Sherri Ward & “Singin’” Sammy Ward - Lover (1960)
D: The Animals performing ‘It’ s My Life’, on US TV in 1965. The set is ahh-mazing! The “the ex-girlfriends” heads mounted and moving to the music in the hunting lodge environment. No regrets.
D: Sometimes when I am utterly exhausted from long days in the kitchen and late nights djing, when working on my beloved book and inking comics seems to much for me too muster, I realize I just need to take a load off, the best way I have found is to lay on my back in bed and explore the internet like an encyclopedia, learning about things I love, this takes me on a myriad of tangents but most often is music based. I also use youtube to explore music and am quite keen on people being informative posters and putting up some information to get us started. This song is popularised to me through Blondie’s 1980 version.
Here is a bit about The Tide Is High, by The Paragons, courtesy of the video poster and what appears to be wikipedia…
“The Paragons were a rocksteady band from Kingston, Jamaica, active in the 1960s. Their most famous track was “The Tide Is High”, written by band member, John Holt. The Paragons were originally Garth “Tyrone” Evans, Bob Andy, Junior Menz, and Leroy Stamp. In 1964 Stamp was replaced by John Holt, and Howard Barret replaced Menz.[1]
The early Paragons sound was influenced by American soul music and used the tight vocal harmonies of Jamaican groups of the early 1960s. In 1964, the group caught the attention of the record producer, Duke Reid, and they cut a succession of singles for his Treasure Isle record label.
After this early success Bob Andy quit the group, and the Paragons abandoned their soulful sound to become the most popular rocksteady act in Jamaica, but disagreements over money led to the band’s break-up in 1970. Of the band’s other members, only John Holt went on to have a significant solo career.
The Paragons’ recordings, most famously “Tide Is High”, written by Holt, and featuring the violin of “White Rum” Raymond, are among the highlights of Jamaican popular music. “The Tide Is High” was taken to the top of the UK and US charts by Blondie in 1980.”
D: I also want to note the bit, “The early Paragons sound was influenced by American soul music and used the tight vocal harmonies of Jamaican groups of the early 1960s,” since my work-wife Duncan once shouted to me from across the room at Soul Supper Club, when I went on a tangent and played a ‘reggae’ish tune. To which I argued the influence of some soul music on some reggae, rocksteady, etc… The Paragons would be a great example of that.
D: Her version of ‘Hold On’ with Fleur De Lys predates the Rupert’s People recording of the same song, both are terrific.
“Sharon Tandy escaped anti-semitic hatred in her native South Africa by moving to Swinging London in the mid-60’s. Her sound was so soulful that she took the name “Tandy”, which meant ‘Black’ back home, as a badge of proud solidarity. Backed by the crack Mod band, the Fleur De Lys (famed for their cover of the Who’s “Circles”), she belted out soul strutters, epic ballads, and psychedelic monsters like “Hold On”, “Daughter of the Sun”, and “Gotta Get Enough Time”. She even recorded four great songs in Memphis with the crucial Booker T & the MG’s, a year before Dusty’s great album. Though she never got enough acclaim for her work, an excellent retrospective CD called “You’ve Got To Believe…It’s Sharon Tandy” brings it all together for the world to catch up.
http://www.acerecords.co.uk/content.php?page_id=59&release=1520”
D: This was originally a Kinks song, written by Ray Davies. The Swamp Rats recorded well done raucous covers of already good songs. This is pretty tame, more controlled, in my opinion, and will likely be making appearances on a future night of djing, likely inspiring some good times dancing behind the decks and on the dance floor.
“After the Fantastic Dee Jays broke up Terry Lee organized a new harder edged band, The Swamp Rats, with a revolving cast of 12 musicians that included several former members of the Dee Jays. Terry produced and released several Swamp Rat singles on the small St. Clair label in 1966 and 1967. The early punk music of the Swamp Rats was ahead of its time, linking mid-’60s garage rock with late-’60s crazy pre-metal MC5/Stooges rock. They were forerunners of the Ramones and MC5. “
(https://sites.google.com/site/pittsburghmusichistory/pittsburgh-music-story/rock/the-swap-rats)
There are cleaner digital rips off VU, but there is something i like about it being a little lo-fi in this youtube post, probably because my own copy is scratched to fuck, well loved let’s just say, and thus as this point this fuzzy version seems more fitting in my mind. it also reminds me of an outtake as it’s recorded shittier
