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Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his famous «Letter From Birmingham Jail» in April while in custody at said jail. This letter was important in the civil rights movement and a response to the open letter «A Call For Unity» which was published in Birmingham, Alabama some four days before King’s letter. I’m not gonna go too deep into this, even though the civil rights movement is a very important history. But I will however urge you to read both these letters if you haven’t already done that.

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April was also the month when Andrew Loog Oldham took over management for the Rolling Stones, a new band that Oldham saw as the potential ‘’anti-Beatles’’ because they were a rougher group compared to the Beatles at the time. Oldham then got the Rolling Stones signed to Decca Records, who had rejected the Beatles, and I guess the story will go on from there.

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There are some good births as well in April and some curious ones. Like Universo 2000, or Andrés Reyes González, a guy who will eventually become a famous wrestler. I don’t know who the fuck this guy is, but when I came across the information that a guy called Universo 2000 was born, I just had to check it out. There’s also Marc Jacobs and Conan O’Brien. They’re not as curious, but I guess they’re worth a mention. We’ve got David Moyes, who will end up as manager of Manchester United at some point. Not that he succeded at that, but still. Jet Li kicked his way into this world, and John Lennon just became a daddy as Julian Lennon took his first breath of that wonderful British air.

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THE ALBUMS

I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to weed out more records than I have so far if I’m ever to get ahead on this project. I sucks though, cause I really want to write about everything. I still haven’t figured out how this process will be done, but I’m definitively not gonna kill off any major artists or records. This is a good month to start cutting down some dead wood though, cause there are a lot of records that just aren’t that interesting this month.

Like Jackie Wilson’s «Baby Workout». He released the title track as a single last month, and it’s not that I don’t like the single, but it’s just not gonna change anything either. I’ve listened to this album multiple times, and no matter how hard I try, I just can’t seem to dig it. Jackie is not just some random dude though. He started out as the replacement for Clyde McPhatter in a group called Dominoes back in ‘53, he released his first solo single, Reet Petite, which initially became a modest hit, but later became an international smash hit, and really broke through in 1958 with the song Lonely Teardrops which sold over a million copies. He’s also been nicknamed ‘’Mr. Excitement’’ because of his energy when performing, as well as his dance moves, fashion sense, and impassionate singing. So I guess, for someone out there, Jackie could be the shit.

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GLEN CAMPBELL – TOO LATE TO WORRY – TOO BLUE TO CRY

Now, I know that Glen Campbell isn’t any more exciting than ‘’Mr. Excitement’’, but I dare say he is a bigger legend. And because I missed Glen’s first album, «Big Bluegrass Special», with the Green River Boys in 1962, I figured it’s just fair that I give him a spot for his second release. I guess we could call it his debut album as a solo artist as well, considering the first one was with a band in its own name.

Glen Campbell started his career playing with his uncle in a band called Dick Bills Band in 1954, formed his first band, Glen Cambell And The Western Wranglers, in 1958, and moved out to Los Angeles in 1960 to become a session player and songwriter. He got a job at a publishing company in LA, where he wrote songs and recorded demos, and he eventually became a part of the session group known as The Wrecking Crew. As a session musician, Glen will be prolific. He’ll record for bands and artists like The Beach Boys, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Phil Spector, The Everly Brothers, and the list goes on. According to Wikipedia, he has appeared in over 500 recorded songs, either playing or singing, by 1963, so I guess we can say that he succeeded in becoming a session player.

In 1961 he signed a recording contract with Crest Records, and released his debut single, Turn Around, Look At Me, which became a moderate success. He signed for Capitol Records in 1962, and released the title track from this album, Too Late To Worry, Too Blue To Cry, as a single before the album was released. Neither the album nor the single became a success, and while I personally think the album has its moments, I can understand why it didn’t become a success. It’s nice, but a bit tedious as well. Glen’s voice is getting a good showcase here, but other than that there isn’t anything spectacular about it. The arrangements are sparse, and the material isn’t all that either. And for an aspiring songwriter, I find it curious that he’s only written one of the tracks himself.

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Ray Price releases his first charting album with «Night Life». The title track, Night Life, is written by Willie Nelson. Willie wasn’t allowed to record it by his record company when he wrote it, as they didn’t think it was country music, so he sold it to a guy for $150. Willie was encouraged by the amount he got for the song though, so he decided to record it as Nite Life under the name Paul Buskirk and the Little Men feat. Hugh Nelson. It was released under his real name in 1963, however. But yeah, Price released his first hit album, and while I believe the last album I wrote about (back in May ‘62) was better, this sure has something to it as well. It’s very different from the obvious country album that his tribute to Bob Wells was, but he still sounds great in this setting as well.

I’m also gonna mention that a guy called Art Van Damme released an album called «A Perfect Match» in April. The only reason I’m bringing this up though, is because he was born in Norway, Michigan. 

The Ventures released a surf album, as it is popular at the moment, called «Surfing». It’s more of the same really, just different wrapping. It did go to #30 on the album chart in the US though, so it seems like they’re still popular at least. Some good tracks, some less so. That’s about it really. I know that I’m not a fan of this kind of music, and I guess that shines through, but I gotta say that over their entire career, The Ventures sold over 100 million records, so what they achieved over the years is amazing. I just felt like I had to give them some credit before moving on.

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KENNY BURRELL & JOHN COLTRANE – KENNY BURRELL & JOHN COLTRANE

So, this album is called «Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane», and it was recorded by Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane. I didn’t want to leave any room for misunderstanding here, so I figured that I should get that cleared up straight away. Anyhow, this album was actually recorded five years ago, in 1958, but has, for some reason, collected dust up until now. 

It might be because Coltrane is fucking awesome at the moment, and that back then, in 1958, he wasn’t all that. That’s just me trying to make sense of this shit though. Cause right now, I don’t know what the fuck was up in ‘58. But listening to this album, I would say that this isn’t a Coltrane album at all. It’s Kenny Burrell recording an album with his quintet, and Coltrane, an up-and-coming jazz musician, just joining in on whatever awesomeness this guitar magician has going on. But of course, this wouldn’t create revenue back in 1958, so why the hell would they release it then? Right? No, I don’t know. But guitar jazz doesn’t really make my dick do anything, and Coltrane doesn’t shine nor get the possibility to shine, here. So yeah, I guess this album ain’t going anywhere in my opinion.

I’m not trying to fuck with Kenny here though. Cause I read about this guy, and he’s done good for himself. But this album doesn’t make sense considering what Coltrane is producing at the moment, and because of that, I would say this album is a ruse. A ruse to make money of another man’s success. 

VARIOUS ARTISTS – THE MOTOR-TOWN REVUE, VOL. 1

I believe this is the first compilation of various artists I’ve written about, and as it is a collection of Motown artists, I kinda knew it would be great. The album is packed with great artists like The Miracles, The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Mary Wells, and so on, and apart from the fact that Little Stevie Wonders performs one of his worst songs, there really ain’t much to complain about here.

The Motor-Town Revue was the name of a tour done by Motown artists in the ‘60s, and it traveled from town to town showcasing both up-and-coming artists from their roster, as well as the stars. It would also feature some non-Motown acts every now and then, and I can only think how fucking amazing these shows must have been. You do get some sense of the atmosphere while listening to this record, but there’s no way in hell it can give you the real experience. However, I usually don’t like live albums, but this one is pretty damn good. It even makes all the acts sound cooler than they do on record, as there is more energy involved here than on the studio-recorded versions. The album is recorded at the Apollo in New York.

As I said, there are a bunch of great artists here, but there are not a lot of songs I’ve missed so far. Marvin Gaye performs Stubborn Kinda Fellow and What Kind Of Fool Am I, The Contours performs their Motown debut from ‘61, Whole Lotta Woman, which I don’t think I wrote about but is pretty good nevertheless, Mary Wells gets two tracks, The Marvelettes goes for a double feature, The Miracles gets to end the record with two of their amazing songs (and I believe they always closed the revue), Stevie Wonder does not get a good showcase with the one song I believe he can’t sing, Don’t You Know, and The Supremes gets one song, Let Me Go The Right Way.

I definitively did miss the release of that last one, though it was included on their album «Meet The Supremes». It was released as a single in November and is The Supremes’ second charting single. This is a good track, but they are still looking for their first major hit. Anyways, this is a cool album that gives some insight into the Motown world in 1963.

ELVIS PRESLEY – IT HAPPENED AT THE WORLD’S FAIR

I just gotta say that even though I’m bashing Elvis at the moment, it doesn’t mean I hate him. It’s just a fact that what he’s doing at the moment is so uninspiring that it isn’t really possible to love. The soundtracks are just a product of his movie scheme, and it never really amounts to much. Of course, I have yet to watch any of his movies, so I’m not gonna go on record and say that those suck as well, but if the albums are any indication, then, well yeah. However, I did read some excerpts from some reviews when this movie was released, and I gotta say that none of them was very positive.

«It Happened At The World’s Fair» might be the worst soundtrack yet. It’s not shit music, and there aren’t any songs that are so terrible that I wanna kill myself (save for some), but still, there’s not much exciting here. It does start well with Beyond The Bend, and I guess One Broken Heart For Sale is ok, other than that I don’t believe I’m gonna listen to any of the others ever again.

But then again, this is Elvis, so of course this album sold a lot as well. It stopped at #4 on the Top Pop Albums chart, and one might say that this is a bit unfair, but that’s life I guess. 

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Duke Ellington released an album called «Afro Bossa», and according to Allmusic.com, it’s one of his most essential studio recordings of the ‘60s. Dean Martin is back as ‘’Tex’’ on his album «Rides Again». This means that Dino has tried his luck with country material again, and while it isn’t awful, it’s not really inspiring either. I do like Oscar Peterson Trio’s «Affinity», especially their version of Bill Evans’ Waltz For Debbie, but I’ve decided not to dive any further into this album either.

Some other jazz albums will only get a mention this month, like Stan Getz & Luiz Bonfa’s «Jazz Samba Encore», Kenny Dorham’s «Una Mas», and Horace Parlan’s «Up And Down». Not because they suck, cause some of them are quite alright, but this is just something I gotta do if I am to advance on this project unfortunately. 

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JIMMY SMITH – HOBO FLATS

Lately, Jimmy has dabbled in jazz accompanied by orchestral backing, and it has been, well, not disappointing, but definitively not as good as when he plays with smaller combos. «Hobo Flats» is one of these records with orchestration, and while it works well on some of the tracks, it does seem to quench the main man himself at times.

The opening and title track, Hobo Flats, is a great opener and is funky as hell, so the album starts off pretty damn well, but he doesn’t manage to top it either, so the highlight is kinda over as soon as we start. He does a version of Walk Right In though, one of my favorite tracks from 1962 released by the Rooftop Singers, and even though it’s not close to being as good as that one, it’s still a cool listen. But the album did chart on the Billboard 200 at #11, so I’m glad to say that Jimmy Smith is getting some well-deserved recognition with his second release at Verve Records. The title track charted at #69 as well, and I can’t say I’ve seen a lot of other jazz artists doing that lately. So good for him!

From what I understand Jimmy is about to embark on a journey with a lot more charting songs, and even more albums that cross over into the Pop charts, so I guess there are lots to look forward to from Jimmy Smith here in the mid-‘60s.

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PRINCE BUSTER – I FEEL THE SPIRIT

(unknown release date)

Prince Buster is one of the guys who claims he invented ska music, and while it’s not 100% certain who actually did that, it’s no secret that Prince Buster was there when it started. Cecil Bustamante Campbell, as he was named at birth, started out as a boxer and went on to work as a bouncer/strongarm/thug (I guess) for Coxsone Dodd’s Downbeat sound system (a sound system being a group of DJs, engineers and MC’s playing ska, reggae or rocksteady music). The competition was fierce in the early days of the Jamaican ska/reggae music scene, and fights were not uncommon. Wires were being cut by rival ‘’gangs’’, and every so often people were being cut as well, and Buster supposedly carries the scars from this violent music business.

After Buster parted ways with Dodd he started his own Voice Of The People sound system, record label, and shop. His very first recording session resulted in the classic Oh Carolina, and on his labels Wild Bells, Voice Of The People, and Buster’s Shack he released countless records by himself and others which also became as popular in the UK as they were in Jamaica.

I believe «I Feel The Spirit» is Prince Buster’s first album and with that in mind I gotta say that it’s a solid debut. The album includes the track Madness which a well-known British group will name their band after, but it has a lot of other great ska tracks like Wash Your Troubles Away, Jealous, and two great instrumental tracks at the tail-end of both sides with Soul Of Africa and Just You.

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Considering the fact that The 4 Seasons has released hits like Sherry, Big Girls Don’t Cry, and Walk Like A Man in the last six months, I guess it’s fair to say that this album doesn’t reach the same heights. The only tracks that are worth mentioning from their album «Sing Ain’t That A Shame And 11 Others» are Stay and Ain’t That A Shame.

Herbie Mann has flown down to Brazil to record a bossa nova album with people who know exactly what they’re doing, and I guess that gives «Do The Bossa Nova With Herbie Mann» some authenticity, but the flute isn’t really my favorite instrument, so this album falls a bit on deaf ears, to be honest. 

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THE SINGLES

Sam Cooke offers up yet another great song with his new single Another Saturday Night. He wrote the song while on tour in England at a hotel where no female guests were allowed, and with that scenario in mind and the lyrics to the song at hand, it’s easy to understand why he wrote this. Anyway, it’s a great new single from this great artist, and it did well on multiple charts, even hitting #1 on the R&B chart. Paired with the B-side Love Will Find A Way, makes this even better as the B-side is a beautiful piece of music as well.

Even Bobby Vinton has something worthwhile this month. His new single Blue On Blue, written by Burt Bacharach (and backed by his band), is actually really good. It’s definitively the chorus that makes this song, as you can feel the heartbreak and sorrow in all the notes hit from the band and from Bobby. It will spend a total of 13 weeks on the Hot 100 chart, and will eventually peak at #3. The B-side, Those Little Things, is the complete opposite of this heart-aching ballad as it is an up-tempo, generally happy-go-lucky tune that borders on novelty. All in all a pretty good single, but the A-side is undoubtedly the highlight.

Phil Spector’s wall of sound is back with The Crystals, this time in the form of the hit song Da Doo Ron Ron (When He Walked Me Home). The song was written in two days by Phil Spector, Jeff Barry, and Ellie Greenwich (the two latter ones will actually record the song themselves at some point), and Spector is quoted saying ‘’That’s gold. That’s solid gold coming out of that speaker’’, after listening to the final playback of the song. The song peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and has been added to multiple lists of best songs ever over the years. The B-side is an uninteresting instrumental track called Git’ It.

Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas releases a cover of The Beatles’ Do You Wanna Know A Secret?, and it soars to the top of the charts in the UK. Compared to the original it lacks quite a lot if you ask me, but then again it’s pretty hard to fail with a Beatles track. The single is paired with another Lennon/McCartney tune, I’ll Be On My Way. It’s written by Paul McCartney, but credited to the songwriting duo, and even though The Beatles recorded the song this month as well, it will not be released until 1994. Kramer took this song way up the charts as well, so he sure does know how to make a name for himself; just record Lennon/McCartney songs.

The Beatles released a single themselves as well, From Me To You, their third single and the first one to officially reach #1 in the UK. Please Please Me did so as well, but not on Record Retailer’s chart which is considered to be the most accurate and important chart at the time. Three singles and one album in, The Beatles are surely showing the world that they’re a force to reckon with, and it’s just gonna get crazier from now on. Paul McCartney said after the release of this single: ‘’The first time I thought we’d really made it, was when I was lying in bed one morning, and I heard a milkman whistling «From Me to You». Actually, I’m sure that I once heard a bird whistling it as well. I swear I did!’’ And yeah, this is another great song by The Beatles. The B-side is a track called Thank You Girl and is written to the many female fans who wrote letters to the guys. Another good track, and together with the A-side it makes for an excellent single. Both tracks are written by Lennon/McCartney.

Quincy Jones ended up in a race to beat Phil Spector and The Crystals to release the debut single of Lesley Gore, It’s My Party. Lesley and Quincy had recorded the song when Spector told Quincy that he wanted to record it with The Crystals, so Jones went to his studio that night and pressed 100 copies which he shipped to radio stations around the country, beating Spector and stopping him from recording it. The track soared to #1 within four weeks, and while Quincy Jones was annoyed that they didn’t find a better last name for Lesley Gore, he stopped whining about that as soon as he realized it was a hit record. It is paired with Danny, a nice lighthearted love song that fits well with the A-side.

Pride And Joy was part of Marvin Gaye’s album «That Stubborn Kinda Fellow» released in January, so I’m not gonna say to too much about that one. It is a great song though. The B-side is a track called One Of These Days, and I love that one as well. Marvin is definitively finding his stride at the moment, and he’s beginning to look like the great artist we all know he’s gonna become. A solid single from a solid artist.

Johnny Cash sets free one of his biggest hits, Ring Of Fire. It will stay at #1 on the country chart for seven weeks, and will eventually sell over a million copies. The song was originally released by Anita Carter earlier this year, and as soon as Johnny heard it he said he wanted to record but would give it some months to see if Anita’s version would become a hit. He supposedly had a dream where he heard the song accompanied by mariachi horns, and if he were to release the song he wanted to add those to the track even though it was a change from his basic sound. The song is written by June Carter and Merle Kilgore, but according to Johnny’s first wife, Vivian Cash, that’s total bullshit. She claims that Johnny Cash wrote the song when he was drunk off his ass and that the song is about a certain female body part, and she was annoyed when Johnny decided to give writing credits to June as she was sick of hearing her name being mentioned at all. The B-side is called I’d Still Be There and is written by Johnny Cash and Johnny Horton. I’m not sure if the song has been released on any albums as I can’t find too much information about it, but it’s a nice tune even though it’s a bit on the happy side from ‘The Man In Black’.

Sweet Dreams was recorded by Patsy Cline a month before she was killed in a plane crash and was supposed to be a part of her new album. The album was never released, but the single was and it became a crossover hit charting on both the pop and the country chart. Patsy was supposedly wary of the violins added by the producer as she was afraid that it would sound too pop for her fans, but after hearing the end product she changed her mind. So Patsy lives on through her music still, and she’s probably gonna do that forever. «Sweet Dreams» is a beautiful country ballad just like what one should expect from Patsy, and it is paired with Back In Baby’s Arms, a more lighthearted song.

Al Martino released a single called I Love You Because, and even though this kinda music isn’t my thing, I gotta say that I find it very soothing. The B-side is called Merry-Go-Round and doesn’t really do anything for me.

The Penguins released a song called Memories Of El Monte, a doo-wop track co-written by Frank Zappa. Which again is the only reason I’m writing about it. The song didn’t chart nationally but did become a local hit. The Penguins are probably best known for their song Earth Angel (which this song kinda pays homage to) released in 1954. Ray Collins, who wrote the song with Zappa, said that he still received royalty checks from the song in 2012. Zappa, however, took a $1500 advance instead of royalties to bail his girlfriend out of jail.

The last single I’ll write about released in April is James Brown’s Prisoner Of Love. A soul ballad well-suited for this energetic artist. I don’t know how well this one was received, but I believe it deserves some attention at least. The B-side is an instrumental song called Choo-Choo.

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UNKNOWN RELEASE DATE

The Jamaican artist Stranger Cole released the single Stranger At The Door sometime in 1963, and it is a ska tune as one would expect from Jamaican music at the time. It’s a cool tune with horns, but I think I like Prince Buster better at the moment. It is paired with Conqueror as the B-side on this release.

The last time I wrote about The Dovells was back in ‘61 when they released Bristol Stomp. I kinda liked the song, but didn’t feel like The Dovells was something I would get back to. But here they are with their new single You Can’t Sit Down, and I gotta say that I was surprised at how cool this one was. It’s a rockin’ tune for sure, and I have to reassess my evaluation of this group from now on. The song was originally released by a group called The Bim Bam Boos in 1959. The B-side isn’t as cool though, but Stompin’ Everywhere is ok. They sound a lot more like a typical doo-wop group on that one.

The Norwegian group Salhuskvintetten released a song called Singel og sand which I believe was a hit here in Norway. At least according to my mom’s boyfriend who’s 70 years old. It’s way out of date already in 1963 compared to the popular music in the US and the UK, like most of the Norwegian music at the time, but it has its charm. The B-side is called Kast Loss.

The Maytals top both Prince Buster and Stranger Cole with their single I’ll Never Grow Old. It’s a much more fun listen and feels like a party from beginning to end. Of course, The Maytals will become one of the biggest acts coming out of Jamaica, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that their early stuff is awesome as well. On Discogs the B-side is called Irene and I can’t find any song by that name, but I guess it could be Irene Goodnight. It’s not as awesome as the A-side, and it’s more similar to what Buster and Cole are doing.

Otis Redding proves what a magnificent artist he is with the single Pain In My Heart. And while we’re waiting for his debut album, this one proves that we’re waiting for something great. He is an outstanding singer and could tear many hearts apart with his soulful performance. Pain In My Heart is the first single where Otis seems to have found the style he was born to make his own, and it sure is awesome. The B-side, Something Is Worrying Me, is almost as good as the A-side, but it isn’t easy to top a great song like A Pain In My Heart. Can’t wait for Otis’ debut album!

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THE CHARTS

Paul & Paula follows up their debut hit single, Hey Paula, with another hit called Young Lovers. They still like to mention their own names in the lyrics, and the style is pretty much the same as the first one. 

The other track that enters the Top 10 this month is Dee Dee Sharp’s Do The Bird. Yet another song and dance from Dee Dee, and even though I’ve been partial to her in this dance craze shit, my patience has run thin. I’m over this for real now, and I really want it to stop. This one isn’t even catchy.

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COUNTRY CHART

There are two new additions to the country chart as well. Justin Tubb, Ernest Tubb’s oldest son, enters the chart with his tune, Take A Letter Miss Gray. He has scored a couple of hits since 1954, but eventually, he will have more success as a songwriter.

The other track is The Man Who Robbed The Bank At Santa Fe by Hank Snow. I like this one best out of the two, but both are decent country songs. Hank Snow’s career is a lot more to brag about though as he will go on to record over 100 albums and chart with more than 85 singles.

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R&B CHART

Jimmy Soul’s biggest hit will eventually spend one week at #1, and most probably know the song. If You Wanna Be Happy has become a song that a lot of drunk people will sing along to and it has probably had a longer life span than anyone expected. It’s a fun tune though. The song is based on the calypso song Ugly Woman by Roaring Lion.

Theola Kilgore makes it into the Top 10 with her single The Love Of My Man. This is her biggest hit as well, and while it is a nice ballad it doesn’t really make a big impression.

The last one is Baby Washington’s That’s How Heartaches Are Made. Another artist that charts with the biggest hit of their career this month, and I gotta say that out of all of them, Baby Washington’s contribution is the best one.

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Petter Milde

This Band Could Be Your Life