Friday, March 21, 2008

My Top 5 Songs From the 1960s

The Mistress of the Dark, a frequent commenter here and the author of her own blog A Little Night Music, puts together music-related memes 3 times a week at Music Memoirs. Although I am a week late, her meme from last Friday finally inspired me to take part. For last Friday's meme, she asks participants to name their top 5 songs from the 1960s. Because it's so hard to narrow it down to 5 songs, that probably made this meme even more intriguing to me. Below are my top 5 songs of the 1960s this week. I say that because if you were to ask me next week, I would have a different list.

Although I won't be tagging anyone, feel free to participate by posting your top 5 in the comments section. If you are a blogger and want to post your top 5 on your own blog, just leave a note in the comments section so that others can visit you.


1. (Loneliness Made Me Realize) It's You That I Need (1967) by The Temptations- Featuring the "sandpaper and honey" lead vocals of David Ruffin, this uptempo tune also allows the other four Tempts their moment to shine.















2. Do You Believe In Magic (1965) by The Lovin' Spoonful- If ever I need an emotional lift, I can put on this song and all becomes right with the world.













3. Nobody But Me (1962) by The Isley Brothers- A hit 6 years later for The Human Beinz, this original version is 2 minutes and 16 seconds of awesome call & response rock and soul.

















4. If I Needed Someone (1965) by The Beatles- This Byrdsy gem courtesy of so-called "quiet Beatle" George Harrison showed that Lennon & McCartney weren't the only capable songwriters within the Fab Four.


















5. Baby, I Love You (1963) by The Ronettes- Complete with hand claps, fine musicianship and the pleading lead vocals of Ronnie Bennett, this is a prime example of Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound" production style.
















9 comments:

The Mistress of the Dark said...

I love Lovin' Spoonful and that Harrison song is fab. I feel awful that I don't know the Temptations tune :(

Thanks for playing. This week's Top 5 is up :) Happy Friday

Jay said...

Trying to narrow down my favorite songs from the 60s to just five would be nearly impossible! Great list though!

pjazzypar said...

I like your picks but I can't play along. I might be able to narrow it down to my top 105 of the 1960's, but 5! Please give me a break! I do know every song you mentioned. I am surprised you chose that specific song by the Temptations, because it is one of their lesser known songs.

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X. Dell said...

To each their own. I think I would have picked (off the top of my head):

1. "I Want to Take You Higher," by Sly and the Family Stone
2. "Ain't Nobody's Fault," by Otis Redding.
3. "Bring It On Home to Me," by Sam Cooke and Lou Rawls
4. "Hey, Joe," by the Jimi Hendrix Experience
5. "Not to Touch the Earth," by the Doors.

Malcolm said...

Mistress of the D: I don't know if you have them, but the original albums of The Lovin' Spoonful are worth owning. It was long believed that the masters were destroyed, so it was a pleasant surprise when the orig. albums turned up on CD back in 2002.

I first heard "If I Needed Someone" when I watched the early 80s documentary "The Compleat Beatles". It showed a clip of them performing it at a concert in Asia.

Jay and Pjazzy: Picking 5 was practically an impossible mission for me. I am just glad that my blog did not self destruct in 5 seconds.

X. Dell: I had a girlfriend back in the early 90s who liked the Doors tune you selected. As for "Hey Joe", I am partial to the version by The Leaves. Thanks for participating.

Malcolm said...

Pjazzy: I forgot to address your comments about my choice of "(Loneliness Made Me Realize) It's You That I Need". The vocal arrangements/production and the musicianship on this song are top drawer. When you listen to this song, you can see the direction that producer Norman Whitfield was heading towards (letting the Tempts take turns on lead vocals). This style later came into full bloom on Tempts songs like "Cloud Nine" and "I Can't Get Next To You".

Even though my choice of a fave Tempts tune might change, "(Loneliness Made Me Realize) It's You That I Need" will always be near the top of my list.

coloredgirlswhohaveconsidered said...

Too many favorites to list, but dont'cha know that I still know all the lyrics to 'Ode to Billy Joe' from heart.
And, and, and...learned how to spell Mississippi, from the flip side.

Malcolm said...

Colored Girl: I wonder what is Bobbie Gentry doing these days because she dropped out of the music biz almost 30 years ago. Btw, did you ever see the movie "Ode To Billie Joe"? They used to show it on TV quite a bit.

 
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