---

THE ALBUMS

In addition to the albums that I’m 99% sure were released this month, I’ve also decided to write about albums by Ernest Tubb, The Louvin Brothers, and Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs with The Foggy Mountain Boys. All I know is that these albums were released in 1960, but I have not been able to figure out what date. So sue me if I’m way off…don’t sue me though. We don’t really do that for minor inconveniences here in Norway.

JOAN BAEZ -JOAN BAEZ

I’ve been looking forward to this one a lot, cause I never really listened through an entire Joan Baez album. I’ve only listened to random songs here and there, and even though I always liked what I heard, I never sat down and took a deep dive into her discography.

Baez in a Rolling Stone Magazine interview, on recording this album: «It took four nights. We were in some big, smelly ballroom at a hotel on Broadway, way up by the river. We couldn’t record on Wednesday nights because they played bingo there. I would be down there on this dirty old rug with two microphones, one for the voice and one for the guitar. I just did my set; it was probably all I knew. Just put ’em down. I did “Mary Hamilton” once, that was it. That’s the way we made ’em in the old days. As long as a dog didn’t run through the room or something, you had it.»

This interview really sets the tone for this recording. First of all, I’m in love with the recording process of those days. The fact that they actually played through the songs there and then, recorded, and if they were happy with it, they kept it as it was. Obviously, it would be mixed and mastered, but compared to the present, where they play part by part, and perfect it, the old way of doing it is just so much more appealing. I may be romanticizing things, but again, I romanticize romanticizing.

From my point of view, this is probably where folk music started to sound really good. Her voice is magnificent, the guitar picking is amazing, and the sheer feel of it all is just beautiful. There are great songs right from the start with Silver Dagger, through East Virginia, and Fare Thee Well, and I have to mention All My Trials, Rake and Rambling Boy, House of the Rising Sun, and Wildwood Flower. I think that’s 7 out of 12 songs on this album that I really love, and the other ones are great as well. So this is a real gem of an album. Can’t wait to hear what she gives us next.

THE EVERLY BROTHERS – A DATE WITH THE EVERLY BROTHERS

This is the brothers’ second LP of the year. And they have upped their writing game a bit compared to the last one, where they only wrote one song, by writing four of the twelve songs recorded. And being in their heyday, this album, like «It’s Everly Time», is a pretty strong one.

I still find that most of the lyrics are dull and uninteresting, but that’s probably in part because of the generation gap. I do however wonder what the hell a “blooming eye” is. It sounds nasty for some reason, but I think they sing it with good intentions. As a brag of some sort. As the last thing a guy does to your girl before he manages to steal her. “He gave her the blooming eye”. I don’t know. I tried googling it, but the only things that came up were various arts and make-up stuff.

Anyway, their heydays lasted through 1962, so we’ve got a couple of years left to enjoy the best music The Everly Brothers had to offer. And to put “heyday” into perspective; they averaged a Top 10 hit every four months, including four No. 1’s. If that’s not impressive, then I don’t know what is.

I’m not blown away by any of the songs in particular on «A Date With The Everly Brothers», even though the album is very good. They added the single, Cathy’s Clown, as I have written about with joy earlier, which is their best-selling single of all time, and that one is the best track on the record. Made To Love, Stick With Me Baby, and Lucille are also some of my favorites. There’s also the first recording of the song Love Hurts, which was made famous by other artists later, and I think this is the worst version I’ve heard so far. Keep in mind that I have not heard Roy Orbison’s version, and not Jim Capaldi’s. For all I know, any of those can be much worse.

So here we are, at the top of their career, and I’m starting to look forward to their downfall. Not because I’m tired of them, but simply because of a minor case of schadenfreude. Drug addiction, label problems, management woes, marital difficulties, smashed guitars, and then the end of The Everly Brothers (as a band). That’s some of the things we have to look forward to.

BRENDA LEE – THIS IS…BRENDA

I’m not a big fan of Brenda Lee. So far I’ve only listened to a couple of singles, and only really liked one of the B-sides. She has a great voice, but I just can’t stand the kind of music she delivers. It’s mostly ballads, country mixed with pop, and love songs, and it all just sounds a bit whiny. People like her though, and she has done pretty well up until now. And this, her third album, would turn out to be her most successful.

She is still only 16 years old, and to think that she has already released three albums is pretty insane. But I guess when someone sees that there is a possibility to make money off of someone, age doesn’t matter. This record is better than I assumed actually. As I haven’t caught the Brenda Lee bug, I just figured that this would be a boring, slow ride, but there are actually a couple of good tracks and the ones that don’t do anything for me aren’t all that bad.

The opening track, When My Dreamboat Comes Home, starts off the album pretty well, Just A Little is pretty cool, I can enjoy Love and Learn, and the Ray Charles song Hallelujah I Love Him So is one of the best songs on the album. But the most surprising, to me at least, is that some of the songs are leaning a lot more toward rock’n’roll than I would have thought. And as I’ve said before, her voice is a lot more suited to that kind of music.

There’s also the hit song I Want To Be Wanted which is ok even though it’s boring. The chorus sticks with me, so I can’t really bash it that much. And a cover of Walking To New Orleans, first recorded by Domino Fats (I really liked his version), but it doesn’t sound nearly as good as the original, and it’s covered incredibly soon after its release, so I’m not gonna give her any credit for that one.

All in all, it’s a perfectly adequate release with some minor highlights. And maybe it became a success back when it was released, but it probably won’t be remembered as anything much by me.

THE KINGSTON TRIO, ERNEST TUBBS, LESTER FLATTS & EARL SCRUGGS WITH THE FOGGY MOUNTAIN BOYS, AND THE LOUVIN BROTHERS

I’ve listened to four other albums preparing for this month, and some of them are perfectly fine. I didn’t pay much attention to The Kingston Trio’s «Last Month Of The Year» as I’m not a fan at all of this band. And it’s also a Christmas album, which I felt was a bit too early to write about. I’m a big fan of some good Christmas tunes, but I didn’t hear anything that made my bells jingle on this record. Ernest Tubbs, The Texas Troubadour, a pioneer in country music, released his album, «Record Shop», sometime in 1960. This is a classic country album with songs about heartache, loss…you know, standard country song issues. And this is one of those that’s perfectly fine to listen to, even though Tubbs isn’t that good of a singer. The general feel of the album is good, most of the songs are ok, and if you like country music, you won’t have any problems with this one. Even though there aren’t any instant hits, I enjoyed songs like Do It Now, I Believe I’m Entitled To You, and Who Will Buy The Wine. Standard country stuff really.

Now «Lester Flatts & Earl Scruggs with the Foggy Mountain Boys» is pretty cool. It’s some real old-timey country/hillbilly, or bluegrass music if you’d like, paired up with banjo, harmonies, and a general feel-good vibe, even with the standard lyrics of yearning and stuff like that. It’s just a fun listen, really. The songs are quite similar but my favorites were I’ll Never Shed Another Tear, So Happy I’ll Be, I’ll Never Love Another, and Farewell Blues. The Louvin Brothers, like Tubbs and Flatts & Scruggs, released an album somewhere in the twelve months of 1960. «A Tribute To The Delmore Brothers» is, according to Allmusic, the best tribute album of the country music genre. I’m not sure I can agree just yet, as I’ve only listened to a few of them in my lifetime. But when it comes to harmonies, these guys got that covered for sure. Now, The Delmore Brothers were country music pioneers and stars of the Grand Ole Opry in the 1930s, and The Louvin Brothers were stars of the Opry from 1955 to 1963 when they broke up. The Louvin Brothers sing beautifully, and looks dull, and I wouldn’t make much of these guys other than their music, but like a lot of musicians, there are some dark sides. Ira Louvin was notorious for his womanizing, drinking, and temper. His third wife actually shot him four times (after he tried to strangle her with a phone cord), no doubt trying to kill that bastard, but he survived. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out the reason this band broke up later in the 60s. But hey, knowing these facts actually makes this a lot more fun to listen to. Cause who the fuck would have thought that one of these guys was a crazy motherfucker.

And I’m just gonna mention that there was a duo called Art & Paul that released the album «Songs of Earth and Sky» in 1960, and I find that kinda funny.

THE SINGLES

Not much to write home about, but Johnny Burnette let loose the single You’re Sixteen. Johnny was a mid-‘50s rockabilly pioneer, and together with his brother Dorsey, they put together the band Rock ‘n’ Roll Trio and had some minor hits. Once he scored a solo contract, in 1958, he cleaned up his image and sound, which resulted in this single, that did become his biggest hit. The song is ok I guess. Melina Mercouri also released a single this month. That one was called Never On A Sunday. It’s from a movie with the same title about a prostitute in Greece. Nuff said.

---

THE CHARTS

Three new songs slid into the top three this month. Save The Last Dance For Me by The Drifters, I Want To Be Wanted by Brenda Lee, and a weird little song called Mr. Custer by Larry Verne.

Mr. Custer is another one of those novelty songs that seems to be incredibly popular at this time, and this one sold over a million copies and earned itself a gold record. For whatever reason. Larry Verne turned out to be a one-hit wonder, and his career only lasted from 1960 to 1963. He charted with one other song, Mister Livingston, but it only reached as high as No. 75. Mr. Custer however reached the top spot for one week.

Ferrante & Teicher visited the Top 10, barely, with the song Theme From ‘’The Apartment’’. The song is originally featured in the 1949 film «The Romantic Age». Ferrante & Teicher is not very interesting, but at some point during the 50s they did practice in the home of Steven Tyler’s (Aerosmith) grandmother. Bobby Vee, one of the longest-lasting teen idols of the early ’60s, got his first hit with a cover of The Clovers’ R&B hit Devil or Angel. Vee got his lucky break stepping in for the late Buddy Holly, after the plane crash in 1958, with his band the Shadows. After a local hit with the song Suzie Baby they were signed to Liberty, where they quickly groomed Bobby Vee for solo success. Devil or Angel peaked at No. 6 and to be honest, that’s a lot higher than it deserves. Bob Luman also entered the Top 10 with the song Let’s Think About Living, written by Boudleaux Bryant (who has written a lot of songs for The Everly Brothers). The song is quite alright, but nothing more than that really. And lastly, Johnny Tillotson steps onto the big scene with his song Poetry In Motion. It will peak at No. 2 next month, and reach No. 1 in the UK in January 1961.

Pretty sure I’ve heard Poetry In Motion in my childhood, but it might be that I just recognize the sentence…

---

Petter Milde

This Band Could Be Your Life