friday random ten, 1961 edition

1. B. Bumble & the Stingers, "Bumble Boogie." I'd always assumed B. Bumble & the Stingers were an anonymous bunch of journeymen who hit it big on the charts a couple of times. One of the nice things about putting together these lists is that I get to learn something. Just to note one example, the drummer in this group was Earl Palmer, who has as much right as anyone to the claim that he invented rock and roll drumming (among many others, Palmer played on most of Little Richard's hits, including "Tutti Frutti"). The arrangement for this one was by a pianist named Jack Fina, who had done it for Freddy Martin's swing band in the 40s. The video link is to a remarkable cartoon (Disney, I think) featuring the Martin version.

2. The Marvelettes, "Please Mr. Postman." Speaking of drummers, the man behind the skins on this one was named Marvin Gaye. This was Motown's first #1 single.

3. Dion, "The Wanderer." Might as well quote the artist on this one. "At its roots, it's more than meets the eye ... black music filtered through an Italian neighborhood that comes out with an attitude.... 'The Wanderer' is really a sad song. A lot of guys don't understand that.... It's 'I roam from town to town and go through life without a care, I'm as happy as a clown with my two fists of iron, but I'm going nowhere.'"

4. The Marcels, "Blue Moon." Do I really have to say anything about this one?

5. Patsy Cline, "I Fall to Pieces." Her first #1. Wikipedia tells us that at first, "Cline hated the song, but when she heard her version of the song she realized she liked it." She had a good ear.

6. Ben E. King, "Stand By Me." I love the bass line. But then, there's so much to like here ... it's a perfect track. Perfection notwithstanding, people have been covering this song ever since.

7. Timi Yuro, "Hurt." Who the heck is the modern version of Timi Yuro? "The Little Girl With the Big Voice," Yuro was under five feet tall with the voice of a giant. The All-Music Guide tells of Yuro breaking into a board meeting of her label to complain about the material they were giving her to sing. She proceeded to sing an a capella version of "Hurt." They decided she was right. When she showed up on TV singing her new hit, the audience was split between those who didn't know she was female and those who didn't know she was white.

8. Roy Orbison, "Crying." Another BIG VOICE. As great as Orbison's original is, as great as his duet version with k.d. lang is, lang has made this song her own. Her most famous performance of the song (video at the top of this list) came at the 1989 Songwriter's Hall of Fame ceremonies. Orbison was an inductee, but he had died recently. lang came out in a black dress, said a few words about the man, and began to sing. "Yes, now you're gone, and from this moment on, I'll be crying." She's been singing the song ever since.

9. Little Caesar & the Romans, "Those Oldies But Goodies (Remind Me of You)." It interests me that in 1961, when rock and roll music was still young, the concept of "oldies" already existed. Think of this: in 2008, an oldie would be something like, say, The Supremes singing "Love Child." That was 40 years ago. If 40 years defines one end of what we'd call "oldies," then in 1961, an oldie but goodie would have been something by Paul Whiteman or Eddie Cantor. But instead, "oldies," as I remember it anyway, meant anything from 1956 onwards.

10. Gary U.S. Bonds, "Quarter to Three." His name was Frank Guida, he discovered Bonds, and he recorded some of the most gawdawful sounding records in music history. Most of them sounded like they were recorded at the bottom of the ocean amongst the rubble of a sunken battleship. He was a genius. He was rock and roll. Bonds, meanwhile, had an enormous influence on a certain rocker from New Jersey, as the video link demonstrates.