COLD OPEN:
CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!
"That Same Old Feeling" - Pickettywitch
(June/July 1970, highest chart pos. #5 UK/#40 Cash Box/#67 Hot 100)
Kicking off the show, that was blonde Brit beauty Polly Brown
aka Polly Browne and her English pop band Pickettywitch
doing their breakthrough hit "That Same Old Feeling."
The single went top 5 at home in the UK and
brushed the top 40 stateside in the
summer of 1970.
The video you watched was brilliantly restored through the
use of A.I. Enhancement software, making it seem like the
performance was filmed only yesterday instead of 53 years ago.
Allow myself to introduce..... myself.
I'm Austin Powers, super secret spy,
international man of mystery,
bon vivant, swinging playboy
and irresistible babe magnet.
bon vivant, swinging playboy
and irresistible babe magnet.
London is my home, shag is my bag,
planet earth is my playground and
danger is my middle name, baby.
Your regular host, Shady, couldn't be here today. Seems the chap's competing
against Vanessa Kensington, Felicity Shagwell and Foxxy Cleopatra in a
"Strip Parcheesi" tournament at Madison Square Garden. Sir Shady
asked me to sub for him again this year as host of the Valentine's
dance and to entertain you by playing "stacks o' wax."
I'm going to play devil's advocate and suggest that
phonograph records might sound a bit better.
That's a gag, dove. Oh come on now.
I saw you crack a smile just then,
pussycat, admit it - YEAH!
I saw you crack a smile just then,
pussycat, admit it - YEAH!
Alright then. The place is packed with blokes and birds,
and it's time to get the Valentine party started.
As you will hear in this special edition V-Week tribute, Polly Brown
is a witchy woman whose singing style could be described as
sunshine pop laced with a little bit o' soul.
In the fall of 1971, Polly and Pickettywitch appeared on The Grand Prix
R.T.L. International, a music competition that was organized annually
from 1969 to 1972 and held at a theater in Luxembourg. At the show
the group performed their third hit "Baby I Won't Let You Down."
"Baby I Won't Let You Down" - Pickettywitch
(Nov. 1970, highest chart pos. #27 UK, Oct. 22, 1971,
perf. at Grand Prix R.T.L. International 71 in Luxembourg)
Cracking the UK top 30 in the fall of 1970, that was "Baby I Won't Let You Down"
by Pickettywitch, and you just saw them performing the song live the following year.
As you listened to Polly Brown sing, it might have occurred to you that she sounds
like two other singers, both of them American divas of soul. I'll name one of them
right now. Some people say Polly has a voice and style like that of Jean Terrell,
the singer who replaced Diana Ross as leader of The Supremes and helped
reinvent the famous Motown girl group at the start of the 70s. Listen now
to Jean's Supremes as they do their hit "Stoned Love" on Soul Train
and maybe you'll agree that Polly Brown sounds a lot like her.
"Stoned Love" - The Supremes
(Dec. 1970/Jan. 1971, highest chart pos. #1 R&B,
#5 Cash Box/#7 Hot 100, perf. on May 12, 1973, ep. of Soul Train)
Now I will reveal which U.S. singer Polly Brown sounds like most of the time.
Polly usually sounds like she is singing with a head cold,
but that distinctive
nasal quality sets her
apart, endears listeners and invites comparisons
to America's sultry soul siren Dionne Warwick. Listen!
"Days I Remember" - Pickettywitch
(from 1970 album Pickettywitch)
If you're just tuning in, I'm Austin Powers... International Man of Mystery
(and Music History) hosting the Shady's Place Valentine's Week Dance
and entertaining you with a salute to pretty posy Polly and
her peerless posse Pickettywitch. (Say that 5 times fast!)
Songwriter/producer Gerry Shury described Polly Brown as "a cross between
Diana Ross and Dionne Warwick."
I hear Diana in some of Polly's recordings,
but my
favorite songs by Pickettywitch are the ones
in which Polly channels
Dionne Warwick. The song you just heard, "Days I Remember," is one
example, and here's another, the Picketty-ditty-- "There He Goes."
"There He Goes" - Pickettywitch (from 1970 album Pickettywitch,
released Feb. 1971 as
B side of "Waldo P. Emerson Jones")
Now for the sake of comparison, here's one of Dionne Warwick's notable
"(Theme From) Valley Of The Dolls" - Dionne Warwick
Now for the sake of comparison, here's one of Dionne Warwick's notable
recordings, the theme song from the hit movie Valley Of The Dolls.
"(Theme From) Valley Of The Dolls" - Dionne Warwick
(Jan./Feb./Mar. 1968, highest chart pos. #2 Hot 100/#3 Cash Box,
#13 R&B, from December 1967 film Valley Of The Dolls)
Now listen to the uncanny similarity in vocal quality and style as we switch from Dionne
Warwick to Polly Brown and listen to the second hit single by Pickettywitch, a record
that brushed the top 15 in the summer of 1970-- "(It's Like A) Sad Old Kinda' Movie!"
"(It's Like a) Sad Old Kinda' Movie" - Pickettywitch
(June/July 1970, highest chart pos. #16 UK, perf. on Top Of The Pops)
The proof's in these delightful performances.
You're a very good witch indeed, Polly Brown!
It's last call for alcohol and the last dance of my 2023 Valentine party.
To close the show, here again is our featured act, Pickettywitch,
with an encore performance of a hit you saw them do earlier.
Once again, I am pleased to offer a video that has been
dramatically restored with A.I. Enhancement technology.
Watch 52 years vanish in a split second as Polly Brown
and Pickettywitch perform "Baby I Won't Let You Down!"
"Baby I Won't Let You Down" - Pickettywitch
(Nov. 1970, highest chart pos. #27 UK)
I hope these super sounds put you in
a shagadelic mood, baby. Oh behave!
This is your old chum Austin Powers
International Man of Mystery
(and Music History)...
saying ciao for now.
Let's do it again real soon, baby...
You know you want to... YEAH!
Pickettywitch - that's a new band to me. I wonder where they got their name?
ReplyDeleteHi, Alex!
DeleteYou take the Early Bird cake again this week, good buddy. Thanks for coming to Austin Powers' annual Valentine dance party!
Wiki has this rather confusing explanation of the Pickettywitch band's name origin" << The name Pickettywitch is often said to have been taken from a Cornish village through which their eventual lead singer, Polly Brown, had passed with her sister; in fact, there is no such village, though there was a pub of that name at Yeovil in Somerset. >> Seems to me by now someone could have asked Polly or one of the band's founders and settled the mystery once and for all.
Thanks again for your visit and comment, good buddy Alex!
Good morning Shady! I'm surprised that I didn't know this group back in the '70's. I was probably too busy working at Kresge and the movie theater as well as going to high school. I like her sound and the ones you featured today. I googled her and found some interesting info about her and her career. It's weird to think she's in her 70's now! Although I'll be following that age soon in a few weeks! She was so pretty. Really fit the English group look of that time. Such an usual name...Pickettywitch. I think a black cat with that name would be perfect! (Or I could replace the name "Whispering Pines" with "Pickettywitch Acres"!) So I'll just sign off with a big "HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!" wish for you and Mrs. Shady and I hope you have a great week!
ReplyDeleteHi, Yaya!
DeleteI'm mighty happy to see you, dear friend! Thanks for attending Austin Powers' annual Valentine's Week platter party!
Yessum, Polly Brown will soon be age 76! That's hard to believe when these pristine upscaled videos make it seem like she is still in her early 20s. I'm not surprised to learn that you were not aware of Pickettywitch in the early 70s. Frankly, neither was I. I only knew of Polly Brown as a one-hit-wonder solo artist for her hit "Up In A Puff Of Smoke" which was very big in my neck of the woods. As you might have noticed in your Googling, the only Pickettywitch single to make a dent in the U.S. chart was "That Same Old Feeling" which peaked at #67. However, Polly's next recording act, the English studio group Sweet Dreams, also registered on the U.S. chart, reaching #68 in 1974 with a cover of ABBA's much bigger hit "Honey Honey." As I mentioned earlier, Polly enjoyed her greatest success in the U.S. that same year as a solo artist. Her single "Up In A Puff Of Smoke" was a major hit on the disco circuit and reached #3 on the U.S. dance chart. Polly's platter also approached the top 15 on the U.S. pop chart in March, 1975.
Pickettywitch is indeed a magical sort of name. I think we should all strive to use the word in a sentence at least once a day. :) I insist that you run by Jack the idea of changing Whispering Pines to Pickettywitch Acres. The Yeti in Picketty-woods can serve as the tie-breaker if it comes to that. :)
Thank you again for coming so early and for your delightful comment, dear friend YaYa! Happy Valentine's Day to you and Jack!
Tom,
ReplyDeleteI've heard of Pickettywitch and I believe I've listened to their music in passing without knowing who they were. Your feature tunes are all introductions. My two favorite Pickettywitch songs are "Days I Remember" and "Baby, I Won't Let You Down". The Supremes without Diana Ross is more to my liking not that I don't like Diana but there's something special about trio. Thanks for inspiration and encouragement for the most romantic day of the year. :)
Hi, Cathy!
DeleteThanks for popping in early on day 1, dear friend! Snaggletooth Austin Powers is pleased to see you here at his annual V-day dance party, and so am I.
I featured Pickettywitch on my old blog years ago, probably before you and I started following each other. I like the band so much that I wanted to do another post on them, especially now that I have discovered upscaled videos of their vintage early 70s performances on Top Of The Pops and other shows. My ears tend to agree with yours, dear Cathy. I would say that "Days I Remember" and "Baby I Won't Let You Down" are my two top Pickettywitch favorites among several great recordings by the group. You should also check out the Polly Brown solo hit "Up In A Puff Of Smoke" which I have also posted twice, I believe.
Many people would agree with you that the post-Diana Ross Supremes trio with Jean on lead were more genuinely soulful than the earlier version of the act. Some of the recordings made by the Diana Ross-led group are hard for me to listen to because they pander to white folks to such a extent.
Thanks again for dropping in, dear friend Cathy. Have a wonderful week and a happy V-Day with lucky hubby DH!
Tom,
DeleteI remember "Up In A Puff of Smoke" but not the artist. That's a great oldie! I never knew this about the old R&B groups catering their style, dress, ... to white people. I'm sure that helped to sell their records in those early days but it robbed the singers of their natural tendencies and the listeners for a more pure, soulful experience. In show business, whatever it takes to turn a buck comes first. Various selling techniques to build a band's name is a practice even today.
Thanks for dropping by for my first post of the day, She's a Maneater BOTB Showdown. At 3pm, my next installment in my Maine photo memories series launches. Have a great day, my friend!
Hi, Cathy!
DeleteThanks for coming back over to continue our discussion, dear friend!
I'm glad you remember Polly's big solo hit "Puff Of Smoke." I've posted it at least once before, maybe twice. It's a sizzler.
Yessum, Motown founder Berry Gordy made the recording artists on his talent roster attend charm school to make sure their manner of dress and deportment would be acceptable to white audiences, an essential segment of the record buying public that he was determined to capture and hold. The same was true of the benign love songs his artists recorded in the early and mid 60s. Motown soul is therefore viewed as "whiter" than Southern R&B, the latter being the type of material released by James Brown and artists on Stax, Volt, Hi and other southern labels that recorded black artists. Eventually, Motown's main man Marvin Gaye grew tired of singing nothing but love songs. Marvin yearned to make music with a message, so he left Motown. Eventually, Motown caught up with the changing times and abandoned love ditties in favor of songs about life in the inner city ghettos, songs referencing experiments with psychedelic drugs and songs protesting the Vietnam War.
Yessum, you can't blame Berry Gordy for "whitewashing" his artists and his recordings in order to sell lots of records. They don't call it "the music business" for nothing. However, when it comes to music, as in coffee, I use the phrase, "I take mine black," meaning I like my music authentic and uncompromising, full strength, not watered-down, not calculated and formulaic, and that is true of any genre, not only soul.
Yessum, I have a note written to visit you at 3 pm. However, if I am drowsy, I will need to postpone my visit until later tonight or tomorrow morning when I feel fresher. I want to do justice to every chapter of your exciting Maine trip.
Enjoy the rest of your day and thanks again for stopping by, dear friend Cathy!
Pickettywitch is new to me. They have a nice sound.
ReplyDeleteI never saw Valley of the Dolls, so that Dionne Warwick song isn't ringing a bell for me. I love her voice and she's been on my mind a lot with the recent death of Burt Bacharach.
~ Kelly
Hi, Kelly!
DeleteThanks for coming to Austin Powers' Valentine Week dance, dear friend!
I'm glad you like the sunshine pop sound of the English band Pickettywitch fronted by Polly Brown.
Everyone should see Valley of the Dolls at least once. It is dripping with behind the scenes drama, because actress Sharon Tate had only two years left on earth when she made the film. Dolls also stars the late Patty Duke and veteran actress Susan Hayward late in her career. Yessum, Dionne Warwick is the first person that came to my mind when I learned that Burt Bacharach died. The soul diva released a statement saying his death was "like losing a family member.”
Thanks again for coming to the platter party, dear friend Kelly. Happy Valentine's Day to you and my buddy pat.
No, Ivana Humpalot?? Well this is Bumsen Burner saying she enjoyed listening to this lady who does sound like Dionne Warwick. It is amazing how good she is but I never heard of her nor the band but enjoyed it. Hubby just came out and told me to get my butt to bed… off I go.
ReplyDeleteHi, Anonymous! Is that you, BB? Did you have problems leaving a comment using your account? if so, I'm sorry, and I thank you for taking extra time and finding a way. Welcome to Austin Powers' V-Day platter party, dear friend!
DeleteI'm happy that your ears agree with mine on the similarity between the vocal quality and style of Polly Brown and Dionne Warwick. If you close your eyes and visualize in your mind Dionne singing those designated Pickettywitch songs, the effect is even more pronounced. As you know, in recent years I have been showcasing 20th century UK and Euro girl groups and female-fronted bands that specialize in feel-good sunshine pop and dance-pop. Far from heavy, their sound lifts you up.
Thanks again for coming down to attend Austin's V-day bash, dear friend BB. Enjoy the rest of your week!
Yes, it's me! I got a new IPad and it's not showing up as me...grrrr. and totally unrelated, I need a new furnace!
DeleteHi, Birgit!
DeleteThanks for letting me know what happened and that it was you who kindly left this nice comment.
Oh, No! Your furnace is on the fritz in mid winter in Canada? That can't be good. I'd remind you that you've got your love to keep your warm... but I doubt that would be much consolation. :) Seriously, I hope you can get that issue resolved quickly. Thank you again for your kind visits, dear friend BB. I'll see you tamale for your film feature!
Hi Shady, I enjoyed the Pickittywitch band very much. The only song I remember was, "That Same Old Feeling," and I still think the melody and words are beautiful. All their other songs here are special. I do think she sounds a lot like Dionne Warwick, whom I loved as a teen. I dimly remember the "Valley of the Dolls Theme". I read the book and I'm not sure if I went to the movie. I might have watched it on TV later on. The book shocked young me. Lol. I'm still moved whenever I think of the lovely Sharon Tate.
ReplyDeleteAs you can see, I am well enough to go back on the computer and visit your wonderful blog. Thanks for the fun.
Hi, Belle!
DeleteI'm excited to see you, dear friend! Thank you very much for coming all the way down from B.C. to visit Shady's Place! I am overjoyed to know that you are bouncing back and feeling better, and I hope that you are also in good spirits today.
I'm so glad you enjoyed the songs of Pickettywitch featuring Polly Brown. You might remember the group from the first time I featured them years ago on my old SDMM blog. I like P-witch so much that when I discovered upscaled videos of their vintage live performances available for the first time on YouTube, I jumped at the chance to use them in this year's V-Day salute. A few years ago, I took part in an eBay auction and wound up with the high bid, winning a rare Pickettywitch CD that contains all of their best songs including the ones in this post.
Yessum, it is hard for me to watch Valley Of The Dolls or any other Sharon Tate movie, knowing the terrible fate that awaited her and her unborn child at the hands of the murderous Manson Family. Valley Of The Dolls was not Sharon's final film. The following year, 1968, Sharon made an uncredited appearance as a party guest in Rosemary's Baby. That same year, she co-starred in Dean Martin's Matt Helm movie The Wrecking Crew. Sharon's last film was the R-rated 12+1, shot in Rome in the spring of 1969, only a few months before her death. Sharon had the starring role. She was already pregnant and showing, and her semi-nude scenes needed to be shot first. 12+1 was released posthumously a few months after she was slain. I don't think I could bear to watch it.
Thank you again for your kind visit and comment, dear friend Belle. Please take good care of yourself, stay in touch, and be on the lookout for a sneak preview of "Ask Abigail," my new series based on Dear Abby and Ann Landers that stars advice columnist and music trivia expert Abigail Ambrosia. It's coming up this Sunday right here at Shady's Place. I think you'll get a kick out of it. God bless, Belle!
I don't seem to know these. I saw another comment about Sharon Tate and how sad what happened to her was. Growing up in California I remember that and some of the other serial killers like The Night Stalker. Things like that don't seem to be as prevalent now a days, thankfully. But now that I've gone completely off the rails with my comment, I will just say I hope you had a nice Valentine's Day. Have a great week, Shady.
ReplyDeleteHi, Mary!
DeleteYour comment went straight through, dear friend! Looks like the blog gremlins have given up trying to interfere with our fun. Thanks for coming to Austin Powers' annual V-Day dance party!
Off the rails comments are the bread and butter of this blog, dear Mary. I enjoy branching out into topics related to the central theme, even if they are only loosely related. Yessum, it must have been frightening for you to grow up in California during the period when serial killers seemed to be coming out of the woodwork. If you have MGM+ or Paramount+, you should watch Richard Crenna (from The Real McCoys) and Dennis Farina (from Law & Order & Buddy Faro) in the 1989 TV movie The Case of the Hillside Stranglers. It will creep you out. The 1976 TV miniseries Helter Skelter will also send chills up and down your spine.
It doesn't surprise me that you are not familiar with Pickettywitch. The English sunshine pop group of the early 70s is not very well known in the U.S. If you aren't familiar with the catalogs of Dionne Warwick and the post-Diana Ross Supremes, you'll find an abundance of great recordings between them.
Thanks again for joining the fun, dear friend Mary, and thanks for the sweet Valentine's wishes. I hope you had a nice V-Day, too. Take care and I'll see you this weekend at Dark Thoughts!.
I'm completely unfamiliar with Polly Brown and--let me scroll up and see exactly how that's spelled-- Pickettywitch, but that's my loss. In addition to the vocals, I hear a bit of Burt Bacharach in the melodies themselves. It's funny, I always thought of Bacharach as a basically middle-of-the-road composer who cleverly incorporated the youth music of the day into songs directed toward the over-30 crowd, but I think Pickettywitch proves that incorporation could and did go in both directions.
ReplyDeleteFinally, that some wild mascara Polly has on in a few of those videos.
Hi, Kirk!
DeleteThanks for making good on your promise to visit, even if somebody died. (They Shirley did.) The way things are going, with the Reaper on a roll, you'll have a new post every single day of the year, good buddy!
I'm glad Polly Brown and Pickettywitch are new to your eyes and ears so that you came away from Shady's joint knowing about this fine London-based band of the early 70s and having heard what I think are their best recordings. P-witch could have and should have been been big here in the states. Between 1970 and 1973, seven of their singles were released in the U.S., but only one, their debut single "That Same Old Feeling," made a dent in the chart, and it peaked at a disappointing #67. With their wealth of great songs, it's incredible that Pickettywitch didn't even make the Bubbling Under chart with any of their other records.
The soulful Polly Brown did okay as a solo act, landing in the top 3 winner's circle on the U.S. Dance/Disco chart and making a run at the top 15 on the pop charts in early 1975 with the irresistible "Up In A Puff Of Smoke." Polly also teamed up with Tony Jackson to form the English soul-reggae duo Sweet Dreams. In the summer of 1974, their cover of ABBA's song "Honey Honey" peaked at #68 on the American chart.
I could imagine Burt Bacharach writing several of these Pickettywitch songs and Dionne Warwick singing them. Is it any wonder I love Pickettywitch so much and bid ridiculously high in order to win their rare CD compilation on eBay?
Thanks again for dropping in and attending Austin Powers' V-Day bash. Enjoy the rest of your week, good buddy Kirk!