One of the most unusual stories of the Sixties had to be that of the Hombres, a group that started life as something else but then went on to record a strange, genre-crossing hit before eventually fading from view. The song was a novelty country-rock hybrid called "Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out)," … Continue reading Letting It All Hang Out — The Hombres
Category: Oldies
Puttin’ My Cat Clothes On
One of the things I enjoy about digging through old pictures is how I inevitably stumble onto surprises, in some cases jaw-dropping ones. That would be a good description of how I reacted when I recently found a picture of myself from the Fifties, when I was a teenager and obviously fashion-challenged. I think I … Continue reading Puttin’ My Cat Clothes On
The Arbors Found The Path To Success
I've always enjoyed listening to the pop-music harmony groups of the Fifties and Sixties -- guys like the Lettermen, the Four Freshmen, and others. They pleased a lot of fans with a sound that fit somewhere between earlier groups like the Pied Pipers and newer combos like the Beach Boys. But there were some very … Continue reading The Arbors Found The Path To Success
The Mystery Of Karen Chandler
One of the things I enjoy most about digging into music history is the way the process sometimes leads me into unexplored territory. The latest example occurred while I was putting together a recent piece about pop star Mel Carter and ran across another singer, a mysterious lady who'd also had a best-selling record of … Continue reading The Mystery Of Karen Chandler
Remembering Randy & The Rainbows
Although there were many exceptions, the majority of the groups that specialized in the type of close-harmony singing known as doo-wop fell into two categories. The earliest was the R&B-inspired music that mostly came out of the black urban environment, but close on its heels was the sound of the Italian-American groups, mostly originating in … Continue reading Remembering Randy & The Rainbows
The Smooth Sound Of The Fleetwoods
In a recent piece about Sixties pop star Vic Dana, I mentioned that he'd performed for a while as a fill-in for Gary Troxel of the Fleetwoods, but the group itself deserves a little more attention. Long before Vic Dana came along, the Fleetwoods had some hugely popular hits that not only topped pop charts, … Continue reading The Smooth Sound Of The Fleetwoods
The Song Of The Snowbird
A good friend of mine is a semi-snowbird. As I understand the term "snowbird", it applies to a Northerner who maintains a home in Florida and spends the entire Winter there soaking up the sun. My friend has the house but just uses it periodically, hence the "semi". In any case, I have to admit … Continue reading The Song Of The Snowbird
Joanie Sommers – Finding Her Musical Path
A lot of performers have had multi-layered careers with success in a wide variety of musical areas. One singer who successfully navigated her way through several would be Joanie Sommers, who has been everything from a teen idol to a familiar voice in TV commercials, but eventually became a respected jazz vocalist. Joanie Sommers (real … Continue reading Joanie Sommers – Finding Her Musical Path
Vic Dana Topped Them All
It's kind of funny how you can sometimes have a completely misguided memory of a song. If you had asked me about a very familiar Sixties song called "Red Roses for a Blue Lady," I would have answered that it was a big hit for Wayne Newton. Turns out that even though Newton did sell … Continue reading Vic Dana Topped Them All
Bent Fabric Is For Real
Although his name might sound like a piece of clothing in dire need of ironing, Bent Fabric -- who had a huge Grammy-winning hit in the early Sixties with the annoyingly addictive "Alley Cat" -- is a real person. The Danish-born composer and pianist, whose actual name is the much trickier to remember Bent Fabricius-Bjerre, … Continue reading Bent Fabric Is For Real
Geezer Music Club 