Their first hit was a cover of Earl-Jean’s “I’m into Something Good”, written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King who found themselves in danger of obsolescence, as most of the British groups wrote their own material. Carole King has said that she wrote the song inspired by Brian Wilson: “I make no bones about it, that song was influenced by Brian’s music”.

The song was originally recorded by Cookies member Earl-Jean on Colpix Records in 1964. Her older sister, Darlene McCrea, and the other original members of the Cookies – a group first formed in 1954 – eventually evolved into Ray Charles’ backing group, the Raelettes. In 1961, Earl-Jean was persuaded to join a new version of the Cookies. She became pregnant while on tour, and Gerry Goffin (married to Carole King at the time) was named as the father. She left the Cookies, and signed for Colpix, where she recorded the Goffin and King song

Barry Whitwam has stated that the Hermits themselves played on the track, not Jimmy Page, since Mickie Most and former lead singer  “Herman” (Peter Noone) had implied otherwise after having lost the rights to the band’s name. Whitwam further states, in regard to exaggerations of songs on which they supposedly did not play:

“Everything he says is that it was Jimmy Page, and Jimmy Page probably can’t remember any of the songs that he played. If you look at our top ten in America, “I’m Into Something Good”, it was us. All Hermits. There was only a piano added on. That was on a two track machine so we played at the same time. That got to number thirteen. “Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat”, there were no other instruments. That got to number two. “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter” got to number one. “I’m Henry the VIII”. Number one. “A Must to Avoid”. Number eight. “Listen People”. “Leaning on the Lamppost”.

That’s six in the top ten with Jimmy Page or anybody else not involved! Another seventy of the tracks on the albums is only the Hermits. I think I worked it out, and I think in only thirty percent of all the songs ever recorded the Hermits didn’t do the backing, but the Hermits were always on the vocals doing the harmonies. So he’s trying to discredit us, saying that we didn’t have anything to do with anything.”

Hits: 71

“Why Do Fools Fall in Love” is a song that was originally a hit for early New York City-based rock and roll group Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers in January 1956. Frankie was 15 when he wrote and recorded this song.

In late 1955, The Teenagers (at that time calling themselves The Premiers) auditioned a song called “Why do Birds Sing So Gay?” for George Goldner, recording producer and owner of Gee Records. Herman Santiago, tenor of the group, had written the song based on a line from some love letters given to the guys by a tenant in bassist Sherman Garnes’ apartment building.

One of them featured the words “Why do birds sing so gay?,” which fit in with lyrics of other songs that Herman had been writing. So Herman worked with it, creating a song for Herman Santiago to lead, and adjusting the harmony to take advantage of Frankie Lymon’s high tenor/soprano. Along the way, Herman changed some of the lyrics.

During the audition Frankie’s voice stood out and, at Goldner’s suggestion, the lead in subsequent recording sessions was given to Frankie. Frankie did some improvising and re-created the melody to match his own style. According to Jimmy Merchant, what happened at the recording session was a combination of “Frankie’s singing ability coupled with George Goldner’s special ability to bring out the best in Frankie.”

TV Version:

Hits: 47

“Bike” is the final track featured on their 1967 debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. The song was written for Barrett’s then girlfriend, Jenny Spires.

In the song, Syd Barrett’s lyrical subject shows a girl his bike (which he borrowed); a cloak; a homeless, aging mouse that he calls Gerald; and a clan of gingerbread men, because she “fits in with [his] world.” With each repetition of the chorus, a sudden percussive noise is heard similar to the firing of two gunshots. Towards the end of the song, he offers to take her into a “room of musical tunes”.

The final verse is followed by an instrumental section that is a piece of musique concrète: a noisy collage of oscillators, clocks, gongs, bells, a violin, and other sounds edited with tape techniques, apparently the “other room” spoken of in the song and giving the impression of the turning gears of a bicycle. The ending of the song fades out with a tape loop of the band members laughing reversed and played at double speed.  It is reminiscent of a loop of quacking rubber ducks, recalling the loop the Beatles added to the end of the second side of the album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

The simplicity of Barrett’s lyrics only seem apparent. More
specifically, the songwriter seems to deliberately cultivate ambiguity
as he tells his story. The most obvious example occurs in the third
verse, when Barrett sings: “I know a mouse, and he hasn’t got a
house./ I don’t know why I call him Gerald”. It is very difficult to tell
whether the narrator does not know why the mouse has no house or
why it is called Gerald.

The last song on The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, “Bike” is also one
of the most curious. The words and music are of an apparent
lightness of tone, but leave a disquieting impression, if only for the
juxtaposition of the main material with the chaotic finale. Some
observers would see in this the beginnings of the songwriter’s future
psychological collapse. While this is possible, the main thing we should take from “Bike” is a sense of Barrett’s talent, which expresses itself in a proliferation or teeming of ideas, even if we feel at the same time that he is teetering on the edge of the precipice.

Hits: 42

The song features Jim Gordon on drums, as does the bulk of the Pretzel Logic album. The guitar solo is by Jeff “Skunk” Baxter who would soon go on to join The Doobie Brothers. It is the most successful single for Steely Dan. It peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1974.

According to a 2006 interview, the Rikki of the title is Rikki Ducornet, a New York writer and artist. Steely Dan co-front Donald Fagen met her while both were attending Bard College, a small liberal arts school located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. Ducornet said they met at a college party, and even though she was both pregnant and married at the time, he gave her his number, although not in the same context as the song. Ducornet was intrigued by Fagen and tempted to call him, but she decided against it.

Victor Feldman’s flapamba (a rare and unusual instrument that is a variant of the marimba) introduction to the song, which opens the album, is cut from the original ABC single version. The MCA single reissue (backed with “Pretzel Logic”) includes the flapamba intro but fades out just before the actual end of the track. The introductory riff is an almost direct copy of the intro of Horace Silver’s jazz classic “Song for My Father”.

Hits: 64

This was Taylor’s first single and reflects Taylor’s homesickness at the time, as he was missing his family, his dog and his state. He was signed to The Beatles’ Record Company, Apple Records, after pitching his demo to Peter Asher, who was good friends with the band and worked for Apple. “Carolina in My Mind” wasn’t issued as a single until a few months after his debut album was released, and by that time he was tending a heroin habit in a psychiatric facility, which left him unable to do touring or promotion. The song stalled at #118 US, and soon Taylor was dropped from Apple.

The original recording of the song was done at London’s Trident Studios during the July to October 1968 period. The song’s lyric “holy host of others standing around me” makes reference to the Beatles, who were recording in the same studio where Taylor was recording his album. Indeed, the recording of “Carolina in My Mind” includes a credited appearance by Paul McCartney on bass guitar and an uncredited one by George Harrison on backing vocals.

The song references Taylor’s years growing up in North Carolina. He started writing the song at producer Peter Asher’s London flat on Marylebone High Street, resumed work on it while on holiday on the Mediterranean island of Formentera, and then completed it while stranded on the nearby island of Ibiza with Karin, a Swedish girl he had just met. There has been a great deal of speculation as to the identity of Karin, the woman he sings about in the line, “Karin, she’s a silver sun.” Until 2009, Taylor would not reveal her identity, leading listeners to create their own theories: Some felt that Karin was a poetic name for Carolina, others believed that Karin was a beautiful young woman that James met while on a trip to Spain, and many have said that this song is about drugs, since at the time it was written, Taylor was trying so hard to kick a serious addiction to heroin.

Taylor cleared this up in a concert screened by BBC Television in March 2009, when he revealed the identity of the Karin alluded to in this song.

At some point Taylor skipped across to the islands of Formentera and Ibiza, where he met Karin. She was Scandinavian, about twenty-four years old, and had shoulder length blonde hair. This appears to have been a fleeting relationship, or perhaps simply a meeting, but he never saw her again.  Her ghost was still haunting him 35 years later, but sadly, Taylor appears not to have been reunited with his lady friend, whatever their relationship.

Some subtle strings can be heard on this track. In an interview with Taylor’s producer, Peter Asher, he said: “In the case of the Apple James Taylor album, I did specifically think about some kind of orchestrations because I really wanted to establish the fact that he was not just another long-haired folkie with an acoustic guitar. I wanted people to take him seriously as a composer.”

When Taylor left Apple, Asher became his manager as well as his producer. His next album, “Sweet Baby James,” had a lot less orchestration.

Hits: 49

The original band line-up featured lead vocalist and guitarist Steve Marriott from The Small Faces, vocalist and guitarist Peter Frampton from The Herd, former Spooky Tooth bassist Greg Ridley and a 17-year-old drummer, Jerry Shirley, from The Apostolic Intervention.

The song, a Steve Marriott composition released in 1972, bemoans being arrested for possession of small quantities of illegal drugs, including cocaine; Durban poison, a potent strain of marijuana, and Red Lebanese and Black Nepalese, two types of hashish. “New Castle Brown” is often mistaken as a reference to Newcastle Brown Ale but actually refers to heroin also known as “Brown” or “Smack”. The song refers to Borstal – “some seeds and dust, and you got Borstal”- referring to Borstal Prison and its borstal ilk – any manner of a British juvenile gaol (British for jail). (Most lyrics listings get this wrong, and say “buzzed on” or “bust on”.) Marriott has said that inspiration for the title came from a Humphrey Bogart/James Cagney movie he saw on TV, where Bogart plays a prisoner who gets sent to “30 days in the hole.” Marriott may have been referring to the 1938 movie Angels With Dirty Faces, although that line is never uttered in the film. It’s also possible that the film was Somebody Up There Likes Me, a 1956 movie where Paul Newman is threatened with the “30 days in the hole.”

Pie guitarist Clem Clempson (who had replaced the original guitarist Peter Frampton) has said it is one of the tracks he would most like his career to be remembered by. But the predominant group personality shown through by the song is Marriott’s; so much so that for example when years later Clempson was asked about efforts to reform the group without Marriott, he simply declaimed, “It’s a waste of time.”

Their first major hit was “I Don’t Need No Doctor”, a 1966 R&B song, on their album “Performance Rockin’ the Fillmore” released in 1971.

Steve Marriott joined the newly formed Humble Pie after he left The Small Faces, who were founded in 1965 by members Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones, and Jimmy Winston, although by 1966 Winston was replaced by Ian McLagan as the band’s keyboardist.

While they were well known in England, they became noted in the U.S. with the release of two songs in particular: “Tin Soldier” and “Itchycoo Park”. “Tin Soldier” was originally written by Marriott for British soul singer P.P. Arnold but decided to keep it for his own. Here’s a television version by The Small Faces with her:

Steve’s unmistakable vocals had the hint of their other hit “Itchycoo Park” released in 1967.

The song was one of the first pop singles to use flanging, an effect that can be heard in the bridge section after each chorus. Most sources credit the use of the effect to Olympic  Studios engineer George Chkiantz who showed it to the Small Faces regular engineer Glyn Johns; he in turn demonstrated it to the group, who were always on the lookout for innovative production sounds, and they readily agreed to its use on the single.

After a long career and a hard life of fame, drugs, and alcohol abuse (which he partially recovered from), at about 6:30 am on 20 April 1991, a passing motorist saw the roof of Marriott’s cottage ablaze and called the fire brigade. It was reported that four fire engines were needed to put out the fire. Steve was found deceased in the bedroom.

In September 2007 Marriott, along with the other members of the Small Faces and manager Don Arden, were honoured with a plaque unveiled in Carnaby Street.

Hits: 65

Carole King wrote this with Toni Stern, a free-spirited painter and lyricist from Los Angeles who complemented King very well. Said Stern: “I’m sure there was a California quality in me that appealed to Carole. She was moving from a familial, middle class lifestyle to Laurel Canyon, where she started to let her hair down, literally and figuratively. We worked off our contrasts.” Stern would usually agonize over lyrics, but she wrote these very quickly.

This song was rumored to be about James Taylor, who was good friends with King and played on her iconic album “Tapestry“. In early 1971, Taylor and King toured together with King the opening act. Many people tended to think that this song was about a short romance between the two. King never confirmed these rumors, and Taylor later dated and married Carly Simon. Toni Stern, however, did have a relationship with Taylor and wrote the lyrics after they broke up and he moved on to Joni Mitchell, but she won’t confirm it’s about the troubadour. “I won’t say who ‘It’s Too Late’ is about,” she told Sheila Weller, author of Girls Like Us. “I don’t kiss and tell.”

The lyrics describe the end of a loving relationship without assigning blame. Music critic Robert Christgau claimed that “if there’s a truer song about breaking up than ‘It’s Too Late’, the world (or at least AM radio) isn’t ready for it.” Rolling Stone stated that King’s “warm, earnest singing” on the song brought out the song’s sadness. According to author James Perone, the feeling of the song is enhanced by the instrumental work of Danny Kortchmar on guitar, Curtis Amy on saxophone and King on piano. Kortchmar and Amy each have an instrumental solo.

Curtis Amy was married to Merry Clayton, who sang backup on some songs for the album. Amy played the sax solo on The Doors’ “Touch Me.”

Merry Clayton sang background vocals on the Rolling Stones “Gimme Shelter”, which has its own much storied history to it. Her vocals were recorded at a last-minute late-night recording session during the mixing phase. Summoned – pregnant – from bed around midnight by producer Jack Nitzsche, Clayton made her recording with just a few takes then returned home to bed. It remains the most prominent contribution to a Rolling Stones track by a female vocalist. Sadly,  upon returning home Clayton suffered a miscarriage, attributed by some sources to her exertions during the recording. Here’s a short clip of Merry talking about the experience:

“It’s Too Late” won a Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1972, and the song ranks at #469 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

And we’ll end with a live version of Carole signing this song.

Hits: 61

The Beach Boys recorded their version on September 23, 1965. Fred Fassert wrote this song around 1958, and got the title from the name of this sister. His brother, Charles Fassert, was a member of The Regents, so he gave it to the group. Dean Torrence of Jan & Dean is featured on lead vocals along with Brian Wilson. Torrence is not credited on the album, but Carl Wilson is heard saying “Thanks, Dean” at the song’s conclusion.

Hits: 64

The Fireballs formed in Raton, New Mexico in the late 1950s. They took their name, the story goes, from Jerry Lew Lewis’ “Great Balls of Fire.” The original 1958 members were George Tomsco (lead guitar), Chuck Tharp (vocals), Stan Lark (bass), Eric Budd (drums), and Dan Trammell (rhythm guitar). They had success with a number of songs, including “Bulldog” and “Quite a Party.” Tharp, Budd, and Trammell left in the early 1960s. They added Doug Roberts on drums and singer/pianist Jimmy Gilmer and released this version of “Bottle Of Wine” in 1967. The record was produced by Norman Petty, who is best known for his association with Buddy Holly and The Crickets.

In 1963 they had their other notable hit “Sugar Shack.” Gilmer left the group in 1967 to pursue other music business endeavors.

In the early 60’s, Jimmy Gilmer had taken an interest in folk music and often went to Greenwich Village to see the performers. One the performers he saw was Tom Paxton. Paxton has been an integral part of the songwriting and folk music community since the early 60’s Greenwich Village scene, and continues to be a primary influence on today’s “New Folk” performers. Tom wrote “Bottle Of Wine” and released the original recording on his 1965 album “Ain’t That News” and as a 45 single.

Paxton had written more verses to the song, but The Fireballs chose two of them and repeated the chorus.

Toms version included these verses:

Ramblin’ around this dirty old town
And singin’ for nickels and dimes
Times gettin’ tough, I ain’t got enough
To buy me a bottle of wine

Little hotel, older than Hell
Cold and as dark as a mine
Blanket so thin, I lie there and grin
Buy me little bottle of wine

A pain in my head
There’s bugs in my bed
My pants are so old that they shine
Out on the street, I tell the people I meet
Won’t you buy me a bottle of wine

Well the preacher will preach and Teacher will teach
Miner must dig in the mine
I ride the rods, trusting in God
And hugging my bottle of wine

Many people have covered this song, varying the verses. Two well-known were Judy Collins

And the Kingston Trio

Hits: 97