Fight Fire - The Golliwogs

Fight Fire - The Golliwogs
2:32

single, 1965

Written by John Fogerty and Tom Fogerty

Perhaps more than any other band, the Golliwog story shows how the name of a band can be a deciding factor in its success.  The group toiled in obscurity for years before achieving multiple hits almost immediately after changing their name to Creedence Clearwater Revival.  Calling themselves the Blue Velvets, they originally played blues and New Orleans jazz-influenced rock.  At that point, Tommy Fogerty was more of the leader than John.  When they signed with Fantasy, they wanted to change their name to the Visions, but the label made the decision for them: they'd be credited as the Golliwogs.  This song has much more in common with British Invasion psychedelia than the sharp guitar lines and churning swamp rock they'd be known for once John's genius took the reins; indeed, it was later featured on the box set Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era 1965-1968.

Little Tin Soldier - Donovan

Little Tin Soldier - Donovan

2:58

Fairytale, 1965

Written by Shawn Phillips

I've listened to Donovan for decades, but just the usual hits, not this song, an adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen fable.  The tin soldier isn't a metaphor about the fragility of the fighting man, but an actual metal toy.  He falls in love with a toy ballerina, but when she is bought, he is thrown in the gutter (though I'm not sure how the one event leads to the other).  Years later, they are reunited in the same house, then melt together in a fire.  "And in that fire they shall stay / Forever and a day / For the fire, Lord, is the fire of love / Just like the peaceful dove."  It's a rather twee tale, delivered in a straight acoustic folk arrangement.  In the '60s folk scene, this was the kind of thing you could put on an album and no one blinked.

Mississippi Train - Fred Neil

Mississippi Train - Fred Neil

2:15

Bleeker & McDougal, 1965

Written by Fred Neil

Neil is best known as the writer of "Everybody's Talkin," made famous by Harry Nilsson, but he has some serious folk-blues chops.  This song starts with a Beatles-like harmonica into (by John Sebastian!), then moves into a shuffling blues with electric guitar.  Neil's low register makes the song seem straight out of the Delta swamp (deliberately: "She's going to the bayou / The bayou where the river flows"), when really he was a talented white guy from Cleveland.

I Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die Rag - Country Joe and the Fish

I Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die Rag - Country Joe and the Fish

2:54
Songs Of Opposition, 1965

Written by Country Joe McDonald

Okay, first, I always assumed, probably like many other people, that the Fish was the backing band, like the E Street Band.  Well, it's actually meant to be one guy, Barry "The Fish" Melton, the guitarist.  This version of the famous protest rag isn't the one most often played, the live version preceded by "The Fish Cheer."  It's an earlier, more folky version, released before the band even recorded their first album.  Well, this is a fantastic protest song, and I can't believe I never sat down and gave it a proper listen over the decades.  It summarizes the jingoistic industrial-military-Wall Street complex that got the United States mired in Vietnam, encapsulates the nihilistic bleakness of the era ("Whoopie, we're all gonna die!"), with black humor and dark irony.  "Come on fathers don't hesitate / Send your sons off before it's too late / And you can be the first one on your block / To have your boy come home in a box."  Now that the enlistment age has been raised to 42, this song's even more applicable today.

Red Roses For a Blue Lady - Dean Martin

Red Roses For a Blue Lady - Dean Martin

2:45

(Remember Me) I'm the One Who Loves You, 1965
Written by Roy Brodsky and Sid Tepper, 1948

Just like the title says, this song is about buying flowers for a woman with whom the narrator has had a falling out — a "silly quarrel," as he puts it.  Listen, this guy is putting a lot of faith in this floral purchase: "And if they do the trick, I'll hurry back and pick / Your best white orchids for her wedding gown," he promises.  Buddy, I'm no marriage expert, but a few roses alone rarely catapult you straight from apology to altar.  It's a one-joke song, but it's sweet and brief, and Dean croons it warmly, light on the Rat Pack swingin' braggadocio, heavier on the soft-shoe charm.

It Isn't Nice [live] - Judy Collins

It Isn't Nice [live] - Judy Collins

3:09

Fifth Album, 1965

Written by Malvina Reynolds and Barbara Dane

This is a defiant folk ballad, sung live in New York with note-holding gusto by Collins.  The song proclaims that when you're fighting for freedom, you can't be "nice" or play by the usual rules.  "It isn't nice to block the doorway / It isn't nice to go to jail / There are nicer ways to do it / But the nice ways always fail."  The song mentions the injustices and crimes inflicted on those fighting for rights, like the killing of Medgar Evers and the Mississippi Three.  "Now you say that we're not nice / But if that's freedom's price / We don't mind."  These are sentiments that are sadly, relevant sixty years later.  You can't fight intolerance with tolerance.  You can't play nice with Nazis.

Kansas City Star - Roger Miller

Kansas City Star - Roger Miller

2:16

The 3rd Time Around, 1965

Written by Roger Miller

From the title, I thought this would be a song about a newspaper, but it's about a celebrity, a star!  Well, a local TV celebrity.  They treat him just fine in Kansas City, so he turns his nose up at offers from big city Omaha.  He's got it made in his hometown: "I got credit down at the grocery store / And my barber tells me jokes / I'm the number one attraction every supermarket parkin' lot / I'm the king of Kansas City, no thanks, Omaha, thanks a lot."  It's a very funny song, sung in a brisk, rollicking style, with even a little genuine yodeling thrown in.

Ain't That News - Tom Paxton

Ain't That News - Tom Paxton

1:34

Ain't That News, 1965

Written by Tom Paxton

A fast-tempo acoustic folk song, in the style Bob Dylan used to practice back in the day.  It's a protest song encouraging organization of works for unions and to ensure social safety services.  "And they woke up and here's what they found / Their voices made a mighty big sound / Till they didn't know the meaning of fear."  Unfortunately, collective action is a dirty word in America, and the corporate overlords have insured that the shallow thinkers of the rural heartland (salt of the Earth! people of the common clay!) equate it with socialism and socialism, with literal evil.  All this while they scrape and starve and serve.  We need more Tom Paxtons.

Sittin' and Thinkin' - The Spencer Davis Group

Sittin' and Thinkin' - The Spencer Davis Group

2:57

Their First LP, 1965

Written by Spencer Davis

I know so little about these British R&B-influenced rock groups of the '60s.  This group had Steve Winwood on guitar and vocals as well as the titular Davis, who I guess only played guitar?  Maybe he did some vocals.  It was said, perhaps tongue in cheek, that the group was named after Davis because he didn't mind doing the interviews.  This song is a typical blues, very harmonica-heavy, with some real train-sound chugging harmonica near the end.  The lyrics are likewise primitive, standard blues fare.  "Just want to know yeah the reason / You treated me so unkind."  It's a fine blues shuffle, but nothing special.  There's only one reason why these guys became famous and their black influences didn't, and it's not the former's exceptional talent.

Hey Mr. Caution - Eddie Constantine

Hey Mr. Caution - Eddie Constantine

2:42

single, 1965

Written by Eddie Constantine?

I never heard of this guy, but he's American!  Could have fooled me.  He sounds just like a Parisian yé-yé rock singer to my thick ears.  Apparently he fled the US during the McCarthy era, so I guess by 1965 he'd had a lot of practice getting fluent.  This song is inspired by the character Lemmy Caution, a private eye who first appeared in a 1936 novel.  Although the creator is English and Caution is American, there was never an English-language movie made about him, but plenty of French ones, which starred Constantine.  They were noir, but later tended toward comedy and even science fiction (like Dick Tracy!).  In this song, a breathless female voice keeps trying to get Caution's attention, but he's busy tossing hard-boiled threats at some guy named Tony.  It's played tongue-in-cheek.

Harlem Nocturne - Quincy Jones

Harlem Nocturne - Quincy Jones

2:34

Quincy's Got a Brand New Bag, 1965

Written by Earle Hagen and Dick Rogers, 1939

I am not familiar with this song, though it is a jazz standard that has been performed by many, many artists, as diverse as Mel Tormé and Shadowy Men On a Shadowy Planet.  The interesting thing about this song, indeed the whole album, and I guess most of Jones' discography, is that he doesn't play anything on it.  He's the arranger and conductor.  Does that deserve top billing?  I wouldn't say so, but legions of musicians revere Jones so I guess he knows what's up.  Anyway, it's a nice smooth jazz number.  I like the interplay between the sax and the trumpet.

Feeling Good - Nina Simone

Feeling Good - Nina Simone

2:54

I Put a Spell On You, 1965

Written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, 1964

This was written for a musical called The Roar Of the Greasepaint — The Smell Of the Crowd.  It is sung by a character called "The Negro," who declares his triumph over the other characters in a largely metaphorical game.  Here, Simone certainly sings it powerfully and triumphantly.  "It's a new dawn / It's a new day / It's a new life for me, ooh / And I'm feeling good," she proclaims.  The lyrics are all bright sunshine, but Simone's vocals are defiant, almost menacing.  It's a terrific moment of black pride.

Open the Door - Clive & Naomi

Open the Door - Clive & Naomi

2:09

single, 1965

Written by Duke Reid

This group recorded just two sides and virtually no information about them is available on the web.  The song is a typical rocksteady ska beat, with the male and female vocalists trading call-and-response verses.  It's midtempo, with a relaxed horn break in the middle.  The song itself is a droll argument, possibly of a newlywed couple, in duet form, with Clive demanding to come inside ("Your wicked doin' lock me outside / You will never live it to be my bride"), while Naomi is just as determined to keep him out ("You will never live to burst it down").

From Head To Toe - Smokey Robinson and the Miracles

From Head To Toe - Smokey Robinson and the Miracles

2:24

Going To a Go-Go, 1965

Written by Smokey Robison

Driven by bright piano and crisp, insistent drums, this song is a bouncy, sweet soul-pop number with a deceptively light arrangement.  It's built around a buoyant groove that snaps into a stop-time section used with real precision, giving the song a playful sense of control and release. A key change lifts the song into a higher emotional gear, near a gospel rave-up, with handclaps, brass, and a loose, celebratory feel.  No wonder Elvis Costello covered it.

Something About You - Four Tops

Something About You - Four Tops

2:41

Four Tops Second Album, 1965

Written by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland

Over a guitar riff that evokes the Stones' "Satisfaction" and buzzy horns, the Tops belt out this love song with authority and panache.  An uptempo rocker, it's got a classic Motown sound, including a muscular rhythm section featuring bells, tambourine, and drums from the Funk Brothers.  This has got to be one of the best Motown songs that wasn't a smash hit, and there's really no reason why it shouldn't be listed up there with all the usual greats.

You Won't Have To Cry - The Byrds

You Won't Have To Cry - The Byrds
2:07
Mr. Tambourine Man, 1965

Written by Gene Clark and Roger McGuinn

At first I thought this was a Beatles cover; it's definitely got a Lennon/McCartney vibe, from the stabs of guitar at the beginning to the lyric, which addresses a girl in the second person. "Oh you know it makes me sad to see you feel so bad / But it's happened to you many times before."  That could easily have been a Fab Four lyric.  Overall, it's a middling Byrds track, but the perfect harmonies and '60s pop jangle are pleasant enough.

Night Time - The Strangeloves

Night Time - The Strangeloves

3:23

I Want Candy, 1965

Written by Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein, and Richard Gottehrer

Here the faux Australian sheep herders deliver a primitive, almost tribal, beat, à la Bo Diddley.  The vocals are more chanted than sung, but there's a bubblegum pop melody underneath the energetic garage rock.  It's catchy, it's hard-driving, it's not exactly symphonic.  But the kids can dance to it.  There have been several cover versions, but I haven't heard any of them.

Candy - The Astors

Candy - The Astors

3:02

single, 1965

Written by Isaac Hayes and Steve Cropper

Like the Strangeloves' "I Want Candy," this doo-wop soul song is not about confectionery, but — naturally — a girl.  The narrator, a young Shakespeare in search of a sonnet, compares her eyes to the sky and her voice to the mountain dew.  And, "She's just a lump of sugar / And sweetened my tea."  Curtis Johnson's falsetto voice fits the sugary pop of the song.

I Want Candy - The Strangeloves

I Want Candy - The Strangeloves
2:57
single, 1965
Written by Bert Berns, Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein and Richard Gottehrer

Some say this song was inspired by dancer Candy Johnson.  I have heard this hit over the years, of course (it's pretty inescapable, even if only in parody form), but I guess I always assumed it was literally about sugary confectionary.  But it's about a girl!  "Got everything that I desire / Sets the summer sun on fire."  Sung in a schoolyard chant Bo Diddley beat, with primitive-sounding percussion (deep toms, few snares) and only a few guitar lines.  No polish, all swagger and big dumb earworm.  The group pretended they were Australian sheep farmers to get publicity.  How odd.

Be Careful Of Stones That You Throw - Staple Singers

Be Careful Of Stones That You Throw - Staple Singers

2:50

Amen!, 1965

Written by Bonnie Dowd

A spoken-word morality tale, gospel style.  This song was originally recorded by Hank Williams.  The ironic twist in the song's story is that a woman whose lifestyle is denigrated by a smug Christian lady later dies saving the life of a child — the daughter of none other than the priggish puritan who put her nose up at the woman!  It's a simplistic and heavy-handed tale, as was the style at the time.