1964

This was the big year of the British invasion. (Although The Tornados, a British studio band often utilized by Joe Meek [we'll get to Meek in a minute], reached #1 on the U.S. charts with a quirky instrumental called "Telstar" in 1962, the great influx of English rock 'n' roll bands didn't ship over until 1964.) Naturally The Beatles were leading the charge, and were so overwhelmingly popular that in one particular week in April they held the top five positions on the singles chart, something that's never been done before or since.

I'm not going to spotlight any Beatles songs for two reasons:
1) The Beatles are so insanely popular that everybody in the universe is already familiar with most of their music, especially from the 1963-1965 era. And when you think 1960s rock and roll you think Beatles. As a result, a lot of good music and musicians have been forgotten and overlooked. I'm not knocking on the Beatles -- they're worth every acclamation they receive -- but there were a lot of other things going on.
2) I get the impression that it's not easy to use a Beatles song unless it is fully endorsed. What I mean is, Beatles songs aren't flippantly used. You've never heard a Beatles song on a Time-Life infomercial. You can't stream a 30-second sample on Allmusic.com or Amazon.com or anywhere else. And I'm not about to write Michael Jackson and Sony/ATV music publishing a letter asking them for permission to use "Mr. Moonlight" in my silly little blog.

Hopefully these are just as interesting...

The Honeycombs - "Have I the Right?"
Predating Meg White by thirty years, The Honeycombs featured a female drummer. But what's most notable about this song is the vacant echoey quality of the recording. Joe Meek was an underappreciated music producer and engineer whose ideas of studio sound were way ahead of his time. Using his home studio located above a leather-goods store he would often have different band members play their instruments in different rooms and placed microphones wherever the sound was best (to catch the stomping noises in "Have I the Right?" Meek attached four mics underneath a set of stairs). Meek was also fascinated with outer space and many of the songs he produced have an etheral pseudo-futuristic feel to them. An electronics specialist, he frequently added compressed synthesized sound effects to the music to achieve these results. Joe Meek's tale is an interesting one, and today he's posthumously more popular than the bands whose music he helped shape.

The Dave Clark Five - "Glad All Over"
It's another stomp-o-rific song! There are several things I like about this one. First, there's the leathery vocals of Mike Smith that John Lennon could only dream of having. Second, there's that stupidawesome saxophone (not used as a solo instrument, but more like a gritty bass guitar) that transforms this song from a sing-a-long into a lamp-smashing party tune. Third, everything is delivered so straight-forward that you could almost play all of the instruments with one hand. Primitive, abrasive, AMAZING... I may have to declare The DC5 the kings of frat music.

Terry Stafford - "Suspicion"
As they do today, music folk back then were quick to cash in on flavor-of-the-moments. This explains why there were so many Beatle sound-alikes, but there were also Elvis mimickers too. This is Terry Stafford's only hit song, and it actually was recorded by Elvis in 1962. I much prefer Stafford's subdued version with the wistful woo-hoos and unintrusive brass (what is that, a sax? A french horn? A muted trumpet from upstairs? Somebody help me), and I'm sure it was a welcomed relief for those tired of all them shouty English mophead rascals.

The Shangri-Las - "Remember (Walking in the Sand)"
Of course you can't forget about the girl groups of the 1960s, singing about boyfriends and such. My favorite girl group of the era is the Shangri-Las, who took a different approach to music. They often used spoken word in their music and, either by ignorance or design, bucked traditional song structure (take "Leader of the Pack" for example). This song's whiney verses are almost deterring (though you'd be whiney too if your overseas boyfriend sent you a break-up letter), but if you can hold out until the chorus. Instantly this crybaby song turns into something very haunting and visual. Close your eyes and you'll see beaches, sand, seagulls (!), and a narrator reflecting on it all with bittersweetness.

Bob Dylan - "It Ain't Me Babe"
This is one of Dylan's relatively few obvious songs, in that his lyrics here aren't vague and arcane. However, there's speculation that this isn't just an anti-love song... that perhaps this song carries political and/or social connotations. Regardless, Dylan's sad voice over his hushed guitar (throw that harmonica in there too) results in what's probably the most sincere-sounding song of the decade. The Turtles scored a hit the following year with a bouncy cover, but naturally I prefer the Bob Dylan original.