Last month, we revisited some cool British singles released in October 1966. Now it's time to take a look at some great British releases issued in November. Let's begin.
The Small Faces 'You need Lovin' was basically ripped off by Led Zep, but Steve loved it. Steve Marriott, for me, was the best Blues/Rock singer this country ever produced.
I've been buying records since I was at school, and I'm now 67. I've around 8,000 singles (the majority from the 60s). And listen to music EVERYDAY. There's not a day go's by without me hearing something new.
Again, the magical year of 1966. I was born decades later but I would’ve loved to be in my prime in the period. It was simply the best for music. So much changing within a few years. We go from chuck berry to this 10 years later. What was the music like 10 years ago from today? Nobody can really say anything. Almost everything in the last 25 years will never stand the test of time. And In 25 more years, it will still be this music that is remembered and celebrated most.
All very true. Music has for long completely finished. Sadly, far too many artists from these great early days are just not with us anymore. All we can do now is enjoy the music of the past. If I hear anybody mentioning new music now, I always think there is no such thing as new music. You say nobody can say what music was like 10 years ago. I can, just the same as 30 years ago, more and more obscure artists you never heard of who just came and went, and were all completely forgettable, many who looked transexual, and gave themselves names you could not even pronounce, so you could not even tell their genders by their names.
@@deadlyoneable Yes, indeed. A couple of years younger, l feel so lucky to have known the rock of the sixties and then the towering energy of the New Wave on both sides of the Atlantic - l mention Elvis Costello and the Talking Heads just as examples (I don't suppose that anyone remembers the Only Ones or Magazine !).
BTW The Young Rascals guitarist Gene Cornish just celebrated his 80th birthday. He is from Rochester New York that song was covered by Pat Benatar and became the second song ever played on MTV in 1981.
I am from the U.S. During the 1966-1967 school year, I heard two different new songs on the radio called "Deadend Street", the one by the Kinks featured here and one by Lou Rawls. It was the last new Kinks song I heard on the radio until they started a comeback with "Lola" in 1970. I didn't know it wasn't a big hit like their earlier Reprise label releases in the U.S. I was surprised when it did not appear on a Kinks anthology CD put out by Rhino in the late 1980s or early 1990s. "Deadend Street" by the Kinks is the only single featured in this video that I heard on the radio in the U.S. I heard a cover of their song "Dandy", but it was by Herman's Hermits, not the artist mentioned in this video.
"Deadend Street" received a fair amount of airplay in the Southern New England/Providence, RI radio market, but didn't chart higher than the 30s (out of the local Top 40). I loved the record, bought the 45, and also loved "Big Black Smoke". Years later, with the advent of the internet, I found an email address for John Dalton, their bass player, and wrote to him. I wasn't sure, in those days, whether Peter Quaife was still in the band, and asked John if he had played on those two sessions. To my huge surprise, he wrote back to confirm that he had - and that both had been recorded over the Halloween weekend (Oct 29/30) that year. I also heard Lou Rawls's different "Dead End Street" locally, and agree with you that - of all the records featured in this (excellent) YP episode - the only one that I'd heard locally was by The Kinks.
Both Deadend Street songs told the tale of poor working class People and their woes with the Kinks with their usual master of words describing the British side and Lou Rawls with his powerful voice describing the USA side.
1966 was a great year for music..full stop. But my favorite of these has got to be Dead End Street by the Kinks. It's one of the best Kinks singles ever. But better still is Big Black Smoke...it's very underrated still. The bells you hear on Big Black Smoke are the very same bells used on Fat Old Sun by Pink Floyd. Superb work as usual. Keeps me an Anglophile forever 👍
Wow. Had never heard that exact direct comparison between Plant and Marriott before. So obvious with that Small Faces number. Plant became Marriott.....with undertones of...Elvis.
Never heard of the Gnomes of Zurich. What a great band name! Also loved the production credit to "The National Elf Service." Also loved that "tasteless" Kinks video. Auntie Beeb was so stodgy.
"Gnomes of Zurich" - now that's a phrase you never seem to hear now. It was in frequent use back then, referring to wealthy Swiss international bankers and their notorious reputation for secrecy.
Small Faces one of my all time fave bands. Interesting to see old Planty emulating Marriott. I always thought Zeps Kashmir nicked the strings from the Small Faces instrumental - Ogdens Nut Gone Flake 🤔
Beautiful vid from the autumn I was 11 and in sixth grade in Dallas. The only sad note for me is that, after one more vid, we'll leave the magical year of 1966 behind. Thank you again.
The band sent the tape to Don Arden for feedback. Arden, however found it more suitable to send it to Decca, who began pressing the single. Small Faces didn't find out until they were on tour, listening to the radio and hearing "My Mind's Eye" as a climber on the Radio London chart
Sounds like the melody of a classic Christmas carol from the baroque era, though I don’t think it is Bach. Nevertheless, like pretty melodies delivered with panache and fuzz.
@@VirreFriberg But it exists in two different takes. The first take which I have posted here has less vocals, and it sounds a million times clearer, so you can actually hear the lyrics. It has a lot less reverb, so you can hear the vibes much better, and I prefer this version. This was apparently the version that was issued in the States, out there on RCA Victor. But the single flopped there. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ky1Ioe5ynkg.html
If the BBC thought the Dead End Street video was in "bad taste", their attitudes must have undergone a marvellously comprehensive change a few years later, when they aired a short-lived sitcom called That's Your Funeral, set in an undertaking business.
His trademark ugliness was evident at this early stage though. 😄 Strange, how the (later) infallible Lemmy and the (earlier) infallible Shel Talmy could miss this badly together…
I love these monthly breakdowns of 1966. It's my favourite year, a great atmosphere and so much excellent experimentation in the recording studios. Totally agree with your comment regarding the Small Faces eclipsing most other mod bands due to the awesome songwriting skills of Steve & Plonk. Bands like The Action were still covering American soul songs and banging then out as singles which was pretty lazy. Eventually The Action did some songwriting and found out they were really quite great at it (Those 'Rolled Gold' demos are fkn amazing and it's one of my 'all time' albums, a desert island disc for sure) but unfortunately it didn't bring them any more success but they deserved to be hyowge!
Some of these records I am unfamiliar with. However, the ones I am familiar with are some of the best stuff of the sixties in my opinion especially The Kinks single.
There are a number of November singles missing here--by The Who (the EP with the psychedelic "Disguises" on it), Episode Six, Thane Russal, Twice As Much, The Attraction, Magic Lanterns, Young Idea, The Pandamonium (a cover of "Season Of The Witch"), Eyes Of Blue and especially Allen Pound's Get Rich with the fuzz monster "Searchin'" In The Wilderness"--but there's still plenty left to enjoy from the rest. "Dead End Street" is one of the best Kinks 45's, and the flip is equally as good; both songs could have fit perfectly on the class-conscious "Face To Face" LP, with Ray already reaching an early peak of his powers at this time. I, too, prefer "Misfit" to "Hippy Gumbo", and "Major Catastrophe" is a gem of a find. December should bring awesome singles from The Who, Cream (a real relief after "Wrapping Paper" LOL), The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Move, The Flies, Herbal Mixture, Mick Softley & The Summer Suns, The Mirage, and more! I'm starting to get a little sad we're reaching the end of the line, however!
Cheers Spirit! This video was a nightmare to make due to copyright issues. And unfortunately, I had to edit out some of the songs that were originally featured in the video. That's why some good singles from November are missing. Oddly enough, some of the obscure tracks have more strict copyright than the well-known songs and I can't even include song excerpts.
@@YesterdaysPapers Ha! I can't imagine the hurdles you have to go through to make these clips. All I can say though is to do the best you can, because it's *always* worth it!! Can't wait for December!
The equals I believe they had Eddie Grant that became famous in the 80s for the song electric Avenue? In the US they had one hit, “baby come back” that was actually covered by Bonnie Raitt.
YP, I did enjoy this trip back to November ‘66. If you want to blow the minds of your friends, play the Willie Dixon composition, You Need Love by Muddy Waters. They will say, that sounds a lot like Whole Lotta Love? Next play, The Small Faces, ‘You Need Loving’ (which you provided a clip). Have them pay attention to Steve Marriott’s phrasing. All they know is that there’s something distinctly familiar about that vocal. Now, play ‘Whole Lotta Love’ by Led Zeppelin. Peoples mouths drop… Is Plant mimicking Marriott? I tell them, well, you tell me? You just confirmed in your video that Robert Plant was influenced vocally by Steve Marriott. Robert Plant would go on to find his own distinct voice and we’re all glad for it.
@@YesterdaysPapers Led Zeppelin wound up settling with Willie Dixon, because the songs were too similar. It’s interesting that Dixon didn’t go after the Small Faces version. I may know the answer to this, I’m thinking that Whole Lotta Love made tons more money and, therefore, a bigger return for Dixon.
Another great video. A few points here; That single you played by The Nightriders was originally recorded in the States by The Kingsmen. It was The Nightriders' second of two UK singles, both with the same B side. As for that single by The Score, who the hell knew it was a Beatles' cover. But the B side that you also played was originally recorded in the States over two years earlier by Merry Clayton, who years later became a successful background singer, and sung on The Rolling Stones' Gimme Shelter. It was covered soon after her by Chuck Jackson, who had the U.S. hit with it. The Small Faces single you stated was originally recorded as a demo. But it exists in two different takes. The first take which I have posted here has less vocals, and it sounds a million times clearer, so you can actually hear the lyrics. It has a lot less reverb, so you can hear the vibes much better, and I prefer this version. This was apparently the version that was issued in the States, out there on RCA Victor. But the single flopped there. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ky1Ioe5ynkg.html For next month, I look forward to a mention of The 'N' Betweens' version of You Better Run. The Robert Plant led version here, I thought got let down by the female backing vocals. But it stated off sounding good with that pseudo-Steve Marriott on lead. But contrary to your comment, it had a great B side, a great song, like Motown goes Rock.
Never cease to amaze!, again a classic double a side by the Kinks, my FAVORITE. Geez, did Led Zeppelin ever do something original 😂?… also love the Equals!
Man, if you were a British pop music pioneer in the 1960-62 silver age before the Beatles, it feels like you're always cursed with an inglorious end. Sutch, Meek, Shannon all died by suicide, Taylor became a brain-fried weirdo, and Kidd perishes in an accident. Just what the hell was in the water?
Fascinating & informative video as always! Never heard Percy’s pre-Zeppelin vocal style before, and I must say I prefer it to the later one he hit paydirt with!
I still can't quite separate "freakbeat" from "psychedelic" in my mind. I'd settle for "proto-psychedelic" as a compromise position (after consulting with my attorneys), but must beg for clarification as to why, "I Can See for Miles", for example, is thought of as "freakbeat" and not "psychedelic", which I'd always considered it since first hearing it maybe 45 years ago, before encountering the name "freakbeat" thanks to this channel. Or is it simply a matter of the term "psychedelic" not being available yet by, say, 1966? And while recognizing I swim entirely against the strongest tide imaginable by saying it, I must confess to never getting the Kinks apart from the big trans-Atlantic hits. The rest have always sounded like exceptionally trite B-sides to me, notable for nothing so much as their saccharine melodies over cute (though not in a good way) singing. And if there's supposed to be something in them too uniquely English for a rude American, my beloved pre-Tommy Who records mine much the same territory (or at least from the same Council Flats perspective), while my favorite bands ever--most of them from Canterbury, Kent--manage to "bring the English" if that's what one's looking for in one's music (and I sometimes am). The Kinks, though, apart from the hits, I guess I'll just never get. That, and the "freakbeat"/"psychedelic" distinction. Jesus, but I have a lot of spare time on my hands. 🙇🏿
I guess proto-psychedelia and freakbeat can be interchangeable sometimes. But the way I see it, most freakbeat songs can be considered proto-psychedelic but not all proto-psychedelic tunes are freakbeat. Freakbeat refers to British mod/R&B/beat bands who started adding psychedelic elements to their music so their music was kind of a mixture of mod/R&B/beat and early psychedelia. As for the Kinks, I can't agree with you there. Easily in my top 5 favourite bands ever. But hey, different strokes for different folks.
@@YesterdaysPapers In truth, the first Kinks albums feature any number of songs I think are fantastic, not just those that topped the charts, so I guess I AM a fan of more than just the 5 or so tunes that crossed the Atlantic in the mid-60s and were very big here, but the early records are about as far as I can go. The subject matter of the early tunes is of course much more basic than in Davies' later writing, but I'm just not a huge fan of "deep" in pop lyrics. Pete Townsend's about the only rock writer I've ever found to have done successfully what Ray was trying to do, only I think Pete pulls it off brilliantly, due in no small measure to both the brilliance of Keith and John and his broader music-education background (both parents professional musicians), whereas I've always found Ray's more "thoughtful" lyric writing came at the direct expense of the band rocking out--which is the primary I reason I listen to rock and roll in the first place, American as that sounds. I guess what I really like is the period when they first started being fancied by mods. Anyway, love the channel--you know that. 🎸🥁🎤
Listening to your channel brings back a lot of memories of growing up in the sixties. It also surprises me just how bad some of the recordings were back then. It is no surprise that the only two songs to do well chart wise were by the Kinks and the Small Faces, I love both of those bands, In My Minds Eye being my favourite record during December 66 when it was high in the charts. The Fleur De Lys were one of those bands that seemed to be going to break into the big time but for some reason never did. Most of the other songs on this months list sounded like bad demo tapes though I do remember that Equals single getting some airplay on one of the pirate radio stations. Give the record companies their due back then, at least they gave artists a chance to do something different and did stick with them for a while if the first few singles failed. I quite liked that earli incarnation of Eobert Plant though. I just missed seeing him earlier this year when he did an unannounced performance at the Blackpool.Winter Gardens Were going to go to the event but went to the one held a week later as we prefered the bands that were advertised to be on that one. Really enjoying your channel anyway.
I liked that single by The Equals. First time I've ever seen a pic of them, in all their multiracial glory. Then again, I didn't know Los Bravos were Spanish, nor that Bobby Hebb was black. I was only 15, far away in NZ. I didn't even know there were music magazines.
Fluer De Lys were Les Fluer De Lys. Lol Mud in Your Eye borrows " Circles" which they redid( well Pagey played on that.. ) thanx man! Fun Fact- Clem Cattini plays drums on You Better Run and Kiki Dee sings on.
The excellent Major Catastrophe was so different to much of what Katch-22 did afterwards. They're still going and released an album and some other bits and pieces just a few years ago. Pumpkin Mini was a great little song, but out of place in November 1969 really. And if onlyThe Fleur De Lys could have kept a stable line-up, they could have been really great.
I have this single with the "wrong" My mind's eye but doesn't it exist with the correct one? Not "Less flur de lee" but "Lay fleur de lisss", just sayin' 😉. By the way wasn't it Jimmy Page on production and lead guitar? I read it somewhere. Anyway, another great number. (Now we can see why Robert Plant among many others protests against the Steve Marriott AI generated recordings)
Some great sounding records, although I think The Kinks with Shel Talmy was genius. Ray's observational style, his lyrical gift elevates Big Black Smoke above the rest for me. That vibe and feel on vinyl, on a Dansette or radiogram is quite a thing...I always enjoy your films.
November 1966 brought a bad flood in Venice Italy and in elections in the USA and Australia bad news for US President Johnson but good news for Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt and speaking of good there are a lot of good records released from British Artists that month such as the Kinks with Deadend Street and Small Faces My Mind's Eyes which sounds like a Christmas song. You know it is a good month when Robert Plant Marc Bolan and the Equals are putting out records and sadly Johnny Kidd who had died in October whose released record sounded great and who knows what a up to date style Johnny Kidd would have done in the future.
The melody of that Small Faces' track, I suddenly remembered came from the chorus of a Christmas Carol, which I think was called Ding Dong Merrily On High We used to have to sing this at school. But if the tune was already over 50 years old, it would have been out of copyright. So Marriott & Lane could then claim it as their tune, as they at least slowed it down, and the last few notes were different. It was ironically their Christmas hit of 1966, yet the lyrics had nothing to do with Christmas.
1:20 Lou Rawls had a minor U.S. hit with his "Dead End Street", a totally different song, the following year. I've always noticed how these things tend to run in waves, sometimes from ideas spreading among song writers, but sometimes, as was the case with "Superstar" a few years later, from consumers just buying the wrong record after seeing the common title.
So Lenny of Motorhead was once in a Mod band singing Ray Davies' "Dandy". This is Totally surprising given his later sound but not surprising at all considering his age then.
Great stuff as always 👏 That Johnny Kidd record is terrific, wonder if he'd have ridden the coat tails of punk with the Pirates had he been around? Gone too soon ❤
Gosh. Robert Plant, Marc Bolan, Lemmy, and Jeff Lynne all look so cute and innocent. Since I was a teenager in the 70s I can honestly say the transformation from the 60s to the 70s will do that to you. Of course, you know I loved this episode.
Jeff Lynne later joined Roy Wood in the Move. Before that he was in the Idle Race who did some great tracks. Lemmy, I believe, had been a roadie for the Birds featuring Ronnie Wood. Whatever happened to him?
@@chrisbacoshe was a roadie for Hendrix. He joined a Psychedelic band called Sam Gopal. I first heard Lemmy in the early 70s when me oldest bruv used to play Hawkwinds Silver Machine to death on the old gramophone! First band I ever saw was Motörhead at Brum Odeon - Ace of Spades ♠️ tour - superb! 😎✌️
Oh no "Lazy Sunday Afternoon" had everything. Innovation, humour and even a video ! I never forgot it, and fifty years later found it again ! Unparalleled bliss !
As music year 1966 draws to a close, I have to conclude that 1966 produced perhaps the coolest British singles! You must have "Mud In Your Eye" not to see that 🤩!
YP, Another superlative job. I love the shots of London streets, but the Music! Living in the States, we/I did not get hear of the Small Faces, let alone hearing one of my (now) favorite tracks by them. But I never heard thos Kinks songs until Kinks Kronikles which gobsmacked me (as did The Great lost kinks Album). I went see the Spencer davis Group at a car show in a armory (?!?), and was disappointed/surprised to see the Winwoods gone and Phil Sawyer the new guitarist. I mention this as I missed Les Fleur de Lys until the songs showed up on compilations. Based on your featured pictures, I presume that Hardin was still in the group, although it seems that the personnel kept going around like a revolving door. A lot of interesting, appealing music in November '66, but living in the States, I seem to have been in another world and missed all this great stuff. At least I didn' miss a great video.
When it was released in the US, RCA Records paid for a full-page ad in Billboard/Cash Box to promote "All Or Nothing" - in addition to giving it a B&W picture sleeve - but I never heard it played on the radio. Ditto, the following year, for "Tin Soldier" (with a full-color picture sleeve). Something went wrong with The Small Faces in the US, and I'm not sure why. Both were/are terrific records - and the B-side of "All Or Nothing", "Understanding", was also top tier. "Kink Kronikles" was the best idea that Reprise Records ever had in promoting The Kinks in the US.
@@total.stranger I was in western Massachusetts from '66 on, and there was no radio play for the Small Faces, but deejays and record companies made some odd decisions then (and now). At night, I regularly listened to WKBW (Buffalo) and CKLW (Windsor, Ontario) which generally were better than the local fare, but I never heard the Small faces there either. Itchycoo Park was the first thing by them that I heard in the radio, and the first thing I saw by them in stores. As for the Kinks, critic John Mendelssohn kept championing them in Rolling Stone, and was supposedly the driving force behind Kronikles. Reprise started a Kinks club that got you a package with buttons and grass/hay which I ended up throwing out a few years later. Reprise also put out a bunch of 'loss leader' albums that were label samplers available by mail order (for instance: The Big Ball, Schlagers, Hot Platters). Ah, the sixties had its foibles as well.
@@YesterdaysPapers "James Hargreaves Guitar" posted an excellent rundown on The Kinks 1st (and only) disastrous US Tour about two weeks ago. I attempted to post its link a few hours ago, but it didn't take, apparently. His channel is under that name. I won't post the actual link.
That Fleur De Lys song is a banger, I've always loved it, for some reason, I thought it was Jimmy Page playing that solo. Love the bit you did with future stars of the 70's, shows that perseverance pays off!
Deadend Street never made the radio in the U.S. It's not on their greatest hits albums, either. As always, the Small Faces delivered the goods. I can hardly believe that Lemmy recorded a cover of Dandy! Didn't realize that Johnny Kidd was still making music in late 1966. Pity about what happened to him. I don't know this Equals song. All I know about them is Baby Come Back.
Wow! What an education this Yank is getting here. I think I've heard only one of these songs. It is so fascinating to hear all this good music and realizing what was bubbling up across the pond in mid 60's. Now I've got my work cut out for me chasing down these tunes on RU-vid. YP your videos seem to be getting better and better, if that's possible. The graphics and editing are superb. Do you put all of them together yourself or do you have an editor who helps?
@@YesterdaysPapers You are one talented bloke YP!! . Thanks for all the time and effort you must put in to make these terrific videos. I know how time consuming editing can be trying to get everything just right.
Another beauty! Not much US chart success, but stations in the then Dominion of Canada would play UK non-hits during off-peak hours. Wonder how many Lemmys and Plants we heard without knowing.
