So yeah, Ringo wasn’t a complete stranger to the band as he had played with them before, and it seems like the boys really looked up to Ringo at the time. They felt that they needed the best drummer in Liverpool to play in their band, and in their eyes that was Ringo. Fans of The Beatles at the time did not agree though. They were furious. At Ringo’s first gig there were protests by the Pete Best ‘’fan club’’ and George was even attacked at some point, ending up with a black eye. I guess their anger subsided with time though, cause it looks like it turned out to be a good decision to hire Ringo.

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August, 1962, was also the month Robert Allen Zimmerman legally changed his name to Bob Dylan. There are a lot of stories about this, like the one where it is said that he took that name as a tribute to the poet Dylan Thomas, but Bob has denied that on many occasions. He is quoted to have said: ‘’Dylan Thomas’ poetry is for people that aren’t really satisfied in their bed – for people who dig masculine romance’’, and ‘’I didn’t change my name in honor of Dylan Thomas, that’s just a story.’’ So those quotes should put that issue to rest. But then again, he did write in his book, «Chronicles», that he had seen the name Dylan Thomas at a point in time when he pondered the idea of changing his name to Robert Allen, or Allyn, so even though it may not have been a tribute, it might look like the idea of Dylan could have come from Dylan Thomas.

Dylan also used to play under the pseudonym ‘Ellis Gunn’, but that was never meant to be forever, it was always just a temporary thing. And while he didn’t hate his own name; ‘’What I was going to do as soon as I left home was just called myself Robert Allen. As far as I was concerned, that was who I was – that’s what my parents named me. It sounded like the name of a Scottish king, and I liked it. There was little of my identity that wasn’t in it’’, I guess it gave him some sort of freedom to change his name to whatever he wanted.

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John Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize in Litterature this month for what the Nobel Committee said was ’his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social perception.’ John Steinbeck is best known for his book «Grapes of Wrath» with which he won the Pulitzer Prize in 1939. I think the only book I’ve read by him is «Of Mice And Men», but I’ll be sure to get my hands on a copy of his finest work as well. That is if there are any left considering it has sold 14 million copies.

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Linus Pauling. The next segment, the reason he won it, is copied directly from www.nobelprize.org as I can’t find the energy to rewrite it myself:

The atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were a turning point in Linus Pauling’s life. Together with other scientists he spoke and wrote against the nuclear arms race, and he was a driving force in the Pugwash movement. It sought to reduce the role of nuclear arms in international politics and was awarded the Peace Prize in 1995. In 1959, Linus Pauling drafted the famous “Hiroshima Appeal”, the concluding document issued after the Fifth World Conference against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs. He was one of the prime movers who urged the nuclear powers the USA, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain to conclude a nuclear test ban treaty, which entered into force on 10 October 1963. On the same day, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced that Linus Pauling had been awarded the Peace Prize that had been held over from 1962.

Good work, Linus.

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This is also the first time I get to write about someone’s death I think. Well no, I actually mentioned that Ernest Hemmingway died a little over a year ago, so that’s not true. Anyway, Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her home on August 5 after an overdose of sleeping pills. She was one of the most popular Hollywood stars at the time, she was considered a major sex symbol, and her movies earned cash like a motherfucker. But here she is, dead from an overdose at only 36 years old. That’s one year younger than I am now, and look what I have to show for…

The police deemed her death as a probable suicide, but there are a lot of theories about her death. She was found locked inside her bedroom, naked with a phone clutched in her hand, and there were empty bottles of sleeping pills and other pills on her nightstand. The coroner did find everything needed to support the idea that she had killed herself with an overdose, however, there were no traces of the capsules in her stomach, and this is what sparks the idea that she was injected with the stuff and was killed.

The one theory, or should I say conspiracy theory, that seems to be everyone’s favorite is the fact that John F. Kennedy and/or his brother Robert Kennedy killed her or had her killed. This seems fucking crazy of course, the fact that the president of the USA killed one of America’s biggest stars, but I’ll jump on it for the time being. Allegedly Marilyn and JFK had an affair, and she supposedly threatened to go public with this and other government secrets she had gathered, or maybe the Kennedys just feared she might, so this triggered these men to have her taken care of. It’s a stretch of course, but the lack of capsules in her stomach does support the idea that she had been injected with something that might have killed her. The case was reopened in 1982, but ended with the same outcome.

Marilyn however is still to this day an icon, and her life will forever be celebrated through her pictures, movies, and stories. Her death is a good conversation, but what she did before that is what she should, and will, be remembered for.

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THE ALBUMS

Four albums, four big names, could they all be great? That’s usually not the case, but I’ll never stop hoping

PATSY CLINE – SENTIMENTALLY YOURS

This is Patsy Cline’s third album, and it’s somewhat better than her last release. She is considered one of the greatest singers in country music history, and she is credited with being one of the trailblazers for female singers in this male-dominated genre. Her career started in the mid-‘50s when she recorded almost twenty singles, but her breakthrough didn’t come until I Fall To Pieces was released at the start of the ‘60s. She did have one hit before this as well, Walkin’ After Midnight, but she wasn’t able to follow it up right away. 

«Sentimentally Yours» is mostly made up of covers and standards in a mix of country and pop, but there are a couple of tracks that really stand out here. The Hank Williams tracks You’re Cheating Heart and I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still In Love With You) are done beautifully, and the singles Heartaches and She’s Got You are the two best songs on the album, which is probably why they were chosen to be singles…

Patsy is a great artist, and for the ones who love country music this is very easy to like, but it can easily become a bit too slow and boring as well. However, I feel that this album is the best Patsy album I’ve heard so far, and one should be excited about where she might take this. Unfortunately, Patsy won’t be with us much longer, but if my information is correct she will record one more album before she leaves us. More on this later though, cause right now she is alive and well, and she has delivered a pretty good album we can enjoy for as long as we’d like.

ARETHA FRANKLIN – THE TENDER, THE MOVING, THE SWINGING ARETHA FRANKLIN

This is Aretha’s third album as well, and it’s her first one to reach some kind of commercial success by hitting #69 on the Billboard pop album chart. Curiously enough they didn’t release any singles from this album, and that makes the feat of breaking into the album chart even bigger.

But I wouldn’t say that there’s any real reason as to why this particular album did better than its predecessors, as it’s pretty much the same thing going on here. Aretha’s voice is still magnificent, but the music doesn’t really fit. She’s singing on top of a big band backing, and while the songs are good enough to fill up an album, there isn’t a single song that manages to prove that it is the best one. All of them seem like fillers, and an album without a highlight is a bit dull.

I’m not gonna put that on Aretha though, cause she’s doing a terrific job with what she’s been given, and even though the album isn’t all that, it’s still a pleasure to listen to her sing.

BEN E. KING – DON’T PLAY THAT SONG

Ben E. King is yet another artist that releases his third album this month. He hasn’t been able to impress me with his two first records since he left The Drifters, but he has given me/us the great song Stand By Me. That song alone has been enough to keep his name alive for decades now, but is that the only song he will be remembered for? Or does he have some tricks up his sleeve?

Well, if the trick is to make a song that sounds like «Stand By Me», but different, he has succeeded. The title song, Don’t Play That Song (You Lied), has an opening, and a bass line, that is way too similar to his biggest hit so far. It’s kinda lame if you ask me, but it did become a hit, so I guess he succeeded in that as well. The Allmusic reviewer who wrote about this album is head over heels about the production, and while I’m not gonna go too much into specifics on stuff like that here, I can’t help but wonder what it is he’s talking about. I can’t really see why this records production is any better than the other albums I’ve listened to lately.

I played this album in the background as a friend of mine came by, and he wondered if I was listening to Christmas music already, and he has a point actually. Some of these tracks sound like Christmas songs (not necessarily in a bad way), and that doesn’t really do this album any good. There are some alright cuts here though, like Young Boy Blues, Ecstasy, and luckily for him, they added Stand By Me to this album as well. So I guess this is Ben’s best album so far, and even though he hasn’t released a hit record with «Don’t Play That Song», it’s worth a listen.

SAM COOKE – THE BEST OF SAM COOKE

Sam Cooke will become one of the most important soul singers in history, he is one of the inventors of the genre, and he was a beloved performer with both black and white audiences. He was also one of the first black performers to start his own record company and publishing company. Which is why he signed to RCA when the big leagues came knocking, and not Atlantic. Atlantic wanted his publishing, and Sam Cooke knew very well how important it was to own his own copyrights. So while Atlantic was an R&B -oriented label, and he would probably thrive there, he went with RCA cause of the business side of it.

His first albums at RCA though, did nothing to add to his prior hits. While he had already released great singles like Everybody Loves To Cha-Cha-Cha, Only Sixteen, and (What A) Wonderful World, the first two albums at RCA wasn’t what a lot of people had expected, and I can’t say that all the albums I’ve written about here have been very convincing either. There’s not a doubt in my mind that he is an amazing singer and artist, but it just hasn’t worked so far. This might be the reason why they’re releasing a sampler, a compilation of his greatest hits, now as well. RCA probably needs to show everyone that Sam ain’t no fluke and what better way than to remind everyone about the great songs he has released so far in his career.

«The Best Of Sam Cooke» is a good compilation, with songs like the ones I’ve already mentioned, his first hit You Send Me, the great Chain Gang and Cupid, his twist craze addition Twistin’ The Night Away, and the beautiful Bring It On Home To Me. These tracks alone make this a great album, and while there are some songs here that might not be all that, I would say that this is worth your while. And if nothing else, it sure as hell showcases what Sam can do.

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THE SINGLES

Bobby Vee isn’t all that, to be honest, and his new single, Punish Her (which title sounds pretty bad in itself), isn’t even one of his best songs. Pretty far off actually. It charted, of course, but other than that it’s not even close to being a part of any important musical history lesson. And I can say the same thing about Rick Nelson’s new tune, Teen Age Idol. None of these boys will make it past their teen pop star career, and both songs are a good reason why.

Ironically Sherry by The Four Seasons is released this month, and that’s only ironic because I wrote about the album called «Sherry & 11 Others» a couple of months ago. So I guess I didn’t check my research well enough when I decided to add that album there. This single was obviously released before the album, and it’s on me that I didn’t check that out. Anyway, Sherry is The Four Seasons’ first #1 hit, and while it’s more annoying than awesome, I can only hope that I’ll learn to enjoy Frankie Valli’s voice with time as these guys will produce a lot of hits in the coming years. But for now, even though the song is alright and catchy, Frankie’s falsetto is not for everyone.

A classic novelty song, Monster Mash, hit the ground running around October, cause of Halloween I guess, and went to #1 on the charts. It also sold over a million copies. It re-entered the charts in 1970, 1973, and around 60 years after its initial release. So even though the song isn’t very good (let’s be honest here), it has definitively turned out to be somewhat of a cult classic, and mos def a Halloween theme song. Bobby ‘’Boris’’ Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers might not have gotten an outstanding music career, but at least this one song has kept their name alive for at least six decades. Considering the song, I would say that they should be damn happy about that. A fun fact about this song is that Leon Russel played piano on the track.

An ok instrumental track called Wiggle Wobble, by Les Cooper & the Soul Rockers, did alright on both the pop & R&B charts, but this will turn out to be his only hit. Barbara Lynn is out with her first single You’ll Lose A Good Thing, a bluesy ballad that she wrote herself. It reached the top of the R&B charts and hit the Top 10 at the pop charts. What made Barbara stand out was that she mostly wrote all her songs and she played a lead instrument, which would make her one of the very few female artists at the time to do so. The song is good enough, and her reputation quickly grew after this song, so soon she will be touring with artists like Sam Cooke, Gladys Knight, Marvin Gaye, and Ike & Tina Turner amongst a lot of other big names. The recording session of the song also featured one Mac Rebennack, better known as Dr. John.

The Tornados blows up with a chartbuster called Telstar, Margaret Thatcher’s favorite song, which hits #1 in both the US and the UK. It is a futuristic instrumental song named after a satellite that was shot into orbit earlier this year. It’s been said that this is the first so-called sci-fi-influenced pop song, and I’m not gonna try to dispute that. Cause compared to all the other songs I’ve listened to since 1960, this has a completely different sound, and it might be weird, but most of all it’s damn cool. Robert Meek, the composer and songwriter of the song, was filed with a lawsuit by french composer Jean Ledrut as he claimed that the tune of «Telstar» was copied from his La Marche D’Austerlitz. Personally, I can’t really hear it, but I do hear some similarities in Telstar to Gene McDaniels’, or Arthur Alexander’s, «A Hundred Pounds Of Clay». The dispute was not resolved, in Meek’s favor, until three weeks after Meek killed himself, so he never received any royalties from the song that is estimated to have sold over five million copies.

Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass’ debut single The Lonely Bull was originally recorded by Herb in his garage, but this version is obviously done in a real studio. I’m not sure how I came to like Herb Alpert, but I have some LPs of his in my collection, and I enjoy his style of music. Herb Alpert has been a trumpet player since the age of eight, he also proved to be a great arranger, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He co-wrote Sam Cooke’s hit Wonderful World (which was very new information to me), he enjoyed success as a producer for a group called Jan And Dean, and had a short partnership with Lou Rawls, but what impressed, and surprised, me the most is that he is the founder of A&M Records together with Jerry Moss. I never knew Herb Alpert did all this, I just thought he was a great trumpet player. And here he is with his debut single, released on his own record label, scoring a hit that will reach #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. I actually like this guy more now.

Now, He’s A Rebel by The Crystals is something else! This song, written by Gene Pitney, was originally intended for The Shirelles, but when they rejected it Vikki Carr gladly recorded it. And here’s where the chaos begins. Phil Spector, who produced the Crystal’s version, heard Vikki record it, and immediately wanted to release the song before her. The Crystals, which was his band as he owned the name, was on tour at the time, so Phil got the band The Blossoms to record the track under the arrangement that it would be credited to the Crystals. So while on tour the original Crystals all of a sudden heard their new single on the radio without recording anything. I knew Phil Spector had a screw loose, but this story is pretty crazy. Anyway, this song is amazing. The so-called ‘’wall of sound’’ that Phil Spector was working on really gets its breakthrough on this track. It’s something completely different from everything else released at this time, and I gotta say the sound of it is revolutionary. What Phil was doing was that he wanted to create a unique sound by recording layers of vocals and instruments onto one mono track, and while he tried this on «Uptown», and maybe «There’s No Other (Like My Baby)», this track is where he’s starting to get the hang of it. I actually thought I was listening to a remastered version released at least thirty years later, that’s how good this production is. The song rose to the top of the pop charts, keeping Gene Pitney’s Only Love Can Break A Heart behind them, giving him, as a songwriter or performer, the two best-selling singles in the US.

I’m pretty sure that this is one of the best songs released this year, so if you haven’t checked this one out before I urge you to do it right now.

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THE CHARTS

And then we’re knocked right back down to the ground with Richard Chamberlain’s Theme From Dr. Kildare (Three Stars Will Shine Tonight). It’s incredibly dull compared to Crystals, so it’s tough shit for Richard and his song. It’s his first single, and it was the theme for the TV show he starred in. It got as high as #10 on the charts, and I’m sitting here confused and angry.

The other new addition to the Top 10 this month is a lot better than the first. Tommy Roe’s Sheila, his debut single as a solo artist, went to #1 in the US, and #3 in the UK, where he enjoyed considerable popularity. The song was recorded and released in 1960 as well with his band The Satins, but it was unsuccessful back then. This Buddy Holly-inspired track, with the same kind of strumming pattern, tempo, and chords as the Lubbock Sound made popular by Buddy, is kinda cool. I like the vibe of it, and it seems tough even though it’s a love song.

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Petter Milde

This Band Could Be Your Life