On November 8, 1960; John F. Kennedy was elected the 35th president of the United States of America. Kennedy is one of the most famous presidents the US has ever had, though I don’t know much about his politics.

The first two things that pop into my head when I think about JFK are Marilyn Monroe and his death. The video of him getting shot in the back of that car has probably defined him more than anything else, at least for me. I know he was a Democrat, I know he was rich, that he was married to Jackie O, and that Lee Harvey Oswald was the one who assassinated him. But his politics? Nah, I don’t know. And right now, I don’t care. But he did hook up with, Marilyn. Right?

On November 13 Sammy Davies Jr. married Swedish actor May Britt Wilkens. The only reason I’m bringing this up is because this marriage was controversial in the stone-age-thinking country of the ‘’United’’ States. You see, back in 1960, 20ish years after they helped stop the persecution of Jews during World War 2 over in Europe (among other things), this country still didn’t allow interracial weddings! Seriously? Are you fucking kidding me? It was forbidden by law in 31 states! And we wonder why the situation over there is like it is now. Some people never learn…

On a happier note; Gordie Howe became the first player to ever reach 1000 scoring points in NHL on November 27, Kim Wilde was born on November 18, and Matt Sorum, drummer of Guns’n’Roses and Velvet Revolver, was born on the 19th.

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THE ALBUMS

ELVIS PRESLEY – HIS HAND IN MINE

I’m starting to lose count, but I’m pretty sure this is Elvis’ third album this year. One soundtrack, two studio albums. And I gotta be honest, this wasn’t a very good Elvis year. Granted, he’s put out some good singles, but if I’m gonna rate him the way I rate every other artist, this year doesn’t do him any favors.

And gospel music? Man, that’s a drag! Especially when you are The King. I know that he varied a lot, but this is a new low for me. According to Wikipedia; this fit well into Colonel Tom Parker and his plan to give Elvis a more family-friendly image as he switched Presley’s career more towards movies and the glitz and glam (hell and fury) of Hollywood. But I don’t want to hear any of that. To me, the more bad albums you release, the worse an artist you become. Isn’t that just common sense?

«His Hand In Mine» could mean two things, and it meant the bad one; religion. Get behind me Satan, ’cause I ain’t having none of it! I gave this record a fair chance, but this is just dirt in my ears. It’s boring, has a terrible message, and for someone with so much influence to spread religion like that is just plain awful. Keep your beliefs to yourself, douchebag.

I would throw this record away, but I actually just sold it on Discogs. Good riddance.

THE FOUR LADS – EVERYTHING GOES!!!

A Canadian crooner quartet. How about that. These guys were pretty big in Canada and had a pretty sweet career, but as I’ve mentioned before; this kind of music just doesn’t do anything for me. It’s not at all a terrible record in any sense, but the lack of anything fun, and an abundance of seriousness and sickening charm, kills the buzz instantly.

I don’t even think I finished listening to this album. The songs just ended up blending into one another, and at some point, I just pressed stop and started doing my laundry. It just seemed a lot cooler to do some chores at the moment.

Even though I didn’t like this album, it’s still better than Elvis’, so check this out before you listen to that Christian propaganda.

ETTA JAMES – AT LAST!

Jamesetta Hawkins was born in Watts, Los Angeles. Her mom was only 14 years old when she gave birth to her, and she ended up spending her childhood with different foster parents. Not surprisingly she did not have a great childhood, and according to some stories it borders on straight-up terrible. I’m gonna refrain from re-telling any of those stories and rather try to focus on the positives.

She started out singing with a girl group called The Creolettes/The Peaches in the early 50s, and they ended up booking an opening spot for Little Richard on tour of the US. After that, she changed her name to Etta James (at least for her professional career), signed a solo contract with Chess Records, and got ready to release her debut album on their jazz imprint, Argo.

«At Last!» is an album with blues, R&B, and jazz standards, but this is easily defined as soul music. And Etta shows that she can handle all of that easily. Her voice is powerful, vulnerable, passionate, and beautiful. She makes it all sound so effortless, while still owning the shit out of every word. First of all, the title track, At Last, is such a crazy beautiful song, and Etta owns it with all of her heart. This is my definite favorite from the record. But this album is a lot more than that. It feels like I could pick at random here; Stormy Weather, Tough Mary, All I Could Do Was Cry, A Sunday Kind Of Love. It’s all good really, so there’s no point in me rambling on about what tracks are the best.

Etta James’ debut album might as well prove to be one of the best albums released in 1960, a sheer pleasure to listen to, an album with so much feel, and a newfound love for me. So when I always only thought of Aretha Franklin as the queen of soul music, Etta James is definitively looking for that throne with this marvelous debut album.

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THE SINGLES

I’m pretty sure there were more singles this month, but I’m still trying to find out the best way to do my research. However, the one single I managed to set a date to is somewhat of a classic; The Shirelles’ Will You Love Me Tomorrow.

According to Rolling Stone, The Shirelles were one of the few girl groups of the early ’60s that wrote their own hits. But Will You Love Me Tomorrow was written by Gerry Coffin and Carole King. So, that might not be completely true, though I’m sure they wrote some of the other ones. The Shirelles were signed to the independent Scepter Music around 1959, so this, their biggest hit to date, was released by an independent label. I like that very much.

Will You Love Me Tomorrow is a song that a lot of people can sing along to just because the chorus is hidden somewhere way back in their minds. That’s how it was for me. It’s not a song I would intentionally blast at home, but it will get a spot on one, or some, of my playlists.

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THE CHARTS

Four songs that I’ve written about earlier this year step into the Top 3 this month. Poetry In Motion by Johnny Tillotson, the superb Georgia On My Mind by Ray Charles, Joe Jones visits with You Talk Too Much, and Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs deservedly enter with their song Stay. Elvis Presley also entered the Top 3 with his Are You Lonesome Tonight. But has this song always been so boring? And has that monologue always been there? Man, Elvis is not delivering anything right now. The last artist to make it into the Top 3 is Floyd Cramer with an instrumental tune called Last Date. According to Wikipedia, it exemplifies the «slip note» style of piano playing that Cramer made popular. Now I ain’t never heard this song before, but later a lot of people will end up covering it in different versions. Some with vocals, some without. R.E.M., Conway Twitty, Emmylou Harris, Debbie Harry, and that’s just some of them. I guess I’m gonna wait and see what happens, cause this version isn’t all that. It’s a nice melody, but that’s about it.

In the Top 10 the newcomers are Roy Orbison with Blue Angel. A pretty good one. Not as good as Only The Lonely, but still, there’s something about that voice. Kathy Young & the Innocents’ A Thousand Stars sounds like a generic love song, and won’t be remembered for long. Johnny Horton, who also passed away this month, enters the Top 10 with North To Alaska.

Hank Ballard & The Midnighters enters the promised land with the song Let’s Go, Let’s Go, Let’s Go. Hank Ballard earned his fame in the ‘50s through sexually explicit lyrics over raw gospel rhythms. He and his band recorded some hits then, and their biggest year was 1954, when they recorded three R&B Top 10 hits with the so-called «Annie» trilogy; Work With Me, Annie, Annie Had a Baby, and Annie’s Aunt Fanny. But this would be their last hit, and in 1963 Hank would go solo, not making much of himself. Let’s Go is a mix between rockabilly and soul/gospel, where Ballard’s voice becomes the center of attention, not because “obviously”, but because it’s a bit annoying; like he has something stuck in his throat.

Gary U.S. Bonds hit the charts with a pretty cool rock’n’roll number called New Orleans. This was his first big hit, and by the sound of that one, it’s safe to say I’m looking forward to hearing more from him. The last guy that takes the step up is Jackie Wilson and the song Alone at Last. Rolling Stone Magazine describes him as ‘one of the premier black vocalists and performers of the late ’50s and ‘60s‘. And that ‘no other singer of his generation so perfectly combined James Brown’s rough, sexy style and Sam Cooke’s smooth, gospel-polished pop’. That is quite a burden, and, especially when listening to this song, must be impossible to live up to. Cause this is miles away from any of that, and not even close to being as good, or cool, as Brown or Cooke. But then again, this is just one song. I have no idea who this guy is so I’m not gonna throw him to the wolves just yet. But this, this was not amazing. His voice is terrible, the song boring, and I’m completely knocked off my stride after reading what Rolling Stones wrote about him. Gotta check out whatever he did before this.

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The craziest thing about November 1960 is that I’m starting to doubt and dislike Elvis Presley. I know it’s kinda stupid, cause his track record kinda speaks for itself. But seriously, when I look back on 1960, I don’t understand anything. If any other artist released that many bad songs, one would think that people started to doubt. But hey, maybe it’s just me.

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Petter Milde

This Band Could Be Your Life