UNDERACHIEVERS! The 50 Most Underrated Records of the 1960s, Pt. 1

 BEFORE WE BEGIN THE POST, 

 I PROUDLY PRESENT ANOTHER 

 EXHIBIT IN MY SERIES... 

  SHADY DELL 

 SHOW AND TELL! 

 “The Mystery of the Cup” 

 NEVER BEFORE SEEN ON EITHER 

 OF MY BLOGS...THIS ULTRA-RARE 

 SHADY DELL SOUVENIR PLASTIC 

 DRINKING CUP, GENEROUSLY 

 DONATED BY OUR GOOD 

 FRIEND JIM SIELING! 

 Cup measures 5.5 inches in height 

 and 3.5 inches at top lip. 

Jim says he has five of these cups.  Former Dell owner Toni Deroche

told me her son Brandon had one cup back in the 2000s when he

lived at the Dell with members of his band The Underwater.

However, Bran's collector cup vanished at some point.

 WHAT'S THE STORY 

 BEHIND THESE CUPS? 

 WHO CREATED THEM? 

 WERE THEY PRINTED AND 

 SOLD AT THE DELL AUCTION? 

 EVER SEEN ONE BEFORE? 

 DO YOU OWN ONE OR MORE? 

 PLEASE LET US HEAR FROM YOU 

 IF YOU CAN HELP SOLVE... 

 “The Mystery of the Cup”  

 NOW, ON WITH THE SHOW! 

 Hi! I'm 

 Shady Blue... 

one of the founding fathers

of the Shady Bunch DJ team

on S-P-M-M Retrosonic Radio.

I host an oldies show called 

 STUCK LIKE GLUE  

 on SHADY BLUE  

 And I'm 

 Shady Green... 

one of the other original

Shady Bunch DJs here

at Shady's Place and

your Host with the Most

on a magic carpet ride back

to the Swingin' Sixties called

 SHADY GREEN 
 AND HIS 

 WAYBACK MACHINE 

Starting today, Blue and Green collide.

 We're joining forces to bring you a 5-part, 50-song series

dedicated to great records of the 1960s that shoulda been,

coulda been and woulda been major hits but, for some

reason, failed to get the attention they deserved

at the time of their release.

 Along with the records we're playing, we've hung cool vintage

artwork and illustrations on the walls to enhance the mood.

  Listen to the first 10 songs and let me know in your comment:

 How many of these long lost relics do you remember or like? 

  Okay, start clicking and enjoy the tuneage in Part 1 of my series...

 UNDERACHIEVERS! 

 The 50 Most Underrated 

 Records of the 1960s! 

"Stubborn Kind Of Fellow" - Marvin Gaye

(Oct./Nov. 1962, highest chart pos. #36 Cash Box,

#46 Hot 100/#8 R&B)

"One of the very best records of Marvin's career, yet it fell short

of the Billboard Top 40. Outrageous!... a travesty!" - Shady Blue 

 CLICK ON IMAGE BELOW TO PLAY SONG 

 CLICK ON IMAGE ABOVE TO PLAY SONG 

"Hey Sah-Lo-Ney" - Mickey Lee Lane

(July 1965, uncharted)

"Uncharted??? Unbelievable!  Mickey Lee's record rocks big time!

Good to know the ditty was hot across the pond... a genuine

 'Northern Soul stomper' played heavily in dance clubs

of northern England." - Shady Green

"The Boy From Crosstown" - The Angels

(Oct. 1964, uncharted)

"Uncharted??? You gotta be kidding!  This song surpasses

'Boyfriend's Back' as the toughest, most streetwise sound

generated by this great pop girl group!" - Shady Blue

"That's Cool, That's Trash" - The Street Cleaners

(Nov. 1964, uncharted)

"Uncharted???  No way!  This slab's too cool for school! Penned

by Steve Barri and P.F. Sloan and covered a few months later

by The Kingsmen, this frat rockin' party platter belongs

in the soundtrack of Animal House.

Ain't gonna be any dancin' on the kissin' floor!"

- Shady Green

"You've Been Untrue" - The Delfonics 

(Apr. 1967, uncharted)

"Uncharted??? Didn't even make a dent in the R&B survey? 

 I'm flabbergasted!  One of greatest songs in the entire Delfonics

catalog, this exquisite sweet soul ballad is one of the essential

building blocks of The Sound of Philadelphia." - Shady Blue

"Mr. Dieingly Sad" - The Critters

(Sept./Oct. 1966, highest chart pos. #14 Cash Box,

#17 Hot 100/#17 Canada)

"Failed to reach the top 15 on Billboard?  Makes no sense to me!

This groovy, beautifully written song deserved to wind up

in the top 5 winner's circle!" - Shady Green

"Uncharted??? I call bullcrap!!!

"Homicide Dresser" - Billy Harner

(Oct. 1967, uncharted)

This rowdy Northern Soul cult classic by

East Coast blue-eyed soul shouter Billy Harner

aka 'The Human Percolator'  deserved to bust

into the top 40 at the very least!" - Shady Blue

"California Nights" - Lesley Gore

(Mar./Apr. 1967, highest chart pos. #11 Cash Box,

#16 Hot 100/#15 Canada)

"14 weeks on the chart and still peaked outside the top 15 on

Billboard? I'm flummoxed!  Co-written by Marvin Hamlisch

 and produced by veteran hitmaker Bob Crewe, this great

single deserved to reach the top 3." - Shady Green

"Hold On" - The Radiants

 (Apr./May 1968, highest chart pos.

#35 R&B/#68 Hot 100)

('Keep on rockin, baby... cause you only (WOO-HOOO!)

rock once!') "A soul essential that recalls the glory years of

The Geator (Jerry Blavat), Hy Lit, Georgie Woods, Porky

Chedwick and other great record spinners of the 60s.

 Featuring Mitchell Bullock on lead, here are Chicago's Radiants

with the hottest sound around in the spring of '68, but a true

underachiever that missed the Top 30 on the R&B chart

and stopped well short of the Top 50 on the pop survey.

Shirley you jest!" - Shady Blue

"I Wonder (If Your Love Will Ever Belong To Me)"

- Rick Nelson  (May 1964, uncharted)

"Uncharted??? Well 'I Wonder' what gives!  Okay, I know

darned well why Rick's superb cover of a 1961 record by a black

doo-wop group called The Pentagons failed to register on the chart.

 It's because the song went to waste issued as the B side of a single.

If only the Rickster's rendition had been released as an A side,

it coulda been and woulda been a hit!" - Shady Green

Okay, how many of these

underappreciated and

underachieving records

of the 1960s do you

remember? Do you

like any of them

so much that you're

 STUCK 

 LIKE GLUE?  

Did these moldy oldies

make you feel like you

just took a trip in my

 WAYBACK 

 MACHINE? 

Stick around!

 There are 4 more parts of this series...

40 more songs that need your love and

a forever home on your record player.

See you soon on the next edition of

 UNDERACHIEVERS! 

 The 50 Most Underrated 

 Records of the 1960s! 

Winning Hand Volume 4: The Deck is Stacked ...with (Count 'em) 4 Pairs Up Shady's Sleeve!

Welcome to Winning Hand:

FOUR PAIRS
UP SHADY'S SLEEVE!

In this edition of the series I have posted four pairs of songs.
Each pair contains the original and a cover. I am curious
to know which version or versions you prefer.

I might be a wild card and

a joker... but I'm no poker.

Therefore, without further delay, I will introduce
the kings and queens of song in today's post.

Remember, ladies and gentlemen...

This is only an exhibition...
This is not a competition...
Please... no wagering.

 EDDIE COCHRAN 

Rock & roll and rockabilly star Eddie Cochran died young at the age of
21 on Easter Sunday, 1960, as a result of a car crash that occurred while
he was touring in the UK. "Sweetie Pie," a song Eddie co-wrote and
recorded in 1957, remained in the vault until the late summer of
1960 when it was released posthumously on a single as the
B side of "Lonely." Neither song charted in the U.S. but
in Britain "Lonely" grazed the top 40 and
"Sweetie Pie" peaked at #38.

"Sweetie Pie" - Eddie Cochran

(Sept./Oct. 1960, B side of "Lonely,"
highest chart pos. #38 UK)

 THE BLUEBELL SISTERS 

Now here's a delightful cover of Eddie Cochran's "Sweetie Pie" performed
by The Bluebell Sisters, a retro style girl group from Montreal, Canada,
that specializes in 1940s jump blues and 50s doo-wop and rockabilly.

"SweetiePie" 

Eddie Cochran cover by The Bluebell Sisters

(Mar. 2018)

 SARAH JANE 

This is my own video that I uploaded to YouTube after buying a various artists

CD of Brit girl pop and being blown away by mystery artist Sarah Jane. It is

the English sparrow's 1966 cover of "Listen People," a dramatic version of

the song that was a top 5 U.S. hit for Herman's Hermits that same year.

Sarah Jane has been compared to Marianne Faithfull because of her

hauntingly beautiful voice and style. Listen, people, to-- Sarah Jane!

"Listen People"
Herman's Hermits cover by Sarah Jane
(May 1966)

 HERMAN'S HERMITS 

Now listen to the original. Based on the church hymn "Jesus Let Us Come

To Know You" and featured in the 1965 Connie Francis movie musical

When the Boys Meet the Girls, Herman's Hermits do "Listen People."

"Listen People" - Herman's Hermits

(Feb./Mar. 1966, highest chart pos. #3 Hot 100 & Cash Box,

scene from Oct. 1965 film When the Boys Meet the Girls)

 AMY SLATTERY 

I am pleased to welcome back the delightful Amy Slattery, the English singer,

guitar player and multi-instrumentalist discovered by talent scout Chris Griffin

and introduced on the old blog Shady Dell Music & Memories. Amy specializes

in Beatles covers and here's one of her best-- The Ballad Of John And Yoko!"

"The Ballad Of John And Yoko" 
Beatles cover by Amy Slattery

(May 2018)

 THE BEATLES 

Now here is the nicely remastered mix of the original single released by

The Beatles in the spring of 1969. Written by John, the song about the

"Yoko effect" on the band, fans and the media, shot to #1 on the UK

chart, becoming the Beatles' 17th and last chart topping hit on that

survey. It is surprisingly to me that this Beatles classic didn't do

as well on the U.S. chart, halting in the lower part of the

top 10 on Billboard and Cash Box.

"The Ballad of John and Yoko" - The Beatles

(June/July 1969, highest chart pos. #1 UK/#8 Hot 100/#10 Cash Box)

 LITTLE PEGGY MARCH 

In 1963, diminutive singer Little Peggy March set a record (that still stands) as the

youngest female artist to achieve a number one hit single. Peggy was 14 when she

waxed "I Will Follow Him" and had just turned 15 when the record began its climb

to the top of the chart. Peggy's hit is actually a cover version of the song. In 1961

French composer, arranger and conductor Franck Pourcel was the first to record

the tune as an instrumental, followed by a French language version of the song

released by Pet Clark in 1962. Another instrumental version was recorded by

Percy Faith. Watch this cool hybrid YouTube video that combines footage

from two Peggy March television appearances, one on American TV and

the other on Japanese TV, as she performs her classic of the innocent

pre-Beatles teen pop era - "I Will Follow Him!"

"I Will Follow Him" - Little Peggy March

(Apr./May 1963, highest chart pos. #1 Hot 100 & Cash Box)

 RICK NELSON 

Later that same year, 1963, Rick Nelson released the studio album

For Your Sweet Love. One of the tracks on the album is an answer
to Peggy March's signature song. On an episode of his family TV
sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Rick sang his
version of the song entitled-- "I Will Follow You!"

"I Will Follow You" 
Little Peggy March cover by Rick Nelson

(from 1963 album For Your Sweet Love, perf. on

June 6, 1963 ep. of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet)

I think these musical
kings and queens are aces!

Do you agree? 

Have a Shady day!