September 1960 saw the birth of the very first prime-time animated show on television; The Flintstones. The antics of Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble have put a smile on people’s faces for quite a few decades now. And even though it’s been some years since I’ve watched it, I’ll still sing the theme song every now and then.
The show lasted for six seasons from 1960 to 1966 and was the most financially successful and longest-running network animated television series for three decades until The Simpsons knocked it off its throne. I’m not gonna talk too much about this show, but I felt that it was somewhat important to mention it as it has been a staple for kids all the way up to the 1990s at least. I remember laughing my ass off as a kid watching The Flintstones.
Another first was the televised presidential debate with John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. However, in 1956 there was a sort of presidential debate where Adlai Stevenson challenged Dwight Eisenhower, but none of them appeared on television. Instead, they sent surrogates, where Elanor Roosevelt represented the Democrats, and Margaret Chase Smith represented the Republicans. So in a sense; the first televised presidential debate featured two women.
In the 1960 debate, on September 26, John F. Kennedy was the apparent winner. According to The History Channel, Kennedy was declared the winner in the first debate mostly because of the fact that he was better on camera, and more chill. Nixon seemed nervous and…refused to wear make-up.
THE ALBUMS
What a smörgåsbord we are delivered from the releases this month! Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, and Elvis Presley. All three will be living on forever through their music, and here they are releasing an album the same month back in 1960. What a goddamn treat. I’m a big fan of Johnny Cash, but not necessarily of Elvis and Ray though. But you don’t have to be a fan to like the music. And we all know that both Ray and Elvis has changed music forever with what they were doing back then. So fan or no fan, I can’t help but get a little bit excited.
ELVIS PRESLEY – G.I. BLUES
This is Elvis’ second album of 1960 after he returned from the army. I wasn’t really impressed with the first one, «Elvis is Back!», and even though «G.I. Blues» isn’t gonna be one of my favorites either, at least there are more good songs on this one.
This album is the soundtrack to the motion picture bearing the same name. And after this release, as it actually sold really, really well, The Colonel decided that from now on there’s gonna be a lot more soundtracks (insert ironic «Woo-hoo» here). I’m not gonna check how many he actually put out after this one, but this is already his third soundtrack, and if I would just do some quick math it would seem that there might be a lot of them to come.
Anyway. This album has its ups and downs. The downs are very obvious with songs like Wooden Heart and Big Boots leading on as the absolute worst ones on this album. Maybe they work well in the movie, but as tracks on an album, they are just horrendous. Makes me wanna turn it off every time. But luckily those are not gonna be setting the standard here. The highlights are What’s She Really Like, G.I. Blues, Shopping Around, and a newer version of Blue Suede Shoes. But he doesn’t make a fool of himself with the ballad Pocketful of Rainbows either.
The rest of the album is fillers. Not terrible, and not awesome. They are just there to fill up space and minutes. And that’s a big reason why this album will never be considered a very good one by me.
So, Elvis. That is two albums in one year that have failed to impress me. What’s going on? Should I give you up? Nah. Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure he’ll come back with a bang at some point. And I say this without the faintest idea of what his next album is.
JOHNNY CASH – SINGS HANK WILLIAMS
Let me just start by saying, as every review I’ve read about this album says, that this is not really an album where Cash sings Hank. There are only four tracks on here that were written by Hank Williams. And this is also not really a Johnny Cash album. It’s a compilation released by his former record company, Sun Records, and only five of the songs have not previously been released on an album. But, you know, that’s how compilations usually work. So the fact that it is five “new” songs is a good enough reason to check it out.
Outta those five Johnny has written four, and the last one, I Love You Because, is not. So there are twelve songs on this album called «(Johnny Cash) Sings Hank Williams». Four songs were written by Hank, seven songs were written by Johnny, and the last one was written by a guy called Leon Payne. Leon released this song back in 1949, and it is the only song of his that managed to hit the country charts.
The best Hank Williams rendition is mos def Hey Good Lookin’. The song is a classic, and Johnny Cash makes it sound even better. There are also classic Cash tunes like I Walk The Line, Folsom Prison Blues, and Next In Line, but those are old news and don’t really make this album any more interesting. But Straight A’s in Love, Mean-Eyed Cat, and Come In Stranger are some really cool new acquaintances, and are good enough reasons alone to check out this compilation.
This compilation is of course released just to cash in on Cash’s fame as he is no longer signed to Sun Records. They own his back catalog and are free to do whatever they want with it. However, there are a few good tracks on here and that is definitively enough if you are a Johnny Cash fan.
RAY CHARLES – THE GENIUS HITS THE ROAD
The Genius. What does it do to a person when you are referred to as «The Genius»? Well, it seems like Ray took it really well as he now calls himself the same thing in his album titles (at least some of them). And, needless to say, he deserves to be called it as well. This is the man who helped invent modern-day R&B. This is a man that has influenced so many people that I would think there is no other word that describes him better. Ray Charles has, or will if you’d like, traversed genres like jazz, country, soul, and gospel, excelling in all of them.
But on this record, he’s giving us some big band music, and I haven’t fallen in love with that type of music yet. However, Ray Charles makes it a lot better than the other ones I’ve listened to from 1960. «The Genius Hits The Road» is kind of a concept album where Brother Ray sings about different places in the US. I’ve come to the conclusion that there are four good songs on this record, and the other ones are either dull, annoying or just ok. The song that pisses me off the most is Deep In The Heart of Texas; which I feel could have been a great song if wasn’t for that guy/voice intruding on the song like a heckler in the audience.
Georgia In My Mind is the best cut on the record, and it’s probably the best version of the song I’ve heard so far. Nowadays I wake up to this song every day, but it’s The Band’s version that is my alarm clock. And that won’t be released until 1977. The other great tracks are Alabamy Bound, Basin Street Blues, and Mississippi Mud. I’m obliged to compare this album to the others that are in the same genre-ish, and compared to the albums of Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. (released July 1960); this one is way better.
THE CHARTS
Billboards Top 10 Singles Chart
Week 1 (September 5, 1960)
- It’s Now Or Never – Elvis Presley
- The Twist – Chubby Checker
- Walk, Don’t Run – The Ventures
Week 2 (September 12, 1960)
- It’s Now Or Never – Elvis Presley
- The Twist – Chubby Checker
- My Heart Has A Mind Of Its Own – Connie Francis
Week 3 (September 19, 1960)
- The Twist – Chubby Checker
- My Heart Has A Mind Of Its Own – Connie Francis
- It’s Now Or Never – Elvis Presley
Week 4 (September 26, 1960)
- My Heart Has A Mind Of Its Own – Connie Francis
- The Twist – Chubby Checker
- Chain Gang – Sam Cooke
Sam Cooke and Connie Francis make their way into the Top 3 this month, and while Sam Cooke’s Chain Gang deserves it, Connie Francis’s My Heart Has A Mind of Its Own baffles me. I find that song incredibly boring. I know that she was a big thing at the time, but that kind of music, I just don’t see the attraction. Sam Cooke though. That’s some good shit right there.
I’m gonna start mentioning some singles that manage to get into the Top 10 as well. I’ve noticed that there are a lot of songs on there that I haven’t found while looking for releases, so there is a chance that some of these have been released in one of the months I have already covered. Anyway, new, and more, music is always welcome.
So we can start with Bobby Rydell. He’s on the list with his song Volare. A song that probably made a lot of girls fall in love with him. And, you know, the song is ok. It’s one of those tunes where you automatically start singing along with the chorus, and that is usually, and I say that with some caution, a sign that the song has something to it. It’s also funny to hear the choir girls not being able to roll their R’s. The one-hit wonders The Ivy Three released a terrible single, Yogi, and quit being a band a year later. Good riddance. Mission Bell, by Donnie Brooks, is an alright pop tune. A Million To One by Jimmy Charles is nothing special. But I really liked Kiddio by Brook Benton, except for the screaming violins, or whatever, during the intro. It’s not my new favorite song or anything, but compared to the others this one stood out as the best one.
That’s it for September.
Petter Milde
This Band Could Be Your Life
This Band Could Be Your Life 