SWSSHA #2 — THE TROGGS

Songs We So Seldom Hear Anymore

I had plans to do another band for my second SWSSHA post, but I woke up this morning with a song in my head, and here we are. But I am rushed for time today, so I won’t be going into much detail. Except for one you probably know all these songs, but the one you don’t know is going to have a familiar feel to it. Let’s see if anyone can tell me why.

This was the first single release by The Troggs. It went nowhere! https://youtu.be/WqJQFiJQOMM?feature=shared

The second song you all know. It hit #1 on Billboard, though it only got to #2 in the United Kingdom. A famous cover was played at the Monterey Pop Festival by The Jimi Hendrix Experience as Jimi lit his world on fire. https://youtu.be/xtLZ7Ygowvo?feature=shared

Next we have a song that didn’t quite make it on its own in North America but topped the charts in the UK. This song had originally been released in the US as a double-sided hit with Wild Thing, but Billboard only listed Wild Thing which hit #1 on July 30, 1966. Likely when it was later re-released as a single in North America it had already had all kinds of airplay : https://youtu.be/G-M3nozRfjs?feature=shared As a re-release in North America, it only hit #16 in Canada, and only #29 in America. Go figure

The Troggs’ third song to hit the charts did not do as well as the previous two, but I am sure you will all remember it anyway. https://youtu.be/ARtFd9NB1fY?feature=shared

For reasons particular to me I am skipping the next number of releases and jumping to their last big worldwide chart hit. https://youtu.be/8jj9Vld1BvM?feature=shared

Though The Troggs disappeared from most of the rest of the world, they kept releasing songs in the United Kingdom until 1998. Considering their popularity, this really surprises me. (They did hit Billboard one more time, in 1973, with a cover of The Beach Boys’ Good Vibrations, but it only got to #102.)

I do apologize for the brevity of this post, the lack of further information, but Gail is calling me. Time to go!

SONGS WE SO SELDOM HEAR ANYMORE (SWSSHA) #1

BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN THEY’RE BAD SONGS

Filosofa daily plays the songs she loves, Clive plays songs by themes every Tuesday, and I occasionally play socially conscious songs — songs with a message towards social ills or social progress. But there are thousands of songs out there, most of which so seldom get played publicly anymore — especially songs we Boomers grew up with. Classic radio stations now play songs from the 80s, 90s, and even the 00s, because we are old fogeys now, and commercial radio no longer pays attention to us. At one time they couldn’t play enough of our music, because we were where the money was, we were the big spenders. Now we don’t spend so much anymore, those of us who are still around, so the entertainment media have lost interest in us.

But that’s okay. The music media are capitalists, and most of us don’t like capitalists anymore. Capital is hard to come by at our age… and buying music is not our greatest concern anymore.

But we remember our good old days when music changed. The change started in the mid-50s, with the emergence of rock n’ roll. At first it was exciting music — our parent’s called it the devil’s music, so we knew it had to be good. But quickly it became stale, and tame — remember the Bobby Era in America and Canada — Bobby This and Bobby That and The Other Bobby aand even Bobby What’s His Name — but enough about them! That isn’t to say they didn’t make good music, just it was boring music. That all changed in 1964 with the British Invasion, right? The Beatles, The Dave Clark Five (?), The Rolling Stones, The Animals, etc. etc. etc.

I decided the other day I wanted to play some of those etc. bands, and the big bands too of course. I wanted to rediscover songs I loved as a growing teenager, but haven’t thought of in years.

There will be no rhyme or reason to my choices, just whatever pops up. And when today’s song popped up yesterday, I had no idea why. Possibly because they were the first British band I ever saw live, The Hollies. And they commited the biggest faux pas a band could ever commit, they didn’t play their biggest Winnipeg hit, and at the time they had only had two hits in Winnipeg. When we in the audience demanded they play I’m Alive, they couldn’t even remember how it started. And when they decided to replay their 2nd hit, the one they opened the show with, someone in the crowd threw something, and suddenly we were in the first riot I ever witnessed. I didn’t take part in this one, I headed for the hills. So did The Hollies, or at least they tried. They must have got out alive, because a while later they recorded their 3rd Winnipeg hit, I Can’t Let Go.

(A point of interest: At that time there was no such thing as a Canadian hit list. We in Winnipeg had no idea what was going on in the rest of Canada. We had two competing rock stations at the time, CKY and CKRC, and both stations put out their own Top 50 lists. Very seldom did the same song hit #1 at the same time on both lists. The listings depended more on number of fan requests than on music sales. And the two stations had very different fans. So when I say Winnipeg hits, they did not always reflect each other, or other any so-called Canadian list, let alone Billboard or Cashbox. Winnipeg at the time had a very particular taste in music, movies, and even television shows. Songs often became hits in Winnipeg that bombed in other places.)

Now, On With the Show…

THE HOLLIES

Allen Clarke – Lead Vocalist, Founding member

Graham Nash – Rhythm Guitar, Vocals, Founding Member

Eric Haydock – Bass Guitar, Vocals, Original Member

Tony Hicks – Lead Guitar, Vocals

Bobby Elliott – Drums, Vocals

EARLIEST HITS (Winnipeg Ranking)(UK)(US)(CA)(AUS)

Just One Look (–)(2)(98)(–)(29)

I’m Alive (1)(1)(103)(11)(16)

Look Through Any Window (4)(4)(32)(3)(14)

I Can’t Let Go (9)(2)(42)(44)(63)