Showing posts with label Sixties. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sixties. Show all posts

Friday 12 May 2017

Hide and seek - Marty Wilde

You are bound to see a few Marty Wilde singles on this blog in the foreseeable future, because I am working on getting them all. That's not always easy, but this week I managed to mail order five of 'em together.

'Hide and seek' is the oldest of the lot, released in July 1961. After 'Rubber ball' was a top 10 hit, peaking at number 9 in the UK singles chart, this single was a relative disappointment, stalling at number 47. The B-side, 'Crazy dream' was written by Marty himself, while the A-side was a cover of a song written by Lionel Bart.

My collection: 7" single no. 5823
Found: Recordsale.de, received May 11, 2017
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Hide and seek' / 'Crazy dream'

Listen to the song

Thursday 11 May 2017

The Mexican boy - Marty Wilde

Marty Wilde is best known for his run of hit singles between 1958 and 1962, but his output from later years is less well known. Most compilation albums focus on those five years, whereas he naturally evolved as a singer and songwriter. This single from 1964 is a great example.

The music of 'The Mexican boy' evokes images of Latin America whereas the story told by the lyric of the song is like a small theatre piece. Marty almost sounds like a crooner despite his relatively young age (he was 25 years old at the time). The single didn't become a hit, but obviously it should have been.

My collection: 7" single no. 5821
Found: Recordsale.de, received May 11, 2017
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'The Mexican boy' / 'Your kind of love'

Listen to the song

Saturday 6 May 2017

By the time I get to Phoenix - Marty Wilde

Jimmy Webb wrote 'By the time I get to Phoenix'. It was originally recorded in 1965 by Johnny Rivers. Two years later, it was covered by country singer Glen Campbell, who had a hit with it Stateside.

Marty Wilde recorded his version in 1968. The song was not a hit for him, but it should have been. Around the same time, he recorded his classic album 'Diversions'. Some success was looming in Europe with 'Abergavenny', a single taken from that album. Both were criminally ignored in the UK, but since Marty received an MBE yesterday, I guess all is forgiven now.

My collection: 7" single no. 5820
Found: Discogs.com, received May 6, 2017
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'By the time I get to Phoenix' / 'Shutters and boards'

Listen to the song

Thursday 27 April 2017

Festival San Remo 65 - Bobby Solo

Bobby Solo was born as Roberto Satti in Rome on March 18, 1945. At 19 he participated in the San Remo music festival, but he was disqualified for using playback, which was contrary to the festival's regulations.

The next year, 1965, he participated again... and won with the song 'Se piangi, se ridi'. As was tradition, the song went on to represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest that year. Bobby ended up in fifth place. This EP features four songs, but of course 'Se piangi, se ridi' is the first track on it.

My collection: 7" single no. 5806
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 8, 2017
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Se piangi, se ridi', 'Saro' un illuso' / 'Cristina', 'Meglio non parlar'

Listen to the song

Friday 17 March 2017

Ring dinge ding - Thérèse Steinmetz

In 1967, Thérèse Steinmetz represented the Netherlands during the Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Ring dinge ding' written by Johnny Holshuyzen and Gerrit den Braber. Performed first on the night, it ended up at place 14 in a field of 17 competitors, with just 2 points.

Steinmetz was born on May 17, 1933 in Amsterdam. She played various theatre, television and film roles and in 1966 she was given her own TV series, Thérèse. After participating in the Eurovision Song Contest she won the Golden Stag Festival in Romania, making her very popular in that country. These days she lives in Cannes (France), where she has become a successful painter.

My copy of this single turns out to be rather damaged, but it is a promotional copy which makes it a bit more special. 

My collection: 7" single no. 5892
Found: Discogs.com, received March 8, 2017
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'Ring dinge ding' / 'Zing'

Listen to the song

Tuesday 20 September 2016

Jezebel - Marty Wilde

The last time I saw Marty Wilde live - which, I'm ashamed to say, is almost ten years ago now! - it was his song 'Jezebel' that made the biggest impression on me. It sounded every bit as vibrant as it did on this original recording from 1962. The man and his voice were every bit as powerful as they were when he was just in his twenties.

At the time of the release of this single, Marty had already become a songwriter in his own right, but this song 'Jezebel' was written by Wayne Shanklin and originally recorded by Frankie Laine. Wilde added his own composition on the B-side. This single became his last top 20 hit in the UK, peaking at number 19.

My collection: 7" single no. 5855
Found: Discogs.com, received June 24, 2016
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Jezebel' / 'Don't run away'

Listen to the song

Sunday 31 July 2016

Eurovision songs - Groot Draaiorgel Mortier

This is probably the most mysterious single I've ever bought. It didn't come with a sleeve, so all I have is the disc and the info on the label. It is credited to Groot Draaiorgel Mortier, and since the single is made in Belgium I have to assume it's a Belgian barrel organ.

The songs played by this barrel organ all come from the 1960 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest: 'Niet voor mij', 'Wat een geluk', 'Looking high' and 'Tom Pillibi'. There is no information about Groot Draaiorgel Mortier on the web, so this single looks likely to remain a mystery.

Listen to one side
Listen to the other side

My collection: 7" single no. 5819
Found: Kringloop Den Haag, January 16, 2016
Cost: 0,25 euro
Tracks: 'Niet voor mij', 'Wat een geluk' / 'Looking high', 'Tom Pillibi'

Sunday 3 July 2016

The world would never turn again - Keith Potger

Keith Potger was a member of the Seekers, as the sleeve of his first solo single proclaims. The band had some success during the Sixties, until they disbanded in 1968.

'The world would never turn again' was released the next year, and although Potger would become a songwriter and producer, this first single was written by someone else. The B-side, interestingly, was provided by Frere Manston, which of course is a pseudonym of Marty Wilde. And there it is... the main reason for me to pick up this single. 

My collection: 7" single no. 5854
Found: Marktplaats, received June 22, 2016
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'The world would never turn again' / 'Santa Maria'

Saturday 26 December 2015

Think sometimes about me - Sandie Shaw

'Think sometimes about me' was released in November 1966, just months before the singer would become a Eurovision icon with 'Puppet on a string'. This single would end up on the album named after that Eurovision hit.

What's interesting (for me anyway) is not so much the A side of this single, but the B side: 'Hide all emotion' was written by Marty Wilde. Hence, I had to have this single.

My collection: 7" single no. 5816
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, December 19, 2015
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Think sometimes about me' / 'Hide all emotion'

Listen to the song

La la la - Heidi Brühl

Heidi Rosemarie Brühl was born on January 30, 1942. She was a German singer and actress who came to prominence as a young teenager and had a prolific career in film and television. She was also a successful recording artist, and is known for her participation in the 1963 Eurovision Song Contest for Germany with the song 'Marcel'.

In 1968, she recorded this cover version of Spain's winning song 'La la la' - in German. She died of breast cancer on June 8, 1991, aged just 49.

My collection: 7" single no. 5813
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 21, 2015
Cost: 0,8 euro
Tracks: 'La la la' / 'Und mein Zug fährt immer weiter...'

Listen to the song

Saturday 28 November 2015

L'amour s'en va - Françoise Hardy

Françoise Hardy was born on January 17, 1944. She grew up in Paris. She had her breakthrough when she was just 18 years old with the hit 'Tous les garçons et les filles', which sold 700,000 copies in France alone.

She represented Monaco during the 1963 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. 'L'amour s'en va' is a chanson, popular in the early years of the Contest. Hardy sings about a relationship which is conducted in the knowledge that love is a fleeting thing - however this does not seem to matter to either of the lovers involved, as they 'chase after it'. Hardy also recorded the song in Italian and German. She finished 5th in a field of 16 competitors.

My collection: 7" single no. 5808
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 21, 2015
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'L'amour s'en va', 'Je pense a lui' / 'Comme tant d'autres', 'L'amour d'un garçon'

Listen to the song

Saturday 14 November 2015

The same old way - Frankie Vaughan

Frankie Vaughan was born on February 3, 1928. He made a name for himself singing easy listening and traditional pop music, starting with 'The old piano roll blues' in 1950. Between then and the end of the Eighties, he released more than 80 singles. In 1955, he recorded what was to become his trademark song, 'Give me the moonlight, give me the girl'.

One of his singles, released in 1959 was 'The same old way', which like most of his singles after 1958 didn't become a hit. But I didn't buy this single for that song, I wanted to have it for the B-side, which was written by Marty Wilde and Ronnie Scott: 'You can't stop me dancing'. Vaughan died from heart failure in Oxford in 1999.

My collection: 7" single no. 5802
Found: Discogs.com, received October 28, 2015
Cost: £ 1
Tracks: 'The same old way' / 'You can't stop me dancing'

Listen to the song

Yo soy aquel - Raphael

One of my favourite singers of the early years of Eurovision is Raphael. He's got a voice that cuts through your soul and songs to match. I bought his Hablemor de amor years ago, but never found a reasonably priced copy of his other Eurovision smash, 'Yo soy aquel' ('I'm that one').

Raphael was born as Miguel Rafael Martos Sanchez in Linares, Spain on May 5, 1943. His musical career started in 1965 and continues to this day. 'Yo soy aquel' was a reasonable success: it finished 7th in a field of 18 competitors at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1966. He returned the next year with that other song, and finished one place higher.

My collection: 7" single no. 5799
Found: Revolver Records, Barcelona, September 22, 2015
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Yo soy aquel', 'Es verdad' / 'La noche', 'Hasta venecia'

Listen to the song

Friday 13 November 2015

Que tiempo tan feliz - Mary Hopkin

There are a lot of Spanish singles with translated titles on the sleeve - Bobby Goldsboro's Autumn of my life is an example - but when a sleeve announced 'canta en espanol', you can be sure that the artist has re-recorded their song in Spanish.

Mary Hopkin did this with her 1968 hit single Those were the days. I couldn't pass up on 'Que tiempo tan feliz', because the original is so beautiful and it would be interesting to hear it in a different language. All I need now is the Japanese version of The Police's 'De do do do de da da da'.

My collection: 7" single no. 5796
Found: Revolver Records, Barcelona, September 22, 2015
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Que tiempo tan feliz' / 'Gira, gira, gira'

Listen to the song

La source - Paul Mauriat and his Orchestra

Isabelle Aubret competed in the 1968 Eurovision Song Contest with 'La source', representing France. Paul Mauriat and his orchestra were quick to profit from the commercial success of the song, recording an instrumental cover version of it for a single release quickly after the Contest took place.

He did a similar thing the year before with L'amour est bleu. That single sold millions of copies, this single went by almost unnoticed in most territories.

My collection: 7" single no. 5795
Found: Revolver Records, Barcelona, September 22, 2015
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'La source' / 'Ne sois pas triste'

Listen to the song

The autumn of my life - Bobby Goldsboro

There are some singers that are blessed with both a unique voice and great compositions. I haven't heard much from Bobby Goldsboro during my life, but what I've heard has impressed me. His song Honey is an evergreen, of course, and Summer (The first time) always touches anyone who has a heart.

The autumn of my life is a similar work of art. I found this single during a few days in Barcelona. Whenever I go to a different city I check out the local record shops, and fortunately the second one I visited delivered some goodies. This was the only single I didn't know at all, but I was not disappointed: Bobby Goldsboro is a gifted man.

My collection: 7" single no. 5794
Found: Revolver Records, Barcelona, September 22, 2015
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'The autumn of my life' / 'Pledge of love'

Listen to the song

Wednesday 11 November 2015

In the night - Ben Cramer

In 1969, Marty Wilde released 'Diversions', an album of original songs written by himself and several collaborators. One of the songs on the album was Abergavenny, which was a hit in several European countries, but there was also the song In the night.

That song was covered that same year by Dutch singer Ben Cramer and released on this single. It spent three weeks in the 'bubbling under' chart of the Dutch top 40, but didn't become a hit. It was included on the album 'My world of music', released on the Omega label in 1969.

My collection: 7" single no. 5801
Found: eBay.nl, received September 29, 2015
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'In the night' / 'Although you're gone'

Listen to the song

Monday 9 November 2015

Merci Cherie - Tino Rossi

Constantin "Tino" Rossi (29 April 1907 – 26 September 1983) was a Corsican French singer and film actor. Born in Ajaccio, Corsica, he was gifted with a voice well suited for opera. He became a tenor in the French cabaret-style. Later, he appeared in various movies. During his career he recorded hundreds of songs and he appeared in more than 25 films, the most notable of which was the 1953 production, 'Si Versailles m'était conté' directed by Sacha Guitry.

He remains the only French singer to have sold more than 700 million records. His disc "Petit Papa Noël" alone sold 80 million copies worldwide. This cover version of Udo Jürgens' 1966 Eurovision winner is less wellknown, but it's a beautiful rendition nonetheless.

My collection: 7" single no. 5777
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, April 16, 2015
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Merci Cherie', 'Bye, bye, bye (moi je reste)' / 'Parle-moi d'Ajaccio', 'Teresa'

Listen to the song

Un tout petit pantin - Les Parisiennes

Sandie Shaw didn't just record her Eurovision hit Puppet on a string in Spanish, a French version also exists. She recorded that version as Un tout petit pantin. And that version, of course, was covered by French artists.

In this case, Les Parisiennes, a group of four singers clad in sexy minidresses. Brought together by one Claude Bolling, they sang original songs written by him and Frank Gérard, but in 1967 they tried their hand at the Eurovision winner. During the Seventies the group broke up, but two of the ladies remained active in the entertainment business. Raymonde Bronstein had a solo career as a singer and Anne Lefébure was a presenter on the French TV channel FR3.

My collection: 7" single no. 5776
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, April 16, 2015
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Un tout petit pantin', 'Ah! Vivement ce soir qu'on s'couche' / 'Y'a comme un défaut', 'Grand prix'

Listen to the song

Sunday 8 November 2015

Elle était si jolie - Alain Barriere

Alain Barrière (born Alain Bellec, 18 November 1935 in La Trinité-sur-Mer, Morbihan) is a French singer, who has been active since the Fifties and is known for participating in the 1963 Eurovision Song Contest. His song, 'Elle était si jolie', turned out to be by far the biggest seller of Barrière's career to that point.

He released his first album, 'Ma vie', a year later, and the title-track became a huge hit. In 1965 he was offered, and accepted, a leading role in a heist thriller, 'Pas de panique', alongside Pierre Brasseur. This would be his only venture into acting, but his singing career reached its peak in the latter part of the decade with a string of hits making him one of France's biggest stars and a sell-out live attraction. He remained popular until a decade later, when he got married and moved to the USA. Upon returning four years later, his popularity had waned and he had difficulty getting successful again. However, he continues to release albums to this day.

My collection: 7" single no. 5775
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, April 16, 2015
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Elle était si jolie', 'Le temps d'une valse' / 'Plus je t'entends', 'La route'

Listen to the song

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