the country, it's B sde, the best song ever released by the Lords "Time Waits For No One" was ignored. Easily one of the best Canadian releases of the year, "Time Waits For No One", was however reviewed in Billboard Magazine while "Cornflakes" was omitted. Somebody had their thinking cap on!

The Lords Of London began in 1965 when Danny Taylor, Hughie Leggat, John Richardson and Greg Fitzpatrick; four teens from North York, Ontario (a suburb of Toronto), decided to form a Rolling Stones cover band. Danny, Hughie and John had been playing together since the 8th grade in their instrumenal band, Danny Taylor and the Phantoms. They adapted the name Lords of London and entered the Earle Grey Collegiate Battle Of The Bands in October 1965. Their big competition were the Hogs and 15 year old Greg Fitzpatrick's Mysterions who were based in Etobicoke (another subdivision west of the city). The Mysterions won and netted the twenty five dollar prize money. Danny knew Greg becasue Greg had once dated Danny's cousin. Greg lived in the Lords neighborhood even though his band was from across town. He was getting tired of travelling two hour round trips three times a week for practise and had considered looking for another group. Danny asked if Greg would play bass, (he had been a guitar player in the Mysterions). He said yes, and that night he found himself playing bass before a crowd of thirteen hundred teenagers...and he had never played bass before! The band swung that show, and Greg was asked to remain with the band. The Lords manager even went out and bought Greg a new Bill Wyman model bass! 

 

Sebastian Angello went to school with Danny, John, Hughie and Greg and had been well aware of their band. He wanted to join a group that was already established. Sebastian was critical of the Lords Of London, and thought that the only reason Danny was even allowed in a band was because he owned a drum kit! So Sebastian joined a band called D.K. And The Lords who were from East York and were quite a bit older than him. But in 1966, Greg went away for the summer, and the Lords Of London recruited Sebastian as a fill-in. At the time Danny and Sebastian were 13, Greg a and Hughie were 15 and John was 16! They had steady bookings and played their own original r'n b styled material. Gigs were at teen dances, school gym's and rural barns that had been converted in to dance halls. Soon they were able to tour on the weekends, and the boys began to miss school on Friday and Monday. This, and long hair caused Sebastian to be thrown out of school at 13! During the school year the rest of the Lords followed suit and the band began to play full-time.

One weekend of touring took the band to Kirkland Lake in Northern Ontario. They were warned in advance that they had better learn some top forty tunes, since the small town teens would appreciate that more than hearing originals. "Wooly Bully" went over big, and the show was a huge success. Greg, the main song writer, decided to head away from r 'n b and do more pop songs. The management agreed that the adult audiences were not taking the band seriously, and they should aim at the teen pop crowd exclusively, and go for a new image. It was around this time that Sebastian began blacking out one front tooth! 

 

Late in 1966 the Lords went to RCA studios in Toronto to record their first single for Apex "Corn Flakes And Ice Cream/Time Waits For No One" on a 4 track unit. Their established teen fanclub requested "Cornflakes" so often that it shot to #1 in Toronto and soon followed suit in the rest of Canada. It was also number one in Boston, Georgia, and Australia where it had been released on Decca. In efforts to capitolize on their popularity, the group toured across Canada opening for bigger acts and appeared on CTV's After Four in Toronto, It's Happening, In Person and Up Beat in Cleveland, Ohio.

A follow up single was quickly recorded but "Popcorn Man/21,000 Dreams" promptly flopped. By this time the boys were a little older and were playing the Yorkville clubs in Toronto. Of course their favorite local group were the Ugly Ducklings who had a residency at the Hawks Nest. After many attempts, the Lords finally got a show at the Hawks Nest and showed off in front of their heros. Sebastian reports that the Duckies enjoyed their set! The band was still able to tour regularly, and were recieving more offers than they could commit to, so the band hired a camera man from the CTV Network to produce a short film of three songs "Popcorn Man", "21,000" and "Cornflakes And Ice Cream". The idea was that they would hire out the film while they played in another city! 

 In 1967 the Lords of London made it to various US cities, and were set to make the trip to California (written up in the Go! magazine). Sebastian recalls one night in New York were the band was doing some publicity work. The boys were lolling about in their hotel room, bored, when they decided to break into their managers room and steal some alcohol. To their delight they found bottles of champaign chilling in the tub! The boys promptly got rolling drunk, and when the manager returned to his room with a hooker, he found Danny passed out. John was still concious and ran off with the hooker (who's fee had already been paid)!

In 1968 the band recorded a third single, but they were not progressing past the teenybopper market, which was waining as they grew older. It was about this time that Sebastian left, and began working solo. The rest of the Lords decided to disband from their name, and re-formed under the name Neucleus an played progressive rock.

Del Shannon - 1963 - Del Shannon FLAC

 Two Kinds Of Teardrops/Runaround Sue/Hey! Little Girl/Runaway

 

 Charles Weedon Westover (December 30, 1934 – February 8, 1990), better known by his stage name Del Shannon, was an American rock and roll country musician, singer and songwriter, best known for his 1961 number 1 Billboard hit "Runaway".

"Two Kinds of Teardrops" is a song by Del Shannon, which he released in 1963 as a single and on the album Little Town Flirt. The song spent 13 weeks on the UK's Record Retailer chart, peaking at No. 5, while spending nine weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 50, and reaching No. 6 in both Ireland and Hong Kong.

"Hey! Little Girl" is a song by the American musician Del Shannon. It was recorded in October 1961 and was released later that year. In the lyrics, the narrator professes his love to a girl that he only barely knows. The girl has recently been dumped by her boyfriend, but the narrator proposes to begin a relationship with her and thus make her feel better. As such, the song is more optimistic than some of Shannon's other songs, such as "Runaway" and "Keep Searchin' (We'll Follow the Sun)". The background music involves both string and brass instruments. "Hey! Little Girl" reached No. 38 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, but was a much bigger hit in the United Kingdom, where it reached No. 2.

"Runaway" is a number-one Billboard Hot 100 song made famous by Del Shannon in 1961. It was written by Shannon and keyboardist Max Crook, and became a major international hit. It is No. 472 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, compiled in 2010.

Mitch Ryder And The Detroit Wheels - 1967 - Ridin FLAC

 Jenny Take A Ride!/Devil With A Blue Dress On & Good Golly Miss Molly/Sock It To Me - Baby!/Too Many Fish In The Sea & Three Little Fishes

 

 The band had its origins in Detroit in the early 1960s. At this time, a young white singer by the name of William Levise, Jr., who was singing at a black soul club called The Village, met a rock & roll group which included McCarty, bassist Earl Elliot, and Badanjek. Levise decided to join the group and took the stage name of Billy Lee, and the band became Billy Lee and the Rivieras. After attracting attention from producer Bob Crewe while working as a support act to The Dave Clark Five, the group moved to New York to start recording. However, since another band had already recorded as The Rivieras, the band decided to change its name again. With the help of a phone book, Levise took the new stage name of Mitch Ryder, and Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels were born. The group's live performances are said to have had an "explosive quality" and their style has been described as "revved up...R&B".

Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels had their first big hit in 1965 with "Jenny Take a Ride", which reached #10 on national charts, and #1 on the R&B chart – the first time a self-contained rock group had achieved the latter distinction. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA. Crewe had originally planned to release the track as a B side, but changed his mind after seeing the reactions of Brian Jones and Keith Richards, of The Rolling Stones, who were in the Stei-Philips studio in New York City as it was being recorded.

 Ryder and the Detroit Wheels followed up with another top twenty hit, "Little Latin Lupe Lu," which peaked at #17. After a couple of misses, the group had its biggest hit with the "Devil with a Blue Dress On"/"Good Golly Miss Molly" medley which reached #4. Around this period they also recorded a number of albums, largely composed of reworked R&B classics, along with a smattering of original compositions.

In 1967 Ryder had another top ten hit with "Sock It to Me, Baby!", which was banned by some stations as too sexually suggestive. The band had its last hit with the brassy "Too Many Fish in the Sea"/"Three Little Fishes" single, which reached #24. Crewe then persuaded Ryder to quit the group and embark on a solo career.

After Ryder's departure, Badanjek fronted a short-lived band of the same name which recorded several tracks, most notably "Linda Sue Dixon", a song glorifying the illicit hallucinogenic drug LSD, which charted worldwide in 1968. They also recorded "Think (About the Good Things)/For the Love of a Stranger". The band's line-up during this time is uncertain.

 

Yardbirds - 1965 - 5 Yardbirds FLLAC

 For Your Love/Good Morning Little Schoolgirl/I Wish You Would/Heart Full Of Soul

 

 English rock band the Yardbirds recorded "I Wish You Would" for their debut single in 1964. This studio recording lacks the Bo Diddley-style beat and is considerably shorter than live versions performed by the Yardbirds around this time. The single did not enter the record charts in the UK or US.

When the Yardbirds were looking for a song to follow up to their first single, "I Wish You Would", they chose the Don and Bob tune. The group's guitarist Eric Clapton explained in an early interview: The Yardbirds were working about every single night of the week. Trouble was finding new material for a disc. We remembered this 'Good Morning Little School Girl' from a rather obscure R and B artiste—a friend of ours had it on a long-player. So we rushed in and recorded it.

The single was released on October 20, 1964, in the UK, where it reached number 49 in the singles chart, the band's first chart hit. Epic Records, the Yardbirds' American label, did not issue the single in the US, but in 1965 included the song on their first American album, For Your Love.

"For Your Love" is a rock song written by Graham Gouldman and recorded by English group the Yardbirds. Released in March 1965, it was their first top ten hit in both the UK and the US. The song was a departure from the group's blues roots in favour of a commercial pop rock sound. Guitarist Eric Clapton disapproved of the change and it influenced him to leave the group

"Heart Full of Soul" is a song recorded by English rock group the Yardbirds in 1965. Written by Graham Gouldman, it was the Yardbirds' first single after Jeff Beck replaced Eric Clapton as lead guitarist. Released only three months after "For Your Love", "Heart Full of Soul" reached the Top 10 on the singles charts in the UK, US, and several other countries.

 

The Spotnicks - 1963 - On Air FLAC

 Orange Blossom Special/Moonshot/The Rocket Man/Amapola

 

The Spotnicks was an instrumental rock group from Sweden that formed in 1961. Together with the Shadows and the Ventures, they were considered one of the most famous instrumental bands of the 1960s.[citation needed] They were famous for wearing "space suit" costumes on stage, and for their innovative electronic guitar sound. They released 43 albums, and sold more than 18 million records.
 
The Spotnicks originated from a duo, "The Rebels" (1956), formed by Bo Starander (11 March 1942 – 3 May 2020 rhythm guitar, vocals), and Björn Thelin (27 June 1942 – 24 January 2017; bass guitar). They were joined by lead guitarist Bo Winberg (born in Gothenburg, Sweden; 27 March 1939 – 3 January 2020), and became "Rock-Teddy and the Blue Caps" in 1957 in Gothenburg. In 1958 they added Ove Johansson (drums) (born 30 March 1940), changed their name to "The Frazers", and began playing regularly in local clubs. They signed a recording contract in 1961, and changed their name to "The Spotnicks", a play on the Russian satellite Sputnik as suggested by their manager, Roland Ferneborg. Starander was later known as Bob Lander.

 

They soon became the first Swedish group to have significant international success, in a similar style to The Shadows and The Ventures. They toured Europe, and one of their early records, "Orange Blossom Special", became their first big international hit, making the Top 30 in the UK Singles Chart in 1962 on the Oriole label, and reaching #1 in Australia. Around this time they began wearing their trademark "space suits" on stage. They recorded their first album, The Spotnicks in London, Out-a Space, in 1962. Further hits included "Rocket Man" (based on the Soviet/Russian folk march "Polyushko-polye"), and "Hava Nagila" (their biggest UK hit, where it made #13). Winberg also recorded solo, credited as 'The Shy Ones'.

 In 1963, "Amapola" became one of their most successful singles in their home country, staying at #1 in Sweden for eight weeks. They appeared in the film Just for Fun, continued to tour widely, and recorded their second album, The Spotnicks in Paris. That year, drummer Ove Johansson left and was replaced by an Englishman, Derek Skinner (born 5 March 1944, London). Two years later, Skinner was replaced briefly by Jimmie Nicol, who had drummed with The Beatles on the Danish, Dutch and Australian leg of their 1964 tour, while Ringo Starr recovered from having his tonsils removed.

In 1964 and 1965, The Spotnicks expanded their popularity in Germany and Japan, reaching #1 in Japan in 1966 with "Karelia". Elsewhere, however, they became less successful as popular music tastes changed. In 1965 the band was joined by organist, vocalist Peter Winsnes (born 9 March 1944, Molndal, Sweden). Nicol left in February 1967 and was replaced by Tommy Tausis (born 22 March 1946). Thelin also left in 1967 and was replaced by Magnus Hellsberg (born 6 November 1944). Winsnes left in 1968 and organist Goran Samuelsson joined in 1969. The group, having undergone many personnel changes, split up in 1970 after releasing their fifteenth album, The Spotnicks Back in the Race. Yet the band was still popular in Japan, and it soon reformed under Winberg's control in 1971 at the request of a Japanese record label.

 

Winberg continued to lead versions of The Spotnicks, occasionally including Lander and/or Thelin, on tour and in recordings. In 2013, Winberg and Lander announced that they would be undertaking a final tour, finishing in May 2014. The Spotnicks played their very last concert on 30 March 2019, at Musikens Hus, Gothenburg. Winberg died on 3 January 2020. Lander died on 3 May 2020.

Elvis Presley - 1969 - Tell Me Why FLAC

 Tell Me Why/Puppet On A String/ I'm Yours/Long Lonely Highway

 

 By the start of 1966, Elvis’s single record releases had found their final resting places well back in the Hot 100’s top 20. (The only top 10 Presley record in the previous two years was “Crying in the Chapel.”) Released in late 1965, “Puppet on a String” was typical of Presley chart action at that time, peaking at #14. Its follow-up, “Tell Me Why,” performed so poorly that it stopped dead at #33 on Billboard’s chart, making it the lowest rated A-side single in Elvis’s career to that point. Its drop of 19 chart spots below its predecessor also was a career high for Presley at that time. “Tell Me Why” deserved its fate. Recorded in 1957 and rejected for release then, it was dusted off by RCA nine years later and palmed off on the record-buying public, which justly ignored it.

"I'm Yours" is 1961 song recorded by Elvis Presley which appeared on the Pot Luck with Elvis album. The recording was released as a single in 1965. It was written by Don Robertson and Hal Blair. The song was recorded by Elvis Presley on June 26, 1961, at RCA's Nashville studios, and released on the album, Pot Luck with Elvis, on June 5, 1962. It was published by Elvis Presley's publishing company Gladys Music, Inc. The single was also released in Canada, France, and New Zealand. It was not released as a single until three years later when it was featured in Presley's film Tickle Me (1965). "I'm Yours" peaked at number 11 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in October 1965. "I'm Yours" reached the top of the Billboard Easy Listening chart to become Presley's third consecutive number-one single on the chart.

May 26, 1963 - Elvis goes to RCA's Studio B in Nashville working on what will eventually become 14 recorded masters. The songs are intended to make up an album and a single with 'Devil In Disguise' selected as the A-side. The album however is never released with the songs parceled out over the next few years as singles or soundtrack album 'bonus selections'.(It's A) Long Lonely Highway Recorded: May 27, 1963 first released on Kissin' Cousins. Didn't make Billboard's Hot 100, but listed as "bubbling under" at #112 #96 on Cash Box Top 100.

Sonny And Cher - 1966 - Have I Stayed Too Long FLAC

 Have I Stayed Too Long/Leave Me Be/But You're Mine/ I Look for You

 

 

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.

 

The Kinks - 1964 - Kinksize Session FLAC

 Louie Louie/I Gotta Go Now/Things Are Getting Better/I’ve Got That Feeling

 

 

 Kinksize Session is the first EP released by the Kinks in the UK in 1964, a month after their debut LP. The tracks were all exclusive to this release and it includes some original compositions.

Despite the title, only three of the tracks were recorded in a single session (18 October 1964) with "I Gotta Go Now" having already been recorded (believed to be at the same session as single "All Day and All of the Night" on 23 September).
 

Kinksize Session was released in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand in 1964. In the US, the tracks were included on the Kinks-Size album in 1965. "Louie Louie" was included on the UK compilation album Sunny Afternoon in 1967 but the other tracks remained unavailable elsewhere.

The EP was made available on CD in 1990 as part of The EP Collection boxed set. All four tracks were included as bonus tracks on the 2004 reissue of the Kinks' debut album.

The follow-up EP, Kinksize Hits simply compiled the hit singles "You Really Got Me" and "All Day and All of the Night" along with their respective B-sides. Their next EP of original material would be 1965's Kwyet Kinks. 

The Kinks - 1965 - Kwyet Kinks FLAC

 Wait Till The Summer Comes Along/Such A Shame/A Well Respected Man/Don’t You Fret

 

 

 Kwyet Kinks is the third EP by the Kinks, released in September 1965. Unlike most of their other EPs, it contained all exclusive tracks and all were original compositions.

The EP represented a significant departure as hinted at by the play on words title as all four tracks are "quieter" than the typical early Kinks rock sound, particularly lead track "Wait Till the Summer Comes Along", sung by Dave Davies with prominent acoustic guitar and a clear country or folk influence. The most well known track is "A Well Respected Man" which was the first real example of the social commentary and a songwriting style which would come to be associated with Ray Davies and the Kinks.

"A Well Respected Man" was released as a single in the US in October 1965 (b/w "Such a Shame") where it reached no. 13. Following the success of the similar "Dedicated Follower of Fashion" it was also released as a single in mainland Europe in 1966.

In the US, the tracks were included on the Kinkdom album (released November 1965). All four tracks were not available on another official Pye release in the UK, however three of the tracks (excluding "Such a Shame") were included on the budget Marble Arch compilation LP Well Respected Kinks in 1966 and "Such a Shame" appeared on that LP's follow up Sunny Afternoon in 1967. The EP was made available on CD in 1998 as part of the EP Collection boxed set. The tracks are currently available as bonus tracks on the CD reissue of Kinda Kinks. 

Johnny Restivo - 1980 - Oh Johnny! FLAC

I Like Girls/Last Night On The Back Porch/I Wanna Play House With You/The Shape I'm In





Johnny (John Charles) was born in the North Bronx, New York September 13, 1943. He enrolled in Cliffside Park Junior High School, New Jersey and was graduated in June of 1958.

Johnny and his 9 year younger brother Gerard were sons of Jack and Jeanette Restivo. In 1959 Johnny was discovered by Joe Mulhall and Paul Neff and in June 9, 1959 he recorded "The Shape I'm In" and "Ya, Ya" at RCA only 15 years old with Paul Simon (aka Jerry Landis) playing his guitar. In 1960-1961 Johnny was on tour in Australia. He played in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Perth as well as many other places while there. From there he also had engagements in South America, Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Belgium. While in Argentina he hosted his own variety television show called "The Johnny Restivo Show". The program was on the air for 3 years from 1961-1963 and was sponsored by the Coca Cola Company. Between 1962-1964 even while doing the television program Johnny found time to play at the South American "Copa Cabana" club in Rio and the Waldorf in Santiango, Chile. He also performed in Uruguay and Brazil.

Johnny went on tour beginning in 1963. His first country of this multi-country tour was South Africa. He visited Kenya, Southern Rhodesia and Johannesburg. This part of the tour lasted about 6 months. While in Johannesburg during 1963-1964 he recorded an album on the RCA label entitled "Spotlight On Johnny Restivo". In 1965 he went on to London, England, where he performed at the London Palladium as well as many other venues. During the years of 1965-1966 London became Johnny's home base for the next leg of his tour. From there he spent 2 months touring Israel. One of the places he performed at was the Caliph Club in Jaffa. He also had engagements in Eilat. Then it was on to Italy for a multi-city tour working through the "Johnny Pangazio Agency". After completion of the Italian segment of his tour he went on to Paris, France, for a short stay. In 1967 the final leg of the tour took him back home to the USA. Once back home in New York City Johnny was represented by many different agencies including the William Morris Agency. He mostly worked nightclubs, resorts and cruises throughout the USA.

In 1969 Johnny was drafted into the United States Armed Forces. He did his basic training in South Carolina and Advanced Infantry Training in El Paso, Texas. He was then stationed in Heidelberg, Germany. He inquired about Special Services, auditioned and was accepted into the 7th Army Soldiers Chorus. Touring again but now for the US Army. He visited Germany, Austria, Holland, Belgium and Italy. 

In 1971 Johnny took a European discharge and remained in Europe for the next 6 months, after which he headed back home to the USA. In that same year Johnny and Gerard began working together, Gerard as his drummer and musical director, as he attempted to get his career back on track. They did primarily club dates, hotels and resorts throughout America. They also travelled to Mexico and Puerto Rico as well as playing cruises in the Caribbean. During many of the recording sessions that were done in New York City, Gerard was allowed to stay in the recording studio with Johnny or sit with the drummers where he quitely would watch, listen and learn about show business and the recording industry. It was in those very early years that Gerard decided he was going to be in show business and more importantly that he was going to work with his brother making music.

In 1978 Johnny formally ended his career in show business after a performance at the Nevelle Hotel in the Catskill mountains town of Ellenville, New York. During these years and beyond, Johnny has been married and divorced 4 times and has 3 children from oldest to youngest: Kelli Hope, Darin and Brandon. He has been in business for himself since 1981 with "Rockland Mattress", which sells bedding, headboards and beds. And now in 2002, Johnny finds himself preparing to retire and move permanently to the state of Florida (he always wanted to be in a warm climate). He now spends most of his time playing golf and winding down.

Johnny Tillotson - 1981 - Johnny Tillotson FLAC

True True Happiness/Without You/Out Of My Mind/ Judy Judy Judy



Johnny is the son of Doris and Jack Tillotson, who owned a small service station on the corner of 6th and Pearl in Jacksonville, and acted as the station's mechanic. At the age of nine, Johnny was sent to Palatka, Florida, to take care of his grandmother. He returned to Jacksonville each summer to be with his parents when his brother Dan would go to his grandmother. Johnny began to perform at local functions as a child, and by the time he was at Palatka Senior High School he had developed a reputation as a talented singer. Tillotson became a semi-regular on TV-4's McDuff Hayride, hosted by Toby Dowdy, and soon landed his own show on TV-12 WFGA-TV. In 1957, while Tillotson was studying at the University of Florida, local disc jockey Bob Norris sent a tape of Johnny's singing to the Pet Milk talent contest, and was chosen as one of six National finalists. This gave Johnny the opportunity to perform in Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM the Grand Ole Opry, which led Lee Rosenberg, a Nashville publisher, to take a tape to Archie Bleyer, owner of the independent Cadence Records. Bleyer signed Tillotson to a three-year contract, and issued his first single, "Dreamy Eyes" / "Well I'm Your Man" in September 1958. Both songs were written by Tillotson, and both made the Billboard Hot 100, "Dreamy Eyes" peaking at # 63. After graduating in 1959 with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism and Communications, Tillotson moved to New York City to pursue his music career.

 

 From late 1959, a succession of singles – "True True Happiness," "Why Do I Love You So," and a double-sided single covering the R&B hits "Earth Angel" and "Pledging My Love" – all reached the bottom half of the Hot 100. His biggest success came with his sixth single, the up-tempo "Poetry in Motion", written by Paul Kaufman and Mike Anthony, and recorded in Nashville with session musicians including saxophonist Boots Randolph and pianist Floyd Cramer, Released in September 1960, it went to # 2 on the Hot 100 in the US, and # 1 on the UK Singles Chart in January 1961. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA. On Bleyer's advice, Tillotson focused on his recording career, also appearing on television and was featured as a teen idol in magazines. His follow-up record, "Jimmy's Girl," reached # 25 in the US charts and # 43 in the UK; after that, "Without You" returned him to the US Top Ten but failed to make the UK Singles Chart. He toured widely with Dick Clark's Cavalcade of Stars.

Early in 1962, Tillotson recorded a song he wrote, "It Keeps Right on A-Hurtin'," inspired by the terminal illness of his father. It became one of his biggest hits, reaching No. 3 in the US pop chart, and was the first of his records to make the country music chart where it peaked at No. 4. It earned his first Grammy nomination for him, for Best Country & Western Recording, and was covered by over 100 performers including Elvis Presley and Billy Joe Royal, whose version was a country hit in 1988. Tillotson then recorded an album, It Keeps Right on A-Hurtin', on which he covered country standards including Hank Locklin's "Send Me the Pillow You Dream On" and Hank Williams' "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)," which also became hit singles. He continued to record country-flavored and pop songs in 1963, and "You Can Never Stop Me Loving You" and the follow-up, the Willie Nelson song "Funny How Time Slips Away," both made the Hot 100. He also appeared in the 1963 movie Just for Fun.

 With the demise of the Cadence label, he formed a production company and moved to MGM Records, starting with his version of the recent country charted No. 1 song by Ernest Ashworth, "Talk Back Trembling Lips," reached # 7 in January 1964 on Billboard's Hot 100. He earned his second Grammy nomination for "Heartaches by the Number," nominated for Best Vocal Performance of 1965, which reached No. 4 on the Adult Contemporary Chart. He also sang the theme song for the 1965 Sally Field television comedy Gidget. While his fortunes waned with changing musical tastes in the late 1960s, he continued to record before moving to California in 1968. Besides concert and recording he appeared in several films. He appeared in the 1966 camp comedy The Fat Spy starring Jayne Mansfield, which was featured in the 2004 documentary The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made (#46). He also appeared in Just for Fun, a British music film; the Japanese movie Namida Kun Sayonara, after his number 1 Japanese hit of the same name; and the made-for-TV The Call of the Wild.

In the 1970s, he recorded for the Amos, Buddah, Columbia, and United Artists labels. He appeared in concert, appearing in theaters, at State Fairs and Festivals, and in major hotels in Las Vegas and elsewhere. In the early 1980s, he charted briefly with "Lay Back in the Arms of Someone" on Reward Records and it was during the 80s that his hits in South East Asia had him appear in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, and New Zealand on a regular basis with tours in Japan and Hong Kong. In 1990 he signed with Atlantic records and again charted briefly with "Bim Bam Boom." Tillotson recorded for charity in 1990s several Christmas songs with Freddy Cannon and Brian Hyland for the Children's Miracle Network, produced by Michael Lloyd. "Come on a Sleigh Ride With Me" written by Lloyd is a new Christmas favorite. He also recorded with Tommy Roe and Brian Hyland, again for Michael Lloyd for Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer The Movie (1998), "We Can Make It."

Gerry And The Pacemakers - 1965 - Gerry In California FLAC

Skinnie Lizzie/My Babe/Away From You/What'd I Say



As unfathomable as it seems from the distance of over 40 years, for a few months, Gerry & the Pacemakers were the Beatles' nearest competitors in Britain. Managed (like the Beatles) by Brian Epstein, Gerry Marsden and his band burst out of the gate with three consecutive number one U.K. hits in 1963, "How Do You Do It," "I Like It," and "You'll Never Walk Alone." If the Beatles defined Merseybeat at its best in early 1963, Gerry & the Pacemakers defined the form at its most innocuous, performing bouncy, catchy, and utterly lightweight tunes driven by rhythm guitar and Marsden's chipper vocals. Compared to the Beatles and other British Invasion heavies, they sound quaint indeed. That's not to say the group was trivial; its hits were certainly likable and energetic and are fondly remembered today, even if the musicians lacked the acumen (or earthy image) to develop their style from its relentlessly upbeat and poppy base.

 Marsden formed the group in the late '50s featuring himself on guitar and lead vocals, his brother Fred on drums, Les Chadwick on bass, and Arthur Mack on piano (to be replaced in 1961 by Les Maguire). They worked the same Liverpool/Hamburg circuit as the Beatles, and ran neck and neck with their rivals in local popularity. They were signed by Epstein in mid-1962 (the first band to do so besides the Beatles), and began recording for the EMI/Columbia label in early 1963, under the direction of producer George Martin. Their first single was a Mitch Murray tune that Martin had wanted the Beatles to record for their debut, "How Do You Do It?" The Beatles did record a version (found on the Anthology 1 release), but objected to its release, finding it too sappy, and in any case were more interested in recording their own, gutsier original compositions. It suited Marsden's grinning, peppy style well, though, and went to number one before it was displaced from the top spot by the Beatles' third 45, "From Me to You."

The Pacemakers would never vary much from the clattering guitar-dominated pop of their first singles, turning again to Mitch Murray for the follow-up, "I Like It," and remaking an old pop standard for their next effort, "You'll Never Walk Alone." It's not universally known that Gerry Marsden actually wrote much of the band's material, and he penned most of their subsequent hits, including "It's All Right" (their gutsiest and best performance) and "I'm the One." He also wrote "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin'" (sharing credits with the rest of the group) and "Ferry Cross the Mersey," ballads that Martin embellished with light string arrangements, which may (or may not) have helped prepare the producer for deploying strings on Beatles tracks starting in 1965.
 

Like the Beatles, Gerry & the Pacemakers got to star in their own film, Ferry Cross the Mersey, although this wasn't nearly as successful as A Hard Day's Night. By 1965, in fact, their popularity in Britain was seriously declining, although they held on a bit longer in the States, where (in common with several other groups) some of their back catalog belatedly made the hit parade many months after it was first issued in the U.K. Like virtually all of the other Liverpool groups, the Pacemakers proved unable to evolve on the same plane as the Beatles or the best other British bands. Never the hippest of acts image-wise, with their conservative suits and short hair, they were rapidly becoming outdated, sticking to the same basic feel-good formula that had seemed fresh in 1963, but was utterly passé by 1966. That's the year they had their last American Top 40 hit, "Girl on a Swing"; they disbanded in October. Gerry Marsden became a popular cabaret and children's TV entertainer, sometimes performing with the Pacemakers on the oldies circuit. He also contributed vocals to British chart-topping revivals (not with the Pacemakers) of "You'll Never Walk Alone" and "Ferry Cross the Mersey" in the 1980s.

The Four Seasons - 1964 - Alone FLAC

Alone/Long Lonely Nights/Melancholy/One Song

"Alone (Why Must I Be Alone)" is a popular song written by Morty Craft. Craft owned a record label, and produced the recording by the Shepherd Sisters on that label. The lyrics were written by Craft's wife, Selma.

A remake of the song by The Four Seasons charted in 1964, reaching its peak Billboard Hot 100 position at No. 28, on July 18. "Alone (Why Must I Be Alone)" also went to No. 8 on the Canadian singles chart. It was the act's last hit single on Vee Jay Records, as The Four Seasons had already left the label at the beginning of 1964 in a royalty dispute.

Burt Bacharach - 1970 - Burt Bacharach Plays His Hits FLAC

 Trains And Boats And Planes/Walk On By/Blue on Blue/What's New Pussycat




 Bacharach studied under Darius Milhaud, Bohuslav Martinů, and Henry Cowell. In the 1950s he wrote arrangements for Steve Lawrence and Vic Damone and later toured with Marlene Dietrich. In the late 1950s he began his long association with David, which would produce many hits especially for singer Dionne Warwick, including “Walk On By,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” and “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?” He and David created the successful musical Promises, Promises (1968), and their score for the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) won an Academy Award, as did the movie’s song “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head.” Bacharach later cowrote (with Carole Bayer Sager, among others) the Oscar-winning song “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)” for the comedy Arthur (1981). He and Sager subsequently collaborated on a number of hits and were married from 1982 to 1991. His later works included the album Painted from Memory (1998), a collaboration with singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, and the score for the film A Boy Called Po (2016).

Bacharach received a number of Grammy Awards throughout his career, including for song of the year for “That’s What Friends Are For” (cowritten with Sager). In 2009 he was honoured with a Grammy for lifetime achievement, and three years later he and David shared the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. Bacharach’s memoir, Anyone Who Had a Heart (cowritten with Robert Greenfield), was published in 2013.

Clyde McPhatter - His Greatest Hits FLAC

Lover Please/Maybe/ Ta Ta/Stop



Clyde Lensley McPhatter (November 15, c. 1932 – June 13, 1972) was an American rhythm and blues, soul and rock and roll singer. He was one of the most widely imitated R&B singers of the 1950s and early 1960s and was a key figure in the shaping of doo-wop and R&B.

McPhatter's high-pitched tenor voice was steeped in the gospel music he sang in much of his early life. He was the lead tenor of the Mount Lebanon Singers, a gospel group he formed as a teenager. He was later the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes and was largely responsible for the initial success of the group. After his tenure with the Dominoes, McPhatter formed his own group, the Drifters, and later worked as a solo performer. Only 39 at the time of his death, he had struggled for years with alcoholism and depression and was, according to Jay Warner’s On This Day in Music History, "broke and despondent over a mismanaged career that made him a legend but hardly a success."

McPhatter left a legacy of over 22 years of recording history. He was the first artist to be inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, first as a solo artist and later as a member of the Drifters.

Subsequent double and triple inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are said to be members of the "Clyde McPhatter Club"

Buffalo Springfield - 1972 - Fours FLAC

Bluebird/Mr. Soul/Rock 'N' Roll Woman/ Expecting To Fly



Buffalo Springfield was a North American rock band active from 1966 to 1968 whose most prominent members were Stephen Stills, Neil Young, and Richie Furay. The group released three albums and several singles during its brief existence, including "For What It's Worth". The band combined elements of folk and country music with British invasion and psychedelic-rock influences, and, along with the Byrds, were part of the early development of folk-rock.

With a name taken from the manufacturer's nameplate from a steamroller, Buffalo Springfield formed in Los Angeles in 1966 with Stills (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Dewey Martin (drums, vocals), Bruce Palmer (bass), Furay (guitar, vocals), and Young (guitar, harmonica, piano, vocals). The band signed to Atlantic Records in 1966 and released their debut single "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing", which became a hit in Los Angeles. The following January, the group released the protest song "For What It's Worth", for which they are now best known. Their second album, Buffalo Springfield Again, marked their progression to psychedelia and hard rock.

After various drug-related arrests and line-up changes, the group broke up in 1968. Stephen Stills went on to form the supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash with David Crosby of the Byrds and Graham Nash of the Hollies. Neil Young launched his solo career and later joined Stills in Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in 1969. Furay, along with Jim Messina, went on to form the country-rock band Poco. Buffalo Springfield was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.

Cliff Richard - 1959 - Expresso Bongo FLAC

Love/A Voice In The Wilderness/ The Shrine On The Second Floor/Bongo Blues



Expresso Bongo is a 1959 film satire of the music industry directed by Val Guest, shot in uncredited black & white Dyaliscope and starring Laurence Harvey, Cliff Richard, and Yolande Donlan. It is adapted from the stage musical of the same name, which was first produced on the stage at the Saville Theatre, London, on 23 April 1958.

In the film, Cliff Richard and the Shadows made their second screen appearance in a film released during 1959, the first being the much darker Serious Charge. The later film was made at Shepperton Studios, near London, with certain scenes shot on location in London's Soho district.

In January 1960, an EP made up of all the Cliff Richard and the Shadows' tracks from the album was released. On the tenth of March, Record Retailer published the first UK EP Chart with Expresso Bongo topping the chart. Prior to this, the EP had also made the UK Singles Chart reaching number 14.

Billy J Kramer With The Dakotas - 1963 - The Billy J. Kramer Hits FLAC

Bad To Me/ I Call Your Name/Do You Want To Know A Secret/ I'll Be On My Way



Riding high at the top of the charts after toppling Cilla Black, were yet another act connected to The Beatles. Billy J Kramer with The Dakotas had scored three hits penned by Lennon and McCartney, the most popular being their 1963 number 1, Bad to Me.

Understandably, they decided if they wanted to secure a long-term future, they needed to step out of the shadow of the Fab Four. The fact The Dakotas had also scored a hit with their self-penned instrumental, The Cruel Sea, only backed this belief up. And so the group found themselves doing the unthinkable when they turned down another Lennon and McCartney original, One and One is Two, and opted to record Little Children instead. You have to admire the boldness of Kramer and co, but unfortunately it was as unwise a move as it was brave. If you’re going to try something new in 1964, don’t pick a song by former Elvis collaborators, whose best days were now behind them.

 Little Children is a rickety, sickly sweet slice of old-fashioned pop that not even George Martin could turn to gold. In recent years it has received criticism for its sub-paedophilic undertones. If you ask me, this is harsh. It’s a song written in more innocent times, and is actually about a teenager or young man who’s desperate to cop off with his girlfriend, but her siblings are getting in the way, so he tries to win them over and silence them by offering sweets and money. What I won’t excuse, though, is the fact this is a crap, irritating song, and Bad to Me was much better.

But in the short term, the group’s move proved to be a wise one, as following this final number 1, they released another Lennon and McCartney track, From a Window, which only made it to number 10.

In July, bassist Ray Jones left following an argument with Brian Epstein, which was the first in a series of line-up changes. Music was getting heavier and weirder in the next few years, and Kramer’s softer style, plus a drink problem, meant declining fortunes, so in September 1967, Kramer and The Dakotas went their separate ways.

The Dakotas split a year later, with several members joining Cliff Bennet’s band. They reformed in the 80s, with Eddie Mooney on vocals, and in addition to many appearances on the nostalgia circuit, they worked with comedian Peter Kay on the excellent Peter Kay’s Phoenix Nights (2001) and the dire spin-off Max and Paddy’s Road to Nowhere (2004), with new member Toni Baker co-writing all the music to both series with Kay. Kramer is also a regular on package tours of yesteryear, and in 2016 released his autobiography, Do You Want to Know a Secret?

Billy J Kramer With The Dakotas - 1964 - I'll Keep You Satisfied FLAC

 I'll Keep You Satisfied/I Know/Dance With Me/It's Up To You




Billy Kramer (real name, William Howard Ashton) was an apprentice fitter for British Rail – He was also the lead singer for a Liverpool group called The Coasters when Brian Epstein spotted them playing at The Cavern. The Coasters did not want to turn professional so Epstein bought Kramer’s contract from his ageing manager Ted Knibbs for the princely sum of £50 and teamed him up with accomplished Manchester band The Dakotas – who included Elkie Brooks’ brother, Tony Mansfield on drums.

Given access to several compositions by Lennon and McCartney (four of the first five singles were written by the duo), most of which were unused by The Beatles themselves, Kramer & The Dakotas embarked on a brief but spectacular career as hit-makers. Do You Want To Know A Secret? was issued on 26 May 1963 after a harrowing recording session where double-tracking and George Martin‘s patchy piano tinkling hid a nervous Billy’s shortcomings, particularly on the falsetto line “I’m in love with you-oooooo”.

 John Lennon provided Bad To Me which went one better than its demanding predecessor when it snatched the top spot from The Searchers in August. Another Beatles-penned hit, I’ll Keep You Satisfied, saw the year out in fine style as did a high placing in the New Musical Express‘ chart survey and its prediction of a golden future for Billy J specifically on the silver screen.

Epstein wanted the group to continue recording Lennon and McCartney compositions because the formula clearly worked. But Kramer had heard a song he intended to record, written by American composers Mort Shuman and John McFarland. He defied Epstein and Little Children became his biggest-selling single ever.

Ray Jones left the group in July 1964 and Macdonald switched to bass allowing the dynamic Mick Green (ex Johnny Kidd & The Pirates) to come in as lead guitarist.

Following the failure of their last few singles, Kramer left The Dakotas in 1967 for an ultimately unsuccessful solo career. After a stint compering the pop show Discotheque he later moved to the United States. From 1973, Kramer toured with a re-formed Dakotas on the oldies-but-goldies circuit. He also recorded a dozen or so solo singles – all without success.

Sly and The Family Stone - 1971 - Dance To The Music FLAC

Dance to the Music/Life/Fun/Hot Fun in the Summertime



Sly and the Family Stone was an American band from San Francisco. Active from 1966 to 1983, it was pivotal in the development of funk, soul, rock, and psychedelic music. Its core line-up was led by singer-songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist Sly Stone, and included Stone's brother and singer/guitarist Freddie Stone, sister and singer/keyboardist Rose Stone, trumpeter Cynthia Robinson, drummer Greg Errico, saxophonist Jerry Martini, and bassist Larry Graham. It was the first major American rock group to have a racially integrated, male and female lineup

"Dance to the Music" is a 1967 hit single by soul/funk/rock band Sly and the Family Stone for the Epic/CBS Records label. It was the first single by the band to reach the Billboard Pop Singles Top 10, peaking at #8 and the first to popularize the band's sound, which would be emulated throughout the black music industry and dubbed "psychedelic soul". It was later ranked #223 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
 

 None of the band members particularly liked "Dance to the Music" when it was first recorded and released. The song, and the accompanying Dance to the Music LP, were made at the insistence of CBS Records executive Clive Davis, who wanted something more commercially viable than the band's 1967 LP, A Whole New Thing. Bandleader Sly Stone crafted a formula, blending the band's distinct psychedelic rock leanings with a more pop-friendly sound. The result was what saxophonist Jerry Martini called "glorified Motown beats. 'Dance to the Music' was such an unhip thing for us to do."About the song

However, "Dance to the Music" did what it was supposed to do: it launched Sly and the Family Stone into the pop consciousness. Even toned down for pop audiences, the band's radical sound caught many music fans and fellow recording artists completely off guard. "Dance to the Music" featured four co-lead singers, black musicians and white musicians in the same band, and a distinct blend of instrumental sounds: rock guitar riffs from Sly's brother Freddie Stone, a funk bassline from Larry Graham, Greg Errico's syncopated drum track, Sly's gospel-styled organ playing, and Jerry Martini and Cynthia Robinson on the horns.

 An unabashed party record, "Dance to the Music" opens with Robinson screaming to the audience, demanding that they "get on up...and dance to the music!" before the Stone brothers and Graham break into an a cappella scat before the song's verses begin. The actual lyrics of the song are sparse and self-referential. The song serves as a Family Stone theme song of sorts, introducing Errico, Robinson, and Martini by name. After calling on Robinson and Martini for their solo, Sly tells the audience that "Cynthia an' Jerry got a message that says...", which Robinson finishes: "All the squares go home!" The Stone Brothers and Graham repeat the a cappella portion before the refrain of the repeated title is mentioned over and over with the sound of the instruments dropping out, except for the electric guitar, being played in the upper register, before the song's fade.
 

 "Dance to the Music" was one of the most influential songs of the late-1960s. The Sly and the Family Stone sound became the dominating sound in African-American pop music for the next three years, and many established artists, such as The Temptations and their producer Norman Whitfield, Diana Ross & the Supremes, The Impressions, The Four Tops, The 5th Dimension, and War began turning out Family Stone-esque material. The Temptations' single "Cloud Nine" was inspired by "Dance to the Music" and was a top ten hit, winning a Grammy Award. "Dance to the Music" and the later Family Stone singles also helped lead to the development of funk music.

Various Arists - 1970 - Super Groups Vol. 1 FLAC

John Mayall - Room To Move/Jack Bruce - The Clearout/Blind Faith - Well All Right/ Taste - Blister On The Moon



 As the elder statesman of British blues, it is John Mayall's lot to be more renowned as a bandleader and mentor than as a performer in his own right. Throughout the '60s, his band the Bluesbreakers acted as a finishing school for the leading British blues-rock musicians of the era. Guitarists Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and Mick Taylor joined his band in a remarkable succession in the mid-'60s, honing their chops with Mayall before going on to join Cream, Fleetwood Mac, and the Rolling Stones, respectively. John McVie and Mick Fleetwood, Jack Bruce, Aynsley Dunbar, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Andy Fraser (of Free), John Almond, and Jon Mark also played and recorded with Mayall for varying lengths of times in the '60s. 

Mayall recorded his debut single in early 1964; he made his first album, a live affair, near the end of the year. At this point the Bluesbreakers had a more pronounced R&B influence than would be exhibited on their most famous recordings, somewhat in the mold of younger combos like the Animals and Rolling Stones, but the Bluesbreakers would take a turn for the purer with the recruitment of Eric Clapton in the spring of 1965. Clapton had left the Yardbirds in order to play straight blues, and the Bluesbreakers allowed him that freedom (or stuck to well-defined restrictions, depending upon your viewpoint). Clapton began to inspire reverent acclaim as one of Britain's top virtuosos, as reflected in the famous "Clapton is God" graffiti that appeared in London in the mid-'60s.

In professional terms, though, 1965 wasn't the best of times for the group, which had been dropped by Decca. Clapton even left the group for a few months for an odd trip to Greece, leaving Mayall to straggle on with various fill-ins, including Peter Green. Clapton did return in late 1965, around the time an excellent blues-rock single, "I'm Your Witchdoctor" (with searing sustain-laden guitar riffs), was issued on Immediate. By early 1966, the band was back on Decca, and recorded its landmark Bluesbreakers LP. This was the album that, with its clean, loud, authoritative licks, firmly established Clapton as a guitar hero, on both reverent covers of tunes by the likes of Otis Rush and Freddie King and decent originals by Mayall himself. The record was also an unexpected commercial success, making the Top Ten in Britain. From that point on, in fact, Mayall became one of the first rock musicians to depend primarily upon the LP market; he recorded plenty of singles throughout the '60s, but none of them came close to becoming a hit.

Clapton left the Bluesbreakers in mid-1966 to form Cream with Jack Bruce, who had played with Mayall briefly in late 1965. Mayall turned quickly to Peter Green, who managed the difficult feat of stepping into Clapton's shoes and gaining respect as a player of roughly equal imagination and virtuosity, although his style was quite distinctly his own. Green recorded one LP with Mayall, A Hard Road, and several singles, sometimes writing material and taking some respectable lead vocals. Green's talents, like those of Clapton, were too large to be confined by sideman status, and in mid-1967 he left to form a successful band of his own, Fleetwood Mac.

Mayall then enlisted 19-year-old Mick Taylor; remarkably, despite the consecutive departures of two star guitarists, Mayall maintained a high level of popularity. The late '60s were also a time of considerable experimentation for the Bluesbreakers, who moved into a form of blues-jazz-rock fusion with the addition of a horn section, and then retreated into mellower, acoustic-oriented music. Mick Taylor, the last of the famous triumvirate of Mayall-bred guitar heroes, left in mid-1969 to join the Rolling Stones. Yet in a way Mayall was thriving more than ever, as the U.S. market, which had been barely aware of him in the Clapton era, was beginning to open up for his music. In fact, at the end of the '60s, Mayall moved to Los Angeles. Released in 1969, The Turning Point, a live, all-acoustic affair, was a commercial and artistic high point.

In America at least, Mayall continued to be pretty popular in the early '70s. His band was as unstable as ever; at various points some American musicians flitted in and out of the Bluesbreakers, including Harvey Mandel, Canned Heat bassist Larry Taylor, and Don "Sugarcane" Harris. Although he's released numerous albums since, and remains a prodigiously busy and reasonably popular live act, his post-1970 output generally hasn't matched the quality of his '60s work. Following collaborations with an unholy number of guest celebrities, in the early '80s he re-teamed with a couple of his more renowned vets, John McVie and Mick Taylor, for a tour, which was chronicled by Great American Music's Blues Express, released in 2010. The '60s albums are what you want, though over the past decades, there's little doubt that Mayall has done a great deal to popularize the blues all over the globe. Continuing to record and tour into his eighties, Mayall released A Special Life, recorded at Entourage Studios in North Hollywood and featuring a guest spot by singer and accordion player C.J. Chenier, in 2014. The album was universally celebrated as one of his best. 

John Symon Asher Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish singer-songwriter, musician and composer. He gained popularity as the co-lead vocalist, and bass guitarist of British rock band Cream. After the group disbanded in 1968, he pursued a solo career and also played with several bands.

In the early 1960s Bruce joined the Graham Bond Organisation, where he met his future bandmate Ginger Baker. After leaving the Graham Bond Organisation, he joined with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, where he met Eric Clapton, who also was his future bandmate. His time with the band was brief. In 1966, he formed Cream with lead guitarist Clapton and drummer Baker; he co-wrote some of their hits (including "Sunshine of Your Love", "White Room" and "I Feel Free") with songwriter Pete Brown. After the group disbanded Bruce formed his own blues-rock band West, Bruce and Laing in 1972, with guitarist Leslie West and drummer Corky Laing. In the late 1960s he began recording solo albums. His first solo album, Songs for a Tailor, released in 1969, was a worldwide hit. His solo career spanned several decades. From the 1970s to the 1990s he played with several groups as a touring member. He reunited with Cream in 2005 for concerts at the Royal Albert Hall and at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Bruce is considered to be one of the most important and influential bass guitarists of all time. Rolling Stone magazine readers ranked him number eight on their list of "10 Greatest Bass Guitarist Of All Time". He was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, and was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006, both as a member of Cream.

Blind Faith were an English supergroup featuring Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, and Ric Grech, active in mostly 1969. They were eagerly anticipated by the music press as a continuation of Clapton and Baker's former group Cream and Winwood's former group Traffic, but they split after one album and tour.

The group originated with informal jamming by Clapton and Winwood in early 1969 following the break-ups of Cream and Traffic. Baker joined them in rehearsals and they decided to form a group. Grech joined as the fourth member from the band Family in May, and they began recording their eponymous debut album. It drew controversy for featuring a photograph of a topless 11-year-old girl on the front cover, and it was issued with a different cover in the United States.

The first Blind Faith concert was on 7 June in front of an estimated 100,000 fans in Hyde Park, London, but they felt that they had not rehearsed enough and were unprepared. They subsequently played concerts in Scandinavia and the US, but the lack of material in the live set led them to play old Cream and Traffic songs which pleased the audience but disillusioned the band. Clapton became increasingly isolated during the tour, preferring to spend time with support act Delaney & Bonnie, and the band split up immediately after their last performance on the tour. Clapton and Winwood both enjoyed the music that they played together in the group's limited time, and they have since collaborated on several tours playing Blind Faith material.


Taste (originally "The Taste") was formed in Cork, Ireland, in August 1966 as a trio consisting of Rory Gallagher on guitars and vocals, Eric Kitteringham on bass, and Norman Damery on drums. In their early years Taste toured in Hamburg and Ireland before becoming regulars at Maritime Hotel, an R&B club in Belfast, Northern Ireland in the summer of 1967.

 In 1968 Taste began performing in the UK where the original lineup split up. The new lineup formed with Richard McCracken on bass and John Wilson on drums. The new Taste moved permanently to London where they signed with the record label Polydor. In November 1968, the band, along with Yes, opened for Cream at Cream's farewell concerts. While with Polydor, Taste began touring the United States and Canada with the British supergroup Blind Faith. In April 1969, Taste released the first of their two studio albums, the self-titled Taste, with On the Boards following in early 1970, the latter showing the band's jazz influences with Gallagher playing saxophone on numerous tracks.

One performance came in 1970 as part of the Isle of Wight Festival, alongside Jimi Hendrix and The Who. According to Donal Gallagher (Rory's brother who managed the band) filmmaker Murray Lerner had given instructions to his crew to shoot just two numbers from the new bands and to save the main film stock for Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Leonard Cohen and the other headliners but Taste’s performance prompted him to change his instructions.

"Murray didn’t know who Taste were but when he saw the spontaneity of the band and the audience and their interaction, he just told his guys keep filming and they just kept going and captured over an hour of the performance which was quite incredible." In the song "Sugar Mama", a photographer can be seen hurriedly bringing his camera up from a re-load to cover another camera angle.

Later the same year Taste toured Europe but were disbanded due to numerous reasons, the details of which are still unclear; but are generally acknowledged as having been due to managerial disputes and also tensions between Gallagher and the rest of the band, who wanted to be recognised as equals with him (Gallagher having been the sole songwriter in the band). They performed their last show on New Year's Eve in Belfast.  Wilson and McCracken immediately formed 'Stud' in early 1971, with Jim Cregan and John Weider, while Gallagher went on to pursue a solo career.