Lloyd Estel Copas, better known as Cowboy Copas, was born in 1913 and achieved national fame in 1943 when he replaced the vocalist in the Pee Wee King band and started playing at the Grand Ole Opry. He scored his first solo hit, Filipino Baby, in 1946, and continued through to the early ‘50s with hits like Signed Sealed And Delivered, The Tennessee Waltz, and Candy Kisses. In 1952 he released what was to become his last Top 40 hit in the country charts for eight years, ‘Tis Sweet To Be Remembered. He kept performing at the Opry through those barren years, and was back on the charts in 1960 with his biggest hit, Alabam, which held the #1 spot for three months. His last single, was appropriately named Goodbye Kisses, and was released sometime during 1963.

Harold Franklin ‘’Hawkshaw’’ Hawkins got his nickname when he was helping a neighbor track down a couple of misplaced fishing rods. The name was taken from a comic called «Hakshaw The Detective». Hawkshaw made it to the Country Top 10 with his first two releases, Pan American and Dog House Boogie, and recorded his biggest hit Lonesome 7-7203 in 1962. The latter song enters the country chart this month.

And then there’s Patsy Cline, the rising country star, ripped away way before her time at only 30 years old. She was gonna become one of the greatest country artists of all time, with hits like I Fall To Pieces, Crazy, Walkin’ After Midnight, and She’s Got You already released in her short career, and she was already the leading star in a male-dominated genre. But fate would have it otherwise. She had already survived a near-fatal car crash back in ‘61, and she supposedly said to a friend who offered her a ride instead of flying in the bad weather; ‘’Don’t worry about me. When it’s my time to go, it’s my time to go’’, so I guess death was in the cards for this young country singer. She will be sorely missed.

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Eurovision ‘63 was arranged this month at the BBC Television Centre in London. Norway’s addition, Anita Thallaug and her song Solhverv, ended dead last with zero points together with Sweden, the Netherlands, and Finland. With all those Scandinavian countries striking out like that, I guess we can take some solace in the fact that Denmark ended up as the winner. Grethe & Jørgen Ingmann, and their song Dansevise, rose to the top, two points ahead of Switzerland, and took home the victory of this music competition. Personally, I think Eurovision is a joke, but it’s also good entertainment every now and then. And to my surprise, I actually liked the winning song.

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Quentin Tarantino was born in March 1963, and when lil’ Quentin grows up, he’s gonna create some damn entertaining movies. Jason Newstead, who will eventually become the bass player for Metallica, set foot in this world on March 4, Bret Michaels, best known for being the lead singer of Poison, came to life midway through the month, and Rick Rubin, record producer, who will produce tons of amazing albums in the future. A good group of people I’d say.

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THE ALBUMS

BOBBY BLAND – CALL ON ME/THAT’S THE WAY LOVE IS

Bobby ‘’Blue ‘’ Bland follows up his single last month, Call On Me, with an album bearing its title. The album is Bobby’s third, where he started magnificently with the album «Two Steps From The Blues», and followed up with an album I missed, «Here’s The Man», in 1962. I guess I should check that out later, just to make sure I didn’t miss anything spectacular. But yeah, here’s his third, «Call On Me/That’s The Way Love Is», and I can say straight away that Bobby hasn’t lost it.

The two tracks in the title, Call On Me and That’s The Way Love Is, are not only the two best tracks on the album, but if the tracklist is right, I believe they open each side as well. And I gotta agree with that assessment. Not that they are the only ones that hold up here, but they’re both terrific in their own way, and deserve to be at the front of the pack, so to speak. And while Bobby used to be a blues guy, this album follows in the same footsteps as his debut album, and he still lingers two steps from the blues. There’s definitively some blues in the mix, but there’s also that oh-so-beautiful soul, which I guess is what gives Bobby his edge.

When I say that Bobby used to be a blues guy, and then go on to say that his debut album kinda wasn’t, it’s because earlier in the ‘50s his recordings were more bluesy. I guess he mostly recorded singles back then, but as I’ve only read about this and not listened to them myself, this is only a calculated guess. Anyway, Bobby is sure onto something here, and his third album is definitively a good one. And other than the two title tracks, I’m especially fond of Ain’t It A Good Thing, The Feeling Is Gone, No Sweeter Girl, and Bobby’s Blues.

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Lou Rawls’ first two singles were released on a label called Shar-Dee Records (owned by Herb Alpert), but from what I understand, they didn’t amount to much. The songs are called Love, Love, Love and Walkin’ (For Miles), and they were released sometime during the ‘50s. He signed with Capitol Records in 1962, and his new album,«Black And Blue», sold well and helped his career get going. It’s a bluesy big band album that doesn’t sit right with me, but there’s no denying his potential and his amazing voice.

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THE BEACH BOYS – SURFIN’ U.S.A.

The California-based so-called surf band is out with their second album, «Surfin’ U.S.A.». As far as I know, there’s only one surfer in this band, and that would be Dennis Wilson. In Brian Wilson’s biography, «I Am Brian Wilson» from 2016, he states that he has never surfed, and if I remember correctly, he’s barely even been in the ocean. So yeah, I guess it is fair to say that The Beach Boys is a so-called surf band, even though they absolutely play surf music.

And they do it well. And I’m not just saying that because they wrote that they are ‘The No. 1 Surfing Group In The Country’ on the cover. The album starts off with the title track Surfin’ U.S.A., which was the only single from the album. It was released in early March, with Shut Down as the B-side, while the album was released in late March. Surfin U.S.A. will become their first Top 10 hit sometime this year, and their first single to chart in the UK. The song is credited to Chuck Berry, as it is a rewritten version of Chuck’s Sweet Little Sixteen, with new lyrics written by Brian Wilson (and maybe Mike Love).

Eight out of twelve cuts are written by the band themselves, and Brian Wilson is the biggest contributor with credits on seven of them, well, actually eight if we count Surfin U.S.A. (Brian has even produced and arranged a couple of tracks here, so he’s showing signs of what he’s about to become). The Beach Boys has also improved quite a lot from their debut album, maybe especially Mike Love who I thought sounded like a scared little kid singing last time around, but generally there’s more quality to the songwriting and musicianship as well in my opinion.

The self-composed songs are mostly pretty good as well, with Shut Down, Lonely Sea, and Noble Surfer being the stand-out ones, and Lonely Sea proves that they can pull off other stuff than surf-inspired melodies and be a bit more melancholy. All in all, I’d say this is a good album by The Beach Boys.

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Michael Babatunde Olatunji, a drummer from Nigeria, released an album this month called «High Life!». He got his breakthrough in 1960 with his debut «Drums Of Passion», which is now also the name of his band; Olatunji and His Drums Of Passion. I haven’t been able to find much info on his new album, but I do kinda like it. The album is packed with danceable African rhythms and is undoubtedly a breath of fresh air. Tracks like Saturday Night Limbo, Ashafa, and Dye Ko Dide will give you a hint of what this album is about. Olatunji became good friends with John Coltrane after his debut album, and Coltrane recorded a composition called Tunji on his album «Coltrane», released last year (one of my favorite albums from 1962), in dedication to him.

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THE BEATLES – PLEASE PLEASE ME

It is quite surreal to think about how these four lads from Liverpool will be impacted by the release of their debut album, «Please Please Me». Before this, they had only released two singles, albeit two very good ones, and even though Love Me Do did well and Please Please Me went to #1 in the UK (might not have been #1 on the official chart), they’re still just a bunch of regular guys releasing an album that will change their life profoundly.

«Please Please Me» will become a massive success, and it will reign on top of the charts in the UK for 30 weeks. That fact alone is pretty awesome, but considering that pop/rock albums never sold that well in the UK in the first place makes it rather remarkable. Albums were mostly bought by the older generation (who had money), and it was mostly soundtrack and easy-listening records that topped these charts. So for The Beatles, who mainly targeted the younger generation, to stay at #1 for that long is nothing less than amazing.

And it is no surprise that it became such a big hit, cause this album is great. Not only did it create havoc back in ‘63, but it’s just as good today, 60 years later. So yeah, this is a great album. Out of the fourteen tracks, Lennon/McCartney has written eight, and that is something that will help change the course of songwriting in the future. Sure, other bands write their own music, but none of them has done it with such bravado on their debut album as The Beatles did. On their first try they wrote and recorded songs like Love Me Do, Please Please Me, I Saw Her Standing There, Misery, and There’s A Place. I could mention the others on here as well, but I’d rather focus on the fact that they recorded some great covers as well; Twist And Shout, Chains, Boys, and Taste Of Honey.

There’s such a great collection of songs on «Please Please Me» that I’m struggling to believe that any band can do it better this year. And another awesome fact is that all four of them do lead vocals on at least one song. George Harrison sings lead on Do You Wanna Know A Secret and Chains, Ringo shows off on Boys, and the rest are shared between Paul and John. Considering that this is their debut album, there’s no surprise that they blew up the way they did. Who wouldn’t be excited for what’s to come when this was their first try.

SKEETER DAVIS – SINGS THE END OF THE WORLD

The girl called Skeeter won me over with her last single, The End Of The World, and now she’s back with an album simply called «Sings The End Of The World». I was caught up in the fact that she was called Skeeter and kinda developed a sort of vendetta against Davis without even listening to her music, but that all diminished when I heard the song in mention. And at last, I figured out why she’s called by this name as well. Turns out she’s been called Skeeter ever since she was a kid, as her grandfather felt she behaved as a mosquito always running around and being active. So at least that shit is put to rest.

Skeeter started out singing in a duo with a friend from school called Betty Jack Davis. They signed for RCA Records in 1953 and released a hit single called I Forgot More Than You’ll Ever Know which went to #1 on the country chart and #18 on the pop chart. But later that year, the duo was involved in a car accident that critically injured Skeeter and killed Betty Jack. It took Skeeter about a year to recover from the crash, both physically and mentally, and it took some convincing for her to return to singing. She briefly teamed up with Betty Jack’s sister, Georgia, but ended up going solo in 1955. In 1958 she scored her first solo country hit with the song Lost To A Geisha Girl, and during the early ‘60s, she became one of RCA’s most successful country artists, registering 26 US country hits, with eight of them crossing over to the US pop chart, including (I Can’t Help You) I’m Falling Too, I’m Saving My Love, and My Last Date (With You).

The End Of The World, which became a million-selling record in 1963, was her only UK pop chart entry, and the title song for this album, «Sings The End Of The World». The album is her fourth studio album, it is produced by Anita Kerr and Chet Atkins, and it is completely devoid of songs written by Skeeter Davis. Her pop-country take on these songs works well in my opinion though, and my favorite tracks are the title track, Once Upon A Time, Don’t Let Me Cross Over, and Keep Your Hands Off My Baby.

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Duane Eddy released a kinda country album called «‘’Twang’’ A Country Song» this month. The album actually fits Duane’s style well, and even though he’s usually a bit more rock’n’roll, he proves that he can handle some country tunes as well.

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JIMMY SMITH – ANY NUMBER CAN WIN

(unknown release date)

Jimmy Smith started out as a straight-up piano player and joined his father’s act when he was just six years old. In 1951 he started playing with some R&B act, but decided to start playing the organ after hearing Wild Bill Davis. He was signed to Blue Note Records in 1956, and after releasing popular albums like «The Incredible Jimmy Smith At The Club Baby Grand» and «The Champ» as well as some legendary shows at New York’s Birdland and the Newport Jazz Festival, he had quickly become the hottest new artist in jazz.

Between 1956 and 1963, Jimmy released more than 30 albums for Blue Note, which sounds like a crazy amount of music to be honest, but what I’ve heard from him so far has been great. His new album, «Any Number Can Win» is released by Verve Records, and is another album where Jimmy incorporates a big band into his music. While I would love to just listen to another album with him in his regular set-up, I gotta say that this doesn’t sound all that bad. And the record did well I would say, because it peaked at #25 on the album chart, and it even had a single, (Theme From) Any Number Can Win, hit the Hot 100 and the Hot R&B charts, though it didn’t go any higher than #96.

I’m not sure what to expect from Jimmy at his new label, but if the last two albums I’ve written about are telling me anything, it is that he has started to change it up a bit with the orchestra. Personally, I hope that this doesn’t become his new thing and that he will find his way back to a smaller set-up sooner rather than later. Still, there’s a lot of good music on «Any Number Can Win», so even though I’m a bigger fan of some of his other albums, I would still recommend this as well at certain points, considering my mood.

BRIGITTE BARDOT – BRIGITTE

(unknown release date)

This French superstar might not be best known for her musical prowess, but this is her debut album nonetheless. Brigitte Bardot is definitively better known as an actress and a so-called sex symbol, but according to Wikipedia her dream was to become a ballerina. No matter though, as I guess she’s happy with where her career has taken her so far.

This album, however, «Brigitte», is not very good, and I can’t see how this would advance her career in any way, sense, or form. Considering how I’ve been raving about the other French girls releasing albums at the moment, I was really expecting something similar from Brigitte, but she did not deliver. If it is her performance or the material that fucks this up is difficult to pinpoint, cause none of it is very good.

If I were to highlight one track I guess it would have to be the Serge Gainsbourg-written L’Appareil À Sous, and definitively not Everybody Loves My Baby.

JOHN LEE HOOKER – THE BIG SOUL OF JOHN LEE HOOKER

(unknown release date)

John Lee has scored a great number of hits up until now, and he has made a name for himself with his open-style tuning of his guitar. In the late ‘50s, he also managed to get the younger generation to pay attention to what he was doing, as well as being named an inspiration for bands like The Animals and The Rolling Stones.

This all might seem to wind down a bit in the early ‘60s, especially when it comes to hit records, but that doesn’t mean he’s about to slow down. His newest album, «The Big Soul Of John Lee Hooker», sees him experimenting with a mix of blues, soul, and R&B as was popular at the time, and I gotta say that it sounds pretty good. The straightforward blues thing does sound a bit generic in the end, so the fact that he’s trying to branch out a bit is at least welcomed by me. The fact that he’s playing with a band and that the Vandellas are singing backup does this album a world of good, and it gives John Lee a completely new dimension.

Coming in at under 30 minutes, this is a short album, but maybe that’s why it works as well as it does. There’s no time to get bored of this record, it has highlights like San Francisco, She Shot Me Down, Onions, and I Love Her, and I think this is my favorite Hooker album so far in the ‘60s.

GEORGE JONES – I WISH TONIGHT WOULD NEVER END

(unknown release date)

George Jones’ prolific recording career continues, and his newest edition, «I Wish Tonight Would Never End», is a pretty good, straightforward, country album. It has been said that George’s voice is way too country for pop listeners, and while that might sound like a negative statement, I would dare to say otherwise. Cause there is something special about what George does to country music. He sings with an understated passion that I believe is unrivaled by anyone in this genre at the moment, and every song he performs seems to be done with no effort at all like he’s just born this way.

I would say George sounds best when he does his ballads, but he shines on the title track, I Wish Tonight Would Never End, a bit more up-tempo country tune. The album contains a couple of duets with Melba Montgomery as well, for instance, We Must Have Been Out Of Our Minds which is the better of the two.

As I mentioned before, George is recording albums with a menacing speed, so I’m bound to miss a lot of them, but so far he’s delivered very well.

BILL EVANS – CONVERSATIONS WITH MYSELF

(unknown release date)

«Conversations With Myself» is just Bill Evans and his piano. It’s Bill overdubbing three piano parts on each song, so it’s not just a simple piano album, but rather quite complex and beautiful. While I’m used to listening to Bill in a trio format by now, and the fact that a solo jazz album sounds like an intimidating listen, I gotta say that I was surprised at how easily this one came to me.

Bill has recorded mostly pop standards, but there are also some songs composed by Thelonious Monk and one that he has written himself. Funnily enough, as this is jazz I guess, I can’t seem to recognize any of the pop standards while listening to the album, and I would dare to think that this is the point as well. This doesn’t really matter though, cause no matter what tracks were recorded here, if they were all done in this way, they would stand out as Bill’s own tracks anyway. Cause he takes ownership of them all with his magnificent piano playing.

Bill Evans keeps surprising me by showing me that I actually like jazz, and even something as far-fetched as this one (in the sense that I’m not a jazz aficionado). So yeah, this is definitively an album that I need in my collection. Check out Blue Monk and Just You, Just Me.

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THE SINGLES

The Folk Singer is Tommy Roe’s second Top 10 hit, and it’s quite different from his first one «Sheila». While the latter is a Buddy Holly-inspired rocker, the newest addition is, as the title suggests, a more folky pop tune and doesn’t really sit as well as his first one. It is a nice little ditty though, but Tommy sounded a lot better in his rock’n’roll boots.

The Shirelles’ Foolish Little Girl is supposedly their last big hit, but a crossover international hit in that. It entered the Top 10 on both the pop and R&B charts, as well as the Top 40 in the UK. The Shirelles have slowly but firmly lost their touch since I started writing, and while Foolish Little Girl is an ok track, it’s still far from what they delivered at the start of the ‘60s. It did really sound like they were gonna become a big act through this decade, but the material has just gotten less interesting over the years, and I guess that’s why the hits will stop here.

When The Beatles entered the studio to record their debut single, George Martin wanted them to release the song How Do You Do It?, but they ended up recording the Lennon/McCartney song «Love Me Do». The Beatles supposedly felt that recording How Do You Do It? would stop their career before it even started, so luckily George Martin had sense enough to let them record one of their own songs. George Martin, however, really felt that this track was a hit, so he decided to give it to another Liverpool band, Gerry and the Pacemakers. That’s how How Do You Do It? became Gerry and the Pacemakers’ debut single, and as George figured, it did become a hit. Gerry and the Pacemakers took the song to #1 in the UK. While The Beatles were probably right in the fact that this one wouldn’t fit their sound, it does work well for Gerry and the Pacemakers.

Losing You is the newest single from Brenda Lee, and she’s continuing in the same vein as before. And of course, why shouldn’t she. This one hits #2 on the adult contemporary chart, #6 on the Hot 100, and #10 in the UK. So the fact that I’m not a big fan doesn’t make much difference.

The Drifters score another hit with the familiar On Broadway. It’s not one of my favorite Drifters songs, but it sure is good. Phil Spector plays the guitar solo on the track, and that might be the most interesting fact about this song. Anyhow, The Drifters keep on pumping out hits, and I gotta say that they’re definitively on a roll lately. I say keep ‘em coming.

The idea for this next song came to Barbara Lewis when she was working gigs in Detroit with her father. Hello Stranger is written by the artist herself, and it became a hit staying at the #1 spot on the R&B chart for two weeks, and making it to #3 on the Hot 100. It’s a pretty good R&B ballad that is worth checking out.

Lou Christie releases his second single Two Faces Have I, and it is easy to be fooled by his falsetto thinking that you’re listening to the 4 Seasons, but it’s just Lou. It did well on the charts almost breaking into the Top 10 at the R&B charts, and making it all the way to #6 at the pop chart. It’s definitely not my kind of music, but I can’t deny that it has something going for it. Lou won’t be able to follow up on this hit until 1965, so I’m pretty sure I’ll steer clear until then.

Jackie Wilson scored the second biggest hit of his career with the song Baby Workout, written by Jackie and a friend of his called Alonzo Tucker. Jackie has steadily released hits since his first one, Lonely Teardrops, in 1958, his biggest hit so far is Night from 1960, and from what I understand he’s not completely done yet. It’s a good song, even though it does remind me a bit of all those dance craze songs that tortured me a little while ago.

I believe this is the first time I’m writing about The Temptations, as they release their newest single, I Want A Love I Can See. They debuted with the single Oh Mother Of Mine back in 1961, and had their first, and so far only, minor hit with (You’re My) Dream Come True in 1962. The Motown group doesn’t chart with this single, but it is one of the best out of the ones I’ve written about this month. It’s also the first A-side they’ve released where Smokey Robinson has written and produced the track. The Temptations are gonna become pretty big at some point, so the fact that they had to work a bit to get there is just fair I guess.

And then there’s the jovial Buck Owens and his new track, Act Naturally. A song about a guy who’s gonna be in a movie about a guy who’s sad and lonely, and all the guy has to do is act naturally. It’s a good song, simple and entertaining. I saw a video clip of Buck walking around singing this song in a hospital or something, shoving the microphone in the faces of the people lying in the beds there. They looked so uncomfortable, it was awesome. But yeah, another good country tune from Bakersfield, that went all the way to #1 on the country chart.

The Bee Gees released their debut single The Battle Of The Blue And The Grey this month, but it was only released in Australia. It didn’t do very well down under, but at least it charted at #92 on the Australian chart. Barry Gibb wrote the song when he was 16 years old, and Gibb has been quoted saying that they ‘’recorded their first flop’’. The track is based on the American Civil War, and it resembles a novelty song more than anything else. 

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UNKNOWN RELEASE DATE

It seems to be quite difficult to figure out the right release dates for these early Norwegian releases, but at least The Vanguards released their first single in 1963. There’s not a lot of info out there about this single, but the A-side is Eg ser deg utfor gluggen and the B-side is called Charmaine. The Vanguards play instrumental rock music, and even though I can’t say that I’m a huge fan, it’s still cool enough to check out. And compared to a lot of the popular Norwegian music at the time, The Vanguards are fucking awesome.

Sam Cooke is back with a version of Little Red Rooster and took it to #7 on the R&B chart and #11 on the pop chart. It’s a very different version from Howlin’ Wolf’s, which is the only other version I’ve written about. I do like how Sam has approached this though. He has altered the arrangement a bit, to fit his voice better I guess, and it does what it’s supposed to do. Not at all one of Sam’s finest moments, but a good listen nevertheless.

The Norwegian artist, Arne Bendiksen, released one of the songs he’s best known for in 1963, Jeg vil ha en blå ballong (I Want A Blue Balloon). It’s a version of Billy Mure’s Toy Ballons with Norwegian lyrics, and it kinda has to be a children’s song. It did top the Norwegian chart at some point though, so I guess it is the adult market as well. What’s funny about Norwegian music at the time is that it sounds like no Norwegians ever have any clue what’s going on in other parts of the world. It’s like the country is stuck in the ‘40s or something. But hey, the song is a classic over here, so even though it might sound trite there are a lot of Norwegians in 2022 who would sing along like their life depended on it if it is played in their vicinity. It is also the first Norwegian song to add so-called ‘’smurf vocals’’ (the backup singers).

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THE CHARTS

The only new addition to the Hot 100 Top 10 this month is Bill Pursell’s Our Winter Love. It’s an instrumental composition by Johnny Cowell, and Bill’s version is mainly piano and strings. While it was not intended as a Christmas song, it has been added to the Christmas playlists at many radio stations over the years. It’s a nice melody and all, but I’m pretty sure I’ll forget about this song tomorrow.

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COUNTRY CHART

Hawkshaw Hawkins scores his last country Top 10, at least while alive (if it actually entered the chart before his plane crashed), with the song Lonesome 7-7203. It’s the first Hawkshaw track I’ve ever heard, and as I’m a sucker for some good country, I kinda like this one. The single was released 3 days before he died, and is by that fact the last single he released while still alive. It is also his first chart entry since Soldier’s Joy in 1959. The track will reach #1 on the country chart sometime after his passing, and I guess that’s a good salute to Hawkshaw and his career.

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R&B CHART

Mongo Santamaria (I‘m not sure if this name is as weird in English as it is in Norwegian, but it’s kinda funny that a guy is called Mongo to be honest) hits the Top 10 on the R&B chart with Herbie Hancock’s composition, Watermelon Man. It’s a very danceable version of this track, and I guess it deservedly enters the chart this month.

The Cookies follow up their latest single Chains, which The Beatles covered on their debut album, with their most successful single, Don’t Say Nothin’ Bad (About My Baby). It’s written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King for The Cookies and will end up at #3 on the R&B chart and #7 on the Hot 100. It’s an interesting one cause the verse is almost just the backup singers doing all the singing, but it works really well. I like it, but I still hold Chains as their best song so far.

A guy who keeps releasing hits is Brook Benton, and he’s back in the charts this month with his tune, I Got What I Wanted. This is probably the one that I like the least of the tracks I’ve written about so far, but he has to get credit for his consistency.

And the last one to break into the Top 10 is Jimmy Holiday with his How Can I Forget. This is his first-ever recording, and I guess he’s happy about how that turned out.

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Petter Milde

This Band Could Be Your Life