Ron McGovney though, he’s not one of them. But he was Metallica’s first bass player, so that is something at least. He didn’t necessarily leave his mark on the band, but he played with them for about a year and recorded some demos. It sounds like he just joined the band because he had played in a band called Leather Charm with James Hetfield and that this was a buddy favor of sorts, a ‘Sure, bro, you can join if you want to’ kinda thing. After he quit Metallica he started playing with a band called Phantasm, and it is quite possible that this is the first and last time I’m gonna write about him.

Brix Smith, the guitar player in The Fall, was also born in November, he was born eleven days after Anthony Kiedis who will grow up to be the frontman of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. And last but not least, two Norwegian artists, where one of them will be better known abroad than the other. Ole Evenrud, also known as Ole i’Dole (a play on the word idol), will stay within the Norwegian borders, and Magne Furuholmen of A-Ha, will become known around the world and enjoy some international success.

I’d say that’s a good mix of dudes to welcome into this world.

---

THE ALBUMS

DICK DALE AND HIS DEL-TONES – SURFER’S CHOICE

Dick Dale’s real name is Richard Monsour, but he changed his name (at least his stage name) at the recommendation of Texas DJ, T. Texas Tiny. There is also a story out there that Dick used to say he was born in Beirut, Lebanon and that his family migrated to the US when he was a kid, but Dick has later denied ever saying that and proclaims that he was born in Boston, Massachusets. Anyway, Dick started playing music under his real name, and to begin with, he was a country musician. After he moved to El Segundo, California, he started entering talent shows with his country music and worked up some local fame. At one point he even scored a small part in the Marilyn Monroe movie «Let’s Make Love», without any of that necessarily having anything to do with the other.

His first release, Ooh-Whee-Marie was released by his father’s record company, Deltone Records. Altogether he released nine singles on Deltone, including his first to hit the charts, Let’s Go Trippin’, which was released last year. Let’s Go Trippin’ is commonly known as the first instrumental surf rock track.

It wasn’t until Dale moved closer to the beach he started making surf music. He started surfing, became a part of that entire scene, generally embraced everything you had to become a golden god from California, and came out as a surf rocker. After he formed the Del-Tones, and the band started playing at the Rendezvous Ballroom, he got the idea of writing a song that would capture the essence of riding a wave, and with that idea and a bunch of other songs, his audience started growing. The shows were actually so packed that the local police wanted him to leave as they felt he had a bad influence on the local youth.

---

It’s looking likely that it might be a bit lengthy about Dick Dale, but he’s a pretty interesting guy. Just the fact that he pioneered instrumental surf music, which will blow up around now-ish, and I guess that alone is enough to give him some extra attention. So please, just bare with me.

---

So now Dale wanted to fine-tune the surf guitar style considering the fact that he played left-handed without reversing the strings. He met with Leo Fender (the inventor of the Fender guitar and amplifier line) and together they worked to design equipment that would fit better with this type of music. Dale was actually instrumental in developing the Showman amplifier and the first so-called outboard reverb unit, so I guess you could say that Dick Dale reinvented rock’n’roll as he went along. I’m impressed!

And now Dale is ready to show off what he has learned, invented, and pioneered on his debut album, «Surfer’s Choice». First of all, it’s pretty obvious that this sound is something else and refreshing, I even think that punk rock might have gotten an idea or two from this guy. It might just be the fact that Dale sounds a bit punk of course, but still. The entire album doesn’t give me punk vibes though, but on one of my favorite tracks on the album, the opening track «Surf Beat», is where I hear it best.

The album is the first to have a surfer on the cover (Dick Dale himself) and it’s recorded live (which might be one of the reasons that it sounds a bit punk). Both of these things are cool, but if I were to judge the album as a whole I can’t say that it’s any more than ok. There are some great songs, like Surf Beat, Take It Off, and Misirlou Twist (a rewrite of an old greek song) which I believe are known by most. It’s played over the opening credits to the movie Pulp Fiction by Quentin Tarantino if you’re having a hard time placing it. Unfortunately, there are some really bad tracks here, like his version of Sloop John B., and Night Owl, which has a terrible ‘owl sound’ which seems to be randomly thrown into the song.

---

Dean Martin has finished his last album for Capitol Records and is now set for his future over at Reprise Records with his buddy Frank Sinatra. «Cha Cha De Amor» is exactly as uninspiring as I expected it to be, being his last album at Capitol and his head was probably already over at Reprise. So yeah, there isn’t much to write home about here, but Dean’s voice is great as always.

We’re also being served up a comedy album this month, «The First Family» by Vaughn Meader, and this is supposedly his breakthrough album. I’m a bit amazed to learn that this album actually won a Grammy for Album of The Year and the fact that, according to Wikipedia, it is the fastest-selling album in history, pre-Beatles. And honestly, I have no idea what to do with this information or the album for that sake.

---

ELVIS PRESLEY – GIRLS! GIRLS! GIRLS!

When Elvis was 18 years old, back in 1953, he took a trip over to the Sun Records studio to record some tracks in their recording booth. He was gonna record a couple of tracks for his mom’s birthday but ended up with a lot more after the studio manager told Sam Phillips about this young kid with the exceptional voice. Sam Phillips nursed Elvis for about a year before he teamed him up with guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, and when he saw the potential Elvis had with a backing band, he understood that he had discovered something big.

Presley released a string of great singles during his time at Sun Records. It all started with That’s All Right (Mama) / Blue Moon Of Kentucky, continued with Good Rockin’ Tonight / I Don’t Care If The Sun Don’t Shine, Milk Cow Blues / You’re A Heartbreaker, and Baby, Let’s Play House / I’m Left, You’re Right, She’s Gone, which led to him booking shows at The Grand Ole Opry and Lousiana Hayride. A series of live dates followed (D.J. Fontana was added as the drummer) the reactions verged on the fanatical. Partly because of his semi-erotic performances and his hip-swiveling, but the near-riotous fan mania led to Elvis being signed by a major label. RCA Records bought out his contract at Sun Records for $35.000, an astronomical sum for the period. He did release one last single at Sun Records before he left though, Mystery Train, which is considered by many to be the ultimate rock’n’roll single.

I’m actually just realizing that I have been a bit hard on Sam Phillips in the past. I mean, this guy discovered and signed artists like Elvis, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, and so on, so I guess it’s only fair that he cashes in a bit on these artists after they left his label to become superstars.

Roughly six years later Elvis has somewhat left his rock’n’roll roots, but this soundtrack, «Girls! Girls! Girls!», is, if nothing else, at least better than everything else he has released during the ‘60s so far. The album kicks off great with a couple of up-tempo tracks, like the title track Girls! Girls! Girls! and I Don’t Wanna Be Tied, but I’m partial to a couple of the slow ones as well, like the weird Earth Boy, The Walls Have Ears, and of course Return To Sender. Elvis is still miles away from his best, and I’m not very happy about this soundtrack thing he’s got going, but hey, at least there are some good tracks here, right?

FRANCOISE HARDY – (TOUS LES GARCONS ET LES FILLES)

This untitled/self-titled debut album is usually referred to as I wrote in the headline, and the song Tous les garcons et les filles sold over a million copies after she signed to the prestigious label Vogue.

But this yé-yé girl has a lot more to offer than just one hit song. I’m not sure if I have a soft spot for french women (I dated one for a couple of years some time ago) or if it’s the fact that french sounds amazing when sung by women, but this is right up my alley. And where Sylvie Vartan impressed me back in June, Francoise has managed to kick it up another notch with her debut album.

The album is a mix of jazz, rockabilly, and pop, with subtle arrangements that let her voice run the show, and it’s definitively hypnotizing. She has written most of the songs herself (which I love), but the best song on the record, La temps de l’amour, with its James Bond vibe, is not written by her. Her voice is incredibly sexy on this one, and the bass line is probably 50% of its coolness, but all in all, it’s a full-package song where everything works. I’m not surprised if this one ends up on my Top 10 list for the year.

Obviously, nothing here is superfluous. The title track is good, Ca a raté, Oh oh chéri, On se plait, Ton meilleur ami…ahh, fuck that, they’re all good. Francoise Hardy enters the scene with a confident and convincing effort, and if this is just the start, there’s a lot to look forward to. Vive la France!

---

THE SINGLES

We’ll start off with the third single from the Beach Boys’ debut album, and while the first two were good, this one, Ten Little Indians, which is based on a nursing rhyme, isn’t anything to be excited about. The track just barely clocks in at one and a half minutes, and it feels like a complete waste of time. I don’t really understand why this was released as a single at all. It might have been ok in an album setting, but on its own, it doesn’t shine at all. The B-side, County Fair, isn’t a lot better, but at least it’s a bit funny. The lyrics, which are about a guy who brings his girl to the county fair and loses her to a stronger fellow, feel incredibly juvenile, and that’s the main reason I would call this track funny. Not necessarily good, but funny.

Brook Benton is also back with a new single. This one is called Hotel Happiness, and it’s a lot better than Beach Boys’ effort. It also did well on the charts, and I believe it deserved to. Brook hasn’t gotten a lot of attention from me, but he has released a bunch of singles these last few years, so I’ve probably missed some good tracks. So far I’ve liked two of the three I’ve written about at least.

The last one this month is You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me by the Miracles, and it is undoubtfully the best one. The song is written by Smokey Robinson (of course), and even though it was released as the B-side to Happy Landing, it did receive most of the attention. The song has been recorded by tons of artists over the years, it won the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1998, and has been named one of The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. If you don’t know this song, you should get on that quick!

---

THE CHARTS

Chubby Checker refuses to quit and is back on the charts once again. This time it’s a song called Popeye The Hitchhiker, and even though my son might dance to it (he’s one and a half years old), I’m not really moving at all.

Bobby Rydell doesn’t really excite me either, and the only thing I can say about The Cha Cha Cha is that it is better than Dean Martin’s «Cha Cha De Amor».

---

Petter Milde

This Band Could Be Your Life